```Virginia, hail! Thou venerable state
```In arms and council still acknowledged great!
```When lost Britannia, in an evil hour,
```First tried the steps of arbitrary power,
```Thy foresight then the Continent alarm'd;
```Thy gallant temper ev'ry bosom warm'd.
```And now, when Britain's mercenary bands
```Bombard our cities, desolate our lands
```(Our prayers unanswer'd, and our tears in vain),
```While foreign cut-throats crowd the ensanguined plain,
```Thy glowing virtue caught the glorious flame,
```And first renounced the cruel tyrant's name!
```With just disdain, and most becoming pride,
```Further dependence on the erown denied!
```While Freedom's voice can in these wilds be heard,
```Virginia's patriots shall be still revered."
`````Holt's New York Journal, June, 1776=.
[Illustration: 9442]
ICHMOND, the metropolis of Virginia, is situated at the Falls of the
James River, a locality known and mentioned as early as 1609, two years
after the commencement of a settlement at Jamestown, and the same year
that Henry Hudson first entered and explored New York Bay and the North
River. In that year, Captain West was sent, with one hundred and twenty
men, to make a settlement at the Falls. They pitched their tents at
the head of navigation, at a place now known as Rockett's, just below
Richmond. It was near one of the imperial residences of Powhatan when
the foundations of Jamestown were first laid. Captain John Smith, then
president of the colony, visited West's settlement toward the close of
1609. He disliked the situation, on account of the overflowing of the
river, and, purchasing from Powhatan a tract now known by that name, two
miles below Richmond, where the Indians had a palisade fort, he directed
the settlers to remove thither. They refused compliance, while Smith
strenuously insisted upon obedience. An open rupture ensued. Smith
committed some of the ringleaders to confinement; but this so
exasperated the remainder, that, with menaces of death, they drove him
to his vessel in the river. The Indians espoused the cause of Smith,
and the settlers and the natives became bitter enemies. Smith, greatly
chagrined, sailed down the river for Jamestown. As soon as he was gone,
the Indians fell upon West's people, and slew several of them. The
remainder were glad to recall Smith, who had not proceeded far down the
river, and receive his aid. He again imprisoned some of the leaders,
and established the settlement at Powhatan. There they had a strong
fort with dry wigwams, and about two hundred acres of land ready to
be planted. On account of the beauty and fertility of the place, they
called it "Nonesuch." As Smith was about to depart, West, who had been
at Jamestown, returned, and, by his influence, stirred up a mutiny,
which ended in the settlers abandoning "Nonesuch" and returning to the
Falls.
A fortification, called Fort Charles, was erected at the Falls in 1615.
Thirty-four years afterward, Captain William Byrd, having been granted
certain privileges contingent upon his making a settlement at the
Falls of fifty able-bodied men, well armed, as a protection against
the Indians, built a trading-house and mill upon the present site of
Richmond, about three fourths of a mile above Rockett's. The place was
called _Byrd's Warehouse_. The building from which the name was derived
stood near the present Exchange Hotel.
[[[Founding of Richmond.--Scenery on ihe James River at
Richmond.--Expedition of Arnold to Virginia]]]
{433}A town was established there with the name of Richmond (so called
because of its similarity in situation to Richmond on the Thames, near
London), in May, 1742, on land belonging to Colonel William Byrd, of
Westover. It is situated upon the north side of the James River, upon
the high hills of Shockoe and Richmond, and the margin of Shoekoe Creek,
which flows between them to the river.
The scenery from almost every point of view around Richmond is
exceedingly picturesque.
[Illustration: 8443]
The river is almost half a mile wide, dotted with beautiful wooded
islands, and broken into numerous cascades, which extend to Westham, six
miles up the stream. The Capitol stands in the center of a large square,
upon the brow of Shoekoe Hill, in the western division of the city. From
its southern colonnade there is an extensive view of the best portion
of the town, of the river, with its islands and cascades, and the
flourishing manufacturing village of Manchester, on the opposite shore,
with a back-ground of fertile slopes. From this point the eye takes
in almost the whole area of Richmond, made memorable by Revolutionary
events. Let us consider them.
When noticing the adventures of Sergeant Champe, while endeavoring to
abduct Arnold from New York (see page 206), I mentioned the fact that
the traitor sailed, in command of an expedition, to Virginia, taking
Champe with him. Arnold left New York (a) with nearly fifty small
vessels, and six hundred troops, principally [[ a Dec. 16, 1780]]
Loyalists, for the purpose of carrying on a predatory warfare in
Virginia. Contrary winds detained them at Sandy Hook, and they did not
leave their anchorage there until five days had elapsed. (b) Arnold
entered Hampton Roads on the 30th of [[ b Dec 21]] December. His
fleet had become dispersed, and several ships were missing. Anxious to
distinguish himself in the service of his royal purchaser, and favored
by the capture of some small American vessels by his advance frigate,
he pushed up the James River to seize or destroy the public stores at
Richmond and Petersburg. Williamsburg, situated about half-way between
the James and York Rivers, was the Capitol of the state when the
Revolution broke out. It was peculiarly exposed to the depredations of
the enemy, and was an unsafe place for the public records and stores.
Richmond, though quite an insignificant town of about eighteen hundred
inhabitants, one half of whom were slaves, offered a more secure
place for publie stores, and the quiet deliberations of the Virginia
Legislature; and thither, in the summer of 1779, the troops, arms, and
ammunition, together with the public records, were sent, by order of the
Assembly. Finally, the Burgesses, by an act passed in May, 1779, made
Richmond the permanent seat of government, and there all
* This view is from a long shaded island extending up the river from
Mayo's Bridge, one of the three structures which span the stream at
Richmond. Down the river from our point of view' is seen Mayo's Bridge,
and, in the extreme distance, the lower portion of Richmond, upon
Richmond or Church Hill. Several fish-traps are seen among the rapids in
the river. On the left are observed two or three smaller islands.
Since the above sketch was made, a bridge, for the accommodation of the
Danville rail-way, has been constructed from the Richmond end of Mayo's
Bridge, diagonally, to the southern end of the Petersburg rail-way
bridge, crossing very nearly our point of view. Not content with thus
marring the beauty of one of the finest series of islands and cascades
in the country, the company have covered the bridge, so as to shut out
from the eyes of passengers the surrounding attractions. Wherefore?
[[[Arnold, with his Fleet, in the James River.--Approach to
Richmond.--Activity of Jefferson.--The Militia]]]
{434}the state offices were located at the period in question. Thomas
Jefferson was then Governor of Virginia. *
On the 3d of January, (a) Arnold, with his fleet, anchored near
Jamestown, ** and the [[ a 1781]] next day proceeded as far as Westover,
the seat of the widow of Colonel Byrd, about twenty-five miles below
Richmond, where he landed almost a thousand troops, *** and led them
toward the metropolis. Governor Jefferson had been apprised of
the approach of the fleet, but was not certain whether Richmond or
Petersburg was the point of the intended attack, until advised of
the debarkation of the British troops. The whole country was speedily
alarmed. Jefferson called out all of the militia from the adjacent
counties; but so sudden was the invasion, and so great was the panic,
that only a handful could be collected The white population were few,
and scattered over plantations, with their habitations widely separated;
and private interest, in many cases, made the planters more intent upon
securing their slaves and horses from capture than defending public
property. Only about two hundred armed men could be collected for the
defense of Richmond. ****
The enemy encamped on the night of the 4th at Four Mile Creek, twelve
miles below Richmond. Governor Jefferson, perceiving that resistance
with his handful of raw militia would be useless, turned his attention
to the salvation of the public stores. By his activity a large quantity
was secured. Much of the portable property was carried across the river
to Manchester, and also the stores which had been sent to Westham, six
miles above Richmond, were ordered to be conveyed to the south side.
