ORWELL, Vt. – British actor-playwright Howard Burnham presents another of his engaging one-man costumed programs,“Cornwallis ‘Burgoyned’”, at the Mount Independence State Historic Site on Saturday, September 24, at 1:00 p.m.
Burnham as Cornwallis
Burnham portrays Lieutenant-General the Marquis Cornwallis, the British “man who lost America.” He looks back with rueful humor on his war service in America from 1776 to 1781, culminating in Cornwallis’s defeat at Yorktown in 1781. After his surrender at Yorktown, one of the songs written to celebrate the great American victory of the Revolutionary War was “Cornwallis Burgoyned,” referring to the shocking defeat of Gen. John Burgoyne in 1777 after the battles of Saratoga. Mount Independence played an important role in that northern campaign of the American Revolution.
The program, sponsored by the Mount Independence Coalition and Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, is $5.00 for adults and free for children under 15. It includes admission to the museum and all the trails.
Burnham has given seven performances at Mount Independence in recent years. His wildly popular programs on important figures during the American Revolution have included interpretations of British officers General John Burgoyne and Banastre Tarleton, American General Horatio Gates, Thomas Paine, and the Marquis de Lafayette.
Mount Independence, one of Vermont’s state-owned historic sites, is a National Historic Landmark and one of the best-preserved Revolutionary War sites in America. It is located near the end of Mount Independence Road, six miles west of the intersections of VT Routes 22A and 73 in Orwell. Call 802-948-2000 for more information. The site is open through October 10, 2011, 9:30 to 5:00 p.m.