Stratford Hall Introduces New Event to Commemorate Richard Henry Lee’s Resolution for Independence

Stratford, VA, May 31, 2025 --(PR.com)-- Stratford Hall Historic Preserve announced its new event, Virginia Resolved: A Commemoration of Independence, will take place on Saturday, June 7, 2025 on the 249th anniversary of Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for independence.

On June 7, 1776, acting on the instructions of the 5th Virginia Convention, Northern Neck of Virginia native Richard Henry Lee introduced in the 2nd Continental Congress the resolution: Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

Stratford Hall will commemorate Lee’s resolution for independence with 18th-century living history demonstrations and activities running from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on June 7. The day will begin with a Citizenship Ceremony, welcoming young Americans. Scheduled throughout the day, visitors will have the opportunity to meet Richard Henry Lee, portrayed by Frank Megargee of Colonial Williamsburg, and see musket demonstrations led by chapters of the Virginia Sons of the American Revolution, cavalry drills portraying the 1st Continental Light Dragoons and 4th Continental Light Dragoons, colonial foodways demonstrations in the Historic Kitchen, and listen to colonial music in Stratford Hall’s Great House. Activities will also include colonial games, an art show by local students, booths hosted by Northern Neck community organizations, food, and more.

“Richard Henry Lee was an impressive statesman and an influential leader on the road to independence. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, though, many people do not know that it was Lee’s resolution that led to its drafting,” shared Stratford Hall’s President Karen L. Daly. “It is our hope that this new annual Virginia Resolved event will elevate the many contributions of the entire Stratford community to the establishment of our new nation and that visitors will take inspiration both from what they endured and what they accomplished.”

Also happening on June 7 to commemorate Lee’s resolution, Stratford Hall will premiere the third video in a three-part series on the Revolution-era Lee family made possible with support from Americana Corner’s Preserving America Grant program and the Comegys Bight Charitable Foundation.

Virginia Resolved is hosted in partnership with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and Northern Neck 250 (NNK250). Tickets include entrance to Stratford Hall for all Virginia Resolved activities and access to the Great House and grounds. To learn more and purchase tickets, visit www.StratfordHall.org.

About Stratford Hall: Stratford Hall, a National Historic Landmark in Westmoreland County, Virginia, brings together people from around the world to experience two-thousand acres of natural and human history, preserved and presented so that they can all learn from the courageous struggles of their ancestors, taking inspiration both from what they endured and what they accomplished. There are few places in America where people can travel down small, rural roads to arrive at a vast site that preserves so many aspects of early-American life, from the Great House where the influential Lee family helped to forge a new nation, to the fields worked by enslaved Africans, to the waters of the rivers that fueled trade, to the ground, which still yields secrets about the people and animals that lived before. Visit www.StratfordHall.org to learn more.