How Colonial Americans Travelled

 

George Washington's Riding Chair

Movies often give the impression that everyone in the eighteenth century owned a horse.  In fact, horses were transportation reserved for the upper class and professionals because of the expense involved in keeping them.  At most, a horse could effectively cover about fifty miles a day and most common folk walked if they needed to travel.  In the colonial period, the Virginia gentry traveled often by horse and carriage to visit family and friends, to attend social events, and to take part in the political life of Williamsburg.  The circumference of travel was generally fairly small except for business or political reasons.

Overland on horseback from Williamsburg to Richmond, in good weather, would take one day (fifty miles).  The journey from Williamsburg to Charlottesville could take four days and to the Shenandoah Valley five or more days.  Even riding the fastest horse, a trip from Williamsburg to New York City would take ten days.  The most famous overland trip from New York to Williamsburg was that made by the allied Franco-American army of George Washington and General Rochambeau. The army began its march on August 19, 1781, and arrived in Williamsburg, a march of some four hundred miles, on September 14.

The easiest method of travel between Williamsburg and Philadelphia or New York City was by ship. The trip to Philadelphia would take about a week, that to New York ten to fourteen days, depending on the weather.  Over land, the journey could take twice as long.  Ships traveling across the Atlantic took at least six weeks.

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