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I
LIBRARY OF THE
UNIVERSITY OP VIRGINIA
FROM THE BCX3KS OF
COL. CHARLES PATTON ECHOLS
PRESENTED BY HIS NIECE
JANE J. ECHOLS
r'-
COLLECTIONS
OF THE
Virginia Historical Society
New Series.
VOL XI.
WM. ELLIS JONES,
PRINTER,
RICHMOND, VA.
PROCEEDINGS
VirginiaHistorical Society
ANNUAL MEETING
December 21-22, 1891,
HISTORICAL PAPERS
READ ON THE OCCASION,
AND OTHERS,
EDITED BY
R. A. BROCK,
Corresponding Secretary and Librarian of the Society.
Richmond, Virginia.
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY.
MDCCCXCn.
i
T
i
^
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
I. Proceedings, Constitution and List of Officers and Members
of the Society ix
II. Early Revolutionary History of Virginia, i773-'74, and the
Call for the First Congress, by Professor James Mercer
Garnett, A. M„ LL D i
III. Historic Elements in Virginia Education and Literary EITort,
by Professor John B. Henneman. A. M., Ph- D a6
IV. Notes on Recent Work in Southern Hislory, by Professor
W. P. Trent, M. A 47
V. Ancient Epitaphs in York and James City Counties, Vir-
ginia, by Professor J. L, Hall 61
VI. The First Election of Washington to the House of Bur-
gesses, by R. T. Barton n.l
VII. The Old Brick Church, Smithfield, Virginia, built in 163a,
by R. S. Thomas, A. M., LL.B IJ7
VIII. Richmond's First Academy, projected by M- Quesnay de
Beaurepaire in 17S6, by Richard Heyward Gaines i6s
IX. Some Unpublished Facts Relating to Bacon's Rebellion in
Accomac County, Virginia, by Frank P. Brent 177
X. Thomas Hansford, the First Nalive Martyr to American
Liberty, by Mrs. Apnie Tucker Tyler 191
XI. Journal of Captain Charles Lewis. 1755, Edited by R. A.
Brock ao3
XII. Orderly Book of Captain Robert Gamble, 1779, Edited with
Introduction by R. A. Brock a jg
XIII. Memoir of General John Cropper, by Barton Haxall Wise. 173
XIV. Orderly Book of Major William Heth, 1777, Edited with
Introduction by R. A. Brock 317
w
J
-si
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
Virginia Historical Society
AT ITS
ANNUAL MEETING
HELD IN THE
House of Delegates, December 21-22, 1891,
WITH THE
CONSTITUTION AND LIST OF OFFICERS AND
MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY.
RICHMOND, VA.:
1892.
J
PROCEEDINQS
OF THE
Virginia Historical Society
IN
Annual Meeting held December 2i-22y i8gi.
With the hope of enlisting a more general interest in the
Virginia Historical Society and its objects, and to extend its use-
fulness, the Executive Committee in meeting held July ii, 1891,
adopted a plan submitted for an annual meeting of the Society,
and appointed Messrs. Lyon G. Tyler and R. A. Brock a com-
mittee to carry the same into effect.
Their efforts met with highly gratifying success.
As duly announced, a meeting of the Society was held in the
Hall of the House of Delegates on the evenings of December 21
and 22, 1 891, commencing at 8 o'clock. There was an excellent
and intelligent attendance, composed, in part, of members of the
State Legislature.
The President, Mr. Henry, called the meeting to order, and
having stated the needy condition of the Society, expressed the
hope that the meeting would not be without desired and deserved
fruits.
The following interesting papers were read during the session:
Monday Evening, December 21,
Early Revolutionary History of Virginia, 1773-74. and the
Call for the First Congress, by Professor James Mercer Garnett,
A. M., LL.D.. University of Virginia; Historical Elements in
Virginia Education and Literary Effort, by Professor John B.
Henneman, A. M., Ph. D., Hampden Sidney College, Virginia;
Notes on Recent Work in Southern History, by Professor Wil-
liam P! Trent, M. A., University of the South, Sewanee, Ten-
nessee ; Ancient Epitaphs in York and James City Counties,
Virginia, by Professor J. L. Hall, William and Mary College,
Virginia.
x virginia historical society.
Tuesday Evening, December 22,
The First Election of Washington to the House of Burgesses,
by Mr. R. T. Barton, Winchester, Virginia; The Old Brick
Church, Smithfield, Virginia, built in 1652, by R. S. Thomas,
A. M., LL.B., Smithfield, Virginia; Richmond's First Academy,
projected by M. Quesnay de Beaurepaire in 1786, by Mr. Rich-
ard Heyward Gaines, Richmond, Virginia; Agriculture in Vir-
ginia during the First Twenty Years of the Colony,^ by Philip
A. Bruce, Richmond, Virginia ; Some Unpublished Facts relat-
ing to Bacon's Rebellion in Accomac County, Virginia, by Mr.
F. P. Brent, Virginia; Thomas Hansford, the First Native Martyr
to American Liberty, by Mrs. Annie Tucker Tyler.
Upon the conclusion of the reading of the papers on the
second evening, on motion of Dr. W. P. Palmer it was —
Resolved^ That the thanks of the Virginia Historical Society
are hereby tendered to the several gentlemen and to Mrs. Annie
Tucker Tyler, who have read valuable and interesting papers
before them, at their annual meeting held in the Hall of the
House of Delegates, December 21 and 22, 1891, and it is
requested that these papers be given to to the Society for
publication.
Messrs. Barton, Garnett and Thomas were appointed a com-
mittee to nominate officers of the Society for the year 1892.
The nominations as submitted were duly elected, and their
names are given on a succeeding page.
On motion of Mr. Tyler it was —
Resolvedy That the Society approve the bill now pending in
the Legislature for the appropriation of five thousand dollars for
copying the county court records of the State prior to the year
1700.'
^ A copy of this paper was not furnished the Society.
^The Legislature, to their credit be it entered, did make the appro-
priation asked for, inadequate as it is known to be. Auspiciously, the
Secretary of the Commonwealth has caused this work, essential to the
preservation of the muniments of Virginia, to be entered on. Let not
the " Mother of States and Statesmen " continue to linger in the pro-
vision for the preservation of her archives.
*-:
r
\
PROCEEDINGS. XI
Professor Garnett made an earnest appeal in behalf of the
Society, urging that it was not only the duty of the State to pro-
vide means for the just maintainance of an honoring exponent,
but that it was a crying shame that the support of its citizens
was not greater.'
The President then expressed his thanks to the audience for
the interest exhibited, and announced the meeting as adjourned.
' It may be hoped that the Society will soon enter upon a brighter
life and a more satisfactory execution of its important mission. The
desideratum so long urged — a habitation of its own — has been assured.
At a meeting of the Executive Committee held May 26, 1892, the
munificent offer of Mrs. John Stewart, of "Brook Hill/* Henrico
county, Virginia, and her daughters, to convey to the Society for
its occupancy for ten years, and longer if desired at the' expiration
of the period, the commodious building in Richmond Which was the
residence during the late war of the family of General R. E. Lee, was
gratefully accepted.
The Society, however, is without funds, and is dependent solely upon
the subscriptions of its members for the means to defray its current
necessary expenses. To meet the expenses of removal, furniture and
the care of the building, the membership of the Society must be greatly
increased, or the absolute need met by the generosity of the public
spirited of our people.
CONSTITUTION
OF THE
Virginia Historical Society.
[Adopted March lo, 1^70 ]
ARTICLE I.
The objects of the Society shall be the collection and preserva-
tion of everything relating to the history, antiquities and litera-
ture of the State of Virginia particularly, and the United States
in generall
ARTICLE II.
The fiscal year shall terminate on the 31st of October, and the
terms of office shall expire on the 31st of December.
ARTICLE III.
The Society shall be composed of Regular, Life, Corres-
ponding and Honorary members.
ARTICLE IV.
The officers of the Society shall be a President, First, Second
and Third Vice-Presidents, a Corresponding Secretary, a Record-
ing Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Librarian, and these shall con-
tinue in office until their successors are elected, unless vacancies
occur by death, resignation or removal, in which case the Execu-
tive Committee shall have power to appoint officers ad interim,
ARTICLE V.
The President, Vice-Presidents and Secretaries, together with
twelve members, shall constitute a committee to be called the
Executive Committee.
ARTICLE VI.
All the officers and members of the Committee named in the
preceding sections shall be elected at the annual meeting of the
Society, by ballot.
CONSTITUTION. XUl
ARTICLE VII.
The duties of the several officers shall be those which are
usually exercised by such officers, respectively, and may be more
particularly defined in the By-Laws established by the Executive
Committee.
ARTICLE VIIL
The Executive Committee shall appoint their own Chairman,
and have power to fill any vacancy that may occur in their own
body ; to remove the Treasurer and Librarian ; to ordain and
establish such By-Laws as they shall deem necessary and proper;
to call meetings ; to elect all members of the Society, and in gen-
eral, do all things which they shall deem expedient to secure the
objects of the Society and promote its general welfare in all
respects. They shall meet once a month, and oftener if they
deem it necessary, and any six members shall constitute a quo-
rum. They shall have power to appoint members of the Society
who are not members of the Committee to serve on special com-
mittees whenever it is necessary.
ARTICLE IX.
All members of the Society shall be nominated at a regular
monthly meeting of the Executive Committee, and the vote on
their nominations shall be taken at the next or a succeeding reg-
ular monthly meeting of the Committee.
ARTICLE X.
Regular members shall pay an admission fee of one dollar ($i)
upon receiving notice of their election, and five dollars on the
first day of every subsequent year. Life members shall pay
fifty dollars within thirty days after their election. If any Regu-
lar member shall fail to pay his subscription for two years, or at
any time shall refuse to pay the same, he shall forfeit all his
rights and privileges of membership, and the Executive Com-
mittee shall cause his name to be erased from the list of
members.
XIV VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ARTICLE XI.
Corresponding members may be elected from such persons as
may appear to be entitled to such distinction from their connec-
tion with historical or literary pursuits, or may indicate a dispo-
sition to contribute to the collections or promote the objects of
the Society.
ARTICLE XII.
Regular or Life members may be elected by a majority of the
Committee present when the vote is taken. Three, votes shall
exclude a Corresponding or Honorary member, and not more
than ten Honorary members shall be elected in any one year.
ARTICLE Xni.
The annual meetings of the Society for the election of officers
and the transaction of business shall be held in the city of Rich-
mond on the second Thursday in December of each year, at
such place as the Executive Committee shall designate by adver-
tisement, and ah adjourned meeting shall be held on the evening
of the same or a subsequent day, to which the public shall be
invited, when there shall be a suitable address or discourse by
some person selected by the Executive Committee to perform
this duty on that occasion. Fifteen members shall constitute a
quorum of the Society at any meeting.
ARTICLE XIV. •
At the annual business meeting of the Society the Executive
Committee shall make a full report of their operations during
the previous year, and so much of this report as may be deemed
advisable shall be presented at the public meeting of the Society.
ARTICLE XV.
This Constitution may be amended at any general meeting of
the Society by the vote of the majority of members present,
when such amendment shall be recommended by the Executive
Committee, or if not so recommended notice thereof shall have
been given at some previous meeting of the Society.
OFFICERS AND MEMBERS
OF THE
Virginia Historical Society,
JUNE) 1, 1802.
President
William Wirt Henry, Richmond, Virginia.
Vice-Presidents,
J. L. M. Curry, Washington, D. C.
Archer Anderson, Richmond. Va.
William P. Palmer, M. D., Richmond, Va.
Corresponding Secretary and Librarian.
R. A. Brock, Richmond, Va.
Recording Secretary,
George A. Barksdale, Richmond, Va.
Treasurer,
Robert T. Brooke, Richmond, Va.
Executive Committee,
Lyon G. Tyler, Williamsbiirg.Va. C. G. Barney, M. D., Richmond, Va.
D. C. Richardson, Richmond.Va. J. Alston Cabell, Richmond, Va.
W. A. Maury, Washington, D. C. Orin L. Cottrell, Richmond, Va.
RoBT. M. Hughes, Norfolk, Va. B. W. Green, M. D., Richmond, Va.
Jos. Bryan, Richmond, Va. E. V. Valentine, Richmond, Va.
John Ott, Roanoke, Va. Thos. Nelson Page, Richmond, Va.
and, ex- officio y the President, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries
and Treasurer,
XVI
VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Arber, Prof. Edw'd, Birmingham^ Eng'd. Sainsbury, W. Noel, London, Eng'd.
Gilbert, Hon. J. W., New York, N. Y. SpoflFord, A. R., Washington, D. C.
Horsford, Prof. E. N., Cambridge, Mass. Whitsitt, D. D., Rev. W. H., Louisville, Ken-
Jones, D. D., Rev. John Wm., Atlanta, Ga. tucky.
Keane, Prof. A. H., London, Eng'd. Winthrop, Hon. Robert C, Boston, Mass.
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS.
Adams, F. G., Topeka, Kansas.
Atrill, Chas. H., London, Eng'd.
Bacon, H. F., Bury St. Edmund, Eng'd.
Banks, M. O., Chas. E., Chelsea, Mass.
Barber, E. A., Philadelphia, Pa.
Bryant, H. W., Portland, Me.
Breckenridge, W. P. C, Lexington, Ky.
Campeau, Hon. F. R. E., Ottawa, Canada.
Carrington, Gen. H. B., New York, N. Y.
Champlin, Jr., J. D., New York, N. Y.
Courtenay, Hon. W. A., Charleston, S. C.
Craig, Isaac, Allegheny, Pa.
Dean, John Ward, Boston, Mass.
Darling, Gen. C. W., Utica, N. Y.
Drake, Col,S. A., Kennebunkport, Me.
Egle, M. D., Wra. H., Harrisburg, Pa.
FernoVv, Berthold, Washington, D. C.
Graham, A. A., Columbus, O.
Green, M. D., Hon. S. A., Boston, Mass.
Hart, Chas. H., Philadelphia, Pa.
Hayden, Rev. H. E., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Hinsdale, Prof. B. A., Ann Arbor, Mich.
Hoadly, Hon. C. J., Hartford, Conn.
Hoes, Rev. R. R., Washington, D. C.
Judah, Geo. F., Spanish Town, Jamaica.
Lamb, Mrs. M. J., New York, N. Y.
Lee, J. W. M., Baltimore, Md.
Neill, D. D., Rev. E. D., St. Paul, Minn.
Nicholson, Col. J. P., Philadelphia, Pa.
Perry, Hon. Amos, Providence, R. I.
Phillimore, W. P. W., London, Eng'd.
Rose, Josiah, Lancaster, Eng'd.
Ross, Hon. D. A., Quebec, Canada.
Stone, F. D., Philadelphia, Pa.
Thwing, E. P., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Wright, W. H. K., Plymouth, Eng'd.
LIFE MEMBERS.
Alexander, H. M!, New York, N. Y.
Anderson, Gen. J. R., Richmond, Va.
Barksdale, Geo. A.. Richmond, Va.
Barksdale, M. D., R., Petersburg, Va.
Barney, M. D., C. G., Richmond, Va.
Beverley, Col. R., The Plains, Va.
Bosher, Charles H., Ne<v York, N. Y.
Brooks, P. C, Boston, Mass.
Bryan, Joseph, Richmond, Va.
Buckler, W. H., Baltimore, Md.
Byrd, Geo. H., New York, N. Y.
Cabell. J. Alston, Richmond, Va.
Conway, M. D., New York, N. Y.
Coxe, Brinton, Philadelphia, Pa.
Davenport, Jr., Isaac, Richmond, Va.
Ellis. Col. Thos. H., Washington, D. C,
Fish, Hon. Hamilton, Garrisons, N. Y.
Fry, Chas. M., New York, N. Y.
Gary, J. A , Baltimore, Md.
Grafflin, John C, Baltimore, Md.
Woodhouse,
Grandy, C. Wiley, Norfolk, Va.
Gratz, Simon, Philadelphia, Pa.
Grigsby, H. C, Smithville, Va.
Holliday, Hon. F. W. M., Winchester, Va.
Hughes, R. M., Norfolk, Va.
Jones. Wm. Ellis, Richmond, Va.
Leigh, C. J., New York, N. Y.
Leiter, L. Z., Chicago, III.
Logan, Gen. T. M., Richmond, Va.
McCormick, Cyrus H., Chicago, III.
Mallory, Hon. E. S., Jackson, Tenn.
Mather, Mrs. M. H. Bound Brook, N. J.
Richmond, Va., College Library.
Sutherlin, W. T., Danville, Va.
Talcott, Col. T. M. R., Richmond, Va.
Traylor, R. L., Richmond, Va.
Walker, Major D. N., Richmond, Va.
Washington and Lee Univ., Lexington, Va.
Whitehead, Hon. J. B., Norfolk, Va.
Woodbridge, George N., Richmond, Va.
James, Richmond, Va.
LIST OF MEMBERS.
XVU
REGULAR MEMBERS.
Adams, Hugh W., New York, N. Y.
Addison, E. B., Richmond, Va.
Addison, John, Richmond, Va.
Aldrich, Hon. P. Emory, Worcester, Mass.
Alfriend, Thos. L., Richmond, Va.
Alexander, D. D., Rev. H. C, Princeton,
N. J.
Alexander, John H., Leesburg, Va.
Alexander, L. D., New York, N. Y.
Allison, James W.. Richmond, Va.
Anderson, H. C, Louisville, Ky.
Andrews, O., Baltimore, Md.
Atkinson, Thos., Richmond, Va.
Baker, R. H., Norfolk, Va.
Barton, R. T., Winchester, Va.
Baskerville, H. E. C, Richmond, Va.
Battle, Presd't K. P.. Chapel Hill, N. C.
Bayard, Hon. T. F., Wilmington, Del.
Belvin, Preston, Richmond, Va.
Bird, Prof. H. S., Williamsburg. Va.
Bispham, J. L., Philadelphia, Pa.
Blackford, Prof. L. M., Alexandria, Va.
Boisseau, P. H., Danville, Va.
Booth, M. D., E. G., Carter's Grove, Va.
Boston, Mass., Public Library.
Bosher, R. S., Richmond, Va.
Bourguin, F., Philadelphia, Pa.
Boykin, Col. F. M., Richmond, Va.
Branch, John P., Richmond, Va.
Bransford, M. D., John F., Bon Air, Va.
Brent, F. P., Onancock, Va.
Broadhead, Prof. G. d., Columbia, Mo.
Broadhead, Hon. J, O., St. Louis, Mo.
Broadhead, Lucas, Spring Station, Ky.
Broun, Maj. T. L., Charleston, W. Va.
Brown, Prof. W. G., Lexington, Va.
Bruce, Philip A., Richmond, Va.
Buford, Col. A. S., Richmond, Va.
Burgwyn, C. P. E.. Richmond, Va.
Burwell, P. L., Cumberland, Md
Cabell, W. D., Washington, D. C. '
Caine, Paul, Louisville, Ky.
Cameron, Alex., Richmond, Va.
Cannon, E. Y., Richmond, Va.
Carrington, P. R., Richmond, Va.
Carter, Prof. F., Williamstown, Mass.
Cary, Col. J. B., Richmond, Va.
Cary, W. M., Baltimore, Md.
Casey, Prof. J. J., New York, N. Y.
Caskie, James, Richmond, Va.
Christian, E. D., Richmond, Va.
Claiborne, M. D., Jno. H., Petersburg, Va.
Cleborne, U. S. N., Dr. C. J., Portsmouth,
N. H.
Cleeman, Thos. M., Petersburg, Va.
Clyde, W. P , New York, N. Y.
Cochran, Prof. J. L., University of Va.
Cole, Dr. H. W., Danville, Va.
Conrad, Maj. Holmes, Winchester, Va.
Courtney, Maj. A. R., Richmond, Va,
Crenshaw, Jr., L. D., Richmond, Va.
Crenshaw, S. D., Richmond, Va.
Crocker, Maj. J. F., Portsmouth, Va.
Cropper, John. Washington, D. C.
Crump, Hon. W. W., Richmond, Va.
Cutshaw, Col. W. E., Richmond, Va.
Dabney, Jr., Ph. D., C. W., Knoxville,
Tenn.
Dabney, Ph. D., Prof. R. H., University of
Va.
Dabney, M. D., Prof. W. C, University of
Va.
Davidson, G. G., Albany, N. Y.
Davies, W. G., New York, N. Y.
Davenport, G. A., Richmond, Va.
Dawes, Col. E. C, Cincinnati, O,
Denham, Edward, New Bedford, Mass.
Dexter, Hon. Julius, Cincinnati, O.
Dickerson, J. E., Asheville, N. C.
Dimmock, Capt. M. J., Richmond. Va.
Doswell, Maj. J. T., Fredericksburg, Va.
Downey, M., Richmond, Va.
Duke, Hon. R. T. W., Charlottesville, Va.
Dunbar, J. B., Bloomfield, N. J.
Dupuy, MissL J., Austin, Texas.
Durand, John, Paris, France.
Durrett, Col. R. T., Louisville, Ky.
Ellett, Col. Tazewell, Richmond, Va.
Figgatt, Hon. J. H. H., Fincastle, Va.
Flannagan, W. W., New York, N. Y.
Fleming, Col. R. J., Washington, D. C.
Flournoy, Hon. H. W., Richmond, Va.
Fogg, M. D., Jno. S. H., Boston, Mass.
Force, Gen. M. F., Sandusky, O.
Forrest, D. D., Rev. D. F., Cincinnati, O.
Fowler, T. McK , London, Eng'd.
Frierson, G. F., Columbia, Tenn.
Gaines, R. H., Richmond, Va.
Garlick, M. D., Jas. H., Williamsburg, Va.
Garnett, Prof. J. M., University of Va.
Garrett, Hon. W. R., Nashville, Tenn.
Garrett, M. D., Prof. Van F., Williams-
burg, Va.
George, J. P., Richmond, Va.
XVlll
VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Gilliam, R. D., Petersburg, Va.
Gilman, Prof. D. C, Baltimore, Md.
Ginter, Maj. Lewis, Richmond, Va.
Glasgow, Hon. W. A., Lexington. Va.
Goode, Prof. G. Brown, Washington, D. C.
Goode, Hon. John, Washington, D. C.
Gray, Wm. F., Richmond, Va.
Griffith, W. R. Baltimore, Md.
Gunter, Hon. B. T., Accomac C. H., Va.
Hack, C. A., Taunton, Mass.
Hall, Prof. J. L., Williamsburg, Va.
Hall, Maj. P. P. G., Philadelphia, Pa.
Hampton Va. Normal and Ag'l Institute.
Harris, Geo. Wm., Cornell U., Ithaca, N.Y.
Harris, John T., Harrisonburg, Va.
Harrison, M. D., Geo. T., New York, N.Y.
Harrison, Jas P., Danville, Va.
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Haw, Geo. P., Richmond, Va.
Haxall, Capt. P., Richmond, Va.
Heffelfinger, Jacob, Hampton, Va.
Henneman, Prof. J. B., Hampden-Sidney,
Va.
Herbert, Col. A., Alexandria, Va.
Heyl, U. S. A., Col. E. M., Chicago, 111.
Hoge, Arista, Staunton, Va.
Hooe, Capt. P. B , Alexandria, Va.
Howard, Mai. McH., Baltimore, Md.
Howell, M. B., Nashville, Tenn.
Hughes, Hon. R. W., Norfolk, Va.
Huhn, J. D., Memphis, Tenn.
Hunnewell, J. F., Charlestown, Mass.
Hunter, Jr , John, Richmond, Va.
Hutzler, H. S., Richmond, Va.
Ingle, Edward, Washing^ton, D.C.
James, Edward W., Norfolk, Va.
Jenkins, U. S. A., Rear Admiral, T. A.,
Washington, D. C.
Kean, Col. R. G. H., Lynchburg, Va.
Keane, Rt. Rev. J. J., Washington, D. C.
Keim, Mrs. Bettie T., Philadelphia, Pa.
Keith, Chas. P., Philadelphia, Pa.
Kent, Ph. D., C. W., Knoxville. Tenn.
Kentucky State Library, Frankfort, Ky.
Knabe, Wm., Baltimore, Md.
Lancaster, R. A., Richmond, Va.
Lamb, Hon. J. C, Richmond, Va.
La.ssiter, Maj. F. R., Petersburg, Va.
Leake, Wm. Josiah, Richmond, Va.
Lee, Capt. R. E., Lexington, Va.
Library Company, Philadelphia, Pa.
Lilley, E. A., Minneapolis, Minn.
Lodge, Hon. H. C, Nahant, Mass.
Loyall, Capt. B. P., Norfolk, Va.
Luce, J. D. Henley, Boston, Mass.
Lurty, Maj. W. S., Harrisonburg, Va.
Lyons, James, Richmond, Va.
McAdams, Geo. B., Richmond, Va.
McCaw, M. D., J. B., Richmond, Va.
McClintock, A. H., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
McGuire, F. B., Washington, D. C.
McGuire, F. H., Richmond, Va.
McGuire, M. D., Hunter, Richmond, Va.
McGuire, J. P. Richmond, Va.
Mallory, U. S. A., Lt. J. S., Fort Omaha,
Neb.
Marshall, Col. Chas., Baltimore, Md.
Markham, Wm. Harris, St. Louis, Mo.
Marks, Arthur H., Winchester, Tenn.
Marye, Hon. J. L., Fredericksburg, Va.
Mason, R. John T., Baltimore, Md.
Mayo, P. H., Richmond, Va.
Mayo, Wm. C, Washington, D. C.
Menefie, R.J., Louisville, Ky.
Mercer, W. R., Doylestown. Pa.
Meredith, Chas. V., Richmond, Va.
Meredith, W. R., Richmond, Va.
Merrill, Geo. F., Richmond, Va.
Minor, Miss Ann P., New York, N. Y.
Minor, Prof. J. B., University of Va.
Moncure, M. D,., Jas. D., Williamsburg,
Va.
Munford, B. B , Richmond, Va.
Munford, R. B., Richmond, Va.
Myers, Maj. E. T. D., Richmond, Va.
Nash, M. D., F. S., Charleston, S. C.
Nash, M. D., H. M., Norfolk, Va.
Newton, Virginius, Richmond, Va.
Nolting, E. O., Richmond, Va.
Norris, M. D., W. E., Charlottesville, Va.
North Carolina State Library, Raleigh.
Old, Major W. W., Norfolk, Va.
Ordway, Gen. A., Washington, D. C.
Otis. Philo A., Chicago, 111.
Page, Maj Mann, Brandon, Va.
Page, M. D., R. C. M., New York, N. Y.
Page, D. L., Thos. Nelson, Richmond. Va.
Palmer, Col. Wm. H., Richmond, Va.
Parks, Marshall, Norfolk, Va.
Patton, Col. J. M., Bentivoglio, Va.
Patton, Mercer W., New Orleans, La.
Peyton, Maj. Green, University of Va.
Phillips, A. K., Fredericksburg, Va.
Pleasants, James, Richmond. Va.
Powell, John H., Richmond, Va.
Purcell, John, Richmond, Va.
Randolph, J. W., Richmond, Va.
Randolph, Maj. N. V., Richmond, Va.
Raymond, C, H.. New York, N. Y.
Reynolds, Sheldon, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Richeson, Col. Thos., St. Louis, Mo.
Richardson, R. P., Richmond, Va.
LIST OF MEMBERS,
Riv«, Hon. Geo. L., New York, N. Y. Towles, M. D„ Ptof. W. B
Robert, Rev. P. G.,St. Louis, Mo. Trtnl, Fiof, W. P„ Sewai
Robertson, A. F., Staunlon, Va. Tucker, Hon. J. R., Lexii
Robertson, Hod. W. J., Chatiottesvilie, Va. Tulane UniversLty, New (
Robinson, Col. C. W., London. Eng'd. Turnur
Robinson, Capi. Leigh, Washington, D. C. Upshur
Robinson, Rev. T. v.. New York, N.Y. Washington, D. C.
Rogers, Archibald, Hyde Park, N. Y. Valentine. E. P., Richmond, Va.
Roller, Gen.Jobn E., Harrisonburg, Va. Valentine, G. G., Richmond Va.
St. John, Wm. P., New York, N. Y. Valentine, Jr., M, S„ Richmond, V
Sands, Conway R., Richmond, Va. Valentine. Sr.. M. S,. Richmond, ^
Semmes, Hon. T. J., New Orleans, La. Vermillion, John, Norfolk, Va.
Sheppard, W, L„ Richmond, Va. WaddelUJ. A., Staunlon, Va.
Sheild, P. B, Richmond, Va. Walker, J. G., Richmond, Va.
Sheild, M. D., Wm. H., Williamsburg, Va. Walker, J. W., Richmond, Va.
Sinton, R. B., Richmond, Va. Warren-Bey. M. D., Ed., Paris, Fr
Smith, Prof. F. H., University of Va. Walkins, J. E.. Washington, D. C.
Smith, Geo. P., Philadelphia, Pa. Waterman, Wm. H., New Bedlor<
Smhh,HoraceJ., Philadelphia, Pa. Watson, G. F., Richmond, Va.
Spotswood. Hon. W. F., Petersburg, Va, Walts, J. Allen, Roanoke, Va.
Stringfellow, Maj. C. S., Richmond, Va. Watts, Hon. L. R., Portsmouth, V
Stewart. Rev. J. Calvin, Richmond, Va. Wellford, Hon. B. R., Richmond, '
Slryker, Gen. W.S, Trenton, N.J. Wellford, C. E. Richmond, Va.
Slubbs, Prof. T. J., Williamsburg, Va. Wellford, Major P. A., Richmond.
Smrdevani. Col. R., Cape Girardeau, Mo. West, Capt. John M., Petershnrg,
Sumner,JohnO., Cambridge, Mass. Wharton, D. D., Prof, L. B., U
Swineford, H., Richmond, Va. burg, Va.
Taliaferro, Gen. W. B., Ware Neck, Va. Wherry, B. C. Richmond. Va.
Taylor, E. D., Richmond, Va. Whiule, Rl, Rev. F. M., Richmon
Taylor, V. S. N., Commander H. C, Wash- Williams, Chaa. U., Richmond, Vi
inglon, D. C. Willis, M. D., F. T., Richmond, V
Taylor, W.E,, Norfolk, Va. Wingfield. Rt, Rev. J. H. D., Beni
Thanlon, Geo. D., Richmond, Va. Winsor. Justin, Cambridge, Mass.
Thorn, Prof. W.T.,HollinBlnsatute,Va. Winstmi, M, D.,G. S., New York,
Thomas, M. D., Creed, Richmond, Va. Wise, U. S. N., Surgeon, John C.
Thomas, R. S., Smithfield, Va. Wise, Peter, Alexandria. Va.
Thompson. P. Montagu, Williamsburg, Wise, Gen. Pe>ton, Richmond, Va
Va. Wood, Tbos. L„ Alexandria, Va.
Todd, M. D., Chaa. H., Owensboro, Ky. Wortbam, Chas. E., Richmond, V
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA,
^773—^774-
The Committee of Correspondence
AND
THE CALL FOR THE FIRST CONGRESS.
A PAPER READ BEFORE THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 189I,
By JAMES MERCER GARNETT, M. A., LL.D.,
Professor in the University of Virginia,
L
EARLY REV0LUT10N4RY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA,
1773-1774.
THE COMMIHEE OF CORRESPONDENCE
AND
THE CALL FOR THE FIRST CONGRESS.
It has been often made a reproach to Virginians that they
have neglected the history of their own State and people, and I
fear it is a reproach but too well deserved. They have been
content to make history and to let others write it, and as a con-
sequence much of it has been left unwritten, and the records
have perished irretrievably. The investigator of any particular
point in the history of Virginia is hampered by the lack of origi-
nal materials, and must often take his evidence at second or
third hand. This defect \s^ however, gradually being remedied,
as far as it is now possible to remedy it. , The publications of
this Society during the past ten years, and the work done by its
learned President, its Secretary, and the chairman of its Commit-
tee of Arrangements.' the publication at intervals for the past
sixteen years of the " Calendar of Virginia State Papers," and
the recent valuable work on " The Genesis of the United
States," by a member of this Society,' show that there is his-
torical activity in the Stale, and that we are waking up to the im-
' W. W. Henry, R. A. Brock and L. G. Tyler.
'Alexander Brown.
4 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
portance of bringing the records of the past to the attention of the
present generation, and of interesting the people of this day in the
deeds of their ancestors. Pride of ancestry has sometimes been
made an occasion for cheap witticism at the expense of Virginians
by those who have never felt the force of the ennobling influ-
ence of the past, but perish the day when the son forgets his
father, when the Virginia boy fails to feel an inspiration for his
own life from a reflection upon the conduct of his grandsires,
who were making history in the days that tried men's souls !
The object of the present paper is to notice briefly — of neces-
sity briefly in the limited time assigned to it — some points of
Virginia history in the days just preceding the Declaration of In-
dependence — events occurring on the threshold of the Revolution,
which prepared the way for that Declaration. It is a diflicult
matter to assign a beginning to the Revolution. Mr. Mellen
Chamberlain, in his chapter on " The Revolution Impending"
(chap. I, Vol. VI, of Justin Winsor*s ** Narrative and Critical
History of America *'), says: **The year 1763 is usually re-
garded as the beginning of the American Revolution, because
in that year the English ministry determined to raise a revenue
from the colonies.'* Others take as a starting-point the pas-
sage of the Stamp Act in 1765, and the consequent action of
the colonies. But while there is much of interest to the student
of Virginia history from the passage of Patrick Henry's cele-
brated resolutions to the actual outbreak of war, all tending to
show the jealousy felt by the House of Burgesses of the rights
and liberties of the colonies, the events to be considered in this
paper concern chiefly the formation and work of the Committees
of Correspondence y the first step looking toward united action
on the part of the colonies, and in this step Virginia unquestion-
ably took the lead. It used to be said, even by Virginia writers,
that Massachusetts was entitled to equal honor with Virginia in
originating the Committees of Correspondence.*
But this statement was due to confounding two different things,
the origination of local Committees of Correspondence within a
'See Wirt's " Life of Patrick Henry," third edition, 1818, note to p.
87, with which compare Tucker's " Life of Jefferson," Vol. I, pp. 52-55,
and reference there given to *' Marshall's Life of Washington ; " also
compare Randall's *' Life of Jefferson," Vol. I, pp. 78-80.
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA.
colony, and the origination of Committees of Correspondence
between the colonies themselves. It is not denied that Massa-
chusetts first suggested and first put into practice the formation
of Committees of Correspondence between her own towns, and
this suggestion was due to the active brain of Samuel Adams.
At a meeting of the inhabitants of Boston, held on November 2,
1772, Samuel Adams moved ** that a Committee of Correspond-
ence be appointed, 4o consist of twenty-one persons, to state
the rights of the colonists, and of this province in particular, as
men, as Christians, and as subjects, to communicate and publish
the same to the several towns in this province and to the world
as the sense of this town, with the infringement and violations
thereof that have been, or from time to time may be, made; also^
requesting of each town a free communication of their sentiments
on this subject." * Mr. Bancroft adds : ** The end in view was a
general confederacy against the authority of Parliament ; the
towns of the province were to begin, the Assembly to confirm
their doings, and invite the other colonies to join/' But this last
sentence is Bancroft's, not Adams's. Adams says nothing about
" the other colonies," but expressly says '*each town," showing
that the resolution was limited in its application to that colony
alone. **The motion was readily adopted," and by January,
i773» eighty towns or more had chosen their committees. Mr.
Bancroft says (History of United States, VI, 445) : ** Samuel
Adams was planning how to effect a union of all the colonies in
Congress. When the Assembly met [January 6, 1773] the
speaker transmitted the proceedings of the town of Boston for
organizing the provincial Committees of Correspondence [/. e.
on November 2, 1772] to Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia." Here
was the point of contact between Massachusetts and Virginia.
The suggestion of this instrumentality was made, and it was to
bear fruit in the action of the Virginia House of Burgesses, as
we shall see. The importance of the action of Virginia is fully
realized by Mr. Bancroft, for he says further in his chapter en-
titled *' Virginia Consolidates Union " (VI, 454): "The people on
their part drew from their institution of Committees of Corres-
pondence throughout the province the hope of a union of all the
* Bancroft's History of the United States, original edition, 1854, Vol.
VI, p. 429.
6 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
colonies/ ' * * * " Whether that great idea should become a
reality depended on Virginia," and after giving an account of the
passage by the House of Burgesses of the resolutions of March 12,
1773, he adds (VI, 455) : " Their resolves were sent to every
colony, with a request that each would appoint its committee to
communicate from time to time with that of Virginia. In this
manner Virginia laid the foundation of our Union. Massachu-
setts organized a province ; Virginia promoted a confederacy."
Here then are the respective shares in this matter allotted to
each by the Massachusetts historian himself, and Virginia has
no cause to complain.
The action of Virginia is also fully recognized by Mr. Mellen
Chamberlain, who says (Winsor's ** History of the United States,"
VI, 56): " Massachusetts, which had led in most of the revolu-
tionary movements, did not take the lead in establishing com-
mittees of correspondence between the colonies. That honor
belongs to Virginia ; and its chief cause was the action of the
commissioners in the Gaspee case. It paved the way for the
union of the colonies after the general Congress which was con-
vened at Philadelphia the next year" ; and in an editorial note on
this chapter, Mr. Winsor adds (VI, 90) : " The vote passed by
Virginia, March 12, 1773, was the immediate cause of intercolo-
nial activity." The position of Virginia, then, in the matter
of the formation of the Committees of Correspondence seems
sufficiently established, but the above account has been given as
preliminary to a more careful consideration of these celebrated
resolutions and their effect upon the other colonies. We are
greatly aided in this investigation by the recent publication (in
Vol. VIII, Calendar of Virginia State Papers, 1890) of the *' Letters
and Proceedings of the Committees of Correspondence and In-
quiry of Virginia and the other Colonies from March 12, 1773,
to May 5, 1775." The letters received by the Virginia committee
are here published for the first time, as far as I am aware, but
Mr. Winsor, in an editorial note as above (VI, 90) tells us that
Frothingham, in his ** Rise of the Republic of the United States,"
Boston, 1872, a work that I have not seen, " determines the time
of appointing such a committee by each colony." This time is
readily ascertained from the record itself.
An account of the introduction and passage of the resolutions
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 7
for the formation of Committees of Correspondence is given by
Mr. Wirt in his ** Life of Patrick Henry" (third edition, p. 87),
and by Professor George Tucker in his " Life of Jefferson **
(I, p. 51), followed by Charles Campbell in his " History of
Virginia/ * who designates Richard Henry Lee as the author of
the plan,* and by Randall in his **Life of Jefferson'* (I, p.
78). Doubtless Lee was stimulated by the reception a few
weeks before of the Massachusetts resolution, and with far-seeing
eye realized what a powerful influence for united action might be
exerted by the extension of these committees to the several col-
onies. We are told by Professor Tucker, following Jefferson's
" Memoir," that Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Francis
Lightfoot Lee, Dabney Carr, Thomas Jefferson, and two or
three others, whose names have not unfortunately come down to
posterity, used to meet at the Raleigh tavern to consult on the
measures proper to be pursued ; that they drew up the resolu-
tions ; and Mr. Jefferson mentions in his ** Memoir " that the con-
sulting members proposed to him to move these resolutions in
the House the next day, but that he declined the honor in favor
of his brother-in law, Dabney Carr, a new member, to whom he
wished to afford so good an opportunity to make his talents
known. The resolutions were accordingly moved by Dabney
Carr, a member from Louisa (not Charlotte, as Mr. Bancroft
has it) on March 12, 1773, in an eloquent speech, on which Mr.
Wirt comments. They were supported by Patrick Henry and
Richard Henry Lee, and were unanimously adopted.
I regret very much that I have been unable to procure access
to the Journal of the House of Burgesses of 1773 (which sat but
eleven days — March 4-15), but these resolutions are printed in
Burk's "History of Virginia'' (III, 372-3), Wirt's "Life of
Patrick Henry " (third edition, pp. 87, 88), and very recently in
the "Calendar of Virginia State Papers" (VIH, p. i). They
*John Esten Cooke says {Magazine of American History for May,
1884) that " as far back as 1768 Lee had advocated the scheme of a Com-
mittee of Correspondence." This suggestion of R. H. Lee's was made
in a letter of July 25, 1768, to John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, which
letter is given in Lee's " Life of R. H. Lee," and this was, I presume,
Cooke's authority for his statement. See R. H. Lee's " Life of Richard
Henry Lee," Vol. I, pp. 64, 65, and Campbell, p. 579.
8 VIRGIKIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
win also be found in Mr. W. W. Henry's *' Life of PatridL
Henry" (I, 159). Althoagh presumably well known to the
members of this Society, they are of such importance in the
early revolutionary history of Virginia that they deserve to be
quoted in fblL They read as follows :
** Whereas the minds of his Majest3r's faithful subjects in this
colony have been much disturbed by various rumors and reports 4
of proceedings tending to deprive them of their ancient, l^al,
and constitutional Rights ; and whereas the affairs of this Colony
are frequently connected with those of Great Britain, as well as
of [Wirt and the Cal. omit *of'] the neighboring colonies,
which renders a communication of Sentiments necessary ; in
order, therefore, to remove the uneasiness [Burk says ' uneasi-
nesses '] and to quiet the minds of the people, as weU as for the
[Cal. omits * the '] other good purposes above mentioned —
**Be it Resolved^ That a standing committee of correspond-
ence and inquiry be appointed, to consist of eleven persons,
to-wit : the honorable Peyton Randolph, Elsquire, Robert Car-
ter Nicholas, Richard Bland, Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin
Harrison, Edmund Pendleton, Patrick Henry, Dudley Digiges,
Dabney Carr, Archibald Cary, and Thomas Jefferson, Esquires, o
any six of whom to be a committee, whose business it shall be
to obtain the most early and authentic intelligence of all [Burk
omits * all '] such Acts and Resolutions of the British Parlia-
ment or proceedings of administration as may relate to or affect
the British Colonies in America ; and to keep up and maintain a
correspondence and communication with our sister Colonies res-
pecting those [Burk says * these'] important considerations;
and the result of such their proceedings from time to time to lay
before this [Burk says * the '] House.
^^ Resolved^ That it be an instruction to the said committee
that they do without delay inform themselves particularly of the
principles and authority on which was constituted a court of en- 1
quiry, said to have been lately held in Rhode Island, with powers
to transport persons accused of offences committed in America
to places beyond the seas to be tried.
^^ Resolved, That the Speaker [Burk and Wirt add * of this
House*] do transmit to the Speakers of the different Assemblies
of the British Colonies on this [Wirt says *the'l Continent y
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 9
copies of the said Resolutions, and desire that they will lay them
before their respective Assemblies and request them to appoint
some person or persons of their respective bodies to communi-
cate from time to time with the said committee.'*
Mr. Wirt says (p. 89) that the mover of these resolutions,
Dabney Carr. ** although he had not yet reached the meridian
of life, was considered by far the most formidable rival in forensic
eloquence that Mr. Henry had ever yet had to encounter." Un-
fortunately for the colony, he died on the i6th of May following,
not two months later, in the thirtieth year of his age, cut off in
the beginning of his public career. Mr. Bancroft well says (VI,
455) his name ** must not perish from the memory of his coun-
trymen.*'
The Committee met on the next day, March 13th, all present
except Edmund Pendleton and Patrick Henry; appointed John
Tazewell clerk, and Peyton Randolph, Robert Carter Nicholas,
and Dudley Digges a select committee, who, as is shown by the
record, conducted all the correspondence of the committee.
They directed th.e select committee to take steps to carry out the
second resolution, to procure copies of certain acts of Parlia-
ment and Journals of the House of Commons (which were pro-
cured later through a certain Mr. John Norton, of London), and
to transmit to the Speakers of the other Assemblies on the Con-
tinent copies of an act of the Virginia Assembly making it a
felony to forge the paper currency of the other colonies, like
action being desired from the other assemblies, for it seems from
a subsequent letter that this Colony had ** sustained the greatest
injury by having their paper currency forged — the supposed
principal author of this mischief being an inhabitant of North
Carolina. * *
The second resolution requires, perhaps, a few words of expla-
nation. Some months before, on June 10, 1772, a revenue
vessel, the " Gaspee,* * which had been making illegal seizures
of goods and much harassing the people of Providence, R. I.,
having run aground in a chase, was boarded and burnt by the
incensed citizens. A royal commission sat at Newport from
January 4th to 22d, 1773, to consider the affair, and at the end
of its deliberations required the Governor of Rhode Island to
arrest the offenders and send them to England for trial. He
10 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
laid the matter before the Assembly, who referred it to the dis-
cretion of the Chief Justice, Stephen Hopkins. He boldly re-
fused, "for the purpose of transportation for trial, either to
apprehend any person by his own order or to suffer any executive
officers of the colony to do it; " and thus the matter ended, as
no armed force was used.*
This transportation of accused persons beyond seas for trial
was, then, what excited the Virginia House of Burgesses, and
this was not the first occasion on which like action had been
taken, for on May ii, 1769, ihey had passed unanimously certain
noted resolutions (given in Burk, HI, 343-4, and in Henry, I,
1 38-9), one of which declared " that the seizing any person or per-
sons residing in this colony, suspected of any crime whatsoever
committed therein, and sending such person or persons to places
beyond the seas to be tried, is highly derogatory of the rights of
British subjects, as thereby the inestimable privilege of being
tried by a jury from their vicinage, as well as the liberty of sum-
moning and producing witnesses in such trial, will be taken away
from the party accused.**
The result of the passage of those resolutions was the dissolu-
tion of that Assembly by Lord Botetourt. Let us now notice
the effect of the resolutions just read, which had been duly trans-
mitted to the other colonies by the Select Committee on March
^9» 1773' The first letter received was from the Speaker of the
General Assembly of New York, dated April 14, who states that
he will lay the resolutions before the Assembly when it convenes,
but he does not imagine that this will be before the latter end of
this or the beginning of next year. On March i, 1774, nearly a
year later, the Speaker transmits the New York resolutions of
January 20, appointing a Committee of Correspondence of thirteen,
in the very words of the Virginia resolution, as is the case with the
other Assemblies. He adds : * * I am also directed to return their
thanks to the Burgesses of the ancient colony and Dominion of
Virginia for their early attention to the Rights and Liberties of
America.' ' ^
•See Bancroft, VI, 417-419 and 450, 451, and Winsor, VI, 53.
■^See Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. VIII, pp. 15, ff., for all
these letters.
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 11
The first Assembly to respond to the initiative of Virginia was
that of Rhode Island^ which appointed its committee of seven on
May 7th, and the resolutions were transmitted by the Speaker on
May 15th, who says: **The House, thoroughly convinced that
a firm union of the colonies is absolutely necessary for the pre-
servation of their ancient, legal and constitutional rights [the
very words of the Virginia preamble], and that the measures
proposed by your House of Burgesses will greatly promote so
desirable an end, came nemine contradicente into the resolutions
of which I have the honor to enclose you a copy."
The House of Representatives of Conneclicut appointed its
committee of nine on May 21st, but the resolutions were not trans-
mitted by the Speaker until June 24th, who refers to the ** Reso-
lutions of the patriotic House of Burgesses of the Colony of
Virginia," which are quoted in full in the copy of the clerk
extracted from the Journals.
New Hampshire and Massachusetts appointed their committees
on the same day, May 27th, the former consisting of seven, and
the latter of fifteen persons. The Speaker of the New Hampshire
House of Representatives, under date of May 27th, has their
*' unanimous direction to present their thanks to and assure your
Hon' able House that in every constitutional plan for securing the
Rights of British America and removing the present infringements
thereon, our sister colonies may rely we sincerely join, having no
wish for ourselves of an exclusive nature in those matters, ever
looking on the whole as embarked in the same common Bottom,
and so represented it in our address to Lord Dartmouth at our
first meeting after his appointment for American Affairs.'*
The Massachusetts House, after a suitable preamble, places as
its very first resolution —
''^Resolved, That this House have a very grateful sense of the
obligations they are under to the House of Burgesses in Vir-
ginia for the vigilance, firmness and wisdom which they have
discovered at all times in support of the Rights and Liberties of
the American Colonies, and do heartily concur with them in their
said judicious and spirited Resolves.'*
This does not look as if those Massachusetts men had any
idea that they had been forestalled in the inception of any plan
of intercolonial correspondence that they had already conceived.
12 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
and if historians had had these resolutions before them» there
would never have been any doubt as to which colony moved first in
this matter. The Speaker of the Massachusetts House, under date
of June 3d, says : " The wisdom of the measures proposed in those
Resolves and the great and good effects that may reasonably be
expected to flow from them, not only to the Colonies, but to the
parent State, were so obvious that the House immediately adopted
them and appointed a committee to keep up and maintain a free
communication with Virginia and the rest of the Sister Colonies.'*
That the colonies did not, however, look upon this measure
as leading to independence of Great Britain is here shown, and
it is shown also by the words of the Speaker of the New Hamp-
shire House, who says : *' The House have appointed a committee
for the proposed purpose of communication, and flatter ourselves
that some means may yet be hit on for restoring the mutual con-
fidence once subsisting between Great Britain and the American
provinces."
It will be observed that the four New England colonies, whose
Assemblies were already in session, were the first to respond to
the Virginia resolutions.
The Speaker of the Georgia House, on June 5th, acknowl-
edges the receipt of the Resolutions, and states that he will ** take
care to lay [them] before our House of Representatives.'* But
Georgia did not appoint her committee of six until September loth,
accompanying this resolution with one of thanks to the Speaker
and House of Burgesses of Virginia '* for communicating their
Intentions firmly to support the rights and privileges of his
Majesty* s faithful and loyal subjects in America.**
On July 8th South Carolina appointed a committee of nine,
and also thanked the House of Burgesses of Virginia ** for com-
municating the said Resolutions \o this House, as well as for their
steady attention to the general interests of America.** The
Speaker, in transmitting these resolutions the next day, adds,
**by which your province have so nobly and uniformly distin-
guished itself in the great cause of liberty.**
On August loth the Select Committee of Correspondence of
Connecticut refers to the previous letter of the Speaker, of June
24th, transmitting a copy of the Resolutions of the Connecticut
House, " by which you will see the House of Representatives of
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 13
this Colony have fully adopted the measures proposed by your
patriotic House of Burgesses, and with pleasure follow the lead
given, an example set by the fathers of the people in the ancient,
free and loyal Colony of Virginia/* Here is another New Eng-
land testimony to the source from which " the lead ** proceeded,
and to the estimation in which Virginia was held by the other
colonies.
The Speaker of the Pennsylvania House acknowledges, on
September 25tb, the receipt of the resolutions sent on March
19th, and states that the Assembly considers it "highly expedi-
ent and necessary a correspondence should be maintained be-
tween the Assemblies of their several Colonies ; but as the present
Assembly must in a few days be dissolved by virtue of the char-
ter of the province, and any measures they might adopt at this
time rendered by dissolution ineffectual, they have earnestly
recommended the subject matter of the letter and resolves of the
House of Burgessess of Virginia to the consideration of the
succeeding Assembly." This looks like " dodging the question,"
and it does not appear that " the succeeding Assembly'* ever ap-
pointed a Committee of Correspondence, for the next record we
have from Pennsylvania is dated May 20, 1774, and recounts the
appointment, " at a Meeting of a Number of respectable Inhabi-
tants of the city of Philadelphia," of a Committee of Corres-
pondence of eighteen members, which committee is ** instructed
to apply to the Governor to call the Assembly of the Province."
This action, however, was in consequence of the receipt of
intelligence of the Boston Port Bill, and not in response to the
Virginia resolutions of the preceding year.
On October 15th the Maryland House appoints its Committee
of Correspondence of eleven persons, but this action is not com-
municated by the Speaker until December 6th. He states, how-
ever, that he had laid the Virginia resolutions before the House in
June last, and that " they then had them under consideration,
but before any Resolutions were entered into an unexpected
prorogation took place," and they did not meet again until
October.
Under date of October 21st there is an important letter from
the Massachusetts Committee, discussing the general situation
and advocating a strenuous effort for the restoration of the rights
14 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
and liberties of the colonies. They say expressly : " We are far
from desiring the connection between Great Britain and America
should be broken. Esto perpeiua is our most ardent wish, but
upon the terms only of equal liberty. If we cannot establish an
agreement upon these terms, let us leave it to another and
wiser generation.'* They refer, in conclusion, to the British
ministry's " allowing the East India Company, with a view to
pacifying them, to ship their Teas to America," and urge that
"each Colony should take effectual methods to prevent this
measure from having its desired effect.*'
Delaware appoints its committee of five on October 25th, and
includes in the resolutions one reading as follows :
* * Resolved, That this House have a very grateful sense of the
obligations they are under to the House of Burgesses in Vir-
ginia for the vigilance, firmness and wisdom which they have
discovered at all times in support of the Rights and Liberties of
the American Colonies, and do heartily concur with them in their
said judicious and spirited Resolves."
It will be noticed that this is an exact copy of the Massachu-
setts resolution of thanks to Virginia, Delaware having already
received the resolutions of Rhode Island and of Massachusetts.
There is a letter of November 4th from the Connecticut Com-
mittee also referring to the action of the ministry in permitting
teas to be sent by the East India Company, and expressing " the
most uneasy apprehensions for the consequences."
They conclude : ** It is with the greatest satisfaction we see the
seasonable and beneficial example set by your honorable and pa-
triotic House of Burgesses already followed by almost all the
Houses of Assembly on the Continent, and douht not that it will
be universal soon. The union of the Colonies is of the last im-
portance, and we conceive a regular correspondence the most cer-
tain means to effect so salutary a design."
The Speaker of the House and the Committee of Correspond-
ence of Georgia both write on November 20th, transmitting the
resolutions of September loth, already mentioned above. It is
surprising to see how long a time often elapses between the pas-
sage of resolutions and their transmission by the Speaker or the
Committee of Correspondence.
North Carolina appoints a committee of nine on December
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 15
8th, and the Speaker transmits the resolutions on December
26th, the first one of which deserves partial quotation.
** This House resolve —
**That the vigilance which the honorable House of Burgesses
of Virginia have displayed in attending to every encroachment
upon the Rights and Liberties of America, and the wisdom and
vigour with which they have always opposed such encroach-
ments are worthy the imitation and merit the gratitude of all
their sister colonies, and in no instance more particularly than in
the measure proposed for appointing corresponding committees
in every colony by which such harmony and communication
will be established among them.''
Thus colony after colony extols and follows the action of Vir-
ginia.
The letter of March i, 1774, from the Speaker of the New
York House of Representatives, transmitting their resolutions
of January 20th, which is the next one in chronological order,
has been already noticed.
The Connecticut Committee writes on March 8th in reply to
the letter of the Virginia Committee of January 6th concerning
writs of assistance, which contained an elaborate argument
against granting such general writs as were demanded by his
Majesty's commissioners. This argument the Connecticut Com-
mittee pronounces " at once ingenious and conclusive." They
cannot refrain from again referring to the appointment of com-
mittees of correspondence, as follows :
•* We consider with pleasure the step taken by your worthy
House of Burgesses in appointing a committee to keep up a
regular correspondence with your sister Colonies, now adopted
by nearly all on the Continent, as a basis on which the most last-
ing and beneficial Union may be formed and supported." They
are ** anxiously expecting the account how the returned Tea is
received, and what measures the present session of parliament
will adopt respecting that and other American concerns." A
P. S. significantly adds : *' A quantity of Tea arrived at Boston
and met the fate of the former, the particulars of which will be
with you before this."
In respect to the appointment of these committees of corres-
pondence, the last action is that of New Jersey, which colony
16 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
appoints its committee of nine on February 8, 1774, and " returns
the thanks of the House to the Burgesses of Virginia for their
early attention to the Liberties of America." These resolu-
tions are transmitted by the committee on March 14th, so that
within a year from the passage of the Virginia resolutions all
the other colonies, except Pennsylvania, had appointed commit-
tees of correspondence.
These several quotations from the records of the Committee of
Correspondence have been given with a view to showing the
effect produced on the different colonies by the action of Vir-
ginia, which resulted in the establishment of an official means of
communication between the colonies, and led to the meeting of the
first Congress, concerning which Mr. Jefferson says in his *' Me-
moir " (Randall's Life, p. 78), in giving an account of the appoint-
ment of the Virginia Committee: "We were all sensible * * *
that their first measure would probably be to propose a meeting
of deputies from every colony at some central place, who should
be charged with the initiation of the measures which should be
taken by all.'' This was to come, though not quite so soon as
Mr. Jefferson conceived.
We have a glimpse of the effect produced in England by the
action of the Virginia House of Burgesses in a MS. letter of
William Lee to his brother, Richard Henry Lee, dated London,
January i, 1774, which is briefly referred to by Charles Camp-
bell ( History of Virginia, p. 570). This letter is among the Lee
papers in the Library of the University of Virginia, and while
chiefly on private business, it alludes to "politics" near the
close, and contains the following sentence from which Mr. Camp-
bell's extract is taken : " Every real patriot in this country ad-
mires the spirit that has already appeared among you, and the
last resolves of the Virginia Assembly have struck a greater
panic into tiie ministers than anything that has passed since the
Stamp Act." Here is testimony from England to the impor-
tance of this Virginia move, for it was felt that the colonies
would now unite in defence of their rights and liberties.
I regret that lack of time will not permit me to consider in de-
tail the measures leading to the first Congress of all the colonies,
but they must be briefly noticed. The throwing overboard of
the tea in Boston harbor on December 16, 1773, led to the Bos-
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 17
ton Port Bill of March 31, 1774, which was to take effect on June
ist. Information of this was received early in May, and caused
a meeting of the inhabitants of Boston on May 13th, which rec-
ommended to the other colonies a non-importation and non-ex-
portation agreement *' till the Act for blocking up the harbour be
repealed.'* This resolution was transmitted the same day by
Samuel' Adams to Peyton Randolph for Virginia, and a copy
was sent also to each of the other colonies. In the letter of
Samuel Adams there is no allusion to a Congress. Resolutions
of sympathy with Boston were passed by the inhabitants of
Philadelphia on May 20th, and a Committee of Correspondence
was appointed for that city. The next day (21st) this Philadel-
phia committee sent a letter to Boston, and a copy of it to each
of the other colonies, in which the following sentence occurs :
** By what means this truly desirable circumstance of a
reconciliation and future harmony with our mother country on
Constitutional principles may be obtained is indeed a weighty
question, whether by the method you have suggested of a non-
importation and a non -exportation agreement, or by a General
Congress of Deputies from the different Colonies to state what
we conceive to be our Rights, and make a claim or petition of
them to his Majesty in firm but decent and dutiful terms, so as
that we may know by what line to conduct ourselves in future,
are now the great points to be determined," and they favor the
latter method, /. ^., a Congress, first.®
Whence came this suggestion of a Congress ? Mr. Bancroft
says that the committee of the '*Sons of Liberty '* of New York
** proposed — and they were the first to propose — * a general Con-
gress,'*' but he does not give their letter. His statement is
(History of the United States, Vol. VII, pp. 40, 41): "Their
summons to the country had already gone forth when, on the
evening of the i6th of May, they convoked the inhabitants of
their city." The Philadelphia letter of the 21st of May, states
that they had read at their meeting of the 20th " a letter from
the committee of correspondence of New York." Doubtless
this contained the proposition mentioned by Mr. Bancroft, for he
states further (VII, 43) that **the letter from the New York
®See Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. VIII, p. 48.
2
18 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Sons of Liberty had been received in Philadelphia" before this
meeting. There is among the Lee papers in the Library of the
University of Virginia a copy of a letter from the New York
committee of correspondence to the Boston committee, dated
May 23, 1774, marked " For Virginia," and signed **By order of
the Committee of Correspondence. The foregoing is a true
copy. Isaac Sears," — in which letter occurs the followhig sen-
tence: '*Upon these reasons we conclude that a Congress of
Deputies from the Colonies in general is of the utmost moment ;
that it ought to be assembled without Delay and some unanimous
Resolutions formed in this fatal Emergency, not only respecting
your deplorable circumstances, but for the security of our com-
mon Rights." This shows that the idea of a Congress had
already occurred to the New York Committee. There is no copy
of this letter in the ** Calendar of Virginia State Papers," and
it is reasonable to suppose that this very letter among the Lee
papers should have been on the files of the Virginia committee.
Meantime, what was going on in Virginia? The Assembly
met on May 5, 1774. On the 6th the Committee of Corres-
pondence ordered the letters which had been received from the
different colonies " to be laid before the House of Burgesses now
sitting," and on the 25th it took similar action with respect to the
letter from the New Jersey committee, the last one received.
But news had now been received of the Boston Port Bill, and
on the 24th the Assembly passed its noted preamble and resolu-
tion (given in full in Wirt's ** Life of Patrick Henry," p. 95, and
also in Henry's " Life of Patrick Henry," I, 177) appointing
June ist as **a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer," in con-
sequence of which action the Assembly was dissolved by Lord
Dunmore, "on the following day," say Wirt and Campbell, but
Burk gives on the margin the date as May 27th,* although this
must apply to the association formed next day. Burk says (HI,
378) : ** On the following day the members met by agreement at
the long room in the Raleigh tavern " (Wirt, followed by Camp-
bell, says " immediately ' ' ), entered into their agreement against
the use of tea, and recommended to the Committee of Correspond-
ence (380) " that they communicate with their several correspond-
• Professor M. C. Tyler and Mr. Henry give the date more exsrctly as
May 26th (Tyler's " Life of Patrick Henry," p. 86 ; Henry's " Life of
Patrick Henry," I, 178).
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 19
ing committees on the expediency of appointing^ deputies from
the several colonies of British America, to meet in general congress
at such place annually as shall be thought most convenient;
there to deliberate on those general measures which the united
interests of America may from time to time require." Mr. Wirt
quotes in full this ' * Association, signed by eighty-nine members
of the late House of Burgesses'* (as also does Mr. Henry, 1, 179-
181), and appends the date. May 27, 1774. The record of the
Committee of Correspondence shows that it met on the following
day, Saturday, May 28th, all present except Patrick Henry and
Archibald Cary, and ** Ordered that letters be prepared to the sev-
eral Committees of Correspondence on the Continent, requesting
their sentiments on the appointment of Deputies from the several
Colonies to meet annually in general Congress.'' Such a letter
was immediately prepared for Maryland, and a copy for each of
the other colonies, and it was ordered ** that said letters be sent
by this day's post." This shows that the committee was not
slow to fulfill the recommendation of the late House of Burgesses,
but it also appears that Virginia was not the first, as is stated by
Campbell (p. 573), to propose a general Congress, for the sugges-
tion occurs in the letters of both the New York and Philadelphia
Committees, although the Virginia House of Burgesses was igno-
rant of this suggestion when it made the proposition. While
this suggestion was made by the New York and Pl^iladelphia
Committees of Correspondence, in Virginia it was made by an
organized legislative body, presided over by the Speaker, though
it had just been dissolved by the Governor.
But Virginia went a step further. On the next day, Sunday,
May 2gth, a letter was received from Maryland, of the 25th, en-
closing the Philadelphia letter of the 21st and the Boston letter
of the 13th, whereupon, in the words of the Virginia commit-
tee's letter of the 31st to North Carolina, the Moderator "immedi-
ately convened as many members of our late House of Burgesses
as could be got together ppon so short a notice, and we yes-
terday took this important business under our most serious con-
sideration ; the result of our deliberations will best appear from
tHe inclosed, which is submitted to your Judgment." (Cal.
VIII, ii).
What was "the inclosed" here referred to? The original
paper and signatures may be seen framed occupying ^ conspicu-
20 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
oos position in the Virginia State Library, and a copy of it will
be ioand on p, 52, VoL VIII of the *" Calendar of Virginia State
Papers/' It is the action taken on Monday, May 30, 1774, "* At
a nieeting of twenty-five of the late Representatives legally assem-
bled by the moderator," at which ** it was agreed that letters be
wrote to all oar sister Colonies," acknowledging the receipt of
the letters above-mentioned, informing them of the unexpected
dissolution of the Virginia Assembly, and stating that it was
their opinion "that the colony of Virginia will concur with the
other Colonies in such measures as shall be judged most effectual
for the preservation of the common Rights and Liberty of British
America; ** " that an association against Importations will proba-
bly be entered into as soon as the late Representatives can be col-
lected, and perhaps against ExfK)rtations also after a certain
time ; ** and ** that we are sending Dispatches to call together the
late Representatives to meet at Williamsburg on the ist day [ot ]
August next, to conclude finally on these important Questions."
This last sentence was the most imfK)rtant part of this paper.
Governor Dunmore, on June 17th, summoned the Assembly to
meet on August nth (Cooke's "Virginia," p. 420), but
these twenty -five members of the late House of Burgesses
anticipated him, and here was the summons for that Jirst
Virginia Convention, which met on August i, 1774, appointed
delegates to the General Congress, with full instructions for their
action (see Wirt, pp. 101-105, and Henry, I, pp. 198-202),
adopted a non importation agreement after November ist next,
and a non-exportation one also after August 10, 1775, ** unless
American grievances are redressed " before that time, and em-
powered the moderator to convene the delegates " on any future
occasion that might, in his opinion, require it" It was thus the
prelude to the Virginia Conventions of March, July and Decem-
ber, 1775, and May, 1776, which last severed all connection with
Great Britain and adopted an independent government for Vir-
ginia—the first permanent written constitution ever adopted on
this Continent." Among these twenty-five names we find those
of Peyton Randolph, Robert Carter Nicholas, Edmund Pendle-
*°0f this Convention of 1774 Mr. Randall says (Life of Jefferson, T^
58) : ** This Convention was the first assembly of popular representa-
tives of Virginia— twenty-four — which convened without the express
authority of law, and by virtue of the inherent rights of the people."
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 21
ton, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Thomas Jeffer-
son, George Washington, Paul Carrington and James Mercer —
all of whom later occupied high official positions. Three of
these men — Edmund Pendleton, Paul Carrington and James
Mercer — were appointed by the Convention of July, 1775, on the
Committee of Safety of eleven members, that governed Virginia
during the recess of the conventions from that time until July,
1776, when Patrick Henry was inaugurated as the first Governor,
and all three of them were afterwards judges of the Court of
Appeals of the State."
"As showing the relations existing between these three men, it may
be mentioned that Edmund Pendleton was nominated for President of
the Convention of December, 1775, by Paul Carrington, and the mo-
tion was seconded by James Mercer (Journal of the Conventions of
1775 and 1776, p. 59). Edmund Pendleton was also nominated by Paul
Carrington for President of the Convention of 1788. The late Hugh
Blair Grigsby, in his *' Virginia Convention of 1788," says of Judge Pen-
dleton (I, 66): •* Not a few of the members could recall him as with a
buoyant and graceful step he walked from the floor of the Convention
of December, 1775, and of May, 1776, to the chair, escorted in the for-
mer body by Paul Carrington and James Mercer, and in the latter by
the venerable Richard Bland and the inflexible Archibald Cary."
Sketches of Judge Pendleton and Judge Carrington will be found in
Grigsby's work above-mentioned, and in his ** Virginia Convention of
1776.*' A brief sketch of Judge Mercer may be appended here, as no
notice of his life has ever appeared in print except a few lines prefixed
to Vol. IV (p. xx) of Call's Reports, which contains brief sketches of
the judges of the Court of Appeals.
James Mercer was the son of John Mercer, of Marlboro', Stafford
county, Va., a lawyer and author of Mercer's *' Abridgment of the Laws
of Virginia,*' and Catherine Mason, daughter of Colonel George Ma-
son, of Stafford county, Va., and aunt of George Mason, noted as the
author of the Virginia Constitution of 1776, and otherwise. James
Mercer was born February 16, 1736, and was educated at William and
Mary College.
He was a captain in the French and Indian War, and in command of
Fort Loudoun at Winchester in 1756. He represented Hampshire
county in the House of Burgesses in 1765, and was frequently a mem-
ber of that body. He also represented that county in the Virginia
Conventions of 1774, i775 and 1776. He was elected by the Convention
of July, 1775, a member of the Committee of Safety of eleven
that governed Virginia as the chief executive authority during the
recess of the Conventions until July, 1776, when Patrick Henry was
22 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The Committee of Correspondence on the next day, May 31st,
enclosed this action of the twenty-five members of the late House
of Burgesses to North Carolina, with a request for transmission
to South Carolina and Georgia, and also to Maryland, with a
similar request for transmission to Philadelphia and Boston — for
in this way the torch was borne from hand to hand in the several
colonies.
The letter of Maryland contains the following sentence : " We
could wish to have known the sentiments of New York. We
found a letter from the Committee of Correspondence in that
province mentioned in the Philadelphia letter, but no copy of it
inclosed nor the purport of it mentioned.'* This, too, shows
that the Virginia Committee was still ignorant that the New
York Committee had proposed a general Congress, the letter con-
taining that proposition not having been received.
This notice of the records of the Virginia Committee of
Correspondence must now close, just on the eve of that day ol
fasting, humiliation and prayer, appointed by the House of Bur-
gesses, Wednesday, June i, 1774, on which day George Mason
directed that his elder children should attend church in mourn -
inaugurated as the first Governor under the Constitution. He was a
member of the Continental Congress in i779-*8o, and in 1779 was
chosen a judge of the General Court. In 1789 he was made a judge of
the Court of Appeals of five judges. He died in Richmond while
attending the Court of Appeals, October 31, 1793, and was buried in the
churchyard of St. John's Church, but the exact spot was not marked
and is now unknown. His residence was in Fredericksburg, Va., and
he was president of the Board of Trustees of the Fredericksburg
Academy. A letter from him to Richard Henry Lee, who was also a
member of this Board, relating to the Academy, is still preserved
among the Lee papers in the Library of the University of Virgfinia. He
married Mary Eleanor Dick, daughter of Charles Dick, of Fredericks-
burg, and was the father of Charles Fenton Mercer, who represented
the Loudoun district in Congress from 1817 to 1840. His only daughter,
Mary Eleanor Dick Mercer, married her cousin, James Mercer Gar-
nett, of Elmwood, Essex county, Virginia, M. C, 1805 to 1809. Por-
traits of James Mercer and of his father, John Mercer, are still preserved
at Elmwood.
Judge Mercer drew the will of Mary Washington, still preserved in
the records of the corporation court of Fredericksburg, and was one
of the witnesses to her signature.
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 5i3
ing, astrongevidenceof the deep feeling throughout the colony."
I cannot refrain, however, from quoting, in conclusion, a few brief
sentences from a letter of the Philadelphia committee (without
date, but dated by the editor of volume VIII of the Calendar of
Virginia State Papers "June 13, 1774"), as it shows plainly the
esteem in which Virginia was held : "All America," says the
secretary of the committee, " look up to Virginia to take the
lead on the present occasion. Our united efforts are now neces-
sary to ward off the impending blow levelled at our lives, liberty
and property," * * * "Some colony must step forth and
appoint the time and place [i. e. , for the Congress]. None is so
fit as Virginia, You are ancient. You are respected. You are
animated in the cause."
It is a source of pride to the sons of Virginia to know that
she did not fail to respond to this call, and to know further that
she has never failed to respond in a becoming manner when her .
rights and liberties were threatened.
James Mercer Garnett.
University of Virginia.
"Mason's letter to Martin Cockburn, quoted in Bishop Meade's
" Old Churches and Families of Virginia," I, 174, and elsewhere.
Historic Elements
IN
Virginia Education and Literary Effort.
A paper read before the Virginia Historical Society
Monday^ December 21st, i8gi^
BY
Professor JOHN BELL HENNEMAN, M. A.. Ph.D.,
HAMPDEN-SIDNEY COLLEGE, VIRGINIA.
Historic Elements
Virginia Education and Literary Effort.
The key to Virginia's intellectual past, and consequently to
her after development, lies in large measure in what science
teaches is true of individuals — and, as we might infer, also of a
collection of individuals, like the State — namely, the principles
of heredity and environment. What is the origin of Virginia's
people? What are the sources of her various race-elements ? and
how has the further history of these elements been affected and
modified by climatic conditions, by geographical divisions, by
the physical contour of the land, by peculiarities of soil, nay,
further, by traditions and customs and habits, that manifestation
of a man's self and a nation's existence from which neither ever
seems to break completely away.
Cast a glance upon the map of Virginia and note the divisions
of to-day, politically, materially, and industrially, varied and
diverse. Five divisions will indicate roughly these differences :
First, the Tide-Water, including the parts contiguous to the
navigable streams; second, the Southside ; third, the Valley;
fourth, the Southwest ; and fifth (I shall add for our present pur-
posesX West Virginia. These geographical divisions, appa-
rently made for convenience, in reality affect deeply the inner
history of the State, and were originally the settling places of peo-
ples, however commingled later, of different origins, governed
28 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
by different principles, and affected by different interests. Four
race-elements are important enough in the history of Virginia's
culture to bear distinction : the English, the Scotch-Irish, the
German, and the French Huguenot. The African negro would
constitute a fifth.
The first settlers were the English. Coming over at the insti-
gation of the Virginia Company in London,^ their objects were
very similar to the later East Indian and Southern and Central
African companies : to found a colony, to establish plantations,
to engage in trade with the natives, to extract from a fresh soil
its mineral and agricultural wealth, to amass fortunes, and pos-
sibly to achieve fame.
It needs little discernment and slight study of the map of the
New World to note how admirably just this part of the entire
American coast was adapted to their purposes. Stretched be-
fore them lay the beautiful waters of the Chesapeake. Into this
flows fairly parallel the great river of the Potomac ; the Rappa-
hannock ; the York, with its confluents ; the Mattaponi and the
Pamunkey; the James and its tributaries, the Chickahominy and
the Appomattox, all forming fertile and pleasing peninsulas and
presenting a perfect tracery and net- work of navigable waters,
great highways for commerce and communication. The Bay
itself and the Ocean create still another great peninsula, that of
the "Eastern Shore.*' From these sections these pioneers
spread slowly to the north and west and south, following, in the
main, the courses of the larger streams.
It is a most striking illustration how the topography and phy-
sical features of a land determine its history, its social, political,
and particularly its economical and intellectual development.
Sufficient labor was naturally difficult to obtain, and the demand
grew still greater as the tobacco crop became the staple of pro-
duce and the plantations encroached on the forest domain.
Economical conditions create history ; and a dozen years after
the colony had been planted, the first ship load of African slaves
was introduced.' The social scale was lengthened at both ends.
Plantations became more princely, as hundreds of servants were
^ Edward D. Neill : The Virginia Company in London.
* Minor's Institutes, Vol. I.
HISTORIC ELEMENTS IN VIRGINIA EDUCATION. 29
added as laborers and domestics. The English manorial estate,
controlling the surrounding acres, leading in the vestry meeting
of the neighbormg church, was the model upon which the Vir-
ginian's life and government were patterned.' Physical geogra-
phy produced also here its effects. The scattered homes and
estates, extending irregularly along the courses of rivers, neces-
sitated the division into counties of irregular shape and unequal
extent ; and these counties were accepted as the unit of society
and the basis of representation in the government.* The con-
trast with New England already accentuated by certain differ-
ences in people, in attitude, in thought, was here complete.
The colonists in Massachusetts and Connecticut, for reasons both
natural and social, dwelt in compact communities, living close to-
gether and knit by common interests. These had naturally re-
course to the township or ward as the central point in their
democratic system, and a county composed a number of these
smaller divisions. It is unprofitable to dicuss the advantages of
the one form of government as compared with the other, to
praise one as containing germs of liberty, which the other does
not possess.* Nature and climate and mode of life imposed the
one upon New England and the other upon Virginia. In both
colonies we find local self-government and individual liberty
alike dear and near to an English-speaking people.
True Englishmen these Virginians remain; there is still mani-
fest throughout, the Englishman's love of out- door pleasure, of
an open-air existence, of a life filled with excitement and adven-
ture. Professor Moses Coit Tyler, in his History of American
Literature,' asserts : " These constitute a situation out of which
may be evolved country gentlemen, loud-lunged and jolly fox-
hunters, militia heroes, men of boundless domestic heartiness
and social grace, astute and imperious politicians, fiery orators,
and bye and bye, here and there, perhaps, after a while, a few
amateur literary men ; but no literary class and almost no litera-
ture.*' These were, at least, the conditions which produced
"militia heroes" like Washington and Lee; ** fiery orators "
* Woodrow Wilson : The State.
* John Fiske : Civil Government in the United States.
* Henry Adams : Life of John Randolph.
•Vol. I, p. 92.
30 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
like Patrick Henry and Randolph, of Roanoke; "astute and
imperious politicians*' like Jefferson and Madison; ** country
gentlemen *' like Wythe and Mason and John Marshall.
The second race element, entering into the make-up of Vir-
ginia's culture, is the Scotch-Irish. One hundred and thirty
years after the tide-water was settled, the valley received this
stream of immigration.' The situation of the original home of
the Scotch-Irish in Virginia was typical of the spreading of the
race itself to the four quarters. Their settlements extended
along the headwaters of streams flowing in all directions — some
northward with the Shenandoah to empty into the Potomac ;
others eastward into the James or more southerly into the Roa-
noke ; others southerly and westward into the Holston, and thus
into the Tennessee; and still others into the Greenbrier and
Kanawha, and thence down the Ohio. That descendants still
retain that love of external scenery, inborn in their ancestry, is
one of the curious problems which science attempts to explain.
Whether we view the Scotch -Irish in Pennsylvania or Virginia,
in North or South Carolina, in Tennessee or Kentucky, they
have fairly well followed the Appalachian range and its offshoots
and the courses of its streams, the highlands and the Piedmont
section ever remaining that portion where their genius seems to
flower at fullest perfection.
These people added to the character of the colony a much
needed Puritan element — stern, serious-minded, burdened with
consciences, somewhat severe in their aspects of life and in their
relations with the world, but in their very nature earnest, law-
abiding, upright, staunch, honest patriots, filled with a love of
liberty inherited from generations of Scotch covenanters.
The German element seems at first sight not to have been so
pronounced as might have been expected from their early con-
tact. This is due in large measure to their natural conservatism
and their contentment, clustering by themselves, to lead simple,
'J. L. Peyton: History of Augusta County; J. A. Waddell : Annals of
Augusta County ; Henry Ruffner : Early History of Washington Col-
lege. J. H. Bryson : The Scotch-Irish in America — seems to me to claim
too much ; the Scotch-Irish have surely done enough, without one's desir-
ing to go beyond legitimate limits and to ascribe nearly everything to
them.
HISTORIC ELEMENTS IN VIRGINIA EDUCATION. 31
thrifty and comparatively secluded lives.* In reality the geogra-
phy of the State has been deeply affected, as the abundance of
post-offices bearing German appellations testify,' and a study
of the catalogues of the Valley and westerly institutions reveal a
constantly marked increase in students whose names show them
to be descended from these eighteenth century pioneers.'" Wil-
liam Wirt, Attorney- General of the United States and author of
the first Life of Patrick Henry, Judges Conrad and Sheffey,
Governor Kemper. Koiner and Specce, are among the promi-
nent representatives of this race.
The French element in Virginia has been not so large, but
marked in capacity and distinct in quality. Settling along the
upper waters of the James on the border of Goochland and ,
Powhatan, this original handful of Huguenots became distributed
here and there in all sections of the State, particularly along the
James and the Appomattox, the Southside receiving possibly the
larger share." Maury, Marye, Maupin, Michaux, Legrand,
Fontaine, Flournoy, Dupuy, Dabney, are but a few among many
Virginian family names from this source.
I have just alluded to the Southside and its French elements.
Half-way between the tide-water and the mountains of the Blue
Ridge, the southern section of Virginia received an admixture of
both English and Scotch-Irish. A further commingling with the
French Huguenots intensified the Presbyterian influence. Add
to this the labors of Samuel Davies and other missionary evan-
gelists, and we have the causes which gave rise to Hampden -
Sidney College in Prince Edward.'* But if any point is clear in
the educational history of the State, it is the fact that her early
institutions in their origin are not so much the creatures of de-
* Henry Ruffner : History of Washington College— characterizes very
fairly both the Scotch Irish and the German settlers.
•Post-Office Directory ; Rand, McNally & Co.'s Railway Guide, etc.
'° General and Annual Catalogues of Washington and Lee University,
University of Virginia, Roanoke College, Hampden-Sidney College, etc.
" R. A. Brock : Huguenot immigration to Virginia — Virginia Histori-
cal Collections, Vol. V, New Series.
"W. H. Foote: Sketches of Virginia ; Hugh Blair Grigsby : Centen-
nial Oration at Hampden-Sidney College in 1876.
32 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
nomination as the result of traditions of race and place. They
sprang from local needs, were supported by local patronage, and
only by degrees, for especial reasons and in exceptional cases, did
they become institutions for a whole land. Only three of these
belong to the first half century of our national existence (1775-
1825): The College of William and Mary for the Tide- Water
section ; Hampden-Sidney College for the Southside ; and
Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) for
the Valley. '»
*' Two members of the Senior Class of Hampden-Sidney College, Mr.
James P. Moss, of Texarkana, Texas, and Mr. Cochran Preston, of
Smyth county, Virginia, have been good enough to investigate this
point, Mr. Moss taking the General Catalogue of William and Mary of
1874, and Mr. Preston that of Washington and Lee University, pub-
hshed in 1888. It had been mv hope and intention of having the past
of Hampden-Sidney College treated in like manner, but the General
Catalogue has not yet appeared, and complete material was therefore
not accessible. The work of these gentlemen has been very pains-
taking, and I trust that the results may prove valuable as statistics.
These have been tabulated for each year and each county and State on
charts preserved in the Hampden-Sidney College Library, and from
these I have easily made the following tables. The period before the
late war is separated into three divisions : First* the eighteenth century
and then two others, the dividing point being 1825, the date of the open-
ing of the University of Virginia. The table for William and Mary has
been brought down only through i86r, owing to the peculiar sufferings
of that institution for many years, induced through the war. The post-
bellum period for Washington and Lee has been, for convenience, cut
into two, the first being the decade from 1865 to 1875, displaying
the influences due to General Lee's presidency, markedly increased
accessions from the Southwestern States being the most striking.
Many other interesting facts will be readily seen by a comparison of
the two tables, which conclusions I must leave to the interested reader
to draw, the lack of space forbidding a longer digression. To assist
this comparison in some small measure, I have appended to the Wil-
liam and Mary table corresponding figures for Washington College
for the same county and the similar period. The central counties have
naturally sent both east and west, and the increase in the figures of
Henrico, Norfolk, and Dinwiddie counties in the history of William
and Mary, shows the expansion of urban at the expense of rural
population.
[To avoid a too great division of the text and to present the table
more clearly, it is printed as an appendix. — Ed.]
HISTORIC ELEMENTS IN VIRGINIA EDUCATION. 83
The college of William and Mary was the offspring, of the
genius of the English race in northern and eastern Virginia.
