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Stephan P. Zacharias Lt. Col. James Innes, Williamsburg Volunteers And

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Brother Jonathan’s Images, No. 4 Contributor: Stephan P. Zacharias Lt. Col. James Innes, Williamsburg Volunteers and 15th Virginia Regiment Artist: Charles Wilson Peale Year: 1774 -1777 Collection: Virginia Historical Society Innes’s miniature is very interesting. It was painted by Charles Willson Peale either when he visited Williamsburg in the fall of 1774 or when Innes was Lieutenant Colonel of the 15th Virginia during the Philadelphia campaign. The sitter wears a blue coat faced in buff or pale buff with gilt buttons along with a ruffled shirt and black neck stock. Also worth noting are his sword belt with gilt mountings. The two gold epaulettes, which appear to have no fringe, certainly denote the commissioned rank of lieutenant colonel, but his uniform of blue and buff does not seem to correlate with known evidence for 15th Virginia uniforms; blue faced white or brown faced buff coats. The uniform he wears may date from his days as an officer in the Williamsburg Volunteers. Of the last-named organization, a traveler through Virginia commented, "As to politicks I think most of the people are mad, in South and North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, they muster and are every where learning the exercise as if they were going to be attacked. In South Carolina they have several companies in uniforms, very gay, being scarlet faced with black velvet [that is the St. Helens Volunteer Co. and perhaps another, as well], their artillery company is blue faced with scarlet, gold button holes [which I can also verify from other sources]. They were raising two companys of light horse when I came away. At Williamsburg their uniform is blue faced with buff." ____________________________________________________ James Innes was born the youngest of three boys to Reverend Robert Innes (1720- 1765) and Catherine (Richards) Innes in King and Queen County, Virginia (near modern day Newtown, VA) in the year 1754. His father was Rector of the Drysdale Parish which had church and glebe lands in both Caroline and King and Queen Counties. While there were glebe lands in both counties, only the King and Queen County had a parish glebe house and was home to the Innes family prior to Rev. Innes’ passing in 1765. Following her husband’s death Mrs. Innes resided in a home provided for her in Beverley Park, the plantation of Virginia historian Robert Beverley. Along with his older brothers Robert and Harry, James attended the prestigious Donald Robertson’s School in King and Queen County from 1759-1765. In 1770 at the age of 16, he enrolled at the grammar school at the College of William and Mary where Edmund Pendleton, the executor of his father’s estate paid the boarding bill until November of 1770, when James was nominated for a scholarship by his teachers. In the spring of 1771, Innes was awarded one of two Nottoway Foundation Scholarships. In 1772, he was appointed assistant usher of the grammar school at the College, drawing a salary of 40 pounds per year. During his time as a student at William and Mary, Innes is reported to have authored a series of pseudonymous articles for the Virginia Gazette denouncing England and its ill-treatment of her American colonies. Enraged by these essays, the Royal Governor, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, demanded – unsuccessfully – Innes’ removal as usher at the grammar school. The report also claimed that the articles attacked Captain Foy, Henry Collins, Corbin, William Byrd, and John Wormley. During his College career, Innes joined the Fraternity of the FHC, or sometimes referred to as the Flat Hat Club and served as their President. During the summer of 1773 Innes was granted his A.B. degree/preferment from the College of William and Mary. He would accept the position of Head Usher at the Grammar School and stay on at the College at the salary of 75 pounds per year. It was during this time when he took up the study of law, presumably under the direction of Mr. George Wythe. During the same summer, James joined the Masonic Lodge in Williamsburg. In the spring of 1775, with tensions rising between the American Colonies and England, Innes raised and formed the Williamsburg Volunteers, serving as their captain. While commanding the Volunteers, he became involved in the Williamsburg Gunpowder Incident, the Dunmore scheme that removed gunpowder from the community magazine. In the aftermath of this incident, Innes and his friend George Nicholas, son of the Treasurer of Virginia, were singled out by the Royal Governor. In a deposition of Dr. William Pasteur, 23 April 1775, Dr. Pasteur claims to have been stopped by Lord Dunmore and ordered to deliver a message to the Speaker and the gentlemen of Williamsburg that if the Governor, (Henry) Collins, or Captain Foy (both aides to the Royal Governor) were to