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).
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.
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."
The logical, thorough reasoning behind the content of the Declaration is easily apparent. The first part of this document describes the nature and the purpose of a government and the belief that a people have the right to change their government when it no longer fulfills the purpose for which it was created. Then Jefferson enumerated the various acts of the King and of the British Parliament which the American colonists considered most unfair and contrary to the purpose of the original founding of the colonies, as justification for their desire to change their type of government. The next section reaches a conclusion from the previous two sections: namely, that the colonists are renouncing their allegiance to the King and are declaring that "these colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and Independent States."
On July 4, 1776 twelve states had voted for the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The thirteenth one, New York, accepted it on July 9. On July 19, a resolution was adopted by the Second Continental Congress to have the July 4 Declaration engrossed on parchment entitled "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America" and, upon its completion, to have it signed by each member. Fifty of the fifty-six members signed the official document by August 2, and, of the remaining six signers, two were Virginians: George Wythe who signed it later in August and Richard Henry Lee who signed it in September. The seven Virginia delegates who signed the Declaration of Independence were Carter Braxton (farmer), Benjamin Harrison (farmer), Thomas Jefferson (lawyer), Richard Henry Lee (farmer), Francis Lightfoot Lee (farmer), Thomas Nelson, Jr. (soldier) and George Wythe (lawyer).
After Richard Henry Lee had introduced his independence resolution, he proposed another one suggesting that a permanent central government be created for the new United States. A committee was appointed to draw up such a plan and, in 1777, it submitted the Articles of Confederation to Congress. From 1775 to 1781, the Continental Congress acted as the central governing body of the United States.
After Lord Dunmore had bombarded Norfolk in January 1776, he went up the Chesapeake Bay to Gwynn's Island, near the present-day Mathews County mainland. With about 500 men he set up a camp there in May 1776. General Andrew Lewis, whom he had fought previously along the Ohio River, encamped with a small Virginia army on the shore opposite the island on July 8. Although it was very difficult to plant the cannon on the sandy shores, the next day General Lewis and his troops fired upon the camp and the fleet and badly damaged many of the ships. However, when his men invaded the island on the next day, they found it evacuated. Lord Dunmore had sailed away from Virginia taking with him the last governorship endowed with royal power. Thus, the Battle of Gwynn's Island or Cricket Hill was famous because of its effect of driving the last royal Governor from Virginia. It was, in a sense, ironic that Patrick Henry, who had been detested by Lord Dunmore while Dunmore was Governor of Virginia, became the first elected Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
During the governorship of Patrick Henry, population growth was again apparent by the formation of eight new counties in 1777-1778. These counties were: Montgomery (formed from Fincastle County and, later, parts of Botetourt and Pulaski and named for General Richard Montgomery—an American Revolutionary officer), Fluvanna (formed from Albemarle County and named for Queen Ann), Washington (formed from Fincastle County and, later, parts of Montgomery, named for George Washington and having the distinction of being the first locality in the United States so named), Powhatan (formed from Cumberland County and named for Powhatan, the father of Pocahontas), Rockbridge (formed from Augusta and Botetourt Counties and named in honor of the Natural Bridge—a natural wonder of Virginia), Rockingham (formed from Augusta County and believed named for the Marquis of Rockingham, England's Prime Minister), Shenandoah (originally, Dunmore County and named for the Indian-named Shenandoah River which translated means "Beautiful Daughter of the Stars") and Henry (formed from Pittsylvania County and named in honor of Patrick Henry).
George Rogers Clark, an older brother of William Clark of the well-known Lewis and Clark expedition, had explored and had surveyed much of the territory south of the Ohio River in the area now called Kentucky: at this time, it was the western part of Fincastle County. He believed that this section was ready to become an independent county and felt that, under such political status, the settlers could better organize and protect themselves. Only the Virginia Assembly could authorize the formation of this new county in 1776. Clark, therefore, called the settlers together, explained his objective for Kentucky and succeeded in getting John Gabriel Jones and himself elected as delegates to make a personal visit to the Virginia General Assembly at Williamsburg. The trip was long, difficult and dangerous, and to their dismay, the Assembly had already adjourned before they arrived. Being a determined individual, however, Clark decided to talk to the newly elected Governor, Patrick Henry, at his home. Hence, he traveled to Hanover County, discussed his problem with the Governor and sought permission to fight the Indians of the Kentucky area and to secure powder for the settlers' muskets. His trip was successful and, on December 7, 1776, the western part of Fincastle County was authorized to become the County of Kentucky in Virginia.
