VA, USA
Jefferson Becomes Governor of Virginia
June 1, 1779
Thomas Jefferson succeeded Patrick Henry as governor of Virginia in June 1779, taking office at a moment when the war was shifting south. Jefferson brought his intellectual brilliance to the role but struggled with the practical demands of wartime administration. Virginia's military resources were stretched thin, the state's western frontier was under pressure, and the British were increasingly active in the Chesapeake.
Jefferson's governorship is generally regarded as the weakest period of his public career. His emphasis on individual liberty made him reluctant to use the coercive powers that wartime demanded. His failure to prepare for Arnold's raid on Richmond in January 1781 became a lasting political liability.
People Involved
Author of the Declaration of Independence who served as Virginia's wartime governor from 1779 to 1781. Jefferson supported moving the capital to Richmond but was criticized for his handling of Benedict Arnold's raid, which exposed the new capital's vulnerability and damaged his political reputation.
Delivered his "Give me liberty, or give me death" speech at St. John's Church in Richmond on March 23, 1775, arguing that Virginia must prepare for war with Britain. The speech, though reconstructed from memory decades later, became the Revolution's most famous call to arms.
The former Continental hero who led a British raiding force up the James River and occupied Richmond in January 1781. Arnold's raid destroyed military stores and public records, humiliated Governor Jefferson, and demonstrated the vulnerability of Virginia's new capital.