to have all the military stores hauled across the river before his
arrival. Simcoe, however, used military strategy in this instance
which worked most successfully: he had his men spread out, cut
down trees and build large camp-fires at great distances apart
thus giving the impression that all of Cornwallis' army was on
this campaign. General Steuben observing the large radius of camp
concluded that Cornwallis' entire force was across the river.
Consequently, he had his lighter baggage moved and had his troops
evacuate the area. Simcoe destroyed all the heavy baggage and
military stores and returned successfully to Cornwallis the next
morning.
The British soldiers under Colonel Tarleton stopped for refreshments
in Louisa County at a place called Cuckoo Tavern. The tavern keeper
had an American soldier son, Captain Jack Jouett of the Virginia
Militia, who happened to be at the tavern but out of sight of tavern
visitors on that particular Sunday afternoon. He observed the two
hundred and fifty British soldiers, overheard some of their personal
conversations and their casual references to their military mission.
He waited until the British had departed from the tavern and then he
traveled on horseback over a different road--forty miles of brush
and thicket, field and forest, vines and brambles. He rode without
delay although the scars of some of the branches which struck him
in the face as he was riding so rapidly became permanent ones. He
believed that the British would probably make another stop for
refreshments at the home of Dr. William Walker, the only one in the
vicinity. Thus, he took time out to warn them of Tarleton's plans
and to urge them to delay the British as long as possible. Jouett
reached Monticello at dawn, roused the inhabitants within and
informed them of Tarleton's plan. Jefferson and his guests fled on
horseback and Mrs. Jefferson and their three children escaped to a
neighbor's house by carriage. As the British rode up one side of
the steep hill of Monticello, the Governor and his friends reached
the bottom of the hill on the other side. Jouett then safely led
the Governor's party via a secluded road to Staunton, which became
another temporary capital. In the meantime, Tarleton had tarried
before coming to Monticello to burn a wagon train filled with
Continental Army supplies and had stopped as predicted at Castle
Hill, the home of the Walkers. Mrs. Walker fed the soldiers before
the officers, thus causing an added delay in their departure. Jack
Jouett can be truly classified as the "Paul Revere of the South."
The Assembly members were so appreciative of the courage and
perseverance of Jouett that they subsequently presented him with a
sword and a pair of pistols.
[Illustration: RICHMOND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
_Gunston Hall_
_Home of George Mason, Author of "Declaration of Rights"_]
On July 4, 1781, General Cornwallis and his troops left
Williamsburg, fought an inconsequential battle at Greenspring (near
Jamestown) and then crossed the James River to Portsmouth where
he proceeded to Yorktown. By September 1781, he had approximately
eight thousand soldiers garrisoned on the peninsula at Yorktown. He
had selected this site because he thought it was a secure one: the
Chesapeake Bay was on the east, the York River on the north and the
James River on the south. Actually, he had placed his soldiers in a
most penetrable trap.
Marquis de Lafayette played an important part in the Revolutionary
War. An outstanding example of foreign help received by the
Americans, Lafayette had volunteered at the age of nineteen to
serve in the American Army in 1777. After arriving from France
in North Carolina, he rode horseback to Philadelphia to appear
personally before the Continental Congress to offer his services
to the American colonies. He had been appointed a Major-General by
Congress and had been placed on Washington's staff. He had fought
in the Battle of Brandywine Creek (Pennsylvania) and had been
seriously wounded. His outstanding bravery had been recognized by
Washington and they had begun a strong friendship which was to
continue throughout their lives. He had endured with Washington the
terrible winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (1777-1778) and acted
as a morale builder to Washington's disheartened forces. He had
been the hero at the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey. After France
had officially recognized the independence of the United States,
Lafayette had returned to France, and, after encouraging many French
soldiers to help the Americans fight, he had rejoined Washington.
In 1781, Washington had sent him to defend and protect Virginia
where he had cleverly pursued Cornwallis from near Charlottesville
to Yorktown. After his role in the final strategy of Yorktown
defense and his return to France, one can understand why Virginians
consider Lafayette one of their heroes and have a famous bust of him
created by the great sculptor, Jean Antoine Houdon, located in the
rotunda of the State Capitol Building in Richmond.
As soon as Lafayette had noticed Cornwallis gathering his troops at
Yorktown, he realized the possibility of surrounding Cornwallis and
his forces since Lafayette was so well acquainted with this terrain.
He immediately informed Washington of this situation and Washington
quickly headed for his home state. In the meantime, General
Lafayette surrounded Cornwallis and his troops on the south and on
the west. Simultaneously, a fleet of twenty-five French warships
from the West Indies under command of Admiral de Grasse sailed up
the Chesapeake Bay with 3,000 French troops. This movement prevented
Cornwallis from either receiving British enforcements or from
escaping out to sea. General Washington, after feigning an attack
against General Henry Clinton in New York, rapidly moved his army
southward, joined with the forces of General Count de Rochambeau.
