town situated on the south side of Fluvanna River. This town contains
about 100 houses, and a warehouse for the inspection of tobacco,
where about 2,000 hogsheads are annually inspected. It has been built
entirely within the last fifteen years, and is rapidly increasing, from
its advantageous situation for carrying on trade with the adjacent
country. The boats, in which the produce is conveyed down the river,
are from forty-eight to fifty-four feet long, but very narrow in
proportion to their length. Three men are sufficient to navigate one of
these boats, and they can go to Richmond and back again in ten days.
They fall down with the stream, but work their way back again with
poles. The cargo carried in these boats is always proportioned to the
depth of water in the river, which varies very much. Along the banks I
observed great quantities of weeds hanging upon the trees considerably
above my head, though on horseback. A few miles from Lynchburgh,
towards the Blue Mountains, is a small town called New London, in which
there is a magazine and also an armory, erected during the war. About
fifteen men were here employed, as I passed through, repairing old arms
and furbishing up others. At one end of the room lay the musquets, to
the amount of about 5,000, all together in a large heap, and at the
opposite end lay a pile of leathern accoutrements, absolutely rotting
for want of common attention. All the armories throughout the United
States are kept much in the same style.
“Between this place and the Blue Mountains the country is rough and
hilly, and but very thinly inhabited. The few inhabitants, however,
met with here are uncommonly robust and tall; it is rare to see a man
amongst them who is not six feet high. These people entertain a high
opinion of their own superiority in point of bodily strength over the
inhabitants of the low country. A similar race of men is found all
along the Blue Mountains.
“Beyond the Blue Ridge, after crossing by this route near the Peaks
of Otter, I met with but very few settlements till I drew near to
Fincastle, in Bottetourt County. This town was only begun about the
year 1790, yet it already contains sixty houses, and is most rapidly
increasing. The improvement of the adjacent country has likewise
been very rapid, and land now bears nearly the same price that it
does in the neighborhood of York and Lancaster, in Pennsylvania. The
inhabitants consist principally of Germans, who have extended their
settlements from Pennsylvania along the whole of that rich tract of
land which runs through the upper part of Maryland, and from thence
behind the Blue Mountains to the most southern part of Virginia. They
have many times, I am told, crossed the Blue Ridge to examine the land,
but the red soil which they found there was different from what they
had been accustomed to.
“The difference indeed between the country on the eastern and on the
western side of the Blue Ridge, in Bottetourt County, is astonishing,
when it is considered that both are under the same latitude, and that
this difference is perceptible within the short distance of thirty
miles. On the eastern side of the Ridge, cotton grows extremely
well; and in winter snow scarcely ever remains upon the ground more
than a day or two at a time. On the other side cotton never comes to
perfection, and in every farmyard you see sleighs or sledges. On the
eastern side of the Blue Ridge, in Virginia, not one of these carriages
is to be met with.
“Another circumstance may also be mentioned (besides the contrast in
the soils) as making a material difference between the country on one
side of the Blue Ridge and that on the other, namely, that behind the
mountains the weevil is unknown. In the lower parts of Virginia, and
the other states where the weevil is common, they always thresh out
the grain as soon as the crops are brought in, and leave it in the
chaff, which creates a degree of heat sufficient to destroy the insect.
According to the general opinion, the weevil originated on the eastern
shore of Maryland, where a person, in expectation of a great rise in
the price of wheat, kept over all his crops for the space of six years,
when they were found full of these insects. For a considerable time the
Potowmac River formed a barrier to their progress. The Blue Mountains
at present serve as a barrier, and secure the country to the westward
from their depredations.
“Bottetourt County is entirely surrounded by mountains. The climate
is particularly agreeable. It appears to me that there is no part of
America where the climate would be more congenial to the constitution
of a native of Great Britain or Ireland. In the western part of the
county are several medicinal springs, whereto numbers of people resort
towards the latter end of summer. Those most frequented are called
the Sweet Springs. A set of gentlemen from South Carolina have, I
understand, since I was there, purchased the place and are going to
erect several commodious dwellings in the neighborhood.
