Marshall county, and thence to the court at Clarksburg, from which I
have returned this week. I have hastened, and possibly with too much
haste, to reply to your note. Herewith I send you the impressions your
father made upon me. It is perhaps a little severe and stern for the
effeminate men of these times, but the latter would be benefitted by
comparison or contrast with the men of that day in which John Howe
Peyton and Briscoe G. Baldwin were the samples of excellence.
My acquaintance with John Howe Peyton became more intimate in 1828, when
I was Attorney for the United States for the Western District of
Virginia. He was then prominent as a remarkable man, and as an able and
distinguished lawyer. He was a man of that tone and quality of mind,
which soft and vacillating natures, or other minds not well grounded in
high principles of conduct, _might_ term austere. The logical character
of his mind was that of severity of thought, and well trained in
historical criticism. From such a mental constitution and from such
culture all his motives of conduct, public and private, may well be
supposed to have been the convictions of principles. As a statesman such
a man could not do otherwise than shape his public life to the loftiest
patriotism, as a lawyer to the sternest integrity of public right and
justice, and as a man to all that was above what was low, base, or
corrupt, or even common-place. Hence as a party leader or defender of
right he had no mercy, in the public discussions of his times, for the
mere trickster and demagogue, as public prosecutor he had no compromises
with crime or guilt, and as a lawyer was inflexible and professionally
just in the application of the principles of the law, which he looked
upon as a science which tended to secure the rights of men and preserve
the purity of the general life. There were not many men who could make
such quick and decisive analysis of facts, and generalise from them the
principles by which they should be governed, and state the results to
which they lead, and this both in the domain of politics and of
professional life. Young men, who desired to reach eminence and solid
character, would seek his company and find a friend and counsellor, but
not a companion in the familiar sense, while those of feeble texture of
mind would, in a certain sense, be overawed and repelled. I should say
his mind belonged to the Doric order--massive, almost severe in its
simplicity, and strong, and in these qualities, conservative.
With great respect and esteem,
Yours truly,
GEO. W. THOMPSON.
PRESENTATION OF MR. PEYTON'S PORTRAIT TO THE COUNTY OF AUGUSTA.
In order to preserve, in a permanent form, the interesting proceedings
on the occasion when Mr. Peyton's portrait was presented to the county
of Augusta, the little pamphlet containing them and printed at the time,
is here reproduced.
The pamphlet was entitled: "John Howe Peyton. Ceremonies attending the
presentation of his portrait to the county of Augusta."
_"Great men heighten the consciousness of the human race, and it is our
grateful duty to magnify him whose genius magnifies mankind."_
(Printed for Private Circulation.)
THE STOUT AND PEYTON CORRESPONDENCE.
Staunton, October 29th, 1892.
_To Col. John L. Peyton_:
_My Dear Colonel_--In accordance with the wishes of the bar and people
of the county generally, it is the purpose of the county court to place
in the Court House, if they can be obtained, portraits of our eminent
lawyers of the past. Among the most distinguished of our jurists was
your father, Hon. John Howe Peyton, distinguished alike for his varied
abilities as a scholar, lawyer and statesman, for the extent of his
learning and the purity of his private and public morals. For nearly
forty years he displayed his great qualities on this theatre to the
admiration and advantage of the public, and I trust you may be able to
accede to my request and supply a copy, life size, of his portrait.
I am, very truly, your friend,
JOHN W. STOUT,
Judge of Augusta County.
Staunton, October 31st, 1892.
_Hon. John W. Stout, Judge of Augusta County_:
_My Dear Judge_--I have had the honor to receive your kind and courteous
note asking for a copy of my father's portrait, to be placed in the
County Court House, among those of the eminent lawyers of Augusta, and
hasten to say in reply that it will give me great pleasure to comply
with your request.
I have the honor to be, Judge, with great respect and esteem,
Your friend
J. L. PEYTON.
In accordance with his promise to Judge Stout, Col. Peyton instructed
Mr. Edmund Berkeley, of Staunton, to employ an experienced and competent
artist of New York City to make, in oil, a portrait of his father. Some
delay took place in the matter, as Col. Peyton had promised a portrait
of his father to Washington and Lee University, Lexington, which was
executed by the same artist and sent to Lexington last year.
