Virginia
Documentary reveals roots of revolution in Southwest Virginia
The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Cardinal News has embarked on a project to tell the little-known stories of Virginia’s role in the march to independence. This project is supported, in part, by a grant from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission. Find all our stories from this project on the Cardinal 250 page. You can sign up for our monthly newsletter:
Feeling oppression from the British crown and longing for freedom in their new land, a group of leaders gathered to sign a historic document stating their intention to break ties with England and fight for independence.
However, this pivotal moment in the American Revolution was not what you might expect — it occurred more than a year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and it didn’t happen at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
This declaration of liberty was the Fincastle Resolutions, signed in January 1775, right here in Southwest Virginia.
A new PBS documentary, “Resolved to Live and Die,” was filmed on location throughout the region and brought to life through historical reenactments “that vividly capture the peril, passion, and patriotism” of those fighting for freedom during the Revolutionary War era in Southwest Virginia, according to the filmmakers.
The film’s goal is to honor the region’s pivotal — and often overlooked — role in shaping the Revolution.
The documentary is part of the ongoing Virginia 250 celebration, focusing on the state’s involvement in the American Revolution. It is a co-production of Blue Ridge PBS, PBS Appalachia, the Wilderness Road Regional Museum in Dublin and the Willowbrook Jackson/Umberger Homestead Museum in Wytheville.
The film debuts at 7 p.m. Sunday on Blue Ridge PBS.
“I hope people will realize that Southwest Virginia played a huge part in the fight for independence,” said Michael Gillman, manager of historic sites for Wytheville Museums. “From 1776-1781, all major events in Virginia were west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.”
At the time, Southwest Virginia was the western edge of the colonies.
The 15 frontiersmen who signed the Fincastle Resolutions did so in support of the Continental Congress’ boycott of British goods in protest of the Intolerable Acts. It was written as an address to Virginia’s delegates to the First Continental Congress.
“These men, many of them frontier leaders and militia captains, risked everything — family, land and even their lives — by publicly defying the British Crown,” Blue Ridge PBS said in an announcement of the documentary’s premiere. “Their commitment would ripple through history and contribute directly to the birth of the United States.”
The title of the film is taken directly from the closing words of the Fincastle Resolutions. The document defended the colonists’ “inestimable privileges” as rightful British subjects, which they swore “never to surrender … to any power upon earth, but at the expense of our lives … These are our real, though unpolished sentiments, of liberty and loyalty, and in them we are resolved to live and die.”
April Martin of the Wilderness Road Regional Museum said the two museums involved “have written, arranged, filmed, edited, recruited all the living historians for scenes, organized all the filming locations, and in general are the two organizations responsible for the documentary.”
She and Gillman are partners in the production.
Martin said her museum had worked with Blue Ridge PBS previously on the “Story of the New River” documentary, and a producer asked Martin if she had other ideas.
“I immediately offered up this one,” she said.
Coincidentally, Gillman also had contacted PBS Appalachia at the same time about a short documentary on the Fincastle Resolutions. So, they joined forces to create “Resolved to Live and Die.”
“I started the ball rolling on some VA250 sponsorship money, which came through,” Martin said. “Pulaski County came through [with funding] and Wytheville Museums had some sponsors and grants, as well, to help the project along.”
They also received some money from Virginia Tech’s history department, along with other sources from Blue Ridge PBS and PBS Appalachia.
A war on many fronts
Martin said the film touches on a variety of topics related to the war — the Tory Uprising, the pivotal Battle of King’s Mountain in 1780, the Guilford Courthouse Campaign — as well as other aspects of life from that period, such as religious freedom on the frontier, what life was like for the common soldier, the experiences of women and enslaved people, the Cherokee War of 1776, and the importance of Southwest Virginia resources such as lead and gunpowder for the war effort.
(See previous Cardinal 250 stories on many of these topics, including King’s Mountain, Guilford Courthouse, the Cherokee War, the role of women and enslaved people.)
“We also explore life in the area, from settlers moving into the area to having to choose sides in the war. … I also think it’s very interesting to see the war through the viewpoint of the enslaved and native Americans,” said Carol Jennings of Blue Ridge PBS, producer of the documentary.
