_Some Distinguished Men Buried in Fredericksburg--A Remarkable Grave
Stone--Three Heroic Fredericksburgers, Wellford, Herndon, Willis--The
Old Liberty Bell Passes Through Town--Great Demonstrations in its
Honor--What a Chinaman Thought of it._
A town is not less renowned for the noble, heroic dead who sleep within
its borders than it is for its gallant soldiers, Statesmen and others who
are yet on the stage of action. Indeed its renown may be more enduring
because of its dead than of its living. The deeds of the dead are embalmed
in our hearts and in history and cannot be tarnished, obscured or
obliterated. The greatest deeds of the living may be obscured and even
almost blotted from the approving mind by some adverse, evil cloud--by
some act of folly or perfidy.
If Judas Iscariot had died before he betrayed his Master his good deeds
would have lived forever. If a Britton's bullet had taken off Benedict
Arnold before his treasonable thoughts had resolved into action he would
have been written down in history as one of the heroes of America. We,
therefore, with pride refer to some distinguished men who peacefully sleep
within our corporate limits.
ARCHIBALD M'PHERSON.
Archibald McPherson was born in 1715 in the northern part of England. He
came to this country in early manhood and settled in Spotsylvania county.
He is represented as being a gentleman of education, refinement and
wealth, and a friend to the poor and needy. He died in the prime of
manhood, leaving to the world an unsullied name and to the poor of the
town a legacy to be expended in the education of their children, which is
elsewhere mentioned in these pages.
Mr. McPherson was interred in the burial ground of St. George's church and
a marble slab erected over his grave, which is now secured to the wall of
the Mission House, at the west end of the lot on Princess Ann street. On
that slab is the following inscription:
"Here lies the body of Archibald McPherson, born in the county of
Murray, in North Britain, who died August 17, 1754, aged 49 years. He
was judicious, a lover of learning, open hearted, generous and
sincere. Devout, without ostentation; disdaining to cringe to vice in
any station. Friend to good men, an affectionate husband.
A heap of dust alone remains of thee,
'Tis all thou art, and all the proud shall be.
"Elizabeth, his disconsolate widow, as a testimony of their mutual
affection, erected this monument to his memory."
COL. JOHN DANDRIDGE.
In the burial ground of St. George's church, near the northeast corner of
the building, lies buried the father of Martha Washington, which fact has
only some years since been brought to light, or if it had been before
known, it was by the citizens of the past generation of the town. The
reason it was unknown to the present generation is accounted for from the
fact that the slab over the grave has been covered with dirt for more than
half a century, most likely from the erection of the present church
building, and was discovered only a few years ago. When the grave was
discovered the slab covering it was cleaned off, and the inscription on it
was found to read as follows:
"Here lies the body of Col. John Dandridge, of New Kent county, who
departed this life the 31st day of August, 1756, aged 56 years."
How he came to be buried in Fredericksburg is not positively known. It has
been claimed by some persons that he was here on a visit to his daughter
Martha, who married Gen. Washington, and the weather was so hot that his
body could not be taken back to New Kent county, but that cannot be true
because he was buried here more than two years before his daughter married
Washington.
The most satisfactory explanation of Col. Dandridge's presence in
Fredericksburg, that we have heard given, is that he was attending the
celebrated races at Chatham, held by Wm. Fitzhugh, which drew to the town
people from all sections of the country. But be that as it may, this Col.
Dandridge is beyond doubt the father of Martha Washington, unless there
were two gentlemen by that name and bearing the same appellation residing
in New Kent county at that time, which is not probable. Haydon's "Virginia
Families" says of Washington:
"Married at White House, New Kent county, Va., Jan. 6, 1759, Martha
Dandridge, daughter of Col. John Dandridge, of New Kent county, and
widow of Daniel Parke Custis."
WM. PAUL--JOHN PAUL JONES.