In the month of July, 1894, the portrait of Mr. Peyton was finished in
New York and expressed to Staunton, where it safely arrived. Col. Peyton
duly advised Judge Chalkley, the successor of Judge Stout in the office
of County Judge, of the fact and received the following letter from him.
Staunton, July 2nd, 1894.
_My Dear Col. Peyton_:
I am very much pleased to know that the portrait of your father, Hon.
John Howe Peyton, which was gotten by you at the request of Judge John
W. Stout, to be hung in the County Court House, has arrived in Staunton.
As far as it is in my province to speak, accept my assurances that it
will be received by the people of Augusta county with the most cordial
feelings toward you, and with the greatest admiration for the memory of
one who has reflected so much credit upon Augusta county.
It will give me great pleasure to go with you to the Court House at any
time that it may be convenient to you, for the purpose of selecting a
place to hang the portrait.
Believe me to be, with the greatest respect and consideration.
Very truly yours,
LYMAN CHALKLEY.
A few days later, on behalf of the County Court, an invitation was
extended to the leading families of the town and county to attend a
public meeting of the county officials and the general public, at the
Court House, on July 20th, at 12 o'clock, M., when the portrait would be
formally presented to the county by Capt. James Bumgardner, Jr., on
behalf of Col. Peyton, and be accepted by Major T. C. Elder on behalf of
the county, these gentlemen, two of the ablest and most eloquent members
of the bar, having been selected by Judge Chalkley for these pleasing
duties.
THE PUBLIC MEETING.
The meeting announced to take place at 12 o'clock, July 20th, for the
reception of Mr. Peyton's portrait, was duly held in the Court House on
the day and at the hour specified. It was largely attended by the county
officials, among them Hon. Lyman Chalkley, Judge of the County, N. B.
Watts, Sheriff, Wm. A. Burnett, County Clerk, and others, including the
Supervisors, namely, Elijah Coiner, T. M. Smiley, H. B. Wilson, Samuel
Forter, Silas H. Walker, and Wm. A. Crawford, the members of the Bar and
many others, among whom were a number of fashionable and elegant ladies,
including Mrs. and the Misses Atkinson, Mrs. Elder and daughter, Mrs. W.
P. Tams, Mrs. Wm. Frazier, Miss Malcomb, Mrs. W. E. Craig, &c., &c.
On motion of Capt. Thos. D. Ranson, seconded by Wm. P. Tams, Esq., Capt.
George M. Cochran was called to the chair. Capt. Cochran explained
briefly the object of the meeting, when Capt. Bumgardner arose and said:
CAPT. JAMES BUMGARDNER'S SPEECH.
_Gentlemen of the Board of Supervisors_:
The late lamented Judge Stout, who did much to entitle him to be
gratefully remembered by the people of Augusta County, requested that a
copy of the portrait of John H. Peyton might be made, to be placed on
the walls of this Court room.
In accordance with that request the portrait has been made, and on
behalf of Col. John Lewis Peyton and the other descendants of John H.
Peyton, I deliver this portrait to you, as the representatives of the
County of Augusta, in order that the purpose of Judge Stout may be
carried into effect; and that this portrait may be placed in that group
of illustrious citizens, with all of whom he was closely associated in
life, and with whom he is entitled to be grouped and remembered in all
time to come, as one of the men who have made the Staunton bar famous
and honored, and who in their day enjoyed and deserved to enjoy, the
esteem and admiration of their countrymen.
John H. Peyton was born in Stafford County, Virginia, in the year 1778.
He inherited the virtues of patriotism, devotion to duty, courage and
honor from his father, who illustrated them in the highest degree as a
soldier of the Revolution. His academic career was distinguished by
faithful application and great ability, and he graduated at Princeton,
taking with high honors the degree of Master of Arts in the year 1797.
