Chapter III: Part 3

Braddock and his troops marched westward from Alexandria into western Pennsylvania near Fort Duquesne through dense wilderness from April 12 to July 9. General Braddock had been accustomed to fighting the European tactics way, but he was wholly unfamiliar with Indian and ambush fighting. Washington anxiously warned Braddock of ambush possibilities, but Braddock continued to have his army march in regular step in close order and in full uniform regalia through the underbrush. Indian scouts daily reported the progress of Braddock's army to the French at Fort Duquesne. When the British troops were within eight miles of the fort, they were attacked by the French and the Indians. The Virginia soldiers, many of whom were experienced in wilderness fighting, ran for cover behind the trees. Braddock, however, ordered his men to keep their formation and fire simultaneously. Thus, they were easy targets for the French and the Indians. Finally, they became so frightened at this unusual type of fighting that they broke ranks and tried to flee. Half of Braddock's 1600 troops were killed or wounded, Braddock himself being fatally wounded in action. This defeat occurred on July 9, 1755.

In addition to this military slaughter, numerous Cherokee Indian raiding parties took place from 1759-1760 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia where homes were burned and men, women and children were killed unmercifully. Washington was put in charge of this frontier campaign with his headquarters at a fort in Winchester. Eventually, the General Assembly of Virginia raised troops of its own for its defense. The General Assembly then passed a law whereby a "Scalp Market" was established, and anyone bringing male scalps of hostile Indians above the age of twelve years to the market would receive ten pounds per scalp in 1755 to forty-five pounds per scalp in 1758 when the law expired. In July, the British General John Forbes with a large number of English soldiers and some Cherokee allies went to Fort Duquesne via Philadelphia. They were rejoined in September by Colonel Washington. Fort Duquesne was finally won by the English and colonial and Indian soldiers, and Washington, himself, raised the British flag over its ruins on November 25, 1758, ending the Indian attacks also on the frontier. Fort Duquesne had its name changed to Fort Pitt in honor of William Pitt the Elder, a British statesman, who had given ample support to Virginia's colonial policies. Thus, the inhabitants of Virginia played their role in the French and Indian War, apparently a misnomer because the war was actually fought between the French and the Indians and the British and the Indians.

In December 1763, Patrick Henry distinguished himself as a young lawyer by challenging the authority of Parliament and the King in a case commonly called the "Parsons' Cause." The Church of England was the established church of Virginia, and the people were taxed for the parsons' salaries. Because coin money was scarce in the colonies, Virginia, like the other colonies, had adopted the custom of paying their clergymen in tobacco. One disadvantage of this system was the fluctuation of the value of the tobacco, based upon the law of supply and demand. Whenever there was a tobacco crop failure, the value of tobacco increased considerably. This occurred in 1758 when there was so little tobacco available that the House of Burgesses passed a law stating that all debts payable ordinarily in tobacco might be paid in money at the rate of two pence per pound of tobacco. The parsons' salary was 16,000 pounds of tobacco. When the above law was passed allowing the parsons to be paid in money, they felt that it was unfair because tobacco at that time was more valuable at the rate of six pence per pound of tobacco than the money value itself. Furthermore, the parsons had had to accept the same amount of tobacco when the prices had previously declined. King George agreed with the parsons and requested that they be given their 16,000 pounds of tobacco or else a sum of money equivalent to the amount which 16,000 pounds of tobacco would be worth. Such an order was contrary to the law passed by the House of Burgesses and was a continuation of a custom which England had been using of "disallowing" a law passed by the colonial legislature. The Burgesses refused to accept the "disallowing" of their law; in turn, the parsons, knowing that the King had favored their opinion in the matter, took their problem to the Hanover County Court as they believed they were entitled to the back pay for the time which the House of Burgesses' law was in effect. The court had ruled that the parsons were entitled to the back pay and was ready to proceed with the problem of deciding upon the amount which it believed was due each parson.

When this case was first brought to the court for consideration, the individual citizens of the colony tried to obtain the services of a lawyer who would fight against the parsons. Since such a lawyer would be fighting not only against the parsons but against the King himself, some of the lawyers, when asked to act as attorney against the parsons, refused the offer. Patrick Henry, who was only twenty-seven at the time and practically an unknown individual as far as law was concerned, accepted the offer. The self-educated Hanover County resident surprised the people in the court when he began to speak, at first hesitatingly and then most confidently. He first criticized the parsons for trying to take advantage of the scarcity of the tobacco which caused its extraordinarily high price. He then dared to speak against the British Parliament and the King for usurping the power of "disallowing" a law passed by the Virginia legislature. The following quotation illustrates the strong language which he used to express his attitudes in these matters: "The king, by ... disallowing acts of this salutary nature, from being the Father of his people degenerates into a Tyrant, and forfeits all the rights to his subjects' obedience." Thus, he questioned the right of the King to veto a colonial law. He followed these words with comments concerning the rights and privileges of the colonists and the unjust taxing of the colonists for goods brought to the Virginia Colony from England. The jury handed down the verdict that the parsons were entitled to their back pay but awarded damages of one penny to each parson. As a direct result of this case, Patrick Henry became famous and he became a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses shortly afterward. He had dramatically, though unexpectedly, expressed the attitude of most of the colonists toward Parliamentary and royal control of their colony.

