In 1781, Virginian Jack Jouett made a famous ride toward Monticello and Charlottesville to warn of impending British forces and potential political disaster, leading him to be known as the "Paul Revere of the South." Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton shares the story of Jouett's ride in this episode of Mountaintop History.
This is Mountaintop History, a podcast from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at historic Monticello. My name is Kyle Chattleton.
The year was 1781. In the midst of the American Revolutionary War, Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson and members of the Virginia Assembly fled the city of Richmond. British forces, led by defector Benedict Arnold, had attacked the state capitol, forcing many in the Virginia government to flee west in the hopes that they would remain out of reach from the British.
That was the plan at least, but the British had other ideas. Specifically, General Charles Cornwallis had learned of the Americans escape to Charlottesville, and was determined to have them captured. On June 3rd, he ordered cavalry led by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to begin their quick and covert journey toward Charlottesville.
During the evening hours they passed by a tavern in Louisa County, awakening Jack Jouett. Jouett supported the revolutionary cause, and correctly surmised that Tarleton and his British forces were traveling to Charlottesville to capture members of the Virginia government. He climbed onto his best horse, and rode throughout the night for some forty miles before approaching the steps of Monticello in the morning. Inside was Governor Jefferson. Jouett warned him to leave at once or else he would soon be apprehended. According to some sources, Jefferson rewarded Jouett for his efforts with some fine madeira wine.
Jouett continued his ride throughout Charlottesville, warning state legislators to leave the city. They continued west toward Staunton, while Jefferson and his family headed south.
Jouett’s actions prevented the capture of important government officials, thus playing an important role in the American revolution. In 1909, a poem was published in his honor in Charlottesville’s Daily Progress newspaper, which read in part:
“Hearken good people: awhile abide / And hear of stout Jack Jouett’s ride; / How he rushed his steed, nor stopped nor stayed / Till he warned the people of Tarleton’s raid […] Here goes to thee, Jack Jouett! / Lord keep thy memory green; / You made the greatest ride, sir, / That ever yet was seen.”
In fact, some would later call him the Paul Revere of the South.
This has been another edition of Mountaintop History, a collaboration between WTJU and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. To learn more, and to plan your next visit, go to our website at Monticello.org.