The British had been helping and encouraging Indian raids at this time in Kentucky, along the border settlements of Virginia and in the Illinois area. Clark believed that the Illinois area rightfully belonged to Virginia and felt that it must be conquered in order to attain peace for the Virginia settlers. The reports of official observers convinced him that this land could be invaded and captured with little effort. He returned to Williamsburg to get Governor Henry's approval for this objective and was happy to be commissioned to raise several companies of soldiers to be used in the invasion of the Illinois territory. Clark obtained his troops, and, after traveling north through Virginia and then westward to the Ohio River, they floated down the Ohio River on rafts and in boats. They landed near Louisville on the northern bank of the Ohio and marched westward approximately two hundred miles to Fort Kaskaskia. On July 4, 1778, they captured Fort Kaskaskia and its leader, Colonel Henry Hamilton. Marching another 150 miles northeastward, on February 25, 1779 they captured Fort Vincennes on the banks of the Wabash River. The post of Cahokia was also captured. In honor of his great bravery and extremely difficult marching, Clark was entitled the "Hannibal of the West." This entire area was known as the Northwest Territory, and these conquests of Clark and his troops gave Virginia complete claim for the control of this area as part of the Virginia state at the end of the American Revolution in 1783. Without such conquests, England would undoubtedly have held this territory after the Revolution, and it would probably have been an important part of Canada today. Simultaneously, the capture of these forts reduced the danger of Indian attacks considerably.
When the city of Philadelphia was about to be occupied by British troops on September 18, 1777, the famous Liberty Bell was taken from the State House in Pennsylvania for safekeeping. It was camouflaged with the heavy baggage of the American army in a supply train of 700 wagons and was carefully guarded by two hundred Virginian and North Carolinian cavalry-mounted troops. It was hidden in the Zion Church in Allen town, Pennsylvania, until June 27, 1778 when it was returned to its tower in Independence Hall.
During the same month and year, Henry Lee, a native of Westmoreland County, Virginia, who had been a captain in Colonel Thomas Bland's legion of Virginia cavalry, joined Washington's army in Pennsylvania. His personal achievements were many in this assignment and his excessive courage was noted by Washington. He was soon promoted to major and was given special command of three troops of horsemen plus an infantry company. He became a great annoyance to the British while they were on the march as well as in camp. This comparatively small group became so distinguished that they earned the tide of "Lee's Legion" and Henry Lee was nicknamed "Light Horse Harry" Lee. He later captured an important British post at Paulus Hook, New Jersey, and fought diligently also in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. He was awarded a gold medal by the Continental Congress for his brilliant cavalry exploits during the Revolutionary War.
On May 9, 1779, a Britisher, General George Collier, arrived at Hampton Roads with approximately 2,000 troops. They used Portsmouth as a base and after making several raids in that area, destroyed not only the American navy yard at Portsmouth (called Gosport at this time) but also large supply deposits stored there. After awaiting reinforcements from General Henry Clinton in New York, they decided to abandon Virginia because they believed a Virginia blockade had prevented these reinforcements from arriving. Upon their departure, the inhabitants of Virginia were once more able to carry on necessary and important trade with the West Indies.
During this same year, a most unusual naval feat occurred in the Revolutionary War. John Paul Jones was in command of an American ship called the "Bonhomme Richard" off the coast of England when he spotted a British warship, the "Serapis." After fierce fighting between the two ships, although his own ship sank, he captured the "Serapis" and sailed away in it. Virginia had the honor of providing the greatest naval hero of the Revolutionary War, John Paul Jones.
Thomas Jefferson was the second elected Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He held this office during most of the Revolutionary War Period. In addition to peace and military warfare, Jefferson had personal interest in religion and in education. In 1779, he wrote a proposed "Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom." He believed that the State Constitution had not included practical religious liberty although the theory of religious freedom had been guaranteed. Jefferson's proposal was finally passed by the General Assembly of Virginia in 1785. It is considered as one of the greatest Virginia documents because it guaranteed religious freedom to all.
While serving as Governor, Jefferson proposed a plan for education called "A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge." He based this plan upon the premise that democracy would be more successful if greater numbers of individuals were educated. The plan was an attempt on his part to encourage the establishment of free public schools for the children of the wealthy and the poor alike. This proposal suggested three years of free elementary schooling for all children regardless of their social or financial condition, free secondary education for those individuals who were mentally equipped to gain from this experience and free higher education for those who had displayed above average scholastic qualifications. The bill was not passed, but it resulted in a consideration of the possibility of public education at this time. Another example of Jefferson's enthusiastic interest in education was his personal establishment, in 1779, of a chair of law at William and Mary College in honor of a former teacher, a great lawyer and a personal friend, George Wythe. As a result, George Wythe had the distinction of being the first professor of law in the United States in the first law school in America.
While Jefferson was still Governor, the capital was moved in 1780 from Williamsburg to Richmond in an effort to escape the invading British soldiers and to provide a safer place of protection for the future. Lord Cornwallis, at this time, was proceeding with his plans to move north through the Carolinas to Virginia. Cornwallis had had a great victory at Camden, South Carolina, and had decided to persuade many of the western mountain people to fight on behalf of the British. Americans who favored the British in this revolution were called "Tories" and those who favored the Americans were called "Patriots."
