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57-583: The house was built by John Thomas Gibson, who led the first armed response to Harpers Ferry during Brown's raid as commander of the Virginia Militia in Jefferson County . Gibson went on to serve as an officer for the Confederacy . After the war he was mayor of Charles Town. Among those present at Brown's hanging were Stonewall Jackson , John McCausland , J.E.B. Stuart and John Wilkes Booth . When

114-558: A lieutenant colonel and authorized him to raise troops for the expedition. The Illinois campaign began in July 1778, when Clark and about 175 men crossed the Ohio River at Fort Massac and marched to Kaskaskia , taking it on the night of July 4. Cahokia , Vincennes , and several other villages and forts in British territory were subsequently captured without firing a shot, because most of

171-451: A bayonet fitted to the same, a double cartouch-box, and three charges of powder, and constantly appear with the same at the time and place appointed for muster and exercise, and shall also keep at his place of abode one pound of powder and four pounds of ball, and bring the same with him into the field when he shall be required...And for the better training and exercising the militia, and rendering them more serviceable, Be it further enacted, by

228-816: A compulsory service composed of the body of the people trained to arms as envisioned by George Mason , remained intact until the end of the American Civil War . During the Civil War, the Virginia militia was the main recruiting body for first the Provisional Army of Virginia and later the Virginia state regiments of the Confederate Army . After the Civil War, Reconstruction governments forced upon Virginia an all-volunteer militia system in opposition to Virginia's Bill of Rights. The militia became statutorily composed of

285-601: A diary of the expedition, wrote: The expedition paused on 7 March to build canoes, with the hope that traveling by water would be less tiresome. Captain Preston estimated that by 8 March they had traveled 186 miles. On 12 March, an accident led to the loss of guns and tents. Captain Preston wrote in his diary for that day: Rations were by now nearly exhausted and men began to desert, trying to make their way home in small groups, most of whom did not survive. On 13 March, Lewis asked which of his troops were willing to continue, but only

342-414: A few days flour and dried beef ran short and rations were cut by half. By 3 March, the last of the corn brought to feed the horses was gone. The men hunted, but the few deer and elk they killed were insufficient to feed 340 troops. Lewis suggested that they slaughter and eat their horses, but the men refused. The weather was extremely cold and snow made progress even slower. Lieutenant Thomas Morton, who kept

399-419: A formal act came into effect. WHEREAS it is necessary, in this time of danger, that the militia of this colony should be well regulated and disciplined...And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That every person so as aforesaid inlisted (except free mulattoes , negroes, and Indians) shall be armed in the manner following, that is to say: Every soldier shall be furnished with a firelock well fixed,

456-941: A less-traveled route through uninhabited mountains, following a war trail along "Sandy Creek," (now known as the Dry Fork ), then following the Tug Fork to the Big Sandy River that forms the West Virginia-Kentucky border today. The expedition passed through present-day McDowell County and Mingo County . The decision to launch the expedition in February was based on the assumption that the Big Sandy would be swollen by snowmelt, making it easier and faster to descend by canoe. Also, Washington apparently had received intelligence indicating that many of Lower Shawneetown's warriors had "removed up

513-572: A letter from Thomas Lloyd (Preston's indentured servant and one of two surgeons on the expedition, together with William Fleming ), written to a friend in October, 1756. On 6 April, 1756, Andrew Lewis submitted a report to the Virginia Council describing the expedition. There are also some references to the expedition in the correspondence of Governor Dinwiddie and George Washington. Alexander Scott Withers states that "a journal of this campaign

570-717: A small fort on the Little Tennessee River near the Cherokee town of Chota in Tennessee. This fort was replaced a few months later by the construction of the much larger Fort Loudoun . On 5 June, 1757, Cherokee warriors defending Fort Cumberland on the Maryland-Virginia border captured the French officer François-Marie Picoté de Belestre , who had been leading raids against English settlements, including one in which Fort Vause

627-405: A small number voted to proceed. Two companies had already decided to turn back, and Lewis himself was finally forced to make the decision to abandon the campaign and return home. Preston's diary ends with: Alexander Scott Withers (using material from Hugh Paul Taylor) says that on the way home, the troops were attacked by Shawnee warriors on 15 March and two soldiers were killed. A Shawnee warrior

