Historical day of 1776 revisited at Tryon Palace

Volunteers at Tryon Palace gave visitors a glimpse of 1776 on Friday during the annual July Fourth celebration.

People loaded cannons, women wore old dresses, corsets and bonnets, and horse-drawn carriages took people around the grounds. The Palace Fife and Drum Corps marched through the front gates at 11 a.m., and people filled the front lawn. John Muth and Tom Dunton stood on the front steps of the Palace.

Muth portrayed former Gov. Richard Caswell, and Dunton portrayed William Hooper, one of the three North Carolina representatives who signed the Declaration of Independence.

"My fellow North Carolinians, we welcome you to this historic occasion, July Fourth," Muth said. "We are engaged in a tremendous struggle with Great Britain. Let us declare today our independence from them."

Dunton read the declaration, wiping the sweat from his face with a white cloth between sentences. The crowd booed when Dunton talked about British tyranny and King George.

Stew Lindborgh and other people in the crowd yelled "hoorah" when the speech was over. A woman walked past the Palace with a cloth dummy on a rope. She told people she was going to "hang King George in effigy for oppressing colonists."

Lindborgh, who is 41, laughed and clapped for the people who performed. He said he was visiting New Bern for the holiday.

"I've been to the Statue of Liberty, seen fireworks in the heart of Philadelphia and went to the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles," he said. "This was by far the most patriotic 20 minutes of my life, right here in quiet little New Bern. It is, after all, a day for patriotism."