Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia

by Dorothy Margaret Torpey

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.