NEW KENT — A weekend event will take place May 2-4 at The New Kent Ordinary in New Kent to commemorate Patrick Henry’s demand to the royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, to return gunpowder stolen from the powder magazine in Williamsburg.
This event is free and open to the public and will include historic talks, an encampment and drills by the 7th Regiment of the Continental Line, according to The New Kent Ordinary.
On May 3-4, 1775, Patrick Henry led a volunteer militia from Hanover County to Williamsburg to demand that the royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, return the gunpowder that was taken from the powder magazine in the middle of Williamsburg on April 21, the organization explains. Word had since arrived of bloodshed in Massachusetts on April 19 when British redcoats marched into Lexington and Concord to seize gunpower and arms and were met by a militia.
The 250th-anniversary event will begin Friday, May 2 at 7 p.m. with a historic talk on the Spring of 1775 by Mike Cecere in the New Kent Courthouse Boardroom.
At 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, the encampment opens with reenactors and their horses at The New Kent Ordinary at 12000 New Kent Highway. The New Kent Resolves will be adopted at 11 a.m., followed by a military drill and demonstration. Patrick Henry arrives at noon to address those gathered, providing historical context for the march, followed by a drill, demonstration and recruitment. This will be repeated at 2 p.m. and the Camp will close at 4 p.m.
The event is presented by the New Kent Historical Society and the New Kent Historic Commission and is sponsored by The New Kent Ordinary.
