bestowed on the Friends or Quakers of Loudoun and they exercised a
decided influence in the government of the County. They, however,
withdrew participation in public affairs on the approach of war; and,
to the determination of the American patriots to throw off the yoke of
British tyranny, they opposed their principles of non-resistance, not
only refusing to perform military duty, but also to pay the taxes
levied on them, as on all other citizens, for the prosecution of the
War of Independence.
This non-conformity to the military laws of the State from
conscientious motives, brought them into difficulty, as will be seen
in the annexed extract from Kercheval's _History of the Shenandoah
Valley_:
"At the beginning of the war, attempts were made to compel
them to bear arms and serve in the militia; but it was soon
found unavailing. They would not perform any military duty
required of them, not even the scourge would compel them to
submit to discipline. The practice of coercion was therefore
abandoned, and the legislature enacted a law to levy a tax
upon their property, to hire substitutes to perform militia
duty in their stead. This, with other taxes, bore peculiarly
heavy upon them. Their personal property was sold under the
hammer to raise the public demands; and before the war was
over, many of them were reduced to great distress in their
pecuniary circumstances.
"This selling of Quakers' property afforded great
opportunity for designing individuals to make profitable
speculations. They continued to refuse to pay taxes for
several years after the war, holding it unlawful to
contribute their money towards discharging the war debt.
This being at length adjusted, no part of our citizens pay
their public demands with more punctuality (except their
muster fines, which they still refuse to pay)."
_Loudoun's Revolutionary Hero._
John Champe, the tall and saturnine sergeant-major of Lee's celebrated
partisan legion, was a resident of Loudoun County. Readers of Lee's
"Memoirs of the War" will recall the account of Champe's pretended
desertion from the Continental armies. This perilous adventure was
undertaken for the threefold purpose of capturing the traitor Arnold,
saving the life of the unfortunate André, and establishing the
innocence of General Gates, who had been charged with complicity in
Arnold's nefarious intrigue. His investigations secured the complete
vindication of Gates; but, failing in his other attempts, he drifted
with the Red Coats to North Carolina, where he deserted their ranks
and rejoined the American forces under General Greene.
That officer provided him with a good horse and money for his journey,
and sent him to General Washington. The commander-in-chief
"munificently anticipated every desire of the sergeant, and presented
him with a discharge from further service, lest he might, in the
vicissitudes of war, fall into the enemy's hands; when, if recognized,
he was sure to die on a gibbet." His connection with the army thus
abruptly, though honorably, severed, with no little regret we are to
suppose, he straightway repaired to his home near Leesburg.
In after years, when General Washington was called by President Adams
to the command of the army organized to defend the country from French
hostility, he inquired for Champe, with the avowed purpose of placing
him at the head of a company of infantry. Lieutenant-Colonel Lee,
through whom the inquiry had been made, dispatched a courier to
Loudoun County in search of Champe. There he learned that the intrepid
soldier and daring adventurer had removed to Kentucky, where he soon
afterward died.
Some interesting anecdotes concerning Champe are related in a portion
of Captain Cameron's private journal, published in the British United
Service Journal. Champe was assigned to his company, a part of
Arnold's British legion, upon his arrival in New York.
_Army Recommendations._
The following list of militia officers were "recommended by the
gentlemen justices of the county Court for Loudoun County, Virginia,
to the Governor for appointments from March, 1778, to December, 1782:"
[22]"March, 1778: James Whaley, Jr., second lieutenant;
William Carnan, ensign; Daniel Lewis, second lieutenant;
Josias Miles and Thomas King, lieutenants; Hugh Douglass,
ensign; Isaac Vandevanter, lieutenant; John Dodd, ensign.
May, 1778: George Summers and Charles G. Eskridge, colonels;
William McClellan, Robert McClain and John Henry, captains;
Samuel Cox, major; Frans Russell, James Beavers, Scarlet
Burkley, Moses Thomas, Henry Farnsworth, John Russell,
Gustavus Elgin, John Miller, Samuel Butcher, Joshua Botts,
John Williams, George Tyler, Nathaniel Adams and George
Mason, lieutenants; Isaac Grant, John Thatcher, William
Elliott, Richard Shore and Peter Benham, ensigns. 1778,
August: Thomas Marks, William Robison, Joseph Butler and
John Linton, lieutenants; Joseph Wildman and George Asbury,
ensigns. 1778, September: Francis Russell, lieutenant, and
George Shrieve, ensign. 1779, May: Joseph Wildman,
lieutenant, and Francis Elgin, Jr., ensign. 1779, June 14:
George Kilgour, lieutenant, and Jacob Caton, ensign. 1779,
July 12: John Debell, lieutenant, and William Hutchison,
ensign. 1779, October 11: Francis Russell, captain. 1779,
November 8: James Cleveland, captain; Thomas Millan, ensign.