There also lie interred in the burial ground of St. George's church, with
an unpretentious stone marking the place, the remains of William Paul, a
merchant of the town and a native of Scotland, who died here in 1773. In
1770 he purchased from Thomas and Jane Blanton, "for one hundred and
twenty pounds, an acre or one-half of the lot or land lying and being in
the town of Fredericksburg, and designated in the plot of said town by the
number or figures 258, the same being one-half, or south end of said lot,
and purchased by the said Thomas Blanton of Roger Dixon, Gent, and bound
on the main street, called Caroline street, and the cross street, called
Prussia, together with all houses, buildings, gardens, ways, profits,
hereditaments and appurtenances whatever." This lot is designated on the
map of the town to-day as 258, and the house in which Wm. Paul conducted
his mercantile business is the one occupied and owned at present by
Matthew J. Gately.
Notwithstanding his biographers to the contrary, Wm. Paul made a will in
1772, in which he appointed his friends, Wm. Templeman and Isaac Heslop,
his executors, which was witnessed by John Atkinson, Thomas Holmes and B.
Johnston. The executors declined to serve and the estate remained until
late in the next year without any one being legally authorized to take
charge of it. In November, 1774, John Atkinson qualified, it is supposed
at the instance of John Paul, who had arrived here to wind up the estate,
with John Waller, Jr., as surety, who was afterwards released and Charles
Yates became his surety.
This Wm. Paul was the brother of John Paul, who afterwards became the
famous John Paul Jones. It has been asserted that Wm. Paul changed his
name to Jones to inherit a plantation from Wm. Jones, either in Virginia
or North Carolina. But this is shown to be a mistake from the fact that
Wm. Paul, in 1770, bought property here as Wm. Paul, made his will in 1772
and signed it Wm. Paul, and died in 1773 and his tomb stone now bears on
it the name of Wm. Paul. It was further asserted that in the agreement by
which the plantation was to become the property of Wm. Paul, if Wm. Paul
died without issue, the property was to go to John Paul on the condition
that he would add Jones to his name, and that William did die without
issue and the estate of William went to John. This is also a mistake.
William did not die intestate, but made a will and gave his entire estate
to his sister, Mary Young, and her two oldest children.
One clause of the will reads as follows: "It is my will and desire that my
lots and houses in this town shall be sold and converted into money for as
much as they will bring, that with all my other estate being sold, and
what of my outstanding debts that can be collected, I give and bequeath to
my beloved sister, Mary Young, and her two oldest children in Abigland, in
the parish of Kirkbean, in Stewarty of Galloway, North Briton, and their
heirs forever." It is not believed that Wm. Paul owned any property out of
town from the fact that the bond of his administrator was only five
hundred pounds, which was generally double the amount of the estate. His
estate in town consisted of his houses and lots, his merchandise and
accounts due him, which must have been worth twelve or fifteen hundred
dollars. Therefore the bond of $2,500 was sufficient only for his
possessions in town, and no other is alluded to or mentioned in his will.
It has been held that he owned property in the county of Spotsylvania, but
that arises from the fact there were others by the name of Paul in the
county who had property. But this William Paul is traced by the reference
in his will to the parish of Kirkbean, Galloway, where his sister, Mary
Young, and brother John lived.
Why John Paul changed his name to Jones was probably known only to
himself. Many writers have undertaken to explain it, but without success,
and the mystery is yet unsolved. In 1775 John Paul Jones's name heads a
list of naval lieutenants, and, because of his meritorious services, he
was soon appointed a captain, and finally rose to the rank of commodore.
His daring exploits and unequal, but successful, contests soon won for him
the thanks of the American Congress, as well as the gratitude of the
American people, while it carried terror and dismay to the enemies of his
country. He greatly humiliated England by landing his fleet on her shores
during the Revolutionary war, a thing that had not been done before for
centuries, if ever, since it was a nation.
