April 17, 2025
by Grace Kostrzebski
With the battles of Lexington and Concord, the British soldiers and American militias had “draw[n] the sword… [and] burn[ed] the scabbard” as one colonial newspaper noted. These two battles have long been recognized as the starting points for the Revolutionary War. However, Virginians reacted harshly to the news of these battles for they were on the cusp of their own in Williamsburg. When British soldiers seized gunpowder from the town’s stores and secreted it away to their own ships, Virginians were mad and ready to fight the tyranny of the British. Yet, careful negotiations prevented a conflict similar to Lexington and Concord from happening in Williamsburg.
On April 21, British soldiers under the command of Lord Dunmore snuck into Williamsburg – stealing all of the gunpowder the town had amassed in its stores. The soldiers then transferred the stolen gunpowder onto a boat under the command of British authorities. Colonists saw this theft and quickly spread the news. Soon, an angry crowd assembled in front of Lord Dunmore’s mansion – intent to riot and storm the estate. Peyton Randolph, the speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, was able to defuse the situation – advocating for the colonists to work through the legal, authorized channels to reclaim their gunpowder.
The Virginian colonists took Randolph’s advice. The Council of Williamsburg politely asked Lord Dunmore for the gunpowder back but were soundly denied. Using the excuse of fake intelligence on a planned rebellion of enslaved people in the region, Dunmore justified the taking of the gunpowder and feebly promised to return it at a future date. In reality, General Thomas Gage who controlled all British forces in the colonies had ordered all under his command to “seize and destroy all the Artillery, Ammunition, Provisions, Tents, Small Arms, and all military stores” leading up to the conflict at Lexington. Lord Dunmore had followed his orders.
When the British refused to return the gunpowder again, another crowd gathered outside Lord Dunmore’s mansion on April 22. Angry, Lord Dunmore promised to “proclaim liberty to the slaves and reduce Williamsburg to ashes” if his secretary or the captain of the ship hosting the stolen gunpowder were harmed. Militias from neighboring counties had started to gather in response to the situation. George Washington alongside Randolph argued against marching on Williamsburg despite the growing sentiment to confront the British. It was put to a vote. The march of Williamsburg was stalled by one tie-breaking vote against the military operation. Williamsburg would not experience bloodshed like Lexington and Concord had.
A sum of about 300 pounds was collected from a local representative of the British Crown in lieu of the gunpowder’s return. By now, news of Lexington and Concord had arrived in Williamsburg. Both the distant battles and local gunpowder incident hardened anti-British sentiments in Virginia as rumors of a planned land invasion by the British and the perceived abandonment of crown sympathizers to the rebellious colonists swirled.
The colonists were ready to fight to assert their own liberty, but they refused to extend the same rights to enslaved people. The Revolutionary War was fought for the rights of Americans, yet some Americans were more important than others.
The Gunpowder incident occurred just a few blocks from where Route 76 brings cyclists through downtown Williamsburg. These same tensions between the promise of liberty for some and the practices of denying liberty to others are explored in podcasts about Charlottesville, Jamestown, Fluvanna, and Christiansburg.
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