In spite of Patrick Henry's strong protests against the taxes imposed upon the colonists, Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765 whereby the colonists were required to put stamps of differing value upon wills, deeds, mortgages, newspapers, almanacs, advertisements, college diplomas and all other legal documents. This tax was not directly levied for protection as the regular duty tax on imports had been but was levied for revenue purposes. The revenue from the sale of these stamps was to be used in paying the governmental cost in the territory acquired from the French and Indian War and for defending the colonists. Previous acts and taxes had affected a comparatively small number of colonists and usually only one or two social classes. The Stamp Act, however, affected practically every class, particularly editors, lawyers and parsons who usually exert strong influence upon any group of people. The Stamp Act was the controversial issue at the time Patrick Henry became a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Some of the members felt that Parliament had the right to tax the colonists and others felt that it was illegal for them to do so. Patrick Henry offered five resolutions against the Stamp Act to the effect that the "General Assembly of the colony have the only sole and exclusive right and power to levy taxes." A fiery discussion then occurred over these resolutions, and, after hearing the heated arguments on both sides on May 29, 1765, Patrick Henry rose in the House and described Virginia as being tethered in chains under the rule of Parliament and the King. Then he shouted: "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I, his Cromwell, and George III...." Here he was interrupted by cries of "Treason! Treason!" Very calmly he finished the sentence by saying "may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it!" Patrick Henry's brilliant oratory persuaded public opinion again, and his "Virginia Resolves" against the Stamp Act were passed by a majority of one vote. Such a small majority seems insignificant, but these Resolves were publicized throughout the colonies and played an important part in creating serious opposition to England throughout the British colonies. Soon similar resolutions were adopted in the other colonies.

The first Colonial Congress was called to meet in New York City in October 1765 to form a plan of resistance to the Stamp Act. Although delegates from nine colonies attended, Virginia was not represented because the Virginia legislature had adjourned before Massachusetts had sent its invitation circular to her. However, Virginia approved a three point program of this "Stamp Act Congress" at its next legislative session: namely, a Bill of Rights, a statement of grievances and the principle of no taxation without actual representation. The colonists believed that, since they had no actual representation in Parliament, there could be no taxation except that authorized by their individual legislatures. Therefore, the members of the Stamp Act Congress adopted petitions to the King, the House of Commons and the House of Lords asking repeal of the Stamp Act. This congress was the first significant step in the direction of unity for the British colonies in America. In addition to this orderly method of opposition, in some of the colonies mob violence, rioting and even personal molesting of the stamp officials took place.

On February 8, 1766, the Northampton County Court severely opposed the Stamp Act by stating that "the said act did not bind, affect or concern the inhabitants of this colony, inasmuch as they conceive the same to be unconstitutional, and that the said several officers may proceed to the execution of their respective offices, without incurring any penalties by means thereof."

On February 27, 1766, a group of one hundred and fifteen planters met at Leedstown in the Northern Neck to publicly oppose the Stamp Act. A series of resolves or resolutions written by Richard Henry Lee but presented by Thomas Ludwell Lee, his brother, were passed by those present. These resolves condemned the Stamp Act and defiantly acclaimed the rights which they considered essential to civil liberty. These resolves are usually referred to as the Leedstown or Westmoreland Resolves because they were presented at Leedstown which is located in Westmoreland County. In March of the same year a pamphlet, entitled "An Enquiry into the Rights of the British Colonies," was written and circulated by Richard Henry Bland which strongly opposed the Parliamentary measures and stated that the colonies were bound to England directly by the King and not by Parliament. Therefore, Bland concluded that Parliament technically had no jurisdiction over the American colonies.

Finally, on March 18, 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but at the same time passed the Declaratory Act stating that Parliament had the authority to pass laws for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever." In their triumph over the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the colonists overlooked the strong, powerful wording of the Declaratory Act.

Soon after the repeal of the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts were passed in 1767. They were called the Townshend Acts because the British Chancellor of the Exchequer (a position similar to the present-day United States Secretary of the Treasury) who originated them was Charles Townshend. The acts placed a duty (an external tax) upon glass, paper, painters' colors, white lead and tea. The revenue collected from these duties was to be used for the payment of salaries of judges and other colonial officials in the attempt to make such positions less influenced by the colonial legislature. The colonists objected strongly to the Townshend Acts, again stating that the taxes so collected were for the purpose of revenue and not for protection.

The merchant class of the large cities in the colonies and the Virginia planters in particular were so strongly affected by these acts that they formed a retaliatory organization called the Non-Importation Association. Although Lord Botetourt, the royal Governor of Virginia at this time, dissolved the Virginia Assembly, and individual members met privately at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg and agreed to enter into such a non-importation agreement. This group agreed not to import slaves, wines or goods from Great Britain unless the objectionable taxes were abolished. This agreement caused a great reduction in the number of imports from Great Britain to these colonies. Since Virginia had the largest amount of commerce trade in England at this time, this method proved effective. Acts of violence even occured in some of the colonies--for example, the Boston Massacre. Finally, on March 5, 1770, the Townshend Acts were repealed with the exception of the tax on tea: three pence per pound. This tax was retained supposedly to assert the right of Parliament to tax the colonists whenever it so desired.

