Virginia History 101: The Monacan Nation

Rick Britton

Rick Britton

Regular listeners of our podcasts might know Rick Britton. He’s a historian and cartographer and a frequent guest on WINA’s Charlottesville Right Now with Coy Barefoot. Rick also designs and hosts Virginia history programs for the Charlottesville Senior Center.

In the fall of 2010, the Senior Center offered one of Rick’s programs entitled “Virginia History 101.” Running from October 7th through November 18th, this six-session lecture series was designed for those interested in Virginia’s fascinating early history. The series focused on some of the big topics that dominated the Old Dominion’s first two centuries, including, Native Virginians, Tobacco, Slavery, the Revolution, George Washington’s Presidency, and Jeffersonian Architecture. The series was followed with a travel session where participants experienced Virginia history first hand.

On October 7, 2010, Rick Britton himself delivered a talk on the Monacan Nation. Controlling most of the Virginia Piedmont, the Monacan Indians made war against the Tidewater’s Powhatan Nation, established five major villages, grew corn, and hunted deer, elk, and bison. Unfortunately, all that remains of this elusive people are the remnants of their tools, knives, and projectile points.

This is the first in a six part series for 2010.

Click here to listen to all six lectures in this series:

* December 2, 2010 – The Monacan Nation – Rick Britton
* December 9, 2010 – Tobacco, The First Cash Crop – Susan Kern
* December 16, 2010 – Foodways of the Enslaved – Leni Sorensen
* December 23, 2010 – The Yorktown Campaign – Ed Lengel
* December 30, 2010 – Washington’s Presidency – David Hoth
* January 6, 2011- Architecture in the Jeffersonian Period – Ed Lay

Charlottesville–Right Now: Historian Rick Britton joins Coy Barefoot

11.19.10 Historian and author Rick Britton joins Coy to continue their discussion of the 25 most important Civil War battles. Today on the program, the discussion zeroes in on the Battle of Sayler’s Creek. The fight took place in Amelia and Prince Edward Counties in April of 1865, and today’s conversation describes how General Robert E. Lee was forced to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond before the retreating Confederate troops were cut off by Union soldiers led by General Sheraton. Hear the whole story recreated, here.


Charlottesville–Right Now: Historian Rick Britton joins Coy Barefoot

11.12.10 Historian and author Rick Britton joins Coy to continue their discussion of the 25 most important Civil War battles. In today’s edition, Coy and Rick recreate the Battle of Five Forks, an 1865 standoff pitting General Sheridan against General Pickett which took place just south of Petersburg, Virginia in Dinwiddie County.