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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The New York Giants will be forced to hold their 2026 training camp, the first with John Harbaugh as head coach, out of state.
Per a report from the New York Post, the Giants will hold what will likely be the first two weeks of training camp in West Virginia at the Greenbrier Resort, located in White Sulpher Springs.
Part of the reason for the move is the fact that World Cup games will be held at MetLife Stadium this summer. There is also ongoing construction at the Giants’ facility at 1925 Giants Drive. The Giants are expanding their locker room, weight room, dining facility and office space at their headquarters, constructed in 2009. That work began before Harbaugh was named head coach.
NFL teams have used the Greenbier extensively since 2014, when it was first established to host training camp for the New Orleans Saints. The Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns have held training camps there, and other have practiced there during extended road trips.
The facility has two grass fields and a FieldTurf field, as well as all of the other accommodations an NFL needs.
The Giants have trained at their own Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J. since 2013.
Exact dates for NFL training camps have not yet been set, but the starting date is generally some time in late July. Per the Post, most practices at the Greenbrier are expected to be open to the public.
RICHMOND, Va. (WSET) — As the legislative session in Richmond comes closer to an end, lawmakers are still hard at work hammering out the budget for the year ahead. This year, the Senate has approved a pay raise for lawmakers after tabling bills that would have provided larger pay increases for teachers.
With the cost of living rising, teachers across Virginia have been watching the proposed budget closely and hoping for higher pay.
In February, a bill that would have raised teacher salaries by 4.5% each year until reaching the national average of $77,000 was tabled until next year. The decision left some educators disappointed.
“It’s definitely disappointing. We’re at a time where we are struggling to keep highly qualified staff in the buildings and in the profession, to be quite honest, because we have to compete with other industries,” Karl Loos, president of the Lynchburg Education Association, said.
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There is still a 3% increase for teachers included in the proposed Senate budget, and a 2% increase in the House of Delegates’ proposed budget. But Loos said a 3% raise only matches the rate of inflation, and will likely not be appealing enough to fill vacant positions.
“I think certainly teacher pay is a deterrent for a lot of people, especially as they see the amount of work that goes into it and the compensation for that work,” Loos said.
The Virginia Education Association also advocated for the 4.5% pay increase. Chad Stewart, the interim director of Government Relations and Research, said they believe budget uncertainty may have made lawmakers hesitant to commit to long-term increases they might not be able to sustain.
According to the State Fiscal Impact Statement, seen below, it would have required an additional $159.0 million in 2027, and increasing amounts for the next couple of years to meet the goal of reaching the national average.
“We’ve seen commitments going back decades from previous governors who have all stated they want to get the national teacher pay average, but no governor has ever delivered on it,” Stewart said.
Stewart said the average national pay for teachers they are hoping to meet is $77,000, and that the current average salary for teachers in the Commonwealth is around $70,000. He said ultimately it comes down to the budget, and he hopes in the following years teachers will receive that larger pay increase. Stewart said the organization hopes Gov. Spanberger will be the first to follow through on that promise.
Meanwhile, legislation that would increase pay for state lawmakers was passed in the Senate on Thursday. Republican Del. Tim Griffin of the 53rd District said he voted against the measure.
“I was outraged last week when they raised their own pay. I voted against it,” Griffin said. “When you run on affordability, I think people expected it to be more affordable for the people that live and work in Virginia, not for ourselves. It kind of defeats the purpose.”
When asked about the proposed pay increases in the House and the Senate, Campbell County Superintendent Clay Stanley said in a statement, “I am praying for 3%. Our teachers, at minimum, deserve a raise that matches the cost of living increase.”
ABC13 reached out to local Democratic lawmakers for comment on the teacher pay raise legislation, but did not receive a response.
First grader Ruston Revell is pressing Virginia lawmakers to pass a bill that he argues will make schools safer for kids with diabetes.
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Why a 6-year-old with diabetes is pushing for change in Virginia
Speaking in front of Virginia lawmakers, 6-year-old Ruston Revell needs a wooden stool to reach the microphone for his testimony about diabetes.
Dressed in his blue suit and red tie, he’s there on a mission.
“Living with diabetes isn’t easy, there are lots of ups and downs — just like my blood sugar,” Ruston told legislators in the Virginia General Assembly.
The legislation that brought Ruston from Prince William County to Richmond would update an existing law to specify how Virginia schools handle accommodations for students with diabetes.
“When I’m at school, my nurse and all my teachers help me when I need it, but not all kids like me are that lucky,” Ruston told WTOP. “These bills change that, so kids with diabetes can be safer in schools.”
He’s testified before committees in both chambers as corresponding bills move through the Virginia General Assembly. HB1301 and SB122 have both earned support in their respective chamber.
“Although, I’m small, my voice is big and it can change the world,” Ruston said.
In his testimony, the first grader clearly explained the care he requires to manage his Type 1 diabetes during the school day.
“He just pops up on his little stool and takes control of the room,” said Kelly Revell, Ruston’s mom. “It’s usually a little quiet, and after he finishes, he gets a whole room full of applause.”
Today, Ruston enjoys playing baseball, swimming and spending time at the playground.
But things were different before his diagnosis five years ago.
A life-changing diagnosis at 15 months old
During the summer of 2020, Kelly said her son started showing signs of diabetes, such as extreme thirst — symptoms she recognized because her father had been diagnosed in his 20s.