The objects asserted were ** to the end that the church of Virginia
may be furnished with a seminary of ministers of the gospel, and
that the youth may be piously educated in good letters and man-
ners, and that the Christian faith may be propagated amongst
the western Indians to the glory of Almighty God.*' There is
about this the true and unmistakable English ring.'*
It was a college for both church and state, because church and
state were then one. In the chapel could assemble, with equal
propriety, a band of college youth, a convention of the church,
a body of legislators. But the influences were still stronger,
Williamsburg was not only the educational and the religious
centre of the English colony, it was the seat of the colonial gov-
ernors, men who, imitating the state and ceremony of the court
of St. James, introduced style, fashion, luxury, social grace —
in short, a world's culture. Here were the sessions of the House
of Burgesses, comprising the most prominent and active men in
the colony ; here were the law courts, and later the seat of the
chancellor and the school for law. No wonder these young Vir-
ginians became natural leaders. They received their training,
besides, in their homes, among domestics, in the fields, on the
plantations, in church matters as vestrymen, as justices in the
county courts, and, finally, in the capital at Williamsburg as
members of the House of Burgesses and of the Governor's
Council. Perhaps such an atmosphere was not too favorable
for the production of preachers, if that had been the hope of
the founders of William and Mary. The genius of this people lay
no more in that direction than in philology and mathematics, or
even in literature, though none of these branches was neglected
in a way ; but their genius in state-craft was consummate. They
became students of politics, of government, and of the law ; and
it was the teachers in these departments, George Wythe, the
chancellor, Judge St. George Tucker, and their successors, who
inspired and captivated the youth of the time." And later, toward
" H. B. Adams : The College of William and Mary ; also. The His-
tory of the College of William and Mary.
^George Wythe was professor of law from 1779 » St. George Tucker,
his suceessor, from 1800 to 1804.
84 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
the middle of the century, when abolition and territorial sover-
eignty and states' rights were the great issues involved, Presi-
dent Thomas R. Dew and Professor Beverley Tucker were still
upholding the genius of the race and the institution among
youth nurtured in the same traditions."
*• Thomas R. Dew is represented in the General Catalogue as having
taken A. B. in the session of 1 820-^21, and A. M. in that of i824-'25.
Shortly afterwards he became Professor of Political Economy, History
and Metaphysics, and in 1836 succeeded to the Presidency, which he
held until his death, ten years later. Judge Beverley Tucker was Pro-'
fessor of Law from 1833 to 185 1. These seem to have been golden
days for William and Mary — the decade under Dew*s presidency (1836
to 1846) showing five hundred and fifty-five names in the General Cata-
logue against two hundred and ninety in the preceding, and three hun-
dred and twenty-two in the following ten years. The Southern Literary
Messenger^ the truest exponent of the literary culture of Virginia for
the thirty years of its existence, gives full testimony to the activity
and influence of both of these gentlemen. I cite from its pages :
March, 1836. An Address: or the Influence of the Federative Repub-
lican System of Government upon Literature and the Development of
Character — prepared to be delivered before the Historical and Philo-
sophical Society of Virginia at its annual meeting in 1836, by Thomas
R. Dew, Professor of History, Metaphysics and Political Law, in the Col-
lege of William and Mary. Published by request of the Society, March
20, 1836.
October, 1836. An Address delivered before the students of the Col-
lege of William and Mary, at the opening of the College on Monday,
October 10, 1836, by Thomas R. Dew, Professor, &c. Published by re-
quest of the Students. [The occasion was Professor Dew*s accession
to the Presidency.]
February, 1837. A review of the above address.
July, 1837. Baccalaureate Address delivered to the Graduates of Wil-
liam and Mary College, July 4, 1837, by Thomas R. Dew, President.
November, 1846. Notice of the death of President Dew, which gives
the following list of his works : A Treatise in Defence of Free Trade ;
Defence of Slavery ; Notes on Ancient and Modern History, designed
as a text-book for class, and including Review of the Causes and Effects
of the French Revolution ; The Characteristics of Women— a series of
articles which - appeared in the earlier numbers of the Messenger,
[After his death, was published in 185 1 : A Digest of the Laws, Cus-
toms, Manners and Institutions of the Ancient and Modern Nations.]
January, 1837. Extended reviews of Beverley Tucker's two novels.
"George Balcombe " and "The Partisan Leader." [The review of
HISTORIC ELEMENTS IN VIRGINIA EDUCATION. 35
Mr. Jefferson had to send abroad for Professors in Latin and
Greek, Mathematics, and Modern Languai^es, in furnishing his
the former of these two ''anonymous" novels ends thus: "George
Balcombe thinks, speaks and acts as no person, we are convinced, but
Judge Beverley Tucker ever precisely thought, spoke or acted before; "
while that of the second lets fall no word nor hint as to the probable
hand that had traced it. In this number fifty-four and a half pages are
devoted to criticisms and reviews, and forty to the literary contents !]
April, 1837. A Lecture on Government by Professor Beverley Tucker,
delivered before the students Of the College of William and Mary,
March 6, 1837. •
December, 1838. A Discourse on the Genius of the Federative
System of the United States, prepared to be delivered by Professor
Beverley Tucker, of the College of William and Mary, read before the
Young Men's Society, of Lynchburg, Va., August 26, 1838.
August, 1839. Political Science: A Discourse on the questions. What
is subject of Sovereignty in the United States, and what the relation of
the People of these States to the Federal and State Governments re-
spectively, read before the Petersburg Lyceum, May 15, 1839, by Judge
Beverley Tucker, of the College of William and Mary.
September, 1839. A Lecture : delivered to the Law Class of the
College of William and Mary, June 17, 1839. This is the last of a course
of lectures on the Philosophy of Government and Constitutional Law
by Judge Beverley Tucker.
[In the number for January, 1842, a reference is made to the deter-
mination some years {sic) ago to discontinue furnishing lectures and
addresses as literary matter, owing to the complaints of the readers,
and naturally, one afterwards hears less in these columns of the two
great favorites However, a departure from this rule is soon noted.]
September, 1842. Temperance : An Address before the Temperance
Society of the College of William and Mary by Beverley Tucker, Pro-
fessor of Law.
Finally, two representative articles in the volume for 1850. The one:
Observations on a Passage in the Politics of Aristotle Relative to
Slavery — Apropos of an Essay on Slavery by Thomas R. Dew, late
President of the College of William and Mary, second edition, Rich-
mond, 1849. The other: Origin and History of the High Court of
Chancery, dedicated to Hon. N. Beverley Tucker — being a Review of
Campbell's Lives of the Lord Chancellors of England, and of Spence's
Jurisdiction.
In the joint number for October and November, 1851, the Editor's
Table announces the death of Beverley Tucker, at Winchester, on
August 26, 185 1.
Vj VltGI^vIA HlSTOlLlCAL SOdETT-
State msTenctj;^ bot ior PoliiSca] Ecooomir, Lav, aid ibe
Scaesxe ofGarcmiicm be bad ochr to readi out lus baikd aaEKc^
tbe j;:radfaalef of W.Iliafli aod Maiy.^
Bat visat in'owtli ooo^d l^teratare, as tbe exprcssSom ofi as mrt^
txf^jj m 9tKh an aimospbere ?
Bat DO kas dkl tbe Scotcb-Insb poaseas tbeir insthirDDgi. As
early as 1749 those In tbe V'aHer originated Aagusta AcadeoT.*
Those 10 tbe Sotitbside vere among the chief proinoters in 1775
(or the PriDce Edward Academy.* Through tbe patriodc iJError
eogeodered by the Revolatioo, tbe ooe became changed into
Liberty Hall and tbe-oiher to Hampden-Sidney Colkge. I have
referred to the personality of George Wjrtbe and Sc George
Tacker and the consequent school of jurists and statesmen at
Williamsbarg, Here we have to deal with the personality of
William Graham in Rockbridge.* and of the two brotbefs, Samuel
Stanhope Smith and John Blair Smith, in Prince Edward. All
three were Pennsylvanians by tnrth, were reared under Scotch-
Irish influences, were pupils of Dr. Witberspoon, at Princeton,
aiul preachers in the Presbyterian Churdi. The Princeton
influence, ever strong in Virginia, ** was now at its highest. Cir-
cumstances combined to make Lexington as much a centre of
intellectual culture for the one people as Williamsburg for the
other. The mental activities of the youth were directed not so
'' H, B. Adams : Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia ;
W. P, Trent : The Gilmer letters.
*• Sot only were Thomas Jeflerson, Joseph C. Cabell, and Chapman
Johnson, all of whom were prominent in founding the new State Uni-
versity, old students of William and Mary, but also Francis W. Gil-
mer, the Commissioner to England, and Professor elect of Law ; George
Tucker, Professor of Moral Philosophy and Political Economy, i825-'45;
John Tayloe Lomax, Professor of Law, i826-*3o; John A. G. Davis,
Professor of Law, i83o-*4o ; Henry St. Georg:e Tucker (brother to
Beverley Tucker, and son of St George Tucker), Professor of Law,
i84i-*45.
'•General Catalogue of Washington and Lee University; H. A.
White : The Scotch-Irish Unversity of the South.
•• W, H. Foote : Sketches of Virginia, first series.
•* Henry Ruffner : Early History of Washington College ; Hugh
Blair Grigsby : The Founders of Washington College ; Foote's Sketches.
" Princeton Catalogues.
HISTORIC ELEMENTS IN VIRGINIA EDUCATION. 37
much lo law and politics — although the history of the times
would not allow these anywhere to remain wholly in the back-
ground — but it was theology and metaphysics which absorbed
most attention. The genius of the race —the Scotch — was again
triumphant. Among Graham's pupils in Rockbridge we find
Revolutionary heroes, congressmen, and judges ; but it is a tell-
ing fact that more than one-fourth from among them became
preachers of the Gospel.* It is to four of these** — Archibald
Alexander, Moses Hoge, John Holt Rice, and George A. Baxter,
imbued with the spirit and purpose instilled by the teacher — that
is due the rise and greatness of the two historic seminaries of
Calvinistic theology at Princeton and at Hampden-Sidney.
Much the same characteristics are fairly manifest in the history
of Hampden-Sidney College. She has turned out a President
of the United States, one or two Cabinet members, Congress-
men, Governors, and Judges, but the genius of the institution
has been far more directed towards producing an educated min-
istry ^ and to filling professional chairs and presidencies of edu-
*' Graham was Tutor from 1774 to 1776, and from 1776 to 1796 Rector
or Principal. Of the one hundred and fifty-three names in the General
Catalogue as having registered between 1749 and 1800, forty became
ministers (thirty-seven Presbyterian, two Episcopalian, and one Inde-
pendent), i, ^., 26 per cent.
"Archibald Alexander was afterwards President of Hampden-Sid-
ney College (1797-1806). main instigator of the movement for a Presby-
terian theological seminary, and first Professor in the same at Princeton
(1812-1851); see Life of Alexander by (his son) James W. Alexander,
Moses Hoge was Alexander's successor as President of Hampden-
Sidney College ( 1 807-1 820), and founder of the Theological Depart-
ment at the same. John Holt Rice became Tutor in Hampden-Sidney
College, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Richmond, founder
and Editor of the Virginia Evangelical and Lilerary Magazine
(i8i8-'28), President-elect of Princeton College, and founder of the Union
Theological Seminary at Hampden-Sidney as a distinct institution, and
first Professor in the same (1824-31). George A. Baxter was a follower
of William Graham in the Presidency of Washington College (i 799-1 829),
and was Dr. Rice's successor in Union Theological Seminary (i83i-'4i).
" Mr. Blair Dickinson, of Prince Edward county, Virginia, a member
of the Senior Class of Hampden-Sidney College, has examined the
catalogues of Union Theological Seminary (an institution supported by
the Virginia and North Carolina synods) and has given the following
38 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
cational institutions. Noble and exalted aims ! but in themselves
not altogether favorable to the creation of an atmosphere
charged with the electric current ready for a literary outburst.
The quarter of the century from 1825 to 1850 seems espec-
ially active in the intellectual life of the State. The older col-
leges become infused with new spirit. The theological semina-
ries at Hampden-Sidney and near Alexandria enter upon careers
of distinguished usefulness. The University of Virginia opens
its doors and achieves its pre-eminent position in the State and
the South. There arise on all sides new institutions'* with high
educational and literary aims. Randolph- Macon, in Mecklen-
burg, and Emory and Henry in Washington county, are organ-
ized by the Methodists. The Baptists and the Lutherans put on
foot the beginnings of Richmond and Roanoke Colleges. The
State opens the Military Institute at Lexington, and one or two
law and medical schools are started in different localities. Fur-
estimates : From 1824 to 1892 there have matriculated 948 students. Of
these 374 have come from the present counties in Virginia, 61 from
those in West Virginia, and 184 from North Carolina, making a total
of 619, and leaving 329 for other States. Hampden-Sidney College
has contributed 225 ; Washington and Lee University (including Wash-
ington College), 139; Davidson College, North Carolina, 99 ; University
of North Carolina. 40. Fifty-eight fall to the University of Virginia,
but these, for the most part, have already been counted elsewhere.
The representation of other colleges rapidly declines : King College,
Tennessee, 39 ; Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, 20 ; Centre College,
Kentucky, 18; Southwestern Presbyterian University, Tennessee, 17;
Central University, Kentucky, 14, etc., etc.
The above figures are of course exclusive of the number from these
several institutions who have gone to Princeton and other seminaries.
The Virginian representation according to counties would correspond
generally with the figures already given : e,g., Rockbridge 56, Augusta
32, Botetourt 9, Bedford 7— total 104, representing the Scotch-Irish
strongolds. Further, Montgomery 9, Pulaski 4, Smyth 4, Wythe 7,
Washington 12— total 36, for the Southwest. Prince Edward 30, Char-
lotte 16, Cumberland 12 — total 58, for the local influence. Further,
Appomattox 3, Buckingham 2, Powhatan 4, Chesterfield 3, Nottoway 3,
Dinwiddie 9 (including Petersburg 5), Mecklenburg 2, Halifax 4—
total 30, for the remaining South-side. Finally, for the cities : Rich-
mond 26, Norfolk and Portsmouth 9, Alexandria 6, Fredericksburg 7,
Lynchburg 10, Winchester 14 — total 72. The rest are very scattering.
^*H. B. Adams : Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia.
HISTORIC ELEMENTS IN VIRGINIA EDUCATION. 89
ther, it is in this period that the Southern Literary Messenj^er
is begun ; that other enterprises, lyceums, athenaeums, and lite-
rary institutes, are attempted ; that the Virginia Historical
Society is founded and incorporated.
If the political and constitutional ferment during and after
Revolutionary times checked the expansion of literary talent and
turned the genius of the people to other channels, still darker
grows the prospect toward the middle of the century. The
Southern Literary Messenger affords a most pathetic instance.
In its brief life of three decades (1834-64) it never succeeded in
casting off the shadow. With distinct and apparent effort to
approach nearer the ideals of a literary organ, its literary features
became submerged under its uses as a reflector of political senti-
ment, as a defender of southern institutions and Virginian rights.
Constitutional and political questions absorbed all interest, all
energy ; the exigences of the time once more crushed out litera-
ture as an art and as a profession.
The influence of the colleges and seminaries could not retard
this movement ; indeed, but accelerated it. All participated
nobly in building up the culture, the educational and intellectual
life of the State— each institution, each section, each element,
happy that it could preserve withal a distinctive individuality.
The State University had to be largely professional — aims
very distinct from literary — and specialized in philology, in
mathematics, in the sciences. On the other hand, the study of
government, moral and political science, and the law, ever remain-
ing popular and attractive with Virginian youth, intensified the
zest for the practical politics of the day. Taking a look back-
ward, we see that it could hardly have been otherwise. The con-
ditions were not those for a creative and productive era, for an
universal glow and spontaneous outburst indicative of an aggres-
sive crusade. The very preference for country life was adverse.
There was hardly occasion for literary criticism, for the higher
flights of poetry, for the calm observant analysis of the writer of
fiction. Edgar Poe looms out conspicuously not as one born of
the times, but as a lurid meteor dashing across a darkling sky —
and yet in this brilliancy matching with Hawthorne and Emerson
as the three original and Titanesque appearances in American
authorship.
40 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
There was no centre, whether at college or in a city, no system
of large collections of books and constant public discourses ;
little opportunity for sympathetic mind to keep in touch with
kindred spirit, laboring and studying and waiting, loving litera-
ture as an art, and art for art's sake.
Intellectual energy was suppressed. It was not free to move
and range ai will. There could not be freedom of thought when
it was ever on the defensive, on the watch for the terrible conflict
which was not to be averted !
John Bell Hennehan.
HISTORIC ELEMENTS IN VIRGINIA EDUCATION.
41
APPENDIX.
TABLE FOR THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY.
[See note, p. 32.]
James City
Gloucester
Henrico
Charles City
York
Warwick.
Elizabeth City . . .
Middlesex
Norfolk
King George —
Hanover
King & Queen. .
King William
Spotsylvania. —
Prince George. . .
Westmoreland. . .
Albemarle
Surry
Caroline
Louisa
Amherst
Dinwiddie
Stafford
New Kent
Northumberland
Accomac
Amelia
Brunswick
Chesterfield
Cumberland ....
Isle of Wight .
Augusta
Northampton —
Prince William.
Fairfax...
Orange
Prince Edward.
Southampton.. .
Fauquier
Frederick
Nansemond ....
w,
700-1800.
I 800-1 825.
1825-1861.
Whole No.
&M. W. c'
1
W.&M. W. C.
W. & M.
w. c.
W. & M. W. C.
73 ....
59
3
175
I
307
4
54 ...•
21
• • • •
48
2
123
2
33 ,..••
31
18
93
39
157
57
29 ....
21
3
33
«3
3
27 ....
10
• • • •
20
57
21
3
■ • « •
5
29
20 *
4
I
24
48
I
20 ....
• • • •
8
28
19 ....
27
• • • •
68
2
114
2
17 ...
5
4
II
I
33
5
16 ....
14
II
22
13
52
24
16 I
12
I
32
2
60
4
16 ....
9
6
14
I
39
7
16 3
3
3
13
I
32
7
15 ....
9
3
14
I
38
4
14 ....
8
2
6
28
2
13 I
13
17
5
25
31
43
12
4
• • • •
18
34
10
• ■ ■ •
4
3
14
2
28
5
10 ! I
6
5
5
5
21
II
9
2
8
13
3
19
20
34
9
• • • •
19
13
71
7
99
20
8
• • • •
I
4
I
9
5
7
• • • •
9
4
15
3
31
7
7 i . . . .
6
13
37
6 ; I I
30
I
2
6 1 13 2
17
I
36 , 3
t . . . .
6
I
23
I
35
2
6 ....
16
4
14
3
36
7
• . . •
3
13
13
16
22
29
....
6
• • • •
17
29
5 28
2
38
2
117
9
183
5 ! • • • •
4
I
28
37
I
5 I
5
I
8
j8
2
a, ....
3
2
. 9
4 ....
4 7
7
15
7
4 I
2 2
4
8
ID
II
4
• • • •
3 . . . •
8
I
15
I
3
I
7
7
14
24
8
3 1 2
8
4
7
3
18 9
3
• • • •
5
• • • •
7
I
15
i I
42
VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE— Continued.
1 800-1 825.
1825-1861. Whole No.
Charlotte
Essex
Goochland
Mecklenburg
Montgomery
Powhatan
Richmond
Bedford .
Botetourt
Buckingham
Campbell
Culpeper
Halifax
Lancaster
Nottoway
Princess Anne
Sussex
Loudoun
Mathews
Clarke
Lunenburg
Nelson
Fluvanna
Alexandria
Greenesville.
Rappahannock
Rockbridge
Pittsylvania
Washington
Franklin
Henry
Patrick
Wythe
Page
Roanoke
Shenandoah
Warren
*West Virginia
Other States
fUnknown
Total
nr • & An*
w. c.
I
16
I
9
5
17
2
16
12
2
2
2
23
5
43
9
27
10
6
16
19
5
8
6
12
7
3
16
3
9
3
3
15
14
3
6
17
4
18
I
3
6
3
2
2
2
2
I
I
I
I
10
169
23
1.356
4
7
20
I
19
II
30
6
3
21
32
14
5
3
4
46
8
73
10
37
12
5,0
13
II
18
15
7
I
17
7
6
I
23
II
15
8
3
19
16
6
30
8
5
7
2
19
2
4
525
6
28
3
7
2
10
2
II
2
3
2
8
r
I
8
I
6
I
14
103
207
155
289
80
2,740
* The present State.
t Not given.
No representation at all have the following counties, almost wholly in the west and
southwest : Alleghany, Appomattox, Bath (Bland), Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, (Dicken-
son), Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Greene, Highland, Lee, Madison, Pulaski, Rockingham,
Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell and Wise.
HISTORIC ELEMENTS IN VIRGINIA EDUCATION.
43
WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE— Continued.
Table for Other States.
Before
1801.
1801-1861.
Kentucky
I
12
Massachusetts
3
29
7
Marvland
4
South Carolina
Georfifia
19
56
7
North Carolina
2
Tennessee
Pennsylvania.
/
Mississiooi
12
Florida . .'
2
Alabama
22
New York
A
Louisiana
t
9
Missouri
District of Columbia
7
Maine
I
Illinois
I
Delaware
I
Bermuda
I
I
Total
8
199
This "Table for Other States '* differs slightly from the similar table
of Mr. C. L. Smith, in Prof. H. B. Adams* treatise on " The College of
William and Mary," but Mr. Moss claims to have verified his results
more than once.
Mr. Moss further estimates that of the 307 from James City, 248 were
from Williamsburg and 7 from Jamestown ; of 157 from Henrico, 117
were from Richmond ; of the 114 from Norfolk county, 100 were from
Norfolk city and 12 from Portsmouth ; of the 99 from Dinwiddle, 74
were from Petersburg ; of the 48 from Elizabeth City, 28 were from
Hampton ; of the 32 from Spotsylvania, 19 were from Fredericksburg;
of the 57 from York, 13 were from Yorktown ; of the 18 from Frederick,
II were from Winchester; of the 12 from Campbell, 10 were from
Lynchburg; of the 36 from Chesterfield, 5 were from Manchester; of
the 29 from the Isle of Wight, 5 were from Smithfield ; of 5 from the
Eastern Shore, 3 were given to Accomac CQunty, and 2 to Northampton,
on mere probability.
44
VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
TABLE FOR WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY.
Rockbridge. . . . .
Augusta
Bedford
Botetourt ...
Spotsylvania
Washington . . . .
Amherst
Frederick
Montgomery . . . .
Albemarle
Culpeper
Fauquier .
Henry
King & Queen . .
Louisa
Nelson
Powhatan
Prince Edward
Princess Anne..
Prince William.
Rockingham
Henrico
Cumberland... .
Dinwiddle
Campbell .....
Hanover
Buckingham . . .
Pittsylvania
Charlotte
Halifax
Orange
Franklin
Goochland
King William..
Chesterfield
King George . .
Mecklenburg...
New Kent
Stafford
Caroline
Charles City. . .
James City
Prince George .
Richmond
Roanoke
Wythe....
Alexandria
Alleghany
Amelia
I 749-1800.
58
28
10
8
3
3
2
2
2
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
1800-1825. i 1825-1864. 1865-1875
105
38
13
22
10
3
13
4
3
17
5
7
6
I
5
12
II
2
I
II
18
13
13
II
II
10
10
9
7
7
6
6
6
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
362
117
23
43
5
I
19
3
16
25
5
4
2
5
17
2
8
18
39
16
7
19
13
27
18
9
8
4
5
I
3
I
2
3
I
2
I
I
5
5
6
I
117
53
9
13
3 I
2
6 7
I 4
3 2
4
5
5 I
I I
7 2
I
3
9
6
6
8
8
I
7
5
3
3
I
2
2
I
2
2
6
6
3
2
i875-'87.
128
26
9
4
I
10
12
I
7
I
3
I
2
Total.
• • • • •
770
262
64
90
23
II
36
22
26
48
15
13
II
4
17
32
23
12
I
3
43
78
35
27
45
32
38
35
23
16
10
13
14
8
10
7
6
7
5
7
4
4
4
5
14
14
10
II
5
HISTORIC ELEMENTS IN VIRGINIA EDUCATION.
45
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY— Continued.
Lee
Mathews
Page
Sussex
*Unknown ,
Other States :
Pennsylvania... .
tWest Virginia .
Kentucky
North Carolina.
South Carolina.
Mississippi
Georgia
1749-1800.
Lunenburg . . . .
Westmoreland .
Accomac.
Appomattox . . .
Bath
Brunswick
Elizabeth City.
Fluvanna
Lancaster
Madison
Northampton . .
Patrick
Shenandoah . . .
Highland
Nottoway
Clarke
Gloucester
Norfolk
Craig
Essex
Greene
Nansemond.. . .
'Pulaski
Southampton . .
Loudoun
Fairfax
Smyth
Warren
Rappahannock,
Giles
Greenesville . . .
Isle of Wight. .
Floyd
Carroll
1800-1835.
2
2
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
7
5
2
I
I
1825-1864.
66
I
18
9
3
3
4
2
14
I
4
8
I
2
5
7
7
3
2
2
I
I
I
I
I
I
1865-1875.
9
80
7
18
I
II
10
2
I
2
I
I
3
3
4
4
I
I
I
7
3
3
3
2
I
I
I
5
41
156
41
46
59
64
i875-'87. Total.
I
I
I
I
I
5
6
I
3
3
2
I
I
I
I
I
6
51
63
5
31
17
19
19
3
4
6
II
3
2
5
I
I
4
4
10
II
II
12
2
9
I
2
I
2
4
2
12
3
3
3
2
2
I
4
2
80
28
195
237
68
82
91
95
* Not given.
t The present State.
46
VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY— Continued.
Alabama
Connecticut
Tennessee
England
Louisiana
Arkansas
Missouri
Florida
Indiana
New Jersey
Maryland
New York
Ohio
Ireland
Illinois
Texas
California
District of Columbia.
Massachusetts
Japan
Iowa
Kansas
France
Canada
Mexico
Idaho
Oregon
Indian Territory
Central America
Grand total
1749-1800.
153
I 800-1825.
I
I
I
I
588
1825-1864.
8
12
10
6
5
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
I
I
1,141
1865-1875.
80
140
91
33
46
12
2
2
37
13
4
4
135
6
2
2
2
I
I
I
I
I
I
1.398
i875-'87.
14
20
43
7
19
7
. I
19
4
6
65
I
I
3
I
673
Total.
103
I
173
I
144
46
70
23
6
5
59
19
12
2
6
201
7
3
2
2
2
I
I
I
I
I
3
I
I
3,953
The number (3955) in the General Catalogue is incorrect, as two
numbers (745 and 1,115) were omitted in counting.
Mr. Preston makes a note that of the 770 from Rockbridge, 243 were
from Lexington ; of the 78 from Henrico, 72 were from the city of
Richmond ; of the 262 from Augusta, 40 were from Staunton ; of the
45 from Campbell, 30 were from Lynchburg; of the 27 from Dinwiddle,
23 were from Petersburg ; of the 23 from Spotsylvania, 10 were from
Fredericksburg ; of the 35 from Pittsylvania, 8 were from Danville ; of
the 9 from Norfolk county, 7 were from Norfolk city.
Bland, Buchanan, Dickenson, Grayson, Russell, Tazewell and Wise
counties in the west ; and Middlesex, Northumberland, Surry, Warwick
and York counties in the east, are not represented.
NOTES
ON
Recent Work in Southern History.
A paper read before the Virginia Historical Society
Monday y December 21 y i8gi,
BY
Professor W. P. TRENT, M. A.,
University 0/ the South,
NOTES
ON
Recent Work in Southern History.
Just two years ago I had the honor of reading before the
American Historical Association at Washington, a paper similar
in character to the one 1 am about to present. In that paper I
endeavored to give a. fair statement of what was then being done
for the cause of Southern history, and the description I gave of
the conditions under which our historical scholars had to work
could hardly have been considered cheerful. I ventured to pre-
dict, however, that it would not be long before the South would
awake to the necessity of encouraging the study of her own his-
tory, and it is because I believe there are signs of this awaken-
ing already visible around us that I have ventured to put
together these brief and incomplete " notes."
To one who is at all acquainted with the history of the South
the present comparative indifference of her people to strictly his-
torical matters is no matter of surprise. The paucity and the
thinness of the South's contributions to early American literature
have been acknowledged by all competent investigators ; and the
chief reasons therefor have been correctly assigned. The same
reasons that told so heavily against the creation of literature
proper, told also against the inception and completion of much
sound and extensive historical work. Here and there a gentle-
man of special qualifications or of leisure and ability would pro-
^
50 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
duce a valuable biography, or a conscientious State history.
Witness for example, Marshall's "Life of Washington,*' and
Ramsay's ** History of South Carolina." Sometimes a wider,
sometimes a narrower field than a single State would be at-
tempted ; more rarely a well-trained scholar like Judge Gayarre
would give up the best part of his life to gathering materials for
an exhaustive work. But when all is said, it has to be confessed
that the number of real historical students in the old South was
very small. The smallness of their numbers, as well as foreign
example, naturally suggested the advisability of co-operation,
and so the various State Historical Societies arose, our own
being the first. ^ None of these societies, however, did any very
serious work before the war, and none has ever approximated a
full measure of usefulness. The Georgia Society did induce
Bishop Stevens to write his history of that Slate, and the South
Carolina Society early turned its attention to the colonial docu-
ments deposited in the State paper office in London ; but it must
be owned that upon the whole the Southern societies have col-
lected no very valuable libraries ; that they have not rendered
such collections as they do possess thoroughly accessible ; that,
with the exception of our own Society of late years, they have
been very irregular in their publications. It would not be hard
to name more than one Northern society that has done more for
historical science in a decade than all the Southern societies have
done since their inception.
The reasons for this condition of things are, as I have said,
not far to seek. The immaturity of the country, the scattered
nature of its population, the absorption of the leading intellects
in politics, the free and easy-going life led by the upper classes,
finally, the depressing effects of the presence of an institution
which had survived its uses — all these causes operated in the
ante-bellum South to depress literary and scientific work. But
historical work was subjected to further drawbacks. It was pos-
sible for a gentleman of means to collect a sufficient library for
*The Virginia Society was founded in 1831 (chartered 1834), that of
Georgia in 1839, that of North Carolina in 1840 (chartered 1875), that
of Tennessee in 1847 (chartered 1877), that of Alabama in 185 1, that of
South Carolina in 1855. The Louisiana Historical Society was incor-
porated in i860.
RECENT WORK IN SOUTHERN HISTORY. 51
ordinary purposes — sufficient even for the purposes of the clas-
sical scholar or the liter ateur — but it was not possible for him to
collect a library large enough to serve the purposes of the histo-
rian, certainly not the historian of recent times. This difficulty
might have been overcome in part had the South possessed cities
with large public libraries, or had the separate States done their
duty with respect to the publication of their own archives. But
throughout the South public libraries were — and are now — prac-
tically non-existent, the public archives were in a state of ** con-
fusion worse confounded." What wonder, then, that the his-
torical work done by our ancestors was limited in quantity and
old-fashioned in quality ? We ought rather to consider it a
matter for congratulation and praise that they did any historical
work at all, especially when we remember that the scientific
study of history is not many years old, even in England itself.
I am of course far from denying that they read and studied
history — few Americans know more about history, at least about
that of their own country, than Southern men — but I am afraid
that they regarded it chiefly as a study ancillary to their favorite
pursuit of politics. That they sometimes made queer use of
their historical acquisitions is abundantly evident from Calhoun's
praise of the Constitution of Poland. But when all is said, we
still owe a debt of gratitude to the early Southern historians.
From the days of Stith to the present hour, they have been a
much-enduring class of men. They have had little encourage-
ment, and they have always got their full share of criticism. No
one ever forgets to say that their works are, as a rule, decorously
dull; but a good many people forget to give them credit for their
single-hearted zeal.
The evil effects of the late war upon Southern historical studies
cannot be easily exaggerated. Long before hostilities were actu-
ally begun, these effects were very visible to all that had the eyes
to see. One evil effect has been noted already. The prevalent
desire to sustain certain positions held by the South in political
matters, led her ablest men to look on history chiefly as a study
ancillary to politics. The steps are few and easy from this nat-
ural but degrading view of history to the still more degrading
view held by the pronouncedly-partisan historian. This last evil
consequence of the civil strife of the generation just past is yet
52 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
visible in the historical writings of both sections, and will only
slowly disappear. It will disappear at last, but long after the
effects that the poverty and unsettled condition of the South
have had upon her historical literature. These effects have natu-
rally been considerable. Few men have had leisure to read and
study in the South since the war, and fewer still to write. Few
men have had time or opportunity to acquire the training which
is now so requisite in all intellectual pursuits. Few have had
the money to endow chairs of history in our colleges, to found
libraries, or even to encourage by an annual subscription the
various historical societies. Our State governments have been
in no condition to vie with Northern States or with foreign coun-
tries in making their archives accessible. That they might have
done more than they have done, that the little money they have
appropriated for the purpose might have been better spent, it
would be vain to deny; but they can at least plead more in their
defense than our late billion dollar Congress can for its derelic-
tion in this regard. In short, if the old South' s lack of zeal for
historical studies is not surprising, that of the new South is still
less so.
But it is time I was bringing this introduction to a close and
saying something about the recent work which gives my paper
its title. This work is not very considerable in amount, but it
plainly represents an advance over the state of things described
in my paper of 1889.* At that time I could do little more than
point out the encouraging features connected with the establish-
ment of the Louisiana Historical Association at New Orleans,
and of the Filson Club at Louisville. I could also give a hint
of Mr. Hugh R. Garden's patriotic intention of presenting the
Southern Society of New York with the nucleus of a collection
of books relating to the South — a collection which is now an
accomplished as well as a catalogued fact, and which is destined
to grow. By a queer piece of forgetfulness I omitted all refer-
ence to what was by far the most encouraging fact I could have
alluded to — the fact that North Carolina had put herself in line
with New York by editing and publishing all the documents
• Papers of the American Historical Association, Vol. IV, Part IV,
pp. 383-391.
RECENT WORK IN SOUTHERN HISTORY. 53
relating to her colonial history. But if I could not say much
that was favorable, I was not at a loss for subjects that required
unfavorable comnient. I could quote Mr. Brock, for example,
as writing that so many members failed to answer his appeals
that he could not say how many Hve members the Virginia His-
torical Society had. I could quote the President of the Alabama
Society as writing that Alabama history could be better studied
at Boston or at Washington than within the State. I could also
point out that the valuable archives kept in this very building'
in which we are now holding our session, might any day be
destroyed by fire. I could show, too, that 1 was no new Cas-
sandra, for I quoted Charles Campbell as referring to this danger
in 1859. I am not aware that we have yet saved our Troy, and
if our archives may be fitly called our Palladium, I am not so
sure that some wily Greek, like my friend Professor Jameson,
will not ere long leave us in the lurch by carrying off the best
part of their contents in his note-book. But if 1 indulged in
pessimistic reflections in the body of my paper I allowed myself,
nevertheless, to become a genial optimist in the conclusion, for I
insisted upon the fact that the South would soon have a class of
men having antiquarian tastes, and having the leisure and the
wealth requisite to their pursuit. I showed, also, that Southern
history offered a fascinating field of research to historical stu-
dents of other sections ; and I have reason to know that several
Northern students of history have been turning their eyes of late
toward the South. For example, a graduate student of history
at Cornell is writing his doctor's thesis on the Ku-Klux move-
ment. But our own recent work is growing cold.
Beginning with Maryland, which was not considered in my
first paper, I desire to call attention to the proposition of the
Woman's Literary Club, of Baltimore, to found a library of the
works of all authors who have lived or written in Maryland.
This movement deserves to be noted for two reasons — first,
because it indicates a proper appreciation of the value of local
history ; secondly, because it shows that women are able to sym-
pathize with the scientific as well as with the sentimental side of
historical work. There is obviously no reason why women
should not aid historians with their sympathy and enthusiasm ;
' The Capitol at Richmond.
54 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
there is equally no reason why women should not become histo-
rians themselves. The w6rking force of the generations to
come is likely to be doubled through the recognition of woman's
capacity to use her brains about other than strictly household
matters, and I cannot help hoping that the cause of Southern
history will derive great future advantage from two ** emancipa-
tions * * instead of from one.
But Maryland has a still greater claim to our attention, from
the fact that the Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore is the
centre of historical investigation in this country. It is no ex-
aggeration to say, that the work Professor Herbert B. Adams is
doing with his graduate classes is likely to be the most important
factor in the future development of historical studies in the South.
Every year Dr. Adams sends out one or more young South-
erners trained for historical pursuits, ready to teach history in
our colleges, and eager to prosecute original researches in the
history of their respective States. I know of three such students
sent to Southern colleges within the past year. Besides, the
John Hopkins is itself forming a valuable library of materials for
Southern history. The Scharf collection recently secured, is, I
am informed, full of good things, and I can testify from personal
examination to the value of the Birney collection in all matters
relating to slavery. Nor should the essays and treatises on
topics of Southern history, written at the Johns Hopkins, under
Dr. Adam's own eye, be omitted from this count, especially the
educational mongraphs which he has edited. Attention should
also be called to the publications of the Maryland Historical
Society under the editorship of another Hopkins official. Dr.
William Hand Browne.
Passing to Virginia, we find in this gathering an evidence of
the fact that our venerable society seems to be taking a new
lease of life. We find also that our Virginia women with their
" Society for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities," are not a
whit behind those of Maryland in their appreciation of the
neceessity for stimulating interest in local history.* We note
*The Virginia Branch of the Daughters of the Revolution (Mrs William
Wirt Henry, Regent) are making efforts to raise an endowment for the
Virginia Historical Society — a most noteworthy object.
RECENT WORK IN SOUTHERN HISTORY. 55
furthermore that two members of this society have recently
published works which will take their places in the permanent
historical literature of the country. I refer, of course, to Mr.
Alexander Brown's " Genesis of the United States,** and to Mr.
William Wirt Henry's biography of Patrick Henry. Nor do
these names at all exhaust the list of the Virginians who are
active in historical investigation. The work of Mr. Brock,
President Tyler, Dr. Page, Mr. Moncure Conway and many
others is familiar to us all. We must also remember that when
our wretched debt question becomes settled, the State authorities
will be deprived of their perennial excuse for their backwardness
in publishing our archives. It will not be long before they will
have to erect a fire -proof building for such documents as the
teeth of time and of mice have left us; and in the meantime we
can all hope that they will appropriate enough money to have
the Northampton and other county records copied.
The recent activity of North Carolina with regard to her
archives has been commended already, but a word of praise
should be given here to the editor of the '* Colonial Records,"
Hon. W. L. Saunders; to Dr. Kemp P. Battle, who has been a
life-long laborer in local history, and to some younger students
like Drs. Smith and Weeks for their valuable monographs.
South Carolina up to last summer appeared to be sleeping
soundly, but the activity of her Northern neighbor seems to have
awakened her. A committee of the State Historical Society
began in June to collect information as to the cost of procuring
copies of all documents in the Public Record Office at London,
not hitherto copied, relating to the history of the province and
the colony. The chairman of this committee was Hon. William
A. Courtenay, who, during the time that he was mayor of Charles-
ton, did much to encourage historical studies by the publication
of the Charleston " Year Books," and was largely instrumental
in having copies made of the so-called '*Shaftsbury Papers,"
which another committee of the society is soon to edit. Mr.
Courtenay and his colleagues having got their information into
shape, began an effective propaganda among the counties and
parishes, in order to force the Legislature by popular pressure to
appropriate the small sum necessary for the accomplishment of
their purpose. A good deal of interest having been aroused, a
56 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
public meeting in behalf of the project was held at Columbia on
December ist. At the time of this writing a bill drawn up by
friends of the movement has passed the lower House in a modi-
fied form, and it is unlikely that the Senate will withhold its
assent.' Thus South Carolina has probably secured copies of
her colonial records, but she has also had her people of all
classes aroused to the necessity of local historical work. If the
members of her society will bestir themselves to keep the public
interest from flagging, they will find that their future work will
be greatly stimulated.
Passing to Georgia, we see that her historical work is still
chiefly connected with one name, that of Colonel Charles C.
Jones, Jr., who has recently found time to publish a volume of
biographical sketches. Georgia has, also, what is perhaps the
most valuable archaeological collection in the Southern States,
that of Dr. Roland Steiner of Waynesboro. It is further to be
noted that a separate chair of history has recently been es-
tablished in the State University, which is a decided step in
advance. But it is the splendid example of constancy and high
endeavor set by a citizen of Alabama that gives me most hope
with regard to the future of Southern historical work. I refer
to the labors of Mr.* Hannis Taylor of Mobile, upon English
constitutional history. When a lawyer in full practice can become
so enamoured of scholarly work as to devote both time and money
to pursuing researches similar to those which Mr. Taylor has
undertaken, certainly no one need despair of the future of his-
torical scholarship in the South.
In my paper of two years ago, the space devoted to the States
of Mississippi, Florida and Arkansas, was almost as short as the
famous chapter on snakes in Ireland. There was practically no
historical work to record, not even a semi-defunct historical
society to attend to. Recently movements for the establishment
of State societies have taken place in all three of these States,
and, although it is too soon to prophesy any specific results, it
is safe to infer that good will be accomplished by the agitation of
so important a matter. I have mentioned already the work
doing by the new Louisiana Historical Association. From a
The bill has since passed.
RECENT WORK IN SOUTHERN HISTORY. 67
newspaper report of the contributions lately received by this
Association I judge that it has succeeded in arousing some
popular interest. When people come forward voluntarily and
deposit their antiquarian treasures in a public museum instead of
keeping them selfishly at home, a great step forward has been
made.
Lack of space prevents me from doing justice to the work of the
Filson Club of Louisville, nor can I pay more than a passing tribute
to the activity of the West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian
Society, which, if it has not yet done great things, is evidently
working along modern lines.* I must mention, however, a
society which, although just organized, will, I hope, do good
work and set a good example. I refer to the Sewanee Historical
Society, recently founded by officers, students and friends of the
University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee. As I happen
to be president of this Society, and somewhat responsible for its
existence, I should prefer to keep silent about it, but for the fact
that it seems to me to stand for one or two ideas which may be
fruitful of good to the cause which I have most at heart — the
Cause of Southern history. Whether the Sewanee Society will
succeed in accomplishing the objects it proposes to itself cannot
now be determined, but the ideas it stands /or can be weighed in
the balance now, and if approved can be acted upon at once by
others.
The first idea is to enlist in the service of historical research
all the forces that go to make up a university. Every student,
alumnus and friend of Sewanee is to be appealed to for contribu-
tions, ranging from an Indian arrow head to a life member's fee.
Corresponding members have been selected from among the
alumni, especially the clergy, to spread the historical propaganda in
every city and parish in the South. Some have already responded
in a loyal way, for it is a great thing to touch into activity two such
strong feelings, as love for one's alma mater, and love for one's
-country. The law is said not to care for trifles, but the Sewanee
Society does, for it believes that the best way to found an histori-
cal library and museum is to appeal for small gifts ; for what
• It has recently established a " Magazine of Southern History," under
the editorship of Professor Virgil A. Lewis.
58 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
most people would regard as trifles ; old letter^, old newspapers^
odd numbers of magazines, any book printed in the South, be
it only a school arithmetic. Not a student is allowed to leave
the University without having it impressed upon him that he
will confer a personal favor upon the officers of the society if
he will keep a sharp lookout for such things. Now this idea of
utilizing students and alumni is not new, but I am not aware that
it has yet been applied by many of our Southern colleges in
behalf of local history. I pass over the obvious advantages
which the calm seclusion of a university offers for the study of
history, in order to say a few words about another idea which
this Society represents.
The Society is managed by an executive council which is
organized like a German seminary. It meets frequently, hears
papers read, and is responsible for the proper use of the mate-
rials gathered by the Society. Each member is assigned special
work — genreally by the president — and it has been resolved that
for several years to come this work must be local in character.
In other words, the council is pledged to prepare a careful his-
tory of the University of the South, and if it does no more thaa
this, it will at least do more than some older and more important
American universities have yet done for themselves. The Society^
therefore, stands for the idea that minute work on local history
must be prosecuted before any lasting work can be done in the
more ambitious field of general Southern history.
Now, why cannot every college and university in the South
have a local historical society working in a true seminary style ?"
I believe that Richmond College already has one. And why
should not every town, village and city have one as well ? Such
societies need not interfere in the slightest degree with the State
societies — they should rather be auxiliary to them. They can be
organized by a dozen earnest persons, and certainly every college
that has a professor of history ought to be able to furnish a com-
petent director for the work. It would seem, by the way, that
this historical work could be easily fitted in with the schemes for
university extension, which are being so vigorously discussed.
I know of no more fruitful way of preparing a community to-
receive the benefits of university extension — and if I mistake
not our Southern universities are too much cut off from the great
RECENT WORK IN SOUTHERN HISTORY. 59
public that lives and moves around them — than by instituting
preliminary courses in local history, to be conducted by the pro-
fessor of history in the nearest college or other institution of
learning.
But my time is exhausted and I must bring these " notes** to a
conclusion. I trust that this paper has shown that the Southern
people are beginning to see the necessity for encouraging their
historical students, and that the work these students are doing is
being done on right lines. I believe that year by year more
materials for Southern history will be gathered and more schol-
arly work done on them. I believe that the time will soon come
when the self-sacrifice and patient endurance of the Southern
historians of the past and present will be generally recognized
and praised. At any rate I am certain that we are even now far
removed from the time when the following incident could occur
in a Southern Slate and among educated men.
A certain Georgia citizen, whose name is not given, wrote an
account of some stirring scene in his State's early history. He
died before he could have his monograph published. Two gen-
tlemen of high standing, probably lawyers, were appointed his
executors. They undertook the delicate task of apportioning
the estate among the several heirs, and things went on swim-
mingly for a time until the testator's manuscript was reached.*
Here a difficulty arose. It could not be divided. To publish it
would be an unheard-of extravagance. It could not be left to
become a bone of contention to the heirs. What, then, did these
exemplary gentlemen — men who could doubtless have defended
with great zeal and eloquence the genial practices of lynching
and dueling — do with the manuscript ? They burned it ! ^
W. P. Trent.
^From a pamphlet by Governor George R. Gilmer, of Georgia,
quoted in The Southern Quarterly Review for April. 1852 (Vol. XXI,
p. 514).
ANCIBNT
Epitaphs and Inscriptions,
IN
York and James City Counties,
VIRGINIA.
A PAPER READ BEFORE THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 189I,
BY
Prof. J. L. HALL,
WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE, VIRGINIA.
Ancient Epitaphs and Inscriptions
IN
York and James City Counties,
VIRGINIA.
The accompanying catalogue of inscriptions is believed to be
quite complete for York and James City counties. Most of them
Ate facsimiles. For those in Williamsburg and on the college
premises I can personally vouch ; most of the others have been
copied by very careful haads. I hope that this will prove a nucleus
for a larger work. Should ihe duties of his position allow the
time the writer of this paper will add to the collection, and Mr.
Lyon G. Tyler has promised to devote some of his enthusiastic
attention to the subject of inscriptions.
With readers of this volume it is no doubt unnecessary lo
argue as to the value of such researches as those whose results
are now submitted. We need only stir up their pure minds by
way <rf remembrance. We need only point them to the cata-
combs of Rome ; to the sepulchral stones of Etruria ; to the
monuments of Assyria and Babylonia; to the obelisks and
pyramids of E^ypt, whose secrets have so recently been re-
vealed through the labors of Champollion. Here among us
there is need for such explorers, for if there be sermons in
64 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Stones, there kre also volumes of history in the monumental
rocks which fill the ancient church-yards of Virginia.
May these few facts prove the nucleus of a great movement.
May some Virginia Champollion use this paper as a starting
point, and, stirred by a lofty enthusiasm and by untiring devo-
tion to history in all its phases, unlock the secrets of our tombs.
There is need of early and prompt attention.
The hand of Time and of the vandal, more remorseless than
Time, is fast chipping away our sepulchral marbles. Many
dates have been lost forever. Since the days of Bishop Meade
many inscriptions that he read have been partly or totally ob-
literated ; and at Jamestown itself depredators do not hesitate to
carry of large pieces of the old tombstones.
The inscriptions now submitted run from 1655 to 1800. They
are taken from private family lots, from churches and church-
yards, and from the chapel of William and Mary College. For
convenience of reference they have been classified under eleven
heads, which will be easily distinguished by glancing at the
lists.
Year after year the monuments are falling to ruin. Exposed,
as most of them are, to extreme heat and cold, they are rapidly
perishing. There are persons now living in Williamsburg who
can remember when there were many more monuments in Bruton
church-yard than now remain. These that are left are in ex-
cellent order. Some of them have recently been raised several
feet out of the ground, thanks to the efforts of a noble lady of
antiquarian spirit.
Cannot this Society arouse public interest in such matters ? Is
it too bold to propose removing many of the old, uncared-for
monuments to some central point? Can we not have a great
mausoleum for our most famous colonial dead ? Let us have a
veritable W^estminsler Abbey of Virginia. The State is about
to have her ancient records copied, to save them for the histo-
rian. Is it not equally important to preserve the tombs of
our early dead ? Besides the ruin already referred to, it may be
mentioned that new-comers are selling some of the old monu-
ments to relic hunters. How much better to gather all the oldest
to one place. There let the State build a mausoleum — simple
but substantial — like our men of old. A small outlay every year
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 65
for ten years would bring most of the old monuments to the
spot selected. There, under shelter and guarded by loving
hearts, let the sacred ashes repose in peace, and the . tombs be
guarded from the vandal and from the tempest.
From a careful study of the old inscriptions one might draw
many valuable conclusions. Their naive simplicity and truth
gives them great historic value. There is little chance of fraud.
Manuscripts have been forged often, inscriptions rarely. As
material for history, they may well rank with the letter and the
diary.
One fact that the monuments prove is that human life has been
lengthened in this century. Few, in early days, were the
patriarchs and the mothers in Israel. Many distinguished men
died at thirty-five and forty ; few of either sex reached the full
three-score, the average age being forty-three. This will throw
light on a great-grandfather's words when he writes, at fifty,
that the cares of age press heavily upon him.
The Virginia quality of hospitality comes out plainly in the
inscriptions. In President Nelson's epitaph he is said to have
excelled in "the graces of hospitality, charity, and piety." Of
one of the honorable women in early Virginia it is said that
*' she spent an exemplary life in the continual exercise of piety,
charity, and hospitality.'*
Of the tombs in and around Williamsburg a large number
have armorial bearings. Doubtless many others would have
them had they not been very expensive to cut in marble.
Many of the coats-ofarms are still found among the noble
houses of England. Is not the conclusion forced upon us that
the dead armigers and honorables either belonged to the higher
gentry or were sprung from younger sons of the nobility ?
Interesting literary material is found in these inscriptions.
They silently refute the charge that the early Virginians were
indifferent to literary reform and literary progress. They help
to prove that Johnson's dictionary revolutionized the spelling of
the Virginia colony. Is this revolution of no importance? Is
it of no significance that within five years after Johnson pub-
lished his book a marked change took place in the orthography
of the Virginians, and that within five more there are almost no
important deviations between that orthography and the English
66 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Standard ? More than that — the most casual reader can see, in
most of the long inscriptions, unmistakable signs of literary en-
vironment. Not only are verses taken from the popular poet of
the era, but reminiscences of Bolingbroke, of Addison, and of
Samuel Johnson are seen in almost every sentence. All this
strengthens our belief that the early Virginians were not all fox-
hunting, swearing, iJhterate cavaliers, but were a refined and cul-
tivated people. Not that they were deeply-read scholars and
literary critics. This we cannot claim. But for their times, as
educational matters then stood,' they were gentlemen of literary
instincts and literary polish.
J. L. HALL.
I.
W^ILLIAMSBURG,
INCLUDING
Bruton Church -yard, Mural Tablets,
College Chapel, Etc.
Here Lyes the Corps of John
Yuille Merchant Son to Thomas
Yuile of Darleith in the County of
D on Scotland who died at
W . . . . burgh in Virginia upon
the 2 . . . day of October 1746 years
in the 27"" year of his Age.
Numine ei Virinie
[arms] ^
Here lyes the Body of
M*^ John Collett
who departed this Life
February 24"* 1749, Aged 52 Years
* Burke, " General Armory," g^ves as arms of Yuille, (London), and
Yule, (Darleith, Scotland) : Ar. on a fesse betw. three crescents sa. a garb
or, branded gu.
Crest, — An ear of wheat ppr. leaved vert.
Motto, Numine et virtute.
No criticism is intended in the remark that Professor Hall does not
describe verbally or pictorially arms appearing with the inscriptions.
As he does not, however, the editor can be guided in annotation only
by such information as he possesses and by apprehension. In the
daily increasing regard for family history, coat-armor is an important
guide in linking families with remote ancestry.
68 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Here lyes the corps
of Hugh Orr hammer
man in Williamsburg
who died Jan'ry 6"" 1764
aged 54 yiears.
Here Lies y*
Body of ANN
CHARLTON
wife of George
Charlton who
Died Sep
in the
Year of her
Age.
R [arms] R
Here Lies the Body
of Robert Rae Merc
hant in Falmouth
son of Robert Rae
Esq*^ of Little Govan
near Glasgow in
North Britain, he
departed this Life
May 30 1753
in the 30 year of his
Age.
Here lies
the body of
Mary Nicolson
the wife of Robert Nicolson,
who departed this life
Oct. lo"" 1793,'
In the 73* year of her age.
* These were, it is believed, the parents of two worthy sons : Robert, a
surgeon in the army of the Revolution, and George Nicolson, who was
Mayor of Richmond in 1790, and subsequently. One of the daughters
of the latter was the wife of the late Rev. George Woodbridge, D. D.,
so long the beloved rector of the Monumental (Episcopal) church. — Ed.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 69
Here sleeps in Jesus united to Him
by Faith and the Graces of a Christian
life, all that was Mortal of Mrs. Ann Burges
once the tender and affectionate Wife
of the Rev* Henry John Burges,
of the Isle of Wight : She died 25""
December 1771 in giving Birth to an
Infant Daughter, who rests in her Arms.
She here waits the transporting Moment
when the Trump of God shall call her
Forth to Glory. Honour 8c Immortality,
Oh DEATH where is thy Sting?
Oh GRAVE where is thy Victory ?
Here Lyeth the Body of Ann
the Wife of Graham Frank '
and Daughter of the Rev** M*^
Theod' Staige who died on
the Feast of S' Andrew 1759
Aged 28 Years *
Here Lyes Interred The
Remains of Mary Purdie Wife of
Alex' Purdie Printer who departed
This Life On Saturday y' 28, of March
' Bishop Meade (" Old Churches and Families of Virginia," Vol. I,
p. 203) mentions Graham Frank as a merchant of London, and a cor-
respondent of Rev. Samuel Sheild and of the Nelsons.
*Rev. Theodosius Staige came, with an unmarried sister, to Vir-
ginia, and was the rector of St. George's parish, Spotsylvania county,
some time prior to November, 1728. He served also for a time York-
Hampton parish. Another sister (Letitia Maria Ann) had married
in London Rev. James Marye, a native of Rouen, Normandy, France,
the ancestor of the well-known Virginia family of the name. (See
Descendants of, in *' Huguenot Emigration to Virginia," Virginia HiS'
torical Collections, Vol. V.) Another daughter of Mr. Staige married
Samuel Thompson, Orange county, Virginia, and they had issue,
among others possibly, a son, William Staige. The name Staige is
a favored Christian name in the Davis and other families of Virginia.
A distinguished instance was the late Prof. John Staige Davis, M
D., of the University of Virginia. — Ed.
70 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
1772 in the 27 year of her age. She left
Behind her four sons Ja' Hugh Alex'
and William, and ^^ her side lie Jane
a dear little Daughter who did not
quite attain her second year. She
was a virtuous loving, frugal and
discreet wife, an affectionate, though
discerning Mother, one of the best
of Mistresses. As Friend and Ac
quaintance, she possesed the Qua
lifications which render that Con
nection valuable for she was Sen
sible Prudent Generous and
honest hearted no deceit lay un
der her Tongue. Her Husband
in Gratitude for the ardent affection
she bore him the genuine esteem he
had for her and in Justice to her
Virtues caused this stone to be
placed over her It will on
day serve to con *
Here lyes the Bodies of [BUCK]
NER STITH • and CATHERINE STITH
Son and Eldest Daughter of
Stith of Northampton County.
BucKNER a hopeful Youth
[born] the 3* Day of January 1747 [departed]
this Life in this City the
of December 1766.
4lF ^ H^ * H^
died an Infant Eighteen days old
* Alexander Purdie was for years public printer of the colony, and
the publisher in his own name and as a member of the firm of Purdie
& [John] Dixon, of The Virginia Gazette,— ^i>,
•The children of Griffin and Mary (Blackley) Stith. Griffin Stith
was a son of Drury and Susannah (Bathurst) Stith, nephew of Rev. Mr.
Stith, the historian, and grandson of Colonel John Stith, who patented
land in Charles City county in 1663, and was High Sheriff in 1691. — Ed.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 71
Also the Body of
M" Catherine Blackley late of this City
Grandmother of the above Named Children
She departed this Life the 25"* Day of
October 1771 Aged 73 Years and upwards.
Memento Mori
Here lyeth the Corps
of James Grinley
son of Alex' Grinley
in Dunbar Scotland
Who Departed
this life the 10 Day
of Jully 1763
in the Twentyeth
year of his Age.
Here lieth the Body of M'' Joseph
Scrivener who was born at Oldney
in Buckinghamshire in England
and died here the 14^ of October
1772 in the Fiftieth Year of his Age.
Here Lies y* Body
of Michael Archer Gen*
who was Born y® 29 of Sept^
1 68 1 Near Rippon in YoRKshire
And died y* 10 of February 1726
in y* 46 year of his Age.
Also Joanna Archer
Wife of Michael Archer who
Departed this life
Octo" I 1732'
^ Michael Archer was clerk of James City county from 17 19, and per-
haps earlier, until his death. George Archer, believed to be the
ancestor of the Archers of Henrico, Amelia, Powhatan and other
counties, patented 550 acres of land in Henrico county, June 2, 1665
(Book V, p. 69, Land Registry).
T2 T:i.v:iCA i^i^'yiJZ.Ai, ft^nxrr.
li loeaoorr of 'irfri Ggrrr-Ti:
ed is *iie 2:9 T<ar of bca
To vbooa K*saitfi or by mi^oca b q gDC I
A beap of L/ass akoe rroaiss oc tbee.
So an llv>s art. az-d al! the prood shaZ be
Here jks in hrppes of a Blessed
Refrarrectioa, the Remains
of M' Thomas Horxsbt
who was for many Years
a Merchant in this City.
He was Bom in Lincolnshire
in England,
January 17* 1702
and died May 27* 1772
the Remains
of M" Margaret Horxsby
Wife of M*^ Thomas Hornsby
who died February 2 . . . 1770
Aged 66 Years.*
From a book-plate of William Archer, a descendant, which has been
prcnttrvedf the family appears to have been from Cornwall, England.
Frederick Johnston, in his meritorious " Memorials of Virginia
Clerk* '' laments the destruction of the records of James City county,
in the burning of the court-house in Richmond. April 3, 1865, and
commences his list ot clerks of the county with Leonard A. Henley,
1831.— Kd.
• Somewhat mutilated ; but I have completed the lines by reference
to Pope.
* Thomas Hornsby was highly esteemed and very successful as a
merchant. Joseph Hornsby, probably his son, was a vestryman of
Bruton parish in 1774— Ed.
ancient epitaphs and inscriptions. 73
[arms]
Under this Marble Rest y* Ashes
of His Excellency Edward Nott
Late Governor of this Collony who
In his Private character was a good
Christian and in his Public a good
Governor he was A lover of Mankind
And Bountiful to his Friends By y*
Sanctity of his Moralls and y'' Mildness
Prudence and justice of his Administra-
tion he was Deservedly Esteemed A
Public Blessing while he Lived & when
He Dyed A Public Callamity. he Departe
This Life the 23* Day of August 1706
Aged 49 Years.
In Gratefull Remembrance of who
se many Dutyes the Generall Assembly
of this Collony have Erected this
Monument.*®
d
SACRED
to the Memory of
James Nicolson
late steward of
William and Marys College
he was born in the town of Inverners
NORTH-BRITAIN
ANNO 1711
and died the 22 "' January
1773
industry, frugality, integrity.
simplicity, of manners and
independence of SOUL
'° Edward Nott entered upon his duties as Lieutenant-Governor
August 15, 1705. He procured the passage by the Assembly of an act
for the building of a " palace *' for the Governor, with an appropriation
of ;f 3,000, also an act establishing the general court; but the last was
disallowed by the British Board of Trade. During Governor Nott's
administration the College of William and Mary was destroyed by
fire. — Ed.
74 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Adorned his Character and
procured him Universal Esteem
READER
Learn from this Elxample that
As the most Exalted station may
be debased by VICE so there
is no situation in life on
which VIRTUE will not confer
DIGNITY !
To the Memory of
M' Charles Hunt,
late of this Parish.
He died the ii"" day
of Oct' 1794
Aged 41 Years.
Regretted by all who knew him.
Katherine Thorp
Relick of Cap' Thomas
Thorp Nephew to Major
Thomas Thorp Formerly
Inhabitant of this Parish
after a Pilgrimage of Forty
three yeares in a Troublesome
world Lay Downe here to
Rest in hope of a Joyfull
Resurection obii' June 6^^
1695
Here lyeth in Hope of a joyfull
Resurrection the Body of Cap*
Thomas Thorp of Bruton
Parish in the Dominion of Virginia
Nephew of Maj. Otho Thorp
of the same Parish who Departed
This Life the 7 day of October
Ano 1693 Aged 48
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 75
[arms] "
H S E
EDWARDUS BARRADALL armiger
Qui
In legum studiis feliciter versatus
Attornati Generaiis et Admiralitatis ludicis
Amplicissimus Partes merito obtinuit
Fideliter obivit
Collegium Gulielmi et Marine
Cum Gubernator
Tum in Conventu Generali Senator
Propugnavit
SARAM
Viri Honorabilis
GuiL. FiTZHUGH Armigeri
Serenissimae Reginae Ann^e in Virginia a Consilios
Filiam Natu minimam
Tam Mortis quam Vitae Sociam
Uxorem habuit.
Obierunt
Hie iuxta situs est
HENRICUS BARRADALL
E. B. supra dicti Frater
Qui
Obiit XVIII Cal Octob A. D. MDCCXXXVII
JEtSLi XXVII
Blumfield Barradall tantum Frater"
" From a rough drawing; in the possession of the editor, the arms of
Barradall (tinctures not given), a bend, three pheons, an annulet for
difference, are impaled with Fitzhugh — Az.: three chevrons braced in
base of escutcheon, or, a chief of the last. William Fitzhugh, lawyer,
planter, merchant and shipper, the ancestor of the well-known family
of the name, was born in Bedford. England, January 9, 1651 ; settled in
that portion of Stafford, now comprising Prince George county ; died
at his seat, Bedford, Virginia, in October, 1701. — Ed.
" Last few lines so badly worn as to be illegible.
76 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The epitaph of Rev. Roland Janes, first rector of Bniton
Parish. Bishop Meade is not accurate Owing to the igno-
rance of workman recently employed in the church-yard, the
epitaph is permanently distorted. The following is approxi-
mately correct :
Hie jacet Rolandus Iones
clericus filius Rolandi Jones
clerici Natus Swimbrook juxta
Burford in Comii Uxoii Collegii
Merton Universitate Oxoii
Alumnus Parochiae Bruton Virginia
Pastor primus & delectissimus
Funcnone Pastorali acnis 14
fideliter d Parochiae quam
maximo de Obiit Ap 23
die i^tatis suae 48 Anno D 1688
Here Lyes the Body of
Margaret Brown wife to
Doctor John Brown of Williamsburg
late of Cold Stream North Britain
who died the 22* day of August 1720
in the 36 year of Her Age
Prob ! Dolor quao fuit Clarissime.
Here Lyes the Body of Jane Brown
Daughter to the foresaid John Brown
who died the 30 August 1720 the
14 day of Her Age.
[arms] "
Under this Marble lieth the Body
of Thomas Ludwell Esq*^
Secretary of Virginia, who was born
at Bruton in the County of Somerset
"The arms upon the book-plate of Philip Ludwell of " Green Spring '*
are: Gu, a bend ar., three eagles displayed sa. between three towers.
Motto — Pensieri stretti edil viso sciolto. — Ed.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 77
in the Kingdom of ENGLAND, and
departed this Life in the Year 1678 And
near this place lye the Bodies of Richard
Kemp, Esq' his Predecessor in y* Secretarys
Office" and S*^ Thomas Lunsford K'
in Memory of whom this Marble is placed
by Order of Philip Ludwell Esq'
Nephew of the said Thomas Ludwell
in the Year 1727
Here lies
in hopes of a joyful
Resurrection all that was
mortal of Iohn Greenhow,
late of this City, Merchant,
He was born in staunton.
near kendal in Westmoreland,
Great Britain, November the 12"*
1724 & died the 29**" August 1787,
after a very short Illness.
On his left side lies Elizabeth
^* Richard Kemp was a member of the Council of Virginia, 1642, and
as its President in June, 1644, upon the departure of Sir William Berke-
ley for England, became the acting Governor of the Colony. It is
notable that during his incumbency the first fast and thanksgiving days
in the Colony, of which any record is preserved, were ordered. •* Att
James Cittye the lyih of February, 1644-5,'* it was ** enacted by the
Governour, Counsell and Burgesses of this present Grand Assembly,
for God's glory and the publick benefit of the Collony to the end that
God might avert his heavie judgments that are now upon vs. That the
last Wednesday in every month be sett apart for a day of ffast and
humiliation. And that it be wholly dedicated to prayers and preach'
ing." Also** That the eighteenth day of April be yearly celebrated
by thanksgivings for our deliverance from the hands of Salvages."
Referring to the recent massacre by the Indians (Hening's Statutes, I,
pp. 289, 290). Sir William Berkeley returning in June, 1645, resumed
the government of Virginia, but Richard Kemp continued to serve the
Colony as a member of the Council until 1648, and perhaps later, lat-
terly as the Secretary of the body. He died some time before
1678— Ed.
78 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
the Daughter of Iohn Tyler "
his second Wife,
who was born in James City
the 30*'' Jan^ I744. and died
of the Small Pox on July the 23''* 1781
which she endured with the greatest
Christian Fortitude & Resignation.
Here Lyeth
Edward Dye'
Who died OcT'
y® 6 1722 ag*
I Year & 7 Mo
y* Only Son of
Rob Dyer &
Martha his
Wife
In the adjoining grave lies deposited
with her husband whatever was mortal of
Jean Blair,
who was born 26**" Oct' 1736, O. S.
and died 22°* Nov' 1792.
Her conduct through life was truly exemplary and
amiable in discharging all the relative duties of her
station as a wife, a mother and a friend ; and her piety
shone forth with pecuHar lustre during a protracted,
painful, and distressing illness, which she sustained
without a murmur, with entire resignation and
acknowledgments of the divine mercy and goodness;
and fervent prayers to be released, and, resign her
spirit to GOD who gave it.
Here lies interred
the body of James Blair
son of the Hon^^^ John Blair *•
*' Marshal of the Colony and grandfather of President John Tyler.— Ed.
"John Blair, son of Dr. Archibald Blair, and nephew of Rev. James
Blair, D. D., President of William and Mary College ; member of the
House of Burgessesi in 1736 ; long a member of the Council, of which
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 79
a youth distinguished for the uniform purity
of his morals, accompanied with ingenuous modesty
and the most winning mildness of temper and manners.
He was born the 9"* of June 1770
and died the 25*** of Oct"" 1791.
SACRED to the memory of
JANE, the youngest daughter of
the Hon*"* John Blair,
and beloved wife of James Henderson."
Mournful and with tears, he hath erected
this last gift of love and conjugal affection.
She died 19"* Dec' 1800.
Aged 40 years.
Having been distinguished for her piety
affection, prudence, and suavity of manners.
At her feet are deposited the bodies
of her three infant children,
James Blair, born 29"* Oct 1795,
and lived only 21 days.
John Blair, born 25**" Feby^ 1797
and died 17**' April following, and
Blair Munroe, born 30**" July, 1800
and died 4'*" May 1801.
[arms]"
Here Lyeth the Body of
COLONEL David Bray
of this Parish
as President, he was acting Governor of Virginia for a time in 1758.
His son, Archibald Blair, was Secretary of the Virginia Convention of
1776; and another son, John Blair, a Justice of the Supreme Court of
the United States. A daughter, Jane, was the first wife of James Hen-
derson. — Ed.
"James Henderson married secondly — , and had issue : i. James;
2. Walter; 3. Elizabeth. He died in 1818, and William Brown and
Alexander Brown were his executors. — Ed.
^^Az. a chevron between three eagles' legs erased a la cuisse sa.
armed gu. Crest— An ounce ppr. — Ed.
80 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
who died on y* 21 of Oct' 17 17
in the 52* Year of His Age
and Left
his Wife Judith & Son David Bray
by whom this Monument was Erected
in Memory of Him
Under this tomb with her husband
Lieth M" Judith Bray who
Departed this Life the 26 Day
of October MDCCXX in the
45^ Year of her Age.'*
[arms]
Here Lyeth In . .
of Iames Br . .
AS bray by whom
this Monument was Erected
James Bray
1690
Another Bray monument — marble pyramidal shaft on a mar-
ble die, the latter having handsome armorial bearings on two
sides and Latin inscriptions on the other two.*®
^* James * Bray was the first of the name in Virginia of whom record is
preserved. He was living in James City county in 1666 ; was sworn a
member of the Council March 4, i674-*5 ; married Angelica , and
had issue : i. Thomas;* 2. James,* J. P. of James City county. 1710,
and later; vestryman of Bruton parish; sheriff, I7i7-*i8; married in
or before 1698 Mourning, widow of Colonel Thomas Pettus. He had
(with, perhaps other issuej a son, Thomas,' J. P. of James City county,
1738, who had an only child, Elizabeth,* who married Colonel Philip
Johnson, of King & Queen county, and died in 1675. 3. Colonel
David,* supra^ vestryman of Bruton parish, and J. P. of James City
county, 1 7 10. He had issue: i. David,' /«/ra, born 1699; member of
the Council ; died 1731 ; married Elizabeth, daughter of John Page of
Gloucester county. 4. Angelica, married Mungo Inglis of Williamsburg,
the first Master of the Grammar School, William and Mary College
(1693-17 19). His descendants intermarried with the Armisteads, Pages
and Sheildses.
The widow of Thomas Bray established a scholarship at William and
Mary College. — Ed.
^'^The arms of Bray with an inescutcheon bearing the Page arms. — Ed.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS, 81
ri. S. £.
DAVID BRAY Armiger
Vir
Forma Ingenio Morum Suavitate et Comitate Praetor
Serenissimo Regfi Georgio Secundo
Conciliis in Virginia constitubus
Tamen ante Munus Susceptum florente JEtaie
Morte abreptus.
ELISABETHAM
loHANNis Page, Arminger" Filiam Natu primam
Sibi Matrimonio conjunctam habuit
Mutuo Affectus conjunctissimam.
et sine Prote maerentem reliquit
Octob 5* 1 73 1 ^tat 32
Ilia Amoris Conjugalii Extremum Pignus
Hoc Monumentum posuit
Hie Depositum
Quicquid habuit Mortale Elizabetha Bray
Una cum Marito desideratissimo.
Quae languenti morbo consumpta Animam
Resignavit 22** Die Aprilis Anno 1734
^tatis 32**
iEquanimiter, Fortiter, Pie.
Here lieth the Body of Iames Whaley
of Yorke County in Virginia who
departed this life the 16 day of May
Anno Domini 1701 and in the fiftieth
yeare of his Age
His Body lyes to be Consumed to Dust
Till the Resurrection of the Just
Amongst Which Number He'll in hopes Appeare
His blessed Sentence at doomsday to heare
'^ Errors in cutting.
6
82 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
" Mathew Whaley lyes Interred here
Within this Tomb upon his Father dear.
Who Departed
this Life the 26"" of
September 1705 Aged
Nine years only child
of Iames Whaley
and Mary his wife
Fragment of Colonel John Page' s tombstone, lying near the
west door of Bruton Parish church, within the building.
[arms] "
Here lieth in hope of a Joyfull Resurrection
the Body of Colonel Iohn Page of
Bruton Parish Esquire one of their
Majesties Council in the Dominion
[of] Virginia w o Departed this
[life t]he 23 of [ Ja]nuary in the year
[of our] Lord 69^^ Aged 65
Wife of Colonel John Page,
[arms] **
Here lyeth the Body of Alice Page
wife to Iohn Page of y' county of York
in Virginia aged 73 yeares who
departed this life the 22 day of June
Anno Domini 1698
** Square piece of marble on the front face of the monument.
^Arms: An, a fesse dancette between three martlets; azure, a
bordure of the last. Crest: A demi-horse forcene (rearing). — Ed.
"Colonel John Page married, about 1656, Alice Luckin, of county
Essex, England. In the **Page Family of Virginia," by Dr. R. C. M.
Page, New York, 1883, it is stated (p. 41) that the arms on this tomb
were those of Luckin : Sable, a fesse indented between two leopard's
faces or. Crest — A demi-griffin or., issuing out of a tower paly of six
of the last and sable. — Ed.
ancient epitaphs and inscriptions. 83
[arms]
Here lieth in hope of a Joyfull Resurrection
the Body of Captain Francis Page of
Bruton Parish in the Dominion of Virginia
Eldest Son of Colonel Iohn Page of the
Same Parish, Esquire, Who Departed
this life the tenth Day of May
in the Year of our Lord
1692 : Aged 35
Thou wast while living of Unspotted Fame
Now being Dead, no man Dares Soil thy name
For thou wast One whom Nothing here Could Stain
ither Force of honour nor Love of Gain
spheres thou hast well Discharge thy trust
most truly Pious, Loyal lust
slant Goodness my Penn Cannt Express
Vertues my tongue Cannt Rehearse
steem*d by all the wise and Sage
thy country in thy age
we Cannt Now Speak of the
eet to all Posterity
Did to Yoursef Create
erlasting Date
your most happy wife
other Life
[arms] "
Here lieth in the hope of a Joyfull Resurrection
the body of Mary, the wife of Captain
Francis Page of Bruton Parish in
the Dominion of Virginia, Daughter of
Edward Diggs of Hampton Parish in
the Same Dominion, Esquire who Departed
this life the Eighteenth Day of March in
the year of Our Lord 169°, Aged ^[2 ?]
'*The editor has no information as to these arms, whether of Page
alone or impaled with those of Digges. The latter are : Gu. on a cross
ar., five eagles displayed sa. armed of the field. — Ed.
84 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Thy Modest, meek and Pious Soule did Shine
With well-Tempered Nature and Grace Divine
One to Excell in beauty few Could Finde
yet thy Rarest Features were of the minde
thou wast a Faithful and Vertuous wife
thou Greatly Loved peace and hated strife
thou wast a prudent and tender Mother
a true-loving sister to Each Brother
a Choice Friend a Kind Nighbour
a good Christian ready at God's call
thou lived and dy'd upon Christ Relying
thou Dy*d to Sin and now Li vest by Dying
thy Faith Doth yield thy Piety Doth Give
Restoratives to make thee Ever live
thrice blest Friend this Epitaph is thy due
when Saints arise thy Lord will say ' tis true.
[arms]
Here lyeth the body of Elizabeth Page dec*
late wife to Iohn Page of Yorke [co]unty Gent.
and Daughter of [CJap* Francis Page late of the
same County deceased she blest her sa[id]
Husband w[ith] A Sonn and Daughter & departed
this life the 12 day of November Anno Dom 1702
And in the 20 yeare of her age.
MURAL TABLETS IN CHRIST'S CHURCH.
MDLCCLII
Inscribed to the Memory of
Doctor William Cocke,
An English Physician, Born of reputable Parents
MDCLXXII
at Sudbury in Suffolk,
and Educated at Queen's College, Cambridge,
He was learned and polite,
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 85
of indisputed Skill in his profession,
of unbounded Generosity in his practice :
which multitudes, yet alive, can testify.
He was, many years, of the Council
and Secretary of State, for this Colony
In the Reign of Queen Anne & of King George
He died Suddenly, sitting a Judge upon the Bench
of the General Court in the Capitol:
MDCCXX
His Hon: Friend Alex' Spotswood, EsqVthen Gov*^
with the principal Gentlemen of the Country,
attended his Funeral,
and, weeping, saw the Corps Interred
at the West side of the Alter,
in this Church.**
MURAL TABLET TO HON. DANIEL PARKE.
Near this Marble Lyes
y* Hon*"* Daniel Parke
of y* County of Essex Esq who
was one of his Ma:*^** Counsellers
and some time Secretary of the
Collony of Virg:' he Died y*' e'"" of
March Anno 1679
His other Felicityes ware Crowned by
his happy Marridg with Rebbecka
the Daughter of George Evelyn
of the County of Surry Esq she dyed
**Dr. Cocke married Elizabeth, sister of Mark Catesby, the naturalist,
and had issue, whose descendants include the names of Archer, Bat-
taile, Buckner, Dudley, Gregory, Hansford, Holliday, Jones, Laughlin,
Montgomery, Taliaferro, Taylor, Washington and others. His widow
married secondly Colonel John HoUoway, an eminent lawyer of
Williamsburg, Virginia. She died March 4, 1755, aged 74 years. — Ed.
86 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
the 2* of January Anno 1672 at Long
Ditton in y' County of Surry and
left behind her a most
hopefull progeny"
Stone on the Floor of the Church near East Door,
Here lies in hope of a Blessed Resurrection
the Body of M*^ Orlando Iones Son of M
Rowland Iones, some time Minister of
this Parish, he was born December y* 31''* 1681
and Died lune y* 12^ 1719 in y* 38^ year of his
Age. he was twice Married his first Wife wa[s]
M" Martha Macon '^ Daughter of M*^ Gideon
Macon of New- Kent by whom he left one
Son Named Lane & one Daughter Named
Frances, his Second Wife was M" Mary
Williams, Daughter of Iames Williams
of King & Queen County, who Erected this
Monument to his Memory.
"Colonel Daniel Parke had issue: twc daughters — Francis, who
married John Custis ; and Lucy, the first wife of Colonel William Byrd
of *' Westover," the second of the name. Colonel Parke went to Eng-
land, where he was appointed an aid-de-camp to the Duke of Marl-
borough ; was with him at the battle of Blenheim, and was selected to
convey the news of that memorable victory to Queen Anne. He was
subsequently appointed Governor of the Leward Islands, and was slain
in an insurrection there. — Ed.
^She was married January 31, 1703 ; died May 11, 1716, and is buried
at the Macon homestead in New Kent county. Her daughter Frances is
said to have been the wife of Colonel John Dandridge and the mother of
Martha (Dandridge-Custis) Washington. Gideon Macon, by tradition,
was at one time the Secretary of Sir William Berkeley. He was for a
time an Indian interpreter. The Christian name of his wife was
Martha. Colonel John Dandridge died in 1756, aged fifty-six years.
His tomb is in St. George's church-yard, Fredericksburg, Virginia. —
Ed.
J
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 87
MURAL TABLET TO THE TYLERS.
In Memoriam.
HENRY TYLER. SR. & HENRY TYLER, JR.
Vestrymen & Wardens of Bruton
Church & Parish.
John Tyler & Elizabeth Low, parents of
Joanna Tyler-McKenzie & John Tyler,
the Marshall of the Colony of Va.:
& Anne Contesse, parents of
John Tyler,
Patriot, Gov'r, Judge of the Admiralty,
Supreme & U. S. Courts of Va. :
& Mary Armistead,
of Buck-Rowe, parents of
John Tyler,
Student, Visitor, Rector & Chancellor
of Wm. & Mary College :
Gov'r, Member of Congress, Senator,
Vice President & President of the United
States, Member of Confederate Congress :
& Laetitia Christian, parents of
Robert Tyler, Poet, Philosopher, States-
man, Gentleman, Samuel Tyler, A. B., LL. D.
Chancellor of the State of Va. ,
Grandson of the Marshall.
This tablet is erected by some
of their Descendants :
June 1888, A. D.
These are all the inscriptions now to be found in and around
Bruton Parish church. No doubt many monuments have been
destroyed. Old citizens say that many have disappeared in
their day.
Under the church, doubtless, were buried many to whom no
stone was erected. Governor Fauquier was buried under the
88 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
church, and no monument to him remains. His death and
obsequies are described in the Virginia Gazette of March 3,
1768, as follows:
*' Early this morning, died at the palace, after a tedious illness,
which he bore with the greatest patience and fortitude, the Hon.
Francis Fauquier, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-
in-Chief of the Colony, over which he has presided near ten
years, much to his own honor, and the ease and satisfaction of the
inhabitants. He was a gentleman of the most amiable disposi-
tion, generous, just and mild, and possessed, in an eminent
degree, of all the social virtues. He was a Fellow of the Royal
Society, and died in his 65th year. "
WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE CHAPEL.
Hoc juxta marmor S. E.
Johannes Randolph, Eques. :
Hujus collegii dulce ornamentum, alumnus :
Insigne praesidium gubernator,
Grande calumen Senator,
Gulielmum patrem generosum,
Mariam ex Ishamorum stirpe.
In agro Northamptoniensi matrem
Praedaris dotibus honestavit,
Filius natu Sextus
Literis humanoribus
Artibusque ingenuis fideliter instructus :
(Illi quippe fuerat tum eruditionis,
Tum doctrinae sitis nunquam explenda.)
Hospitium Graiense concessit.
Quo in domicilio
Studiis unice deditus,
Statim inter legum peritos excelluit,
Togamque induit;
Causis validissimus agendis.
In Patriam
Quam semper habuit charissimam reversus.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 89
Considici
Senatus primam clerici deinde prolventoris
Thesaurarii
Legati ad anglos semel atque iterum missi,
Glocestriae demum curiae judicis primarii,
Vices arduos honestasque sustinuit
Perite, graviter, integre;
Quibus in munus,
Vix parem habuit
Superiorem certe neminem.
Hos omnes quos optime meruit honores
Cum ingenua totius corpori pulchritude,
£t quidam senatorius decor,
Turn eximium ingenii acumen
Egregie illustravunt.
At -^quitas summi juris expers,
Clientum fidele omnium
Pauperiorum sine mercede patrocinium,
Hospitium sine luxu splendidum,
Veritas sine fuco,
Sine fastu charitas.
Ceteris animi virtutibus
Facile praeluxerunt.
Tandem
Laboribus vigiliisque fractus,
Morboque lentissimi confectus
Cum sibi satis, sed amicus, sed Reip: pavum vixisset,
Susannam
Petri Beverley Armigeri
Filiam natu minimam,
Conjugera delectissimam,
(Ex qua tres filius filiamque inimicam susceperat,)
Sui magno languentem desiderio
Reliquit
Sexto Non: Mar: Anno Dom: 1736-7
- ^tat: 44.''
"•The mural tablet to Sir John Randolph was destroyed in the fire of
1859.
90 virginia historical society.
[crown]
NORBORNE'*
Baron De Botetourt
Ob. XV Oct :
A: D: MDCCLXX
^t: LIII.
COLLEGE GREEN.
Statue to Lord Botetourt.
[Inscription in front.]
The
Right Honourable
Norborne Berkeley
Baron De Botetourt
His Maiesty's
Late Lieutenant; and
Governor General of the
Colony and Dominion
of Virginia.
