In July of 1676, Bacon met his supporters at the Middle Plantation and required an Oath of Allegiance in which grievances against the government were clearly stated. Named in the oath were: Sir Henry Chichley, Lt.Col.Christopher Wormeley, Phillip Ludwell, Robert Berverley, Richard Lee, Thomas Ballard, William Cole, Richard Whitacre, Nicholas Spencer, Joseph Bridger, William Claiborne, Jr., Thomas Hawkins, William Sherwood, John Page, John Cluffe, John West, Hubert Farrell, Thomas Reade and Matthew Kempe. We would later see a similar Declaration of Rights in 1776.

On the evening of 21 Septemtber 1676, Bacon and his men burned Jamestown and by the next morning, Jamestown lay in ruins.

Bacon's rebellion had become a war of the outlying counties, which were subject to Indian attacks and inhabited by smaller farmers against the more interior and more well-established counties, mostly inhabited by the wealthy planters. It became a rebellion of the poor and landless against the estbalished planters of the day. Further intensifying this division, Bacon freed all servants who would agree to take up arms against their former masters. One of Bacon's goals was to free the Chesapeake of English rule. It was the seed of American independence. Having forced the Berkeleyans across the Chesapeake Bay, Bacon's independence was within hsi grasp. Bacon's forces began to think of replacing Berkeley with Sir Henry Chicheley, deputy governor and lieutenant general of Virginia and at that time, being held in a Baconian jail.

Nathaniel Bacon had contracted an illness while in the Dragon Swamp and the rain filled trenches of Jamestown. Some believe the illness he contracted was malaria. On 26 October 1676 General Bacon died but the revolution of 1676 continued, though the army did disperse. The Baconians staunchest supporters were African slaves. However, no strong leader came to the forefront and Baconian forces began to faulter.

By October of 1676 Baconian forces held the valleys of both the James and the York with their headquarters situated at strategic West Point. The battles raged along the York and the James for the rest of 1676 and early 1677. As loyalists regained territory they would loot and plunder the homes of suspected Baconites, demanding payments, which were sometimes only gained by demanding the next crop. Berkley and his men had become buccaneers. Berkeley's lack of leninency only further intensified the Baconites, who feared failure and the consequences then imposed by the Berkeleyans.

Escaped servants and slaves had made up two-thirds of Bacon's army and were promised freedom by Grantham. On the night of the 16th of December most of the Baconian force slipped away from West Point to lead anonymous lives. In the months that followed they were followed by more soldiers. Many escaped to Albemarle in North Carolina, others fled north to as far away as Boston. Remaining forces at West Point surrendered or dispersed.

Berkeley now began his revenge. He cancelled promises made by Grantham in his name and re-enslaved the laborers freed by Grantham, condemning them to longer periods of servitude.He then turned his attention to Baconian leaders who had been imprisoned at West Point. Property was seized withut due process and some twenty-three Baconians were put to death.

The original causes of the rebellion continued and in the first two weeks of January of 1676 alone some 35 Englishmen had been killed by Indians included in a total of over 500 in the past twelve months alone. Still Berkeley refused to make peace with the Indians nor to employ defense. Berkeley was determined to continue the high taxes imposed upon the planters. He also refused to pardon the Baconian rebels.

On 29 January 1677 royal commissioners arrived to impose imperial government on Virginia.Bacon's revolution, "first against a failure of frontier defense, then against the colonial regime of Sir William Berkeley, and finally against the empire of England" (1676 The End of American Independence) was a precedent to the Revolution which would follow it.

This historical event affected everyone living on the Eastern shore of Virginia. Some call Bacon's Rebellion the end of American Independence, as titled by the book written by author, Stephen Saunders Webb. One cannot discount the importance and effect this rebellion had upon not only those persons physically involved in the rebellion but also upon American history as a whole.

We do not have complete lists of persons involved in the rebellion but we do know some of the names of those who were involved. Several of these are members of our family. Those known to be related to our ancestors, or are our ancestors are:

Thomas Ballard
Thomas Hawkins
Sandes Knowles
John Wood

One may safely say that anyone living in the counties of James City, Surry, Isle of Wight, Nansemond, New Kent, as well as surrounding counties was involved in this rebellion in some fashion.

The causes of the rebellion were two-fold and affected by numerous circumstances. High taxes consisting of one quarter to one half of a planter's income were extracted upon planters who, in 1676 had suffered from a severe drought, which made even caring for their families difficult and previous circumstances and left them close to starvation in 1674 resulting in tax mutinies. Other inclimate weather conditions included hailstorms, floods and hurricanes. The price of tobacco had plummeted. Indian attacks had recently prevented the planters from the ability to even complete a crop of corn, which further intensified their plight. Most Virginia laborers subsisted on cornmeal and water and during the winter had meat only three or four days a week. Governor William Berkeley was accused of loving the Indian fur trade more than he cared for the planters who were being attacked by the Indians while Berkeley refused to build a fort to protect them. "The government who cannot protect its people cannot command their obedience.Berkeley had played favorites with those allowed to participate in the fur trade, disallowing those not on his favorites list. Berkeley's government could not protect Virginians in 1676 so they overthrew it." 1676 The End of American Independence by Webb

Men flocked to join Nathaniel Bacon in his demands that the Burgessses act to defend the planters of Virginia from the destructive policy of taxation and the ravages brought upon the people from the incessant Indian attacks. In mid-summer, 1676, a thousand men marched to join Bacon in a planned attack upon the Indians in defiance of the Burgesses. Bacon's army impressed soldiers, horses and supplies for use in their war against the Indians. Residents of Accomac and Northampton, far removed from the Indian attacks tended to be loyalists, supporting Sir William Berkeley and the government.