‘Revolution Untold’ widens the story of nation’s founding

Students dug through Williamsburg's founding-era records, shaping findings into documentary-style scripts and putting the overlooked back into the light.

James Armistead Lafayette, right, depicted here in this portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette by Jean-Baptiste Le Paon, is the subject of one of the "Revolution Untold" videos from Strategic Cultural Partnerships. (Photo Courtesy of Encyclopedia Virginia)

As the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches, icons of American history like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin may immediately come to mind. But what about those who were forgotten by history?

"Revolution Untold" aimed to solve that problem. The project, produced through a partnership between Strategic Cultural Partnerships (SCP) at William & Mary and the City of Williamsburg, centered on figures whose Revolutionary War experiences have been overshadowed. Students were the core of the project: seven of them, with one faculty member, dug through Williamsburg's founding-era records and shaped what surfaced into documentary-style scripts, pulling the overlooked back into the light.

"'Revolution Untold' is an excellent example of SCP meeting its mission: using the university's cultural and historic resources to generate new knowledge and advance understanding," said Danny Devlin, managing director of Strategic Cultural Partnerships. "'Untold' widens the founding story - recovering Indigenous, Black and women's lives that the standard narrative leaves out - and it does that through students. It is a nexus of applied learning, creative problem solving and mentored research and writing."

Revolution Untold was made possible through a partnership between the City of Williamsburg and the America 250 commemoration. It was sponsored by the Society of 1918 and the Williamsburg 250 Commission and funded in part by a grant from the VA250 Commission in partnership with Virginia Humanities.

All the projects were presented in full at the Williamsburg Stryker Center in April. Through the spring, students presented their research live in a Lunch & Learn series, walking attendees through the archival trails and fielding questions from the room - the point where months of records work became a public conversation.

As Devlin tells it, what made Revolution Untold successful was the partnership across the city and the university. SCP connected with various units, including the W&M Bray School Lab, the Charles Center, the Pamunkey Indian Museum & Cultural Center and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, among others. But at the center of it all, Devlin was most impressed with how students tackled the complexities of their subjects' lives for a wide variety of viewers.

"What surprised me most was the analytical maturity and watching (students) wrestle with the genuine craft problem of translating dense archival research into scripts a public audience could follow," said Devlin. "I pushed students to sit in discomfort - to hold two true things in mind at once rather than resolve the tension prematurely."

Understanding the Untold

As each video of the "Revolution Untold" series begins, the narrator reminds the viewer that "the past is not complete until all its voices are heard." Videos then cut to the images and voices of the Colonial era. Voice actors read first-person perspectives of the events in their lives, and images of newspaper clippings and letters immerse viewers into the early life of their subjects.

Catherine Kaidyee Blaikley, as one video shows, was a midwife who delivered up to 3,000 babies in her lifetime, or one to two babies a week, a rarity at the time. After her husband passed, her career gave her the economic independence to provide for herself.

James Armistead Lafayette, an enslaved man, helped General Marquis De Lafayette achieve victory at Yorktown through his roles as spy and double agent, collecting British Army plans for the Continental Army. Recognized for his bravery and patriotism, his petition for freedom was unanimously granted by the Virginia General Assembly.

"I find Lafayette's story interesting because he dared to dream," said Lorenzo Short '27, who researched Lafayette for the project. "He was able to think outside that society box that was put around him. It's important for people to understand there was an ability for people to rise above an unfair system. It's really amazing how we've gotten to this moment from where we've come from."

Clementina Rind was the first female public printer of Virginia, working closely with her husband on the Virginia Gazette until his death. She restructured the gazette under her leadership and was awarded the public printer contract for the colony until her death in 1774.

"It's important to establish these figures were part of the story of America," said Eira Johnson '26, who highlighted Rind in her project. "They played just as important of roles. (Rind) was instrumental in the beginnings of the free press in America and yet she vanishes among the other printers of the era."

Anthony Roberts was an African American man who served during the Revolutionary War as a wagoner, facing harsh weather and limited protection against enemy threats. His legacy lives on through his descendants today, as his sixth great-granddaughter, Johnette Gordon-Weaver, tells his story and the story of Black servicemen and women who protected their country, although their rights were still not fully guaranteed.

Robert Mursh, an Indigenous Pamunkey man, attended the William & Mary Brafferton Indian School around the age of 11. Mursh enlisted in the Continental Army at 18, fought in several notable battles in the 15th Regiment and was imprisoned by the British. He survived and spent 14 months on a prison ship before being released in 1781 on Jamestown Island. He rejoined the war shortly after.

"This project was really rewarding," said Julia Womersley-Jackman '26, who researched Mursh. "I think it's really important that all of us get to research these individuals to show that the average person can relate to a bit more - that these people were not super high up in militaries, but they did contribute in their own way."

Rachel Findlay spent nearly all of her life fighting for her freedom from enslavement. An Indigenous woman, she went through Virginia courts for decades, facing long delays and intimidation that impacted other Tribal and Indigenous communities across the region. Her legal fight, spanning two freedom suits, was finally over after 47 years, gaining freedom for herself and her children.

"The American Revolution affected women as well as men - she's fighting for her freedom at the same time as all these white men are fighting for their freedom," said Alexa Chambers '26. "She may have been influenced by the conversations going on around her at the time. … The American Revolution is bigger than just John Adams and Thomas Jefferson - it trickles down to everybody."

Each of these stories, meticulously scripted by students, mentored by Devlin and SCP Faculty Fellows and produced by Devlin and colleagues at the City of Williamsburg, handled the complex histories of their subjects, providing background of the areas and time at which the central figure is living through.

"Freedom of the press, freedom of religion - people were living out those ideals long before we had them codified," said Johnson. "People made this country through more than just signing documents."

William Oster, Communications Specialist

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