At the close of the war, in which he had covered himself with glory, he
was offered an important command by the Empress of Russia against the
Turks in the Black sea, which he accepted with the stipulation "that he
was never to renounce the title of an American citizen." He died in Paris
in 1792, and was buried in that city, aged forty-five years. General
Washington, then President of the United States, had just commissioned him
for an important duty, but he died before the commission reached him. As
the many years rolled on, rounding up a century, his body laid in an
unknown grave, notwithstanding many efforts were made to locate it. In
1900 a body was found believed to be his, and there was great rejoicing in
this country over the announcement, but, when carefully examined, it was
found to be the remains of another and not those of the great American
commodore. But this did not discourage those who had the matter in hand,
and the search continued under the direction of Gen. Horace Porter, the
American Ambassador to the Court of France, under great difficulties. On
the 7th of April, 1905, the body was found in a cemetery known as Saint
Louis, which was laid out in 1720 for a burial place for Protestants, but
which had been closed more than half a century, and buildings were
constructed upon it at the time of the discovery of the body. The remains
were declared to be those of John Paul Jones, after every test had been
applied that could be, and they were accepted by our government as those
of the great naval hero. Some time was spent in preparing to remove the
remains to this country, but early in 1906 they were placed upon a United
States man of war, escorted by vessels from England and France, and were
landed at Annapolis, where they were reinterred in the presence of
thousands of people from all parts of the country, with booming of cannon
and every honor a grateful people could bestow upon him.
GEN. LEWIS LITTLEPAGE.
Gen. Lewis Littlepage, who died and was buried here in the burying ground
of Masonic Lodge No. 4, was born in Hanover county, Virginia, and was one
of the most brilliant men the State ever produced. His career was short,
but in that short life he greatly distinguished himself as a scholar,
soldier and diplomat. He was the protege of John Jay at the Court of
France in 1782, was wounded at the siege of Gibraltar, was a member of the
cabinet of the king of Poland, and the King's chamberlain, with the rank
of major-general; negotiated a treaty with the Empress of Russia, was a
secret and special envoy to the Court of France to form the Grand
Quadruple Alliance; was with Prince Potempkin in his march through Tartary
des Negais; commanded a flotilla under Prince Nassau at his victory over
the fleet of Turkey; was sent on an important mission to Madrid, in which
he was successful; resisted the Russian invaders of Poland as aide-de-camp
to the King; signed the Confederation of Fargowitz; envoy to St.
Petersburg to prevent the division of Poland, but was stopped by the
Russian government; was with Kosciusko in his attempt to free Poland; was
at the storming of Prague, and was with King Stanislaus when he was
captured by the Russians.
At the death of Stanislaus, Gen. Littlepage, becoming sick of European
politics and broils, and, with his health shattered and gone, returned to
America, settled in Fredericksburg and died before he had reached the age
of forty years. His grave, in the western corner of the Masonic cemetery,
is marked by a marble slab, which has on it this inscription:
"Here lies the body of Lewis Littlepage, who was born in the county of
Hanover, in the State of Virginia, on the 19th day of December, 1762,
and departed this life in Fredericksburg, on the 19th of July,
1802, aged 39 years and 7 months. Honored for many years with the
esteem and confidence of the unfortunate Stanislaus Augustus, King of
Poland, he held under that monarch, until he lost his throne, the most
distinguished offices, among which was that of Ambassador to Russia.
He was by him created the Knight of St. Stanislaus, chamberlain and
confidential secretary in his cabinet, and acted as his special envoy
in the most important occasions of talents, of military as well as
civil, he served with credit as an officer of high rank in different
arms. In private life he was charitable, generous and just, and in the
various public offices which he filled he acted with uniform
magnanimity, fidelity and honor."
[Illustration: The Christian Church. (See page 213)]
[Illustration: The Trinity Episcopal Church. (See page 206)]
CAPT. WM. LEWIS HERNDON.
