9545
*** "This gallant officer and upright man served his country with reputation in the field and Senate of his native state. He took an active part and had a principal share in the war of the Revolution, and acquired great distinction at the battles of Great Bridge, Brandywine. Germantown, Camden, Guilford, and the siege of York; and although zealous in the cause of American freedom, his conduct was not marked with the least degree of malevolence or party spirit. Those who honestly differed with him in opinion he always treated with singular tenderness. In strict integrity, honest patriotism, and immovable courage, he was surpassed by none, and had few equals." He died on the seventeenth of August, 1820, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.
Close of the Battle.—Terror of the Captives.—Norfolk entered by the Americans.—Dunmore's Threat.
left, and flanked the enemy with so much vigor that a route ensued and the battle ended. The enemy left their two field-pieees behind, but took care to spike them with nails, and fled in confusion to their fort on the Norfolk side. The battle lasted only about twenty-five minutes, but was very severe. The number of the enemy slain is not precisely known. Thirty-one killed and wounded fell into the hands of the patriots, and many were carried away by their friends. Gordon says their whole loss was sixty-two. They fought desperately, for they preferred death to captivity, Dunmore having assured them that, if they were caught alive, the savage Virginians would scalp them. * It is a remarkable fact that not a single Virginian was killed during the engagement, and only one man was slightly wounded in the hand, notwithstanding the two field-pieces upon the island hurled double-headed shot as far as the church, and cannonaded them with grape-shot as they approached their redoubt. The wounded who fell into the hands of the Virginians were treated with the greatest tenderness, except the Tories, who were made to feel some of the rigors of war.
The repulse of the British at Great Bridge greatly exasperated Dunmore, who had remained in safety at Norfolk; and in his rage he swore he would hang the boy that brought the tidings. The motley forces of his lordship were dispirited by the event, and the Loyalists refused further service in arms unless they could act with regulars. The Virginians, on the other hand, were in high spirits, and Colonel Woodford determined to push forward and take possession of the city. He issued a pacific proclamation to the people of Princess Anne and Norfolk counties, and many of the inhabitants repaired to his camp. Those who had joined Dunmore on compulsion, were treated kindly; those who volunteered their services were each hand-cuffed to a negro fellow-soldier and placed in confinement.
On the fourteenth,Dec. 1775five days after the battle at the bridge, Woodford entered the city in triumph, and the next morning, Colonel (afterward General) Robert Howe, with a North Carolina regiment, joined them, and assumed the command of all the patriot forees. Dunmore, in the mean while, had caused the intrenchments at Norfolk to be abandoned, the twenty pieces of cannon to be spiked, and invited the Loyalists and their families to take refuge with him in the ships of the fleet. The poor negroes who had joined his standard were left without care or protection, and many starved.
Distress soon prevailed in the ships; famine menaced them with its keen fangs. Parties sent on shore to procure provisions from the neighboring country were eut off', or greatly annoyed by the Virginians, and supplies for the multitude of mouths became daily more precarious. The ships were galled by a desultory fire from the houses, and their position became intolerable. At this juncture the Liverpool frigate, from Great Britain, came into the harbor, and gave boldness to Governor Dunmore. By the captain of the Liverpool, he immediately sent a flag to Colonel Howe, commanding him to cease firing upon the ships and supply the fleet with provisions, otherwise he should bombard the town. The patriots answered by a flat refusal, and the governor prepared to execute his barbarous threat. On the morning of the thirty-first of December,1775Dunmore gave notice of his design, in order that women and children, and the Loyalists still remaining, might retire to a place of safety. At four o'clock on the morning of the first of January,1776the Liverpool, ** Dunmore, and two sloops of war, opened a heavy cannonade upon the town,
* "The prisoners expected to be scalped," wrote a correspondent of the Virginia Gazette, and cried out, "For God's sake, do not murder us /" One of them, unable to walk, cried out in this manner to one of our men, and was answered by him, "Put your arm around my neck, and I will show what I intend to do." Then taking him, with his arm over his neck, he walked slowly along, bearing him with great tenderness, to the breast-work."—Virginia Gazette, December 14, 1775; Gordon, Ramsay, Botta, Girardin, Howison.
