Markes Vandewall (ca. 1754–1808) enlisted as a second lieutenant in one of the Virginia infantry regiments of the Continental Army in October 1777. Promoted to first lieutenant several months later, he served until retiring at the beginning of 1783. He was taken prisoner by the British at Charleston in 1780. After the war, he went into business as an auctioneer and commission merchant in Richmond. A “republican in practice” and “in principle, heart and soul,” he was appointed the city’s postmaster early in 1802 and served in that position until his death (Richmond Virginia Argus, 1 Nov. 1799; Richmond Enquirer, 14 June 1808; Heitman, Register description begins Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April, 1775, to December, 1793, new ed., Washington, D.C., 1914 description ends , 555–6; Stets, Postmasters description begins Robert J. Stets, Postmasters & Postoffices of the United States 1782-1811, Lake Oswego, Ore., 1994 description ends , 269).