Cornwallis sent Major Patrick Ferguson and approximately a thousand Tories to threaten these mountain folk in North Carolina and Southwest Virginia to the extent of marching over their land, causing destruction and hanging their leaders unless they discontinued their past resistance to the British army. Two American military frontiersmen, Colonel John Sevier and Colonel Isaac Shelby, decided to organize a group of riflemen and attack Ferguson before he had the opportunity to cross the mountains and attack them. They contacted Colonel William Campbell whose duty had been to protect the lead mines in Wythe County whose resources were being mined and smelted for equipment for the American soldiers. Colonel Campbell was invited to join Colonel Sevier and Colonel Shelby in their attack against Ferguson. He accepted and later was selected by the officers as their commander. Ferguson heard of their plan and selected a wooded mountain ridge on the border between North Carolina and South Carolina, called King's Mountain, for his battlefield. Ferguson's troops far outnumbered Colonel Campbell's troops and were much better equipped with military supplies. Colonel Campbell's troops, however, defeated the British badly on October 7, 1780. Major Ferguson and two hundred other Britishers were killed in battle. This Battle of King's Mountain is often called the turning point of the Revolutionary War in the South because not only did it upset the military strategy of Cornwallis but it also encouraged the southern patriots at a time when the morale had been low. Colonel Campbell was promoted to a Brigadier-General as a direct result of this battle. The British in the meantime had sent General Alexander Leslie to Portsmouth with approximately 3,000 troops. After the severe British defeat at King's Mountain, he left Portsmouth and headed his troops south to join Cornwallis.
Morale in Virginia at this time was very low because there was a great shortage of clothing, military equipment and supplies, there was a lack of money in the state treasury, Virginia soldiers were fighting outside their state and British soldiers in large numbers were stationed in eastern and central Virginia. General William Phillips and Cornwallis had seized and destroyed property valued at ten million dollars in eastern Virginia alone by the spring of 1781.
Meanwhile, by March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation had been ratified by all the states and thereby became the basis for the central government of the United States. Since Maryland had refused to ratify the Articles until the states which owned large western land-holdings would cede them to the central government, Virginia, following a pattern of New York State, surrendered most of its large holding claims in 1784. By this action, Virginia ceded the Northwest Territory to the new nation, the United States. The entire region beyond the Ohio River (now comprising the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin) had rightfully been claimed by Virginia and cession to the United States for the beginning of its public domain was a most generous gesture on the part of Virginia. This action played an important part in creating a stronger feeling of unity on the part of the thirteen original colonies and in giving Virginia another nickname, "Mother of States."
The Confederation Congress was later faced with the problem of raising revenue for the new government under the Articles of Confederation and for payment of debts caused by the Revolutionary War. The Northwest Territory which Virginia had ceded to the central government had become part of the national domain, public lands of the United States. Congress decided to sell some of this land to obtain necessary revenue. It passed the Land Ordinances of 1785 and 1787, which became practically the written bases for the rest of the frontier settlements. The plan which was the forerunner of these ordinances concerning the public domain was proposed by Thomas Jefferson and enacted on April 23, 1784. In his plan, he outlined the territorial status preceding statehood and originated the idea of dividing the public domain into districts before statehood could be achieved. Two years later, the Confederation Congress gave a grant of 150,000 acres of land to George Rogers Clark and his followers as a reward for their great services in conquering the Northwest Territory and in establishing the only legal claim to this land on behalf of the United States. Virginia also reserved the ownership of 6,000 square miles of land called the Virginia Military District (presently located in the southern part of Ohio).
While General William Nelson, commander of the Virginia forces, was recruiting additional militia in the counties near the coast, twenty-seven British ships entered the Chesapeake Bay and headed for the mouth of the James River. Since Governor Jefferson believed Richmond was not militarily prepared for such an attack, he had the only five brass cannon of the capital city thrown into the river and had the remaining arms and ammunition taken seven miles from Richmond to Westham. On July 4, the Governor evacuated from Richmond and most of the inhabitants did likewise. On the next afternoon, General Benedict Arnold, the American traitor who had joined the British forces, accompanied by nine hundred British soldiers captured and burned Richmond unopposed. For two days the British burned and destroyed public and private property and later returned leisurely to Portsmouth.
