* Among those who suffered were Colonel Hansford; Captains Carver, Farlow, and Wilford; Major Cheeseman; William Drummond (former governor of Carolina), and Colonel Richard Lawrence. Colonel Hansford was the first native of Virginia who died on the gallows, and he has been justly termed the first martyr to American liberty. This civil war cost the colony a quarter of a million of dollars.
** Afraid of popular enlightenment, Berkeley would not allow a printing-press in Virginia. To speak ill of him, or any of his friends, was punished as a crime by whipping, or a fine; to speak, write, or publish any thing in mitigation or favor of the rebellion or rebels, was made a misdemeanor, and, if thrice repeated, was evidence of treason.—Henning's Statutes of Virginia, ii., 385.
*** Berkeley was much censured in England, and those censures affected him greatly. His brother, Lord Berkeley, declared that the unfavorable report of the commissioners caused the death of Sir William.
Departure from Jamestown.—Remains of Fortifications.—"Spencer's Ordinary."—Retreat of Cornwallis.
"I look'd, and thought the quiet of the scene
An emblem of the peace that yet shall he,
When, o'er earth's continents and isles between,
The noise of war shall cease from sea to sea,
And married nations dwell in harmony;
When millions, crouching in the dust to one,
No more shall beg their lives on bended knee,
Nor the black stake he dress'd, nor in the sun
The o'er-labor'd captive toil, and wish his life were done."
Bryant.
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N hour before meridian I left the old church-yard at Jamestown, and sauntered along the pebbly shore back to the little punt in which I was to reach the mainland. I picked up two or threeJamestown diamonds, and a small brass key of antique form, which lay among the pebbles, and then left that interesting spot, perhaps forever. The day was very warm, and I was glad to get within the shadow of the pine forests which skirt the road almost the whole way from Jamestown to Williamsburg, a distance of four miles and a half. Not a leaf stirred upon the trees, and the silence of solitude prevailed, for the insects had gone to their winter repose, and the birds had finished their summer carols.
A mile and a half from Jamestown, I crossed the Powhatan Creek, a sluggish stream which finds its way into the James River through a fen in the rear of Jamestown Island. On its northern bank, a few yards from the road, are the remains of a fortification, which was thrown up by Cornwallis in the summer of 1781. The embankments and ditches are very prominent. Neighborhood tradition calls them the remnant of Powhatan's fort. In this vicinity two engagements took place between the Royalists and Republicans in June and July, 1781. The first occurred at the forks of the road, one of which makes a circuit to the Chickahominy, the other leads to Williamsburg. The place is known in history asSpencer s Ordinary, from the circumstance that a man named Spencer kept a tavern at the forks. Let us see what the pen of history has recorded.
In the spring of 1781, Cornwallis left Wilmington, in North Carolina, and marched into Virginia, to join the invading forces under Phillips and Arnold at Petersburg. After attempts to capture stores in the heart of Virginia, and finding the forces of La Fayette, Wayne, and Steuben rapidly increasing, the earl thought it prudent to return toward the sea-shore. He accordingly retreated to Richmond, and from thence across the Chickahominy to Williamsburg and Jamestown, and then down the James River to Portsmouth, opposite Norfolk. From the stables and pastures of the planters he took the fine horses which they had refused to Greene, * and well mounted his cavalry. In his retreat he was closely pursued, and greatly annoyed by La Fayette and Wayne, with about four thousand men. **
Cornwallis reached Williamsburg on the 25th of June. (a) Informed that the Americans had some boats and stores on the Chickahominy River, he sent Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe, with his Rangers, and a company of Yagers, under Major Armstrong and Captain Ewald, to destroy them, and to collect all the cattle they could find. *** La Fayette,
* Greene, then in command of the Southern army, had left Steuben in Virginia to collect troops, horses, and stores, and send them to him at the South.
** There were 2100 regulars, of which number 1500 were veteran troops, who had experienced service at the North.
*** Simcoe found but little to destroy on the Chickahominy, and returning, halted at Dandridge's, within three, miles of the Diesckung Creek, a branch of the Chickahominy. The next morning they marched to the creek, repaired the bridge sufficiently to pass over, and then utterly destroyed it. They then marched to Cooper's Mills, nearly twenty miles from Williamsburg. Simcoe was anxious concerning his safety, for he could not gain a word of reliable information respecting La Fayette's movements. He promised a great reward to a Whig to go to the marquis's camp and return with information by the next morning, when his detachment should march. The Whig went; but instead of returning with information for Simcoe, he piloted Wayne, with a considerable force, to the place of the Rangers' encampment. The fires were yet burning, but the coveted prize had departed an hour before.—See Simcoe's Military Journal.
