manner in which Bacon's officers impressed men and horses for the Indian
campaign. One account even states (most likely without truth) that Bacon
himself had been in Gloucester upon this business. Berkeley was informed
of the feeling in that county and told that the settlers there were
loyal to him and would support him against Bacon. The old man hastened
to Gloucester, where he was presented with a petition complaining
bitterly of the loss of men and horses impressed for the Indian war, and
especially of the rowdy methods of "one Matthew Gale, one of Mr.
Bacon's chief commanders," and begging for protection "against any more
of these outrages." Sir William answered that the petition would be
"most willingly granted," for that he "felt bound" to preserve his
Majesty's subjects from the "outrages and oppressions to which they have
lately too much submitted by the tyranny and usurpation of Nathaniel
Bacon, Jun., who never had any commission from me but what, with armed
men, he extracted from the Assembly, which in effect is no more than if
a thief should take my purse and make me own I gave it him freely, so
that in effect his commission, whatever it is, is void in law and
nature, and to be looked upon as no value."
Encouraged by the attitude of the people of Gloucester, Governor
Berkeley at once began raising troops, ostensibly to go himself to fight
the Indians, but really to attack Bacon.
In the mean time, Bacon, in blissful ignorance of the fresh trouble
brewing for him, was marching on toward the Falls. They were reached
ere long, and all was now ready for the plunge into the wilderness where
the red horror lurked. He gathered his men about him and made them a
speech. He assured them of his loyalty to England and that his only
design was to serve his King and his country. Lest any should question
the means by which he had gotten his commission, he reminded them of the
urgency of the time and the "cries of his brethren's blood that alarmed
and wakened him to his public revenge." When he had finished speaking he
took the oath of "allegiance and supremacy," in the presence of all his
soldiers, had them to take it, and then gave them an oath of fidelity to
himself. By this oath they bound themselves to make known to him any
plot against the persons of himself or any of his men, of which they
might happen to hear; also, to have no communication with the Indians,
to send no news out of camp, and to discover all councils, plots, and
conspiracies of the Indians against the army.
VIII.
CIVIL WAR.
The cheers of assent which answered the commander's words died upon the
air, and the order to march was about to be given, when a messenger
posted into camp with the news that Governor Berkeley was in Gloucester
County raising forces to surprise Bacon and take his commission from him
by force. The doughty young General, unfailing of resources, and nothing
daunted even by this "amusing" message, promptly decided what he should
do. In obedience to his command, trumpet and drum again called his men
together that he might inform them that ere they could further pursue
the chase after their "dearest foe" they must turn backward again once
more to meet the even greater horrors of civil warfare--how instead of
leading them as he had supposed, only against the hated redskins, he
must now command that the sword of friend should be turned against
friend, brother against brother.
"Gentlemen and Fellow Soldiers," he said, "the news just now brought me
may not a little startle you as well as myself. But seeing it is not
altogether unexpected, we may the better hear it and provide our
remedies. The Governor is now in Gloucester County endeavoring to raise
forces against us, having declared us rebels and traitors; if true,
crimes indeed too great for pardon. Our consciences herein are best
witnesses, and theirs so conscious as like cowards therefore they will
not have the courage to face us. It is revenge that hurries them on
without regard to the people's safety, and had rather we should be
murdered and our ghosts sent to our slaughtered countrymen by their
actings than we live to hinder them of their interest[87:A] with the
heathen, and preserve the remaining part of our fellow-subjects from
their cruelties. Now then, we must be forced to turn our swords to our
own defence, or expose ourselves to their mercies, or fortune of the
woods, whilst his Majesty's country lies here in blood and wasting (like
a candle) at both ends. How incapable we may be made (if we should
proceed) through sickness, want of provisions, slaughter, wounds, less
or more, none of us is void of the sense hereof.
"Therefore, while we are sound at heart, unwearied, and not receiving
damage by the fate of war, let us descend to know the reasons why such
proceedings are used against us. That those whom they have raised for
their defense, to preserve them against the fury of the heathen, they
should thus seek to destroy, and to betray our lives whom they raised to
preserve theirs. If ever such treachery was heard of, such wickedness
and inhumanity (and call all the ages to witness) and if any, that they
suffered it in like manner as we are like by the sword and ruins of war.
