successor, Governor Jeffreys--the same Jeffreys that had been a Royal
Commissioner--reminded the Virginians how the King had pardoned "all
persons whatever" that had engaged in the uprising, "except Bacon that
died and Lawrence that fled away," and added, "as his Majesty hath
forgot it himself, he doth expect this to be the last time of your
remembering the late Rebellion, and shall look upon them to be ill men
that rub the sore by using any future reproaches or terms of distinction
whatever."
XVI.
CONCLUSION.
And was Bacon's Rebellion, then, a failure? Far from it. Judged by its
results, it was indeed a signal success, for though the gallant leader
himself was cut down by disease at a moment when he himself felt that he
had but begun his work, though many of the bravest of his men paid for
their allegiance to the popular cause upon the scaffold, that cause was
won--not lost. Most of the people's grievances were relieved by the
reforms in the administration of the government, and the re-enactment of
Bacon's Laws made the relief permanent. The worst of all the
grievances--the Indian atrocities--was removed once and forever, for
Bacon had inspired the savages with a wholesome fear of the pale faces,
so that many of them removed their settlements to a safe distance from
their English neighbors, and a general treaty of peace, which seems to
have been faithfully kept, was effected with the others. And so the
colonists never had any more trouble with the red men until they began
to make settlements beyond the Blue Ridge.
According to a deposition made by "Great Peter, the great man of the
Nansemond Indians," the Weyanoke tribe, "when Bacon disturbed the
Indians," fled to their former settlements upon Roanoke River, in North
Carolina. In 1711 some "old men of the Nottaway Indians" upon being
asked if they knew anything of the return of the Weyanokes to Carolina
replied, "They did go thither for they were afraid of Squire Bacon, and
therefore were resolved to go to their own land."
Lovely woman flits in and out through the whole story of Bacon's
Rebellion, touching up the narrative here and there with the interest
her presence always creates. First there is the fair and fascinating
young wife of Sir William Berkeley, said to have turned his head in his
old age. A beautiful portrait of her remains to make excuses for the
bewitched husband's weakness. She seems to have been capable of
excessive irony upon occasion. The Royal Commissioners indignantly
complained that when they went ashore and called upon Lady Frances
Berkeley she received them courteously and sent them back to the wharf,
in state, in the Governor's coach, but they afterward found that the
coachman she chose to drive them was the "common hangman."
Then there is the brave-hearted young bride of the Rebel, trembling with
fears for his safety, no doubt, but exulting in his popularity, and
writing home to tell about it.
We have a series of characteristic pictures in the dusky "Queen of
Pamunkey" upbraiding the Virginians for the death of her consort, the
"mighty Totapotamoy"; the house-wives running out of their homes to see
the victorious Rebel pass and heap him with blessings and gifts of food;
the white-aproned ladies guarding the Rebel fort from the guns of their
own husbands, and, at the end of all, the wife of Major Cheesman upon
her knees before the Governor, praying to be hanged in her husband's
place. Madam Sarah Drummond seems to have been as ardent an admirer of
Bacon as her husband. When others were hesitating for fear of what his
Majesty's "red-coats" might do, she picked up a stick and broke it in
two, saying, "I fear the power of England no more than a broken straw."
The only child left by Nathaniel Bacon was a daughter, Mary, born a
short time before or after his death, and through her many can claim
descent from the Rebel, though none of them bear his name. She grew, in
due time, to womanhood, and married, in England, Hugh Chamberlain, a
famous doctor of medicine and physician to Queen Anne, and became the
mother of three daughters. The eldest of these, Mary, died a spinster,
the second, Anna Maria, became the wife of the Right Honorable Edward
Hopkins, who was a Member of Parliament for Coventry in the time of
William III and Anne, and Secretary of State for Ireland. The third
daughter, Charlotte, married Richard Luther, Esq., of Essex, England.
Young Madam Bacon, so early and tragically widowed, was married twice
afterward--first becoming Madam Jarvis and later Madam Mole. Devoid of
romance as this record sounds, her first love affair and marriage had
not been without a strong flavor of that captivating element. The young
woman's father, Sir Edward Duke, for reasons unknown, opposed the match
with "Nat" Bacon and provided in his will that his bequest to her of
L2,000 should be forfeited if she should persist in marrying "one
Bacon." That Mistress Elizabeth gave up her fortune for him, is but
another proof of the Rebel's charm.