In spite of this repeal, friction between colonial legislatures and royal Governors continued. Under the leadership of Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, Committees of Correspondence were appointed in 1773 whose chief objective was to keep the various colonies informed by correspondence of the events occurring within their colony which were contrary to the rights and privileges of the colonists. The Virginia General Assembly appointed a Committee of Correspondence under the leadership of Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and George Mason. The condition which caused this permanent committee to be organized at this time was the continuous threat of England to force Americans to be tried in England for offenses against the law. These committees within the various colonies became very active and persuasive. The British soon abandoned their idea of sending Americans to England to be tried. However, these committees increased rapidly in number as the grievances of the colonists increased, and they gradually created a feeling of unity in the colonies as a result of a better understanding of common problems.

The next act which is believed to have led directly to the Revolutionary War is the Tea Act. After the three pence per pound tax on tea was levied, some of the colonists bought their tea from smugglers who had purchased it from the Dutch East Indies. In 1773, in an attempt to curb this illegal trade and to help create a monopoly of the tea trade for the East India Company, Parliament passed a law allowing this company to ship tea from Asia directly to the American colonies without bringing it to English warehouses first, as had previously been the regulation. This situation resulted in the East India Company selling its tea cheaper than the other companies. In spite of this change, Parliament refused to repeal the three pence duty tax on tea which still had to be paid by the colonists.

The American colonists realized the scheme of England, and not wanting to admit the right of Parliament to tax them even under these conditions, they decided not to submit to the payment of the duty tax. When the ships from the East India Company sent cargoes of tea to Charleston, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, some of it was stored indefinitely (at Charleston), some was returned (from Philadelphia and from New York City) and the rest was dumped into the Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773. The famous Boston Tea Party caused Parliament to pass the "Intolerable Acts" as punishment for the colonists of Massachusetts: (1) the Boston Port Bill closed the port of Boston to all trade until the colonists there had paid for the tea which had been destroyed and had agreed to obey the laws of Parliament and to maintain peace in the future, (2) the Massachusetts Government Act changed the charter of Massachusetts so that more governing power was in the hands of the royal officials and much less in the hands of the colonists, (3) the Administration of Justice Act provided that British officials in Massachusetts who had been charged with serious violations of colonial laws were from that time on to be sent to England for their trial and (4) an act provided that any colonial Governor was empowered from that time on to quarter British soldiers in barns or vacant buildings whenever the need arose. The first of these acts was to go into effect on June 1, 1774. Therefore, the colonists realized that something had to be done immediately if their resentment and ill feeling was to be recognized by Parliament and acted upon accordingly.

A description of the Boston Tea Party first reached Virginia from a visitor to the old Market Square in Alexandria. The Virginia House of Burgesses was in session when the Virginians learned of the "Intolerable Acts." Led by Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee, the members of the House of Burgesses passed a resolution designating June 1, the day on which the "Intolerable Acts" were to be enforced, as a day of fasting and prayer to God to encourage Parliament to abandon its unwise punitive policy towards the people of Massachusetts. When Governor Lord Dunmore, who had succeeded upon the death of Governor Botetourt, heard of this resolution, he dissolved the House of Burgesses. Before all the members had left Williamsburg, a messenger arrived from Boston with a circular letter which pleaded with the colonies for united support and which suggested the cessation of all trading relations with Great Britain. The twenty-five Burgesses members, who were in the Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern when the letter arrived, discussed its contents and decided that it was too important a matter for the Committee of Correspondence to assume complete responsibility. Consequently, they asked the counties to appoint deputies to a special convention to be held on August 1, 1774 at Williamsburg for a two-fold purpose: to consider the possibility of complete cessation of trade with Great Britain and to choose delegates to a proposed Continental Congress. Peyton Randolph, Speaker of the House of Burgesses, is believed to have been the leader of this special convention movement. The actual summons was signed by Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Henry Lee. The calling of this First Virginia Convention is most significant in American history as well as in Virginia history because it was a positive action on the part of the American colonists to assert the people's sovereignty over and against the King's authority.

The convention at Williamsburg which began August 1, 1774 lasted for six days and representatives attended from fifty-six counties and four boroughs. Each county sent two delegates and each borough, one. Peyton Randolph was chosen as president of the convention. The convention members agreed to purchase no goods, with the exception of medicine, from Great Britain after November 1, 1774 and agreed neither to import slaves nor to buy imported slaves after November 1. Seven members were selected to represent Virginia at a Continental or General Congress: Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Edmund Pendleton, Peyton Randolph and George Washington. The convention delegates also stated that unless American grievances were diminished by August 10, 1775, all exports of Virginia products to Great Britain would be stopped. It was at this convention that a written treatise on American rights was prepared for the convention by Thomas Jefferson. This paper, later entitled "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," was published by the Virginia convention and was responsible for making Jefferson's great ability as a writer well known. This pamphlet was a forerunner of the Declaration of Independence.

