Jack Jouett
Warning at Monticello
### Warning at Monticello

[thumb\|right\|300px\|Thomas Jefferson's Monticello](/wiki/File:Thomas_Jefferson%27s_Monticello_Estate.jpg "Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Estate.jpg")
Jouett's backwoods route took him through a ford of the [Rivanna River](/wiki/Rivanna_River "Rivanna River") at the town of [Milton](/wiki/Milton%2C_Albemarle_County%2C_Virginia "Milton, Albemarle County, Virginia"). At about 4:30 am, he crossed the ford and ascended the mountain on which Jefferson's Monticello sits. At Monticello, Jouett awoke Jefferson and his guests, several Virginia legislators. Descendants of Jefferson's gardener, Anthony Giannini, noted early riser Jefferson was in the gardens at Monticello with their ancestor when Jouett arrived. Jefferson rewarded Jouett with some fine [Madeira](/wiki/Madeira_Wine "Madeira Wine"). Jouett then remounted to ride  further to warn the town of Charlottesville.

Jefferson did not rush, although he sent his wife and daughters to Enniscorthy, his friend John Coles' plantation about  away.Moore, p. 37 He had breakfast with the legislators before making arrangements to leave, including spending two hours gathering his papers together. When Captain Christopher Hudson rode to Monticello to warn of the imminent British arrival, Jefferson continued his preparations, but sent a horse outside his estate for a quick escape. He continually checked the Charlottesville path up the mountain with his telescope for signs of the British. By the time he finally saw them, the British cavalry had reached Monticello's lawn. Mounting his horse quickly, Jefferson successfully eluded the British in the woods. One enslaved Monticello family's oral history claims Jefferson "hid in the hollow of an old tree" on nearby Carter's Mountain.Fossett, Peter H. "Once The Slave of Thomas Jefferson," Cincinnati *Sunday World*, January 20, 1898, repr. at PBS Frontline. "<https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/slaves/memoir.html>" Other traditions claim Jefferson spent two weeks at the home of Thomas Farrar, and some time in a cliff\-cave near [Scotts's Landing](/wiki/Scottsville%2C_Virginia "Scottsville, Virginia") about a mile downstream from his brother Randolph's plantation, "Snowden", while Tarleton commandeered Jefferson's "Elk Hill" plantation in [Goochland County](/wiki/Goochland_County%2C_Virginia "Goochland County, Virginia").Moore, pp. 37–38

Captain Kenneth McLeod led the British detachment sent to Monticello. They arrived to find Jefferson's slaves hurriedly hiding his valuables.


How did Jefferson's preparations for leaving Monticello take place?