A striking evidence of the progress in Virginia of its agricultural
progress is the extensive plant of the Virginia-Carolina Chemical
Works. The main offices are in Richmond and the works are located near
the city. The different fertilizers, which are varied and adapted to
all important crops in the South, are distributed all over the country
through its many agencies in all the largest cities. It is said that
by the application of these to the soil, that two blades of grass will
spring up where but one grew before. Thus causing almost worn out
fields to put on a grass sward and then heavy crops of tobacco and
other products. This beneficial aid to nature appeals to the farmers
and encourages them to never despair, but to always resort to the
excellent fertilizers which are made and adapted to each crop by the
reliable Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company, and then his plantation
will always yield a large and remunerative increase over its former
productions.
Among the pleasant and interesting customs of the past, was the
regular habit of Virginians to gather together just before important
elections and hold barbecues, which were always well-gotten up and
carried out by a committee appointed for the purpose, who attended to
the cooking; there was always a quarter of fat beef, and a whole
mutton barbecued to a turn, and when dinner was announced the
political speakers adjourned the meeting until the crowd had partaken
generously of the meats and also of the good toddies furnished freely
to the voters assembled on the festive occasion.
And when dinner was all over, the orators would resume their pleas for
votes. The last barbecue of this extensive sort that I remember
attending was at the Drewry Mansion, near Manchester. It was a very
delightful place for such a meeting of suffragans; it being a handsome
dwelling in a beautiful grove of stately old oak trees, commanding
from an eminence a magnificent view of the plantation and the winding
James River below. Among the speakers on the occasion were George D.
Wise and Richard Beirne, who pleased every man present and all
returned home well satisfied with the whole outing.
Among the well-known characters of Richmond was one George Dabney
Wootton, who came here before the war and was employed by the South, a
newspaper published by Mr. Roger A. Pryor, and when the paper was
discontinued he scraped together a smattering of what he thought was
law, and hung out his shingle at the police court. Many people
credited him with having "rats" in his head. One thing is certain, the
man possessed inordinate self-reliance, or "brass," as it is called.
He advertised a good deal in the newspapers and a certain Western man,
who read his "ads," came on to the city with a good fat case of law,
involving a large amount of money, which he placed in Wootton's hands,
but subsequently finding that it would not be safe under Dabney's
skill, in other words he was not qualified to manage so large a case,
he sent and offered him a nice sum of money if he would give up the
matter, but the learned attorney declined to withdraw from the case,
and said that he proposed to go through with it. His client then had
to employ assistant counsel, and obtained the legal service of Col.
James Lyons, one of the most eminent lawyers of the bar of Virginia.
Of course that settled it so far as Mr. Wootton was concerned.
I remember several years ago, when Mr. Isador Rayner, the United
States Senator from Maryland, spoke at the Academy of Music, upon the
subject of the tariff. Now, as a matter of fact, this is a generally
dull subject, consisting of so much detail, and so many statistics and
figures. But on this occasion it was quite the reverse of dull, for he
discussed this intricate question in such an interesting manner that
our attention was rivetted throughout the address, and every listener
was charmed from the beginning to the finish. It was indeed one of the
very finest speeches that I ever heard.
A prominent and remarkable man was in his day, Mr. Joseph Mayo, who
succeeded Mr. Lambert as the chief magistrate or mayor of Richmond; he
was a good lawyer, indeed one of renown, and the author of the
celebrated work called "Mayo's Guide," a book of high standing, and an
authority at the bar for all legal forms used in the Richmond courts.
At that time the Mayor performed the office of police judge, and well
I do recall seeing him seated in his big chair with all the high
dignity of a Roman senator; he was always dressed in a blue dress coat
with brass buttons and ruffled shirtbosom. He dispensed even handed
justice, and was a highly esteemed citizen of Richmond.
When the army of Northern Virginia, under General Robert E. Lee, was
fighting at Spotsylvania Courthouse; occurred the battle at New
Market, between the Confederate forces under General Jno. C.
Breckenridge, and those under the Northern General Siegel. When Grant
withdrew his lines of battle General Lee marched on parallel lines to
Grant's. We stopped at Hanover Junction and there sharp skirmishing
took place. The railroad train conveying the cadets of the Virginia
Military Institute stopped a short time, and I went on board and
inquired if Cadet George Kennon Macon, my brother, was aboard the
train, and the answer was, to my distress, that he was not, as he had
been wounded in that celebrated charge of the cadets at New Market, in
the Valley of Virginia, by a canister shot passing through his arm,
and he had to be left behind under the care of those kind and skillful
surgeons of the corps--Doctors George Ross, and Marshall. Captain
Miles C. Macon, of the Fayette Artillery, my brother, also, was then
just recovering from a spell of typhoid fever, which had prevented his
being in the engagement at the front, went up to the valley and
brought our wounded brother down to our mother's home in Richmond, and
it is needless to say that everything that love and sympathy could
suggest or inspire was employed to relieve his pain and hasten his
recovery. He was the idol of the family, and his wound was attended to
by that most skillful surgeon Doctor Petticolas. It was an ugly wound
and he suffered from it to the day of his death.
