All the British need is a way to break the spirit of the rebellion, a bold stroke that will convince the colonists to give up the fight.
The British commander, General Cornwallis, assigns the task to Colonel Banastre Tarleton: Go to Charlottesville and capture the leaders of Virginia's rebel government—Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry foremost among them. The loss of its leadership will surely bring Virginia to its knees, and the other colonies will have no choice but to likewise bend to the will of England.
Tarleton, known as the "Hunting Leopard,” and recognized as one of the most determined and tactically brilliant cavalry leaders in the history of horse-mounted warfare, is the ideal candidate for the task at hand. Upon receiving his orders, he sets out with 250 riders—many of them mounted on sturdy and exceptionally swift horses seized from Virginia plantations. As if to underline the urgency of his attack, Tarleton plans to cover the last 70 miles to Charlottesville in only 24 hours—according to an account of the incident researched and written by Virginius Dabney, a Pulitzer Prize winning editorialist and former editor of the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch.
Only two or three hours before midnight, on June 3, 1781, the British pass Cuckoo Tavern, in Louisa County, as they rush toward Charlottesville. The moon lights the way for the horsemen and open roads stretch before them—Jefferson and the rebellious legislature will surely be in their clutches by morning.
Except, that is, for Captain John (Jack) Jouett Jr., a six-foot, four-inch Virginia militiaman who—for his day—is huge of stature.
And, it seems, huge of heart. History is unclear as to why Jack Jouett is in the area. Is he sleeping under a tree at Cuckoo Tavern? Is he visiting his father's home in Louisa? But it is clear about his heroic deeds of that fateful evening.
When the British charge by, Jouett surmises what they are up to and makes a bold decision: He will attempt to outrace Tarleton to Charlottesville, by making an arduous all-night dash through some 40 miles of mountain trails and untracked wilderness.
It may well be the single most significant act of individual heroism during the colonies' fight for independence. It certainly is the most overlooked.
Perhaps its lack of notice has something to do with the natural comparisons to the famous ride of Paul Revere (see sidebar below) which has benefitted from several tellings, especially Longfellow's famous poem and its tale of Revere's heroic dash along New England streets.
But for Jouett's valiant thoroughbred there are no open roads to gallop. For Jouett himself there are no grandiose cries into the night. Speed and stealth are imperative. The bright moon helps, but theirs would be a dangerous trek even in broad daylight. Horse and rider work as one, fighting through brushy draws, fording streams, finding their way around obstacles which could maim or kill either of them.
Tarleton, meanwhile, tarries only long enough to capture and bum a wagon train of supplies intended for colonial forces, and to roust some Virginia dignitaries from their beds at Castle Hill, home of Dr. Thomas Walker.
From Castle Hill, Tarleton is off to Charlottesville to complete his mission.
But he is too late.
Jouett and his tired mount arrive at Monticello in the early hours of June 4—reportedly between 4 and 5 a.m.—when Jouett awakens Jefferson and several legislators who are also staying at the mountain-top home. After a glass or two of wine—and something, hopefully, for his horse—Jouett descends the mountain and rides into Charlottesville to issue his warning.
The story goes that Jefferson, his family, and his guests enjoy a leisurely breakfast before the future president sets about gathering his most important papers and the others depart.
A sidebar to the saga indicates that Jefferson is skeptical that the British are actually coming, and that he barely escapes on horseback when Tarleton's forces do arrive at Monticello later that morning.
The members of the Virginia assembly, meanwhile, have decided to reconvene in Staunton, another 40 miles to the west, but several—including Daniel Boone—are captured. Boone, a representative from the area that will later become the state of Kentucky, is apparently considered a minor catch and is released the next day.
Ironically, Jouett himself is nearly captured later in the day, except his sturdy and seemingly tireless horse outdistances an entire contingent of British pursuers.
"Jouett's accomplishment was of great importance to the outcome of the war," says Stephen Meeks, author of several books about historic Albemarle County.
"Most of the leadership, the more vocal leadership, did come from Virginia," says Meeks. "If Tarleton had been successful, it would have been a devastating blow to the whole process. The war would have dragged on, or people would have lost hope and given in. ''
Other historical sources back Meeks' opinion. Even though the climactic Battle of Yorktown was but a few months away, if Tarleton's quest was successful-along with similar coordinated strikes throughout the colonies-the pendulum may well have swung the other way.
Why then has Jouett been lost in history?
