The letter of acceptance of each of the candidates gives to some
extent the policy of the administration that is advocated by them.
There are some wrongs to remedy and some new measures to adjust and
policies to inaugurate. In the meantime the people are looking with
eager eyes at the contest and are anxious to know the final result in
November as to which party will be successful and the kind of
government that will rule them after, the 4th of March, 1913.
An interesting history of by-gone days was that of the old James River
and Kanawha Canal, which was in its day a very important means of
transportation to all points situated in the valley of the James above
Richmond to the westward. The State of Virginia, which built and owned
it at the beginning of the war, sold it to the Richmond and Alleghany
Railroad Company, which constructed a railroad on its bank known as
the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad. This road finally fell to the
control of the Chesapeake and Ohio Company by purchase of its stock
and bonds, and thus the use of that fine work as a means of transport
became a thing of the past--too slow for the age of steam and
electricity.
A striking feature of Richmond during the war were the levees or
social receptions held at the Governor's Mansion every Thursday night.
They were largely attended by the citizens as well as by the soldiers
that were passing through the city, affording a pleasant opportunity
to the boys in grey to and from the front, to meet the fair ladies of
the Confederacy, who lent their charming presence and society for the
enjoyment of the officers and men, affording a very delightful
recreation and change from the hardships and many privations of field
duty.
Colonel William Smith, nick-named Extra Billy while in Congress, was
one of the bravest and most popular officers in the Army of Northern
Virginia. His regiment had won distinction on many fields of battle.
An election was held in the army and every man in all the Virginia
regiments voted for him to be the Governor of Virginia, and it proved
a wise selection, for his intense devotion to the cause of the
Confederacy, as well as his conspicuous gallantry, endeared him to
every one who wore the gray. Very well do I recall the occasion when
the guests at the Mansion passed in review and gave him the
compliments of the evening. His genial manners to all will long be
remembered.
Doctor Hunter McGuire, the medical director of Stonewall Jackson's
corps, by his sympathetic manner and great skill as a surgeon, saved
many a poor Confederate's life and also soothed his suffering body
when tortured by wounds received in battle. He was the physician who
attended his mortally wounded chief, after he was stricken down at
Chancellorsville, by the accidental fire of his own men. All that
could be done, he did to save his valuable life, but all was in vain,
as pneumonia set in and the great soldier passed away, to the deepest
sorrow and grief of the whole South. Doctor McGuire, after the war,
settled in Richmond and established a very large and lucrative
practice, gaining a national reputation as an eminent surgeon, his
operations in the line of surgery being quoted all over the country
for their skillful application of the principles of that great art.
Doctor McGuire's great, tender heart was always open to the needs of
the Confederate soldier, or to the aid of the "Lost Cause" in keeping
alive in the memories the glories of those who fell in defense of
their homes and families. His memory is still revered by the old and
the young for his many noble traits of character and his deeds as a
citizen and physician.
A man by the name of Robert Jennings was a sergeant in the 9th
Pennsylvania Cavalry, and when his regiment was passing through the
county of Matthews, during the war, he was so much pleased with the
surroundings that he said if he came out of the conflict unharmed, he
would buy a farm there, and as he was fortunate enough to survive,
both sound and well, and being the possessor of a snug sum of ready
money, he carried out his intentions by purchasing a nice home and
launched out in the very laudable occupation of tilling the soil.
"Colonel Bob," as he was called, being of a genial nature, attended
court at the county seat every court day, his object in so doing was
to become well acquainted with the citizens, and being a man of means
and of a liberal disposition, he treated, or "set up" drinks and
cigars to the people very freely. He began by ordering the best to be
had, such as fifteen-cent drinks in thin glasses and Henry Clay
regalia cigars, and consequently became exceedingly popular, indeed
was one of the most popular men in Matthews county, on account of his
liberality and frequent attendance on court day. His farm and affairs
were neglected, which compelled him to mortgage his property and was
thus reduced to the necessity of ordering ten-cent drinks and cheaper
cigars. So they, from calling him "Colonel," changed his title to
"Major Bob," and as he still neglected his farm and its management,
and was again forced by lack of money to put a second deed of trust on
his farm, he was now reduced to the rank of "Captain Bob." He then
reduced the cost of his drinks down to "shorts," or five-cent drams,
and stogies for smokes. Well, finally things went from bad to worse,
and Captain Bob had to place a third deed or mortgage on his place,
and then it went into the hands of the trustee and was advertised for
sale. A man from Minnesota came and said that he liked the place and
also liked the people, as they were in general simple-minded, honest
folks, he would send his son down in the winter and he would come in
the summer.
"Bob," for they now only called him plain "Bob," overheard the man say
"a simple-minded people," remarked: "Well, that is what I thought a
few years ago, when I first came down here, with about seventy-five
thousand dollars, and now I haven't got money enough left to pay my
steamboat fare to the city of Norfolk"; and whatever afterwards became
of Mr. Robert Jennings I do not know.