"But they are all damned cowards, and you shall see they will not dare
to meet us in the field to try the justness of our cause, and so we
will down to them."
As the ringing notes of their commander's voice died away, a great shout
arose from the soldiers. "Amen! Amen!" they cried. "We are all ready to
die in the field rather than be hanged like rogues, or perish in the
woods exposed to the favors of the merciless Indians!" And without more
ado, they wheeled about and marched, a thousand strong, to meet their
pursuers.
There was, however, to be no battle that day. It is true, as has been
shown, that the Governor had raised forces under the pretense of going
himself to aid in the Indian warfare, but really for the purpose of
pursuing and surprising Bacon and (in true Indian-gift fashion) taking
the commission away from him. But as soon as the Governor's army
discovered for what service they were called out they bluntly, and with
one accord, refused to obey marching orders, and setting up a cheer of
"Bacon, Bacon, Bacon!" walked off the field--still (it is written)
muttering in time to their step, "Bacon, Bacon, Bacon!"
The poor old Governor, finding himself thus abandoned, his friends so
few, his cause so weak, his authority despised and his will thwarted at
every turn, "for very grief and sadness of spirit," fainted away in his
saddle. Soon enough he heard that Bacon was on the march toward
Gloucester to meet him, and finding himself utterly unprepared for the
encounter, he fled, in desperation, to Accomac County, upon the Eastern
Shore of Virginia, which, cut off as it is by the broad waters of the
Chesapeake, had not suffered from the Indian horrors that had fallen
upon the rest of the colony, and had remained loyal to the government.
Here Sir William found a welcome shelter, though, even while giving him
the balm of a hospitable greeting and according him the honor they
conceived to be due him as the King's representative, the people of
Accomac did not forbear to complain to him of the public abuses from
which they had suffered in common with the folk across the Bay.
As unsuccessful as was Berkeley's attempt to muster an army to oppose
Bacon, its consequences were dire. The "Royal Commissioners" appointed
to investigate and report upon the merits of Bacon's Rebellion condemned
it, declaring that nothing could have called back Bacon, "then the hopes
of the people," from his march against the Indians, or "turned the sword
of a civil war into the heart and bowels of the country, but so
ill-timed a project as this proved."
"Now in vain," say the Commissioners, "the Governor attempts raising a
force against Bacon, and although the industry and endeavors he used was
great, yet at this juncture it was impossible, for Bacon at this time
was so much the hopes and darling of the people that the Governor's
interest proved but weak." And so he "was fain to fly" to Accomac.
When at length Bacon reached Gloucester he found "the Governor fled and
the field his own," so he marched boldly, and without resistance, to the
"Middle Plantation," the very "heart and center" of the colony, and soon
to be chosen as the site for its new capital--storied Williamsburg.
Here the young "rebel" found himself lord of all he surveyed--the
Governor gone, and all Virginia, save the two counties on the Eastern
Shore, in his power. After quartering his soldiers he issued a
proclamation inviting all the gentlemen of Virginia to meet him at the
"Middle Plantation," and "consult with him for the present settlement of
that, his Majesty's distressed Colony, to preserve its future peace, and
advance the effectual prosecution of the Indian war."
In response to the summons a great company of people gathered, on the
third day of August, at the house of Mr. Otho Thorpe. From this
convention the real Rebellion is dated. An oath was drawn up, by Bacon,
to be taken by the people of Virginia, "of what quality soever,
excepting servants." By it the people were bound to aid their General
with their lives and estates in the Indian war; to oppose and hinder the
Governor's designs, "if he had any," and to resist any forces that might
be sent over from England to suppress Bacon until time was allowed to
acquaint his Majesty with the "grievances" of the colony, and to
receive a reply.
The oath was put into due form and read to the convention by the clerk
of the Assembly. A stormy debate, which lasted from midday until
midnight, followed. Some feared the oath (especially the clause
regarding resistance of the King's soldiers) to be a dangerous one.
