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General Count Donatien de Rochambeau and French Troops traveled through Stafford in mid-September 1781. In fact, French Army troops of Rochambeau twice used Falmouth ford. General George Washington, in New York, planned use of the 5,000-man French expeditionary force. When he became aware the French fleet was headed for the Chesapeake from the West Indies,…

Stafford’s American Revolution cohort consisted of 66 men in the Continental Army and 489 whose approved Revolutionary War Public Service Claims are on file in the Virginia State Library. Perhaps as many as 1,000 Staffordians were involved in the Revolution at one time or another. Through April 2000, due to research by Mike and Marty…

John Strode (c.1735-c.1820)—a Quaker from Chester County, Pennsylvania. Around 1764 he came to work at James Hunter’s iron works near Falmouth. Here he built a new dam and many of the mills and factories. Strode was responsible for converting Hunters works from a supplier of domestic needs to a maker of all manner of military…

James Hunter (1721-1784)—born near Glasgow, Scotland, he was from a well-established mercantile family that was involved in the tobacco trade between America and England. James frequently visited Virginia on his father’s ships but settled her permanently around 1746 for the purpose of helping his ailing Uncle William Hunter manage his store in Fredericksburg. After William’s…

Iron Why Iron Was Important: Tools, cooking pots, hardware, nails, farm implements, and many other essential everyday items were made of iron. Design of the Iron Furnace: Iron was smelted in a stone or brick furnace 25 to 28 feet tall and about 24 feet square at the base. If possible, iron furnaces were built…

The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 25th to September 17th in 1787. Following our country’s independence from Great Britain the new United States of America had continued operating under the Articles of Confederation (1777). These articles had been used throughout the Revolution and, while satisfactory in many respects, were intentionally left…

Books Read in Falmouth in 1770s Books ordered from printers in England to be sent to Falmouth citizens through Anderson’s Trading Post in 1770. Anderson’s Trading Post is now called Amy’s Café. (Complied from notes of Dr. Oscar Darter) Beauties of Nature and Art Johnson’s Dictionaries Easops (Aesops) Fables The Free Thinker Gentlemen’s Instructions Gospel…

Scion of a prosperous and powerful Virginia family, William was born in 1741, the only son of Henry and Lucy Carter Fitzhugh. His father died before William’s second birthday, leaving him the young heir of a vast fortune. His mother, daughter of extremely wealthy Robert “King” Carter of Williamsburg fame, soon remarried. She wed Colonel…

By Jerrilynn Eby MacGregor As a historian, I sometimes become aware of trends or patterns as I piece together Stafford’s past. My occasional work with the dedicated volunteers of Stafford County’s Cemetery Committee helped me to recognize one such pattern. As we traveled around to cemeteries recording the inscriptions and other data from gravestones, I…

James Garrard (1749-1822)—son of Col. William Garrard (c.1715-c.1786) of Stafford. James resided at Hampstead on Poplar Road (Route 616) in Stafford. During the American Revolution, James served as a captain in the Stafford militia. From 1779-1780 James represented Stafford County in the Virginia House of Delegates. From at least 1779-1784 James was a justice for…

Nestled close to the shore of Aquia Creek, near the Aquia Harbour Yacht basin, is a small island. It appears to be an extension of land as its western shore is actually joined to the mainland by a marshy bog. For years leaving Aquia Harbour Marina pass by the inconspicuous island. This unpretentious piece of…