** It was a shot from this vessel which struck the corner of St. Paul's Church, referred to on a preceding page.
Destruction of Norfolk.—Distress.—Disposition of the American Troops.—Dunmore at Gwyn's Island.—General Lewis.
and parties of marines and sailors went on shore and set fire to the warehouses. The wind was blowing' from the water, and the buildings being chiefly of wood and filled with pitch and turpentine, the greater part of the compact portion of the city was in flames before midnight. The conflagration raged for fifty hours, and the wretched inhabitants, Whigs and Tories, saw their property and homes licked up by the consumer, and their heads made shelterless in the cold winter air, without the power of staying the fury of the destroyer or saving the necessaries of life. Not content with laying the town in ashes, the petty Nero heightened the terror of the scene and the anguish of the people by a cannonade from the ships during the conflagration. Parties of musketeers, also, went to places where people were collected and attacked them. Horror reigned supreme, and destitution in its worst features there bore rule. Yet a kind Providence guarded the lives of the smitten inhabitants; and during the three days of terror while the fire raged, and cannon-balls were hurled into the town in abundance, not one of the patriot troops were killed, and only three or four women and children were slain in the streets. Seven persons were wounded. * The invading parties were uniformly driven back to their ships with loss. In these repulses the intrepid Stevens was conspicuous, and displayed all the courage of a veteran soldier.
Colonel Stevens and his little band remained upon the site of Norfolk, until February,1776when, having removed the families and appraised the dwellings which remained, he caused them to be destroyed, that the enemy might have no shelter. Thus the most flourishing town in Virginia was made an utter desolation; ** but its eligible location insured its phonix-like resurrection, and again, when peace returned, "beauty for ashes" soon characterized the spot. Howe divided his troops; some were stationed at Kemp's Landing, some at the Great Bridge, and others in Suffolk, whither most of the fugitives from the city fled, and found open-handed hospitality in the interior.
Dunmore's movements on the coast compelled the Virginians to exercise the most active vigilance. After Howe abandoned the site of Norfolk, the fugitive governor erected barracks there, but being prevented from obtaining supplies from the neighboring country, he destroyed them, sailed down the Elizabeth River, and after maneuvering for a while in Hampton Roads,May, 1776he finally landed upon Gwyn's Island, in Chesapeake Bay, on the east side of Matthew's county, near the mouth of the Piankatank River. This island contains about two thousand acres, and was remarkable for its fertility and beauty. Dunmore's force consisted of about five hundred men, white and black. He cast up some intrenchments, and built a stockade fort, with the evident intention of making that his place of rendezvous while plundering and desolating the plantations on the neighboring coast.
General Andrew Lewis, *** then in command of a brigade of Virginia troops, was sent by the Committee of Safety to dislodge Dunmore. On the eighth of July, he erected two batteries (one mounting two eighteen pounders, and the other bearing lighter guns), nearly opposite the point on the island where the enemy was encamped. The next morning,July 9, 1776at eight o'clock, Lewis gave the signal for attack, by applying a match, himself, to
* Virginia Gazette, January, 1776. Burk, iii., 451. Howison, ii., 109.
** When Dunmore destroyed Norfolk, its population was six thousand, and so rapidly was it increasing in business and wealth, that in the two years from 1773 to 1775, the rents in the city increased from forty thousand to fifty thousand dollars a year. The actual loss by the cannonade and conflagration was estimated at fifteen hundred thousand dollars; the personal suffering was inconceivable.
9547
*** Andrew Lewis was a native of Augusta county, in Virginia. With five brothers, he was in the battle when Braddock was defeated, and continued active during ihe war. He was a major in Washington's Virginia regiment, and was highly esteemed by him for his courage and skill. He was the commander, as already noticed on page 487, at the battle of Point Pleasant, in 1774. When Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental army, he recommended Lewis as one of the major generals, but he was overlooked. He accepted the office of a brigadier general, and commanded a detachment of the army stationed near Williamsburg. He drove Dunmore from Gwyn's Island in 1776, and resigned his command on account of illness in 1780. He died in Bedford county, forty miles from his home, on the Roanoke, while on his way thither. General Lewis was more than six feet in height, and possessed great personal dignity.
Attack upon Dunmore.—His Flight.—Distress upon Gwyn's Island.—Destruction of Properly by Collier and Matthews.
an eighteen pounder. The ball passed through the hull of the Dunmore, which was lying five hundred yards distant; a second shot cut her boatswain in twain, and a third shivered one of her timbers, a splinter from which struck Lord Dunmore, wounded his leg, and smashed his china. Both batteries then opened upon the governor's fleet, camp, and works. Terror now prevailed in the fleet, and confusion in the camp. Almost every ship slipped its cables, and endeavored to escape. Dunmore's batteries were silenced; the tents of his camp were knocked down, and terrible breaches were made in his stockade. The assailants ceased firing at nine o'clock, but no signal of surrender being given, it was renewed at meridian.
