Posted on 03/16/2025 7:17:09 AM PDT by Don@VB
I'm having a promotion for a book I wrote and published (under pen name Lyle Wesley) on Amazon. The title is A Night that Saved Virginia. It is historical fiction based on a true event; a British attempt to capture Thomas Jefferson at Monticello when he was Governor of Virginia. The E-Book version is free on Amazon until March 18th. The Amazon link is https://a.co/d/4mDuwJF. Best Regards and Happy Sunday!
I thought it was interesting that they did capture a few of the legislators. One notable was Daniel Boone who represented a county in (At the time) Virginia’s Kentucky Territory. They arrested him and locked him in a shed and let him go the next day.
>>AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.<<
One account cites Jouett at the Cukoo Tavern off what is now Rt 33 or 250. He supposedly overheard British soldiers there discussing the attack. From what I’ve read that may not be the case. A safer account places Jouett at or near Cukoo Tavern around 9-10 pm where he would have witnessed Banistre Tarlton’s 250 Dragoons heading west towards Louisa County Courthouse.
I wonder if Tarteton was carrying out his own idea and had to give them up when the main idea was a failure. Had to have ticked off more Americans, either way.
Yes, Jefferson had to be warned twice. From what I’ve read, while the British came up one side of the “Little Mountain” Jefferson left on the opposite side of the mountain following deer trails to another one of his family homes.
Just bought your book! Sounds really cool!
From what I’ve read,this attack was part of a larger offensive into Virginia’s western Piedmont Region. Cornwallis was part of the campaign, however, Cornwallis did not go to Charlottesville or to Monticello. Tarleton was in Charlottesville but didn’t go to Monticello. One of Tarlton’s officers, Captain Kenneth McLeod, was dispatched to Monticello in order to capture Jefferson. Ironically, he was under orders to avoid harm to individuals and property. For the most part, McLeod complied with Tarlton’s directives, however, the British did make off with a significant amount of Jefferson ‘s wine.
Thanks for the post! I’d appreciate being included!
My pleasure.
👍 Thanks.
Thank you & best wishes. What an interesting story!
You are welcome. We learned about Jack Jouett in Fourth Grade Virginia History (1961 for me). After that I never read about it again, so I decided to address it myself.
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