One object which Arnold had in view was the capture of Governor
Jefferson. That officer left Richmond on the evening of the 4th, tarried
a while at Westham to hasten the removal of the stores, and then rode
on to join his family at Tuckahoe, eight miles further. Early the next
morning he took them across the river to a place of safety, and then
rode to Britton's, opposite Westham, and gave further orders respecting
the disposition of the stores, [[ b Jan. 5, 1781]]Hastening to
Manchester, he arrived there in time to see the invading troops march,
unopposed, into Richmond, at one o'clock. (b)
When within a few miles of Richmond, Arnold so disposed his troops as
to have the appearance of twice their actual number. A patrol of the
militia who were assembled at Richmond, met them when within four miles
of the town, and, hastening back with the intelligence that fifteen
hundred British troops were within an hour's march of the place,
produced the greatest alarm and confusion. Many of the inhabitants fled
into the country, and were afterward followed by the militia themselves,
when the enemy entered the town.
Arnold, advised of the weakness of the place, halted at Rockett's, and
sent Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe, with the Queen's Rangers, to drive the
military from their position
* The public buildings were only temporary. The old Capitol in which the
Legislature held its sessions was private property, and stood upon the
site of the present custom-house.
** The Americans had a battery on Hood's Point, and when, late in
the evening, the enemy anchored, a fire was opened upon them.
Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe landed with one hundred and thirty of the
Queen's Rangers and the light infantry and grenadiers of the 80th
regiment, and made a circuit of about a mile in the dark to surprise the
garrison. On approaching the battery it was found to be abandoned, and
the fleet suffered no further inconvenience. See Simcoe's Journal, page
161.
**** Simcoe, who accompanied Arnold, says, "General Arnold's force did
not amount to 800 men." American writers generally agree that the number
was at least 900.
**** "The bare communication of the fact," says Tucker, in his Life of
Jefferson, "that a force of one thousand, or, at most, fifteen hundred
men, was able to invade a country containing at that time a population
of more than half a million, and fifty thousand enrolled militia, march
to its metropolis, destroy all the public, and much private property
found there and in its neighborhood, and to leave the country with
impunity, is a fact calculated to excite our surprise, and to involve
both the people, and those who administered its affairs, in one
indiscriminate reproach. But there seems to be little ground for either
wonder or censure, when it is recollected that these fifty thousand
militia were scattered over a surface of more than as many square
miles; that the metropolis which was thus insulted was but a village,
containing scarcely eighteen hundred inhabitants, half of whom were
slaves; and that the country itself, intersected by several navigable
rivers, could not be defended against the sudden incursion of an enemy,
whose naval power gave it the entire command of the water, and enabled
it to approach within a day's march of the point of attack."
[[[The British at Richmond.--Old City Tavern.--Baron
Steuben.--Depredations by British Frigates]]]
(A A) upon{435} Richmond Hill, near St. John's Church, on the south side
of the Shockoe Creek.
[Illustration: 9445]
He marched up the hill in small detachments, when the militia, after
firing a few shots, fled to the woods in the rear. Along the base of the
hill, leading into the portion of the town lying in the valley, Simcoe
sent his cavalry to surprise the militia there. The latter escaped
across the creek to Shockoe Hill, followed by the whole body of the
Rangers, and made a stand near the site of the Capitol (B).
[Illustration: 9445]
A large number of spectators were also there, and as the Rangers
ascended the hill, they fled to the country, hotly pursued by the
enemy's cavalry.
After taking possession of Richmond, Arnold ordered Simcoe to proceed
to Westham, and destroy the cannon-foundery and the magazine there.
The trunnions of most of the cannons were broken off; the powder in the
magazine which they could not carry away was thrown into the river, and,
before night, the foundery was a desolation. The Rangers returned to
Richmond, and the whole hostile force quartered in the town during the
night. (a) Arnold and Simcoe made their quarters at the Old City Tavern,
yet standing on Main Street, but partially in ruins, when I visited
Richmond. Many houses were entered and plundered by the invaders.
They obtained a considerable quantity of rum, and a large portion of
them spent the night in drunken revelry.
Baron Steuben, who was then collecting the Virginia levies for General
Greene's army at the South, was at Colonel Fleming's, in Powhatan
county, a few miles from Manchester. Thither Governor Jefferson went to
solicit aid. While there, some of the citizens waited on him to tender
an offer from Arnold to spare the town, provided British vessels
were permitted to come up unmolested, and carry off tobacco from the
warehouses. The governor promptly rejected the proposal, and the enemy
applied the torch.[[Jan. 5, 1781.]]
* Note.--This plan represents the invasion of Richmond on the 5th of
January, 1781. A A is the first position of the American militia on
Richmond Hill; B, the second position of the military and people on
Shockoe Hill; C, the Queen's Rangers marching to the attack; D, the
eavalry of the Queen's Rangers: E, Yagers; F, the main body of the
British with General Arnold; G, two cannons in battery; H, a fine
plantation, opposite the present Rockett's.
* This is a frame building, and stands on the northwest corner of Main
and Nineteenth streets. A portion of the lower part is yet inhabited
(1852). The glass and some of the sashes in the upper story are gone,
and the roof is partly decayed and fallen in on the west end. Here
Cornwallis and other British officers were quartered at a later period,
and beneath its roof the good Washington was once sheltered.
** British frigates ascended the rivers of Virginia, and levied
contributions upon all the tide-water counties. On one of these
occasions the Mount Vernon estate was menaced with destruction by
Captain Graves, of the Acteon. The manager, Mr. Lund Washington, to
save the buildings, complied with the terms, and consented to furnish a
supply of provisions. Washington highly disapproved of this proceeding,
and, in a letter to his nephew, declared that he would rather have had
the buildings destroyed, than saved by such "a pernicious example."
[[[Departure of Arnold from Richmond.--French Fleet in Hampton Roads.--
Houdon's Statue of Washington.]]]
[[ a Jan. 7.]]{436}Quite a number of public and private buildings,
together with a great quantity of tobacco, were burned. The public
records had been saved through the vigilance of Jefferson; and Arnold,
finding no more plunder or objects on which to pour out his wrath--the
ire of a most vindictive heart toward those whom he had foully
wronged--withdrew to Westover, and re-embarked to proceed to commit
other depredations upon the river shores and the coasts of the Virginia
bays. On the same day Jefferson returned to Richmond, and quiet was
restored.
A large body of militia rapidly rallied around Steuben; and General
Nelson also collected another large force lower down on the James River.
