University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER II.

Albemarle County has somewhat the shape of a lozenge.
Its northwestern border follows the crest of the Blue Ridge.
Its boundary on the southwest leaves the Ridge a little
north of Rockfish Gap, runs a course of south thirty degrees
east till it strikes the Rockfish River at the mouth of Green
Creek, and then coincides with that river to its junction
with the James. The angle at the south instead of coming
to a point is irregularly truncated by the James, that river
forming its border for about fifteen miles. The southeastern
boundary starts from the lower end of Scottsville, and
has a course of north thirty degrees east to the western side
of the town of Gordonsville; whence that on the northeast
runs north seventy-one degrees west till it intersects the top
of the Blue Ridge. Its greatest length from north to south
is about forty miles, and its greatest breadth about the same
distance. It has an area of slightly over seven hundred and
fifty square miles.

Its surface is greatly diversified. Parallel with the Blue
Ridge, the Southwest Mountain traverses its entire extent
at an interval of eighteen or twenty miles. This range is
continuous, except where it breaks to afford a passage for the
Rivanna, Hardware and Rockfish rivers. Its highest point,
Peter's Mountain, occurs where it enters the county on the
northeast, having an altitude of perhaps fifteen hundred feet.
In its course southward it maintains an elevation of ten or
twelve hundred feet until it passes the Hardware, when it
gradually declines, and exhibits a prominence but little
different from the surface of the surrounding country. This
mountain is for the most part a single ridge, and has none of
the lateral offshoots so characteristic of the Blue Ridge, unless
for a short distance on the west side of its northern portion.
Here and there occur low depressions in its crown,
which supply a natural and convenient way for roads. North
of the Rivanna are three of these depressions—the most northerly,

the Turkey Sag, so named from Turkey Run, a branch
of Priddy's Creek which rises at its western base, the next,
Stony Point Gap, opposite the village of that name, and the
third, Hammock's or Thurman's Gap. Between the Rivanna
and the Hardware there is but one, the Monticello Gap,
which separates Monticello from the continuation of the
range, called Carter's Mountain. South of the Hardware,
the range bears the name of Green Mountain.

In the northwest part of the county, and still more in the
southwest, irregular and massive formations raise their heads
on high, which from their disorderly appearance pass under
the name of the Ragged Mountains. Jutting from the Ridge
near the western corner is a huge spur, denominated Buck's
Elbow. Across Moorman's River to the north is another
lofty spur, the Pasture Fence Mountain, called so without
doubt because it contained one of the first enclosures for
grazing. It is a peculiar feature of this spur, as it is of the
whole Blue Ridge, that in summer it is covered with a luxuriant
growth of blue grass; and in former days, large
planters commonly owned farms on these mountains for the
special purpose of pasturage. Along the eastern foot of the
Pasture Fence lies a rich and beautiful valley, which from
one of its first settlers is named Brown's Cove, and which is
watered by an affluent of Moorman's River, called in early
times its north fork, but now known as Doyle's River.
Bordering the Cove on the east is a succession of smaller
eminences, Pigeon Top, Fox's Mountain and High Top,
while scattered towards the northeast are numerous elevations,
some having the appearance of ridges, and some rising as
solitary peaks, and bearing the names of Currants, Long,
Green, Buck and Piney Mountains.

Just west of where the University now stands is a small
range with a higher summit at either end, which was originally
called Piney Mountain. The north end has the name
of Lewis's Mountain, and the south, Observatory Mountain,
from its being the site of the astronomical department
of the University. At a short interval southwest
of this range, are heaped up for some miles great mountainous

masses, rugged and broken, that may well be
termed by way of eminence the Ragged Mountains. These
heights are skirted on the east by a range which runs with a
good degree of continuity to the extreme southwest of the
county, called on the north side of the Hardware, Dudley's
Mountain, and on the south, Gay's, Fan's and Appleberry's.
Running off from the Ragged Mountains in a westerly direction
is a range bearing the names of Martin's and Israel's
Mountains, indented by Taylor's, Martin's and Israel's Gaps;
while south and southeast of Israel's Gap, tower aloft some
of the loftiest summits in the county, Castle Rock, High Top,
Chalk and Heard's Mountains. Some views of these immense
piles are truly grand and magnificent. In the midst
of these gigantic heaps, are found reaches of comparatively
level country of prime fertility, one lying along the north
fork of the Hardware called the North Garden, another on
the south fork called the South Garden, and a third, the
Rich Cove, separated by a slight elevation from the South
Garden on the south. The section north of James River is
varied by gently sloping hills, and that east of the South
West Mountain stretches away to the east as an extensive
plain, and being covered with forest, is known as the Flatwoods.