Washington soon attacked the British on the north and on the west.
Although Cornwallis realized that he was completely surrounded by
American and French forces, he and his troops fought valiantly for
weeks.
The home of General Thomas Nelson, the Governor of Virginia at
this time, was located in Yorktown. General Cornwallis had taken
possession of this house for his headquarters at Yorktown. Out of
deference to the Governor, the American soldiers had refrained from
firing upon it. However, General Nelson ordered them to fire upon
the house, regardless of its sentimental value, because it housed
British officers. The first shot killed two British officers and a
cannon ball still embedded in one wall may be observed today in the
Nelson House at Yorktown.
Finally recognizing the futility of fighting any longer, on October
17, 1781, General Cornwallis requested a parley, ordered a cease
firing, and exchanged messages with Washington. At two o'clock of
the next afternoon, Cornwallis selected the Moore House in Yorktown
for a discussion of surrender terms: this house was out of range of
the firing and conveniently located. The British, the French and the
Americans sent representatives for the consultation, John Laurens
representing the Americans. After long discussion and debate, the
articles of capitulation were agreed upon and the generals signed
them the next day. At twelve o'clock on October 19, 1781, the
British signing was done by General Cornwallis and Thomas Symonds,
the American signing by General Washington, and the French signing
by General Rochambeau and Count de Barras for Count de Grasse. On
October 19, at 2 p.m., as agreed upon by the surrender terms, the
British army of 7,000 troops left Yorktown and laid down their arms
at Surrender Field, just south of the town. They marched between two
long lines of the French on one side and the Americans on the other
side. General Charles O'Hara, the leader of the British, apologized
to Washington for the non-appearance of Lord Cornwallis who was
reported ill. The Battle of Yorktown ended the Revolutionary War
although the peace treaty was not signed until 1783.
In this same year, the American army was demobilized. George
Washington bade farewell to his officers at Fraunces' Tavern, New
York City, on December 4, resigned on December 23 and returned to
Mt. Vernon to retire. Already he had won the admiration of the
new nation for his continued courage, bravery and great military
strategy so ably exemplified during the American Revolutionary
War. He also had earned the well-deserved title: "The Sword of the
Revolution."
_The Adoption of the United States and State Constitutions_
By 1785, the Americans began to realize that the Articles of
Confederation were too weak to become effective. The central
government did not have sufficient political power to govern,
the lack of a single executive resulted in a lack of leadership,
the Confederation Congress could make laws but had no power to
enforce them, the Congress could issue paper money and coins but
had no power to buy gold and silver for backing this money and the
Congress could levy taxes but had no power to collect them. There
was no provision for a national court system. In order to pass a
law, nine states had to agree in its favor; in order to amend the
Articles, all thirteen states had to agree. Under the Articles of
Confederation, the government was a confederacy in which each state
retained its own political authority and the central government was
responsible to the states. The control of foreign and interstate
commerce was left entirely to the individual states. Chaos and
confusion resulted. Consequently, in 1785, George Washington invited
some representatives from Maryland and from Virginia to meet with
him to discuss the problem of a stronger central government and to
settle a dispute which had arisen concerning the navigation of the
Potomac River.
The conference started at the City Tavern (later known as Gadsby's
Tavern) in Alexandria and was later continued at Mount Vernon,
home of Washington. During the discussion, Washington stated
that there should be a common money system for all the states
as well as a common plan for regulating domestic and foreign
commerce. James Madison was one of the Virginians present, and
he felt that there must be other problems of common interest to
all the states. Therefore, when the next General Assembly met in
January 1786, Madison proposed that representatives from all the
states should meet at Annapolis, Maryland on September 11, 1786
to discuss trade problems and other areas of mutual interest. The
Virginia legislature, therefore, invited all the states to send
representatives to Annapolis to attempt to formulate a uniform
currency and commerce system for all the states.
In September 1786, only five states sent delegates to the Annapolis
meeting: Virginia, Delaware, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
These delegates, nevertheless, suggested that a convention be held
on May 25, 1787 at the State House in Philadelphia for the purpose
of revising the Articles of Confederation. After this recommendation
had been submitted to the Confederation Congress, it hesitatingly
invited all the states to meet the next year at Philadelphia.
Virginia sent seven delegates to this Philadelphia convention:
George Washington, John Blair, James Madison, George Mason, James
McClurg, Edmund Randolph (Governor at this time) and George Wythe.
Seventy-three individuals had been chosen as delegates from the
twelve states, but only fifty-six members were present at the
convention. All the states were represented at the convention except
Rhode Island. When the convention began on May 25, 1787, George
Washington was unanimously chosen President of the convention to
preside over the meetings and rules of procedure were adopted.