^ Inscription on the coffin plate of Lord Botetourt. This plate was
carried off during the Civil War, and twenty-five or thirty years after-
wards found its way back to the College, where it is now carefully pre-
served.
In addition to Lord Botetourt, the following distinguished men were
buried under the College chapel : John Randolph, Attorney-General of
the Colony ; Peyton Randolph, first President of the Continental Con-
gress; Rt. Rev. James Madison, bishop of Virginia and president of
the College ; and Chancellor Robert Nelson, No epitaphs are found.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 91
[On right-hand side of die.]
Deeply impressed with the warmest sense
of gratitude for his excellency the
Right Hon"' Lord Botetourt's prudent
and wise administration, and that the
remembrance of those many public and
social virtues, which so eminently
adorn' d his illustrious character might
be transmitted to latest posterity,
the General Assembly of Virginia
on the XX day of luly Ann: Dom: MDCCLXXI
resolved with one united voice, to erect
this statue to his Lordship's memory.
Let wisdom and iustice preside in any country:
the people will rejoice and must be happy.
[On left-hand side of die.]
America ! behold your friend !
who, leaving his native country,
declined those additional honours, which
were there in store for him, that
he might heal your wounds, and restore
tranquilHty and happiness to this
extensive continent : with what zeal
and anxiety he pursued these glorious
objects, Virginia, thus bears her
gratefull testimony
Richard Hayward
London MDCCLXXIII
92 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
OLD CHURCH-YARD,
JAMESTOWN
Fragment of Lady Frances Berkeley's tombstone, now at
Captain F. Brown's residence on the island. It will be remem-
bered that she always called herself Lady Berkeley, even after
she married again."
yeth the Bod
Lady FRANC
KLEY
Fragment of a Ludwell Slab, perhaps that of the Elder Lud-
well,
interred
WELL ES
IS M
The Fragments of Commissary Blair' s tombstone are scat-
tered through the church -yard. They were deciphered, as follows,
by the late Hugh Blair Grigsby :
H. S. E. (Hie sepultus est)
Vir Reverendus et Honorabilis
Jacobus Blair, A. M.
Qui
In Scotia natus
In Academia Edinburgensi nutritus,
Primo Angliam deinde Virginiam
Venit :
Qua Parte Tenarum
Annos LVIII, Evangelii Preconis
LIV, Commissarii
'' Her maiden name was Culpeper. She was thrice married. Her
first husband was Samuel Stephens, her second Sir William Berkeley
(by whom she had no issue), and her third Philip Ludwell (Secretary of
the Colony, and for some time Governor of North Carolina), by whom
she had issue — Ed.
^
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 93
Gulielmi et Mariae praesidis,
e Britanniae Principutn
Consilarii
Concillii Praesidis,
Coloniae Prefecti
munera sustinuit :
ornavit
um oris venusti Decus,
ate hilari sine (?) hospital!
munificent
issimo egenis largo.
omnibus corni
superavit.
Collegio bene devioram
fundaverat
ens Bibliothecam suam
id alendum Theologiae studiosum
juventutum pauperiorum instituendam
Testamento legavit
CaL Maii in die"
MDCCXLIII
aetat: LXXXVIII
am desideratissimi
Senis Laudem
is nepotibus commendabunt
pene marmore perenniora.
Fragment of what would seem to be the tombstone of Sarah
Blair, the wife of the Commissary.
AH
Commissa
of this Parish
M Hannah H
1670 Married
'"Bishop Meade corrects this to "August," but the learned bishop is
wrong. In Perry's collections, we find an official letter from Governor
Gooch to the Bishop of London, announcing the death of Commissary
Blair as having occurred in April. By recalling the Latin construction
so many days before the Calends of May, we shall see that the epitaph
is right, as we should naturally expect.
94 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
[The editor is enabled to supply in part the epitaph of Mrs.
Blair, through the kind and opportune attention of Hon. Wil-
liam F. Spotswood, Petersburg, Virginia, in sending him a
clipping from The Constellation^ September 17, 1835, giving
an account of a visit to Jamestown, copied from the Norfolk
BeaconJ\
Memoriae Sacram.
Here lyes in the hope of a Blessed Resurrection
y® Body of Mrs. Sarah Blair, Wife of
Mr. James Blair, Commissary of Virginia
Sometime Minister of this Parish.
She was daughter of
Col. Benjamin and M*s Hannah Harrison of
Surry. Born Aug. y* 14"" 1678, Married Ja
[Here the inscription was hidden by being imbedded in a tree
which had grown about it.]
died May y* 5, 17 13 exceeding beloved and
lamented
[Then follows a long Latin inscription, partly concealed by
the tree which clasps it. The grave-yard is stated in thi^ ac-
count to be about one hundred feet square, and that it enclosed
a portion only of tombs near the church. In one corner of the
yard was the tomb of William Lee of ** Greenspring,*' who died
June 27, 1795, aged fifty-eight years.]
Here Lyeth [the]
Body of [the Rev.]
loHN GoUGH [late Minister]
of This Place Who [departed]
This Life [January 15*^ 168^]
And Waiteth [in hopes]
A loYFULL REs[urrection] **
^Restored from Bishop Meade's **01d Churches and Families of
Virginia" (I, p. 113).— Ed.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 95
[H]ere Lyeth William **Sherwoo[d]
That Was Born in the parish
of White Chappeli Near
London. A Great Sinner
Waiting For a loyfull
Resurrection
Under this Stone lies interred
The Body of
Mrs Hannah Ludwell**
Relict of
The Hon Philip Ludwell Esq
By whom She has left
One Son and Two Daughters
After a most Exemplary Life
Spent in chearful Innocence
And The continual Exercise of
Piety Cnarity and Hospitality
She Patiently Submitted
Death on the 4*** Day of April 1731 in the 52'
Year of Her Age
Here lyeth the Body of
Mary the Wife of lOHN
Knight who departed
this life Febr^ 11^ 1732-3 ir*
the 59^ Year of her Age
Waiting for a loyfull
Resurrection
John Ambler,"* Esquire, Barrister-at-Law,
Representative in the Assembly for
Jamestown, and Collector of the District
** William Sherwood, the famous lawyer.
'*She was the daughter of Benjamin Harrison of '* Wakefield." — Ed.
*• The tombstone of John Ambler has been destroyed. This is an
approximately correct copy of the inscription which it bore. [It may
be assumed that the stone bore arms. On the monument to John
96 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
of York River, in this Province.
He was born the 3i'' of December, 1735,
and died at Barbadoes, 27*^ of May, 1766.
In the relative and social duties — as a
son, and a brother and a friend — few
equalled him, and none excelled him.
He was early distinguished by his love
of letters, which he improved at Cambridge
and the Temple, and well knew how to adorn
a manly sense with all the elegance of lan-
guage. To an extensive knowledge of
men and things he joined the noblest sen-
timents of liberty, and in his own exam-
ple held up to the world theinost stri-
king picture of the amiableness of reli-
gion.
II.
TRAVIS BURYING-GROUND,
ON
JAMESTOWN ISLAND.
Here lyeth the Body of Edward Travis
who departed this life the 12*** day of
November in the year of our Lord 1700
Ambler in Shockoe Hill Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, born April 25,
1762; and died April 8, 1836, the arms of Ambler are quartered with
those of Jaquelin : Ambler — sa. on a fesse or. between three pheons ar.
a lion passant guard, gu. O-^j/— Two dexter hands conjoined sus-
taining a mural coronet. — Ed.]
. \
ancient epitaphs and inscriptions. 97
[arms] "
Here lyeth in the hope of A glorious Resurrection
the body of John Champion who was borne ,
the lo"" day of Novemb' in the yeare of our
Lord 1660 and departed this life the 16*^
day of December in the year of our Lord
1700
And likewise John Champion the son of Ibhn
Champion who was borne the ii**" day of Dec'
in the yeare of our Lord 1695 and departed
this life the 11 "" day of September in the yeare
of our Lord 1700
Susanna Travis wife of
Edward Champion Travis and
Daughter of John Hutchings
of the Borough of Norfolk Merc*"'
and Amy his Wife who Departed
this life October the 28: 1761 in the
33'* Year of her Age much Lamented
by all her Acquaintance
And leaving Issue three Sons and
one Daughter
Nigh this Place are also Interred
The Following Children of the said
Edward and Susannah his wife
Elizabeth who was born August
24**" 1748 and Died September 22''* 1749
Amy who was born October 9*^ 1752
and Died October 2""* 1755
John who was Born December 9"" 1755
and Died November 25**" 1759.
" Burke (" General Armory ") gives no less than ten different coats of
arms as of Champion. Champion Travis was a member of the Vir-
ginia Conventions of 1775 and 1776, from Jamestown.— Ed.
98 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
III.
GREENSPRING.
Here lyeth y* body of Eliz. Drummond •*
who departed this Life y* 2* day of
lune Anno Dmi 1699 Aetatis (suae) 28
IV.
CUSTIS BURYING-GROUND,
ON
Waller's Farm, York County.
Here lyeth the Body of Daniel
Park Custis, son ot CoP
Daniel Park Custis of New
Kent County who Departed this Life
on the 19"' February 1754
Aged two years and three
Months
Under this Stone lies interred
the Body of Frances Park
Custis daughter of Daniel Park
Custis Esq' and Martha his wife Born
April 12 1753 Dyed April i 1757
Aged 4 Years *•
"^ Perhaps the daughter of the famous William Drummond [who was
executed by Governor Sir William Berkeley for participation in " Bacon's
Rebellion."— Ed.]
•• Children of Martha Washington's first marriage.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 99
Here lies the Body of M"
Frances Custis,*® daughter of Daniel Park Esq
who departed this Life March the
14*^ 17H in the 29"" year
of her Age.
V.
TRAVIS'S POINT,
Here Lyes Interred the Body of
Anna Maria Timson Daughter
of John and Elizabeth Timson
who was born December the 17*** day
1732 and Departed this Life July the 23*
1734
Also the Body of William Timson
son of John and Elizabeth Timson
who was born October the 21" day
1734 and Departed this life July
the 23'* 1736.
Here Lyes Interred the Body of
Mrs Elizabeth Timson, wife of
Mr. John Timson who Departed
this Life August the 26"" 1735 (?) in
the 22°* year of her age.
Here Lyeth inter of a
j Resurrection the Body of
Will" Timson one of his Majesty s
Justices of the Peace in y* Colony
of Virginia who
May y® 3'"* 1678, and Died in
year of our Lord 175! A
year of his age
*® Widow of John Custis, who was appointed to the Council in 1705,
and died about Jan., lyj^f . — Ed.
100 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Here lyeth the Body of
Mr. Samuell Timson March' who
Departed this Life in January y*
23* 1694
Here also lies Inter* y® Bod^
of M" Mary Timson late wife
of M"" Samuell Timson who
Departed this life Oct^' y* lo**'
£702
FRAGMENT OF A THORNTON SLAB.
Interred ... of Thornton
ohn Thornton .... parted
this life . . . August 1760 . . . 76(?)
year of her age.
VI.
YORK-HAMPTON.
[arms] "
Hie jacet, spe certe resurgendi in Christo,
Thomas Nelson, Generosis, Filius
Hugonis et Sariae Nelson de Penrith,
in Comitatu Cumbriae, natus 2omo
die Februarii Anno Domini 1677,
vitae bone gestae finem implevit
7 mo die Octobris 1745, aetatis
suae 68.
" Nelson arms : Per pale, argent and sable, a chevron between three
fleur de lis counterchanged. Crest— h. fleur de lis. — Ed.
ancient epitaphs and inscriptions. 101
[arms]
Here lies the body of the Hon. WilHam Nelson,
late president of his Majesty's council in this
Dominion, in whom the love of man and the love
of God so restrained and enforced each other, and
so invigorated the mental powers in general, as
not only to defend him from the vices and follies
of his age and country, but also to render it a mat-
ter of difficult decision in what part of laudable
conduct he most excelled ; whether in the tender
and endearing accomplishments of domestic life,
or in the more arduous duties of a wider circuit;
whether as a neighbor, g^entleman, or a ma£is-
trate; whether in the graces of hospitality, charity,
or piety. Reader, if you feel the spirit of that
exalted ardor which aspires to the felicity of
conscious virtue, animated by those stimulating and
divine admonitions, perform the task and expect
the distinction of the righteous man. Obit 19"" of
Nov. Anno Domini 1772, aetatis 61.**
Here lieth the Body
of M" Mary Gibbons
who departed this Life
the 22* of Sept' 1792
Aged 75 Years
With a Character unblemishe'd
She passed thro Life
A tender parent
And affectionate wife
Here lieth interred the
Body of MARY SANSUM
Who departed this life
the 23: of October 1785
Aged 23 Years.
^'The above is taken almost exactly from Howe's History of Vir-
ginia. Bishop Meade (I, p. 214) has some slight differences.
102 virginia historical society.
[arms]
*• Underneath this Marble lies the Body of
Mildred Jameson :
Wife of David Jameson : **
and Daughter of
Edmund and Agnes Smith
of York County
She Departed this Life
the lo**" Day of December 1778 :
in the Forty sixth Year of Her Age,
**In Memory of
John Turner
who departed this Life
October the 13""
in the Year of our Lord
1781
Aged 30 Years.
Ah cruel ball so sudden to disarm
And tare my tender husband
from my Arms
How can I grieve too much
what time shall end
By mourning for so good
so dear a friend.
[arms] *•
Maior William Gooch of [t]his "
[Parish]
Dyed Octob 29 1655
*' Lying by itself in the corner of a field on Temple Farm.
** David Jameson served as a member of the Virginia Council and in
other positions of trust during the Revolution. — Ed.]
^ A fugitive stone lying in Temple Farm. Place of grave is unknown.
*• Gooch arms ; Per pale, ar. and sa. a chevron between three talbots
pass, counterchanged ; on a chief gu. as many leopards' heads ar.
Crest— A talbot pass, per pale, ar. and sa. Motto — Fide et virtute.
The inscription is restored from a copy made before the mutilation of
the stone. It was originally within the enclosed Temple burying-ground
which was in area about twenty- five by forty feet. — Ed.]
*^ Mutilated by relic- hunters. See Century for October, 1881.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 103
Within this tomb there doth interred
[Lie]
No shape but substance true [nobility]
Itself though young in years just t[wenty]
[nine]
Yet grac*d with vertues morall and [divine]
The church from him did good par[ticipate]
In counsell rare fit to adorn a s[tate]
Underneath this Stone
are deposited the Remains of the Late
John Henry of Richmond in Virginia
A Citizen of America born at Janview
near Castledaersor in Ireland on the 1 1 Nov
1761
who departed this Life on the 21 Aug
1807. by his death his Brothers and Sisters
have to lament the loss of the most aflfec-
tionale of Brothers his Country A useful
member of the Commonwealth and his
Acquaintance a much valued friend
This Stone was placed here by James Henry
of Fairview as a small tribute
of Gratitude to the Memory of
the most disinterested and affectionate
of Brothers.
VII
KING'S CREEK.
[arms]
*® Here lieth interred the Body of M*^ Joseph
Ring of the county of York in y® Collony of
Virginia Gent who departed this life the 26***
day of February Anno Dom 170^ in the 57
Yeare of his Age.
*® These three Ring monuments are found on the east side of King's
Creek, at a place called Ringfield.
104 virginia historical society.
[arms]
Here lyeth y* Body of Edmund Ring
son of Joseph and Sarah Ring who
departed this Life y* 13** day of Septem'
Ado Dom 1703 in the Eleventh
yeare of his age.
Here lyeth y* Body of Isaack Ring
son of Joseph & Sarah Ring who
departed this life y* 24** of Septem'
Ann* Dom 1701 in y* Eighth
yeare of his Age.
Tombstone of Colonel Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., now in the same
lot with the /^zng" slabs, but found vears ago in the Glebe field
on the same farm, and probably removed from his farm on the
other side of the creek.
[arms]**
Here lieth interred y* body of Nathaniel
Bacon Esq whose descent was from the
Ancient House of y* Bacons (one of whom was
Chancellor Bacon & Lord Verulam) who was
Auditor of Virginia & President of y* Honourable
Councell of State & Commander in chief for the
County of York, having been of the Councell
for above 40 years & having always discharged
y* office in which he served with great
Fidelity and Loyalty to his Prince, who departed
this life y* 16 of March 1692 in y* 73*
year of his Age.
**The arms are quartered with others. First and fourth Bacon : Gu.
on a chief ar., two mullets pureed sa. Second and third : Ar. two bars,
a bend. Crest— K boar passant ermine. The grave was opened in the
summer of 1850 by Rev. Henry Stafford Osborn, D. D., and portions
of the skeleton and coffin were found preserved. The slab is of blue
slate, four inches in thickness, and dimensions three and one-half by
six feet. — Ed.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 105
Tombstone of Elizabeth^ wife of the Hon. Nathaniel Bacon.
This slab is now in the church-yard of St. PauPs Church, Nor-
folk, Virginia, but was originally on the west side of King's Creek.
[arms] '®
Here lyeth the Body of
Elizabeth wife to the
Honorable Nathaniel
Bacon, E/"q' who departed
this Life the Second Day of
November one Thou/and
Six Hundred Ninety one in
the Sixty Seventh Yeare
of her age.
[arms]
In memory of M' James "
Burwell Son of Maj' Lewis
Burwell who Departed
this Life October y* 6**^ 1718
in y* 29"" year of His Age.
^ I have been informed that the arms of Kingsmill probably, she
being the daughter of Richard Kingsmill, are impaled with others, not
those of Bacon, but no drawing has been furnished me. — Ed.
" Slab found on west side of the creek. The ancient name of the
plantation was Utimaria, named in honor of Captain John Utie, of the
Colonial Council, and Mary his wife. It was afterwards the residence
of Colonel Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., by whom it was devised to Major
Lewis Burwell,
[The Burwell arms are : A cross saltier between four eagles' heads
erased. Crest— An eagle's head with a branch in its beak, above an
esquire *s helmet. — Ed.]
106 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.-
vm.
HICKORY NECK CHURCH,
James City County,
" Here lies the body of
Laurence Taliaferro Son ol
Colonel John Taliaferro
of Snow Creek in Spotsylvania County
who Departed this Life the First day
of May 1748 in the Twenty-Seventh
Year of his Age
He Married Susanna Power
Daughter of Major Henry Power
of James City County, and left Issue
by her one Daughter.
** Here lies Interred the Body of
Colonel John Taliaferro
of Snow Creek in y* County of Spotsylvania
who Departed this Life the Third
Day of May Anno Domini
one Thousand Seven Hundred & Forty
Four in the Fifty Seventh Year
of his Age.
He left Issue two Sons
and three Daughters
" These two slabs above are so fresh and so well preserved in the midst
of ruins and decay, that one is forced to the conclusion that they are not
near so old as their dates would indicate.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 107
IX.
BELLFIELD.
s
To the memory of
Edward Digges Esq
Sonne of Dudley Digges of Chilham in
Kent Kn* & Bar'
Master of the Rolls in the reign of
K. Charles the First.
He departed this life 15^ of March 167!
in the LV year of his age, one of his
Mag^ Councill for this his CoUony of
Virginia
A gentleman of most commendable parts
and Ingenuity, the only introducer and
promoter of the SILK Manufacture
in this Colonie, And in every
. thing else a pattern worthy of all
Pious Imitation. He had issue
6 Sonne' and 7 daughters by the
body of ELIZABETH his wife who of
her Conjugal affection hath
dedicated to him this Memorial."
[arms]
Sub hoc marmore Requiesct in Pace
Dudleius Digges Armiger
Susannae Digges Juxta Depositae Maritus
*>' He was appointed a member of the Council November 22. 1654, and
was elected by the Assembly Governor of Virginia March 30, 1655, to
succeed Richard Bennet, and served until March 13, 1658, when he was
sent to England as one of the agents of the Colony. Several of his
sons were prominent in the affairs of the Colony, one of them (Dudley)
being long a member of the Council, as was his grandson, Cole
Digges — Ed.
108 . VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Amantissimus
Vir et Virtute et Pro sapia vere Inclytus
Qui hujusce Coloniae
Primo Consiliarii Dein ad Auditoris
Dignitatem erectus est.
Obiit omnibus desideratus XVIII Jan.
Anno Dom MDCCX
^tal Suae XLV
Justorum Animae in Manu Dei sunt.**
This Monument was Erected
by Colonel Edward Digges to y*
Memory of a most indulgent Father
the Hon**^® Cole Digges Esquire
who having been many Years one
of his Majestys Honor^^* Council for this
Colpny sometime President of y* same
Died in the LIl^ Year of his Age
in the Year of our Lord MDCCXLIV.
Digges ever to Extremes untaught to bend
Enjoying Life yet mindful of his end
•
In thee the World an happy meeting saw
of sprightly humour and religious awe.
Chearful not wild, facetious yet not mad
Tho grave not sour though serious never sad
Mirth came not called to banish from within
Intruding pangs of unrepented sin.
And thy religion was no Studied Art
To varnish guilt but purify the Heart
What less then a felicity most rare
Need spring from such a temper & such care
Now in the city taking great delight
To vote new laws or old interpret right
Now crowds & Business quitting to receive
^Dudley Digges married Susanna, daughter of William Cole of
Denbigh, born 1674, died 1708. The Cole arms are: Ar. a cross
lozengy. Cres^— Out of a coronet a dexter hand holding a rod en-
twined with two serpents. — Ed.
ANCIEi^T EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. 109
The joys content in Solitude can give
With equal praise then shone among the great
And graced the humble pleasures of Retreat
Displayed thy Dignity in every Scene
And tempted or betrayed to nothing mean
Whatever of thee was mean beneath it lies,
The rest unstained is claimed by the skies.
Hie Subtus inhumatum Corpus
Susannae Digges Filiae Gulielmi
Cole Armigeri
Nee Non Dudlei Digges
Armigeri
Conjugis Fidelissimae Quae ex hoc
Vita decessit IX° Kal Decemb' Anno
Salutis MDCCVIII ^tatis suae XXXIV.
X.
Carter's Grove and Martin's Hundred.
**Here Lies
the Body of
Mrs. Susanna Burwell,
Wife of
Nathaniel Burwell Esq'
and daughter of
Philip and Mary Grymes
of Brandon,
in the county of Middlesex.
She departed this Life
on the 24**^ of July 1788
in the 37"" Year of her Age.
* Carter's Grove.
110 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
••Here Lies
the Body of
Lewis Barwell
fourth Son of
Nathaniel & Susanna BurwdL
He was bom
of January
and died
*^ Here Lies
The Body of
William Burwell,
fifth Son of
Nathaniel & Susanna Burwell.
He was born
on the 14** of July
1782
and died
on the 2"* of October,
in the same Year.
" Here Lieth in the hope of a joyful
Resurrection, the body of
Samuel Pond of Martin's
Hundred, parish, in james
City County, in the Dominion
of Virginia, Physician.
Departed this life the 26**" of
October in the year of our
Lord 1694, aged 48.
*• Carter's Grove.
" Carter's Grove.
"Martin's Hundred. This stone is in such unusually good order,
that it is probably not so old by far as its date would indicate.
ANCIENT EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS. Ill
XI.
NOT CLASSIFIED.
BLTRYING-GROUND ON CARR'S HILL.
Here lies in hopes of a Joyful
Resurrection the Body of Mrs Annabel
the Wife of Benjamin Powell Esq.
of Yorke County who departed this
Life the 4**" of January 1782
in the 50*^
Year of her Age.
*• In Memory of Judith wife of
M' Jacob Bruce, who Died Jan.
31, 1763 Aged 27 Years.
SUSANNA/^
Wife of Hamlin Wilcox,
and Daughter of Col°. James Shields of
York County Virginia.
Died Feb^ 27, 1857. i" ^^^ 68 year of her age.
A mother to the motherless and a friend to the friendless.
EUGENIA.
Daughter of
James M. & Mary A. S. Wilcox,
and granddaughter of the above Susanna Wilcox,
Born Nov. 15, 1857, ^^^^ J"*^^ 27, 1858.
* Slab found at Mr. Whitaker Lee's, in James City county.
" This tombstone does not come strictly within the province of this
paper, but it is included for two reasons : First, it is found at the old
Chickahominy church, which ought to be identified in as many ways
as possible ; Second, it connects this generation with Colonel James
Shields, a prominent character of the closing era of the eighteenth
century.
THE
First Election of Washington
TO THE
House of Burgesses.
A PAPER READ BEFORE THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 189I,
BY
Mr. R. T. barton, Winchester, Va.
s
The First Election of Washington
TO THE
House of Burgesses.
Men are generally proved to be g^reat by a happy conjunction
of opportunity and fitness. This detracts nothing from their
fame, only there are many other men quite as great, to whom
the happy conjunction does not occur. Those are the men who
ar« born to blush unseen. But the common events of men's
lives are very nearly the same, whether tbey are great or not.
When tbey are recc^nized as great, however, we judge them
almost wholly by their great deeds, and lose sight of the inci-
dents that prove their common mortality. There is even a
prejudice against uncovering the facts that show our idols to
have been mortal. The realistic spirit of this age, however,
which disregards this prejudice, has a healthy influence, provided
it is not inspired by mere iconoclastic rage.
It is in this modified spirit that 1 have ventured to put together,
for this occasion, the results of some investigations made years
ago, aided by discoveries made by others more recently, on a
subject which has received but little attention from history. I
mean the first election of George Washington to the House of
But^esses, the. predecessor of the body which sits now in this
historic hall.
This election occurred in the year 1758, and Washington's
6rst appearance in the role of statesman was in his capacity as
representative for the county of Frederick, of which my own
town of Winchester was then, as it is now, the county seat.
116 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
In 1758, Frederick county consisted of what is now the terri-
tory embraced within the limits of the counties of Frederick,
Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah and Page, in Virginia, and Berke-
ley, Jefferson and Morgan, in West Virginia, comprising the
whole of what is known as " the Lower Valley."
Braddock's defeat on the Monongahela occurred in 1755, and
after that Washington, with the rank of colonel, was in com-
mand of the Virginia troops at Winchester. In the spring of
1756 he built for the protection of the inhabitants of that town
and of the frontier generally, Fort Loudoun, then at the north
end of a very straggling village, and through the centre of which
the main street of the present town (called from the fort, Loudoun
street) now runs; and even at this day the well-defined and
greenly sodded bastions of Washington's fort are the play-
grounds for the pretty girls of a prosperous female school.
In the summer of 1757, George Washington was one of three
candidates for a seat from Frederick county in the House of
Burgesses. It has been sometimes said that he was not then
really a candidate, but a well preserved local tradition hath it
that he was genuinely ambitious to serve the people, but that
having opposed the granting of a license to keep an ordinary to
one Lindsay, as the records in truth show that he did, the said
Lindsay successfully revenged himself by defeating his candi-
dacy. The Lindsays have been ordinary keepers in that town
up to within my own recollection, and the tradition of the fight
of Lindsay against Washington has ever been a cherished
memory in the line of Lindsay.
The opponents of Washington in that contest were Hugh
West and Thomas Swearingen, and these two were duly elected.
The poll stood as follows :
Hugh West, - - - - 271
Thomas Swearingen,* - . - 270
George Washington, - - - . 40
Total vote, - - - - 581
* Thomas Swearingen was probably an ancestor of Thomas Van
Swearingen, a representative in Congress from Virginia from 1819 until
his death in 1822.— Ed.
THE FIRST ELECTION OF WASHINGTON IN I758. 117
On October 4, 1757, the records of the county court show the
following entry: **On motion of George Washington, Esq.,
ordered that his tithables be set on the list," from which it may
be inferred that the redoubtable Lindsay may have urged the
non-residency of the gallant young colonel as an objection to his
election, and in anticipation of another appeal to popular favor
he was determined to remove this obstacle to the gratification
of his ambition.
In May. 1758, Washington became engaged to be married to
the widow Custis, who had worn her weeds a full twelve months,
but as he was then just about to start on the second expedition to
Fort Duquesne the marriage did not immediately take place,
and it was not until the succeeding January that the old church
in New Kent county witnessed the brave spectacle of the stalwart
warrior as a bridegroom in a suit of blue cloth ** lined,' ' says the
detailed account, **with red silk and ornamented with silver
trimmings, a waistcoat of embroidered white satin, knee-buckles
of gold, and powdered hair." That this contemplated marriage
had something to do with our hero's so quickly repeated can-
didacy is a surmise that is not far to seek.
The next election for the House of Burgesses, after Washing-
ton's unsuccessful venture, took place on the 24th day of July,
1758, and the poll stood as follows :
Colonel George Washington,
310
Colonel Thomas Bryan Martin,
240
Hugh West,
199
Thomas Swearingen,
•
45
Total vote, - - - - 794
So Washington largely defeated his opponents who the year
before had defeated him. It is with this election that we have
now to do, and to show the increase in the voting population it
is interesting to observe that at the next election, which took
place on May 18, 1761, the vote stood as follows :
118 VntGIHIA HISTORICAL SOdETT.
Georg:e Washington, ... 505
George Mercer,* ... - 399
Adam Stephen,* . - . . 294
Total vote, .... ifi98
Before conndering the incidents (^ Washington's first election,
let us very briefly enquire who were the men who had been thus
preferred to Washington, and to whom in turn he was himself
preferred?
Of Hugh West no record remains, except that he was thus
connected with the name of Washington. He is, perhaps, neither
better nor worse off in this respect than many another local light
who had shined for a time in this and even much higher places.
Of Thomas Swearingen, who did not make evoi so good a
fight in the last list as did the forgotten West, we find that much
more has been preserved.
He lived near what is now Shepherdstown, in the county of
Jefferson. The published Acts show that in 1766 the House of
Burgesses ordered the privilege of establishing a ferry over the
Potomac river, which in 1765 had been accorded to Thomas
Shepherd, to be discontinued, because it was ''at a very small
dbtance from the lands of Thomas Swearingen on the Potomac
river in Maryland."
In May, 1772, Thomas Swearingen was made by Lord Dun-
more a Justice of the Peace of Berkeley county, which was in
that year cut off fi'om Frederick. He is mentioned in the
'George Mercer (born June 23, 1733; served as lieutenant and captain
in the regiment of Washington in the French and Indian War. He
went to England in 1763 as the agent of the Ohio Company, of which
his father, John Mercer, of Marlboro^ Virginia, was secretary ; returned
to Virginia in 1765 as collector for the Crown under the Stamp Act,
but found the measure so obnoxious that he declined to act. Going to
England again he was appointed (September- 17, 1768), through the in-
fluence of Lord Hillsborough, Lieutenant-Governor of North Carolina,
but soon relinquished this office. He returned to England prior to the
Revolution; and died there in April, 1784. — Ed.
• Colonel Adam Stephen, who served with Washington in the French
and Indian War, and as Brigadier and Major-General in the American
Revolution.— Ed.
THE FIRST ELECTION OF WASHINGTON IN I758. 119
records of the court as one of those appointed to take the titha-
bles^ and on August i8, 1772, he figures- in the list of Justices
of Berkeley county, who, at that term of the court, tried one
Richard Lewis for forgery, and he, pleading guilty, was ordered
to receive "thirty-nine lashes well laid on upon his bare back."
This was the first criminal conviction in the new county.
On November 15, 1772, Thomas Swearingen appears as one
of the Justices directing the building of the first court-house of
Berkeley county.
These prosaic facts are all that are known of Swearingen, and
only saved from the oblivion of commonplaceness by his associ-
ation with the name of Washington, he sinks finally out of sight
just as the star of Washington was about to rise, to shine for-
ever.
Of his colleague in his first service in the House of Burgesses,
Colonel Thomas Bryan Martin, much more is known, for he was
a somewhat conspicuous figure in the Valley part of the Colony,
and even afterwards when it became a State, throughout his whole
life. But because so much is known, or may so readily be learned
about him, it is necessary to tell but little.
Colonel Martin was a nephew of Lord Fairfax and intimately
connected with him in his affairs. He lived at " Greenway
Court," and was there when his uncle died — a death hastened, tra-
dition says, by chagrin at the surrender of Cornwallis.
Martin was Colonel of the county militia and a justice of the
peace under the old regime. In 1776 he was re-appointed by
Governor Patrick Henry, but his heart was too much with the
cause of George HI to permit him to serve under, or to recog-
nize rebel authority. He served one term with Washington in
the House of Burgesses, but does not seem to have offered for
re-election.
On the death of Lord Fairfax, he became, with Gabriel Jones,
one of his uncle's executors. Thenceforth his name figured
extensively in the litigation which resulted about Lord Fairfax's
estate. The lawyers of the present day even are familiar with
the case of Martin's Adm'r vs. Tucker, &c., in which the
devisees in England of Denny Fairfax, the elder brother of
Colonel Martin and of himself, were the plaintiffs.
120 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
But we must return now to the main topic of this paper — the
election in the summer of 1758.
There was only one precinct in the county, and that was at
the court-house at Winchester. To that point the voters had
to come to exercise their ri^ht of suffrage. Considering the
bad roads and the danger of the times, it seems remarkable that
as many as seven hundred and ninety-four voters should have
come to the poll.
The qualification of a voter was that he should be a freeholder
of one hundred (shortly after reduced to fifty) acres of unim-
proved land, or twenty- five acres with a building thereon at least
twelve feet square, or of a lot in a city or town with a similarly
pretentious building thereon, provided however, that " no free
negro, mulatto, or Indian, altho a freeholder, should be per-
mitted to vote.**
The presence of this proviso, so unhappily eliminated now
from the law, made wholly unnecessary the shuffling slippery
secret ballot system, with its opportunities for box-stuffing, tissue
ballots, and fraudulent miscounts, the fruits of a later civilization,
but the voter declared his choice openly viva voce^ without con-
cealment or chance of subsequent false pretences. Nor was the
aspirant for popular favor ashamed to openly acknowledge his
appreciation of the confidence reposed in him by the elector ;
but it was the custom of the day for the candidate or his repre-
sentative, in his necessary absence, to take his seat at the poll,
and when the voter called out his name to rise and thank him
for the honor done him.
At the election of 1758 the principal public interest was in the
effort to obtain regular and sufficient allowances and supplies for
the militia and volunteers who for some years had been constantly
engaged in the protection of the frontier setttlements. The
French war was flagrant, and the French and Indians were a
constant menace to the peace and safety of the people of Fred-
erick county. But a short time before the whole country had
been overwhelmed by the disastrous defeat of Braddock, and at
the very time of this election the forces were gathering again at
Fort Cumberland for another move on the same line upon Fort
Duquesne.
Washington was not then twenty-six years of age, but his gal-
THE FIRST ELECTION OF WASHINGTON IN 1 758. 121
lant and successful conduct of affairs on the- retreat after Brad-
dock's death had given him a military reputation of a high order
and a strong hold upon the affections of the people of Frederick,
who were nearest to and most interested in those army move-
ments so essential to their safety, although, as we have seen,
Colonel Washington's distinguished military services had not
been sufficient to overcome the wiles of the subtle Lindsay, who
kept an ordinary and sold whiskey to the Colonel's soldiers.
Washington was, of course, acquainted with the principal peo-
ple of the sparsely settled county, for the construction of the
Fort and his command there brought him in constant contact
with them, and then besides there were two trading fairs held
annually at Winchester, which brought the people up from the
outlying settlements and gave occasion to more or less social
interchange.
Washington's correspondence at this time shows that he had
become wearied with military life and somewhat disgusted with
the discriminations made against the Colonial,. in favor of the
imported British officer, and he had determined at the end of
the then pending campaign to retire from the service into pri-
vate life.
But it is not a strained inference that other considerations than
political ambition or a desire to taste once more the sweets of a
quiet bucolic life influenced Washington to forego his military
aspirations. As we have seen, he had become engaged to the
charming widow^ Custis, and his marriage to her was only await-
ing the end of the military campaign. A winter then in the gay
Capital at Williamsburg was a delightful way of spending the
honeymoon, and it is by no means improbable that the young
woman herself suggested a seat in the House of Burgesses as
adding something to dignity, making retirement from military
service graceful, and, indeed, as being altogether such a nice
thing — under the circumstances.
Possibly the habit was begun with Washington's candidacy,
and for that reason has been kept up ever since, but the good
people of Frederick dislike to award to aspirants for their favor
what is known in modern phrase as a " walk-over."
We have seen that the year before the Colonel sustained what
may be considered a rather bad defeat. This time, however, he
122 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
had the powerful support of Colonel James Wood,* the clerk ol
the county court, and it may be even that the hostile Lindsay
had been converted or silenced, but of this tradition saith not.
The memory of the oldest inhabitant, however, has handed it
down that Colonel James Wood was a good deal of a political
''Boss," but the sturdy and honorable character borne by his
descendants leave me no room to doubt that he deserved the
influence he evidently possessed with the frontier voter.
Colonel Wood appears to have managed without difRculty his
own promotion to office, but it was at one time thought that the
effort to pull Colonel Washington through would prove too
much even for his sagacity and pluck. So anxious, indeed, were
the friends of Washington about this election, and so fearful of
his defeat, that they importuned the Colonel to leave his military
command and come back to the county and see the voters in
person. Colonel Bouquet, Washington's immediate military
superior, wrote, giving him leave of absence, and on July 19,
1758, Washington replied, thanking him for his courtesy and
saying: ** Although my being there, under any other circum-
stances, would be very agreeable to me, yet I can hardly per-
suade myself to think of being absent from my more immediate
duty, even for a few days.'* And again some days later he wrote :
'* I had, before Colonel Stephen came to this place, abandoned all
thoughts of attending personally the election at Winchester,
choosing rather to leave the management of that affair to my
friends than be absent from my regiment ]^hen there is a
probability of its being called to duty. I am much pleased now
that I did'so."
The letter of congratulation upon the result of the election ,
preserved in a note to the collection of Mr. Jared Sparks, affords
but a meagre glimpse of what actually occurred, but a story>
partly tradition and in part history, throws some light upon the
opposition to Washington's candidacy. Supposing the offended
Lindsay to have been appeased, or his influence at least over-
weighed by that of Colonel James Wood, it is yet said that
Colonel Washington had to overcome the decided opposition of
* He was the father of Colonel James Wood, a patriot of the Ameri-
can Revolution and Governor of Virginia, 1796- '99. — Ed.
THE FIRST ELECTION OF WASHINGTON IN 1 758. 123
certain dealers in live stock along the Potomac. When Brad-
dock marched from Alexandria to fort Cumberland he had to
tarry at the latter place until he could collect horses enough to
pull his wagons in the long and rough expedition that he then
contemplated. Certain enterprising speculators undertook to
supply this need, and in course of time arrived at the Fort with
several hundred horses. It was Washington's duty to inspect
them, and when with his fine idea of what an animal ought to
be, to do the hard duty which this occasion required of it, he found
instead a herd of thin, infirm and aged horses, which had out-
lived or overworked their usefulness on the Valley farms, he is
said to have expressed himself in language the exact meaning of
which there could be no sort of difficulty in understanding. The
noble band of patriots who had thus undertaken to supply their
country's need of horses is said to have borne his remarks and
their results in mind when so soon after he offered himself for
their suffrages, and to have exhibited their energy and enmity in
determined opposition to his election.
It is not at all improbable, therefore, all things considered,
that it was more politic for the Colonel to have stayed away from
the county, and to have left, as he says, "the management of
that affair to my friends." With Colonel Wood for a manager he
was probably safer in the line of conciliation than if he had been
present in person ; for Washington, while he knew well how to
keep his tongue in his head, yet when he let it out was disposed
to be rather frank.
As we have seen, Colonel Wood sat at the poll as Washing-
ton's representative, a very large vote was cast and Washington
was triumphantly elected. That night, when the vote was
counted, the Winchester boys took Colonel Wood on their
shoulders and gave him a vicarious ride for Washington around
the town, "in the midst," says a contemporaneous writer, "of
a general applause and huzzahing for Colonel Washington."
It is not unlikely that, after the fashion of the day on all occa-
sions of public rejoicing, bon-fires were built, and it is altogether
certain that "fire water" was plenty, and a lively party must
have waked the .echoes of the village on that summer night.
For while the gallant Colonel was kept by duty at his military
post, he was yet sufficiently alive to the necessities of the occa-
124 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
sion to supply the means of conducting his canvass. After the
election the bill for its expenses was sent to him and he paid it,
after, no doubt, as was his wont, a careful inspection of its items.
The bill was ;^39, 6s. (about $195), and the following were
among the items:." A hogshead and a barrel of punch, thirty-
five gallons of wine, forty-three gallons of strong cider, and
dinner for his friends.'*
In the *' good old times'* people were probably no better than
they are now, and it is not a little comfort to us of this day and
generation to reflect that Washington was himself but a human
being, and " stood treat *' just like any ordinary candidate for
the Legislature finds himself compelled to do sometimes in these
so-called degenerate days.
That Frederick county was not an exception in the way of
conducting elections on other than strictly temperance principles
is shown by the law passed by the House of Burgesses soon
after the election of 1758, which provides that no one should be
qualified to hold a seat in that house, who should, " before his
election, either himself or by any other person or persons on
his behalf and at his charge, directly or indirectly give, present
or allow any person or persons having voice or vote in such elec-
tion any money, meat, drink, entertainment or provision, or
make any present, gift, reward, or entertainment, &c., &c., in
order to be elected."
It is hardly to be supposed that this law was aimed at the
worthy delegate from Frederick, but it fit his case so exactly
that had it been in force prior to his election he would certainly
have been ineligible to his seat. For seven years Wash-
ington continued to represent Frederick county, but there is no
record of any incident of interest connected with his subsequent
elections. As a law-abiding citizen it is to be presumed that
thereafter meat and drink, except in the ordinary way of hospi-
tality, were not among the means resorted to by Washington
and his friends to secure popular favor.
When the pessimists of to day, justly resenting the ways that
are dark which so often prevail in what is known as politics, pre-
dict therefrom the speedy downfall of the Republic, it is well to
remember how very old these ways are, and from what respecta-
THE FIRST ELECTION OF WASHINGTON IN I758. 126
ble antecedents many of them have come, and while not approv-
ing them, yet to bear in mind th&t in spite of them and of very
many other imperfections in these institutions of ours, the land
continues to flourish the equal in valor and in virtue of any other,
&nd in material prosperity outstripping all the nations of the
earth.
R. T. Barton.
THE
OLD BRICK CHURCH,
NEAR
Smithfield, Virginia.
BTJIIiO? I3sr ie32.
A PAPER READ BEFORE THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 189I,
By R. S. THOMAS, A. M., LL.B.,
Stnithfieldy Virginia.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH,
NEAR SMITHFIELD, VIRGINIA.
BTJILT IIT 1632.
It is my object to prove that this Church was built Id 1632, and
I shall prove it,
1. By the existence at that early day, of such a strong, re-
ligious, sentimenl, as demanded a house of worship to the living
God.
2. By tradition.
3. By lately existing records ; and —
4. By the bricks and moriar of the Church itself.
This last proof is absolutely conclusive, and I might reiy on it
solely and alone, but, in one or two hundred years hence, its gen-
uineness might be questioned; and hence, whilst priceless records
are still exUnt, and important witnesses still live, it is a matter of
the gravest moment, and of the highest duty, to preserve their
concurrent testimony.
ist. The Existence of the Sentiment.
The existence of a temple to the God to be worshipped proves
the belief in that God, for, without a belief in him, there would be
no temple for his worship. The stronger, and more enthusiastic,
the belief, the surer, and more certain, it is to manifest itself in a
house of worship. Did our ancestors, then, bring with them a
strong, potent, courageous, belief in the God of Calvary, and a
strong evangelical zeal in His behalf ?
130 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
This question cannot be, correctly, answered, without some
slight glance at antecedent history — enough only to arouse
thought to action, and to enable you to bring, before yourselves, a
mirror of the times.
In 1483, Hans Luther, a German miner, a citizen of the
county of Mansfield, a slate-cutter by trade, had born unto him
a son, who, displaying uncommon activity of mind, was, by man-
ifold sacrifices of the father, placed at the Latin school of Eisle-
ben in that county. The brightness of the boy, and the ambition
of the father that the son should rise above his station in life,
induced him to undergo still further privations and hardships,
so that he might place the boy in the larger school at Eisnach.
Poverty pressed hard on that father and son, and drove the son
to go into the streets of Eisnach, and sing songs for alms that he
might eke out a miserable existence. God had given him a
sweet tenor voice, and that voice fell enchantingly upon the ears of
Ursula Cotta, the wife of the burgomaster of Eisnach, who,
learning the history of the talented boy, sent him to Urfurst,
where, in 1505, he took his master's degree and graduated with
distinguished honors.
At Urfurst, the bold and earnest preaching of Weinmann
arrested his attention, stung and awakened his conscience, and
sent him to a diligent and protracted study of the scriptures.
In 1507, the Elector of Saxony appointed him a professor in
the recently (1505) founded university of Wittenburg, which he
soon made famous by the severity of studies, the brilliancy of his
chair, the perfect tnastery of the early fathers of the Church,
the profound knowledge of the scriptures, and the burning elo-
quence of his pulpit.
In 1 51 7, John Tetzel sought to replenish the Papal exchequer
by the sale of indulgences, and Martin Luther, shocked at the
sale of the mercies of heaven for the money of man, nailed his
ninety-five theses to the doors of Castle church, bade defiance to
the Pope of Rome, summoned the world to denounce the errors
of the Papal Church, and to correct and reform its creed.
The disputations of Luther at Augsburg with Cajetan, and
at Leipsic with John Eck, ended with the Diet-at- Worms, Nurem-
berg and Spires, and the attention of the world was arrested and
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 131
centered upon the grandeur of the preacher, and the sublimity
of the truths he boldly announced, and bravely defended.
Melancthon, Bucer and Oecolampadius rallied around the
hero, and grandly aided in spreading the revived gospel.
Zwingli from the mountain heights of Switzerland, caught a
glimpse of the new religion, and held up the torch to Calvin, of
France, whose long, subsequent, residence at Geneva banishes
from the general recollection his birth and manhood in France,
and his ecclesiastical training in the Church of Rome.
John Knox heard the voice of Zwingli and of Calvin, and
aroused all Scotland with his stubborn zeal and burning enthu-
siasm.
The new learning, and the new religion, crossed the Scottish
border and the English Channel, and the English champions of
the cross kept step with those of Gernv^ny, Switzerland, France
and Scotland, and Rogers and Hooper, and Farrar and Ridley,
and Latimer and Cranmer, in fire and in faggot, attested the
divine truths, protested against the enormities of Rome, pro-
claimed the gospel, that founded in Judea, consecrated on Cal-
vary, hidden in the darkness of the mediaeval times, was resur-
rected by Luther, and proclaimed, anew, to the world by his
gathering hosts of enthusiastic followers.
But Clement V, of Rome, did not yield the indulgences, the
penances, the annates that supplied the coffers of his Church;
the masses that appealed to the imaginations of the multitude;
the auricular confessions that made the minister of the flock the
priest of the household ; the prayers for the dead ; the actual
corporal presence of God in the wine ; and the traditions that
hedged about and upheld his Church.
Charles V of Spain the Netherlands Naples and of Austria;
Francis I, of France, Philip II, of Spain, Torquemada, Ximenes.
the Inquisition, Catherine de Medici, the massacre of St. Barthol-
omew, the reign of Bloody Mary, the persecutions of the Luther-
ans in Germany, the Huguenots in France, and the Protestants
in England, all show the terrible rage of the Church of Rome,
and the equally resolute energy of the revived faith, to escape
from the thraldom that had so long enslaved it, and its grand
determination to plant the standards of the cross upon the ram-
parts of a nobler and a higher religion, that appealed from the
1S2 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
fallibility o( mao to the ioEillibility of God, and firom a faith id
the Pope to a faith in Jesos Christ.
This energy, awakened in En^^land in the time of Henry VI 11,
intensified in that of Edward VI and Bloody Mary, was power-
fully augmented by the two editions of the book of Common
Prayer in 1548 and 1552, and the rapid multiplications of the
Bible.
The edition of Wicklifie of 1384 had been enlarged and
enriched by the editions of T3mdall in 1530 and of Coverdale
in 1535. whose labors and sufferings, in poverty and in alien
lands, were crowned with such success, that from foreign and
from native presses came the editions of 1538. the version of
1539, the Geneva edition of 1560, the Bbhop's Bible of 1568, and
the authorized version of 161 1.
Whilst some of these, editions were issuing from the press.
Bloody Mary, in 1588, passed from the scenes of life, and Eliza-
beth ascended the throne of England.
Then Protestantism, bruised, mangled, and burnt, rose from
the ground, nobler for its sufferings, and more resolute for its
afflictions.
*' Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will
to man/' was its paean, and '* Go ye unto all the world and preach
my gospel to every creature," was accepted as its divine mission.
Under the influence of these feelings, Christopher Newport,
'John Smith, Edward Maria Wingfield, Bartholomew Gosnold,
John Ratcliffe, John Martin, George Kendall, and their associ-
ates, set sail on the 19th of December, 1606, from Blackwall,
England, in the ship Susan Cofisianty of one hundred tons, in
charge of Newport with seventy-one men ; in the Godspeed^ of
forty tons, in charge of Gosnold, with fifty-two men, and in the
pinnance, the Discovery, of twenty tons, in charge of Ratcliffe
with twenty men, and landed at Jamestown on the 13th of May,
1607, bringing with them the sentiments of Englishmen, the
laws of England, the Church of England in its minister, the Rev.
Robert Hunt, and their charter, written by Sir Edward Coke
and Sir John Doddridge. That charter declares, " their desires
for the furtherance of so noble a work, which may, by the provi-
dence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the glory of His
divine majesty, in propagating the Christian religion to such
THE OLD BRICK CiiURCH, SMITHFIELD. ' 133
people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the
true knowledge and worship of God, and may in time bring
infidels and savages living in those parts to human civility, and
to a settled and quiet government/* and the adventurers are
instructed " to provide that the true word and service of God
and Christian faith be preached, planted, and used, not only
within every of the said colonies and plantations, but also as
much as they may amongst the savage people which do or shall
adjoine unto them, or border upon them, according to the doc-
trine, rights, and religion now professed and established within
our realme of England/*
In the second charter of May 23, 1609, written by Sir Francis
Bacon and Sir Henry Hobart, it is declared in its 29th article :
**And lastly, because the principle effect which we can desire, or
expect in this action, is the conversion and seduction of the peo-
ple in those parts unto the true worship of God and Christian
religion, in which respect we should be loath that any person
should be permitted to pass that we suspected to effect the super-
stitions of the Church of Rome ; we do hereby declare that it is
our will and pleasure that none be permitted to pass in any voy-
age, from time to time to be made into the said country, but such
as shall have taken the oath of supremacy,*' that the King of
England was the head of the Church, and not the Pope of Rome.
Again, in the third charter of March 12, 161 1, prepared by the
same parties, '* the power and authority wa^ given to minister
and give the oath and oaths of supremacy and allegiance, or
either of them to all and to every person and persons which
shall at any time or times hereafter go or pass to the said colony
in Virginia.**
And they brought with them not only the charter, but a mag-
nificent letter of advice written by the Rev. Richard Hakluyt,
prebendary of Westminster, historiographer of the East India
Company, and the last sentence is in these words : *' Lastly and
chiefly, the way to prosper and achieve good success is to make
yourselves all of one mind for the good of your country and
your own. and to serve and fear God, the giver of all goodness,
for every plantation which our Heavenly Father hath not
planted shall be rooted out.**^
^ Brown's '• Genesis of the United States.*'
134 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Just as soon as these adventurers landed at Jamestown, they
offered up prayer, and extemporized a church, which, Captain Smith
informs us, was only an *' awning or old sail which we hung to
three or four trees to shadow us from the sun ; our walls were
rails of wood ; our seats unhewn trees till we cut planks ; our
pulpit a bar of wood nailed to two neighboring trees. In foul
weather we shifted into an old rotten tent, for we had few better,
and this came by way of advertising for new.* *
And there, in
" A wild and lonely region, where, retired
From little scenes of art, great Nature dwelt
In ample solitude,''
these men worshipped as primeval man worshipped when
'* The groves were God's first temples. E'er man learned
To hew the shaft and lay the architecture,
And spread the roof above them. E'er he framed
The lofty vault to gather and roll back
The sound of anthems ; in a darkling wood
Amid the cool and silence he knelt down
And offered the Mightiest, solemn thanks
And supplication."
''Compared with this, how poor's religious pride.
In all the pomp of method and of art,
When mere display to congregations wide,
Devotion's every grace but the heart."
Their next church, Captain Smith informs us, was " a homely
thing (the log church) like a barn set in crochets, covered with
rafts, sedge and earth, and so were the walls." Others followed,
from time to time, as circumstances dictated, until the one was
built, the remains of which are still at Jamestown in an utterly
abandoned condition.
Captain Smith, describing the habits of the adventurers, says :
** First they enter into the church and make their prayers unto
God, next they return to their houses and receive their propor-
tion of food." (Vol. II, p. 5, of Smith's History.)
In 1611 they built a " new towne," which they called Henrico
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 135
after Prince Henry, " a handsome church, and the foundation of
a better laid to be built of bricke,' ' and near it on the other side
of the river ** a faire framed parsonage*' for Master Whitaker.
In building churches they were stimulated not only by the zeal
of the individuals and of the nation, but by the injunctions of
King James I.
As early as 1617 he addressed a letter to George Abbott, the
then Archbishop of Canterbury, in which he said : ** You have
heard ere this time of the attempt of diverse worthie men an*
subjects to plant in Virginia (under the warrant of our Letters-
Patent) people of this Kingdom, as well as for enlarging of our
Dominion as for the propagating of the Gospel among the Infi-
dels, wherein there is good progress made and hope of further
increase ; so as the undertakers of that plantation are now in
hand with the erecting of some churches and schools for the
education of the children of those barbarians, which cannot but
be to them a very great charge, and above the expense which for
the civil plantation doth come to them. In which we doubt not
but that you, and all others who wish well to the increase of
Christian Religion, will be willing to give all assistance and
furtherance you may, and therein to make experience of the zeal
and devotion of our well-minded subjects, especially those of the
clergy.
** Wherefore, we do require you, and hereby authorize you, to
write your letters to the several Bishops of the Dioceses in your
Province, that they do give order to the ministers and other
zealous men of their Diocese, both by their own example in con-
tribution, and by exhortation to others, to move our people
within their several charges to contribute to so good a work in as
liberal a manner as they may, for the better advancing whereof
our pleasure is th^t these collections be made in the particular
parishes for several times within these two years next coming ;
and that the several accounts of each parish, together with the
money's collected be returned from time to time to the Bishop of
the Dioceses, and by him be transmitted half-yearly to you, and
so to be delivered to the Treasurer of the Plantation to be em-
ployed for the Godly purposes intended, and no other.'*
With such sentiments animating king, bishops and people in
the mother country and in the Colony, the first legislative assem-
136 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
bly held on this continent was convened at Jamestown, in " the
Quire of the Church,*' on Friday, June 30, 1619, and the second
sentence in the record is this : '* But forasmuche as men's affaires
do little prosper where God's service is neglected, all the Bur-
gesses took their places in the Quire till prayer was said by Mr.
Bucke, the Minister, that it would please God to guide and sanc-
tifie all our proceedings to his own glory and the good of this
plantation." '
That assembly enacted ** that for laying a surer foundation of
the conversion of the Indians to Christian Religion cache town,
citty, Burrough and plantation do obtaine unto themselves by
just means a certaine number of natives' children, to be educated
by them in true religion and civil course of life."
That " all ministers shall duly read devine service, and exer-
cise their ministerial functions, according to the Ecclesiastical
laws and orders of the Churche of Englande, and every Sunday,
in the afternoon, shall catechise suche as are not yet ripe to come
to the communion. And whosoever of them shall be found
negligent and faulty in this kinde shall be subject to the censure
of the Governor and Counsul of Estate."
That '* the Ministers and Church Wardens shall seek to pre-
sente all ungodly and disorders, the committees whereof, if upon
goode admonitions and mild reprooff they will not forbeare the
said skandalous offences, as suspicions of whoredomes, dishonest
company, keepmg with women, and suche like, they are to be
presented and punished accordingly."
That *' if any person, after two warnings, does not amende his
or her life in point of evident suspicion of Incontincy, or of the
commission of any other enormous sinnes, that then he or she be
presented by the Church wardens and suspended for a time
from the church by the minister. In which Interim, if the same
person do not amende and humbly submit him or herself to
the churche, he is then fully to be excommunicate, and soon
after a writ or warrant to be sent from the Governor for the
apprehending of his person ande seizing on all his goods, &c."
That " for reformation of swearing every freeman and M*".
of a family, after thrife admonition, shall give 5s. or the value
^Senate Document, Colonial Records of Virginia, 1874.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 187
Upon present demande to the use of the church where he
dwelleth ; and every servant, after the like admonition, excepte
his M\ dischard^e the fine, shall be subject to whipping."
That '* all persons, whatsoever, upon the Sabbath daye shall
frequente devine service and sermons both forenoon and after-
noon, and suche as beare armes, shall bring their pieces, swordes,
poueder and shotte.'*
That '* against excesse in apparell that every man be cessed in
the churche for all publique contributions, if he be unmarried
according to his owne apparell, if he be married, according to
his owne and his wives, or either of their apparel.'* '
And the very first act in the published statutes of Virginia is:
ist. " That there shall be in every plantation, where the people
use to meet for the worship of God, a house or room seques-
tered for that purpose, and not to be of any temporal use what-
soever, and a place empaled in, sequestered only to the burial
of the dead.''*
Such were a part of the laws relating to religion that were
enacted by the very first legislative assembly that ever convened
in this country — an assembly that convened seventeen months
before the eternally lauded pilgrims ever landed upon Plymouth
Rock, and ten years before the Colony of Salem and of Boston
increased their meagre numbers beyond one hu^idred. And yet,
the historians of that Colony are forever parading before the
world for its worship the names of a Cotton, a Hooker, and an
Eliott, who never set foot upon this continent until the Colony
at Jamestown had for twenty-seven years blazed the way and
taught them wisdom by their sad experience ; who never from
Puritanical lips proclaimed the glories of their Maker, until
Hunt and Whitaker and Thorpe had laid down their lives as a
sacrifice to their dpty. The State and the Church that can
boast of the evangelical services of a Robert Hunt, Richard
Bucke, Glover, Greville Poole, William Wickham, Alexander
Whitaker, William Mease or Mays, M acock, Thomas Bar-
grave, Robert Paulet, David Sandis, William Bennett, Robert
Bolton, Jonas Stockton, Thomas White, Haut Wyatt, Hop-
' Senate Document, 1874.
* Hening, Vol. I, p. 122.
ISS VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
kins, Pemberton, WiUiam Cotton, and others, who came
between 1607 and 1622, animated by as pare a zeal as ever
fired the breast of a Peter or a Paul, permits them to rest
not only in oblivion, but covered with all the opprolHium
that Puritanism can, by direction or indirection, heap upon
them — ministers of the Cross of Christ, who by their hves and
their speech said as did the brave and undaunted Whitaker^
" Why is it that so few of our English ministers that were so
hot against the surplice and subscription come hither where
neither is spoken of. Doe they not wilfully hide their taloits^
or keep themselves at home for fear of losing a few pleasures ;
be there not among them of Moses his minde, and of the Apos-
des, that forsook all to follow Christ. But I refer them to the
Judge of all hearts and to the King that shall reward everyone
according to his talent.' ' "Awake you true-hearted English-
men, you Servant of Jesus Christ, remember that the plantation
is God's and the reward your countries. . . . And you, my
brethren, my fellow labourers, send up earnest prayers to God
for his Church in Virginia, that since his harvest heere is great,
but the labourers few he would thrust forth his labourers into his
harvest : and pray also for me, that the ministration of his
Gospel may be powerful! and effectuall by me to the salvation of
many, and to the advancement of the Kingdome of Jesus Christ»
to whom, with the Father, and the holy Spirit, bee all honour
and glorie forever more. Amen."
Such were the sentiments that animated the missionaries of
the early church, whom it is now fashionable to deride, and
whose true Christian zeal is aspersed by the Puritans of the
North, who, as early as 1629 shipped John Morton* and John
and Samuel Brown * back to England for no crime save that of
eating Christmas pies and using the book of Common Prayer ;
who, in 1630, took away the citizenship of the Rev. William
Bloxton,^ and compelled him to sell his property at an enormous
sacrifice and move away because he was a minister of the Church
of England ; who, by 1680, had exiled every Episcopal minister
* McConneirs Hist, of American Episcopal Church, p, 36.
• Bancroft's History of the United States., p. 349.
^ McConnell, p. 39.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 139
in all New England but one — old Father Jordan, who was too
poor and too " broken in fortune and in spirit to move ; " * who
in 1644, in the very depths of winter, drove Roger Williams • from
his church in Salem, through the ice and snows of Massachu-
setts, to the Indian wilderness of Rhode Island, so that he did
not " for fourteen weeks know what bed or bread did mean,"
and **had no house but a hollow tree;" who, in 1657, exiled
Ann Breden, and whipped, imprisoned and mutilated her com-
panions by slitting first one ear, then the other, and then *' bored
their tongues with red hot irons;** who, in 1659, imprisoned
Wenlock Christison and twenty-seven of his companions, and
rounded the catatogue of crimes by hanging Marmaduke
Stephenson, William Robinson, William Seddra and Mary
Dyer.^*
Hang the Culpeper brick on the gallows of Mary Dyer, and
let, at least, the Puritan press close his mouth on the subject of
intolerance, and the irreligious character of the early colonial
ministers of Virginia !
And when it is remembered that the State of Virginia never,
even in the slightest manner, punished one of her citizens, save
and except for a premeditated and defiant violation of the law —
a law that since 1689 only required the place of worship to be
designated, and then only by a fine of a few shillings — let that
brick be encircled, not with animosities, but with all the chari-
ties that ought to be extended to those who flagrantly violate,
as well as to those who enforce her ancient and time-honored
statutes.
The spirit that animated the early colonial ministers was the
zeal of Hunt, Bucke and of Whitaker, which demanded churches
for the worship of the God whom they adored, and these
they built at Jamestown and everywhere else as rapidly as pos-
sible.
In 1 62 1, if not before, they built a church on the Pembroke farm,
in Elizabeth City county, the brick foundation of which was found
by the Rev. John Collins McCabe, D, D., about the year 1850.
* McConnell, p. 39.
^Bancroft, p. 367-77.
^^ Bancroft, pp. 452 to 458.
140 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
I come now to the date of the erection of the Old Brick
Church, and I expect to prove that it was built in 1632.
2d. The Tradition,
The universal tradition everywhere, and at all times, universally,
prevalent, in my county, is, that the Old Brick Church alluded to
was built under the care and superintendence of one Joseph
Bridger, the father of General Joseph Bridger, who lies buried on
the farm now owned by James Davis, about a mile and a half
distant from the old church — a farm that was called by General
Joseph Bridger in his will in 1683, "The White Marsh Farm,*'
and is so known, and so called, to this day.
This General Joseph Bridger was in his day the most promi-
nent man in his county.
He was born in 1628, and in 1657," at the age of (29) twenty-
nine, he, with John Brewer, represented this county in the Gen
eral Assembly of Virginia. In 1663." he is again a member, and
thb year appears as Captain Joseph Bridger, and is a member of
every important committee, but one.
In 1664, he is a commissioner to adjust the boundary line of
Virginia and Maryland."
In 1666,** he is one of the commissioners of this State to confer
with the commissioners of Maryland and of North Carolina, rela-
tive to their tobacco interests.
In this year" he is also a member of the General Assembly,
^nd appears there as Adjutant-General Bridger.
In 1675," he is a member of the Council of State, and a colonel
in the Indian wars.
In 1676-77," he is a member of the court at Green Spring.
In 1676, his surrender is demanded by Nathaniel Bacon, Jr.,"
characterized as **the rebel."
" Hening. Vol. I, p. 431.
" Hening, Vol. II, p. 197.
" Neill*s Virginia Carolorum p. 303.
"Neill's Virginia Carolorum^ p. 303.
"Hening, Vol. II, p. 225, I!. 249.
"Hening, Vol. II, p. 328, and Neill's Virginia Carolorum, p. 348-9.
"Hening, Vol. II, p. 548 and 551-7, 60.
"Neiirs Virginia Carolorum, p. 363.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 141
In 1677, he is a member of the court at the Middle Planta-
tions, and is a witness to the will of Sir William Berkeley."
In 1680. he is a Councillor of Slate and Commander in- Chief of
the forces in Isle of Wight, Surry, Nansemond and Lower Nor-
folk; and Colonel Arthur Smith, of Isle of Wight, and Colonel
John Lear and Major Milner, of Nansemond, are under his com-
mand.*®
In 1683, he is a member of the Council of State and of the
General Court, along with his Excellency, Thomas, Lord Cul-
peper. Governor, &c., Mr. Secretary Spencer, Mr. Auditor
Bacon, Major- General Smith, Colonel Philip Ludwell, Colonel
William Cole, Ralph Wormley, Esq., Colonel Richard Lee, Col-
onel John Page, and Colonel William Byrd.**
The last codicil to his will bears date April 9th, 1685, and it is
acknowledged in open court, which was then held at The Glebe,
about a mile from Smithfield, where the court-house was located
until 1752, when it was moved to Smithfield. In his will he
makes special mention of his friends, Lieutenant- Colonel John
Pitt, Mr. Thomas Pitt, and Colonel Arthur Smith, and of his
brick house on the White Marsh farm, where he resided, the
brick basement of which still exists to this day. And though
the field has been constantly cultivated, from time immemorial,
right up to the house, and right up to the very edge of the
grave, yet, the innumerable bricks still lying scattered every-
where around, attest the largeness and the magnificence of that
house. In 1890, Mr. Edward Pitt, a descendant of the Pitts
above-mentioned, and a firm believer in the truth of the old
tradition we are considering, now an aged man, a resident
for many and many a long year on that White Marsh farm, as
owner and as tenant, showed me the tomb of General Bridger,
the basement of his house, and told me he had frequently picked
up bricks with the prints of the feet of fowls and of dogs on
them, made whilst they were soft, showing that they had been
burnt on or near the farm.
^•Hening, Vol. II, p. 548-51-7, 60.
** Colonial Papers, No. 63, in Record office, London, as published in
the Richmond Dispatch^ July 6, 1890
" Hening, Vol. Ill, p. 557.
142 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
General Bridger died on the 15th day of April, 1686, the
owner of a very large amount of personal property, and more
than twelve thousand acres of land in Isle of Wight county,
besides an unknown amount in Surry, James City, and in Mary-
land. He was buried in the field near his house, and on his
marble slab there is this inscription, which is still perfectly
legible:
SACRED
To Y* MEMORY OF
The Hon*^ Joseph bridger
Esq. COUNCEL' OF. STATE. iN viROiNiA
To KiNG CHARLES Y* 2.*
DyiNG AprIl Y* 15: A: D: 1689
Aged 58 yeares Mournfully left
His WiFE 3 Sons & 4 Daughters
Does Nature silent mourn & can. dumb, stone
Make his true worth to future Ages knowne
Excels exprefsion Marble fure will keep
His Memory best y' ever. on. his grave fhall weep
Here lies y* late great Minifter. of State
That Royal virtues had & Royal fate
To Charles his Councels did. fuch. hon" bring
His own exprefs fetchd him t* attend y* king
His Soul y* ev' did w**^ vigour move
Nimbly took wing, soared like it felfe above
For y® bright stars ner'e layfily. decline
But in an inftant shoot y.' ceafe to shine
His wife, Hester, was living as late as 1698, and as Madame
Bridger witnessed the will of Colonel John Lear of Nansemond.
His son, William, died in 1704. His son, Joseph, died in 17 12.
His son, Samuel, died in 17 13."
" I am indebted to W. G. Stanard, Esq., for the following informa-
tion relative to the Bridgers :
Colonel Samuel Bridger, Justice of the Peace in 1691 ; William
Bridger, Burgess, 1718; Joseph Bridger, Sheriff of Isle of Wight, 1732;
James and Joseph Bridger, Burgesses, 1758, 1761; James Bridger. Burgess,
1765 ; James Bridger, Justice Isle of Wight, 1769 ; Joseph Bridger, Bur-
gess, 1772 ; Joseph Bridger, Burgess, i773-*4— vacated seat in 1774 to
accept the office of sheriff.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 143
His daughters were Martha Godwin, Mary, Elizabeth and
Hester; and Elizabeth died in 1717.
I am particular, in giving, with some minuteness, the history o£
General Bridger, because the tradition of the building of the
Old Brick Church is immediately associated with him and his
father, and is handed down directly through many of their de-
scendants and associates, who have always been of the very
highest social and intellectual prominence in the Church and in
State, in peace and in war. No tradition could possibly descend
through them, which was not founded on an absolute fact.
The names of many of these descendants and associates, whose
families still reside in the county of Isle of Wight, appear upon
an old Vestry book of the Church now in the clerk's office of
this county, which, commencing in 1723 — only six years after
the death of Elizabeth Bridger — was, until 1733, the Vestry
book of the Bay Church alone, and afterwards, of it, and of the
Old Brick Church, until its final entry in 1777. In the first entry
in this book relative to the church it is then and there called
** The Old Brick Church.'' It was hoary with age then; even
then its white hair floated in the breeze. Treating this Vestry
book, for manifest reasons, as an entirety, it shows that William
Bridger, a grandson of General Bridger, was a vestryman from
1724 to 1730; that Major Joseph Bridger, another grandson, was
a vestryman from 1735 to 1747; that Joseph Bridger, a great
grandson, was a vestryman from 1747 to 1749; that Colonel
Joseph Bridger, another great grandson, was a vestryman from
1757 to 1769; and that James Bridger, a grandson or great
grandson, was a vestryman from 1766 to 1777.
This Colonel Joseph Bridger, the next most important per-
sonage in the tradition, was the associate and friend of Arthur
Smith and William Hodsden, who were co-vestrymen of the old
church, and co-trustees of the town of Smithfield in 1752.
It is a matter of absolute impossibility for any one to read the
Acts of February, 1752, docking the entail of the Arthur Smith
lands, and the Act of 1754, docking the entail of the Joseph
Bridger lands, without instantly perceiving, that whoever drew
those acts, were perfectly familiar with the entire history of both
families.
144 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Colonel Joseph Bridger died intestate in 1769, and left sur-
viving him his widow Mary, and his daughters, Judith and
Catherine.
Mary and her father, Thomas Pierce, on the 4th o( January,
1770, qualified as the personal representatives upon his estate,
and Robert Tynes and William Davis were the appraisers of that
estate.
Mary, the widow, on the 17th of June, 1773, married Josiah
Parker, who was a member of all of the Conventions of the
State in 1775, afterwards a distinguished colonel in the Revolu-
tionary war, and lived till 18 10; and their daughter, Ann Pierce
Parker, in 1802, married Captain William Cowper, United States
Navy, of Nansemond, the gallant commander of the Baliitnorey
and the son, I think, of that Captain John Cowper of the same
county, who nailing his flag to the masts of the brig Dolphin^
sailed out of the waters of the Nansemond river into those of
the Chesapeake, with a vow that he would attack the first enemy
that he met, regardless of her size and armament, and never
surrender, and went down at sea in a death grapple with two of
the enemy, in full sight of Fortress Monroe, in that heroic manner
so graphically portrayed in William Wirt Henry's spendid
memoir of his glorious grandsire, Patrick Henry (Vol. I, p. 480).
Mrs. Cowper died in March, 1849. She was a woman of ex-
traordinary endowments and of superior cultivation, and had
enjoyed, when her father was a member of Congress from 1789
to 1 801, all the advantages that the best schools in Philadelphia
could give. Dr. John R. Purdie, one of our oldest citizens, and
always one of its most intelligent and distinguished, called by
the late Rev. Philip Slaughter " the venerable Dr. Purdie, the
most antique pillar of the parish," now in the eighty-third year
of his age, knew her well, was her family physician, said of
her : ** Her intelligence possessed a State if not a national repu-
tation." She was proud of her family, and thoroughly conver-
sant with all of its history. I have in my possession her copy
of the inscription on the tombstone of General Bridger. It is
endorsed '* Inscription on the tomb of the Honorable Joseph
Bridger, Paymaster-General to the British troops in America
*» Suffolk Sun, 1872.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 145
during Bacon's rebellion, in the reign of Charles the Second of
England. General Bridger was the son and heir of the Joseph
Bridger, who superintended the building of St. Luke's Church,
in Newport Parish, Isle of Wight county."
Mr. N. P. Young, now in the seventy-fifth year of his age,
who, since 1841, has been the clerk of the courts of this county,
says of her : * * She was a lady of great intelligence and varied
inforniation, I was always delighted with her conversations. She
frequently spoke of tlie Old Church, and of its ancient date,
which she always fixed as in 1632."
Her copy of the inscription was made after 1827, for the Old
Brick Church was never called St. Luke's until it was so called
by the Rev. William H. G. Jones, its first rector after the Revolu-
tionary war, in his report of that year to the Council of his
Church ; and her copy, therefore, has all the force and sanction
that could possibly be given to it by family pride, by personal
investigation, not only in the bloom but in the full maturity of
her splendid powers. And the full weight of this sanction can-
not be appreciated without the knowledge that Colonel Parker,
by virtue of his marriage with the widow Bridger, became the
custodian of a large quantity of very valuable papers that related
to the family, and to the Old Church, the majority of which were
seized and destroyed by Tarleton's men in 1781, when they en-
deavored to capture Colonel Parker at his home, and the balance
were lost in the war of 181 2. Mrs. Cowper was perfectly familiar
with these papers, cherished them as the jewels of her household,
and verbally, and in writing, transmitted the substance of them
to posterity.
Judith Bridger, her half-sister, who had the same pride and
the same facilities for knowing the contents of these papers,
married Richard Baker ; and Catherine, her sister, married Blake
Baker — the sons of Benjamin Baker of Nansemond.
Richard Baker was the father of the late Richard H. Baker,
who was born in 1788, and died in 187 1, in the eighty- third year
of his age. He was from 1834 (with the slight interruption
occasioned by the late war) until his death, a period of thirty-
seven years, the very distinguished judge of this the second
judicial circuit. He, too, was proud of his descent, and had every
opportunity, in the eighty-three years of constant association
10
146 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
with his kindred and people of this section, to apply his judicial
mind to the traditions of his family, and of the church, in which
he had an ancestral right to be interested. His mother, Judith
Bridger Baker, survived until 1840 or 1841, and he had every
opportunity of learning from her all that she knew of these
matters.
The present Richard H. Baker, the son of the late judge, took
especial pains to learn from his father and mother all that they
had learned from his grandmother relative to the Bridgers, and
the traditions of the Old Church, and committed to writing,
during their lives, notes of the conversations he had with them,
which notes (now before me) say, " My grandmother Baker was
Judith Bridger of Macclesfield in the Isle of Wight county,
great-granddaughter of the Sir Joseph Bridger who built St.
Luke's Church in 1632.** This statement, then, has all of the
endorsement which it is possible to derive from the great names
of Judge Richard H. Baker, and of his mother, Judith Bridger
Baker.
In the will of the Elizabeth Bridger. who died in 17 17, mention
is made of her daughter Patience Milner, and of her grand-
daughters Elizabeth and Martha Norsworthy.
The third George Norsworthy," who died in 1724 — the year
after the commencement of the old Vestry book alluded to —
married Elizabeth Bridger, the daughter of the Elizabeth Bridger
fust above spoken of
Joseph Norsworthy, a descendent of this George, was born in
1771, and died in March, 1859.
Mr. Joseph C. Norsworthy, a grandson of this Joseph, who
Dr. Purdie says, ** was remarkable for his integrity, his memory
and his intelligence," writes me that " he told me many times
that the Old Brick Church was built in 1632 ; that in 1666 a
Miss Norsworthy was buried in the aisle of the church, close to
the chancel. He showed me the spot, and mentioned ;^5 as the
burial fee. He also gave me a history of the re-shingling of the
church as he received it from his father and grandfather; and he
stated that there never was a doubt in the minds of any of them
that the Old Church was built in 1632.**
** Letters of J. C. Norsworthy and family tree.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH. SMITHFIELD. 147
The history of this re-shin^ling, as received by Mr. Joseph
Nors worthy from his father and grandfather, and imparted by
him to his son, Nathaniel, to his grandson, Joseph C, to his
friend, Dr. Purdie, and others, was that the Old Church was not
re-shingled from 1632 to 1737. And the old Vestry book, to
which allusion has been made, which it is reasonable to suppose
Mr. Norsworthy never saw (for the vestry was dissolved in 1777.
and the courthouse moved to its present location in 1800), and
if he did, never read, contains an important entry bearing
directly on this point, and strongly confirmatory of it.
It says that at a vestry meeting held on the tith day of Octo-
ber, 1737, it was ordered " That Peter Woodward do the shing-
ling of the church with good cypress shingles, of good sub-
stance, and well nailed, for 700 pounds of tobacco ; 300 pounds
being now levied; to be finished at or before the next parish
levy, and the church wardens to take bond and security for the
payment of the same. * '
The credit of the discovery of this entry is entirely due to the
indefatigable research of Dr. Purdie, who, in an article in the
Southern Churchman in 1882, commenting on this entry, says:
*' as the best cypress shingles are known to resist the elements
more than one hundred years, the date of the building of the Old
Brick Church, as derived from tradition, must receive support
from this record.** And Bishop Meade, in the second volume of
his Old Churches and Families, p. 119, alluding to Christ
Church, Lancaster county, Virginia, says: "the offer was cheer-
fully accepted, and the present house was completed about the
time of Mr. Carter's death — that is, about the year 1732 — and
exhibits to this day (1838) one of the most striking monuments
of the fidelity of ancient architecture to be seen in our land.
Very few, if any, repairs have been put upon it; the original
roof and shingles now cover the house, and have preserved in a
state of perfection the beautiful arched ceilings, except in two
places, which have within a few years, been a little discolored
by rain, which found its way through the gutters where the
shingles have decayed." When, in a few years afterwards the
church was repaired, ** the shingles, except in the decayed gut-
ters, were so good that they were sold to the neighbors around,
148 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
and will probably now last longer than many new ones just
gotten from the woods.*'
In confirmation of these observations, it may be added that
the Old Brick Church was not again re-shingled until 1821,**
when a vestry — the first that was organized after the war — had it
done, and made some material alterations in the interior arrange-
ments of the church.
During all that period of profound silence and absolute dis-
use, from 1777 to 1 821, save very rare and occasional services,
the grand Old Churcb was left the prey to all the elements and
to every despoiler who chose to raise his sacrilegious hands
against it.
In 1642," only ten years after the church was built, Mr. Falk-
ner had charge of all the churches in the county of Isle of
Wight. In that year the county was divided into two parishes,
the Upper and the Lower ; and the Old Brick Church was in
the Lower Parish.
In 1680," William Hodsden was the minister of the church in
the Lower Parish, and also of the church in Chuckatuck Parish.
In 1746, William Hodsden, a descendant of this William, was
a vestryman of this Old Church, and so continued until 1752.
He was an intimate friend of Colonel Joseph Bridger; and was
with him, a co- trustee of the town of Smithfield. He married
Sarah Bridger, and died in 1797. He was the father of the
Joseph Bridger Hodsden, who was born in 1776, and died in
18 15; and he was the father of the Joseph Bridger Hodsden,
who was born in 181 1, and died in 1877; and he was the father
of the Joseph Bridger Hodsden, who gave me these dates. Like
the Norsworthys, they were the neighbors of the Bridgers,
intermarried with them, resided in the same neighborhood, and
have received and transmitted from father to son the same tra-
dition of the construction of the Old Church.
Arthur Smith was a vestryman of the Old Church from 1736 to
1740; and Thomas Smith, his nephew and heir-at-law, was a
vestryman from 1745 to 1751.
"Joseph Norsworthy and Dr. John Robinson Purdie.
*• Hening, Vol. I, p. 279.
" Senate Document, 1874.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 149
They were the descendants of the Arthur Smith, who with
George Hardy, represented the county in the General Assembly
of 1644." He claimed descent from the Sir Thomas Smith,*
who was so long the treasurer of the Virginia Company of
London.
The first Arthur Smith died in i645,'* the friend of the first
Joseph Bridger. He left a son, Colonel Arthur Smith, who died
in 1696, the friend of General, the second Joseph Bridger, and
was. together with Lieutenant- Colonel Pitt and Thomas Pitt, the
adviser by his will of his widow, and like" them, the recipient of
a legacy for a memorial ring.
The second Colonel Arthur Smith, who died in 1696, left a
son (Arthur) who died in 1755, and was the guardian of Colonel
Joseph Bridger, under the will of his father.
The third Arthur Smith, who died in 1755, left the nephew
Thomas, spoken of above, who was the father of the fourth
Arthur, the Colonel Arthur Smith, who was a member of the
General Assembly of Virginia in 181 9, a member of the Council
of State in 1809 and 1816," and a member of Congress from 1821
to 1825. He died in 1854, and the date of the construction of
the Old Church was received by him from ancestors, who were
the contemporaries of all of the Bridgers, and he transmitted
the tradition as he received it.
Richard Hardy, the vestryman of the church from 1769 to
1777, was a descendant of the George Hardy of 1644, and was
the father of George, William, and Samuel, and of Nancy, Han-
nah and Sarah.
Sam Hardy, as he was, and still is, familiarly called, was, per-
haps, the most brilliant man that the county of Isle of Wight
ever produced, and as everything but his name has been allowed
to fade into oblivion, I will crave your indulgence for putting on
record something more than the mere mention of his name. He
was at William and Mary in 1776," during the presidency of the
'^Hening, Vol. I, p. 283.
^ Miss Eliza Cocke's Genealogical Tree.
«»Hening, Vol. VI, p. 308.
"Furnished by R. A. Brock.
•* Catalogues, pp. 97, 80, 50; Vestry Book, p. 117.
150 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Rev. John Camm, who was the rector of the Old Brick Church
in 1745. He was, with Spencer Roane and John Page and John
Marshall and Bushrod Washington, among the original members
of the Phi Beta Kappa Society of that College. Hugh Blair
Grigsby ^ speaks of him as " the amiable and lamented Hardy/'
" one of the most popular and beloved of our early statesmen/'
** brilliant, profound, and suddenly snatched away,'* and Lyon
G. Tyler** calls him "the eloquent Hardy, whose early death
extinguished the most brilliant expectations. * * He entered the
House of Delegates about the close of the war, and remained an
active member until he was sent to Congress in 1783. He died
in Philadelphia whilst a member of Congress, on Monday, the
17th of October, 1785. His death was announced in Congress
the same day, which resolved " that the members as a body
would attend the funeral the following day with crepe around the
left arm, and will continue in mourning for one month.** Mr.
Grayson, Mr. Read, and Mr. Kean were appointed a committee
to superintend the funeral, and they were ordered " to invite the
Governor of the State, the Ministers of Foreign Powers, the
Mayor of the city, and other persons of distinction to attend the
funeral.** ** The funeral expenses were ;^ii4 9s., and they were
paid by William Grayson, who brought the matter to the atten-
tion of the State. On the 5th of December, 1785, Judge Tyler**
addressed a tender and loving letter to Patrick Henry, the Gov-
ernor, in which he said ** his father has been much injured by the
war ; his family is large, and such a sum as ;^I50 would distress
him greatly, as I know he would most certainly encounter any
difficulty rather than not pay it; ** and it was paid by the State.*^
*' History of the Virginia Convention^ Vol. II (Va. Hist. Colls. X),
1788, pp. 137, 226, and copy of Journal of 1785, furnished me by Senator
John W. Daniel.
