Revolution Revisited

In this bonus episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie and guest Michael Plumb explore the perilous decision that George Washington made in December 1776 to cross the Delaware River in order to hold off the British Army – and more importantly, secure an important morale victory for his troops. 
Inside the Episode:
By December 1776, the American Revolution was hanging by a thread. The Continental Army was underpaid, underfed, and freezing, retreating in the face of repeated defeats while Congress fled Philadelphia and enlistments ticked toward expiration. In this episode, we follow Washington and his army through that darkest hour — from anxious letters and crumbling morale to the risky, ice-choked crossing of the Delaware and the surprise victory at Trenton. Along the way, we unpack the realities behind the legend: the Hessian soldiers, the logistics, the overlooked figures who made the crossing possible, and the morale boost that gave the revolution new life. What emerges is not a tidy myth, but a story of fragile hope, collective effort, and a revolution that very nearly failed — until it didn’t.
Recommended Resources
Washington Crossing the Delaware
Map: Battle of Trenton
 Washington Crossing the Delaware
 
Related Content
The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775­–1777 (Wilkinson Lecture 2019)
Movie Mythbusting: Liberty's Kids
The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution

Critical ideas about enlightenment that I think people can miss. It's all about learning, doing better progress. And progress requires virtue. It requires a commitment to civic society. It's communitarian. So when they're talking about liberty, it's liberty to participate because they're dealing with a monarchy where you don't have rights where the king and the nobility based on birth get all of the rights. Liberty is for them about your right to participate, your rights to be part of government, your right to get ahead, your ability to get ahead.
Episode Description:
In this episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie peels back the polished veneer of the Declaration of Independence to reveal the messy, combustible world that birthed it. Instead of marble statues and tidy mythmaking, she takes listeners into the cramped committee rooms, the clashing egos, and the political brinksmanship that shaped July 1776. From Jefferson’s blistering draft—complete with the grievances Congress refused to stomach—to the quieter voices pushing at the edges of independence, Maggie shows that declaring a nation was far from inevitable. What emerges is a portrait of revolution built not on unanimous idealism, but on compromise, conflict, and the stubborn insistence that a new world could be imagined, even when the old one refused to die quietly.
Inside the Episode:
Maggie traces the Declaration's winding journey from contentious committee meetings to the final parchment, showing how debate, disagreement, and sheer determination shaped its most famous lines. She explores Jefferson's original denunciation of the slave trade—not as a lost purity, but as evidence of a nation wrestling openly with its contradictions-and highlights the many hands, voices, and regional perspectives that forced the document to become something larger than any one delegate.
With historian John Ragosta, she unpacks how the turmoil of 1775-76 pushed reluctant colonies toward common purpose, and how correspondence, drafts, and early printings reveal a people learning, in real time, what equality could mean. Rather than a relic, this episode treats the Declaration as a living promise-one that has been challenged, expanded, and reimagined ever since. It asks not only how the nation was declared, but how we continue declaring it every day.
TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Setting the scene in 1776 as Enlightenment ideas reshape colonial thinking
01:04 Fighting across the colonies heightens urgency for independence
04:18 Virginia debates whether to formally call for independence
05:44 Richard Henry Lee introduces the resolution for independence
06:05 Jefferson arrives in Philadelphia as Lee departs due to illness
08:14 George Mason drafts the Virginia Declaration of Rights
10:15 Colonies dispute who sparked independence first
12:23 The Committee of Five is appointed to draft the Declaration
15:32 Congress works simultaneously on independence, government, and alliances
16:52 State constitutions establish long-lasting republican models
19:54 Jefferson structures the Declaration around principles and grievances
20:16 “All men are created equal” redefines national identity
21:32 Trade, taxation, and military occupation drive public outrage
24:56 Colonies experience grievances differently by region
25:51 Britain pushes back on the grievances while avoiding the ideals
28:48 Congress removes Jefferson’s slavery paragraph to preserve unity
30:45 Edits soften criticism of the British people
31:38 Lincoln argues ideals must be pursued despite hypocrisy
33:22 Equality is defined as equality before the law
34:55 Washington orders the Declaration read to the troops
35:44 Troops tear down the statue of King George III in New York
37:59 Delegates sign the Declaration on August 2
40:49 The Declaration fuels early steps toward emancipation
42:58 Closing reflections on the Declaration’s legacy

