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negroes, and told him he was their prisoner. Seeing he was overpowered by numbers, he made no resistance. Believing him to be very peaceable, they all went into the house, leaving him and the paymaster together. 'Give up instantly all that you possess of value,' said the latter, 'or prepare to die.' 'I have nothing to give up,' said
Francisco, 'so use your pleasure.' 'Deliver instantly,' rejoined the soldier, 'those massy silver buckles which you wear in your shoes.' 'They were a present from a valued friend,' replied Francisco, 'and it would grieve me to part with them. Give them into your hands I never will. You have the power; take them, if you think fit.' The soldier put his sabre under his arm, and bent down to take them. Francisco, finding so favorable an opportunity to recover his liberty, stepped one pace in his rear, drew the sword with force from under his arm, and instantly gave him a blow across the scull. 'My enemy,' observed Francisco, 'was brave, and though severely wounded, drew a pistol, and, in the same moment that he pulled the trigger, I cut his hand nearly off. The bullet grazed my side. Ben V---. (the man of the house) very ungenerously brought out a musket, and gave it to one of the British soldiers, and told him to make use of that. He mounted the only horse they could get, and presented it at my breast. It missed fire. I rushed on the muzzle of the gun. A
446:" The wounded man flew to the troop; the others were panic struck, and fled. I seized V---, and would have dispatched him, but the poor wretch begged for his life; lie was not only an object of my contempt, but pity. The eight horses that were left behind, I gave him to conceal for me. Discovering Tarleton had dispatched ten more in pursuit of me, I made off. I evaded their vigilance. They stopped to refresh themselves. I, like an old fox, doubled, and fell on their rear. I went the next day to V--- for my horses; he demanded two, for his trouble and generous intentions. Finding my situation dangerous, and surrounded by enemies where I ought to have found friends, I went off with my six horses. I intended to have avenged myself of V--- at a future day, but Providence ordained I should not be his executioner, for he broke his neck by a fall from one of the very horses.'
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429:. The version reprinted below (from Howe's 1852 edition) contains details not present in Francisco's own written accounts, including the presence nearby of Tarleton's main body, and an allegation of the tavernkeeper's assistance to the raiders. Some of its details are visible in the 1814 engraving depicted above.
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from the
British Legion at Capt. Benjamin Ward's Plantation, “West Creek”. One of the dragoons demanded that he give up his watch and silver shoe buckles. He refused. As the dragoon bent down to take his buckles, Francisco, who was unarmed, reached down and drew the man's sword from its scabbard.
766:
Historical
Collections of Virginia: Containing a Collection of the Most Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, &c., Relating to its History and Antiquities Together with Geographical and Statistical Descriptions : to Which is Appended an Historical and Descriptive
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for financial support. His request was rejected on the grounds that he was already receiving a military pension. The two accounts differ in some details, but much of the narrative is essentially the same. No other sources are known to corroborate the events he describes; Tarleton, in his memoir,
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While the
British army were spreading havoc and desolation all around them, by their plundering and burnings in Virginia, in 1781, Francisco had been reconnoitring, and while stopping at the house of a Mr. V---, then in Amelia, now Nottoway county, nine of Tarleton's cavalry came up, with three
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He then used the sword to kill the man. According to the
Virginia letter, he then "wounded and drove off the others", taking eight of the nine horses . In the 1829 letter to Congress, he claims to have killed two more men and "frightened off the rest of the party, amounting in number to six."
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was a private who served in several units during the war. He was a striking figure, reported to be about six feet six inches (about 198 cm) and over 260 pounds (120 kg), and was known for his strength. In the northern campaigns, he was in the battles at
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The only documented primary sources for this action originate with Peter
Francisco himself. One is a 1820 letter addressed to the Virginia State Assembly in 1820. The other is Francisco's 1829 application to the
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in July 1781. The skirmish, which is only known to be documented by
Francisco, resulted in the death of at least one man and the wounding of several others.
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328:(also known as "Tarleton's Legion") on a raiding expedition into central Virginia. Moving rapidly, Tarleton and his men left
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Later historical accounts of the skirmish embellished the story with details not present in the documentary record.
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erected a marker at the approximate site of the skirmish. It is located in the vicinity of the community of
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were in sight. All was hurry and confusion, which I increased by repeatedly hallooing, as loud as I could, "
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Come on, my brave boys; now's your time; we will soon dispatch these few, and then attack the main body!
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and prepared to embark some of the troops on transports. While en route to
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One of the most widely published accounts of
Francisco's fight was that of Virginia historian
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is the name commonly given to an alleged skirmish between a detachment of the
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and about five miles due west of the site formerly occupied by Ward's tavern.
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698:(4). Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture: 217–219.
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Guilford
Courthouse: Nathanael Greene's Victory in Defeat March 15, 1781
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only generally mentions casualties that occurred during the expedition.