Subsequently, as some of the British vessels attempted to sail up the Appomattox River, General Smallwood accompanied by three hundred American soldiers armed only with muskets attacked the British fiercely and drove them down the river. A short time later, General William Phillips brought additional British troops to combine with those of Arnold and took command over General Arnold. The combined forces marched first to Petersburg and then to Manchester (now, South Richmond). Lafayette had been placed in charge of the defense of Virginia at this time and he arrived in Richmond two days after Phillips had arrived. When General Phillips heard that Lafayette was in Richmond, he changed his mind and decided not to attack this city. In the meantime, Colonel Simcoe had been sent by General Arnold to Westham where he destroyed the military stores and the foundry. During this same period, General Phillips had sent General Arnold to Chesterfield Court House where he destroyed the barracks and burned the flour as they had previously burned the tobacco at Petersburg. As General Phillips was proceeding down the James River towards Chesapeake Bay, he received a message from General Cornwallis ordering him to meet with his forces at Petersburg so Phillips returned to Petersburg. Four days after he had arrived, General Phillips died of a fever in Petersburg and General Arnold succeeded to the command once more.
General Arnold, however, realized the hatred of the Virginians toward him for the burning and destruction for which he was responsible in Richmond. Consequently, after his army had united with Cornwallis' troops at Petersburg, he asked for a transfer to New York. Cornwallis, who disliked Arnold himself, granted the request. When Lafayette was informed of the tremendous number of British soldiers massed in Petersburg, he realized that it would be futile for his comparatively small force of 3,000 men to try to combat them. Consequently, he retreated slowly from Richmond towards Fredericksburg where he was joined by General Anthony Wayne. Cornwallis who had expected to trap Lafayette and his army was surprised by the orderly retreat and decided not to attack Richmond again as the legislature had already withdrawn to Charlottesville. On May 10, 1781, as the British neared Richmond, Governor Jefferson had ordered the General Assembly, which was then in session, to leave Richmond and continue the session at Charlottesville on May 24. Thus, Charlottesville for a brief time was the official capital of Virginia. Governor Jefferson's home, Monticello, was used as a guest house for many of Jefferson's legislative friends. Cornwallis decided to capture Jefferson who was at his home at Monticello, approximately three miles from Charlottesville, to seize the legislators at Charlottesville and to destroy a large quantity of military stores at a place called Point-of-Fork (at the junction of the Rivanna and James Rivers). Cornwallis believed that such a plan, if successfully carried out, would result in the complete surrender of the State of Virginia. Therefore, Cornwallis divided his cavalry into two groups: one commanded by Colonel John G. Simcoe who was to proceed to Point-of-Fork and the other commanded by Colonel Banastre Tarleton who was to proceed to Charlottesville, approximately seventy miles from his headquarters. After accomplishing these objectives, Tarleton was to continue to Point-of-Fork and help Colonel Simcoe.
General Baron Von Steuben heard about Simcoe's plan and was able to have all the military stores hauled across the river before his arrival. Simcoe, however, used military strategy in this instance which worked most successfully: he had his men spread out, cut down trees and build large camp-fires at great distances apart thus giving the impression that all of Cornwallis' army was on this campaign. General Steuben observing the large radius of camp concluded that Cornwallis' entire force was across the river. Consequently, he had his lighter baggage moved and had his troops evacuate the area. Simcoe destroyed all the heavy baggage and military stores and returned successfully to Cornwallis the next morning.
The British soldiers under Colonel Tarleton stopped for refreshments in Louisa County at a place called Cuckoo Tavern. The tavern keeper had an American soldier son, Captain Jack Jouett of the Virginia Militia, who happened to be at the tavern but out of sight of tavern visitors on that particular Sunday afternoon. He observed the two hundred and fifty British soldiers, overheard some of their personal conversations and their casual references to their military mission. He waited until the British had departed from the tavern and then he traveled on horseback over a different road—forty miles of brush and thicket, field and forest, vines and brambles. He rode without delay although the scars of some of the branches which struck him in the face as he was riding so rapidly became permanent ones. He believed that the British would probably make another stop for refreshments at the home of Dr. William Walker, the only one in the vicinity. Thus, he took time out to warn them of Tarleton's plans and to urge them to delay the British as long as possible. Jouett reached Monticello at dawn, roused the inhabitants within and informed them of Tarleton's plan. Jefferson and his guests fled on horseback and Mrs. Jefferson and their three children escaped to a neighbor's house by carriage. As the British rode up one side of the steep hill of Monticello, the Governor and his friends reached the bottom of the hill on the other side. Jouett then safely led the Governor's party via a secluded road to Staunton, which became another temporary capital. In the meantime, Tarleton had tarried before coming to Monticello to burn a wagon train filled with Continental Army supplies and had stopped as predicted at Castle Hill, the home of the Walkers. Mrs. Walker fed the soldiers before the officers, thus causing an added delay in their departure. Jack Jouett can be truly classified as the "Paul Revere of the South." The Assembly members were so appreciative of the courage and perseverance of Jouett that they subsequently presented him with a sword and a pair of pistols.