The Fincastle Resolutions was a statement reportedly adopted on January 20, 1775, by fifteen elected representatives of Fincastle County, Virginia. Part of the political movement that became the American Revolution, the resolutions were addressed to Virginia's delegation at the First Continental Congress, and expressed support for Congress' resistance to the Intolerable Acts, issued in 1774 by the British Parliament.
Background
Other counties in Virginia had passed resolutions similar to the Fincastle Resolutions in 1774, such as the Fairfax Resolves. Still, the Fincastle Resolutions were the first adopted statement by the colonists which promised resistance to the death to the British crown to preserve political liberties. Throughout 1774, the Fincastle signatories had been fighting in Dunmore's War against the Shawnee to the west, and could not formally express their sentiments about the constitutional dispute until January 1775. The Fincastle representatives reportedly adopted the resolutions at Lead Mines (modern Austinville, Virginia), the county seat, located in what is now Wythe County, Virginia.
Content of the Resolutions
The published text of the resolutions began by proclaiming love for and loyalty to King George III, and that "we are willing to risk our lives in the service of his Majesty, for the support of the Protestant Religion, and the rights and liberties of his subjects..." However, the resolutions go on to express dismay that the passage of the Intolerable Acts has threatened the happy relations between "the parent state and the Colonies", and that these violations of constitutional rights are not acceptable.
Context
Historian Jim Glanville writes:
"The actions of the Fincastle committee should not (as they almost always have been) viewed in isolation. Rather, they should be examined in relation to the actions of the committees of Augusta, Botetourt, and Pittsylvania . . . Each of the statements adopted by these four counties pledged (in varying language) that the men who adopted them would give their lives in the cause of American liberty."
Signatories
The 15 reported signatories of the Fincastle Resolutions were:
- Arthur Campbell
- David Campbell
- William Campbell
- William Christian
- Walter Crockett
- Charles Cummings
- William Edmondson
- William Ingles
- Thomas Madison
- James McGavock
- John Montgomery
- William Preston
- Evan Shelby
- Daniel Smith
- Stephen Trigg
The clerk of the meeting was David Campbell.
See also
References
- NOTE: The county seat moved shortly thereafter to Hans Meadows, as Fincastle County was divided into Montgomery and Washington Counties, and the vast Kentucke county of Virginia (modern day state of Kentucky).
- Glanville, Jim (2010). "The Fincastle Resolutions". The Smithfield Review. XIV: 80. hdl:10919/88172. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- Tate, Dr., Thad (1975). "The Fincastle Resolutions: Southwest Virginia's Commitment". Journal of the Roanoke Valley Historical Society. IX (9).
- Fincastle Resolves; includes a transliteration of article of February 10, 1775 from "The Smithfield Review;" Williamsburgh, VA; via V Tech Library on-line; article: The Smithfield Review" – Volume XIV – Appendix A; (pub: 2010); accessed October 2020.
External links
- Preston, Thomas L.; Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of an Octogenarian; Richmond, Va.: B. F. Johnson Publishing Co.; (1900); pp. 24-28; contains possible text of the Resolutions.
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