Arnold was pursued, but succeeded in reaching Portsmouth, opposite
Norfolk, where he established his head-quarters.
[Illustration: 8446]
Soon afterward a French sixty-four gun ship (the Eveille), and two large
frigates, from Newport, entered the Chesapeake. * Thus menaced by land
and water, Arnold resolved to remain at Portsmouth, whither the large
French vessels could not follow. ** The little fleet, after making a few
captures, and efforts to ascend the Elizabeth River, returned to[[b Feb.
24, 1781]] Newport, (b) having been absent only fifteen days. We
shall meet Arnold again presently.
I passed the day after my arrival at Richmond in visiting and sketching
some localities and objects of note within the city. I first went up
to the Capitol, where, after loitering an hour in the state library,
I copied the fine statue of Washington, by Houdon, a celebrated French
sculptor, which stands within an iron railing in the center of the
rotunda. It was made in. Paris, five years after the close of the
Revolution, by order of the Virginia Assembly, under the direction of
Mr. Jefferson, who was then minister at the court of Versailles. The
statue is of fine white marble, of life size; the costume, the military
dress of the Revolution. The right hand of the patriot rests upon a
staff, the left is upon the folds of a military cloak covering one end
of the fasces, with which is connected the plowshare, the emblem of
agriculture, the chief pursuit of the Virginians. The inscription upon
the pedestal was written by James Madison, afterward President of the
United States. *** In a small niche near is a marble bust of La Fayette,
and in the gallery of the rotunda is a fine full length portrait of
Chief-justice Marshall.
From the Capitol I walked to the Monumental Church, a neat edifice of
octagon form, belonging to the Protestant Episcopalians. It derives its
* At the solicitation of Governor Jefferson and of Congress, Luzerne,
the French minister, had requested that, if possible, a ship of the line
and some frigates might be sent up the Chesapeake to oppose Arnold. It
was determined to use every effort to capture the traitor; and, while
Steuben was narrowly watching his movements from a nearer point of view,
Washington detached La Fayette with twelve hundred men, drawn from the
New England and New Jersey lines, to march to Virginia, and co-operate
in the double enterprise of defending that state and capturing the
renegade. M. de Tilley was detached from Newport, on the 9th of
February, with a sixty-four and two frigates, for the Chesapeake. The
little squadron of De Tilley captured the Romulus, a British frigate of
forty-four guns, and also two privateers, one of eighteen and the other
of fourteen guns; sent four prizes to Yorktown, and burned four others.
They also captured about five hundred prisoners. Fortunately for Arnold,
Admiral Arbuthnot gave him timely warning of the approach of the
French vessels, and, as I have mentioned in the text, he escaped up the
Elizabeth River. The events at Portsmouth and vicinity will be detailed
presently.
** The Eveille did not attempt to follow him from Hampton Roads. One of
the frigates, the Surveillante, ran aground in endeavoring to ascend the
Elizabeth River, and was got off only by taking out her guns and casks
of water.
*** The following is a copy of the inscription:
*** "GEORGE WASHINGTON.
"The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia have caused this
statue to be erected, as a monument of affection and latitude to George
Washington, who, uniting to the endowments of a hero the virtues of the
patriot, and exerting both in establishing the liberties of his country,
has rendered his name dear to his fellow-citizens, and given the world
an immortal example of true glory. Done in the year of Christ, one
thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, and in the year of the
Commonwealth, the twelfth."
*** On the 22d of February, 1850, the corner-stone of a new and elegant
monument, to be erected upon Capitol Square, by order of the Virginia
Legislature, was laid with imposing ceremonies. The appropriation made
by the Legislature for the purpose was first suggested by the Virginia
Historical Society. Crawford, the eminent American sculptor, is now
engaged upon the work in Italy. The monument will be composed of a broad
base, with flights of steps between pedestals at proper intervals. These
pedestals, six in number, will support each a colossal eagle. From this
base will arise another for the lofty and elegantly wrought pedestal
in the center, designed to support a colossal equestrian statue of
Washington. Upon the second base are to be eight small pedestals,
supporting the statues of Virginia and Liberty, and of several of the
Revolutionary patriots of that state. The grand pedestal will contain,
in different parts, appropriate inscriptions, civic wreaths, stars, &c.
This is but a meager description of the beautiful design before me. It
will be an honor not only to Virginia, but to the Republic.
*** The grand master of the Masonic fraternity laid the corner-stone of
the monument, in the presence of President Taylor and his cabinet, the
Governor of Virginia, and a large concourse of people. On that occasion,
he wore the apron beautifully wrought by the hand of La Fayette's wife,
and presented to Washington by the Grand Lodge of France. Both generals
were members of the order. The apron is in the possession of Mount Nebo
Lodge, No. 91, located at Shepherdstown. * The oration delivered on the
occasion was by Robert G. Scott, Esq. It is expected that the monument
will be completed in 1855.
[[[Monumental Church.--Destruction of the Richmond Theater.--St. John's
Church.--Virginia Washington Monument]]]
{437}name from the circumstance that under its portico is a monumental
urn, erected to in-memory-of those who lost their lives when the
Richmond theater was burned, on the night of the 26th of December, 1811.
* This church was erected upon the site of the destroyed theater. There
the late venerable Bishop Moore preached during the whole time of his
residence in Richmond; and there I heard the voice of his successor,
Bishop Mead, on whom the mantle of his goodness hath fallen.
Crossing the deep valley of the Shockoe upon the broad and lofty
causeway just completed, I visited and sketched old St. John's Church
(see engraving on next page), upon Richmond Hill, and lingered long
among its venerable graves. It is the oldest church in Richmond, and one
of the most ancient in the state. The burial-ground which surrounds it
is embowered in trees and shrubbery, and from its southern slope there
is a noble view of the city and surrounding country. The main portion
of the building is the same as it was in the Revolution, the tower alone
being modern. On Sunday I sat within its hallowed walls, and, while the
voice of the preacher was uttering the eloquence of persuasive piety,
predicated upon the apostolic annunciation, "We are embassadors for
Christ," ** and urged his hearers to heed his voice of warning, and
join the standard of those who sought the _freedom of the Gospel_,
my thoughts involuntarily glanced back over a period of seventy-three
years, to the hour when, within that same temple, (a) the voice of
Patrick [[ a March 1775]] Henry enunciated those burning words which
aroused the Continent to action,
"_Give me liberty, or give me death!_"
There the people of Virginia assembled in rep-
* The audience on that night was uncommonly large, and composed chiefly
of the first class of citizens, among whom was the governor of the
state, George W. Smith. Some of the scenery was ignited by a chandelier
at the back part of the stage, while the most of it was concealed by a
drop-curtain. The combustible materials of all the stage arrangements
made the flames spread with wonderful rapidity, and before the audience
could make their escape by the only door of egress, in the front of the
building, the whole wooden edifice was in flames. Some leaped from the
windows and were saved; others were thus severely injured; and a large
number perished in the flames, or were suffocated by the smoke in the
burning building. Sixty-six white persons, and six colored ones, were
destroyed. The governor was one of the victims. It was a night of woe in
Richmond, and months and even years were required to elapse, before the
gloom was entirely dissipated. The funeral obsequies of the dead were
performed on the 28th of the month, in the presence of almost the entire
population.
