250 and Counting

Category: Gunpowder Incident

  • June 8, 1775: Lord Dunmore Checks Out

    Cover art for June 8, 1775: divers swim above the exposed timbers of the HMS Fowey, but not the one mentioned in this episode.

    In the aftermath of the Gunpowder Incident, Lord Dunmore decided that the better part of valor involved getting out of town before the locals could get a good lynch mob together, and he left Virginia on the HMS Fowey.

    Here’s the interesting part: the Fowey which Dunmore boarded was not the first of its name; in fact it was the fifth. But the other interesting part is that it was the second one of that name to sink in American waters.

    via Google Maps: the approximate location of the HMS Dowey (1744).

    The fourth HMS Fowey was a fifth-rate vessel (remember, ratings refer to the number of guns, not the quality of the boat) with 44 guns on it. It was first launched in 1744. In June of 1748 the ship struck a coral reef and sank off the coast of Florida (see map). She wasn’t re-discovered until 1975 and, through an agreement with England, is considered a Protected Site by the National Park Service. The photo used for today’s art is of divers swimming over the exposed timbers of that ship. It’s definitely a “look but don’t touch” situation.

    In 1749 another Fowey was built, a sixth-rate frigate with 24 guns. This is the one which Lord Dunmore used to skip town. The remains of this ship are probably in the York River, but it’s not known for sure.

    Why is “Fowey” such a popular name for a ship? It’s not clear. In fact, it’s not clear whether the name comes from the Cornish town of Fowey, or the river Fowey which runs through it.

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  • June 4, 1775: The Gunpowder Incident: Epilogue

    Cover art for June 4, 1775: Photo of the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, VA. This is the side facing Francis Street.

    The Gunpowder Incident, Part 1

    The Gunpowder Incident, Part 2

    The Gunpowder Incident, Part 3 (OK, we lied then about it ending)

    It’s been nearly two months since the Gunpowder Incident started, and the entire time, the Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, has been trying to keep things from getting out of hand.

    He might—might—have succeeded, had something not happened on this day in 1775.

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  • May 4, 1775: How the Gunpowder Incident Ended

    Cover art for May 4, 1775: portrait of Patrick Henry by Thomas Sully, circa 1851. There's another version by another artist emulating this one wherein Henry's eyes are rather sunken and dark.

    As we noted a few days ago, both Payton Randolph and George Washington managed to quell a couple of militia-based riots which would have resulted in the torching of the Royal Governor’s mansion. Both of those riots came from Fredericksburg.

    What nobody counted on, however, was that militia from other parts of Virginia had the same idea to march on Williamsburg and wreak a little havoc. They were led by Patrick Henry, who (let’s face it) extorted payment for the missing gunpowder from Lord Dunmore, and then took off for Philadelphia to deliver the money.

    Dunmore called him out on it, declaring Henry an outlaw, and the Virginia citizens acted accordingly. I’ve said too much here; listen in to see what they did.

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  • April 29, 1775: The Gunpowder Incident, Part 2

    Cover art for April 29, 1775: Payton Randolph by John Wollaston the Younger, 1775.

    Payton Randolph was the Speaker of the House of Burgesses during this period in 1775, and while what was said wasn’t recorded, he managed to put down two riots in which Virginians were ready to trash the Royal Governor’s place with the Royal Governor inside of it.

    He did it twice.

    No question, this man was a patriot who cared deeply about the soul of its people. And if he hadn’t died just a few months later, he would almost certainly have been a name we’d have heard a lot more often in recent years.

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  • April 20, 1775: The Williamsburg Gunpowder Incident

    Cover art for April 20, 1775: British soldiers remove gunpowder from the magazine at Williamsburg under cover of night.

    Word was already getting out about the fighting in and near Boston. While Virginia hadn’t been much of a concern to anyone until then, the British wanted to ensure that there wouldn’t be any trouble.

    So in the middle of the night, they removed the gunpowder from the magazine at Williamsburg. Oddly, as we’ll learn shortly, this wasn’t a popular move on their part.

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  • March 3, 1775

    Cover art for March 3, 1775: A schooner said to be very similar to the Magdalen.

    The Gunpowder Incident was an event that took place on April 21, 1775, so there won’t be much about it today. But that was the event that pushed Virginia deeply into the movement toward independence, and allowed the Continental Congress to finally consider seriously the idea of formally breaking away from England.

    But it was an event that took place on this day— that barely got any notice at the time—which ultimately led to the Gunpowder Incident.

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