Besides the James, the county is cut throughout its entire
breadth by two streams, and is washed at its southwest
corner by a third, all of considerable size. In the summer
the volume of water they discharge is much reduced—so
much at times, that during a remarkable drought in 1806,
James O. Carr, who was then attending school at Milton was
able to stop the entire current of the Rivanna with his hand;
but being mountain streams, that is having their sources
near the foot of the Blue Ridge, or its outlying spurs, they
become speedily filled by heavy rains and the melting snows
of winter, frequently rush down with the fury of a torrent,
and overflow all the low grounds along their banks. The
most northerly of these water courses is the Rivanna, which
has two forks uniting about four miles north of Charlottesville,
and forming the main stream. The north fork is made

up near the north line of the county by the union of Swift
Run and Lynch's River, both of which rise in Greene County
near the Blue Ridge. It flows southeast and south to its
junction with the south fork, augmented by Marsh Run,
Herring's Run, Priddy's and Foster's Creeks, flowing into
its north side, and by Beaverdam, Jacob's Run, and
Flat Branch, coming from the south. The south fork is
formed by the confluence of Moorman's and Mechum's
Rivers, and being fed on its north side by Buck Mountain,
Naked, Fishing and Powell's Creeks, and on its south
by Ivy Creek, runs eastwardly about five miles to its junction
with the north fork. Buck Mountain Creek has a
large branch on its west side called Piney Run. Moorman's
River rises in the deep ravine between the Blue Ridge and
Pasture Fence Mountain, known as Sugar Hollow, and runs
a south and then an east course, receiving on its north side
Doyle's River, and Rocky and Ward's Creeks. Mechum's
River has a greater length, some of its head waters springing
beyond the county line in Nelson, and interlocking with
branches of the north fork of Rockfish. It has also a more
tortuous channel, but its general trend is east of north. It
receives on its north side Virgin Spring Branch, Stockton's,
Beaver and Spring Creeks, and on its south, Whitesides
Creek, Pounding Branch and Broadaxe Creek. The Rivanna
proper flows south, turns to the east in its passage through
the South West Mountain for about four miles, and then
runs southeast to the county line, when passing through
Fluvanna County, it empties into the James at Columbia.
In its course through Albemarle, it receives Red Bud, Mountain
Falls, Carroll and Limestone Creeks on the north, and
Meadow, Moore's, Henderson's and Buck Island Creeks on
the south.

The Hardware divides into two forks, which join just
above its passage through the Southwest Mountain. The
north fork also divides not far from Red Hill Station, the
south and middle prongs heading near each other on either
side of Tom's Mountain, while the north prong rises in the
vicinity of Taylor's Gap. Just before reaching the junction

it receives on its north side Sowell's Branch. The south
fork has its source south of Castle Rock, and northwest of
Covesville. It makes its way in different directions among
the mountains, but its general course is northeast. Its
northern tributaries are Jumping Branch and Black Walnut,
and its southern, Rapshin and Eppes Creeks. A well known
branch of the latter is Beaverdam, which has recently
acquired celebrity from the Soapstone Works successfully
operated on its banks. After the union of its forks, the
Hardware pursues a southeast course, crosses the county
line about three miles north of Scottsville, and empties into
the James in Fluvanna County. It is enlarged on its northern
side by Murphy's and Turkey Runs, and on its southern
by Harris's Creek, formerly known as Little Eppes, and
by Coles's Creek, formerly called Hudson's.

The southwestern line of the county is intersected by the
head waters of Lynch's, Taylor's, Hickory and Cove Creeks,
all branches of Rockfish River. On the east side of Appleberry's
Mountain are Ivy, Green and Hog Creeks, debouching
into the same stream. Two creeks of moderate size
water the southern part of the county, and fall into the
James, one at Warren called Ballenger's, and the other about
two miles above Scottsville called Totier. Both are fed by
a number of branches. Mechunk Creek takes its rise not
far from Gordonsville, flows southwest and southeast, and
passing out of the county joins the Rivanna opposite Union
Mills. The sources of the South Anna are also in Albemarle,
located not far from that of Mechunk.