** Gal., v., 20.
* Misled by careless historians and current tradition, I have stated
on page 307, of the first volume of this work, that Washington was
initiated into the secrets of the order at Morristown, in New Jersey.
The records exhibited by the orator on the occasion of laying the
corner-stone of the Virginia Monument, show that he was initiated on the
4th of November, 1752, in Lodge No. 4, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, when
he was not quite twenty-one years of age. He was raised to the degree of
Master Mason on the 4th of August. 1753. It is asserted that all of the
major generals of the Revolutionary army were master masons, except one;
that one was the "lost Pleiad"--Benedict Arnold.
[[[The Constitutional Convention--The Members and their Vote--Mayo's
Bridge--The Old Stone House.]]]
[[1788]]{438}representative convention to ratify guaranty of our civil
freedom, or reject the Federal Constitution, the glorious Patrick Henry
was then there, and, filled with apprehension lest the new Constitution
should destroy state sovereignty and concentrate a fearful power in the
hands of the chief magistrate, he lifted up his eloquent voice against
it.
[Illustration: 0448]
There, too, were Madison and Monroe, who both subsequently filled the
chair of the chief magistracy of the republic.
[Illustration: 9448]
There was Chancellor Wythe, a signer of the Declaration of Independence;
Marshall, the eminent chief justice, and the biographer of Washington;
Pendleton, one of Virginia's noblest sons, and president of the
Constitutional Convention; Mason, the sage, and personal friend of
Washington; Grayson, the accomplished scholar and soldier; Nicholas, an
officer of Washington's _Life Guard_; Edmund Randolph, then governor
of the state; Bushrod Washington, a nephew of the general; Innes,
the attorney general of the state; the brave Theodoric Bland of the
Continental army; Harrison, another signer of the great Declaration, and
many other luminaries of less brilliancy. _Of the 168 members who voted
on the measure in that convention, there was a majority of only two in
favor of the Federal Constitution._
Leaving St. John's and its interesting associations, I strolled into the
town, and crossed the James River to Manchester, over Mayo's Bridge. **
On my way I sketched the City tavern, printed on page 435, and the Old
Stone House near it, which was the first
* This view is from the burial-ground, looking southwest. The willow
seen on the left, leaning by the side of a monument, is a venerable
tree. It appears to have been planted by the hand of affection when the
monument was reared. In the progress of its growth the trunk has
moved the slab at least six inches from its original position. How
imperceptible was that daily motion when the sap was flowing, and yet
how certain and powerful!
** This bridge is nearly four hundred yards in length, and spans the
James River near the foot of the great rapids. It was built, soon after
the close of the Revolution, by Colonel John Mayo, who received a large
revenue from the tolls.
[[[Reminiscences of the "Old Stone House."--Anecdote of Monroe.--Patrick
Henry.]]]
{439}dwelling erected in Richmond. It stand eth streets, and was among
the houses in Richmond which was spared by the incendiary in 1781.
[Illustration: 8449]
It was occupied, when I visited it, by Mrs. Elizabeth Welsh, whose
great-grandfather, Jacob Ege, from Germany, built it before Byrd's
warehouse was erected. It was owned by Mrs. Welsh's, father, Samuel
Ege, who was a commissary in the American army during a part of the
Revolution. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe (four of the
presidents of the United States) have all been beneath its roof. Mrs.
Welsh informed me that she well remembers the fact that Monroe boarded
with her mother, while attending the Virginia Convention in 1788, just
alluded to. * She was then ten years of age.
I passed a portion of the afternoon among the tobacco factories in
Richmond, and the cotton and iron factories at Manchester, and then
lingered until almost sunset upon the beautiful island above Mayo's
Bridge, ** from which I
* Mrs. Welsh related a circumstance whieh she well remembered. While
Monroe was boarding with her mother, Samuel Hardy, another member of the
convention, was also there. Hardy was a very modest, retiring man. One
morning at breakfast, Monroe, remarked to Hardy, in a jocular manner,
"I have no doubt you will be governor of the state yet." "Yes." rejoined
Hardy, "and you will have your hair cued and be sent to Congress." Hardy
was afterward lieutenant governor of the state, and Monroe was not only
"sent to Congress" as a senator, but became a foreign minister, and
chief magistrate of the nation.
** Another noble bridge spans the James River a short distance above,
which was constructed for the passage of the Richmond and Petersburg
rail-way. A third bridge has been erected since my visit there, which is
referred to on page 433.
*** Patrick Henry was born at the family seat of his father, called
Studley, in Hanover county, Virginia, on the 29th of May, 1736. At the
age of ten years he was taken from school, and placed under the tuition
of his father, in his own house, to learn Latin. He acquired some
proficiency in mathematics; but it now became evident that he had a
greater taste for hunting and fishing than for study. We have already
considered the character of his youth and early manhood, on page 430,
until his powers of eloquence were first developed in a speech in
Hanover court-house. From that period Mr. Henry rose rapidly to the
head ol his profession. He removed to Louisa county in 1764, and in the
autumn of that year he was employed to argue a case before a committee
on elections of the House of Burgesses. He made an eloquent speech on
the right of suffrage, and his uncouth appearanee was entirely lost
sight of by the wondering burgesses. He was elected a member of the
Virginia Legislature in 1765. During that session he made his memorable
speeeh in opposition to the Stamp Act, whieh I shall notice more
particularly hereafter. Mr. Henry was admitted to the bar of the General
Court in 1769. At that time he was again a resident of his native
county; and from that period until the close of the Revolution he was
connected with the House of Burgesses as a member, and as governor of
the state. He was elected a delegate to the first Congress in 1774. and
there, as we have seen, gave the first impulse to its business. In 1775,
when Lord Dunmore seized and conveyed on board a British vessel of war a
part of the powder in the provincial magazine at Williamsburg, Mr.
Henry assembled the independent companies of Hanover and King William
counties, and, boldly demanding its restoration or its equivalent in
money, forced a compliance. He was chosen the first republican governor
of Virginia, after the departure of Dunmore, in 1776, which office he
held for several successive years. In the Virginia Convention of 1788,
assembled to consider the Federal Constitution, Mr. Henry opposed its
adoption with all his eloquence. In 1795, Washington nominated him as
Secretary of State, but he declined the honor and trust. President Adams
appointed him an envoy to France, with Ellsworth and Murray, in 1799,
but his indisposition and advanced age caused him to decline that honor
also. He died soon afterward at his seat at Red Hill, Charlotte county,
on the 6th of June, 1799, aged nearly sixty-three He had six children
by his first wife, and nine by his second. He left his family rich.
His widow married the late Judge Winston, and died in Halifax county in
February, 1831.
* In private life Mr. Henry was amiable and virtuous, and in public
and private strictly temperate. He was never known to utter a profane
expression, dishonoring the name of God. He was not a member of any
church, yet he was a practical Christian, and a lover of the Bible.
