About

Residents of Dinwiddie County lived at a juncture of the Old Dominion. Most belonged to slaveholding families of English ancestry who had been in the New World for generations. Their location allowed them to sell tobacco and other products in the city of Petersburg, and for these goods to be shipped elsewhere in the colonies and beyond via the Appomattox. 197 waterways coursed through the county, providing ample power for wheat, oat, and grist mills.

An expansive road network linked Dinwiddie with North Carolina and places further east and west.
Initial restrictions on trade compelled Dinwiddie to position itself at the forefront of political action in Virginia. Residents participated in the colony’s first protest of the Townshend Acts in 1768. Further British encroachment prompted nearly 1000 civilians to sign a non-importation pact, saying they would not purchase any of a long list of goods taxed by Parliament. At times, Dinwiddie was one of the more conservative municipalities. The Boston Port Act, which mandated the port’s closure, prompted eastern counties to craft resolutions of action against England. Dinwiddie was one of only two Virginia municipalities opposed to drastic measures.
When the war came, citizens formed a Committee of Correspondence, banning English merchants and outing suspected Loyalists. A Committee of Safety allocated payment to Dinwiddians providing goods and services for the war effort. These civilians found work hauling carts, driving wagons, making saddles and shoes, practicing carpentry, mending guns, driving cattle, pasturing horses and cows, and logging.

In the Revolution’s early years, Petersburg merchants sent ships full of food from surrounding counties to Virginian cities on the coast, and tobacco for export to the West Indies. As the conflict progressed, British fleets bisected the planters and their markets, and farmers were obligated to diversify, turning to corn, oats, wheat, and livestock for local consumption.

Many answered the call to serve either in the Continental forces or militia. Among them were at least one Native and six African American soldiers. Troops fought with the regular army from Saratoga to Savannah, and in all of Washington’s campaigns except the first in New York. One militia company served in the Battle of Camden, while others patrolled the region and provided for the county’s defense at the Battle of Blandford (now Petersburg).

This Patriot defeat allowed the British forces under William Phillips, including Benedict Arnold, to occupy the city. After coming up short in the Carolinas, Charles Cornwallis led his command to Petersburg, passing through Dinwiddie. As Lafayette compelled the redcoats to relocate to the coast, Banastre Tarleton raided toward the Blue Ridge Mountains to occupy militia forces and destroy war materials. He cut through the county twice on this raid and, by some accounts, took part in destruction here. Tarleton rejoined Cornwallis’ forces on a retreat that led to the surrender at Yorktown.

Traditions of civic action and martial duty continued long past the Revolution. Demonstrations for religious freedom and against the Alien and Sedition Acts were well-attended. Veterans of the Revolution supported those leaving for the War of 1812, a tradition that continued with every conflict up to the Spanish-American War.

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