Cardinal News 250

Think you know Virginia’s Revolutionary War history? Think again. In Part 2 of our Cardinal 250 trivia series, host Dutchie Jessee and founding editor Dwayne Yancey uncover more surprising stories from Virginia’s path to independence. Discover the county that first voted for independence, the free Black hero of the Battle of Great Bridge, the enslaved sailors who helped launch Virginia’s navy, and...

What happens when you put Cardinal News founding editor and columnist Dwayne Yancey on the spot with live Revolutionary War trivia? In this special and very fun episode of “The Cardinal: News of Virginia,” host Dutchie Jessee puts Dwayne’s knowledge to the test with questions pulled straight from Cardinal News 250 trivia nights happening at breweries across Southwest and Southside Virginia. From o...

Montgomery County is turning 250, and its story stretches far beyond today’s borders. In this episode of the Cardinal News 250 Podcast, host Dutchie Jessee sits down with Montgomery Museum Executive Director Sherry Wyatt to explore how a vast frontier county formed in 1776 became the New River Valley community we know today. From early settlers traveling the Great Wagon Road to Christiansburg’s ro...

Host Dutchie Jessee sits down with Christina Vida, curator at the The Valentine in Richmond, to explore the museum’s powerful exhibit “Descent: Liberty and Loyalty in Early Richmond.” Their conversation dives into the complicated stories of Virginians during the American Revolution, from Loyalists who remained faithful to the British Crown to enslaved people seeking their own freedom. Vida shares...

History lovers, Virginia buffs and myth-busters alike, this episode of Cardinal News 250 digs into one of central Virginia’s most persistent legends: the claim that 70 French soldiers are buried in Kingsville near Hampden-Sydney College after dying of smallpox during the American Revolution. Host Lisa Rowan sits down with historian and archaeologist Charles Pearson to trace the story back to a 193...

Dive into the Battle of Great Bridge and its significance in the American Revolutionary War. Host, Lisa Rowan, is joined by Richard Fisher, a volunteer with the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation.

 Take a front-row seat to one of the most consequential moments of the American Revolution. Host Lisa Rowan and journalist Andrew Lawler revisit Norfolk’s dramatic winter of 1775–76, when Black soldiers fought for Lord Dunmore, Patriots dug in at Great Bridge, and Virginia’s only city became the battleground that pushed the colonies toward independence. From skirmishes on the Elizabeth River to th...

Host Lisa Rowan sits down with Virginia-born journalist Andrew Lawler to discuss Lord Dunmore's Emancipation Proclamation which offered freedom to some enslaved people... but there was a catch. Listen now to learn more. 

Host Lisa Rowan sits down with local historian Eric Monday to explore western Virginia’s surprising role in the American Revolution. From frontier skirmishes to the communities that shaped the fight for independence, discover how the region’s people and places helped forge a new nation. 

The role of women changed in early American history, but what was the biggest change at our nation’s founding? Renowned historian, author and professor Rosemary Zagarri talks to Cardinal 250 host Dutchie Jessee about the pivotal role women played in the “social media” of their time.

If you’re a Virginian, there’s a good chance you live in a burned county. That’s the term used when a city or county suffers significant losses of official records, especially as a result of military targeting. Join host Dutchie Jessee as she talks with Isle of Wight Museum Director Jennifer England about saving those records, and why they’re so valuable.

We’re a year away from the country’s 250th birthday, or semiquincentennial.   What are some key moments for the head of Virginia’s 250 Commission, and what’s coming up in the next twelve months to mark this important date? Host Dutchie Jessee talks with Commission Director Cheryl Wilson about Virginia’s ongoing events as it prepares for the nation’s big birthday. 

Cardinal News is a few years into our 250 project – the aim of which is to shine a light on lesser known Virginians who played a part in our nation’s birth. We look back at the history we knew and what we've learned through the project in this episode with Cardinal 250 editor Dwayne Yancey.

It’s one of the most recognized sites within Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area, and figures prominently in a major turning point in our history. The Magazine has a unique structure and history, and is currently undergoing (another) restoration. Cardinal 250 host Dutchie Jessee talks with Matthew Webster of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation about the Magazine, its history and its future.

A fake name, perhaps a fake accent, and rum. All figure into an examination of John Wyatt. Host Dutchie Jessee talks about this fascinating character with Michael Hudson, Executive Director of the Smithfield-Preston Foundation in Blacksburg.

It’s considered one of the ten greatest speeches in American history. Patrick Henry’s “give me liberty or give me death” address has been a part of our national story for 250 years. Join host Dutchie Jessee and her guest Stephen Wilson, who helps keep that speech alive, on this episode of the Cardinal 250 podcast.  www.cardinalnews.org  

Billy Flora was a Black Revolutionary War hero from Virginia. His heroics in one particular battle were nothing short of extraordinary. Hear his story in this episode of the Cardinal News 250 podcast. Host Dutchie Jessee. Guest: Harvey Bakari, Black history curator at the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. www.cardinalnews.org  

When you picture our “founding fathers,” do you picture older white men? Most of us do, but it’s more accurate to picture them as young or middle-aged. In this Cardinal News 250 episode, Dutchie Jessee talks with James Madison University professor Rebecca Brannon about the age of our nation’s founders and why it matters. www.cardinalnews.org  

Before downloads, before CD’s and records, music was played live only. So what kind of music was played in the years around the Revolutionary War, and who played it? Cardinal News 250 host Dutchie Jessee talks with journalist Randy Walker about his Cardinal 250 article on music during the revolution. www.cardinalnews.org 

Did a 16-year old Virginia girl sneak out of her house in the middle of the night and save a Revolutionary War general from capture? Nobody knows for certain, but a lot of people think so.  Cardinal News 250 host Dutchie Jessee talks with author Libby Mcnamee about the legend of Susanna Bolling. 

Whether or not you've heard of Andrew Lewis probably depends on where you live. Cardinal News 250 host Dutchie Jessee talks with Garret Channel, Executive Director of the Salem Museum and Historical Society, who knows so much about this Revolutionary War figure that he's even portrayed him for community events. Learn more at cardinalnews.org . 

If he hadn’t died so young, William Campbell might have well been one of Virginia’s most famous figures. The Virginian played a critical role as a general in the Revolutionary War. Learn about Campbell and the Overmountain Men from retiree turned history buff, Tom Vaughan,  treasurer of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association in Bristol, TN. Learn more at cardinalnews.org . 

July 1774 wasn’t so unlike July 2024 in Tappahannock, Virginia.  It was hot. Politics were tense. And locals gathered to hear “The Essex Resolutions,” considered one of the best written responses to the King’s actions, and laying the groundwork for the rebellion that followed. What impact did the resolutions have, and how is it related to the more famous Boston Tea Party? Cardinal News 250 host Du...

Enslaved people in Virginia were promised freedom if they remained loyal to the British crown during the Revolutionary War. Where did they go, and what became of them? Cardinal News 250 host Dutchie Jessee talks with Andrea Davis and Kelley Bruce (both descendants of Black loyalists) from the Black Loyalist Heritage Center in Canada. 

It’s not that our commonly-referred to “founding fathers” were unimportant. It’s just that many other people helped move the colonies toward independence. Women, Native Americans and enslaved people were critical to the effort. Author, professor and historian Woody Holton has written extensively on this and joins Cardinal News 250 host Dutchie Jessee to talk about our nation’s “forgotten founders....