* Wirt, in his brilliant biography of the great orator, has given
several illustrations of the power of his eloquence. I give one in
conclusion. A Scotchman, named Hook, living in Campbell county, was
suspected of being a Tory. On the occasion of the joint invasion of
Cornwallis and Phillips, the American army was greatly distressed. A
commissary, named Venable, took two of Mr. Hook's steers, without his
consent, to feed the starving soldiers. At the conclusion of the war, a
lawyer, named Cowan, advised Book to prosecute Venable for trespass, in
the District Court of New London. Venable employed Patrick Henry.
[Illustration: 9450]
* The case was tried in the old court-house in New London. Mr. Henry
depicted the distress of the American soldiers in the most glowing
colors, and then asked, where was the man, "who had an American heart,
who would not have thrown open his fields, his barns, his cellars, the
doors of his house, the portals of his breast, to have received with
open arms the meanest soldier in that little band of famished patriots?
Where is the man? There he stands; but whether the heart of an American
beats in his bosom you, gentlemen, are to judge." "He then," says Wirt,
"carried the jury, by the powers of his imagination, to the plains
around York, the surrender of which had followed shortly after the act
complained of. He depicted the surrender in the most glowing and
noble colors of his eloquence. The audience saw before their eyes the
humiliation and dejection of the British as they marched out of the
trenches--they saw the triumph which lighted up every patriotic
face, and heard the shouts of victory, and the cry of 'Washington and
Liberty,' as it rung and echoed through the American ranks, and was
reverberated from the hills and shores of the neighboring river--| but
hark! what notes of discord are these which disturb the general joy, and
silence the acclamations of victory? They are the notes of John Hook,
hoarsely bawling through the American camp, 'beef! beef! beef!'
* "The whole audience were convulsed. The clerk of the court, unable to
contain himself, and unwilling to commit any breach of decorum in his
place, rushed out of the court-house, and threw himself upon the grass,
in the most violent paroxysm of laughter, where he was rolling when
Hook, with very different feelings, came out for relief into the yard
also. 'Jemmy Steptoe,' he said to the clerk, 'what the divil ails ye,
mon?' Mr. Steptoe was only able to lay that he could not help it. 'Never
mind ye.' said Hook, 'wait till Billy Cowan gets up; he'll show him the
la'!' Mr. Cowan was so overwhelmed that he could scarcely utter a word.
The jury instantly returned a verdict against Hook. The people were
highly excited, and Hook was obliged to leave the county to avoid a coat
of tar and feathers."--Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry. *
* This is from a picture in Howe's Historical Collections of Virginia,
p. 220. The house is upon a ridge, the dividing line of Campbell and
Charlotte counties. "From the brow of the hill, west of the house,"
says Howe, "the Blue Ridge, with the lofty peaks of Otter, appear in the
horizon at the distance of nearly sixty miles." In a grove of locusts
and other trees at the foot of the garden, are the graves of Governor
Henry and his first wife. In the parlor of the house hangs the portrait,
by Sutly, of which the one given on the preceding page is a copy. The
dress is black, cravat white, and a red velvet mantle is thrown over the
shoulders. The sketch of the old court-house in New London is also from
Howe's valuable hook, p. 212.
[[[Departure from Richmond.--Aspect of the Scene.--Effect of Patrick
Henry's Eloquence.--His Residence.]]]
{440}made the sketch printed on page 433, contemplating the beauty and
grandeur of the scenery, charming even in December, when the trees were
leafless and the sward of a russet hue.
[Illustration: 9450]
The storm had subsided, the clouds had dispersed, and the sun and
air were as genial to the feelings as a day in mid-May. Bright and
beautiful, also, was the Sabbath; but when I left Richmond for Charles
City and old Jamestown on Monday morning, every thing was draped in
a thick vapor which had arisen from the river during the night. I had
scarcely left the suburban village of Powhatan, and turned my horse's
head toward the open country, when=
`````"That sea of vapor
```Parted away, and, melting into air,
```Rose round me, and I stood involved in light,
```As if a flame had kindled up, and wrapp'd me
```In its innocuous blaze."--Percival.=
The sun came forth brilliant and warm, and for an hour I could trace the
sinuous course
[[[Appearance of the Country below Richmond. Westover. Colonel Byrd.
Birth-place of President Harrison]]]
{441}of the James River by the line of the white vapor which stretched
away, far southward, like a huge serpent measuring its mighty length
over the land.
Before leaving Richmond, I endeavored to ascertain the exact location
of Westover, the famous estate of Colonel Byrd, and memorable as
the landing-place of Arnold's troops. I could not learn its relative
position in distance from the direct road to Charles City courthouse,
the goal of my first day's journey, and I thought I should pass it
by unvisited. After leaving Richmond a few miles, the hilly country
disappeared, and there spread out a level or gently rolling region,
bearing extensive pine forests, which inclose quite large plantations.
I dined in my wagon upon cold turkey and biscuit, furnished by my kind
friend, Mrs. G., of Richmond, after giving Charley a lunch of meal and
water, by the side of a small stream in the way. The day was very
warm ***---too warm to ride comfortably [[ a Dec. 18, 1848]] with an
overcoat. Not suspecting that I might diverge into a wrong road by one
of the numerous forks which characterize the highway, I allowed Charley
to jog on leisurely, and with a loose rein, while I gave myself up to
contemplation, which was occasionally interrupted by a passing regret
that I was obliged to forego the pleasure of visiting Westover.
[Illustration: 8451]
Suddenly, on emerging from a pine forest into an open cultivated region,
the bright waters of a broad river, dotted with an occasional sail,
were before me. On the bank of the river was a spacious brick mansion,
approached from the country by a broad lane, in which a large number of
servants, men and women, were engaged _shucking or husking_ corn. The
gleaming water was the James River, and the spacious mansion was that
of John A. Selden, Esq., once the residence of Colonel Byrd. I was at
Westover, scarcely conscious how I had reached it; for I supposed myself
to be upon the direct road to Charles City courthouse, and probably a
dozen miles from the spot I desired to see. I was between two and three
miles from the main road, led thither by a deceptive by-way, and was
obliged to retrace the journey, after passing half an hour in viewing
the location. The family of the proprietor was absent, and not a white
person was upon the plantation. It must be a delightful place in summer,
and, when it was occupied by the accomplished family of the widow of
Colonel Byrd, * doubtless justified the Marquis de Chastellux in giving
his glowing account of the beauty of its location and the charms of
society there. "That of Mrs. Byrd," he says, "to which I was
going, surpasses them all [fine mansions on the James River] in the
magnificence of the buildings, the beauty of its situation, and the
pleasures of society." ** Mrs. Byrd was a cousin of Benedict Arnold,
and this relationship, and the fact that West-over was made the place of
landing for the British troops three times under Arnold and Cornwallis,
so excited the suspicions of the vigilant Whigs, that the government
once took possession of her papers. She was wrongfully suspected, and
the landings of the enemy were great misfortunes to her in various ways.
I made a sketch of the fine old mansion before leaving Westover, but
lost it that very evening.