Leaders such as William Christian, William Preston, William Campbell, William Ingles, James McGavock, Joseph Cloyd, George Pearis, William Madison, Hugh Crockett and many more were included in the filming, Martin said.
Blue Ridge PBS notes that Campbell and Crockett “emerged from this rugged landscape to lead Virginian Overmountain Men in the decisive 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain, defeating British Major Patrick Ferguson and helping turn the tide of the war.”
Jennings said that Fincastle leader William Preston “is a thread that runs through the doc … which helps tie things together. He was definitely a mover and shaker of the era.”
Preston was a military commander, politician, surveyor and planter. During the war, he held British loyalists, known as Tories, from an uprising in Southwest Virginia, and later fought Cornwallis’ British troops in the Carolinas.
Gillman said the film doesn’t focus on specific people as much as “a group of prominent men from the area who united to join the fight for independence. It will touch on their struggles with the natives and the British crown and what ethnicities settled in this area. It will also share the story of Loyalists in the area who remained loyal to England.”
That America’s rebellion against England was not supported by all colonists is often glossed over in historical accounts of the Revolutionary War.
“For me, I think the most compelling aspect is that the war was truly a civil war, where families and people who were once friends found themselves on opposite sides of a very thorny issue — to support the crown or not,” Jennings said.
Reenacting the Revolution
“It was a challenge to come up with the visuals for the program,” Jennings said. “Photography didn’t come along until the mid-1800s and so there is limited imagery for the Revolutionary War period.”
When it came time to film reenactments, though, the museums found they had plenty of resources available.
“Luckily, both museums had many knowledgeable living historians eager to help out and many contacts for land access and filming privileges,” Martin said.
On Jan. 18 — just two days shy of the event’s 250th anniversary — the kitchen house at the Willowbrook Jackson/Umberger Homestead Museum in Wytheville was converted to the Fincastle Courthouse to film the Jan. 20, 1775, signing of the Fincastle Resolutions. Later, the museum was transformed into McGavock’s Tavern for a recreation of a trial of suspected Tories.
At the Abingdon Muster Grounds, the crew filmed a scene of the Overmountain Men mustering to march to King’s Mountain.
At the Wilderness Road Regional Museum, a skirmish between Patriots and Tories was filmed, in addition to a Tory conspiracy meeting and scenes of women doing 18th-century activities, Jennings said.
The film crew shot various scenes with an actor playing William Preston at Historic Smithfield.
Other sites filmed included Ingles Tavern, Belle-Hampton Farm, Howe/Hoge Cemetery, McGavock Cemetery, St. John’s Church, New Dublin Presbyterian Church, Fort Witten and Fotheringay, as well as highway markers, cemeteries, memorials “and so many other places throughout Southwest Virginia that were once part of Fincastle County,” Martin said.
Until she sees the final version of the film, though, Martin doesn’t know which scenes will be used.
“These cinematic scenes immerse viewers in the tension of the times, where even fellow colonists were divided — Tories loyal to England clashing violently with patriots seeking independence,” according to Blue Ridge PBS. “This rift often escalated into brutal vigilante justice, reminding us that the revolution was not only fought on battlefields, but also in backyards and town halls.”
Understanding the region’s role
The filmmakers said they hope to shine a light on the essential but little-known contributions of people from Southwest Virginia to the fight for freedom.
Jennings expects that some viewers will get a geography lesson, as she did.
“Before working on this project, I had no idea that Fincastle County had ever existed,” she said. “I suspect I’m not the only one. I think most people would assume the Fincastle Resolutions are tied to the present-day town of Fincastle in Botetourt County, when they’re not. Fincastle County only lasted four short years and covered a huge area.”
(See our previous Cardinal 250 story on Fincastle County.)
She also hopes the audience “will come to appreciate how difficult it was to pick sides.”
Martin said she wants viewers to gain an understanding of what this region’s people stood for during the war.
“I want people to learn that our region was an active part of the Revolution and an oftentimes dangerous place with mixed loyalties,” she said. “And how the war impacted the multicultural melting pot of Appalachia during that time. It wasn’t just Patriots versus the British, but layers of complicated history that need to be remembered and understood in order to better understand the larger context of the overall war.”
