Dunmore’s Proclamation Freedom, Fear, and Fallout

The real heroes in this story are the enslaved people. These people who left their homes based on very little information in order to seek freedom, I think, underscore the terrors of slavery and the fact that people were willing to take enormous risks to find a better life, even if it was a very, very big gamble.


In this episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie discovers how words on a page began a path to freedom for thousands of enslaved people and reshaped a nation. Join Revolution Revisited with guest Andrew Lawler as we uncover the untold story of Lord Dunmore's proclamation and its impact on the Revolutionary War. Did it ignite a spark for freedom or deepen the conflict?


Inside the Episode:


In this episode of Revolution Revisited: Your Crash Course in the American Revolution, host Maggie Creech looks at one of the most complicated and consequential moments in Virginia’s path to independence, Lord Dunmore’s 1775 proclamation. When the royal governor offered freedom to enslaved people who would fight for the British Crown, it sent shockwaves through the colonies. What some saw as strategy, others saw as betrayal, and the promise of liberty set off both panic and possibility across Virginia.


Andrew Lawler, journalist and author of A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis that Spurred the American Revolution, joins to unpack the human stories behind that proclamation. He explains how Dunmore’s gamble reshaped the fight for freedom and forced Americans to face the uncomfortable truth about who that freedom was really for.


It’s an episode that reveals the messy, often contradictory heart of the Revolution. A time when the word “liberty” meant very different things depending on who you were, and what you were fighting for.


TIMESTAMPS:

• 00:00 Introduction to Revolution Revisited
• 00:39 The Overlooked Document of Freedom
• 01:19 Lord Dunmore's Desperate Proclamation
• 02:21 The Ripple Effect of Dunmore's Actions
• 03:32 The Theft That Sparked a Revolution
• 05:05 Dunmore's Strategic Retreat
• 06:10 The Ethiopian Regiment and Its Significance
• 19:19 The Battle of Great Bridge
• 20:18 The Aftermath and Legacy of Dunmore's Proclamation
• 21:44 The Broader Impact on Enslaved People
• 29:12 The Book of Negroes and the Black Diaspora
• 35:35 Conclusion and Reflections





RELATED CONTENT:


Virginia Museum of History & Culture (https://virginiahistory.org/)


Revolution Revisited Podcast (https://virginiahistory.org/learn/pod...)


Lord Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment (https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entr...)


The Virginia Revolutionary Conventions (1774–1776) (https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entr...)


A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis That Spurred the American Revolution (https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Frenzy...)


Andrew Lawler (https://www.andrewlawler.com/)


Lord Dunmore's Proclamation (https://virginiahistory.org/learn/lor...)


John Murray, fourth Earl of Dunmore (https://virginiahistory.org/learn/joh...)