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684-586: A total of 300 troops were expected to join. John Madison and the Augusta County Militia offered their support, and food and other supplies were obtained. Early in 1758, however, plans for the expedition were abandoned due to constant disputes among the commanding officers. On 3 April 1758, Captain John Smith submitted a proposal to the Virginia House of Burgesses offering to lead another expedition against

741-538: The Draper's Meadow Massacre , (near present-day Blacksburg, Virginia ). Both Ingles and Stalnaker later escaped captivity and walked hundreds of miles to return home. After arriving home in November, 1755, Mary Draper Ingles informed her husband William Ingles of the general location and layout of Lower Shawneetown , where she had lived as a captive for about three weeks. William Ingles may have suggested to Governor Dinwiddie

798-701: The New River , Greenbrier River , and Tygart River valleys, during which about 70 settlers were killed, wounded, or captured. Farms and communities were abandoned as survivors retreated east into the Shenandoah Valley . In June, 1755, Shawnee warriors captured Captain Samuel Stalnaker at his homestead on the Holston River , (near present-day Chilhowie, Virginia ), and killed his wife and son. In July, Mary Draper Ingles and her children were captured during

855-593: The Sandy Creek Expedition in February 1756, however the expedition was forced to turn back due to harsh weather and lack of food. In September 1756, Colonel George Washington was unsuccessful in raising a militia in Augusta County to attack the active Indian warriors on the Jackson River . Militia were required to man a series of strategically sited forts on the Virginia frontier. In 1774, revolution

912-617: The Sandy Expedition or the Big Sandy Expedition, (not to be confused with the Big Sandy Expedition of 1861) was a 1756 campaign by Virginia Regiment soldiers and Cherokee warriors into modern-day West Virginia against the Shawnee , who were raiding the British colony of Virginia 's frontier . The campaign set out in mid-February, 1756, and was immediately slowed by harsh weather and inadequate provisions. With morale failing,

969-589: The Virginia Regiment ) selected Major Andrew Lewis to lead the expedition. In 1755, Governor Dinwiddie had ordered the formation of several "ranging companies" to protect settlements from attacks by Native tribes allied with the French, to garrison forts and reinforce areas expecting attack. Captain William Preston established one of the first of these Virginia Rangers companies. In September, 1755, Dinwiddie wrote to him: The only offensive action of

1026-897: The Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership at Mary Baldwin College , the Fishburne Military School , the Massanutten Military Academy , and the Commandant of Cadets and Assistant Commandants of Cadets of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University shall be commissioned officers of the Virginia militia, unorganized, and subject to the orders of the Governor and the same rules and regulations as to discipline provided for other commissioned officers of

1083-622: The Cherokee chief Conocotocko I commented to Dinwiddie: "Our brothers [the Virginians] fight very strong, but can’t follow an Indian by the Foot as we can." Major Lewis decided not to use the shorter and easier route to Lower Shawneetown, which would have been along the New River to the Kanawha River , because he was afraid the Shawnee would be more likely to learn about the expedition. Instead, he chose

1140-730: The Cherokees, writing on 15 January, 1756: "I have sent 150 Small Arms, Powder and Shott...I know they are too heavy but I have desired they may have the lightest [that] are among our people..." The Cherokees offered to train Virginian soldiers in Indian-style warfare, which favored shooting from behind cover, using stealth and surprise, rather than firing in volleys from assembled ranks. Washington wanted Virginian troops to adopt these tactics, and noted, On 13 January, 1756, Washington wrote to Dinwiddie: "I have given all necessary orders for training

1197-650: The Crown's militia was to repel invasions and insurrections and to enforce the laws of the colony. In 1623, the year following the outbreak of the first major Anglo-Powhatan War in Virginia, the Virginia General Assembly commanded, "that men go not to work in the ground without their arms; That no man go or send abroad without a sufficient partie well armed." In 1661 Governor William Berkeley stated, "All our freemen are bound to be trained every month in their particular counties." The British county lieutenant system

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1254-594: The French and Indian War and in the American Revolution. William Preston continued to lead Preston's Rangers. Seventy men served under him during 1757, including two lieutenants, two sergeants (one of whom was his servant, Thomas Lloyd) and two corporals. The unit was disbanded in May, 1759. The campaign led to closer ties between the Cherokee people and the Virginia colonial government. In late June 1756, in fulfillment of Governor Dinwiddie's promise, Andrew Lewis built