Later, as Madam Jarvis, she and her husband brought suit for a share in
her father's estate, but the Lord Chancellor decided against her, and
gave as his opinion that her father had been right--"such an example of
presumptuous disobedience highly meriting such punishment; she being
only prohibited to marry with one man by name, and nothing in the whole
fair garden of Eden would serve her but this forbidden fruit."
Had Nathaniel Bacon's life been spared, who can say what its
possibilities might or might not have been? His brief career was that of
a meteor--springing in the twinkling of an eye into a dazzling being,
dashing headlong upon its brilliant way, then going out in mystery,
leaving only the memory of an existence that was all fire and motion. If
he had lived a hundred years later the number of heroes of the American
Revolution would doubtless have been increased by one--and his name
would have been at the top of the list, or near it.
For about two hundred years after the episode of Bacon's Rebellion, in
the history of Virginia, there was no light by which to view it other
than such as was afforded by a few meagre accounts of persons opposed to
it. It is only by the most painstaking and judicious sifting of these
contemporary and sometimes vexingly conflicting statements, diligent
study of the period, and research into official colonial records, of
late years unearthed, that the truth of the matter can be arrived at.
Unveiled by such investigation, the character of Bacon seems to have
been (while of course he had his faults like other mortals)
self-sacrificing to a heroic degree, sincere, unmercenary, and
high-minded. If otherwise, it nowhere is revealed, even by the
chronicles of his enemies, who while they frown upon his course cannot
hide their admiration of the man. Such of his followers as lived to tell
the story of the struggle from their own point of view doubtless dared
not commit it to paper. If his intrepid and accomplished friends,
Drummond and Lawrence, had lived, they might have left some testimony
which would have prevented the world from misjudging him as it did
through so many generations, though, after all, no musty document could
speak so clearly in his behalf as does the fact that they like so many
others, were ready to give their lives for him. A fire-brand! Perhaps
so; for some sores caustic is a necessary remedy. Profane? That he
undoubtedly was, but plain speech was a part of the time he lived in,
and a people settled in a wilderness and driven to desperation by hard
times and the constant fear of violent death would hardly have chosen
for their leader in a movement to redress their wrongs a man of mincing
manners or methods. The only memorial of him left by a friendly hand,
now remaining, is a bit of rhyme entitled, "Bacon's Epitaph made by his
man," which truly prophesied,
"None shall dare his obsequies to sing
In deserv'd measures, until time shall bring
Truth crown'd with freedom, and from danger free
To sound his praise to all posterity."
_APPENDIX._
_Original Sources of Information for "The Story of Bacon's Rebellion."_
Most of the official records and other contemporary manuscript
documents--including private letters--which supply material for a
history of Bacon's Rebellion have been printed and copies of them may be
found in collections of _Virginiana_ owned by historical societies and
libraries.
No one of these documents, however, sheds more than an imperfect
side-light upon this interesting subject. To understand the man Bacon,
and the merits of the rebellion led by him, familiarity with all
contemporary evidences, and a painstaking sifting of them, is necessary.
From the aforesaid evidences the author of this modest work has made a
sincere attempt to draw the real facts, bit by bit, and to patch them
together into a true story.
The items of the list which here follows have not been arranged in
chronological order--indeed, a number of the most important papers bear
no date. The collections where the original manuscripts may be or once
could have been found are indicated by italics. In some instances it has
been impossible to locate the original.
The British Public Record Office is referred to as P. R. O. and Colonial
Papers and Colonial Entry Books mentioned are classes of records in that
great depository.
The list does not include the abstracts in the English Calendar of State
Papers, and the acts in Hening's Statutes at Large of Virginia. All the
papers referred to are full copies.
_THE LIST._
The Beginning, Progress and Conclusion of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia
in the year 1675 and 1676. Known as "T. M's" account--printed in the
_Richmond (Va.) Enquirer_, Sept., 1804, from the original, formerly in
the _Harleian Collection_, subsequently included in _Force's Tracts_.
An account of our late troubles in Virginia written in 1676 by Mrs. An.
Cotton of Q. Creeke. Published from the original manuscript in the
_Richmond Enquirer, Sept. 1804, and afterward in Force's Tracts_.
