"huzzah" labelled Colonial speech

[Amy West]

I've quickly checked WordOrigins, but I haven't checked the ADS-L archives....

I've spotted this tidbit in my morning paper in an article (AP) on
the new Revolutionary City gimmick at Colonial Williamsburg:

"Now they're [costumed workers] performing a play, improvising a bit
as they walk among the audience, asking observers whether they want
to break free from England and encouraging people to shout 'Huzzah,'
a Colonial cheer."

Has this in fact been found to be the case concerning "Huzzah"? The
only place I've encountered it is at Ren Faires as part of the
(fakey) Elizabethan-speak. I see that C11 dates it to 1573. But is it
still used in the late 1770s?

This development is really worrisome (to me) because in the museum
field, we often look to Colonial Williamsburg as a leader in
conservation of artifacts and historical interpretation.

---Amy West

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