Historical collections of Virginia containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to its history and antiquities, together with geographical and statistical descriptions : to which is appended, an historical and descriptive sketch of the District of Columbia : illustrated by over 100 engravings, giving views of the principal towns, seats of eminent men, public buildings, relics of antiquity, historic localities, natural scenery, etc., etc. |
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MATHEWS. |
 | Historical collections of Virginia |  |
MATHEWS.
Mathews was created in 1790, from Gloucester, and named in
honor of a meritorious officer of the Virginia troops in the revolution,
and subsequently governor of Georgia. This county is a peninsula,
extending into Chesapeake Bay, united to the main by a narrow
neck of land scarcely a mile wide, and its boundaries are
almost entirely of water. It is 20 miles long, and in its widest
section not nine miles. The principal streams are the Piankatank,
East, and North Rivers. About 60,000 acres of the land are of a
medium fertility. Marl exists in some parts. Formerly ship-building
was carried on to such an extent, that agriculture was almost
entirely neglected. The county is supplied with meal by wind
and tide mills. Owing to the land being almost a dead level, there
are no streams of fresh water running through the county; hence
in long dry seasons every cattle hole, at which the stock water,
dry up, and they suffer much from thirst. Pop., in 1840, whites
3,969, slaves 3,309, free colored 174; total, 7,442.
Mathews C. H., or Westville, is near the centre of the county,
on a small stream putting up from East River, 100 miles E. of Richmond.
It is a port of entry, and contains about 30 dwellings.
Gwyn's Island is on the east side of the county, in Chesapeake
Bay, at the mouth of Piankatank River; it contains about 2000
acres, and a population of about 200. There is a tradition that
Pocahontas, in attempting to swim across the Piankatank, was near
drowning, but was rescued by an individual, to whom, as a token
of her gratitude, she gave this island.
Several months after the burning of Norfolk, Lord Dunmore left
Hampton Roads with his whole fleet, landed about the 1st of June
at Gwyn's Island, where he fortified himself. His force, consisting
of about 500 men, including negroes, whom he had induced by
false promises to leave their masters, was attacked by the Virginians
under Gen. Lewis, and compelled to abandon the place.
Shortly after, Dunmore left the coast of Virginia forever.
The annexed account of the attack upon Dunmore, and his expulsion
from Gwyn's Island, is from the Virginia Gazette of July
29th, 1776:—
We got to the island on Monday, the 8th, and next morning, at 8 o'clock, began a
furious attack upon the enemy's shipping, camp, and fortifications, from two batteries,
one of five, six, and nine-pounders; the other mounting two eighteen-pounders. What
forces the enemy had, were encamped on a point of the island nearly opposite to our
five-gun battery, covered by a battery of four embrasures, and a breastwork of considerable
extent. Besides this, they had two other batteries, and a stockade fort higher
up the haven, where troops were stationed to prevent our landing. In the haven were
three tenders; one a sloop, (the Lady Charlotte,) mounting six carriage-guns; a schooner
of two carriages, six swivels and cohorn; and a pilot-boat, badly armed, who had orders
from Captain Hammond, of the Roebuck, to prevent our boats passing over to the
island, and to annoy the rebels by every means in their power. Gen. Lewis announced
his orders for attacking the enemy, by putting a match to the first gun, an eighteen-pounder,
himself; and the Dunmore being then nearest to us, at the distance of about
500 yards, it passed through her hull, and did considerable damage. Our five-gun battery
soon became so hot that the Dunmore was obliged to cut her cables and haul off, after
receiving ten shot, some of which raked her fore and aft. The Otter lay next to her,
and it was expected would have taken her birth, but the first shot we gave her, took
place supposed between wind and water, and she immediately slipped her cable likewise,
and hauled out on a careen, without firing a gun. By this time all the fleet any way
near the shore, began to slip their cables in the utmost confusion; and had the wind set
in with a flood-tide, we must have taken great numbers of them. Our eighteen-pounders
did great execution from the upper battery, which raked the whole fleet; and Captain
Denny, who commanded the other battery, soon silenced the enemy at the point, knocking
down several tents, which put their camp into a great confusion. At half after 9
the firing ceased, which was renewed again at 12, with double vigor, from both batteries;
and nothing prevented our pushing to the island, during the cannonade, but the
want of vessels.
