Thousands of people turned out on Saturday to watch a special preview screening of Ken Burns’ highly anticipated documentary, The American Revolution, set against the historic backdrop of the Yorktown Battlefield.
Colonial National Historical Park, in partnership with WHRO Public Media, York County Economic & Tourism Development, and the VA250 Commission, hosted the free event titled We the People: a Yorktown Battlefield Event. This unique experience featured never-before-seen excerpts from the soon-to-be-released film. These excerpts were created specifically for this premiere, offering an exclusive look at the pivotal moments of the Siege of Yorktown, a defining moment in America’s fight for independence.
Photo Gallery:
Photos courtesy of Brenna Behel, photographer, Yorktown, VA; National Parks Service; York County Economic Tourism & Development; and Mike Diller, Director of Production, WHRO Public Media.
Prior to the film screening, attendees enjoyed a Revolutionary Festival, where they enjoyed a variety of engaging activities and live music, creating a fun and festive atmosphere for all ages.
As an introduction to the film, one of the film's producers and co-directors, David Schmidt, shared his remarks. A graduate of Dartmouth College with a degree in history, Schmidt grew up on the Virginia Peninsula within the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown—each site only minutes from his childhood home. He spent his summers working in the living history museum in Colonial Williamsburg and on the archaeological dig at Historic Jamestown. Those childhood experiences led him to pursue a career telling American history.
Did you miss the event?
You can still catch a preview of the film before it airs.
WHRO will be hosting more screenings before the film premieres on broadcast. Admission is free. Seating is limited—so register ahead of time at the links below.
Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 | 2-5 p.m.
York County Library
8500 George Washington Memorial Hwy
Yorktown, Virginia 23692
Register today.
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025 | 11 a.m. OR 6 p.m.
WHRO Public Media
5200 Hampton Boulevard
Norfolk, VA 23508
Register today.
ABOUT THE FILM:
The American Revolution examines how America’s founding turned the world upside-down. An expansive look at the virtues and contradictions of the war and the birth of the United States of America, the film follows dozens of figures from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Through their individual stories, viewers experience the war through the memories of the men and women who experienced it: the rank-and-file Continental soldiers and American militiamen (some of them teenagers), Patriot political and military leaders, British Army officers, American Loyalists, Native soldiers and civilians, enslaved and free African Americans, German soldiers in the British service, French and Spanish allies, and various civilians living in North America, Loyalist as well as Patriot, including many made refugees by the war.