Simcoe's Expedition.—Engagement between the advanced Guards of the Belligerents.—Battle at Spencer's Ordinary.
with great circumspection, had kept about a score of miles in the rear of the royal army while pursuing Cornwallis. He was at Tyre's plantation, about twenty miles from Williamsburg, when informed of Simcoe's expedition, and immediately detached Lieutenant-colonel Percival Butler, a brave officer of the Pennsylvania line, to intercept that partisan on his return. * Butler's detachment consisted of a corps of Continental troops, two rifle corps, under Majors Call and Willis, and about one hundred and twenty horsemen, under Major M'Pherson. Simcoe accomplished his purpose without opposition, and was hastening back to Williamsburg with a quantity of cattle procured from the planters, when he was overtaken at Spencer'sOrdinaryby M'Pherson and his dragoons, and a very severe skirmish ensued. Both parties were ignorant of the real strength of each other, and maneuvered with caution.
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Simcoe believed the whole force of La Fayette to be near, and Butler supposed his detachment was fighting with the advanced guard of Cornwallis's army.
The approach of the Americans was first discovered by trumpeter Barney, of the Queen's Rangers, who was stationed as a vidette on an eminence about half way between Lee's farm and the road along which the patriots were approaching. A body of cavalry, under Captain Shank, were then dismounted at Lee's farm, where they were foraging. Barney galloped toward Spencer's, and this averted the blow which might have fallen fatally upon the dismounted cavalry at Lee's, if they had been seen by the Americans. The latter, perceiving the direction of the vidette's flight, and concluding he was retreating to his corps, pushed on toward Spencer's. The dragoons at Lee's immediately mounted, and, dashing through the wood, made a furious charge upon the right flank of the Americans. In this onset Major M'Pherson was thrown from his horse by Sergeant Wright of the Rangers, and so severely hurt that he did not again engage in the conflict. The belligerents swept on beyond him, too intent upon battle to stop for prisoners, and his life and liberty were spared.
The infantry and rifle corps under Simcoe were now brought into action. Butler's riflemen had also reached the scene of conflict. The fence on each side of the road had been thrown down by Simcoe early in the morning, to allow greater freedom for his troops. The action became general and fierce within an eighth of a mile of Spencer's. Simcoe soon perceived that he could not win a victory by fair fighting, and turned his attention to stratagem. While Captain Althouse with the
* Lieutenant-colonel Butler was Morgan's second in command at Saratoga.
* Note.—The letters in the above map have reference as follows: A, American infantry; B, American cavalry; C, the Queen's Rangers halting at the forks of the road; D, the Rangers in line, prepared for attack; E, the cavalry of the Queen's Rangers, foraging at Lee's farm; F, the British cavalry, and B, the American cavalry, contending at the beginning of the battle; G, the Rangers after the battle; and H, I, the line of retreat back to the road near Spencer's; K, trumpeter Barney, when he first discovered the Americans and gave the alarm; L, the Yagers, commanded chiefly by Ewald; M, a three-pounder near Spencer's; N, Captain Althouse with British riflemen.
Simcoe's Stratagem.—A drawn Battle.—The Loss.—Burial with the Honors ot War.—March of Cornwallis from Williamsburg.
riflemen, and Captain Ewald with the Yagers, were engaged in fierce conflict with the corps of Call and Willis, he moved the whole body of his mounted Hangers to an eminence near Lee's, displayed them imposingly in full view of the Americans for a few moments, and then withdrew them. This maneuver, as was intended, deceived the patriots. The march of Simcoe was concealed from them by intervening hills and woods, and they did not suspect the party thus displayed to be that partisan's Rangers. They believed them to be the front of a more formidable force deploying in the rear, preparatory to a general charge. At the same moment a three-pounder, which had been stationed upon the hill (M, in the plan), near Spencer's, was discharged; and, while its echoes were booming over the country, Shank, with his cavalry, made another furious attack upon the main body of the Republicans, now gathered more compactly in the road and the adjacent fields, a short distance from Spencer's. *
The idea that Cornwallis was advancing with artillery alarmed the Americans, and, when Shank made his charge, they fell back in confusion upon the reserve corps of Continentals in the rear, and the battle ended. Simcoe was quite as much afraid of the advance of La Fayette and his force to the support of Butler, as was the latter of the appearance of Cornwallis. He immediately formed his corps in retreating order, and pushed on toward Williamsburg. Butler thought it imprudent to follow them; for he was informed that Cornwallis, on hearing the first fire, commenced a march, with a strong force, to the support of Simcoe. Neither party could fairly claim a victory, though both parties did so. It was a sort of drawn battle. The Americans returned to Tyre's plantation.