Early on the following morning, having collected some small craft in the neighborhood, Lewis ordered Colonel M'Clanahan, with two hundred men, to cross to the island. The enemy evacuated before the Virginian's landed, and fled to the ships, leaving their dead and many wounded behind them. A horrible scene was there presented. Half-putrefied bodies lay in almost uncovered shallow graves, and the dying, scattered in various directions, were filling the air with their groans. The island was dotted with graves, for the small-pox and fevers had raged with great violence in the fleet and in the camp for some time. Some were burned in the brush huts, which took fire; and others, abandoned to their fate, had crawled to the sandy beach and were perishing. Only one man of the assailants was killed; Captain Arundel, who was slain by the bursting of a mortar of his own invention. The loss of the enemy could not be ascertained, but it must have been considerable.
On leaving the island, Dunmore caused several of his vessels, which were aground, to be burned, and with the remnants of his fleet he sailed out of the Chesapeake, entered the Potomac, and, after plundering and desolating several plantations on that river, above Aquia Creek, * he returned to Lynn Haven Bay, where he dismissed some of the ships for the Bermudas, some to the West Indies, and some to St. Augustine, with booty, among which was almost a thousand slaves. He soon joined the naval force in New York, and toward the close of the year sailed for England. **
After the departure of Dunmore, the Virginia coast enjoyed comparative quiet until 1779,May 9when a British fleet, under Admiral Sir George Collier, entered Hampton Roads. He sailed up the Elizabeth River and attacked Fort Nelson, which had been erected by the Virginians a little below Portsmouth to secure that place, Norfolk, and the navy-yard at Gosport from attack. The fort was garrisoned by about one hundred and fifty men under Major Thomas Matthews, who, on the approach of Collier, and General Matthews, who commanded the British land forces, abandoned it, and retreated to the Dismal Swamp, leaving the American flag flying from the ramparts. The British took possession of Portsmouth, Norfolk, Gosport, and Suffolk, on the eleventh, all being abandoned by the Virginians. Great quantities of stores, ammunition and cannons, fell into the hands of the invaders. A large quantity of naval stores were carried away; the residue, and a great quantity of tobacco, were burned or otherwise destroyed. *** After pillaging Portsmouth and destroying Suffolk, the fleet, with General Matthews and his land forces, went to sea, returned to New York, and assisted Sir Henry Clinton in taking possession of the fortresses on Stony and Verplanck's Points, on the Hudson.
* Sec page 419.
** Dunmore never returned to the United States. He went to Europe, and two years afterward was appointed governor of Bermuda. He was very unpopular, and did not long remain there. He died in England in 1809. His wife was Lady Charlotte Stewart, daughter of the Earl of Galloway.
*** The amount of property destroyed in this expedition up the Elizabeth River was very great. Previous to the abandonment of Portsmouth and Gosport, the Americans burned a ship-of-war of twenty-eight guns, then on the stocks, and two heavily-laden French merchantmen. One of these contained a thousand hogsheads of tobacco. Several vessels of war were taken on the stocks, and also several merchantmen. The whole number of vessels taken, burned, and destroyed amounted to one hundred and thirty-seven. They were laden with tobacco, tar, and turpentine. Many privateers were captured or destroyed. At Suffolk, nine thousand barrels of salted pork, eight thousand barrels of tar, pitch, and turpentine, and a vast quantity of stores and merchandise, were burned.
Leslie's Expedition.—Deep Creek and Dismal Swamp.—Drummond's Lake.—Moore's Poem.
Again, in 1780, hostile vessels were in the Elizabeth River. Brigadier-general Leslie, with about three thousand troops from New York, landed at Portsmouth,Oct.and took possession of every kind of public property there and in the vicinity. Leslie was to co-operate with Cornwallis, who proposed to enter Virginia from the south. He did not remain long, for Cornwallis, hearing of the defeat of Ferguson at King's Mountain, hastily retreated; and Leslie, on being advised of this, left for Charleston,Nov. 22, 1780for the purpose (b) of joining the earl in the Carolinas. Again, in 1781, hostile troops, under Arnold, were on the shores of the Elizabeth. That expedition we will consider presently.
