Committee of Safety

Committee of Safety. "Determined and Resolute in Defending their Liberties". You are facing what is believed to be the original courthouse of Pittsylvania County. Here, on January 26, 1775, county residents gathered to elect a Committee of Inspection (later redesignated Committee of Safety), a momentous step toward revolution and American independence., After British troops occupied Boston and closed its port in June 1774, the Continental Congress adopted a "Non-Importation, Non- Consumption, and Non-Exportation Agreement," suspending all trade with Great Britain, and calling for a complete boycott of British tea. To enforce the agreement, Congress called upon every community to form a committee "whose business it shall be attentively to observe the conduct of all persons" and to expose any violators., In response, Pittsylvanians met here and elected their committee. "During the time of choosing the said committee." the Virginia Gazette reported, "... all the inhabitants of the county then present (which was very numerous) seemed determined and resolute in defending their liberties and properties, at the risk of their lives ...". After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Committee turned to the important task of mobilizing Pittsylvania's militia, organizing and enrolling 27 companies in September 1775. Soldiers from Pittsylvania County would go on to play a vital role in the War for Independence. After the county was divided in 1777 to form Henry County, a new courthouse for Pittsylvania County was established in present day Chatham., (Captions) , County residents determined by the Committee to be in violation of the agreement were ostracized, as in the case of John Pigg, who was found to be guilty of drinking "the detestable East India Tea." Virginia Gazette, July 7, 1775., "The First Continental Congress 1784" from the mural in the Great Experiment Hall at the United States Capitol. Courtesy Architect of the Capitol