So widely different are the official accounts of the numbers lost in this engagement that it is difficult to ascertain the truth. La Fayette states the loss of the British at sixty killed and one hundred wounded, while Cornwallis says that only three officers and thirty privates were killed and wounded. The latter also states that three American officers and twenty-eight privates were taken prisoners. The number of the Americans killed has never been named by our writers. Simcoe says, "It is certain they had a great many killed and wounded, exclusive of prisoners;" but this was merely conjecture. He also says that his own groom was the only prisoner secured by the Americans, the bat-men at Lee's, who were captured at the commencement of the action, having been rescued, except the groom. Cornet Jones, a promising young officer of the Rangers, who was killed, was greatly beloved, and was buried at Williamsburg, the next day, with military honors. **
At this time, Sir Henry Clinton, having received some intercepted letters written by Washington, in which a plan for attacking New York was divulged, *** became alarmed for his safety. He accordingly made a requisition upon Cornwallis for a portion of his troops to be sent immediately to New York. The earl, supposing himself too weak, after complying with this requisition, to remain at Williamsburg, resolved to retire to Portsmouth, near Norfolk. He broke up his encampment at Williamsburg on the 4th of July, (a)a 1781and marched for Jamestown Island. He disposed of his troops in such a manner as
* Simcoe's Journal, p. 226—236. Lee's Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department, p. 298—301.
** The expression "buried with military honors" is often used, but, I apprehend, often without a clear understanding of its purport. The general reader may be interested in knowing in what consist "military honors" in the sense here used. The rules generally adopted are as follows: The funeral of a commander-in-chief is saluted with three rounds of 11 pieces of cannon, 4 battalions, and 6 squadrons; that of a lieutenant general with three rounds of 9 pieces of cannon, 3 battalions, and 4 squadrons; that of a major general with three rounds of 7 pieces of cannon, 1 battalion, and 2 squadrons; that of colonel by his own battalion (or an equal number by detachment), with three rounds of small-arms; that of a lieutenant colonel by 300 men and officers, with three rounds of small-arms; that of a major by 200 men and officers, with three rounds of small-arms; that of a captain by his own company, or 70 rank and file, with three rounds of small-arms; that of a lieutenant by a lieutenant, 1 sergeant, 1 drummer, 1 filer, and 36 rank and file, with three rounds of small-arms; that of an ensign by 1 ensign, 1 sergeant, 1 drummer, and 27 rank and file, with three rounds of small-arms; that of a sergeant by 1 sergeant and 10 rank and file, with three rounds of small-arms; that of a corporal, musician, private man, drummer, or fifer by 1 sergeant and 13 rank and file, with three rounds of small-arms. The pall is supported by officers of the same rank as that of the deceased; if that number can not be had, officers next in seniority are to supply their place.
*** These letters, written by Washington for the express purpose of deceiving Sir Henry Clinton, have been noticed on page 213.
Movements of La Fayette.—Cornwallis's Stratagem.—March from Green Spring.—Colonel Armand
to cover the ford, and the Queen's Rangers crossed over to the island the same evening. The two succeeding days were employed in passing over the baggage of the army.
La Fayette was exceedingly active and vigilant. As soon as he was informed by Lieutenant-colonel Mercer, who had been sent to reconnoiter, that Cornwallis had left Williamsburg, he moved forward and encamped within nine miles of Jamestown. Upon the activity and skill of Wayne the marquis relied with confidence. America had no truer or braver officers in the field than the "French game-cock" and "Mad Anthony." The marquis, who had steadily pursued the earl from Richmond, but always avoiding a general engagement, now resolved to fall upon his rear, when the main body should have passed over to Jamestown Island. Cornwallis suspected this design, and prepared for the emergency. He encamped the greater portion of his army on the main land, as compactly as possible, and sheltered from view by a dense pine forest. He also cast up a fortification on the right bank of Powhatan Creek, by the Williamsburg road, the remains of which, I have just mentioned, are still very prominent. He allowed but a few soldiers to make their appearance on the edge of the wood; deployed those on the island to the best advantage; drew in his light out-guards; suffered his pickets to be insulted; and, by every means in his power, gave the impression that only his rear-guard was upon the main. These maneuvers of Cornwallis, and abounding false intelligence, completely deceived La Fayette, and caused him to make an attack upon the British, a step which involved his whole army in imminent peril.
