This November marks the 249th anniversary of Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation, the effort by Virginia’s last royal governor John Murray, fourth earl of Dunmore, to arm enslaved Black people to fight the mounting Patriot rebellion. The idea of enlisting enslaved men to fight for the Crown had been brewing for some time, partly to play on fears of slave rebellion that regularly coursed through a colony where just over 40 percent of the population was held in bondage. Read more about: “Liberty ...| Encyclopedia Virginia
This week we’re marking the anniversary of an obscure treaty that ended an equally obscure war that proved to be one of the most consequential conflicts in early American history. It’s not surprising, as Dunmore’s War, which our contributor Glenn Williams calls the last conflict of the colonial era, was fought in the shadow of the American Revolution. Read more about: How Dunmore Won a War but Lost the Fight The post How Dunmore Won a War but Lost the Fight appeared first on Encyclope...| Encyclopedia Virginia