She hopes they come away with “an appreciation of what the people of Southwest Virginia did for our new nation.”
Public screenings
Blue Ridge PBS will hold two public screenings of “Resolved to Live and Die: The Revolutionary Roots of Southwest Virginia.” Each event includes a Q&A session and a preview of “The American Revolution,” the new film by acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt.
Dates and locations include:
• Tuesday at the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke. Doors open at 6 p.m. to explore the museum’s exhibits. The preview and screening begin at 7 p.m.
• Thursday at the Millwald Theatre in Wytheville. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; the preview and screening begin at 7 p.m.
Each showing will include a Q&A session. According to a post by the Millwald, the film will be followed by “an engaging panel discussion featuring the filmmakers and historians, offering behind-the-scenes insights, historical context, and a deeper look at the stories that shaped our nation’s founding.”
Support for the documentary was provided by VA250, Pulaski County, the Town of Wytheville Museums, Bank of Marion, Visit Wytheville, Virginia Tech Department of History, Wytheville Community College and donations from PBS viewers.
To watch a trailer:
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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Virginia Beach business owners who lost money during the temporary all-ages curfew at the Oceanfront this month can file a claim through the Risk Management Office, the city confirmed.
The Virginia Beach City Council approved a temporary all-ages curfew following two mass shootings along Atlantic Avenue within a month. No one was killed, but police confirmed there were a total of 14 people injured in the two shooting incidents, some seriously. The temporary curfew was put into effect on Friday, April 17 from 9:30 p.m. until 5 a.m. Saturday, and from 9:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18 until 5 a.m. Sunday, but a judge blocked a final 9:30 p.m. curfew scheduled for Friday, April 24. This is in addition to a 7 p.m. curfew that remains in effect Fridays through Sundays for unaccompanied minors at the Oceanfront.
Businesses seeking compensation must prove that any lost profits during the curfew were directly caused by the city, not other factors. Under Virginia law, speculative damages are not eligible.
The form to apply for a claim is available at this link.
According to the city, this form has always existed. It is not specific to the curfew losses, but can be used for that.
The city will take these factors, and others, into consideration when reviewing a claim:
- Sovereign immunity/police power protections generally shield the City from liability for actions taken to protect public health, safety and welfare.
- Lost profits can result from multiple causes, and a claimant would need to prove with reasonable certainty the profits allegedly lost and that such losses are attributable exclusively to the City’s actions. Speculative damages are not recoverable under Virginia law.
- Other statutory defenses may apply depending on the specific nature of the claim and the recovery sought.
Bottom line is, businesses can submit a form, but that does not guarantee payment.
Click here for complete details on the City of Virginia Beach current curfew ordinances.
If you need help with the Public File, call (540) 512-1559
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Charles Byers. Irvo Otieno. Their names have tragically become well-known in Central Virginia for how they died — in the custody of or by the hands of law enforcement.
What also became clear after both mens’ deaths is how badly and frequently they were failed by Virginia’s mental health system, including when magistrates issued temporary detention orders for psychiatric care. Neither man ever got the care he was ordered to receive before dying.
While thousands of Virginians do receive care and live to share their experiences, critics have long argued that the involuntary commitment process often fails mental health patients. The myriad ways in which it does so are at the center of a new analysis by the Disability Law Center of Virginia (dLCV).
According to the report, none of Virginia’s state agencies collect data on the involuntary commitment process to determine whether there are concerning trends in need of attention.
In an attempt to gain that kind of insight, dLCV surveyed a total of 79 people who either were actively working through or had recently been through the involuntary commitment process. Many of these individuals were found within Virginia’s hospital system.
In just the first several dozen surveys, the dLCV found Virginians regularly were not informed of their rights during the commitment process and did not receive disability accommodations from law enforcement, which impeded their ability to effectively communicate. Patients were reportedly restrained for excessively long periods of time, “even when they did not pose any active danger.”
One deaf respondent reported being handcuffed to a bed until their wrists bled, unable to sign to communicate until a nurse ordered police to remove them.
