Jack Jouett: Virginia's Paul Revere

Those of us from the Boston area were raised on the exploits of Paul Revere and his famed 1775 ride from Boston to Concord. But, six years later, a similar ride by a 27-year-old Virginian deserves our recognition as well.

Jack Jouett was asleep on a tavern lawn in the early morning hours of June 4, 1781. A British cavalry unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton passed by on its way to Charlottesville with orders from General Charles Cornwallis to capture Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson. Young Jouett surmised the objectives of the troops and sped on his horse for 40 miles through the backwoods of Louisa County to warn Jefferson and the General Assembly that the British were coming. 

Forewarned by Jouett, Jefferson (whose term as Governor had just ended) fled to Monticello. The General Assembly members safely fled to Staunton, Virginia. While Jefferson was hastily gathering his belongings to also head to Staunton, he heard the British forces entering his property. He quickly fled on horseback and eluded capture.

Without Jouett’s warning, Jefferson would surely have been caught and may never have been elected the new republic’s third President 19 years later in 1800. So, a young Virginian’s intuition and bravery may have been just as consequential as Revere’s ride.