This Day in History: The Gunpowder Incident rocks Virginia

This Day in History: The Gunpowder Incident rocks Virginia : On this day in 1775, Patrick Henry prepares to face off against Virginia’s Royal Governor. The Gunpowder Incident was afoot! Naturally, the conflict was created by guns, ammunition . . . and a British attempt to confiscate them. How unsurprising that our ancestors wrote the 2nd Amendment, with incidents such as these inspiring them. King George III had been limiting the inflow of guns and ammunition into the American colonies for months. His Governors were to “take the most Effectual Measures for Arresting, detaining and securing any Gunpowder or any sort of Arms or Ammunition,” unless a royal license could be produced. It was basically an 18th-century version of gun control, wasn’t it? The American colonists were furious! You already know that the shots at Lexington and Concord were sparked by British General Thomas Gage’s attempt to seize ammunition stores. But you may not know what was happening in Williamsburg that same week. Colonists there [...]