La Fayette and his troops were at Green Spring plantation * on the morning of the 6th of July. (a) At sunrise, the whole country was enveloped in a fog; at noon, an un-a 1781clouded sun poured down its almost vertical rays with fierce intensity. Assured that only the rear-guard of Cornwallis's army remained off the island, the marquis moved from Green Spring, at three o'clock in the afternoon, for the purpose of attacking them. This late hour was judiciously chosen; the heat was less oppressive, and, if deceived concerning the numbers of the enemy on the main land, the night-shadows would favor a retreat. In front of Green Spring mansion, and extending to the Williamsburg road from the lower ford of the Chickahominy, where I crossed, was low, sunken ground, and a morass bridged by a causeway of logs. Over this, in narrow files, the Americans were obliged to make their way, and it was almost five o'clock before they arrived in sight of the British outposts. La Fayette detached Wayne, with about eight hundred men, to make the attack. His advanced guard consisted of the rifle corps of Call and Willis, and a patrol of dragoons. These were followed by the cavalry of Armand's and Mercer's troops, led by Major M'Pherson,
* See page 446.
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** Charles Armand, marquis de la Rouarie, was a French officer in the Continental army, who had been ten years in military service before he came to this country. On the 10th of May, 1777, Congress gave him the commission of colonel, and authorized him to raise a corps of Frenchmen, in number not exceeding two hundred men He was a zealous and spirited officer, and did good service throughout the war. He was with La Fayette in New Jersey, after the battle of Red Bank, in the fall of 1777, and the next year was actively engaged in Westchester county, New York, in opposition to the corps of Simcoe and Emerick, and the Loyalists under Bare-more. The latter was captured by Armand, who, at one time, had his quarters at a house which stood on the site of the present St. John's College, at Fordham. He was stationed at Ridgefield, in Connecticut, under General Robert Howe, in the summer of 1779. Belonging to his corps was a company of cavalry called Maréchaussée * whose duties appertained chiefly to the police of the army. Armand's corps, exclusive of this company, was incorporated with Pulaski's in February, 1780. Armand was with the army under Gates at Clermont, near Camden, in South Carolina, and was directed by that general to form an advance attacking party in the night-march against Cornwallis at Camden. He censured the conduct of his general on that occasion very much. "I will not say," he remarked, "that the general contemplated treason; but I will say, that if he had desired to betray his army, he could not have chosen a more judicious course." Armand was dissatisfied with the promotions in the army, for he perceived no chance for himself to advance, yet he continued in faithful service. He went to France in February, 1781, to procure clothing and accoutrements, but came back again in time to join the army before Yorktown in Oetober of that year. On the earnest recommendation of Washington, who knew his worth, Congress gave Colonel Armand the commission of brigadier general in the spring of 1783. He returned to France in 1784. In a letter to Rochambeau, written in May of that year, Washington strongly recommended General Armand as worthy of promotion in his own eountry. He was married, in 1786, to a wealthy lady, belonging to an ancient family, and on that occasion wrote a letter to Washington, inviting him to come to Europe and partake of the hospitalities of his home. In his reply, Washington remarked, "I must confess I was a little pleased, if not surprised, to find you think quite like an American on the subject of matrimony and domestic felicity; for, in my estimation, more permanent and genuine happiness is to be found in the sequestered walks of connubial life than in the giddy rounds of promiscuous pleasure, or the more tumultuous and imposing scenes of successful ambition. This sentiment will account in a degree for my not making a visit to Europe." General Armand took an active part in the revolutionary movements in his own country, and became a prisoner in the Bastile, for a time, in 1789. He participated in the sanguinary scenes in La Vendee, during the first year of the French Revolution. Sick when the news of the execution of Louis XVI. reached him, it produced a powerful effect upon his weakened system. A crisis in his malady was induced, and, on the 30th of January, 1793, he expired. He was buried privately, by moonlight; but his remains were disinterred by the Revolutionists within a month afterward, and the papers inhumed with him revealed the names of associates, some of whom were afterward guillotined. General Armand was of middle size, dark complexion, urbane in deportment, polished in manners, an eloquent and persuasive speaker, and a practiced marksman. He was greatly beloved by his friends, and his opponents were not his enemies.
