Gloucester County (including Kingston Parish—now Mathews County) played an important role in the American Revolution, beginning even before the Declaration of Independence was signed, when the militia were called up to respond to the occupation of Milford Haven and Gwynn’s Island by Lord Dunmore’s forces in May of 1776. Their success at the Battle of Cricket Hill in July ended British rule in Virginia and halted significant British operations in Virginia for nearly three years. When the British did return in strength in 1779, their efforts included a number of foraging and scouting efforts by boat at New Point and around the Mobjack Bay. They were repulsed by the Gloucester militiamen, particularly those from Kingston Parish under the command of Colonel Sir John Peyton, the only American with a hereditary English title to fight on the side of the patriots during the Revolution. The Kingston militiamen’s actions earned them the nickname “Kingston Bloodhounds.” When Cornwallis’s forces m...