Revolution 250: Stories From The First Shore

The Sound of the Fields

On Revolution 250: Stories from The First Shore, we explore the music created by enslaved African Americans in colonial Virginia. From field hollers to early spirituals, these songs carried labor, belief, and resistance, shaping American music in lasting ways.

Joseph Harris – The Spark of Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation

On Revolution 250: Stories from The First Shore, we tell the story of Joseph Harris, an enslaved Chesapeake pilot whose escape and naval skill helped influence Lord Dunmore’s proclamation. His story reveals how the fight for independence was also a fight over who would be free.

Lord Dunmore: The Last of The Governors

On Revolution 250: Stories from The First Shore, we examine Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s last royal governor. Once welcomed by the colony’s leaders, his decisions to shut down the legislature, flee to British ships, and issue a proclamation that reshaped the war helped hasten Virginia’s path to revolution.

Benedict Arnold: Traitor or Misunderstood?

On Revolution 250: Stories from The First Shore, we examine Benedict Arnold before his betrayal. Once hailed as a hero of the Revolution, Arnold’s early service was marked by battlefield success—and mounting frustration with Congress. This episode explores how the foundations of his defection were laid long before it became history’s most famous turn.

The Thoroughgoods: A Family that Shaped Virginia’s Shores

On Revolution 250: Stories from The First Shore, we explore the Thoroughgoods, a family whose history mirrors Virginia’s own. From an indentured servant who helped expand the colony to descendants divided by revolution, their story reveals how independence reshaped families, loyalties, and the land itself.

The Burning of Norfolk

In early 1776, a tense standoff between British warships and Patriot forces ended with the bombardment of Norfolk. What began as a dispute over supplies quickly spiraled into destruction, leaving one of the colonies’ largest cities in ruins. This episode looks at how Norfolk became an early casualty of the Revolution.

The Sound of Faith: Religious Music in Colonial Virginia

In colonial Virginia, religious music ranged from pipe organs and formal hymns to simple psalms and early spirituals. Different faith communities worshipped in different ways, but together their voices created a shared soundscape in a society on the edge of revolution.

*Extended Feature* "Christmas in Colonial Virginia"

Christmas in Colonial Virginia takes listeners back to the Tidewater of the 1700s, when the holiday looked and felt very different from today. From candlelit homes and twelve days of Christmastide to taverns, plantation gatherings, and wartime upheaval, the program explores how Christmas was observed across colonial Virginia—and how the coming Revolution reshaped the season in Hampton Roads, including the burning of Norfolk. Produced by WHRO Public Media in Norfolk, Virginia, as part of Revolution 250: Stories from The First Shore, this episode traces the traditions and tensions of a Virginia Christmas along America’s road to independence.

Billy Flora – The Man Who Held the Bridge

Billy Flora, a free Black sentry at the Battle of Great Bridge, fired the first shot and held his position under heavy fire. His last-minute move to slow the British advance shaped how the battle unfolded. This episode looks at his actions and why they mattered.

The Battle of Great Bridge: Britain’s First Defeat in Virginia

In December 1775, Patriots and British forces clashed at Great Bridge, a vital crossing south of Norfolk. The Patriot victory came quickly but carried major consequences, opening the way to Norfolk and shifting the momentum in Virginia. This episode explores how the battle unfolded and why it mattered.