** Letters and Times of the Tylers, Vol. I, p. 191.
^'f> Virginia Convention of 1788, Vol. II, pp. 137, 226.
** Letters and Times of the Tylers, Vol. I, p. 191.
" On page 342, of the third volume of W. W. Henry's Life of P. Henry*
is the letter of P. Henry, of December 12, 1875, to '* The Speaker of the
House of Delegates, urging the Legislature to pay the funeral expenses
of the late Hon'ble Mr. Hardy, because of the merits of the deceased
gentleman, and of the circumstances which make an application to his
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 151
His associates in Congress were Thomas Jefferson, William
Grayson, Richard Henry Lee, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe.
** Monroe and Hardy were about the same age. were in the
Assembly together, were on terms of strictest intimacy, and
boarded with Mrs. Ege in Richmond. When Monroe made his
Southern tour, as President, he called to see his old landlady,
who presently appeared, and though thirty-odd years had passed
since the death of Hardy, as she threw her arms about the neck
of Monroe, she sobbed forth "Poor Hardy.'* His remains rest
in Philadelphia, where those of Henry Tazewell, James Innes,
Stevens Thomson Mason, Isaac Read, and other gallant and
patriotic Virginians still repose. ' *
On hearing of his death. Judge Tyler** wrote the following
beautiful tribute to his memory :
Ah, why my soul indulge this pensive mood.
Hardy is dead : the brave, the just the good.
Careless of censure, in his youthful bier
The muse shall drop a tributary tear.
His patriot bosom flowed with warmth divine.
And Oh! humanity ! his heart was thine.
No party interest led his heart astray :
He chose a nobler, though a beaten way.
Nor shall his virtues there remain unsung-
Pride of the Senate, and their guide and tongue.
That tongue, no more, can make even truth to please —
Polite with art, and elegant with ease.
Fain would the muse augment the plaintive strain;
Tho' the most flattering panegyric vain.
When the brief sentence, youthful Hardy's dead,
Speaks more than poet ever thought or said !
surviving friends improper." TFiese circumstances are mentioned in
Judge T^rler's letter.
So the funeral expenses of the budding statesman were ultimately
borne by the State as the last tribute it could pay to his worth and to
his genius.
*® Letters and Times of the Tylers^ Vol. I, p. 191.
152 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The elegy of Hardy *• on the death of Michael Young, on
March 26, 1782, the sole known product of his pen,^ shows that
he possessed great poetic powers.
** The curtain's drawn — the awful scene is past —
My once respected friend has breathed his last.
Exhausted nature sinks into repose,
A long, long sleep his feeble eyelids close.
Terrific death with all its dire parade,
A conquest of his mortal part has made.
Cold are those hands that tuned the pleasing lyre,
That raised the hero's ardor, and the patriot's fire,
That made old age awhile forget its years,
And eased the restless mind from anxious cares;
That soothed, enraptured, or distressed the mind.
Brightened the genius, and the soul refined ;
Harmonious numbers never more to sound.
Alas ! he's gone ; he moulders in the ground.
Pale is the cheek that wore the blooming youth.
Silent the tongue that spoke the voice of truth.
Dried are those tears that ne'er refused to flow
In tender sympathy for anothers woe —
Breathless the breast that glowed with filial love
For earthly parents and his God above.
Nor need we end the patriot here :
He was the tender brother, and the friend sincere.
From virtuous precepts to virtuous arts inclined,
His thoughts exalted, and serene his mind.
But death tyrannic aimed the fatal dart —
It flew unerring, and it reached the heart.
He fell beneath the cruel tyrant's power,
Nipped in his bloom, like some fair vernal flower.
"•Furnished by John R. Purdie and N. P. Young.
*° Since the above was written the third volume of W. W. Henry's Life
of P. Henry has been published, and on p. 268. 1 find a letter from
Hardy, dated New York, January 17, 1785, to P. Henry, Governor,
** enclosing a memorial of some citizens of Virginia praying to be
indulged with a separate government," and on pp. 273-7, 1 find a joint
letter from Samuel Hardy and James Monroe, dated February 13, 1785,
relative to the location of the Federal Capitol.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 153
But why lament ? Why draw the far-fetched sigh ?
We all are mortal, and we all must die.
His mortal part has felt the tyrant's sway ;
To happier climes his soul has winged its way.
On seraph wings he took a rapid flight,
And seraph like now revels in delight.
Why then dread death ? Why fear to pass o'er
The gulf that parts from that happy shore ?
Where death stalks not in horrible array,
Enrobed in terrors that produce dismay,
But through verdant fields the kindred spirits glide,
.And flowery landscapes charm on every side.
Whilst youth immortal blooms on every cheek
With endless joy, and happiness complete."
Mr. Monroe, during the Convention of 1829, pronounced Mr.
Hardy the most brilliant man of his age that he ever knew."
The State of Virginia, in 1786, cherishing his memory, named
the county of Hardy, now in West Virginia, after him, and
Hardy's Bluff, and Hardy District, in the county of Isle of
Wight, show how his name and family have impressed them-
selves on her heart and on her memory.
Archer Carroll married Agnes Hardy of this family, and their
son, George Carroll, married Miss Wrenn. N. P. Young mar-
ried Virginia Carroll.
The traditions of the Old Church are fondly cherished in all
the branches of this family.
Robert Tynes, the vestryman from 1746 to 1777, served with
every vestryman whom we have or shall mention, except Williarh
Bridger, and could, therefore, repeat to John Day what he learnt
from Lawrence Baker. He was, as we have seen, the appraiser
of the estate of Colonel Bridger. Henry Tynes, a descendant
of his, died in Chuckatuck in 1874, and Robert Tynes, his son,
died there in 1891. I knew both of them well, but I do not re-
member to ever to have conversed with either on this subject.
But as they were intelligent gentlemen, and lived only five miles
from the Church, it is impossible for them to have been ignorant
of its history.
*^Dr. John R. Purdie, from his father, John H. Purdie.
154 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Nicholas Parker was a vestryman from 1760 to 1777. He was
born in 1722, and died in 1789. He married Ann Copeland,
who was born in 1723, and died in 1786. She was the daughter
of Joseph Copeland and Mary Woodley, the daughter of Andrew
Woodley. Joseph Copeland was probably a descendant of the
Rev. Patrick Copeland, who was chaplain on thej Royal James in
161 7, and when near the Cape of Good Hope collected from her
officers and men ;^7o '* for the good of Virginia.'* He also, on
the 1 8th of April, 1622, preached before the Virginia Company,
of London, and " urged the promotion of the noble plantation
that*^ tended so highly to the advancement of the Gospel, and
the honoring of our dread sovereign.'* He spent fully ;^i,ooo
sterling in Bermuda for a school for the training of Indian chil-
dren, and died between 1649 and 1655. The frequency of the
intercourse between Bermuda and Virginia suggests the migra-
tion of the family to this country.
Nicholas Parker and Ann Copeland were the parents of ther
Colonel Josiah Parker, who married the widow Bridger.
Thomas Woodley, the vestryman from 1728 to 1755, was the
brother of Mary and the son of Andrew Woodley, who came
to this country in 1691 with his wife, Mary, and his sons, Thomas
and Henry, and had born unto him here John, who married
Francis Wilson, and Mary, who married Joseph Copeland.
Thomas had a son John, who married Catherine Boykin, the
widow of Major Francis Boykin, who was Catherine Bryant, of
Northampton county. North Carolina. They had a son Andrew^
who married Elizabeth Hill Harrison, and their daughter
Frances was my mother.
Jordan Thomas, the vestryman from 1746 to 1755, was a
descendant of the Richard Thomas whose will bears date in
1 68 1. He was the county surveyor and laid off the town of
Smithfield in 1752 for Arthur Smith. He lived to a green old
age and died in 1807.
My mother knew Mrs. Cowper intimately, and like her pos-
sessed a masculine mind and a fondness for genealogy. They
were archaeologists of highest order. I knew Frederick P. P.
*^ Nei 11, Virginia Company, p. 251, 253, 254, 372, 374; Neill, Virginia
Vetusta, p. 134, 193, 194, 195; Brown's Genesis, 973.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 155
Cowper, the son of Mrs. Cowper, intimately, and from him, and
from my mother, I have heard, repeatedly, the history of the
Old Church, and in all the branches of our family ihe tradition
of its construction is confidently believed.
Lawrence Baker, the vestryman from 1724 to 1757 was the
father of Richard Baker, who was a vestryman from 1760 to
1777, and clerk of the county from 1754 to 1770.
It is believed that Benjamin Baker, of Nansemond, is a de-
scendant of the Isle of Wight branch of this family.
John Day is the ancestor of Colonel C. F. Day, of Smithfield,
and his wife is a granddaughter of General John Scarsbrook
Wills, who was a member of all of the conventions of 1775 and
and 1776, and prominent in the Revolutionary war.
The traditions of the Old Church are preserved in this family.
From the vestrymen of the Old Church, and from every per-
son and family who has ever had any official or unofficial con-
nection with it, has descended the same invariable tradition.
And the pregnant fact must be considered, that it has never been
contradicted. It would have been contradicted, if contradiction
had been possible. As everyone knows, Nansemond county was
the early and the congenial home of the non-conformist. Its
boundary line is only five miles distant; and it would have been
perfectly natural and inevitable for them to have furnished willing
witnesses against the tradition, if any witnesses at all, could by
any possibility, have been found. Then, besides, Benn's church,
the most famous Methodist church in this section, has grown
upon the ruins of the Old Church, and antagonistic as it was in
its early days, it has never furnished a person to suggest a doubt
of the correctness of the ancient tradition. On the contrary, all
of its members, like the Norsworthys and the Hodsdens are
zealous supporters of that tradition.
The tradition, then, is the tradition of friends and of foes ; is
universal; is coeval with the Church; has always been asserted,^
never denied, and must be accepted as true. And it has been
accepted as true by Dr. Hawks, by Bishop Meade, by Philip
Slaughter, by the whole county of Isle of Wight, and by every
person who has given to this subject the consideration that its
importance demands.
156 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
3d. The Lately Existing Records,
Francis Young was deputy clerk of the county of Isle of
Wight from 1768 to 1787; and clerk from 1787 to 1794. He
was succeeded by his son, James, from 1794 to 1800; by his son,
Francis, from 1800 to 1801; and by his son, Nathaniel, from 1801
to 1841; and Nathaniel P. Young, the son of Nathaniel and
grandson of Francis, has held the office from 1 841 to the present
time, with the slight interval of the days when Virginia was a
military district.
In 1 78 1, when the courthouse of the county was in the town
of Smithfield (Nathaniel Burwell, the clerk, having left this sec-
tion of the State), the custody of the records of the county was
in the hands of Francis Young, his deputy clerk. He being in
the regiment of General John Scarsbrook Wills, was absent from
the county; but his faithful wife, learning that Tarleton intended
to make a raid on Smithfield to destroy the records, took
and buried them on what is now the farm of John F. Scott, near
the mill-pond, in a trunk that is now in the clerk's office. They
remained buried for a long while.
Dr. John R. Purdie, the brother-in-law of the late Nathaniel
Young, in an article in the Southern Churchman of October 19th,
1882, alluding to these facts, writes: **I have heard him (Na-
thaniel Young) say that when a boy there was in the office an
old record book containing vestry proceedings, in which he
noticed entries relating to the Old Brick Church, and his recol-
lection was clear that they were of the date of 1632. At the
time these entries were discovered the book containing them was
in an advanced stage of decay, caused by the dampness whHst
they were buried, as I have stated, and soon yielded to the tooth
of time. Mr. Young was remarkable for the strength of his
memory and accuracy of statement. * '
Dr. Purdie has always been remarkable for his antiquarian
research, for the love of his section and State, for the strength of
his memory, and for the accuracy of his statements.
Mr. N. P. Young, the present clerk, now in the seventy-fifth
year of his age, writes me: ** He (my father) said that for many
years after he went into the clerk's office there were two old books
the rerelative to the Church and the proceedings of the vestry, and
that the older of the two, being greatly damaged by having been
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH. SMITHFIELD. 157
buried in 1781, was destroyed by worms. In this book was, as
stated by him, the proceedings relative to the erection of the Old
Church. When I entered the office in 1836, nothing was left of
this old book but the back and small portions of the leaves, so
eaten by the worms that it was perfectly illegible. * '
The existence, then, of this old book, and the substance of
its entries, relative to the Old Church must, upon the testimony
of these living witnesses, and of the one so lately deceased, be*
accepted as an unquestionable fact.
4th. The Bricks and the Mortar of the Church,
In June, 1887, the Rev. David Barr, rector of Christ Church,
attended a convocation held at Old St. John's Church, Smithfield,
near Chuckatuck. On the Sunday of that convocation a very
severe storm of wind and rain came up, which, with its thunder,
shook all that neighborhood. On Monday, as he was returning
home, when became in sight of the Old Brick Church, he observed
that the storm had so shaken that Old Church that its roof had
fallen in, and that a large part of the eastern wall had fallen on
that roof. With a sad heart he stopped and surveyed the dis-
tressing scene, but, plucking courage from disaster, he resolved,
then and there, that the Old Church should be rebuilt, and that
the most ancient building in all America of European construc-
tion should be preserved to the State and to the Church which
had erected it.
Mr. Emmet W. Maynard, formerly a citizen of Sijrry, had
recently moved into the immediate neighborhood, and Mr. Barr
at once engaged him, as chief workman, to remove the fallen
roof and the encumbering bricks. Mr. Maynard entered promptly
upon the work, and after he had removed the debris of the roof,
he then began upon that of the fallen wall and the scattered
bricks. Whilst so engaged, he, one day, found in the southeast
corner of the Church, where the wall had chiefly fallen, a curious
brick, which upon examination seemed to have something cut
into it, which, by accident or design, was filled with mortar.
With a sharp- pointed stick he removed the mortar until first
dimly, and then clearly, and then still more clearly, was seen the
figures 1632. Mr. Maynard had so recently become a citizen of
the county, that I doubt, if he knew the significance of that
158 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
brick ; but as it came from that portion of the eastern wall that
had fallen in the Church, was peculiar in its character and shape,
and had some figures on it, which, probably, were made whilst the
brick was soft and before it had been burnt, he saved it, and
when Mr. Barr next came to the Church he showed it to him and
informed him when and where and how he found it. Mr. Barr
told him rapidly and excitedly something of the ancient history
of the Church and of the importance of the brick, and then, they
both, with the zeal of the antiquary, fired by the discovery of the
buried city or lost treasure — the proof of his faith — began a
search inside and outside of the Church to see what further they
could find. Presently they came upon a piece of broken brick
inside of the Church, and not far from the spot where the whole
brick had been found, with a figure i upon it. Being still more
excited by this discovery, they increased the energy of the
search, and after some hours of scrutiny and toil, they found on
the southeast side of the Church, on the outside of it and near
the tower, another piece of brick with a figure 2 on it. On put-
ting these two pieces of broken brick together they were delighted
to see that they fitted i>erfeclly. The brick had been broken in
two. On one part was the figure i, on the other part was the
figure 2, and the middle figures was destroyed by the violent
separation of the brick in its fall. These broken pieces that
belonged to the middle of the brick were two small to be then
found, for nearly the whole of the rubbish had been removed
and thrown away. But here were the pieces of the second brick,
in its make and shape exactly like the first, with the same figures
upon either end. The conviction was then, and is now, absolute,
on inspection, that the middle figures were 6 and 3, making 1632,
like its companion brick. Both had been made by the same par-
ties, at the same time, from the same clay, burnt in the same kiln,
put in the same wall near the same place by the same workman,
and both had been deeply and firmly concealed from all human
sight and knowledge from 1632 to 1887, when they were, simul-
t£^neously, disclosed to the world by the voice of God speaking
in the storm.
And thus the Church, by its very brick and mortar, confirms
the ancient tradition of the people, the truth of the crumbled
record, and of the Vestry book still extant, and they all join in
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 159
one consistent and harmonious acclaim that — The Old Brick
Church was Built in 1632.
The ministers of the Old Brick Church, besides Falkner and
Hodgen, so far as known, were :
The Rev. Thomas Bailey, prior to and during 1724.
The Rev. Mr. Barlow, from March 30th, 1725, to October,
1726.
The Rev. John Gammill, from March 9th, 1729, to November
25th, 1743.
The Rev. John Camm, from March 4th, 1745, to a few months
only.
The Rev. John Reid, from March 8th, 1746, to April, 1757.
The Rev. Mr. Milner, from February, 1766, to May 3d, 1770.
He was a descendant of that Colonel Thomas Milner, who was
a Justice of the Peace and Colonel in 1680, who was clerk to the
Assembly in 1684, and its Speaker in 1691, and probably the
son of that Milner who married Patience, the daughter of Joseph
and Elizabeth Bridger.
The Rev. I. H. Burgess, for the years 1 773-' 74,-' 75, and '76.
The Rev. Hubard, died on the Glebe in 1802.
The Rev. Samuel Butler, occasionally, 1780.
The Rev. William G. H. Jones, from 1826 to 1832.
Bishop Richard C Moore confirmed a class of four in 1820 —
viz: Colonel Brewer Godwin, Parker Wills, Mrs. Ann P. P.
Cowper, and Margaret S. Purdie.
The last marriage in the Church was that of George W. Pur-
die and Evelina Belmont Smith, on April 26th, 1836.
LIST OF VESTRYMEN FROM 1 7 24.
Lawrence Baker, vestryman from 1724 to 1757.
William Bridger, ** •* 1724 to 1730.
Thomas Woodley, ** " 1728 to 1755.
Major Joseph Bridger, ** " 1735101747.
Arthur Smith, ** " 1736 to 1740.
Thomas Smith, ** *' 1745 to 1751.
Jordan Thomas, ** *• 1746 to 1755.
Robert Tynes, ** " 1746 to 1777.
William Hodsden, *' " 1746 to 1757.
160 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Joseph Bridj^er, vestrymen from 1746 to 1749.
Colonel Joseph Bridger, ** " 1757 to 1769.
Nicholas Parker, ** " 1760 to 1777.
Richard Baker, ** " 1760 to 1777.
James Bridger, clerk in 1753, ** " 1766 to 1777.
Richard Hardy, ** " 1769 to 1777.
John Day, ** " i777«
There was no election of a vestry from 1756 to 1777. It was
then on the petition of " sundry inhabitants ' ' of the parish of
Newport, in the county of Isle of Wight, dissolved.*'
The names of the other vestrymen appearing in the old Vestry-
book are Samuel Davis, Mathew Jones, Thomas Walton, Wil-
liam Kinchin, William Grumpier, James Day, George Riddick,
Mathew Wills, Reuben Proctor, Nathaniel Ridley, John Good-
rich, George Williamson, James Ingles, John Porson, John
Davis, John Simmons, William Wilkinson, Joseph Godwin,
Henry Lightfoot, John Monroe, Thomas Parker, Hardy Council,
Henry Pitt, Richard Wilkinson, Henry Applewhaite, Thomas
Day, John Lawrence, Hugh Giles, Thomas and John Apple-
whaite, Thomas Tynes, John Eley, John Darden, Dolphin Drew,
John Wills, William Salter, Robert Barry, Charles Tilghman,
Robert Burwell, Miles Wills, and Edmund Godwin.
One grand historic landmark of the old church-yard has
recently yielded to the scythe of time, but its exact spot and its
memory ought for many reasons to be perpetuated.
A grand old oak stood by the side of the road right between
what is now the burial lots of William Gale and Walter B. Jor-
dan Under that oak Tarleton and his officers rested when they
made a dash for Colonel Josiah Parker in 1781. Under that oak
Lorenzo Dow preached, Joseph Norsworthy and others were con-
verted, and he and they there joined the Methodists, and laid
the foundations of the now famous Benn's church. Under that
oak elections were held, and under it Samuel Hardy, Josiah
Parker, James Johnson, Arthur Smith, Joel Holleman, Archer
**See Journal of the Convention, June, 1776, p. 40; See Journal of
the Convention, December, 1776, p. 80 ; See Hening, IX., chapter
XX. p. 317.
THE OLD BRICK CHURCH, SMITHFIELD. 161
Atkinson and Robert Whitfield— all members of Congress from
this county— discussed the engrossing issues of their day.
Dr. Purdie, in an article in the Southern Churchman in No-
vember, 1882, speaking of that oak, says: **oaks of gigantic
proportions and of great age stand near this venerable Christian
temple. One of them, the oldest and perhaps the largest of the
vegetable kingdom family in the county, if not in Eastern Vir-
ginia, was more than twenty years ago measured by myself in
company with the Rev. Silas Totten, D. D. , of the faculty of
William and Mary College, and its circumference five feet from
the ground was more than eighteen feet. Under its expansive
boughs men now old gamboled in childhood and in youth. In its
extensive shade the past and the present generations have lunched
on protracted religious occasions. On its grassy carpet Virginia
militia have formed ranks and performed simple and eccentric
movements. And the loud harangues of legislative aspirants
and political declaimers were ofttimes heard from its rugged
roots. On the afternoon of a calm autumnal Sabbath in 1875^
this vegetable giant, this patriarch of the forest, succumbed to
nature's laws, and its mighty fall never to be revived, and not to
be replaced in ages, it became a huge mass, if may I say, sacred
timber and fire fuel.**
Not only was this grand old oak loved for the reasons given,
but because it, more, perhaps, than any of its fellows, was in the
universal heart intimately associated with the tenderest senti-
ments. On its huge knees, purposely designed by nature, many
sat, who, **Like Juno's swans, still went coupled and insepar-
able," and those knees were so diverged and distant that what
was said in love's low tones on the one side of the faithful tree
did not reach the engaged ear on the other. Grand old oak,
how we miss you ! Under that old oak,
* * Whose boughs were massed with age,
And high top, bald with antiquity,"
how often have we gathered and carved names, and kissed the
bark, and hugged its huge circumference, believing it to be
inspired with the touch and feeling of her who had just left it.
Broader than that which stood sentinel in Sumner- chase, it was
11
162 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETV.
enshrined in sweeter memories, for as that had only one Walter
and one Olivia, this had its hundreds.
And this whole grove, abandoned by the service of the Church,
revered and loved for its ancient memories and its muhitudinous
dead here buried, its dense, extensive and sacred shade, its
solemn hush and silence was our forest of Eden, where our
melancholy Jacques and passionate Orlandos, "Sighing every
minute and groaning every hour," hung " odes on hawthornes
and elegies on brambles," saying —
" O Rosalind, these trees shall be my books,
And in their barks my thoughts I'll character;
That every eye which in this forest looks
Shall see thy virtues witnessed everywhere."
And now, having completed the history of this grand old
church so far as it is known to me — not even having ignored its
sentimental associations, let me express the hope that it will
soon be restored to its pristine condition, and once again unite
in harmony and in love with all other churches in the evangeli-
zation of the world.
R. S. Thomas.
MINISTERS WHO CAME FROM 1607 TO 1 622. 163
A PARTIAL LIST OF MINISTERS WHO CAME FROM 1607 TO 1622.
Robert Hunt came in 1607, died at Jamestown, 1609.
Richard Bucke came in 16 10, died at Jamestown, 1624.
Glover came prior to 1611.
Poole came prior to 1611.
William Wickham came prior to 1611, died at Henrico, 1638.
Alexander Whitaker came prior to 1611, died at Henrico,
1617.
William Mease or Mays came prior to 1611, died at Henrico
after 1623.
William Macock came prior to 1616, died at Henrico after
1626.
Thomas Bargrave came prior to 1618, died at Isle of Wight,
1621.
Robert Paulet came prior to 1620.
David Sandis came prior to 1620.
William Bennett came prior to 1621, died at Isle of Wight,
1624.
Robert Bolton came prior to 1621, lived in Accomac and
Jamestown.
Jonas Stockton came prior to 1621, lived in Elizabeth City
and Henrico.
Thomas White came prior to 1621.
Haut Wyatt came prior to 1621, lived in Jamestown.
Hopkins came prior to 1622.
Pemberton came prior to 1622.
Greville Pooley came prior to 1622.
William Cotton came about 1622.
The letter of the London Company to the Governor and
Council of Virginia, dated September 11, 1621, speaking of books
for the ministers, says : * * As for books we doubt not you will be
able to supply them out of the libraries of so many that have
died."
R. S. T.
RICHMOND'S FIRST ACADEMY.
PROJECTED BY
M. QUESNAY DE BEAUREFAIRE,
IIsT 1786.
A PAPER READ BEFORE THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 189I,
By RICHARD HEYWARD GAINES,
/ Richmond^ Virginia,
Richmond's First Academy,
M. QUESNAY DE BEADRBPAIRE.
Last winter, while attending a reception at the Authors Club in
New York, given the artists of that city, I had the pleasure of
meeting Mr. Moncure D. Conway, who, after some general con-
versation, mentioned a letter that he had just received from Paris,
asking him to try and find any traces or records of the Chevalier
Quesnay de Beaurepaire, in Virginia.
After returning to Richmond, Mr. Conway applied to me lo
assist him in collecting any information obtainable concerning
the subject of which he had spoken. This worthy Frenchman,
as some of you perhaps may know, proposed to establish at
Richmond during the latter part of the eighteenth century an
Academy of Arts and Sciences. The descendants of this inter-
esting man form a distinguished family in France just now.
The present Procureur G6n6ral, M. de Beaurepaire, is grandson of
the Chevalier Quesnay, and wishes to write a mSmoire of his
ancestor.
Desirous lo render Mr. Conway any assistance in my power,
who in turn was anxious to communicate with his friend in Paris,
I found after some weeks of search and inquiry several rare
volumes from which a brief account of our subject could be
gleaned.
In the State Library of Virginia, I discovered a curious and
interesting volume in French, published in Paris in 178S, entitled
168 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
** Memoir and Prospectus concerning the Academy of Sciences
and Fine Arts of the United States of America, established at
Richmond, the capital of Virginia, by the Chevalier Quesnay de
Beaurepaire'* (Founder and President).
From this memoir and other data collected from a variety of
sources, including a contribution to Virginia Educational History
by Prof Adams, I have been enabled to prepare the following
sketch :
The Chevalier Quesnay de Beaurepaire was grandson of Dr.
Quesnay the famous French philosopher, economist and court
physician of Louis the XVI ; a man eminent for his talents, his
universal information and public spirit.
The grandson belonged to the cavalry of the guard of Louis
the XVI, when this troop was disbanded. At this time the con-
vulsions of the war of Revolution were agitating a portion of
the New World. The chevalier was one of the enthusiastic
Frenchmen who like de la Fayette came over to aid America.
Attracted, he says in his memoirs, by the brilliant hope of dis-
tinguishing himself in arms, he served in Virginia, with honor,
in the rank of captain, during the years of 1777 and 1778. The
loss of his accoutrements, also of his letters of introduction,
which were mislaid in the office of Patrick Henry, the then
Governor of Virginia, and finally a severe illness and a want of
pecuniary resources, at so great a distance from home, compelled
him to abandon the profession of arms. In Gloucester county,
Virginia, after he was obliged to leave the army, Sir John Pey-
ton, touched with his destitute condition, kindly invited him to
to his house, and insisted on his remaining there while he was
awaiting assistance from his own country, and restoration of
health. For nearly two years he bestowed on him every mark
of kindness and treated him as his own son. After being restored
to health, the chevalier having occasion to travel through the
country, conceived the idea of improving it by the introduction
of French culture and the fine arts. He says that the first idea
of founding an academy in America was suggested to him in
1778, by Mr. John Page, of Rosewell, subsequently Governor of
Virginia, who urged him to procure professors from Europe,
promising to secure their appointment and make Quesnay the
Richmond's first academy, 1786. 169
president of the academy. He saw a good opportunity of multi-
plying the relations between France and America, or as he says
in a letter to the French Academy of Sciences, " of uniting it
with his country by new ties of gratitude, of conformity of taste
and of a more intimate connection between the individuals
of the nations.'* Thus originated a remarkable attempt to
establish an institution for the higher education, on a grand scale
in this country. It was an effort growing out of the French
alliance with the United States, to plant in Richmond, the new
capital of Virginia, a kind of French Academy of the Arts and
Sciences, with branch academies in Baltimore, Philadelphia and
New York. The institution was to be at once national and
international. It was to be affiliated with the royal societies of
London, Paris, Brussels, and with other learned bodies in Europe.
The general plan of the academy was one of the greatest magni-
tude. It was to be composed of a president, a vice-president,
six counsellors, a treasurer-general, a secretary, a recorder, an
agent for taking European subscriptions, French professors,
masters, artists-in- chief attached to the academy, twenty -five
resident and one hundred and seventy-five non-resident associ-
ates, selected from the best talent of the Old World and the
New.
The academy proposed to publish yearly from its own press
in Paris, an almanac, announcing to the academic world not only
the officers and students of the Richmond institution, with their
distinguished associates, but also the work projected by the
academy from year to year — such work when completed was to
be published in the memoirs of the academy, and distributed to
the learned societies of Europe and to the associates and patrons
of the institution. The academy was to show its active zeal for
science by communicating to France and other European coun-
tries, a knowledge of the natural products of North America.
The museums and cabinets of the Old World were to be enriched
by specimens of the flora and fauna of a country as yet undis-
covered by men of science; experts of every class were to be
sent out to the new academy, where they were 10 teach the
American youth and at the same time serve on scientific com-
missions for governments, corporations and stock companies.
Special stress was laid upon the importance of introducing into
170 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
America, French Mineralogists and Mining Engineers, who were
to fully develop the natural resources of the United States.
The projector of this brilliant scheme appears to have made
diligent propaganda not only throughout Virginia, but the whole
country in the interest of his novel academic idea. He even suc-
ceeded in raising by subscription the sum of 60,000 francs, — a
fact which indicates that the scheme was seriously entertained.
He gives in his memoir a list of the original subscribers, embrac-
ing nearly one hundred names — nine-tenths of the subscribers
were Virginians, with the rest from Baltimore, Philadelphia and
New York. It may be of interest to mention a few of the follow-
ing names of the patrons of liberal culture in Richmond during
the last century : John Harvie, Mayor of the city, and Register
of the Land Office, Colonel Thomas Mann Randolph of Tuckahoe,
Edmund Randolph, Governor of the State, Colonel Archibald
Cary, Speaker of the Senate; and among private citizens, Francis
Dandridge, William Foushee, Robert Greenhow, Dr. James
McClurg and a long list of others. In Petersburg he enumerates
Mrs. Boiling, Dr. Shore, Mayor of the town. Colonel Banister,
Dr. Robert Walker and Major Gibbon. In Norfolk, Colonel
Parker, in Williamsburg, the Rev. Mr. Madison, president of the
William and Mary College, Thomas Carter, General Gibson; and
at Alexandria, Colonel Semmes and others. In order to convince
the French public that he had the strongest social support in
America, the chevalier referred to a great number of distinguished
people in various American cities who had shown him encour-
agement.
His local lists of first families affords an interesting criterion
of the cultivated society of the period immediately following the
American Revolution. This clever, diplomatic Frenchman evi-
dently had the social entre6 wherever he went on his academic
mission* He mentions among his friends in Philadelphia the
Reeds, the Willings, the Rittenhouses, General Wayne and
others of high respectability ; in New Jersey, the Coxes, the
De Harts and the Ogdens; in New York, Governor Clinton,
General Courtland, the Livingstons, the Hoffmans and the
Halletts. General Baron Von Steuben, an educated German,
was the first citizen of New York who gave his support to
the project. The Chevalier Quesnay's idea was clearly for some-
Richmond's first academy, 1786. 171
thing above the average college. He had in mind the highest
special training of American students in the arts and sciences.
The following extract from a letter written to Franklin (then in
Paris) by his daughter shows how the proposed Academy was
viewed by educated people at the time. The letter is here
given in English, translated from the French version published
in the memoir:
Phila., February 27, J783.
My Dear and Honored Father :
With this letter you will receive a project for a French Academy
which is to be established here. It is a very extensive plan and will do
honor to the gentleman who has designed it as well as to America.
If it can be executed, it will in no way interfere with the plans of the
colleges ; it will be solely for the completion of the education of young
men after they have graduated from college. Monsieur Quesnay re-
gards you as the father of science in this country, and appreciates the
advice and instruction which you have never failed to give those whose
talents are worthy of recognition. Money is the one thing needful, but
you will be informed how you can be most serviceable. I can conceive
how occupied you must be in this important crisis ; but as a mother
who desires to give her children a useful and polite education and who
will be especially proud to have them trained in her own country and
under her own eyes, I pray you to give M. Quesnay all the assistance
that may lie in your power. I will only add the love and respect of the
family.
Your affectionate daughter,
SARA BACHE.
The name of Franklin was greatly revered in France at this
time, and it was known that his influence with the French people
in the interest of the scheme would have been very powerful.
Quesnay says in his memoir that he decided to establish his
Academy at Richmond because his earliest associations and best
friends were in this capital. The exact site of the Academy was
long ago recorded by Samuel Mordecai, the Richmond anti-
quary, who probably saw the building with his own eyes. He
says in his charming medley of Richmond history, the site
chosen by M. Quesnay is the square on which the Monumental
Church and Medical College now stand, the grounds extending
from those lower points up Broad and Marshall to Twelfth street.
The proceedings connected with laying the corner-stone are
described in the memoir and by the Virginia Gazette for July i,
172 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
1786. On the 24th of June 1786, Quesnay had the satisfaction
of witnessing the laying of the foundation with imposing cere-
monies in the presence of a great concourse of citizens. The
mayor of the city, the French consul and deputies of the French
nation, were there to honor the occasion. Mordecai records that
two silver plates were deposited in the corner-stone. On one
was an inscription in Latin, on the other in French — the Latin
translated reads thus: In the year of our Lord 1786, the loth of
the Republic, VIII calends of July, Patrick Henry being
Governor of Virginia, the plan of an academy projected by Alex-
ander Maria Quesnay and assisted by the liberality of many
meritorious citizens, is at length consummated, the corner-stone
was laid. John Harvie being mayor of the city.
The inscription on the other plate in French, contains the
following: Corner-stone of an academy in the city of Richmond,
Alexandria Maria Quesnay, president, laid by the officers and
brethren of Lodge No. 13,^ on the festival of St. John the Baptist,
^The corner-stone of the State Capitol (August 18, 1785), that of the
Masons' Hall at Richmond (October 12, 1785, the oldest standing build-
ing erected for Masonic purposes in North America), and of other
public buildings were laid by this, the pioneer lodge of Richmond.
It was first chartered December 28, 1780, as Richmond Lodge No. 13,
and re- chartered in 1786 as No. 10, which designation it has since most
honorably borne.
The capital of the State having been removed from Williamsburg to
Richmond in 1779, hither was transferred the headquarters of the Grand
Lodge of Masons, and Richmond Lodge, No. 13, became the most influ-
ential in the State in the sustenence and extension of the beneficent
order. Its early membership of more than one hundred embraced
many of the most distinguished men of Virginia, including many
gallant officers of the Revolution. At the conclusion of the war for
independence many of these last removed to the bounty lands
awarded them for their patriotic services, and became the founders of
Masonry in the South and West. Among the membership of Rich-
mond Lodge, No. 10, may be enumerated Grand Masters — Alexander
Montgomery, Edmund Randolph, John Marshall, Thomas Mathews,
Samuel Jones, and Sidney S. Baxter ; Grand Secretaries — Leightop
Wood, W. Waddill, John Burke, Basil Wood, Nathaniel W. Price,
John G. Williams and John Dove. It has also been numerously repre-
sented in the remaining offices of the Grand Lodge of Virginia. In
the host of heroes of the Revolution it has held on its rolls is the re-
Richmond's first academy, 1786. 173
in the year of Light, 5786, and of the Vulgar Era, 1786. John
Groves, Master; James Mercer, Grand Master; Edmund Ran-
dolph, Past Grand Master.
Having founded and organized the Academy under the most
distinguished auspices, the Chevalier de Beaurepaire returned to
Paris, and began an active social and scientific propaganda in
the interest of his grand project for uniting intellectually America
and France. He called upon the savants of Paris. He visited
the studios of artists. He consulted every one whose opinion,
good will or active co-operation was worth having. He was
certainly successful in awakening the interest of the most influ-
ential people in the idea of establishing a French Academy in
Richmond. As grandson of a distinguished scholar, and as a
returned soldier of France, he was able to obtain access to the
highest circles. His project was presented to the king and
queen and to the royal family in a memoir published with the
sanction of the royal censor. The most cultivated men of the
time appear to have favored the undertaking. A commission of
the Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris, signed by de La Lande,
Lavoisier and others, and certified to by its secretary, the Marquis
de Condorcet, reported favorably upon the memoir, as did also a
similar commission of the Royal Academy of Painting and
Sculpture, signed by Vernet and other eminent artists.
The published list of foreign associates of the Richmond
Academy embraces the most distinguished French names of the
time in art, science, literature, politics, together with represen-
tative men from England and the United States. French influ-
ence, however, predominated. Among the celebrities whose
names are given in the memoir as associates of the Richmond
Academy were the Marquis de Beaumarchais, the secretary of
the king; Condorcet and Dacier, secretaries respectively of the
vered name of La Fayette, and besides four Governors of Virginia —
John Tyler, Sr., Edmund Randolph, Thomas Mann Randolph, and the
unfortunate George William Smith (who perished in the burning of the
Richmond Theatre, December 26, 181 1), many others distinguished
in the annals of Virginia and in the councils of the nation.
A history of the lodge is in preparation by a member, the present
writer, for the publication of which it is hoped means will soon be pro-
vided— Ed.
174 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Royal Academies of Science and Art; the Abb6 de Bevi, his-
toriographer of France; Marquis de la Fayette, then a marshal
of the armies of the king; Houdon, the sculptor; Malesherbes,
the minister of State; Lavoisier, the great chemist (the father ol
modern chemistry) ; Comte de La Luzerne, Secretary of State,
Minister to United States ; Marquis de La Luzerne, the royal
ambassador to Great Britain; the Marquis de Montalembert,
the Due de La Rochefoucauld, and many others. Conspicuous
as representatives of England and America were many names
distinguished in science, art and letters. Jefferson who was
living in Paris at this time as American Minister to France, is
very prominently mentioned in the memoir as a supporter of the
proposed academy. There is no doubt that Jefferson was
thoroughly in favor of introducing the higher forms of French
culture into Virginia. This was proved in 1795 by his corre-
pondence with Washington as to the feasibility of removing
bodily to Virginia the Swiss faculty of the College of Geneva.
It was in the polished circle of learned men of Paris that the
Chevalier de Beaurepaire and Jefferson moved that the latter' s
ideas of university education assumed cosmopolitan form.
In 1788, provisional arrangements were made by Quesnay for
instituting the following schools in the Virginia Academy :
Foreign languages, mathematics, design, architecture civil and
military, painting, sculpture, engraving, experimental physics,
astronomy, chemistry, mineralogy, botany, anatomy and natural
history. The selection of suitable professors, masters and artists
was intrusted to a committee of correspondence, established at
Paris, and consisting of Quesnay, founder and president of the
academy, of a permanent secretary, a treasurer- general and nine
commissioners, elected from prominent members of the academy.
The committee of correspondence was organized, but when it
met appointed only one professsor. His name was Dr. Jean
Rouelle, and he is described as a profound scholar and an
experienced traveller, having a wide acquaintance with the natu-
ral sciences. He was assigned to the chair of chemistry and
natural history, and instructed to form cabinets and collections
for distribution in America and Europe. Dr. Rouelle was
elected September 28, 1788, and was to have sailed for America
the next month in October. At this time the prospect of appoint-
Richmond's first academy, 1786. 175
ing: a numerous faculty became suddenly darker with the
approach of the French Revolution. In the latter months of
1788, France was in no condition financially or socially for push-
ing this grand scheme in Virginia, the brilliant enterprise failed,
but how or under what circumstances is not now to be discovered,
unless among the court records of Louis XVI. The project
attracted brief admiration and then sank into oblivion in the
political maelstrom in which everything in France went down.
Had circumstances favored the establishment of the academy
at Richmond, on the scale conceived by Quesnay. this city would
have become not only the intellectual centre of the South and a
great part of the North, but perhaps of the whole country.
Supported by French capital, to which in a large measure we
owe the success of the Revolutionary war, strengthened by
French prestige, by literary, scientific and artistic associations
with Paris, then the intellectual capital of the world, the academy
at Richmond, as Adams truly says, might have become an edu-
cational stronghold comparable in some degree to the Jesuit
influence in Canada, which has proved more lasting than French
dominion, more impregnable than the fortress of Quebec.
But the worthy chevalier was far ahead of his times — more than
a hundred years, as the absence of such an institution at this day
proves.
The academy building in Richmond, according to that quaint
antiquary Samuel Mordecai, became the property of some English
actors, who converted it into a theatre. Here the tragic and the
comic muse first excited the tears and smiles of a Richmond
audience. But greater actors performed and a more glorious
work was rehearsed in that theatre than in any other, either in
this country or in Europe. It served a purpose which entitles it
to a monumental place in the history of Virginia architecture.
Therein assembled that rare constellation of talent, of wisdom
and of pure patriotism, the convention of sages and statesmen,
who met to discuss the question of Federal Union, and who rati-
fied the constitution of the United States.
Richard Heyward Gaines.
SOME UNPUBLISHED FACTS
RELATING TO
BACON'S REBELLION
ON THE
EASTERN SHORE OF VIRGINIA,
GLEANED FROM THE COURT RECORDS OF
A ceo MAC COUNTY.
A PAPER READ BEFORE THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 189I,
By Professor FRANK P. BRENT,
Onancock Academy, Virginia.
19
Some Unpublished Facts Relating to
BACON'S REBELLION
On the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
By general consent, the most important event in the history
of the Colony of Virginia prior to the American Revolution was
the rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., against Sir William
Berkeley, the Royal Governor of the Colony. It was the first
armed resistance offered by Americans to the constituted authori-
ties of the mother country, and interest in the movement is still
further enhanced by the fact that it occurred just one hundred
years before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
The ideas prevailing at that time among the English people
were not very favorable to the heroic enterprise of the dauntless
young rebel and his liberty- loving followers ; yet the doctrine of
the divine right of kings, so prevalent in the days of James the
First, had received a rude shock in the execution of Charles the
First, and in the iron rule of Cromwell and the Roundheads.
Bacon's Rebellion occurred in Virginia at a time when the reac-
tion against Puritanism was at its height, and when the withering
invective and merciless ridicule heaped upon the Puritans by
Samuel Butler in Hudibras was in the mouth of every cavalier
in America as well as in England. The great principle had,
however, been boldly proclaimed and successfully established
that the English people would not again submit to the arbitrary
and tyrannical rulers, and that the divine right to rule is inherent
not in kings, but in the people.
180 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Bacon's Rebellion was not an attempt to establish a new or
independent form of government. It was an armed opposition
to the policy of Sir William Berkeley, his Sacred Majesty's
Governor and Captain General of Virginia, having for its object
the redress of certain pressing grievances under which the peo-
ple of the Colony were then suffering. The Indian massacres
on the frontiers and the governor's persistent refusal to take
measures to punish the savages fanned into the flame of rebel-
lion the discontent felt by the colonists in consequence of the
oppressive navigation laws, by which England had created for
herself a monopoly of the trade in all the Anglo-American
colonies. With these two causes of discontent removed, the
Rebellion of 1676 would have found but few adherents in any
section of Virginia. There was one part of the Colony, which
by reason of its remote and isolated situation and its peculiar
geographical conditions suffered but little annoyance from the
navigation laws and was entirely free from Indian incursions
and massacres. This was the Elastern Shore of Virginia, fre-
quently called by the old chroniclers " The Kingdom of Acco-
mack. * ' The purpose of this paper is to show by extracts from
the early records of Accomac county court the part played by
the people of that county in Bacon's Rebellion.
Our Virginia historians, following the highly- colored contem-
poraneous account of the Rebellion contained in the famous
** T. M." manuscript,^ have without exception misconceived and
mis-stated the attitude of the Eastern Shore in this stirring epi-
sode of our colonial history. It is known that Sir William Ber-
keley, during the short period of the Rebellion, was twice driven
from Jamestown, then the seat of government in the Colony,
and forced to take shelter among his friends in Accomac, which
he considered the last refuge of the loyal cause in Virginia. All
the historians of Virginia agree in stating that Sir William Ber-
keley on arriving in Accomac, found all the people disaffected
towards him except a few fellows of the baser sort, 'longshore-
men and adventurers, whom a desire for plunder drew to follow
*The writer, who states "my dwelling was in Northumberland," has
been held to be Thomas Matthews of "Cherrystone,'* in that county—
Ed.
bacon's rebellion in accomac county. 181
the fortunes of the impetuous old governor; and even Mr.
George Bancroft, evidently following our Virginia authorities,
informs us in his monumental work that ** Sir William Berkeley
collected in Accomac a crowd of base and cowardly followers,
allured by the passion for plundering, promising freedom to the
servants and slaves of the insurgents if they would rally to his
banner*' (^Vtde Bancroft's Hist., Vol. I, p. 465). An examina-
tion of the records of Accomac county court, covering the
periods of Bacon's Rebellion, and the subsequent year will con-
trovert the foregoing view and convince any unbiased mind that
the people of Accomac received the Royal Governor with open
arms, and hazarded their lives and fortunes for the success of
his cause.
From these ancient records we learn that when the news of the
Rebellion reached Accomac, steps were taken to increase the
military forces of the county, and commissaries were commis-
sioned and sent out to collect supplies for maintaining the gover-
nor's troops. The men engaged in these operations were among
the best, wealthiest and most influential in the Colony, and the
readiness with which the people responded to their demands
shows how loyal the people of the Eastern Shore were to their
governor, who, in their eyes at least, was more sinned against
than sinning. With the exception of the orders for the raising
of troops and the impressment of provisions, no mention is made
of the Rebellion in the records that cover the period of hostili-
ties. As Sir William Berkeley was present in Accomac the
greater part of the time, he evidently, took affairs into bis own
hands, and adopted such measures as he deemed best adapted
to insure his own safety and the ultimate triumph of his fortunes.
Hence we find that during the Rebellion the court records of
Accomac are scanty. Of the proceedings of Sir William Ber-
keley and his council while on the Eastern Shore no record has
been preserved, and it is not probable that any was made. As
soon, however, as the Rebellion collapsed by reason of Bacon's
untimely and mysterious death, and the civil courts resumed
their duties, the old county records of Accomac teem with
entries that fix the attitude of the Accomackians in the great
struggle and attest the services rendered by them to the royal
cause.
182 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
From a great number of similar items the following are ex-
tracted:
* At a court held for Acpomac county July, 1677, it is ordered
upon the peticon of John Sturges that a certificate be awarded
him to the next assembly for fforty-six pounds of Butter and
fforty-two pounds of Cheese, which was delivered for the coun-
tries service against the late Rebells, as appears by the attestation
of Maj' Jn' West."
** Whereas Maj*^ Edmund Bowman hath made it appeare to
the court by y* attestation of Major Jn® West, that he had
killed and founde salt and caske for thirteen hundred and twelve
pounds of Beefe. It is, therefore, ordered that this be a certificate
thereof to the next assembly. "
^^ ^^ ^^ ^p ^^ ^^ ^^ ^p ^^
It is ordered upon the peticon of Maj' Jn® West for the sume
of twelve thousand two hundred and fifty pounds of tob^ and
cask, for the public service against the late rebells, and he having
made oath to the same in open court, certificate thereof is
accordingly granted him to the next assembly.''
^^^ ^^0 ^^0 ^^0 ^^V ^^^ ^^^ -|^- ^^0
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
** Whereas, Mr. John Stratton hath made it appeare to this
court by the oathe of cap" Nath : Walker that hee the sd
Walker did command a shallop belonging to the s"^ Stratton by
the honor"' gover", order in his majesties service against the
late rebells; which shallop was cast away in a storm in Warricks
creek bay: It is, therefore, ordered that this be a certificate
thereof to the next assembly. '*
"These may certify that I, the subscriber, whom [sic] are
impowered by the right hon"" Sir William Berkeley Gov', and
Cap" general of Virginia to procure and impressesuch provisions
as shall be needful for his present service.
*' These may certify that I have killed from Morris Dennis one
Barren cow for which I give this certificate.*'
"John Stratton, Commissary,''
bacon's rebellion in ACCOM AC COUNTY. 183
"At a court held and continued for Accomack county, Septem-
ber 14, 1677, upon the peticon of Maj' Jn° West in behalfe of
himself and fforly-ffour men, more which were thirty-ffour daies
under the command of the Govern' S^ W" Berkeley in his
Maj''*' service to James Citly, and having made oath to the same
in open court certificate thereof is accordingly granted to ye next
Assembly/'
* * Ye humble peticon of Jn° Cropper
" To y® Wor'"^ court of Accomack county showeth that your
peticon' being commanded and empowered by Coll. Southey
Littleton, to impresse and provide Beefe for the countries use in
qtr anno 1676, y* peticon' with his horse, &c, was employed and
expended lime to the number of fforty-two daies or thereabout
which time trouble and service hath not bin got paid or any part
thereof except two hides and offell he made use of M' Rich*
Dayly y' peticon' doth pray y® wors*'^" order for certificate to the
Assembly to have satisfaction for s* time and trouble according
to nature thereof, and he will pray, &c.**
Many other similiar certificates were granted by the county
court to prove the services rendered by Accomac soldiers in de-
fence of Berkeley's cause under such distinguished leaders as Cap-
tain William Whittinglon, Captain Daniel Jenifer, Major John
West, Major Edmund Bowman, Colonel Southey Littleton and
Colonel Edmund Scarburgh, all of whom were leading men in
Accomac and some of them among the most prominent men in
the Colony.
Another entry in these old records, about the same lime, reveals
the fact that during the latter part of the year 1676 a hospital was
established at the house of Henry Reade in the lower part of
Accomac, where the sick and wounded from Berkeley's forces
were received and carefully treated. After the Rebellion was
ended. Sir William Berkeley, according to all our historians, left
nothing undone to punish those who had taken sides with Bacon;
and the following extract taken from the old county court records
of Accomac, will show that he in punishing his enemies, he did
not forget to reward his friends :
** By his Majesties Govern' and Captain Generall of Virginia.
184 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
" Whereas, Capt Daniel Jenifer of Accomac county of Virginia
bath fully approved himself a good and loyall subject of his
Most Sacred Maj***" Gov*, being alwa3r& ready to serve and obey
me his Maj***" Gov* in suppressing the present Rebellion, and
understanding the said Capt. Jenifer was added to the Commision
for the peace for the s* County, I doe appoint the s* Capt. Jenifer
to be the next Court held for the s* County, admitted to the same
place he was put in the s** Commission, he first taking the oathe
of allegiance and the oathe of a justice of the peace.''
•* Given under my hand this y* 8th day of December, in the
eighth and twentieth yeare of the raigne of our Sovereigne Lord
King Charles the Second, Annoque Dom., 1676."
"William Berkeley."
An entry made at the next term of the court shows that Captain
Daniel Jenifer, in addition to his office of justice of the peace was
still further rewarded by being appointed high sheriff of Accomac
county by Sir William Berkeley, and as Jenifer was a Catholic,
the governor directed that in assuming the duties of the offices
to which he had appointed him, he should not be required to
take the oath of supremacy, which was accordingly done. He
was also, together with Col. Southey Littleton, of Berkeley's court
martial, for trying persons for participation in the Rebellion.
Vide Hening, Vol. II, p. 545.
Jenifer married Miss Annie Toft, who was reputed to have been
the wealthiest and prettiest woman then living on the Eastern
Shore of Virginia. She owned an immense landed estate in the
northeastern part of Accomac. They had a numerous family of
children, among whom were three daughters named Arcadia,
Annabella and Atalanta. Soon after the retirement and death
of Sir William Berkeley, Captain Jenifer removed from Accomac
to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, wbere many of his descend-
ants are said to be now living. He was the first of that name to
come to America, and was the progenitor of Daniel of St.
Thomas Jenifer, who was one of the delegates from Maryland to
the convention that framed the Federal Constitution.
Berkeley's endorsement on the following petition shows that
the Rebellion had not entirely transformed him into a brute.
bacon's rebellion in accomac county. 185
** To the Ri^ht Hoyiorable S^r Wm, Berkeley ^ Knt,^ GovW &
Capt Genevan of Virginia:
** The humble peticon of lone Occahone, the widdow of Phillip
Occahone, late of Accomack County, dec'd, Humbly Sheweth:
That Phillip aforenamed marrying y* peticon' with a good and
reasonable estate left by her former husband, of Watt's Island,
in the aforesaid county, by name Walter Taylor, did in his life-
time wholly waste and conferred the same moreover and about,
running himself farr into debt to the utter ruine of y® peticon'
and her poore childring.
* * Howsoe it is, may it please, y® Honour^^' the s* Phillip for
his felonious and rebellious account having justly suffered death
by the law, whereby what estate he should be possest withal at
the committing the fact were forfeited to his Majestie, when in
truth he were not at the time of committing the fact or any time
sithence invested or possest w**^ any visible estate whatsoever,
yet notwithstanding, y* poore peticon' is prosecuted and sued by
the creditors of the s* Phillip to the ruine of herselfe and poore
children.
**The premises considered, y' peticon' doth humbly pray and
implore y* Honour^*®" favorable clemency in requiring and com-
manding all persons whatsoever to desist and forbeare to sue
or molest y' pet' for any debt whatsoever contracted in the life-
time of the aforesaid Phillip Occahone, her late dec'd husband,
and y' poore pet' shall as in duty bound ever pray.*'
The petition is recorded with the following endorsement:
** The aforesaid petition is granted, and I doe hereby forbid
all persons from suing or molesting the aforesaid lone Occahone
in the prosecuting and recovery of any debt contracted during
the lifetime of the s* Phillip Occahone, as they will answer the
contrary.
** Dated this nth day of January, 167^
"Wm. Berkeley.*'
**The Right Honour^^® the Govern' further declared at the
signing hereof that the aforesaid Pel' lone Occahone should
freely enjoy all such estate as is in her present possession to her
186 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
own proper use, which I can testify upon oath when thereunto
required.
" Witness my hand the day and year aforesaid.
** Daniel Jenifer."
The foregoing petition contains the only mention to be found
in the Accomac records of anyone being put to death for par-
ticipation in Bacon's Rebellion, though all the Virginia His-
torians agree in saying that the brave old Carver, who was
captured with Giles Bland, was executed somewhere on the
Accomac shore, and that Colonel Hansford, after his arrest, was
carried to Accomac and hanged as a rebel and traitor.
The document which above all others fixes beyond a doubt
the attitude of the Eastern Shore people in Bacon's Rebellion
is the memorial addressed to Sir William Berkeley by the jus-
tices of the peace and other leading citizens of Accomac shortly
after the cessation of hostilities, asking for certain favors he had
promised them in consideration of their loyalty:
**Wee his Majesties Justices here underwritten, and others,
the Inhabitants of Accomack County, in obedience to his most
sacred Majesties command directing us to send over to them
sealed all grievances and pressures, especially such as have been
the grounds of the late troubles and disorders among us, being
deeply sensible of the Late Rebellion hatched and acted on the
Western Shoare by Nath. Bacon, dec'd, and complices, to our
great prejudices, expenses and losse of many men and crops by
watching and warding on all parts of the Shoare to hinder the
Landing and invasion of the said Rebells on our coast, where we
had received into our protection the bodies of the Right Hon-
our^^* S' Wm. Berkeley and severall other good and Loyall sub-
jects of his Maj*^, fled to our parts from the fury and rage of the
said Bacon & Complices, doe
' * First, hereby acknowledge that we nor any of us knew any
reason for any such Rebellion, & some or all of us did protest
against his actions as rebellions.
** Secondly, We humbly desire his Maj*^ to continue S' Wm.
Berkeley Cover' in Virginia as long as God shall spare him life.
" Thirdly, Whereas the Right Honour"*" S' Wm. Berkeley,
upon his first coming to us and our readinesse to assist him to
bacon's rebellion in ACCOM AC COUNTY. 187
the hazard of our own lives and fortunes against the said Rebell
Bacon & complices, did promise as well our county of Accomack
as the rest of the Eastern Shoare in Virginia should bee free
from all county tax for these twenty-one years ensuing.
"Wee humbly therefor pray y* Honour"** to be a means the
same may be confirmed first in Virginia and afterwards by his
Maj"" Royall grant.
** Fourthly, Whereas wee are deeply sensible of the vast
charge this unhappy warr and Rebellion hath put the country to,
and it may be expected to be defrayed out of the country: Wee
desire wee may be excluded from all and every part of the same,
wee being in no way the cause of it.
"Lastly, Whereas we have been informed that his Royall
Maj'^ hath or was about to give the country their Quit Rents for
many yeares to come, wh: wee doubt this unhappy warr hath
now broke off, we humbly desire it may still remaine good to us,
as being in no way the cause or knowing of the same, to wh: wee
subscribe o' hands in open court, and pray for his Maj*^** and ye
Honour"" Govern" health long to continue.
[Signed]
Edm'd Bowman, Jno. Wise,
RoBT. Hutchinson, Tho. Riding,
WiLLLIAM WhITTINGTON, RiCH. HilL,
Edm'd Scarburgh,
Jno. Wallop,
Obedience Johnson,
& many others.'*
The names attached to the foregoing memorial afford a suffi-
cient guarantee for the truth of all the statements it contains.
They are the names of the foremost men then living on Ihe
Eastern Shore. The limits assigned this paper will permit a
brief mention of only two of them — ^John Wise, Esq., and
Colonel Edmund Scarburgh.
John Wise, the first of that name who came to Virginia, was
the progenitor of an illustrious line of descendants, of whom
the late Governor Henry A. Wise was one. He owned a vast
188 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
landed estate, much of which he is said to have obtained from
an Indian king for the consideration of two common blankets.
He was a man of great ability, indomitable energy, dauntless
courage, and strict int^rity. Hb will, preserved in one of the
old record books of the county court of Accomac, is a curious
and novel document, the greater portion of it being devoted to
the disposition of his "immortal soul."
The most unique and picturesque personage on the Elastern
Shore at the time of Bacon's Rebellion was Colonel Edmund
Scarburgh. He was Speaker of the House of Burgesses, a mem-
ber of the Governor's Council and Surveyor General of the
Colony. His stout loyalty to the cause of Charles the First and
the English Church had gotten him into trouble with the Vir-
ginia Colonial Government during the times of the Common-
wealth, and Bennett who was Governor of Virginia at the time,
came to the Eastern Shore with an armed force to suppress the
disturbances which Scarburgh had caused among the adherents
to the royal cause. Later on when Charles the Second came to
the throne Colonel Scarburgh was reinstated in the position of
Surveyor- General of the Colony, and made commander of his
majesty's forces on the Eastern Shore. In 1663. shortly after the
Eastern Shore had been divided into the two counties of Accomac
and Northampton, Colonel Scarburgh by order of Sir William
Berkeley and the House of Burgesses, made an expedition against
the recalcitrant and rebellious Quakers in the northern part of
Accomac. His report of his proceedings on that occassion is to
be found in the oldest record book of Accomac county court,
and is justly regarded as one of the most interesting and remark-
able documents of our early Colonial history. He appears to
have impressed his strong personality on his generation more
than any other man of his day. In every part of the Eastern
Shore traditions of his remarkable perforniances survive among
all classes of people. He was the first of his name to come to
Virginia, and from him have descended some of the most eminent
men of the State.
Strange to say, no trace of any tradition touching Bacon's
Rebellion survives among the people of the Eastern Shore. It
is not even known where Berkeley had his headquarters while
sojourning there, though indications seem to point to the ancient
bacon's rebellion in accomac county. 189
village of Pungoteaque, which was then the seat of the county
government. If, as Virginia historians tell us, the gallant and
heroic Hansford paid the penalty of his devotion to the cause of
liberty on the scaffold in Accomac, every tradition of the
horrid deed has perished from the memory of living men.
Frank P, Brent,
Onancock Academy, Virginia.
THOMAS HANSFORD,
First Native Martyr to American Liberty.
A paper read before the Virginia Historical Society
Tuesday y December 22^ i8gi.
BY
Mrs. ANNIE TUCKER TYLER,
Williamsburg^ Virginia,
THOMAS HANSFORD,
First Native Martyr to American Liberty.
In a list prepared by Sir William Berkeley, and preserved
among the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum, enumerating
the persons who were executed by him in the seventeenth cen-
tury Tor participating in Bacon's Rebellion, occurs the name of
one Thomas Hansford, who is described by Sir William as " a
valiant, stout man," and "a most resolved rebel.'" The few
other references to Hansfordin the current accounts* of the times
are in harmony with this description, and justify a natural desire
to be still further acquainted with him.
Thus are we told that he commanded at Jamestown, under
a commission as major from Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., and was there
when Berkeley returned from his exile to the Eastern Shore at the
head of six hundred, or, as another account has it, one thousand
followers. It is said that he took a conspicuous part in the in-
surrection, brilliant as it was brief, and when he was captured
after Bacon's death, he supplicated no other favor than that "he
might be shot like a soldier, and not hanged like a dog." We
are also told that during the short respite allowed him after his
sentence, " he professed repenUnce and contrition for all the
sins of his past life, but refused to acknowledge what was
' Neill's yirginia Carolorum.
•Accounts by "T. M.," Anne Cotton, &c.
194 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
charged against him as rebellion to be one of those sins, desiring
the people present to take notice that he died a loyal subject and
lover of his country, and that he had never taken up arms but
for the destruction of the Indians, who had murdered so many
Christians.*'
St. George Tucker, my revered father, trusting to the state-
ment found in one of the quaint old tracts rescued from oblivion
by the indefatigable antiquarian, Peter Force, which ascribes
his arrest to the fact that *' although a son of Mars, he did some-
times worship at the shrine of Venus,'* made Thomas Hansford
the hero of a romance ' in which the gentle Virginia Temple was
the innocent cause of his undoing.
When I recite the personal history of Hansford, and disclose
the fact that he was a married man, it will probably occasion
some surprise that he should have been represented as an ardent
suitor at the time of his execution, but the truth is, that until a
recent date there was very little reality surrounding Hansford's
career. Nor was he an exception among the characters of the
period in which he figured. How few and scant are the pub-
lished facts concerning another of Bacon's officers, Major Ed-
mund Chisman, and his noble wife, who took upon herself the
entire blame of his sedition ; or of Major Thomas Whaley and
''thoughtful Mr. Lawrence,** who when the cause was abandoned
plunged into the snows of the unknown backwoods and were lost
to the knowledge of their fellow men. The old published chron-
iclers tell us very little of Bacon himself, and yet, thanks to re-
cent investigations in the county records and the British archives,
the material is now abundant for a full account.
In the same manner careful research has added many new facts
to the current account of Thomas Hansford, and the only merit
of this paper is that it will attempt to present these facts in a
connected narrative.
In 1 65 1, Richard Hansford was granted a patent for lands at
West's creek, in York county, and among the head rights were
John and Elizabeth Hansford. In 1658, Mr. John Hansford
entered land in the same locality ; and in 1662, Thomas Hansford
' Thomas Hansford : A tale of Bacon's Rebellion, published by Geo.
M. West, Richmond, Va., 1857 ; republished after the war by a Phila-
delphia firm, under the title "The Devoted Bride."
THOMAS HANSFORD. 195
obtained a re-grant for the same. In 1653, John Hansford
obtained a g^rant for 950 acres in Gloucester county, north of
the narrows of Mattaponi, and among the head rights were John
and Elizabeth Hansford. The probability is that Richard Hans-
ford was a brother of John Hansford, who was the father of
Thomas, mentioned as taking out the patent in 1662 for John
Hansford's land on West's creek.*
John Hansford might have been a son of the merchant tailor
of London of the same name mentioned by Mr. Alexander
Brown in his '* Genesis,*' as entered in a list of the Virginia
Company in 1620, and who was probably brother of Sir Hum-
phrey Hanford, Handford, or Hanforth, as the name is variously
written.
There is no question, however, that the John Hansford of the
patents and the John Hansford who was father of the Hansford
of history, were one and the same person. He lived on the
same creek and in the same county, and was for many years
active in the affairs of York county,* and in 1655 occupied a seat
on the Justices' Bench. His will was proved November 24, 1661,
and judging from the number of servants and the amount of silver
plate, and other property mentioned in his inventory, recorded
June 24, 1668, he was a man of both wealth and position.
According to his will he left four sons — John and William, to
whom he devised a plantation in Gloucester county, upon the
" Clay bank " on the north side of York river, and Thomas and
Charles, to whom he left 650 acres at the head of Felgate's
creek, in York county. He had also three daughters — Eliza-
beth, who married first Mr. Christian Wilson and afterwards Mr.
Randolph Holt," of Surry county ; Mary, who married Dr.
Thomas Robins, of Robins* Neck, in Gloucester bounty, and
whose family history is given by Mr. Stanard in the " Richmond
Critic" for August, 1889; and Margaret, who is supposed to
have been dead before October, 1667.
* See Register in Land Office.
*John Hansford appears as an inhabitant of Chiskiack, subsequently
called Hampton Parish, in York county, as early as 1647.
•See Randolph Holt's receipt to Mr. Lockey, October 20, 1663, York
Records. [The name is sometimes rendered Randall Holt — Ed.]
196 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
By the will of Mr. Hansford we are shown another important
fact, which is that one Robert Jones was the instructor of his
children ; and it is not a little remarkable that a man of that
name is mentioned by Hening as among those executed with
Thomas Hansford for rebellious proceedings.'
Thomas Hansford, the third son of Mr. John Hansford, was
born about 1646, as I infer from his deposition, dated January
9, 167^^, which states that he was then twenty-five years old.
He came into possession of his property, both real and personal,
November 12, 1667, ^^^ the order states that ** he was then of
age.
After his father's death he was under the guardianship of Mr.
Edward Lockey, a rich merchant of Virginia, largely interested
in the tobacco trade, who had married Mrs. Hansford, the
mother of Thomas, on October 10, 1661. Both wete dead
before the disturbances under Bacon arose. Mr. Lockey died
before February 24, 1667, and Mrs. Lockey before January 24,
167 5-6, these being the respective dates of the recording of
their wills.®
Notwithstanding the testimony of Romance, which represents
Thomas Hansford as a single man at the time of his execution,
we find the court, on April 10, 1667, entering an order against
Mr. John Roberts, guardian of Mistress Elizabeth Jones, daugh-
ter of Richard Jones, • deceased, to deliver his ward's estate in
kind to Thomas Hansford as intermarrying with the said Eliza-
beth." This Elizabeth had two brothers, GabrieP*' and Rich-
ard, but they soon died without issue and she became sole heir-
ess of her father's property, thus bringing a considerable fortune
to her husband.
Hansford's marriage occurred nine years before Bacon's
Rebellion, and his family at that time was of considerable figure,
consisting of a wife and five children.
During these nine years we catch an occasional glimpse of
him in the courts. A deposition, in June, 1668, declares that
^Hening, Vol. II, p. 550.
* York county records.
® Richard Jones' will proved 12 November, 1660.
^^'Will proved January 10, 1670.
THOMAS HANSFORD. 197
passing by the cow pen he tauntingly bid " Ann Huddlestone*s
Dame " to go and rob the onion patch again. '* Can you prove
your words?'* she indignantly said. ** Yes,*' was the reply.
He was sued for defamation of character. After the same man -
ner, he accused Dr. William Townsend of purloining from
Squire Digges's old field a foal which he himself had branded
for Digges. In another suit he won 200 pounds of tobacco from
Abraham Ray for damages done his (Hansford's) horse. And
Thomas Reade, his servant, who ran away, was required by the
court to make equivalent service for the cost and trouble of his
capture.
The uprising of the people at the call of Nathaniel Bacon,
Jr., summoned Hansford to more serious controversies; but
here, I regret to say, we cannot add much to what is already
familiarly known. We are aware that many of the leading gentry
adhered to Governor Berkeley, but not all, as in York county
both Thomas Hansford and Major Edmund Chisman were
trusted officers of Bacon, who was himself of the ancient house
of Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam. Certain, it is, that both
sides plundered and pillaged private estates, and a guerrilla war-
fare prevailed through all the colony. Hansford, according to
Robert Beverley," was commander-in-chief of four counties
and president of the Court of Sequestrations. Probably it was
while engaged one day in looking up the sequestered estate of a
Royalist that he met up with the gallant Captain William Digges,
eldest son of Colonel Edward Diggs, of Bellfield, in York
county, and in a single handed fight with him was so unfortunate
as to lose one of his fingers. Digges forced him to fly, but the
tables were turned shortly after, and Digges had himself to
flee to Maryland for safety. The writer of the MS." from
which this fact is gleaned adds that " for her son's loyalty his
mother (Mrs. Elizabeth Digges) suffered considerably in her
estate."
I do not propose to give a history of the Rebellion. Just at
the time when Virginia acknowledged no other authority than
Bacon's, he was taken ill and died, and thus the cause which he
^^ Hening*s Statutes, Vol. Ill, p. 567.
" In Virginia State Library.
198 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
represented received a fatal blow. Berkeley re-established his
authority as rapidly as he had lost it. Some of the lieutenants
of Bacon were hanged, others died in prison, and others left the
colony. Hansford was one of those who suffered the first-men-
tioned fate, and is said to have been the first native Virginian
that perished in that ignominious form, and the first martyr that
fell in defending the rights of the people. His execution took
place in Accomac."'
From June, 1676, the beginning of the conflict, to March,
167^, when the end had came, there appears to have been no
court held in York county, as far as the records testify. Bacon
had compelled the justices, in the celebrated meeting at the Mid-
dle Plantation, to administer to the people the oath of allegiance
to his cause; and in a letter dated February 17, 167^, they now
besought the Governor to ** indemnify " them by name for obey-
ing the mandate, and to indicate '' who should be justices for
York county.*'
The Governor, on March 23d, immediately re-appointed all
except John Scarsbrooke, whose case was reserved for the deci-
sion of the Council on account of suspicions, connecting him
with the rebellion. And on March 31st, he further ordered that
the sessions of the county court should be held " in the house
lately belonging to Thomas Hansford, whose estate for his rebel-
lion and treason is forfeited to his sacred Majesty.'*" So said
Governor Berkeley, but it appears, however, that the property of
Thomas Hansford was not confiscated. In spite of a formal
petition (addressed to the commissioners sent over from Eng-
land to enquire into the late disturbances) by the justices of York
county, John Page, John Scarsbrooke (lately restored), James
Vaulx, Otho Thorpe and Isaac Clopton, that the property of
Hansford should be seized for a courthouse, the want of which
in the county had annually imposed a heavy burden in the way of
rent upon the people, the commissioners, with a humanity which
did them credit, reported to the king in favor of bestowing the
" He was captured by Major Robert Beverley, at the house of Colonel
George Reade, deceased, situated where Yorktown now is. Colonel
Reade had been a member of the Council.
"York county records.
THOMAS HANSFORD. 199
property of Hansford and "those other wretched*' men lately
associated with him upon "their poor wives and children.*'"
And this was doubtless the explanation why, on November 13,
1678, "a commission of administration on the estate of Mr.
Thomas Hansford was granted to Mr. Charles Hansford and Mr.
David Condon in behalf of ye decedent's children, &c."
Previous to this the same parties had qualified on the estate of
Mrs. Thomas Hansford, who within a year had followed her
martyred husband to the grave.
An agreement, dated February 26. 1677-78, was made between
the administrators and the justices representing the county, by
which the house " lately belonging to Mrs. Hansford " was
leased to the county for one thousand pounds of tobacco per
annum — an arrangement which continued until January 20,
1 679-* 80, when the place of adjournment was changed to the
** French Ordinary," not far distant on the York road, half way
between Williamsburg and Yorktown.
'* The petition of the Justices ran as follows : ** And whereas Thomas
Hansford suffered death as a traitor and thereby forfeited his Land
to the King, the Court humbly prays the seventy acres of Land given
him by his feather's will to build a courthouse for the use of the said
county forever, having been formerly forced to pay 4000 lb. of Tob
yearly, w'ch hath been very burthensome to the county.
(Signed,) "John Page,
"John Scarsbrooke,
** James Vaulx,
** Otho Thorpe,
** Isaac Clopton."
On which the commissioners reported :
" We humbly hope that his Majesty will be gratuitously pleased to
give the Estate of these wretched men to there poore wives and chil-
dren, w*ch will be an act of great mercy.'*
A petition from the inhabitants of another county prayed that ** this
present grand assembly would make an act of oblivion that no person
may be Injured by the provoking names of Rebells, Traitors and
Rogues.'* To which the commissioners. Sir John Berry. Colonel Her-
bert Jeffreys and Colonel Francis Morrison, added : '* We Joyne w*th
the Petitioners herein to his Majesty that noe pretence may obstruct the
obtaining and good etfect of it, and thus wee have layd it most humbly
before his Ma*ty as a most likely means to secure the quiet of his s'd
Colony.'* MSS. in Virginia State Library.
200 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Of the children of Thomas Hansford, John was afflicted and
died in 1681. Elizabeth married Richard Burt, Mary married
William Hewitt, and Thomas and William married and died in
York county leaving descendants.
The will of Thomas Hansford's son, William Hansford, was
recorded July 24, 1709, and mentions a wife, Mary, who seems
to have been a sister of David Morce, called in the will " brother-
in-law,*' and three sons, William, Thomas, and David, and one
daughter, Elizabeth, all under age.
The will of the other son, Thomas, was recorded June 20,
1720, and his children were Thomas and William, Elizabeth,
Sarah, Mary, and Martha Hansford. William died in 1733, and
left a wife, Mary, and son, Lewis who had four sons living in
1765." Mary Steele, in her will proved in York county court,
July 20, 1767, calls Lewis Hansford her son-in-law. Thomas
was living in 1736."
Charles Hansford, youngest brother of Major Thomas Hans-
ford, married Elizabeth Moody, daughter of Rev. Edward
Foliott, of Hampton Parish, and relict of Josias Moody, son of
Dr. Giles Mod6, a Frenchman, whose name was corrupted into
Moody, and who is the founder of that family in Virginia. He
left, in 1702," three sons, Charles, William and John, and four
daughters, Elizabeth and Mary Hansford, Lydia Duke, wife of
"Mr. Henry Duke,*' and Martha, who married Samuel Hill.
Of these John long kept an ordinary at the half-way house be-
tween Williamsburg and Yorktown. Charles Hansford, the
second " of that name, had issue, a daughter Lucy, who mar-
ried John Hyde, and a son also, named Charles. The third
Charles lived till 1778, and on the 21st December, 1778, his
** Dr. Lewis Hansford, of Norfolk, was alive in 1805.
"Thomas Hansford, of Elizabeth City, married Hannah, daughter of
John Davis, and a granddaughter of John R. Davis (who died in 1784),
k lieutenant in the State navy during the Revolution. On i8th Decem-
ber, 1784, a Thomas Hansford obtained a license in York county to
marry ** Elizabeth Lilburne, widow."
"Charles Hansford's will was proved July 24, 1702.
** Charles Hansford's will was proved June 15, 1761. The York
county records mention Charles Hansford and Susannah his wife
executors of Joseph Wade.
THOMAS HANSFORD. 201
will was proved in York county court. He left two sons,
Richard and Benjamin, and three daughters — Elizabeth or Betsy,
who in 1769 married*® John Camm, the treasurer of the College
of William and Mary, and afterwards president of the same ;
Mary, who in July, 1775, married" Rev. Samuel Sheild, minister
of Drysdale parish, in Caroline county, and Martha, who
married Edward Harwood, and subsequently Robert Sheild, of
York county, brother of said Samuel, and great-grandfather of
William H. Sheild, M. D., assistant physician at the Eastern
Lunatic Asylum.
As to the Gloucester branch of the Hansford family, William,
elder brother of Major Thomas Hansford, had a son William
living there in 1706.**
The Hansford blood mingles with that of the Pattesons,
Camms, Hydes,** Hills, Custises, and many other well-known
families in Virginia to-day.**
This ends my paper. Genealogical investigations, though
necessarily personal, are nevertheless valuable. A people with-
out pride in their past are no people at all. And I cordially
echo the sentiment expressed by Professor Garnett in his excel-
lent paper read last night : ** Perish the day when the son forgets
the father.' '
Annie Tucker Tyler.
^ Virginia Gazette,
" Ibid.
*' York county records. Petsoe Parish Vestry-Book.
"Dr. John Hansford Hyde died in Lexington, Va., April i, 1851.
Captain Robert Hyde served in the Revolutionary army as an artificer ;
came to Richmond in 1788.
" Charles Hansford, at present living in Williamsburg, is descended
from Charles, brother of Major Thomas Hansford. His father was
Benjamin Hansford, who married Sarah Wynne ; grandfather, Richard
Hansford, who married Lucy Dudley Haynes.
JOURNAL
OF
CAPTAIN CHARLES LEWIS
OF
The Virginia Regiment,
COMMANDED BY
Colonel George Washington
IN THE
EXPEDITION AGAINST THE FRENCH,
October lo — December 27,
1755
JOURNAL
CAPTAIN CHARLES LEWIS.
October io— December lo, 175s'
October lolh, lyss — Left Fredericksburg under the command
' The original of the "Journal " is in the possession of Thomas War-
ing Lewis, Esq., of "Mansfield," Essex county, Virginia, who thus
States his descent from its writer, Captain (subsequently known as Col-
onel) Charles Lewis: " I am a great-grandson of Colonel Charles Lewis,
of ' Cedar Creek,' Caroline county, Virginia, who was the brother of
Colonel Fielding Lewis, of Fredericksburg, and the son of John Lewis,
of ' Warner Hali,' Gloucester county, and of Frances net Fielding, and
who was a grandson of John Lewis and Elizabeth, his wife, a daughter
of the Hon. Augustine Warner, of Gloucester county, who was a Mem-
ber of the Council and Speaker of the House of Burgesses. His
daughter, Mildred Warner, was the wife of Lawrence Washington, and
General George Washington was thus the cousin of Fielding, Colonel
Charles, and Warner Lewis, of ' Warner Hall.' Colonel Charles Lewis
was a vestryman of St Mary's parish, a justice of the peace, and a Bur-
gess for Caroline county. He was with Washington at Braddock's
defeat. He died just before 'the glorious Revolution of 1776.' "
A copy of the original was kindly made for the editor in April, 1891,
by Mr. William L. Lewis, a son of its present owner. The original com-
mander of the Virginia forces in the expedition against the French in
1754 was Colonel Joshua Fry, who, dying May 31st, whilst conducting
it to the. Ohio river, was succeeded in the command by the Lieutenant-
Colonel George Washington.
A special value of the paper is in the list given of the officers of the
Virginia regiment, for which there has been repeated inquiry by histor-
ical students. If in print, the publication containing it seems not to be
known.
206 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
of Major Andrew Lewis,* with eighty men. Crossed the Rap-
pahannock at the falls. The men being most of them drunk.
We marched but seven miles to Pickets; very bad entertain-
ment ; no water to be had for the soldiers. This night two of
my company deserted. The expenses, 4s. 5j4d. Seven miles.
October nth — This day I was ordered to march before the
company to one Martin Hardin's, to provide provisions. I shot
a bullock and provided a plenty of bread in the evening. The
company came up in high spirits. Here we had good enter-
tainment, a merry landlady and daughter. Expenses, 6J^s.
Eighteen miles.
October 12th — This day Major Lewis and Captain H. Wood-
ward,' went before to provide for the company and left me the
* Andrew Lewis, son of John and Margaret (Lynn) Lewis, pioneer
settlers of Augusta county, Virginia, was born in Ulster, Ireland, in
1720 ; with Washington at the surrender of Fort Necessity, July 3. i754;
in the company of his brother. Samuel, at Braddock*s defeat; com-
manded the Sandy Creek Expedition in 1756, and in the unfortunate
expedition of Major Grant in 1758, was made prisoner and taken to
Montreal. In the same year he was a commissioner to treat with the
Six Nations at Fort Stanwix ; made a brigadier-general in 1774. and
commanded the Virginia troops at the battle of Point Pleasant, Octo-
ber loth, gaining a victory over the most formidable Indian force which
ever "opposed the whites in Virginia; a representative of Botetourt
county in the Virginia Assembly, and a member of the Conventions of
March and June, 1775; commissioned colonel and promoted brigadier-
general, but declined April 5, 1777. He drove Lord Dunmore from
Gwynn's Island, and was on duty in the lower part of the State, where
he contracted a fever of which he died September 25, 1781, at the resi-
dence of Captain Talbott, in Bedford county, and was interred on
Thursday following, the 27th instant, *' beside his younger brother,
Charles," in the burial-ground on his farm, " Dropmore,** on Roanoke
river near Salem, Roanoke county.
Samuel, Thomas, and Charles, brothers of General Andrew Lewis,
were severally distinguished in the annals of Virginia, and have been
worthily represented in succeeding generations.
'Henry Woodward, was an Englishman, who was first appoint^
lieutenant upon the recommendation of James Abercromby, and sub-
sequenty promoted. He was voted thanks and a gratuity of ^3° ^^
the Assembly for gallantry at Fort Necessity. He was present at the
defeat of Braddock.
JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN CHARLES LEWIS. 207
command of the men. Took on the march a deserter and a
drunken school- master. Arrived in the evening at Nevils.*
Bread very scarce. Lieutenant Lowry sent out to purchase
meal and potatoes. We made a good shift. Eighteen miles.
October ijih — Marched from Nevil's, and crossed the Ridge
at Ashby's Gap. I was this day sent forward to provide for the
men. Provision plenty. This day's march was very tedious,
being cold and rainy, and the men very ill-clothed. They came
up with me about 8 o'clock at night very much fatigued, having
marched this day twenty-five miles.
October I4ih — This day we marched cheerfully, having but
eighteen mile^ to Winchester. We arrived about 3 o'clock, and
joined the Hon'ble George Washington, Commander of the
Virginia Regiment, and Captain George Mercer, A. D. C. , with
other officers and about forty men. Eighteen miles.
miles to Picket's.
Hardin's.
Nevil's.
Woods'.
Winchester.
•* Picket's, 18 . .
" Hardin's, i8 . .
•* Nevil's, 25 . .
86 miles from Fred'b'rg to Winchester.
October i^th — Viewed the town.
October i6th — Rested.
October lyth — Rainy, and very unpleasant weather.
October i8th — Orders to make ready for marching to Fort
Cumberland.
October igth — Made ready. This day we had a remarkable
battle between two of our servants.
October 20th — We left Winchester under the command ol
Major Andrew Lewis, and marched ten miles to Captain
Smith's, a very remarkable man. I was this day appointed cap-
tain over forty-one men of different companies. A remarkable
dispute between Lieutenant Steenberger and an Irish woman.
Ten miles.
Neville's.
