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.