While the colonists were having political and economic difficulties with Great Britain, other domestic difficulties were occurring on the frontiers. As mentioned previously, the Piedmont area of Virginia, located between the Fall Line and the Appalachian Mountains, was actually the first American frontier. People who settled there came originally for several purposes: to acquire fertile but cheap land, to enjoy new personal freedom (in many cases, the settlers were former indentured servants), to carry on fur trade with the Indians, to obtain fresh pasture land for cattle and to establish plantations. After the Piedmont area became heavily settled, the westward movement continued. The settlements in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia followed directly after the crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the late 1760's, William Bean, a Virginian, constructed the first cabin along the Watauga River, and later, James Robertson and John Sevier pioneered in the Watauga Valley. Settlements were also made at this time along the fertile Holston River Valley in eastern Tennessee. During this period, Daniel Boone explored the Cumberland Gap area and started a settlement in the region now known as Kentucky. While he was taking a group of approximately eighty settlers to this region, he was attacked by a band of Indians. The group decided to return to North Carolina with the exception of the Boone family, and they stopped near the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

Indian uprisings were common until the soldiers of Virginia defeated them in Lord Dunmore's War. As the settlers pushed westward, more and more of the Indians' hunting grounds were being seized and used for farming. Since the Indians felt that this was most unjust treatment, they resorted to making war upon the settlers. In 1774, many frontier Indian raids occurred involving the Shawnees, Cherokees, Mingos, Delaware and Wyandots. One incident which had great repercussion was the killing of nine members of the family of John Logan, a friendly Mingo chief, by a group of white settlers. This incident caused the Indians to be extremely revengeful.

When Lord Dunmore became the new royal Governor, the settlers appealed to him for protection and asked that he send military troops at once. He decided personally to command one group of troops at the Forks of the Ohio River and he ordered Major Andrew Lewis, a pioneer's son of Augusta County whose father had founded Staunton, Virginia, to raise a force of Virginia troops and bring them to a meeting-place located at Camp Union (now known as Lewisburg, West Virginia). With approximately 1100 men, General Lewis started on his march to the Ohio River in September 1774 to fight the Indians. After nineteen days of marching, they arrived at Point Pleasant, the site at which the Kanawha River empties into the Ohio River, approximately 160 miles from their starting point. General Lewis and his troops waited four days and heard no word from Lord Dunmore although he had ordered them to this particular position. On October 10, two of Lewis' men went hunting, strictly against his orders. Two miles from camp they were attacked by the Shawnee Indians, and one of them was killed. The other escaped, rushed back to the camp and reported to General Lewis that he had observed "four acres of ground" of Indians. General Lewis then commanded his men to form two lines of battle, one to be under the leadership of his brother, Colonel Charles Lewis, and the other under the leadership of Colonel William Fleming. He himself was to be the supreme commander. The battle began immediately, and after the Indians rushed forward the first time, Charles Lewis was killed and Colonel Fleming was wounded. The Indian leader was Chief Cornstalk who was a popular and powerful Indian warrior. However, after fighting all day, the Indians finally retreated across the Ohio River, and the Virginians were considered the victors of the Battle of Point Pleasant or the Battle of Great Kanawha because they were not driven back by the Indians. Consequently, Lord Dunmore's War was fought without his presence, although it is believed that he may have been negotiating a peace treaty with the Indians simultaneously at some distant place. The winning of this war by the Virginians made the winning of the west much easier for the later settlers.

On September 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress was called by Virginia, and invitations were issued by Committees of Correspondence. The purpose of this Congress was "to deliberate and determine wise and proper measures, to be by them recommended to all the colonies, for the recovery and establishment of their just rights and liberties, civil and religious, and the restoration of union and harmony between Great Britain and the colonies most ardently desired by all good men." The Continental Congress began in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, on September 5, 1774 with 56 members present. Two-thirds of these were lawyers, and the membership itself consisted of representatives of both the liberal and the conservative groups although the majority appeared to be in the former group. The Virginian, Peyton Randolph, was unanimously elected President of the First Continental Congress. During the Congress, Patrick Henry expressed the need for unity when he exclaimed: "The distinctions between Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian but an American." Concerning its chief accomplishments, the Congress (1) drew up a Declaration of Rights (a series of resolutions declaring that the colonists were entitled to certain rights: life, liberty and property, the right to vote their own taxes and the right to trial by jury; that these rights had been violated by the King and by Parliament since 1673; that unjust taxes and standing armies had been imposed upon them and their local assemblies unfairly interfered with by Parliament; that their repeated petitions for a redress of their grievances had been practically ignored in England) and (2) adopted "a non-importation, non-consumption and non-exportation agreement" called the Continental Association Plan. It should be noted that complete separation from England was not demanded at this time but rather cooperation from, and peace under, English rule. The session lasted approximately seven weeks, and then on October 26, 1774, after a motion had been passed setting May 10, 1775 as the date of a second congress meeting, the session was adjourned to await a reply from the King of England.

The resolutions passed by this Congress were circulated throughout the colonies for their approval. All sections of the Virginia colony approved them, even sections as far west as the area now occupied by the State of Kentucky. Two illustrations of such approval are the Fairfax Resolutions and the Fincastle Resolutions. The freeholders of Fairfax County met in Alexandria in July 1774 and passed the so-called Fairfax Resolutions, written by George Mason. The Fairfax Resolutions or Resolves, as they are sometimes called, reflected Virginia's attitude toward taxation, Parliament and even the King. In January 1775, at Lead Mines, Fincastle County seat, the freeholders met and prepared a paper congratulating and thanking the Virginia delegates for their part in the First Continental Congress. These Fincastle Resolutions also included strong written opposition to English tyrannical power.