“The country immediately behind the Blue Mountains, between Bottetourt
County and the Potowmack River, is agreeably diversified with hill
and dale, and abounds with extensive tracts of rich land. The natural
herbage is not so fine here as in Bottetourt County, but when clover
is once sown it grows most luxuriously; wheat also is produced in as
plentiful crops as in any part of the United States. Tobacco is not
raised excepting for private use, and but little Indian corn is sown,
as it is liable to be injured by the nightly frosts, which are common
in the spring. The whole of this country to the west of the mountains
is increasing most rapidly in population. In the neighborhood of
Winchester it is so thickly settled that wood is now beginning to be
thought valuable.
“As I passed along the road from Fincastle to the Potowmack, which is
the high road from the Northern States to Kentucky, I met with great
numbers of people from Kentucky and the new State of Tennessee going
towards Philadelphia and Baltimore, and with many others going in a
contrary direction ‘to explore,’ as they call it, that is to search
for lands conveniently situated for new settlements in the western
country. These people all travel on horseback, with pistols or swords,
and a large blanket folded up under their saddle. There are now houses
scattered along nearly the whole way from Fincastle to Lexington, in
Kentucky. It would be still dangerous for any person to venture singly;
but if five or six travel together they are perfectly secure. Formerly
travelers were always obliged to go forty or fifty in a party.
“The first town you come to, going northward from Bottetourt County,
is Lexington, a neat little place that did contain about 100 houses,
a courthouse and gaol, but the greater part of it was destroyed by
fire just before I got there. Thirty miles farther on stands Staunton.
This town carries on a considerable trade with the back country, and
contains nearly 200 dwellings, mostly built of stone, together with a
church. Winchester stands 100 miles to the northward of Staunton, and
is the largest town in the United States on the western side of the
Blue Mountains. The houses are estimated at 350.”
_X._
_THE DUKE OF LA ROCHEFOUCAULD-LIANCOURT._
_1796._
_The Duke of La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt--The Status of Norfolk--From
Yorktown to Richmond--The Business of Richmond--Tobacco
Inspection--Administration of Virginia--The Dover Mines--Goochland
Court House--Monticello--Staunton--Winchester--Alexandria--Roads and
Inns._
The Duke of La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt was born January 11, 1747, and
died in 1827. He was in this country, of which he made a thorough
investigation, during the years 1795, 1796 and 1797, having been
obliged to quit France in 1792 by reason of the insanities of the
Revolution. It is stated that his education was neglected. He was
early in the army, and was in England in 1769. On his return from
England he made a practical application of the methods of agriculture
he had studied in that country. He set up a model farm on his estate,
and established a school of arts and trades for the sons of soldiers,
which, in 1788, numbered 130 students. It was he who made the answer
to Louis XVI, “No, sire, it is Revolution,” when the King observed,
“This seems to be a revolt.” He turned over a part of his fortune to
the King. From 1792 to 1795, and after his return from America, he was
in England, being much with Arthur Young, the famous agriculturist.
Returning to France in 1799, he continued his scientific and
philanthropic works, and (as much as was possible) was active in public
affairs. He was the organizer of the first savings bank.
The two large volumes of travels in this country by the Duke of La
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt were translated, and published at London in
1799. These volumes are a record, and a summary of statistics for that
period of the history of this country such as are not to be found
elsewhere, the work of a man who had an eye for both the intimate and
the exterior concerns of the State. France was a volcano in those
years, and the observer was glad to give an undivided attention to the
facts of the new country across the seas. Below are a few statements
bearing on Virginia, taken from the second volume of this remarkable
book. The traveler came by ship, three days from Charleston to Norfolk,
landing May 29th [1796].
