United Colonies
July 4th is considered America’s birthday but the structural, philosophical, and legal framework of the Republic was forged during the sweltering weeks of June 1776.
The United Colonies crossed the threshold of no return. The Second Continental Congress spent this pivotal month hammering out the political and legal architecture of a new American republic.
On June 7, Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Lee, acting upon the instructions of the Fifth Virginia Convention, introduced a resolution declaring these colonies “free and independent States.”
Congress appointed a Committee of Five consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston to draft a formal declaration. That completed draft was presented to Congress on June 28 for debate.
In mid-June a Tory conspiracy to assassinate or capture Washington and sabotage New York’s infrastructure was thwarted.
In late June, a British armada led by General William Howe departed Halifax and began anchoring in New York Harbor, establishing a military base on Staten Island. By the end of the month, Washington watched helplessly as hundreds of British ships carrying tens of thousands of professional soldiers converged on the city.
On June 28, a British fleet under Admiral Peter Parker and an army led by General Henry Clinton launched a coordinated assault on Charleston, S.C. Colonel William Moultrie led a resounding American victory as his palmetto log fort survived a 10-hour continuous bombardment from the British fleet and American rangers blocked the British army from crossing the channel.
Virginia
On June 12, the Fifth Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, drafted by a committee headed by George Mason and including John Bowyer of Botetourt. This was a groundbreaking milestone in constitutional history as the first modern protection of individual rights and served as a direct precursor to both the national Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Bill of Rights.
The document famously declared: “…that all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights… namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.” It explicitly stated that all political power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people. On June 29, Virginia was the first state to adopt a constitution.
This document officially declared Virginia’s separation from Great Britain. It established a bicameral legislature and a weak executive branch to prevent future tyranny. Most importantly, it codified the strict separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches— a structural hallmark of the future American Republic.
On the same day the legislature elected Patrick Henry as the first Governor of Virginia.
In late June, the Cherokee began a series of raids on frontier settlements from South Carolina to Virginia, a conflict known as the Cherokee War. This would engage 1,800 Virginia militiamen, many from Botetourt and Fincastle Counties, that summer.
Botetourt County
There are no surviving records from Botetourt County during June 1776. It is interesting to note that in Eastern Virginia, the highest-ranking officer present was General Andrew Lewis of Botetourt (there was no Salem or Roanoke at the time).
General Lewis was directing the defense of the coastal areas of Virginia against Lord Dunmore, who had taken refuge on Gwynn’s Island and ships in the Chesapeake Bay. Lewis was preparing for an assault on Dunmore’s stronghold.
Stationed across a channel on the mainland was a company of riflemen in the 7th Virginia Regiment from Botetourt County led by Captain Thomas Posey, a saddlemaker from Fincastle. This company would go on to be assigned to Morgan’s Rifles due to their prowess and play an important role later in Colonial victories at Saratoga, Stony Point and Cowpens.
Thomas Posey would go on to become a brigadier general under Anthony Wayne in the Northwest Indian War, speaker of the Kentucky State Senate, United States Senator from Louisiana, Territorial Governor of Indiana and Agent for Indian affairs for the Illinois Territory.
~ Submitted by Ed Holt for the Botetourt Preservation Partnership