1780, February 14: Thomas Williams, ensign. 1780, March:
John Benham, ensign. 1780, June: Wethers Smith and William
Debell, second lieutenants; Francis Adams and Joel White,
ensigns. 1780, August: Robert Russell, ensign. 1780,
October: John Spitzfathem, first lieutenant; Thomas Thomas
and Matthew Rust, second lieutenants; Nicholas Minor, Jr.,
David Hopkins, William McGeath and Samuel Oliphant, ensigns;
Charles Bennett, captain. 1780, November: James Coleman,
Esq., colonel; George West, lieutenant-colonel; James
McLlhaney, major. 1781, February: Simon Triplett, colonel;
John Alexander, lieutenant-colonel; Jacob Reed, major; John
Linton, captain; William Debell and Joel White, lieutenants;
Thomas Minor, ensign; Thomas Shores, captain; John Tayler
and Thomas Beaty, lieutenants; John McClain, ensign. 1781,
March: John McGeath, captain; Ignatius Burnes, captain; Hugh
Douglass, first lieutenant; John Cornelison, second
lieutenant; Joseph Butler and Conn Oneale, lieutenants; John
Jones, Jr., ensign; William Taylor, major first battalion;
James Coleman, colonel; George West, lieutenant-colonel;
Josiah Maffett, captain; John Binns, first lieutenant;
Charles Binns, Jr., second lieutenant, and Joseph Hough,
ensign. 1781, April: Samson Trammell, captain; Spence
Wiggington and Smith King, lieutenants. 1781, May: Thomas
Respass, Esq., major; Hugh Douglass, Gent, captain; Thomas
King, lieutenant; William T. Mason, ensign; Samuel Noland,
captain; Abraham Dehaven and Enoch Thomas, lieutenants;
Isaac Dehaven and Thomas Vince, ensigns; James McLlhaney,
captain; Thomas Kennan, captain; John Bagley, first
lieutenant. 1781, June: Enoch Furr and George Rust,
lieutenants; Withers Berry and William Hutchison (son of
Benjamin), ensign. 1781, September: Gustavus Elgin, captain;
John Littleton, ensign. 1782, January: William McClellan,
captain. February, 1782: William George, Timothy Hixon, and
Joseph Butler, captains. 1782, March: James McLlhaney,
captain; George West, colonel; Thomas Respass,
lieutenant-colonel. 1782, July: Samuel Noland, major; James
Lewin Gibbs, second lieutenant, and Giles Turley, ensign.
1782, August: Enoch Thomas, captain; Samuel Smith,
lieutenant; Matthias Smitley, first lieutenant; Charles
Tyler and David Beaty, ensigns. 1782, December: Thomas King,
captain; William Mason, first lieutenant, and Silas Gilbert,
ensign."
[Footnote 22: Abstract from Court Order Book G., pages 517-522.]
_Court Orders and Reimbursements._
Needy families of the Revolutionary soldiers of Loudoun were supplied
with the necessaries of life as per the following orders:
"1778, November 9th: John Alexander to furnish Elizabeth
Welch, her husband being in the army.
"1778, Nov. 15th: George Emrey to furnish the child of Jacob
Rhodes, said Jacob being in the Continental army. William
Douglass to furnish Mary Rhodes, her husband being in the
army. George Summers to furnish William Gilmore, his son
being in the army.
"1778, Dec. 14: Leven Powell to furnish Andrew Laswell.
"1779, Feb. 8th: Samuel Triplett to furnish the wife of Hugh
Henderson. Josias Clapham to furnish Ann Philips.
"1779, March 8th: Farling Ball to furnish the widow of
Joseph Collens and the wife of William Eaton. William
Stanhope to furnish Ann Barton.
"1779, April: John Lewis, Gent, to furnish the wife of
Shadrack Reeder. Hardage Lane to furnish Sarah Gilmore, wife
of William, whose son is in the army. William Ellzey to
furnish wife of Shadrack Reeder. Josias Clapham appointed to
apply to the Treasurer for 500 pounds to be placed in the
hands of John Lewis, Gent, to supply the necessaries of life
for those who have husbands or children in the Continental
army.
"1779, May: Farling Ball to furnish Edward McGinnis and
William Means. John Alexander to furnish Ann Bartan.
(William Stanhope to furnish Ann Barton, July 1779.)
"1779, August: Robert Jamison to furnish Conard Shanks,
whose son is in the army. Jonathan Davis to furnish Mary
Stoker. Pierce Bayly do. wife of Joel Coleman.
