Tag: Battle of Great Bridge

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James Bass & William Taburn, Nansemond Indian Nation Patriot Warriors: A Call for Research

It should not be surprising to find Native American Patriots and men who intermarried into Native American families among the thousands of men who served during the American Revolution. Two of these men were James Bass and William Taburn, and today we can trace their relationship to the Nansemond Indian Nation. Linking these men with […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
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William “Billy” Flora: Revolutionary Service Beyond Great Bridge

As a free African American Patriot, William “Billy” Flora represented a rather small percentage of Virginia’s population.[1] He served as a sentry at the south end of the Great Bridge, firing eight rounds on the morning of December 9, 1775, slowing the initial British assault.[2] Documents describing this action do not name Flora, but this […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
Critical Thinking Posted on

Cricket Hill and Gwynn’s Island: Captain Arundel’s Only Fight

In researching the little-known Battle of Cricket Hill/Gwynn’s Island that took place on July 9-10, 1776, in what was then Gloucester County and today Matthews County, Virginia, available surviving records document only one Patriot casualty. While this is not unusual for many of the smaller, lesser known and infrequently studied engagements, the details of this […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
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Eleven Patriot Company Commanders at Great Bridge, December 9, 1775

During August 1775, the Third Virginia Convention replaced the Volunteer Militia Companies, authorized in March 1775 by the Second Virginia Convention, with a new more robust defensive military structure. This new structure included two regular regiments recruited for one year of service, the 1st and 2nd Virginia Regiments, made up of fifteen, sixty-eight-man companies, one […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
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Virginia’s 1775 Regular Company-level Military Force Structure

The graphic below outlines the force structure created by the Third Virginia Convention in August 1775 and identifies the district and county or counties where companies formed, unit commanders, and where and when the companies assembled, served or operated in 1775. The initial intent of this research was to identify the regular companies that served […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
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Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation: Information and Slavery

Lord Dunmore, John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730-1809) and Royal Governor of Virginia (1771-1776),[1] was an important political and military figure during the early stages of the American Revolution. One of Dunmore’s most controversial actions involved issuing a proclamation to free all slaves and indentured servants of rebels who would rally to the […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
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Worthy of Commemmoration

We recently ran an article about monuments commemorating the American Revolution. We asked our contributors: If you could commission a monument, what would you commemorate and where would it be located? They provided a wide range of worthy candidates. Nancy K. Loane On December 19, 1777, over 400 women—and an unknown number of children—struggled into […]

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