Governors Mansion - Richmond, VA




Sterlings of Virginia

Thomas Sterling



Name: Thomas Sterling

Age: Born 1734 (55)

Skills:

+2 Skirmish
+2 Espionage
+1 Survival

Heritage
Scots-Irish: You are the descendant of Scots-Irish, or Ulster Scot, settlers who mainly lived in the interior of the Thirteen Colonies, away from the coast. Your ancestors were likely poor, a consequence of Ireland’s wealth having been concentrated in the hands of British Anglican landlords at the expense of both the Catholic Irish and Protestant Scots-Irish, but hardy and well-suited to the hardscrabble lives they led on the frontier, and no strangers to conflict either with the natives, the ‘Anglo’ coastal settlements, or each other. +1 Skirmish Command, Personal Combat or Survival.

Religion
Arminian: You belong to one of the Reformed Protestant churches which follow an Arminian doctrine, believing (unlike hard-line Calvinists) that there is room for human free will on the road to salvation. That means you’re most likely a Baptist or Methodist, two sects which enjoy great and growing popularity among the poor but free people of the South and the West: structurally, the Baptists tend to have more in common with the

Idolized philosopher
Thomas Hobbes: In your younger years, the political philosopher you looked up to most was Thomas Hobbes. His belief that men would invariably live ‘poor, brutish and short’ lives and destroy one another if left to their natural devices and needed firm order in the form of a social contract in order to not engage in a chaotic ‘war of all against all’ rubbed off on you as a result, leaving you with conservative and ‘big state’ inclinations. +1 Espionage.

Early Life
Frontiersman: Prior to entering politics, you lived on the wild western frontier of the former Thirteen Colonies. There you befriended other poor but determined pioneers and learned how to hunt and dress game, light fires, read smoke signals, fend off hostile Indian raids while dealing with friendly ones, and in general not die in the wilds. When the Revolution happened, it may have passed you by, or you may have participated as an irregular fighter. +1 Skirmish Command or Survival.

Role in the Revolution
Irregular Fighter: You were a Patriot engaged in guerrilla warfare during the Revolution. Leaving conventional warfare against the redcoats to the brave and the stupid, you took to the back-country with a trusty rifle or hunting musket and spent the conflict sniping British officers, ambushing isolated patrols and supply convoys, and battling Loyalist or ‘Tory’ militias and pro-British Indian warbands. Dishonorable, perhaps, but nobody dares deny that what you did during the war wasn’t effective. +1 Skirmish Command, Espionage or Pillager.

Role in the Confederation Period
Mercenary: Following the Patriot victory in the Revolutionary War, the dissolution of the armed forces and the ascent of the Articles of Confederation, you could not countenance a return to civilian life for whatever reason and went abroad to join another country’s army or navy (preferably not Britain’s, considering they were unlikely to view a traitor positively). For a time you fought under a foreign flag and in foreign wars, quitting and returning to America only around the time the Constitution was ratified. +1 Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Skirmish or Naval Command, or Logistician.

James Sterling


Name: James Sterling
Age: Born 1736 (53)

Skills:

+1 Survival
+1 Wealth
+2 Naval Command
+1 Charisma

Heritage
Scots-Irish: You are the descendant of Scots-Irish, or Ulster Scot, settlers who mainly lived in the interior of the Thirteen Colonies, away from the coast. Your ancestors were likely poor, a consequence of Ireland’s wealth having been concentrated in the hands of British Anglican landlords at the expense of both the Catholic Irish and Protestant Scots-Irish, but hardy and well-suited to the hardscrabble lives they led on the frontier, and no strangers to conflict either with the natives, the ‘Anglo’ coastal settlements, or each other. +1 Skirmish Command, Personal Combat or Survival.

Religion
Arminian: You belong to one of the Reformed Protestant churches which follow an Arminian doctrine, believing (unlike hard-line Calvinists) that there is room for human free will on the road to salvation. That means you’re most likely a Baptist or Methodist, two sects which enjoy great and growing popularity among the poor but free people of the South and the West: structurally, the Baptists tend to have more in common with the

Idolized philosopher
John Locke: In your younger years, the political philosopher you looked up to most was John Locke. His belief that there existed a moral Law-of-Nature forbidding men from harming one another’s lives or possessions without cause and that a night-watchman state whose role was limited to protecting the lives, liberty and property of its citizens was ideal rubbed off on you as a result, leaving you with moderately liberal inclinations. +1 Wealth.

