[Bonaparte]

Re your quotations, as War Governor of Virginia, Jefferson had a hard time getting enough recruits to resist the British invasion, and one of the British goals in that colony was to capture Jefferson himself. In view of these facts, and since he saw no sense in handing himself over to his enemies, Jefferson withdrew from Monticello so that he could govern from a safe remove. He also concluded that the only way to impress upon Virginians the necessity of fighting the British was to let them run rampant through the countryside, burning, looting and killing. He was right, and it wasn't long before those who were formerly reluctant to fight enlisted eagerly. All they really needed was a reason to fight and now they had one.

[Pharmboy]

From the Encyclopedia of the American Revolution by Boatner:

"[Jefferson] got by the first year, but when the British were able to make a serious military effort in Va. in 1781, Jefferson's miserable failure as a leader was a vivid illustration of what happens to a society guided by a philosopher when it needs a 'man on horseback.'"

Not everyone is as kind to TJ as you guys are. We'll have to agree to disagree. And, I was wrong: it was not a court martial but a legislative inquiry.