* The Maréchaussée was a useful corps. In an encampment, it was its business to patrol the camp and its vicinity, for the purpose of apprehending deserters, thieves, rioters, &e., and soldiers who should be found violating the rules of the army. Strangers without passes were to be apprehended by them, and the sutlers in the army were under the control of the commander of the corps. In the time of action they were to patrol the roads on both flanks of the army to arrest fugitives, and apprehend those who might be skulking away.
The Baltic Order.—Attack upon the Outpost.—The Enemy in full Force.—Retreat of the Americans.
who had recovered from the effects of his unhorsing at Spencer's. The Continental infantry, chiefly Pennsylvania troops, under Wayne, supported the whole. La Fayette, with nine hundred Continentals and some militia, halted after crossing the morass, to be in readiness to support Wayne, if necessary. Steuben, with the main body of the militia, remained as a reserve at Green Spring.
After moving about a mile, the van patrol were attacked by some of the enemy's Yagers, and the riflemen and militia commenced the attack upon the British pickets at about five o'clock. A desultory fire was kept up for a few minutes, when the cavalry made a furious charge, and the pickets were driven within their lines in great confusion and with considerable loss. The British outpost, which covered and concealed the main body of the royal army, was now assailed by the riflemen, who were stationed in a ditch, near a rail fence. They were under the immediate direction of M'Pherson and Mercer, and terribly galled the Yagers who garrisoned the point assailed, yet without driving them from their position. The assailants were speedily joined by two battalions of Continental infantry, one under Major Galvan, and another under Major Willis, of Connecticut, supported by two pieces of artillery, under the direction of Captain Savage. The Americans felt certain of victory, and were about to leave the ditch and engage hand to hand with the enemy, when more than two thousand of the royal troops were led from their concealment into action by Lieutenant-colonel Yorke on the right, and Lieutenant-colonel Dundas on the left. The brigade of the latter consisted of the forty-third, seventy-sixth, and eightieth regiments, the flower of Cornwallis's army. Yorke soon put to flight the American militia on the right; but, on the left, the riflemen, cavalry, and the Pennsylvania infantry sustained the unequal conflict with great bravery. Superior numbers, however, overmatched skill and courage, and the Americans, after a sanguinary battle of ten minutes, gave way; first the riflemen, then the cavalry, and finally the whole body of infantry retreated in confusion upon Wayne's line, which was drawn up in compact order in the field in front of the present residence of Mr. Coke.
Wayne now perceived the whole breadth of Cornwallis's stratagem, and the imminence of the danger which surrounded his troops. Already strong detachments were rapidly outflanking him and gaining his rear, while a solid body of veterans were confronting him. It was a moment of great peril. To retreat would be certain destruction to his troops; a false movement would involve the whole in ruin. Wayne's presence of mind never forsook him, and, in moments of greatest danger, his judgment seemed the most acute and faithful. He now instantly conceived a bold movement, but one full of peril. He ordered the trumpeters to
Wayne's Charge upon Ihe British Line.—Retreat of Cornwallis to Portsmouth.—Tarleton's Expedition.—Williamsburg.
sound a charge, and, with a full-voiced shout, his whole force, cavalry, riflemen, and infantry, dashed forward in the face of a terrible storm of lead and iron, and smote the British line with ball, bayonet, and cutlass so fiercely, that it recoiled in amazement. La Fayette, who had personally reconnoitered the British camp from a tongue of land near the present Jamestown landing, perceived the peril of Wayne, and immediately drew up a line of Continentals half a mile in the rear of the scene of conflict, to cover a retreat if Wayne should attempt it. When the latter saw this, and perceived the flanking parties of the enemy halting or retrograding, he sounded a retreat, and in good order his brave band fell back upon La Fayette's line. Never was a desperate maneuver better planned or more successfully executed. Upon that single cast of the die depended the safety of his corps. It was a winning one for the moment, and the night-shadows coming on, the advantage gained was made secure.