208 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
October 21st — Marched from Captain Smith's, and crossed
great Cape Capon. A beautiful prospect, and the best land I
ever yet saw. We encamped this night on the top of a moun-
tain. The roads were by far the worst this day. and our march
was for that reason but thirteen miles. Our men-, nevertheless,
were in high spirits. About 8 o'clock this night a soldier's
musket went off in the middle of our encampment without any
damage. I think I saw this day some of the most delightful
prospects I ever did. Thirteen miles.
October 22d — This day we marched from Sandy Top Moun-
tain to little Cape Capon. The land very good. We encamped
this night at a poor man's house, entirely forsaken, and the
people driven off by the Indians. We found hete a plenty of
corn, oats, and stock of all kinds ; even the goods and furniture
of the house were left behind. This night about 9 o'clock we
were joined by the Hon'ble Colonel George Washington and
Captain George Mercer, A. D. C. Fifteen miles.
October 2jd — Very bad weather ; snow and rain. We
marched very slow to-day, and arrived at the South Branch,
where we encamped at a house on the branch, having come up
with Colonel George Washington and Captain Mercer, A. D. C.
Nine miles. Very ill-natured people here.
October 24ih — A very wet day. We marched to Patterson's
Creek, on which we encamped, in a house deserted. We found
here good corn, wheat, and pasturage. Before we marched we
discharged our pieces, being wet, and charged them, in expecta-
tion of seeing the enemy. Colonel Washington marched before
with Captain Ashby's company of Rangers. Fourteen miles.
October 25/A — Marched from Patterson's Creek. Passed
many deserted houses. I was this day very curious in the ex-
. amination of the mischief done in the houses, and was much
shocked at the havoc made by the barbarous, cruel Indians at
one Mecraggin's. I found the master of the family, who had
been buried but slightly by his friends after his assassination,
half out of the grave, and eaten by the wolves ; the house burnt,
the corn-field laid waste, and an entire ruin made. At half-pBSt
6 we arrived at Fort Cumberland, cold and hungry. We bad
this day, by Major Lewis's order, two women ducked for rob-
bing the deserted houses. Twenty miles.
JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN CHARLES LEWIS. 209
10+13+15+9+14-1-20=81.
From Winchester, 8i miles to Fort Cumberland.
" Fred'b'rg, 86 " Winchester.
167 " Fort Cumberland.
October 26th — This day Lieutenant Walter Stewart * showed
me the fort.
'Tis a Quad' fort, with four Bast"* ; about one hundred feet in
the square ; has eleven four pounders and two smaller, mounted.
'Tis situated on the north side of the Potomack, in Maryland,
on a hill ; very pleasant : more so, I think, than advantageous ;
has a romantick prospect from the mountains, and is very healthy.
I was this day ordered to return to Fredericksburg, but my
horses being tired, I was excused.
October 2yth, 28th^ 2gthy joth — Nothing remarkable.
October jist — An Irishman arrived at the fort with two
scalps. It seems he was the Sunday before taken prisoner by a
party of fifty-two Indians, and being left in custody of two while
the party proceeded towards the inhabitants, he with his guard
arrived at the Shenandoah camp, and encamped in a house de-
serted. About II o'clock he was ordered to make up the fire,
but denying to do so, was threatened the tomahawk ; but acci-
dentally casting his eyes on an axe in the house very convenient
to him, he, with it, beat out the brains of the Indian next to him,
and with his gun, shot the other through the body. Having
scalped them, he made* the best of his way to Fort Cumberland
with their scalps, guns and horses, &c.
I bought one of the guns for fifty shillings, Maryland cur-
rency, being a French piece, very handsome and equally good.
This same day a party of volunteers was detached, consisting of
one hundred men, rank and file and officers.
The Indians having discovered their designs, * * *
'Tis not doubted the party will cut them off.
November J, ^, j — Nothing remarkable.
* Lieutenant Walter Stewart was voted by the Virginia Assembly,
August, 1755, thanks and a gratuity of ^^30, for his gallant conduct in
the action on the Monongahela. He was wounded at the defeat of
Braddock.
14
210 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
November 4th — ^The volunteers returned without success, the
Indians being supposed to be returned.
November i^th — Colonel Stevens* arrived this day-evening
with about one hundred recruits, with their proper officers-
Captain Robert Spotswood/ Captain William Peachy,* Lieu-
tenant John Hall, Lieutenant King, and two volunteers.
November 14, 75, 16, 77, 18 ^ /p— Nothing remarkable.
November 20th — Ensign Bacon arrived at the fort from Patter-
son's Creek, where he had been to erect a fort. On his way he
heard the Indian Hallow, and saw many tracks of Indians in the
woods. This alarmed the fort, but being late 'twas not possible
to send out a party; but orders were given for a hundred men
to parade in the morning under Captain Waggoner.
November 21st — A very bad morning, wet and continuing to
rain. A party of one hundred men paraded under Captain
Waggoner,* to search for the Indians on Patterson's Creek,
according to Ensign Bacon's information of the day before.
Major Andrew Lewis and myself went as volunteers on this
command. We returned the same day with .the party. No
Indians or tracks of Indians to be seen.
November 22d — A very cold day and windy.
November -y, 24^ 2^ — Nothing remarkable.
November 26th — I went out this day in company with Major
• Lieutenant-Colonel Adam Stephen — Ed.
'The younger son of Governor Alexander Spotswood. He is sup-
posed to have been slain by the Indians near Fort Duquesne in 1757""
Ed.
® Subsequently promoted to Major of the Second Virginia Regiment,
Colonel William Byrd, and was in the campaign under Forbes in 1758—
Ed.
•Thomas Waggener was at the defeat and death of Jamonville,
May 28, 1754, and was slightly wounded. He had previously served
under Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts, in the projected
Canada expedition of 1746. He received the thanks of the House of
Burgesses for his gallantry at Fort Necessity. Others of the name also
served during this period. Ensign Edward Waggener was killed at
the defeat of Braddock, and Captain Andrew Waggener received
lands under the proclamation of Governor Dinwiddie of 1754— Ed.
JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN CHARLES LEWIS. 211
James Livingston, Lieutenant Stark, one sergeant, a corporal
and three privates to Nicholas* Fort on a party of pleasure.
'Tis about five miles from Fort Cumberland, well built, with
four bastions. About i o'clock we left this fort and marched
one mile below, where we crossed the Potomack river in a canoe.
I went on the south side of the river into a house, where was a
weaver's loom, and a small quantity of shavings of a wood the
people in these parts dye with. Some distance from this house
we found in the Indian path about two pounds of swan shot,
supposed by our guide to be dropped there by the Indians in
some hurry when they massacred the inhabitants about these
plantations. We crossed a small mountain not far from this, on
whose top you might drop a stone four hundred feet into the
Potomack river. We passed another mountain something higher;
had much the same prospect, a fine landscape. From the top
of this mountain you might drop a stone above five hundred
feet perpendicular into the Potomack river. We found here an
Indian cap made of bear skin, and then we proceeded on our
march to the new store, built by the Ohio Company, from whence
we crossed the Potomack river, and before night got into Fort
Cumberland. This march fatigued me very much, being above
fifteen miles, and a great part of it over the mountains.
November 27th — A very fine warm day.
An exact list of officers and their ranks, belonging to the Vir-
ginia regiment, commanded by the Hon'ble George Washington:
The Hon'ble George Washington,
Lieutenant-Colonel Adam Stevens,
Major Andrew Lewis.
Captains Peter Hogg," i
George Mercer, 2
Thomas Waggoner, 3
w Peter Hog (as he spelled his name) was born in Edinburgh, Scot-
land, in 1703, and immigrated to Virginia with his brothers, James and
Thomas, about 1745, and located in Augusta county, Virginia, where
he married Elizabeth Taylor; was commissioned captain March 9,
1754; delegated July 21, 1756, to contract a line of frontier forts;
served also in Sandy Creek Expedition in the same year ; licensed to
practice law May 10, 1759 ; appointed by Lord Dunmore April 10, 1772,
deputy to the Attorney-General for the county of Dunmore (formed
212 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Captains Robert Stewart,"
4
Thomas Cock,"
5
John Savage,"
6
William Branough,"
7
John Mercer,"
8
Joshua Lewis,
9
Henry Woodward,
lO
Robert Spotswood,
II
Carter Harrison,"
12
Charles Lewis,
13
William Peachy,
14
February, 1772, from Frederick, and re-named Shenandoah county by
act of October, 1777, Hening, VIII, pp. 597-579). He died April 20,
1782. Under the proclamation of Governor Dinwiddie he received
2347 acres of land. His descendants in the names of Hoge, Hogg,
Hall, Blair. Blackley. Hawkins, McPherson, Ott, and others, are held
in high social esteem.
" Subsequently promoted major ; was engaged in the action on the
Monongahela, and in August, 1755, was voted by the Virginia Assem-
bly thanks and a gratuity of ;f 100 for gallantry.
"Thomas Cocke, commissioned captain December 13, 1754. He
appears to have been on terms of intimacy with the family of Colonel
George William Fairfax.
"Served through the French and Indian war, receiving, in 1771, his
allotment of lands under the proclamation of Governor Dinwiddle.
^* Captain William Bronaugh received 6,000 acres of land in 1771 for
his services.
" His full name was John Fenton Mercer, a younger brother of Cap-
tain George Mercer. He was borri August 31, 1735 ; was killed and
scalped by the Indians April 18, 1756, at Edwards's Fort, on the Warm
Springs mountains whilst in command of a scouting party of one hun-
dred men.
*• Carter Henry Harrison, second son of Benjamin and Anne (daugh-
ter of Robert "King" Carter) Harrison (the second of the name in
Virginia), of "Berkeley," James river; brother of Benjamin "the
Signer," and uncle of President William Henry Harrison. He resigned
his commission (probably because of ill-health) in favor of his brother,
Charles, subsequently colonel in the Revolution and commissioned
Brigadier- General United States Army, December 24, 1794, but who
was found murdered in bed soon after. He married, in 1763, Mary,
daughter of Colonel Augustine and Mary (Herbert) Claiborne, who
was fourth in descent from Colonel William Claiborne, ** the rebel."
JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN CHARLES LEWIS. 213
Captains Uavid bell,
15
Robert McKenzie,
16
Lieutenants John McNiel,
I
William Stark,
2
Thomas Bullet,"
3
Walter Stewart,
4
John Blagg,^^
5
Hancock Eustice,*'
6
George Frazer,
7
John Edward Lomax,
8
Peter Steenburger,
9
John Williams,
10
Augustine Brockenbrough,'
«ii
John Campbell,
12
lohn Hall,
13
John Lowry,
14
John King.
15
James Baker,
16
Ensigns Mordecai Buckner,
I
John Poison,"
2
William Dangerfield,
3
Edward Hubbard,
4
John Dean,
5
Nathaniel Milner,
6
"Thomas Bullett received lands in 1771 under the proclamation of
1754; was appointed lieutenant-colonel and deputy adjutant-general
February 22, 1777, and died in service during the Revolution.
^® Lieutenant John Blagge was present as a member of a court-martial
held at Winchester, Virginia, May 2, 1756.
^Hancock Eustace was subsequently promoted captain.
"^Augustine, or Austin, Brockenbrough, eldest son of Colonel Wil-
liam Brockenbrough, from England, who settled in Richmond county,
Virginia, early in the eighteenth century ; was present at Braddock's
defeat ; remained in London neutral during the Revolution ; returned
to Virginia after peace was declared and married a daughter of Colonel
Champe, ol King George, and had issue.
"John Poulson was probably a younger brother of Captain William
poulson.
214 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Ensigns William Flemming,**
7
Leonard Price,
8
Nathaniel Thompson,
9
Thomas Carter,
lO
Charles Smith,
II
Lee Hussis Dekizer,**
12
George Gordon,
13
George Weeden,**
14
T ^
)
^5
•
i6
November joih — This day a man unfortunately falling down
the bank of Potomack, opposite to ye Fort, his gun fired and
shot a soldier thro' the leg, who was crossing the river in a canoe.
December 2nd — Captain Spotswood and self went volunteers
with a party, commanded by Ensign Walter Lowrie, to gather
corn from the deserted fields. We arrived about 2 o'clock at a
plantation of one Cussips, most delightfully situated on land that
gave me great pleasure. 'Twas a piece of low ground entirely
surrounded by the mountains, the prospects very romantic;
high rocks on the sides of the mountains, some hundred feet
perpendicular to the River Potomack. Here we lodged this
night in a comfortable house.
December jd — This morning we took our guns, and after
directing our men (in number thirty) to gather the corn, we took
** William Fleming migrated to Virginia in early manhood. He is
said to have been of noble lineage. He was a physician, and with the
rank of lieutenant subsequently acted as surgeon. He served in the
Sandy Creek Expedition of 1756. He was one of the first justices of
the peace for Botetourt county in 1769. In 1774 he raised a regiment
which he commanded at the battle of Point Pleasant. He was long a
member of the Virginia Assembly, and in June, 1781, as the only mem-
ber of the Council at Richmond, the remaining members with Gover-
nor Jefferson and the Legislature having fled before the invading traitor
Arnold, he was for a time the acting Governor of Virginia. His acts
were subsequently legalized by the Assembly. He married a daugh-
ter of Israel Christian, and one of his daughters was the wife of Rev.
George A. Baxter, D. D.
^ In the Dinwiddle Papers the name is spelled De Keyser.
^ George Weedon, subsequently brigadier-general in the Revolution.
JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN CHARLES LEWIS, 215
different courses to hunt for deer and such game as the place
afforded. This evening Captain Spotswood went with a soldier
to the plantation of one Williams, where the houses were burnt
by the savages. The body of a woman layed near one of the
houses, her head being scalped, and also a small boy and a young
man. This horrid scene gave us a terrible shock, but I hope,
with the leave of God, we shall still overcome the cruel, bar-
barous, and inhuman enemy.
December 4lh — This morning we intended to hunt again, but
soon after day we heard three distinct guns under the Alleghany
mountains, wherefore we were particularly cautious not to ven-
ture too far to hunt, lest we should be outwitted by our ever
cautious enemy.
December ^th — This morning we marched for Fort Cumber-
land, and met about five miles from Cussips a relief, commanded
by Lieutenant Lynn, of twelve men. We accepted of his relief,
and gave up our command to Mr. Lynn, according to order.
December 6th — Five deserters were this day punished, each
receiving one thousand lashes. In this last command I may,
with the greatest truth, aver that I saw the most horrid, shock-
ing sight I ever yet beheld. At a house adjoining to the corn-
field, in which our soldiers were employed in gathering corn, we
saw the bodies of three different people who were first massacred,
then scalped, and after thrown into a fire. These bodies were
not yet quite consumed, but the flesh on many parts of them.
We saw the clothes of these people yet bloody, and the stakes,
the instruments of their death, still bloody and their brains stick-
ing on them, the orchards cut down, the mills destroyed, and a
wast of all manner of household goods. These people were, in
my opinion, very industrious, having the best corn I ever saw,
and their plantations well calculated for produce and every other
convehiency, suitable to the station of a farmer.
December 2/fih — Being Christmas, we were invited to spend
the evening with Colonel Stephen, where we spent the time in
drinking loyal healths and dancing 'till 1 1 o'clock, and then parted
in the most amicable manner.
December 2Sih — Were invited to dine with Colonel Stephens,
where we had the most sumptuous entertainment. After dinner
drank the Royal Healths and sung some entertaining songs with
VIBGINIA HISTORICAL
as and rolls of Drums (o evefy health and soi^. Then
irtners and spenc the evening in dandi^, about I3 o'clock
ip well pleased with our generous entertainmenL
v%ber 261k — SociaUy apeat.
mber 27ih — I was ordered 10 march with one lieutenant,
geant, one corporal and twenty meo to Uke the command of
s Fort ; arrived about 5 o'clock, met Captain Ashby near
racks, inquired his number of men and desired to see his
le informed me he did not know the number, and that his
mt had the list and was absent. I ordered the drum to
arms, when with much difficulty we got together twenty-
n. I appointed Lieutenant John Bacon adjutant, had the
of war read to the men, and let them know I was to
nd them. Mr. Bacon made a most affectionate speech to
ad then discharged them for tbisnigbt. They seemed to
inous, but were soon convinced after reading orders from
[ Adam Stephen that I was their commander. I gave
for a parade.
ipy of the original journal.
<ersity of Vtrjiima, April 29, i8gi.
Charles Lewis.
W. L. Lewis.
OFFICERS OF THE
[ROINIA REGIMENT IN 1762.
following paper in the possession of the editor, and
1 "For Mr. James Cocke, An Account of the Year's
id the Officers of the Virginia regiment, 1762," is ap-
to the Journal of Captain Charles Lewis, for the further
ition it presents:
JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN CHARLES LEWIS. 217
** A Account of Cash paid the Officers of the Virginia Regi-
ment for their presents, allowed by Act of
Assembly, Disbanded
March i, 1762.*'
Lieutenant-Colonel Adam Stephen,
;^3i9 7 6
Major Andrew Lewis, -
-
273 15
Captains Robert Stewart,
182 10
Mordecai Buckner,
182 10
Thomas Bullitt,
182 10
Nathaniel Gist,* -
182 10
John Blagg, -
182 10
Lieutenants John Lawson,
91 05
John Cameron,
91 05
Thomas Gist,
91 05
Reuben Voss,
91 05
George Weedon, -
91 05
Walter Cunningham,
91 05
Alexander Minzie,
91 05
David Kennedy, -
91 05
Joseph Fent,
91 05
Jethro Sumner,
91 05
William Daingerfield,
91 05
Robert Johnston, -
91 05
John Sallard,
91 05
Larkin Chew,
91 05
William Hughes, -
91 05
Alexander Boyd, -
91 05
William Fleming, -
91 05
William Cocke,
91 05
Ensigns Barton Lucas,
73 00
Alexander McClannahan,
73 00
George McKnight,
m
73 00
David Long,-
-
73 00
John Seayers,
m
73 00
Henry Timberlake,
-
73 00
Surgeon John Stuart,
-
182 10
Captain John McNeill,
;
182 10
{;3,95i 02 6
^Subsequently served in the Revolution as Colonel of the Second
Virginia reg:iment.
218 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Col' Wm. Byrd, Credit given him in his Ace', Virginia
Ledger, £547 00.
Capt. Henry Woodward, Paid by the Treasurer, ^182, 10.
Lieut. Leonard Price, Credit given him in his Ace', Virginia
Ledger. ;£9i, 05.
Lieutenant Charles Smith, paid by the Treasurer, ;£9i, 05.
1762, Sept. — Lieul. William Woodford, Paid by Alex" Boyd,
Pay M', after deducting his account with the Country — Bal-
ance, jQS^, 8, II.
ORDERLY BOOK
OF
CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE
OF THE
SECOND VIRGINIA REGIMENT,
COMMANDED BY
Colonel Christian Febiger,
August 21 — November i6,
1779.
INTRODUCTION.
The original of the fragment of the Orderly Book of Captain
Robert Gamble, herewith published, was presenled to the Vir-
ginia Historical Society by Hon. Joseph Addison Waddell, Staun-
ton, Virginia, some years ago. Mr. Waddell obtained it from
William H. Gamble, Esq., a descendant of Captain Gamble, and
gave some extracts from it in his " Annals of Augusta County,
Virginia," to which valuable work the editor acknowledges his
indebtedness.
The grandfather of Captain Gamble (also named Robert) was
a native of Londonderry, Ireland (in the famous seige of which in
1689, a Gamble is said to have lost his life), and was an immi-
grant to Augusta county, Virginia, about the year 1735. He
brought with him his wife and a son, James, bom in 1729. Mr.
Waddell mentions another son, Joseph, who, he states, was pro-
bably the ancestor of the Gambles of Ohio and Missouri. James
Gamble had issue two sons, Robert and John, and three daughters,
Agnes, Elizabeth and Esther, who married, severally, Davis, Mof-
fett and Bell.
Robert, the elder son, was born September 3, 1754, and was
educated at Liberty Hall Academy, the initial of the admirable
Washington -Lee University. He is stated to have entered the
service of the Revolution as first lieutenant of the first company
raised in Augusta county. He soon succeeded to the command
of the company. He was in active service during the entire
period of the war and participated in many battles, including
those of Princeton and Monmouth. It Is claimed by his de-
scendants that he led a pioneer assault in the storming of Stony
Point. This memorable event has been peculiarly impressed on
222 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
the imagination of the goodly people of Richmond, in that the
historic and socially excellent metropolis was favored in the
worthy citizenship of two invincible leaders in the reduction of
Stony Point, Captain Robert Gamble and Major James Gibbon.*
Lossing gives the following account of the memorable achieve-
ment: **On the morning of the 15th of July, 1779, all the
Massachusetts light infantry were marched to the quarters of
Wayne at Sandy Beach, fourteen miles from Stony Point. Al
meridian on that exceedingly sultry day, the whole body moved
through narrow defiles, over rough crags and across deep
morasses in single file, and at eight in the evening rendezvoused
a mile and a half below Stony Point. There they remained
until General Wayne and several officers returned from recon-
noitreing the works of the enemy, when they were formed into
column, and moved silently forward under the guidance of a
negro slave belonging to a Captain Lamb, who resided in the
neighborhood. The position of the fortress was such that it
seemed almost impregnable. Situated upon a huge rocky bluff,
an island at high water, and always inaccessible dry-shod, except
across a narrow causeway in the rear, it was strongly defended
by outworks and a double row of abatis. Upon three sides of
the rock were the waters of the Hudson, and on the fourth was
a morass, deep and dangerous. But Wayne was not easily
deterred by obstacles; and tradition avers that while conversing
with Washington on the subject of this expedition, he remarked
with emphasis: ** General, TU storm hell \{ you will only plan
it.'' He possessed the true fire of the flint, and was always
governed by the maxim, " Where there's a will there's a way."
* Then Lieutenant Gibbon, of the Sixth Pennsylvania Infantry, and
subsequently promoted major. He was appointed collector of the
Port of Richmond in 1802. Having been admitted a member of the
New York Society of the Cincinnati, he transferred his membership to
the Virginia Society, of which he was the last treasurer. He died July
I, 1834, in the seventy-seventh year of his age, and is buried in Shockoe
Hill Cemetery at Richmond. A son, Lieutenant James Gibbon, United
States Navy, lost his life in the burning of the Richmond Theatre, De-
cember 26, 181 1. Rev. Charles Minnegerode, D. D., so long the beloved
rector of St. Paul's Church, married a granddaughter of Major James
Gibbon. A fine portrait of him, by John B. Martin, is among the pictures
owned by the Virginia Historical Society.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE 223
He resolved to storm the fort at all hazards, and only waited
for the ebbing of the tide and the deep first slumber of the gar-
rison to move toward the fortress. It was half past eleven
o'clock at night when the Americans commenced their silent
march toward the fort. All the dogs in the neighborhood had
been killed the day before, that their barking might not give
notice of strangers near. The negro, with two strong men dis-
guised as farmers, advanced alone. The countersign was given
to the first sentinel on the high ground west of the morass, and
while he was conversing with Pompey, the men seized and
gagged him. The silence of the sentinel at the causeway was
secured in the same manner, and as soon as the tide ebbed
sufficiently, the whole of Wayne's little army, except a detach-
ment of three hundred men under General Muhlenburg, who
remained in the rear as a reserve, crossed the morass to the foot
of the western declivity of the promonotory, unobserved by the
enemy. The troops were now divided into two columns; the
van of the right, consisting of one hundred and fifty volunteers,
under Lieutenant-Colonel De Fleury,' and that of the left, of
one hundred volunteers under Major Stewart, each with un-
loaded muskets and fixed bayonets. An avant-guard of twenty
picked men for each company, under Lieutenants Gibbon and
Knox, preceded them to remove the abatis and other obstruc-
tions. These vans composed the forlorn hope on that memo-
rable night. At a little past midnight the advanced parties
moved silently to the charge, one company on the southern and
the other on the northern portion of the height.
They were followed by the two main divisions ; the right
composed of the regiments of Febiger and Meigs, being led by
General Wayne in person. The left was composed of Colonel
'Louis de Fleury, a descendant of Hercule Andre de Fleury, a
French nobleman, who was the preceptor of the grandson of Louis
XIV. He was afterwards made Cardinal and Prime Minister. De
Fleury came to America early in the Revolution ; was received kindly
by Washington, who gave him a commission. Educated as an engi-
neer, his talents were soon brought into requisition. He acted in that
capacity at Fort Mifflin. For his gallantry at the battle of Brandy wine
Congress voted him a horse. He returned to France soon after the
capture of Stony Point.
224 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Butler's' regiment and two companies under Major Murfey/
The Americans were undiscovered until within pistol shot of
the pickets upon the heights, when a skirmish ensued between
the sentinels and the advance guards. The pickets fired sev-
eral shots, but the Americans, true to orders, relied entirely
on the bayonet, and pressed forward with vigor. The garrison
was aroused from their slumbers, and instantly the deep silence
of the night was broken by the roll of the drum, the loud cry
of To Arms! To Arms I the rattle of musketry from the ram-
parts and behind the abatis^ and the roar of cannon charged
with deadly grape-shot from the embrasures. In the face of
this terrible storm the Americans forced their way, at the point
of the bayonet, through every obstacle, until the van of each
column met in the centre of the works, where each arrived at
the same time.* At the inner abatis Wayne was struck upon the
head by a musket ball, which brought him upon his knees.
His two brave aids, Fishburne and Archer raised him to his
feet, and carried him gallantly through the works.*
Believing himself mortally wounded, the General exclaimed
as he arose, *' March on! carry me into the front, for I will die
' Richard Butler was appointed major of the Eighth Pennsylvania
regiment July 20, 1.776 ; promoted lieutenant-colonel March 12, 1777 ;
transferred as lieutenant-colonel of Morgan's Riflemen June 9, i777 ;
is promoted colonel of the Ninth Pennsylvania, dating from June
7, 1777; by an alteration subsequent to March 12, 1777, he was trans-
ferred to the command of the Seventeenth Pennsylvania, January
I, 1783, he was in command of the Third Pennsylvania. He was
second in command under General Arthur St. Clair in his ill-fated
expedition, and was killed in the battle of November 4, 1791, which
terminated in the defeat of St. Claire's army. {.Pennsylvania in the
Revolution. Edited by John Blair Lynn and William H. Egle, M. D.
Vol. I.) The editor is further indebted to this valuable work.
* It will be found that a Major Murfey is mentioned in the Orderly
Book of date August 21, 1779, and subsequently, but the editor has
been unable to identify him with any special command . Watson, in
his Annals of New York (p. 65), mentions "the celebrated Murphy, a
man who had belonged to Morgan's Rifle Corps."
^ Major (afterwards General) Hall states in his memoir : " Each of our
men had a white paper in his hat, which in the darkness distinguished
him from the enemy ; and the watch- word was * The fort's our own,
* Wayne's official dispatch, dated Stony Point, July 17, 1779.
> »»
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 225
at the head of my column!" But the wound was not very
severe, and he was able to join in the loud huzzas that arose
when the two columns met as victors within the fort. Colonel
De Fleury first entered the works, and struck the British
standard with his own hands. ^ The garrison surrendered at
discretion as prisoners of war, and that brilliant achievement was
rendered the more glorious for the clemency which the victors
exercised toward the vanquished. Not a life was taken after
the flag was struck and the garrison had pleaded for quarters.
Wayne had but fifteen killed and eighty-three wounded ; the
British had sixty-three killed, and Johnson, the commander,
with five hundred and forty- three officers and men were made
prisoners. The ships of the enemy, lying in the river in front
of Stony Point, slipped their cables and moved down to a place
of security. Before daylight. * Mad Anthony ' sent to the com-
mander-in-chief this brief and comprehensive reply :
Stony Point, i6ih July, 1779*
2 o'clock A. M.
Dear General :
The fort and garrison, with Colonel Johnston, are ours.
Our officers and men behaved like men who are determined to
be free. Yours most sincerely,
Ant'y Wayne.
General Washington,
At dawn the next morning the cannons of the captured fort
were turned upon the enemy's works at Verplanck's Point,
under Colonel Webster, and a desultory bombardment was
kept up during the day. Major-General Robert Howe had
been sent to attack Fort Fayette, but on account of delays and
' Waddell states that Captain Gamble led one of the assailing par-
ties, and that "he with his men mounted the wall in immediate vicinity
of a cannon, and seeing the match about to be applied, barely had
time to lower his head and order his men to fall flat before the gun was
discharged. He was, however, permanently deafened by the concus-
sion. His company immediately moved on, and were the first to enter
the fort. Being busily engaged in securing prisoners, the British flag
was overlooked until Lieutenant-Colonel De Fleury observed it and
pulled it down. At this stage the Pennsylvania troops entered the
fort" — Annals of Augusta County, Virginia^ p. 188.
IS
226 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
some misconception of Washington's orders, he did not make
the attack in time to dislodge the garrison.
News of Webster's critical situation and the capture of Stony
Point was speedily communicated to Sir Henry Clinton, and he
immediately sent rehef to the menaced garrison at Verplanck's.
Howe withdrew, and the enterprise was abandoned.
The British repossessed themselves of Stony Point on the
2oth, but they had little of value left them but the eligible site
for a fortification. The storming and capture of Stony Point,
regarded as an exhibition of skill and indomitable courage, was
one of the most brilliant events of the war. General Wayne,
the leader of the enterprise, was everywhere greeted with rap-
tuous applause. Congress testified their grateful sense of his
services by a vote of thanks * for his brave, prudent and sol-
diery conduct.* It was also resolved that a medal of gold,
emblematic of this action, should be struck and presented to
General Wayne. Thanks were also presented by Congress to
Lieutenant-Colonel De Fleury and Major John Stewart, and a
medal of silver was ordered to be struck and presented to each.
The conduct of Lieutenants Gibbon® and Knox* was warmly
applauded, and brevets of Captain were given to each, and to
Mr. Archer, the volunteer aid of Wayne, who was the bearer
of the General's letter to Washington on the occasion. Pursu-
ant to the recommendation of the commander-in-chief, and in
fulfilment of promises made by Wayne before the assault, with
the concurrence of Washington, Congress resolved, * That the
value of the military stores taken at Stony Point be ascertained
and divided among the gallant troops by whom it was reduced,
in such manner and proportions as the commander-in-chief
shall prescribe.' *®
From the following, which is labelled " Captain Gamble's
Company, Prize Roll for Stony Point," it would appear that the
company commanded by him on the occasion was composed of
volunteers."
^ Lieutenant Gibbon lost seventeen men, killed and wounded, in the
attack.
• George Knox, of the Ninth Pennsylvania regiment.
*° Field Book of the Revolution^ Vol. II, pp. 744, 750.
" Furnished by Dr. Gary B. Gamble, Baltimore Md.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 227
A Return of the Men of Captain Gamblers Company when Stony
Point was taken from the Enemy ^ i^th Jufyy 1779^
Robert Gamble, Captain.
David Williams, Lieutenant.
William Spencer, Sergeant Eighth Volunteer Regiment.
George Grimes, Sergeant First State Volunteer Reg*t.
Richard Piles, Sergeant Eighth Volunteer Regiment.
Randolph Death, Corporal Eighth Volunteer Regiment.
Samuel Glen, Corporal Seventh Volunteer Regiment.
Jesse Page, Corporal Eighth Volunteer Regiment.
John Farrell, Drummer Seventh Volunteer Regiment.
Belonging to the Seventh Virginia Regiment:
Joshua Haycraft, William Gibbs.
Mathias Martin, William Hinds,
Alexander Dresdal, Daniel Rich,
John Malvin, Aaron Redmond,
Peter Sherriden, Thomas Miller,
Joseph Fox, William Campbell,
Daniel Burcher, Moses Plain,
Thomas Roberts, Peter Barret,
Sylvester Hurly, Alexander Strickling.
Charles Steward.
Belonging to the Eighth Virginia Regiment:
George Ward, Michael Moore,
John Bray, James L. Masters,
James Balls, Richard Barlow,
Henry Denny, Steven Smythers,
Henry Normond, John Bland,
Jacob Roads, Marshall Burton,
William McCollum, Peter Warren,
Henry Denny, John 0*Harroh,
John Trotter, Patrick Lyons,
George Sell, William Steward,
John Hanson.
228 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
James Flanherty, Sergeant-Major, ought to have been included
in the company. Lieutenant Lind will have him put in the
field and staff.
Robert Gamble,
Colonel Febiger^s ResimenL Captain,
CAPTAIN GAMBLE.
I Captain, 6 shares each 785^, -
- $472
I Lieutenant, 4
** - -
314^
4 Sergeants, 6
** - -
472
I Drummer, lA
** - -
86>^
3 Corporals, 3}J
** - -
259J^
40 R. & File, 40
** - -
- foi46?^
60H
4751 >^
Captain Gamble for goods.
17
Ballance paid, - - - . $4734^
Captain Gamble married Catharine, daughter of John Grattan,"
and lived for a time on a farm given him by his father. Here
his children were born in a house, still standing. A short time
after the conclusion of the war he removed to Staunton and em-
barked in merchandising with his brother-in-law, Robert Grattan,
" He was a native of Ireland, and is said to have been of the same
family as the distinguished leader of the Irish Parliament, Henry Grat-
tan. He married in Scotland, Catharine and immigrated to Penn-
sylvania, but subsequently settled near Staunton, Virginia, and engaged
in merchandising. He had issue :
I. Catharine, married Colonel Robert Gamble.
II. Elizabeth, married Colonel Samuel Brown, of Greenbrier county.
III. Agnes, married Colonel Elijah Page and moved to Kentucky.
IV. Margaret, married Samuel Miller, proprietor of Miller's Iron
Works.
V. John, an officer of the Revolution, who died in service near Sun-
bry, Georgia.
VI. Robert, who was for a time a partner of Colonel Gamble ; com-
manded a company of cavalry in the Whiskey Insurrection of
Pennsylvania ; subsequently a farmer. He was the father of the
late Peachy R. Grattan, of Richmond.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 229
under the firm name of Gamble & Grattan. In 1787, Lieutenant-
Colonel Gamble appears of record as a member of a court martial
held in Staunton. By this title, derived from a command in the
militia, he was henceforth known.
About 1792 Colonel Gamble moved to Richmond, where he
prospered gready in business and became a highly influential
citizen. His residence at the corner of Third and Byrd streets,
a commodious square building of brick, stuccoed, was demol-
ished only a few years ago. It was commenced to be built by
Colonel John Harvie," who lost his life in a fall caused by the
breaking of a ladder which he had ascended to inspect the progress
of the work. Colonel Gamble purchasing the property, completed
it. The elevation on which it stood is still known as Gamble's Hill.
The place of business of Colonel Gamble was a large building which
stood at the corner of Main and Fourteenth streets. His two
sons John Grattan Gamble and Robert Gamble were associated
with him in business under the firm name of Robert Gamble &
Company. After his death they continued the business. They
both served as ofiicers in the war of 18 12, and both removed to
Florida in 1827, where they became prominent and influential.
John Grattan Gamble was twice married. His first wife was a
Miss Duncan, and his second a daughter of Governor Christopher
Greenup, of Kentucky. Robert Gamble married a daughter of
General James Breckinridge.
Of the daughters of Colonel Gamble, Agnes became the wife
of Governor William H. Cabell, subsequently of the Supreme
Court of Appeals of Virginia, and its president at the time of his
death in 1849. Elizabeth, the younger daughter, married the
distinguished William Wirt, for a time the Attorney-General of
the United States. She was his second wife, his first wife, who
lived but a short time, was Mildred, the daughter of Dr.
George Gilmer, of "Pen Park," Albemarle county. The death
of Colonel Gamble was accidental. He was of stout figure and
was in the habit of riding on horseback to his place of business.
" Colonel Harvie was a member of the Virginia Conventions of 1775
and 1776; of the old Congress, 1778 and 1779; and the first Register of
the Virginia Land Office, which he held at the time of his death in
1791.
230 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
On the morning of April 12, 1810, as he was thus on his way
thither, reading a newspaper which he held before him, some
buffalo skins were thrown into the street from the upper window
of a warehouse he was passing. His horse took fright, started,
and threw him on his head, producing concussion of the brain,
which was almost immediately fatal.^^ He lies beneath an altar-
shaped tomb of white marble in the church-yard of the venerable
sanctuary St. John's. His home was the seat of an elegant hos-
pitality, and within its walls were frequent gatherings of the vet-
erans of the Revolution and of that brilliant coterie of intellect
and refinement which so dbtinguished Richmond in the early
decades of the century.
^* The operation of trepanning was at once skillfully performed by an
accomplished surgeon, Dr. John H. Foushee (son of Dr. William Fou-
shee, the first mayor of the city of Richmond), who was within call, but
it was unavailing to even arouse Colonel Gamble from the comatose
condition which had been occasioned.
ORDBRLY BOOK
OF
CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE.
Headquarters Light Infantry, \_August 21^ ijjg.'l
Field Officer to-morrow, Colo. Meggs " * * *
Picquett this Night, Major Stewart [adjutant]; to-morrow,
Maury," orderly serg*ts from * * * and Meggs'
Reg't Colo. Meggs and Butler. Majors Hull" and Murfey"
will attend at Headquarters this afternoon at five o'clock to
receive their Dividend of money arising from the sales of the
Plunder taken in storming Stony Point July 15th, '79, which
they will receive with Proper Stated record. * * *
Head Quarters Light Infantry,
Sunday y Aug't 22^ '79.
Field Officer to-morrow, Colo. Butler.^* Ditto for Picquett
this Night Maj'r Posey.*® Adjutant to-morrow, Thompson.
^* Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs, born Middletown, Conn., December,
1740; died at the Cherokee Agency January 28, 1823.
^' Abraham Maury, appointed Lieutenant Tenth Virginia regiment,
October 8, 1777 ; received bounty lands from the State.
^^ Major (subsequently General) William Hull, bom at Derby, Conn.,
June 24, 1753 ; died at Newton, Mass., November 29, 1825.
^® Major Murfey. See ante^ p. 224.
" Colonel Richard Butler.
** Thomas Posey (son of Captain John Posey, a neighbor of George
Washington, and who is said to have served in the French and Indian
war), was born on the banks of the Potomac July 9, 1750; died at Shaw-
neetown. 111., March 19, 1818; removed to Western Virginia at the age of
nineteen, and was quartermaster under General Andrew Lewis ; par-
ticipated in the battle of Point Pleasant October 10, 1774 '. in 1775 he
was one of the Committee of Correspondence of Augusta county ;
232 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Orderly Sergt's from CoL Butler and Febiger's" regiments.
C. Serg'ts. C.
Daily g*d, i 2 2
Orderly, i
I 3
For Guard to-morrow, Capt. Gamble.
Head Quarters Lt. Infantry, Fort Montgomery.
Monday, Aug^t 2jf *79.
Field officer to-morrow, Lt. Col. Fleury. Ditto for Picquett
this Night, Col. Meggs. Adjutant to-morrow * * Benjamin.
was appointed captain and raised a company for the Seventh Virginia
Continental regiment ; aided in defeating Dunmore on Gwyn's Island ;
joined Washington's army at Middlebrook early in 1777 ; was trans-
ferred to Morgan's Rifles ; led the regiment as Major in an expedition
against the Indians in October, 1778 ; in the spring of 1779 took com-
mand of the Eleventh Virginia regiment ; was soon after transferred to
the command of a battalion of Colonel Febiger*s regiment under
Wayne ; participated in the reduction of Stony Point, and was among
the first to enter the works ; present at the surrender of Yorktown ;
organized a new regiment, of which the rank of lieutenant-colonel, he
took command ; and served under Wayne in Georgia until the evacu-
ation of Savannah. When surprised by the Indians under Guerister-
sigo, on the night of June 23, 1782, Posey rallied and led his men to the
charge, defeating the enemy with severe loss. From 1786 to 1793 he
was County Lieutenant of Spotsylvania county, Va.; appointed briga-
dier-general February 14, 1793 ; settled in Kentucky ; was elected State
Senator ; was four years Lieutenant-Governor ; Major-General of Ken-
tucky levies in 1809; United States Senator from Louisiana i8i2-'i3;
succeeded Harrison as Governor of the Territory of Indiana March 3,
1813, and in 1816 became Agent for Indian Affairs, which post he held
at the time of his death.
"^Colonel Christian Febiger, born in Denmark in 1747; died in Phila-
delphia September 20, 1796. He had seen service before enlisting
April 28, 1775, and at Bunker's Hill led a portion of Gerrish's regi-
ment, of which he was adjutant, to the scene of battle in season to do
good service. He served with marked ability throughout the war;
accompanied Arnold to Quebec, and was made prisoner in the attack
on that citadel ; was conspicuous in the attack of Stony Point and at
Yorktown, where he commanded the Second Virginia regiment. From
1789 until his death he was Treasurer of Pennsylvania.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 283
Orderly Serg'ts from * * & Butler's Regt's. Detail C. i.
S. I. C. 2 * * to parade at these quarters with Packs Slung
& one day's Provisions, at Five o'clock this afternoon Persizely,
the arms & ammunision to be immediately inspected & Returns
of Difisiances given that they may be suplide such Cartridges
as Can be exposed to the Sun on Blankets with care and atten-
tion.
O* 0« v^* A •
Daily g'd, i i 2 39.
Detach* I, i 19.
48.
officers for Picquett to-morrow, Ll. Knox, for detachment to
parade at five o'clock, Lt. Craford.
Head Quarters Lt. Infantry fort Montgomery
Aug^t 24ih *7p
Field officer to-morrow Maj'r Hull, Ditto for Picquett this
night Col. Butler, adj't to-morrow Davis, ordily serg'ts from
Col. Meggs & Febiger's Reg't the guard ordered yesterday to
concidered as a standing Guard to mount Reggularly Every
Evening & come off one hour after Sun Rise
L S C P
Daily g'd i. 2. 3. 38.
Night do. o. I. I. 10
I. 3. 4. 48.
Officer for Guard Lt** Crittenton.
Light Infantry, Sandy Beach, Gen'l Order,
Aug't 2Sy '79-
Field officer to-morrow Maj'r Posey ; for night Picquett Col.
Fleury, adjutant To-morrow Maury, at a Cort Marshall held
"John Crittenden appointed second lieutenant Eleventh Virginia
regiment, July 21, 1777; promoted lieutenant, May 14, 1779.
234 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
the 24th Inst whereof Col. Putnam * was President, Lt Smith of
CoL Putnam's Regt was try'd for upon a charge of taking sev-
eral artidls of Plunder from a soldier of the night of the storm
of Stony Point, and was acquited of the Charge, the Gen'l ap-
proves the Sentence and orders Lt. Smith out [of] arrest & to
join & do his Duty with his Regt the Cort whereof Col. Put-
nam is President will set To-morrow morning at Ten o'clock for
the Trial of Capt Tolburt** of Col. Buder's Regt & Lt. Man-
gard of CoL Putnam's Regt. on the Charge that will [be]
Exhibited against them by Capt. Christey * & Lt Col. Fleury
Respectively for the Trial of all such as may be Brought before
them, all Partyes to attend it is absolutely found necessary to
Continue the Guard mentioned in yesterday's orders as a Stand-
ing Guard & to be Detained and meet on the Guard Parade at
the usual time.
Daily Gd. i. 2. 3. 3. 48.
Night Gd. I. 10.
I. 2. 3. 4. 58.
Head Quarters Lt. Infantry, Fort Mont'y,
Aug'i 28 y '79-
Field Officers To-morrow Major Hull, Ditto For Picquett this
Night Col. Meggs, adjutant to To-morrow Farell, ordily
Serg*t. For head quarters to-morrow From Col. Fibiger's &
Meggs' Regts. Lt. Col. Fleury is officer for this Day Vice CoL
Butler is Indisposed, the whole Corps of Light Infantry To
Parade on Monday next at Troop Beating, the Guard of this
Day to Take the Right of their Respective Regts & not to march
of[f ] the Parade till Reviewed by the Genl. the Standing Order
for the Men's keeping Two Days Provisions Ready Cooked not
^' Rufus Putnam, bom at Sutton, Mass., April 9, 1738 ; died at Mari-
etta, Ohio, May 4, 1824 ; colonel of engineers of Fifth Massachusetts ;
promoted brigadier-general January 7, 1783.
** Captain Jeremiah Talbott.
'^John Christie, appointed captain Third Pennsylvania regiment,
October 23, 1776.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 285
heaving being attended to lately the Gen'l Desires the officer
Carefully to Inspect it as no excuse will Be admitted For neglect
of it. It is Expected that every officer appears on the Parade
with their Espontoons agreeable to the Directions of the Inspect-
ing Gen*l.
v^. O* O. \^» X
Daily g'd i. i. 3. 4. 47.
Officers for Guard To-morrow Capt. Grant and Lieut. Wil-
liams.
Head Quarters Light Infantry Fort Montgomery,
Aug't 29, '79.
Field officer to-morrow Major Stewart, Field officer for this
Night Lt. Col. Fleury, adjutant to-morrow, Maury, ordily
Serg'ts From Col. Putnam's & Butler's Reg'ts & Capt. from
Col. Putnam's Reg't to sit as a member of the cort marshall
which is 10 meet to-morrow at 2 o'clock.
v^. O. O. v^. A .
Detale 2. 3. 4. 48.
Daily g'd
Officers for Guard to-morrow Lt. Crittenton & McDowell."
Head Quarters Light Infantry Fort Montgomery,
Aug'i 30, '79.
Field officer to-morrow Major Posey. Field officer for
Picquett this night Major Hull, adjutant to-morrow Thompson,
ordily Serg'ts For Head Quarters From Col. Meggs* & Febi-
ger's Reg'ts.
\^» *J» *J» \^» • X .
Daily g'd i. i. 3. 3. 49.
Officers for Guard to-morrow Capt. Booker" & Lt. Coalman."
■• Lieutenant John McDowell, Eighth Virginia regiment.
" Captain Samuel Booker, Fourth Virginia regiment.
^ Lieutenant Jacob Coleman, Seventh Virginia regiment.
236 virginia historical society.
Head Quarters Lt. Infantry, Fort Montgomery,
Aug' 1 31,' 79,
Field officer to-morrow Col. Meggs« Ditto For Picquett this
night Maj'r Stewart, adjutant to-morrow Benjamin, Orderly From
Putnam's & Butler's Reg'ts. A cort marshall held on the 27th of
this Ult. whereof Col. Putnam was President, Capt. Talburt of
Col. Butler's Reg't of Light Infantry was Tryed for Disobedi-
ence of orders & mutiney, the Cort Do Judge Capt. Talburt
not Guilty of the Charges Exhibited against him & therefore Do
acquit him. Gen'l Wayne Confirms the Sentence of the Cort
marshall & orders Capt. Talburt out of arrest & to Return to
his Duty in the said Reg't.
C S. S. C P.
Daily g'd i. i. 3. 3. 49.
Officers For Guard To-morrow Capt. Montgomery and Lieut.
Fox.
Regimental order Sept. ist '79, the Col. o[b]serving that the
Drums & Fifes in Stead of Improving themselves since they
have Been on this Detachment have Grone a Great Deal worse
Direct that Phillip Goaf Fifer in the ist Battalion, and Wm.
Armstead Drumer of Second take out the Drums & Fifes of the
Reg't Every afternoon Sundays and Rainy Day[s] exsepted to
Practice From hours From four to six o'clock, he also orders
that one Battalion march Down to the old Field where they
Commonly Parade, Practice Marching one hour & a half after
Revalle where all the Drums & Fifes will attend this to Begin
with the Second Battalion to-morrow morning and to Continue
alturnately when the weather will Permit.
A Regimental Cort Marshall to set For the Trials of such
Prisoners as shall be brought before him.
Head Quarters L't Infantry, Fort Montgomery,
Sept. I sty '7p.
Field officer to-morrow Col. Butler. Field Officer for Pic-
quett this night Major Posey, adjutant to-morrow Farrell ordily
Serg'ts From Col. Meggs' & Febiger's Reg'ts.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 237
C. S. S C P
Detale i. i. 3. 2. 48.
Daily g'd
Officers For Guard To-morrow Capt. Gamble and Lt. Crafford."
Regimental Order Sept, ist '79 Light Infantry :
A Regimental Court Marshal Whereof Capt. Skelton* was
President Capt. Glen was Tried [for] Disobedience of orders,
absence at Role Call and Drunkenness & Sentenced to be
Reduced to a Private, Sentence approved. John Bowling and
John Malvin Tried for the Same Crime & Sentenced to Receive
Fifty Lashes Each in Concideration of the Recommendation of
the Cort and the Former Good Carrector they have had He is
induced to Remit the Punishment for this time, at the Same
Time Informing them that Should they Ever be found Guilty
again they may expect Double Punishment for the Same Crime.
Thos Roberts & Wm. Gibbs tried first for being about without
Leave, Second for Drunkenness, & thirdly for not attending
Role Call, and Further for Suspision of Stealing, the Theft not
proved on Gibbs he is Sentenced to Receive fifty Lashes on his
Bare Back. Approved. Thos. Roberts is found Guilty of all
the Charges & sentenced to Receive for being about with[out]
Leave Fifty & For Stealing one hundred Lashes, the Col. orders
he shall Receive one hundred Lashes well Laid on* Alexander
Drisdel Confined on the Same Charges, to Receive the same
Punishment the whole to be put in execution this Evening.
Thos. Roberts & Alex'r Drisdel to^ be Put under Stopages of
half Pay until they Shall Pay Barritt the money the stold from
him. Capt. Hanibleton was tried for Card Playing, Contempt
of the Services Reduced to a Private Sentinel and Receive fifteen
Lashes, the Col. approved the First part of the Sentence But in
Concideration of his former good Carrector [was] induced to
Remit the Corporal Punishment.
^ Presumed to be Lieutenant John Crawford, of the Second Virginia
regiment.
'® Clough Skelton, appointed Captain Sixth Virginia regiment, Janu-
ary 13, 1778.
238 virginia historical society.
Head Quarters Light Infantry,
Sept 2nd,
Field officer to-morrow Major Hull, field officer for Piquett this
night Colo. Gary, adjt. to-Morrow Murray, orderly sergt. Mor-
row from Putnam's and Butler's Regt.
Detail C. S. S. C. P.
Daily g'd i. 2. 3. 40.
Officer for Guard to-morrow Ll. Knox.
G, O, Head Quarters Morels House * *
The Commander in Chief has the Pleasure to announce the
following Resolutions which the honarable the Congress have
Pleasure to Pass for the Benefit of the Army, the Disposition
Manafested in these Resolves is a Fresh Pruff" to the army that
their Country Entertains a high Sense of their Merits and Sweets
[sic] and are inclined to Confirm an honarable adaquitt compen-
sation, the Genl. flatters himself their Respective States will
Second the Generous V[o]ices of Congress and take Every
Proper Measure to Gratify the reasonable Expectation of such
Officers and Soldiers as are Determined to Share the Glory of
Serving their Co[u]ntry and themselves throughout the War and
finishing the task they have so Nobly begun, the flourishing
aspect of officers in Europe and in the West indies as well as in
the United States Gives us Every Person to beleave the happy
Pride will Speedily Ar[r]ive.
In Congress J Augt. i6y 1779^:
Resolved that the Clothier General Estimate the value of the
several articles of Soldiers' Clothing at the Prices they were
respectively worth at the end of the year 1878, and forthwith
transmit such estimate to the Pay-Masters of the several Regi-
ments who shall be furnished out of the Military Chests, with
money to pay the soldiers for the deficiences of clothing at the
Estimated Price of every article as are fixed by the Clothier
General who shall henceforward transmit the estimates before the
close of every year during the war so that the soldiers be paid
by the regimental pay-master according to such estimates annu-
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 239
ally and previous to their discharge when the same happens
before the end of the year, for all articles of clothing allowed
them by the resolution of Congress of the 6th of September,
1777, which they have not received and which are or shall be due
to them after the year last mentioned.
In Congress^ August 77, 7779 .•
Whereas the Army of the United States of America have by
their patriotism, valor and perseverance in defence of the rights
and liberties of their country become entitled to the gratitude as
well as the approbation of their fellow citizens,
Resolvedy That it be and it is hereby recommended to the sev-
eral States that have not already adopted measures for that pur-
pose, to make such further provision for the officers and for the
soldiers enlisted for the war, to them respectively belonging who
shall continue in service until the establishment of peace as shall
be an adequate compensation for the many dangers, losses and
hardships they have suffered and been exposed to in the course
of the present contest, either by granting to their officers half-
pay for life, and proper rewards to their soldiers ; or in such
other manner as may appear most expedient to the legislatures
of the several States.
Resolved, That it be and is hereby recommend to the several
States to make such provision for the widows of such of these
officers and soldiers who are enlisted for the war or have died,
or may die in the service as shall secure to them the sweets of
that liberty for the maintainance of which their husbands nobly
laid down their lives.
Resolvedy August 18, 1779, That until the further order of
Congress the said officers be entitled to receive for their subsist-
ence money the sums following, to- wit: Each Colonel and Brigade
Chaplain 500 dollars ; every Lieutenant Colonel 400 dollars ;
every Major and Regimental Surgeon 300 dollars ; every Cap-
tain 200 dollars ; and every Lieutenant, Ensign and Surgeon's
Mate 100 dollars.
Resolved^ That until the further order of Congress the sum of
ID dollars be paid to every non-commissioned officer and soldier
monthly for their subsistence in lieu of those articles originally
intended for them and not furnished.
240 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Light Infantry Orders,
September ^tk, '79.
Field [officers] To-morrow Maj'r Murphy, Ditto for Picquett
this night Colo. Butler, adjutant to-morrow Benjamin, Ordily
Serg'ts [from] Putnam's and Butler's Reg'ts. At a Gen'l Cort
Marshall held the 30th of Aug't, whereof Col. Putnam was
President, Lt. Manyard of the Massachusets Line was Tried on
a Charge Exhibited against him By Lt. Col. Fleury For Disobe-
dience of orders and want of Respect for a Field officer on Duty
and hendering him from his visit of Guards, the Cort after Con-
sidering the Charges against him, the Evidence and his Defence
thereof oppinion that he is guilty of the First Charge & of the
latter part of the second, he bavin By Detainin Lt. Col. Fleury
a Prisoner all night acted contrary to the Instructions given by
the Inspector Gen'l and hendered the Col. From Persueing his
visiting the guards which might have Been atten[d]ed with Bad
consequences, the Cort do therefore sentence Lt. Manyard to be
Private[ly] Repremand[ed] For a conduct so highly Repprehen-
[s]able as that which Lt. Manyard is found guilty of & which
[the] Lives and safety of so many Brave & valliable officers &
men were immediately concerned, the cannot consent to be \sic\
therefore orders Lt. Manyard out of arest & to Return to his Duty
in the Light Infantry. At the same Cort Marshall Sam'l Har-
riss, Duncan McKenley & James Rarridon were tried for Leav-
ing the Serg't & Citing Drunk when on Patrole & thret[en]ing
to kill Serg't Lovel of Col. Putnam's Regiment. Found Guilty
By the Cort, Sam'l Harriss to Receive one hundred Lashes on
his Bare Back well Laid on, James Rarridon one hundred do.
& Duncan McKenley to Receive Fifty Lashes on his Bare Back
well Laid on. The Gen'l approves the sentence of the Cort &
orders the Punishment to take Place to-morrow Evening at
Retreat beating, the Cort Marshall whereof Col. Putnam was
President is Dissolved.
V^. O. O. V^. IL •
Daily gd. - i. 2. 2. 46.
Officer for Guard to-morrow Lt. Walker.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 241
Light Infantry after Orders [sic],
September 6th, '/p.
At a Gen*l Cort Marshal held this Day whereof Maj'r Stewart
was President, Wm, Matlock Soldier in Capt. Talburt's Com-
pany of Col. Butler's Reg't of Light Infantry, Charged with
theft and escaping from the Quarter Guard, Disertion & attempt-
ing to go to the Enemy, was found Guilty of the whole of the
Charges & Unanimously Sentenced to Suffer Death. When any
Soldier becomes so Lost to Every Sence of Valine & honour as
to Be capable of commiting the Chrimes of which the above
itamed Prisoner is found Guilty of, is no Longer fit [to] Exist in
a Land of Liberty or to Remain a Disgrace to the Name of a
Soldier. Gen*l Wayne therefore confirm[s] the Sentence passed
by the Cort Marshall & the Same Wm. Matlock to Be shot to
Death at Six o'clock this Evening, the whole of the Troops to
assemble at that hour on the Grand Parade & attend the Execu-
tion. Col. Febiger is appointed President of the Cort Marshal
vice Maj'r Stewart, which is set To-morrow at ten o'clock at the
President's Quarters for the trial of Lt. Col. Fleury, Charged by
Lt. Manyard first for ungentlemanlike behavior, second for
abusing him Lt. Manyard with Insulting Language when on
duty, all Evidence & Parties to have notice and attend, three
Capts. from Each Regt. to attend as members.
Light Infantry Orders,
Sept, gth, 1779.
Field Officer To-morrow Majr. Stewart, Field Officer Picquett
this night Major Murphy, adjt to-morrow Farell, Ordely Sergts.
from Meggs' & Febiger's Regt.
C S S C P
Daily gd. .1. i. 3. 2. 49
L. I. O. Near Fort Montgomery,
Sept. 10, *7p.
Field officer To-morrow Majr. Murphy, Field officer for Pic-
quett this Night Lt. Col. Shurman, Adjt. to-morrow Maury.
18
242 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
At a Genl. Cort Martial held the 9th of this instant whereof
Col. Febiger was President, Lt. Col. Fleury [was tried] on a
Charge Brought by Lt. Manyard for ungentleman Like beha-
viour & for Insulting Language when on Guard. The Cort
after [having] mateurly Considered the Charges Exhibited
against Lt. Col. Fleury & the Evidences, the Majority are of
oppinion that he is guilty of ungentlemanlike behaviour and
making use of Insulting Language to Lt. Manyard, But think
the Provocation he Receiv*d from Lt. Manyard, & having suf-
fered arrest, Sufficient atonement for his Crime. The frequent
arrest[s] which hath Lately taken Place in a Corps that have
acquainted [«V— acquired ?] so much Glory as to become not
only the admiration but the Envy of many, and upon whose
Conduct the Eyes of the World is fixed Give a sensation which
the Gen'l can much Better feel than Express, it affords matter
of Joy to our Publick Enemy & triumph to our Invidious Friends,
if any there be ; therefore wishes the officers to Indeavour to
Cultivate that harminey and friendship that ought to subsist
amongst so distinguished a Corps & which Render them Respec-
table to their friends & to violate there Enemys [su]; but should
there unfortunately be a misunderstanding among any of the
officers in futer, he wishes them to settle it amicably or find some
other mode than that of Court Martials or Less it be a very
Extraordinary Case in Deed. Genl. Wayne orders Lt. Col.
Fleury Immediately out of arrest and to take Command of his
Battalion, the Court Martial whereof Colo. Febiger was Presi-
dent is Disolved.
Detale C. S. S. C. P.
Daily g'd, i. 2. 3. 49
L. I. O. New Fort Montgomery,
Sept i2tk^ '79.
Field officer to-morrow Col. Putnam, Ditto for Picquett this
Night Col. Febiger. Ordely Serg't From Col. Butler & Put-
nam's Reg'ts. the Gen* 1 Finds it absolutely necessarj- to Desire
the officers to be Particularly to Keep the Men in Cam[p] as
much as Possible. No Permit But from the Commanding offi-
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 243
cers of Regiments will be admited & that towards West Point
only, and it is very unserting at what moment a movement may
take Place, no Soldier, But in case of absolute necessity will be
Perm i ted to Pass In front or towards the Enimy's Lines which
is necessary to be certified by an officer with the name of the
Soldier so in Dulged, when he will Receive a Permit from the
Light Infantry head quarters all Inhabitance Bringing any Kind
of Produce to Camp to be admited in But not Return with out a
Pass from the Commanding officer of the Light Corps for the
time being at his order.
V^a O. i3« V^. X •
Daily g'd. i. i. 2. 2. 47.
After orders, members of a Gen'l Cort martial to Set to-
morrow from the Light Infantry, Maj'r Stewart, Capt. Shelton
& Champion.
G. O. West Point,
SepVr ye I2thy 1779.
The Gen'l Court marshel whereof Col. Marshell" is Prisidentis
Desolved. a Gen'l Court martial of the Line ordered to set to-
morrow morning at nine o'clock at the usual Place for the trial
of such Prisoners as shall Come before them whereof Col. Put-
nam is President, a Capt. from the Mariland Line, a Lt. Col. or
Maj*r and one Capt. From the Pencil vania Line, the Garrison
Light Infantry & Connecticut Line gives a Lt. Col. or Maj*r
[and] 2 C*p*ts for the Court.
L. I. O. Monday, Fort Montgomery,
^ Sept ijiht *7p.
Field officer to-morrow Col. Febiger, Ditto for Picquett this
night Maj*r Posey, adj't to-morrow Farell, Ordily Serg'ts from
Col. Meggs* & Febiger' s Reg'ts.
" Colonel Thomas Marshall of the Third Virginia regiment, specially
distinguished himself at the battle of Brandywine, where his regiment
bore the brunt of the British assault led by Cornwallis in person ; the
father of Chief Justice John Marshall ; after the Revolution removed to
Kentucky, where he engaged in surveying.
244 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
A Fatigue Party from Each Regt. under Proper officers to be
sent at two o*Clock this after noon to Clear the Parade on Top of
the hill as marked out the 4th Inst, or last Sunday week.
\^9 O. O. V^. A .
Daily g*d i. i. 3. 3. 48.
Fatigue. i. i. i. 16.
Officer for guard to-morrow Capt. Gamble & Lt. Craford,
Ditto for Fatigue Lt. Coalman.
L. I. Camp, Fort Montgomery,
Field officer for to-morrow Lt. Col. Johnston," Ditto for Pic-
quett this Night Col. Meggs, Ordily Sergt's from Putnam's &
Butler's Regt's, the whole Corps to Prarade Day after to-morrow
at 8 o'clock in the morning * * themselves arms &
accutrements in the most Soldierly order Possible the New
Guard with their Respective Regiments. When the Gen'l
Beats on the Right will be the Signal to Strike and Pack their
tents on Beating a March on the Right, the whole will move in
the Following order, Colo. Febiger by the Left and Colo. Butler
by the Right, Colo. Putnam by the Right and Colo. Meggs by
the Left and take Post on the Hill in the Rear of Garrison
Leaven. Proper Intervill to Form front to the west-ward which
will Throw Colo. Febiger & Butler to the North & Colo. Put-
nam & Meggs to the South, the officer will be ancerble for Every
man belonging to their Respective Corps.
N^. O. O. V^. X .
Detale o. i. 3. 2. 49.
R. O. Sep^, 14, '7p.
Serg't Griffin of Capt. Montgomery ['s] Comp'y having for
some misbehavour Been Reduced to a Private Sentinel By a
Cort martial, the Col. thought Proper to approve it, But in Con-
cideration of his Former Good Charactor and his Present Good
•^This was probably Francis Johnston, of the Fifth Pennsylvania
Regiment.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 245
Dispersition is Pleased [to] Reinstate him in his former Rank as
Serg't in said Comply & to Be obeyed accordingly. Capt.
Montgomery will have this order Read at the head of his Comp'y
at Retreat Beating to-morrow Evening when he will Reinstate
him in form & he is still to Rank as Serg't from his first appoint-
ment. Lt. Col. Fleury will Immediately Call the man before
him who fired his Gun lo-day & severely Reppremand him &
Inform him that nothing but his state of health Could induce
the Col. Pard[on]ing his Point of Disobedience of Orders &
that If he is Guilty again he shall Receive Double Punishment
he is to be Released from his Confinement.
Christian Febiger, CoL
L. I. O. Fort Montgomery,
Sept, isth, '79.
Field officer to-morrow Maj'r Murphy, Ditto for Picquett this
Night Col. Febiger, Agt. to-morrow Thompson.
^•^. 0« O* V^. A .
Detale i. i. 3. 3. 48.
Officers for Guard to-morrow Capt. Hutson & Lt. Coleman.
R. O. Sept, i8thy 1779,
A Regimental Cort Martial to set to-morrow morning at ten
o'clock for the trial of the Prisoners under the Quarter guard
Capt. Gamble to preside, Lt. Coalman & Ens*n Fillips to attend
as members. Officers Commanding Companies are to make out
Returns of what arms, ammunition and accoutrements & Cloth-
ing are wanting in their Respective Companys, to the Col.
Immediately.
Christian Febiger, Cot,
Sept'r i8th, 1779,
William Askins of my Comany is appointed a Corporal and
is to be obeyed & Respected as such.
Ro. Gamble,
Capt, ist R, L, I,
246 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
L. I. O. Saturday, Sept i8th, ijjg.
Field Officer to-morrow Col. Febiger, Ditto for Picquett this
Night Maj'r Posey, adj't to-morrow, Maury.
The GenM Calls on the officers of this Corps to Pay the strictices
& Immediate attention of the menuvering of the troops agre-
able to the mode & Rules Laid Down by the Barren Stewben.
the officers will Carfully Exammen the State and Condision of
the Arms, accutrements, ammunision and Clothing of their
respective Comp's and see that Every thing be in Rediness to
move at a moment's notis as it is more than Proverble that the
next Post will [be] in an Inhabited Contry [and] the Eyes of
Every Individual will be on the Light Infantry & those Officers
& Battalions most esteemed who make the Best appearance on
the Parrade. the Gen'l once more Calls the attention of every
officer & Soldier to this assential Business as not a moment is to
be Lost.
V^. O. O. V«r. X •
Detale i. i. 2. 2. 49.
Officers for Guard to-morrow Capt. Booker and Lt. Knox.
L. I. O. Camp near Fort Montgomery,
SepL ye 2oth^ i779'
Field officer to- Morrow Major Murfree, Field Officers for
Picquett this Night Colo. Febiger, Adj't to-Morrow Benjamin.
The Q. M. are Immediately to see each Company in his Res-
pective Reg't are Furnished with two Good Axes, all such on
the Ground unfit for Further Service to be Collected this After-
noon & be Exchanged for others. 4 Spades & Shovels will be
also wanting. Each Reg't the whole to be Kept by the Q. Mr.
or Q. M. Serg't who will be accountable for the whole at a mo-
ment's warning.
After Orders — the Troops to Cook two Days Provisions
Immediately & hold themselves in Rediness to march at a mo-
ment's warnen, the Pack Horses to [be] kept with their Res-
pective [Companies ?]
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 247
L. I. O. Near Fort Montgomery,
Sept 2oih, *79.
Field Officer to-morrow Coh Meg;s. Ditto for Picquett this
Night Maj'r Hull, adj't To-morrow Thompson, Ordily Serg'ts
from Megs' s and Febiger's Reg'ts.
Extract from Gen* I Orders Sept. 20th, 1779 :
At a Gen*l Court martial whereof Col. Putnam was President
Colo. Butler was Tryed on the following Charge, First, for En-
deavouring to Excite the soldiers of Capt. Ashmead*s " Com-
pany to meeting by ordering the Non-Commissioned officers Not
to obey any order of his Capt. Ashmead ; Secondly for treeting
Capt. Ashmead in an unpresidently & onofficer like manner by
Refusing him Liberty to wait on Gen. Wayne to Complain of
111 Treatment and Seek Redress & sending him under Guard
from the L. Infantry Camp to west Point after having Received
Colo. Stewart*s** order to go to the Infantry & take the Com-
mand of his Capt. Ashmead' s Company. The Court are of
Opinion that Colo. Butler is Not Guilty of the first charge, they
do acquit him of Refusing Capt. Ashmead Liberty to wait on
Gen'l Wayne to Complain of III treatment & Seek Redress,
they are of Opinion that Colo. Butler was Not Justifyable in
Sending Capt. Ashmead under Guard from the Lt. Infantry to
west Point being a breach of [the] first article & Eighteenth
section of the artickles of War & do Sentence him to be Rep-
remanded by the Commanding officer of the Corps of Light
Infantry. The Commander-in-Chief approves the Sentence &
Directs it to be Carried into Execution, at the same time he
thinks Colo. Butler's Conduct Blamible in not Permitting Capt.
Ashmead to see Gen*l Wayne unless he would Ingage to Com-
ply with a Condision which Colo. Butler had no Right to anex.
Nor was there any mode of such Condision as there was all
'^Captain Jacob Ashmead, of the Second Pennsylvania regiment,
appointed Septembers, 1776 ; resigned May 16. 1780.
'* Colonel Walter Stewart transferred from the Thirteenth Pennsyl-
vania regiment to the Second Pennsylvania regiment, July i, 1778; died
at Philadelphia, July 14, 1796.
248 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Ways Proper meends of Enforcing disipling of Capt. Ashmead
after applying to Gen'l Wayne Persistent in a Refractary beha-
vour. to Prevent any misunderstanding in futer the Gen'l
Directs that the Nomination of all Capts. & sub'r to Releave
others of Nesisary or full Vacancies in the Light Corps while
it Remains together to be Reported to adjutant Gen'l & Receive
the approbation of the Gen*l before they be sent to take Com-
mand, for this Purpos the officers Commandrng Reg*ts of L.
Infantry will Report to the adjutant Gen'l the Vacanceys that
hapen, who will Give Notices that Officers may be appointed
from the Line to fill them, be nominated by the officers Com-
manding the Reg*ts from which they are taken, as Gen'l
Wayne Cannot Repremand Colo. Butler for any Part of his
Conduct Respecting Capt. Ashmead Without Violating his own
Judgment & feelings he orders Colo. Butler Immediately out of
arrest & to take Charge of his Command in the Light Infantry.
C S. S C P.
Detale o. 2. 3. 2. 48.
Officers for Guard to-morrow L*t Fox and Ens'n Phillips.
L. I. O. Near Fort Montgomery,
Sept. 24th, '79.
Field Officer to-morrow Colo. Butler. Ditto for Picquett this
Night Maj*r Posey. Adjutant to-morrow Benjamine.
As a ship and one or two Galleys with some Boats has ap-
peared in View on the side [of] Dundebarge Point the Gen'l
Wishes Every Officer & Soldier to be attentive to hold them
Selves in Readiness for action in Case any attempt should be
made by the Enemy which is Rather more wished than Ex-
pected.
v^. o. o. ^« 1^ *
Detale i. i. 3. 3. 48.
Officers for guard Capt. Lawson '* & Lt. McDowell.
** Benjamin Lawson, appointed Lieutenant, Third Virginia, March 3.
1778 ; promoted.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 249
L. I. O. Fort Montgomery,
September 26ih, 1779*
Field officer to-morrow. Ditto for Picquett this Night Colo.
Butler, adj't to-morrow Lt Maury.
The Gen*l once more Calls upon the Officers & Soldiers to be
Careful! to have two Day[s] Provisions all Ways by them &
hold themselves in Readiness Ither for marching or Action in a
moments' Warning.
v^. O. O. \^» X .
I. I. 2. 3. 47.
Officer for Guard Lt. Chritenton.
L. I. O. Camp near Fort Montgomery,
Tuesday Sept, 28th, 1779.
Field Officer to-morrow Maj*r Hull. Field Officer for Picquett
this Night Lt. Col. Sill, adj't to-morrow Benjamin.
vx. 0« O. v^. Jl »
Detale i. i. 3. 3. 48.
Officers for Guard lo-morrow Capt. Booker, Lts. Craford &
Coalman.
L. L O. Camp near Fort Montgomery,
September the 29th^ ^779-
Field Officer to-morrow Maj*r Steward. Ditto for Picquett
this Night Lt. Col. Hay.** Adjutant tomorrow Farell.
The Troops are to Parade the day after to-morrow at troop
beating, arms, accoutrements & ammunition in the Best order
Possible with their Packs Slung & two Days Provision, Agreea-
ble to the Standing order when the Strictices Scrutiny will be
made [by] the officers into Every minucia, who will also be
anserable For every Man belonging to their Respective Com-
•• Samuel Hay, Lieutenant Colonel of the Tenth Pennsylvania; trans-
ferred from the Seventh Pennsylvania ; wounded in the thigh at Stony
Point; retired June i, 1781 ; died in December, 1803.
250 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY-
panys. No Excuse can be admited for Doo-attendance, unsol-
dlerly appearance, & in order to Remove Every Pretext for the
latter, the Quarters master will Call on Bffr. Thomas at twelve
O'clock to Day Elach for four pounds Sewing thread and four
hundred needles, and Immediately Distribute them among the
Companies in their Respective R^ments, the Commissary will
Issue Soap and Candles to Each Reg't Except those who have
Drawn out of the ordinary Course, in due proportion.
Vi^* ^» »Jm \^» A •
Detale . i. 3. 2. 49.
Officer for Guard to-morrow Ens'n Phillips.
R O. SepL soih, 777^.
An Immediate Return to be made to the Colo. Egactly Spea-
cifying the Number of affective [men] mentioning only the men
Now belonging to the Corps Exclusith of those gone to the
Hospital as those are soposed to be Retained wanting to Corn-
pleat, Likewise mentioning from what Regiments the Men are to
be Draughted who are to Supply their Places that they may be
Sent for those Barefooted are to be Returned in a Collum by
themselves, it is with astonishment and Sorrow the Colo, observed
that the men Insted of taking Pride in keeping them Selves
Clean & neat are Daily decreasing in the very Necessary Point
appearing on the Parade Durty & Slovenly with their Caps
Laped & Sloughed about their Ears, he therefore Positively
orders the officers whose Duty it is & whose Reputation in a
Create measure Depends on the appearance of their men to
Pay the strictest attention to this Point & not suffer their men to
appear to-morrow or any other time thereafter on Parade in
such an on Soldierly like maner as here to fore, any man of
Fealing must know how Disagreeable it is to a Commanding
officer to Report orders of this Nature & hopes this will be the
Last of the kind he will be under [the] necessity of Issueing.
The Colo. Not being able to Precure Sine {sic\ Shoes for the
Officers that Each Officer Field & Staff
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 251
L. I. O. October 4ihf ^779'
Field Officer Lt. Colo. Sill. Ditto for Picquett the Col. But-
ler ; adjutant Lt. Maury.
C S. s/ P. F.
4. 4. 4. 200.
To Parade Immediately at the Turn of the Road on this side
Harvie Straw Forge all the Guards in frunt to march to Smith's
white house under the Command of the Officer of the Day &
the Remainder of the troops to hold themselves in Readyness
to march at a moment's warning.
C S S C Pr
Detale i. i. i. i. 49.
Officers for Detachm't Captain Booker and Lieut. Coalman.
L. L Orders Near Harve Straw Forge,
Octr. 5, '79.
Field Officer to-morrow Lt. Col. Hay. Ditto for Picquett
this Night, Col. Febiger. Adjutant to-morrow Lt. Thompson.
The Q. Masters are Immediately to heave Vaults Dug one hun-
dred and Fifty Y'ds in Front of the men & one hundred Y*ds
in Rear for the Officers. Any Soldier Violating the Clearly
disposion of the Camp will be Punished with great Severity.
Frequent & Heavy Complaints having been Lodged with the
Gen'l of the Depredations Committed by the Sofdiers, he Calls
on the Officers to exert themselves in detecting Marroditers
[marauders ?] & when they Remember that this Army was
Raised to Protect & not to oppress the Inhabitance, he is sure
that Injuries so Repugnant to Freedom & so contrary to the
Conduct of the Corps will never more be practised. The B. Q.
M. will deliver to the Q. M. of Each Reg*t their proportion ot
the axes.
v^. O. O. \^* X .
Detale o. o. 2. 2, 35.
R.. O. one sub Serg't, Corp*l & 24 Privates to parade to-
morrow morning at Sun Rise as a Fatigue to Clear the Regi-
mental Parade, the officers will Receive his Orders from the
Colo.
252 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
L. I. O., Octobr, 6th, jjyg.
Field Officer to-morrow Maj*r Steward. Adj't to-morrow
Benjamin. The whole Corps to Parade to morrow morninj^ at
Seven O' Clock with their arms. Ammunition & accoutrements
in the Best order. This afternoon they will Improve in Fur-
bishing up their Cioaths so as to make the best & most Soldierly
appearance possible. The officers will be punctual as to the
point of time & be Careful that Every Soldier be present.
\^9 «^« a^a Vi^« X •
t
Detale, i. i. 2. 2. 33.
Officer for Guard Capt. Hudson & Ensign Phillips.
L. I. O. Kahint, Friday Octo'r 8th, ijyg.
Field Officer to-morrow Col. Putnam. Adj*t to morrow Lt.
Maury. Orderly Serg'ts from Colo. Putnams & Butler's
Reg'ts for Light Infantry Head Quarters to-morrow.
S. S. Rank & file.
I. I. 20.
To Parade this Evening at 5 o'clock with two Days Pro-
visions Excusith this Day. He will Receive his Orders from
Maj*r Posey.
C.
s.
s.
c.
p.
Detale,
I.
I.
2.
2.
34-
Detachment,
I.
0.
0.
4.
Officers for Guard Capt. Lawson & Lt. McDowell. Officer
for Detachment Crittenden.
G. O. Light Infantry Katiah. Oct'r gth, 'jg.
Field Officer to-morrow Colo. Megs. •Adj't To-morrow Lt.
Thompson. Orderly Serg'ts from Megs* & Febiger's Reg*ts.
The Officers are to be Particularly attentive to the Cloathing of
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 253
their men & See that their Arms, ammunition & accoutrements
are in Proper Order. The whole Corps to Parade at Eight
O'clock on Monday Morning.
v^. o. o. y.^* X •
Detale, i. o. 2. 2. 34.
Officer for Guard Lieut. Walker.
Light Infantry Headquarters, Katiah,
OcVr II, *7g.
Field officer to-morrow Colo. Febiger. Adj't to-morrow Mr.
Ballard. Orderly Serg'ts from Meges* & Febiger Reg'ts.
Detale,
c.
S. S.
C.
P.
0.
I. 2.
2.
34.
iUt.
Phillips.
Light Infantry Kakeyatte,
ijlh Oct'r, 177 Q^"^
Frequent complaints are made to me that notwithstanding
there are three Women who draw Rations in my Company — the
Men Receive no benefit by Washing from them — for the future,
to prevent complaints of this sort, and the more equitable distri-
bution of the business amongst them. Sergeant Grymes will ime-
diately divide the Company into three Squads as may be most
agreeable to them and give each woman a list of those she is
obliged to wash for — who will deliver her the soap they draw and
pay her the stimulated \_sic] price — except when the soap is not
sufficient & she is obliged to purchase — then they must make a
reasonable allowance — but on no pretence whatever is she on an
average to exceed two Dollars ^ Dozen, the Woman's Just
Accounts shall be punctually paid at the End of every month by
the men except she chus'es to wait Longer. If any of the Women
of my Company are properly convicted of refusing to comply
with this reasonable Order, for the first fault her whole Rations
^ In the autograph of Captain Gamble.
254 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
shall be stopt — & and for the second she shall be dismissed with
disgrace as a useless charge & Expence to the Continent.
L. I. O. KAKiAT^Oc^od*rye i2tk, lyyg.
Field Officer to-morrow Lt. Colo. Fleury, Adj't from Febiger's
Reg*t. Ordily Serg'ts From Putnam* s & Butler's [regiments]
The Broken and Extream Bad Ground heretofore Occupied By
the Light Corps has prevented any manuvers Being practised
By [the] Spirit Laid [down] in the Baron Stuben's Care of Military
Discipline, But having Now taken a position that with a Little
Trouble will admit of performing Most of the Useful manuvers,
1 he Gen*l Desires the Field Officers to Cause the whole to Exercise
in Battalions from Reville untill Seven O'clock Each morning,
the New Guard with their Respective Corps, and from four
O'clock in the afternoon untill Retreat Beating By Regiments,
the Old Guards to fall in with their Respective Corps. The
Gen'l wishes the Officers to attend at present to the manuvers
Contained in * * to Chap'r 14th. inclusive 2. Capts,
2 Sub's, 4 Serg'ts & 30 Rank & File to parade to-morrow morn-
ing with Every Ax & Spade in the Corps which was Collected
by the Respective Q. Masters, this Evening, the Officers will
receive their Orders from Gen'l Wayne. Adjutants of Each
Regiment will furnish Maj'r Fishbourn with a Weekly Return of
their Respective Regiments, they will be accordingly CarefuU in
making their Returns to account for Every man in the Corps as
the Roster Must be form'd from them.
DETALE OF GUARDS
C S S. C P.
Picquett
I. 0. 2. 2. 34.
Fatigue
I. I. I. 12.
L. L O. I5ih October, '79
Field officer to-morrow Maj'r Stewart. Field Officer for Pic-
quett this Night Lt. Col. Sill," Adj't for the Day, Ballard.'*
** David T. Still, Lieutenant-Colonel First Connecticut Regiment,
appointed March 5, 1778.
••Lieutenant William Ballard, of the Virginia line, received March 7,
1782, 2,666^ acres of land for three years* service.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 255
Orderly Sergt's from Meigs and Febiger's Reg'ts. The Loada-
ble [laudable] Emmulation which Prevales Every Brigade &
division in the army ought no where to be so conspicuous as this
Corps which from present appearance May Very soone parade
through Town & Ciltys from which they have been Long
Excluded and Eyes of citizens & Country would be more full
upon the American Light Infantry than any other part of the
army, the Gen*l Cort Doubt but Every Officer without distinc-
tion will Exert himself in Causing his more Immediately to fur-
bish up the Arms & Cloathing in the best and neatest maner
Possible, they have now & opening & Lather [«V] for the pur-
pose, therefore no time or pains will be spared for the whole
Corps to parade the day after to-morrow, the New Guard, with
their Respective Regiments, the officers will concider themselves
anserable for the Soldierly appearance of their men. The Gen'l
observes many of the Soldiers who mount Guard Coming on the
guard with long Beards & unpowdered & others the powder
slovenly put on so therefore Desires the Brigade Maj'r not in
futer to Except [jiV] of any Such for Guard or any march with-
out a bayonet but Immediately put them in & on fatigue or
Camp Duty in Order to prevent the Loss of Bayonets or other
material, the Field [Officer] will once Every day Inspect the
Arms, Ammunition & accutrements of their Respective Battal-
ions & make Camp Coullermda of all such that at present [are]
without Bayonets & Furnish in the directest maner such as may
Loose their Bayonets in futer for that Man who Looses so Cappi-
tal a wepion must be a very worthless & cowardly Soldier who is
Determined to Ju[s]tify his Flight in the face of his Enemy for
the want of the Bayonet. The Troops in futer will manuver But
once a day that is from 4 O'clock till Retreat beating, the Old
Guards will parade with their Respective Companies, the Camp
picquett to assemble on the Grand parade Every night at Retreat
Beating & Receive their Orders from the field officer of the
picquett.
v^* O* O. v.^* X •
Detale, 2. 2. 32
R. O. Kakiat Hights, Oct 17th, 1779.
The Q. Masters is immediately to make application to Brigade
Q. Master for the Deficiencys of Cartridges wanting to Com-
256 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
plete each man with his Rounds. The Commanding Officers of
Companies will Immediately Cause the Axes in their Respective
Companies to be Immediately Ground & put in the best order
possible. Each Orderly Serg't Will make out an Immediate
Return of the Cartridges wanting in There Companies.
L. I. O. Kakiat,
Ocfr i8th^ ^779'
Field Officer to-morrow Colo. Megs. Field Officer for Pic-
quett this Night Maj'r Posey, Adj't Ballard, Orderly Serg'ts
from Colo. Megs & Febiger's Reg'ts.