A Narrative of the Indian and Civil Wars in Virginia in the year 1675
and 1676. A manuscript found among the papers of Captain Nathaniel
Burwell of King William County, Virginia, first printed in Vol. 1, 2nd
Series, _Massachusetts Historical Society Collection_.
A List of those that have been Executed for the Late Rebellion in
Virginia by Sir William Berkeley, Governor of that Colony. Printed in
_Force's Tracts_ from the original manuscript in the _British Museum_
(_Harleian Collection_, Codex 6845, page 54) copied by _Robert Greenhow,
Esq., of Virginia_.
Strange Newse from Virginia, &c. (Printed) London, 1677.
Nathaniel Bacon's acknowledgement of offences, and request for pardon,
June 9, 1676. _General Court "Deeds and Wills, 1670-1677."_ _Hening's
Statutes at Large of Virginia_, II, 543.
A True Narrative of the Rise, Progress and Cessation of the Late
Rebellion in Virginia. * * * By His Majesty's Commissioners. _P. R. O.
Col. Papers_, XLI, 79. Va. Mag. Hist. & Biog., IV., 117-154.
Defence of Colonel Edward Hill. _P. R. O._ Va. Mag. Hist. & Biog., III,
239-252, 341-349; IV, 1-15.
Charles City County Grievances, May 10, 1677. _P. R. O._ Va. Mag. Hist.
& Biog., III, 132-160.
William Byrd's Relation of Bacon's Rebellion. Century Magazine (Edward
Eggleston), Va. Mag. Hist. & Biog., V, 220.
Council and General Court Records. _Robinson Notes._ Va. Mag., VIII,
411, 412; IX, 47, 306.
Bacon's Rebellion in Surry, County Court proceedings, July 4, 1677.
_Surry Records._ Wm. & Mary Quarterly, 125-126.
Bacon's Rebellion in Westmoreland County, depositions, &c., in regard
to, Oct. 21, Nov. 25, 1676, &c. _Westmoreland Records._ Wm. & Mary
Quarterly, II, 43-49.
Extracts from the records of Lower Norfolk County in regard to Capt.
William Carver, June 15, 1675, Jan. 15, 1676. _Lower Norfolk Records._
Wm. & Mary Quarterly, III, 163-164.
Bacon's Rebellion in Isle of Wight County, entries in county records
relating to, May 22, and July 14, 1677. _Isle of Wight Records._ Wm. &
Mary Quarterly, IV, 111-115.
Indian War, Orders of Northumberland County Court in regard to, July 4th
and 19th, and Sept. 20, 1676. _Northumberland Records._ Wm. & Mary
Quarterly, VIII, 24-27.
Grievances of Cittenborne Parish, Rappahannock County, March, 1677. _P.
R. O. Col. Papers_, Vol. XXIX, Nos. 62-63, also _Col. Entry Book_,
LXXXI, pp. 300-302. Va. Mag., III, 35-42.
Isle of Wight County Grievances, March, 1677. _P. R. O. Col. Papers_,
Vol. XXIX, Nos. 82-83, and _Col. Entry Bk._, Vol. LXXXI, pp. 316-319.
Va. Mag., II, 390-392.
Gloucester County Grievances, March, 1677. _P. R. O. Col. Pap._, Vol.
XXIX, No. 94, and _Col. Entry Bk._ No. 81, pp. 325-327. Va. Mag. II,
166-169.
Lower Norfolk County Grievances, March, 1677. _P. R. O. Col. Pap._, Vol.
XXIX, No. 95, and _Col. Entry Bk._ No. 81, pp. 327-328. Va. Mag., II,
169-170.
Surry County Grievances, March, 1677. _P. R. O. Col. Pap._, Vol. XXIX,
Nos. 69-70, and _Col. Entry Bk._, Vol. 81, pp. 304-307. Va. Mag., II,
170-173.
Northampton County Grievances, March, 1677. _P. R. O. Col. Pap._, Vol.
XXIX, No. 74, 75, and _Col. Entry Bk._, Vol. 81, pp. 309-312. Va. Mag.
289-292.
A Description of the fight between the English and the Indians in May,
1676. _Egerton MSS._, 2395. Wm. & Mary Quarterly, IX, 1-4.
Letter, Philip Ludwell, Va., June 28, 1676, to Sir Joseph Williamson.