The dLCV found “restraints were not rare exceptions but routine practice”, noting that restraints should be rarely used during involuntary commitments — “and only to prevent immediate harm.”
Describing the shared accounts as “heartbreaking” and “traumatic,” the dLCV outlined the demographics of surveyed patients who were involuntarily committed, their grievances, their positive experiences and what the Commonwealth should do next to improve the system.
A look at the demographics of those surveyed
The vast majority of those surveyed by dLCV reported a mental illness as either a primary or co-occurring diagnosis, with several others reporting that they had a developmental disability such as autism. Multiple patients were blind or vision impaired, were deaf or hard of hearing or had a mobility impairment.
About 63% of those surveyed were white. The dLCV said this is consistent with Virginia’s statewide demographics. However, about 55% of those surveyed were female, which does not quite match up with statewide demographics. This slight skew could impact overall survey responses, per the agency.
More than a dozen of those surveyed were homeless at the time of their commitment.
“The people we spoke to who were homeless often explained that not having stable housing directly led to their commitment and prevented their release,” the report reads. “This was the case even when, by all appearances, the person was clinically stable.”
Interactions with law enforcement during this process
Just over 80% of those surveyed encountered law enforcement during the involuntary commitment process.
Of those individuals, nearly 60% either agreed or strongly agreed with the idea that police spoke to them in a respectful and calm manner. By contrast, 32% of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed.
Those surveyed were then asked if law enforcement made them feel safer — and the response to that question was more evenly split.
While 49% either agreed or strongly agreed that law enforcement made them feel safer, 39% either disagreed or strongly disagreed.
“Several first-hand accounts described tasering, racist threats and being physically dragged by police,” the report reads.
On the whole, those surveyed reported a higher satisfaction with how authorities treated them than they did with any other part of the process, per the report.
“We must note that this satisfaction with law enforcement does not paint a full picture,” the report reads. “People with the worst police interactions, notably death or serious injury, would not have reached mental health hospitals to complete surveys, which likely skews satisfaction upward. Still, it is encouraging to know that, for this sample at least, experiences with law enforcement have been largely positive.”
Findings show an ‘unacceptable’ routine use of restraints
Handcuffs were used on a number of respondents, who reported being handcuffed during transport between locations and while lying in hospital beds. Many were also denied accommodations for their disabilities.
Examples provided in the report include the experience of a deaf patient who said an officer “clamped [the] handcuff on my wrist until blood splattered.” As she uses sign language to communicate, she could not do so until a nurse ordered that an officer release her.
One respondent said that their adult child with special needs had his wrists cut by handcuffs.
“I was handcuffed alone in the back of the police vehicle used to transport me from the ER to the hospital,” another said. “I don’t think handcuffs were necessary at all.”
The dLCV said that, per its findings, it’s clear that “restraints [are] not rare exceptions but routine practice.”
“The use of restraints of any kind during involuntary commitment should be rare and only to prevent immediate harm,” the report reads. “The practices reported to dLCV are unacceptable and must be reassessed at the local and state levels.”
Patient experiences in emergency departments
Just over 76% of those surveyed went through an emergency department during their involuntary commitment process.
While more than half of the respondents said that emergency department staff were available to them when needed, the majority strongly disagreed with the idea that staff actually responded to their needs.
An even larger portion of those surveyed strongly disagreed with the idea that staff treated them with dignity and respect.
Of those who did not visit an emergency department during their involuntary commitment process, several said they were instead directly admitted to either a psychiatric unit or a hospital.
Perspectives on prescreenings, medical evaluations
Near the start of the involuntary commitment process, patients are meant to be “prescreened” by a trained mental health clinician.
That clinician is meant to determine whether the patient is a danger to themselves, a danger to others and/or unable to protect or care for themselves due to mental illness. They are also meant to be medically evaluated, as well as screened for both a possible urinary tract infection — which can sometimes manifest psychiatric symptoms — and for drug use.
Based on their findings, the clinician can choose to recommend that the person be temporarily detained for their own health and safety.
According to the report, nearly 30% of those surveyed could not remember if they had been prescreened.