RELATED CONTENT:
Virginia Museum of History & Culture
Revolution Revisited Podcast
The Constitution of Virginia: Defining the Political Community
Gunston Hall
Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1776
Jefferson’s Desk
Thomas Jefferson to Richard Henry Lee, July 29, 1776
Analyzing the Grievances in the Declaration of Independence

When you were in elementary school and you were learning about George Washington and the American Revolution, it all seemed like it was all gonna go really well. They were gonna win, obviously, and it was in no way obvious and it was super messy. There was a political mess. There was family mess, there was economic mess. It just gets to be so complicated so quickly.
In this episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie explores the perilous landscape of loyalty in revolutionary Virginia, a world where the choice between Crown and Colony could cost you everything. Through the voices of enslaved people seeking freedom behind British lines, Quakers standing firm in pacifism, and women navigating survival in the political crossfire, Maggie reveals that allegiance was rarely absolute. What emerges is a portrait of ordinary Virginians forced to choose between principle and preservation, and the quiet courage it took to survive a revolution that demanded sides.
Inside the Episode:
Inside this episode of Revolution Revisited, Maggie explores the gray zones of allegiance to show how “Patriot” and “Loyalist” identities were far more fluid than most history books suggest. She follows stories like Mary Willing Bird, accused of treason after British forces arrived at her doorstep and seized her property; Harry Washington, an enslaved man who sought freedom through the British lines; and Robert Pleasence, a Quaker whose pacifist convictions put him at odds with both sides. 
Alongside curators Andy Talkov and Christina Vita, Maggie unpacks how class, geography, race, and religion intertwined to shape what loyalty meant in a fractured world. Drawing from letters, court cases, and firsthand accounts, this episode asks what it truly means to stand by your beliefs when every choice carries consequences and whether neutrality was ever really possible during a revolution.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction to shifting allegiances
00:35 Why choosing a side was risky and uncertain
02:22 Introducing historians Andy Talkov and Christina Vita
03:03 The dangers of being a loyalist in Virginia
05:16 Patriot leadership and rising pressure in the mid-1770s
06:03 Dunmore’s Proclamation and the promise of freedom
06:37 Rethinking “Black Loyalists” and motivations for escape
07:24 Harry Washington and the search for liberty
10:58 The Book of Negroes and journeys to Nova Scotia
12:27 Merchants, economics, and the cost of allegiance
14:15 Hardin Burnley Jr.’s loyalism and confiscated property
15:05 John Wickham’s capture, house arrest, and shifting loyalties
16:41 Wickham’s escape, British enlistment, and postwar career
19:12 Punishments, retribution, and the limits of community trust
21:15 Shadrach Furman and violent reprisals
22:48 Mary Willing Byrd accused of trading with the enemy
24:59 Gender, suspicion, and navigating neutrality
25:59 Quaker pacifism and refusal to take sides
27:25 Robert Pleasance, abolition, and protecting his sons
28:40 Quaker exile, imprisonment, and moral conviction
30:02 Pleasance’s contradictions and the fight for manumission
31:28 Black Loyalists in Canada and fragile new beginnings
32:54 Virginia’s 1782 manumission law and its impact
34:20 Allegiance shaped by survival, circumstance, and identity
35:30 Understanding complexity beyond patriots vs. loyalists
37:00 Exhibition preview and continuing the story

RELATED CONTENT:
Virginia Museum of History & Culture
Revolution Revisited Podcast
Finding Freedom
Norfolk to Nova Scotia Judith Jackson's Crooked Road to Freedom
Virginia Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery
The Tory's Wife: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America
Benedict Arnold
"Liberty to Slaves" Frock
Mary Willing Byrd

