Cardinal News has embarked on a three-year project to tell the little-known stories of Virginia’s role in the march to independence in advance of the nation’s observation of its 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial.
“Cardinal News 250: Virginia’s Stories. A Nation’s Birth” began in November 2023 and continues through 2026. The monthly stories will address historical events, people and places across the state and will advance Virginians’ understanding of the role of our ancestors beyond the stories found in classroom history books. There’s also a podcast featuring interviews with historians, journalists, and others, and hosted by Cardinal’s Dutchie Jessee. (Download wherever you get your podcasts and look for the latest episodes in the monthly newsletter.)
The project is made possible in part by funding from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission.
Learn when a new Cardinal 250 story publishes
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Learn more about this multi-year series of events
Established by the General Assembly in 2020, the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission (VA250) serves to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Learn more about their other projects.
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Cardinal news 250 story collection
Podcast about William Campbell and the Overmountain Men
Campbell led his men farther than any other unit to inflict a defeat on the British.
Dispatch from 1774: Britain gives Virginia’s western lands to Quebec
This action by the British Parliament thwarts both Virginia’s land-speculating gentry and land-seeking small farmers.
From villain to hero? Norfolk-born writer reassesses Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s last Colonial governor
Long reviled, Dunmore is now getting a second look by historians for his role in freeing some Virginia slaves.
Across Virginia, localities are hosting events related to upcoming 250th anniversary of Declaration of Independence
Here’s what some communities have been doing to celebrate Virginia’s role in the American Revolution.
250 years ago, Virginia saw a summer of resolutions. Here’s how Essex County remembers theirs.
In 1774, at least 30 Virginia counties passed resolutions to protest the British response to the Boston Tea Party. Essex County has made a tradition of holding an annual public reading.
Cardinal 250 podcast about Essex County’s reenactment of its historic resolutions
In 1774, more than 30 Virginia counties passed resolutions to protest Britain’s reaction to the Boston Tea Party. Essex County still reenacts theirs every year.
Dispatch from 1774: More than 30 Virginia counties pass resolutions to protest British response to Boston Tea Party
This spring and summer has seen a head-spinning series of events that have reshaped the political landscape, not just in Virginia, but throughout other Colonies, as well.
About 900 Black Loyalists from Virginia escaped slavery and went to Nova Scotia
Virginia’s royal governor, Lord Dunmore, offered freedom to any enslaved laborers who enlisted with the British. After the war, those Black Loyalists were evacuated to Canada, where their legacy is still honored today.
How a Virginia-born singer joined with Al Stewart to write a song about Loyalists who fled to Nova Scotia
Dave Nachmanoff, who grew up in Arlington, teamed with the “Year of the Cat” singer to memorialize the Americans who sided with the king.
Cardinal 250 podcast with descendants of Black Loyalists who fled Virginia for Nova Scotia
The director and board member of the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Canada talk about their efforts to reconnect with relatives in Virginia.
Dispatch from 1773: Smuggling in Rhode Island prompts Virginia to do something revolutionary
British enforcement of customs laws leads to arrests, a political confrontation, and then a ship being set ablaze.
On the 4th of July, time to remember our ‘forgotten founders’
Cardinal News has embarked on a three-year project to tell the little-known stories of Virginia’s role in the march to independence.
‘The effect of the day thro’ the whole colony was like a shock of electricity’
This month marks the 250th anniversary of when the House of Burgesses, in defiance of the royal governor, declared a “Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer.”
For Colonists, hemp was both economic security and national security
Colonial Virginians used hemp to make rope, sails and caulking. They also used it to pay taxes.
Cardinal 250 podcast with Woody Holton on the ‘forgotten founders’
The noted Revolutionary War historian talks about how women, Native Americans and enslaved people were critical in the drive for independence.
Dispatch from 1772: Britain vetoes Virginia’s vote to abolish slave trade
Some white Virginians feared that the growth of the enslaved population would lead to a slave rebellion. Others wanted to halt the slave trade to increase the value of their enslaved workers.
Why three Colonial-era newspapers in Williamsburg called themselves The Virginia Gazette — and even published at the same time
Untangling the history of Virginia’s first newspaper and the homonymous publications that followed, each with a claim to fame in the annals of journalism.
