09/15/2026
Bacon's Rebellion hit very close to home. Joseph Bridger, the Patron of the "Old Brick Church," also had his home of White Marsh damaged by Rebels and Joseph was one of those loyal to Governor Berkeley who helped put down the Rebellion. Thanks to Historic Jamestowne for this and other posts on a pivotal event in Virginia history.
OTD in 1676: In the morning, Berkeley and his officers are shocked to find their wives bound and stationed atop the incomplete fortification as human shields, their white aprons reflecting the rising sun. The loyalists had no choice but to watch as Bacon’s forces completed building their fortification. Once it was done, the rebels released the women.
Then, Arthur Allen, who lived across the James River in a magnificent brick house and who had refused to support Bacon, led 600 loyalists in an attack on the rebels. But the rebels’ fortifications were effective and the loyalist men who were perhaps not as dedicated to the cause scattered quickly. Berkeley was humiliated, but his troops went back to their homes to rest while Bacon and his rebels remained behind their trenches on the shore.
Shortly after the skirmish at Jamestown, a different group of rebels descended on Arthur Allen's plantation and made it their headquarters, raiding the stores, killing the livestock, and harassing the residents who remained there. They would remain at the Allen house for four months.
📸 Originally known as "Allen's Brick House," Bacon's Castle was built in 1665. Today, Bacon's Castle is also a Preservation Virginia site.
