Preservation and education at the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
The 2025-2028 project focuses on preservation and education of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, tied to the NSDAR initiatives for America 250, American Indians, and Conservation. This is an area of local historic significance to indigenous and enslaved peoples. Did you know that in 1775, the swamp saw an influx of refugees after Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation drew thousands of enslaved people to fight for the British during the Revolutionary War? In fact, when Dunmore’s forces were routed at Great Bridge and retreated northward, some African American members of what was known as the Ethiopian Regiment took refuge in the Dismal Swamp.
Our goal is to raise a total of $5,000 over three years by asking chapters to contribute “250 for 250” in increments of $2.50 through a combination of donations, voices and fundraising. These funds will purchase blazes on the Nansemond Trail, two interpretive panels in the kiosk at the trailhead, and two concrete benches. We also have volunteer opportunities to help with trail cleaning and building a bridge over a ditch along the trail using materials provided by the Refuge. The Refuge also invited us to host one or more events for America 250 to highlight the role the swamp played in the revolutionary period.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0k8ZcLk_ZA – A fascinating conversation about the Great Dismal Swamp: Past and Present with Marcus Nevius, the author of “City of Refuge: Slavery and Petit Marronage in the Great Dismal Swamp”, and Alexandra Sutton Lawrence of the Great Dismal Swamp Stakeholders Collaborative. The conversation covers the history of the Great Dismal Swamp as a place of enslaved resistance and rebellion and moves into the present and future with a discussion about current efforts to have the swamp designated a National Heritage Area.
Recommended Reading:
City of Refuge: Slavery and Petit Marronage in the Great Dismal Swamp, 1763–1856 (Race in the Atlantic World, 1700–1900) by Marcus P. Nevius
A Desolate Place for a Defiant People: The Archaeology of Maroons, Indigenous Americans, and Enslaved Laborers in the Great Dismal Swamp (Co-published with The Society for Historical Archaeology) by Daniel O. Sayers
Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp by J. Brent Morris
Dred; a tale of the great Dismal Swamp (1856) by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Websites:
- https://www.gdssc.org
- https://www.storymaps.arcgis.com
- https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/blog/rebellion-refuge-maroons-of-the-great-dismal-swamp
- https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/dismal-swamp-company
- https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/petit-marronage-in-the-great-dismal-swamp/
- https://encyclopediavirginia.org/the-great-dismal-swamp-a-mythical-place-of-enslaved-resistance-and-rebellion/
