Jack Jouett's Ride (1781)
On the night of June 3–4, 1781, Jack Jouett rode about forty miles from Louisa County to Charlottesville to warn state officials of the approaching...
On the night of June 3–4, 1781, Jack Jouett rode about forty miles from Louisa County to Charlottesville to warn state officials of the approaching British Army. The British had been threatening Richmond and central Virginia since the spring, and the General Assembly had fled to Charlottesville. On June 3, British cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton assembled in Louisa County to attack Charlottesville. Jouett noticed them, guessed their intentions, and raced ahead to warn Governor Thomas Jefferson, whose term had just ended, and other members of the state government.