Bacon, supported by many others, protested its innocency.
"The tenor of the oath" was declared in the report of the "Royal
Commissioners" to be as follows:
"1. You are to oppose what forces shall be sent out of England by his
Majesty against me, till such time I have acquainted the King with the
state of this country, and have had an answer.
"2. You shall swear that what the Governor and Council have acted is
illegal and destructive to the country, and what I have done is
according to the laws of England.
"3. You shall swear from your hearts that my commission is legal and
lawfully obtained.
"4. You shall swear to divulge what you have heard at any time spoken
against me.
"5. You shall keep my secrets and not discover them to any person."
The men foremost in urging the oath were Colonel Swann, Colonel Beale,
Colonel Ballard, and Squire Bray, of the Council, and Colonel Jordan,
Colonel Smith, Colonel Scarsbrook, Colonel Milner, Mr. Lawrence, and Mr.
Drummond--all of them gentlemen of standing in the colony.
Bacon himself pleaded hotly for the oath, and at last vowed that unless
it were taken he would surrender up his commission to the Assembly, and
"let them find other servants to do the country's work."
This threat decided the question. The oath was agreed to and was
administered by the regular magistrates in almost all of the counties,
"none or very few" dodging it.
Bacon's position, already so secure, was now made all the stronger by
the arrival of the "gunner of York fort," breathless with the tidings
that this, the "most considerablest fortress in the country," was in
danger of being surprised and attacked by the Indians, and imploring
help to prevent it. The savages had made a bold raid into Gloucester,
massacring some of the settlers of the Carter's Creek neighborhood, and
a number of the terror-stricken county folk had fled to York for refuge.
The fort could offer them little protection, however, for Governor
Berkeley had robbed it of its arms and ammunition, which he had stowed
away in his own vessel and sailed away with them in his flight to the
Eastern Shore.
FOOTNOTES:
[87:A] The fur trade.
IX.
THE INDIAN WAR-PATH AGAIN.
Bacon at once began making ready to continue his oft-interrupted Indian
campaign, but first, to be sure of leaving the country safe from
Berkeley's ire,--for he feared lest "while he went abroad to destroy the
wolves, the foxes, in the mean time, should come and devour the
sheep,"--he seized Captain Larrimore's ship, then lying in the James,
and manned her with two hundred men and guns. This ship he sent under
command of Captain Carver, "a person acquainted with navigation," and
Squire Bland, "a gentleman of an active and stirring disposition, and no
great admirer of Sir William's goodness," to arrest Sir William Berkeley
for the purpose of sending him--as those of earlier times had sent
Governor Harvey--home to England, to stand trial for his "demerits
toward his Majesty's subjects of Virginia," and for the "likely loss of
that colony," for lack of defence against the "native savages."
Before leaving "Middle Plantation" the Rebel issued a summons, in the
name of the King, and signed by four members of his Majesty's Council,
for a meeting of the Grand Assembly, to be held upon September 4, to
manage the affairs of the colony in his absence.
Jamestown he left under the command of Colonel Hansford, whom he
commissioned to raise forces for the safety of the country, if any
should be needed. He then set out, with a mind at rest, upon his Indian
warfare. The few who had had the hardihood to openly oppose his plans he
left behind him safe within prison bars; others, who were at first
unfriendly to him, he had won over to his way of thinking by argument;
while any that he suspected might raise any party against him in his
absence, he took along with him.
For the third time, then, he marched to the "Falls of James River,"
where it is written that he "bestirred himself lustily," to speedily
make up for lost time in carrying on the war against the Ockinagees and
Susquehannocks; but seems to have been unsuccessful in his search for
these tribes, which had probably fled far into the depths of the
wilderness to escape Bacon's fury, for he soon abandoned the chase after
them and marched over to the "freshes of York," in pursuit of the
Pamunkeys, whose "propinquity and neighborhood to the English, and
courses among them" was said to "render the rebels suspicious of them,
as being acquainted and knowing both the manners, customs and nature of
our people, and the strength, situation and advantages of the country,
and so, capable of doing hurt and damage to the English."