I left the Great Bridge at noon, and rode to Deep Creek, a small village on the northern verge of the Dismal Swamp, nine miles distant. * There the Dismal Swamp Canal terminates, and far into the gloomy recesses this work opens an avenue for the vision. I ardently desired to go to Drummond's Lake, lying in the center of the swamp, around which clusters so much that is romantic and mysterious; but want of time obliged me to be content to stand on the rough selvedge of the morass and contemplate with wonder the magnificent cypresses, junipers, oaks, gums, and pines which form the stately columns of the grand and solemn aisles in this mysterious temple of nature. ** Below waved the tall reeds, and the tangled shrubbery of the gall-bush and laurel; and up the massive trunks and spreading branches of the forest-monarchs crept the woodbine, the ivy, and the muscadine, covering with fretwork and gorgeous tracery the broad arches from which hung the sombre moss, like trophy banners in ancient halls. A deep silence prevailed, for it was winter-time, and buzzing insects and warbling birds were absent or mute. No life appeared in the vast solitude, except occasionally a gray squirrel, a partridge, or a scarlet taniger, the red plumage of the latter flashing like a fire-brand as it flitted by.
"'Tis a wild spot, and hath a gloomy look;
The bird sings never merrily in the trees,
And the young leaves seem blighted. A rank growth
Spreads poisonously 'round, with power to taint
With blustering dews the thoughtless hand that dares
To penetrate the covert."
—W. Gillmore Simms.
I returned to Norfolk toward evening. It was Saturday night, and as Monday would be the opening of the Christmas holidays, I met great numbers of negroes on the road, going to the country to spend their week of leisure with their friends on the plantations of their masters. They all appeared to be happy and musical as larks, and made the forest ring with their joyous laugh and melodious songs. All carried a bundle, or a basket filled with presents for their friends. Some had new hats, and others garments; others were carrying various knickknacks and fire-crackers, and a few of the men were "toting" a little too much "fire-water." From the youngest, to the oldest who rode in mule-carts, all faces beamed with the joy of the hour.
* The Dismal Swamp lies partly in Virginia and partly in North Carolina. Its extent from north to south is about thirty miles, and from east to west about ten miles. No less than five navigable streams and several creeks have their rise in it. It is made subservient to the wants of commerce, by furnishing the raw material for an immense quantity of shingles and other juniper lumber. The Dismal Swamp Canal runs through it from north to south, and the Portsmouth and Roanoke railway passes aeross five miles of its northern border. The canal has a stage-road running parallel with it. extending from Deep Creek to Elizabeth.
** Drummond's Lake, so called after a hunter of that name who discovered it, is near the center of the swamp. A hotel has been ereeted upon its shore, and is a place of considerable resort. Being on the line between Virginia and North Carolina, it is a sort of Gretna Green where "runaway matches" are consummated. Tradition tells of a young man who, on the death of the girl he loved, lost his reason. He suddenly disappeared, and his friends never heard of him afterward. In his ravings he often said she was not dead, but gone to the Dismal Swamp, and it is supposed he wandered into its gloomy morasses and perished. Moore, who visited Norfolk in 1804, on hearing this tradition, wrote his touching ballad, commencing,
"They made her a grave too cold and dampAnd her fire-fly lamp I soon shall see,For a soul so warm and true;And her paddle I soon shall hear;And she's gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp,Long and loving our life shall be,Where all night long, by her fire-fly lamp,And I'll hide lhe maid in a cypress.-treeShe paddles her white canoe.When the footsteps of Death are near."
Return to Norfolk.—Portsmouth and Gosport.—French and English Fleets.—Attempt to capture Arnold.
I arrived at Norfolk in time to cross the river to Portsmouth * and walk to the government navy-yard at Gosport, a short distance above. It is reached by a causeway from Portsmouth, and is well worthy of a visit from the traveler.
9550
There lay the Pennsylvania, the largest ship-of-war in the world—a colossal monument of government folly and extravagance. She was full rigged, and near her were the frigates Constitution and Constellation, dismantled. Her timber and iron might make many comfortable dwellings, but they are allowed to rot and rust in utter uselessness. I tarried but a moment there, for the sun was going down, and I wished to sketch Arnold's head-quarters, at Portsmouth, before returning to Norfolk, for I expected to ascend the James River on Monday. Arnold's quarters, represented in the engraving, is a building of stone, and stands on the corner of High and Crawford Streets, a short distance from the ferry. Let us note the events connected with Arnold's residence here.