All the Axes belonging to the Light Infantry are to be Imme-
diately Corlected by the Regimental Q. M., Ground & Repaired
as Quick as Possible.
V«r. O. O. Vx. Jl »
Detale o. o. i. 2. 33.
R. O. Light Infantry,
Oct 22nd,
Gen*l Wayne has observed with Great Concern That the Vir-
ginians are the only troops in the Light Infantry that has not
procured Hair for their Caps. The Colo, is induced to Repeat
the Order for that purpose once more And Directs the Officers
to take the most speedy and Effijctual means to procure that
Article, no officers to Mount Gard or go on the grand parade
Without a Cap, if he has not one of his own, he will [be] kind
a nuff to borrow
Fleury, Lt. Colo.
Commandant ist R, L. L
C. O. 0crr24ih, 1779,*^
Captain Gamble is much pleased that notwithstanding the Sol-
diers had drawn two days rum yesterday, Ensgn. Phillips says
not one of his Company was drunk on the Parade — the Capt.
earnestly wishes this good conduct may continue & would fondly
■ ■ — - — •« :
*® In the autograph of Captain Gamble.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 257
hope it — But as the Commissary will soon have Liquor to Issue
exclusive of what the Virg'a State so Generously has begun to
Supply us with and as it may be most propper to draw several
days at once on account of the distance, Soldiers who are accus-
tomed to get drunk will by this means have it in their power.
But the Captain is determined to suppress a practice distructive
of good order & military discipline and does most peremptorily
declare that the first man of his Company who he may catch Dis-
guised with Liquor either on or off guard shall for the first
offence have his Rum stop*d for two weeks both from the State
& Commissary store, and be denied those privileges of recrea-
tion which a good and orderly Soldier can be occasionally
indulged with — & for the Second Offence shall have added to
this punishment whatever the sentence of a Court Martial may
inflict without favour to any Individual.
L. I. O. Kakiat, October 23rd, 1779.
Field officer to-morrow Maj'r Chapman, For Picquett Maj'r
Posey. Adj't Ballard, Orderly Serg'ts from Megs & Febiger's
Regt's. the troops to parade for Review at ten O'clock to-mor-
row morning, the New Guards with their Respective Regt's &
the orders Respecting the two days Provisions Being all ways on
hand & Ready Cooked Must be Particularly Observed, the
Gen'l has notesed Some Neglect with Regard to the Caps and
Cloaths of part of his Troops which Others have in the Cource
of two or three days after Joining the Corf)s fully Complyed
with, that order he therefore Must Conclude that the omission
presides from inattention or want of meens, the whole Corps to
hold themselves in perfect Readiness to march at a moment's
warning, no Soldier to Leave Camp on pain of Immediate pun-
ishment without a permit from the Commanding Officer of the
Reg't or Battalion to which he belongs & that Indulgence to be
only but upon Very particular occations, the nature of the Service,
situation & Circumstances of the Corps Renders any other mode
very improper, the Disorderly mode of beating the Revalee,
troop & Retreat in this Corps Renders it highly necessary to fix
on some Signal for the whole to beat of together, therefore in
futer the taps to begin on the Right of the First Dawn of day &
17
258 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
to pass to & be ans wared from the left when the whole will b^n
the Ruffle, the same Ruffle to be observed for the troops or
Retreat or any other Beats of the Drum that may be found
necessary.
Detale. 2. 2. 33.
R. O. 2sih October '79, Kakiat.
Court Marshel to Set immediately for the Tryal of the Prison-
ers in the Quarter guard. Regimental Returns for the future to
be made to the Virg*a State Store for the Liquor wich is to be
Drawn for the men, for wich Purpose The Commanding officers
of Companys will make Returns of their Respective Companys
to the Quarter Master. The Q. M. to Digest them into a Regi-
mental return & Singe [sign] it, after Wich it will be Singd by
the Commanding officer of the Redg*t & Sent by a Careful
Serg*t who will Draw the Liquor & Deliver it to the Orderly
Serg'ts of Each Comply or Who Ever the Commanding officer
of Each Company may appoint to the Care of the Liquor, The
Commanding Officer of Each Company will see to have the
Money Collected & Sent by the Serg*t who is to Draw for the
Redg't & will pay Particular Attention that when the Soldiers
draw more than one gill of Liquor a day not to Deliver it to
them only as the Commanding officer of the Company shall
think proper.
T. Posey, Mafr ConCd^g,
R. O. Kakiat, October ye 26th, lyjg,
Serg't Grifee of Capt. Montgomery's Company be appointed
Orderly Serg*t of said Company Vice Serg't Arbright & is to
be Respected and obeyed accordingly, the Commanding offi-
cers of Companies to Make Retturns of their Respective Com-
panies for the Rum to be Drawn from the State Store Agreeably
to the orders of yesterday. At a Court Martial whereof Capt.
Gist was president, Saml Hunt of Capt. Lawson's Comp'y in
the 1st Battalion Light Infantry was tryed for Insolence &
Mutiny, the Court after maturely considering the Evidence
find the Prisoner Guilty of the Charges exhibited against him
and do sentence him to Receive Sixty Lashes. The Command-
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 259
ing Officer Looks upon the Charge to be Crime of the Deepest
Die but it being a Crime which the Prisoner Never had before
been Guilty and the Prisoner always behaving himself as a Good
Soldier, & at the Intercession of a number of Officers the Com-
manding officer Remits the Punishment & orders the prisoner to
be Released from his Confinement.
At a Court Martial whereof Capt. McClelin " was President,
James Black [a] Soldier of Capt. Montgomery's Company of the
2nd Battalion of the First Reg*t of Light Infantry Charged with
Stealing a ham of Bacon, is found Guilty of the Charge Exhi-
bited against him as a breach of Section i8th article 5th of the
articles of War & do sentence him to Receive fifty Lashes on his
Bare back the Commanding Officer approves the sentence &
orders it to be put in Execution at Review beating. Serg't Bal-
lance of Capt. Hudson's Comp'y is appointed, to Do. the Duty
of Q. M. Serg't to the 2nd Battalion of Light Infantry and is to
be Respected accordingly.
Thos. Posey,
Mafr Comdt ist Reg't L, Infantry,
Light Infantry, Perammons, October jrst, 1779.
Field Officer Maj'r Hull. Ditto for Picquett Colo. Butler
Adj*t Lt. Ballard, Orderly Serg'ts from Megs* & Febiger* Reg' is.
Cleanliness being ever conducive to health, the Gen*l wishes the
strictest attention of every officer to this particular Point. The
Q. Masters will be Governed by the Orders of the 5th Inst with
Respect to the Incampment which is to be Read at Retreat
beating. The Whole Corps to Parade at Revally the Day after
to-morrow with two days Provisions, the officers will be account-
able for for Every Man Capable of Duty & will examine the
arms, ammunition, Clothing, and accoutrements of their Respec-
tive Corps to- morrow Evening to the end that every man be in
Readiness at a Moment's warning.
Detale C. S. S. C. P.
Daylyg'd i. 3. 2. 34
ForG'dLt. Walker. «
** Joseph McClellan, appointed Captain Ninth Pennsylvania July 15,
1776 ; transferred to the Second Pennsylvania, Colonel Walter Stewart;
resigned June 10, 1781 ; died October 24, 1834.
** Lieutenant David Walker of the First Virginia Regiment.
260 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
L. I. O. Perammons, 1st November, 777$?.
Field Officer to-morrow Maj*r Stewart; for Picquett Maj*r
Durry, Orderly Serg'ts from Megs* & Butler's Reg'ts.
\^» O* O* V^* A •
Detale i. i. 2. 3. 33.
For G'd Capt. Booker & Lt. Crawford.
L. I. O. November ^ih, 777$?.
Field Officer to morrow Colo. Butler, Ditto for Picquett this
Night Maj'r Posey, Orderly Serg'ts from Colo. Putnam's &
Butler's Reg'ts. Some late Intelligence Renders it necessary
for the Corps to be Prepared to seek or meet the Enemy, the
Gen'l wishes the Officers to make the Strictest Inspection to the
Condition of the ammunition, arms, accoutrements & Clothing
of their Respective Companies that nothing May be Wanting
and Every man in Readiness to act at a moment's warning, the
Commissary will Immediately Send Waggons & Bring the Rum
& other Surplus from the Landing.
A Sub[altern] & 20 men to Parade at 4 o'clock this Evening
as an Escort, he will Receive his orders at the Genl's quarters.
The Troops will Manover from 3 till 4 o' Clock agreeable to a
former order, at ten O'clock the whole troop to Parade the day
after to-morrow, the Field officer will be Furnished with a copy
of the manuver to be Performed. Every Officer & Soldier will
be Present as No excuse will be admitted.
A gill of Rum will be Issued to Each man on Parade after
manuvering is over & to None Elce.
S. C. G'd.
Detale i. 3. 33.
Daily G'd
Detach' t 4.
L. I. O. November ye 6th, 1779, Perammons.
Field Officer to-morrow Colo. Butler, Ditto for Picquett this
Night Colo. Simms" [?] Orderly Serg'ts From Megs' & Febi-
** Charles Simms, appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Second Vir-
ginia July 12, 1777 ; resigned December 9, 1779.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 261
ger's Reg'ts. The Troops Will Leave of Work & Improve
this after Noon in Washing their Lining & Repairing their
Cloathes And Furbishing up their Arms, the Tents are to be
Struck and the Baggage Loaded up at Troop beating, the whole
Will Parade for Inspection at j4 after 8 o' Clock & take their
time of march at 9 o' Clock in the morning. Two Days Provis-
ions to be Drawn & Cooked this Evening, the Old Guards
will Join their Respective Reg'ts at Sunrise. Every Soldier
Capable of Duty to march with the Company. The Q. Mas-
ters will Receive their Orders as Soone as the Bagage is Ready
to move.
Detale C. S. S. C. P.
Daily G'd i. o. 2. 2. 34.
R. Orders, Nov' r ye 7th, 1779*
The tents to be Pitched Immediately & Chimneys Fixt to
them in the Best manner with all Possible Expedition, the Q.
Master will Furnish a waggon Load of Straw which is to be Dis-
tributed to the Companies, a Corp*l & 6 [men] at the Colo,
quarters & i Corp'l & 4 [men] for Camp Q. Guard. The Offi-
cers are enjoined in the strictest maner to Prevent the men from
Destroying the Fencies or any thing belonging to the Inhabi-
tance. No officer nor Soldier to be permitted to go into the
Country unless It is the Officers Waiters for whose Conduct their
Masters will be answerable, without a pass from the Colo, or
Maj'r.
Christian Febiger,
Colo, 1st R, L. L
The Commissary will Immediately engage all the Roots &
Vegetables he can procure for the use of the Troops for which
he will give Beef in barter on Such Days as he supplies them
with Vegetables, he will only Issue ^ lb. Flour p'r Ration with
Full alowance of Beef Salt this being a Mode recommended by
his Excellency Gen*l Washington and excepted by the Army,
the officers & men will be convinced of the Impropriety of
Granting permits to go in quest of Vegetables, a practice of this
kind will have a tendency to forestall the Markets and prevent a
Gen*l Supply. The whole Corps to parade to-morrow Morning
262 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
with their arms, ammanitioii & accatrements in the Best order
& they will Carry no Baggage but their Blankets and one Day's
Provisions, the Officers will be Careful! that Every Man Capa-
ble oflf Doty turn out on the occasion, they very probably will
be all wanting, the additional Camp Guard Dismount this Eve-
ning at Retreat
A Gen'l Court Martial to set this afternoon at i o'Clock for
the Trial of all Such Prisoners as may be Brought before them
all parties and Evidences to have Notes & attend.
Maj'r Posey to preside, three Capts. from Each Reg't Except
Colo. Putnam's who gives four Captains as members at the hour
appointed they will attend at the president's quarter.
\^» ^). O. V.^. X .
Detale. i. 2. 3. 33.
C. M. 3.
Officer fpr guard Lt Phillips.
L. I. O. AcQUACKANUNEH, November ijih, 'yg.
Field Officer to-morrow Colo. Butler, Ditto for picquett this
Night Colo. Putnam. Adjutant, Lt. Hawkins.** Orderly Serg'ts
from Putnam's & Butlers's Reg'ts.
\m^» O. W. \^» X .
Detale. i. 2. 2. 31.
For guard to-morrow Lt. McDowell.
L. Infantry, November 14th, Acquackanuneh.
Field Officer Colo. Febiger, Ditto for Picquett Colo. Megs,
Orderly Serg'ts from Megs' & Febiger' s Reg'ts. For Detach-
ment at 4 o'clock this afternoon Colo. Putnam & Maj'r Stewart,
6 Capts, 6 Sub's 12 Serg'ts, 12 Corp' Is. & 300 Privates with
their arms, accoutrements & ammunition in the best order with
their Blankets and Provisions —
O. O. \mf X .
For to-morrow i. i. i. 20 —
to Mount as Brigade Guard in the Rear of the Brigade & to
**John Hawkins appointed Lieutenant Third Virginia regiment, Sep-
tember II, 1777.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 263
keep Constant Patroles Passing through the whole night on each
Flank & Rear of the incampment. their Duty will be to take
up & secure all Stranglers & Moroaders and unless they have a
Pass Signed by Some Field Officer to be immediately punished
with 50 lashes well laid on their bare backs, those who have
passes as aforesaid are to be kept in Confinement untill the Field
Officer who Signed the same Certifies whether he gave leave of
Absence untill after retreat Beating & if he did not, the Culprit
to receive his punishment. Capt. Van Heir will order his
patrols of Horse to take up & deliver to the Off'r of the afore-
said Guard every soldier they may Meet with out of Camp,
either by Day or Night that has not A proper pass to produce.
The Commissary will furnish Fatt & -Casks to Each Reg't for
the purpose of m^aking Soap. The Q. Master will immediately
Cause the women belonging to Each Company & Batt'n to
attend to this necessary Business. The Troops to manuver reg-
ularly every afternoon from 4 o* Clock till retreat beating at which
time Each officer & Sold'r not on guard or other Duty will
punctually attend the Field Officer or B answerable for Every
Neglect of this Order. Daily Guard Capt. Lawson. For De-
tachment Capt. Shelton, Capt. Montgomery, Lt. Crawford, Lt.
Phillips. Regimental Off* Capt. Gamble.
L. I. O. ACQUAKANONK,
Nov, i6th, 1779.
Field Officer Maj'r Stewart. Do. for picquett Colo. Febiger.
Orderly Serg'ts from Megs' & Febiger' s Regt's.
At a Regimental Court martial held the loth Instant, John
B * * , Christian Williams & Rob't * * belonging to
the artillery *****
264 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
List of Officers on the Establishment of Eight Regiments in
178 1 y with Remarks,*^
FIRST REGIMENT.
Colonel William Davies, Command at Chesterfield.
Lieutenant- Colonel Samuel Hopkins. Prisoner at Charlestown.
Major Thomas Posey, Rendezvous [at] Staunton.
Captains Nathan Reid, Rendezvous New London.
Thomas Thweatt, Prisoner — Not exchanged.
John Overton, Chesterfield.
Thomas Holt, Prisoner Charles Town.
Archibald Denholm, Southern army.
Nathan Terry, Prisoner Charlestown.
Francis Minnis, Prisoner Charlestown.
Joseph Scott, Jr., Chesterfield.
John B. Johnston, Prisoner Charlestown.
Lieutenant Philip Sansum, Southern army.
Thomas Browne, Prisoner Charlestown.
Samuel Hogg, Prisoner Charlestown.
Marks Vandewall, Prisoner Charlestown.
David Walker, Prisoner Charlestown.
Richard Worsham, Prisoner Charlestown.
David Meriwether, Prisoner Charlestown.
Ballard Smith, Southern army.
Samuel Selden, Southern army.
Joseph Conway, Prisoner Charlestown.
Thomas Barfoot, Field Quartermaster, Chesterfield,
Elisha King, Southern army.
Philip Courtney, unknown where.
**This list of officers of Virginia regiments was also supplied by
Dr. Gary B. Gamble, of Baltimore, Maryland, through Hon. Joseph
Addison Waddell. The appended remarks indicate the condition or
locality of the officer. Charlestown or Charles Town are obsolete
modes of rendering Charleston, South Carolina.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 265
Ensigns William P. Quarles, Southern army.
John Scott, New London rendezvous.
John Harris, Chesterfield.
John Carr, unknown where.
Drew, just appointed.
Robert Quarles.
Jordan Harris.
SECOND REGIMENT.
Colonel Christian Febiger, Command at Philadelphia.
Lieutenant Colonel Gus. B. Wallace, Prisoner Charlestown.
Major Smith Sneed,^on furlough.
Captains Robert Higgins, just exchanged — absent.
John Stith, Prisoner Charlestown.
Alexander Parker, Prisoner Charlestown.
Benjamin Taliaferro, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Stokes, Prisoner on parole.
Isaiah Marks, Prisoner on parole.
Colin Cocke, Prisoner Charlestown.
Robert Porterfield, Prisoner Charlestown.
Francis Cowherd, Prisoner Charlestown.
Lieutenants Henry Moss, Prisoner Charlestown.
Beverley Stubblefield, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Jordan, Prisoner Charlestown.
Thomas Parker, Prisoner Charlestown.
James Mayborn, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Crawford, Southern army.
Peter Higgins, Southern army.
Benjamin Lawson, Southern army.
Thomas Miller, Southern army.
William Eskridge, Prisoner Charlestown.
James D. Laplane, Prisoner Charlestown.
Peterfield Archer, Southern army.
George Blackmore, Prisoner Charlestown.
266 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Ensigns John Heth, Prisoner Charlestown.
George A. Washington, Aid to Marquis La Fayette.
John Foster, Southern army.
THIRD REGIMENT.
Colonel George Mathews, Prisoner on parole.
Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Campbell, Southern army.
Major William Croghan, Prisoner on parole.
Captains Will Johnston, Prisoner Charlestown.
Nathaniel Pendleton, Aid to General Greene.
Thomas Edmonds, Southern army.
John Anderson, Southern army.
John Blackwell, Prisoner Charlestown.
W^ill Bentley, Southen army.
Robert Beale, Prisoner Charlestown.
James Wright, Prisoner Charlestown.
Le Roy Edwards, Prisoner Charlestown.
Lieutenants Thomas Warman, on furlough.
Thomas Ransadall, Southern army.
Henry Bedinger, Rendezvous Winchester.
Tim Feely, Prisoner Charlestown.
Beverley Roy, Prisoner Charlestown.
Robert Livingston, Prisoner on parole.
David Miller, Prisoner Charlestown.
Benjamin Ash by, notice by letter.
Reuben Long, Southern army.
Will Stephens, Prisoner Charlestown.
David Williams, Southern army.
John Rooney, Prisoner Charlestown.
Lipscomb Norvell, Prisoner Charlestown.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 267
Ensigns Peyton Powell, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Eustace, Chesterfield.
William McGuire, Southern army.
John Giles, Southern army.
Richard Archer, Chesterfield.
FOURTH REGIMENT.
Colonel John Nevill, Prisoner Charlestown.
Lieutenant- Colonel Richard Campbell, Southern army.
Major William Croghan, Prisoner on parole.
Captains Samuel Finley, just exchanged — Major.
Samuel Booker, Prisoner Charlestown.
Abram Kirkpatrick, Chesterfield.
Lawrence Butler, Prisoner Charlestown.
James Curry, Prisoner Charlestown.
Philip Mallory, Prisoner Charlestown.
Willis Riddick, Prisoner on parole.
James Crane, Chesterfield.
William L. Lovely, sick — absent.
Lieutenants Reuben Fields, Fredericksburg rendezvous.
John Wilson, Southern army.
James Morton, Prisoner Charlestown.
Robert Foster, New London rendezvous.
Philip Easton, Southern army.
James Holt, Prisoner Charlestown.
Luke Cannon, Prisoner Charlestown.
Albridgeton Jones, Southern army.
Philip Huffman, killed — Southern army.
Robert Craddock, Prisoner Charlestown.
Willis Wilson, Prisoner on parole.
Charles Erskine, C. M. S., Chesterfield.
John Crute, Prisoner on parole.
268 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Ensigns Garvin Miller, Prisoner Charlestown.
Robert Hays, Prisoner Charlestown.
William Scott, unknown where.
Archibald Campbell, Southern army.
John Spitzgaddon, Southern army.
Daniel Bedinger, Winchester rendezvous.
FIFTH REGIMENT.
Colonel William Russell, Prisoner on parole.
Lieutenant- Colonel Oliver Towles, Fredericksburg rendezvous.
Major John Willis, on furlough.
Captains Henry Young, absent, just from Charlestown.
Joseph Scott, Jr., Prisoner on parole.
William Rogers, Prisoner on parole.
Thomas Parker, on furlough.
Custis Kendall, Prisoner Charlestown.
Robert Woodson, Prisoner — exchange uncertain.
James Culbertson, Southern army.
Chanes Snead, Prisoner on parole.
Severn Teagle,** Prisoner — exchange uncertain.
Lieutenants Thomas Peyton, on furlough.
Thomas Martin, Rendezvous, Staunton.
Charles Stockley, on furlough.
Nathaniel Darby, on furlough.
Robert Breckinridge, Prisoner Charlestown.
Matthew Clay, Southern Army.
Thomas Coverley, on furlough.
John Robins, sick — absent.
William Robertson, furlough from Colonel Towles.
John Scarborough, exchange uncertain.
^ Probably Teackle.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 269
Lieutenants Benjamin Mosely, Prisoner Charlestown.
Jonathan Smith, just exchanged, Philadelphia.
John Steele, Prisoner Charlestown.
Ensigns Jacob Brown, Prisoner Charlestown.
Archelaus Perkins, Southern army.
Zachariah Tatum, Southern army.
Thomas Seayers,*^ just appointed.
Andrew Hays, just appointed.
Josiah Payne.
SIXTH REGIMENT.
Colonel John Green, Southern army.
Lieutenant- Colonel Samuel Hawes, Southern army.
Major David Stephenson, Prisoner Charlestown.
Captains John Gillison, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Spotswood, Prisoner on parole.
Clough Skelton, Prisoner Charlestown.
Nathan Lam me. Absent — sick.
James Williams, Lately with Southern army.
Mayo Carrington, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Fitzgerald, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Nelson, Prisoner Charlestown.
Thomas Hoard, Prisoner on parole.
Lieutenants Thomas Barber,*® Prisoner Charlestown.
John Townes, Prisoner Charlestown.
Thomas Fox, Prisoner Charlestown.
Joseph Blackwell, Prisoner Charlestown .
James Hamilton, Prisoner Charlestown.
William Evans, Southern army.
*^ In the State list, of those granted bounty lands, Sayers.
<»In the State list, Barb^<?.
270 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Lieutenants Samuel Baskerville, Prisoner Charlestown.
Thomas Pearson, Prisoner on parole.
John Hackley, Southern army.
Nicholas Taliaferro, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Robertson, Prisoner Charlestown.
Charles Jones, Prisoner Charlestown.
William D. O* Kelly, Prisoner Charlestown.
Ensigns William S. Smith, Prisoner Charlestown.
Francis Smith. Southern army.
Edmund Clarke, Prisoner Charlestown.
John W. Ludiman,** Aid to General Washington.
Robert Green. Southern army.
Gabriel Green, gone home.
James Green, gone home.
James Barbour, gone home.
Francis Gray, gone home.
SEVENTH REGIMENT.
Colonel John Gibson, Fort Pitt.
Lieutenant- Colonel Samuel J. Cabell, Prisoner Charlestown,
Major Charles Pelham. Prisoner Charlestown.
Captains Robert Bell, Fort Pitt.
Callohill Minnis, Prisoner Charlestown.
Tarlton Payne, Prisoner Charlestown.
Simon Morgan, Southern army.
Simon Vance, Fort Pitt.
Uriah Springer, Fort Pitt.
Benjamin Biggs, Fort Pitt.
George Barry, Fort Pitt.
Holman Minnis, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Harrison, Fort Pitt.
*• In the State list, William J. Ludiman.
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE. 271
Lieutenants Lewis Thomas, Fort Pitt.
Andrew Lewis, Fort Pitt.
Lawrence Harrison, Fort Pitt.
John Barnes, Southern army.
Matthew Rhea, Southern army.
David Allen, Prisoner Charlestown.
Jacob Springer, Fort Pitt.
Henry Dawson, Fort Pitt.
John Beck, Fort Pitt.
Jacob Coleman, Fort Pitt.
Robert Rankin, Prisoner Charlestown.
Philip Clayton, Prisoner Charlestown.
Ensigns Spencer Morgan, where unknown.
John Mills, Fort Pitt.
Jacob Winlock, Fort Pitt.
Josiah Tannehill, Fort Pitt.
William Connor, Fort Pitt.
John Gibson, Fort Pitt.
John Trabue.
Henry Hughes.
EIGHTH REGIMENT.
Colonel James Wood, Com. Charlottesville.
Lieutenant- Colonel Jonathan Clarke, Prisoner on parole.
Major John Poulson.
Captains Andrew Wallace, Killed King's Mountain.
Thomas Boyer, Killed King's Mountain.
Robert Gamble, Chesterfield.
Thomas Buckner, Prisoner Charlestown.
Presley Nevill, Prisoner on parole.
Abraham Hite, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Clarke, Prisoner Qharlestown.
William White, Prisoner Charlestown.
Joseph Swearingen, Prisoner Charlestown.
2(2 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Lieutenants Captain Conway Oldham, Southern army, promoled,
Ivice] Wallace killed.
Sigismund Stribling, killed.
Hezekiah Morton, killed.
Robert White, furlough,
John McDowell, Southern army.
Albert Russell, Southern army.
William Porter, Prisoner Charlestown.
Richard Starke, Prisoner Charlestown.
Robert Jo net. Southern army.
John While, Prisoner Charlestown.
John Bowen, Prisoner on parole.
Henry Bowyer, Southern army.
William Bay lis, absent.
Ensis^ns Thomas Wallace, Prisoner Charlestown.
Isaac Hite; aid to General Muh'g."
George Hite, Southern army.
William Ball, resigned.
Daniel Ball, Southern army.
Thweatt.
Bay lis.
"The abbreviation was probably intended for Muhlenbui^.
ERRATA.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER.
Page 276. The author is in error in stating that the first John
Cropper who emigrated to Virginia, and married Gertrude Bow-
man, was a Scotchman. He was an Englishman^ and represen-
tatives of the same family now live in Lancashire. One of this
family married a sister of Lord Macaulay.
Page 313. The badge of the Cincinnati alluded to as in the
possession of Mr. John Cropper, the grandson of General Crop-
per, did not descend to him from the latter, who, with a majority
of the original members, had not one. In fact they were made in
France and but few comparatively brought to America. This
badge was purchased by Mr. John Cropper, when he became a
member of the Cincinnati, as his grandfather's representative.
Mr. Cropper now has General Cropper's diploma, also the Journal,
quoted in this sketch, the sword, cannon, portrait, and other relics
of his grandfather mentioned.
Page 314. "Bowman's Folly" became the property of Mr.
John Cropper a year or two ago, but in 1870 had passed into the
hands of the Browne, and, later, the Gibb family, descendants
of General Cropper.
MBMOIR
OF
GENERAL JOHN CROPPER
OF
ACCOMACK COUNTY. VIRGINIA,
BY
BARTON HAXALL WISE.
18
MEMOIR OF
GENERAL JOHN CROPPER,
OF
ACCOMACK COUNTY, VIRGINIA.
Across the Chesapeake, from the mainland of Virginia, a nar-
row peninsula runs southward from the Maryland boundary to
Cape Charles. Though separated from the rest of the State by
the width of the bay, the Eastern Shore of Virginia has always
belonged to it, and the people that inhabit the counties of Acco-
mack and Northampton have been from the first, distinctively
Virginian in their customs and sentiments. This region was
originally called "Accowmake," or " Accawmacke," after the
Indian chief who ruled there ; and in the year 1634, when Vir-
ginia was divided into eight shires, this territory formed one of
them, to which the name Accomack was given. On account of
its detached position, the old grants and orders of the king were
addressed to his " faithful subjects in ye Colonic of Virginiae,
and ye Kingdom of Accawmacke."
This name was changed to Northampton in 1642 through the
influence of Colonel Obedience Robins. Later on, in 1662, the
Eastern Shore was divided into two counties, the lower retain-
ing the name Northampton, and the upper one being called
276 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Accomack, from the old Indian name. Among the early immi-
grants to the latter county was Edmund Bowman, an English
gentleman, who was granted an estate upon Folly creek, which
received the name of " Bowman's Folly."
Bowman was a man of wealth and position ; a justice of the
peace in 1663, a sheriff, burgess« and had in addition, successively,
the military tides of Captain and Major. He had two daughters,
one of whom became the wife of Colonel Southey Littleton, and
the other, Gertrude, married John Cropper, a young Scotchman,
who had come to the colony. The family estate was left to Mrs.
Cropper (who, after the death of her husband, married Daniel
Esham); and from her it descended to her son, Sebastian Cropper.
Sebastian Cropper married Rachel Parker, daughter of Peter
Parker, and had a son. Bowman Cropper, who inherited the
estate. Bowman Cropper married, and the property passed to
his son, Sebastian Cropper, Jr. Sebastian, Jr., married Sabra*
Corbin, the daughter of Colonel Coventon Corbin and Barbara
his wife, of Chincoteague farm,, and their son was John Cropper,
the subject of this sketch. He was born at " Bowman's Folly"
on the 23d of December, 1755, and his early years were passed
at the old family homestead. In the month of March, 1775, the
Second Virginia Convention met in St. John's church, Rich-
mond, and authorized the organizing of independent companies
in each county, as the initial provision for the general defence,
to consist of one or more companies of infantry and horse, to be
in training and ready to act on a short notice; from which fact
they were called " minute men. ' ' Throughout the remainder of
that year the Virginia people proceeded to arm themselves in
anticipation of the coming conflict, and the first company raised
in Accomack chose John Cropper, then a boy of nineteen, as its
captain. On the 5th of February, 1776, shortly after attaining
hb twentieth birthday, he received his commission, signed by the
Committee of Safety for the Colony,^ and his company was
attached to the Ninth Virginia regiment on the Continental
establishment, of which Thomas Fleming was the colonel,
George Matthews the lieutenant-colonel, and John Seayers
major. This regiment was made up of five companies from
^ Calendar of Virginia State Papers ^ Vol. I, p. 271.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 277
Accomack, two from Northampton, and three from the Western
Shore of Virginia.' In the autumn of 1776 they marched from
Accomack to the north to join the army at Morristown, New
Jersey. The year 1776 proved an eventful one for the boy-cap-
tain, the subject of our sketch. In August of this year he was
married to Margaret Pettitt. commonly called Peggy, at the house
of Mr. George Abbot, where she resided, being an orphan at the
time, Rev. William Vere, the Episcopal minister in the county,
officiating. Shortly after this his father, Sebastian Cropper, Jr.,
who had been made a major by the Committee of Safety, died
suddenly, and just before the departure of our hero for the army,
his mother, Sabra Cropper, had died in his arms. In the month
of December he took leave of his young wife, then in a delicate
condition, and, at the head of his company, marched from home,
in the Ninth Virginia, to join General Washington. On the
* march northward the colonel, Thomas Fleming, died, the lieu-
tenant-colonel, George Mathews, succeeding to his position, and
the major, Seayers, becoming lieu tenant- colonel, the office of
major became vacated.
There were three captains from Accomack, John Cropper,
Levin Joynes and Thomas Snead, who though young men, were
the seniors in point of service, and each of whom aspired to the
majority, and were recommended to the commander in chief by
their different friends. The adopted rule of promotion was that
each subaltern must rise to the rank of captain in his own regi-
ment, but above the grade of captain they were entitled to pro-
motion according to seniority in any regiment of the line of the
State to which they belonged. When the Ninth regiment finally
reached headquarters there were three vacancies for major in the
Virginia line in the Fifth, Seventh and Ninth regiments; and
Captains Cropper, Joynes and Snead were each entitled to pro-
motion. General Washington' decided that as their commis-
sions as captains all bore date on the same day, they were to take
rank as amongst themselves according to the time their respec-
tive companies were first mustered into service. According to
'Sketch of Thomas R. Joynes by Dr. Levin S. Joynes, p. 3.
'Letter of Thomas R. Joynes to Governor H. A. Wise, Southern
Literary Messenger^ June, 1857.
278 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
this grade they were to fill the vacancies. By this rule, Cropper,
who had raised the first company in his portion of the State,
ranked first, Joynes next, and Snead third.
On January 4th, 1777, Cropper was commissioned* major of
the Seventh Virginia, by Congress, and his commission signed
by John Hancock, the president of that body.
Joynes became major of the Ninth, and Snead also was pro-
moted. The vacant captain's commissions were filled by Hen-
derson, Morris and Oldham. Shortly after his arrival in the
north. Cropper wrote to his wife in a letter dated Philadelphia,
January 12th, 1777 :
" Dear Peggy :
This Day I am leaving Philadelphia with the Regiment to go to
Camp. Last night we heard the king's seventh regiment was intirely
taken. To Day we hear by a Major who comes from Camp that there
has been a great Battle in the Jersys, and that Howe's army is half
taken Prisoners and kill'd. Soldiers are flocking from every part, which
I hope will put an End to the War this Winter, if our People behave as
well as they have. Within three Weeks two thousand Hessians and
Englishmen have been brought to this City. Inclosed I send you a
Saturday's Paper. Give my love to all Relations and Compliments to
Friends, and write by the first opportunity direct your Letters to be left
at the , in Philadelphia, and I shall get them. I expect to be home
in about 3 Months, beg Mr. Abbot to write to me. Our Soldiers
are all dressed in Regimentals at the Expense of the Continent, and
have received all their Wages. God bless You and my Brothers.
I am your most Affectionate Husband where ever I goe,
John Cropper."
Cropper fought under Washington as a major at Brandy wine
and Germantown, and as lieutenant-colonel commanding the
Eleventh Virginia (Daniel Morgan's regiment) at Monmouth, in
June, 1778, and became devotedly attached to the commander-in-
chief, whose friendship and confidence he enjoyed till the day of
Washington's death.
At the battle of Brandy wine, in September, 1777, the Seventh
Virginia was almost cut to pieces. In this fight the command of
the regiment had devolved upon Cropper ; the action was long
and bloody, and when the American army was ordered to retreat
^ State Papers, Vol. I, p. 275.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 279
Cropper's regiment could not muster over two hundred men,
and these were so worn out and exhausted as to be scarcely able
to withdraw from the field, Cropper himself being wounded in
the thigh by a bayonet thrust.
They took shelter in a piece of woods near by, which had been
newly cut down, and shortly before daybreak Cropper marched
them off the field.
The ensign had been killed in the fight and the colors cap-
tured. Cropper drew a ramrod from a musket, and tied his red
bandana handkerchief to the end and hoisted it for a fiag.^ They
marched to Chester, and on Chester bridge met Generals Wash-
ington and Woodford. Woodford recognizing Cropper, alighted
from his horse, and pressing him to his bosom said " the boy we
thought lost is found,'* and Washington publicly commended
him for his gallantry. Cropper served in nearly all the leading
engagements in the north, and was with the Virginia troops during
the long and bleak winter at Valley Forge. In April, 1778, he
was ordered by La Fayette to command the Eleventh Virginia
regiment, Woodford's Brigade, Lafayette's Division; the origi-
nal autograph of this order is now in the possession of John S.
Wise, a descendant of Colonel Cropper. This was Daniel
Morgan's regiment of riflemen, Morgan himself being absent
at the time. The roll of officers at White Plains in September,
1778, gives Morgan as Colonel; Cropper, Lieutenant-Colonel^
and Thomas Posey, Major.
Among the captains was John Marshall, afterwards the Chief
Justice of the United States.
This regiment was composed in part of the Culpeper Minute
Men, troops from other portions of Virginia, and subsequently
from other States.
The Culpeper Minute Men had been early organized after the
breaking out of the war in 1775. As they marched from their
home to Williamsburg they are said to have terrified the coun-
try people as they passed along, by their warlike appearance.
They were clad in green hunting shirts with the words " Liberty
or Death" in large white letters across the breast, and in their
hats wore buck-tails, while tomahawks and scalping-knives were
* CusHs^s Recollections of Washington^ p. 170.
280 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Stuck in their belts. Their flag was not less unusual in appear-
ance than their uniforms, it being designed with a rattlesnake in
the centre, the head of which was to represent Virginia, and
twelve rattle? the other Colonies, and over this was inscribed :
** Don't tread on me.*' Among their officers who marched with
the corps as they left home were General Edward Stevens and
Lieutenant John Marshall, afterwards the Chief Justice. John
Randolph, "of Roanoke,'* said of them in the United States
Senate: "They were raised in a minute, armed in a minute,
fought in a minute, and vanquished in a minute."
Daniel Morgan, the colonel of the Eleventh Virginia regiment
of riflemen, was over six feet in height, a man of unusually
handsome and commanding presence, and of remarkable
strength and endurance. A native of New Jersey, he had in
his eighteenth year removed to Charlestown, Jefferson county,
Virginia, and his military career was begun as a teamster under
Braddock. One of the stories we have of his early career was a
punishment inflicted upon him of five hundred lashes for knock-
ing down a British lieutenant, who had struck him with the flat
of his sword. He was made an ensign by Governor Dinwiddie,
and figured in perilous encounters with the Indians. Later, in
1762, he received a grant of land near Winchester, where he
made his home, calling it *' Soldier's Rest," and thenceforth
devoting his time to farming and stock-raising. In 1775, when
Congress called for ten companies of riflemen, Morgan was chosen
captain of a Virginia company, and in the summer of that year
took part in Arnold's march through the wilderness of Maine
against Quebec.
On the night of December 31st, 1775, the troops made a des-
perate assault upon the fortress, in which Montgomery met his
death, and Arnold was severely wounded in the leg.
Arnold was one of the bravest of the brave. Some time after
his desertion from the American army an armistice was signed,
and in company with several British officers he was met by some
American officers, who had advanced between the two camps.
Arnold perceiving that his former friends were displeased at his
presence, remarked that he was surprised at this, for though he
was then fighting against them he had lost a leg in the American
service. Upon this, one of the Americans replied : " We remem-
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 281
ber it quite well, and if ever you fall into our hands your wooden
leg shall be deposited in the Capital to remind our descendants
of the heroic courage you displayed when fighting for the inde-
pendence of your country, after which we shall hang the remain-
der of you on a gallows as a warning to traitors." (^Memoirs of
the Baron de Marbot, Vol. II, p. 436).
Morgan, who had stormed the battery opposite him, fought
his way into the city, where he was surrounded and taken pris-
oner. The following summer Carleton released him on parole,
and he returned to Virginia. Congress, at Washington's
request, made him a colonel, and early in 1777, having been
exchanged in due form, he recruited a regiment of riflemen and
joined Washington at Morristown. In the campaign against
Howe his services in reconnoitering were of great value, and
later, under Gates at Stillwater and Bemis Heights his picked rifle-
men bore a conspicuous part. After the surrender at Saratoga,
Burgoyne, who was introduced to Morgan, said to him: "Sir,
you command the finest regiment in the world.*' In November
of this year, Morgan rejoined Washington at Whitemarsh, near
Philadelphia. To give his career is almost to write the history
of the war, for he figured gallantly in nearly every great fight in
the Northern and Southern campaigns, and when, after the Revo-
lution, blanks ^yere sent out to the surviving officers with the
request that they fill them up in order to ascertain the time and
places of their service, Morgan wrote on his blank simply :
** Fought everywhere; surrendered nowhere."
Thomas Posey, the major of the Eleventh, was a gallant Vir-
ginian, and the fit associate of Morgan and Cropper in the com-
mand of the regiment. He had served in Andrew Lewis'
division of Dunmore's army, and taken part in the fight at Point
Pleasant. He had entered* the Revolution as captain in the
Seventh Virginia Continental line, and joined the army at Mid-
dlebrook early in 1777. He served in various commands, and
after the war became distinguished as an itinerant politician,
being at one time a member of the State Senate in Kentucky, at
another a resident of Louisiana, and United States Senator from
that State ; and again, at a later period, a governor of the Ter-
ritory of Indiana, finally ending his career as an Indian agent in
Illinois. The list of captains contained the names of Gabriel
282 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Long, Peter B. Bruin, Charles Porterfield, William Johnston,
John Marshall and Jesse Davis.
The captain-lieutenant was Philip Slaughter, who also ren-
dered efficient service as paymaster and clothier, though
from all accounts his duties in the latter position were not
onerous.
Some amusing stories are told of Slaughter, and among others,
it is related * that from his spirit of generosity he had, like a
number of other officers, given all of his spare clothes to the pri-
vates, who were half-clad and miserable, so that while in Valley
Forge camp he was reduced to one shirt only. While this one
was in wash he would go wrapped in his blanket like an Indian
brave ; but determining to make the best use of this single gar-
ment he cut out a piece of the bosom, with which he made a col-
lar and cuffs, so that when on parade he was able to present a
dapper appearance. During this dreary winter the army dragged
out a miserable existence, being wretchedly clad and fed. The
Virginia troops were camped on a hill, almost opposite Washing-
ton's headquarters, back from the river. General Washington
would invite the officers, by turns, to dine with him, from which
many of them were deterred from not being presentably clad.
Slaughter never failed to be present when opportunity offered,
his collars and cuffs being en regie ^ and declared that his regi-
ment might have the satisfaction of feeling they were repre-
sented. The drooping spirits of the weary soldiers must have
been greatly revived when the spring came again, and when, in
May, the news of the alliance with France was promulgated in
camp.
The troops were drawn up in line, and the men placed in
specified positions, to fire a salute with muskets and cannon.
They fired from right to left, huzzafng " Long live the King of
France." Then from left to right, and " Three cheers for the
Dauphin.** Then another three cheers for the "Independence
of the American Colonies,** and then it was ordered that full
rations of rum be furnished the men, and they drink the health
of the King of France, to which they added, '* and to our com-
manding General.**
• Howe's Historical Collections of Virginia ^ p. 238.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 283
During this period Cropper's name often appears as officer of
the day, and upon one occasion we find him the president of a
court-martial held to try a Virginia officer for gaming. Wash-
ington at times issued orders forbidding gambhng in camp, and
yet one of these he closed singularly with a mention of the fact
that a few tickets in the Continental Lottery were still for sale,
and could be obtained upon application at headquarters.
At the battle of Monmouth, Morgan was not present, and
Cropper, as lieutenant- colonel, was at the head of the Eleventh,
and his men fought throughout that hot and sultry June day,
when the American troops suffered so for water that many died
from thirst, and when Washington, losing his temper, swore,
according to a gallant officer, " like an angel " at General
Charles Lee.
On the morning after the retreat of the British, the Virginia
riflemen followed on the trail of the enemy, making a number of
captures, and among other things the coach of a general officer.''
In the fall of 1778, having been absent from home several
years, and being anxious to see his wife, as well as look after his
private interests. Cropper applied for and received a furlough of
one hundred and ninety days for that purpose.
On his return to Accomack, he saw for the first time his infant
daughter, Sarah Corbin, who had been born several months after
his departure for the north, and who was more than eighteen
months old when he first beheld her. He was not, however,
destined, as subsequent events showed, to gain a rest from his
duties as a soldier, by his return to "Bowman's Folly.*' The
counties of Accomack and Northampton were peculiarly ex-
posed throughout the Revolution to the ravages of the enemy,
with whom there were a large number of tories in sympathy.
The Eastern Shore is intersected on the Chesapeake and the
Atlantic side by navigable creeks, which are in reality mere arms
of the sea. By way of these the British could sail up, to the
very door of the farmer in many instances, and the militia in
consequence were called upon frequently to protect the people
from the enemy, who ruthlessly burnt their houses, after robbing
them of their contents, taking away the live stock, and in
addition carrying off the negro slaves of the planters, and
^ Recollections of G. W, P. Cnsiis, p. 226.
284 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
endeavoring to incite them to insurrection. Cropper's diary for
the year 1779 *s in the possession of the writer, and the entries
contained in it exhibit the exposed condition of the Accomack
people and the numerous conflicts they had with the enemy.
However, despite the trying ordeals to which they were sub-
jected, he and his wife appear to have dined out frequently, and
enjoyed social intercourse with their neighbors. The following
items are copied as they appear in the original:
January isiy 1779 — ** Pretty day. Wm. Pettit and myself
divided our negroes.*' (This Pettit was his wife's brother.)
2d — " Peggy and I went from Mr. Wilkin's to Accomac Court-
house. I bought old Jacob, and hired three of my brother
Tom's negro's."
d/^— " Tory Tom Parker had his trial, and was sentenced to go
over to Gen'l Court for further trial."
iSth--'' Nihil r
Sunday, 17th — ** Deep snow on the earth. I went down the
Creek to see in what situation Major Simpson's boat lay in the
marsh.
A British Cruiser that came within the inlet last ev'ning for a
harbor, sent her boat up to Folly landing this ev'ning to cut out
and destroy what vessels they cou'd, — but she failed in her
attempt."
2 1st — " I wrote a cover to Mr. Lyon, enclosing a letter each to
Col. Morgan, Capt. Slaughter, and Lieut. Barnes at Camp; dated
November (I think)."
2sd — '*Went to Court-house — Col. Simpson, ibi^ and prom-
ised me some muskets for my defence. "
On February the 12th, 1779, we find the following : ** R — A.
M. F P. M. A motley crew of pirates, in the service of Britain,
belonging to the Thistle Tender, a Bermudian built sloop com-
manded by an infamous tar, Capt. Thomas Byron Williams,
(the surgeons name Gramble) came up and beset my house, and
then plundered, pillaged and broke to pieces my property, as
well as insult and savagely threaten my wife. ' '
Upon this occasion Cropper had quite a perilous adventure
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 285
with the enemy. The account given by him here is but a brief
mention of what in reality took place. It seems that the British
belonging to the Thistle Tender had entered into an agreement
with a tory named Dunton to pilot them to " Bowman's Folly.*'
In the dead of night they rowed up Folly creek with muffled
oars to within a short distance of the house, and before Cropper
was aware of what was taking place they had completely sur-
rounded his house, and rushing in the hallway knocked upon
his chamber door. Before he could scarcely put on his under-
clothes they broke in and seized him, and pulled the cover off
the bed, where his wife and infant daughter were lying. They
immediately proceeded to destroy the furniture and pocket the
family jewels and whatever valuables they could put their hands
on, and getting into the wine cellar they began to drink freely of
the wines and liquor contained in it, so that in a short while a
number of them were uproarious. Cropper himself meanwhile
was in a room, the doorway of which was guarded by two men
with muskets in their hands. Stealthily raising the latch, he
leaped over the heads of the men, who were partially stupefied
with drink, and before they were aware of what he was attempt-
ing, he had gotten away in the darkness. He ran two miles in
his underclothes to the house of a neighbor, who was a soldier
of the war, whom he persuaded to arm and come with him.
They loaded three old Tower muskets and made their way as
rapidly as they could to Cropper's house. When in sight of
the dwelling Cropper's friend became alarmed at the noise and
sight of so many lights, and dropping his gun took to his heels.
Cropper picked up this gun, and with the two stole up to
the house, and firing them off in quick succession, cried out at
the top of his voice, " Come on, boys, we have got them now."
This ruse proved successful, for it surprised the British so they
fled as rapidly as they could to their boats near by, and rowed
out of the creek.
Cropper got back just in time, for at the moment he had
appeared in sight of the house his wife with her infant daughter,
Sarah Corbin, had been removed to an out-house, and a train of
powder was being laid to blow up the main dwelling. Thus he
was able to save the house, but the enemy had broken up his
furniture and crockery, besides defacing the house in various
286 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ways, and had bound and carried to their boats about thirty of
his slaves. As a matter of course the affair of this night greatly
upset his wife, and intensified his hatred of the British.
February ijthy he writes : " A number of the militia came to
my house.**
A few days later his diary mentions that Peggy and himself
had removed to ** Latin House.** This was a place owned by
Colonel Cropper, much nearer the court-house, and to which
he probably went for greater safety, fearing at " Bowman* s Folly "
another such attack as that on the night of the 12th.
Tuesday, February 23d — ** Went to Court Caned Wm Dun-
ton and John Kellam. * *
Wednesday y 24ih — " Plan*d an expedition to Cedar Island to
intercept Capt. Thos. Byron Williams sloop Tender, and a small
schooner of which R. Morris was Lieutenant. **
The next entry is Friday, the 26th, when he says: " About 8
o* clock I landed a brass four pound gun on the N. end of the
island, and proceeded with all possible expedition to the S. end;
when I came there, after reconnoitering the point, and finding it
to deceive my expectations in ev'ry respect, a gust of rain com-
ing up, my small company of militia, (at first but 35) continually
deserting; want of provision, water, and excessive fatigue,
having worn out the rest, I determined to withdraw the gun as
far as possible, which was about one mile, left her there under
the care of Major Simpson, and went off to the main almost
dead wt. fatigue.**
Saturday y February 2yth — " I am almost dead with fatigue.
At ten o'clock P. M., Col Parker came to the Latin House, and
informed that Col. Corbin had landed a four pound iron gun on
Parramore's Beach, and was endeavoring to prevent the going
out of the tenders.
**I collected my neighbors and went on to Cedar Island with
a four pound iron gun.**
Sunday, 28ik — "3 o'clock the tenders made sail and engaged
the fort on the beach, and passed out after an obstinate struggle,
one of them having her hull and rigging torn to pieces.**
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 287
He had been successful in being revenged on his enemies, for
the privateer after passing out of the inlet, though her pumps
were constantly going, was yet in a sinking condition, and the
Accomackians as they stood on the shore, saw her sink with all
hands on board.
Saturday t March ijih—^* I set off to go to muster, but played
billiards all day with Messrs. Isaac and Thorowday Smith."
Saturday, 20th — " Went to Edmund Custis's at Onancock to
go over the bay.*'
Sunday, 21st — " Edmund Custis and I crossed the bay, and
lodged at Isaac Lanes' on Piankatank."
Monday, 22d — " Rainy, dirty forenoon. We sailed from Pian-
katank, and lay in the bay all night."
Tuesday, 2jd — " Landed at York, dined at Mrs. Gibbons, and
supped in company with Mr. Henry."
Wednesday, 24th — " Mr. Custis and I went to Wmsburg.
Very cold day. Lodged @ y' Raleigh."
Friday, 26th — " I got a warrant from the Treasury for money
due me from the State."
Saturday, 27ih—'^^r. Custis and I rode from Wmsburg to
York in a chariot of his upon our way home. Embarked about
8 o'clock P. M. on board Wm. Walkers boat, in company with
himself, & Mr. Ker, for the E, S."
Sunday, 28th — " Clear and pretty breeze. We landed at Pun-
goteague, and dined at Mr. Tho'd. Smith in camp with several
ladies, and gentlemen. I went home to * Latin House.* "
On March 20th, while in Accomack, Colonel Cropper's com-
mission as lieutenant-colonel of the Seventh Virginia regiment,
Continental line, to take rank from October 27, 1779, was signed
by John Jay, president of Congress.
Saturday, 24lh April, — he writes, ** Peggy and I returned to
Bowman's Folly to live, the gaily diligence Captain Watson hav-
ing arrived in Metompkin for the place's protection."
288 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
On the same date, 24th of April, 1779, Gen. Woodford wrote*
to Col. Cropper from Middle Brook :
«
Dear Colonel:
Yours of the ist of March was only delivered me a few days ago.
I am truly sorry for your Loss and could wish you had muster*d a few of
your neighbors in time to attack those plunderers — if a single muster
could effect so much, what might not been expected from a dozen hearty
fellows — I immediately waited upon his Excellency, who was touched
with your misfortune, and desired that I would write you that had per-
mission to be absent till the first of June, but hopes you will then
returned prepared to resume your office in the army ; let me add my
wishes that this may be the case. You know our Line is considerably
thin'd of some of its best Field officers — and I mean not to flatter when
I say your loss will be materially felt — even should your affairs require
a months longer absence. I have no doubt upon your writing, our good
Genl. would still prolong you indulgence.
With my compliments to Mrs. Cropper, believe me to be with much
esteem,
Dr. Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant,
Wm. Woodford."
Lieut, Col. John Cropper ^ Accomack County ^ 6f etc.
Diary continued — May 3rd — ** Yesterday a schooner with
90 Hds. of rum, Capt. Mosely arrived here from St. Ustatia —
To- day another schooner boat with 40 hds. of rum, Capt. Dil-
lingham, arrived from the same place. Sunday, May 9th, he was
at Bellhaven in the lower part of the County, & Wrote * Very
heavy cannonade this morning towards York.* '*
Saturday, igth — " Capt. Kendall and brother and Col. Corbin
met me at Court-house about the deserters of 9th Virg. Regt.,
and went home with me.**
Tuesday, 2§th — "Court. Alarm of a Tender coming into
Onancock.**
Monday, 31st — ** Rainy day. I went to Smith Melson*s, and
purchased of him 1,000 lbs. of tobacco at 12;^.*'
Thursday, June 3rd'—*^ P^g&y and I dined on board the dili-
gence galley.* *
* State Papers, Vol. I, p. 317.
• MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 289
Most of the entries throughout this month are concerning
visits to his neighbors, or of them to him, a very constant
social intercourse appearing to have been kept up.
Monday, I4ik — " Sent Jno. Abot again to Mr. Ker's to borrow
money. I dined on board the diligence galley. Maj'r Custis
had a cock fight at Folly landing.**
Wednesday y joth — "Borrowed pr. my overseer i,ooo pounds
of Mr. Edw'd Ker, in loan office certificates."
Sunday, ^ih July — " Anniversary of Independency. An eli-
gant ball at the courthouse to-morrow evening.**
Monday, §th — **An eligant ball and entertainment at court-
house.**
Soon after this date Colonel Cropper*s furlough was to expire,
and we find him making his way on horseback to army head-
quarters in the north, and sending in his resignation to John
Jay, president of Congress, at Philadelphia.
Friday, i6th — He writes: "Peggy and I set off for camp.
Went to Mr. Abbot's.**
There is no mention of his wife after this, and it is probable
she only drove with him as far as Mr. Abbot* s, at whose house
she probably remained after taking leave of him, she having
resided there before her marriage. The diary continues :
Saturday, lyth — "I went to Horn Town. Stayed a. n. wt.
Uncle Corbin. Wm. and Polly Broadwater stayed ibiy
Sunday, iSth — " I lodged at Branten*s, 22 miles above Snow-
hill.**
Monday, igth — " Lodged at Evan*s, 8 miles beyond Clower*s.**
Tuesday, 20th — " Breakfasted at Mrs. Peterkin*s, dined at
Dover, and lodged at Cross-roads.**
Wednesday, 21st — " Breakfasted at CantwelFs Bridge, dined at
Red Lyon, and lodged at Wilmington wt. Mr. Edmund Randolph,
delegate from Virginia to Congress, together with several offi-
cers of horse.**
Thursday, 22d — " Mr. Randolph and myself breakfasted at
Chester, and dined in Philada. I took my lodging at Mrs.
Swords, in Lodge alley.**
Friday, 2sd — "The gentlemen of my lodgings are Doct*r
Shields, a gentleman just from Ireland with a large quantity o
19
290 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
goods ; Mr. Curson, a St. Eustatia merchant, and a Monsieur
De Luce, a French gentleman.'*
Wednesday y 28th — ** I set off for camp — ^lodged at Vande-
grift's, Shammeny Ferry."
Thursday y 2gth — ** Breakfasted at Trenton, dined at Trenton,
and lodged at Skilmans, beyond Rocky Hill."
Friday y joth — * * Passed the village of Sommerset. Dined at
, at Col. McDaniels, with Doctr*s Smith, Jenipher and
Tennant."
Saturday y jist — ** Got into Morris Town about 11 o'clock;
stay'd a. d. to rest my horse; dined with Mrs. Kemper, and
lodg'd at Mrs. Norris's."
Sunday, August ist, ijjg — " I set off from Morris Town for
camp."
Monday, 2d — "Arrived at the Virginia camp, a place called
Suffering's. The troops are healthy and in high spirits, and are
commanded by Lord Stirling. Drank tea wt. Gen. Woodford."
Tuesday y 3^ — " Nothing. Only I dined wt. Major Porter-
field upon fish at Gen. Woodford's qrs."
Wednesday, 4th — " Dined with Lord Stirling. Doc't McHenry,
his Excellency's Secy, there."
Thursday y 5 — " Good day. I dined with General Woodford."
Friday y 6th — **Capt Shepherd and myself set off for H'd
Quarters. Had a most fatiguing journey over the mountains
and rocks to New Windsor, and a tedious rainy passage down
the river to the Light Infantry. We passed H'd Quarters and
West Point, and arrived at the Light Infantry about one o'clock.
We lodged with Ensign Linot in a thin tent that let through the
rain and made it very uncomfortable."
Saturdayy yth — **Capt. Shepherd and myself dined at H'd
Quarters and lodged at N. Windsor, in company wt. Capt.
Ebenezer Finly."
Sunday, 8th— ^* I set off for camp, and fell in wt. Major
Forsyth and a Virginia gentleman two miles below N. Windsor,
on their way to join Major Lee at Paramus."
Monday ygth — "Stay'd all day wt. Lord Stirling's division.
Din'd with Gen'l Woodford."
Tuesday y loth — **I set off for Philadelphia— lodged at Mr.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 291
VanCortlands at penny, four miles from Morristown. Was
very agreeably entertained in company with Governor Living-
ston's son."
Wednesday y nth — "Went to Morristown. Stayed all day
(being kept by the rain), and dined at Mr. Kemper's.'*
Thursday, 12th — " Resumed my journey, dined at Emmens, a
dutch house, and lodged at Larbeteaux."
Friday y ijth — "Got into Philadelphia about dark — a most
fatiguing journey. Supped at my lodgings, Mrs. Sword's."
Sunday y 15th — "Captain Nicholson and myself went to sermon
at Christ Church to hear the Rev. Parson White."
There is no further entry in his diary until the Saturday follow-
ing, but the letter here presented addressed by him on the i6th to
John Jay, Esq., president of Congress, will explain his purpose
in tarrying in Philadelphia:
Philadelphia, August i6th^ ///p.
" Sir :
Necessity obliges me to interrupt the precious time of your Excel-
lency and Congress on the following subject. Early in the present con-
troversy, I had the honor to be appointed a Captain in the Virginia line
of the Continental Army, and have served until I have attained the rank
of Lieutenant-Colonel ; but my affairs at home together with the present
establishment of the army absolutely demand that I should quit that
service, in which I have spent the most happy and honorable part of
my life ; therefore, I humbly and earnestly request permission to resign
my commission and assign the following reasons:
First. That I have a young and increasing family, whose situation and
circumstances require my presence at home, to improve the remaining
part of my patrimony for their maintenance.
Second. That my pay is not one-tenth part adequate to the necessary
expenses, in supporting the dignity of my commission.
Third. The high taxes in Virginia which fall very heavy on me, being
obliged to pay for the present year, four hundred pounds or upwards,
for over cultivated lands, that do not yield me one single sixpence
profit per annum ; nor does profit arise from any part of my property
in my absence.
Fourth. That a New York Privateer in Feb. last, at night landed her
crew at my plantation on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, destroyed and
carried off great part of my property.
Fifth. That my Regiment (the seventh Virginia) is nighly reduced to
a Captain's command, by expiration of enlistments, deaths, etc., and
292 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
that for the good of the service^ it will probably soon be incorporated
with some other regiments, when great part of its officers become
supernumerary of course.
I hope your Excellency and Congress will pardon this intrusion ; and
believe me to be with all possible admiration, res|>ect, and esteem,
Your Excellency's
Mo. Obedient
Humb. Servant,
Jno. Cropper, Jnr:"
"The New York Privateer,*' referred to above, is evidently
the Thistle Tender, whose crew attacked him the night of Feb-
ruary 1 2th, and which he then described as a '' Bermudian built
sloop,** and " in the service of Britain.**
Having finished his business in Philadelphia, he prepared to
set off Southwards, for on Saturday, 21st, his diary tells us : *' I
set off for Virginia; lodged at Chester.** The return trip was
over practically the same route as the outward one — viz., by way
of Red Lyon, Cantwell's Bridge, Dover, Mamma Peterkins,
Snowhill, and Horntown.
Tuesday^ 2^iih — He complains of his ** horse being terribly
galled with the breast- plate of the harness,** and says he left his
at Brawten*s, above Snowhill, Colonel John Dennis being good
enough to lend him one of his own.
Thursday, 26th — '* Breakfasted at Horn Town, arrived at
Geo. Abbots about 4 o* clock.**
This was the house he had first stopped at on his outward
journey on July i6th, and where he was probably greeted by his
wife on his return, though he does not mention the latter circum-
stance.
Friday, 2yth — He states: ** Peggy and I went to Bowman's
Folly — lodged at Latin House.**
There is appended an outline of his ride, with a calculation of
the " Road and stages from New Windsor on the West bank of
the Hudson river to Accomack Courthouse, on the E. S. of Vir-
ginia.'* This distance he calculates, by the route he took, as
being 334 miles.
Saturday, 28ih August — " Nothing, only that I moved my
furniture from Latin House to Bowman's Folly.'*
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 293
Friday, September loth—'' Tom Bay ley's and Oldham* s boats
came from Phila. Bayley brought my 8 Winsor chairs and
Mahogony salver.*'
Saturday, nth — ** Muster day at Courthouse.**
Thursday, i6ih — "I amused myself during the excessive high
tides, (occasioned by the N. Easter) shooting curlews, willets,
and other birds.**
Throughout the remainder of September and during October
there are regular entries, most of them recording his neighbors*
visits, or his visits to the Courthouse.
November 2d— ^* The schooner Capt. Bowman got around at
the mouth of Folly Creek.**
Wednesday, jd — "Vendue at Levin Rodger's estate. I
bought 14 pictures very dear.**
Thursday, 4th — ** There is a cruiser off the inlet, which this
day attempted to cut out Capt. Bowman's Schooner but failed.**
Tuesday, gth — ' * The Schooner Capt. Bowman sailed for
France.**
Saturday, i^th — ** A race at Molly Beech* s field. Lady Legs
got beat by Taylor's horse. I lost 100 dollars.**
Friday, igth — '* Race at Onancock between Capt. Parramores
and Edmund Custis*s horses.**
Friday, 26th — ** Major Simpson came down to his boat lying
in Folly Creek, and brought me 147 lbs of iron at 2 dollars
pr. lb.**
Monday, 2gth — " Before day my Joshua run away.**
Wednesday, ist December, lyyg — '* I bought Bob attached by
the Sheriff to pay Mr. Mifflin* s assessment, a ;^ 1,7 10.'*
Saturday, nth — " I set off very early from home and got to
Duke*s by one o'clock. Rented Benston*s house for ;^i8o.
Hired George for 193, Joshua 114, Comfort 106, and Charity 50,
Virginia money.**
Friday 25th — '* Christmas. Mr. Abbott and myself went to
Assawaman Church. Snowy day.**
The diary concludes with the year 1779, and if he kept one
later it has not been preserved.
294 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
It appears probable from letters of Colonel Cropper that his
resignation, submitted in August, 1779, was never accepted, but
that he was allowed to remain at home, in Accomack, till the
end of the war, on indefinite leave of absence, in view of his past
service in the northern campaigns, and his not being drafted for the
Southern army, under General Green. In August, I78i,he wroteto
Governor Thomas Nelson, Jr., acknowledging the receipt of his
appointment as county lieutenant of Accomack — a position that
he filled with great energy and ability to the end of the war.
He was in constant correspondence with Governor Nelson and
Colonel William Davies, a son of the Rev. Samuel Davies, and
the Virginia Commissioner of War, who is reputed to have been
a man of rare ability, and to have furnished invaluable service to
the State in the supplying of provisions to and equipment of the
troops, and in directing the finances. During this period par-
ticularly the Eastern Shore people were exceedingly harassed by
the enemy. Colonel Levin Joynes wrote to Davies, September
10, 1781 : " We have had most alarming times this summer, all
along shore, from a set of Barges manned mostly by our own
negroes who have run off. These fellows were really dangerous
to an individual singled out for their vengeance whose property
lay exposed.** The people of Accomack for their greater pro-
tection organized a volunteer troop of horse, under the com-
mand of Captain Thomas Parramore, which Cropper described
as '* composed of single gentlemen, and they are gentlemen of
the first fortunes and characters among us ; ever since their
appointment they have been on constant duly, under which they
have shewn a most cheerful obedience to the strictest discipline,
and do, in my opinion, render very essential service.**
They were mounted and equipped at their own expense, the
people receiving but scant aid from the State, and the threatened
withdrawal of the few Continental troops from the Shore made
it necessary for the inhabitants to resort to every possible means
for their preservation.
Among the characters with whom Cropper had to deal was the
Rev. John Lyon, whom Bishop Meade 'says was a Rhode Island
man, and the Rector of St. George* s Parish in Accomack as
early as 1774.
* Old Churches and Families of Vir^inia^ Vol. I, p. 266.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 295
Lyon was brought before a court martial at which Cropper
presided, and Colonel George Corbin (an uncle of Cropper's)
filled the position of Judge Advocate. He was charged with
having furnished the enemy with provisions, giving them aid and
comfort and dissuading the militia from doing duty in defend-
ing the State. Colonel Corbin wrote to the State department
communicating the intelligence of Lyon*s case, transmitting the
depositions, and asking for leniency towards him, which was
doubtless largely on account of Lyon's wife, who was of a promi-
nent Accomack family, in sympathy with the American cause.
Colonel Cropper, however, did not seem to entertain similar senti-
ments towards him, for on August 25th, in a letter to Colonel
Davis,^° he writes: '* I have before me your affectionate letter to
my uncle Corbin, and thank you for your favorable sentiments
of me. It was with the greatest reluctance I quit the army, but
the peculiar circumstances of my family compelled me to it.
* * * You'll see my sentiments in respect to Mr. Lyon's case,
and notwithstanding my uncle's request in his letter, was he to
lay aside his excessive humanity and tenderness of heart (of which
perhaps he has the largest share of any person living) he would
think that a halter was hardly too severe for the parson. On the
same date he wrote to Governor Nelson " and continued as follows,
" As to the case of the Rev. John Lyon, I beg leave to make the
ollowing observations: There was not so much in testimony
against him as was expected, but from character he is certainly a
very bad man. He has undoubtedly long and constantly traded with
the enemy — a vessel of his in that trade was taken and made prize
of by a Philadelphia barge, and I would risque whatever prop-
erty depends on me, that it might yet be proven that not long
since, he himself delivered a cargo of oats and provision to the
British Commissary at Portsmouth. The disaffected of his
neighborhood (the best acquainted with his political character)
absolutely will not give testimony against him, and the inoffensive
Whig, in the character of a peasant, is actually afraid of the
parson's influence to destroy him. He has married into a good
family, thro' which the few persons of good character have signed
^^ State Papers, Vol. II, p. 358.
^^ State Papers, Vol. II, pp. 359-60.
296 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
the petition drawn in his favor. Everybody is sorry for the family,
but I believe his greatest advocate cannot but acknowledge him
a man of very bad private, as well as publick character. I beg
leave to offer it your Excellency as my sincere and unprejudiced
opinion, that the people will not, with their consent, permit Mr.
Lyon to remain in their Parish, and at the same time that they
wish no further punishment, than for him never to be seen in the
County, after a reasonable time to settle his affairs.** On the
30th, of September, he sent Lyon with some other prisoners,
those who had opposed the draft, to the Governor, and wrote
Davies." * * * ** By the vessel in which these prisoners
come I have sent to the Commissary-General a thousand gal-
lons of Rum, and one tierce of Port wine for the use of the army,
and in a short time they may expect much more.** At this date,
Colonel Cropper appears to have relented towards the parson,
probably at the solicitation of Lyon*s family, for he encloses a
petition signed by George Corbin, Edmund Custis, Levin Joynes
and George Parker, all of whom were men of prominence in the
county, and adds himself, " since his confinement, he has often
expressed to me his desire of becoming a good citizen, and should
be indulged with any degree of liberty of wishing to spend the
remains of his life with people of known attachment to the In-
dependency of America.**
Among the attacks of the enemy from the barges was one near
Henry* s Point, where they landed from their boats, and were
met by the militia, under Cropper. During the fight the militia
retreated, leaving Cropper and a negro named George Latchom,
who were in advance of the rest, engaged actively with the
invaders. These two kept up the firing, until the foe were
within a few rods of them, when they were compelled to fall
back. Cropper had to retreat through a sunken, boggy marsh,
in which he stuck fast up to the waist in soft mud, the enemy at
the time being so close as to prepare to bayonet him.
At this critical juncture the faithful colored man fired and killed
the foremost man, and seized hold of Cropper and dragged him
by main strength out of the mud, and taking him on his back
carried him safely to dry land. This required great strength
^^ State Papers^ Vol. II, pp. 509-10.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 297
upon his part, Cropper weighing in the neighborhood of two
hundred pounds. Latchom was at the time a slave, and was
purchased and set free by Colonel Cropper, who befriended him
in every way he could, as an evidence of his gratitude, till
Latchom's death. In September of this year (178 1) Governor
Thomas Nelson, Jr., wrote to Cropper telling him of the great
need in the army of spirits, and calling on him to procure all he
could on his side of the bay. Nelson wrote that the exhausted
state of the treasury would not permit of the purchase of the
article, and the only mode left was the disagreeable one of
impressing, and for this purpose he enclosed him a warrant.
It is to be doubted whether Cropper often resorted to this
means of obtaining supplies, as the farmers naturally were very
indignant at it, they having to give up corn, oats, meat and
horses as well as liquors. The troops across the bay were fur-
nished, among other things, with a quantity of peach brandy,
which was formerly one of the leading products of the Eastern
Shore, and which was widely celebrated for its flavor and excel-
lency.
The isolated situation of the people of Accomack and North-
hampton, caused them to be ignorant often of the laws passed by
the Assembly for some time after their passage, and in addition
they received less protection from the State probably than the
people of any other section of it. Notwithstanding this they
were frequently called on for supplies from the Western Shore,
while all the time striving to maintain and defend themselves at
home from the invasions of the enemy. Throughout all the
hardships to which they were subjected, the majority of them
remained devotedly loyal to the American cause, and Cropper
himself spent the bulk of his fortune in supplying the troops,
coming out of the war a comparatively poor nian. During the
year 1782, the condition of the county was even worse than the
year preceding. Early in May, Colonels Cropper and Corbin
were writing to Colonel Davies, the head of the State War
Department, protesting against the removal of the few Conti-
nental soldiers then in Accomack, and declaring the Shore would
be ruined. Cropper states that four of the enemy's barges were
then on the coast, capturing vessels and plundering the inhabi-
tants. The presence of a small force, he said, would enable the
298 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
militia to attend to their farms a portion of the time, instead of
being constantly called out. Colonel Corbin writes of a con-
spiracy of the tories, British and negroes, who had prepared
themselves * * with ropes as instruments of death and had marked
their devoted victims.* * This plan was discovered by the master
of one of the slaves engaged in the plot, and the ring leaders
strung up. In November of this year, occurred one of the
bloodiest fights of its kind that took place in that neighborhood
during the war. Commodore Kidd had established a rendez-
vous at Hog Island, off the coast, to which place he was in the
habit of taking his plunder. At that time each State had its
separate fleet for purposes of defence, Commodore Barron com-
manding the Virginia, and Commodore Whaley the Maryland
flotilla. On the 28th of November, Colonel Cropper received
from Commodore Whaley a letter telling him that he proposed
attacking Kidd's barges, then off'Onancock in the bay, and ask-
ing the assistance of some volunteers from Accomack to aid him
man his fleet.
The request was immediately complied with, and Colonel
Cropper, with twenty-five of the Accomack militia went aboard
his boats. Cropper thus describes the action in a letter to Davies,.
dated December, 6th : "
** On the 30th, at the head of Cagey' s Straits we fell in with
and engaged the enemy. When we approached them within
about three hundred yards, and the fire began to be serious,
our barges all run away except the Commodore's (the Pro-
lector)^ in which was Major Smith Snead, Captain Thomas
Parker, Captain William Snead, myself and five other volun-
teers.
" This dastardly conduct of our comrades brought on our barge
the whole fire of the enemy which was very severe, and it was
as severely answered by the Protector ^ until the enemy's six barges
were within fifty yards, when most unfortunately, the cartridges
of our short eighteen pounders caught fire amidships ; the
explosion of which burned three or four people to death, caused
five or six more, all afire, to leap overboard, and the alarm of the
barge blowing up made several others swim for their lives. The
^^ State Paper Sy Vol. Ill, p. 391.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 299
enemy almost determined to retreat from our fire as they told
us afterwards, took new spirit at this disaster and pushed up
with redoubled fury. On the other hand our people opposed
them with the most daring resolution; there was one continual
shower of musket balls, boarding pikes, cutlasses, cold shot and
iron stantials for eight or ten minutes, till greatly overpowered by
numbers, and having all the officers killed and wounded, we
struck to them, after having wounded their Commodore, killed
one Captain, wounded another, killed and wounded several of
their inferior officers and killed and wounded fifteen of the Kid-
nappers Crew, the barge which first boarded us.
*' Commodore Wally was shot down a little before the enemy
boarded, acting the part of a cool^ intrepid^ gallant o^ztx. Cap-
tain Joseph Handy was badly wounded.
" There went to action in the Protector sixty-five men, twenty-
five of them were killed and drowned, twenty-nine were wounded,
some of which are since dead, and eleven only escaped, being
wounded, most of which had leaped in the water to save them-
selves from the explosion.
*• After the surrender, I entered into an agreement with Com-
modore Kidd to take ashore such of his wounded as chose to
go, and to have them nursed and attended to at the public ex-
pense, upon condition that he would parole all our prisoners as
well the unhurt as the wounded, which agreement will meet the
approbation of his Excellency in Council and the Assembly.
** Being very much disordered with my wounds, I am scarcely
able to write, therefore, I beg leave to subscribe myself.*'
Then follows a list of the wounded to which he adds, " Myself
was wounded by a cutlass on the head, slightly by a pike on the
face and thigh, slightly by a cutlass on the shoulder, and after
the surrender was knocked down by a four pound rammer, the
blow of which was unfortunately near upon the same place where
the cutlass hit.
" You will do me a most singular favor to excuse the sally I
I took in the barge, and have me exchanged as soon as possible.
* * Yours affectionately,
'*J. Cropper, Jr.'*
The reader after this will not wonder that he was very much
disordered by his wounds as he expressed it, or that Colonel
300 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Davies could do other than excuse the sally he took. It is related,
however, that his wife did not, for after his exchange, while his
wounds were being dressed by friends at Onancock, she appeared
on the scene with her infant daughter in her arms, and broke
forth, ** you deserve it, a Continental officer to leave your wife
and children to fight sailors on the water." Colonel Cropper
always referred to her as a "keen ground razor," and it would
would seem that she justified the title.
The account of the battle of the barges given by Cropper to
Davies was, of course, in the main an official one, and several
interesting incidents of the fight are well worth being recorded.
A second time his life was saved by a negro slave, but on this
occasion the negro was on the side of the enemy. It seems this
n»an, who had belonged to Cropper's father, was a good fellow,
but at the same time was desirous of tasting the sweets of
liberty. He had run away from home, and was one of Kidd's
crew. There was also on the British side an Irish soldier, who
had some time previously been taken prisoner by Cropper's
men, who had treated him kindly.
This Irishman and the negro had become friendly with each
other, their attachment for Colonel Cropper forming a tie
between them, and when the British first boarded the Protector^
these two were among the foremost men. They proceeded
towards the stern, where Cropper lay wounded, when the
negro stopped suddenly, overcome with surprise on recognizing
his old master's son, and called out, ''My God, Massa John;
and I will die before they shall lay hands on him; " and ** I am
with you," said the Irishman. They both faced about, and
sword in hand, kept back the boarders, declaring no one should
harm him. This probably saved Cropper's life, as there was an
indiscriminate massacre about this time, 'til Kidd, who had been
knocked senseless, came to, and order was restored among his
men. This man was given his freedom by Colonel Cropper*
who obtained for him a situation in Baltimore. After being
removed to one of the enemy's barges. Cropper was laid down
in the after part of the stern, faint with .loss of blood and nearly
insensible of what was passing. Near by lay a wounded Eng-
lishman, whose peculiar behavior attracted his attention. This
man was seemingly endeavoring to raise himself as if to take a
better look at the colonel, but being weakened by his wounds,
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 301
fell back several times, and laid to all appearances exhausted.
But he had not entirely lost his strength, for on the third or
fourth attempt to get up he seized hold of the " four-pound
rammer " alluded to by Cropper, and dealt him a severe blow
on the head, on the same spot where. he had been previously hit
by the cudass. This came near putting an end to his life, and
he remained senseless for some time. Care, however, was taken
to prevent a repetition of this violence, and the belligerent Briton
placed in a safe place.
The Captain, Thomas Parker, who had volunteered with
Cropper and others from Accomatk to accompany Commodore
Whaley, was known among the tories as ** Hangman Tom.'*
Along with Colonel Levin Joynes and numbers of others from
Accomack, he had been taken prisoner at Germantown, they
belonging to the Matthews regiment, which was mostly re-
cruited on the Eastern Shore.
It is related " of him that when Earl Harcourt rode along the
line of rebel prisoners, who were ragged, worn and drooping,
asking each one what his occupation had been, Lieutenant Par-
ker stood erect, and when the question was put to him by the
Earl, replied : " I am as my father before me was, a gentleman,
and be d d to you ; who are you ? * '
On December 3d, Commodore Kidd wrote to Colonel Cropper,
as follows :
Sir:
Trusting to your Honor, We have sent all the Prisoners that was
wounded, as also the Prisoners that is Not Wounded, not Doubting but
you will fulfill your agreement with us in regard to the wounded*
And as to the Prisoners that are not Wounded, We Do Expect all the men
that was taken in the Jolly Tar^ Comm'd by Capt. Brooks, and imme-
diately to be sent to Hog Island with a Flag to stay our coming.
We remain, Deer Sir, with Friendship, Yours,
John Kidd,
Wm. a. Perry, Comm'd of the Fleet of British Barges.
Comm*d Peryorge,
Shortly after, on January 12th, 1783, Natham Adams, a cap-
tain of one of the British barges, wrote to Cropper in regard to
^*" Seven Decades of the Union " — Henry A. Wise, p. 196.
302 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
his exchange, and adds in postscript, he " would be glad if Col.
Cropper would send him two barrels of flour and twenty galls,
of spirits at the market price. Sends his compliments to him
and his Lady, and hopes the time may come when he may have
the opportunity of seeing them in peace and quietness.*'
It is not probable that the British barges remained long in the
neighborhood after this date, for the surrender at Yorktown had
occurred as far back as October, 1781, and the definite articles
of peace were signed at Paris the very day of the fight with
Kidd. Cropper's troubles, however, were not yet at an end, for
some time after the fight, whfle at his home, the wound in his
head, which had nearly cost him his life, opened afresh.
His wife was engaged in dressing it, and had taken off the
bandage, at the same time holding several pins in her mouth.
One of these she accidentally swallowed, and met her death in
consequence. This proved a great blow to him, and the effect
upon his mind was very depressing, so much so that his condition
gave his friends serious apprehensions for several years after-
wards.
The gallant Whaley, who had so bravely led the Virginians,
was interred with military honors on Onancock creek, at what is
now a place called " Scott Hall,'* at one time the residence of
Dr. Thomas Bagwell. It is said the spot is unmarked, and has
been well nigh forgotten.
Colonel Cropper sent in a petition to the speaker of the House
of Delegates, praying that that body would grant him relief for
the sums of money he had been compelled to expend as County
Lieutenant for the support of the troop of horse and Conti-
nental troops, afterwards raised by act of assembly. He states
that he had drawn large sums of paper money out of the hands
of the commissioners, who received money under that act, and
also out of the hands of the sheriff, which he paid into the
hands of the Continental Commissary for the county, who had
accounted for it to the Commissary General.
In the returns made to the Auditor he stood charged with
;^7 1,318, I2S, paper money. Having no other resource, he was
obliged to draw upon them, or else suffer the Eastern Shore to
be utterly ruined, not doubting that the Legislature would
approve his conduct. He farther recites that owing to the treaty
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 303
entered into with Kidd to take care of his wounded men and
furnish them with medical attendance, he had expended jCiSg,
1 8s, 3d specie. Colonel Cropper relates in his petition, **that
in addition to the calamities of war and cruelties exercised; the
plundering of our property, and the burning of our habitations,
so successfully and so wantonly practiced by the British Barges
on this shore, we had to struggle with and to combat the secret
machinations of internal enemies, more dangerous, if possible,
than those open and avowed ones. In the year 1781, it was
discovered and undoubtedly certain that we had a party
amongst us that acted in concert with the barges then on the
Islands ; some of them were even so daring as to attack several
houses in the middle of the country; and not only plundered,
but shed the blood of the inhabitants. That they opposed and
actually prevented the execution of an act of Assembly for
raising the State's quota of troops to serve in the Continental
Army, by appearing at the Court-house armed, on the day
appointed for the draft.'* It is not known to the writer to what
extent the Legislature made good the expenditures of Colonel
Cropper, but on other occasions he contributed largely out of his
private means to the aid of the cause, and came out of the war
impaired in fortune.
Colonel Cropper was chosen to represent his county in the
House of Delegates, which he did from 1784 to 1792 ; and in
1785, Patrick Henry, then Governor, called on him to again
undertake the duties of County Lieutenant. In May, 1793,
Governor Henry Lee (Light Horse Harry) made him Lieutenant-
Colonel of the Second regiment militia. As such, he had to
call out the troops to enforce the embargo resolutions of the next
year, and arrested several vessels in Assawaman and Metompkin
inlets.
Upon one occasion a brigantine was lying ofT the latter inlet,
preparatory to putting to sea, having taken on her cargo. Crop-
per expeditiously equipped four boats, and at dawn rowed out to
her, being at the head of his men, and boarded her, taking her
by surprise before sunrise. In June, 1794, Governor Lee ap-
pointed him agent of the Ninth Brigade district, which included
the Eastern Shore, the county of Princess Anne, and Borough
of Norfolk, in pursuance of an act for the collection of the
304 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
arrears of taxes and duties. This required of him and his sure-
ties to enter into a bond of ;^i7,ooo, lawful money of the
Commonwealth, payable to the Governor, for the faithful perfor-
mance of his duties.
Governor Lee wrote that the exhausted state of the treasury
demanded relief, and urged him to use unremitted exertions in
compelling payment of delinquents. In 1798, during the
threatened war with France, John Adams, then President, wrote
to Washington, who w^s in retirement at Mt. Vernon, inviting
him once more to take commad of the American army, then to
be raised. To this General Washington consented, and addressed
not many months before his death, a letter to Colonel Cropper,
placing him at the head of the lower counties, and requesting
him to forward a list of suitable men to be officers in the brigade,
thus virtually commiting to him the selection of all the officers
in that part of the State. The letter is as follows :
Mount Vernon, June //, 1799*
Sir:
Was I not well assured of your Patriotism and firm attachment
to the Government of our Country, I should think it necessary to apolo-
gize for the trouble I am about to give you.