The "Royal Commissioners" condemn the pursuit of the Pamunkeys, saying
that "it was well known that the Queen of Pamunkey and her people had
ne'er at any time betrayed or injured the English," and adding, "but
among the vulgar it matters not whether they be friends or foes, so
they be Indians."
It is indeed evident that the war with the Indians was intended to be a
war of extermination, for by such war only did the Virginians believe
they would ever secure safety for themselves, their homes, and their
families.
Governor Berkeley himself had no faith in the friendship of the Indians,
however. While Bacon was gone upon his expedition against the
Ockinagees, the Governor sent forces under Colonel Claiborne and others
to the headwaters of Pamunkey River. They found there the Pamunkey
Indians established in a fort in the Dragon Swamp--probably somewhere
between the present Essex and King and Queen Counties. The red men said
that they had fled to this stronghold for fear of Bacon, but their
explanation did not satisfy the Governor, who declared that as soon as
his difficulty with Bacon was settled he would advance upon the fort
himself. The Queen of Pamunkey herself was in the fort, and when
requested by Berkeley to return to her usual place of residence said
"she most willingly would return to be under the Governor's protection,
but that she did understand the Governor and those gentlemen could not
protect themselves from Mr. Bacon's violence."
At the "freshes of York" Bacon was met and joined by "all the northern
forces from Potomac, Rappahannock, and those parts," under the command
of Colonel Giles Brent, and the two armies marched together to the
plantations farthest up York River, where they were brought to an
enforced rest by rainy weather, which continued for several days. Even
this dismal interruption could not chill Bacon's ardor, but it filled
him with anxiety lest the delay should cause his provisions to run
short.
Calling his men together he told them frankly of his fears, and gave all
leave to return to their homes whose regard for food was stronger than
their courage and resolution to put down the savages, and revenge the
blood of their friends and neighbors shed by them. He bade them (if
there were any such) with all speed begone, for, said he, he knew he
would find them the "worst of cowards, serving for number and not for
service," starving his best men, who were willing to "bear the brunt of
it all," and disheartening others of "half mettle."
In response to this speech, only three of the soldiers withdrew, and
these were disarmed and sent home.
The sullen clouds at length lifted, and the army tramped joyfully
onward. Ere long they struck into an Indian trail, leading to a wider
one, and supposed from this that they must be near the main camp of some
tribe. Some scouts were sent out, but reported only a continuation of
the wide path through the woods. The army broke ranks and, to save time,
and make the rough march under the sultry August sun as little
uncomfortable as possible, followed the trail at random. They soon came
in sight of a settlement of the Pamunkey tribe, standing upon a point of
high land, surrounded upon three sides by a swamp.
Some ten Indian scouts who served Bacon's army were sent ahead to
reconnoiter. The Pamunkeys, seeing the scouts, suffered them to come
within range of their guns, and then opened fire upon them. The report
of the guns gave the alarm to Bacon and his troops, who were about half
a mile distant, and who marched in great haste and confusion to the
settlement. The Indians took refuge in the edge of the swamp, which was
so miry that their pursuers could not follow, and the only result of the
chase, to the Englishmen, was the not over-glorious feat of killing a
woman and capturing a child.
It so happened that the "good Queen of Pamunkey," as the "Royal
Commissioners" styled her, with some of her chiefs and friends, was in
the neighborhood of the settlement. Being warned that Bacon and his men
were coming, she took fright and fled, leaving behind her provisions and
Indian wares, as a peace offering, and charging her subjects that if
they saw any "pale faces" coming they must "neither fire a gun nor draw
an arrow upon them." The "pale faces," in their chase, overtook an aged
squaw who had been the "good queen's" nurse, and took her prisoner,
hoping to make her their guide to the hiding-places of the Indians. She
led them in quite the opposite way, through the rest of that day and the
greater part of the next, however, until, in a rage at finding
themselves fooled, they brutally knocked her upon the head and left her
dead in the wilderness. They soon afterward came upon another trail
which led to a large swamp, where several tribes of Indians were
encamped, and made an attack upon them, but with small fruits, as the
red men took to their heels, and most of them made good their escape.