_P. R. O. Col. Pap._, Vol. XXXVII, No. 16. Va. Mag. I, 174-186.
Letters, William Sherwood, James City, June 1 and 28, 1676, to Sir
Joseph Williamson. _P. R. O. Col. Papers_, Vol. XXXVII, No. 1 and No.
17. Va. Mag. I, 167-174.
Letter, Virginia, June 29, 1676, from the wife of Nathaniel Bacon to her
sister. _Egerton MSS._, 2325. Va. Mag., V, 219-220. Wm. & Mary
Quarterly, IX, 4-5.
Mr. Bacon's Account of the Troubles in Virginia, June 18, 1676. _Egerton
MSS._, 2395. Wm & Mary Quarterly, IX, 6-10.
Charter of Virginia, dated Oct. 10, 1676 (but never granted). _Bland
MSS., Library of Congress and contemporary copy, Va. Historical
Society._ Hening II, 532, 533; Burk's Virginia, II, lxii.
Proclamation by Charles II, Westminster, Oct. 10, 1676, granting pardon
to the Governor and Assembly and other subjects in Virginia. _Pat. Roll,
28 Car._ II, No. 11. Hening II, 423-424.
Letter, Governor Berkeley, Nov. 29, 1676, to Major Robert Beverley,
_Beverley MSS._ Hening III, 568.
General Court Proceedings, Sept. 28, 1677 (in regard to the Rebellion).
_General Court Records._ Hening II, 557.
General Court Proceedings, Oct. 26, 1677. _General Court Records._
Hening II, 557-558.
Bacon's Rebellion, Depositions, Nov. 15, 1677, in regard to Col. Thomas
Swann's Conduct in. _Surry Records._ Wm. & Mary Quarterly, XI, 80-81.
Mrs. Bird's Relation, who lived Nigh Mr. Bacon in Virginia * * *
_Egerton MSS._, 2395. Wm. & Mary Quarterly, IX, 10.
Proposals of Thos. Ludwell and Robert Smith, to the king, for reducing
the rebels in Virginia [1676]. _P. R. O._ Va. Mag. I, 432-435.
Petition of Thomas Bacon (father of Nathaniel) to the King, June (?)
1676. _P. R. O. Col. Pap._, Vol. XXXVII, No. 15. Va. Mag., I, 430-431.
Proceedings of Court Martial on board ship in York River, Jan. 11,
1676-77. _General Court Records._ Hening II, 545-546.
Proceedings of Court Martial on board ship in York River, Jan. 12,
1676-77. _General Court Records._ Hening II, 546.
Proceedings of Court Martial at Green Spring, Jan. 24, 1676-77. _General
Court Records._ Hening II, 547-548.
Proceedings of Court Martial at Bray's House, Jan. 20, 1676-77. _General
Court Records._ Hening II, 546-547.
A True and faithful account in what condition we found your Majesty's
Colony of Virginia, of our transactions, &c., signed by the
Commissioners Berry and Moryson. _P. R. O. Col. Pap._, Vol. XXXVII, No.
51. 427. Burk's Virginia II, 253-259.
Proceedings of Court Martial at Green Spring, Jan. 24, 1676-77. _General
Court Records._ Hening II, 547-548.
Proceedings of General Court at Green Spring, March 1, 1676-77. _General
Court Records._ Hening II, 548.
Proceedings of General Court at Green Spring, March 8, 1676-77. _General
Court Records._ Hening II, 549-550.
Proceedings of General Court at Green Spring, March 9, 10, 15, 16, 17,
22, 1676-77. _General Court Records._ Hening II, 550-556.
Nathaniel Bacon's Manifesto Concerning the present troubles in Virginia
(_n. d._) _P. R. O. Col. Pap._, Vol. XXXVII, No. 51. Va. Mag. I, 55-58.
The Declaration of the People, By Bacon. Aug. 3, 1676. _P. R. O._, Vol.
XXXVII, No. 41. Va. Mag., I, 59-61. Mass. Hist. Soc. Collections, 4th
Series, Vol. IX, 184-186.
Bacon's Appeal to the People of Accomac (_n. d._). _P. R. O. Col. Entry
Bk._, Vol. 81, pp. 254-263. Va. Mag., I, 61-63.
Orders of the General Assembly at Session begun Feb. 26, 1676-77.
_Northumberland Co. MS._ Hening II, 401-406.