In November 1774, Virginia had a tea party, similar in purpose to Boston in that it was an act of defiance against Great Britain's tea tax. On November 7, the Virginians discovered that a British ship, "Virginia," which had docked in the York River at an earlier date, contained tea cargo. The Committee of Safety for York County immediately sent to the House of Burgesses (which was meeting at Williamsburg) a message in the form of a protest against accepting this tea for sale in the colony. The Committee received a reply to the effect that the matter would be discussed in the House and an answer would be forthcoming the next Monday morning. Large groups of people gathered at Yorktown where the boat had been docked and waited for the reply. The House of Burgesses failed to send the reply, and the captain of the ship declared that he had received no message. The Committee waited a while longer and then proceeded to throw the tea out of the ship's hold into the York River. By this time, the Yorktown inhabitants had been informed of the "Intolerable Acts" which had been passed to punish the inhabitants of Boston. Therefore, they filled the ship with necessary supplies and sent it to the Bostonians. This incident was another example of the methods by which the colonists were learning to unite and to help each other in their common objectives.

When the American colonists began to carry out the non-importation agreement, the British merchants were very much affected: for example, the import trade from Great Britain to the American colonies declined about 95% by 1775. The Americans had some great British leaders on their side, but they were definitely in the minority. Edmund Burke and William Pitt urged that the "Intolerable Acts" be repealed and predicted that war was approaching with the American colonies if most of the objectionable laws were not repealed at this time. Burke and Pitt were overruled, however, in Parliament. Thus, the breach between the American colonies and the mother country became wider as time passed.

Continued growth in the number of counties reflected increases in population and a trend toward the rising importance of community life. From 1750 to 1775, several additional counties were formed: Halifax (formed from Lunenburg and named for George Montagu Dunk, Second Earl of Halifax and the first Lord of the Board of Trade), Dinwiddie (formed from Prince George County and named for Lord Dinwiddie, acting Lieutenant Governor of the Virginia Colony from 1751-1758), Prince Edward (formed from Amelia County and named for Edward Augustus, Prince of Wales), Bedford (formed from Lunenburg and part of Albemarle County and named for John Russell, Fourth Duke of Bedford, Secretary of State in Great Britain from 1748-1757), Sussex (formed from Surry County and named for Sussex County, England), Loudoun (formed from Fairfax County and named for John Campbell, Fourth Earl of Loudoun, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces during the latter part of the French and Indian War and Governor-General of the American Colonies from 1756 to 1763), Fauquier (formed from Prince William County and named after Francis Fauquier, Lieutenant Governor from 1758 to 1768), Buckingham (formed from Albemarle County and named probably for the Duke of Buckingham), Charlotte (formed from Lunenburg and named for Princess Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg, George III's queen), Mecklenburg (formed from Lunenburg and named in honor of the same queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz), Pittsylvania (formed from Halifax County and named for Sir William Pitt, a famous English statesman who was pro-American toward the British Colonies in America), Botetourt (formed from Augusta County and part of Rockbridge County and named for Norborne Berkeley, Lord Botetourt, Governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770) and Amherst County (formed from Albemarle County "and certain islands in the Fluvanna River" and named for Sir Jeffrey Amherst, Governor-General of Virginia, 1759-1768).

S U M M A R Y

The historical Life of Virginia from 1584 to 1775 illustrates the "trial and error" method of learning to live cooperatively, comfortably and profitably in the New World. The inhabitants of the "Cradle of American Civilization" were faced with severe personal handicaps, problems of government (many of which had to be solved in an original fashion), explorations into untrodden and often uncivilized areas, the task of establishing a land economy, rebellions of the common man against the privileged few and the establishment of a culture and way of life adapted to the type of environment and peoples living in the area. The efforts of such leaders as John Smith, John Rolfe, Edwin Sandys, George Yeardley, Benjamin Syms, Thomas Eaton, James Blair, Alexander Spotswood, Thomas Lee, Robert Dinwiddie, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Peyton Randolph and Andrew Lewis helped unite the colonists in Virginia in their development of democratic living.

During this period, the first representative legislative assembly in America was held, the first group of Negro slaves were imported to America, the first group of unmarried women arrived in the colonies, the first royal colony of England was organized, a county system of local government was established, the Commonwealth of Virginia was created, the second oldest college in America was founded, the first theater in America was built, many of the most beautiful plantation houses were constructed, the British became the dominant colonists in America, slavery became an accepted characteristic of plantation life, fifty-four counties were formed and strong opposition of the colonists in Virginia to political and economic control by the British King and Parliament was becoming very apparent. The first special Virginia Convention held in Williamsburg to determine the extent of Virginia's boycott of British goods and to choose delegates to a Continental Congress and the York River Tea Party at Yorktown exemplified mounting opposition. The stage of life in Virginia seemed naturally set for specific action against strict foreign regulation and control.

3

Historical Life: 1775-1860

_The Revolutionary War Era_

A second Virginia Convention was held from March 20 to March 27, 1775 at St. John's Church, Richmond. Peyton Randolph was again chosen president of the convention. The members of this convention soon were divided into distinct groups: (1) the conservative group, led by Peyton Randolph, which deplored radical thinking and actions and still favored reconciliation with the mother country, England, and (2) the aggressive group, led by Patrick Henry, which believed conciliation and compromise were no longer possible or feasible and advocated military preparedness within the colony.

