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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC01636 |
| From Archive Folder | Documents Relating to 1780 |
| Title | Thomas Jefferson to the Lieutenant of Berkeley Co. on the arrival of British troops and mobilizing militia |
| Date | 22 October 1780 |
| Author | Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) |
| Document Type | Correspondence; Military document |
| Content Description | Manuscript letter signed by Jefferson as governor of Virginia, ordering the Lieutenant of Berkeley County to mobilize a quarter of the county militia. |
| Subjects | President Revolutionary War Militia Global History and Civics Government and Civics Military History |
| People | Cornwallis, Charles Cornwallis, Marquis (1738-1805) Marion, Francis (1732-1795) Benedict, Arnold (1741-1801) Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) |
| Place written | Richmond, Virginia |
| Theme | The American Revolution |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Additional Information | Few Americans realize that much of the Revolution's bitterest fighting took place in the South. To replace the army that had been captured at Charleston, Horatio Gates (1728-1806), the hero of Saratoga, assembled raw recruits in Virginia and North Carolina. He then rushed into South Carolina to halt the British advance. Charles, Lord Cornwallis (1738-1805) intercepted Gates' forces outside Camden, South Carolina, and devastated the poorly prepared army. Buoyed by his victories, Cornwallis advanced toward North Carolina even before he had secured firm control in South Carolina. As soon as Cornwallis forces began to march, rebel guerrilla bands, led by such legendary figures as the "Swamp Fox" Francis Marion (1732-1795), began to attack British loyalists. In October 1780, an army of frontiersmen defeated one wing of Cornwallis's army at Kings Mountain in northern South Carolina. Without support of his full army, Cornwallis was unable to suppress rebel guerrilla bands, which terrorized British loyalists. In the fall of 1780, Britain under Benedict Arnold invaded Virginia. Thomas Jefferson was serving as governor of Virginia at the time of the invasion. In January 1781, Britain staged a second invasion, which resulted in the capture and burning of Richmond. Jefferson was forced to move the state government to Charlottesville; the state archives were lost, destroyed, or captured. A side expedition raided Jefferson's home at Monticello. Jefferson's governorship would be marred by this debacle during his last days in office. Interestingly, Jefferson was so eager to secure Virginia's claims to the Ohio country that he had tried to send part of the Virginia militia to the region a few months earlier. The militia units, however, had mutinied and refused to leave Virginia. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |
| Transcript | Show/hide |