Gunpowder Incident

Drawing of the octagonal Williamsburg Magazine

The Gunpowder Incident (or Gunpowder Affair) was a conflict early in the American Revolutionary War between Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of colonial Virginia, and militia led by Patrick Henry. On April 20, 1775, a day after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Lord Dunmore attempted to remove the gunpowder from the magazine in Williamsburg, Virginia to a British ship.

Growing tension

In early 1775, Dunmore saw rising unrest in the colony and sought to deprive Virginia militia of supplies needed for insurrection. The Second Virginia Convention had elected delegates to the Continental Congress. Dunmore issued a proclamation against electing delegates to the Congress, but did not take serious action. Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech at the Second Convention on March 23 and the accompanying resolution calling for forming an armed resistance made Dunmore "think it prudent to remove some Gunpowder which was in a Magazine in this place.” Dunmore gave a key to Lieutenant Henry Colins, commander of H.M.S. Magdalen, and ordered him to remove the powder.

Removing the Gunpowder

On the night of April 20, royal marines loaded fifteen half barrels of powder into the governor's wagon and transported it to the eastern end of the Quarterpath Road to be loaded aboard an armed British ship in the James River.

The act was discovered by townsfolk while underway, and they sounded an alarm. Local militia rallied to the scene, and riders spread word of the incident across the colony.

Dunmore, who had only recently gained some popularity from victory in Dunmore's War against Shawnee Indians in the Ohio Country, feared for his personal safety. He warned the colony that if he were attacked he would “declare Freedom to the Slaves, and reduce the City of Williamsburg to Ashes.” He also told an alderman that he had “once fought for the Virginians” but “By God, I would let them see that I could fight against them.”

As word of the incident spread, militia from Hanover, Albemarle, Orange, and, under the advice of George Washington, Fredericksburg, began to move on Williamsburg. These militias learned of the events in Lexington and Concord at about the same time they began to march. The Hanover militia, led by Patrick Henry, reached Williamsburg first, arrving outside of the city on May 3. That day Dunmore's family escaped to Porto Bello, Lord Dunmore's hunting lodge on the York River, and from there to the H.M.S. Fowey, lying at anchor in the York River. The governor sent a request for reinforcements to Boston.

For several days, a standoff ensued. Henry waited outside Williamsburg with between 150 and 500 militia while Dunmore, remaining in Williamsburg, threatened to destroy the town and have the Navy fire on Yorktown if there was an attack.

Conflict resolution by a loyalist

Carter Braxton negotiated a resolution to the Gunpowder Incident by agreeing to have £330 in royal funds transferred from the accounts managed by his father-in-law, Richard Corbin, Deputy Collector of the Royal Revenue in Virginia, as payment for the powder. The militia left, and Henry joined the rest of Virginia's delegation at the Continental Congress. Dunmore issued a proclamation condemning Henry as a criminal on May 6.

Effect of incident

The incident exacerbated Dunmore's declining popularity. He fled the Governor's Palace to the British ship Fowey at Yorktown on June 8. On November 7, Dunmore issued a proclamation declaring Virginia in a state of rebellion.

See also

• Powder Alarm — a similar event in Massachusetts

External links

• "Primary Documents Relating to the Seizure of Powder at Williamsburg, VA, April 21, 1775", from www.revwar75.com
• Old Virginia Gazette article on the Gunpowder Incident

References

• Proclamation against Patrick Henry
• Colonial Williamsburg - Magazine (including the Gunpowder Incident)