Independence and the Ninth District

A newsletter from 2017 entitled “Independence and Southwest Virginia” was one of my favorites. Many of you have told me over the years it was a favorite of yours too.

Because of redistricting, the Ninth District has added some communities and lost some communities. So, I thought it might be of interest to review locations in the Ninth District named for influential figures during the American Revolution era.

On July 4, we celebrate Independence Day, the anniversary of when fifty-six men pledged “[their] Lives, [their] Fortunes and [their] sacred Honor” by adopting the Declaration of Independence. We honor them on Independence Day, but in Southwest Virginia, their legacies can be found every day. One can simply look at a map to find them.

Three of the counties contained in the Ninth Congressional District are named after signers of the Declaration. Wythe County is named after George Wythe, who taught Thomas Jefferson law. His name appears first among Virginia’s signatures.

Carroll County’s namesake, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, represented Maryland. He was the only Roman Catholic signer and the last survivor among the fifty-six, living until 1832.

In 1785, Virginia gave birth to Franklin County. Honoring one of the most famous Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin was a renowned intellectual respected in the United States and the Western World.

The Declaration was a big step, but some had demanded independence before 1776. One of the boldest was Patrick Henry, who famously declared before the Second Virginia Convention, “Give me liberty or give me death!” He has two county names honoring him: Patrick and Henry. For a time, Henry resided in Leatherwood, Henry County.

To make independence real, it needed more than the Declaration. It needed individuals who were willing to fight and, if necessary, die for the cause. Two such patriots are honored in our area by county names. Richard Montgomery led the invasion of Canada and died at the Battle of Quebec in 1775.

Casimir Pulaski was a Polish count. Like the French-born Marquis de Lafayette and the Prussian Baron von Steuben, Pulaski was a European nobleman who was drawn to the American cause. As he wrote to George Washington, “I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it.” Pulaski fell at the Battle of Savannah in 1779.

William Grayson also fought in the war, serving as an aide to Washington and rising to colonel, but he survived the war to become one of Virginia’s first U.S. senators, and now has Grayson County named in his memory.

Furthermore, the City of Martinsville was founded by Brigadier General Joseph Martin who contributed to American Revolutionary battles at Kings Mountain and Cowpens.

Russell County was named for William Russell, but which one, the father or the son? Both were soldiers of the Revolution. The elder Russell’s service included Point Pleasant, when frontiersmen led by Andrew Lewis defeated Shawnee Chief Cornstalk and helped clear the way for Daniel Boone and others to settle beyond the Appalachians.

William Russell’s son was one of the Overmountain Men, frontiersmen who rallied from hundreds of miles away to fight the British. Their victory at Kings Mountain helped turn the tide of the war in the South. The Abingdon Muster Grounds, where 400 of the militiamen began their journey, marks the northern trailhead of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail.

Then there is Washington County. George Washington led the Continental Army to victory against the powerful British Empire. That victory led to a sense of liberty in the colonies and in 1782, the Village of Liberty (now known as the Town of Bedford) was formed.

Later, Washington served as president of the Constitutional Convention and subsequently as our first president under the new Constitution. After two terms, he returned home. Truly, Washington was:

“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

That description came from Washington’s colleague Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, who, sure enough, is the namesake of Lee County.

In Southwest Virginia, we are proud of our patriotic heritage. The names of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration, the other statesmen who worked for independence, and the soldiers who fought for it hold an honored place in our memory. But their legacy consists of more than names in history books or on maps. It is found in our democratic republic, in the freedoms we enjoy, and the great nation we have become.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office.  You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.

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***not part of publication: History of county names was drawn in part from Virginia County Names: Two Hundred and Seventy Years of Virginia History by Charles Massie Long.***