Jack Jouett Jr. (December 7, 1754 – March 1, 1822) was an American farmer and politician in Virginia and Kentucky best known for his ride during the American Revolution in 1781. Sometimes called the "Paul Revere of the South", Jouett rode to warn Thomas Jefferson, then the outgoing governor of Virginia (and the Virginia legislature who had fled the new state's capitol before electing his successor) that British cavalry had been sent to capture them.
After the war, Jouett moved across the Appalachian Mountains to what was then called Kentucky County. He thrice served in the Virginia House of Delegates, first representing Lincoln County and later Mercer County before Kentucky's statehood (which occurred in 1792). Jouett also represented Mercer County at the Danville Separation Convention in 1788. He later served three terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives, first representing Mercer County, then adjoining Woodford County.
Jouett family
Jack Jouett was born to tavernkeeper John Jouett Sr. and his wife, Mourning Harris. The elder Jouett held a license to operate the Swan "ordinary" (tavern) in Albemarle County, Virginia. He owned 13 black slaves in 1790, which number declined to 11 slaves in 1799.U.S. Federal Censuses of 1790 and 1800 (reconstructed) for Fredericksville Parish, Albemarle County, available on ancestry.com
His paternal grandfather, Jean Jouett, was a French Huguenot who had settled in Virginia in the early 1700s. His paternal ancestors were an old Norman aristocratic family from Touraine, directly descended from Matthieu de Jouhet, Master of the Horse to King Louis XIII,Jonas, Edward Asher. Matthew Harris Jouett, Kentucky portrait painter (1787–1827). The J. B. Speed Memorial Museum, 1938.Daughters of the American Revolution magazine. Volume 64, R.R. Bowker Co., 1930. Lord of Leveignac, and a lieutenant in the Marshalsea of Limousin. Matthieu de Jouhet's grandson, Daniel de Jouet, emigrated to the Narragansett country (Britain's Rhode Island colony) in 1686. Daniel's youngest son, Jean (this Jack's grandfather) settled in Virginia.Hart, Charles Henry. "Kentucky's Master Painter". Harper's magazine, Volume 98: December 1898 – May 1899. Making of America Project. 1899.
Jack Jouett's mother, Mourning Harris, was a daughter of Revolutionary War veteran Harrison Harris (1725–1795), and a descendant of Sir William Harris, who signed the third Virginia charter and was knighted in 1611. Another maternal relation was Col. William Claiborne, first secretary of the Virginia colony.William E. Railey, History of Woodford County (1938, reprint by Genealogical Publishing Co. 2002) p. 393
American Revolutionary War Jack Jouett became a captain in the 16th Regiment of the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War, during which all three of his brothers also served. A physically imposing, as well as muscular and handsome man, Jack stood tall and weighed . His father, John Jouett Sr., was also very active in the revolutionary cause in Albemarle County, Virginia, and supplied the militia with meat for its rations, as well as supporting his sons' service. Both Jouett and his father, John Sr., were among the 202 Albemarle citizens who had signed the Albemarle Declaration, a document renouncing King George III. One brother was killed at the Battle of Brandywine. Volume 13, Issue 1.
Jack Jouett's ride Background: the British plan
On June 1, 1781, British General Cornwallis, while moving his troops from Petersburg to Goochland County, learned from a captured dispatch that Governor Thomas Jefferson and Virginia's legislature had fled from Richmond to Charlottesville, Virginia, to the location of Jefferson's home, Monticello. Members of Virginia's government had escaped to Charlottesville after Benedict Arnold, who had defected to the British, attacked Virginia's capital, Richmond. Cornwallis also learned the rebel colonists had stockpiled military supplies at the Old Albemarle Courthouse in Scott's Landing, then a settlement featuring a ferry across the James River (although superseded as the Albemarle County seat in favor of Charlottesville about a decade earlier).Virginia Moore, Scottsville on the James (Charlottesville, Jarman Press 1969) pp. 39–40 Cornwallis ordered Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to ride to Charlottesville and capture Governor Jefferson and the members of the legislature, and Colonel John Graves Simcoe to destroy the colonists' military supplies at Point of Fork and Scotts Landing. Legislators targeted for capture included Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Nelson Jr., and Benjamin Harrison V.
On June 3, Tarleton left Cornwallis's camp on the North Anna River with 180 cavalrymen and 70 mounted infantry of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Tarleton marched his force covertly and planned to cover the last 70 miles to Charlottesville in 24 hours, a fast maneuver intended to catch the politicians completely unaware. His orders from Cornwallis, however, were to first destroy the military supplies at Scott's Landing before General Lafayette and his men, marching from Baltimore, Maryland, could interfere.Moore, pp. 39–40
Ride begins Jouett, who was then 27 years old, lay asleep on the lawn of the Cuckoo Tavern (although an account by Thomas Jefferson says Jouett was at his father's house) in Louisa County, Virginia, on the night of June 3, 1781. During the night, he heard the sound of approaching cavalry and spotted Col. Tarleton's British cavalry.