On the first day, March 20, Patrick Henry delivered his famous speech, the most significant and oft-repeated section stating: "Gentlemen may cry: Peace! Peace! but there is no peace. The war is actually begun!... Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but, as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" This fiery speech combined with his others earned for Patrick Henry the title, "The Tongue of the Revolution" or "The Mouthpiece of the Revolution." The first three days passed without either group committing itself. On the fourth day, however, a resolution was adopted bestowing thanks upon the Assembly of Jamaica for its petition to the King on behalf of the American colonies and stating an ardent desire for peace. Patrick Henry then proposed an unusual resolution to follow the preceding one, namely: the establishment of "a well-regulated militia, composed of gentlemen and yeomen." His brilliant oratorical powers of persuasion caused the resolution to be carried, and the military resources of the colony were immediately directed to be organized and made efficient. The convention also appealed to all the people for contributions for the relief of the Bostonians because they were "suffering in the common cause of American freedom." Later at this convention, delegates to the Second Continental Congress were elected: Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Peyton Randolph and George Wythe.

On April 21, 1775, Governor Dunmore, who had unsuccessfully tried to prevent the Richmond convention from taking place in order that delegates could not be elected to attend the Second Continental Congress, became very much aroused over the bitter feeling of the colonists toward Great Britain. He decided that he could break down some of the colonial assuredness and resistance against the King and against his personal orders if he could remove from the powder magazine at Williamsburg the munition powder which belonged to the colony. Therefore, he ordered twenty sailors from a British ship anchored at Williamsburg to obtain this powder. They hid in the Governor's Palace; during the night, they visited the magazine, removed all the powder which they could fit into the Governor's wagon and took it to their armed ship, the "Fowey," in the harbor for safekeeping. When the colonists learned the next morning of this activity, a company of Hanover volunteers, led by Patrick Henry, marched upon Williamsburg and forced the King's sailors to compensate by giving bills for the value of the powder taken from the magazine. Governor Dunmore was then beseeched to pay for the cost of the powder, at least in sterling. He finally paid this amount because of the persistence of Patrick Henry. Only strenuous efforts on the part of Patrick Henry's personal friends kept him and the local militia from imprisoning the Governor himself for such action. Patrick Henry was declared an outlaw by Governor Dunmore. Anti-British feeling rapidly increased on the part of the colonists after this incident.

Approximately a week after this unpleasant incident, John Paul Jones, a Scottish-Virginian who was a resident of Fredericksburg, recommended that the colonies should have an official navy. He was a former British seaman, and he offered his services to the colonies at this time in an attempt to raise a naval force. The Second Continental Congress later appointed a Naval Committee whose chief duty was to organize a naval force. At its invitation, John Paul Jones explained to the Committee the great strength of the British Navy and the futility of the colonists to try to compete with it. He stated, however, that, if the colonists had fifteen ships armed with guns, these could be successfully utilized to annoy British ships. His suggestion was accepted, and thirteen frigates plus two brigs made up the first American Navy. John Paul Jones received the first naval commission at Independence Hall on December 22, 1775. Therefore, he is often referred to as "The Father of the American Navy."

Before the Second Continental Congress was due to meet, the Battle of Lexington and Concord (near Boston) had taken place on April 19, 1775. After this "shot heard 'round the world," the Americans were most sympathetic toward their fellow-colonists of Massachusetts. On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress began in Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Although there was a majority of the members who now believed a revolution was inevitable, there were also many conservatives who preferred compromise of any type rather than war. This congress proceeded to take necessary steps for organizing and equipping an American army. On June 16, 1775, it assumed control of the colonial forces already formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after the Battle of Lexington and Concord. It appointed George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of this American Continental Army and assumed complete responsibility for the salaries and supplies of the servicemen.

On June 1, 1775 Governor Dunmore called the Virginia House of Burgesses together for the purpose of discussing some British proposals originated by Lord North. The members did not favor these, however, and proceeded to suggest the levying of a tax of five pounds per head on each imported slave as an attempt to raise revenue for payment of the recent Lord Dunmore War with the Indians. In order to protect the slave trade benefits for England, the Governor vetoed this proposal. This action was his last veto in the Colony of Virginia. Later that month, Lord Dunmore, sensing the sincerity of the Americans in this revolution, feared for his royal governorship life. Consequently, on June 8, he fled from Williamsburg to a British man-of-war ship, the "Fowey," in the Yorktown harbor. His flight practically dissolved the royal government in Virginia. The Virginia Assembly asked Governor Dunmore to return under its protection but he refused to do so. His refusal to return after an official petition had been issued was considered by the Virginians as abdication on his part from office. Thus, when it adjourned on June 20, 1775, the last Virginia colonial General Assembly ended.