The character of the soil is various. The degrees of its
fertility are distinguished by different colors, the richest
exhibiting a deep red, and the less fertile a gray. The
former prevails at the base of the mountains, and along the
banks of the streams. Some parts of the county, especially
in the mountainous localities, are stony; the more level
lands are free from this incumbrance. The prevalent rocks
are quartz and what is colloquially known as mountain
granite. A single vein of limestone runs through the county,
about four miles east of the Southwest Mountain. In a

number of places slate and soapstone occur, both of fine
quality. Gold is found in the southwestern corner. The
soil and climate of Albemarle are well adapted to all the
staple productions of the temperate zone, and are exceedingly
favorable to the cultivation of fruit. The ravines and hollows
of the mountains which might seem unfitted for the
growth of any crop, are found to produce in perfection
the Albemarle Pippins, the most highly prized apples in the
world.

Most of the names given to the features of Albemarle
scenery, belonged to them from the earliest times. In the
patents first issued, the mountains and streams were already
indicated by names, and they were generally those which
they still bear. Who gave them, or why in many cases they
were given, must now be reckoned among the things unknown.
Sometimes they were suggested by natural circumstances,
and sometimes derived from persons who were
owners, or occupiers, of the neighboring lands. The latter
have undergone more change than others, because with the
lapse of years the names of former residents passed out of
remembrance, and those of their successors were applied in
their stead. As settlements were made in different parts of
the county at the same time, it has happened that names are
frequently repeated.

The Southwest Mountain on which the first lands were
entered, was originally called the Chestnut Mountains. It
was also spoken of as the Little Mountain. Particular portions
had local names, for the most part taken from owners
or first settlers, as Peter's, Carter's, Lively's, Sugar Loaf,
Monticello. Green Mountain no doubt derived its name from
the color of its luxuriant vegetation. The Blue Ridge bore
that name from the first planting of the country. The early
inhabitants called it also the Blue Ledge, and the Blue Mountain.
Sometimes it was designated the Great Mountain, in
opposition to the Little Mountain, and occasionally the South
Mountain, in opposition to the North Mountain on the west
side of the Valley. Buck's Elbow and Pasture Fence—at first
Smith's Pasture Fence—Mountain have always been so called.

Brown's Gap and Brown's Cove were named from the family
that largely settled the land in that region. Turk's Gap was
first called Jameson's, and Jarman's bore the name of Woods'
—all from families who lived near by. Rockfish Gap has
always had that name, acquiring it from the river which rises
in part at its base. Pigeon Top was once called Jameson's
Mountain, and may have obtained its later name from a roost
of that bird. Fox's Mountain took its name from a family
that lived on it, and High Top from its lofty peak. Currant's
and Webb's Mountains were named from persons who possessed
the adjoining lands, and Buck Mountain, and the
Creek of the same name, from the abundance of deer that
roamed the forests. Piney Mountain was first called Poindexter's,
from the man who entered the land at its foot. Yellow
Mountain at one time went by the name of Epperson's.
Castle Rock was so denominated from its huge towering form,
Chalk Mountain from the light-colored rocks which face its
crest, and Heard's, Appleberry's, Fan's, Gay's, Dudley's,
from primitive settlers in their vicinity. In early times the
Mountains north of Moorman's River, and south of Mechum's,
were called Ragged, from their disordered appearance,
and not from the garments of their inhabitants, as has
sometimes been suggested.

The Hardware River has always borne that name. Rivanna
was in use from the first, according to the fashion then in
vogue, of honoring Queen Anne with the names of rivers
recently discovered. In the earliest patents and deeds it was
more frequently called the north fork of the James, as the
James above the Rivanna passed under the name of the South
Fork, or more euphuistically, the Fluvanna. In some instances
the Rivanna was simply termed the North River,
and the Fluvanna the South. The crossing of the Rivanna
at the Free Bridge was known at the beginning of the century
as Moore's Ford, or Lewis' Ferry, according to the stage of
water, and its north fork was sometimes called, down to a
quite recent date, the Little River. Red Bud was first named
Key's Mill Creek, or Swamp. In early days, swamp seemed
to be interchangeable with creek, no doubt from the rubbish