A short distance above Westover, and in sight of its gardens, upon
the river shore, is Berkeley (called Barclay in the old books), the
residence of Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence, and the birth-place of his son, the ninth president of
the United States. It is a brick edifice, with gambrel-roof, and stands
about an eighth of a mile from the bank of the river. Around it are tall
Lombardy poplars, rising in stately beauty above shrubbery and lesser
trees. I made this sketch from the deck of a steam-boat, while ascending
the James River a few days afterward, at the distance of a quarter of a
mile, aided in my view of the details by the captain's spy-glass.
* Colonel William Byrd, whose widow owned Westover when Arnold landed
there, was the son of Colonel William Byrd, once president of the
Virginia Council, and one of the wealthiest and most accomplished
gentlemen in the province. Like his father, he was an active public man.
He was a commissioner to treat with the Indians in 1756, and accompanied
Forbes in his expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1758. Being a gay
spendthrift and a gambler, his immense wealth was much lessened at his
death, and his affairs were left in great confusion.
** Travels, ii., 16
[[[Anecdote of Harrison's Father.--Charles City Court House.--Birth
place of President Tyler.--Jefferson's Marriage.]]]
{442}For many years Berkeley was the seat of elegant taste and
refinement, for its distinguished owner as a legislator, and as
governor of the state, drew around him the wealthy and honorable of
the commonwealth. His portrait, and a sketch of his life, will be found
among those of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in another
part of this work. *
Leaving Westover, I returned to the highway, and after traversing a
beautiful level country, garnished with fertile plantations and handsome
mansions, for about six miles, I reached Charles City Court House. It
was just at sunset, and there I passed the night with Mr. Christian, who
was the clerk of the county, the jailer, and innkeeper.
[Illustration: 9452]
His house of entertainment, the old court-house and jail, and a few
out-houses and servants' quarters, compose the village.
[Illustration: 8452]
The county is the smallest in Virginia, yet bears the honor of having
given birth to two presidents of the United States, and of being the
place of marriage of a third. ** I passed the birth-place of President
Tyler just before reaching Mr. Christian's inn. It is the last dwelling
upon the Richmond road, when leaving the Court House. His father,
John Tyler, was one of the leading revolutionary men in Virginia. He
succeeded Benjamin Harrison as speaker of the Virginia Assembly, and in
1808 he was chosen governor of the state.
[Illustration: 6452]
While Judge of the District Court of the United States, he died, at his
seat, in January, 1813.
Mr. Christian allowed me to pass the evening searching among the dusty
records in the old court-house. I found nothing there relating to
Revolutionary events; but in a bundle of papers, wrapped up and laid
away probably for more than half a century, I discovered the marriage
license-bond of Thomas Jefferson, in his own handwriting. I made a fac
simile copy of it, which is printed on the opposite page. Mr. Jefferson
was married to Martha Skelton, of Charles City county, in January, 1772.
She was the widow of Bathurst Skelton, and daughter of John Wayles,
an eminent lawyer of Virginia. She brought her husband a considerable
fortune, and was only twenty-three years of age when she was married to
Mr. Jefferson. Through the stormy period of the Revolution she shared
his joys and sorrows, and died in 1782, leaving two daughters. It will
be perceived that in writing the bond, which is countersigned by Francis
Eppes (the father of Mr. Eppes, who afterward married Mr. Jefferson's
daughter), the usual word _spinster_ was introduced, but erased, and the
word _widow_ substituted by another hand.
* The Marquis de Chastellux gives an interesting account of his visit to
Mr. Harrison, at his residence in Richmond, while he was governor of
the state. He relates an anecdote of Mr. Harrison, which illustrates
the confidence of the people in their delegates to the first Congress
at Philadelphia. When he was on the point of leaving home, with Mr.
Jefferson and Mr. Lee, a large number of the country people waited upon
him, and said, "You assert that there is a fixed intention to invade our
rights and privileges. We own that we do not see this clearly; but since
you assure us it is so, we believe the fact. We are about to take a very
dangerous step, but we confide in you, and are ready to support you
in every measure you shall think proper to adopt." Shortly afterward
appeared Lord North's speech, clearly avowing his intentions toward the
colonies. When Mr. Harrison returned home, at the close of the session,
the same people came to him, with the assurance that they were now
convinced that he had not deceived them, that their confidence was not
misplaced, and that henceforth they were determined on war.--Travels,
ii., 159.
** William Henry Harrison and John Tyler were both born in that county,
and there Thomas Jefferson was married.
*** The style of this building is similar to that of Hanover
court-house. It is constructed of imported brick, and was erected
previous to that at Hanover. I could not discover the exact period
when it was built. Among its records I found notices of courts held at
Charles City as early as 1639.
**** I copied this signature from a letter written to the lady of
General Gates in August, 1780.
[Illustration: 0453]
{443}Charles City Court House was a scene of mortal strife between the
Queen's Rangers, under Simcoe, and a party of American militia, on the
evening of the day after Arnold's return from Richmond. (a) Arnold had
directed a patrol on that evening toward [[ a Jan 8, 1781]] Long Bridge,
in order to obtain intelligence. The patrol consisted of about forty
cavalry, under Simcoe. Falling in with some American videttes, they
captured two or three, and from them Simcoe learned that a party of
militia, under General Nelson, lay at and near Charles City Court-house.
The night was clear and frosty, and the moon at its full. * The enemy
had no knowledge of the way. A negro prisoner was made to act
* Simcoe, in his journal, says "the night was very dark." Mr. Tyler
informed me that his father, who was then at home, and witnessed a part
of the affray, always declared that the sky was cloudless, and the moon
in full orb.
[[[Attack upon the American Militia.--Carelessness of Dudley.--"Sherwood
Forest."--Ex-president Tyler.]]]
{444}as guide. The party at the Court House, consisting of one hundred
and fifty militia, under the command of Colonel Dudley, were completely
surprised, for they had no intimation of the immediate approach of a foe
until their sentries were fired upon, and two bugles sounded the signal
of attack, upon the frosty air of that winter's night.
[Illustration: 9454]
A confused and scattering fire ensued, when the American detachment
fled and joined the main body, which lay a few miles distant, toward the
Chickahominy River. A part of Simcoe's dragoons dismounted, rushed into
the tavern, and seized several of the Americans. Two of the militiamen
(Deane and Ballard) were killed. One of them was slain upon the landing
at the head of the stairs, while fleeing to the chamber for safety. The
spot was pointed out to me, where, until within a few years, the stains
of the victim's blood might be seen. The attack was so sudden and
furious, that those who escaped and communicated the fact to the militia
under Nelson, so alarmed that body, that a large number of them broke
from the camp, and fled to Williamsburg. Simcoe collected his prisoners
and a few captured horses as speedily as possible, and before dawn he
joined Arnold at Westover.
Mr. Tyler (the late President of the United States), on whom I called
while on my way from Charles City Court House to Jamestown, informed me
that his father, who was then a member of the Virginia Assembly, but at
his residence at the time, aware of the force of the enemy at Westover
and Berkeley, earnestly advised Colonel Dudley, the commander of the
county militia, to place his men in a position for defense; offering, at
the same time, to join them, and act in any capacity. He advised him
to remove his party from the tavern, for, if left there drinking and
carousing as usual, they would surely be surprised. The haughty colonel
would not heed his warning, and the result was defeat and disgrace. ***
It was another glorious morning when I left Charles City Court House.
