In May 1781, Virginia’s government was on the run. The state capital of Richmond had become incredibly dangerous due to ongoing British threats and raids along the James River. Believing the inland Piedmont region would be a safe haven beyond the enemy’s reach, the General Assembly voted to abandon Richmond, retreat west, and reconvene at Charlottesville on May 24. They had no idea Cornwallis would intercept a colonial dispatch revealing their new location and send his fast-moving cavalry straight after them.
At the time, Charlottesville was just a small and insignificant town. Governor Thomas Jefferson lived and worked from his estate, Monticello, which was a few miles outside of town. His term as governor had actually just ended two days prior on June 2, leaving the state temporarily without an active executive, but because he was still at Monticello managing the crisis, history still looks at him as the British army’s prime target.
At this particular moment in time, the General Assembly worked in the town of Charlottesville itself, convening in the Albemarle County Courthouse and frequenting the nearby Swan Tavern. Up at Monticello, Jefferson was hosting the Speakers of both the state Senate and the House of Delegates.
When Cornwallis learned that it would be possible to strike a devastating blow to Virginia’s government—and potentially change the course of the war—he sent one of the most feared individuals to strike: Banastre Tarleton, a 27-year-old superstar of the British forces.
Born in Liverpool to a wealthy merchant family, Banastre Tarleton went to Oxford and studied law, but he spent most of his time living wildly, gambling, and burning through his inheritance. His family eventually bought him an officer’s commission in the British Army, and he volunteered to go to America to put down the rebellion.
Tarleton was given command of the British Legion, a highly mobile combined force of cavalry and light infantry. They wore distinctive dark green uniforms instead of the traditional British red coats. Tarleton soon developed his patent style of striking without warning, marching through the night, and hunting down retreating enemies. In fact, his reputation preceded him in a terrifying way.
In May 1780 at the Battle of Waxhaws, Tarleton’s men caught up to a retreating force of Virginia continentals. When the Americans tried to surrender, Tarleton’s horse was shot. Thinking that their commander had been killed under a flag of truce, his soldiers went into a frenzy and killed over 100 Americans who were attempting to lay down their arms. From that day on, “Tarleton’s Quarter” meant killing surrendered soldiers.
When Tarleton was sent to Charlottesville, it was just by luck that his troops were spotted by a young man named Jack Jouett. Tarleton and his men thought they’d sneak up on the town completely unnoticed, but the 26-year-old militia captain had a different plan in mind.
Jack Jouett, son of the owner of the Swan Tavern in Charlottesville, was at the Cuckoo Tavern in Louisa County when he spotted the distinctive green uniforms of Tarleton’s British Legion riding past in the moonlight. Suspecting Charlottesville was the target, he raced out, mounted his horse, and rode into the night to warn his town. The only problem was that Tarleton had a massive head start on the main highway, and Charlottesville was 40 miles away.
To arrive first, Jouett had to take an abandoned, heavily overgrown path through the Virginia Piedmont known as the “Three Chopt Road.” The path was treacherous, but he rode at a reckless gallop through the dark. The vines and thorns literally shredded his clothes and his body. He carried the physical scars from those branches on his face for the rest of his life.
Just before dawn, Jouett arrived. His first stop was Monticello, where he warned Jefferson, who managed to escape into the woods moments before the British cavalry arrived at his front door. Jouett then continued on his way down the mountain into the town of Charlottesville.
Thanks to his warning, the majority of Virginia’s leadership fled over the Blue Ridge Mountains to Staunton just in time. Those who escaped included Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Harrison V, and General Edward Stevens.
However, there were some who didn’t get away in time. When Tarleton’s British Legion cavalry came rushing through the town, it was absolute chaos. Legislators were said to be leaping out of windows and running for their horses. Tarleton did manage to capture several assemblymen, including the legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone, who was serving as a local representative.
While so many know of Paul Revere’s 12-mile ride, it’s sobering to think that Jack Jouett rode 40 miles through dense, bloody overgrowth, saved the cradle of Virginia’s government, and is barely mentioned in standard history books. Who knows how many other incredible men and women played a huge role in history and were left out?
When I wrote Whispers of Treason, I wanted to be sure to weave real historical places and stories I heard as a little girl growing up in Charlottesville, Virginia. That time period and those places have always had a special place in my heart, and I hope that if you read Whispers of Treason, you’ll enjoy the historical facts I’ve included at the end of the book.
A traitor in the Continental Army. A raid that could end Virginia’s government. And one woman willing to risk everything for love.
Anna Randolph has always believed women are capable of more than society allows. The daughter of a prominent military supplier in Revolutionary Virginia, she manages her father’s correspondence and longs to contribute meaningfully to the cause of independence. When she meets Major James Coleman at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, she’s drawn to the self-made officer who sees her as an equal—but in the uncertain spring of 1781, with war raging through Virginia, falling in love feels like both a gift and a gamble.
Major James Coleman earned his rank through merit, not birth. A Scots-Irish officer from the Shenandoah Valley, he’s gathering intelligence for the Marquis de Lafayette while avoiding romantic entanglements—his dangerous work is no life for a family man. But Anna Randolph is unlike any woman he’s ever known: intelligent, passionate, and brave. For the first time, James allows himself to imagine a future beyond the war. Until a routine visit to the Albemarle Barracks uncovers a deadly conspiracy threatening both Jefferson and the cause itself.
When whispered treason reveals plans for a devastating raid on Charlottesville and James is left for dead by a jealous rival, Anna must become the courier he never meant to send into danger. Racing thirty miles through enemy territory to reach Lafayette’s camp, she carries intelligence that could save Jefferson and alter the course of the war. In a world where women are meant to wait and worry, Anna Randolph will ride into the heart of danger to prove that sometimes the most perilous mission requires not just courage, but love.
Now, how about a little giveaway? One person will win a $5 Amazon gift card by simply telling me: Have you ever visited a historical site, and what is your favorite one?
