UNITED STATES
On August 2, 1776 at the State House in Philadelphia, delegates assembled to execute the engrossed parchment manuscript of the Declaration of Independence. By affixing their signatures, 56 men formally pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to the united cause in an atmosphere of quiet solemnity and apprehension.
August 10-12 found Carolina troops under the command of Andrew Pickens and David Williamson defeat Cherokee war parties which had been supplied and incited by the British near the Tugaloo River, burning a Cherokee village near Tamassee, S.C.
On August 22, British General William Howe landed at Gravesend Bay on Long Island, launching the largest European amphibious expedition of the century. Five days later, on August 27, British forces outflanked the Continental Army through the unguarded Jamaica Pass. A tragic rout was averted only by the heroic stand of the “Maryland 400,” who repeatedly charged superior enemy forces, sacrificing over two-thirds of their rank to buy four crucial hours for their retreating comrades to regroup.
With his army pinned against the East River, General George Washington executed a miraculous night escape on August 29 and 30. Facilitated by Massachusetts mariners and hidden by a provident fog over the water, 9,000 Continentals crossed safely to Manhattan without losing a single man during the evacuation.
VIRGINIA
Across the Old Dominion, August marked the total collapse of royal authority and the rapid consolidation of independent state power. Governor Patrick Henry, with the help of George Wythe, who was recalled from the Continental Congress, began to review all of the laws in place to revise them appropriately for the governance of Virginia as an independent Commonwealth. From the capital in Williamsburg, Governor Patrick Henry and the newly established Council of State governed without monarchical sway.
A momentous sigh of relief was lifted on August 7, when Lord Dunmore– Virginia’s final royal governor– officially abandoned the Chesapeake Bay. Having been driven from his stronghold at Gwynn’s Island in July, Dunmore disbanded his fleet, sending Loyalists and escaped slaves southward to St. Augustine and north to Nova Scotia while he joined British forces in New York.
Concurrently, public assemblies swept through every county seat. Express riders carried copies of the Declaration of Independence across the countryside, where local courts, citizens and militia gathered to hear the document read aloud.
Partnering with neighboring states, Virginia officers led by Colonel William Christian, who had given up his commission in the Continental Army and returned to Virginia, prepared a synchronized offensive to protect the western borders from frontier attacks.
BOTETOURT
Upon Virginia’s frontier, Botetourt County stood as the vital crossroads. On August 13, the County Court convened at Fincastle. Justices of the Peace William Fleming, John Bowyer, Benjamin Estill, Phillip Love, William McKee, Richard May, William Madison and Adam Smyth took the loyalty oath to the Commonwealth, as did all county officials, most notably John May, Clerk, and George Skillern, Sheriff. Among the items which came before them was the will of Andrew Ralston and several matters dealing with roads and appointments of other local officials including magistrates and road superintendents.
Beyond civil governance, Botetourt was a hive of intense military preparation. Under the leadership of Colonel William Christian, who was chosen to represent the district in the newly formed Virginia Senate, but didn’t take his seat in the senate due to his military command, the county organized companies of militia and gathered essential war material.
Throughout the month, Botetourt militiamen gathered flour, cattle, and packhorses to supply the upcoming Overhill Cherokee campaign, while others deployed to fortify vulnerable outposts along the Greenbriar, Clinch, and Kanawha rivers. By month’s end, Botetourt had firmly established itself as both a steadfast bastion of American self-rule and the shield of Virginia’s western settlements.
