midnight
The writs were in the king 's name , and were signed by four of the council . This done , Bacon set off on his Indian campaign , leaving behind him a mighty tumult . The new world had defied the old . At midnight by torchlight , the grim-faced pioneers of Virginia had sworn to be free . Everywhere men and women hailed the oath with enthusiasm . `` Now we can build ships and , like New England , trade with any other part of the world , '' they declared . Sarah Drummond , the wife of the Scottish conspirator , exclaimed : `` The child that is unborn shall have cause to rejoice for the good that will come by the rising of the country . ''