Early Life
Sailor: Prior to entering politics, you were a sailor on the high seas. Perhaps you were a captain in the Royal and/or Continental Navies, just a civilian mariner involved in the fishing or shipping industries, or even a privateer who settled down after the Revolution. Being used to the dangers of sailing for long periods of time, you’re keenly aware of how to ration your supplies and pick out the quickest and safest routes of travel. +1 Naval Command.

Role in the Revolution
Naval Officer: You captained a ship or commanded squadrons of multiple ships in the Continental Navy during the war. In this capacity, in addition to maintaining discipline among your crew and maximizing usage of the talents of your specialists (navigator, bosun, etc) you had the unenviable task of battling the mightiest sea power in the world - the Royal Navy - on its home ‘turf’. Still, you proved (as historical US naval commanders, such as John Paul Jones, did) that it could be done. +1 Naval Command or Scout.

Role in the Confederation Period
Congressman: Whether a newcomer or already a member of the wartime Continental Congress, you became a member of the post-Revolutionary War Congress of the Confederation, the feeble and virtually powerless nominal legislature of the USA under the original Articles of Confederation. With no military, no means of acquiring revenue, and little credence in the eyes of foreign powers, you and the rest of this Congress may as well not have existed - but you and it did, and despite your overall powerlessness, you still learned valuable political lessons & forged connections with the other Congressmen while you were there. +1 Charisma or Espionage.

Bio:

Early Life
James Sterling hailed from a humble background. The son and grandson of house carpenters in Fairfax, Virginia, young James had not reached school age when his father died. Thereafter, he and his two siblings were raised by their mother. By late adolescence James was earning a living as a shoemaker in Norfolk. He married at age twenty-two in a Methodist church, and six months later he was a father. Three other children followed. In his mid-twenties he opened a grog shop, or bar, and with his profits purchased a merchant ship.

He made runs to the Caribbean, Spain, and Portugal, and to other British colonies in North America. He gradually acquired a small fleet of vessels, speculated in property, and by the mid-1760s was part of the local gentry. He lived in a large two-story house and was in the habit of wearing only clothing that was fashionable in London.
Like many merchants, James was adversely affected by Britain’s attempted taxation of the colonists and its efforts to tighten its control of American trade outside the empire. But for several years he remained largely aloof from the American protest movement. Not until war approached was James’s consciousness inflamed. He grew more active politically.

James Sterling - The Young Entrepreneur

He had always yearned to improve his status, and for many Americans winning renown as a soldier trumped possessing great wealth. James had served as a militiaman in the French and Indian War, rising from ensign to captain, and when Virginia reactivated its militia on the eve of the war with Great Britain, he was elevated to the rank of lieutenant colonel. But neither James nor Norfolk’s unit fought on the Concord Road or at Bunker Hill. The men were at sea plying their trade as fishermen.

The Revolution
When James arrived at last to take part in the siege of Boston, his unit had already been taken into the new Continental army and he was recommissioned a colonel. James’s men were mostly white, though some African Americans were in the ranks. They came to war bearing the look more of sailors than soldiers. The enlisted men wore blue jackets with leather buttons, white shirts, tarred breeches—to make them waterproof—blue stockings, and blue caps.
The officers dressed all in white. James, fashionable as always, marched to New York in 1776 with two broadcloth coats—one trimmed in lace, the other with velvet—eight shirts from Holland, ten jackets, six pairs of trousers, and shoes with silver buckles. He was armed with two silver pistols, a Scottish sword, and a musket fitted with a bayonet made in Genoa. In his mid-forties at the time of the Battle of Long Island, he looked more like the popular image of a soldier.

After Lionheart lost the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, James Sterling’s “Norfolk Marauders” evacuated the army across the East River to Manhattan Island in a surprise nighttime operation, saving them from being entrapped in their fortified trenches on Brooklyn Heights. In subsequent actions of the New York campaign the regiment fought well against the British at Kip's Bay when the Redcoats invaded. The last action of the regiment was its most famous: ferrying Washington's army on confiscated river coal ore boats from upstream across the Delaware River at night for a surprise attack on German Hessian allied mercenaries at Trenton in New Jersey on Christmas night, the morning of December 26, 1776. The regiment was disbanded as enlistments expired at year's end.
James went home to tend to his sick wife and look to business affairs. He turned down a promotion to brigadier general in March 1777 but rejoined the war and accepted the promotion after a personal appeal from General Lionheart. As commander of a brigade made up of four Virginia regiments, he served in the successful Saratoga campaign along the Hudson River in the summer and fall of 1777 and the failed Battle of Rhode Island in 1778.