The Secretary of War has signified to me that the President of the
United States thinks it highly expedient that no time should be lost in
selecting proper Characters to Officer the Twenty four Regiments of
Infantry, authorized to be eventually raised by a law of the last Con-
gress ; and has requested me to furnish him with a list of the names of
such persons as are best qualified an(J willing to serve in the respective
Grades of four of these Regiments, which is the proportion allotted to
Virginia.
Having been absent from home for about twenty-five years, with
short intervals only, and in these intervals a necessary attention to my
private concerns confining me almost entirely to my own Estate, I find
my acquaintance with the Citizens of this State, particularly with the
rising generation, very limited indeed. And, therefore, ready as I
always am to do anything in my power to promote the public weal, I
find it impossible to perform this task without the assistance of others
on whom I can place a reliance.
As these troops are all authorized to be raized only in case of an
actual war with a foreign power, or of imminent danger of Invasion of
our Territory by such power, it is to be presumed that, in such an event
every good citizen would hold himself in readiness to take the field, if
necessary, whether belonging to the eventual army or not. I, therefore.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 305
flatter myself that when the President's intention of appointing the
Officers for this Army shall be fully known, we shall find many of the
valuable officers who served with reputation in the Revolutionary war,
as well as others, step forward and offer their services in grades which
they would not accept if their object was to pursue a military career
for life, or to continue in the service beyond the exigency which might
call them forth. This leads me to hope that, instead of seeking for
those who are willing to receive appointments, we shall find the best
spirits of our country offering their services in those grades where
their talents and influence can be useful without feeling themselves
bound by the scrupulous punctilios of Rank which officers observe when
arms are assumed as a profession.
But, in order to place the matter upon certain ground and to pursue
it with system, it becomes necessary to make the selection before men-
tioned; and as the propriety of drawing the officers from different
parts of the State, observing as nearly as may be a due proportion to
the respective population, is obvious, I must, of course, obtain my infor-
mation from various sources and combine the result in the best manner
I can.
I therefore, sir, take the liberty to ask if you will be so good as to
furnish me with the names of such characters as are. in your opinion,
qualified to fill the several offices in one Regiment of Infantry, a Bat-
talion or part thereof, and who would be willing to receive these
appointments, annexing to their names the respective grades, and the
places or counties of their Residence.
To facilitate this selection and to observe the proportion before
mentioned, I have thought it best to follow the four Grand Divisions
of the State, as laid off* by the Inspector-General for the purposes
of recruiting, and to endeavor to select the Officers of one Regiment
from each. In that case the Division in which you reside will
comprehend the counties of Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, Charles
City, James City, Matthews, Gloucester, York, Warwick, Elizabeth
City, Accomac, Northampton, Caroline, King & Queen, Essex, King
William, Middlesex, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, West-
moreland, and King George. To these Counties, then, you will be
pleased more particularly to confine your attention. But if suitable
characters are known to you in other parts of the State, I will thank
you for the names of them also. As these Counties form a large dis-
trict and may comprehend more valuable characters than the acquaint-
ance of any one person in it extends to, it is left with you to advise
with others, or from such Counties therein as your intimacy is greatest
to select a proportionate part. In a word. Sir, paying some attention
to the policy of distribution, to select, in whole or in part, such charac-
ters as would do honor to the service, and would be gratifying to your
own feelings to command : — a measure, though it cannot be asked, is
ao
306 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
highly to be wished, and would have been gladly embraced in the
arrangement of the twelve Regiments now recruiting, if anything had
appeared at that time indicative of your inclination to re-enter the
Military line.
You will readily see that these names must be handed to the Presi-
dent of the United States for his approbation, and afterwards confirmed
or rejected by the Senate ; it is therefore proper that no assurances of
appointment h^ given to the parties which will render a change imprac-
ticable without wounding their feelings too much.
Where you are not personally well acquainted with such Characters
as are fit and willing to serve, you will be so good as to obtain the best
recommendations and such as you can rely upon. And every caution-
ary measure is necessary to guard against errors which frequently
result from the ease with which recommendations are generally
obtained, the partiality of friends and a delusive hope that men of bad
habits, by being transplanted into the army, will become good men and
good officers.
I have ventured, Sir, to give you this trouble, because from your for-
mer services in the Military line, I could confide in your knowledge and
judgment of proper Characters to be brought forward at this time, and
believing that I might readily count upon your best exertions to render
a service to your country.
I will thank you for an acknowledgment of the Receipt of this letter
as soon as it gets to your hands, and for your observations on the sub-
ject of it, so far as you may then be prepared to give them.
With very great esteem,
I have the honor to be Sir,
Your most obt. St.
Go. Washington.
Colo* John Cropper,
To this Colonel Cropper sent the following reply :
AccoMAC Courthouse, 4th July, lygg.
Sir:
I have received your favor of the 17th ultimo by the last mail.
The opinions entertained by you of my services in the American war,
and the confidence expressed of my patriotism and judgment are a most
precious addition to the approbation of my fellow citizens within the
circle of my acquaintance. Many more marks of approbation have
been bestowed upon me by my countrymen than my services have
merited, but not more than will be gratefully remembered to the latest
hour of my existence.
After serving my native country for sixteen years, partly in a military
and partly in a civil capacity, I resigned in the year 1791 all pretensions
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 307
to public office, and prescribed to myself the pleasure oi enjoying the
remainder of my life in domestic tranquility.
But, sir, I have remained a faithful tho' feeble friend to the Govern-
ment of the United States, and am one of those who have approved of
the administration of it. I believe this Government has been estab-
lished with as much wisdom, and conducted with as much integrity as
any other in the world.
Therefore, considering the critical situation of public affairs at this
juncture, and the sacred obligations which bind a dutiful citizen to his
country, I shall take upon me the duties assigned by your letter, and
perform them according to my best ability.
You may name me to the President of the United States to fill
such grade in the provisional army as I may be thought to suit and
deserve.
My knowledge of the military characters of the Western Shore part
of the division to which I am allotted is very contracted, and, as far as
my reflections have gone, shall be much at a loss to ascertain a compe-
tent judgement of those with whom I am personally unacquainted.
I am with the greatest respect & esteem.
Your Obdt. Humble Servant,
Jno. Cropper, Jun'r.
[Addressed]
His Excellency
General Washington,
Mount Vernon,
The trouble with France came to an end, and the army was
never raised, but this mark of confidence on the part of Wash-
ington was highly appreciated by Cropper, who is said to have
treasured the letter as a miser does his gold. Only his intimate
friends and relations were ever permitted to read it, and it was
till the day of his death one of his most highly prized posses-
sions, and increased, if possible, the love he had for the Father
of his Country.
In 1801, Colonel Cropper was called on to serve his county as
sheriff, being commissioned by Governor James Monroe.
During the war of 1812 Colonel Cropper again left his home,
at Bowman's Folly, to defend his country. In March, 1812, he
wrote to Governor James Barbour, announcing the death of
Brigadier-General Thomas Mathews, and continues : " As by
this melancholy event the command of the Ninth brigade devolves
on me as senior officer, I feel it my duty to give your Excellency
808 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
immediate notice thereof.** In November following, he writes
from home, on his return from Norfolk, of a tour in attending to
the training of the officers and reviewing the regiments of the
Ninth brigade, with which he expresses himself as pleased.
These and other troops were stationed at Fort Nelson and Fort
Norfolk. The history of the Eastern Shore during the period
of the second war with England, appears to be in a great mea-
sure a repetition of that of the Revolution, although the attacks
of the enemy were not perhaps as severe or as frequent. In
March, 1813, he writes to the Governor, telling him of a con-
sult'-ition held with his brother officers in regard to the exposed
condition of the Shore. He affirms the willingness of the militia
to do all in their power, but complains of their utter lack of ade-
quate supplies of the implements of war. Some idea of their con-
dition and that of the State War Department will be gained from
the following extract : " About half of the eighteen hundred
cartridges obtained by me at Richmond in June last proved to be
good for nothing except the bullets ; they appear to be those of
the Revolutionary war ; the paper and powder mouldered to the
finest dust.'*
Tangier Island, in the Chesapeake, is southeast of the Poto-
mac, and above the mouth of Onancock creek, in Accomack.
It was occupied during the war by the British fleet under Cock-
burn, and it is said the sand redoubts thrown up by the red-
coated enemy, are still to be seen.
Again the people of Accomack and Northampton were sub-
jected to the attacks from the barges and tenders cruising in the
bay.
In May, 1813, Colonel Cropper wrote to Governor Barbour:
**The Legislature of Virginia, at their last session, thought
proper to place over my head a gentleman not long since pro-
moted to the rank of major and recently to that of colonel — a
man without military experience, I am informed. I entered the
army of the Revolution at the age of nineteen, sefved during
the war, and have held the highest military command on the
Eastern Shore ever since. My capacity and conduct were always
approved of, as I believe. Under the circumstances it becomes
my duty to resign the command of the Second regiment; the
right to do so, I trust, will not be doubted. The Ninth brigade
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 309
in particular, as well as all the militia you comniand, will carry
with them my best wishes for their honor and prosperity.
Your Excellency will no longer consider me bearing a militia
commission, but I beg you to accept my sincere respect for the
attention you have paid to that part of the State in which I
reside and to myself as an officer.** Governor Wilson Cary
Nicholas afterwards, in January, 1815, commissioned him a brig-
adier-general of the Twenty- First brigade.
Colonel Cropper represented his district in the State Senate
from 1813 to 1817, and was vice-president of the Virginia branch
of the Cincinnati Society. Later on, in 1816, he was chosen
president, to succeed Colonel John Pryor, and acted for several
years in that capacity. The Cincinnati in Virginia, however, did
not long survive, for it failed to adopt- the hereditary feature in
vogue in other States, and as time went on the old Revolution-
ary officers died off one by one, and their ranks were soon
thinned in a way that the soldiers of the Southern Confederacy
are unfortunately destined to be in the not far distant future.
The Virginia Society disbanded about 1824, and gave all of its
funds in hand to Washington College, now Washington and Lee
University." Probably the most marked trait in the character of
General Cropper was his ardent admiration of, and devotion to
Washington. He could not bear to hear anything said in his
presence derogatory of the character and fame of that great
man, and upon several occasions he was engaged in personal
difficulties in consequence. Once, while in the State Senate, he
was at a public dinner in Richmond, when a man present pro-
ceeded to roundly abuse General Washington. Cropper, whose
temper was not of the mildest sort, grabbed a carving-knife and
told him " if he didn't shut up he would cut his ears off close to
his head,** which threat he was happily prevented from putting
into execution by his friends, who seized him.
Upon the occasion of Washington's visit to Richmond he
was tendered a grand ball by the citizens at the Eagle Tavern.
The ball was opened by the minuet, which General Wash-
"This fund was deposited in the State Treasury, and was engrossed
in the default of the treasurer, Jerman Baker. About 1850, after a
long pending suit, $25,000 was recovered from the sureties of Baker
and paid to the college. — Ed.
310 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ington danced with Mrs. McClurg, the wife of Dr. James
McClurg, and one of the handsomest and most accomplished
women in Virginia. It is related as an evidence of Washing-
ton's devotion to Cropper that, after leading his partner to a
seat, he crossed to the opposite side of the room, where he
espied him, and taking him by the hand saluted him in the pres-
ence of the whole assembly. Many stories are told about Gen-
eral Cropper, relative to General Washington and the love he
bore him. It is said that during the latter years of his life he
would gather his children and grandchildren about him at
** Bowman's Folly," and on the Fourth of July read to them the
Declaration of Independence ; and on the 22d day of February
he would compel them to listen to the " Farewell Address " com-
plejte, while at all times he would read to them from MarshalVs^
Life of Washington^ this book almost taking the place of the
family Bible.
During the period that he was in the Legislature, General
Cropper was frequently at dinners and banquets, where various
healths were proposed and given. When he was called upon
for a toast he would arise and give the only one ever heard from
his lips: ** God Bless General Washington.^ ^ '• He died at his
residence, January 15, 182 1, after a short illness, leaving a widow,
seven children, and ten grandchildren. He had been in the
4)ubJic service about forty-five years, and was a brigadier-general
of the Eastern Shore brigade at the time of his death.
His first wife, as already stated, was Margaret Pettitt, the
daughter of William Pettitt, a farmer living on Occohannock
creek, in Northampton, who had died some years before his
daughter's marriage. Of this union there were two children —
both daughters. The elder of these, named Sarah Corbin, after-
wards married Major John Wise, a prominent lawyer of Acco-
mack and speaker of he tHouse of Delegates in 1797 and 1798.
She became the mother of several children, among them Henry
A. Wise, whose childhood was partly passed at "Bowman's
Folly." The second daughter, called Margaret Pettitt, married
Thomas M. Bayly, of Accomack, and was the mother of Thomas
H. Bayly, who was a member of the State Assembly, a circuit
^^Recollections of G. IV, P. Custis, p. 170.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 311
judge, and later on elected to Congress from the Eastern Shore
district for six terms, succeeding his cousin, Henry A. Wise,
who had represented the district the previous six, and who had
resigned to become the Minister to Brazil.
General Cropper's second wife was Catherine Bayly, the sister
of his son-in-law, Thomas M. Bayly. Of this marriage there
were six children, who survived.
/ Anna Corbin Cropper, married Major John Savage. No
issue.
IL Elizabeth Washington, married Joseph W. Gibb, and had
issue.
III, John Washington, married Mary Savage. Children all
died in infancy.
IV, Catherine Bayly, married Augustus W. Bagwell, and had
issue.
V, Thomas Bayly Cropper, married Rosina Mix, and had
issue, as follows : Catherine Elizabeth, Rosina Mix,
Thomas Henry (died in infancy), and John.
VI Coventon Hanson Cropper, married twice. No issue
living.
By his will, written January lo, 1821, five days before his death.
General Cropper left his estate, " Bowman's Folly,'* to his wife,
Catherine Cropper for life, along with his slaves and most of his
personal property. The remainder of his property, including
his military lands in Kentucky and Ohio, which had been granted
him by the State as bounty for his services, was to be divided
among his children with the exception of Mrs. Bayly, for whom
he had provided otherwise. His friends Richard D. Bayly, John
G. Joynes and Thomas R. Joynes were named as his executors.
After his death his estate, " Bowman's Folly," became the prop-
erty of Thomas R. Joynes, Mrs. Cropper renouncing the will and
taking as her dower portion a farm called **Edge Hill," near
the courthouse, where she resided for some years.
Mr. Joynes, who was a son of Colonel Levin Joynes, was the
county clerk of Accomack for a period of seventeen years, an able
lawyer, and a prominent member of the Virginia Convention of
1 829-' 30, to which he was chosen as a delegate from his district,
his colleagues being Colonel Thomas M. Bayly, Judge Abel P.
Upshur and Dr. Calvin H. Read. He was the father of Judge
812 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
W. T. Joynes of the court of appeals and Dr. Levin S. Joynes,
of Richmond. He moved to "Bowman's Folly'* in 1822,
which he called *' Montpelier," and resided there until his death
in 1858.
The following letter from William Wirt, Attorney- General of
the United States, was written by him to General Cropper's
daughter Eliza, afterwards Mrs. Gibb.
Washington, February 6th, 1B21,
*' I offer you my sincere condolence, my dear Miss. Cropper, on the
death of your excellent father, of which sad event your obliging; letter
of the 2oth of last month- brought me the first intelligence. I have
lost a friend in him, and you an affectionate father; but Heaven, I trust
has gained another inhabitant, and it would be rather selfish in us to
lament at a change which has ushered him into unspeakable and never
ending happiness. Besides, we are taught by an authoiity which can-
not err that the separation is not eternal, unless we choose to make it
so. Upon the supposition then, that we shall do our duty on this earth
as well as I trust he has done his, the separation will be but a short one.
He has only set out a little before us on a journey on which we shall
certainly follow him in a few short years, and I trust we shall hereafter
have a far mere joyful meeting than we have heretofore experienced on
this earth.
Your father, my dear Miss Cropper, has left few men behind him who
would not gladly compound for such a life and such a death; a life of
so much utility, public and private, and a death which came not to call
him until he seemed to have accomplished every purpose for which he
had been sent upon this earth. He has, indeed, acted well his part in
all the relations of life, and in this, we are told and truly told, lies all the
honor. So far as I could judge him, I have never known a man who
was more scrupulously punctilious in the discharge of every duty, pub-
lic and private, and that such, too, was the opinion of his country is
proven by the honorable marks of her confidence, which he enjoyed
'till the day of his death. To live and to die, beloved, honored and
respected ; to live to a good, old age, and to leave behind him a large
family, the heirs of his respectability, as well as most respectable in
themselves, amply provided for as to this world and with the fairest
opportunities and hopes for the next; to spend his last moments with
a memory lingering on the brilliant retrospect of a life well spent, and
to die, with Faith pointing his way to Heaven— who would not feel
rather disposed to envy such a fate than to mourn over it?
The account you give me of the Utile incident about three weeks
before his death of requesting you to trace with him the military map
of New Jersey, and the old war songs with which he closed the ideal
J
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 813
excursion, is very interesting. The soldier's heart beat in his bosom
to the last, and those scenes were the freshest, as well as sweetest, to
his recollection, in which he had in the morning of life, drawn his sword
in his country's cause, under the banners, too, of the immortal Wash-
ington. Ere this they have met and recognized each other. Think
what a meeting ! Can Death be a calamity which brings about such an
interview as this— and more especially when even the joy of such an
interview is faint in comparison with the brighter and more inconceiv-
able joys that surround him.
**********
Mrs. Wirt and my daughter desire their respectful compliments, and
I pray Heaven to bless you both here and hereafter.
(Signed) William Wirt.
The portrait of General Cropper and that of his wife, Cathe-
rine Bayly Cropper, with other family relics, are in the posses-
sion of his grandson, Mr. John Cropper, of Washington, D. C.
The likenesses were executed by Charles Wilson Peale in the
latter part of the year 1792. Peale himself had been a soldier
in the Revolution, and was an old army friend. Prior to this
period he had gone to London to study under West, and for a
considerable time before and after the war be is said to have been
the only famous portrait-painter in America, Smybert and Cop-
ley having disappeared, and Trumbull and Stuart not then
become familiar. He painted the first likeness of Washington
in 1772, Washington being a Virginia colonel at the time,
besides a dozen or more other ones of him later on, and over a
hundred portraits mostly of celebrated Americans connected
with the Revolution or Continental Congress.
Cropper's portrait was taken when he was about thirty-six
years of age. It represents him as a stout man, with a ruddy
complexion and marked features, and with brown hair and blue
eyes. He is dressed in his uniform of Continental blue, with/
scarlet facings, and is holding the handle of his dress, silver-
mounted rapier, the blade of which rests across his arm. His
wife appears a handsome woman, with beautiful auburn hair and
lovely complexion. A number of souvenirs of General Cropper
are in the possession of his family, among them his sword, a
light, triangular rapier— the one that is taken in his portrait — his
original diploma as a member of the Cincinnati, signed by Wash-
ington, and his badge of the same order. There were among
814 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Others a number of pieces of cannon captured at Yorktown of
French make. A dozen of these were presented to La Fayette,
which he in turn gave to his favorite officers. One of these was
a brass four pounder that had been cast in France, bearing a
number of mottoes and devices inscribed upon it, with the name
" Junon *' at the muzzle. This he gave to Colonel Cropper, and
it is still in his family." The Marquis and Cropper corresponded
at intervals, and there were several of La Fayette's letters among
the latter' s papers after his death, which are not now to be
found.
General Cropper's death was a great loss to the people of the
Eastern Shore, whom he had long served, and to the old soldiers
of the Revolution, whom he befriended in every way.
The condition of the Virginia people is said to have been even
worse after the Revolution, than after the Civil war in 1865.
Poverty and destitution were widespread, and but few people
had the money to buy what they needed. He was often appealed
to, and not in vain, to aid his more unfortunate countrymen. His
remains were interred at " Bowman's Folly," where he was born,
which has within the last year or two again passed into the
hands of a Cropper, and is owned by his grandson, who bears
his name.
The original house built by Edmund Bowman, the ancestor
of General Cropper, and which was standing during the Revolu-
tion, was pulled down about the year 18 15, and the present one,
which in that day was considered very grand, constructed upon
the former site. Before the dwelling was built. General Crop-
" A number of these brass guns of various sizes were brought to
America by our French allies during the Revolution. The period of
their manufacture was during the reign of Louis XIV. They were
richly ornamenied in design, chased by the hand and chisel. Several of
these guns, 24 pounders, and mortars of large size, were an attraction
of the armory grounds at Rithmond prior to the late war. All of them*
save two, which were sent to the Virginia Military Institute, at Lexing-
ton, were melted and recast into light field pieces to meet the exigencies
of the Confederate States Army. If the gun mentioned in the text
was " captured at Yorktown " it must have been one previously taken by
the British from the Continental Army. An account of the "Old French
Q\ins formerly at the Virginia Armory '* with others, was published by
the present writer in Richmond Standard^ October 5, 12, 19, 1878. — Ed.
MEMOIR OF GENERAL JOHN CROPPER. 316
per's slaves were taken from their usual labors on the plantation
and made to haul earth for several months to make the mound
on which it was constructed, the ground along Folly creek being
naturally perfectly level. The county of Accomack generally is
too flat to be a really picturesque country, but to those who love
the soughing of the pines, and the murmur of the ocean, the
peninsula land of Virginia has many charms, and General Crop-
per was devoted to his home. When he returned from his jour-
neyings abroad he would roll on the grass beneath the tall,
overhanging boughs of the trees surrounding his house, and
where the breeze coming in from the ocean would sweep over
him, and he would declare it to be the dearest spot on earth.
He sought to make his home attractive, and a beautiful park of
stately trees, where the deer roamed at will, was one of its fea-
tures. Across the road, at some distance from the house, and at
the end of a long lane, was ** Cropper ville." This place was
part of the original tract, which he had given to his brother
Thomas, of whom he was very fond, and on which he had built
a house for him. General Cropper was a patron of education,
and was one of the founders of Margaret Academy, a high-grade
classical school, at which many of the leading men of the East-
ern Shore have been educated. It was given its name, ** Mar-
garet,*' as a tribute to his beloved wife, Peggy Pettitt, whose
memory it was designed to perpetuate.
In politics General Cropper was a staunch Federalist, as were a
majority of the Virginia gentlemen of that period. He was in war
a gallant soldier, well suited to the times in which he lived, and
in peace a country squire, and belonged to a civilization now as
dead as that of the Medes and Persians.
His story, however, serves to recall the hardships and priva-
tions of our ancestors during the infancy of the country, and is
a reminder of the mighty struggle with England, in which
" The old-time Continentals,
In their ragged regimentals.
Faltered not.**
Barton H ax all Wise.
Richmond^ Virginia,
ORDERLY BOOK
OF
Major William Heth
OF THE
Third Virginia Regiment,
IVIAY 15— JULY 1,
1777
INTRODUCTION.
Paens to the virtue, valor and worth of the impressive " Scotch-
Irish race ' ' increase in volume as the years pass and orators and
books multiply. The generic designation is made more and
more comprehensive in its representation.
William Heth, to whose providence posterity is indebted for
the accompanying memorial of the Revolution,' was truly an ex-
ample of the admired component strain.
' It was presented to the Virginia Historical Society in September,
1881, by the laie Rev. Philip Slaughter, D. D., who inscribed upon its
cover; " Found among the papers of my father, Captain Philip Slaughter,
the comrade in-arms of Major Heth in the American Revolution."
The Slaughter family can be traced back in England to 1485, when
the name was spelled Schlostre. John Slaughter was a grantee of land
in eastern Virginia as early as 163'i. In 1731, Robert and Francis
Slaughter were chosen as the first church wardens of St. Mark's parish,
Culpeper county. Robert Slaughter married a daughter of Cadwalader
Jones, of Essex county, and had issue seven sons, of whom the fifth,
James, " commanded a regiment at the battle of Great Bridge " in 1775,
■the first engagement of the Revolution in Virginia. He married Susan,
daughter of Major Philip Clayton, and the eldest of their issue was
Philip Slaughter, born December 4, 1758 ; died 1849 ; entered Captain
John Jameson's company of minute men from Culpeper county In 1775.
and marched witti it to Williamsburg to reclaim the powder seized by
Lord Dunmore.
Having been discharged from military service, Philip Slaughter re-
entered school, but in the spring of 1776, he re-enlisted in Colonel John
Jameson's troop of cavalry for a term of three years.
Before it marched, however, he was appointed by the Committee of
Safety of Culpeper county a lieutenant in Captain Gabriel Long's com-
pany of riflemen, which joined the army under Genera! Washington in
New Vork. In 1777 this company was attached to the Eleventh Vir-
320 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
His father, John Heth, is said to have emigrated from the
North of Ireland some time during the earlier half of the efgh-
teenth centrury. He settled first in Pennsylvania, and married
there Mary Mackey,' of Scotch parentage. Here,' it is pre-
sumed, William, the eldest of a somewhat noted family of twelve
children — six sons and six daughters — was born July 19, 1750.
Of his brothers, Henry * and Andrew, served with the rank of
ginia regiment on Continental Establishment, commanded by the cele-
brated Daniel Morgan. Lieutenant Slaughter was promoted captain
in 1778, and served gallantly throughout the war, participating among
others in the momentous battles of Brandywine, Germantown and
Monmouth. He was one of those who endured the bitter hardships of
Valley Forge. His messmates were the two Porterfields, Charles and
Robert, Lieutenant Johnson, and Captain John Marshall (subsequently
the Chief Justice). Captain Slaughter kept a diary of his campaigns,
which was unfortunately lost during the late war. Subsequent to the
Revolution he held various civil offices, among which was that of High
Sheriff of Culpeper county. He was twice married, his first wife being a
daughter of French Strother, and his second a daughter of Colonel
Thomas Towles. The issue by the two marriages was nineteen chil-
dren — sons and daughters — whose descendants, now numbering several
hundred, comprehend many of the most estimable family names in the
State and Union. Slaughter's History of St, Mark's Parish^ and
History of St, George's Parish^ second edition , with Memoir of Dr.
Slaughter by the present writer.
^ A relative of Dr. Robert Mackey, of Winchester, Virginia, an exe-
cutor of Colonel Thomas Bryan Martin (the nephew of Lord Fairfax),
and the maternal great-grandfather of ex-Governor F. W. M. Holliday.
' Several diaries kept by Colonel William Heth whilst a prisoner in
Quebec, Canada in 1776, in 1788, and in 1792, are in the possession of
his great-grandson, Mr. Richard Heth Munford Harrison, Richmond.
In that of 1792, Colonel Heth gives an account of a visit to his parents,
whose residence appears then to have been in Ohio county, in what was
known as the " Pan-Handle,** and not far distant from Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania.
* Henry Heth married in Richmond, November 10, 1787, Nancy Hare.
He was United States Commissioner of Loans for the State of Virginia,
and owned the Blackheath coal pits, in Chesterfield county, which were
subsequently operated by his son, John Heth, who, in 1837, incorporated
this property and another adjacent, as the Blackheath and Huguenot
Coal and Iron Companies, with a directory composed of himself. Dr.
John Brockenbrough, president of the Virginia Bank, and William H.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 321
captain in the Revolution; John, who entered the army in 1777
at the age of seventeen as a cadet, attained the rank of lieuten-
ant. He was appointed March 5, 1792, captain Second United
States infantry, and served under Wayne in his campaign against
the Northwestern Indians. He was a member of the Virginia
Society of the Cincinnati, and died November 15, 18 10. Andrew
Heth also served subsequent to the Revolution as a commis-
sioner for apportioning and surveying the lands granted by Vir-
ginia to the Illinois regiment.
Of the sisters of William Heth, Mary became the wife of one
of his army comrades, Captain Robert Porterfield, subsequently
general of the State militia, and Anne or Nancy, the wife of
another, Lieutenant Josiah Tannehill, subsequently colonel of
militia.
Of the boyhood and educational advantages of William Heth
his descendants can furnish no definite account. His diaries,
however, recorded in a flowing hand, exhibit refined tastes, acute
discernment, and ease of diction. He appears to have been a
lover of music and the drama, and a judicious critic of both. He
had the faculty of versification, and was skilled in the use of the
pencil, and notes the copying thus of engravings and the mak-
ing of portraits of his wife and of several of his female friends.
His first military service is believed to have been as a lieutenant
Macfarland, president of the Farmers' Bank, Richmond. In 1839 he
went to England, and endeavored, unsuccessfully, to capitalize the pro-
perty at ;f 200,000. Another son, Beverley Heth, operated the Norwood
coal mine in Powhatan county. He married in 1830, Virginia, daughter
of Robert Gwathmey, and died December 29, 1842, aged thirty-five
years, leaving issue. The daughters of Captain Henry Heth married
respectively Messrs. Temple Gwathmey, Richard H. Cunningham, Archi-
bald M. Harrison, Miles Cary Selden, Robert Beverley Randolph and
Thomas Lynch Hamilton, of South Carolina. John Heth was appointed
a midshipman, United States Navy, but resigned in 1822. He was lat-
terly known as " Colonel." He married Margaret, daughter of Georjje
Pickett, Richmond, and aunt of the late George E. Pickett, Major-
General Confederate States Army. Colonel John Heth died at "Need-
wood," Chesterfield county, Virginia, April 30, 1842. Among his issue
were the first wife of the late Colonel Julian Harrison, Confederate States
Army, and Major-General Harry Heth, Confederate States Army, now of
Washington, D. C.
SI
322 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
in the company of Daniel Morgan in Lord Dunmore's* expe-
dition against the Indians in 1774. The following year, as one of
the captains of the three companies under Daniel Morgan, he
participated in the expedition of Arnold against Quebec, which
began its arduous march through the wilderness of Maine, Sep-
tember 1 6th. In the unsuccessful assault of Quebec, December
31, 1775, he was wounded and taken prisoner, and kept in captivity
more than six months. His diary of prison life, covering the
period February 3 — July i, 1776, has been preserved. In the
orderly book, the last entry of which is July i, 1777, there is no
record of his promotion, but his appointment as lieutenant-
colonel must have been announced soon thereafter, and it
dated from April i, 1777.' He was subsequently promoted colo-
nel, and is stated served under Lincoln in the siege of Charles-
ton, and to have commanded the regiment to the close of the
war.* The latter statement is evidently erroneous, as he appears
on the list of supernumerary officers October, 1781.® The writer
is in possession of no further details of the service of Colonel
Heth in the Revolution.
In 1787 he was appointed a member of the Council of State of
Virginia, a position then entailing frequent and exacting service,
as the body decided upon the claims for service in the Revolu-
tion ; examined the accounts of various officers of the State, and
was consulted by the Governor in the appointment of State offi-
cers. In the act of the Virginia Assembly, passed March i,
1784, ceding to the United States all the territory held by the
State " North- Westward of the river Ohio," it was stipulated
" that the necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by Vir-
ginia in subduing British posts, maintaining garrisons, etc.,"
were to be reimbursed by the United States government. In
•He was allowed by the State of Virginia, May 21, 1783, 7,777^^ acres
bounty land for service from June. 1774. Military Certificates, Book
No. I, p. 458. December 8, 1809. His representatives were allowed
additionally 688 acres. Book No. 2. p. 926, Virginia Land Registry.
• SaffelVs Records of the Revolution, p. 276, and Drake'* s Biographu
cat Dictionary^ so give the date of his appointment as lieutenant -
colonel.
» Drake.
• See Ante, p. 266.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 823
January, 1788, Colonel Heth and David Henley were appointed
commissioners on the part of Virginia to settle with John Pierce,
commissioner of army accounts of the United States, the claim
of Virginia. His diary of daily events and experiences in the
execution of his commission presents a curious and interesting
mirror of the period.
On Friday, February 15, 1788, he " left Richmond in the Stage
without company J^ after seven o*C ; drove at the rate of 8 miles
an hour; breakfasted at NorvelFs. Dined at Linch*s & reached
Boiling Green [Caroline] county % after 4 o* C. * *
Saturday i6th. *' Reached Fredericksburg about 11 o'C. No
company going on to Alex*a, & from Acct's of the badness of
the road & high waters I concluded to stay until Tuesday's
Stage when I expect Colo. Henley. — Making my quarters good
at Gen*l Weedon's where I dined with a British officer, Capt.
Engs, from Canada, making a tour through the Continent &
who in the course of conversation I found was one of those who
commanded a guard over us when I was a Prisoner in Quebec
in 1776. He has a nose of such a size, shape & complexion as
excited my curiosity, as much to touch it as that what possessed
the bandy legged drummer's wife when the promontory of noses
was passing through Strasburg."
Sunday, 17th. "Dined at Gen'l Weedon's in compan'y with
Colo. Ball, !Doct. Mortimer and Domine Rian. Spent an hour
with Colo. Wallace in the forenoon.
i8th. Gen'l Weedon, Colo. Ball & Self dined with Doct. Mor-
timer & Spent the Evening at Colo. BalPs."
Tuesday, 19th. " Took leave of Gen'l Weedon & went off in
Stage alone. Dined at Stafford C. H. ; reached Dumfries about
7 o'C in the evening. Spent it very agreeably at McDonald's
tavern in Comp'y with my old friend, Mr. A. Henderson."
20th. ** Left Dumfries alone before 6 o'C — reached Colchester
between 8 and 9. Understanding that the Patowmack was im-
passible I sent on my trunk to Alexandria and hiring a horse
rode down to Colo. Geo. Mason's, wJiere I din'd & spent the
day. Very politely received & treated."
2ist. "Took my leave after breakfast of Colo. Mason, who
sent a servant & pair of horses with me to Mount Vernon, where
824 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
I was fortunate enough to find the General without any other
company than Colo. Humphreys who has been here some months.
Dined & Spent an agreeable day ; find that the General is very
anxious to see the proposed Federal Constitution adopted by
all the States. He received letters this Evening from Boston
and New York informing him that the Convention of Massachu-
setts, then sitting, would unquestionably accept of it**
Friday, 22d February. " Took my leave of the Gen*l (and
family after breakfast) who sent with me a servant & pr. Horses.
Maj*r Geo. Washington was polite enough to accompany me
two or three miles; reached Alexandria between ii & 12 o'C.
expecting to go with the Stage which did not get in from the
Southward to-day. Dined with Mr. Arthur Lee at our lodgings,
Mr. Leigh's. Spent the afternoon with Mr. W. Hunter, and an
hour or two in the evening with my old friend, Doctor [James]
Craik.**
23d. "Left Alexandria ab*t 12 o'C & crossed at George Town,
going from the Virg'a shore to the Island in a Cannue & from
thence walked over, on the Ice which by drifting is filled up to an
amazing thickness. Dined in Geo. Town and as the Baltimore
Stage had come on no further than Bladensburg owing to the
mismanagement of the driver I was put on that length in a chair,
where I arrived about 7 o'C."
24th. *'Left Bladensburg about 6 o'C. Reached Baltimore
between 4 and 5 o'C. Spent an hour or two with my intimate
friend Gen'l [Otho H.] Williams. Wrote Eliza [his wife] the
4th letter [since leaving her]."
25th. Left Baltimore J^ after 7 o'C in company with Mrs.
Jackson (her husband riding on horseback) of Philadelphia,*^ a
sensible, gentle Lady, Mr. Richard Cursons, Jr., Merch't, Balti-
more, Benedict Hale, of this State, a gentleman with whom I was
acquainted at Bath [Va.] in the year 1768, Mr. Scott, a lawyer,
and two young fellows going to Philadelphia. Reached the Sus-
quehannah a Httle after sun set. We concluded not to venture
to cross 'til morning."
26th. ** Arose all hands at 5 o'C and as it had froze pretty
hard we set out as soon as we could fairly see across. The ferry-
man piloting us & dragging our baggage and Mr. Jackson on
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 825
a small steed a little better than a mule, got all over without any
boat or danger & set off in the stage J^ after 6 o'C. Break-
fasted at head of Elk & refreshed in Wilmington while horses
were changing ; halted for the same purpose at Chester & got to
Phil'a about lo o'C at night. Stopped at the Indian Queen,
4th Street.
27th. " Spent the day in delivering letters & doing private
business for Gen*l Weedon & others. Dined at Mr. Sam 4
Pleasants ; waited on Mrs. Jackson in the evening ; received
many thanks from her husband for my attention to her. Met
with Miss Rittenhouse & a Miss Dale, both of whom played a
few pieces on the Piano forte, as did Mrs. Leath, sister of Mrs.
Jackson. Took my leave between 7 & 8 o'C*
28th. **Set out [with stage] for New York at 6 o'C ; reached
the Gen'l Washington % after 7 o'C — 10 miles; Breakfasted and
changed Horses; drove to Burlington 10 miles in i hour and 15
minutes ; changed horses and drove to the upper ferry at Tren-
ton in I Hour and 20 minutes ; found the river hard frozen on
each side so far as to throw the whole water within the compass
of 100 yards, which ran with great rapidity ; walked to the edge
of the Ice & then got into a small skiff with two other passen-
gers and the ferryman, who, notwithstanding the strength of the
current, managed the boat with great ease, but striking the boat
against a piece of ice, which had broken off, he had nearly over-
set us. Dined at Trenton & drove to Princetown, 12 miles in one
hour & a half; halted a few minutes and put on with the same
horses to Jones', 8 miles, drove in less than one hour & a quar-
ter. As it was then between 7 & 8 o'C & we had the river to
cross on the Ice, which they drove over with waggons, we con-
cluded to go no further & the Stage returned to Jones's,"
29th. " Curson & Self put on in a Sleigh. Set out J^ after
6 o'C ; drove over the Rariton river in full trot & reach' d Wood-
bridge, 10 miles in one hour and 12 minutes, where we break-
fasted changing sleigh horses & got to Elizabeth Town Point,
12^ miles in one hour and 13 minutes; crossed over in a skiff
to Staten Island & then put on in a sleigh about 3 miles to Ive-
sons'-, where we fell in with a number of market people going to
New York; embarked in a large boat with two sails, a cabbin
826 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
with Stove & crossing over to Bergen Point, landed two men with
their horses & then put round for New York, which we reached
in 58 minutes, 12 miles. Put up at the City Tavern & dined &
then went to Ellsworth's to wait on Mr. [James] Madison and
Mr. Beacon. The first not within. Left the papers and letters
with the latter, delivered sundry Private letters ; waited on my
old friend and fellow Prisoner in Quebeck, Gen'l [John] Lamb;
affectionately received and invited to dine with him to-morrow.
Lodged at the City Tavern.'*
Saturday, March ist. Waited on Mr. Maddison after Break-
fast; find him prepared to leave Town to-morrow for Virg* a.
Waited on Mr. Cyrus Griffin, another delegate from Virg* a &
President of Congress, where I am to meet the delegation in the
evening & to dine to-morrow. Mr. Maddison consented to stay
*til Monday to introduce the business & do everything in his
power to promote the Object of Virg*a. Dined with Gen*l.
Lamb ; most cordially treated & rec'd with a general invitation.
3d. ** Mr. Madison laid the business before Congress this fore-
noon when it was referred to a Committee of five, viz : Gen*l.
Wadsworth of Connect ; Mr. Dare, of Mass. ; Mr. Clarke, of
Jersey; Gen*l. Irvine, of Penn. ; and Mr. Kearney, of Delaware.
Went to the play in company with the President [Mr. Griffin]
and three other members of Congress. Agreeably enough en-
tertained with the ^'Duenna*' ; some good musick and admirable
singing by Mrs. Henry, who is the third sister and third wife to
Henry, the comedian."
4th. Dined with Mr. Pierce, who in politeness to me had
invited Gen'l Knox, Sec*y at War; Gen'l Wadsworth, Cap't
Dayton, Mr. Gilman and Mr. Wingate, Members of Congress.
Went home with Gen'l Knox and spent the evening with him,
'til near 12 o'C. Engaged to dine with him on Saturday. Took
leave of Mr. Madison at the ferry boat between i & 2 o'C."
The adjustment of the claim of Virginia progressed but slowly,
the ** award " not being signed by the Commissioners until May
15th. In the meantime, whilst he unremittingly left undone
nothing likely in his information and apprehension to promote the
interest of Virginia, Colonel Heth continued to be constantly
and variedly "most agreeably" entertained and diverted. He
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 827
breakfasted, dined or supped, among many others, with Baron
Steuben, Governor Clinton, John Wickham and wife, Generals
Irvine, Butler, Williams, Webb and St. Clair, Arthur Lee,
Samuel Osgood, Andrew J. Pickens, Colonels Alexander Hamil-
ton, Rice, Henry and Burr — ** A fellow adventurer on Arnold* s
march,'' James Wilson, "the Signer of the Declaration of
Independence,' ' " Mr. Paradise of English parents, but who
was born in Turkey, whose Lady was a Ludwell born
in Virg'a and is first cousin to R. H. Lee," and "Mr.
McComb, an Irishman who has made his plumb as a trader at
Detroit and contractor to the pritish." Many of his evenings
were devoted to the ** Play-house " and other " diversions." He
mentions the " wonderful performances in balancing, &c, under
the direction of Signor Carli—the performers, a negro man and a
small white boy," the playing of Miss Eccles on the harpsichord
and among many other plays that of ' * The School for Soldiers,
or the Deserter, " " a most affecting performance & admirably
executed ; a very crowded house & many weeping Eyes."
April 1 5th. He notes the quelling by the military of a mob which
sought vengeance on some medical students — detected body-
snatchers. In the riot, four citizens lost their lives and many
others received injuries, among them Baron Steuben, **a wound
between his eyes" and Mr. Jay who "got his scull almost
cracked."
Colonel Heth left New York to return home in the afternoon
of May i6th, and reached Richmond on the 26th. He ** lodged
at Harry's," his brother's house, that night and got home,
[" Curies," in Henrico county,] the following morning to break-
fast. " Happy once more in meeting my Eliza & boy well."
His successful accomplishment of his commission met the
commendation of the Governor and Council, and later he
was voted additional compensation for his services by the
Assembly.
His time, as now recorded, was divided in attention to his
farm, attendance on the State Convention then in session, at the
Council Chamber, and in social claims.
H^ appears almost daily to have been entertained by his friends
or to have extended bounteous hospitality at ** Curies." His
328 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
guests, sometimes more than twelve in number, would reach his
home in the forenoon and spend the day, some remaining unti
the following morning and others several days. They included
members of the Convention from various sections of the State,
old army comrades, the Governor (then Edmund Randolph),
Captain Marshall (the future Chief Justice), prominent citizens
of Richmond, and neighboring planters and their wives and
daughters.
And so the welcome extended and prevailed. Sometimes
the guests yielded to the solicitations of other friends and
accompanied them home, and thus an intended visit of one
day was prolonged into an absence from home of often more
than a week. It was a charming social system, as free from
pomp and factitious restraint as it was spontaneous and refined.
It was an existence, in its purity and reality, never to be re-
vived, fostered by circumstances which have been ruthlessly
destroyed and over-shadowed.
Among the early appointments of President Washington was
that of Colonel Heth as Collector of the Ports of Richmond,
Petersburg, and Bermuda Hundred, a position which was con-
scientiously and efficiently filled. Colonel Heth was a man of
decided convictions. He was devoted to Washington, and was
as constant in his political faith as he was consistent in his code
of social ethics.
The election of Jefferson to the Presidency betrayed the impul-
sive veteran into some asperities of speech and the perpetration
of a rhyming pasquinade, in which he dealt very freely with
some alleged frailties of the President.
His transgression received summary attention. His office was
first divided and diminished, the collectorship of Richmond
being bestowed on Major James Gibbon, and a little later he was
entirely superseded by the appointment of John Page in July,
1802, to the collectorship of Petersburg and Bermuda Hundred.
The action of Colonel Heth was prompt. He turned over at
once the books of his office to his deputy, Charles Turnbull, and
requested the adjustment of his accounts. The health of Mr.
Page not allowing him to qualify. Colonel Heth was constrained
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 329
m
/
to remain at his post until November following, when Dr. John
Shore entered upon the duties of the office.*
Colonel Hetli was one of the delegates from Virginia to the
convention which met in Philadelphia May 4, 1784, and organ-
ized the General Society of the Cincinnati ; and he was also one
of those who met at Fredericksburg, Virginia, October 6, 1783,
and organized the Virginia branch of the Society. He was unani-
mously elected treasurer of the State Society at the meeting
held in Richmond, November 16, 1786, and continued to hold
the office until his death.
Colonel Heth was stout in person and of medium stature. He
had lost an eye from a wound received during the war. A bust
portrait of him in crayon is in the possession of his great-grand-
son, Mr. Richard Heth Munford Harrison, Richmond, Virginia.
The death of Colonel Heth, by apoplexy, was sudden. The
exact date has not been preserved, but it was in April, 1807,
some time prior to the 8th, as on that day his will was admitted
to probate.
He was twice married, and mentions in his will slaves received
by his first wife, whose name is not given. He married secondly
Eliza, daughter of Gray and Dorothea (Pleasants) Briggs.*°
He appears to have possessed a comfortable estate, which
included slaves, stocks and three farms — "Curies,'* "Bremo"
and **Shilela." His executors were John Marshall, Edward
Carrington, Harry Heth, his brother, and Henry G. Heth,'^ his
son. He mentions his son, Henry G., and daughters, Mary
Andrewetta, Ann Eliza Agnes Pleasants and Margaret Thomas
® Still the war upon Colonel Heth did not cease. An amount of sev-
eral hundred dollars accruing from a commission fixed by Congress
was disputed . Colonel Heth referred the matter to the courts, where the
legal decision was in his favor, and he received a receipt from the gov-
ernment in full and final satisfaction of his accounts. The net emolu-
ments of the office appear to have been about |4,ooo annually.
*°Gray Briggs was a native of England, and his wife, the daughter of
John Pleasants, of ** Curies," son of John and Dorothea (Cary) Pleas-
ants, and grandson of John Pleasants (and his wife Jane, widow of
Samuel Tucker), who emigrated from Norwich, England, and settled at
** Curies,*' James river, in 1668. Born 1640; died May 12, 1698
" Drowned by the capsizing of a sail-boat in James river, October 7,
1816.
830 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Jaquelin Heth. These respectively married Richard Lortpn,
Bowler Cocke and Samuel Pleasants, M. D. He provides also
with lands in Kentucky for his adopted or acknowledged son,
William H. Heth, ** commanding the ship John Marshall, owned
by Archibald Gracie, of New York.*' " The widow of Colonel
Heth married secondly Lightfoot Janney, but they had no issue.
Of the issue of Richard and Mary Andrewetta (Heth) Lorton,
Margaret A. E. became the wife of John Nicholas Harrison,**
the son of Benjamin and Dolly Pleasants Gray Briggs (Nicholas)
Harrison, and grandson of Benjamin Harrison, of ** Wakefield,"
and grandson of Colonel John and Dolly (Briggs) Nicholas.
" His descendants in Kentucky are said to be held in high social
esteem.
"Parents of Richard Heth Munford Harrison.
i
ORDERLY BOOK
OF
MAJOR WILLIAM HETH,
1777.
Bound Brook, May 15th, 1777.
D. Orders.
The General having Observed that many of the Men make
a practice of lying or sitting on the Ground, Often on such as is
wet and Cold, desires that the Officers would pay particular
attention to correct a Custom so injurious.
The Field Officer of the day will in future take the 'names of
the Commanders of Guards and their strength on parade &
transmit the same to the Commissary that he may be enabled to
issue their Rum without any further trouble to the Officer of the
day.
One Capt. 2 subs. 3 Serg'ts, 3 Corps, 2 Drum's and Fifes &
40 Privates are to relieve Picquet now furnished by Colo. Arnold
from Quibble-Town on the road leading thither to-morrow
morning, this to be done daily till further orders.
A Drum and fife will for the future [attend] every Capt*s
Guard, as also that of the GenPs Field Officer of the day to-
morrow Lt. Col. Nelson." All the Drums & fifes in this division
will attend on the Guard parade at Guard Mounting.
"The Virginia Convention in session at Richmond. January 12, 1776,
by ballot elected the following as officers of the Seventh Virginia regi-
ment: William Dangerfield, Colonel (see fl«/^, p. 216); Alexander Mc-
Clanahan, Lieutenant-Colonel, and William Nelson, Major. The last
named was subsequently promoted lieutenant-colonel, and is presumed
to have been the officer of the text. Waddill {Annals of Augusta
County^ Virginia^ p. 160) states that Colonel McClanahan was at the
332 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Bound Brook, i6th May, 1777.
D. Orders. Parole, OSign.
The General is sorry that he is again Obliged to direct that
no Officer commanding a Picquet or any out post presume to be
relieved till he has first informed the Officer relieving him the
Ground.
B. Brook. May 17th, 1777.
Brigade Orders.
The 7th and nth Reg'ts will be on parade to-morrow at 4
o'clock in the Afternoon and go through the Exercise & Evo-
lutions.
The General desires the Officers will be particularly attentive
to have their Men clean and their Arms in the best order.
D. O. Parole, C, Sign,
Field Officer of the day to-morrow. Col. Bowman."
Camp B. Brook, May 17th, 1777.
Gen*l Orders.
The Officers of Reg'ts are to attend the parade at Reveille.
Beating at ten o'clock & four in the afternoon.
battle of Great Bridge, near Norfolk, December 9, 1775, in which every
British grenadier was killed, without loss to the Virginians. He served
under General Andrew Lewis at Williamsburg in 1776, and was com-
missioned colonel of the Seventh Virginia, October 7, 1776. At that
time General Woodford's brigade was composed of the Third, Seventh,
Eleventh, and Fifteenth regiments. McClanahan retired from the
army before the end of the war. He married Miss Shelton, a sister of
the first wife of Patrick Henry. He had issue— two daughters— Mrs.
Abney and Mrs. Austin, and a son, John, who died unmarried.
^* January 12, 1776, Abraham Bowman was appointed by the Virginia
Convention lieutenant-colonel of the Eighth Virginia or *' German Regi-
ment," of which Peter Muhlenburg was appointed colonel. The latter
was subsequently promoted major-general. Bowman received from
the State of Virginia, October i, 1810, 7,591% acres of land as bounty
for seven years and ten months' service.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 333
Mr. Tauny Hill '• to rank as First Lieutenant in consequence
of a Vacancy that happened the 15th of Nov'r.
Dan'l Morgan.
Near B. Brook, May 19th, 1777.
Reg'l Orders.
The Drum & Fife Majors must take particular care that the
Drummers & Fifers are particularly drest, their Drums & Fifes
in good Order and that they practice together one hour every
day.
No Drummer or Fifer to play or Beat after Tattos & Reveille
Beating except by order of the Commanding Officer.
It gives me pleasure to see the officers of the Regt's appear
clean & genteel on the parade, And hope and Expect that they
will take care that their Men in like Manner for the future appear
decent & clean on the parade as nothing attends so much to the
health of Soldiers as Cleanliness.
A Fatigue to parade to-morrow at Troop Beating under Direc-
tion of the Quarter Masters.
That the Adjutant attend every Morning at Reveille and
Retreat Beating to Enquire where the Absent Men are & the
reason why they are absent.
Col. Morgan,*^ ConCg,
Bound Brook, May 19th, 1777.
Brigade Orders.
The Commanding Officer of each Corps will immediately
draw Ammunition to complete their Men & see that their Arms
are well Cleaned and kept in constant good order.
For the future the Officers of each Company will carefully
examine at Retreat Beating what are loaded, it is necessary to
have discharged & those of each Company in a Battalion Assem-
^•Josiah Tannehill, subsequently, from January i, 1782, paymaster and
clothier of Colonel Gibson's regiment, colonel of militia ; and after the
war married Nancy, sister of Colonel William Heth.
" The celebrated Daniel Morgan.
334 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ble together under the Command of a Captain who is to march
them to some Convenient place & see that they & only they dis-
charge their Arms, & March them back to their Regimental
parade & Dismiss them. Any soldier that is discovered firing
his piece at any time will be severely punish' d. Every Officer
who observes such firing out of time is deser'd to Confine the
Offinder immediately.
D. Orders. Parole, C Sign,
A General Court Martial to sit to-morrow at lo O'clock
for the Trial of the Prisoners in the Main Guard.
Col. Spotswood," President
The Court to Sit in the Red House opposite the Grand Parade.
Field officer of the day, to-morrow, Major Davis.
Camp near B. Brook,. May 20th, 1777.
R. O.
The Commanding Officers of the different Companies are
desir'd to make an immediate Return of what Arms are wanting
to Complete their Companies and such as are unfit for service,
also the Number of Flints wanting to furnish two to each Man,
and Cartridges to fill up their Boxes.
D. Orders.
The Quibble Town Piquet Guard, the Brunswick & lower
Rariton are to be re-inforced with two Subalterns, i Serg't, i
Corp'l & 10 privates each — A Subaltern to go at all times with
^* Alexander, son of Colonel John, the eldest son of Colonel Alexan-
der Spotswood, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, 1710-1722, was first
captain of an independent company ; appointed major of the Second
Virginia regiment, August 17, 1775 ; promoted lieutenant-colonel ;
received, September 4, 1790, 6,000 acres of land as bounty from the
State of Virginia.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 335
the Scouts by day & Night & no attack to be made on the Sen-
tries [except] by leave obtained from the Commanding Officer
of the Guard who shall send out such Scouts or Patrols. Care
will be taken by the Scouts fully to Examine all houses, places
where an Enemy may be conceal* d before they pass, & while
observing the State of the Enemy, particular Care will be taken
by having Sentries on Commanding Ground in the front to watch
their Motions & prevent the Scouts being out-flank' d and
enclosed. The General is sorry to have so much firing at Retreat
Beating as has been some days past & is surpriz'd that the orders
of May 20th which mentioned the discharging such Guns only
as had been long Charged, or was wet, or such as shou'd urg'd
in Justification thereof.
No Guns in future will be discharged at Retreat Beating sav-
ing such as shall be permitted by the Commanding Officers of
the several Divisions. The nth Virg*a Reg* t to be muster' d
to-morrow therefore Exempted from any other Duty.
Field Officer of the day to-morrow Lt. Col. Butler. Adju-
tant — Mr. Gibbs. •
After Orders.
The Officers Commanding Companies will read the orders
of the preceding Day every Morning on their respective parades
to their Men. As likewise the Officers Commanding Piquets,
that whole Divisions may be acquainted with them & have no
plea for their Non-performance.
Brigade Orders.
I Capt., 3 Subalterns, 3 Serg'ts, 3 Corporals & 50 Rank &
file to parade at 4 o' Clock this Afternoon. The Captain is to
wait on General Woodford for his orders. The Officers are
desired to pay particular attention to the Orders respecting their
Men firing at Retreat Beating. The whole Brigade are to be
upon their Arms in their Tents & quarters & not undress
themselves that they may be ready to parade at the shortest
Warning.
336 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Camp Bound Brook, May 21st, 1777. .
Brigade Orders.
One Captain, two subaterns, 4 Serg'ts, 4 Corporals & 60
rank & file to parade immediately for a Detachment. Lieut. Col.
Parker '• will command the party. As the weather is now fair,
there will be no necessity for firing any of the arms as usual.
The Officers will therefore take Notice that there be no dis-
charging of Arms till further orders. All the Tents to be struck
every fine Day at ten O' Clock & pitched again at 4 O* Clock.
The Officers are desir*d to be Careful for the future to have all
orders respecting the Men regularly read to them agreeable to
Yesterday's Orders.
22d May, 1777.
R. Orders.
I find little regard has been paid to my Orders of the i8th.
I once more Desire that the Officers of the different Companies
may attend the Alarm post or parade at Reveille Beating and to
keep their Men at the Manual Exercise & firing one hour.
May 22d, 1777. B. Brook.
Division Orders. Parole, Countersign.
The Officers Commanding Battallions or Detachments who
have not drawn Tents will immediately make return to the
Quarter Master who will furnish them with what are necessary.
Brigade Orders.
A Court of Inquiry to sit immediately & to report to Briga-
^* Richard Parker, lieutenant-colonel Second Virginia regiment ; pro-
moted colonel First Virginia, February 10, 1778 ; received 6,666^ acres
bounty land from Virginia, June 4, 1783, for three years' service.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 337
dier-General Woodford,** the nature of a Complaint Exhibited
against Adjutant Vowles" of the 7th Virg'a Reg*t by Capt.
Livinsworth of Colonel Butler*s Reg't. The Court to sit to-
morrow at Major Day*s Marke at 4 o'clock.
Captain Lipscomb," President.
Two Sub's from the 7th Reg't.
Two Do. from the nth Reg't.
The Camp Colourmen ** of each Reg't to sweep their Encamp-
ments & bury all the Dead Carcases and other filth in and about
the Camp. Six Subalterns, five Sergeants and 54 Rank and file
to be warned from the 7th & nth Virg'a Reg'ts who are to join
Capt. Church's** Company of Colonel Johnson's Reg't, consist-
ing of one Captain, two Subaterns & 4 Serg'ts, 36 Rank and
file, who are to do the Duty of Patrols to the Brunswick, Lower
Rariton and Quibble Town Piquets till further Orders & to be
Excused from all other Duty.
^William Woodford, born in Caroline county, Virginia, in 1735;
served with distinction as lieutenant in the French and Indian war (see
antey p. 218); appointed colonel Second Virginia regiment in 1775;
subsequently commanded the First Virginia brigade; wounded at the
battle of Brandy wine ; at the siege of Charleston was made prisoner
and taken to New York city ; died there November 13, 1780. His heirs
received, August 10, 1783, 10,000 acres from Virginia as bounty land
for three years' service. His son, John T. Woodford, was a lieutenant-
colonel in the war of 1812.
" Henry Vowles received 4,666% acres of land bounty for services as
captain-lieutenant.
"Captains Reuben and Bernard Lipscomb, both received bounty
lands from Virginia.
• " Six men were usually appointed for each regiment and sometimes
one for each company, as camp colourmen. They marched with the
quartermaster to assist in making necessary preparations against the
arrival of the regiment in a new encampment. They also carried the
camp colors. (Duane's Military Dictionary.)
" Captain Thomas Church (originally of Wayne's battalion), of Colo-
nel Francis Johnston's Fifth Pennsylvania regiment, appointed January
5, 1776; promoted major Fourth Pennsylvania September, 1777;
relieved from service January i, 1781 ; died near Coventryville, Chester
county, Pennsylvania.
at
338 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
General Weedon*s'* Brigade is to furnish the Same Number of
Officers & Men for this Duty, which is to be done in the follow-
ing manner, Two Commissioned Officers, two Sergeants, and
twenty Rank and file to each of the above Piquets, to be relieved
every twenty four hours.
General Weedon furnishes the Quibble Town Piquet this Eve-
ning, & the other two to be furnished from this Brigade. The
Brigade Major will Consult with the Commanding Officers of the
7th & nth Reg'ts to pitch upon the properest officers for this
duty & he is to make the several Regiments allowance in the
General Detail.
Head Quarters Morris Town, May 19th, 1777.
The Commander-in-Chief positively directs that all officers
Stationed at out posts do not come to Morris Town, but when their
Business absolutely requires it & in that Case that they return
to their Posts with all expedition. Thomas Mullin, Esq'r, is ap-
pointed Brigade Major to Brig'r General De Borre,* and is to be
respected & obeyed as such. A Number of horses having been
drawn from the Quarter Master General for particular Services &
not returned when the business was performed — All Officers of
Regiments and others in possession of horses belonging to or
hir'd by the States are immediately to return them to the Quarter
^ George Weedon patented 236 acres near the lands of John Winston
in 1694 ( yirginia Land Registry Book^ No. 2, p. 5), and John Weedon
400 acres of land in Henrico county, July 9, 1724 (No. 12, p. 12).
George Weedon served as an ensign in the French and Indian war (see
ante^ p. 214). Subsequent to the Revolution he was an innkeeper and
portmaster of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
^Feudhomme De Borre, a French officer of thirty- five years' service
in Europe, claimed the post of honor on the extreme right of the line
at the battle of Brandy wine. General Sullivan would not yield, and by
a circuitous march endeavoring to outreach De Borre was late upon
the field. The latter then took the coveted position, but his brigade
was the first to give way in the action. For his conduct on this occa-
sion, and also in the expedition against Staten Island, Congress voted
an inquiry. De Borre was offended and resigned his commission,
which was promptly accepted.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 339
Master General, his Deputy, or Assistants in the Districts they
may be at. The General Officers are to order returns to be made
of any publick horses employed in their Families that the State
of the horses belonging to the Army may be known.
Head Quarters, Morris Town, May 20th, 1777.
Valentine Peers, Esq'r," is appointed Brigade Major to Briga-
dier General Weedon & is to be respected & obeyed as such.
Lewis Woodruff, Esq'r,*® appointed a Deputy Muster Master.
Colonels and Commanding Officers of Battallions & Corps
must cause their Regimental Paymasters to make up their pay
Abstracts to the 30th of April inclusive, & order them to attend
at the Pay-Master General's. They must be Examined and
Signed by their respective Commanding Officers and Brigadiers,
who will diligently Compare them with the daily and weekly
Regimental Returns & certify them. The Company Abstracts
must be delivered into the Paymaster General with the Regi-
mental Abstracts.
That the great & necessary purpose of adjusting the rank of
all the Officers in [the] American Army may be effected with all
Expedition, His Excellency, The Commander-in-Chief, is pleased
to order that the Officers of each Continental Battallion do im-
mediately Examine into the present rank & and hear the pre-
tensions thereto of all the Captains & Subalterns ; — settle them,
when they can, to the Satisfaction of all the Gentlemen concerned;
and make a full and fair report of all their proceedings to the
Brigadier Commanding their Brigade — And that the Brigadiers
with the assistance of. the Field Officers in their Brigade, do,
upon the receipt of such reports, proceed to adjust the rank of
all the officers in their separate Brigades and make a full &
fair report of their proceedings to the Major General Command-
'^ Valentine Peers received from the State of Virginia 5,333^^ acres
as bounty for three years' service as captain.
^ Lewis Woodruff was appointed, November 28, 1776, second lieu-
tenant of the Fourth New Jersey battalion of the Second State Estab-
lishment.
340 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ing their Divisions, that should there be any instance of any dis-
satisfaction in their Officers with the determination of their Field
Officers, they be candidly insinuated by each Field Officer, and
parties Comparing with all their attendant Circumstances & re-
ported to their respective Brigadiers, who call before them all the
parties Interested & inquire into their Claims, and if they cannot
be settled to general Satisfaction make a special & particular
report to their Major General, upon receipt of which several
reports at Board of Officers will take a dispassionate and com-
parative view of the whole & determine the Rank in the Army.
Untill which time it is Expected the Service will not be Injured
by disputes about Rank, but that every Officer will by an Emu-
lous discharge of his duty recommend himself to his Country,
and to the promotion he thinks himself Instilled to.
Camp Middle Brook, May 24th, 1777.
Gen*l Orders.
The Brigadier Generals are requested to get a Return of
the actual Strength of each Reg*t in their respective Brigades &
also the Number of Tents drawn for the use of the Regiments,
their returns to be made immediately.
The Quarter- Master General is to proportion the Tents to the
strength of the Reg*ts, one tent to each five privates, two tents
to the Officers of each Company, one to each Field Officer, one
to the Serg't Major and Quarter Master Serg't and one to
Each of the Staff Any reg*t having drawn more than this pro-
portion to deliver them to Colonel Biddle* Quarter-Master-
General upon his application for the Same — not more than one
Horseman's Tent to be allowed to Each Reg*t.
Camp at Middle Brooke, May 26th, 1777.
Brigade Orders.
The Commanding Officers of the several Reg*ts to pay par-
ticular attention to the orders of yesterday respecting the Returns
« Colonel Clement Biddle.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 341
of their Men and Number of Tents. Each Regimental Quarter-
Master is to have a sufficient Number of houses for camp use
made immediately and they are required to be used, i Serg't,
I Corp'l & 12 privates to mount immediately as a Guard at
General Woodford's Quarters. The Brigade Major will not
receive any Soldiers for this Guard, or any other, but what is
Clean & dress' d in a Soldier-like manner. He will likewise fix
on a parade for the Brigade & order a Fatigue to Clean it. One
Subaltern for the future to take Charge of the Quarter Guard of
the Brigade and make his report regularly to the General.
Major Ryan*° is appointed to act as Deputy Adjutant General
and is to be obeyed & respected as such until his Excellency, the
Adjutant-General, or his Deputy arrives in Camp & gives Counter
orders. Each Brigadier, or the Commanding officer of Brigades
are requested, Eleven o'clock in the Morning to send a Brigade
Major for orders at Major Ryan's quarters near the Gap of the
Mountain. The Deputy Adjutant General will deliver out the
Details for the Guards which are to be sent at the time & place
according by the Returns ordered Yesterday to be delivered in
to the Adjutant General's Office as soon as possible.
The Brigade Majors are to deliver to-morrow to the Adj't
General at Eleven o'clock the names of the Brigadier Generals,
the Field [officers] & Adjutants in the Brigades to which they
respectively belong.
If any of the Brigadiers General are without Brigade Majors
they must appoint some person to do their duty. Such Brigades
[as] the Brigadiers are absent from, the Eldest Officer in the
Brigade is to give the necessary orders to the Brigade. The
Brigadier Commanding Officer of Brigades are to appoint
Brigade Parades. The Troops for Guards are to assembled on
the Brigade Parades by the Adjutants and, by the Brigade
Majors march' d from thence at half past Eight o'clock. The
General expects all orders to be punctually executed, the good
of the Service and the safety of the Camp depending thereon.
All Officers, of whatsoever Rank, are requested t'o govern them
accordingly. A General Officer, two Field Officers & one
"^^ Michael Ryan, promoted from captain Fifth Pennsylvania regiment ;
suspended May 19, 1778; Inspector- General of Pennsylvania 1780;
resided in Alexandria, Virginia, after the war.
342 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Brigade Major of the day to Mount every morning at Guard
Mounting at the Guard parade after the Guards are sent off.
The Brigade Major of the day to attend at Head quarters to
deliver such orders as the occurances of the day may render
necessary. Each Brigade Major of the day to appoint an Adju-
tant of the day for the parade. Every Brigade to furnish two
orderly Sergeants, one to attend at Headquarters, and one at the
Adjutant General's.
[May 26th, 1777.]
The Brigadier General of the day, to-morrow, Muhlenburg.
Field Officer of the day, to morrow. Col. Hobly." Brigade
Major of the day, to-morrow. Major Hay.'*
Camp Middle Brook, 27th May, 1777.
R. O.
The Officers of the Regiment are desir'd to attend to-mor-
row at 10 o'clock at Colonel Febiger's Bush Arbour to settle their
Ranks. They are likewise to take Notice that His Excellency
General Washington threaten* d to arrest the Commander of a
Regiment Yesterday for suffering fish & Bones and other Nasti-
ness to lie about his Camp. I therefore desire that the Officers
of this Regiment may exert themselves in having their Streets
& their Men's Tents kept Clean & neat and to see that the
Sergeants does their duty in having the Soldiers kept clean, neat
& in good order, and their Arms likewise.
The Adjutant to see that the Men are Clean & their Arms in
good order before he receives them from the Sergeants. That
no fires be made in Camp except in the places appointed for
fires, which is in rear of the Suttler's.
Camp Mildle Brook, May 27th, 1777.
General Orders.
Major General Lincoln " is requested in Company at the
" Adam Hubley, Jr. lieutenant colonel Tenth Pennsylvania regiment.
''Samuel Hay, promoted lieutenant-colonel Tenth Pennsylvania
regiment, February 2, 1778.
"Major-General Benjamin Lincoln.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 343
General officer of the day to examine the late & present position of
the piquet Guard, fix upon the proper Ground to post them &
Establish such others as may be necessary for the future Security
of the Camp & fix their position by day & night. The Officer
of every Guard must send a Serg't upon the Grand parade from
his Guard to pilot the new Guard."
^J% ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^t^ ^^^ ^w^ ^^^ ^^^
nth Reg't Officers for Guard to-morrow Captain Bruins,"*
Lieutenants Slaughter and Porterfield.''*
Camp M. Brook, June 7th, 1777.
Brigade Orders.
A Brigade Court Martial to sit this Morning for the Tryal of
all the Prisoners in the Quarter Guard, As we expect to have a
field day for the whole Division soon. He desires that the Offi-
cers of each Company in the Brigade will employ their time in
having their Men's Arms cleaned in the best manner.
'* Following this record is a page filled with an account of black-
smith's work, of date April 25, 1778, and a memorandum by one •* Wil-
liam Bradford— Harford county, May ye 9th, 1780, State of Maryland."
Several leaves, probably, are also missing. The succeeding pa?:e com-
mences disconnectedly, being the judgment of the Commander-in-Chief,
who dissents from an acquittal by a court martial, and directs a recon-
sideration of the matter. A William Bradford was appointed Novem-
ber 28, 1776, first lieutenant in a rifle company of the regiment com-
manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Moses Rawlings ; resigned April, 1778.
'* Peter Bryan Bruin, appointed captain Seventh Virginia regiment,
December 13, 1776; promoted major; died in Claiborne county, Mis-
sissippi, January 27, i«27.
** Robert Porterfield, lieutenant Seventh Virginia regiment, January
I, 1777 ; adjutant of Colonel Daniel Morgan's Eleventh and Fifteenth
Virginia regiments, incorporated as they stood from May 31, 1777, to
November 30, 1778; promoted captain on the Continental establish-
ment; received 5,221% acres of land as bounty from the State for
seven years and ten months' service ; subsequently brigadier-general
of State troops; married Mary, sister of Colonel William Heth.
344 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Camp Middle Brook, June 7, i 777.
Gen'l Orders.
As the Army is now on a permanent and honourable Foot-
ing, and as the General has the credit of it very much at heart ; he
expects that every Officer on whom the Importance of the Con-
test, and a regard to his own honour or duty are sufficiently
impressed; will lend their Aid to support the Character of it.
To this end nothing can be more effectual than a close attention
to Discipline and Subordination, and particularly in an exact
obedience to General orders in which is the life of an Army ;
Officers shou'd consider that a Repetition of orders is the
highest reflection on those, who are the Causes of it. An
orderly Book is a Record in the hands of thousands, of the Trans-
actions of an Army, and consequently of the disgrace of those
whose Insensibility to the Obligations they.are under, and whose
want of a manly emulation of temper obliges the Commander-
in-Chief to publish their misconduct by repeating his calls upon
them to discharge their duty.
The General appeals to the understanding of every officer,
and earnestly recommends a serious Consideration of these mat-
ters, their Engagement with the publick, their own honour, and
the Salvation of their Country demands it. The General wishes
it on these Accounts & for his own ease and satisfaction ; for as
nothing is more easy than to conduct an Army when a cheerful
& ready obedience is paid to every order, so nothing is more
difficult & embarrassing, where a careless, licentious & disorderly
spirit prevails."
^r 3|C •!* T* n* I* *|* T* 1* 1* ^ ^h
The above Prisoners & those mentioned in former orders to
be sent for to their respective Regiments and punish' d on their
Brigade parades.
Head Quarters, 7th June, 1777.
After Orders.
The Men from each of the following Brigades, viz't, Max-
'^ Ag^ain a break in the record — a leaf apparently missing.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 345
well's, Muhlenburg's,*® Weedon's, Woodford's, Scott's,'* Con-
way 's,*° to parade to-morrow Morning at Guard Mounting at the
Quarter-Master-General's Quarters as a Guard for some Cattle.
The party to be commanded by a subaltern officer and relieved
daily till further orders — the officer to be furnish'd from the
diflft Brigades beginning with Maxwell's.
nth Reg' t officers for Guard to-morrow Lieut's Harrison" &
Ransadale.*' Major General for to-morrow GreenCe].** Field
Officers, Col. Ogden** & Lt. Col. Sears.** Brigade Major, Peers.
Headquarters M. Brook, June 8ih, 1777.
A Detachment of 3 Captains, 6 Sub's, 9 Serg'ts & 150 pri-
vates to parade tomorrow Morning. at 6 o'clock at General
Weedon's parade with 4 days provisions ***** is to
command this party and receive his orders from Major General
Greene.
By Intelligence from different quarters there is much reason
to believe the Enemy are on the Eve of some important Opera-
tion ; this makes it absolutely necessary that the whole Army
should hold themselves in readiness to move at a moment's
warning & that purpose they are always to be furnish'd with
three days provision ready Cook'd. Officers to take care that
their Men carry their own packs and to suffer none but Invalids
to put their packs or Arms into Waggons.
"^ John Peter Gabriel Muhlenburg, promoted major-general ; born
October i, 1746; died October i, 1807.
* General Charles Scott, from Virginia.
*• Thomas Count de Conway, promoted major-general.
*^ James Harrison, of Colonel Daniel Morgan's regiment.
** Thomas Ransadell or Ransdell, appointed lieutenant Seventh Vir-
ginia regiment, July i, 1777.
" General Nathaniel Greene.
** Colonel Matthias Ogden, of New Jersey.
**John Sears, lieutenant-colonel of Virginia on Continental Establish-
ment, received 6,000 acres bounty land from Virginia, September 4,
1790, for three year's service.
346 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The Quarter Master General to Settle with the Brigadiers the
proper allowance of Waggons for their respective Brigades and
to furnish them, or make any deficiency immediately.
All Arms delivered, out of the Publick Stores, or purchased
by Officers for the use of the Continent, to be branded, without
loss of time, agreeable to former Orders. For the future none
but printed Furloughs to be given to Soldiers. Any Soldier
absent from his Corps, with only a written Furlough, will be
be taken up, and his Furlough deemed a Forgery. This to be
advertised in the publick papers of each State.
A Return to be made to-morrow of the Chaplains of each
Brigade, Specifying where they are.
Head Quarters, 8th June.
After Orders. 6 o'clock.
Those Riflemen returned to the Adjutant General agreeable
to the General Order of the 2ist Inst, are to parade to-morrow
morning at 6 o'clock on the Grand Parade. The Brigadiers of
the different Brigades to which these Men respectively belong,
to see that they have good rifles to be supplied (if their own
shou'd not be good) from those who remain and don't answer
the Description of the General Order above referred to.
Morgan Conner, Adft GerCL^
Middle Brook, June 9th, 1777.
General Orders.
The Commander-in-Chief is pleased to approve the follow-
ing Sentences of a General Court Martial, held the 6th Inst., and
orders them to be put in Execution forthwith — the Delinquents
** Morgan Conner entered the service in 1776 as lieutenant in Captain
George Nagel's company in Colonel William Thompson's regiment ;
appointed brigade major to General John Armstrong, with rank of
major; succeeded Wilkinson as lieutenant-colonel in 1777; he claimed
rank, in 1779, as lieutenant-colonel Eleventh Pennsylvania regiment ;
subsequently made lieutenant-colonel Seventh Pennsylvania; said to
have been lost at sea. His estate was administered on in 1782.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 347
to be immediately taken out of the Guard house and punished
at the Brigade Parades to which they respectively belong, viz't:
William Nicholson of the 15th Virg'a Reg^t, Charged with deser-
tion, to receive 25 Lashes. Markham Hill of 15th Virg'a Reg't,
Charged with Desertion, to receive 25 Lashes. John King of the
first New Jersey Reg't, charged with desertion, to receive 50
Lashes. Thomas Banks of the 15th Virg'a Reg't, Charged with
Desertion, to receive 20 Lashes. Anthony Payne of the 15th
Virg'a Reg't, Charged with desertion, to receive 20 Lashes. John
Lowry of the 9th Virg'a Reg't, Charged with damning the Gen-
eral & his orders, to receive 39 Lashes. James Dougherty of the
3d New Jersey Reg't, Charged with deserting, to receive 100
Lashes. Daniel Henly of the 3d Virginia Regim't, Charg'd with
deserting from his own Reg't & Enlisting into another, to receive
25 Lashes. Samuel Mason of the said Regiment, Charg'd with
the same, to receive 20 Lashes. John Bybecker of the German
Battallion,*^ Charg'd with Deserting, & Enlisting into Another
Reg't, the Sentence postponed for further Evidence.
The Duty of the Major General of the day to begin with the
mounting of the Guard one day and to End at the same time
the next. The Commanding Officer of each Corps to keep the
Ammunition Account with their Men & make them pay for all
that is wantonly wasted.
Captains of Companys to keep a List of their Men's Cloths
and have them critically examined every Saturday. A Soldier
shall not presume to sell any part of his Cloaths on any pre-
tence whatsoever — the prisoners under Sentence of Death to
prepare for Execution.** *****
The movements of this army either for offensive or Defensive
measures will be sudden, whenever they do happen, consequently
no time can be allowed to draw or cook provisions. It may not
be amiss, therefore, to remind the officers of the necessity of
having their Men provided agreeable to an order of the 8th inst.
and the Commissary is desir'd, if possible, to furnish Bak'd and
*'A German Battalion was raised agreeably to a resolution of Con-
gress, May 25, 1776, composed of four companies from Pennsylvania,
four from Maryland, to which was added a ninth, July 9, 1777. Lodo-
wick Weltner was commissioned lieutenant-colonel August 9, 1777.
*® Again a missing leaf.
348 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Salt Provisions for this purpose which the Men may keep by
them, and continue to draw their usual allowance. It has been
so often and so pressingly recommended to officers to have no
unnecessary baggage with them, it is hoped the Army is entirely
unencumbered with it, but if the case should be otherwise the
General desires that the Brigadiers will have it immediately re-
moved.
The Adjutant General will direct to what place. After this
Notice Officers are not to be Surpriz*d if heavy Boxes, Great
Chests, Bedsteads, &c. are left behind in the Field. A very small
Escort from the whole Line will be necessary to Guard the Bag-
gage sent off pursuant to this order, and to be composed of the
most indifferent Men, put under the command of a Careful
Officer.
The General is informed that great Complaints are made by the
Inhabitants nearest the Enemies' Lines of Soldiers taking away
their horses and other property, and that in many Instances they
are Countenanced by the Officers under the Idea of the Inhabi-
tants being Tories. The General expressly orders a stop to be
put to such practices, or those who are Convicted of them will
be brought to exemplary punishment.
Such Inhabitants as are proper Objects of punishment will be
dealt with in a legal way. But no Officer or Soldier is to judge
for himself & appropriate their property to their own use or to
seize it without proper orders.
The Commander-in-Chief approves the following sentences of
a Court Martial held the 7th Inst, of which Colonel Thomas
Marshall of the 3rd Virg'a reg't was President. Lieut. Kirtley
of the 8th V. R. Charged with disobedience of orders & absent-
ing himself three Months beyond the time allotted him to join
his Reg't, found not guilty of being absent from his Reg't
beyond the "time allotted him but guilty of disobedience of
orders, sentenced to be discharged from the Service. Lieutenant
Tully Robinson," of the 4th Virg'a Reg't Charg'd with absent-
ing himself from his Reg't without leave, found guilty of the
Charge, Sentenced to be discharged from the Service and to for-
^ Tully Robinson, Captain of State Line of Virginia, received 4.000
acres as bounty for three years* service, June 7, 1832.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 349
feit his pay from the 30th December last till he join'd the Reg't
again. Lieut. Ford of the 4th Virg'a Reg*t Charged with dis-
obedience of orders in the instance of firing a Gun without
proper permission in Camp, Sentenced to receive a Reprimand
by the Commanding Officer of the said reg't in the presence of
the Officers of the same. John Smith of the 7th Pennsylv'a
Reg't, formerly in the 6th, Charg'd with inlisting into the 9th
pens*a Reg't without a discharge from the 7th, sentenced to
receive 25 Lashes on his bare back, and the Bounty of twenty
Dollars which he rec'd from the 9th to be stopped out of his
pay. Peter Burney of the 13th new Jersey reg't, Charged with
desertion. Sentenced to be discharged. William Shaddock of
the 9th Pens* a reg*t try'd by the same Court Martial the 2nd of
June for desertion omitted in former orders, sentenced to receive
25 Lashes on his bare Back. The Picquet Guards are to assem-
ble in the Rear of the Artillery Park at Guard Mounting, this
place to be considered as the Grand parade till further orders.
Head Quarters, June loth.
After Orders.
A fatigue of one hundred Men with a proportion of to
parade to-morrow 6 o'clock at the Quarter-Master- Generals to
Take their Orders from Major G'l Green. Major Gen'l Green's
Division to practice this afternoon with actual firing 3 o'clock in
ye afternoon.
Camp M. Brook, June 4th, 1777.
Reg'l Orders.
The Commanding Officers of the different Companies are
desir'd to examine the State of the Arms, Ammunition & Accou-
trements of their respective Companies and make an immediate
return to the Quarter- Master of what are wanting to complete
& what are wanting repair.
Many of the Officers having paid proper attention to General
Orders respecting the lessening of the Baggage, it is expected
they will now make an Examination into their Companies on
350 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
that head & have all that is unnecessary Collected that it may be
transported when the Adj*t General may direct agreeable to the
General Orders of yesterday.
This the Commanding Officer once more & for the last time
requests an immediate compliance as he wou'd be sorry to see
any of the property of the Soldiery left in the Field upon a sud-
den encampment which must be the case, if these Orders are not
attended to.
In future when provision returns are made out it will be
expected the officers will Examine them before they are delivered
in the Sick under the immediate care of the Doctor to be par-
ticularized. After this the Commanding Officer hopes not to
find the provision Returns & the other Returns disagree.
Head Quarters, Camp Middle Brook.
June nth, 1777.
General Orders.
The Commissary General to deliver no rum for Guards or
Fatigue Service but in following manner : a Jill *^ Man to all out
Guards and Picquets the order for it to come from Brigadier of
the day — the same allowance for all Fatigue parties, Either from
the Line, Division or Brigade, the orders for it in the first
instance to come from the Major General of the Day, in the
Second from the Major General of the Division, in the 3d from
the Brigadier of the Brigade. All Detachments & Scouting
parties to have a Jill ^ Man for Every night they are out. The
Major General of the Day to give the Orders for it. A Jill to
all fatigue parties, in the Commissary or Qr. Master General* s
departments; the order to come from the principal officer pres-
ent of the departments.
No other Guards or fatigue to have any allowance of rum,
the Rum for Guards not to be Issued till the Duty is done. All
Stragling or Suspected persons taken up to be brought before
the Major General of the day.
All Guards or Detachments going towards the Enemy or
coming from them to march in the same order, as if they expec-
ted an immediate attack— for this purpose the Officers to be at
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 351
their proper post, and the men to move with regularity ; advan-
ced rear & flank guards to be sent out in proportion to the
strength of the Party, and at a greater or lesser distance accord-
ing to the nature of the Ground.
As in advancing towards an Enemy, or coming from them is
danger of surprize and attack. Precautions should be always
taken to be prepared for them and were not this the Case, good
Habits will be introduced by acting in this manner when there is
little or no occasion which will be Serviceable when there is, and
both Officers & Men will be taught their Puty.
All Stragling Sutlers immediately to quit the Camp or their
Liquors, &c. will be taken from them & distributed among the
Soldiers without any Compensation. Each Brigadier to notify
those about his Camp with this Order. General Lincoln has
permission to clean loaded Pieces of his Division by discharging
them this Evening at Retreat.