Warm and brilliant as May, I anticipated a delightful day's journey. Nor
was I disappointed. A heavy fog during the night had hung each bough and
spray with liquid jewels, and these, glittering in the early sun, fell
in radiant showers as the light breezes touched their resting-places.
Traversing a rough road for nearly four miles, I crossed a rapid stream
at a mill, and ascending to a plain half a mile beyond, I reined up at
the entrance-gate to Sherwood Forest, the estate of ex-President Tyler.
His mansion is very spacious, and stands upon the brow of a gentle
slope, half a mile from the highway. It is sheltered in the rear by a
thick forest of oaks, pines, and chestnuts, while from the front the eye
overlooks almost the whole of his plantation of fourteen hundred
acres, with occasional glimpses of the James River. The distinguished
proprietor was at home, and received me with that courteous hospitality
so common in the South, which makes the traveler feel at ease, as if
at the house of a friend. Mr. Tyler is tall and slender in person, his
locks long, thin, and slightly grizzled, and he was dressed in the plain
garb of a Virginia planter. After giving warm expressions of interest in
my enterprise, and an invitation to remain longer at Sherwood Forest,
** This tavern, in which I lodged, was built about ten years before
the skirmish which occurred within and around it. It is now occupied
hy Edmund F. Christian, Esq., the clerk of Charles City county when I
visited it in 1848.
*** A man named Royston, whom Mr. Tyler well knew, was badly wounded
in the affray. A pistol was discharged so near his head, that grains
of powder sprinkled his face, and disfigured him for life. He was then
struck down by a saber blow, and the troopers cruelly tried to make
their horses trample him to death. The animals, more humane in action
than their riders, leaped over him, and he was saved. He crawled to the
residence of Mr. Tyler, where a colored nurse, the only inmate of the
house, dressed his wounds and gave him food and drink. Mr. Tyler had
moved his family to a place of safety, beyond the Chickahominy River.
[[[The Slashes of the Chickahominy.--Difficulties at the Ferry.--The
Chickahominy and its Associations.]]]
{445}he sketched a map of my route to Jamestown, as a guide among the
diverging ways. Time was precious, and I passed only an hour at the
hospitable mansion of the ex-president, and then departed for the
Chickahominy.
Soon after leaving Sherwood Forest, I entered a low, wet region, covered
with pines, called the _slashes_. These extended to the banks of the
Chickahominy, a distance of seven miles; and in all that journey,
without a clearing to cheer the eye, I saw no living thing, except an
occasional "wild boar of the wood," a dwarf breed of hogs which inhabit
this dreary region. Here, where once broad fields were smiling with
culture-blessings, and this road, now almost a quagmire, but fifty years
ago was one of the finest highways in Virginia, wild deers and
turkeys abound, as if the land was a primeval wilderness. It was a sad
commentary upon the past husbandry of Virginia, and a sadder picture
of the inevitable result of the present bad husbandry which prevails
in many regions of the South. Year after year the tillers make constant
drafts upon the vitality of the soil without an ounce of compensating
manure, until all fertility is exhausted. I saw thousands of acres in
the course of my journey, where tillage had levied its withering taxes
until the generous soil could no longer yield its tithe, nor even its
hundredth. The earth was completely covered with "poverty grass," dwarf
pines, or stately forests of the same tree, patiently renewing its
strength during a long Sabbath-rest of abandonment by man.
It was at meridian when I emerged from the wilderness and halted upon
the high sandbank of the Chickahominy, a few miles above its confluence
with the James River. Above, all appeared bright and beautiful; below,
all was gloomy and desolate. Silence reigned here, where once the busy
ferryman plied his oars from morning until night. No voice was to be
heard; no human habitation was to be seen. The broad and turbid river
moved sluggishly on without a ripple, and on the beach a scow, half
filled with water, told only of desolation. There appeared no way for me
to cross the stream. If denied that privilege, I must make a circuit of
thirty miles' travel to a public crossing above! I looked for the smoke
of a dwelling, but saw none. I shouted; there was no response but that
of echo. Remembering that, just before reaching the clearing upon the
Chickahominy, I saw a road, covered with leaves, diverging toward the
James River, I returned, reined into it, and followed it with hope.
Presently I saw a log hut upon the shore, and heard the voices of men.
They were negroes, busily preparing a canoe for a fishing excursion. I
inquired for a ferryman, and was informed that nobody crossed now, and
the scow would not float. Two of the men speedily changed their opinion
when I offered a bright half dollar to each if they would "bail out" the
craft and "pole" me across. They worked faithfully, and within half an
hour I was embarked upon the stream, with my horse and vehicle, in a
shell just long enough and broad enough to contain us. To keep Charley
quiet, so as to "trim the boat," I allowed him to dine upon some oats
which I procured at Charles City Court House. The Chickahominy is here
about a quarter of a mile wide. The current was quite strong, and so
deep, that the poles, by which the bateau was impelled, were sometimes
too short for use. We drifted some distance down the stream, and, at one
time, I anticipated an evening voyage upon the James River, but by the
great exertions of the motive-power we reached the landing-place in
safety, after rather a dangerous voyage of nearly three quarters of
an hour. The bateau was again almost half filled with water, and the
ferrymen were obliged to empty it before returning. I was too much
occupied while crossing with apprehensions of an involuntary bath to
reflect upon the perils which Captain John Smith encountered upon this
very stream, before the empire of the white men had commenced; but when
safely seated in my wagon upon the Jamestown side of the river, I looked
with intense interest upon the wooded shores of those waters, up which
that adventurer paddled. More than sixty miles above the place where
I crossed he was captured by Opechancanough, the king of Pamunkee, and
carried in triumph to Powhatan, at Werowocomoeo, where he was saved
from death by the gentle Pocahontas. These events we shall consider
presently.
I was now eight miles from old Jamestown, the goal of my day's journey.
Hungry and thirsty, I was about entering another dreary region of
_slashes_, five miles in extent, when I
[[[Green Spring and its Associations.--Distant View of Jamestown
Island.--Changes in the River Banks.--Tradition.]]]
{446}saw a log hut on the verge of the woods. I hailed, but no person
appeared, except a little child of six years, black as ebony, and having
nothing on but its birth-day suit and a tattered shirt. It brought me a
draught of cool water in a gourd from a spring near by. Dropping half
a dime into the emptied shell, I pursued my way. Emerging from the
_slashes_, I passed through a portion of the celebrated _Green Spring_
plantation, its mansion appearing among the trees on my left, half a
mile distant. *
[Illustration: 0456]
It is now in possession of two brothers, named Ward, formerly of New
Jersey, who, for many years, as skippers upon the James River, bartered
for the products of this plantation, until they were able to purchase
it. _Green Spring_ was the theater of an interesting episode in our
Revolutionary history, for there the American army, under La Fayette,
Wayne, and Steuben, were encamped for a few days in the summer of 1781,
while watching the movements and foiling the designs of Cornwallis in
Virginia.
