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Susanna Bolling (December 5, 1764-date unknown), according to legend, risked her life during the American Revolution to warn Major General the Marquis de Lafayette of British plans to capture him in May 1781. Her daring, risky midnight ride is often likened to that of Boston Patriot Paul Revere. Some claim that because of her actions “the end of the war was hastened and resulted in the ultimate American victory,” labeling her a Revolutionary War heroine and “the girl who saved the Revolution.”
Early Life
editSusanna Bolling was born on December 5, 1764, in the village of City Point, now known as Hopewell, in Prince George County, Virginia to Alexander Bolling (1721 - 1766) and Susanna Bolling (1728 - 1788).[1]
Revolutionary War
editDuring the Revolutionary War, 16-year-old Susanna Bolling lived in her family's plantation near City Point, Virginia. According to legend, in late May 1781, British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and his British Southern Army arrived unexpectedly on the plantation, where it set up camp and Cornwallis and his staff moved into the family’s house. One evening, Susanna Bolling overheard Cornwallis's plan to capture the Marquis de Lafayette, the French nobleman who served as an American general and key Patriot ally. The legend continues that during the night, after learning this intelligence, Susanna Bolling snuck out of her home through a secret underground tunnel, crossed the Appomattox River in a canoe, then borrowed a neighbor's horse to ride to the Half Way House, where Lafayette had his headquarters. There she warned General Lafayette of General Cornwallis's plan to capture him.[2]
The legend adds that armed with Susanna Bolling’s information Lafayette was able to frustrate Cornwallis’s plan for seizing him. Lafayette also was able to continue carrying out his vital part of General George Washington’s plan ensuring that Cornwallis’s British Army remained in Yorktown, Virginia while Washington’s American Army and French allied troops commanded by the Comte de Rochambeau traveled south to besiege them. This plan in October 1781 led to the Siege of Yorktown, Cornwallis’s surrender, and ultimately American independence.[3]
After the War
editSusanna married Thomas Britton (1776-aft. 1793) on January 3, 1797 in Oglethorpe, Georgia. Her second marriage was to Peter King (abt. 1756 - 1813). She gave birth to five children: Rebecca Ann (King) Cornelison (1777 - 1860), John Wesley King (1782 - 1835), Boling King (1783 - aft. 1860), Levisa (King) Medaris (1790 - 1838), and Cummins King (1796 - 1878).[4]
Questions of Accuracy
editSome question the truth of Susanna Bolling’s ride, noting that no primary source records exist relating her tale. The oldest written account of Susanna Bolling’s ride appears in the 1957 book The Prince George-Hopewell Story by Francis Earle Lutz, which claims:
“Lord Cornwallis…re-grouped his forces and prepared to seek out and annihilate “the boy” Lafayette, who was operating on the north side of the James River. In his movement from Petersburg, Cornwallis spent one night at Mitchell’s, the Bolling home, which stood until recently on Mansion Hill in the present [town of] Hopewell. While the enemy officers wined and dined, they discussed freely their objectives and their immediate plan for crossing the James and taking Lafayette from the rear. Paying strict attention to details, according to legend, was young Susanna Bolling. When night came, she quietly crept though a secret underground passage to the Appomattox River, which she crossed, and then made her way overland to the Half-Way House on the present Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike [modern US Rt. 1], where she communicated the British plans to the young French nobleman.”[5]
Although Lutz claimed that “the noted British historian, Charles Stedman…passes on this legendary act of heroism to posterity” in his 1794 book Origin, Progress, and Termination of the American War, the volume never mentions Susanna Bolling or any account resembling the tale of her ride.[6]
A 1942 article from The Hopewell News newspaper written by Judge Thomas B. Robertson declares that a friend, not Susanna herself, conducted the ride.[7]
Commemoration of Susanna Bolling’s Ride
editHer story is told in the 2018 Teen and Young Adult book Susanna's Midnight Ride: The Girl Who Won the Revolutionary War (Courageous Women in American History) by Libby Carty McNamee.[8]
The Commonwealth of Virginia in 2019 declared each December 5th (Susanna’s birthday) as “Susanna Bolling Day.” This was formalized by Joint Resolution 649 Bill VA HJR649. It was agreed to by the House of Delegates on February 4, 2019 and by the Senate on February 20, 2019.[9]
The Sons of the American Revolution designated Susanna Bolling SAR Patriot #P-347337 and included her in the 1991 book Women Patriots of the American Revolution by Charles Claghorn. The Richmond Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, on October 27, 2024 dedicated a sign commemorating her actions near the Half-Way House, the end point of Susanna Bolling’s ride. Built in 1760, the house stands today and operates as the Halfway House Restaurant.
References
editSusanna's Midnight Ride: The Girl Who Won the Revolutionary War (Courageous Women in American History) Paperback – June 15, 2018 by Libby Carty McNamee (Author), via Amazon.com [1]
Virginia, U.S., Extracted Vital Records, 1660-1923, Virginia Vital Records [2].
The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography [3], Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct., 1915), pp. 422-423.
“Mitchell’s, Bolling Home, Described,” The Hopewell News, 1942, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a1095c64e5ac45a59ef6a20a7183d45e [4]
Joint Resolution 649 Bill Text: VA HJR649, that "Designating December 5, in 2019 and in each succeeding year, as Susanna Bolling Day in Virginia." [5]
The Prince George-Hopewell Story, Francis Earle Lutz (The William Byrd Press, Inc.: Richmond, Virginia, 1957) [6]