be molested he would depopulate the whole country, burn Williamsburg, and arm the slaves. Dr. Pasteur quotes Lord Dunmore in the deposition as saying: “If Innes and George Nicholas continued to go at large what he (Lord Dunmore) had said would from some misconduct of theirs be certainly carried into execution.” By August of 1775, President Camm had no choice but to remove Innes from his position as Head Usher at the College, claiming his time with the Williamsburg Volunteers had left him too much absent from his duties. That same fall of 1775, Maj. James Innes led the Williamsburg Volunteers in action at the battles of Hampton and Elizabeth City against Michael Squire’s ship The Otter, which the Williamsburg Volunteers successfully sunk and made prisoners of the survivors. Following these battles, Innes raised and trained a company of artillery as well. On 13 February 1776, the Committee of Safety appointed Major Innes to captain of the Virginia Artillery, with Charles Harrison, Edward Carrington, and Samuel Denney as lieutenants. Innes served in this position for a short time when on 19 March 1776 the Continental Congress appointed Dohickey Arundel as captain of the Artillery. Captain Innes favored this appointment and Maj. Gen. Charles Lee then appointed Innes major of the 9th Virginia Regiment in April 1776. This regiment was assigned to Eastern Shore duty, and, in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Nelson 16 May 1776, Jefferson makes known Major Innes’ displeasure at this assignment: “…so disagreeable to him that he had determined to have resigned…” In the fall of 1776, the General Assembly raised six new battalions of the Virginia Line and on 16 September 1776 Maj. Innes was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 15th Virginia, under the command of Col. David Mason. (Mason commanded the 15th Virginia until 31 July 1778; in September 1778 Virginia reduced the number of regiments from fifteen to eleven, and the 15th was absorbed into the 11th Virginia.) On 27 December 1776, the 15th Virginia Regiment was assigned to the Main Continental Army. The 15th Virginia served in the battle of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. Lieutenant Colonel Innes received a commendation for his actions in service at the Battle of Brandywine.[1] James Innes sent a letter to Gen. George Washington resigning from active duty service at the rank of colonel on 30 September 1778. That same fall he married Elizabeth (“Eliza/Betsy”) Cocke, the daughter of Dr. James Cocke, two-time former mayor of the City of Williamsburg and the Co-Auditor of Virginia. In the late fall of 1778, the Virginia House of Delegates unanimously appointed James Innes Commissioner of the Navy. On 22 February 1779, Commissioner Innes became involved in an incident at the Raleigh Tavern during a celebration to honor the birthday of the Commander-in- Chief: “Far different however was the celebration of the event down at Williamsburg. The students at the College of William and Mary had prepared a subscription paper to ask contributions for a big birthday party honoring the Virginian who was head of the forces fighting for American liberty to be held at the Raleigh Tavern. In this tavern the students of the College of William and Mary held their grand ball in honor of Washingtons [sic] birthday in 1779 they felt justified in doing this since he never received any salary from the government while serving as chief of the Continental army With the precedent of observing the birthday of the Father of His Country he was first called that in a German almanac published at Lancaster, Pa late in 1778 thus established at Valley Forge it was natural that his army should hold another celebration the next year… Their enthusiasm was somewhat dampened when Gov Patrick Henry refused permission for the celebration to be held Even though the cause was a worthy one he could not think of any kind of rejoicing at a time when our country was engaged in war with such gloomy prospects But the irrepressible collegians went right ahead with their prep and a grand ball on the night of February 22 was given in the historic Raleigh tavern the scene of so many important social events in old Williamsburg. Sometime during the evening a party of hilarious students found unguarded two cannon belonging to the Virginia militia and dragged them to the Raleigh to climax the evening by firing a salute in honor of General Washington. Soon afterwards a lieutenant appeared with a platoon of soldiers to claim the cannon. The celebrants made him welcome carried him into the Raleigh and supplied him with punch to drink. But this hospitality could not dissuade him from he had been sent to get the cannon by force if necessary. When a certain Colonel Innes who was one of the sponsors of the celebration declined to give them up the lieutenant reported the matter to Captain Digges who in turn notified Governor Henry of the situation.
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