1311-495: The French-speaking and American Indian inhabitants were unwilling to take up arms on behalf of the British. To counter Clark's advance, Henry Hamilton reoccupied Vincennes with a small force. In February 1779, Clark returned to Vincennes in a surprise winter expedition and retook the town, capturing Hamilton in the process. The winter expedition was Clark's most significant military achievement. The Virginia militia system, as

1368-445: The Men to a proper use of their Arms, and the method of Ind'n Fighting, and hope in a little time to make them expert." Dinwiddie approved, writing to Washington on 23 January: "You have done very right in ordering the Men to be train'd in the [Indian] Method of fighting..." The Virginians also needed to learn woodcraft and the art of tracking enemies through the wilderness. The son of

1425-586: The National Register of Historic Places is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Virginia Militia The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the English militia system . Militia service in Virginia was compulsory for all free males. The main purpose of

1482-664: The River, into the Neighbourhood of [Fort] Duquesne," leaving the town temporarily defenseless. On 6 February, 1756, Dinwiddie wrote to Lewis: "The distance by Evans' map is not two hundred miles to the Upper Towns of the Shawnees, however, at once begin your march." On 9 February, the Virginians assembled at Fort Prince George, near Roanoke, Virginia and marched to meet the Cherokees at

1539-487: The Shawnee, but no action was taken. Lieutenant Alexander McNutt was highly critical of Major Lewis in his journal, which was handed over to Francis Fauquier soon after the expedition. Lewis was outraged, and on meeting with McNutt in 1757, by accident in the streets of Staunton, Virginia , Lewis attacked him. The Sandy Creek Expedition served as valuable experience for Andrew Lewis, his cousin William Preston, William Ingles, and others who would defend Virginia during

1596-787: The United States, who are at least 16 years of age and, except as hereinafter provided, not more than 55 years of age. The militia shall be divided into three classes: the National Guard , which includes the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard ; the Virginia Defense Force ; and the unorganized militia . The Code of Virginia, Section 44-117 states, "The officers of the Virginia Military Institute ,

1653-616: The Virginia Rangers during the French and Indian War was the Sandy Creek Expedition. Cherokee leaders had recently been trying to improve trade relations with the Virginia colonial government, and had petitioned Governor Dinwiddie for some assistance in the long-delayed construction of a fort in South Carolina, to protect Cherokee communities from raids by French-allied Shawnee and Catawba Indians. Dinwiddie offered to finance

1710-510: The authority aforesaid, That every captain shall, once in three months, and oftner if thereto required by the lieutenant or chief commanding officer in the county, muster, train, and exercise his company, and the lieutenant or other chief commanding officer in the county shall cause a general muster and exercise of all the companies within his county, to be made in the months of March or April, and September or October, yearly; and if any soldier shall, at any general or private muster, refuse to perform

1767-497: The command of his officer, or behave himself refractorily or mutinously, or misbehave himself at the courts martial to be held in pursuance of this act, as is herein after directed, it shall and may be lawful to and for the chief commanding officer, then present, to cause such offender to be tied neck and heels, for any time not exceeding five minutes, or inflict such corporal punishment as he shall think fit, not exceeding twenty lashes... Four companies of Virginia militia participated in

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1824-501: The construction of a fort in eastern Tennessee, and in return the Cherokees sent 130 warriors to Fort Frederick to support the Sandy Creek Expedition. On 14 December, 1755, the governor wrote to Colonel Washington: The Cherokee warriors were under the joint leadership of Captain Richard Pearis and Chief Outacite Ostenaco . Dinwiddie had agreed to supply them with guns and ammunition, but could only obtain older, heavier rifles for

1881-560: The construction of a series of forts across the frontier, a strategy that was being implemented in Pennsylvania. Washington begged for funds to establish a professional standing army , saying that forts without soldiers would offer little protection. On 27 July 1756, Colonel John Buchanan presided over a council of war, held at the Augusta County Courthouse , "to meet and consult on the most proper places to build forts along