On July 3, 1775, Washington took official command of the American Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his first military objective was to drive the British away from Boston. After he had been there a few weeks, he visited some troops for inspection. Upon inquiring about the place of origin of one company, he was surprised and delighted to hear the answer, "General, from the Banks of the Potomac." The speaker was Daniel Morgan, who had accompanied his corps of riflemen from Winchester, Virginia to Boston, 600 miles distance in twenty-one days without a single death. Morgan had fought with Washington during the French and Indian War and had participated in the war against the Indians in the Ohio Valley campaign. Washington was so happy to see these fellow-Virginians that he took time from his busy schedule to shake hands personally with each member of the corps. After Morgan and his troops had participated successfully in the Massachusetts Campaign, he later sent them to Canada for the Quebec campaign. This campaign unfortunately resulted in a defeat for the Americans, and Morgan was taken prisoner. Although Morgan was offered a commission in the British army while he was imprisoned, he violently rejected the offer. Although he remained a prisoner for a long time, he rejoined the American Army as soon as he was free to do so. The famous American victory at the Battle of Saratoga is now accredited to the military strategy and tactics of General Daniel Morgan. Another important later victory for which he was directly responsible was the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina. He is one of the many great military men furnished by the colony and by the state of Virginia.

From July 17 to August 26, 1775, the Third Virginia Convention was held. The meeting place was Richmond, and Peyton Randolph was elected president of the convention. George Mason had been appointed to succeed George Washington at this convention because Washington was busily engaged as Commander-in-Chief of the American Army. Since Governor Dunmore had already fled from the colony, the royal government had been theoretically dissolved and Virginia gained the status of an independent state. Therefore, the members of this convention believed that they had to assume responsibility for governing Virginia under the circumstances. Consequently, the one hundred and fifteen delegates present proposed acts and passed them as laws called ordinances. Ordinances passed contained the following provisions: (1) the organization of military forces for the defense of Virginia into two regiments; (2) the creation of an executive body called the Committee of Safety to act as the government while the convention was in recess; (3) a plan for adequate revenue for the provisional government and for the Army of Virginia; (4) the establishment of executive county committees; (5) the regulation of the election of delegates to future conventions; (6) the election of new representatives to a future Continental Congress, and (7) the division of Virginia into sixteen military districts.

On August 17, 1775, the first Committee of Safety for Virginia was appointed by the Virginia Convention of July 1775. It consisted of eleven members, namely, Richard Bland, Carter Braxton, William Cabell, Paul Carrington, Dudley Digges, Thomas Ludwell Lee, George Mason, James Mercer, John Page, Edmund Pendleton and John Tabb. Edmund Pendleton was the chairman of this committee. Various members of the Committee of Safety actually ruled Virginia from the time it ceased to be a British colony until it officially became an independent state.

On December 1, 1775 the Fourth Virginia Convention was held at Richmond, but soon after the convention had become organized, it moved to Williamsburg. Edmund Pendleton was elected president of the convention. The chief problem of this convention was military protection and security for Virginia in the face of war. The army was increased from two regiments to nine regiments with an enlistment requiring two years of military service. The chief measures passed during the Fourth Virginia Convention of December 1775-January 1776 included the appointment of a commission of five men in each county to try cases of those individuals believed to be enemies of America, the creation of an admiralty court to hear cases involving maritime or naval affairs, the granting of permission for county courts to elect a sheriff for a one-year term and the issuing of special instructions to the Virginia delegates to the next Continental Congress to encourage the opening of American ports to the commerce of all foreign nations except Great Britain and the British West Indies. It was also decided at this convention to allow the Virginia troops to be merged or absorbed into the Continental Army and to have future military officers commissioned by the Continental Congress rather than by individual state or colonial legislatures. Another Committee of Safety for Virginia was named: nine members were re-appointed and two new members were substituted. Edmund Pendleton was still the chairman and the other committee members were Richard Bland, William Cabell, Paul Carrington, Dudley Digges, Joseph Jones, Thomas Ludwell Lee, James Mercer, John Page, John Tabb and Thomas Walker. On January 20, 1776, the convention adjourned.

During the convention, another Lord Dunmore episode took place. Lord Dunmore had become a real threat to the Virginians because, after he had fled from Williamsburg and from Yorktown, he armed many Negroes and persuaded them to fight for the King in return for their future freedom. He commanded a force which at this time was in possession of Norfolk and its adjacent areas. Eight days after the convention began, Lord Dunmore dispatched a few of his British regulars to attack some of the Virginian troops under Colonel William Woodford. These Virginians had constructed a breastwork along the southern branch of the Elizabeth River, approximately twelve miles from Norfolk. Colonel Woodford's Virginia troops killed almost all the British regulars, much to the surprise of Lord Dunmore, who quickly retreated to a part of the British fleet docked in Norfolk harbor. Later, while the convention was still in session, on January 1, 1776, Lord Dunmore with a small land and sea force bombarded and burned Norfolk itself which consisted of about 6,000 residents at the time. Many houses were completely burned and others badly damaged. St. Paul's Church was the only building to survive this bombardment and embedded cannon balls in the south wall of the church may still be seen which were fired from the ships in the harbor. Dunmore and his forces finally sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and stationed themselves off Gwynn's Island, near the present Mathews County mainland. From this area, Dunmore and his friends made repeated plunder attacks along the coast of Virginia until summer.

