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Context
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, claimed by Virginia, militia forces defeated a Shawnee and Wingo force at the Battle of Point Pleasant (in present-day West Virginia) in October 1774. Dunmore negotiated a treaty prohibiting the tribes from settling or hunting south of the Ohio River, thus clearing the path for expanded white colonial settlement.
The impulsive Dunmore’s popularity began to wane in 1775, as he alienated key politicians. As tensions between the colony and Great Britain increased, Dunmore, citing rumors of an impending rebellion by enslaved persons, removed gunpowder from the public magazine in Williamsburg in April. Facing withering criticism from the colonie's political leaders, he sent his family back to Britain, fled Williamsburg early in June, and tried to gather Loyalist supporters in Hampton Roads.
On November 7, 1775, Dunmore proclaimed martial law and offered freedom to enslaved people and indentured servants who agreed to fight for the king. His offer of freedom to slaves to fight against white Virginians and his recruitment of a regiment of Black soldiers alienated the remaining influential planters and political leaders who until then had stayed loyal to the Crown. Thomas Jefferson included "prompting our negroes to rise in arms against us" among the grievances against the king in his draft of the constitution adopted by Virginia in June 1776.
Dunmore’s proclamation sparked a flood of enslaved persons to escape (as many as 2,000 reached the governor) and raised widespread fear of a slave rebellion. Dunmore took the offensive at the Battle of Great Bridge in December 1775, but was so soundly defeated that he ordered his ships to fire on Norfolk and his troops to burn warehouses on the wharves. In 1787 Dunmore became governor of the Bahamas, during which time he fell from royal favor. He died at his home in England in 1809.
Citation: By his Excellency the Right Honorable John Earl of Dunmore . . . A Proclamation, 1775, Broadside 1775 .V852 FF, Special Collections, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Learn more about Lord Dunmore in the Dictionary of Virginia Biography.
Standards
VS.6, USI.6, CE.2, CE.7, VUS.5, GOVT.2, GOVT.3
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Think About It: During the American Revolution who do you think enslaved Virginians might have sided with: the British or the American colonists? What advantages/disadvantages could each side offer them?
Post Activity
Analyze: Draw a conclusion about the intent behind the language Thomas Jefferson's grievance in Virginia’s 1776 Constitution and its relationship to Dunmore’s Proclamation.
Form An Opinion: Thomas Jefferson included this grievance in his original draft of the Declaration of Independence, but it was struck out of the final, approved copy. Develop a hypothesis explaining the reasoning of removing this charge from the final Declaration.