We have mentioned on page 436 the retreat of Arnold down the James River after his depredations at Richmond. He proceeded to Portsmouth, where he took post, and began to fortify on the twentieth of January.1781Generals Steuben, Nelson, Weedon, and Muhlenberg were actively engaged in collecting the militia to defend the country and drive out the invaders, and Washington devised a plan for capturing the traitor. Having learned that four British ships, whieh had been lying in Gardiner's Bay, off the east end of Long Island, had gone eastward, and that two of them were disabled in a storm, he requested Rochambcau to send the French fleet (then commanded by D'Estouches, the successor of Admiral Ternay) and a detachment of his land forces to the Chesapeake. At the same time, he sent La Fayette thither with a detachment of twelve hundred infantry. The plan was to attack the traitor by sea and land simultaneously, so that he could not escape from the Elizabeth River. A part, only, of the French fleet was sent, under De Tilley,Feb 9, 1781with orders to attempt the destruction of the British fleet there. They took or destroyed ten small vessels. They also captured the Romulus, of one hundred and fourteen guns, at the entrance of Narraganset Bay, and carried her into Newport harbor. This expedition accomplished nothing respecting Arnold; and Washington, anxious to have co-operation with La Fayette and the Virginia militia against the recreant, went to Newport and held an interview with Rochambeau.
The result was that the French fleet left Newport on the eighth of March. They were followed by the British fleet, then in Gardiner's Bay, under Admiral Arbuthnot, who intercepted the French at the entrance of the Chesapeake.Feb 16
They drew up in battle order, eight ships on a side, and a partial engagement ensued. Neither party could justly claim a victory. The French abandoned their design of co-operating with the marquis, and returned to Newport. The plan, so well arranged and so nearly accomplished, was defeated. La Fayette marched back to the head of Elk, and Arnold was left to the skill and bravery of the Virginia troops near him. ** These were inadequate to drive him from Portsmouth, and he remained there until about the middle of April, when he was joined by a detachment under Major-general Phillips. The two commanders now determined to overrun all the fertile portion of Virginia lying near the James River, and on the twenty-fourth of April they reached City Point with twenty-five hundred troops Thither we will follow them presently.
* Portsmouth is a considerable town on the west side of the Elizabeth River, opposite Norfolk. It lies upon lower ground than the latter. It was established as a town in 1752, on lands owned by William Crawford, in whose honor one of its finest streets was named. The Gosport navy-yard is within half a mile of the center of Portsmouth, and around it a little village has grown up.
** Governor Jefferson was eager to capture Arnold, and offered five thousand guineas to any of the men of General Muhlenberg's Western corps who would accomplish it.—See Jefferson's Letter to Muhlenberg, 1781.
Departure from Norfolk.—Misfortunes of an Hostler.—Forts Nelson and Norfolk.—Craney Island.
"With evil omens from the harbor sails
The ill-fated bark that worthless Arnold bears—
God of the southern winds call up the gales
And whistle in rude fury round his ears!
With horrid waves insult his vessel's sides,
And may the cast wind on a leeward shore
Her cables part, while she in tumult rides,
And shatters into shivers every oar."—Freneau.
"They came, as the ocean-wave comes in its wrath,
When the storm spirit frowns on the deep;
They came as the mountain-wind comes on its path
When the tempest hath roused it from sleep;
They were met, as the rock meets the wave,
And dashes its fury to air;
They were met, as the foe should be met by the brave,
With courage, and not with despair."—Prosper M. Wetmore.
9551
AWOKE at four o'clock on Christmas morning, and my first waking thought was of the dawn of a fourth of July in a Northern city. Guns, pistols, and squibs were already heralding the holiday; indeed the revelry commenced at dark the previous evening, notwithstanding it was the night of the Sabbath. Expecting to depart in the steam-boat for City Point at six o'clock in the morning, I had directed the hostler, a funny little negro, who was as full of promises as a bank-teller's drawer, to feed my horse at half past four. I showed him a bright coin, and promised him its possession if he would be punctual. Of course he would "be up before dat time, rely upon it;" but experience had taught me to be distrustful. At the appointed hour I went to the stable dormitory, and rapped several times before the hostler stirred. "Yes, massa," he exclaimed, "I'se jis turnin' over as you cum up de stair and striking a light with flint and tinder, he went down to the stable with his lantern. I stood in the door watching the breaking of the clouds and the peeping forth of the stars after a stormy night, when a clatter in the stall attracted my attention. Upon looking in, I discovered the little hostler under the manger, with his tin lantern crushed beneath him, but the candle still burning. "Ki!" he exclaimed, scrambling to regain his feet, "Ki! how like de debble he butt! Mos knock my brains out!" I soon perceived the cause of the trouble. A large black goat, with a beard like a Turk, which I had seen in the stable the previous evening, observing the negro's motions while rubbing Charley's legs, and interpreting them as a challenge, had played the battering-ram with the hostler, and laid him sprawling under the manger. "Did he hit you?" I inquired, gravely, trying to suppress laughter. "Hit me, massa!" he exclaimed; "why he most ruin me, I reckons. See dar!" and with all the dramatic gravity of Anthony when he held up the robe of Cæsar, and exclaimed, "See what a rent the envious Casea made!" the hostler exhibited a "rent" in his nether garment at least an ell in length. Notwithstanding his mishap, Billy insisted that "de goat is healthy for de hosses, and musn't be turned out any how but he promised to give him a "licken de fus time he ketch him asleep." Charley had his oats in time, and at six o'clock we embarked on theAlicefor James River and City Point.
