Page 161 - JM Book 9/2020

NORTH CAROLINA
WILLIAM HOOPER’S home was bombarded by a British sloop of war. He was the object of several manhunts, but managed to escape each time. His home was later destroyed. He fled to the interior of the state for protection where he caught malaria. When the war ended he was sick and financially ruined.
VIRGINIA
RICHARD HENRY LEE’S house on the Potomac River was invaded during the summer of 1776 by a party of Royal Marines. They broke down the door in the middle of the night. Lee and his family were visiting friends. The house slaves refused to disclose Lee’s location, even when gold guineas were offered. The frustrated Marines left.
BENJAMIN HARRISON’S shipyard on the James River was destroyed by fire. The British confiscated many of his ships and valuable cargo.
THOMAS NELSON’S home was confiscated and used as the headquarters of British General Lord Cornwallis during the Battle of Yorktown. After arriving home from Philadelphia, Nelson asked why the Americans were not firing on his home. “Out of respect to you, sir,” an artilleryman replied. “Give me the cannon,” Nelson reportedly roared. He shot the first round into his house with the help of the artillerymen.
GEORGE WYTHE lost his plantation when his plantation manager defected and turned over all of his property to British authorities.
CARTER BRAXTON had his merchant ships taken at sea by the British Navy. He lost all of his land because he was unable to repay the loans for the cargo the British captured. His estate at Chericoke was burned along with the furnishings and his papers.
THOMAS JEFFERSON escaped capture on June 4, 1781, when Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton led 250 of the King’s Dragoon Guards to Charlottesville. When General Lord Cornwallis learned that the Virginia General Assembly had evacuated the capital
at Richmond and reconvened in Charlottesville, he sent Tarleton to capture Governor Jefferson and members of the assembly. On the evening of June 3, Jack Jouett, captain
of the 16th Regiment of the Virginia militia, observed Tarleton’s troops as they passed near Louisa Court House; he guessed their destination. Jouett rode 40 miles to Monticello where he warned Jefferson. According to Jefferson’s account, Jouett knew the “byways of the neighborhood, passed the enemy’s encampment, rode all night, and before sunrise of the next day [June 4] called at Monticello.” Jefferson instructed his family to get ready to evacuate. Jouett rode on to Charlottesville to warn the members of the General Assembly. Jefferson received a second warning that the British troops were ascending Monticello Mountain. By the time Tarleton’s troops arrived Jefferson had escaped. He escorted his family to their farm at Poplar Forest and remained there until the middle of the summer.
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