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Preferred Citation

William Woodford. Letter, 2 May 1776. Accession 24725. Personal papers collection. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Parke Bernet Galleries, New York, New York, 23 October 1957.

Biographical Information

William Woodford was born 6 October 1734 in Caroline County, Virginia, to William Woodford (d. 1755) and Anne Cocke Woodford (b. 1704). He was commissioned an officer in the provincial forces during the French and Indian War. When the American Revolution began, Woodford was appointed colonel of the 2nd Virginia Regiment 5 August 1775. On 25 October 1775, his forces repulsed a British attempt to burn the town of Hampton, Virginia. On 9 December 1775, Woodford and his troops defeated a force of British troops and loyalists at Great Bridge in Norfolk County, Virginia, forcing the British to evacuate Norfolk. The Continental Congress appointed Woodford a colonel 13 February 1776 and a brigadier general 21 February 1777. Woodford saw action at the battles of Brandywine, where he was wounded, Germantown, and Monmouth. Ordered to Charleston, South Carolina, Woodford arrived there 17 April 1780, and was taken prisoner when the British captured that place 12 May 1780. Taken to New York, Woodford died there 13 November 1780 and was buried in Old Trinity Church Yard. Woodford married Mary Thornton (1743-1792) 26 June 1762, and they had two children.

Scope and Content Information

Letter, 2 May 1776, from General William Woodford (1734-1780) in Princess Anne County, Virginia, to General Charles Lee (1731-1782) in Williamsburg, Virginia, concerning military matters in Norfolk, Norfolk County and Princess Anne County, Virginia. Woodford informs Lee of the disposition of his troops in the region, condition of supplies, difficulties facing residents, and movement of refugees from the area of military operations. He also notes that naval officers have come into the area to recruit from the troops. The letter is printed in Lee Papers, I, pp. 462-463, being volume 4 of the New York Historical Society.