By Victoria Bourne
On a beautiful Friday morning in June, historical interpreters at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown prepared for a new day of visitors. Dressed in 18th-century garb, some made their way from the museum to the recreated farm while others populated the adjacent military encampment.
Among a row of Continental Army soldiers' tents, turbulent winds from an overnight storm had flattened the ensign and lieutenant’s quarters, exposing rudimentary furnishing — two cots, a chest, chairs and a small table. Nearby, gusts had also ripped the canvas from a quartermaster’s shelter. Avery Johnson, a senior at žž who has worked part-time for years as a living history interpreter, began to tidy up.
“This is very common whenever we have nasty weather,” Johnson said, as he gathered fallen poles, guy ropes and canvas. “It just makes some mornings a little bit more interesting.”
Wearing period attire — cream waistcoat, gaitered trousers, linen shirt and brass-buckled shoes — Johnson used a historical sledgehammer to restake the tent. With a knife, he trimmed frayed rope and affixed the canvas to the support poles.
The shelter gradually returned to its familiar shape as the first family arrived.
Johnson, a biochemistry major at the University, was born and raised in James City County. The Historic Triangle — comprised of Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg — played a prominent role in his upbringing.
“They take you to the museums throughout all of grade school — at least when I was in grade school,” Johnson said. “I enjoyed it each time I went, and I went outside of school field trips. It was something to do during the summer.”
At 11, he began volunteering for the , the state agency that administers two museums of early American history, and the .
He was initially brought there by his mom, Gretchen Johnson, who has held various roles with the foundation and is now the Yorktown museum’s living history manager.
“It was more like an unofficial capacity,” Avery Johnson explained of his early days, “Like, it's summer and my kid’s out of school so might as well let him tag along and help out.”
The museum’s re-created 18th century “middling” — or middle class — farm features a modest home, separate kitchen, tobacco barn, enslaved people’s quarters, working garden and field crops, and chicken coop. A self-described “city boy growing up,” Johnson said he has vivid recollections of releasing the farm’s chickens each morning one summer.
Eventually, he began logging in hours as a junior interpreter, setting up 17th and 18th century games for museumgoers.
“Younger kids would come through with their families,” he said. “You would have an opportunity to teach them about the games and give them an idea of what you would be doing as a kid during this period in history.”
For the past eight years, Johnson has portrayed a private in the museum's recreated Continental Army encampment.
Stationed at the surgeon’s tent in late June, Johnson introduced a family of four to the various tools and tinctures used by medical professionals in the field, including devices that looked better suited for torture than healing.
“Those are the saws in there,” he explained as a visitor pulled open the bottom drawer of a wooden case. He explained how wartime leather shortages meant soldiers often marched in rags, resulting in frostbite and amputations – especially of fingers and toes.
"We have it hiding in that drawer for a reason. People get a little squeamish when they see something like that," he said. Unfazed, the family thanked him for his presentation and walked off to explore the neighboring farm site.
History is in Johnson’s blood, according to Thomas “T. J.” Savage, the museum’s content and training supervisor. "He’s such a natural part of the team,” Savage said.
The value of having young interpreters is their ability to connect with their contemporaries and children, as well as adults who are intrigued by their knowledge of history, Savage said.
Savage has watched Johnson mature into his interpreter role with grace and good humor. Confidence comes from experience, he said.
“I think he genuinely enjoys talking to people,” Savage added. “That puts people at ease and gets them engaged very quickly.”
Savage has also come to rely on Johnson’s situational awareness, and his ability to see or anticipate needs that may arise in the encampment.
“When you're on site, there's a lot of stuff going on, and we have to monitor that and adjust and react,” Savage said. “He has become quite masterful at that.”
Johnson said he appreciates the life lessons he’s learned as part of the encampment and the skills he’s acquired. His experience has also underscored what 17th and 18th century soldiers would have had to endure — from the environmental elements to sickness and injury.
“When I'm doing a musket presentation, I talk about the musket in a matter-of-fact manner. If I have a misfire, I'm pretty calm about it,” he said. “I like to tell the visitors, 'Notice how calm I am about this. What's not happening? I'm not getting shot at.'"
Put me in an actual situation in the 18th century, I'm probably freaking out as much as anyone else."
While unrelated to his major, Johnson said a public speaking course he took at ODU complemented his interpreter role at the museum and helped him understand the usefulness of preparation and outlines.
"I think a very important skill, no matter what kind of degree you're going for, what kind of position you're going for, is public speaking,” he said.
Johnson plans to graduate in May 2026 and pursue a career in biochemistry, but he doesn't expect to leave history behind entirely.
“Next year is going to be the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,” Johnson said. “I definitely want to be (at the museum) on the Fourth of July working in the encampment."
ODU Alumni Connect with History
Meet two more Monarchs who have found their place in history at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.
Carrie Hankes ’15
Hankes graduated from žž in 2015 with a degree in history. She started as a museum volunteer in 2012 and now works as a historical interpreter on the farm site, greeting visitors and engaging them in 18th-century activities, whether it be in the farmhouse, enslaved people’s quarters or tobacco barn.
She’s always had an interest in textiles, and her role at the museum has helped her reconnect with skills she learned in elementary school.
“I've done a bunch of historic sewing projects,” Hankes said, noting she’d recently completed a quilted petticoat. Video recordings of her projects can be found on the .
“I was viral for a while, which I can't say I've been viral ever,” she said, laughing. on “just the right knitting group,” amounting to 135,000 views and dozens of comments.
Hankes said it’s still a highlight for her.
Rob Garnett (M.A. ’11)
In 2011, Garnett got his master’s in English literature from the University. He’s worked as a historical interpreter at the Yorktown museum for almost three years. He was the gun captain for the hourly artillery demonstration on a recent visit.
Garnett likes working in an education field, he said — he taught college level English classes for a while and doesn't miss having to grade stacks of papers.
“I think having a background in English has really helped me because this job requires a lot of communication,” Garnett said, as well as the ability to speak clearly, he added.
The museum has also afforded him the opportunity to conduct independent research. He pursued a recent project on 18th century prisoners of war after noticing the subject’s absence in the museum gallery.
"As a grad student at ODU, one thing I learned, or realized, is you need to look for gaps in information,” Garnett said. He presented his findings as part of the museum's 250th commemoration of the U.S. Army, and he hopes the POW topic will be incorporated into the museum’s educational programming.
“My supervisors have been very supportive of the project,” Garnett said. “They recognize it's a gap in the research that we need to address.”