Richmond became Virginia's capital in 1780, a wartime decision that reflected both military necessity and the westward shift of the state's political center of gravity. Williamsburg's exposed position on the tidewater peninsula made it vulnerable to British naval raids, and Governor Thomas Jefferson supported the move to a location farther from the coast. The transfer of the capital transformed a modest trading town on the falls of the James River into the seat of Virginia's government at one of the most difficult moments of the war.
PEOPLE
Thomas Jefferson
Governor of Virginia, Author of Declaration of Independence, Statesman
Benedict Arnold
British Brigadier General, Former Continental Officer, Raid Commander
Patrick Henry
Orator, Governor of Virginia, Revolutionary Leader
Baron von Steuben
Continental Army Inspector General, Military Trainer, Virginia Defense Commander
KEY EVENTS
Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty" Speech
Mar 1775
Arnold Burns Richmond: January 5, 1781
Jan 1781
Second Virginia Convention Meets at St. John's Church
Mar 1775
Benedict Arnold's Raid on Richmond
Jan 1781
Virginia's New Capitol Cornerstone Laid
Aug 1785
Jefferson Drafts Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Jan 1777
STORIES
HISTORICAL VOICE
The Philosopher Governor and the Burning Capital
Thomas Jefferson was not built for wartime command. He was built for thinking, writing, designing, and persuading. As the author of the Declaration of Independence, he had given the Revolution its mos...
MODERN VOICE
The Speech That May Not Have Happened Exactly That Way
We reenact Patrick Henry's speech at St. John's Church every summer, and every year someone asks me afterward: did he really say those exact words. The honest answer is that we do not know. No one wro...