Another hero, a native of Fredericksburg, whose remains found sepulture in
a watery grave far out in the ocean's depths, is worthy of mention in
these pages. "Wm. Lewis Herndon, an American naval officer, born October
25, 1813, drowned by the sinking of the steamer Central America, September
12, 1857. He entered the navy at the age of fifteen, served in the Mexican
war, and was engaged three years with his brother-in-law, Lieutenant
Maury, in the National Observatory, at Washington. In 1851-52 he explored
the Amazon river under the direction of the United States government. * *
* In 1857 he was the commander of the steamer Central America, which left
Havana for New York on September 8th, having on board 474 passengers, a
crew of 105 men and about $2,000,000 of gold. On September the 11th,
during a violent gale from the northeast and a heavy sea, the vessel
sprung a leak and sunk on the evening of September 12th near the outer
edge of the Gulf stream, in latitude 31 degrees 44 minutes north. Only 152
of the persons on board were saved, including the women and children; the
gallant commander of the steamer was seen standing upon the wheel house at
the time of her sinking."[82] Capt. Herndon was an uncle of Dr. Herndon,
who sacrificed his life at Fernandina, Florida, elsewhere mentioned.
JACOB FRIEZE.
Another man of note, remarkable for his physical endurance and strength of
constitution, who lived in Fredericksburg and whose remains lie buried in
the City cemetery, just to the left of the old gate on Commerce street,
was Jacob Frieze. He died in 1869, just after having passed the
ninety-first anniversary of his birth. He was born in France, and was one
of Napoleon's soldiers from the time his remarkable career commenced in
Paris until it ended so disastrously at Waterloo.
Much of the soldier life of Mr. Frieze was spent as a member of Napoleon's
"Old Guard," that "could die, but could never surrender," and he was never
so happy as when telling of his thrilling war experiences and narrow
escapes. He was in the famous retreat from Moscow and could tell the most
thrilling stories of the hardships and sufferings of the French army. The
weather was intensely cold, sometimes reaching twenty-six degrees below
zero, and, having to fight cold, hunger and the Russians, it is not
strange that Napoleon left behind him over 330,000 French or allies, dead
or prisoners. This marching, fighting, suffering and dying were all fresh
in the mind of Mr. Frieze, who was a participant and eye witness, and he
would entertain crowds who would gather around him for hours.
Prior to the Civil war there also lived in Fredericksburg Mr. John Eubank,
who was a soldier under the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo
and who stood guard over Napoleon on the Island of St. Helena.
Notwithstanding the many years that had passed from their parting at
Waterloo to their meeting again in Fredericksburg, Mr. Frieze and Mr.
Eubank had not forgotten the sword and the spear and had not forgotten to
dislike each other.
It was amusing to the bystanders to see these old soldiers meet on the
streets, as they would invariably shake their fists at each other and
grind their teeth and pass on without uttering a word.
Many of the citizens of the town still remember the willow baskets, of
variegated colors, which Mr. Frieze made and peddled about town for a
livelihood, as long as he was able to appear on the streets. Mr. Eubank
moved to Charlottesville, where he died and was buried in that city.
A GRAND-NIECE OF WASHINGTON AND NAPOLEON.
The defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo sent into exile, among others, his
grand-nephew, Prince Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat, a colonel in
the defeated army, son of the exiled King of Naples and Charlotte
Bonaparte. He settled in Tallahassee, Florida. Soon Col. Byrd C. Willis,
of Willis Hill, moved to the same city, carrying with him his wife, Mary,
daughter of Col. Fielding Lewis and Bettie Washington, and also his
daughter, Catherine, who married a Mr. Grey and was left a widow at
sixteen. She was beautiful, accomplished, winsome and a leader in society.
She attracted the attention of the young prince, who laid siege to her
affections and was victorious. The marriage soon followed. By this union
Catherine, who was a grand-niece of Gen. Washington, became also a
grand-niece of the great soldier, Napoleon Bonaparte. She was born where
the National cemetery now stands and died in Florida August 6, 1867, in
the 64th year of her age.
WELLFORD--HERNDON--WILLIS.
In the City cemetery lie the remains of Doctor Francis Preston Wellford.
