The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe: The Birth of Virginian Chivalry

About this episode

This episode explores the romantic adventure of the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe and their role in Virginia's history under Governor Alexander Spotswood.

The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe: 12 Virginia Gentlemen who embarked upon the Transmontane Expedition with Governor Alexander Spotswood as he sought to open new lands to settlement, defeat the attempt of the French to box Virginia in, and bend the Topping People to his will. A romantic adventure story populated by frontier guides, swaggering Cavaliers, and a frolicking tavern of an expedition through primeval forests! It is a riotous tale of high living on the frontier, from the travelling tavern that the expedition became known as with its many toasts and bottles of everything from claret to rum, to the great work these beknighted Virginians did in opening frontier lands for new settlement. It's a story of adventure and high living that explains why America became a continental empire. Further, this is also the tale of Gov. Alexander Spotswood, the most influential Royal Governor of Virginia in the 18th century. This is the story of how a veteran of Marlborough's campaigns who was wounded at Blenheim, a consummate Cavalier dedicated to High Tory principles, bent the "haughty" ruling classes of Virginia to his will, and did so in such a way that they loved him for it and…

People in this episode

Host: Will Tanner

Topics covered

• Virginia history
• chivalry
• frontier exploration
• Alexander Spotswood
• romantic adventure
• colonial America

Keywords

• Knights of the Golden Horseshoe
• Virginia Gentlemen
• Transmontane Expedition
• Alexander Spotswood
• frontier living
• colonial Virginia
• romantic adventure

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Virginia, Blue Ridge

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