Cornwallis was astonished and perplexed by the charge and retreat. The lateness of the hour, and the whole movement, made him view the maneuver as a lure to draw him into an ambuscade; and, instead of pursuing the Republicans, he called in his detachments,a July 9, 1781crossed over to Jamestown Island during the evening, and three days afterward (a) crossed the James River with the largest portion of his troops, and proceeded by easy marches to Portsmouth. * The other portion of his army, pursuant to General Clinton's requisition, embarked in transports for New York. ** In this action, according to La Fayette, the Americans lost one hundred and eighteen men *** (including ten officers), in killed, wounded, and prisoners; also the two pieces of cannon, which they were obliged to leave on the field, the horses attached to them having been killed. The British loss was five officers wounded, and seventy-five privates killed and wounded. ****
The Americans, under La Fayette, remained in the vicinity of Williamsburg until the arrival of the combined armies, nearly two months afterward, on their way to besiege Cornwallis at Yorktown.b Dec 20, 1848I arrived at Williamsburg at noon, (b) and proceeded immediately to search out the interesting localities of that ancient and earliest incorporated town in Virginia. They are chiefly upon the main street, a broad avenue pleasantly shaded, and almost as quiet as a rural lane. I first took a hasty stroll upon the spacious green in front of William and Mary College, the oldest literary institution in America except Harvard University. (v) The entrance to the green is flanked by stately live oaks, cheering the visitor in winter with their evergreen foliage. In the center of the green stands the mutilated statue of Lord Botetourt, the best beloved of the colonial governors. This statue was erected in the old capital in 1774, and in 1797 it was removed to its present position. I did not make a sketch of it, because a student at the college promised to hand me one made by his own
* Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton and his legion were dispatched on the 9th to New London, in Bedford county, nearly two hundred miles distant, to destroy some stores destined for Greene's army at the South, said to be in that district. Tarleton, with his usual celerity, passed through Petersburgh the same evening, and pushed forward toward the Blue Ridge. He was disappointed, for he could find no magazines of stores. He was also informed that Greene was besieging Ninety-Six, and successfully reconquering the districts over which the British had marched victoriously. He returned toward the sea-board, and rejoined Cornwallis at Suffolk on the 24th. The whole army then proceeded to Portsmouth.
** Before they left Hampton Roads, Cornwallis received orders to retain these troops, and occupy some defensible position in Virginia.
*** Stedman says (ii., 395) the American loss "amounted to about three hundred." That officer (who belonged to the surgeon's staff) was with Cornwallis at Jamestown. He gives the whole number of the British loss at seventy-five.
**** Marshall, i., 439, 440; Stedman, ii., 394, 395; Girardin; Simcoe's Journal; Howison.
* (v) William and Mary College was founded in 1692, and the sovereigns whose name it bears granted the corporation twenty thousand acres of land as an endowment. In 1693 the building was erected. It is of brick, and large enough to accommodate one hundred students. For its support a penny a pound duty on certain tobacco exported from Virginia and Maryland was allowed, also a small duly on liquors imported, and furs and skins exported. From these resources it received ample support. It was formerly allowed a representation in the House of Burgesses. There is now a law school connected with the institution.
Remains of Dunmore's Palace.—Brenton Church.—Lord Botetourt.—His Reception in Virginia.—Ode.
pencil before I left the place. He neglected to do so, and therefore I can give nothing pictorially of "the good Governor Botetourt," * the predecessor of Dunmore.
I next visited the remains of the palace of Lord Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia. It is situated at the head of a broad and beautiful court, extending northward from the main street, in front of the City Hotel.
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The palace was constructed of brick. The center building was accidentally destroyed by fire, while occupied by the French troops immediately after the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. It was seventy-four feet long and sixty-eight feet wide, and occupied the site of the old palace of Governor Spottswood, at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
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Attached to the palace were three hundred and sixty acres of land, beautifully laid out in gardens, parks, carriage-ways, and a bowling-green. Dunmore imported some fine linden-trees from Scotland, one of which, still in existence, is one of the finest specimens of that tree I have ever seen. In vice-regal pomp and pageantry Dunmore attempted toreignamong the plain republicans of Virginia; but his day of grandeur and power soon passed away, and the sun of his official glory set amid darkest clouds. All that remains of this spacious edifice are the two wings seen in the engraving above; the one on the right was the office, the one on the left was the guard-house.
A little eastward of Palace Street or Court, is the public square, on which area are two relics of the olden time,Brenton Church, a cruciform structure with a steeple, ** and the oldMagazine, an octagon building, erected during the administration of Governor Spottswood. (a) The sides of the latter are each twelve feet in hori-a 1716
* Norborne Berkeley (Baron de Botetourt) obtained his peerage in 1764. He was appointed Governor of Virginia in July, 1768, to succeed General Amherst. He arrived at Williamsburg in October, and was received with every demonstration of respect. After taking the oath of office, and swearing in the members of his majesty's council, he supped with the government dignitaries at the Raleigh Tavern. The city was illuminated during the evening, and balls and festivities succeeded. * His administration was mild and judicious. He died at Williamsburg October 15, 1770, and was succeeded by John Murray, earl of Dunmore. The following year the Assembly resolved to erect a statue to his memory, which was accordingly done in 1774.