Going out of the harbor at Norfolk we passed the United States Marine Hospital, on the western bank of the river, a spacious building standing upon the site of Fort Nelson of the Revolution. On the opposite side I perceived the ruins of Fort Norfolk, erected in 1812. We passed Craney Island * before sunrise, and leaving Hampton and its noble harbor on the
* Craney Island is at the mouth of the Elizabeth River. The Americans erected fortifications there in 1812, which commanded the entrance to Norfolk harbor. On the twenty-second of June, 1813, a powerful British fleet made an attack upon these works. A part of the hostile force landed on Nansemond Point,
Lone relic of the past, old moldering pile,Where twines the ivy round thy ruins gray,Where the lone toad sits brooding in the aisle,Once trod by "ladye fayre" and gallant gay!Before my gaze altar and chancel rise,The surpliced priest, the mourner bowed in prayerFair worshipers, with heaven-directed eyes,And manhood's piety, and pride are there!Knights of the olden time perchance are kneeling,And choristers pour forth the hallowed hymn;And hark! the organ's solemn strains are pealing.Like songs of seraphs, or rapt cherubim!But no! 'tis but my fancy, and I gazeOn ruined walls, where creeps the lizard cold;Or dusky bats beneath the pale moon's raysTheir solemn, lonely midnight vigils hold.Yet they are here! the learned and the proud,Genius, and worth, and beauty—they are here!I stand rebuked amid the slumbering crowd,While time-past voices touch the spirit's ear."John C. M'Cabe.
and a part attempted to reach the island in barges. The former were driven off by the Virginia militia, and the latter were so galled by the guns of a battery, that those who were not destroyed retreated to the ships. The repulse was decisive. More than two hundred of the enemy were killed and wounded. Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Gosport were saved.
Voyage up the James River.—City Point.—Petersburg.—Blandford Church.—Founding of Petersburg.
right entered the broad mouth of the James River. A strong breeze, warm as the breath of May, came from the southwest and dispersed the moving clouds. I have seldom experienced a more delightful voyage than on that genial Christmas day upon the ancient Powhatan, whose shores are so thickly clustered with historical associations. Jamestown, the Chickahominy, Charles City, Westover, and Berkley, were all passed before noon; and at one o'clock we landed at City Point, at the junction of the James and Appomattox Rivers, about forty miles below Richmond. *
9552
Here the British army, under Phillips and Arnold, debarked on the twenty-fourth of April, 1781, and proceeded to Petersburg.
An intelligent mulatto, enjoying his holiday freedom, took a seat with me for Petersburg. He was a guide on the way, and gave me considerable information respecting localities around that town, where his master resided. We passed through Blandford, an old town separated from Petersburg ** only by a deep ravine and a small stream, and at a little after three o'clock I was dining at the Bollingbrook. At four, accompanied by a young man acquainted with the way, I went up to the old Blandford Church, one of the most picturesque and attractive ruins in Virginia. It stands in the midst of a burial-ground upon an eminence overlooking the ancient village of Blandford and its younger sister at the falls of the Appomattox, with an extensive and diversified landscape for scores of miles around. The edifice is cruciform, and was built of imported bricks about one hundred and fifty years ago. Some of the noblest and wealthiest of Virginia's aristocracy worshiped within its walls; for Blandford was the focus of fashion and refinement, while Petersburg was rudely struggling for its present pre-eminence. But the glory of the town and its church departed; Blandford is now only a suburban hamlet of Petersburg, and the old temple, dismantled of its interior decorations, is left to the occupancy of the bats and the owls.