All Regimental Paymasters are to attend the paymaster Gene-
ral at his Quarters on Friday at lo o'clock. Colonel De la
Laviere ^ is appointed to the Command of the Corps, heretofore
under Major Ottendorf." The Commanding Officer of each
Corps is to report every Deserter from it immediately to his
Brigadier who is to pursue without loss of time the most vigor-
ous measures to have the Offenders apprehended and to give an
Account of the matter to the Major General of the Day, who is
to draw the whole into one view in his report of occurences to
the Commander-in-Chief, Strict attention is expected will be paid
to this order.
^ De la Raddiere appointed Colonel of Engineers, July 8, 1777 ; died
in service.
" Nicholas Dietrich, Baron de Ottendorff, a nobleman from Lusalia,
Saxony, had served in the ** Seven Years' War" as a lieutenant under
Frederick the Great. Upon the close of that war he went to Paris,
where he associated with Kosciuszko and Roman de Lisle. At the
breaking out of the Revolution the three came to America, Koskiuszke
entered the staff of General Washington, De Lisle was made captain of
artillery and Ottendorff, at the request of Washington, was appointed
a brevet captain. On December 5, 1776, Congress directed Captain
Ottendorff to raise an independant corps, he raised three companies in
Philadelphia and took command of them with the rank of major. The
corps was subsequently merged into Armand's Legion.
352 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The order some time ago given at Morris Town forbidding
Waggoners to gallop ; and strain horses is little attended to. The
Qr. Master Gen'l therefore will inform those people of the Con-
sequences of disobedience.
The Brigadier Majors are to meet the Adjutant General pre-
cisely at six o'clock this afternoon at his Tent. The Guard for
the Commissary's Cattle is to be furnished by rotation by the
different Brigades and to relieved every three days. General
Muhlenburg's Brigade will furnish it to-day, the Men to carry
three days Provision with them.
Camp Middle Brook, June 12th, 1777.
Reg'l Orders.
Notwithstanding orders have been many days issued
desiring an Orderly Sergeant to be appointed to each Company,
The officers commanding Companies have not paid the smallest
regard to them* The orders are again repeated, with a positive
declaration that any Officer disobeying this, or any General,
Division, Brigade, or Regimental order, shall be immediately
arrested, and Sergeants not doing their duty will be Confin'd.
The Orderly Sergeant is to wait upon the Officers of his Com-
any immediately after he receives them & to read the Regimen-
tal orders to their Company every Evening before they march
them to the Regimental parade, other orders will be read to the
Reg't when drawn up.
If the Officers had attentively perused the General Orders
Issued since His Excellency arriv'd in Camp, The Commanding
Officer wou'd not now be under the disagreeable necessity of
speaking in a Style he wou'd most sincerely wish to avoid.
An Orderly Serg't from each Company will attend immedi-
ately on the Quarter Master & receive a proportion of Screw
Drivers & Worms, also Canteens, if any Shou'd be wanting.
Head Quarters, June 12th, 1777.
G. O.
The General thinks it proper to Establish the following
Regulations for Guards, and hopes that Officers will consider them
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 853
as the Rule of Practice, and make themselves well acquainted with
them. When any Guards arrive at the Posts assigned them the
Officer's first Care is to plant his Centinels properly according
to Circumstances. The Guards shou'd remain under Arms
while this [is] doing, and if it be at an out post near the Enemy,
temporary Sentries shou'd be placed at a small distance near
the Guard to prevent Surprize, while the Commanding Officer
reconnoiters the Ground, to know where the Gentries are to be
posted for a continuance, this to be done in Case the ground has
not beforehand been examined and particular Instructions given
or in case he does not relieve some other Guards, but if he does
relieve another, he is to receive all the orders given to the Offi-
cers of the Old Guard in Waiting ; which together with those he
receives from the Brigadier & Field Officer of the Day, he is
punctually to observe, if any difference arise between them, he is
to obey the latter in preference & immediately to send a Party
under a Trusty Officer, conducted by an Officer of the Old
Guard, to relieve the Sentries thereof, who is to return to the
Old Guard. If the Guard be of such a nature as that other
matters other than the Security of the Post are intrusted to it
they must be contained in a written report, and an Officer of the
New, to be accompanied by one of the Old must be sent to take
them in Charge, compairing the things themselves with the
report and see that all is right.
The Sentries of the Old Guard having joined it, they are to
march it back from whence it came with the greatest Order &
decorum and then send off the Detachments Composing it under
proper Officers to Each to join their Corps, preserving regularity
on the way. After placing his Sentries the Officer of the new
Guard is to make his Men lodge their Arms in such a manner
that Each Man may have recourse to his in a moment without
battle & confusion. In most cases it is best the Arms shou'd be
grounded on the Guard parade during the day, no Man to put
off his accoutrements on any pretence whatever. This done, the
Comd'g Officer accompanied by a Couple of Men is to vfeit all
the Sentries to see that they are posted right & instruct them in
the Line of their Duty. His next care is to take such precau-
tions for the security of his post by forming abetties & raising
parapets as Circumstances require to guard against any surprize
23
354 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
or repel any sudden attempt. He should make himself ac-
quainted not Only with all the great Roads leading to the Enemy,
or the Army he belongs to, but shou'd search out Every by-path
and advance by which he may more securely send his parties to
reconnoiter the Enemy or make his retreat good on any Emer-
gency. He shou'd have scouting parties all day and Parole
going all night towards the Enemy in his rear & upon his flanks
to gain intelligence of their motions and give timely notice of
any attempt that may be making. If this notice can be done
without firing the Scouts or patrols to retreat by way of the Sen-
tries to alarm them. Visiting Rounds shou'd be going all night
to see that the Sentries are all the Posts, alert & acquainted with
. every particular of their duty. The break of day are the most
favorable time for an attack or surprize. A good Officer will be
careful to turn out his Guard under Arms till an hour after Sun-
rise, and to have his visiting Rounds & Patrols going these more
than ordinary ; from watching through the night Men towards
morning grow drowsy and careless and are more likely to sur-
prize. An Officer's reputation calls upon him to guard care-
fully against this Evil. A guard is bound to maintain its posts as
long as possible, but if likely to be overpowered by numbers, it is
at least to make a Skirmishing retreat, firing all the way it goes to
give the alarm, taking advantage of Every Defile, morass, wood or
advantageous spot it can find to delay the Eneniy. If the Enemy
does not pursue but retire after dislodged, the guard is to resume
its posts, first taking measure to be sure all is safe. If two
Guards are so posted as to have the same Object in view and
depend upon each other, they must be attentive to every thing
that befalls one another & act in concert if either is attacked;
the other must not only put itself in a posture of defence but must
keep patrols constantly going to bring intelligence of what is doing.
If the one attacked retreats the other must also. If it returns
the other must return. All these things however to depend upon
Circumstances and the orders of the Brigadier & Field Officers
of the Day. Any Party of whatsoever kind coming towards an
Outguard are to be stop'd by the Out Sentries and Notice given
to the Guard, which is in most cases to turn out & the Officer to
Send a proper person to examine such party & give his orders
accordingly. All Flags to be stopped at the Out-Sentries. The
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 355
Officer of the Guard is to meet them there and to know their
business. If they are Charged with Letters or any matter that
can be Comniunicated to him he is to receive and transmit them
immediately to the Major Gen'l of the day, otherwise the Flag
must wait till Information can be sent to the said Major General,
and his order received. No Officer or Soldier is to Sleep one
Moment on Guard ; no Cooking to go on while on Guard ; the
Men must either carry their provisions ready cook'd or have it
sent to them — the former preferable. No Man to presume to be
out of call without permission from the Officer, who is not to
suffer more than two to be absent at a time, nor these at an Out-
post. In Case of desertion from the out-posts the Officer from
whose party it happens is immediately to Change the Counter-
sign, advertising the other out-guards of it, who are to conform
thereto. He is therefore to Send immediately to inform the
Brigadier of the day of it. All Guards to turn out to the Briga-
dier & Field Officers of the day, and except the Out-guards, to
turn out to all General Officers, paying them the honors due
them according to their rank & usage of War. The out-guards
to turn out to the Brigadiers & Field Officers of day only, the
honours of the drum never to be paid by them ; all guards to
turn out to the Grand Rounds, the officer of each to prepare an
Evening report to the Officer of the Rounds; all Guards of the
Line when relieved to make a report of every occurrence that
may have happened to one of the Field Officers, who is to attend
at or near the Grand Parade to receive it when the Guard re-
turns. Arms after this wet weather to be carefully inspected
and put in the best order.
Camp M. Brook, June 13th, 1777.
Reg*l Orders.
An immediate return of the Strength^of each Company now
in Camp to be made to the Quarter Master that the tents may be
Proportioned — at the same time a return of Cloaths wanting will
be expected ; care to be observed by the Commanding Officer of
each Company that there are none drawn but those who are
really in want as they must sign the Returns & will be answera-
356 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ble for every article rec'd. The Orderly Sergeants must ex-
amine the Tents of their respective Companies & if any Straw
shou'd be wanting they will mention it when they deliver their
returns. The Quarter- Master has one Day's provisions on hand
which must be drawn & cook'd up immediately.
W[illiam] H[eth.]
Head Quarters, Middle Brook,
June 17th, 1777.
G. O. Parole, C. Sign,
Major General for to-morrow, Stephens.*" Brigadier-
General for to-morrow. Maxwell.** Field Officers, Col. Arendtt^
& Major Morrell.** Brigade Major, Swain.
At a General Court Martial held the 9th inst. whereof Col.
Marshall was President, Capt. Jesse Roe** was tried for insulting
& ill-treating Mr. Colclough, Conductor of Wagons, on the March
from Morristown. Acquitted and Justified by the Court. The
General approves the sentence and orders Capt. Roe to be re-
leased from his Arrest with Honour; he also approves the Sen-
tence of the said Court Martial held the nth Inst, before which
Alex'r Brandon of the ist Pennsylvania Regiment was tried
for horse Stealing & acquited ; the prisoner to be immediately
released from his Confinement. Different Modes of promotion
having prevailed in the Army conductive of Confusion & Discon-
tent in many Instances, the Commander-in-Chief thinks it neces-
sary to establish the following General Rules to prevent all further
disputes and inconveniences on this head, all Commissioned Offi-
cers to rise regimentally according to Seniority until they arrive
** Adam Stephen.
" William Maxwell.
"Baron d'Arendt, a colonel in the Continental service, appointed
March 19, 1777, to the command of the German battalion ; superseded
Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Smith in the command of Fort Mifflin in
October, 1777, but from illness was compelled soon to relinquish it to
Colonel Smith.
^ Major Thomas Morrell of the Fourth New Jersey battalion.
'^^ Jesse Roe appointed February 3, 1777, captain of the artillery artifi-
cers of Colonel Benjamin Flower's Pennsylvania regiment.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 357
to the rank of Captain and from that in the Line of the State
they belong to by seniority also till they attain the rank of Colo-
nel. This Rule, however, to admit of Exceptions where par-
ticular Officers signalize themselves by Conduct of extraordi-
nary merit or where others prove themselves unworthy of pre-
ferment by the want or neglect of cultivating any qualification
requisite to Constitute the good officer. Ten Men fit for the
purpose from each Brigade to parade this Evening at 6 o'clock
at Col. Biddle*s Quarters to form a Company of Pioneers. He
is to provide them with a sufficient number of proper Officers &
every thing necessary to qualify them for doing their Duty im-
mediately.
In case of March of the Army they are to Encamp near his
Quarters. The following men : Thomas Backus, Samuel Brown,
Joseph Catlett, Isaac Green, Charles Cleer, Labor Camber, Wil-
liam Caldwell, Joseph Gadington & William Thomas belonging
to Captain WattePs Company having been sent to Camp some
time ago and annext to some of the Corps. The Officer Com-
manding the Corps in which these Men or any of them are now
doing duty are Desir'd to send a Return of them to the Adju-
tant General to-morrow Morning.
Head Quarters, 13th June, 1777.
After Orders.
Such Rifles as belong to the States in the different Brigades
to be immediately Exchanged with Col. Morgan for Muskets.
General Officers Commanding Brigades are desired to pay atten-
tion to this matter as the nature of this matter requires the
utmost dispatch. If a sufficient number of rifles, publick prop-
erty are not to be procured, the Brigadiers are requested to
assist Colonel Morgan Either by Exchanging those that are pri-
vate property or by purchasing them.
N. B. Those Brigades who have not furnish' d Col. Morgan
with the number of Men returned to the Adjutant General are
desir*d to send them immediately.
858 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Camp M. Brook, June 13th, 1777.
Brigade Orders.
Major Gen'l Stephens has been pleased to order that there
be a Field day of his Division on Sunday at 2 o'clock in the After-
noon. The General hopes that every Officer will make a point
of having his Men in the best order upon this occasion both as
to their Cloaths & Arms, & that every Non Commissioned
Officer & private Soldier will consider his own Reputation as
well as that of the Brigade to be concerned in his Conduct upon
that day, where we shall be probably honoured with the attend-
ance of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, and all the
the General Officers in Camp. As there has been permission
for a General Discharge of Arms yesterday and positive Orders
to have them well Cleaned, no Excuse will be admitted for those
who have them in order.
The Artillery of the Brigade are likewise to prepare every-
thing for their attendance. The Commanding Officer of Each
Reg't will have timely Notice where to apply for blank Cart-
ridges for their Men.
Head Quarters, 15th June, 1777.
General Orders. Parole, C. Sign,
Major General for to-morrow. Sterling." Brigadier Gene-
ral for to-morrow, Woodford. Field Officers Col. Spots wood.
Major Crawford.
As it is proper the mode of performing & receiving the
Grand Rounds be the same throughout the Army as well for the
Sake of Security as uniformity and order. In future the follow-
ing is that which is to be pursued. The Field Officer of the
Grand Rounds before he begins his visits to procure such an
Escort as he Chuses not exceeding a Serg't and Six [men],
accompanied by these he is to pass all Sentries remote from the
Guards by his Serg't who is to advance for the purpose answer-
ing Grand Rounds when haiPd & giving the Countersign when
he arrives near the Guard the Sentry next to it hails, and upon
" William Alexander, Lord Stirling.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 359
being answer* d ^' Grofid Rounds ^ Cries "Stand Grand Rounds"
and call the Guard to turn out. When this is done the Officer
of the Guard sends a Commissioned officer (if the Guard consists
of more than one) if not a Serg't and six to meet the Rounds,
who when arriv'd within twelve paces of them Challenges &
on being answer'd "Grand Rounds*' Cries ** Advance Officer
with the Parole," at the same time making his Party open a
passage by wheeling backward from the Centre, for the Officer
of the Rounds to pass through them and resting their Firelocks
as he passes, the Officer or Serg't conducts him to the Officer of
the Guard who receives him at the right of his Guard with his
Bayonet towards his Breast at which time' the Officer of the
Rounds whispers the parole in his Ear, the Officer of the Guard
finding the Parole true, orders his Guard to rest their Firelocks
upon which the Officer of the Rounds goes along the front of
the Guard and after Counting them, asking such Questions and
giving such Instructions as he thinks proper. Complaints having
been made to the Commander-in-Chief that some Officers fond
of any pretext to get out of the way of their duty Obtrude
themselves upon the Hospital without answering any useful End
but rather striving to Embarress & take up the room that might
be better employed. He orders that not more than one Officer
attend any Hospital unless from application of one of the Direc-
tors or Physicians and Surgeons General of the Army and that
Officer to be a discreet, sensible Man, whose business shall be to
observe the treatment of the Sick & report any neglect or mis-
management he may discover. He is also to assist in supporting
good order among the Soldiers but is to Exercise no Authority
inconsistent with that perfect Controul the Doctors should have
over their Patients. All Supernumerary Officers immediately to
repair to their respective Corps.
Camp at Middle Brook, June 15th, 1777.
Brigade Orders.
The several Regiments to draw provision immediately to
compleat their Pvlen to three days exclusive of this, which is to be
Cooked agreeable to General Orders ; and the Commanding
360 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Officer of the Reg'ts will see that this is continued without the
order being repeated, so that the Brigade may be alw^ays three
days before hand with cook*d provision. The Regiments will
be attended on Wednesday and friday Mornings by their Chap-
lains on their own regimental parades. The seventh Reg*t hav-
ing no Chaplain will join with the 15th Reg't and on Sunday the
whole to attend on the right of the Brigade as usual & the Chap-
lains to take it by turn to preach.
Camp Middle Brook, June i6th, 1777.
General Orders.
Major General for to-morrow Stephens. Brigadier Gene-
ral for to-morrow Conway. Field Officers Col. Wood" & Major
Beauford." Brigade Major, Tarling.
The General Court Martial held on the 13th Inst, having
reconsidered their proceedings of the 3d and being still of their
former opinion for acquitting Lieut. Myers of the German Bat-
tallion. The General directs that he be acquitted & released
from the Guard.
The Commanding Officer nearest any Hospital is to furnish a
prudent, good Officer to assist in the Governmentry so far as
relates to the keeping of the Continental Soldiers in order, hav-
ing proper Guards and the like, And to see that Justice is done
the Sick, reporting any neglect or abuse they may observe ; first
to the Chief Director of the Hospital, and then, if not reme-
*^ James Wood, son of Colonel James Wood, founder of Winchester,
Virginia; member of the Virginia Couvention of June, 1776, from
Frederick county; appointed colonel November 15, 1776; Governor of
Virginia in 1796; died in Richmond, Virginia, June 16, 1813. Wood
county, Virginia, was named in his honor.
^ Abraham Buford, promoted colonel and assigned to the command
of Morgan*s Eleventh Virginia regiment. May 16, 1778 ; May 29, 1780,
his command was surprised and massacred by ^olonel Tarleton at
Waxhaw creek ; died in Scott county, Kentucky, June 29, 1833 ; received
8,611 acres of land as bounty from the State of Virginia for seven years
and ten months' service.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 361
died, to the Commanding Officer of the Post from which he was
sent, who, if he thinks the representations just, to communicate
them to the Commander-in-Chief.
The Army not to omit exercising every day, as heretofore
practiced ; a thing so essential is never to be neglected, unless
in such Circumstances as render it impossible.
All parties whatsoever from thirty upwards march*g under
Arms to march by Sub. or Grand Divisions unless when the
nature of the Ground, or any particular disposition makes a dif-
ferent mode necessary. The Officers to be very attentive that
their Men keep their ranks always dressed, & use their feet in
Concert which are equally Conducive to the Order, Beauty,
Strength & expedition of a marching Body.
For the sake of regularity till a more eligible mode shall be
pointed out. Officers are to salute in the following manner only —
For a Standing Salute they are to order their fuzees and take
oft' their Hats gracefully, bringing the Arm down closely to the
left Side, untill the person saluted passes. For a marching Sa-
lute they are to trail their fuzees & lake off" their hats as in the
foregoing, in both cases it is supposed they have their Fuzees
rested on their left Arm, from which they perform the order or
trail the first in three, & the last in two Motions and after-
wards return their Fuzees to the same Position — In the order
they hold out their Fuzees in a Line with themselves with an
easy extended Arm.
All regimental paymasters are desir'd immediately to join
their respective Corps or they may depend on being punish' d &
displaced. No Excuse but Sickness & that properly certified
will be admitted for eluding this order. No Regimental Pay-
master in future to absent himself from Camp on any pretence
whatever without leave from the Commander-in Chief.
Head Quarters, June 17th, 1777.
G. O. Parole. C. Sign.
Major General for to-morrow, Greene. Brigadier General
for to morrow. Maxwell. Field Officers, Col. McClanahan &
362 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Lt. Col. Barber. '^ Do. for Bagi^age Guard, Lt. Col. Pray.
For Brigadier Major, Weatherspoon.
The Surgeon General is to give papers to all. persons in his
Department.
Two Officers from those Regiments who have Sick in the
Hospital nigh Camp to attend the Same for the purpose pointed
out in the Order of Yesterday. A Orderly Serg't to be appoin-
ted to Each Company to take a List every Morning of the Sick
belonging to it & report them to the regimental Officer of the
day, who is to make a General Report to the Sergeon of the
Regiment. The Orderly Serg'ts to attend the Surgeon, distri-
bute the medicines & do every thing necessary according to his
Orders. A proportionate Number of Women to the Sick of
Each regim't to be Sent to the Hospital at Mendham & Black
River, to attend the Sick as Nurses.
When Ever prisoners are sent to the Provost the Evidence
against them to be inserted in the Charge which will save much
unnecessary trouble & delay.
The General Court Martial whereof Col. Marshall was Presi-
dent is dissolved & another General Court Martial to sit to-mor-
row morning 9 O'clock at the usual place (Gen'l Waynes^
Brigade) to try such prisoners as shall be brought before them —
all evidences to attend. Colonel Stephens is appointed President
of the Court.
Head Quarters, June i8th, 1777.
G. O.
Timothy Pickering, Esq're is appointed Adjutant General
to the Continental Army. He is to be obeyed & respected as
^ Francis Barber appointed major third New Jersey battalion February
9, 1776 ; promoted lieutenant colonel of the second establishment,
November 28, 1776 ; lieutenant-colonel Third New Jersey regiment from
June I, 1777; and commandant to January 6, 1783; killed by the falling
of a tree in camp at New Windsor, New York February 11, 1783 ; served
as sub-inspector on the staff of General Steuben April i, 1778; adjutant-
general to Lord Stirling; aid to General Sullivan; deputy adjutant-
general to General Green ; severally wounded at the battles of Mon-
mouth, and wounded at the battles of Newtown and at the seige of
Yorktown.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 363
such. The General begs Col. Connor to accept this Thanks for
his Obliging & punctual discharge of the Office for the Time he
acted in it.
Head Quarts M. Brook, June 19th, 1777.
G. O.
Major Gen'l for to- morrow, Stephens. Brigadier General
for to-morrow, Woodford. Field Officers, Col. Malmadie and
Major Heth. Brigade Maj^r, Tarling.
The Quarter Master of each Reg*t is to draw provision for
such sick as remain with the regim*t for which purpose they are
to be included and their Numbers ascertained in each Provision
Return the Commissary will supply them with fresh meat when
on hand.
The General Court Martial now Sitting will proceed forthwith
to the Trial of Major Peers, Brigade Major to General Weedon,
arrested by order of Colonel Spotswood for refusing a true &
just return of his Regiment, and sending him an insulting mes-
sage by his Adjutant, all Witnesses to attend.
Camp Middle Brook, June 20th, 1777.
Gen'l Orders.
Major General for to-morrow, Green. Brigadier- General
for to-morrow, Conway. Field Officers, Col. Dayton" and
Major Davis. Brigade Major, Witherspoon.
General Wayne's Brigade is to practise with actual firing this
afternoon at 4 o'C. Each Captain or Commanding Officer of a
Company is to make out an immediate Signed Roll of his Com-
pany according to which his Men are ever to be drawn up &
when formed in two Ranks, the shortest Men are ever to be
placed in the front, by which means the firing will be rendered
rapid & the effect more certain. The Commander-in-Chief ap-
proves the following Sentences of a General Court Martial, held
the 1 8th & 19th Inst's, when Col. Stevens" was President, &
•^ Colonel Elias Dayton, of New Jersey ; promoted brigadier-general.
** Colonel Ebenzer Stevens of the New York artillery regiment.
364 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
orders them to be put in execution forthwith, viz : William Butler
of Col. Thos. Hartley's" Reg't & Capt. Wm, Nichol's Com-
pany, charged with desertion & forging paper, found guilty of the
charge & sentenced to receive one Hundred lashes on his bare
back. Rich'd Henley of the 7th Pen' a Reg't charg'd with
desertion, found guilty of the charge & sentenced to receive 100
lashes on his Bare back, well laid on. Alex'r McDonald of the
6th Penn'a reg't, charg'd with desertion, found guilty and sen-
tenced to receive 100 lashes on his bare back, & to be sent on
board one of the Continental frigates to serve during the War.
Lieut. Booker of the loth Va. Reg't charged with attending the
Parade drunk, found guilty of the charge & sentenced to be rep-
remanded by the Colo, of the Reg't he belongs to in the presence
of the Officers.
Ensign Pope of the loth Pa. Reg't charg'd with not attending
his duty on parade acquitted & ordered to be forthwith dis-
charged from his arrest.
John Rawling of Colo. Patterson's reg't Charg'd with desert-
ing & going to the Enemy found guilty of deserting & Sentenc'd
to receive 100 lashes on his bare back & to be sent on board one
of the Continental Frigates & to serve during the term of his
enlistment.
Michael Reynolds of the 5th Pen's Reg't charg'd for desert-
ing towards the Enemy found guily and sentenc'd to rec'e 100
lashes on his bare back, well laid on & to be sent on board one
of the Continental Frigates to Serve during the term of his
enlistment.
William Pannell of Capt. Govan's Com'd in the 4th Pens' a
Reg't charg'd with deserting from his reg't and * endeavoring to
go to the Enemy, found guilty and sentenc'd to rec'e 100 lashes
on his bare back.
Alex'r McDonald, John Rawling & Michael Reynolds who
are sentenc'd to be put on board some of the Continental Frig-
ates, are after rec'g their punishments still to be detain' d pris-
oners by the Provost Martial till further Orders.
^ Colonel Thomas Hartley, born near Reading, Pennsylvania, Sep-
tember 7, 1748 ; removed to York in 1766 and admitted to the bar July
25, 1769; appointed lieutenant-colonel Sixth Pennsylvania battalion
January 10, 1776; colonel, January 11, 1777, of the Eleventh Pennsylva-
nia ; died at York, Pennsylvania, December 21, 1800.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 365
B. Orders.
A Court Martial to sit this morning for the trial of all the
prisoners in the Quarter Guard. The Officer of that Guard is
desir*d to make his report regularly to the General after he is
releav'd, that he keeps his guard from stragling and that he does
not leave it himself upon any pretence but to be always ready to
turn out to any Gen'l Officer that may happen to pass that way.
Camp Middle Brook, June 21, 1777.
General Orders.
Major General for to-morrow Lord Stirling. Brigadier
General for to-morrow Muhlenburg. Field Officers Colo. Mar-
tin & Lt. Col. D'Hart." Brigade Major. Day.'*
Colo. Shelburn's Detachment at present w'th GenU Parsons"
is to Join Gen*l Varnum's'^ Brigade. Gen'l De Borre's Brigade
to get ready to march to-morrow morning at 5 O'C. — he will
send to the Adj*t Gen'l for orders to march. Gen*l Varnum's
Brigade to relieve the picquets at Whannest's Mill & Vanvartin^s
Bridge at 4 OX.
D. Orders.
The Reg't Quarter Master with the Camp-le-Men to pre-
serve Neets fut & to make an Oil for the Musket Locks of the
Corps. The Officers Commanding Companies will take notice
that no excuse will be admitted for not having the Arms in the
best order. They will be arrested & prosecuted with all the
vigour which the regulation of the Army will admit.
"William D'Hart, appointed major of First New Jersey Battalion of
First Establishment, November 7, 1775 ; major First Battalion of Sec-
ond Establishment, November 28, 1776 ; promoted lieutenant-colonel
January i, 1777; lieutenant-colonel of Second Battalion, September
26, 1780; resigned.
•^Benjamin Day, adjutant Second Virginia regiment; after the war
practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia ; Grand Master of the Grand
Lodge of Masons of Virginia, 1797-1800 ; died 1821.
•* Samuel Holden Parsons promoted major-General.
•'James Mitchell Varnum.
366 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The Division will have a field day as soon as the Arms are in
Order & the Men have two or three times practised the Manoeu-
vres to be performed that day. Officer hopes to find them in
the best Order & ammunition complete.
William Heth, Major,
June 23d, 1777.
Genl. Orders.
Major Gen1 for to-morrow, Green. Brigadier General for
to-morrow, Weedon. Field Officers, CoFo Lewis* & Major
Nicholas.^ Brigade Major, Peers.
The Commander-in-Chief approves the following Sentences of
a GenM Court Martial held the 20th Inst, whereof Col* o Stephens
was president & orders them to be put in Execution forthwith,
vizt.
Thos. White, otherwise caird Thos. Jones of CoPo Hartley* s
Batt'n Charged with desertion. The Prisoners pleaded guilty &
was Sentenc'd to receive fifty lashes on his bare back. Alex'r
Gray of the 5th P. Reg't Charged with Desertion found guilty
& Sentenced to receive fifty lashes on his bare back. Levi
Bloxam of the 9th Virg'a Reg*t Charged with Insolence to &
threatening to Shoot Ensign Robbins [John Robins] of the same
Reg*t found guilty & Sentenc'd to rec'e thirty Nine lashes on
his Bare back. James McCurle of the 5th P. Reg't charg'd with
insulting & charging his Bayonet on the Officer of the Ferry
Guard at Trent Town, and presenting his piece at Lieut. Smith
of 5th P. Reg't in the face of the whole Reg't, found guilty &
Sentenc'd to receive 100 Lashes on his bare back.
William McCurl of the 5th P. Reg't charg'd with insulting &
Charging his Bayonet on the Officers of the ferry guard at Trent
Town, no Evidence appearing to Support the Charge ag't the
Prisoner the Court ordered him to be discharg'd from confine-
ment for the present.
®^ Colonel William Lewis of the New Jersey militia, from Burling-
ton county. The New Jersey State line rendered important service in
the various sanguinary engagements in New York, Pennsylvania and
New Jersey, their value being attested by the commander-in-chief.
®* Major George Nicholas, commandant of Company No. 2, Second
Virginia regiment.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 367
The following letter rec'd from Col'o Spotswood :
Middle Brook, June 23d, 1777.
Sir:
Although the Court Martial acquitted Major Peers w'th
Honor yet, I think Something remains to be done on my Side for
the Injury done that Gentleman. You'll therefore oblige me by
putting the Enclosed concession in the next Gen'l Orders.
Y'r Ob't Servant,
Alex'r Spotswood CoPo.
Col'o Spotswood being Convinced that he was wrong in putting
Major Peers under arrest is Extremely sorry for it.
To Colonel Pickering,
After Orders :
The Militia of the State of New Jersey assembled upon the
late Alarm by Signal are dismissed with the Cordial thanks of
the Commander-in-Chief for the readiness w'th w'ch they have
turn'd out, & the Spirit & bravery they have shown in harrassing
the Enemy, & preventing their incursion, such manly Exertions
in the Militia prove highly discouraging to the Enemy and while
the Same Spirit remains, as Danger is to be apprehended from
future attempts.
After Orders.
The rain having prevented the Execution of part of the
after Orders of Yesterday — Every Brigade & Corps of the Army
is to parade to-morrow morning at 4 O'C if it sh'd not rain — those
after orders in other respects to be punctually comply'd with.
G. O.
In case of an Alarm the Army is to be drawn up in two
Lines on the Northern Side of the Brooke, Gen'l Green's Division
on the right, Gen'l Lincoln's on the left of the Front Line, Gen'l
Stephen's Division on the right of the 2d Line, & Brigadier
Gen'l Parson's Brigade on the left of the 2d Line — to be join'd
by Gen'l Varnum when he comes up. The Troops to make best
Shelter they can w'th boughs of Trees — Each Division to furnish
I S. 2 S. 2 C. 25 P. for Picquet to Parade forthwith near the
368 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Bridge. An AUarm will be made by the firing of two Field
pieces at the park of Artillery, upon which the whole Army is
to muster & take the ground Shewn to the Brig*r General with
all possible dispatch. The Park of Artillery to form in the Cen-
ter of the 1st Line.
Camp Q. Town, 25th June.
Brigade Orders.
A Brigade Court Martial to sit immediately for trial of all
the Prisoners in the Quarter Guard, all Evidences to attend.
A Capt. from the 7th Reg't President.
2 Sub's from nth Reg*t.
Members -j i Do from 7th Do.
I Do from 15th Do.
Head Quarters Q. Town, June 25th, 1777.
G. Orders.
Major General for to morrow — Stephen. Brigadier Gene-
ral for to-morrow — Woodford. Field Officers Lt. Colo. Sayers,
Major Hays. Brigade Major, Swaine.
The Picquets to be relieved this day at 10 0*C A. M. To-
morrow at 6 O'C, the usual Hour. Whenever any firing or
anything Else unusual in the Camp is permitted by the Major
GenU of the Day, he is immediately to report it to the Com-
mander-in-Chief — to prevent any unnecessary inquiries into the
Cause of it. The Officers are always to take the most particular
care that no damage be where the Troops are encamped. The
inevitable distresses of War are so great and numerous that any
addition to them must be deemed to proceed from barbarity &
wantoness alone — more especially on us, by whom that property
was designed, and ought to be protected.
D. Orders.
The Cartridges which are too Small or have too little
Powder, or are damaged to be returned to the Commissary of
Stores, and they will be exchanged for what will Suit their different
Arms. — by order of Gen'l Knox.**
70
General Henry Knox.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 369
Camp Quibble Town, 25th June.
Regimental Orders.
The Commanding Officer is sorry he is Obliged to report
the Orders of the 30th May — viz't, " No Officer, Non Commision*d
Officer, or Soldier to absent themselves from the Reg't without
leave from the Commanding Officer of the Reg*t, with the addi-
tion that whoever disobeys them hereafter may expect to be
call'd to an Acc't. He is well persuaded every officer acquainted
with him will not think this severe, or that wants any unneces-
sary or particular respect paid. He wou'd wish to know the
time an Officer wanted leave, and where he might be sent for in
case of Sudden call. It gives him pain that his Duty obliges
him to point at two Subalterns whose disobedience in this Order,
they upon reflection must acknowledge, Subject them to an
Arrest, but from the high opinion he entertains of both these
Gentlemen as promising Officers, He will take no further notice
of it, and Sincerely wishes every officer will endeavor to make
himself so well acquainted with his Duty as not to leave it in
the power of their Superiors to call them to an Acc't which The
Discipline & Subordination demand it, yet to an Officer of ten-
derness & Feeling it will ever give pain.
Head Quarters Mid. Brook,
26th June, 1777.
G. Orders.
The Troops are to complete 2 days Provision of Bread or
Flour as Soon as possible & but one days Provision of Flesh
(if Fresh) or 3 days if Salt, if it is to be had, and hold them-
selves in readiness to March at a moment* s warning. They will
lodge themselves in the best manner they can this Night near the
Gaps of the Mountains. From every Gap proper Picquets are
to be posted, & Patrols Sent out during the Night. The allowed
Quantity of Rum to be drawn for the Men immediately.
34
870 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
June 27th, 1777.
Regimental Orders.
The cadets Isaac Davis, James Dowdale & John Heth ^^
are in future to do duty when it comes to their turn in the Com-
panies they belong to. The Officers and Sg*ts are desir'd to
make themselves acquainted with the Signals of the Drum given
at yesterday. At Revelie Beating, Officers of the different com-
panies are to form them, and Join Such Other Companies as they
please So as to have Musick to each when they will practice
Wheeling, forming & Marching, taking every pains in their
power to instruct them in this necessary part of discipline. It
is expected those Officers best acquainted with Manoueveres will
be very active and that the others (who are by far the greatest
Number) will never Miss any opportunity of improving; as nothing
can be more disagreeable than for any Officer commanding the
Reg*t in manoeuvreing to be under the necessity of reproving by
Name any Officer for his Extraordinary Ignorance*
W. H.
Head Quarters Middle Brook, 27th June, 1777.
G. Orders.
Major Gen*l to-morrow Lincoln. Brigadier Weedon.
Field Officers — Colo. Chambers" & Major Rush. Brigade
Major, Day.
'ijohn Heth, a younger brother of Colonel William Heth, bom
1760; promoted lieutenant and ensign Second Virginia regiment in
1781, and received as bounty from the State of Virginia 3,036% acres
of land ; member of the Virginia Society of the Society of Cincinnati ;
appointed March 5, 1792, captain Second United States infantry, com-
manded by Lieutenant-Colonel H. Gaither, and served in the campaign
against the Northwestern Indians under General Anthony Wayne ; died
in Richmond, Virginia, November 15, 1810.
" Lieutenant-Colonel James Chambers, transferred from the Tenth to
the First Pennsylvania regiment ; retired the service January i, Ji,Si;
at the battle of Brandy wine he received a Hessian bullet in his side,
which gave him much trouble in after years ; died at London Forge,
Franklin county, Pennsylvania, April 25, 1805, aged fifty-six years.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 371
Commanding Officers of Corps who have Men in the Provost
Guard ag't whom Sentences have been passed & approved are,
without delay to see these Sentences executed. It being neces-
sary to Determine the rank of Colo. Bland" & Colo. Moylan,^*
Colonels of Horse, Major General Sullivan, Green, L'd Stirling,
Stephens & Lincoln were appointed a Court to inquire into the
Matter, hear the pretensions of the parties and Determine their
Ranks. The Court to sit this Afternoon at 6 o*C at Gen*l
Green's Quarters, any three of them to be a quorum. The
Commander-in-Chief earnestly desires that General Officers in
Case of an Action or the appearance of one, will, when practica-
ble, Send all their orders either in writing or by an Aid-de-
Camp,.or Brigade Major to prevent the unintelligible and Con-
tradictory directions which are too often conveyed, and may
prove fatal to the views & designs of the Commanding Officers.
Intelligence of the Enemies movements & approach, they are
also requested to communicate in the same manner to the Com-
mander-in-Chief Officer, otherwise it will be impossible for them
to make a proper disposition, as the goodness of this must de-
pend upon the Certainty & precision of the information. All
officers at out Posts are to govern themselves by this order So*
far as it will apply in their Case.
The General directs an immediate Return to be made to the
Adj't General of the kill'd and wounded and Missing since
Sunday last inclusive.
For the future the Commanding Officer of Corps are as soon
as possible to make an exact return to the Adjutant General of
all the Kiird wounded & missing of their respective Corps.
Specifying the Ranks and Time, when, & Places where such
Events shall happen.
Such Commanding Officers of parties are from time to time to
make the like exact Returns of all Prisoners they shall take from
the Enemy and as soon as possible after the Capture.
" Colonel Theodrick Bland, of Virginia.
^* Colonel Stephen Moylan, brevetted brigadier-general, born in Ire-
land 1734; died at Philadelphia, April 11, 1811,
372 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Head Quarters Middle Brook, 28th June, 1777.
G. Orders.
Major General for to-morrow, Stephen, Brigadier, Wood-
ford. Field Officers. Lt. Col. Wilson'* & Major Richeson.'*
Brigade Major, Peers.
The Several Reg* ts are to Send for their Tents and pitch them
where they are Posted. Orderely Serg'ts to attend at Head
Quarters as usual. All Chaplains are to perform Divine Service
to Morrow and every Succeeding Sunday with their respective
Brigades and Regiments where their will possibly admit of it. And
the Commanding Officers of Corps are to see that they attend
themselves with Officers of all Ranks Setting the example. The
Commander-in-Chief expects an exact Obedience in future as an
invariable rule of practice and Every neglect being considered
not only a breach of Orders but a disregard to Decency, Virtue
and Religion.
Camp Middle Brook, June 29th, 1777.
Brigade Orders.
In future each Reg*t is to mount a Quarter Guard suffi-
cient for its use, Convenience, independent of that which is daily
furnished for the Brigade.
Head Quarters Middle Brook, June 29th.
G. Orders.
Major General for to-morrow, Green. Brigadier, Mulen-
burg. Field Officers CoPo Spotswood L't Col. Febiger.
The Quarter-Master General is to make out a proper Distribu-
tion of Waggons among the Brigades & Corps of the Army & in
proportion to their respective Members, to ascertain which ihey
will apply to the Adjutant General.
'* John Neilson colonel New Jersey mounted men ; colonel Second
regiment, August i, 1776 ; brigadier general State militia, February 2i>
1777 ; also deputy quarter master general.
^® Holt Richeson of King William county, received 6000 acres from
the State of Virginia, February 17, 1784, for three years service in the
Continental establishment; member of the Virginia Convention of 1788.
orderly book of major william heth. 373
Head Quarters Middle Brook,
30th June, 1777.
G. Orders.
Major General for to-morrow, Sullivan." Brigadier, De
Borres. Field Officers, Col. Matthews'® and Lt. Col. Willis.
Brigade Major, Mullens.
A Special Court Martial to sit to-morrow morning at 9 O'C.
at the usual place near Gen4 Wayne's Quarters for the trial of
Major Stewart of the 2nd Mary*d Reg't.* Colo. David Hall is
appointed President of this Court — all Witnesses to attend.
All Commanding Officers who have in their Reg'ts any Non-
Commission' d Officers or Soldiers that were originally enlisted
into the Reg't lately commanded by Col. Smallwood '• to deliver
them to Colo. Stone, *° who now commands that same Reg't
UDon his making it appear they were so inlisted.
A Large Horseman's Tent marked I H Stone ist Maryland
Reg't together with some common Tents were taken from one
Waggon on the late march from Quibble Town & put into
another. Whoever has them is to send them to Colo. Stone with-
out delay.
"John Sullivan.
" George Mathews appointed lieutenant colonel of the Ninth Virginia
regiment January 12, 1776; promoted colonel; born Augusta county
Virginia in 1739; ^cd a volunteer company against the Indians at the
age of twenty-two ; distinguished himself at the battle of Point Pleas-
ants October 10, 1774; removed to Oglethorpe county Georgia in 1785 ;
Governor of Georgia, 1780, i793-'6; member of Congress, i789-'9i ;
afterwards brigadier-general of militia; died at Augusta, Georgia,
August 30, 181 2.
^William Smallwood, promoted major-general.
^John Raskins Stone, early in the war a captain in Small wood's reg-
iment; made colonel, December, 1776; resigned August i, 1779; dis-
tinguished himself at the battles of Long Island, White Plams. Prince-
ton and Germantown, in the last of which he received a wound which
disabled him from further service. In 1781 he became a clerk in the
office of R. R. Livingston, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and subse-
quently a member of the Executive Council of Maryland ; Governor
of Maryland i794-*97 ; died at Annapolis, October 5, 1804.
374 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
30th June, 1777.
Brigade Orders.
When the weather clears up, the Arms of the whole Brig-
ade to be put in the best order, the locks well oiFd, and any
deficiency in ammunition to be immediately completed. When
oil is wanted The Commanding Officer of Reg*ts are to see that
Neets feet" are BoiPd up for that purpose without delay. His
Excellency the Commander-in-Chief Complains that the Gen'l
Orders Given respecting the Troops being always provided with
Three day's provisions on hand has Either through the Negli-
gence of Officers or carelessness of Commissaries not being
Strictly comply* d with. The Commanding Officers of each
Corps will carefully attend for the future that no part of this
breach of Publick Orders may be Justly charged to this Brigade.
They will please to Represent to their Brigadier in Writing
what kind of Provisions the Commissary is deficient in that he
may be able immediately to report the Same that the blame may
fall upon the proper person. Major GenU Stephen could not
help expressing his Concern the last evening at Seeing so few
Officers attending the Parade at Retreat Beating. It is not only
expected that Every Capt. & Subaltern off Duty Should attend
to See their Rolls caird, their Arms and Ammunition examined,
their Men Warn'd for Duty & all Absentees accounted for, but it is
likejvise hop*d the Field Officers will attend to See this very
necessary piece of Duty purform^d. Their presence cannot fail of
giving authority to the Inferior Officers & Setting that good
Example that will produce the most happy effect. As this Brig-
ade will probably be the next Detach* d the General hopes Every
thing will be ready to move at the Shortest Notice.
30th June, 1777.
Reg*l Orders.
The Commanding Officers of the Different Companies are
required to peruse the General Division & Brigade Orders for
many Days back to prevent their being repeated, and Officers
from being reflected upon. The Colonel & Major* s Orderly
®^ Neat's-foot oil, obtained by boiling calves' feet.
ORDERLY BOOK OF MAJOR WILLIAM HETH. 375
Book are at the service of the Officers 'till Books can be procured
for Each Comply. In the meantime the Major insists upon an
immediate compliance w'th the Orders of the 9th, 20th & 21st
Inst. , as he would Consider it as Some reflection upon him Self
if Major Gen'l Stephens should have sufficient reason for putting
the last order referred to in execution. Indeed, he is much Sur-
prized that many Officers have not discovered a greater inclina-
tion to improve themselves by reading the Gen'l Orders
frequently & with attention as there are many of them replete
with Military instructions, to say nothing of the Orders which
Every Officer is in a greater or lesser degree indispensably bound
to execute.
July ist, 1777.
Brigade Orders.
A Court Martial to sit this Morning for the Trial of all
Prisoners in the Quarter Guard. The Rank of the Field Offi-
cers in the Virginia Line is to be settled to-morrow if any of the
Gentlemen of this Brigade have other Claims to make than are
already stated they will give them into the General. He thinks
it will be necessary that the whole give in the Dates of their
Commissions or appointments.
Head-Quarters Middle Brook,
ist July, '77.
G. Orders.
Major General for to-morrow, Stephens. Brigadier, Wee-
don. Field Officers, Col. McClenahan & Lt. Colo. Mais, Bri-
gade Major, Peers.
*
A General Court Marshal to sit to-morrow morning at 9 o*C
at the usual place for the Trial of Such Prisoners as Shall be
brought before them. All Witnesses to attend. Colo. Walter
Stewart is appointed President of this Court.
The late Court Martial of which Colo. Stephens was President
is dissolved. Pay Abstracts for the Month of May are to be made
out immediately & deliv'd to the Pay Master General for Exam-
ination.
376 VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The Several Troops & Detachments of Colo. Bland's Light
Horse are to assemble forthwith at their Colo's Quarters. The
Colo, will apply to the Quarter Master General to Assign a place
where the regiment may get forrage to recruit their Horses.
A Return of the Sick in Camp of the Different Regiments to
be made to the Surgeon General of the Army Every Tuesday &
Friday at 3 o'C in the Morning Specifying the Men's Names»
Disease & the Company they belong to. These Returns to be
sign'd by the Regimental Surgeon. Jonathan Mifflin, Esq'r,
& Henry Emanuel Lutterbock. Esq'r, are appointed Deputy
Quarter Master Generals for the Army with the rank of Colonel
and are to be respected & obey'd as such.
Clement Biddle, Esq'r, is app'd Commissary of Forrage for
this Army. Notwithstanding the order of June 3rd the Gene-
ral is informed that many Officers are turning their Horses into
Fields of Grain & Grasses & giving assurance to the Proprietors
of them that the damage done shall be paid for by the Quarter
Master General. When he recollects the orders already given
and Considers the variety of Distress's under which the inhabi-
tants of New Jersey are still groaning the General is astonish'd
to find that neither Duty, Honor nor Humanity even restrain
officers from so cruel and unlawful a practice. He therefore once
more & in the most Pointed & Positive terms forbids it, and
orders that no Horses be turn'd into any field whatsoever without
license first obtain' d from the Quarter Master General or Some
Person acting under his authority. After this Second notice any
Officers offending, upon Complaint being made may rest assur'd
that they shall not only be answerable for the Damage done but
brought before a Court Martial for Disobedience of Orders.
July ist, 1777.
Regl. Orders.
That the Commanding Officer of each Company make an
exact return of what arms and accoutrements are wanting to
complete his Men, more especially Tawmahawks, for which but
too frequent Orders have been given. All Arms slightly dam-
aged & thereby rendered unfit for use to be brought in * * *
. Si.
INDKX.
Abney, 332.
Accomac County, Loyalty of, in
"Bacon's Rebellion," 180; Insti-
tution of, 275.
Adams, Capt. Nathan. 301.
Alabama Historical Society ^ 50.
Alexander, Archibald, 37.
Ambler, John, Epitaph and Arms
American Historical Association^
50.
American RevoluHcni, Beginning
of, 4 ; Daughters of the, 54.
Annals of Auj^usta County, Vir-
ginia, 223, 225, 331.
Archer, George, 71.
Joanna, Epitaph of, 71.
Lieut., 224.
Michael, 71.
Armand's Legion, 351.
Arms Branded, 346.
Arnold, Gen. B. 280,327.
AsHBY, Capt. 208.
AsHMEAD, Capt. Jacob, 247.
Atkinson, Archer, 160.
Austin, 332.
Bache, Sarah, 171.
Bacon, Eliza, Epitaph and Arms
of, 105.
Nathaniel, Epitaph and Arms of,
104.
Nathaniel, " the Rebel," 140.
Bacon's Rebellion in Accomac
county, 177.
Baggage^ Army, in the Revolution,
348-
Bagwell, Augustus W., 311.
Dr. Thomas, 302.
Baker, Benjamin, 145, 155.
Blake, 145.
Judith Bridger, 146.
Lawrence, 153, 155.
Richard, 145, 155.
R. H., 146.
Ball, Col., 323.
Ballard, Lieut. William, 254.
Banister, Col. John, 170.
Barber, Col. Francis, 362.
t5
Barges, Battle of the, 299.
Barnes, Lieut., 284.
Barr, Rev. David, 157.
Barradall, Blumfield, 75.
Edward, Epitaph and Arms of,
75.
Barton, R. T., 113.
Battle, Kemp P., 55.
Baxter, George A., 37, 214.
Sidney S.. 172.
Bayly, Thomas H., 310.
Thomas M., 310.
''Belfield:' 107.
Bell, 220.
Benjamin, Adjutant, 246.
Bennet. Gov. Richard, 107.
Benn's Church, 155.
Berkeley, Lady Frances, 92.
Sir William, 98 ; Will of, 141, 180.
Berry, Sir John, 199.
Beverley, Robert, 197, 198.
Bible, Translation of the, 132.
BiDDLE, Col. Clement, 340.
Blagge, Lieut. John, Notice of, 213
Blair, Archibald, 78.
Rev. James, 78 ; Epitaph of, 92.
Jean, Epitaph of, 78.
John, Notice of, 78.
Sarah, Epitaph of, 93.
Bland, Col. Theodrick, 371.
Body-Snatching in New York, 327.
Booker, Capt. Samuel, 235, 246.
Botetourt, Statute of Lord, 90.
Bowling Green, Virginia, 323.
Bowman, Col. Abraham, 332.
Col. Edmund, 182, 187 ; His Pos-
sessions and Descendants, 276.
''Bowman's Folly ^'^ 276.
BoYKiN, Andrew, 154.
Catharine, 154.
Francis. 154.
Braddock' s Defeat, 116, 123.
Brandywine, Battle of, 278.
Branten's, 289.
Bray, Col. David, Arms, Epitaph
and Descendants of, 79, 80.
Judith, 80.
Breckinridge, Gen. James, 229.
378 INDEX.
'''Bremo,^^ 2t'^^' Carres Hill Burying- Ground ^ iii.
Brent, Frank P., 177. Carrington, Col. Edward, 329.
Brigg's, Dorothea, 329. Paul, 21.
Gray, 329. Carroll, Archer, 153.
John Howell, 329. George, 153.
Bridger, James, 142. Virginia, 153.
Gen. Joseph, 140; Epitaph of. Carter, Robert, "King," 212.
142 ; Descendants of, 142. Thomas, 170.
Samuel, 142. ^^ Carter^ s Grove,''^ 108.
William. 153. Cary, Archibald, 170.
British Vandalism^ 284, 297. Dorothea, 329.
Broadwater, Polly and William, Catesby, Mark. 85.
289. Chamberlain, Mellen, 4.
Brock, R. A., ix, 3, 31, 53, 55, 149, Chambers, Col. James, 370.
173. 203, 219, 319. Champion, Captain, 243.
Brockenbrough, Lieut. Austin, John, Epitaph of. 97.
Ancestry of, 213. Chapman. Maj., 257.
Dr. John, 320. Charlton, Ann, Epitaph of, 68.
Bronaugh, Capt. William, 212. Chisman, Maj. Edmund, 194, 197.
Brooks, Capt. of The Jolly Tar, Christ Churchy Lancaster county,
301. 147-
Brown, Alexander, 3. 55, 79, 133, Christian, Israel, 214.
154. 195- Christie, Capt. John, 234.
John, 76. Church, Capt. Thomas, 337.
Mrs. Margaret, Epitaph of, 76. Cincinnati, Virginia Society of.
Col. Samuel, 228. 309, 329. 370.
Bruin, Major Peter B., 343. Claiborne. Col. William, 212.
Bruton Parish Church-Yard, 67. Clopton, Isaac, 198.
Bryant, Catharine. 154. Clothing. Soldiers, 347.
BuFORD, Col. Abraham, 360. Cocke, Bowler, 330.
BuRGES, Ann, Epitaph of, 69. James, 216.
Rev. Henry, 69. Capt. Thomas. 212.
BuLLiTT,Lieut.Thomas, Notice of. Dr. William, Tablet to and no-
213. tice of, 84.
Burke, John, 171. Cock-fighting in 1788, 289.
Burr, Aaron, 327, Cold Weather in 1788, 325.
Burt, Richard, 200. Coleman, Lieut. Jacob, 235.
BuRWELL, James, Arms and Epi- Collett, John, Epitaph of, 67.
taph of, 105. Colormen, Camp, 337.
Lewis, Epitaph of, no. Committees of Correspondence, Co-
Major. Lewis, 105. lonial, 4.
Nathaniel, 109, 156. Condon, David, 199.
Susanna, Epitaph of, 109. Congress, General, By whom pro-
BuTLER, Col. Richard, Notice of, posed, 17.
224, 232. Conner, Col. Morgan, 346.
Court-martial of, 247. Conway, Moncure D., 35, 167.
Byrd, Mrs. Lucy (Parke), 86. Gen. Thomas, 345.
Col. William, 86, 210. Copeland. Joseph, 154.
Cabell, Gov. William H., 229. Rev. Patrick, 154.
Camm, Rev. John, 201. Corbin, Col. Coventon, 276.
Campbell, Charles, 7, 53. Col. George, 295.
Camp Scavengers, 251. Sabra, 276.
Canada, Invasion of in 1775,280, Costumes of Colonial Virginia, \\^
322, 327. Council of Virginia, Duties of, 328.
Caps, Military y 256. Court-martials of the Revolution,
Card-playing, 237. 236, 237, 241, 243, 245, 247, 258,
Carli, Signor, Performances of, 334.375-
327. COURTENAY, W. A., 255.
Carr, Dabney, 7- Cowper, F. P. P., 155.
INDEX.
379
CowPER, Capt. John, 144.
Capt. William, 144.
Craik, Dr. James, 324.
Crawford, Lieut. John, 237.
Major, 358.
Crittenden, Lieut. John, 233, 249.
Cropper, John, 183, 313.
Gen John, memoir, ancestry and
descendants of, 273, 276.
Major Sebastian, 277.
Cropperville, 315.
Culpeper county, 92.
Culpeper Minute Men, 279.
Cumberland, Fort, 211.
Cunningham, R. H., 321.
**r«r/<?j,"327-
Curson, Mr., 290.
CuRSONS. Richard, 324.
Curtis, Edmund, 287.
Daniel Parke, Epitaph of, 98.
Frances, 86, 99.
John, 86, 99.
William, Arms of, 108.
Dundebarge Point, 248.
Dandridge, Frances, 170
Col. John, 86.
Dangerfield. Col. William, 331.
Davies, Col. William, 294.
Davis, Cadet Isaac, 370.
John, 200.
Lieut. John R., 200.
John Staige, 69.
Major, 334, 363.
Day, Adjutant Benjamin, 365.
Col. C. F., 153.
John, 155.
Dayley, Richard, 183.
Dayton, Col. Elias. 363.
D'Arendt, Baron, Col., 351.
De Beaurepaire, M. Quesnay, 165.
De Borre, Gen. P., 338, 373.
De Fleury, Col. Louis, 223, 226.
D»Hart, Col. William, 365.
De Luce, M., 290.
Depredations of Soldiers, 349. 376.
Deserters, 241, 288, 347, 364.
Dew, Thomas R., Notice of, Life
and Works of, 34
DiGGES, Cole, 107 ; Epitaph of, 108.
Dudley, Epitaph of, 107.
Edward. Arms of, 83; Epitaph
and Notice of, 107, 197.
Elizabeth, 107, 197.
Susanna (Cole), Epitaph of, 109.
Capt. William, 197.
Dillingham, Capt., 288.
Discipline in the Revolutionary
army, 250, 341, 344.
Dixon, John, 72.
Dove, M. D., John, 172.
Dow, Lorenzo, 160.
Dowdale, Cadetjames, 370.
Drama in I^88, The, 326.
Drummond, Elizabeth, Epitaph of,
98.
William, 98.
Duke, Henry, 200.
DuNTON, Capt. William, 286.
Dyer, Edward, Epitaph of, 78.
Eagle Tavern, Richmond, Ball at,
in 1788. 309.
''Edge Hili:' z\\.
Egle, a. M., M. D.. Wm. H., 224.
Emory and Henry College, 38.
Epitaphs and Inscriptions in Tames
City and York counties, Va., 61.
EsHAM, Daniel, 276.
Eustace, Lieut. Hancock, 213.
Evelyn. George, 85.
Rebecca, 85.
Fairfax Denny, 119.
Thomas, Lord, 119.
Falkner, Rev. Mr., 148.
Fast and Thanksgiving Day, First
in Virg:inia, 77.
Fauquier, Gov. Francis, Death of,
88.
Febiger, Col. Christian, 232.
Filson Club, The, 52.
Finley, Capt. Ebenezer, 290.
FiSHBURNE, Lieut., 224.
FiTZHUGH, William, Arms of, 75.
Fleming, Col. Thomas, 276.
Col. William, 214, 217.
Flogging in the army, 258, 347, 364.
Flower, Col. Benjamin, 356.
FoLiOTT, Rev. Edward. 200.
FooTE, Rev. William Henry, 31.
Forts, Cumberland, 211 ; Loudoun,
1x6; Montgomery, 232.
FousHEE, M. D., John H., 230.
William, M. D., 170, 230.
Fox, Lieut., 248.
France, King of, toasted, 282.
France, Provision for war with,
304-
Franchise in the colony of Vir-
ginia, 120.
Frank, Ann, Epitaph of, 69.
Graham, 69.
Franklin, Benjamin, 171.
Frederick county, Virginia^ 116.
French Cannon in the Revolution^
3M.
French and Indian war, Virginia
officers in, 203.
French Huguenots in Virginia^ 31.
French Ordinary, 199.
380
INDEX.
Gaines, Richard H., 165.
Gaitker, Col. H., 370.
Gale, William, 160.
Gamble. Dr. Gary B., 226, 264.
Capt. Robert. Orderly Book of
177^, 219; sketch of, account of
family of. 220 ; return of his com-
pany at Stony Point, 227.
Garnett, James Mercer, i. His
appeal for the Society, x.
Gaspee* Case of thCy 6.
Georgia Historical Society y 50.
German Battalion^ The, 347.
German race in Virginia^ The^ 31.
GiBB, Joseph W., 311.
Gibbon, Maj. James, 170; Notice
and Descendants of, 226.
Gibbon, Lieut. James, U. S. N.,
226.
Mrs. Mary, Epitaph of. loi.
Gilmer, Dr. George, 229.
Gilmer Letters, The, 36.
Gist, Capt., 255.
Glen, Capt., Court martial of, 237.
Godwin, Martha, 143.
GoocH, Maj. William, Epitaph of
and Arms of, 102.
GouGH, Rev. John, Epitaph of, 94.
Governor's palace, Building of the,
73-
Gracie, Archibald, 330.
Graham, William, 36.
Gramble. Surgeon, 284.
Grand Rounds, 358.
Grattan, John, descendants of, 228
Great Bridge, Battle of the, 332.
Greene, Gen. Nathaniel, 345.
Greenhow, Elizabeth, 77.
John, Epitaph of, 77.
Robert. 170.
' • Green Spring, "98.
Greenup, Gov., 6. 229.
Griffin, Cyrus, 326.
Grigsby, Hugh Blair, 21, 150.
Grinley, James, Epitaph of, 71.
Grymes, Mary, 109.
Philip, 109-
Guard Mounting, 353.
Gwathmey, Robert, 321.
Temple, 321.
Hale, Benedict, 324.
Hall, Col. David, 373.
T. Leslie, 61.
Lieut. John, 210.
Hambleton, Capt., Court-martial
of, 237.
Hamilton, Thomas Lynch, 321.
Hampden Sidney College, 31.
Handy, Capt. Joseph, 299.
Hanford, Sir Humphrey, 195.
Hansford, Charles, 199.
John, 194, 200.
Lewis, M. D., 240.
Richard, 194.
Thomas, 191 ; Ancestry of, 195 ;
Descendants of, 199, 200.
William, 195.
Harcourt, Earl, 301.
Hardin, Martin, 206.
Hardy, George, 149.
Richard, 149.
Samuel, 149,160; his elegy on
M. Young, 152.
Hardy county, Virginia, 153.
Harpsichord, The, 327.
Harrison, Col. A. M., 321.
Col. Benjamin, 94. 95.
Benjamin, of "Wakefield," 330.
Capt. Carter H., Notice of, and
family, 212.
Gen. Charles, 212
Elizabeth Hill, 154.
Hannah, 94.
Lieut. James, 345.
John Nicholas, 330.
Col. Julian, 321.
R. H. Munford, 320, 329, 330.
Harvie, Col. John, 170, 172, 229.
Harwood, Edward, 201.
Hay, Col. Samuel, 249, 342.
Hays, Major. 368.
Hawkins. Lieut. John, 262.
Haynes, Lucy Dudley, 201.
Hayward, Richard, 91.
Henderson, A., 323.
James, 79.
Jane, Epitaph of, 79.
Henley, David, 323
Henneman, John Bell, 25.
Henry, the comedian, 326.
James, 103.
John, Epitaph of, 103.
Patrick, 192, 352.
William Wirt, ix, x, 3, 55, 144,
150. 152.
Mrs. W. W., 54.
Heth, Family, The, 319.
Andrew, 320.
Beverley, 321.
Henry. 320, 329.
Gen. Harry, 321.
Henry G., 329.
John, 320.
Captain. 321, 370.
Col. William, Orderly Book of,
317 ; Sketch of, 319 ; his lam[>oon
of Thomas Jefferson, 328.
William H., 330.
INDEX.
381
Hewitt, William, 200.
Hickory Neck Churchy 106.
Hill, Richard, 187.
Samuel, 200-
HoDSDEN, Joseph Bridger, 143.
William, 148.
Hog, Captain Peter, Sketch of, 211.
HoGE, Mary, 37.
Holleman, Joel, 160
HoLLiDAY, Hon. F. W. M., 320.
HoLLOWAY, Col. John, 85.
Holt, Randolph, 195.
Hopkins, Stephen, 10.
HoRNSBY, Margaret, Epitaph of, 72.
Thomas, Epitaph of, 72.
Horn Town^ 289.
Hospital Regulations, 358.
Hospitality of Virginians^ 324.
HouDON, the Sculptor, 174.
Howe, Gen. Robert, 225.
HuBLEY, Jr., Col. Adam, 342.
Huddleston, Ann, 197.
Hudson, Capt.. 245.
Hull, Gen. William. 224, 233.
Hunt, Rev. Charleg, Epitaph of, 74.
Hunter, W.. 324.
HuTCHiNGs, John, 97.
Hutchinson, Robert, 187.
Hyde, John, 200.
John Hansford, M. D., 201.
Indian Queen Tavern, 325
Inglis, Mungo, 80.
Illinois Regiment from Virginia,
321.
Innes, Col. James, 151.
Iron, price of. 293.
Isle of Wight County , Representa-
tives from, 160.
Jameson, David, 102.
Mildred, Epitaph of, 102.
James City County^ Epitaphs in, 63.
Jam,estown^ Epitaphs at, 92.
{ANNEY, Lightfoot, 330.
AQUELIN, 96.
Jay, John, 327.
JEFFERSON, Thomas, 20, 174, 328.
JEFFREYS, Col. Herbert, 199.
JENIFER, Capt. Daniel, 183.
Daniel, of St. Thomas, 184.
Johns- Hopkins University^ 54.
Johnson, James, 160.
Lieut., 320
Johnston, Col. Francis, 244, 337.
Jones, Jr , Col. C. C, 56.
Gabriel, 119.
Orlando, Epitaph of, 86.
Richard, 190.
Rev. Roland, Epitaph of, 76.
Rev. William H. G., 145.
JoYNEs, Col. Levin, 277, 30[, 311.
Dr. Levin S., 312.
Judge William T., 312.
Kellam, John, 286.
Kemp, Gov. Richard, Notice of, 77.
Kendall, Capt. 288.
KiDD, Commodore John, 298.
King's Creek, 103.
Kingsmell, Richard, 105
Knight, John, 95.
Mrs. Mary, Epitaph of, 95.
Knox, Lt. George, 226, 246.
Gen. Henry. 326, 368
Lafayette, Marquis de, 173, 174.
Lamb, Gen. John, 326.
Lash in the Army, The, 258, 347,
364.
''Latin House;' 2S6.
Lawson, Capt. Benjamin. 248.
Louisiana Historical Association,
50, 52.
Lear, Col. John, 141, 143.
Lee, Arthur, 324.
Gen. Charles, 283.
Francis Lightfoot, 21.
Richard Henry, 7.
Whitaker, 11 1.
William, Epitaph of, 94.
Lee, Residence of R. E., conveyed
to the Society, x.
Lewis, Gen. Andrew, Family of,
206, 231. 232.
Col. Fielding, 205.
Col. Charles, Journal of, 203.
John, 205.
Samuel, 206.
Thomas, 206.
Thomas Waring, 205.
Virgil A., 57.
Warner. 205.
William L., 205.
Lilburne, Elizabeth, 200.
Lincoln, Gen. Benjamin, 342, 371.
Lindsay, 116.
Linn, John Blair, 224.
Lipscomb, Capt. Bernard, 337.
Capt. Reuben, 337.
Liquor, Rations of, 350.
Littleton, Col. Southey, 183, 276.
Livingston, Maj. James, 210.
LucKiN, Alice, Arms of. 82.
Ludwell, Mrs. Hannah, Epitaph
of, 95.
Philip, 92, 95.
Thomas, Epitaph and Arms of,
76.
Lunsford, Sir Thomas, 77.
LUTTERBOCK, Col. H. E., 376.
Luzerne, Chevalier, 174.
382
INDEX.
Lynch" Ss Virginia, 323.
Lynn, Margaret, 206.
Lyon, Rev. John, 294
McCabe, D. D.. Rev. John C , 139.
McClanahan, Col. Alex., 231.
Macon. Gideon, 86.
Martha, 86.
McDowell. Lieut. John, 232.
Mackey, Dr. Robert. 320.
Macfarland, W. H., 320.
McClellan. Capt. Joseph, 259.
McClurg, Dr. James, 170; Wife
of, 310.
McHenry, Dr. James, 290.
Madison, JBishop James, 90, 170.
Mais, James, 326.
Col., 375.
Malmadie, Col., 363.
Manyard, Lieut., 240.
Margaret Academy, 315.
Marshall, Capt. John, 132, 243,
279. 320, 328, 329.
Col. Thomas, 243.
MarshalVs Life of Washington^ 310.
Martin, Col., 365.
Col. T. B., 117, 320.
Martin's Hundred, 109.
Marye, Rev. James, 69.
Mason. George. 21, 323.
Stevens Thomson, 151.
Maryland Historical Society , 54.
Mathews, Col. George, 276. 373.
Col. Thomas, 172.
Gen. Thomas, 309.
Matthews, Thomas, *' T. M.." 180.
Maury, Maj. Abraham, 231, 241.
Maynard, Emmett W., 157.
Maxwell, Gen. William, 353.
Mecraggin. Massacre of the fam-
ily of, 208.
Meigs, Col. R. J., 231.
Mercer, George,Sketch of, 118, 207
James, Sketch of, 21, 173,
John, 21.
John Fenton, 212.
Middle Brooke N. J.. 346.
Mifflin, Col. Jonathan, 376.
Miller, Samuel, 228.
MiLNER, Maj.. 141.
Patience, 146.
MiNNiGERODE, D. D., Rev. Chas.,
222.
Minute Men of the Revolution,
276, 279.
Mix, Rosina, 311.
MoDi:, Dr. Giles, 200.
MoFFETT, 220.
Montgomery, Alexander, 172*
Capt.. 244.
Moody, Elizabeth, 200.
MoRDECAi, Samuel, 171, 175.
Jonas, 200.
Morgan, Gen. Daniel, 224, 278,
279, 280, 320, 322, 332, 343', 357,
360.
MoRRELL, Maj. Thomas, 356.
Morris, Lieut. R., 286.
Morrison. Col. F., 199.
Morris Town, 290.
Mortimer, Dr. Charles, 323.
Moseley, Capt., 288.
Mount Vernony 324.
Moylan, Gen. Stephen. 371.
Muhlenburg, Gen. J. P. G., 345.
Mullen, Maj. Thomas, 338, 373.
Meetings Punishment of^ 258.
NeatS'foot Oil, 374.
Neilson, Col. John. 372.
Negroes, Prices and hires of, 293.
Nelson, Chancellor, Robert, 90.
Thomas, Epitaph and arms of»
100.
Gen. Thomas, Jr., 21.
William, Epitaph of, loi.
Col. William, 331.
New fersey. Gallantry of militia of^
366, 367-
New York, Riot in 1788 in, 327.
Nicholas" Fort, 211.
Nicholas. Maj. George, 366.
Col. John, 330.
Robert Carter, 20.
NicoLSON, George, 68.
James, Epitaph of. 73.
Mary, Epitaph of, 68.
Robert, M. D., 68.
Norsworthy, George, 146.
Joseph, 146, 160.
Joseph C, 146.
Northampton county, 275.
North Carolina Historical Society^
50-
Norton, John, 9.
North-west^ Cession of, to the U.
S. by Virginia, 322
NorvelVs Virginia. 323.
NoTT, Gov. Edward, Epitaph and
notice of, 73.
OccAHONE. Jone, 1S5.
Philip, 185.
Officers of Virginia regiments in
1755. 211 ; 1762. 217 ; 1781, 264.
Ogden. Col. Matthias, 345.
Orderly Books of the Revolution^
344.
OsBORN, Rev. H. S., 104.
Page, Mrs. Alice, Epitaph of, 82.
Elijah, 228.
INDEX.
383
Page, Elizabeth, 8i; Epitaph of, 84.
Capt. Francis, Epitaph of, 83.
Col. John, Arms and notice of,
82.
John, 168, 198, 328.
Mary, 83.
Thomas Nelson, 55.
Palmer, Dr. William P., x.
Parke, Col. Daniel, Tablet to, 85 ;
Notice of, 86, 99.
Parker, Ann Pierce, 144.
Col. Josiah, 144, 160, 286.
Nicholas, 154.
Peter, 276.
Col. Richard, 336.
Capt. Thomas, 298 ; his bravado,
301.
Paradise, 327.
Parramore, Capt. Thomas, 294.
Parsons, Gen. S. H., 365.
Pay of Officers in the Revolution,
239-
Peachy, Col. William, 210.
Peale, Charles Wilson, 313.
Peers, Capt. Valentine, 339.
Pendleton, Edmond, 20.
Pettitt, Margaret, 277.
William, 284, 310.
Pettus, Col. Thomas, 80.
Phillips, Ensign, 245.
Piano forte. The, in 1788, 325.
Pickett, George, 321.
Gen. George E., 321
Pierce, John, 323.
« Thomas, 144.
Pillage by the Army, 251.
Pioneers of the Army, 357
Pitt, Edward, 141.
Col. John, 141.
Thomas, 141.
Pleasants. John, 329.
Samuel M. D., 325, 330.
PoE, Edgar A., 39.
Pond, Dr. Samuel, Epitaph of, no.
Pope, Ensign, 364.
Port Bill, The Boston, 17.
Porterfield, Capt. Charles, 320.
Gen. Robert, 320, 321, 343.
Portrait Painters before 1800 ^ 313
Posey, Capt. John, 231.
Gen. Thomas, Notice of, 231, 281.
Poulson, Ensign, Jonn, 213.
Power, Major Henry, 106.
Susanna. 106
Powell, Annabel, Epitaph of, in.
Benjamin, iii.
Presbyterian Influence in Virginia,
3^ 38.
Price, Nathaniel W., 172.
Proceedings and Constitution of
the Society, ix, xi ; Officers and
members of, xv, xvi.
Pryor. Col. John, 309.
Punishment of Soldiers, 364.
PuRDiE, Alexander, 69.
John H.. 153
Dr. John R., 144. 153, 156, 161.
Mary, Epitaph of, 69.
Putnam, Gen. Rufus, 234.
QUESNAY DE BeAUREPAIRE, M., 165.
Quibbletown roady 337.
Racing, Horse, 293.
Rae, Robert, Epitaph and arms of,
68.
Randolph, Edmund, 170, 173, 328.
John, Att'y Gen., 90.
Sir John, Mural Tablet to, 88.
Peyton, 20, 90.
Robert Beverley, 321.
Thos. Mann, 170, 173.
Randolph' Macon College^ 38.
Rank of Revolutionary Officers,
Settlement of, 339, 371, 375.
Ransadale, Lieut. Thomas, 345.
Raritan river frozen over, 325.
Rations^ army, 257, 261, 369.
Ray, Abraham, 197.
Rawlings, Col. Moses, 343.
Read, Dr. Calvin H., 311.
Isaac, 151.
Reade, George, 197.
Henry, 183.
Records of Counties of Virginia^
Early, to be copied^ x.
Red Lyon, The, 289.
Reformation, The, 130.
Revolutionary History of Virginia,
Early, i77f-4> i-
Rice, John H., 37.
Richeson, Col. Holt, 372.
Richmond *s First Academy, 165
Richmond Lodge, 10, A. F. & A,
Masons, its distinguished mem-
bership, 172.
Richmond College, Geographical
and Historical Society of, 59.
Riding, Thomas, 187.
Riflemen, of the Revolution, 346,
357.
Ring, Edmund, 104.
Isaac, 104.
Joseph, Epitaph of, 103, IC4.
Sarah, 104.
^' Ringfield^^^ 103.
Rittenhouse, Miss, 325.
Roanoke College, 38.
Roberts. John, 196.
Robins, Col. Obedience, 275, 345.
384
INDEX.
Robins, Thomas, 195.
Roe, Capt. Jesse, 356.
RouELLE, Dr. Jean, 174.
RuFFNER, Henry, 31.
Rum, Importation of, 2b8 ; Rations
o!, 350.
Rush, Major, 370.
RvAN, Major Michael, 341
St. George's Churchyard, Frede-
ricksburg, 86.
Sanitary Regulations of Camps,
331-
Sansum, Mary, Epitaph of, loi.
Saunders. Hon W. L., 55.
Savage, Major John, 311.
Scarborough, Col. Edmund, 183,
187.
SCARSBROOKE. John, I98.
Scotch Irish Race in America, 30.
Scott, Gen. Charles, 345.
John P., 156.
''Scott Halir 302.
Scrivener, Joseph, Epitaph of, 71.
Sears, Col John, 345,
Seayres, Maj. John, 276.
Selden, Miles Cary, 321.
Sewanee Historicdl Society, 57.
Sheild, Robert. 201.
Rev. Samuel. 201.
William H., M. D., 201.
Shelton, 332.
Shepherd, Capt. 290.
Thomas, 118.
SHERWOOD.William, Epitaph of, 95.
Shields, Dr.. 289.
''Shilela:' 329.
Shingle Roof , durability of the, 146.
Shukman, Col. 241.
Silk Manufacture, Early, 107.
Sill, Lieut. Col David T., 249, 254.
SiMMS, Col. Charles, 260.
Simpson, Maj., 284.
Skelton, Capt. Clough. 237. 243.
Slaughter, Capt. Philip, 282. 319,
3^3-
Rev. Phillip, D. D., 144
Smallwood, Gen. William, 373.
Smith Family Tree, 149.
Col. Arthur, 141. 160.
Gov. George William, 173.
Col. Samuel, 356.
Thomas, 148.
Sir Thomas. 149
Smithjield{Va.) Old Brick Church,
127; Rectors of, 145, 148, 157,
159. 163 ; Vestrymen of, 159.
Snead, Maj. Smith. 298.
Maj. Thomas, 277.
Capt. William, 298.
''Snow HiU," 289.
South Carolina Historical Society,
50.
Southern History, Recent Work in,
47 ; causes of inattention to, 50.
Southern Literary Messenger, its
Exponency, 39.
Southern Society of New York, 52.
Spotswood, Col. Alexander, 334.
Gov. Alexander, 210, 334.
Col. John, 334.
Capt. Robert, 210.
Stage Coaches. Travel in, 323
Staige, Rev Theodosius, 69.
Stamp Act^ The, 4.
Stanard. W. G., 195.
Steel, Mary, 200.
Steiner, Roland, 56.
Stephen, Gen. Adam, 118, 211,356,
358, 371.
Stephens. Samuel, 92.
Steuben, Baron, 170, 327.
Stevens, Col. Ebenezer. 363.
Stewart, Maj. John, 226, 246.
Mrs. John, x.
Maj. Robert, 212.
Colo. Walter, 224. 247.
Lieut. Walter, 209.
Stirling, Gen. Lord, 290, 358, 371.
Stith, Buckner, Epitaph of, 70.
Elizabeth, Epitaph of, 70.
Griffin. 70.
John, 70.
Mary (Blackley). 70.
William, 70.
Stone, Col. John H., 373
Stony Point, Storming of, 222.
Stratton, John, 182.
Strother. French, 320.
Sullivan. Gen. John, 338. 371, 377.
Suttlers, Camp, 351.
SwAiNE, Maj., 366.
Swearingen, Thomas Van, 116.
Talbott, Capt. Jeremiah, 234.
Taliaferro, Col. John, Epitaph
of, 106.
Lawrence, Epitaph of, 106
Tannehill, Col. Josiah, 321, 333.
Tarleton, Col. B . 360.
Taxes, Oppressive Virginia, 291.
Taylor, Hannis, 56.
Walter, 185.
Tazewell, Henry, 151.
7>a. Destruction of, at Boston, 16.
lemple Burying Ground, 102.
Tennessee Historical Society, 50.
Tents, Apportionment of, 340, 342.
Tetzel. John, 130.
Thistle Tender, The, 284.
INDEX.
385
Thomas, Jordan, 154.
Richard, J54.
R. S., 127.
Thompson, Adjutant, 247.
Thornton, Jotin, Epitaph of, 100.
Thorp, Katherine, Epitaph of, 74.
Otho, 74.
Thomas, Epitaph of, 74.
Thorpe, Otho, 198. _
TiMPSON, Ann Maria, Epitaph of, 99.
Elizabeth, 99.
John, 99.
Mary, 99.
Samuel, 99.
William, 99.
Toft, Annie, 184.
Tomahawks, Use <?/", 376.
Tory, Parker, Trial of, 284.
ToTTEN, D. D.. Silas, 161.
TowLES, Col. Thomas, 320.
TowNSHEND, Dr. William, 197.
Travis' Burying- Ground, Tombs
in the, 96.
Travis, Champion, 97.
Edward, Epitaph of, 96.
Edward Champion, 97.
Susanna, Epitaph ot, 97.
Travis's Point, 99.
Trent, W. P., 36, 41.
Tucker, Beverley, 34.
St. George, 33. 194.
Turner, Samuel. 329.
John, Epitaph of, 102.
Tyler, Mrs. Annie Tucker, 191.
John, 73, 173
Lyon G., x, 3, 55, 63, 150.
Tylers, Mural tablet to the, 87.
TvNES, Henry, 153.
Robert, 153.
University of Virginia, First fac-
ulty of, 35, 38.
Upshur, Abel P., 30.
Utie, Capt. John, 105.
Mary, 105
" Utimaria,^' 105.
Varnum, Gen. J. M., 365.
Vaulx. James, 198.
Vere. Rev. William, 277.
Virginia, Committee of Corres-
pondence, i773'-4, I.
Colleges, representation of by
counties, 38.
Convention of 1774, action of, 20.
Charters of, provision for religion
in. Early, 133.
Church edifices of, early, 134, 139.
Currency of, forged, 9.
Education and Literary Effort,
Historic Elements of, in, 33.
Virginia, Historical Society, 50.
Hospitality of, 324.
Impoverishment of, 302.
Ministers of, early, 137. 163.
North-West, cession of, by, 322.
Regiments, officers of, in 1755,
211 ; 1762, 217; of First to Sixth,
inclusive, 264 ; of the Ninth, 276 ;
of the Eleventh, 279 ; losses of
the Seventh at Brandywine, 278.
Religion fostered by, 133.
Schools of. Early, 154.
Settlers of, 132.
Social system of. Charming, 324.
Virginia Antiquities, Society for
the Preservation of, 54.
VowLES, Adj't Henry, 337.
Wade, Joseph, 200.
Waddell, Hon Jos. A., 220, 264.
Waddill, William, 172.
Waggener, Capt. Andrew, 210.
Ensign Edward, 210.
Capt. Thomas, 210
Walker, Lt. David, 259.
Nathaniel, 182.
Robert. M D.. 170.
Wallace, Col. 323.
Wallop, John, 189.
Warner, Augustine, 205.
Mildred, 205.
Washing, Regulations of Camp,
252.
Washington, George, 21 ; First
election to the House of Bur-
gesses, 113; Officers in his regi-
ment, 1775,203,205,211; Marriage
of, 117; letter of, to Col. John
Cropper, 304, 314 ; at Monmouth,
283.
Lawrence, 205.
Martha, Parentage of, 86, 98.
Mary, 22.
Washington and Lee University,
31, 44, 220, 309.
Waxhaw Creek, Battle of, 360.
Wayne, Gen. Anthony, 223, 370.
North-west campaign, 321.
Weedon, Gen. George, 214, 323.
John, 338.
Weeks, Stephen B., 55
Weltner, Col. Lodowick, 347.
West. Hugh, ti6.
Maj. John, 182.
West Virginia Historical Society,
57.
Whaley, Commodore, 298.
James, Epitaph of, 81.
Matthew, 82.
Maj. Thomas, 194
386 INC
Whitford, Robert, i6i,
Whittington, Capt. William, iSj,
187.
Wilcox, Eugenia, iii.
Hatntin. iii.
James M.. iii.
Mary A. S., in.
Susanna, iii.
William and Mary College, 32, 38,
41, 64, 73-
Williams, James, 86.
iohn G-, 17a.
lary. 86.
Gen. O. H,. 314.
Capt. T. Byron, 284.
Williamsburg, Va.. Epitaphs in, 67.
Willis, Col., 373.
Wilson, Christian, 195.
WiLLS.JohnS., 155.
Winchester, Va., 116.
WiNSOR. Justin, 4.
Winston. John, 338.
Wirt, William, iig ; tender letter
of condolence from, 313.
Wise, Barton H , 173. '
Wise, Gov. Henry A., 187, 310-
John, 187, 310.
WiTHERSPOON, Maj., 363.
Wood. Basil. 171.
Leighton, 172.
Col. J
1.360.
WooDBRiDGE. D. D,. George, 68
Woodford, Gen William, 118. j88,
290, 337. 370.
WooDLEY, Andrew, 154.
Henry, 154.
Thomas, 154.
Woodruff, Lieut. Lewis, 339,
Woodward, Capt. Henry, io6.
Wynne. Sarah, 301.
WvTHE, George, 33-
York county, Va., Epitaphs in, 63.
York- Hampton parish, 100-
YouNG, Francis, 156.
James, .56.
Nathaniel, 156.
N. P.. 145, 147, 148, 146.
Michael, Elegy on, 151.
YuiLLE, John, Epitaph and arms of.
67.
Ik.
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