Virginia

The Virginia Panel pays tribute to the lead mines of Wythe County, Virginia, integral to the production of bullets for the Continental Army. Composed of enslaved, convicted, and imported labor, the mine was a melting pot of cultures and backgrounds whose forced labored in dangerous, dark conditions from sunup to sundown ensured American independence.

Our illustration depicts the Welsh miners who were hired to revive the failing lead mine. Subject to the same conditions as other laborerers, they toiled alongside enslaved men who were hired out by their masters as well as convicts, who were serving their sentences in the mine.

The Tapestry spotlights an enslaved man named Aberdeen in the upper right hand corner, who defied his Loyalist master’s orders to join the British cause & volunteered to enlist with the Continentals. Despite being led away from the line of action to the lead mine of Wythe County, Aberdeen served seven long years at the mine. After writing a petition to the House of Delegates explaining his service to the Patriot cause, Aberdeen received his freedom in 1783.