It's probably a relatively new phenomena that people are actually thinking about patriots and loyalists, because for a long time it was usually Patriots and red coats, right? So you were either a soldier that fought in the British Army or you were a patriot, and a huge portion of the population got ignored for a long time, because they didn't really fit the patriotic narrative established for so long.
In this episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie Creech unpacks the tangled question of loyalty in revolutionary Virginia, where choosing a side was rarely simple and often dangerous. Through stories of enslaved men who seized freedom, Indigenous nations navigating impossible choices, and women whose quiet resistance shaped the cause, she reveals how patriotism was anything but uniform. What emerges is a portrait of a revolution fought as much in hearts and households as on battlefields.
Inside the Episode:
As the Revolutionary War deepened, Virginians faced choices that were anything but simple. Loyalty wasn’t always a question of right or wrong. It could come down to putting food on the table, keeping family safe, or simply where you happened to live. In this episode, Maggie Creech looks at how ordinary people tried to find their footing in a world split between rebellion and allegiance, uncovering the complicated, deeply human side of America’s revolution.
Joined by Andy Talkov of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Christina Vida of The Valentine, and Dr. Ashley Spivey of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, the conversation moves beyond battlefields to focus on everyday decisions that shaped the new nation. From the loyalty oaths and lead mines of the backcountry to the experiences of enslaved and free Black Virginians, Indigenous allies, and women who kept the armies alive, each story complicates the myth of clear heroes and villains. Together, these voices illuminate how community, circumstance, and courage defined the revolution for those who lived it.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction to Revolution Revisited
01:16 Defining Loyalty in Revolutionary Virginia
02:14 Everyday Choices and Divided Communities
03:12 Rethinking Patriots and Loyalists
03:52 Loyalty Oaths and the Backcountry Divide
05:27 Enforcing Allegiance and the Lead Mines Plot
07:50 Patriots, Prisoners, and Survival Strategies
09:35 The Story of James Armistead Lafayette
10:58 Lafayette’s Spy and the Turning of Yorktown
12:31 Freedom, Faith, and the Fight for Equality
15:42 The Complex Realities of Black Patriotism
16:17 Indigenous Perspectives on the Revolution
18:24 The Pamunkey and Virginia’s Tribal Histories
20:50 Treaties, Neutrality, and Choosing Sides
22:48 The Meaning of Neutrality and Self-Determination
25:01 The Brafferton School and Patriot Influence
27:22 Indigenous Veterans of the Revolution
29:40 Reassessing Virginia’s Tribal Alliances
31:59 Women’s Invisible Labor and Camp Life
33:30 The Randolph Brothers: A Family Divided
34:34 Reflections on Loyalty and Rebellion
35:00 Exhibitions, Research, and Continuing the Story

RELATED CONTENT:
Virginia Museum of History & Culture
Revolution Revisited Podcast
The Valentine Museum
Pamunkey Indian Tribe
Encyclopedia Virginia
Virginia Humanities
Andy Talkov - LinkedIn
Dr. Ashley Spivey - LinkedIn

The real heroes in this story are the enslaved people. These people who left their homes based on very little information in order to seek freedom, I think, underscore the terrors of slavery and the fact that people were willing to take enormous risks to find a better life, even if it was a very, very big gamble.
In this episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie discovers how words on a page began a path to freedom for thousands of enslaved people and reshaped a nation. Join Revolution Revisited with guest Andrew Lawler as we uncover the untold story of Lord Dunmore's proclamation and its impact on the Revolutionary War. Did it ignite a spark for freedom or deepen the conflict?
Inside the Episode:
In this episode of Revolution Revisited: Your Crash Course in the American Revolution, host Maggie Creech looks at one of the most complicated and consequential moments in Virginia’s path to independence, Lord Dunmore’s 1775 proclamation. When the royal governor offered freedom to enslaved people who would fight for the British Crown, it sent shockwaves through the colonies. What some saw as strategy, others saw as betrayal, and the promise of liberty set off both panic and possibility across Virginia.
Andrew Lawler, journalist and author of A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis that Spurred the American Revolution, joins to unpack the human stories behind that proclamation. He explains how Dunmore’s gamble reshaped the fight for freedom and forced Americans to face the uncomfortable truth about who that freedom was really for.
It’s an episode that reveals the messy, often contradictory heart of the Revolution. A time when the word “liberty” meant very different things depending on who you were, and what you were fighting for.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction to Revolution Revisited
00:39 The Overlooked Document of Freedom
01:19 Lord Dunmore's Desperate Proclamation
02:21 The Ripple Effect of Dunmore's Actions
03:32 The Theft That Sparked a Revolution
05:05 Dunmore's Strategic Retreat
06:10 The Ethiopian Regiment and Its Significance
19:19 The Battle of Great Bridge
20:18 The Aftermath and Legacy of Dunmore's Proclamation
21:44 The Broader Impact on Enslaved People
29:12 The Book of Negroes and the Black Diaspora
35:35 Conclusion and Reflections

RELATED CONTENT:
Virginia Museum of History & Culture
Revolution Revisited Podcast
Lord Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment
The Virginia Revolutionary Conventions (1774–1776)
A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis That Spurred the American Revolution
Andrew Lawler
Lord Dunmore's Proclamation
John Murray, fourth Earl of Dunmore