The brilliant charge of those young boys--cadets--at the severe fight
of New Market, forms one of the brightest pages of military glory, and
in all history there has never been its equal. Their steady, stoical
bravery at the crisis of the battle, under circumstances and
surroundings that staggered the old veterans. As these gallant youths
moved across the field in the face of a withering fire of artillery
concentrated on them, they were literally mowed down, but their ranks
were filled up as coolly as if they were on parade, and they never
faltered in their charge until they had captured the guns before them.
This was, as often written, one of, if not the most striking
achievements, of the great war between the States. Many have blamed
the commandant of the institute, General Smith, for allowing the boys
to be carried to the front, though he had no option in the matter; it
was a case of emergency; of salvation to the army, and indeed of
safety to the institute, and accordingly General Breckenridge called
forth the corps, and they were eager for the fray, and proved their
mettle.
A gleaning of significance was: A certain lady was the fortunate
possessor of two sons whose ages were respectively twelve and fourteen
years; these boys were once invited to a juvenile party, their mother
having provided them new roundabouts with plain brass buttons and
trousers to match with well starched collars, their faces having been,
of course, washed clean, and the chaps were well dressed and smart
looking. Before parting with them, when they were leaving home for the
entertainment, their mother, after carefully inspecting them, said,
now boys you are both big fools, and now don't you open your mouths
while at this party. The host of the entertainment came to them and
complimented their behaviour and appearance, and inquired about their
mother. The boys looked directly at one another, but remained as dumb
as oysters in the shells. Their hostess fared no better, and received
no satisfaction when she kindly inquired of them about their parent.
As she left the boys she remarked, well those are certainly the
greatest dunces that I have ever seen. They overheard her remark, and
one of them said to the other brother, they have found us out. Let us
go home. Those very boys afterwards developed into intelligent men. It
was truly wrong in their parent to thus discourage her boys on their
first start into society; she should have taken an optimistic view of
the matter, as the final result proved, as they both grew up to be
well informed members of society.
A characteristic feature of the period of the time in which I am
engaged writing, is the friendly relations now existing between the
sections of the country; the North and the South. Nearly half a
century has elapsed since the surrender at Appomattox. All the
acrimony engendered by the late strife, has ceased. The bone of
contention, the "Slavery Question," which once divided the States, no
longer exists, and now we see the Southern girl marrying the Northern
beau, and the Northern knight woos and weds the Southern heroine, and
thus results a commingling of blood and interests.
During the winter just preceding the great war between the States, a
Miss Duryea, the daughter of Colonel Duryea, of New York, was making a
visit to my brother-in-law and his family, Mr. Peyton Johnston, of
Richmond, they being strong mutual friends. The colonel consented to
her visiting in Richmond, and she was a very attractive young lady,
and as I was at the time a young man, I was, to some extent, drawn to
her. I well remember that she played a good game of single-hand
euchre, and that we had many pleasant games together. She left for the
North just before the beginning of the war. Her father commanded the
Duryea Zouaves.
A unique character of the city was one Captain John Freeman, who
commanded one of the passenger boats between West Point, Va., and the
City of Baltimore. He was a great epicure, and was noted for providing
the best meals on his steamer of any one of the line, and passengers
to and from Baltimore and Virginia deemed themselves fortunate when
they found themselves his guests for the trip on the York River and
the Chesapeake Bay route. The genial old sailor had, by good feeding,
acquired a fine front of genuine aldermanic proportions. A certain man
once approached him and remarked that he could give him a receipt
which, if he would follow well, would reduce his stomach to its normal
size within thirty days. The captain listened attentively to him, and
then he replied, "My good friend, it has taken me about thirty-five
years and several thousand dollars to obtain the generous front that I
have, and now you come and tell me how to get rid of it in thirty days
or so, after all my time and money has been spent in acquiring it.
Now, my dear sir, I must most respectfully decline to make use of your
receipt."
During the war between the States a certain quartermaster with the
rank of major, whose duty never took him outside Richmond in extremely
hot weather, when the mercury in July ranged from ninety to
ninety-five degrees, had a negro boy whose sole employment was to fan
him and keep off the flies. Now, this worthy official of the Army of
the Confederacy always thought himself to be one of the hardest worked
men in the service. Peace to his ashes; he has long since "passed over
to the other side of the river."
A time of great interest to the Virginians in the past, was the
exhibition of the annual State Fair, when almost every farmer and
family came to Richmond during the month of October to attend it. They
would put off until then to do the shopping and trading for the fall
and winter. The city would then be thronged with the visitors from
almost everywhere. All the hotels and boarding houses were then
filled, and all hands bent upon seeing and being seen, would flock out
to the Fair Grounds. At night the Mechanic's Institute was open and
filled with machinery and mechanical products. The Fair Grounds were
situated then at now the corner of Main and Belvedere Streets, which
had been used during the war as Camp Lee. It is now the beautiful spot
called Monroe Park.