"1780, March: John Tyler do. Jemima Coleman.
"1780, July: Simon Triplett to furnish Jemima Coleman, wife
of Joel, not exceeding two barrels of flour and 200 pounds
of Pork.
"1780, September: John Alexander to furnish Ann Barton one
barrel of corn and fifty pounds of Pork. Josias Clapham do.
Catherine Henderson, widow of Adam Henderson. William Cavans
to furnish Ann Richards, her husband being in the army, and
Isabella Collens, widow of Joseph.
"1780, November: Wm. Bronough do. Sarah Russell, wife of
Samuel.
"1781, April: William Owsley to supply Hannah Rice & two
children, the family of James Rice, who died in the
Continental army.
"1781, May: Adam Vincel to supply Mary Tritipoe, wife of
Conrad, her husband being in the army.
"1781, Sept.: Joseph Thomas to supply the widow of David
Hamilton (a soldier who was killed in the Continental army).
"1782, Jan.: John Tyler, Gent, to furnish the family of
Cornelius Slacht (he being an 18 months' draft).
"1782, Feb.: John Lewis, Gent, to furnish Eleanor Wilcox (a
soldier's wife).
"1782, March: William Douglass to furnish Eleanor Wilcox,
agreeable to an order of the last Court directed to John
Lewis, Gent, the said Lewis declining."
"Treasurer to pay sundry persons for furnishing supplies as
per their several accounts:
"1778, May 12: William Ellzey, Esq., £3 8s. 9d., on account
of wife of John Stoker and £2 10s. ditto for wife of
Shadrack Reeder. Wm. Douglass, £50 14s. 6d. as per acct.
"1778, June 9: Andrew Adam, £13 5d., for Margaret Hill
(service).
"1778, Aug. 10: Farling Ball. £4 16s. 9d. John Alexander,
£5.
"1778, Sept. 14: Leven Powell, Gent, £6 1s. William Douglass,
Gent, £47 7s. John Tyler, £3 19s. 6d.
"1778, Sept. 15: Farling Ball, Gent, £1 17s. 6d.
"1778, Nov. 9: Andrew Adam, £16 15s.
"1778, Nov. 15: Daniel Losh, £24 6s. 9d. Geo. West, Gent, £3
10s. Farling Ball, ditto, £2.
"1778, Dec. 14: Joshua Daniel, Gent, £9 15s. John Orr, £7,
16s.
"1779, Feb. 9, Farling Ball, £18 13s. 9d. Wm. Douglass, £53
9s. 1d. Chas. Binns, £3 on acct. of widow of Hamilton.
"1779, April: John Alexander, £68 15s. Daniel Losh, £10 37s.
William Douglass, Gent, £28 16s. Andrew Adam, £17 13s. Wm.
Ellzey, £24 2s.
"1779, May: Geo. West, Gent, £42 14s.
"1779, June: Andrew Adam, £12 3s. 6d. John Orr, £43 16s. Wm.
Douglass, £18 16s. Farling Ball, Gent, £175 5s.
"1779, July: John Alexander, £18.
"1779, August: Jacob Tracey, £20 for nursing and burying
Sophia Harris, the wife of a continental soldier.
"1779, Oct: Pierce Bayly, Gent, £10. Simon Triplett, £43,
9s. 10d. Robert Jamison, £30. Jonathan Davis, £32 10s.
Farling Ball, £61 10s. 6d. Wm. Douglass, Gent, £51 15s.
"1779, John Orr, Gent, £93 8s. 3d. Leven Powell, Gent, £69
10s. Wm. Stanhope, Gent, £4 4s.
"1780, Jan.: Jonathan Davis, Gent, £50. Wm. Stanhope, Gent,
£4 4s.
"1780, February: Thomas George, £206. Israel Thompson, £119
2s. George Emrey, £46 19s.
"1780, March: Hardage Lane, Gent, £83 8s.
"1780, April: Thomas George, £15. Farling Ball, Gent, £99
6s. Wm. Douglass, Gent, £69 10s.
"1780, June: John Tyler, Gent, £40. Pierce Bayly, Gent, £20.
"1780, August: John Orr, Gent, £500. Wm. Douglass, Gent,
£44.
"1780, November: Thomas George, £221. Farling Ball, £50.
George Tyler, Gent, £8. George Emrey, Gent, £163 12s.
"1781, March: John Orr, Gent, £431 16s. Wm. Cavans, £120.
"1782, Feb.: John Orr, as per acct., for furnishing Mary
Butler, a soldier's wife, with necessaries."
_Close of the Struggle_.