It is significant to note the absence of three of the Virginia
Revolutionary Period leaders: Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson
and Patrick Henry. Lee declined membership because he believed that,
since he was a member of the Confederation Congress and since he
thought the revised Articles would be submitted to this Congress
for approval, he should not become a member of the Convention to
revise the same and, subsequently, be a member of the Confederation
Congress which would be asked to pass upon the revised plan.
Jefferson was the United States Minister to France at this time and
was out of the country. Although Patrick Henry had been elected as a
delegate to the convention, he had refused to accept the assignment
because he was skeptical about governmental changes which the
convention might make. Two Virginians who were present made written
comments concerning the type of individuals who represented their
states as follows:
(1) George Mason (in a letter to his son)--"America has
certainly, upon this occasion, drawn forth her first
characters.... The eyes of the U. S. are turned upon this
assembly, and their expectations raised to a very anxious
degree." Mason's personal attitude toward the responsibility of
being a state delegate at this convention is summarized in this
remark: "I would not serve upon pecuniary reasons alone in this
convention for a thousand pounds a day."
(2) James Madison--"It contains in several instances the most
respectable characters in the U. S., and in general may be said
to be the best contribution of talents the States could make for
the occasion."
The meetings were held secretly behind closed doors because of
the grave problems which the convention had to solve. After the
delegates began to discuss the necessary changes which had to
be made, they realized the impossibility of simply revising the
Articles of Confederation and the absolute necessity of writing a
new constitution which would make the central government a much
stronger political power. James Madison, a most profound student
of government, is considered as the most influential member of the
convention. He was the most active speaker at the convention and he
kept careful notes of the entire session. Madison is regarded as the
"Father of the United States Constitution."
One of the first questions to be decided at the convention was the
type of organization of the government. Governor Edmund Randolph
presented Madison's "Virginia" Plan recommending a strong, central
government and one in which each state would be represented in
proportion to its population. This plan is sometimes referred to as
the "Large State" Plan because most of the larger states favored
it: according to this plan, the more population a state had, the
greater the representation. The small states had their plan also: it
was presented by William Paterson of New Jersey and is known as the
"Paterson" or "New Jersey" or "Small State" Plan. The small states
favored states' rights rather than a strong, central government and
believed that each state should be represented equally regardless of
its population. The "Great Compromise" which was finally adopted was
a combination of both plans: a bicameral legislature called Congress
was to be created consisting of (1) the House of Representatives
with membership from each state based upon the population of
the state and (2) the Senate with membership based upon equal
representation from each state--two Senators from each state. The
plan of government finally adopted provided for a strong central
government but with the state governments retaining essential
reserve powers.
After the Constitution had been completed on September 17, 1787, it
was submitted to the Confederation Congress with the recommendation
that Congress inform each state legislature about the Constitution
and ask for state ratification. The Constitutional requirement for
making the document effective was ratification by nine states.
Washington was very eager for the Constitution of the United States
to be adopted. He wrote many personal letters favoring its adoption
including a public letter in which he reminded the states that each
state must be willing to make certain concessions for the benefits
of the country as a whole.
Thirty-nine of the fifty-six delegates signed the Constitution.
Only three of the six delegates from Virginia signed it: George
Washington, John Blair and James Madison. Madison, in fact, was
consulted for an opinion on almost every phase of the Constitution.
During the campaign period for and against ratification, Madison
joined Alexander Hamilton and John Jay of New York and contributed
to a series of essays called "The Federalist." The essays included
a discussion of the meaning of the various provisions of the
Constitution and attempted to prove that the federal or central
government would not misuse the power granted to it. Madison wrote
twenty of the eighty-five essays contained in "The Federalist." This
series of essays is believed to have influenced more people to favor
the adoption of the Constitution than any other written or oral
effort.
The most influential writings against the adoption of the
Constitution were authored by Richard Henry Lee in his "Letters of
a Federal Farmer." George Mason and Edmund Randolph refused to sign
the Constitution of the United States because it contained no bill
of rights, it did not provide either for the immediate prohibition
of slave traffic or for the eventual abolition of slavery and,
in their opinion, gave Congress too much control over navigation
and tariff policies. Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia and a
delegate at the Philadelphia Convention, played an unusual role: he
did not sign the Constitution himself because he did not approve of
the final document but he did urge the State of Virginia to accept
it because he believed that a union of states was necessary. James
McClurg and George Wythe did not sign it because they were absent,
but they did encourage the ratification of the Constitution by
Virginia.
