Introducing the
Cardinal News 250 graphic novel:
Featured stories
Cardinal News 250 is a special journalism and community storytelling project exploring the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and America’s founding through the history, people and culture of Southwest and Southside Virginia. Featuring original reporting, Virginia history stories, Revolutionary War coverage, Appalachian history, local heritage, historic landmarks, museums, genealogy, podcasts, community events and educational content, Cardinal News 250 highlights the important role rural Virginia communities played in shaping the nation. Focused on Southwest Virginia history, Southside Virginia history and the lasting legacy of the Revolutionary era, the project connects readers with untold stories, regional traditions and compelling journalism rooted in Virginia’s past and present.
Want to explore more? Check out our podcast as well as our collection of Cardinal News 250 stories below and join us in rediscovering Virginia’s rich history. This series is published as part of a national effort by local newsrooms to reflect on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. See coverage from other newsrooms here.
Cardinal News 250 Podcast
Dive deeper into history with our podcast, hosted by Dutchie Jessee, where historians, journalists and others bring these stories to life. Find it wherever you get your podcasts, and catch the latest episodes in our monthly newsletter.
View or listen to the podcast here:
Never miss another Cardinal 250 story with our monthly newsletter.
Cardinal news 250 story collection
Dispatch from 1776: Virginia’s first election returns since independence are in
The initial General Assembly was elected in late summer 1776 and seated in October 1776.
Cardinal presents Virginia’s role in American independence in a visual format for young students
“Virginians Like Us” takes 21 stories about the American Revolution and turns them into a graphic novel.
London Pleasants was an enslaved teen who seized his freedom by donning a red coat
The story of the Henrico County teenager is featured in the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. He served as a trumpeter in the British army, then escaped to Canada after the war.
The fog of war: The Revolutionary War may have never reached Virginia without a meteorological miracle
Washington and the Continental Army were about to be bottled up by the British beside the East River in New York, but then, the fog rolled in.
Dispatch from 1776: The Hessians are about to arrive, New York girds for battle
Short of British troops, King George III has turned to an uncle who rules over a small German principality.
The Declaration of Independence was signed on Aug. 2, 1776, amid ‘pensive and awful silence’
Seven Virginians signed the document. Some are famous, others not so much. Here’s who they were.
Virginia’s royal governor made a grim last stand on a disease-ridden island by the Chesapeake Bay where corpses lay unburied
Lord Dunmore set up on Gwynn’s Island, but disease swept through his ranks. Then Andrew Lewis arrived with cannons.
Freedom isn’t free. Ann McCarty Ramsay helped raise the money for the revolution.
Legend says that Ramsay was so esteemed for her fundraising that she was named treasurer of Fairfax County and Alexandria. That can’t be confirmed, but she was a prolific fundraiser.
Dispatch from 1776: Four events have made us independent
The Declaration of Independence gets the attention, but there were four events, in quick succession in late June and early July 1776, that all constituted acts of independence: Virginia adopted a constitution that declared a formal break, Congress voted for independence, Congress then adopted a Declaration of Independence, and, finally, Virginia’s royal governor was driven…
Not all of Virginia’s independence story was made by men in white wigs. Here’s what we’ve learned about our history.
Our Cardinal 250 series has shared stories about lesser-known people who helped Virginia, and the nation, secure independence.
The first newspaper to report on the Declaration of Independence published in German
There was only one newspaper in Philadelphia that published on Friday, July 5, 1776. It was a German-language newspaper and got the scoop about what the Continenal Congress had done the day before.
John Adams despised one Virginian in particular, calling him ‘obscene,’ ‘profane’ and ‘impious.’ It wasn’t Jefferson.
Benjamin Harrison was known for being a steadying influence at the Continental Congress and was respected enough that he was chosen to preside over the debates on independence. He also had a wit and a taste for food and drink that offended some New Englanders.
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The project is made possible in part by funding from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission.
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.
Contribute to Cardinal 250
Share a tip: Is there an untold story of the revolution we should cover?
Share memorabilia: Do you have artifacts from this period that you wish to share? Send photos to us at news@cardinalnews.org.
