Jack of Harts

Most of the Virginia General Assembly left Richmond after their eviction from the Assembly chambers. A few were arrested, but soldiers from Fort Lee helped many of the others make it out of the city and escorted them to nearby Petersburg. They actually managed to assemble a bare quorum of both legislative houses there, and quickly went to work. One of their first official announcements was the Impeachment of Virginia’s Governor and Lieutenant Governor for supporting the Federal actions. They followed that with a vote to declare former Vice President John Jefferson Freemon the interim governor until a new election was called. You may imagine that the rump Assembly in Richmond did not support these announcements.