On the 25th of November, 1783, the British army evacuated New York.
The independence of the United States had been acknowledged by the
British Government and the war was ended. During the following month
most of the Continental troops from Loudoun returned to their homes,
many of them to spend the remainder of their days in hard-earned
peace.
WAR OF 1812.
_The Compelling Cause._
Following the Revolution, a number of new towns sprang into being,
educational institutions multiplied, the population of the County
steadily increased, and the people were industrious, enterprising, and
happy.
A second difficulty, however, soon interrupted this tranquillity, and
the quarrel between the two governments was referred to the
arbitrament of the War of 1812, fought by the United States against
England for maritime independence.
The honor of the new republic was assailed on the high seas by the
insistence of Great Britain of a right to search American vessels for
fugitive British subjects. A doctrine which America regarded as
established by the Revolution, to wit, that a citizen of a foreign
country could voluntarily surrender his native citizenship and swear
allegiance to another government, was disputed by Great Britain, who
held that "once an Englishman was to be an Englishman always." Upon
this ground American vessels were held up on the ocean by English
men-of-war and searched to such an extent that within the eight years
of forbearance over 6,000 men were taken from the ships of the United
States and forced into the British navy.
This audacious conduct thoroughly aroused the indignation of the
American people, in which resentment it is supposed the people of
Loudoun warmly concurred. Seeing that bloodshed was necessary in
order to maintain the national honor, and spurred by urgent
petitions, President Madison recommended to Congress a declaration of
war, which was accordingly promulgated June 18, 1812.
_State Archives at Leesburg._[23]
When the British were on their way from Bladensburg to Washington, in
August, 1814, James Monroe, then Secretary of State, had been for
several days with General Winder, reconnoitering the enemy, and
watching the movements of both armies. Knowing the weakness of the
American forces, he believed Washington to be in great peril. He
dispatched a letter to President Madison, advising the removal of the
official records. Stephen Pleasanton, then a clerk in the State
Department, made immediate preparation for the removal of the books
and papers in that department. He had linen bags hastily made and
placed in them the State archives, which were then loaded in wagons
and hauled across the chain bridge, over the Potomac, to the grist
mill of Edgar Patterson, two miles above Georgetown. Not feeling sure
of their safety there, he had them reloaded on wagons and conveyed to
Leesburg, where they were placed in an unoccupied building,[24] the key
of which was given to a recently ordained clergyman, named Littlejohn.
There they remained until the last hostile Briton had reached
Baltimore, when they were carefully hauled back to Washington.[25] Thus
we saved the precious documents of the revolutionary war, as well as
our state archives, and thus does Leesburg boast, with abstract
truthfulness, that for a little more than two weeks it was the Capital
of the United States.
[Footnote 23: Anonymous.]
[Footnote 24: Perhaps the most precious of these documents was the
Declaration of Independence, which it has been asserted, was deposited
here.]
[Footnote 25: Mrs. A.H. Throckmorton, in an interesting narrative to
which allusion is made elsewhere in this volume, differs with the
authority here quoted as to the disposition of these important papers.
She says: "For one night they remained in the court-house here
(Leesburg) and were then carried several miles out in the country to
the estate of "Rockeby," now owned by Mr. H.B. Nalle,... and securely
locked within the old vault and remained out of reach of the enemy for
two weeks."]
THE MASON-McCARTY DUEL.
The duel, February 6, 1819, between Armistead T. Mason and John M.
McCarty, both residents of Loudoun County, was the second "affair of
honor" to be settled on the now famous field of Bladensburg. They were
cousins, who became enemies during Mason's brief term in the United
States Senate. Mason, known as "The Chief of Selma," was a graduate of
William and Mary College and the commander of a cavalry regiment[26] in
the war of 1812. He later became brigadier general of the Virginia
militia. He married and took up his residence at Selma plantation,
four miles north of Leesburg. Wishing to make it possible for the
Quakers of Loudoun to contribute their share toward the support of the
army, Mason introduced in the Senate a bill to permit, in case of
draft, the furnishing of substitutes on payment of $500 each. For this
McCarty branded him a coward, and thence sprung a succession of bitter
quarrels, the real basis of which was a difference of political
opinions. The details of both sides of the feud were published weekly
in the Leesburg "Genius of Liberty," and later were issued in pamphlet
form as campaign material.
[Footnote 26: Many of the Germans of Loudoun served in this regiment
which participated in the Battle of Baltimore.]