Dr. Wellford was a native of Fredericksburg, where he was held in the
highest esteem by all who knew him for his gentle and kind disposition,
his upright life, his abounding charity and his deep piety. In 1871 he
left his native town and settled in Jacksonville, Florida, where he
commenced the practice of medicine and established a high reputation as a
skillful physician. His brethren of the profession were not slow in
recognizing his ability and great worth, and made him president of the
Medical Association of the State. He was holding that honorable position
when the yellow fever scourge visited Fernandina, in 1877, which almost
depopulated the town. For weeks it raged in the doomed city, and all of
the physicians were either down with the disease or had become worn out
with serving day and night. A call was made for assistance and volunteer
physicians. Dr. Wellford, forgetting self, not fearing his personal
danger, responded to the call and went to the sick and dying of the
panic-stricken Fernandina. It was while ministering to those people he was
stricken down and died of the disease. Thus went down to his grave,
amidst the tears of thousands of people, the noble physician and Christian
gentleman, who sacrificed his life for the good of others. Dr. Wellford's
remains, some years after his death, were brought to Fredericksburg for
final interment, and now repose in our beautiful cemetery.
In response to the call for physicians made by the people of Fernandina,
another physician, born and raised in Fredericksburg, Dr. James C.
Herndon, made his way to that city, and like Dr. Wellford, was stricken
down and died from the disease. It is peculiarly appropriate that his
sacrifice to professional duty should be acknowledged in connection with
that of his brother physician's.
To the honor of these noble men a memorial window has been placed in St.
Peter's Episcopal church in Fernandina by Dr. J. H. Upham, of Boston, who
felt that they had honored the profession by the sacrifices they made, and
he wanted their heroism to be placed upon a lasting record. In describing
the window the Fernandina Mirror says:
"The design is that of a crown in the upper section of the arch. Below
this is a beautiful shield of purple illuminated glass. A cross of
mother of pearl forms the center of the window, ornamented by a bunch
of grapes, with the symbol of the anchor representing Hope, the holy
Scriptures, illustrating Christian Faith; alpha and omega, the symbol
of the Almighty Power, the beginning and the end; the cup of
salvation, and the paten, the emblem of sacrifice. In the lower part
of the window an illuminated tablet has the following inscription:
Francis Preston Wellford, M. D.,
Born in Fredericksburg, Va.,
Sept. 12th, 1829.
James Carmichael Herndon, M. D.,
Born in Fredericksburg, Va.,
Sept. 22nd, 1831.
Died in the faithful discharge of their
duties, at Fernandina, Florida,
Oct. 18th, 1877.
To whose memory as a grateful record of their noble lives and heroic
deaths this window is dedicated by a New England member of the
profession which they so much honored and adorned.
'Greater love hath no man than this,
That he lay down his life for his friends.'
"The beautiful execution of this window, and the noble purpose to
which it is dedicated by its generous donor, deserve the admiration
and warm appreciation of the citizens of Fernandina, to whom the
memory of Drs. Wellford and Herndon is deservedly dear, and will be
regarded by our citizens as a graceful professional tribute by Dr.
Upham to these noble men, as well as an indication of his kind
feelings towards our city. There is a striking coincidence in the fact
that these noble men should have been born in the same city, in the
same month, and, having volunteered their services, reached Fernandina
in the midst of the epidemic on the same day, and that their deaths
should have occurred the same day. It was, therefore, peculiarly
fitting that the same memorial should have been erected to those who
were faithful in life, even unto death."
William Willis, whose remains are buried in the City cemetery, left
Fredericksburg for Memphis, Tenn., in the summer of 1870, which city he
made his home. When the yellow fever scourge struck that place in 1878,
and the city was deserted of most of its inhabitants, except the helpless,
the sick and the dying, it was then, in spite of the entreaty of his
friends to leave the city, that Wm. Willis stepped forth and took charge,
as the chief executive in managing the affairs of the city, and in
distributing food, clothing and medicine, sent from all quarters of the
country, to the sick, the helpless and the needy. It was while in the
execution of this noble work that he too, was stricken down, and a few
days' struggle with the terrible disease and William Willis was no more.
