THE NORFOLK CHAPTER’S NOVEMBER MEETING

​The Norfolk Chapter held its November meeting at the Princess Anne Country Club on Saturday, November 13, 2021. The election of officers for the 2022-2023 term was held with the following elected:
          President                Robert Bruce
          Vice President         Tim Ahlgrim
          Secretary                Patrick Hannum
          Treasurer                Mike O’Shea
          Chaplain                 Wayne Boone
          Historian                 Wayne Gustison
          Chancellor              Carter Furr
          Registrar                 Open
 
The attendees were treated to a presentation by Christopher Pieczynski on “The Skirmish at James Plantation.” The speaker, along with chapter member Patrick Hannum, co-authored an article on this subject in the October 14, 2021 edition of the Journal of the American Revolution.
 
This Revolutionary War event had gone unnoticed for almost 200 years. The journal of Captain Johann Ewald, commander of the Hessian Field-Jager Corps, detailing his service to the British since 1776, contained a map and an account of this action in Princess Anne County. But his journal was never published. It was discovered after World War II by Joseph Tustin, an Army Intelligence Officer, in occupied Germany. He translated the journal and published it in 1979. However, it remained an obscure work.
 
It took our authors and a few others to bring this to our attention. In his talk, Chris Pieczynski told how Benedict Arnold, stationed in Portsmouth in 1781, set out to destroy the Virginia Militia in the area operating under the command of Captain Amos Weeks. Although the skirmish was a Patriot defeat, Arnold could not destroy the militia and ultimately had to vacate Portsmouth.
 
 
Submitted by,
Bob Bruce
Norfolk Chapter Historian

​After the presentation Norfolk Chapter President Gary Pridgen presented Christopher Pieczynski with a Certificate of Appreciation and a book.