Peter Francisco Day

On 24 February 1973 the Senate concurred with a resolution declaring March fifteenth of each year to be Peter Francisco Day.

Peter Francisco's (c.1760–1831) fame has dimmed in recent years, but he once was as well known as Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone. Schoolchildren in the 1800s became acquainted with his incredible adventures through serial novels about this "Hercules of the Revolution," and the "Giant of Virginia." Legend has it that he arrived here as a child in 1765 under mysterious circumstances. A ship, presumably Spanish or Portuguese, left the young Peter ashore at the wharves in City Point (now Hopewell). The abandoned boy was indentured to Judge Anthony Winston and grew up in Buckingham County.

When Francisco was sixteen, he enlisted in the Virginia Continental troops and served with distinction at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. His strength, bravery, and size (perhaps six feet six inches and 260 pounds) made him one of the most famous soldiers of the American Revolution. A popular story related how he rescued a 1,100-pound cannon from the British at Camden by picking it up and carrying it off the battlefield on his back. In another wartime exploit, Francisco was surrounded by nine Tory dragoons at Ward's Tavern in Amelia County. Despite being wounded and greatly outnumbered, Francisco managed to escape and steal the horses of his attackers.

After the Revolution, Francisco operated a tavern and general store in Buckingham. Later, he and his wife moved to Richmond, and he served as sergeant-at-arms of the Virginia House of Delegates for the last six years of his life. The January 18, 1831 issue of the Richmond Enquirer carried this eulogy: "Died on Sunday in this city, after a lingering indisposition, Peter Francisco, Esq., the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Delegates and a Revolutionary soldier, celebrated for his undaunted courage and his brilliant feats." The governor attended the funeral at the State Capitol, and Francisco was buried with full military and Masonic honors in Shockoe Cemetery.