Bacon now found himself at the head of an army wearied by the rough
march through swamp and forest, weak for want of food, and out of heart
at the contemplation of their thus far bootless errand.
Moreover, the time appointed for the meeting of the Assembly was drawing
nigh, and he knew that the people at home were looking anxiously for the
return of their champion, and expecting glorious tidings of his
campaign. In this strait he gave the troops commanded by Colonel Brent
provisions sufficient for two days, and sent them, with any others who
were pleased to accompany them, home ahead of him, to make report of the
expedition and to carry the news that he would follow soon.
With the four hundred of his own soldiers that were left the
indefatigable Bacon now continued to diligently hunt the swamps for the
savages, for he was determined not to show his face in Jamestown again
without a story to tell of battles won and foes put to confusion. At
length he struck a trail on hard ground, which he followed for a great
distance without finding the "Indian enemy." What he did find was that
his provisions were almost entirely spent, which melancholy discovery
forced him to reduce rations to "quarter allowances." His pluck did not
desert him, however. In the depths of the wilderness, miles away from
white man's habitation, hungry and worn, and with four hundred wearied
and half-starved men looking entirely to him, his fortitude was still
unbroken, his faith in his mission undimmed, his heart stout.
Finally, he saw that the only hope of escape from death by starvation
was to reduce his numbers by still another division of his army. Drawing
the forlorn little band up before him he made the dark forest ring with
the eloquence that had never failed to quicken the hearts of his
followers and which made them eager to endure hardship under his
leadership.
"Gentlemen," he said, "the indefatigable pains which hitherto we have
taken doth require abundantly better success than as yet we have met
with. But there is nothing so hard but by labor and industry it may be
overcome, which makes me not without hope of obtaining my desires
against the heathen, in meeting with them to quit scores for all their
barbarous cruelties done us.
"I had rather my carcass should lie rotting in the woods, and never see
Englishman's face in Virginia, than miss of doing that service the
country expects of me, and I vowed to perform against these heathen,
which should I not return successful in some manner to damnify and
affright them, we should have them as much animated as the English
discouraged, and my adversaries to insult and reflect on me, that my
defense of the country is but pretended and not real, and (as they
already say) I have other designs, and make this but my pretense and
cloak. But that all shall see how devoted I am to it, considering the
great charge the country is at in fitting me forth, and the hopes and
expectation they have in me, all you gentlemen that intend to abide with
me must resolve to undergo all the hardships this wild can afford,
dangers and successes, and if need be to eat chinquapins and horseflesh
before he returns. Which resolve I have taken, therefore desire none but
those which will so freely adventure; the other to return in, and for
the better knowledge of them, I will separate my camp some distance from
them bound home."
Next morning, as the sun arose above the tree-tops it looked down upon
the divided forces--one body moving with heavy step, but doubtless
lightened hearts, toward Jamestown, the other pressing deeper into the
wilds.
A few hours after the parting Bacon's remnant fell upon a party of the
Pamunkey tribe, whom they found encamped--after the wonted Indian
fashion--upon a piece of wooded land bounded by swamps. The savages made
little show of resistance, but fled, the English giving close chase.
Forty-five Indian captives were taken, besides three horse-loads of
plunder, consisting of mats, baskets, shell-money, furs, and pieces of
English linen and cloth.
A trumpet blast was the signal for the prisoners to be brought together
and delivered up to Bacon, by whom some of them were afterward sold for
slaves while the rest were disposed of by Sir William Berkeley, saving
five of them, whom Ingram, Bacon's successor, presented to the Queen of
Pamunkey.
As for the poor queen, the story goes that she fled during the skirmish
between Bacon's men and her subjects, and, with only a little Indian boy
to bear her company, was lost in the woods for fourteen days, during
which she was kept alive by gnawing upon the "leg of a terrapin," which
the little boy found for her when she was "ready to die for want of
food."
X.
GOVERNOR BERKELEY IN ACCOMAC.
While Bacon was scouring the wilderness in his pursuit of the Indians,
the colony, which he was pleased to think he had left safe from serious
harms, was in a state of wildest panic.