In his delirium, feeling the great necessity of some one taking up the
work, he had so faithfully prosecuted, where he was compelled to lay it
down, he uttered these as his last words: "Send some good man to take my
place," and then peacefully passed to the spirit land.
Thus went down to their graves three Fredericksburg men in the years
1877-78 of yellow fever, who sacrificed their own lives to save the lives
of others.
MRS. LUCY ANN COX.
There is buried in the City cemetery Mrs. Lucy Ann Cox, with this
inscription upon her head-stone. "Lucy Ann Cox, wife of James A. Cox, died
December 17, 1891, aged 64 years. A sharer of the toils, dangers and
privations of the 30th Va. regiment infantry, C. S. A., from 1861 to 1865,
and died beloved and respected by the veterans of that command." The stone
was erected by her friends. Mrs. Cox was the daughter of Jesse White, the
practical printer, and married Mr. Cox just before the Civil war. She
followed him all through the campaign of the entire war, cooking and
washing for the soldiers of her command, and often ministering to the sick
and wounded.
Molly Pitcher carried water from a spring, at Monmouth Courthouse, New
Jersey, to her husband and others who had charge of a cannon during the
battle, and when she saw her husband shot down and heard an officer order
the gun to the rear, having no one to man it, she dropped her pail, ran to
the cannon, seized the rammer and continued loading and firing the gun
throughout the battle. For this heroic act Washington praised her, gave
her an honorary commission as captain and Congress voted her half pay for
life.
Mrs. Cox engaged in no battle, but instead of sharing the privations and
dangers of her husband at one battle she followed him through the entire
war of four years, and was voted the honor of a Confederate veteran after
the war by the veterans themselves. It is doubtful whether in all the past
a similar instance can be found.
A REMARKABLE GRAVE-STONE.
There is to be found in the burial ground of St. George's church, at the
east end of the Mission House, a grave-stone that has puzzled all
antiquarians who have examined it and which has never yet been
satisfactorily explained, and perhaps never will be. The inscription is as
follows: "Charles M. Rothrock, departed this life Sept. 29, 1084, aged
three years." The figures that make these dates are well preserved, much
better than on many slabs and headstones in the same burial ground, which
do not date back a century and a half, yet on this slab the figures are
quite legibly cut in the sandstone, and there can be no doubt that the
year is 1084. It has been considered such a mystery and of such importance
that a photograph of the stone was taken and an engraving made for this
publication.
THE LIBERTY BELL.
The very name--Liberty Bell--is music to our ears, and the mention of it
should fill the breast of every true American with patriotic enthusiasm.
That bell hung over a hall in Philadelphia in 1776, in which the
Continental Congress had met to consider the momentous question that was
then stirring every patriotic heart--American freedom. Virginia was
represented in that Congress by George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas
Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee
and Carter Braxton.
That body of patriots prepared, considered and adopted the Declaration of
Independence, and as they finished signing their names to the instrument,
on the fourth day of July, this bell rang out the thrilling news that
Americans were freemen. Since that stirring event--that memorable
day--that hall has been known as Independence Hall, and the bell that hung
over it as the Liberty Bell.
On the 4th of October, 1895, the old Liberty Bell passed through
Fredericksburg on its way from Philadelphia to Atlanta, Georgia, where it
was to be exhibited at the great exhibition in that city. Prior to its
coming Mayor Rowe had been notified when it would arrive and how long it
would remain for inspection. The City Council was called together and
steps were taken to give the old bell a grand reception and cordial
welcome. A set of patriotic resolutions was adopted, extolling the events
that brought the bell into such popular favor, recounting the part taken
in those events by Virginians and the precious legacy left to us by our
self-sacrificing forefathers, until a patriotic fervor pervaded the town.
The bell was accompanied by Hon. Charles F. Warwick, Mayor of
Philadelphia; Wencel Harman, President of the Common Council, and thirteen
members of that body; Charles K. Smith, Chairman of the Select Council,
and thirteen members of that body; twelve officials of the city of
Philadelphia, including S. A. Eisenhower, Chief of Bureau of City
Property, and Custodian of the State House and Bell, with a guard of
honor, consisting of four of the reserve police of Philadelphia.