The general being determined to cross the next day, gave orders for all the small
crafts to be collected together from the neighboring creeks that night, and two brass
field-pieces, six-pounders, to be carried to a place called Lower Wind Mill Point, to attack
the tender that lay there, and facilitate our crossing. Accordingly, in the morning
Captain Harrison, who had the direction of those field-pieces, began playing upon the
tenders, which he galled so much, that the schooner ran up a small creek which indented
the island, where the crew abandoned her, and the sloop got aground in reach of
our cannon; upon which the general ordered Captain Smith, of the 7th regiment, with
his company, to man the canoes and board her, which was done with alacrity. However,
before our men came up with her, the crew got into their boat, and pushed for the
island. But Captain Smith, very prudently passing the tender, pursued them so close,
that before they could reach the shore, he exchanged a few shot with them, and took
part of them prisoners. The enemy's look-outs, perceiving our men close upon the lower
part of the island, cried out, "The shirt-men are coming!" and scampered off. The
pilot-boat made no resistance.
General Lewis then ordered two hundred men, under Colonel M'Clanahan, to land
on the island, which was performed as expeditiously as our small vessels would admit of.
On our arrival, we found the enemy had evacuated the place with the greatest precipitation,
and were struck with horror at the number of dead bodies, in a state of putrefaction,
strewed all the way from their battery to Cherry Point, about two miles in length,
with a shovel full of earth upon them; others gasping for life; and some had crawled
to the water edge, who could only make known their distress by beckoning to us. By
the small-pox, and other malignant disorders which have raged on board the fleet for
many months past, it is clear they have lost, since their arrival at Gwyn's Island, near
five hundred souls. I myself counted one hundred and thirty graves, or rather holes
loosely covered over with earth, close together, many of them large enough to hold a
corporal's guard. One in the middle was neatly done up with turf, and is supposed to
contain the remains of the late Lord Gosport. Many were burnt alive in brush huts,
which, in their confusion, had got on fire. In short, such a scene of misery, distress,
and cruelty, my eyes never beheld; for which the authors, one may reasonably conclude,
never can make atonement in this world. The enemy left behind them, in their battery,
a double fortified nine-pounder, a great part of their baggage, with several tents
and marquees, beside the three tenders, with their cannon, small arms, &c. Also the
anchors and cables of the Dunmore, Otter, and many others, to the amount, it is supposed,
of twelve hundred pounds. On their leaving the island, they burnt some valuable
vessels which had got aground. Mr. John Grymes' effects on the island have fallen
into our hands, consisting in thirty-five negroes, horses, cattle, and furniture.
Major Byrd, on the approach of our canoes to the island, was huddled into a cart in
a very sick and low condition, it is said, and carried down to Cherry Point, where he
embarked. The second shot the Dunmore received, cut her boatswain in two, and
wounded two or three others; and she had scarcely recovered from the shock, when a
nine-pounder from the lower battery entered her quarter, and beat in a large timber,
from the splinters of which Lord Dunmore got wounded in the legs, and had all his
valuable china smashed about his ears. It is said his lordship was exceedingly alarmed,
and roared out, "Good God, that ever I should come to this!"
We had our information from one of his people that came ashore after the engagement,
and was taken by our scouts. He likewise said, that many were killed in the
fleet, which had sustained some thousand pounds worth of damage. The Fowey and
Roebuck were the lowermost ships, besides which there were one hundred and odd sail
have gone into Potomac.
In this affair, we lost not a man but poor Captain Arundel, who was killed by the
bursting of a mortar of his own invention, although the general and all the officers were
against his firing it. His zeal for the service cost him his life.
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