Meeks cites two factors: No famous poem has been written about Jouett, and just about everyone connected with Albemarle County and Charlottesville-area history tends to be overshadowed by Jefferson.
"The only real monument to Jack Jouett's presence in the county is the middle school that's named after him," says Meeks. ''That's also true of several other figures in the county. George Rogers Clark was born here, for example, and Meriwether Lewis.
''This past summer, I took a vacation out to Kentucky, and along the way I just happened to stumble upon Jack Jouett's house (Jouett settled in Kentucky in 1782, shortly after the war). Kentucky, not having a lot of the founders of the nation like we have here in Virginia, has memorialized Jouett, Clark, and several others more than we have here.''
Jouett settled in Mercer County, Kentucky, and later moved to neighboring Woodford County. Kentucky maintains The Jouett House as a museum honoring the transplanted Virginian: it is six miles southwest of Versailles, Kentucky.
Jouett raised his family in the Bluegrass State, became active in politics, and—according to Meeks—helped Kentucky seek statehood status.
Jouett, from his home in the heart of Kentucky's bluegrass region, became one of the state's first importers of purebred horses and cattle—thus playing a leading role in establishing Kentucky's storied horse-racing tradition.
When Jouett died, in 1822, he was much appreciated for his many contributions to Kentucky, but was soon to be forgotten to the ages.
''Actually, one of his sons, Matthew Jouett, is more famous than his father,'' says Meeks. "He was a portrait painter, a very good and well-known portrait painter. Matthew did a portrait of himself, but unfortunately, as far as we know, he never did one of his father.''
Thus, as new generations continue to learn a stylized account of Paul Revere's exploits, the monumental achievements of Jack Jouett fade into history, along with the hoofbeats of the noble horse that helped found a nation.
"In the case of Revere's popularity," says Patrick M. Leehey, coordinator of research for the Paul Revere Memorial Association in Boston, Mass., "...50 percent of that answer is 'we don't really know.'"
"One thing is that his express ride (Revere's silversmith trade was suffering during the revolt, and he was apparently doing messenger work to earn extra income) just happened to be the night before the first pitched battle between the British troops and the American militia. That's partly one reason. Another reason is that a pretty famous poet wrote a poem about him."
The poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wasn't written until 1861.
"The date was pretty significant," says Leehey. ''Apparently, 'Paul Revere's Ride' became something of a theme song for the union troops during the Civil War.
"The odd thing is that Revere didn't really become nationally famous until a good 10 to 20 years after the poem was written, probably the 1880s or 1890s. Then, for some reason, he became really enormously famous. I saw a little book that was supposed to be the 10 most famous events in world history, and Revere's ride was included along with the fall of Rome and the birth of Christ. So it really was quite overdone."
Overdone compared to world standards, perhaps, but Revere did singlehandedly warn the people of Lexington and Concord that the British were coming, thereby saving the rebellion that would ultimately give birth to the United States. Didn't he?
Well, not exactly, despite the poem's glowing account of Revere's heroics.
''There were two men that were basically given the detail to ride out to Lexington," says Leehey. “And this is a real parallel (to Jouett) because one of the things they were specifically told to do was warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British troops were marching out to arrest them."
Historians now theorize that the troops were not really planning to arrest Adams and Hancock because such an act would have ignited the very rebellion the British were trying to avoid—but the colonists had no way of knowing that at the time.
As for the ride itself, the other horseman took a different and more cautious route than Revere's 15-mile jaunt—leaving Boston earlier and arriving in Lexington later.
"Once they were in Lexington and had properly warned Adams and Hancock, they then decided to go on to Concord," says Leehey. "Along the way, they met a third man, who was a local man, and soon after that they were captured."
Revere was captured before he even got to Concord?
"It appears the other two men got away pretty quickly,'' says Leehey, ''but Revere was held probably because he was better known to the British officers."
That much is very probably true, for several reasons. In addition to being a talented silversmith, historians believe Revere had a charismatic and charming personality, and that he was given to rowdiness and public drunkenness. The latter, especially, would help explain why British patrols knew who he was, and why he rode through the darkened streets screaming ''The British are coming, the British are coming"—when he was supposed to be on a furtive mission.
Note: These archival articles are presented exactly as they appeared at the time of the issue in which they appeared. As such, all quotes, as well as references to temporal facts, artifacts and other items are contemporaneous to the date of original publication.