Virginia, Britain's most populous and arguably most important North
American colony, once seemed the perfect fit for the “consensus”
interpretation of the War of Independence. Indeed, the percentage of
white colonists who became loyalists was probably lower in Virginia than
in any other rebelling colony. The widespread agreement on secession
from Britain should not, however, be mistaken for social consensus. The
reality was that revolutionary Virginia was frequently in turmoil. One of
the most intriguing of the local insurrections broke out in the northern
county of Loudoun just five months before the Declaration of
Independence. In February 1776, the county erupted into a heated
confrontation pitting gentlemen against their less wealthy neighbours.
Lund Washington, who was managing Mount Vernon, warned his
cousin, General George Washington, who was outside Boston training
his fledgeling patriot army, that the “first Battle we have in this part of
the Country will be in Loudon” – not against British soldiers, but against
fellow patriots. Within a week, the revolutionary government in
Williamsburg, the Committee of Safety, felt compelled to send troops to
quell the disturbances. Yet, for months afterwards, gentry Virginians
worried that their effort to suppress the rebellion had failed. In mid-May,
Andrew Leitch told Leven Powell of Loudoun, “I really lament the torn
and distracted condition of your County.” The “troublesome times,” as
another gentleman called them, were slow to abate.