Mason's side was defeated. He earnestly wished to avoid a duel, but
McCarty continued to provoke him, with the hope of compelling him to
fight. This he finally decided to do. He left his home without
revealing his intentions and on reaching Washington made his final
preparations with great deliberation. "The Chief of Selma" fell
February 6, 1819, his heart pierced by the ball of his antagonist. He
was but 32 years of age. His body was borne to Leesburg, where it was
buried in the Episcopal churchyard, with an imposing Masonic ritual.
The grief of his slaves was painful to witness. His only child became
an officer in the United States army, and was mortally wounded in the
battle of Cerro Gordo.
HOME OF PRESIDENT MONROE.
"Oak Hill," the country seat of James Monroe, ex-President of the
United States and author of the world-famed Monroe Doctrine, is
situated near Aldie, in Loudoun County, on the turnpike running south
from Leesburg to Aldie, about nine miles from the former and three
from the latter place.
The main building, with an imposing Grecian façade, was planned by
Monroe while in the presidential chair, and its construction
superintended by William Benton, an Englishman, who served him in the
triple capacity of steward, counselor, and friend. The dimensions are
about 50 by 90 feet; it is built of brick in a most substantial
manner, and handsomely finished; has three stories (including
basement), a wide portico fronting south, with massive Doric columns
thirty feet in height, and is surrounded by a grove of magnificent
oaks, locusts, and poplars, covering several acres. It has been said
that prior to his inauguration he occupied a wooden dwelling of humble
pretensions standing within a stone's throw of its palatial progeny.
Monroe's term of office expired March 4, 1825, and soon after the
inauguration of his successor he retired to "Oak Hill," which
immediately became, like Monticello and Montpelier, although to a
lesser degree, a center of social and political pilgrimages.
The financial affairs of its owner were seriously embarrassed from the
first, and he labored in vain to obtain justice from the country he
had served so long and so well, at heavy pecuniary cost and loss. His
old friend, Lafayette, now once more prosperous, sent an offer of
assistance with a delicacy and generosity which did him honor. A
little was done at last by Congress, but not enough, and the day came
when "Oak Hill" was offered for sale.
While residing here, the post of regent of the University of Virginia,
which was instituted in 1826, was accepted by Mr. Monroe as not
inconsistent with his view of the entire retirement from public life
becoming an ex-President. Associated with him in the discharge of his
duties as regent, as in so many long years of patriotic toil, were
Jefferson and Madison.
When the State of Virginia called a convention for the revision of her
constitution, Mr. Monroe consented to become a member. He took an
active interest in the affairs of his own neighborhood, discharging
the duties of a local magistrate.
Mrs. Monroe died at "Oak Hill" on September 23d, 1830, and after her
departure the old man found his lonely farm life insupportable. He had
previously visited much with his daughters, and he now went to live
with Mrs. Gouverneur, in New York. He wrote to Mr. Madison, April 11,
1831:
* * * * *
"It is very distressing to me to sell my property in Loudoun, for
besides parting with all I have in the State, I indulged a hope, if I
could retain it, that I might be able occasionally to visit it, and
meet my friends, or many of them, there. But ill health and advanced
years prescribe a course which we must pursue...."
GENERAL LAFAYETTE'S VISIT.[27]
The greatest social event in the history of Leesburg was the visit of
General Lafayette, August 9, 1825. The great Frenchman, accompanied by
President John Quincy Adams, had visited ex-President Monroe at "Oak
Hill," from which place the august procession, headed by two troops of
cavalry, made the eleven mile journey to Leesburg. Lafayette, the
President, the ex-President and the chairman of the Town Council, rode
in the first carriage, drawn by four white horses. On reaching
Leesburg, they were greeted by six companies of militia, among them a
few old soldiers of the Revolution. At the firing of the national
salute, Lafayette descended from his carriage and shook hands with
those veterans and heroes.
[Footnote 27: This account of General Lafayette's visit, save for a few
minor alterations and one or two supplementary facts, is from the pen
of Mrs. A. H. Throckmorton, of this County, having formed part of an
historical sketch of Leesburg contributed by her to the old Richmond
_Times_, July 19, 1902.]
Standing on his front porch, Dr. McCabe, the town's Mayor, delivered
an address of welcome to which Lafayette responded. Across the street
at Osborne's Hotel[28] a reception was tendered him, after which the
distinguished visitor was driven through the principal streets of the
town. On reaching the court-house square, then, as now, a large
inclosure shaded by giant trees, Lafayette, on alighting from the
coach, kissed a tiny maiden upheld in the arms of her negro nurse. The
little girl was Mrs. Wildman, who after reaching a venerable age
departed this life in the summer of 1901.
[Footnote 28: A fine stone mansion, still standing, and the residence
of the late Colonel John H. Alexander, during his lifetime one of the
foremost lawyers of the State.]