Charles City Courthouse witnessed the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783 as soldiers enlisted there before joining the Continental Army, local militia encamped on the grounds, and armies passed by during the war. The area was also the site of a small battle in which the Queen’s Rangers defeated Virginia militia. After the war, old and disabled veterans and their widows came there to claim bounties and pensions for wartime service. On January 8, 1781, General Benedict Arnold sent Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe and the Queen’s Rangers to attack militia encamped at Charles City Courthouse. The Virginia militia, commanded by Col. Dudley, was surprised and fled, and one ranger and four or five members of the militia were killed. Raverly Going enlisted in the 6th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army, died during the northern campaign, and his heirs received a bounty for his service; he was a free African American.