Channeling the life story of the first woman to publish a newspaper in Virginia
At Colonial Williamsburg, Emma Cross has portrayed Clementina Rind, who printed calls for independence from Britain as the American Revolution approached.
Cardinal 250 podcast with Jeff South on the role of the press in Colonial Virginia
He also talks about Clementina Rind, the first woman to publish a newspaper in Virginia.
Dispatch from 1769: Governor dissolves House of Burgesses; Virginia vows boycott of British goods
To protest import taxes imposed by London, colonists have organized to produce their own goods.
A ‘rascaly county’: Montgomery County was a hotbed of anti-Patriot fervor during the Revolution
Hundreds of people across the Southwest Virginia valleys and mountains openly opposed the Revolution and pledged their loyalty to British King George III.
In Virginia and across the nation, planning is underway for a 250th birthday in 2026
Representatives from planning committees across the country met recently in Williamsburg to compare notes.
Cardinal News 250 podcast with Virginia 250 Commission executive director Cheryl Wilson
She talks about why the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence deserves a big commemoration.
Dispatch from 1766: A sensational murder at Mosby’s Tavern highlights how much Virginia’s gentry is in debt to Britain
In a drunken brawl in modern-day Powhatan County, John Chiswell drove a sword into Robert Routledge. Alcohol fueled their dispute, but so did indebtedness.
At Chiswell’s mines, a mixed crew of unwilling hands dug lead ore for patriot victory
Enslaved men and white criminals worked side by side at the lead mines in Wythe County to produce ammunition.
Virginia’s Native Americans were caught in the crossfire of the revolution
Eastern tribes sided with American patriots while Western tribes backed the British.
Dispatch from 1766: In Tappahannock, the Stamp Act prompts threats of violence
Some 400 men marched in military fashion through the town to the home of a prominent merchant who had vowed to uphold the act. The men threatened to strip him shirtless, tie him to a cart and put him on public display.
Daniel Morgan’s temper brought him 499 lashes from the British. He repaid them with American victories.
South Carolina once tried to move his body, claiming Winchester didn’t respect his resting place. Now it does.
Colonial women fought the British economically
Men got the political attention but women, both free and enslaved, did the hard work of boycotting British goods and producing their own.
Dispatch from 1765: Stamp Act protest prompts House speaker to accuse new legislator Patrick Henry of treason
The newly elected Henry took advantage of light attendance to get the House of Burgesses on record against the Stamp Act.
One enslaved naval officer won his freedom after fighting in the ‘War for Independence’
Enslaved Virginians served in the state’s tiny navy. Many won their freedom.
Woody Holton’s revolutionary life and history
The Roanoke-born son of the former governor is now a historian and prize-winning author of books about the American Revolution.
Dispatch from 1765: Augusta County mob murders Cherokees, defies royal authorities
The slaughter, and the subsequent uprising against the colonial officials who tried to punish the killers, reflects how unpopular the king’s prohibition against western settlement is in Virginia.
‘A time to pray and a time to fight’
One of the most stirring speeches of the revolution was given in Woodstock, and might have been delivered in German. That is, if it happened at all.
Colonial Virginia was divided in many ways. Food was the great uniter.
Colonists relied on a lot of Native American methods for preparing food.
Dispatch from 1763: Despite cries of ‘treason!’ Hanover County jury delivers rebuke to the church — and the crown
A young attorney named Patrick Henry has burst onto the scene in a dramatic way by suggesting that King George III might be a tyrant.
Proclamation Line of 1763 became a focus of anti-British resentment in Virginia
After the French and Indian War, King George III drew a line along the Appalachians and forbade settlement west of that. This became one of the sparks that lit the fuse for American independence.
Dispatch from 1763: King’s proclamation has united often opposing factions in Virginia
Here’s what political commentary on the Proclamation of 1763 might have sounded like.
‘The only way to convince people that this is everybody’s story is to tell the whole story’
Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, is honorary chair of Virginia’s commission that is planning celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s birth.
Get ready for the nation’s 250th birthday. Del. Austin leads the planning in Virginia.
2026 marks the nation’s semiquincentennial. Virginia already has a commission putting together events.