History lovers, Virginia buffs and myth-busters alike, this episode of Cardinal News 250 digs into one of central Virginia’s most persistent legends: the claim that 70 French soldiers are buried in Kingsville near Hampden-Sydney College after dying of smallpox during the American Revolution. Host Lisa Rowan sits down with historian and archaeologist Charles Pearson to trace the story back to a 1930 DAR marker, explore the role of Luzon’s Legion after the Siege of Yorktown and examine how fact, folklore and local memory became tangled over time.

With deep reporting on Revolutionary War history, colonial Virginia, archaeological investigations and historical records, this episode unpacks what really happened, what didn’t and why this story has endured for more than a century. From smallpox myths to French troops in Virginia to the power of historical markers to shape public memory, Cardinal News 250 delivers a fascinating look at how legends are born and how historians work to separate truth from tradition.

Dive into the Battle of Great Bridge and its significance in the American Revolutionary War. Host, Lisa Rowan, is joined by Richard Fisher, a volunteer with the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation.

Take a front-row seat to one of the most consequential moments of the American Revolution. Host Lisa Rowan and journalist Andrew Lawler revisit Norfolk’s dramatic winter of 1775–76, when Black soldiers fought for Lord Dunmore, Patriots dug in at Great Bridge, and Virginia’s only city became the battleground that pushed the colonies toward independence. From skirmishes on the Elizabeth River to the days-long burning that erased Norfolk from the map, this episode unpacks the clash, the politics, and the propaganda that helped set the stage for America’s break from Britain.