Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation will explore the unique and essential Virginia people, events, and sites that helped bring liberty and democracy to a nation. Commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this exhibit will highlight the complex, diverse, and inspiring Virginia history which is, in fact, America’s story.

Give Me Liberty will provide context for the coming of the Revolution in Virginia and brings visitors into the core of the action from 1774 through 1776, highlighting how the American Revolution was a war, and more than a war.

Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation is the signature exhibition of Virginia’s 250th Commission. This exhibition is curated in partnership with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation (JYF) and presented by VA250, Virginia’s semiquincentennial planning commission. Central Rappahannock Regional Library is honored to host this exhibition with sponsorship from Tour Stafford.

Presented by Jerrilynn Eby MacGregor of the Stafford County Historical Society. Aquia Creek was at one point a major commercial waterway from the mid-1600s up until the early 1900s, in contrast to its modern geography. Three deep-water landings received international sailing vessels along the waterway, and industry flowed through the heart of the freestone quarrying area, much of which was used in the construction of various buildings in Washington D.C. and in the surrounding areas in Virginia. Moreover, several large fisheries operated along the creek, and thousands of cords of wood, along with hundreds of thousands of railroad ties, were shipped down Aquia Creek to many destinations across the United States. Learn of this area’s rich history, including the location of Stafford County’s only known military entanglement of the Revolutionary War: the Burning of Richland. In July of 1776, British warships sailed up the Potomac and met the Stafford Militia, who were stationed at the Richland Plantation, which was owned by William Brent.

Jerrilynn Eby MacGregor is the author of They Called Stafford Home, among other works related to the rich history of Stafford County. A life-long Staffordian, Jerrilynn continues to heavily contribute to historical and genealogical studies of the people and places of this County. She is a secretary of the historical society and a frequent lecturer on various historical topics to numerous regional historical organizations.

Presented by Dr. Jason Sellers, University of Mary Washington. The colonial unrest that led to the American Revolution offered opportunities for diverse Americans to pursue freedom. This program will discuss the roles Native nations on Virginia’s frontiers played in shaping its support for an independent United States. It will also consider how and why Virginia Indians participated in that struggle for independence.

Dr. Jason Sellers is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Mary Washington specializing in the cultural and environmental history of 17th-and 18th-century North American landscapes and bodies.