Part 8

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.