“Norfolk is built on Elizabeth River, at nine miles from the spot
where it discharges its waters into the bay. In the intervening space
there are few houses. An almost uninterrupted succession of pines
are the only object which meets the traveler’s eye. Erancy Island
lies nearly in the middle of the river at a short distance above its
mouth. Two points of land, which approach within a quarter of a mile
of each other in front of Norfolk, are strengthened with forts which
are capable of successfully defending the entrance. Portsmouth, a
small assemblage of houses on the opposite side of the river, did not
share in the conflagration of Norfolk. From its situation it seemed
entitled to expect all the commerce of Elizabeth River; at its quays
the greatest depth of water is found. But at the conclusion of the
peace, the inhabitants, being incensed against the English, refused
to admit any merchant of that nation, or any newcomer whose political
principles were liable to suspicion. The consequence has been that the
inhabitants have removed to the opposite side; that Norfolk has been
rebuilt, and that its trade is twenty times more considerable than that
of Portsmouth.
“At the close of the year eighty-three there were not yet twelve houses
rebuilt at Norfolk. At present the number is between 700 and 800.
Last year the yellow fever is said to have carried off 500 persons
from a population of 4,000. The inhabitants of Norfolk, even those
among them who are the most opulent, fancy that the use of wine and
strong liquors furnishes them with a preservative. Previous to the
war the town is said to have contained 8,000 inhabitants. Norfolk
carries on a considerable trade with Europe, the Antilles, and the
Northern States. Her exports are wheat, flour, Indian corn, timber of
every kind, particularly planks, staves and shingles; salt meat and
fish, iron, lead, flaxseed, tobacco, tar, turpentine, hemp. All these
articles are the produce of Virginia, or of North Carolina, which
latter State, having no seaports, or none that are good, makes her
exportations principally through those of Virginia. This port almost
singly carries on all the commerce of that part of Virginia which lies
south of the Rappahannoc, and of North Carolina far beyond the Roanoke.
They are at present forming a canal which, passing through the Dismal
Swamp, is to unite the waters of the south branch of Elizabeth River,
or rather of Deep Creek, with Albemarle Sound. What must appear very
surprising is that for this canal, which already seems in such a state
of forwardness, no levels have been taken. It is thus almost all the
public works are carried on in America, where there is a total want of
men of talents in the arts, and where so many able men, who are perhaps
at this moment unemployed in Europe, might to a certainty make their
fortunes at the same time that they were rendering essential service to
the country.
“The European demand has within four years more than doubled the value
of the exports from Norfolk. A barrel of flour, whose medium value
in 1791 was $5.55, rose in 1795 to $9.35; and Indian corn was at 37
cents the bushel in 1791, at 54 in 1792, and at 66 in 1795. Exclusive
of the flour exported from Norfolk, there is drawn from the State,
through that and other ports, a great quantity of wheat, which is
taken by the merchants of Philadelphia and New York, or the millers of
Brandywine, who manufacture it into flour, which they export to Europe.
Good mills are not very common in Virginia. The exportation of tobacco
from Norfolk has by the diminution of the culture of that article in
Virginia, been reduced above one-third within the last five years. The
medium rate of house rent at Norfolk is $230. Many English commercial
houses are established at Norfolk. This year England procured from
Virginia a number of horses to mount the cavalry, which she proposes to
send to the French islands. Of 400 horses already shipped off, only 150
lived to reach the place of their destination.
“Agriculture can hardly be said to exist in Norfolk County or in
that of Princess Ann. The landed property is much divided, and the
inhabitants devote themselves rather to the selling of timber than to
the cultivation of the soil. In all these parts land is sold at from
$6 to $7 per acre; and often the value of the timber, which it offers
for the axe, amounts to four or five times the price of the original
purchase. From eighty to ninety vessels of different dimensions are
annually built at Norfolk. The price of building is, for the hull on
coming from the hands of the carpenter, $24 per ton for those above 120
tons. Ready for sea, they cost from $47 to $50 per ton. It was intended
that Norfolk should build one of the six frigates of which the United
States had determined to compose their marine. That which was to have
been built at Norfolk was among the number countermanded: it was begun
at Gosport, where there are dock yards for the construction of the
largest vessels. The communication between Norfolk and Portsmouth is
continual: it is carried on by six rowboats belonging to a company, and
by three scows, in which horses and carriages are conveniently ferried
over. The fare for each passenger is one-sixteenth of a dollar; but on
paying $6 a person may become free of the passage for twelve months.