After finishing his academical course he went earnestly to work to
prepare himself for his professional career in which he rendered such
faithful and honorable service to the Country and in which he earned so
much honor and distinction. He studied law under the advice and tuition
of Judge Bushrod Washington of the Supreme Court of the United States,
and with his ability, and taught by such a master, it is not surprising
that the accuracy and extent of his legal knowledge placed him in the
front rank of the great men of his profession, who were his
contemporaries. He commenced the practice of the law on the
Fredericksburg Circuit. In the year 1806 he was elected as a Member of
the House of Delegates from the County of Stafford, and was again
elected in 1807. As a debater he had no superior on the floor of the
House.
Mr. Peyton removed to Staunton and commenced the practice of the law in
the Courts held in Staunton and the adjoining Counties in the year 1808,
and he devoted himself to the practice of the law from that time until
near his death in 1847. His great and recognized ability in the practice
of his profession is shown by the fact that he was appointed Attorney of
the Commonwealth for this Circuit immediately after his removal to
Staunton, and three years later in 1812, Attorney for the Commonwealth
for Augusta County. Chapman Johnson, who said he himself was not suited
for the office, resigning it that Mr. Peyton might be elected, whom he
declared was the ablest public prosecutor in Virginia. During the year
1812 he served as Chief of Staff of General Porterfield. In his army
service he established his reputation as an able, enterprising and
gallant officer. With the exception of his service in the House of
Delegates, in the Senate and in the Army, his time and energies were
spent in the arduous duties of his profession.
He was Mayor of Staunton in the years 1816 and in 1817, but his
performance of the duties of that office was not, of course, any serious
interruption to the laborious work of his profession. From 1812 (when he
was appointed Attorney for the Commonwealth for the county of Augusta)
he filled that office continuously until 1844, serving in the mean time
for two terms in the Senate of Virginia from 1836 to 1844, when he
resigned from ill health. And now, because sirs, during that long
period he was one of the great men of this bar, because he was one of
the great citizens of Augusta and of Virginia, because it is of interest
and benefit to the Commonwealth, that the memory of her great and able
men be preserved and cherished, this picture was asked for, that its
presence on these walls might be a perpetual evidence of his ability and
virtues, and evidence of how the people of this county recognize,
reverence and honor those lofty attributes of mind and heart, which give
fame and distinction to the locality in which they are displayed. It is
now forty-seven years since Mr. Peyton passed away. Since his death
nearly two generations have been born and died. Of the men now living in
this county very few personally knew Mr. Peyton, or personally know the
position he occupied in the estimation of the bar, of the men, and of
the community of his day and time. That position is clearly shown by the
written expressions of many great men of his day, and as these
expressions will convey a clearer idea of Mr. Peyton's character than I
am able to give in any other way, I think it most proper on this
occasion to quote them.
Mr. Peyton was the author of the celebrated report opposing the
Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, proposed by the
State of Pennsylvania, for the alleged purpose of preventing collisions
between the Federal Government and the State Governments; concerning
which report Mr. Webster said, that "the reasoning and conclusions were
unanswerable" and on another occasion said, "it was a misfortune that he
was not in Congress."
Benjamin Watkins Leig said, "He was the greatest lawyer west of the Blue
Ridge."
Chapman Johnson said, "He was the greatest criminal lawyer and public
prosecutor I have ever seen."
Judge Henry St. George Tucker said, "He was one of the most profound and
learned of lawyers."
Daniel Sheffy said, "He possessed gigantic power without effort, and was
not only a great but a good man."
Major James Garland, of Lynchburg, said, "There was no greater lawyer in
the Commonwealth."
Judge Alexander Rives wrote that "I know no lawyer in Virginia for whom
I have the same admiration, respect and esteem."
John B. Baldwin said, "He was the greatest common-law lawyer he ever
knew."
Judge Briscoe G. Baldwin said, "He had more strength, originality and
learning than any lawyer of his acquaintance."
Judge Lucas P. Thompson said, "His sentiments were illuminated by
genius."
Sidney S. Baxter, late Attorney General of Virginia said, "No lawyer in
Virginia equalled him in debate."
Thomas J. Michie said of him: "That he was a man who had served his
country with distinguished ability in various civil positions in time of
peace, who has honorably and gallantly served and sacrificed his
property in time of war, a man whose honor and integrity have never been
impeached in this or any other community."
