Slavery, Freedom, and Survival: Life at Westover Plantation in Revolutionary Virginia

Abstract: The American Revolution in Virginia set into motion a contest between enslaver Mary Willing Byrd and the enslaved people of Westover plantation who sought and gained their freedom during the revolutionary era. Beginning with Benedict Arnold's 1781 raid of Virginia, 49 enslaved people from Westover freed themselves and offered varying degrees of assistance to the British Army. In response, Byrd set out on a fervent campaign to recapture these men and women and they engaged in a struggle over personal liberty and the rights of property that lasted long after the Treaty of Paris was signed. In the end, Byrd was unable to re-enslave them, but the new republican legal code in Virginia reified the right to property in people, ultimately benefitting enslavers. This contest reveals the nuanced and sliding scale of power and agency that existed among enslaved people and the men and women who participated in the nation's founding.