* City Point is in Prince George county. It is a post village and a port of entry. A rail-way connects it with Petersburg.
** Fort Henry, erected for a defense of the people south of the James River, was built on the site of Petersburg in, 1646. Colonel Bolling, a gentleman of taste and fortune, settled there early in the last century. Colonel Byrd, of Westover, mentions him as living in fine style there in 1728. Peter Jones was the first settler, having established a trading-house there soon after the erection of Fort Henry. The locality was first called Peter's Point, and afterward Petersburg. Jones was a friend of Colonel Byrd, and accompanied that gentleman to the Roanoke in 1733. He says in his journal, "When we got home we laid the foundation of two large cities; one at Shacco's, to be called Richmond; and the other at the point of Appomattox, to be called Petersburg. The latter and Blandford were established towns in 1748. Blandford was then the most flourishing settlement of the two.
*** This view is from the outside of the old inclosure, looking south.
Sudden Storm.—Services of Steuben.—Military Operations between City Point and Williamsburg.
While sketching the venerable ruin, a heavy black cloud, like the chariot of a summer tempest, came up from the southwest. I tarried a moment at the reputed grave of General Phillips, and then hurried across the ravine to Petersburg; but I was too late to escape the shower, and was so thoroughly drenched that I was obliged to exchange every garment for a dry one. A cool drizzle continued throughout the evening, and gave a deeper coloring to the disappointment I felt on being denied the privilege of passing an hour with Charles Campbell, Esq., one of Virginia's best local historians. He was twenty miles away; so I employed that hour in jotting down the incidents of the day, and in turning over the leaves of the old chronicle. Petersburg is a central point of view, and here, before we cross the Roanoke, we will consider the remainder of the Revolutionary annals of the "Old Dominion."
We have already noticed the invasion under Arnold; the destruction of Richmond, and the founderies and magazines at Westham, at the head ot the falls of the James River; and at Yorktown observed the concluding scenes of Cornwallis's operations in Virginia. It was a fortunate circumstance for that state, that the Baron Steuben, the veteran disciplinarian from the armies of Frederick the Great, was detained in Virginia, while on his way southward with General Greene. His services in disciplining the militia, and organizing them in such order as to give them strength to beat back the invaders at various points, were of incalculable value. During Arnold's invasion, they were led against his disciplined parties on several occasions, and with success. On one occasion, General Smallwood, with three hundred militia, drove the traitor's boots out of the Appomattox, and sent them in confusion far below City Point; and Steuben himself, with George Rogers Clarke, the hero of the Ohio Valley, led a considerable force to strike the enemy between Westover and the Chickahominy.
It being evident that the entire subjugation of Virginia was a part of the plan of the British for the campaign of 1781, * Washington early turned his attention to that point, and concerted measures to avert the blow. La Fayette sought and obtained the honor of commanding the Continental forces destined for that theater of action. Washington gave him his instructions on the twentieth of February,1781and with about twelve hundred troops, detached from the forces then at New Windsor and Morristown, he marched southward. The first object of this expedition, as we have seen, was to co-operate with the French fleet against Arnold. That portion of the general plan failed, and the marquis, as we have observed, returned to the head of Elk. **
General Phillips, in command of the united forces under Arnold and himself, landed at City Point on the twenty-fourth of April,1781where he remained until the next morning, when they marched directly upon Petersburg. On his way up the James River, he sent Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe, with the Queen's Rangers, to attack a body of Virginia militia at Williamsburg, and to get possession of Yorktown. The expedition landed near Burwell's Ferry, a little below Williamsburg, on the nineteenth,April 1781at which place the Americans had thrown up some intrenchments. The Virginians fled at the approach of Simcoe, and General Phillips, with the army, landed. Simcoe marched that night toward Williamsburg. It was a night of tempest and intense darkness, and it was not until the morning of the twentieth when he entered the town. The militia also fled from Williamsburg, and the enemy took possession of the place. It being ascertained that a large garrison would be necessary for Yorktown, if taken, the project of its capture was abandoned, and the troops proceeded up the river. ***
Baron Steuben, with one thousand militia, had taken post near Blandford Church, and
* Cornwallis had overrun the Carolinas, and the security of his conquests depended, in a measure, upon the subjugation of Virginia, and the establishment of royal power upon the shores of the Chesapeake from the Capes to the Elk. Cornwallis expressed to Sir Henry Clinton a hope that the Chesapeake might become the seat of war for that campaign, even at the expense of abandoning New York, if necessary. "Until Virginia is in a manner subdued," he said, "our hold upon the Carolinas must be difficult, if not precarious."