1938-512: The expedition was forced to turn back in mid-March without encountering the enemy. The expedition was the first allied military campaign between the British and the Cherokees against the French and their allied Native Americans, and Virginia's only military offensive taking place during the French and Indian War . The campaign was initiated in early 1756 by Virginia's Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie in response to Indian raids on settlements in

1995-586: The fronteers for the protection of the Inhabitants." The council decided on the locations of fifteen forts to be built in a "chain" across the county. The council determined that 680 men would need to be recruited to man these and several other existing forts. Samuel Stalnaker represented the Holston Settlement and recommended that stockade forts be built at Dunkard's Bottom on the New River and Davis' Bottom at

2052-486: The headwaters of the Big Sandy River on 28 February, where Captain Preston wrote: On 29 February, Captain Preston wrote in his journal: "The creek has been much frequently used by Indians both traveling and hunting on it, and...I am apprehensive that Stalnaker and the prisoners taken with him were carried this way." During the first weeks the troops supplemented their rations with bear meat, deer, and buffalo. They gathered potatoes from abandoned gardens. However, within

2109-719: The idea for an attack on this large Native American community, which was the main Shawnee village at the confluence of the Ohio River and the Scioto River . Stalnaker was also held at Lower Shawneetown, where Mary Ingles met him and other captives taken in settlement raids. He escaped in May, 1756. In retaliation against the Shawnee raids, Dinwiddie sent four companies of Virginia Rangers (each consisting of forty men) from Augusta and Hanover counties, four smaller volunteer companies, and 130 Cherokee warriors to attack Lower Shawneetown. Colonel George Washington (then in command of

2166-528: The last surviving horses. The troops arrived on 7 April and later returned to Fort Frederick. In his diary, Lieutenant Thomas Morton noted: In a report to the Virginia Council dated 6 April, 1756, Major Lewis listed the main causes of the expedition's failure: On 7 April, George Washington wrote to Dinwiddie: On 13 April, Governor Dinwiddie wrote to Washington: "Maj'r Lewis and his Men are ret'd, hav'g done nothing essential. I believe they did not know

2223-559: The middle fork of the Holston River. A second Sandy Creek expedition was planned in early 1757, and Captain Samuel Stalnaker was going to participate, but the plan was never implemented. In late 1757, Ephraim Vause attempted to organize a military expedition against the Shawnee, to rescue the prisoners taken after the capture of Fort Vause in June 1756. A number of men known as "The Associators" volunteered for this proposed expedition, and

2280-548: The military organizations of the Commonwealth." Permanent faculty members of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) are normally offered commissions in the naval or unorganized militia of Virginia. The Superintendent of VMI is normally a Lieutenant General of the unorganized Virginia militia unless the superintendent is a regular US military officer of higher rank. The corps of cadets also serves as cadet members of

2337-445: The military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. The current Virginia Militia under Virginia Code states § 44-1. Composition of militia. The militia of the Commonwealth of Virginia shall consist of all able-bodied residents of the Commonwealth who are citizens of the United States and all other able-bodied persons resident in the Commonwealth who have declared their intention to become citizens of

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2394-542: The military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. Shortly after the Revolutionary War began, Kentucky County, Virginia was organized with George Rogers Clark as head of its local militia. Clark asked Governor Patrick Henry for permission to lead a secret expedition to capture the nearest British posts, which were located in the Illinois country . Governor Henry commissioned Clark as

2451-451: The newly built Fort Frederick on the New River . They brought with them over two thousand pounds of dried beef, intended as provisions for the campaign. Among the troops was Lieutenant William Ingles, husband of Mary Draper Ingles, and Captain William Preston , both survivors of the Draper's Meadow Massacre. On 19 February the full contingent of 340 men and 27 pack horses set out, crossing over

2508-496: The north fork of the Holston River and camping on 23 February at Burke's Garden . The Cherokees were familiar with the rugged terrain and the exertion necessary for wilderness warfare, unlike most of the Virginians, who had never fought a winter campaign in the mountains. Cutting trails through the thickly-forested valleys, scaling steep slopes, and crossing rivers and creeks repeatedly was slow and exhausting due to harsh weather and streams swollen with snowmelt and rain. They reached

2565-516: The old Jefferson County jail was demolished, Gibson saved stones from the building and built a monument to the event on the property. The house post-dates Brown's hanging. The house was designed by Thomas A. Mullett, son of Alfred B. Mullett . Mullett also designed the New Opera House and the new Charles Town jail. This article about a property in Jefferson County, West Virginia on

