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Article: Swamp gives up bits of Great Bridge story.(Local)
- Article from:
- The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
- Article date:
- May 24, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 The Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ON A SHIP OFF NORFOLK on Dec. 6, 1775, Lord Dunmore penned a letter to Lord Dartmouth, the British secretary of state for the colonies. He recounted how "rebels" were setting up defenses at a place called Great Bridge.
"I immediately ordered a fort to be erected there," the soon-to-be-last colonial governor of Virginia wrote, "and put an officer with 25 of the 14th Regiment to garrison it, with about as many volunteers, and about 50 Negroes, whom I now arm and discipline as fast as they come in; the fort has been besieged by between seven or eight hundred of the rebels for these eight days past, without hitherto doing us the least damage, except wounding one or ...