A party, including a committee from the City Council--Messrs. John T.
Knight, E. D. Cole and J. Stansbury Wallace--met the bell at Quantico,
where Judge James B. Sener, who had accompanied the party from Washington,
delivered an appropriate address of welcome on the part of the State of
Virginia. The party arrived in Fredericksburg on time, and found at the
depot a vast concourse of people and a procession headed by Bowering's
Band and the Washington Guards, consisting of the Mayor, ex-Mayors, Common
Council, Sons of Confederate Veterans, school children and citizens
generally.
[Illustration: The Free Lance--Star Office. (See page 227)]
All the bells in town were ringing, the steam whistles were blowing and
everybody was rejoicing. Such a time had scarcely, if ever, been seen
before by our people. As soon as the train bearing the bell and escort
halted, Mayor Rowe and others went on board the car, and, after the usual
introductions and salutations, Mayor Rowe, who was somewhat indisposed,
presented Mr. W. Seymour White, who made the welcome address as follows:
_Mr. Mayor of Philadelphia and Gentlemen of the Escort of the Liberty
Bell_:
It is with a most peculiar pleasure that we greet you and welcome this
sacred relic within the boundaries of the Old Dominion. It is most
fitting that it should rest upon the breast of this great old State,
for it was the voice of a great Virginian that sounded the tocsin of
the Revolution; it was the pen of a great Virginian that drafted the
Declaration of Independence that was greeted by the voice of this
bell; it was the sword of a great Virginian that made that declaration
an accomplished fact, and it was while tolling the requiem for the
soul of the great Virginian jurist, John Marshall, that its voice ever
became silent. It is with feelings of heartfelt delight that we
welcome it within the corporate limits of Fredericksburg, connected
inseparably, as she is, like your own great and proud city of
Philadelphia, with the events proclaimed in that glorious past by that
sacred bell; for it was in Fredericksburg, on the 29th of April, 1775,
that the first resolutions breathing the spirit of the Declaration of
Independence were offered; it was in Fredericksburg that Hugh Mercer
lived, whose ashes rest in your beloved soil, in whose defence he
died; and in Fredericksburg once lived that great American President
that gave to all the ages the grand doctrine that these United States
would never tolerate the acquisition of an inch of American soil by
any prince, potentate or power of Europe. We are glad that this bell
is going about the land, in the language of your great and good
president, Judge Thayer, "stirring up everywhere as it goes those
memories and patriotic impulses that are so inseparably connected with
its history, and which themselves can never grow mute," and we doubt
not that this bell, though voiceless now, can still "proclaim liberty
throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; and who can
tell but that as the rolling waves of the blue Mexican Gulf thunder
upon the shores of the Queen of the Antilles, the proud, triumphal
progress of the Liberty Bell, they may bear to patriots, struggling to
be free in that far off land, the sympathy of the great hearts of
American freemen that yet beat responsive to the efforts of those
whose love of liberty is stronger than death?" We are glad that our
men and women may see it, and at the sacred flame that burns about its
altar replenish the patriotic fire that still is trimmed and burning
in the hearts of a re-united American people. We are glad that our
children may see it to learn from its presence and history that the
dearest heritage left them by their fathers is that liberty and
independence once proclaimed by this bell. And so we bid God speed to
the bell which once "rang redress to all mankind," as it goes through
the land proclaiming to all the nations of the world that a
"government by the people, of the people and for the people" has not
perished from off the face of the earth, but "still lives the home of
liberty and the birth-right of every American citizen."
Mayor Warwick responded in a patriotic and appropriate address, after
which the guests were driven around town in carriages until the time for
their departure, when they boarded the train and started on their trip
South, delighted with their reception in Fredericksburg.
A Chinaman who witnessed the demonstration remarked that Christians
charged his people with idolatry in worshipping the dead, because they
honored their deceased parents, but a Chinaman never worshipped an old
bell as he had seen Christian people doing on this occasion.