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In the 1820 account Francisco describes how, while passing through
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DAR marker at the site of Francisco's Fight, erected in 1931.
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Capt. Benjamin Ward's Plantation, “West Creek”, present-day
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Peter Francisco Fighting Tarleton's Cavalry (1814 engraving)
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688:"Letter of Peter Francisco to the General Assembly"
332:on July 9, and rode deep into the foothills of the
509:Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War
438:. I disarmed and wounded him. Tarleton's troop of
408:) on his way home, he encountered a detachment of
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279:soldier with a long service record, during the
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348:; Tarleton returned to Portsmouth on July 24.
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459:State historic marker dedicated to the fight
837:A History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781
809:Yorktown 1781: the World Turned Upside Down
737:. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press.
16:Alleged American Revolutionary War skirmish
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559:Francisco, Letter to the General Assembly
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860:Reproduction of Henry Howe's account
770:. Charleston, SC: Babcock & Co.
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489:Landmarks of the American Revolution
473:Daughters of the American Revolution
1210:Battles involving the United States
897:Virginia in the American Revolution
791:Niles' National Register, Volume 35
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981:Give me liberty, or give me death!
767:Sketch of the District of Columbia
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471:In 1931 the local chapter of the
147:others driven away (some wounded)
1205:Battles of the Yorktown Campaign
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623:The Beauties of American History
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1215:Battles involving Great Britain
1002:Formation of Ethiopian Regiment
992:Formation of Culpeper Minutemen
686:Francisco, Peter (April 1905).
396:Miniature portrait of Francisco
1068:Virginia Declaration of Rights
692:The William and Mary Quarterly
645:The William and Mary Quarterly
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811:. London: Osprey Publishing.
639:Evans, William (April 1905).
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491:(1992 ed.), it is located on
369:Battle of Guilford Courthouse
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1132:Battle of Spencer's Ordinary
304:In early July 1781, General
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834:Tarleton, Banastre (1787).
807:Morrissey, Brendan (1997).
794:. Baltimore, MD: H. Niles.
620:Blake, John Lauris (1844).
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53:between July 9 and 24, 1781
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1027:Fourth Virginia Convention
1017:Second Virginia Convention
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29:American Revolutionary War
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1053:Fifth Virginia Convention
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1007:Battle of Kemp's Landing
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404:(in a part that is now
402:Amelia County, Virginia
1137:Battle of Green Spring
1012:Battle of Great Bridge
997:Dunmore's Proclamation
788:Niles, H, ed. (1829).
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386:United States Congress
109:Commanders and leaders
1127:Raid on Point of Fork
970:Fincastle Resolutions
862:at PeterFrancisco.org
782:Link for 1845 edition
495:, six miles south of
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436:short struggle ensued
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365:Battle of Stony Point
137:Casualties and losses
1112:Battle of Cape Henry
923:Virginia Association
733:Hairr, John (2002).
373:Buckingham, Virginia
361:Monmouth Court House
334:Blue Ridge Mountains
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1122:Action at Osborne's
1117:Battle of Blandford
1058:Augusta Declaration
479:. There is a state
417:Embellished account
1043:Burning of Norfolk
987:Gunpowder Incident
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306:Charles Cornwallis
221:Spencer's Ordinary
1225:Conflicts in 1781
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1152:Siege of Yorktown
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917:Virginia Resolves
818:978-1-85532-688-0
744:978-0-306-81171-5
481:historical marker
477:Jennings Ordinary
427:John Lauris Blake
322:Banastre Tarleton
296:Yorktown campaign
265:Francisco's Fight
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149:8 horses captured
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226:Green Spring
206:Waters Creek
75:Belligerents
27:Part of the
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761:Howe, Henry
1199:Categories
725:2010-08-27
678:2010-08-27
614:References
497:Burkeville
423:Henry Howe
357:Brandywine
318:Portsmouth
312:troops in
290:Background
241:Chesapeake
211:Cape Henry
145:1–3 killed
776:416295361
763:(1852) .
231:Francisco
216:Blandford
846:23630183
827:39028166
753:51572019
503:See also
410:dragoons
379:Skirmish
314:Virginia
246:Yorktown
201:Richmond
124:Strength
58:Location
1172:78°03′W
1169:37°08′N
800:4765078
720:2393831
712:1916145
673:2393831
665:1916144
589:William
330:Suffolk
310:British
119:Unknown
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708:JSTOR
661:JSTOR
515:Notes
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1079:1779
1036:1776
963:1775
942:1774
842:OCLC
823:OCLC
813:ISBN
796:OCLC
772:OCLC
749:OCLC
739:ISBN
716:OCLC
669:OCLC
628:OCLC
359:and
298:and
275:, a
271:and
142:None
50:Date
700:doi
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487:'s
344:in
340:'s
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