2622-469: The right to revolution, the right to group self-preservation and the right to self-defense. Under Article 13 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights he wrote: That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases

2679-659: The unorganized militia. Staff members of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets also may hold officer appointments in the Virginia Militia, unless they hold higher rank as active or retired US military officers. All graduates of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, who complete either a leadership track or ROTC education, are automatically commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the Virginia Militia. Sandy Creek Expedition The Sandy Creek Expedition, also known as

2736-486: The volunteer and the unorganized militia. In 1971, the Virginia Bill of Rights under Article I, Section 13, was changed to the following by popular vote That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases

2793-412: The way to the Shawnesse Towns." Major Lewis was subsequently cleared of any fault in the expedition's failure. On 15 April, 1756, the journal of the Virginia House of Burgesses reads: Word of the expedition evidently reached Lower Shawneetown, and a defensive force consisting of "1,000 Indians and six French officers" arrived at the town on 9 May, 1756, where it was observed by Samuel Stalnaker, who

2850-437: Was at Virginia's doorstep when Royal Governor Lord Dunmore dissolved the Virginia House of Burgesses because of their support of the city of Boston against the closing of the Port of Boston by Lord North . On May 15, 1776, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously for independence and to have a declaration of rights drawn up. Colonel George Mason became the principal author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights which

2907-489: Was destroyed. Virginia militiamen and other colonial troops continued to receive instruction from the Cherokee on woodcraft, reconnaissance, and combat. Ostenaco led Cherokee warriors on raids against French troops in and around Fort Duquesne throughout 1757 and 1758. Four primary sources describing the expedition exist: the diary of Captain William Preston, published in 1906, a fragment of Lieutenant Thomas Morton's diary, found after his death and published in 1851, and

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2964-438: Was employed as the population grew; each county had a lieutenant, appointed as the county's chief militia officer. The militia system was originally used to defend against Native American tribes in the tidewater area. As the slave population grew in the Virginia Colony , the militia played a role in keeping slaves from running away or from revolting – through the use of militia patrollers. This Virginia militia system

3021-470: Was kept by Lieut. Alexander McNutt ...On his return to Williamsburg he presented it to [Lieutenant-]Governor Francis Fauquier by whom it was deposited in the executive archives," but it appears to have been lost. Withers' account of the expedition, which has a number of significant errors, seems to have been partly based on Hugh Paul Taylor's Historical Sketches of the Internal Improvements of Virginia (1825, now lost) and on an article Taylor published under

3078-407: Was published on June 12, 1776. Mason drew from his own previous writings upon his founding of the Fairfax County Independent Company of Volunteers on September 21, 1774. This company was a paramilitary organization independent of the Crown's militia. Article 13 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights which established the militia clause as a fundamental right was based upon three solid English rights:

3135-435: Was put to the test in 1676 during Bacon's Rebellion . The Crown's militia was victorious over Nathaniel Bacon , who tried to seize power. Virginia militia under the command of Colonel James Patton fought an Iroquois war party at the Battle of Galudoghson in December 1742. This was the first military action between Virginia soldiers and Native Americans in western Virginia. During the French and Indian War (1754–1763),

3192-529: Was still in captivity. He escaped the next day and went to Williamsburg to inform Governor Dinwiddie. In late 1758, Lower Shawneetown was moved upriver to the Pickaway Plains because the Shawnees were, in George Croghan 's words, in "fear of the Virginians." The expedition's failure led the Virginia government to reconsider how they might defend the colony from further attacks. Additional trade treaties with local Native American tribes were proposed as an incentive to peace. The House of Burgesses debated on

3249-558: Was taken prisoner. Lieutenant Alexander McNutt then proposed that they proceed to Lower Shawneetown and complete their mission, in hopes of capturing the town and getting food there, but Major Lewis decided to continue home. Thomas Lloyd, the surgeon, later wrote that they had to kill almost all their pack horses for food and at one point were forced to eat boiled leather and "tugs" of buffalo hide. The Tug Fork reportedly took its name from this. Major Lewis arrived in Winchester, Virginia, on 6 April, 1756, having ridden ahead on one of

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