Mount Brilliant was an 18th-century

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

located west of Stone Horse Creek in northern

Hanover County Hanover County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover. Hanover County is a part of the Greater Richmond Region. History Located in the western Tidewater ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The house was a story-and-a-half frame structure with dormer windows, built in the English tradition. It stood on one of the highest points in Hanover County, with pine and oak forests nearby. About a quarter of a mile from the main house is a building that is likely slave quarters. The residence has been torn down and the land is now a cultivated field.

History

Mount Brilliant was first owned by

John Henry John Henry most commonly refers to: *John Henry (folklore) John Henry may also refer to: People Artists and entertainers * John Henry (actor) (1738–1794), Irish and early American actor *Seán Ó hEinirí (1915–1998), known in English as John ...

, the father of

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. May 18, 1736une 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Virginia Conventions, Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty or give m ...

and William Henry, both of whom resided at Mount Brilliant. After many years of ownership, the Henry family began referring to the property as "The Retreat." John Henry is believed to have been buried at the cemetery there. It was owned by

Robert Carter Nicholas Sr. Robert Carter Nicholas (January 28, 1728-November 1780) was a Virginia lawyer, patriot, legislator and judge. He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses and its successor, the Virginia House of Delegates. He became the last treasurer of the C ...

(1728-1780) until his death, then his wife Anne Cary Nicholas and their children occupied Mount Brilliant. Nicholas was buried at the small cemetery there. During the

Yorktown Campaign The Yorktown campaign, also known as the Virginia campaign, was a series of military maneuvers and battles during the American Revolutionary War that culminated in the siege of Yorktown in October 1781. The result of the campaign was the surren ...

of the Revolutionary War, it was the headquarters of General Charles Earl Cornwallis and his officers in early June 1781. Troops destroyed or took provisions from the plantation, including hay, livestock, orchards, fences, and the barn. They also took other valuable items. Provisions were consumed by the soldiers and runaway slaves who had joined the army. On 17 April 1985, the cemetery on the old Mount Brilliant property was marked with a historical marker due to the gravesite of John Henry.

References

Houses completed in the 18th century Houses in Hanover County, Virginia Plantations in Virginia {{Virginia-struct-stub