I have been working on the Supplement to our Newsletter that covers the role that Virginia and her troops played in the American Revolution with additional coverage of some of their uniforms.
A priority is also give and account of the Patriots ancestors of members of the Alexander Hodge Chapter who fought in Virginian military Units or who provided material aid to the troops.
That said, the actual contributions of Virginia are too lengthy to be added to the planned Supplement. Out of necessity some are provided here.
Conflicts between Virgina and the British Government first appeared in 1763, in what was known as the Parson's Cause. The Virginia legislature passed an Act to stop clerical salaries from inflating. However, King George III vetoed the measure and the clergy sued for back salaries. Patrick Henry, first rose to prominence by arguing in the case where one minister sued Hanover County over the Act on behave of all clergy affected by the Act. The jury verdict awarded the Anglican minister a sum of one penny. As a result, no other clergy brought suit, so the award essentially nullified the king's veto.
Conflict in Virginia to Stamp Act and the Sugar Act passed by the English Parliament resulted in the Virginia Resolves passed by the Virginia General Assembly on the grounds of No Taxation without Representation. The Royal Governor of Virginia, Francis Fauquier responded by dismissing the Assembly.
The protest to these and additional Acts by Parliament in the mid 1760's, gave rise to the Sons of Liberty or similar groups in Virginia and the other Colonies. The Colonies also began to form Committees of Correspondence to communicate with each other and to gather news of British actions prior to the Revolution. In 1773, Virginia's Committee of Correspondence was the only one that was officially part of the Legislature.
The Virginia House of Burgesses approved June 1, 1774 as a day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer as a show of support for Massachusetts following the closure of the Port of Boston. The Governor, Lord Dunmore, dismissed the legislature. The Legislature reconvened at the Raleigh Tavern as the First Virginia Convention on August 1-6, 1774. Delegates were elected to the Continental Congress scheduled to meet in Philadelphia in September 1774. A Virginian, Peyton Randolph was selected as President of the Congress.
Governor Dunmore ordered Royal Marines to remove the gunpower from the Williamsburg magazine on the day after the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 20, 1775. Patrick Henry led a group of Virginia Militia to oppose Dunmore's order. Although a peaceful resolution to the Gunpower Incident was achieved, ultimately Governor Dunmore had to flee to a nearby British Ship at Yorktown. Dunmore declared Virginia to be in rebellion and on November 7th he issued a proclamation declaring that any slave fighting for the British would be freed.
The first significant battle involving Virginia militia occurred on December 9th, 1775. It will be covered later in the Newsletter Supplement.
jgp