Local legend says that 70 French soldiers from the Revolutionary War are buried at Kingsville. But were they really? Historians dig into the story to separate fact from folklore.
Cardinal News 250
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Podcast about the mystery of French soldiers supposedly buried in Prince Edward County
This episode digs into one of Virginia’s most persistent legends: the claim that 70 French soldiers are buried in Kingsville near Hampden-Sydney College after dying of smallpox during the American Revolution.
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Angus McDonald, the man who turned down George Washington
The Winchester merchant and land speculator was an experienced military leader from two wars. George Washington begged him to serve in the Revolution, but McDonald refused. Why?
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Dispatch from 1776: Insulted by his military rank, Patrick Henry quits the army
For some, this resignation — at a moment of crisis — shows exactly why Henry was not suited for the military. Too temperamental. It’s said that General George Washington, who knows Henry better than others, did not think him fit for a high command.
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Virginia now has two mobile museums devoted to the American Revolution. One is exclusively for Southwest Virginia.
The first mobile museum was so popular that the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission has added a second.
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Could Virginia (which once included Detroit) have become a mega state?
During revolutionary times, Virginia claimed its borders stretched to Canada and the Mississippi River — an area bigger than Texas and California combined.
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Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but George Wythe was ‘the man behind the man’
Wythe has been called “Jefferson’s godfather” for training Jefferson in the law — and more. He became the first university-affiliated law professor in the country, then he was poisoned by a relative.
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Dispatch from 1776: Virginia troops surrender in Quebec while Norfolk burns here at home
The year begins with setbacks and disaster.
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Podcast about the Battle of Great Bridge
Dive into the Battle of Great Bridge and its significance in the American Revolutionary War in our latest Cardinal 250 podcast. Host Lisa Rowan is joined by Richard Fisher, a volunteer with the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation.
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Norfolk was burned, the only American city destroyed during the revolution; 250 years later, controversy remains over who ordered its destruction
The conflagration was a decisive propaganda victory for the Patriots, but there’s evidence, suppressed at the time, that they actually ordered the burning.