** This church was built at about the commencement of the last century, and was the finest one in America at that time. Hugh Jones, who wrote "The present State of Virginia,'' &c., and who was one of the earliest lecturers in that church, speaks of it as "nicely regular and convenient, and adorned as the best churches in London." I was informed that the pew of Governor Spottswood remained in the church in its original character until within a few years. It was raised from the floor and covered with a canopy, and upon the interior was his name in gilt letters.
* In an ode sung on the occasion, the following air, recitative, and duet occur. It is copied from the "Virginia Gazette," first independent paper published in Virginia.
AIR.He comes! His Excellency comes,To cheer Virginia's plains!Fill your brisk bowls, ye loyal sons,And sing your loftiest strains.Be this your glory, this your boast,Lord Botetourt's the favorite toast!Triumphant wreaths entwine.Fill your bumpers swiftly round,And make your spacious rooms reboundWith music, joy, and wine.Search every garden, strip the shrubby bowersAnd strew his path with sweet autumnal flowers!Ye virgins, haste, prepare the fragrant rose,And with triumphant laurels crown his brows.DUET.Enter virgins with flowers, laurels,See, we've stripp'd each flowery bed;Here's laurels for his lordly head;And while Virginia is his care.May he protect the virtuous fair!
Ancient Powder Magazine.—The Old Capitol.== Resumption of the Historical Narrative.—Plan of Williamsburg.
zontal extent. Surrounding it, also in octagon form, is a massive brick wall, which was constructed when the building was erected.
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This wail is somewhat dilapidated, as seen in the engraving. The building was occupied as a Baptist meeting-house when I visited Williamsburg, and I trust it may never fall before the hand of improvement, for it has an historical value in the minds of all Americans. The events which hallow it will be noticed presently.
On the square fronting the magazine is the court-house.
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It stands upon the site of the old capitol, in which occurred many interesting events connected with the history of our War for Independence. The present structure was erected over the ashes of the old one, which was burned in 1832 Around it are a few of the old bricks, half buried in the green sward, and these compose the only remains of theOld Capitol** While leaning against the ancient wall of the old magazine, and, in the shadow of its roof, contemplating the events whieh cluster that locality with glorious associations, I almost lost cognizance of the present, and beheld in reverie the whole pageantry of the past march in review. Here let us consult the oracle of history, and note its teachings.
At the close of the last chapter we considered the destruction of Jamestown, the termination of "Bacon's rebellion," and the departure and death of Governor Berkeley. To make the events connected with the opening scenes of the Revolution in Virginia intelligible, we will briefly note the most prominent links in the chain of circumstances subsequent to the desolation of the ancient capital.
We have noticed the unrighteous gift of Charles the Second, of the fairest portions of
* This view is from the square, looking southeast. South of it is a neat frame building, whieh was occupied by President Tyler before his election to the office of Vice-president of the United States.
** Jones describes the capitol which preceded the one in question, and which was destroyed by fire in 1746. He says, "Fronting the college [William and Mary], at near its whole breadth, is extended a street, mathematically straight—for the first design of the town's form is changed to a mueh better*—-just three quarters of a mile in length, at the other end of whieh stands the capitol, a noble, beautiful, and commodious pile as any of its kind, built at the cost of the late queen [Anne], and by direction of the governor" [Spottswood].... "The building is in the form of an H, nearly; the secretary's office and the general court taking up one side below stairs, the middle being a handsome portico, leading to the clerk of the Assembly's offiee and the House of Burgesses on the other side; which last, is not unlike the House of Commons. In each wing is a good stair-ease, one leading to the council-chamber, where the governor and council sit in very great state, in imitation of the king and council, or the lord chaneellor and House of Lords.... The whole is surrounded with a neat area, encompassed with a good wall, and near it is a strong and sweet prison for criminals; and, on the other side of the open court, another for debtors." On account of other public buildings having been burned, the use of fire, candles, and tobacco in the capitol was forbidden; nevertheless, it was destroyed by fire.