To the port of Norfolk, above any other in the United States, came
the greatest number of colonists escaped from Saint Domingo. Private
subscriptions raised in all the towns of Virginia, together with
further sums voted by the State Legislature and by Congress, afforded
the unfortunate French incontestable proofs of the benevolence and
generosity of the Americans. Major William Lindsey, commissioner of
the Custom House, is, of all the inhabitants of Norfolk, the individual
with whom I have the most particular reason to be satisfied. He is
a man recommended by simplicity of manners and goodness of heart,
and is held in universal esteem. I am profoundly indebted to him for
information on a variety of subjects.
“A wherry, employed in transporting the mail from Norfolk to Hampton,
whence it is forwarded by land to Richmond, is the usual conveyance
for passengers who intend to pursue that route. In good weather the
passage is performed in two hours: we were ten hours in crossing for
want of wind. The Richmond mail arrives at Hampton, an inconsiderable
village, three times a week. Formerly there was a custom house
established here. In 1795 this was united with that of Norfolk. The
monument voted by Congress for erection at York Town is not even yet
begun. Such negligence is inconceivable, shameful and unaccountable. On
the opposite side of the river from York Town, in Gloucester County,
are annually built a considerable number of vessels. The highest
rents at York Town are from $80 to $100. Flour, an article which it
is difficult to procure, costs at present $15. From York Town to
Williamsburg land is sold at $4 or $5 the acre. The students at the
college in Williamsburg pay $14 to each professor whose course of
lessons they attend. Their board and lodging cost them from $100 to
$120. The lands about Williamsburg yield from eight to twelve bushels
of wheat per acre, or from twelve to fourteen of Indian corn. Those few
spots that are manured with dung produce double that quantity. Crowded
in the stage by ten passengers and their baggage, we did not arrive
at Richmond before 11 o’clock at night, though we had set out from
Williamsburg at 8 in the morning; the rain, which has been abundant
during the last two days, having rendered the roads very bad.
“The position of Richmond is truly agreeable. On the opposite side
of the river the country rises in a gentle aclivity; and the little,
but well-built town of Manchester, environed by cultivated fields,
which are ornamented by an infinite number of trees and dotted with
scattered houses, embellishes the sweet, variegated, agreeable and
romantic perspective. This town has prodigiously increased, but within
the last two or three years it has remained stationary. A few years
back a conflagration consumed almost all the lower part of the town. At
present there are few wooden houses at Richmond. The trade of this town
consists in the purchase of the country productions, and in selling at
second-hand the articles of domestic consumption, which are generally
procured from England. The number of merchants who carry on a direct
commerce with Europe is inconsiderable. They keep their ships at
Norfolk, and send down the produce of the country in smaller vessels.
The commission trade may be considered as the real business of the
place. It is from the merchants of Richmond or Petersburg that those
of Norfolk most commonly purchase the grain, flour and tobacco which
the latter export. The country produce is paid for by the merchants
in ready money or at short credit; they even frequently obtain it on
cheaper terms by furnishing the planters with an advance of money on
their crop. The Richmond merchants supply all the stores through an
extensive tract of back country. As they have a very long credit from
England, they can allow a similar indulgence of six, nine or twelve
months to the shop-keepers whom they supply. All the merchants deal in
bills of exchange on Europe.
“The falls of James River, which obstructed its navigation from
the distance of seven miles above Richmond, heretofore imposed the
necessity of employing land carriage for that space. At present a
canal, running parallel with the course of the river for those seven
miles, connects the communication by water, and opens a navigation
which extends without interruption 200 miles above Richmond. I have
seen one of the two mills at Richmond. It stands below the falls of the
river, receives a great power of water, and turns six pair of stones.
It is a fine mill, and unites the advantages of all the new inventions:
the cogs of the wheels are clumsily executed. It costs a yearly rent
of near $6,000 to Monsieur Chevalier, a Frenchman from Rochefort,
heretofore director of the French paquets to America, and now settled
in Virginia. Flour mills are more numerous at Petersburg than at
Richmond, and the mills there are also upon a good construction.