Jouett suspected that the cavalry was marching to Charlottesville to capture the members of Virginia's government. Jouett knew that the legislature was completely undefended. Very little fighting had taken place on Virginia soil from 1776 to 1780, so most of Virginia's forces were deployed elsewhere. The British had only recently begun significant campaigns in Virginia, so few forces were in the state except local militia. Jefferson and the legislators needed advance warning to escape. Jouett quickly mounted his horse and, at about 10 pm, began the 40-mile ride from Louisa to Charlottesville. With the British cavalry on the main highway, Jouett had to take the rough backwoods trails to the overgrown Old Mountain Road, likely traveling only with the light of the full moon. He needed to ride fast enough to outrun the British.
Col. Tarleton's travels
At 11:30 pm, Tarleton paused for a three-hour rest at Louisa Courthouse. He began his march again at about 2 am. He soon encountered a train of 13 supply wagons at Boswell's Tavern bound for South Carolina where General Nathanael Greene led the main branch of the Continental Army in the South. Tarleton burned the wagons and continued onward.
Around dawn, Tarleton reached the plantations of Castle Hill, Doctor Thomas Walker's home, and a splinter group of British arrived at Belvoir, the home of his son, Continental Congress member John Walker. Tarleton captured or paroled various important figures at the two plantations. Dr. Walker supposedly prepared an elaborate breakfast (including alcohol), for Tarleton in order to allow more time for Jefferson and the legislature to get warning of the cavalry, but that might be apocryphal. Tarleton's account says he did pause at Castle Hill for a half-hour rest.
Warning at Monticello
Jouett's backwoods route took him through a ford of the Rivanna River at the town of Milton. At about 4:30 am, he crossed the ford and ascended the mountain on which Jefferson's Monticello sits. At Monticello, Jouett woke Jefferson and his guests, several Virginia legislators. Descendants of Jefferson's gardener, Anthony Giannini, noted early riser Jefferson was in the gardens at Monticello with their ancestor when Jouett arrived. Jefferson rewarded Jouett with some fine Madeira. Jouett then remounted to ride further to warn the town of Charlottesville.
Jefferson did not rush, although he sent his wife and daughters to Enniscorthy, his friend John Coles' plantation about away.Moore, p. 37 He had breakfast with the legislators before making arrangements to leave, including spending two hours gathering his papers together. When Captain Christopher Hudson rode to Monticello to warn of the imminent British arrival, Jefferson continued his preparations, but sent a horse outside his estate for a quick escape. He continually checked the Charlottesville path up the mountain with his telescope for signs of the British. By the time he finally saw them, the British cavalry had reached Monticello's lawn. Mounting his horse quickly, Jefferson successfully eluded the British in the woods. One enslaved Monticello family's oral history claims Jefferson "hid in the hollow of an old tree" on nearby Carter's Mountain.Fossett, Peter H. "Once The Slave of Thomas Jefferson," Cincinnati Sunday World, January 20, 1898, repr. at PBS Frontline. "" Other traditions claim Jefferson spent two weeks at the home of Thomas Farrar, and some time in a cliff-cave near Scotts's Landing about a mile downstream from his brother Randolph's plantation, "Snowden", while Tarleton commandeered Jefferson's "Elk Hill" plantation in Goochland County.Moore, pp. 37–38
Captain Kenneth McLeod led the British detachment sent to Monticello. They arrived to find Jefferson's slaves hurriedly hiding his valuables.
Ride to Charlottesville
After leaving Monticello, Jouett rode to the Swan Tavern (owned by Jouett's father) where most of the legislators were staying. The legislators decided to flee and reconvene in Staunton, west, in three days, on June 7. Jouett's warning allowed most legislators to escape; however, seven were captured.Moore p. 37
Jouett also helped General Edward Stevens escape. The general was recovering at the Swan Tavern from wounds he received at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Jouett rode with General Stevens as he made his escape, but the wounded Stevens could not ride quickly enough to keep the British from catching up. Jouett was wearing an ornate military costume with a scarlet coat and a plumed hat, and Stevens was dressed in shoddy clothing. British cavalry assumed that Jouett must be a high military officer, so they ignored the shabby general, and pursued Jouett, who successfully eluded them.
Aftermath and honors In Staunton, the legislature elected Thomas Nelson as the next governor. Jefferson's term had expired on June 2.
Recognizing its debt to Jouett, the legislature passed a resolution on June 15 to honor him. The legislature resolved to give Jouett a pair of pistols and a sword in gratitude. Jouett received the pistols in 1783, but the sword was re-ordered in 1804, and no documentation indicates Jouett actually received it.
Kentucky career In 1782, Jouett moved across the Appalachian Mountains to Kentucky County, where veterans received land claims for their service. A family story claims that, on his journey to Kentucky, Jouett heard a woman's screams coming from a house. He burst into the house and found a wife being abused by her husband. He attempted to help by knocking down the husband, only to have the wife hit him over the head with a pot. The pot's bottom gave out, and the pot became stuck around Jouett's neck. Jouett fled the scene and traveled before he found a blacksmith to remove the pot.