It was almost sunset when I passed the morass in front of _Green
Spring_, over which the Americans crossed to the attack of Cornwallis at
Jamestown Ford. I crossed the plantation of John Coke, Esq., and halted
upon the shore of an estuary of the James River, at the cottage of
Mr. Bacon, opposite Jamestown island. It was too late to visit the
consecrated spot that evening. I sketched this distant view of the
portion of the island where-
* This was the residence of Sir William Berkeley, one of the early
governors of Virginia. It afterward belonged to Philip Ludwell, one of
the king's council, from whom it descended to William Lee, sheriff of
London under the celebrated John Wilkes.
** This view is from the north side of what was once a marsh, but now a
deep bay, four hundred yards wide. On the left is seen the remains of a
bridge, destroyed by a gale and high tide a few years ago; and beyond
is the James River. Near the point of the island, toward the end of the
bridge, are the remains of an ancient church, a near view of which is
given upon the opposite page. Mr. Coke resided upon the island when the
tempest occurred which destroyed the bridge. The island was submerged,
and for three davs himself and family were prisoners. It was in winter,
and he was obliged to cut the branches of ornamental trees that were
close to his house, for fuel. I was gravely informed by a man on the
beach, while making the sketch, that Pocahontas crossed at that very
spot "in her skiff," when she went to warn the Jamestown settlers of
threatened danger. The dear child had no need of a skiff, had such
a thing existed in America, for I was told by Mr. Coke that his
father-in-law well remembered when a marsh, so narrow and firm that a
person might cross it upon a fence rail, was where the deep water at the
ruined bridge now is. Every year the current of James River is changing
its margins in this region, and within a few years Jamestown Island,
made so only by a marsh on the land side, will have a navigable channel
around it. Already a large portion of it, whereon the ancient town was
ereeted, has been washed away; and I was informed that a cypress-tree,
now many yards from the shore, stood at the end of a carriage-way to the
wharf, sixty yards from the water's edge, only sixteen years ago. The
destructive flood is gradually approaching the old church tower, and
if the hand of man shall not arrest its sure progress, that too will be
swept away, and not a vestige of Jamestown will remain. Virginians,
look to it, and let a wall of masonry along the river margin attest your
reverence for the most interesting historical relic within your borders!
Some remains of the old fort may be seen at low water, several yards
from the shore.
[[[Mr. Coke's Plantation.--The Council Tree.--Remains of Old Jamestown
Church and Grave yard.]]]
{447}on the ancient city stood, and then returned to the mansion of Mr.
Coke, (who is brother of the late Richard Coke, member of Congress from
Accomac district), to pass the night under his roof, where I experienced
true Virginia hospitality. Mr. Coke was for many years sheriff of the
county, is an influential man, and an excellent practical agriculturist.
[Illustration: 8457]
He owns a plantation of nineteen hundred acres, nearly one thousand of
which is under cultivation. Unlike too many agriculturists of the South,
he is his own general overseer, and his family of seventy persons (only
eleven of whom are white), receive his daily personal care. He owns all
the soil that is left unsubmerged on which the English built their first
town in America. His house has many bullet-marks, made there during the
battle at Jamestown Ford, on the 6th of July, 1781; and in the broad
level field in front of his mansion, the French army was encamped when
on its way to Yorktown the same year. Within that field a venerable
chestnut-oak, riven, but not destroyed, by lightning, was yet standing,
under which a court-martial was held by Cornwallis, and upon its
branches a culprit was hanged. It is called the "Council Tree." Mr.
Coke's plantation is truly classic ground, for upon it occurred events
connected with those widely-separated incidents, the opening and the
closing of the heroic age of America. Over it the lordly Powhatan
once walked, and the feet of his gentle daughter pressed its soil when
speeding on her mission of mercy to the doomed settlement of Jamestown.
Over it the royal and republican armies marched, and there fought
desperately for victory.
I was at Mr. Bacon's cottage soon after an early breakfast, and before
nine o'clock had crossed the estuary in a punt, and sat within the
shadow of the old church tower, which stands like a sentinel, watching
the city of the dead at its feet. This crumbling pile, surrounded by
shrubbery, brambles, and tangled vines; and the old church-yard wall, of
English brick, inclosing a few broken monuments, half buried in earth or
covered with a pall of ivy and long grass, are all the tangible records
that remain of the first planting of an English colony in America. As I
sat upon the hollow trunk of a half-reclining and decayed old sycamore,
and sketched the broken tower, the questionings of the eloquent Wirt
came up from the depth of feeling: "Whence, my dear S---- arises this
irrepressible reverence and tender affection with which I look at this
broken steeple?
* This view is from the old church-yard, looking toward James River,
a glimpse of which may be seen through the arches. The stream is here
about three miles wide. It is uncertain at what precise time the church,
of which now only a portion of the tower remains, was erected. It was
probably built sometime between 1617 and 1620. According to Smith, a
fire consumed a large portion of the town, with the palisades, at about
the close of 1607, the first year of the settlement. Captain Smith and
Mr. Scrivener were appointed commissioners to superintend the rebuilding
of the town and church. Afterward, in speaking of the arrival of
Governor Argali in 1617, he says, "In James towne he found but five
or six houses, the church downe, the pallizados broken, the bridge in
pieces, the well of fresh water spoiled, the store-house used for the
church," &c. The tower here represented was doubtless that of the third
church built, and is now (1852) about 234 years old. The tower is now
about thirty feet high, the walls three feet thick, all of imported
brick.
[[[Wirt's Musings at the Church at Jamestown.--The Ancient
Monuments.--Paulding's Ode.--Efforts at Early Settlement.]]]
{448}Is it that my soul, by a secret, subtile process, invests the
moldering ruins with her own powers; imagines it a fellow-being--a
venerable old man, a Nestor or an Ossian, who has witnessed and survived
the ravages of successive generations, the companions of his youth and
of his maturity, and now mourns his own solitary and desolate condition,
and hails their spirits in every passing cloud? Whatever may be the
cause, as I look at it, I feel my soul drawn forward as by the cords of
gentlest sympathy, and involuntarily open my lips to offer consolation
to the drooping pile." * Around this=
```"Old cradle of our infant world,
````In which a nestling empire lay,"=
the Spirit of Romance and the Muse of Poetry delight to linger, and the
bosom of the American glows with increased patriotism as he contemplates
this small _beginning_ of the mighty _progression_ around him.=
```"What solemn recollections throng,
````What touching visions rise,
```As, wandering these old stones among,
````I backward turn my eyes,
```And see the shadows of the dead flit round,
```Like spirits when the last dread trump shall sound!
```The wonders of an age combined,
````In one short moment memory supplies;
```They throng upon my 'waken'd mind,
````As Time's dark curtains rise.
```The volume of a hundred buried years,
```Condensed in one bright sheet appears. ********
```Jamestown and Plymouth's hallow'd rock
````To me shall ever sacred be;
```I care not who my themes may mock,
````Or sneer at them and me.
```I envy not the brute who here can stand
```Without a thrill for his own native land.
```And if the recreant crawl her earth.
````Or breathe Virginia's air,
```Or in New England claim his birth,
````From the old pilgrims there,
```He is a bastard, if he dare to mock
```Old Jamestown's shrine, or Plymouth's famous rock.'