Jack Jouett's Ride
Jack Jouett's Ride is a notable event from the American Revolution, commemorating an act of bravery by John Jouett Jr., commonly known as Jack. On the night of June 3-4, 1781, Jouett undertook a perilous 45-mile journey through challenging terrain to warn Virginia's Governor Thomas Jefferson and the state legislature of an impending British attack led by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. Jouett's ride was crucial in alerting Jefferson and other influential leaders, allowing them to flee and avoid capture, which could have severely impacted the revolution's morale. Celebrated annually on the first Saturday in June as Jack Jouett Day in Charlottesville, Virginia, the event highlights Jouett's legacy and the importance of community awareness and swift action in times of crisis. Jouett's contributions were later recognized by the Virginia General Assembly, which commended him for his "activity and enterprise." After the war, Jouett settled in Kentucky, where he became involved in local politics and agriculture. His story, although largely forgotten for many years, has gained renewed interest and recognition, particularly through the efforts of the Jack Jouett Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
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Jack Jouett's Ride
Jack Jouett's Ride
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Jack Jouett Day, which commemorates an act of heroism during the American Revolution, is celebrated on the first Saturday in June in Charlottesville, Virginia. The event had more than just local significance, however. Through the night of June 3 and into the dawn of June 4, 1781, young John Jouett Jr., always known as Jack, galloped at great peril for some 45 miles along an abandoned road to warn Governor Thomas Jefferson and the Virginian legislature that British forces were closing in on them.
Born on December 7, 1754, in Albemarle County, Virginia, Jouett became a captain in the Virginia militia. He was the second son of the former Mourning Harris and John Jouett Sr., owner of the Swan Tavern at the county seat of Charlottesville and a member of the American branch of the De Jouhet family, prominent French Huguenots who had fled to England after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France. Before the outbreak of the American Revolution, young Jack Jouett, with 202 other citizens, had signed the Albemarle Declaration renouncing allegiance to King George III of England. Later he had urged the acceptance of the Declaration of Independence in Virginia.
Jouett's father, who helped provision American troops during the Revolution, owned a farm six miles east of Louisa, Virginia. Thus, Jack Jouett Jr. was somewhere in the vicinity of Cuckoo Tavern, Louisa County, at the critical moment. To his amazement the captain saw British lieutenant colonel Banastre Tarleton (known as the Hunting Leopard) sweep by at the head of 180 dragoons and 70 mounted infantry. Jouett at once guessed that Tarleton's goal was the capture of Thomas Jefferson, then at his home of Monticello, near Charlottesville, and of the general assembly of Virginia. As the Revolution progressed, the latter body had moved west, first from Williamsburg to Richmond and then from Richmond to Charlottesville. Tarleton's raiders, sent by Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis, had as of yet gone undetected even though Cuckoo Tavern was only a 24-hour ride from Charlottesville in normal circumstances.
Jouett's alertness and courage, his guerrilla-like knowledge of the countryside, and the swiftness of his thoroughbred mare enabled him to accomplish his self-assigned mission. In the tensest of races, he covered the distance from Cuckoo Tavern to Charlottesville between roughly 10 o'clock at night and 4:30 the next morning. Since the British were on the main road, he used a track nearly impassable in places, and the lashing branches overhead are said to have permanently scarred his face. He narrowly escaped capture several times by the troops he was paralleling, and if it had not been just a day before the full moon, the ride would probably have been impossible.
Jouett arrived before dawn at Jefferson's mountaintop home, after crossing the Rivanna River at the Milton Ford and warning the colonists guarding it. He immediately roused Jefferson and his guests, giving them time to make plans coolly and to secure important papers. Nevertheless Jefferson barely escaped; he relied on his telescope to tell him when the enemy reached Charlottesville, and by that time a detachment was nearly upon him.
After a glass of wine, Jouett had meanwhile remounted and dashed across the few miles from Monticello to Charlottesville to awaken the other Virginia legislators. They hastily convened and agreed to meet three days later at Staunton, in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Seven laggards, among them the renowned pioneer Daniel Boone, were captured by Tarleton's men but the main group escaped.
By his warning, Jouett saved not only Jefferson, but three others who had also signed the Declaration of Independence: Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Nelson Jr., and Benjamin Harrison, ancestor of two future presidents. Also saved were the famous orator Patrick Henry and John Tyler Sr., father of the future president of that name. Had Jouett not steeled himself for his ride, these prominent rebels, who had given crucial leadership to the Revolution, almost certainly would have been taken into captivity and run the strong risk of trial for treason in Great Britain. At the time of Jouett's ride it was impossible for the colonists to guess that the British surrender at Yorktown was only months away. As of June 1781 fortune seemed to have turned against the colonists, and the capture of the Virginia leaders would have been a severe blow to American morale.
Safely in Staunton on June 15, 1781, Virginia's general assembly passed a resolution commending Jouett for his “activity and enterprise” and ordering that he be presented with “an elegant sword and a pair of pistols as a memorial” of their high esteem for his service. The pistols were delivered in 1783, but the sword, ordered by Governor James Monroe from Paris, did not follow until 1804.
Two years after his tumultuous ride Jouett moved across the mountains to the wilderness part of Virginia, which would soon become the state of Kentucky. He settled first in Mercer County, near Harrodsburg. There he married Sallie Robards, sister of Lewis Robards, the husband of Rachel Donelson Robards, who later married Andrew Jackson. Since he sat in the Virginian general assembly as a representative of Mercer County, Jouett became involved in Lewis Robards's embittered efforts to divorce his wife by an act of the legislature. Jouett was later a warm friend of Andrew Jackson and visited often at the Hermitage, Jackson's home outside Nashville, Tennessee. Jouett was also on close terms with Kentucky's great congressman, Henry Clay. After supporting Kentucky's separation from Virginia as an independent state, Jouett sat for several terms in the Kentucky legislature, first from Mercer County and then from Woodford County after he moved there. He foresaw the importance of the bluegrass country in stock breeding, and was a pioneer in importing horses and cattle from England.
Jouett died in 1822 at the age of 67 in Bath County, Kentucky. His burial place has been located in the family graveyard at Peeled Oak, Bath County. It has been said that “fame hung back from Jack Jouett.” Until a resurgence of interest in Revolutionary War history in Charlottesville, the gripping ride of June 3-4, 1781, was largely forgotten. In 1922 the Jack Jouett Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was organized in Charlottesville. Its members worked to commemorate Jouett's exploit and to further his recognition.