Browse Items (42 total)

Cockacoeske was a significant figure in the history of the Pamunkey tribe in Virginia. She was a descendant of Opechancanough, the brother of Powhatan, who had been the paramount chief of the Powhatan Confederacy. Cockacoeske became weroansqua, or…

During World War II, Black Americans took the opportunity to point out the hypocrisy of engaging in a war effort to save democracy abroad while maintaining segregation laws at home. Spurred by the national newspaper, Chicago Defender, the Black…

The Battle of Great Bridge, fought in December 1775, was Virginia’s first large-scale battle in the American Revolution. The Virginia militia fought against British regular troops and Loyalist militia that included a unit of Black soldiers. The…

Patrick Henry (1736–1799) could be considered Virginia’s most outspoken revolutionary. Born in Hanover County, Henry studied law on his own and was admitted to the bar in 1760. In 1763, he spoke out against the action of the king's Privy Council,…

From the beginning of the Civil War, the Confederate government attempted to requisition needed goods and services from private citizens. In March 1863, the Confederate Congress passed an Impressment Act that allowed them to requisition crops,…

By 1780, the Continental Army had been battling British forces for five years during the American Revolution. Although the Americans had secured some key victories in places as far-flung as New York and South Carolina, the British still held…

The Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) was a French aristocrat whose family fortune ranked him among the wealthiest in France, but he was also one of America’s best-known Revolutionary heroes. Gilbert de Motier de Lafayette inherited his title at the…

James Lafeyette was born enslaved about 1748. He lived on a plantation owned by William Armistead in New Kent County. Although he is sometimes identified as James Armistead, he never signed his name or self-identified as having the surname Armistead.…

John Murray, fourth earl of Dunmore, was the last royal governor of Virginia. Assuming office in September 1771, he won support during what became known as Lord Dunmore’s War in 1774. Ostensibly to protect white settlers in the Ohio Valley region…

A bookplate is a small-sized, decorative label that is adhered to the inside front cover of a book. They are used to identify the owner of a book for personal use or for use in a library. Bookplates are designed to reflect a person’s interests or to…