The exportations of Petersburg are more considerable than those of
Richmond, although generally speaking, the produce it receives is
inferior in quality. Tobacco, for instance, which sells at Richmond for
$6 or $7 the hundred weight, does not fetch quite $5 at Petersburg.
City Point, or Bermuda Hundred, is the spot where the custom house is
established for these two places. At half a mile from the custom house
stands the habitation of Mr. D. Randolph, who is fully entitled to
the reputation which he enjoys of being the best farmer in the whole
country.
“The inspection of tobacco in Virginia, and especially on James River,
is esteemed to be conducted with a degree of exactness and severity,
which contributes as much as the real superiority of the article itself
to keep up its price in the market. The hogsheads are broken at the
warehouse, and examined in every direction and in every part. The
tobacco is then repacked in its hogshead, which is branded with a hot
iron, marking the place of inspection and the quality of the contents.
The planter receives a certificate of the particulars. It is by selling
this ‘tobacconote’ to the merchant that the planter sells his tobacco.
The civil laws of Virginia have struck me as wisely ordained. The State
of Virginia has no public debt, except $100,000, in which she was found
debtor to the Union on the settlement of the accounts of the States
with the general government; and a claim made on the part of France for
arms and military stores furnished during the war. From the condition
of the finances of the State of Virginia it follows that the taxes
are by no means heavy. The counties impose no taxes, unless when they
have bridges, prisons or courthouses to build. The slave laws are much
milder here than in any of the other countries through which I have
hitherto traveled.
“On the 20th of June Mr. Guillemard and myself set out for the
mountains; Monticello, the habitation of Mr. Jefferson, was the object
of this part of our journey. Messrs. Graham & Havens, merchants of
Richmond, and owners of a coal mine at Dover, near by, were so kind
as to conduct us thither. This mine is scarcely wrought. There is not
one person throughout America versed in the art of working mines. The
country between Dover and Goochland Courthouse, where we stopped at
night, is more variegated than before; you find there more heights,
and some fine prospects, especially on Mount Pleasant, which commands
a wide extensive vale entirely cleared, and full of houses and clumps
of trees. This day was a court day at Goochland. It was near 9 o’clock
at night when I arrived. At the inn the company easily discerned that I
was a Frenchman. There arrived a large bowl of grog, and we drank one
after another, toasting the French, France, America, Virginia, and M.
de la Fayette, whose name they mentioned with enthusiasm. In spite of
my little disposition for drinking, I was obliged two or three times to
drink in my turn, for it was absolutely necessary to empty the bowl.
It was with great difficulty I prevented the arrival of a second. The
road grows duller after you leave Goochland Courthouse. The plantations
become constantly less frequent and less extensive. Inns are very
scarce on this road; the next is nearly seventeen miles distant from
that where we passed the night. I went a mile farther on, to stop at
one which I knew was kept by a Frenchman. After having spent nearly the
whole day there, we went ten miles farther on to an ordinary, where we
stopped for the night, and the next day proceeded to Monticello.
“Mr. Jefferson’s house commands one of the most extensive prospects you
can meet with; when finished by his new plan, it will certainly deserve
to be ranked with the most pleasant mansions in France or England.
He has divided all his land under culture into four farms, and every
farm into seven fields of forty acres. His system of rotation embraces
seven years. Mr. Jefferson possesses one of those excellent threshing
machines, which a few years since were invented in Scotland. He has a
drilling machine, invented in his own neighborhood. Mr. Jefferson, in
common with all landholders in America, imagines that his habitation
is more healthy than any other; that it is as healthful as any in
the finest parts of France. In private life Mr. Jefferson displays a
mild, easy, and obliging manner, though somewhat cold and reserved;
he possesses a stock of information not inferior to that of any other
man. His daughters have been educated in France, where they became
acquainted with my family. Fifteen hundred leagues from our native
country, in another world, and frequently given up to melancholy, we
fancy ourselves restored to existence when we hear our family and our
friends mentioned by persons who have known them.