of logs and leaves which for ages had obstructed the channels
of the smaller streams. Priddy's, Buck Mountain and Rocky
Creeks, and Jacob's and Piney Runs, had those designations
from the beginning. The names of Meadow and Ivy Creeks
obtained from the earliest times. Moorman's River was
named from Thomas Moorman, one of the first patentees on
its banks, and Mechum's, from a George Mechum, who was
an owner of land near its head. The north fork of Mechum's
was called Stockton's Creek, and its south fork, now regarded
as the main stream, Stockton's Mill Creek, from a
numerous family occupying their margins. The middle
fork was always termed Virgin Spring Branch. Union Run
was first named Mountain Falls Creek; afterwards, from
being a favorite feeding place of the wagoners who brought
their produce to Milton, it acquired the name of Camping
Branch. Carroll's Creek was the original title of that
stream. Limestone was first called Plum Tree Branch,
then Scales Creek, and finally its present name, from washing
the only vein of limestone in the county. Buck Island
Creek was so designated from the beginning. It is a mistake
to write it Buckeyeland, as if derived from the deer-eyed
tree. The name was taken from an island in the Rivanna
opposite its mouth, and as in the case of so many objects
of natural scenery, was suggested by the great numbers of
deer found everywhere in the country. There were two other
tributaries of the Rivanna below Milton in early times,
though their names are never heard at present, Henderson's
and Miller's Branches. Moore's Creek has been so called
from the first. The same is true of Biscuit Run; but the
names of its branches, Plum Orchard on the east, and Cow
Branch on the west, have slipped from the memory of men.
A small prong of Moore's above Biscuit Run once had the
name of Edge's Creek; it is forgotten now.

There were three Beaverdams in the county, one running
into Mechunk, another into Lynch's River, and the third
into Eppes Creek. Besides Ivy Creek that passes the depot
of that name, there is another which empties into Rockfish.
An affluent of Priddy's Creek, and one of Ballenger's, were

both called Wolf Trap. Wolf Pit was a branch of Beaver
Creek, and a cavity on the west side of South West Mountain
had the same name. Piney Mountain was the designation,
not only of the present mountain of that name, but also of
Lewis's Mountain near the University and of an eminence
near Afton. A branch of the lower Rockfish was called Buck
Island, besides the stream so named that flows into the
Rivanna. A Turkey Run empties into Priddy's Creek, and
another of the name enters the Hardware. There were three
Round Top Mountains, one in the Buck Mountain region,
another not far from Batesville, and another near the University.

Whitehall was an election precinct under the successive
names of Glenn's Store, William Maupin's Store, Maupin's
Tavern, Miller's Tavern, Shumate's Tavern, till at length
the present name was established about 1835. For a long
time Batesville went by the name of Oliver's Store. Mechum's
Depot was anciently known as Jarman's Mill, and afterwards
as Walker's Mill. Ivy Depot was formerly called Woodville.
The name of Glendower at first was Scott's Mill, then Dyer's,
and then Dawson's. Woodridge was for many years denominated
McGehee's Old Field. Besides Stony Point on the
Barboursville Road, there was a Stony Point not far from
Scottsville. Free Union formerly went by the name of
Nixville, and is still so spoken of by the older citizens.
Petersburg is the appellation of a hamlet on Priddy's Creek
between the Southern Railroad and the Barboursville Road.
Cartersburg is a straggling collection of houses on the hill
south of Rio Bridge. Brownton and Lemon Hill stand for
places not far from Glendower.

As already intimated, the former denizens of the forest
were frequently alluded to in the names by which objects
were distinguished. When the county was first occupied,
game of every kind abounded. Traces of the buffalo still
remained. A trail is said to have run up Rockfish River to
the Gap of that name. It is also reported that the old Richard
Woods Road closely followed a buffalo trail. A tract of
land belonging to the Webb entry, sold in 1769 to Isaac

