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Virginia. Committee of Safety. Records, 1775-1776. Accession 30003a, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Acquisition information unavailable.
The collection was mostly processed years before a finding aid was created. The encoding archivist maintained the order in which the items were originally arranged by the processing archivist.
Between August 1, 1774, and July 5, 1776, five extralegal conventions directed the political and military affairs of Virginia. These bodies gradually assumed legislative, executive, and judicial functions as the royal government disintegrated. By the time of the adjournment of the fifth convention, troops had been raised and armed at public expense, a constitution adopted, and Patrick Henry elected the first governor of the Commonwealth. The Virginia Revolutionary Convention Records consist of minutes, journals and papers such as letters, petitions, drafts of both resolutions and ordinances, committee reports and Tory and British intercepted letters. Each convention's records are filed separately and papers are arranged by the date of consideration.
On August 16, 1775, the third convention created a Committee of Safety, charging it with "carying into complete and full execution all....ordinances and resolutions of the convention." In December, the committee was authorized to imprison Tories, seize their property, and to act as an appellate court. Initially the committee was to function only during the convention's recess. However, in December 1775, the fourth convention authorized the committee to act during the session and ordered it to maintain records and place them before the convention.
Records of the Committee of Safety, 1775-1776, include correspondence, minute books, and an account book. These records document the activities of the Committee of Safety.
The correspondence has been digitized and is available online at
This collection is arranged into four series:
An additional Committee of Safety ledger can be found in the
Series I: General correspondence, 1775-1776, includes letters, proclamations, proceedings, and resolutions relating to the Committee of Safety. Each item in the collection has been cataloged individually with descriptive notes. This inventory was created to have a place where each item in the collection was listed.
Letters discuss a wide array of topics, such as business, military, and community matters. This includes descriptions of the purchase, movement, status, and seizures of goods (thread, shoes, leather, ammunition, salt, molasses, grain, gun powder, livestock); intelligence gathering relating to the British and Lord Dunmore; militia commissions and appointments; locations and movement of minutemen; and military discharges. There are letters related to prisoners, requests for trials, and prisoner exchanges. The papers also detail punishing British loyalists (such as burning their homes and seizing their property) and brief back-and-forth disagreement on whether loyalists should be relocated to more interior parts of the colony. There are also concerns about enslaved people, particularly those enslaved by the British or British loyalists.
Williamsburg, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Yorktown, Hampton, and Fredericksburg are referenced most often. There are also mentions of Dinwiddie, Culpeper, West Augusta, Isle of Wight, Lester's Ferry, Amelia, Southampton, Nansemond, Surry, Prince George, Charles City, Prince William, Henrico, Pittsburgh, Pittsylvania, Princess Anne, and St. Eustatius.
Individuals referenced in the letters include but are not limited to Morgan Alexander, William Aylett, John Banister, James Barbour, George Blair, Thomas Bullitt, William Cabell, Maximillian Calvert, Paul Carrington, William Christian, William Dalrymple, Dudley Digges, Jacob Elligood, William Finnie, Francis Goode, Bartlett, John Goodrich, John Goodrich Sr., William Goodrich, Alexander Gordon, James Green Jr., Francis Haines, Richard Hanson, Erasmus Haynes, Charles Henley, James Henley, Patrick Henry, Joshua Hopkins, Robert Howe, Joseph Hutchings, Neil Jemmison [Jamieson], Claiborne Lawson, Anthony Lawson, Charles Lee, Willias [Willis] Lee, Joseph Lindsey [Lindsay], Paul Loyall, Thomas Ludwell, William Lux, Silass [Silas] McCraghan, Andrew Meade, James Mercer, James Murdaugh, Christopher Neale, Thomas Olds, John Page, Josiah Parker, John Pendleton Jr., Edmund Pendleton, Dorsey Pentecost, William Randolph, Thomas Reynolds Walker, Willis Riddick, William Robinson, William Roscow Wilson Curle, William Sclater, Thomas Scott, Robert Shedden, Andrew Sprowle, John Tabb, James Taylor, Richard Taylor, John Thorowgood, Arthur Upshur, Abraham Van Bibber, Isaac Candam, Anthony Walke, William Wishart, and William Woodford.
Arranged chronologically, with undated fragments filed at the end.
Series II: Accounts, 1775-1776, contains a ledger with entries from 1775 September 18 through 1776 July 5. Entries contain information relating to army and provision expenses. Sections include but are not limited to general expenses for the army, provincial troops, the minute service, arms bought for public use, the public, and the milita. Sections also include pay, arms, forage, fuel, wagon hire, entrenching tools, bedding, and gunpowder ("saltpeter"). There is also a section of accounts for Honorable Delegates in Congress.
Series III: Journal, 1776, contains a single volume that documents Committee of Safety meeting minutes from 1776 June 5 through 1776 July 5. The minutes largely document orders for purchases and other expenses to be paid. Expenses include supplies and provisions such as gun powder, guns, bread, blankets, pots, shovels, horses, wagons, medicine, building construction, clothing, and wages. Other topics include business matters such as leadership appointments, engagements, employment, resignations and discharges; organizing groups of minutemen; allowing goods and individuals to travel across or through the colony; approving exports; summoning individuals to present testimony or evidence; distributing arms; stationing troops; and discussing prisoners.
This journal appears to be a longhand copy of the minute book in Series IV (1776 February 7 - 1776 July 5). While the journal entries appear to largely match the contents of the minute book, the July 5 minute book entry includes two additional line items and a final note that the committee was dissolved by the adjournment of the convention that are otherwise absent from the journal.
Series IV: Minutes, 1776, contains a single volume that documents Committee of Safety meeting minutes from 1776 February 7 through 1776 July 5. The minutes largely document orders for purchases and expenses to be paid. Expenses include supplies such as guns, medicine, wood, clothing, wagons, tabacco, and other provisions. Other topics include business matters such as hires, appointments, and resignations; letters received or sent by the committee; prisoners; recruiting services; the movement of supplies around the colony; information and reports presented to the committee; appearances before the committee; and examinations of cases.
This volume appears to be the original meeting minutes, as the minutes were written in shorthand. There are overlapping entries between this minute book and the journal in Series III (1776 June 5 - 1776 July 5). While the journal entries appear to largely match the contents of the minute book, the July 5 minute book entry includes two additional line items and a final note that the committee was dissolved by the adjournment of the convention that are otherwise absent from the journal.