“He would just lounge around the house and have no interest in playing with his sister,” Kelly said. “He stopped eating, so he was eventually airlifted to Children’s National in D.C., where he was admitted to the pediatric ICU for nearly a week.”
At just 15 months old, Ruston was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Kelly said that news was life-changing.
“Now, in order to keep him alive, we have to hurt him multiple times a day, by giving him four to five shots and even a dozen finger pricks just to make sure his blood sugar is in range,” she recalled.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks cells that make insulin. A lack of insulin can lead to high blood sugar, which could cause serious health issues or be deadly.
“We had to wake up at 2 a.m. every night for six weeks, before we started utilizing technology, just to make sure that he was safe and healthy with his blood sugar,” Kelly said. “A lot of times, it resulted in phone calls to the hospital because he was at a dangerous level, and then we would be up for hours making sure he was back in range.”
For the Revell family, managing Ruston’s diabetes looks different nowadays.
(Courtesy Kelly Revell)
Courtesy Kelly Revell
(Courtesy Kelly Revell)
Courtesy Kelly Revell
(Courtesy Kelly Revell)
Courtesy Kelly Revell
(Courtesy Kelly Revell)
Courtesy Kelly Revell
(Courtesy Kelly Revell)
Courtesy Kelly Revell
How a 6-year-old handles his diabetes
Ruston knows how to prick his finger to check whether his blood sugar is in range.
“My mom and dad help me change my insulin pump every three days, and my CGM every 10 days,” Ruston said, referencing his continuous glucose monitor, known as a CGM.
“It hurts, but at least I don’t have to do shots. They’re the worst.”
Living with diabetes, Ruston needs to calculate the number of carbs he’s getting to determine his insulin dose, which is administered automatically through a pump.
“He is a pro at using a food scale,” Kelly said. “If he wants to eat anything, apple slices, we cut them up, and he puts them on the food scale and determines how many carbs are in that.”
Halfway through his interview with WTOP, Ruston’s phone beeped, flagging his low blood sugar and triggering a quick juice-box break.
That’s the kind of intervention he could require at school.
“When I’m low, Nurse Barnes tells Ms. Grant for me to have a juice box or gummies,” Ruston said, describing a snack to correct his blood sugar.
At his current school, Kelly said Ruston has had all his medical accommodations met since his first day of kindergarten.
“He gets so many hugs. Everyone knows him. He walks into the front office every day to visit the clinic, and they just they really take care of him,” she said.
Things were more complicated before Ruston began kindergarten. Kelly said the family was initially told that the accommodations requested by his doctor would not be allowed.
“What was most difficult at the time was the thought that a kindergartener would be responsible for alerting adults if his phone signaled a low or high blood sugar, rather than having trained staff receive those alerts directly through available technology,” she told WTOP.
The situation was resolved, but it drew Kelly’s attention toward legal protections for kids with diabetes.
What Kelly and Ruston are asking Virginia lawmakers to do
For the past several years, Kelly has been involved with an advocacy group, FOLLOWT1Ds, which argues that unclear or inconsistent school policies can create stress for families and put kids in danger.
“Prince William County has updated their diabetes policies recently, so more students with diabetes across our county are better protected,” Kelly said. “But that’s not happening everywhere in Virginia.”
The bills moving through the Virginia legislature would require school systems to create a divisionwide plan for supporting students with diabetes.
That would include making sure school staff are trained to follow through with a child’s medical orders.
“You really have to put in all of your trust in your school,” Kelly said. “This is a life-threatening disease, and if they forget to give him a juice box when he’s low, that can result in him going to the hospital, or it could be fatal.”
The legislation would also require schools have procedures for administering insulin and glucagon.
Families who have students with diabetes would send schools medical orders from their doctors that outline the child’s needs.
“A lot of times, the schools will either deny or modify these accommodations, even though they’re medically necessary,” Kelly said.
The statewide regulations haven’t been updated since 1999, Kelly said.
“While we’ve had all of these technology advances, like the insulin pump and the CGM, Virginia still hasn’t advanced their laws to align with standard methods of care that we’re using today,” Kelly said.
Ruston doesn’t receive insulin shots anymore. But Virginia law is behind on that front, according to Kelly and other advocates.
“Right now, the policy in Virginia, if his pump were to fall off while at school, they would, instead of reinsert the pump, they would give him a shot,” Kelly said.
In that scenario, Kelly said the school employee would have to calculate how much insulin to dose.
“I wouldn’t even know what to dose him, because with the pump, it’s automated nowadays,” she said. “It would require an immediate call to his doctor for guidance.”
She worries that it could lead to a miscalculation and health complications.
Kelly said the lack of consistency can impact older students, too. She said some high schoolers have gotten in trouble for having their cellphones at schools that ban the devices.
But those phones let students monitor their blood sugar, communicate medical treatments and administer insulin.
It’s the second year in a row that advocates like Kelly have asked legislators in Richmond to approve revisions to state law.
This time, Ruston is joining the push for change by sharing his story with lawmakers.
“I want to make sure other kids in different schools can have more help with diabetes,” Ruston told WTOP.
Anyone interested in following the legislation or submitting a comment to lawmakers can find more information on FOLLOW T1Ds’ website.
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