Cardinal News 250
Virginia’s Stories. A Nation’s Birth.
Cardinal News is embarking 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” will begin in November 2023 and continue 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.
The project is made possible in part by funding from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission.
Learn when a new Cardinal 250 story publishes
Featured story
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
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.