During the same month of January, a dramatic episode occurred at Woodstock. John Peter Gabriel Mühlenberg, an ex-German soldier who had migrated to Virginia and had become a minister, was very strongly pro-Virginia and very strongly anti-British King. He had received a military commission as a colonel from General George Washington due to his past military experience. His duty was to form a regiment of Germans living in the valley. On this particular Sunday, he ascended the pulpit and began to preach concerning the theme, "There is a time to every purpose ... a time to war and a time to peace!" He proceeded to describe the unjust treatment which the American colonies had received from the British King and the Parliament. At the conclusion of his sermon, he stated: "There is a time for all things--a time to preach and a time to pray; but there is a time to fight, and that time has come now." With these surprising words, he threw back his minister's attire and stood fully clothed in the blue and buff uniform of a Continental Colonel with the official sword at his side. He immediately descended from the pulpit and, in a very short time, had enlisted three hundred citizens within this small community in the Eighth Virginia Regiment. Thus, Mühlenberg earned for himself the title of the "Fighting Parson" and with his regiment marched directly to help the South Carolina Army. The regiment was later referred to as the German Regiment because it was made up solely of German Americans. It served with great honor during the Revolutionary War. Mühlenberg himself had the distinction of being with General Washington when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.

The Fifth Virginia Convention, now called the Virginia Constitutional Convention, began on May 6, 1776 at Williamsburg. By this time, the British had been driven out of Boston and out of the New England area in general. The American attempt to invade Canada had been unsuccessful, but the British had been defeated in North and South Carolina. Public opinion in Virginia which had been only "lukewarm" to complete separation from England at the early stages of the war now became very strongly in favor of it--particularly after the bombardment and burning of Norfolk. Most of the delegates had been instructed before coming to the convention to work toward two specific objectives: American independence and a representative government for Virginia. There were one hundred and thirty-one delegates present at this convention, representing sixty-six counties and corporations. Some of the outstanding members at this convention were James Madison, Edmund Randolph and Archibald Cary.

The various sections of Virginia were represented at the Fifth Convention. The type of clothing worn at the convention made the sections easily recognizable: there was an outstanding contrast between the homespun, practical clothing of the frontiersmen and the fancy British-made clothing of the wealthy traders and plantation owners. The convention members elected delegates to the Continental Congress and instructed them to propose American independence from England. The delegates chosen were George Washington, John Blair, James Madison, George Mason, James McClurg, Edmund Randolph and George Wythe. On May 15, a resolution was introduced by Archibald Cary and passed which declared the colony of Virginia a free and independent State. Immediately the British flag was lowered from the Capitol at Williamsburg and the colonial colors were raised instead. At this same convention, on May 27, Archibald Cary presented to the members the "Declaration of Rights" prepared by George Mason for this convention. This document stated the fundamental rights of English colonists as well as of Englishmen.

On June 12, 1776 Mason's "Declaration of Rights" was unanimously adopted. Its principles were considered so important that they were later the basis of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution and eventually were used as the background for state constitution Bills of Rights. The Virginia Bill of Rights is often referred to as the "Magna Charta of Virginia." George Mason also recommended the original motto of the official seal of the State of Virginia at this convention: "Sic Semper Tyrannis"--"Thus Always (or ever) to Tyrants."

In the same session, James Madison actively participated in a discussion concerning religious liberty and tolerance. He proposed a clause in the Virginia Bill of Rights to allow the "free exercise of religion" because he strongly believed that the state should have no coercive power over religious thought. This clause was adopted, and James Madison for the first time attracted state-wide attention to his thinking and philosophy.

Once the idea of independence from England was formally expressed and a specific objective was established, the Virginians at this convention proceeded to write a state constitution for Virginia. This constitution, the first written state constitution, was officially adopted on June 29, 1776, making this the birth date of the State of Virginia. Since George Mason was primarily responsible for the actual wording of the constitution, he is called the "Father of the Virginia Constitution." Virginia was organized as the Commonwealth of Virginia, the name believed patterned after the Commonwealth of England, the title acquired by the government of England after its Civil War. The first constitution for Virginia provided for a bicameral (two-house) legislature: the Senate and the House of Delegates. Membership in these groups was to be by election by the qualified voters. Each county was to choose two delegates annually to represent them and one-fourth of the Senate was to be elected annually. The combined balloting of the House and the Senate was to determine the election of the Governor (whose term was to be one year with a maximum three years possible), an eight-man Council of State and members of the Congress of the United States. A general system of courts was created. Patrick Henry was elected the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia and he served from 1776 to 1779. The Commonwealth of Virginia was now ready to function, and the new government went into effect immediately. The Williamsburg Convention which began May 6, 1776 adjourned on July 5, 1776.

While this convention was in session, the Second Continental Congress was meeting at the State House, now called Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. On June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee, a Virginian, introduced a resolution "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political convention between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." The motion was seconded and urged strongly by John Adams of Massachusetts. The usual discussion and argumentation period followed, and it became obvious that six states hesitated to vote favorably for the resolution at this time. Consequently, the official voting was postponed for three weeks, but Lee's resolution was adopted by the Congress on July 2, 1776. However, a committee of five was selected on June 10 to draw up a declaration of independence: Thomas Jefferson (Virginia), Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), John Adams (Massachusetts), Roger Sherman (Connecticut) and Robert H. Livingston (New York). Although Thomas Jefferson was one of the youngest Continental Congressmen, he was selected as the chairman of this committee. Since only a few deletions in the original plan drawn up by Jefferson were made by the other members of the committee, the writing of the formal Declaration of Independence is justly attributable to Thomas Jefferson, the Virginian. This Declaration of Independence coupled with his "A Summary View of the Rights of British America" later earned for Thomas Jefferson the title "The Pen of the Revolution."