Judge R. C. L. Moncure in speaking of him as a young lawyer said: "He
took a position on being admitted to the bar which brought him immediate
and continued popularity as a lawyer, a pleader and a scholar."
T. M. Green, a distinguished lawyer and author, of Kentucky, said: "John
Howe Peyton was eminent as lawyer, statesman and orator."
Professor J. T. L. Preston, late of Virginia Military Institute, said:
"He was a champion in every branch of his profession."
The late James D. Davidson, of Lexington, said: "I regarded him
altogether as a superior being."
The late William Frazier said: "His pleadings were master pieces of
art."
The late Judge McCue said: "In his discourses he displayed a soundness
of view, an extent of research, a manliness of principle, an accuracy of
learning and a vigor of style surpassing anything I ever heard."
Mr. Peyton was as eminent for stern integrity as for learning and
ability, and in that connection a writer, whose name I will not call, as
he is still living, said: "I never knew a man who had more of what
Edmund Burke styled 'the chastity of honor which felt a stain like a
wound.'"
I have heard many lawyers who personally knew Mr. Peyton as a lawyer,
speak of him, and, without exception, they placed him in the very front
rank of the great lawyers of his day, and the late Judge H. W. Sheffey,
with whom I was associated for so many years as a partner, spoke of him
often and alluded to his appearance in a celebrated cause, which at the
time of the trial, made a most profound impression upon the community
and said that Mr. Peyton's description of the facts connected with the
_corpus delicti_, and the behavior of the accused at the time was the
most dramatic, powerful and stirring burst of eloquence he had ever
heard or read, and that during the utterance of the speech there was not
a dry eye in the crowded Court House.
It will be observed that these statements are made by men qualified in
the highest degree to estimate justly human character and ability, and
who had the very best opportunity of judging the character and ability
of Mr. Peyton, as they were intimately associated with him at the bar
and in public life; and their testimony therefore is conclusive, that
Mr. Peyton was a man of commanding ability, of the highest culture, of
profound legal learning, of the sternest integrity and the strictest
honor, and is worthy to be commemorated in the manner proposed by
placing this portrait in the group which now adorns these walls, and I
now take great pleasure in presenting it to you for that purpose.
* * * * *
At the close of his discourse the audience warmly applauded Captain
Bumgardner, as it had repeatedly done during its delivery.
MAJOR ELDER'S ADDRESS.
Major Elder then rose and spoke in the following terms:
TO COL. JOHN LEWIS PEYTON whom I see before me, and who by right of
primogenture now stands at the head of the descendants of John Howe
Peyton, and through him to all the descendants of this eminent man, I
would say that the people of the county of Augusta, represented by the
Judge of their County Court and Board of Supervisors, have requested me
to signify the acceptance by the county of the admirable portrait of Mr.
Peyton which has just been tendered it by Capt. Bumgardner in such
appropriate and beautiful terms. Col. Peyton, in presenting to his
native county this portrait of his distinguished father, has done well,
in that he has at once performed an act of filial piety and conferred a
public benefit; for whilst Col. Peyton has by this act given apt
expression to the tender and loving relations which should exist between
a dutiful son and an honored parent, it must also be remembered that
the father whom he loved so well was amongst the most distinguished of
Augusta's adopted sons, and she is now given an opportunity of
manifesting towards him those sentiments of affection and pride which a
mother cherishes for her honored children. Individuals and families
honor themselves in honoring their worthy ancestors, and communities and
states offer the highest incentive to industry, virtue and patriotism by
honoring the memory of those who have filled the public stations with
fidelity and zeal for the public good.
I shall not attempt a biographical sketch of Mr. Peyton. Capt.
Bumgardner has told us of his birthplace and honorable lineage, of his
collegiate education and subsequent preparation for the bar, of the
commencement of his professional career in his native county of
Stafford, and in connection therewith of his early selection for the
office of Commonwealth's Attorney for that county, and of his having
been chosen several times to represent it in the popular branch of the
general assembly of the State before his removal to Staunton in 1808. We
have also been told of the course of his life after his removal to this
place. Some account of his merits must have preceded him, for almost
immediately after settling here he was appointed Commonwealth's Attorney
for this Circuit by its presiding judge, and in two or three years
afterwards the distinguished Chapman Johnson resigned the office of
prosecuting attorney for this county, in order, as it is said, that Mr.
