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Woodford County · Frontier · 1781 – 1822

Jack Jouett, Kentucky’s midnight rider

On the night of June 3–4, 1781, Capt. John “Jack” Jouett spotted Banastre Tarleton’s British cavalry near Cuckoo Tavern in Virginia and rode roughly forty miles over back roads to warn Thomas Jefferson at Monticello and the Virginia Assembly at Charlottesville.

AI illustration of Jack Jouett in profile, based on the silhouette by his son Matthew Harris Jouett
Jack Jouett Based on a silhouette by Matthew Harris Jouett AI illustration · Kentucky History Drive

Most of the government escaped; Virginia rewarded him with a sword and pistols.

By 1782 he had moved west into what became Kentucky, represented Lincoln/Mercer and later Woodford counties as a statehood backer, and in 1797 built a brick Federal house on a 530-acre Woodford farm near Craig’s Creek — still standing as the Jack Jouett House Historic Site.

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Published . Last revised .

Chicago

Snowden, Shannon. "Jack Jouett, Kentucky’s midnight rider." Kentucky History Drive. Published September 23, 2026. Last revised October 26, 2026. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/jack-jouett-kentuckys-midnight-rider/.

MLA

Snowden, Shannon. "Jack Jouett, Kentucky’s midnight rider." Kentucky History Drive, published 23 Sept. 2026, last revised 26 Oct. 2026, https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/jack-jouett-kentuckys-midnight-rider/.

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