Qualla: Francisco's Fight

Francisco's Fight: Introduction

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit self, CC BY 3.0. The soldier who refused to hand over his silver shoe buckles stood six feet six inches tall. In July 1781, at Captain Benjamin Ward's plantation along West Creek in what is now Nottoway County, Virginia, Peter Francisco -- unarmed, alone, and surrounded by nine mounted British dragoons -- supposedly pulled off one of the most audacious feats of individual combat in the entire American Revolution. He claimed he disarmed a cavalryman, killed him with his own sword, wounded several others, and rode away with eight of their nine horses. The story has been retold, embellished, and commemorated for over two centuries. But the only person who ever wrote it down was Francisco himself, and he did so while asking for money.

Read more: Francisco's Fight on Qualla

Image: self | CC BY 3.0

Francisco's Fight: The Giant from the Azores

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit self, CC BY 3.0. Peter Francisco was already something of a legend before the alleged skirmish. Reportedly abandoned at the docks of City Point, Virginia as a young boy -- possibly from the Azores -- he grew into a physically imposing man, standing about six feet six inches and known throughout t...

Read more: Francisco's Fight on Qualla

Image: self | CC BY 3.0

Francisco's Fight: A Sword Drawn from Its Scabbard

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit self, CC BY 3.0. The only documented primary sources for what happened next come from Francisco himself: an 1820 letter to the Virginia State Assembly seeking compensation, and an 1829 application to the United States Congress for financial support. Congress rejected the claim, noting he was alre...

Read more: Francisco's Fight on Qualla

Image: self | CC BY 3.0

Francisco's Fight: The Legend Grows Taller

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Peter F. Rothermel (1812–1895), Public domain. Later retellings inflated the story far beyond Francisco's own words. Henry Howe's 1852 account introduced dramatic details absent from the original letters: the tavernkeeper treacherously handing a musket to a British soldier, a misfire at point-blank range, and Francisco bellow...

Read more: Francisco's Fight on Qualla

Image: Peter F. Rothermel (1812–1895) | Public domain

Francisco's Fight: What Remains at Jennings Ordinary

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit self, CC BY 3.0. Whether the fight happened precisely as Francisco described -- or at all -- it earned a place in the landscape of Nottoway County. In 1931, the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a marker at the approximate site, near the community of Jennings Ordin...

Read more: Francisco's Fight on Qualla

Image: self | CC BY 3.0