With Frances entry into the war, Congress grew more confident of conducting naval operations, and agreed to conducting joint operations in the Atlantic. Put In command of Prestige in late 1778, he operated in British home waters and made audacious raids on England’s shore. In recognition of his exploits, he was placed in command of five French and 3 American vessels. Aboard his flagship, USS Virginia. Sterling led his small squadron in the capture of seven merchantmen off the Irish coast. Then in early October 1779, he fought one of the bloodiest engagements in US naval history with the 44-gun Royal Navy frigate Serapis. Although his own vessel was burning and sinking, Sterling would not accept the British demand for surrender. More than three hours later, Serapis surrendered, and Sterling took command.

James Sterling - Military Commander

Sterling would be recalled to the Americas in mid-1780 following the failed siege of Savannah and the American defeat at Charleston. He would be sent to Virginia, where his connections would be used to recruit troops for the patriot cause. During this time, he got his first real taste of politics. Taking up a seat in the Virginia legislature.

After multiple requests, Sterling would finally resume his command in early 1781. Being given command of a Regiment in the Carolinas campaign. His 1st Virginia Regiment would go on to fight in a number of engagements; including Guilford Courthouse and Eutaw Springs. His last action of the war would be leading his men in the storming of Redoubt #10 at Yorktown. After Yorktown James would return to serve as representative for his state until the end of the war.

Storming Redout #10

Confederation Years
By the summer of 1784, James had firmly established himself as a dominant force in Virginia politics. Serving in the state legislature, he would champion industrialization and for the development of the militia. In 1786 he would run for Governor. Traveling the state he would campaign on a post and pulpit tour. Speaking in front of the local post offices of the towns on Saturday, then attending church with the townsfolk the following Sunday. A strategy that would secure him the Governorship, and then reelection a few years later. Major legislation of his Governorship include, expanding the mining and fishing industries, championing a strong well organized militia, and the development of the Shenandoah region for agriculture.

In regards to the Federal Congress, he is critical of it, but recognizes its need and usefulness. Still a champion what is best for Virginia, he can accept relinquishing some powers for the benefit to the country. For if this nation is to survive it will be through strength, unity and perseverance.

Personality/Appearance
Short, thick, and sinewy, James has long, curly, reddish hair that was beginning to thin and gray, a perpetual five o’clock shadow, and a rugged visage that exuded power and authority. For much of the past twenty years he had commanded men on good voyages and bad. He is in the habit of leading, and of acting, under stress. Those who have served under him were in the habit of following his direction.
Much about James’s background and activism would suggest that economic self-interest had drawn him toward a role in the American rebellion. Though what radiates from him is a vibrant nationalism and a yearning for American autonomy; the force driving the American protest. He believed the war would determine whether Americans were freemen or slaves, and to be a slave, is worse than death. His maxim is to not leave too much to chance, fight hard, and hope for the best.

Sterling Family Tree

[DEL]-1. Joseph Hiram Sterling 1715-1740
-1a. Margaret Strong 1718-1781

--2.Thomas Sterling 1734
--2a. Emily Williams 1737-1779

----3. Richard Sterling 1755-
----3a. Alice Morehouse 1756-1785
------4. Ulysses Sterling 1775-
------4a. Katherine Sanford 1777-
------4. Carol Sterling 1779-
------4. Mary sterling 1785-1785
----3b. Harriet MacCotter 1767-
------4.Thomas Sterling 1787

----3. Hannah Sterling 1759-
----3a. Elmer Smytheson 1756-
------4. Alexander Smytheson 1780-
------4. Clara Smytheson 1782-
------4. Sarah Smytheson 1786-1788
------4. Dolly Smytheson 1787-

--2. James Sterling 1736-
--2a. Sophia van den Berg 1740-

----3.Patrick Sterling 1761-
----3a. Jacqueline Lionheart 1764-
------4. Francis Sterling 1785-
------4. Charlotte Sterling 1788-

--2. Laura Sterling 1744-1739