Western Settlement
Independence opened a vast western territory to settlement, most of which belonged to Virginia. Managing the land as hoards of settlers migrated west was difficult as Indian Tribes, lingering Redcoats, squatters, and treaty negotiators clashed with veterans coming to claim the only thing Virginia and Congress were able to pay them with: land.
"The New Dominion" (Gabriel Neville, JAR) - A three-part study of how Virginia veterans were compensated with land after the war and what it took to distribute it and settle on it.
“Initial Land Acquisition in Kentucky” (Neal O. Hammon, KY.gov) How the earliest Kentucky settlers got title to their land.
“Pioneers and Profiteers: Land Speculation and the Homestead Ethic in Frontier Kentucky” (Stephen Aron, Western Historical Quarterly) Winners and losers in the unruly race for Kentucky land.
“The 8th Virginia and Kentucky" (Gabe Neville, Kentucky History Channel) Gabriel Neville returns to the Kentucky History Channel to tell stories of the 8th Virginia in the war and postwar Kentucky.
New & Notable
"Robert Higgins and the 8th Virginia Regiment" (Gabriel Neville, RV) - Hardy County, West Virginia, has many stories to tell from the French & Indian and Revolutionary wars. Many of them involve Robert Higgins, who was a boy in the first war and an officer in the second.
"Strasburg at War for Liberty" (Gabriel Neville, RV) - Gabriel Neville tells the stories of Strasburg and Shenandoah Valley heroes (and some non-heroes) of the Revolutionary War.
“Portrait of Brigadier General William Washington by Thomas Coram” (Christopher Bryant and Sumpter Priddy, MESDA) - Out of public view for 200 years, a portrait of William Washington resurfaced in Tennessee. Washington was an infantry officer and then a cavalry officer, and was captured at the battle of Eutaw Springs. He was the commander-in-chief’s cousin.
"The Soldiers of 1776: Virginia's 2nd Force Authorization" (Gabriel Neville, RV) - When Virginia fully committed to war in late 1775, it authorized 7 new regiments. This is how they were organized and how they went to war.
"The Battles of Spencer's Ordinary and Green Spring" (John Maass, ERW) - John Maass explains two overlooked but important battles fought in the lead-up to Yorktown.
"Gabriel Neville on Virginia's Westward Land Claims" (Brady Cryzter, JAR Dispatches) - Gabe and Brady discuss Virginia's outsized role in postwar western events.
"Dunmore County in the Revolution, Part 1: The Committee and the Powder Alarm" (Gabriel Neville, RV) - Gabe takes a close look at the Dunmore (now Shenandoah) Committee of Safety and the Dunmore Volunteers in the year before war started.
"The New Dominion" (Gabriel Neville, JAR) - A three-part study of how Virginia veterans were compensated with land after the war and what it took to distribute it and settle on it.
"Angus McDonald, the Man to Turned Down George Washington" (Randy Walker, Cardinal News) - Why did Angus McDonald, an experienced Virginia officer, turn down a commission despite a direct plea from General Washington? Randy Walker may have the answer.