*** This is from an engraving in Howe's Historical Collections of Virginia, page 329. Mr. Howe obtained the drawing from a lady of Williamsburg, to whose patriotic taste our countrymen are indebted for a representation of the edifice whieh was the focus of rebellion in Virginia.
* The original plan of Williamsburg was in the form of a cipher, made of the letters W and M, the initials of William and Mary. Its site was known as the Middle Plantation while Jamestown was the capital. Situated upon a ridge nearly equidistant from the York and James Rivers, it was an eligible place for a town, and there Governor Nicholson established the capital in 1698. It was the residence of the royal governors, and the capital of the colony, until the War of the Revolution, and was, from that circumstance, the center of Virginia refinement. Yet, in its palmiest days, the population of Williamsburg did not exceed twenty-five hundred. Many of its present inhabitants are descendants of the old stock of Virginia aristocracy; and an eminent seat of learning being located there, no place South is more distinguished for taste and refinement than Williamsburg, in proportion to its population.
Culpepper.—Lord Howard and Nicholson.—Federal Union proposed.—Orkney and his Deputies.—Spottswood.
Virginia to his two favorites, Arlington and Culpepper. (a) Two years after thisa 1675grant, Culpepper, who possessed the whole domain between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers, was appointed governor for life. He was proclaimed soon after the departure of Berkeley. Virginia was thus changed into a proprietary government, like Maryland and Pennsylvania. Culpepper came to Virginia in 1680, and was more intent upon enriching himself than advancing the prosperity of the colonists. He was speedily impoverishing Virginia, when the grant was recalled. (b) He was deprived of his office, andb 1684the province again became a royal demesne. Arlington had already assigned his rights to Culpepper. The name of the latter is ignoble in the annals of that colony, yet it is perpetuated by the name of a county given in his honor, a distinction awarded generally to men whose actions were praiseworthy.
Lord Howard, of Effingham, who succeeded Culpepper as governor, was not more popular; for he, too, was governed by avaricious motives, and practiced meaner acts to accomplish his purposes of gain than his predecessor. Desiring to please his royal master, he put all penal laws in full force, particularly those against printing and the restrictions of the Navigation Act. The bigot, James the Second, the successor of Charles, continued Effingham in office; but when that monarch was driven from the throne, (c) the governor returned to England. William the Third reappointed him, but with the stipulationc 1688that he should remain in England, and a deputy should exercise his functions in Virginia. His deputy was Francis Nicholson, a man of genius and taste, who came to Virginia in 1690. Two years afterward, Sir Edmund Andross, the infamous tool of James the Second, was made governor, and succeeded Nicholson. He administered the government badly until 1698, when he was recalled, and Nicholson was reinstated. On the return of that officer to Virginia, he moved the seat of government to the Middle Plantations, and Williamsburg was thenceforth the capital of the province for eighty years.
Governor Nicholson, who was a bold and ambitious man, conceived a scheme for uniting all the Anglo-American colonies. His plan was similar in its intended results to that of Andross, attempted twelve years before, when James issued a decree for uniting the New England colonies. Nicholson's ostensible object was the mutual defense of all the colonies against the encroachments of the French on the north, and the Indians made hostile by them along the frontiers. He submitted his plan to the king, who heartily approved of it, and recommended the measure to the colonial assemblies. Virginia refused to listen to any such scheme, and Nicholson's ambitious dream was dissolved in a moment. Greatly chagrined, he villified the Virginians; impressed William and Mary with an idea that they were disloyal; and represented to the ministers of Queen Anne (d) that they were "imbuedd 1704with republican notions and principles, such as ought to be corrected and lowered in time." He memorialized the queen to reduce all the American colonies under a viceroy, and establish a standing army among them, to be maintained at their own expense, declaring "that those wrong, pernicious notions were improving daily, not only in Virginia, but in all her majesty's other governments." Anne and her ministers did not approve of his scheme, and the Virginians becoming restive under his administration, he was recalled.1704
The Earl of Orkney succeeded Nicholson as governor, but exercised the functions of the office through deputies. He enjoyed the sinecure for thirty-six years. His first deputies were Mott and Jennings; the first remaining in office one year, and the other four years. In 1710, Jennings was succeeded by Sir Alexander Spottswood, * one of the most acceptable
* In 1757, a son of Colonel Spottswood, who was with a company scouting for Indians on the frontier, wandered from his companions, and was lost. His remains were found near Fort Duquesne. An elegaic poem, founded on the circumstances, was published in Martin's Miscellany, in London. The writer assumes that he was killed by the Indians, and says,