250 and Counting

Category: Virginia History

  • September 12, 1775: Another Washington Enters the Fray

    Cover art for September 12, 1775: Portrait of William Washington in 1795, by Rembrandt Peale. via Wikimedia Commons.

    We mentioned a while back that John Adams had siblings, as did George Washington. This wasn’t one of them, and as far as anyone can tell, it’s more of a cousin-type relationship.

    William Washington essentially won a bet with his brothers, and his prize was the ability to join the militia in Virginia to fight for independence. From this day in 1775 until 1781 he was engaged in multiple battles against the British in Virginia and the Carolinas. It was in 1781 that his horse was shot out from under him. The fallen animal pinned him down. He was bayoneted and captured, and spent the rest of the war under house arrest in Charleston, SC.

    After the war he remained in South Carolina where he spent some time in the state legislature, but declined to run for governor because, as the story goes, he wasn’t a native Carolinian.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • August 20, 1775: George Tucker

    Cover art for August 20, 1775: Photo of George Tucker, 1845. Photographer unknown, uploaded to Wikimedia Commons from the University of Virginia Library.

    Lots of prominent early Americans weren’t Americans to begin with. For instance, the first President of the United States who was actually born in the United States would be Martin Van Buren, our eight president.

    But while most of these folks were born on the North American continent, the subject of today’s episode was not. He was born in Bermuda. So while George Tucker was still a British citizen by birth, he didn’t come to America until he was twenty years old, making him an honest-to-goodness immigrant.

    But let’s not hold that against him. As you’ll learn today, Tucker had a long and varied career as a politician, an educator and an author.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • August 6, 1775: A Long March in August

    Cover art for August 6, 1775: Portrait of Daniel Morgan by Charles Willson Peale, 1794.

    I’m the first to admit that my math didn’t work out during yesterday’s episode. I have no excuse other than I’m on vacation this week and perhaps not as detail-oriented as usual.

    You may remember a couple of days ago when we mentioned that one of the things that broke in George Washington’s favor was the timely arrival of a company of riflemen. These were the men in question. Rifles have different barrels from the typical guns that Colonial forces used, and were therefore more accurate. In addition, riflemen were specially trained for improved accuracy.

    Daniel Morgan’s crew was one of the reasons that Washington’s ruse against the British worked out well: with these men around, the British were less likely to attack, and Washington was able to replenish his ammunition stores within a couple of weeks.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • July 17, 1775: The Third Virginia Convention

    Cover art for July 17, 1775: an 1860 photo of St. John's Church in Richmond, site of the Second and Third Virginia Conventions. Photo by Matthew Brady.

    Given the fact that the existing government of Virginia was technically extra-legal, it’s a little amusing to think that they themselves felt the need to conduct extra-legal activities of their own. A more cynical mind would think that they were hedging their bets, so that if anything Revolutionary were to come up and the British started rounding up people, they could say, “That wasn’t us…it was that Virginia Convention crowd!”

    A more cynical mind would think that. Heh.

    But the various conventions, while not having large agendas, did have important ones, and they managed to help the colony get their act together and improve their overall effectiveness during the Revolution.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • June 10, 1775: The Berkeley Riflemen

    Cover art for June 10, 1775: The historical marker commemorating the Berkeley Riflemen, located in Martinsburg, now in West Virginia.

    In the wake of Lexington and Concord, some places didn’t wait to start assembling troops to fight off the British. Most of them were in that part of the Colonies, though.

    Enter the Berkeley County Riflemen, from a section of Virginia that is now West Virginia. George Washington put out the word that soldiers were needed, and about a hundred men from Martinsburg stepped up, even going so far as to ensure that they dressed mostly alike, since there was no Continental Army just yet, and therefore there were no uniforms.

    And while the sign doesn’t really say much about it, the Berkeley County Riflemen are said to be the genesis of the United States Army.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • 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.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • 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.

    PlayPlay

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

  • May 15, 1775: The Continental Congress Toughens Up

    Cover Art for May 15, 1775 Official Presidential Portrait of John Adams, by John Trumbull, ca. 1792 (via WIkimedia Commons)

    The Second Continental Congress has only been convened for about five days and things are already heating up for them.

    Delegates are still arriving. Lexington and Concord has upset their original plans so they’re making alternate plans. And even the alternate plans they made five days ago are being amended.

    And then Virginia comes in with some crazy idea about Independence? Will the madness never end?

    (Spoiler alert: it doesn’t, but we’ll tell you if it ever does.)

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • 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.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • 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.

    PlayPlay

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download