American Revolution

Mary Ball Washington: "His Revered Mother"
18th century, Autobiography and Biography, Barbara Crookshanks, Fredericksburg (Va.), Genealogy, Genealogy, George Washington, Historic sites, History Feature Articles, Lafayette, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History, Women
03/04/2010 - 4:18pm

Fredericksburg's Mary Ball Washington was an intrepid 18th-century woman who raised five children alone. The oldest became the first President of the United States.

Mary Washington's name and heritage are alive and well in the Fredericksburg area and beyond. Her home is at the corner of Lewis and Charles streets; the Mary Washington Monument is on Washington Avenue, which was originally Mary Washington Avenue.

Great Lives Series: Thomas Jefferson
LibraryPoint Blog, Reading Room Blog, Autobiography and Biography, Great Lives series, History, Politics, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Johnson, History Blog
01/27/2010 - 11:39am

On Tuesday, January 26, 2010, the University of Mary Washington invites the public to a free lecture on Thomas Jefferson.

The Good Doctor Was a Spy: The Lively Times of Robert Wellford
LibraryPoint Blog, 18th century, Alexander Spotswood, Fredericksburg (Va.), George Washington, History Feature Articles, Lewis family, Physicians, Robert Wellford, Spies, Spotswood family, Virginia History, Virginia Johnson, Wellford family, Whiskey Rebellion, History Blog
01/13/2010 - 2:55pm

One of Fredericksburg's leading citizens was either a patriot or a traitor, depending on whether you favored coats of Tory red or Revolutionary blue.

Marlborough Point: In the Stream of History
LibraryPoint Blog, 18th century, American Revolution, Civil War - U.S., Colonial Virginia, fossils, French and Indian War, Genealogy, History Feature Articles, Marlborough Point, Mercer family, Natural World, Powhatan Indians, Regional, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History, Virginia Johnson, History Blog
12/09/2009 - 11:41am

Follow Marlborough Point Road down to the eastern tip of Stafford County, and you will pass by lots of new housing mushrooming into the forests and fields that were once favored by both the Native Americans and colonial settlers.  This section of the county is home to not just centuries of local history but millennia.

John Francis Mercer of Stafford County: A Neglected Patriot: Captain of the 3rd Virginia; Anti-Federalist at the Constitutional Convention; Governor of Maryland, 1801-03
1800-1809, 1810s, 18th century, American Revolution, Anti-Federalist, Colonial Virginia, Continental Congress, Founding Fathers, History Feature Articles, Jeffrey Garth Edmunds, Marlborough Point, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History
11/02/2009 - 3:08pm

The Central Rappahannock region produced many of the men who led the fight for independence and fashioned the new American nation. Some are remembered, and afforded their due. Some, like John Francis Mercer, are not remembered -- but should be….

250 Years of Freemasonry in Fredericksburg
1750s, 1780s, 18th century, American Revolution, Founding Fathers, Fredericksburg (Va.), freemasons, George Washington, Historic sites, History Feature Articles, Jeffrey Garth Edmunds, Virginia History
11/02/2009 - 2:59pm

The year 2002 celebrated the 250th anniversary of the foundation of "George Washington's Mother Lodge." According to the authors of the new book The History of Freemasonry in Virginia, "Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 stands out as one of the brightest Lodges in the early history of Freemasonry in Virginia." Since 1752 it has maintained a continuous Masonic presence in Fredericksburg. Many of the town's prominent citizens have been members, and many of its prominent buildings have Masonic cornerstones.

Thomas Jefferson and Slavery
American Revolution, Lunch with History, Slavery, Thomas Jefferson, History Blog
11/02/2009 - 1:50pm

By Sue Willis, CRRL Staff

From the Central Rappahannock Regional Library

Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson.
The only book that Jefferson wrote was undertaken as a matter-of-fact commentary on the resources and institutions of Virginia and developed into one of the more thoughtful books of the time. His cherished goals were the emancipation of slavery in Virginia and the reformation of Virginia's constitution. However, some of the ideas in his Notes are in opposition to these goals, giving creedence to Jefferson's reputation as a conflicted man. It should be noted that the Notes were written in 1781, and Jefferson did try to improve the slaves' lot before his death in 1826.

General George Weedon: His Life and Times
American Revolution, Fredericksburg (Va.), Jeffrey Garth Edmunds, Lunch with History, History Blog
10/30/2009 - 10:12am

From the Central Rappahannock Regional Library

The Day is Ours! An Inside View of the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, November 1776 - January 1777 by William M. Dwyer.
A wonderful account based on the actual words and writings of the men who lived through those famed battles.

Duty, Honor, or Country: General George Weedon and the American Revolution by Harry M. Ward.
This is the only full-length biography of the general. Written by a well-regarded military historian, it is the single most important source for the modern researcher.

The Weddings of Five Famous Virginia Brides
Barbara Crookshanks, Christmas, Custis family, George Washington, History, History Feature Articles, Jamestown, Lewis family, Pocahontas, Robert E. Lee, Virginia History, Weddings
10/28/2009 - 3:50pm

These five brides from three centuries left distinctive imprints on Virginia history. One was a humble serving girl; another was an Indian princess. The other brides were a mother, granddaughter and great-granddaughter whose marriages would place them in the forefront of national affairs.

For each, their weddings were times of celebration. The future would take them along unexpected and divergent paths.

Anne Burroughs
Jamestown — Autumn, 1608

"...where civil government is preserved free, there can be no religious tyranny--"
American Revolution, Dispatches, Mercer family, Politics, Religion/Spirituality, Religious freedom, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History
10/28/2009 - 3:46pm

By John Frances Mercer

"...where civil government is preserved free, there can be no religious tyranny--"