On June 2, 1788, a Virginia State Convention was held in Richmond to
determine whether or not Virginia would accept the new Constitution
of the United States. There were one hundred and sixty-eight
official delegates present, and they elected Edmund Pendleton
president of the convention. Sectionalism appeared obvious in
the state at this time: the Piedmont area and the southwest area
which did not have many slaves opposed ratification while the
Tidewater area and the northwest area favored the adoption of the
Constitution. James Madison, John Marshall (who actually explained
much of the Constitution to the members of the convention), Edmund
Randolph, George Wythe and General "Light Horse Harry" Lee spoke on
behalf of the Constitution; George Mason, Patrick Henry, Richard
Henry Lee, James Monroe and William Grayson spoke very strongly
against it. The chief arguments against ratification were that
the central government had been given far too much power and the
individual states far too little power, that the commerce clause
was too powerful and that the continuance of the slave trade was
permitted. Finally, after Madison had agreed to suggest and to urge
adoption of many amendments, the Virginia convention ratified the
Constitution of the United States by the close vote of 89 to 79 on
June 26, 1788. It is interesting to note that, at this time, the
State of Virginia included the present area of Virginia and the
area now included in the States of Kentucky and of West Virginia.
The State of Virginia missed by five days the honor of being the
necessary ninth state to ratify the Constitution, New Hampshire
having this honor. As Virginia became the tenth state to ratify
it, the following declaration was officially recorded: "We, the
Delegates of the People of Virginia, ... Do, in the name and in
behalf of the People of Virginia, declare and make known, that the
powers granted under the Constitution, being derived from the People
of the United States, may be resumed by them whensoever the same
shall be perverted to their injury or oppression, and that every
power not granted thereby remains with them and at their Will; that
therefore no right of any denomination can be canceled, abridged,
restrained, or modified by the Congress ... or any department or
Officer of the United States, except in those instances in which
power is given by the Constitution for those purposes: and that,
among other essential rights, the liberty of Conscience and of the
press cannot be canceled, abridged, restrained or modified by any
Authority of the United States." This declaration expressed fear
on the part of Virginians concerning the new Constitution. At the
same time, the members of the Virginia convention proposed forty
amendments which became the bases of the ten amendments of the Bill
of Rights in the Constitution of the United States: James Madison
introduced the first nine amendments and Richard Henry Lee, the
tenth amendment, to the Constitution of the United States--all
eventually adopted in 1791.
Between 1783 and 1789, on the domestic scene, Virginia had gained
five new counties: Campbell (formed from Bedford County and named
for General William H. Campbell, the hero of the Battle of King's
Mountain), Greensville (formed from Brunswick County and, later,
parts of Sussex County and named for General Nathaniel Greene or Sir
Richard Grenville), Franklin (formed from Bedford and Henry Counties
and, later, parts of Patrick and named for Benjamin Franklin),
Russell (formed from Washington County and named for General William
Russell, a military hero also at the Battle of King's Mountain in
the Revolutionary War) and Nottoway (formed from Amelia County and
named for an Indian tribe, "Nottoway"--the word meaning "snake or
enemy"). Two years later, Patrick County was formed from Henry
County and was named in honor of the patriot, Patrick Henry.
Another domestic problem during this period concerned the boundary
dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia. When the Penns colonized
Pennsylvania, they claimed the 39th degree parallel as their
southern boundary. Virginia, however, claimed all the territory as
far north as the 40th degree parallel including the choice section
of Fort Pitt (now the site of Pittsburgh). After Pennsylvania
authorities had established courts at Hanna's Town (now Greensburg),
Governor Dunmore of Virginia sent Dr. John Connelly to establish a
rival court with competing magistrates in 1773. The struggle for
ownership of this area was temporarily postponed during the American
Revolution, although the Virginia courts continued to remain
in session in western Pennsylvania from 1774 to 1780. Finally,
negotiations took place, and an agreement was adopted to allow a
survey to be made in the region and to accept a boundary recommended
by the joint boundary commission. The Mason and Dixon Line was
extended to the southwest corner of Pennsylvania in 1784; the
western boundary line of Pennsylvania was permanently agreed upon in
1785-1786.
In the following year, in December, an historical event took
place which contributed greatly to science. James Rumsey, a
native Marylander who had moved to Bath, Virginia (now Berkeley
Springs, West Virginia), was interested in boat-building and in the
possibility of steam propulsion. After the Virginia General Assembly
had given him exclusive permission to navigate specific types of
boats constructed by himself on the state waterways for ten years,
he successfully transported six individuals for the first time in a
steamboat four miles up the Potomac River near Shepherdstown. Rumsey
continued to experiment with additional steamboats on the Potomac.
In order to obtain financial assistance, he traveled subsequently
to London and ironically died there before his second boat, the
"Columbia Maid," had been completely constructed. This event
occurred twenty years before Robert Fulton made his historic trip up
the Hudson River in the "Clermont."