Halifax County Historical Society

Gunpowder in Short Supply during Revolution

 The War for Independence began with shots fired at Lexington and Concord. Shots that required gunpowder, a substance that was in short supply for colonial militias in the 1770s.

When the revolution started, there was only one American gunpowder mill, the Frankford Mill in Pennsylvania. This mill was turning out a miniscule amount of gunpowder compared to what would be needed to wage a successful war.

Any gunpowder available was purchased, and rebels were somewhat successful in clandestine efforts to “acquire” powder stored in British powder magazines. But the amount was not enough to sustain an army in the field. If George Washington’s army was going to have any chance of victory, the colonies needed to step up production or import the needed gunpowder.

The American quartermasters had secured about 80,000 pounds of gunpowder, around 13,000 pounds which was taken when a British warship was boarded in South Carolina. Just over 3,000 pounds came from Bermuda, where some locals stole gunpowder from military stores, and traded it with revolutionaries. (Bermuda was a British colony and was prohibited from any interactions with American trading companies, but because it depended on food imports from the colonies, trading gunpowder was a way to keep trade with America open.)

This lack of gunpowder was just one of the major hurdles George Washington faced when he was named commander of the Continental Army in July 1775. By fall of that year, it was evident that the Continental Army needed more guns as well as gunpowder. Congress set up a secret committee to find sources from other countries for gunpowder and supplies. The committee sent a Connecticut merchant, Silas Deane (see below), to France to seek French, Dutch and Spanish rifles and cannon, plus clothing and supplies for Washington’s troops. The supplies would arrive via the West Indies. The most important part of this covert opereation was that France would provide the gunpowder the American Revolution soldiers so desperately needed.

By the end of 1777, France had smuggled about two million pounds of gunpowder and 60,000 guns into the colonies. Once France joined the war, they openly supplied powder and arms. France also sent ground troops to join the revolutionary forces, and the French navy fought the British at sea.

Silas Deane--The Nation’s First Secret Agent

The son of a farmer in Groton, Connecticut, Silas Deane served in the Continental Congress during 1774 and 1775. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin and Congress’s Committee on Secret Correspondence sent Deane to France to pose as a merchant needing to purchase various household goods. In truth, Deane was sent to solicit money and military assistance from the government of France. America needed clothing, arms, cannons, and a large quantity of ammunition to supply at least twenty-five thousand soldiers.

Under the cover of a shell company, Deane was successful in securing eight shiploads of military supplies. He also sought experienced soldiers to join the Patriots’ fight for independence--among them the Marquis de Lafayette, whom Deane commissioned as a major general.

Joined in France by Virginian Arthur Lee and Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and the two men were signatories to the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity in 1778. These two documents recognized the independence of the colonies.

Meeting featured Historical Interpreter Mark Pace

Members of the Halifax County Historical Society, their guests and potential members were “enlightened” Sunday, April 27, 2025 as they listened to “Musings and Reflections on the Declaration of Independence and the Current State of our Nation in the Year 1788.”

The program, held at the Masonic Lodge in Halifax, was presented by historical interpreter Mark Pace who portrayed Patriot John Penn, a champion of liberty and one of 56 American Patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The talk followed a brief Historical Society meeting.

Just two weeks before the meeting, Pace was honored by the Granville County Historical Society in Oxford, North Carolina, for his impersonations of Penn in venues across North Carolina, Southside Virginia, and various state libraries and museums. For his Halifax talk, Pace was in period costume-complete with a parchment copy of the declaration-to give Penn’s “talk of the day” concerning the trials of adopting the document, as well as discussing his efforts to assist the Patriot cause during the Revolutionary War.

Pace, who is a member of Halifax County’s Historical Society as well as the Granville County Historical Society, majored in history at UNC at Chapel Hill. After graduation in 1984, Pace switched directions to work as an art director and illustrator in advertising and later started his own freelance advertising and illustration company. Since retiring, he has been the North Carolina Room Specialist at the Thornton Library in Oxford, NC.

“With a passion for researching local history for over forty-five years,” Pace remarked, “I consider it an honor to be the caretaker of one of North Carolina’s most celebrated local history and genealogical libraries.” For more information about the Society’s programs and activities, contact Society President Ralph Alderson at 434-770-4333 or via email at hchsvirginia@comcast.net .

South Boston History

In 1884, local businessman Edwin B. Jeffress requested a post office for the area. A request was made for the name to be Boston; however, there was already a community in Virginia named Boston and as a result, the town we know today was named South Boston. The Virginia Assembly approved the town’s incorporation February 19, 1884 and the following men were appointed as the first town council: Wiley W. Ward (elected as mayor), Robert E. Jordan, James Traver, William H. Shepherd, J. Mettaper Carrington, Samuel E. Webster, and Joseph Stebbins Sr.

By 1900 South Boston had become the second largest bright leaf tobacco market in the world. In 1920 the first service station opened in town. In 1923 Main Street was paved. Home mail delivery began in 1929. The first talking picture show (movie) was shown in 1929, at the Princess Theatre.

Medal given to Society

Richard and Rebecca Leake, members of the Halifax County Historical Society, are shown beside a framed Medal of Honor and Certificate belonging to Colonel Henry Eaton Coleman, which the couple presented to the Society at the annual meeting held October 17. Now housed at the Chaffin House (the Society’s headquarters), the medal, certificate and likeness of Colonel Coleman, acknowledge the important contribution made by the Colonel who drew the strategic battle plan for the June 25, 1864 Battle of Staunton River Bridge. The only battle fought on Halifax County land featured a greatly outnumbered band of Confederates who held the crossing during four Union charges before the approximately 5,000 Union troops retreated. The strategic military maneuver is now studied at several military schools. Mrs. Leake, a descendant of Colonel Coleman, and her husband also hosted a reception at the Chaffin House following the annual meeting.