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.
RICHMOND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Gunston Hall
Home of George Mason, Author of "Declaration of Rights"