Hopewell occupies 11 square miles and
is bounded by the Appomattox and James
Rivers.
The city is 30 minutes from downtown
Richmond and 56 miles from
Williamsburg
Built in six months,
Burned in Six Hours, and
re-built in six months
Location once again plays a role in
Hopewell?s history, as the City?s 40
foot bluff offered a strategic vantage
point for colonial artillery to take a
shot at the British fleet returning
downriver on the James, from an
unsuccessful attempt to capture
Governor Thomas Jefferson at
Richmond. History would later note
that it was
General Benedict Arnold
who came under fire from guns
mounted near City Point in January of
1781. It was one of two raids
accredited to him before eventually
going into exile in England. Had they
not missed, Arnold might have avoided
his miserable days as no country truly
accepted his treason. So in the end,
he probably suffered more by living.
The City would see the British three
months later, this time with soldiers
landing under the command of General
William Phillips. They would continue
on to Petersburg in an unsuccessful
search of the French General
Lafayette.
Marquis de Lafayette had come to
America at age 19 wanting to serve
General George Washington, and
learn the art of war. In their first
battle at Chad's Ford in 1777, both
would see the great strength and
bravery of a private soldier named
Peter Francisco. Francisco was
actually abandoned at City Point in
1765 as a small boy, but had now grow
into a huge man standing over 6',
although only about 17. Lafayette and
Francisco would eventually form an
unbreakable bond while recovering from
their battle wounds, that would last
for many years. In adoration for his
fighting skill Lafayette orchestrated,
thru Washington, getting Francisco a
sword to match his mighty stature.
Both men would go separate ways
through their Revolutionary War
service, although they would
re-connect in 1781. Francisco had
just experienced his most notorious
battle at
Guilford Courthouse in North
Carolina. Where he single handedly
slew eleven of the enemy with his now
famous sword. And then while unarmed,
took on some of
Sir Banastre Tarleton's Legion who
were on a butchering rampage through
Virginia. They would reunite at
Williamsburg just before the battle of
Yorktown.
Shortly before, an interesting
Hopewell legend would unfold. It's
been said that
Lord Cornwallis, while spending
the night at the Bolling family's home
Mitchells, plotted to cross the James
and swing around behind Lafayette for
a surprise attack. Legend has it that
young Susanna Bolling overheard the
British plans and slipped away through
a secret underground passageway. She
would make her way to a Half-Way House
were Lafayette was quartered and
reveal the overheard plans so the
Colonial forces would be prepared.
Whether this ever happened or not is
unclear, but Cornwallis eventually
surrendered at
Yorktown in 1781.
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