This Day in Henrico History: Nov. 6 – Henrico chooses a committee amid the Revolution

On Nov. 6, 1775, Henrico residents elected 21 men to a local committee charged with carrying out measures adopted by the Continental Congress, Virginia’s revolutionary convention and the Committee of Safety, according to the county’s Revolutionary War chronology.

Local committees helped translate the colonies’ political resistance into county-level action. Their work developed as royal authority weakened and revolutionary institutions assumed responsibilities previously exercised by the colonial government.

The Library of Virginia’s account of the July 1775 Virginia Convention documents the creation of a colony-wide Committee of Safety to manage military mobilization and enforce convention ordinances. Henrico’s November committee belonged to that broader transition, though the two bodies should not be confused.

Sources: Henrico County VA250 Revolutionary War chronology; Library of Virginia, 1775 Virginia Convention imprint record.