Additional instructions from the King to Governor Berkeley, Whitehall,
Nov. 13, 1676. _P. R. O. Col. Entry Bk._, Vol. 80, pp. 111-114. (In the
English Cal. Col. State Papers, these instructions are dated Oct. 13; in
Hening, Nov. 13.) Hening II, 424-426.
Surry County, submission of Bacon's followers in, Feb. 6, 1677. _Surry
Records._ Wm. & Mary Quarterly, XI, 79-80.
Testimony of Governor Berkeley in regard to Robert Beverley's services
during the Rebellion, Northampton Co., Nov. 13, 1676. _Beverley MS._
Hening III, 567.
Letter, Governor Berkeley, Jan. 18, 1676 (7), to Robert Beverley.
_Beverley MS._ Hening III, 569.
Letter, Governor Berkeley, Jan. 21, 1676-77, to Robert Beverley.
_Beverley MS._ Hening III, 569.
The Petition of the County of Gloucester, July, 1676, to Sir William
Berkeley, and his answer. _Chalmers (Aspinwall) Papers._ Mass. Hist.
Col., 4th Series, Vol. IX, 181-184.
The Declaration and Remonstrance of Sir William Berkeley, May 29, 1676.
_Chalmers (Aspinwall) Papers._ Mass. Hist. Col., 4th Series, Vol. IX,
178-181.
The Opinion of Council of Virginia Concerning Mr. Bacon's Proceedings,
May 29, 1676. _Chalmers (Aspinwall) Papers._ Mass. Hist. Col., 4th
Series, Vol. IX, pp. 177-178.
Virginia's Deploured Condition. Or an Impartial Narrative of the Murders
Committed by the Indians there, and the sufferings * * * under the
Rebellious outrages of Mr. Nath. Bacon, Jr. * * * to the tenth day of
August, 1676. _Chalmers (Aspinwall) Papers._ Mass. Hist. Col., 4th
Series, Vol. IX, 162-176.
A dialogue between the Rebel Bacon and one Goode as it was presented to
* * * Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia. _P. R. O. Col. Entry
Bk._, lxxi. pp. 232-240. Goode's "Our Virginia Cousins."
A Review, Breviarie and Conclusion, being a Summarie account of the late
rebellion in Virginia. _P. R. O. Col. Entry Bk._, Vol. 81, pp. 411-419.
Burk's Virginia, II, 250-253.
Letter, Giles Bland, James Town, April 20, 1676, to Charles Berne
(England). Burk's Virginia II, 245-249.
Letter, Francis Moryson, London, Nov. 28, 1677, to Thomas Ludwell.
Burk's Virginia II, 265-270.
Letter, Charles II, Oct. 22, 1677, to Governor Jeffreys. Burk's Virginia
II, 264-265.
Vindications of Sir William Berkeley (1676). _Randolph MS._, Va. Hist.
Soc. Va. Mag. VI, 139-144. Burk's Virginia, II, 259-264.
List of persons who suffered in Bacon's Rebellion, report by the
Commissioners, Oct. 15, 1677. _P. R. O. Col. Entry Bk._, Vol. 81, pp.
353-357. Va. Mag. Hist. & Biog. V, 64-70.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
On page 42, the name "Skipton" is used while page 43 has "Skippon". If
this is the same person, the name on page 42 is spelled incorrectly.
Skippon is listed as the name of the author of an article in
"Churchill's Voyages".
The following corrections have been made to the text:
Page 21: Assembly chosen in 1662[original has 1862]
Page 109: GOVERNOR BERKELEY[original has BERKELY] IN ACCOMAC.
Page 120: neck of land, thus cutting[original has cuting] off
all communication
Page 133: triumph was marked by dignity[original has diginity]
Page 146: upon her knees pleaded[original has plead] that she
Page 159: grievous and burdensome to the country,"[quotation
mark missing in the original]
Page 171: _Original Sources of Information for "The Story of
Bacon's Rebellion._"[quotation mark missing in original]
Page 176: _Egerton MSS._, 2395. Wm.[period missing in
original] & Mary Quarterly, IX, 1-4.
Page 177: _Egerton MSS._, 2395. Wm. & Mary Quarterly,[comma
missing in original] IX, 10.
Page 179: Vol. 81, pp.[period missing in original] 254-263