Tuesday, December 3, 2024 Good morning! On this day in 1797, authorities in Virginia charged Revolutionary War vet Jacob Valentine with “committing and encouraging an Insurrection among the Slaves of the City of Richmond.” He spent several months in jail. Thank you for coming aboard The Virginia Flyover. Our Commonwealth has a Revolutionary past and […]

Monday, December 2, 2024 Good morning! On this day in 1823, President James Monroe outlined his signature policy proposal in his message to Congress. The “Monroe Doctrine” told European powers that the U.S. did not intend to interfere in their affairs and that, in return, it expected them to stay out of the Western Hemisphere.  […]

Friday, November 29, 2024 Good morning! The first Thanksgiving in English-speaking North America took place in Virginia in 1619. That year, Captain John Woodlief set sail with 37 men on the ship Margaret, eventually landing at Berkeley Hundred on the James River. Their December religious service could be considered the first Thanksgiving commemoration in America. Welcome to […]

Thursday, November 28, 2024 Happy Thanksgiving! On this day in 1861, the Confederate Congress, based in Richmond, added Missouri as the 12th state of the Confederacy. However, Missouri was a border state and never officially left the Union. Its confederate shadow government actually met in Texas. We work hard to bring you The Virginia Flyover every day […]

Wednesday, November 27, 2024 Good morning! On this day in 1864, the Union headquarters ship Greyhound exploded on the James River. The Navy suspected that Confederate fighters had smuggled aboard an explosive shaped like a lump of coal to destroy the boiler. Gen. Benjamin Butler and Rear Adm. David Dixon Porter were on the vessel but […]

Tuesday, November 26, 2024 Good morning! On this day in 1789, Americans celebrated their first Thanksgiving under the new Constitution. George Washington had used his first presidential proclamation to set this date as “a day of public thanks-giving and prayer.” Thanksgiving is a day for celebration, with good food and, of course, drinks. Check out our […]

Monday, November 25, 2024 Good morning! On this day in 1949, Richmond’s electric streetcars made their final run before being replaced by buses. The city had been using streetcars since 1888. To mark the transition, the decommissioned electric vehicles were doused in gasoline and set ablaze. Thanksgiving week means the spotlight is on football: professional, […]

Friday, November 22, 2024 Good morning! On this day in 1753, Major George Washington of the Virginia Regiment led an expedition sent by Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie across the Ohio Valley to inform French forces there that Virginia claimed control of the entire region. It’s high school football playoff time in the Commonwealth, but some […]

Thursday, November 21, 2024 Good morning! On this day in 1945, Richmond novelist Ellen Glasgow died at 72 in the same house she was born in. Glasgow won the Pulitzer Prize for literature in 1942 for In This Our Life, and she is known for helping change the course of Southern literature away from sentimentality and […]

Wednesday, November 20, 2024 Good morning! On this day in 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette stopped in Fredericksburg as part of his grand tour of the United States. Lafayette was the final surviving Major General from the Revolutionary War. During the tour, he visited all 24 states in 13 months. Did you know that November […]