James Hunter - Falmouth VA
N 38° 19.355 W 077° 27.957
18S E 284432 N 4244484
As the owner of the Hunter's Iron Works, James supplied the Continental Army and Navy with weapons, equipment, and camp implements.
Waymark Code: WM7A28
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 09/25/2009
Views: 10
James Hunter emigrated from Scotland in 1746 and founded Hunter's Iron Works in the 1750s which included a store, counting house, smith shop, tannery, gristmill, sawmill, forge mill, and merchant mill.
When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, the ironworks began to produce muskets, pistols, swords, carbines, camp kettles and utensils for the Virginia troops. It also made anchors and ship fittings for the navy. Because of the ironworks' importance to the war, Thomas Jefferson, who was then governor of Virginia, ordered special military protection for the complex, including an agreement that the workers would not be drafted for the war.
Hunter was never adequately paid for his services and he suffered serious financial setbacks as a result. He was forced to close the ironworks after the war after putting himself in debt attempting to continue operations.
He died in 1785 and was buried in the Falmouth Cemetery near the Union Church. A marker placed at his grave reads:
JAMES HUNTER
OWNER OF THE FAMED
HUNTER IRON WORKS IN STAFFORD
COUNTY, WHICH MANUFACTURED MOST
OF THE CAMP UTENSILS AND WEAPONS
FOR THE VIRGINIA FORCES DURING
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
A TRUE PATRIOT, HE RECEIVED LITTLE,
IF ANY, COMPENSATION.
THIS SIGN FURNISHED BY THE
VIRGINIA SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
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