“It seems that this uncertainty was often the result of people meeting with lots of different medical staff and having trouble understanding each staff’s role,” the report reads. “Several people also reported that, by this point in the process, they were so sedated [that] they didn’t remember anything.”
More than half of those surveyed did not feel that their prescreener heard and understood them, with 43% of them strongly disagreeing with the idea.
“Prescreener asked if I took daily walks,” one patient said. “I have no legs and am in a wheelchair.”
While 33% strongly agreed that their prescreener treated them with dignity and respect, 37% strongly disagreed.
Nearly 60% of those surveyed said they did not agree with the prescreener’s ultimate decision on their case.
“The fact that we interviewed so many people who were actively or very recently going through this process may have skewed this number somewhat,” the report reads. “Still, the issue remains that individuals do not feel empowered in this process.”
Importantly, no matter what a prescreener may determine, patients can still decide if they would like to voluntarily hospitalize themselves at this point in the process. Despite this, 65% of those surveyed said their prescreener did not give them this option.
“If I’m not aware [of the process], I can only imagine the other people that they’re taking advantage of,” one respondent said.
The dLCV emphasized the importance of all patients being given the opportunity to meaningfully participate in decisions about their care.
Experiences in commitment hearings, with attorneys
Within 72 hours of a person being temporarily detained under these circumstances, they must have a hearing with a magistrate to determine, based on evidence, if they need to be hospitalized for a longer period. However, only half of those surveyed said they met with a magistrate, according to the report.
“I was [temporarily detained,] but never had a hearing or a lawyer and never met with a judge, which I’m pretty sure is illegal,” one patient said. “I was initially told I was voluntary, only later to be informed by a police officer that it had been changed to involuntary, with no explanation as to why. I was sent to a state hospital without a hearing or a lawyer.”
Many respondents said that they were not able or not allowed to attend their hearings, with court-appointed attorneys attending in their place. Three told dLCV that they “had been so heavily medicated that they were not awake for their hearing.”
Attorneys were just ‘rubber stamps,’ ‘a formality’
According to the report, the majority of those surveyed reported that they were assigned a court-appointed attorney. However, 24% said they were not assigned one.
Across all parts of the involuntary commitment process, respondents were unhappiest with their attorneys, per the report.
“Most people in the survey reported that they did not feel they were represented fairly, nor did their attorney know them or meet with them for long enough to do so,” the report reads.
Those surveyed described their attorneys as not much more than “rubber stamps.”
“[The attorney was] just there as a formality more than anything,” one patient said. “The attorney just kind of sat there.”
Those who do not agree with the results of their commitment hearings can appeal the decision. However, only 37% of those surveyed reported being given information on their right to appeal.
“I had no idea about appeals until reading this survey,” one respondent said. “I was not offered the opportunity.”
Of those who appealed, only one respondent was successful in doing so.
“Barriers [to successful appeal] included lack of paperwork, misinformation, incorrect attorney contact information and sedation,” the report reads.
Recommendations for improving process, patient experience
The dLCV said that three major trends were apparent across all survey responses. Those are as follows:
- Prescreeners, hospitals, the courts and law enforcement are failing to effectively communicate these processes to people going through them
- Law enforcement and emergency departments are subjecting people to prolonged, abusive and often unnecessary restraint
- Personnel at all steps of this process do not have the needed competencies to serve people with disabilities, leading them to routinely violate patients’ rights
“These survey findings show that restraints, lack of information and exclusion from decision-making are not isolated incidents but patterns that strip people of autonomy and deepen trauma,” the report reads.
To close these gaps and fix the process, the dLCV recommends the following four changes:
- Develop statewide standards limiting restraints to true emergencies involving imminent danger
- Require both initial and periodic training for law enforcement, prescreeners and attorneys on disability rights, accessibility and accommodation
- Develop both protocols and plain-language materials to ensure that all people are adequately informed of the process and their rights
- Improve data collection throughout all parts of this process to ensure accountability
“Virginia can build a crisis system that balances the need for care with legal protections and community-based safety, shifting from control to collaboration,” the report reads.
Per the report, dLCV intends to continue to survey individuals who experience this process and regularly provide updates on their responses.
The full report can be viewed below:
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