374 Years Ago on April 18, 1644....

​More than 500 Virginia settlers are killed in a major Powhatan uprising. This event touched off a two-year war between the Natives and the Colonists, ending in the capture and executing of Powhatan chief Opechancanough.

Dr. John Woodson, great (x8) grandfather of Lewis & Clark Company Governor John Graves, is among those killed. His two sons, John and Robert, as well as his wife, Sarah, survived with the aid of Robert Ligon who used the doctor's rifle as they fought off the attack from within the Woodson cabin. At the onset of the attack, Sarah hid son John under a large wooden tub and son Robert under the floor in a small root cellar. To this day, Woodson descendants are known as either Tater-hole or Tub Woodsons. Sarah killed one Indian who had climbed down the chimney by dowsing him with scalding hot water and then beating him with a fireplace poker. Now, there is a woman to be admired.

Photo of Dr. John Woodson's rifle used by Robert Ligon is show below.

-John Graves, Jamestowne Society Communication Committee 2018-2019