** See page 540.
*** Simcoe's Journal, 189-192
Skirmish near Petersburg.—Retreat of the Americans.—British Occupation of the Town.—Mrs. Bolling.
was ready to receive the British. Notwithstanding his force consisted of less than one third of the number of the enemy, he determined to dispute the ground. The British came in sight toward noon, and formed, with their line extended to the left, upon the plain near Blandford. Phillips and Simcoe reconnoitered, and having satisfied themselves that Steuben's force was not very large, prepared to attack him.
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The ground was broken where the Americans were posted. A party of yagers passing through a gully behind an orchard, got upon the flank of the patrols, and fired with such effect as to cause their retreat to an eminence in their rear. Phillips now ordered his artillery to be secretly drawn up. As soon as it opened upon the Virginians, Lieutenant-colonel Abercrombie advanced in front, while Simcoe with his rangers, and Captain Boyd with light infantry, passed through the wood to turn their left flank. Steuben perceived this movement, and ordered his troops to fall back. It was now between three and four o'clock in the afternoon. Inch by inch the British made their way, the Virginians disputing their progress with pertinacity. The enemy were two hours advancing one mile, and when they reached the heights near Blandford Church, the Americans opened a fire upon them from their cannon on Archer's Hill, on the north side of the Appomattox. Overmatched both by skill and numbers, Steuben retreated across the Appomattox, destroyed the bridge, and took post on Baker's Hill, from whence he soon retired with his arms, baggage, and stores, to Chesterfield Court House, ten miles distant. The bridge was soon repaired, and the next day Abercrombie, with the light infantry and rangers, crossed over and occupied the heights where Steuben had been posted. Four hundred hogsheads of tobacco and the vessels in the river were burned, and other property was destroyed. The loss of the Americans in killed, wounded, and taken in this skirmish of nearly three hours, was between sixty and seventy; that of the enemy was probably about the same. *
The British now prepared for offensive operations in the vicinity. Phillips and Arnold quartered at the spacious mansion of Mrs. Bolling, known as Bollingbrook, and yet standing upon East Hill, in the south part of the town. ** Other officers also occupied the two man-
* Note.—Explanation of the Plan.—1, Yagers; 2, four pieces of cannon; 3, British Light Infantry; 4, Queen's Rangers; 5, Riflemen; 6, first position of the Americans; 7, second position; 8, third position, across the Appomattox; 9,.second position of the Queen's Rangers; 10, their third position. This plan is copied from Simcoe's Journal.
* Jefferson's letter to Washington.
** There are here three eminences which overlook the town, East Hill, Center Hill, and West Hill. Mrs. Bolling was a widow, and one of the largest land-holders in Virginia. She owned the tobacco warehouses at Petersburg, and nearly one half of the town. These were probably spared because Mrs. Bolling treated Phillips and Arnold courteously. De Chastellux, who afterward visited Petersburg, has the following notice of the building seen in the engraving upon the next page. "Her house, or rather houses—for she has two on the same line resembling each other, which she proposes to join together—are situated on the summit of a considerable slope which rises from the level of the town of Petersburg, and corresponds so exactly with the course of the river, that there is no doubt of its having formerly formed one of its banks. This slope and the vast platform on which the house is built are covered with grass, which affords excellent pasturage, and are also her property." Speaking of the family, he continues: "On our arrival, we were saluted by Miss Bowling [Bolling], a young lady of fifteen, possessing all the freshness of her age; she was followed by her mother, brother, and sister-in-law. The mother, a lady of fifty, has but little resemblance to her countrywomen; she is lively, active, and intelligent; knows perfectly well how to manage her immense fortune, and what is yet more rare, knows how to make good use of it. Her son and daughter-inlaw I had already seen at Williamsburg. The young gentleman appears mild and polite; but his wife, of only seventeen years of age, is a most interesting acquaintance, not only from the face and form, which are exquisitely delicate, and quite European, but from her being also descended from Pocahunta [Pocahontas], daughter of King Powhatan." The engraving presents a view of Mrs. Bolling's houses, looking southwest.
British Occupation of Bollingbrook.—Skirmish at Osborne's.—Destruction of the American Flotilla
sions; and Mrs. Bolling was allowed the use of only the room in the rear of the east building. The soldiery often set fire to the fences which surrounded Bollingbrook, and the amiable lady was kept in a state of continual alarm, notwithstanding the efforts of the usually discourteous Phillips to soothe her.