By February of 1776, the once bustling Borough of Norfolk lay in ruins. After being routed at Great Bridge in early December of 1775, Royal…
Paige NealJanuary 3, 2025
Crispus Attucks, Peter Salem, James Lafayette. The first person to die in the American Revolution at the Boston Massacre, a soldier responsible for killing a…
McKenzie LongAugust 7, 2024
I went to work in the Virginia State Library (now the Library of Virginia) on July 1, 1974, in the capacity of an assistant to…
Brent TarterJuly 5, 2024
The first set of records from the Virginia Revolutionary Conventions, 1774-1776 collection are now available on the Library of Virginia’s Digital Collections Discovery site. The…
Greg CrawfordFebruary 7, 2024
Every record and artifact at the Library of Virginia not only tells a story, but also has a story. The latter is referred to as…
Kenneth ForestJune 5, 2023
The partnership between the French and the Continental Army during the American Revolution has been long celebrated and venerated. A prime example is the Marquis…
Emeline AlexanderJuly 20, 2022
Suzanne Stryk views her assemblages as more than just art. In the preface to her book The Middle of Somewhere: An Artist Explores the Nature…
Library of VirginiaJune 24, 2022
Peter Francisco was a revered Revolutionary War soldier with mysterious origins. It is believed that his American story began in 1765, after being discovered abandoned…
Dawn TinnellJune 6, 2022
For hundreds of years, Virginians have had the right to petition their government. Unlike the right to vote or hold public office during the 18th…
Mari JulienneMarch 9, 2022
As I was creating a finding aid for the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts - George Rogers Clark Papers, Western Expedition Quartermaster Records, 1778-1784 (LVA…
Renee SavitsJanuary 6, 2021
While Lin Manuel Miranda’s blockbuster musical hit Hamilton takes some artistic liberties with our American Colonial past, there is a lot of history packed into…
Library of VirginiaJuly 1, 2020
Editor’s Note: The Library of Virginia, in partnership with Virginia Humanities, sponsors residential fellows during the academic year to conduct in-depth research in the Library’s collections. Gregory…
Guest ContributorJune 12, 2019
In the past few months, I have examined dozens of boxes of unprocessed Pittsylvania County court records dating back to the 1760s, searching for chancery…
Greg CrawfordSeptember 19, 2018
Yorktown Day marks the anniversary of the 19 October 1781 surrender of British forces to General George Washington ending the Revolutionary War. To celebrate, the…
Cassandra FarrellOctober 19, 2016
