Presented by Jim Bish
Museum of Culpeper History
Sunday, Aug 9, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.
St. James United Church of Christ,
10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville
On Sunday, August 9, Revolutionary War historian Jim Bish returns for the next offering in the Lovettsville Historical Society’s 2026 Lecture Series.
Bish will discuss the Culpeper Minute Battalion (the “Minutemen”), which was vital to the early American Revolution. Raised in the Culpeper District (consisting of Culpeper, Orange, and Fauquier counties), it was the most famous and successful of Virginia’s minute battalions. Elsewhere, the experiment was a failure.
These more than 650 men played a decisive role in the liberation of Virginia from British colonial governance. Culpeper’s readiness was certainly unusual for the time, and its Minutemen played an indispensable role in the defense of Hampton, the Battle of Great Bridge, and the occupation of Norfolk which eventually led to the evacuation of Virginia by Royal Governor Dunmore and his British and Loyalists forces.
The Culpeper Minutemens’ actions allowed Virginia to declare independence in May 1776, and then to request Richard Henry Lee to introduce Independence at the Second Continental Congress for all the colonies in June 1776.
The leadership of this Culpeper Minute Battalion will be examined as to why it was different.
In 1989, Jim Bish helped to organize the Prince William County, Virginia Historical Society, known as Historic Prince William, where he served as the organization’s first president. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors of Historic Prince William. He worked at the National Museum of the Marine Corps for two years, and later served Prince William County as a member of the Prince William County Historical Commission. He currently operates History Happened Here Tours, and also volunteers with the Museum of Culpeper County, Virginia, where he also serves on their Board of Directors. Bish and his wife Rebecca currently live in Culpeper, Virginia.
Admission is free, but donations are welcome to defray expenses of the program and to support the activities of the Lovettsville Historical Society.
For more information, call 540-822-9194.