Peyton, because of his peculiar fitness, might be chosen for the place.
It seems that from the time Mr. Peyton came here to live until he was
disabled by the disease that ended his life, his time and talents were
devoted to the study and practice of his chosen profession; for he
belonged to that class of lawyers who do not stop studying when they
begin to practice. During almost the whole of his professional life in
this county he was Commonwealth's Attorney either for the County or the
Circuit, and for the most part for both. The reputation he made as a
prosecuting officer has rarely, if ever, been excelled in this State.
But whilst devoted to the law, which he studied as a science, and
practiced only as a great and noble profession should be practiced, he
was by no means unmindful of the duties he owed the community in which
he lived and the State and country of which he was a citizen. As a
military officer of the war of 1812, and as a member of the Senate of
Virginia for a number of years, he discharged his duties incumbent upon
him in these positions with honor to himself and with benefit to the
State. And over the public assemblage of the people of this town and
county occurring in his day, he was frequently called on to preside,
upon which occasion he always acquitted himself with dignity and grace.
He took a lively interest in everything of a public character that was
going on around him.
He was one of those who think that every man should be more than his
work; wider and higher than the business or calling by which he earns
his daily bread. Some there are indeed who, whilst thinking this should
be so, have barely the capacity to discharge the duties of their
vocations, and are without time or strength for anything else; and hence
must submit to be driven--
"Round the daily scene
Of sad subjection, and sick routine,"
until death relieves them of their bondage.
But we have been told by Capt. Bumgardner that Daniel Sheffey, a
competent judge surely, in speaking of Mr. Peyton, said--"He possessed
gigantic power without effort." No greater compliment could be paid to
the intellect of any man. Mr. Peyton had time enough to become great in
his profession, and to spare for other things. With him his daily work
was a pleasure rather than a burden. Fortunate indeed is the man who is
so gifted. The consciousness of the possession of such powers and the
use of them in the right directions must be a delight to the possessor.
This appears to have been the thought of Macauley, when contemplating
Milton in his poetic flights, after the constructive and artificial
parts of his was done, he fancies the great poet might have said to
himself:--
"Now my task is smoothly done
I can fly, or I can run."
Nature was in various ways lavish in the bestowal of her favors upon him
of whom we speak to-day. Not only did she endow him with high
intellectual gifts, but he had _mens sana in sana corpore_. He was a
large, well proportioned man, of dignified bearing and pleasing address,
with a glow and color indicative of a fine physical constitution. Like
jewels in a setting, at once strong and graceful, the mental powers of
Mr. Peyton were displayed to the best advantage through his magnificent
form and presence. How we all do admire intellectual power, and if
associated with physical size and strength and manly beauty, we admire
it all the more. But, it may be repeated, intellectual power, talent and
genius are always admired for their own sake. The fact that they are
associated with bad moral qualities, and indeed with great vices, does
not wholly deprive them of their charm. Lord Bacon, sometimes described
as the "greatest, meanest of mankind," will never cease to be admired by
even the best of men for his towering and resplendent intellect. Satan,
as depicted by Milton, while revolting in the hideousness of his moral
deformity, excites our interest, and, in a sense, extorts our admiration
by the grandeur and independence of his masterly mind. But it was the
crowning excellence of him whose memory we honor to-day, that he was as
pure and noble in heart as he was great in mind. In him there was that
fine and harmonious combination of high moral qualities and great
intellectual powers which make the model man. This combination of moral
and intellectual qualities is what so greatly commended this man to the
regard and esteem of his contemporaries, and it is what still keeps his
memory fresh.
And the moral qualities now referred to are not merely such as truth,
sincerity, honesty and integrity, which, and the like of which, Mr.
Peyton, it is true, possessed in an eminent degree, but also the rarer
virtues of firmness, self reliance, persistence in the right,
fearlessness in the discharge of duty, a strong sense of justice and a
refined sense of honor.