Davis, and lying on the north fork of the Rivanna, is described
as adjoining Buffalo Meadow. A branch of Buck
Mountain Creek was called Elk Run. Deer were exceedingly
plentiful. A tradition, which descended from one of the
first settlers near the Blue Ridge, states, that by stepping
from his door almost any morning, he was able to shoot a
deer. From this circumstance it arose that the word Buck
so frequently forms part of the names of the county. Lick
Run was a branch of Beaverdam in its northern part. Bears
were found, not only as they still are in the deep ravines of
the Blue Ridge, but also in every neighborhood. Near the
Rich Cove were Bear Creek, and Red Bear Hollow. Benjamin
Brown devised to his son Bezaleel the Bear cornfield.
In a deed of 1789, conveying land north of Stony Point, one
of the lines passed by "the Bear Spring on the road." As
late as 1823, it was stated, that Henry Bruce with two other
men, killed on the Blue Ridge twelve fine fat bears in fifteen
days. As previously mentioned, an exterminating war was
waged from the beginning against wolves. A prong of Green
Creek bore the name of Black Fox Branch. Beaver and
Beaverdam Creeks were connected with every leading stream
of the county. In the first times flocks of turkeys thronged
the woods, and every fall and spring wild ducks and geese
darkened the rivers. Tradition refers to more than one
pigeon roost, where great limbs of trees were broken down
by the countless numbers of that bird. Before the construction
of dams, fish of the best kinds, shad and herring,
ascended the water courses. Dr. William Cabell derived a
considerable revenue from his fisheries on James River, and
fine shad, taken from the Rivanna, were often seen on the
tables of the early inhabitants.

There is no evidence that Indians were resident in the
county at the first approach of the white man, though they
still passed through on their journeys from one part of the
country to another. But memorials of their former occupation
were not wanting. Mr. Jefferson mentions having often
seen them in his boyhood, and refers in his Notes to a large
band visiting the mound containing the remains of their ancestors

on the Rivanna low grounds, and there expressing
their customary signs of grief. In a description of land on
Bremo Creek, in a deed of 1751, is noted a line that ran "up
to the head of the branch that the Indian shot John Lawson
at." The head stream of Buck Island that flows past Overton,
was variously called Indian Creek, Indian Camp Creek,
and Camping Branch, and the plantation at its source, once
owned by William Short, and sold by him to David Higginbotham,
bore the name of Indian Camp, Flint arrowheads,
often of superior workmanship, are found in large numbers
in many sections of the county.

The first division of the county, besides its separation into
the two parishes of Fredericksville and St. Anne's, was that
made by the bounds of the militia companies. Each of the
two regiments embodied in it contained eight companies, and
thus there were sixteen of these divisions. The persons
selected to perform the duty of Processioning, whilst that
method of determining the boundaries of lands was practised,
were chosen for these divisions, usually four persons
for each. They were referred to by Mr. Jefferson as forming
suitable districts for stationing common schools, and appear
in the records until quite a late period in connection with
the appointment of patrolling parties.

For a long time the county seat was the exclusive locality
for holding political elections. For electing Overseers of the
Poor, there existed in the early part of the century four districts:
for the northeast, the voting place was Trice's Tavern
below Turkey Sag, and afterwards Stony Point; for the
northwest, Fretwell's Store, or Free Union; for the southwest,
Everett's Tavern, or the Cross Roads; and for the
southeast, Dyer's Store. It was not until the second quarter
of the century was considerably advanced that the number of
election precincts was increased, and the convenience of the
people thus consulted. As late as 1820, Charlottesville was
the only post office for the county; subsequent to that date,
mail facilities began rapidly to multiply.

In 1846, in accordance with an act of the Legislature, the
county was divided into twenty-one School districts. A

description of their limits is recorded in the Order Book for
that year, page 312. In Deed Book No. Fifty, occurs the
record of the boundaries of ten districts for election purposes,
which were constituted in pursuance of an act of the Legislature
passed in 1852.

The last division was effected by an act of the Legislature,
under the requirement of the new Constitution, adopted in
July, 1869. By this law the county was laid off into
five Townships, subsequently termed Districts. These
were Rivanna, Whitehall, Samuel Miller, Scottsville and
Charlottesville. In 1875 another was added, called Ivy,
which was enlarged on its northern border in 1889.

Allusion has been made to the great misfortune sustained
in the loss of the early records. The gap thus occasioned
reaches from 1748 to 1783, a period of thirty-five years, and
one intensely interesting in the history of the country at large.
The loss was caused by the wanton ravages of the British
troops near the close of the Revolutionary War. Many references
to this event are met with in the subsequent proceedings
of the County Court. In 1794 it recommended John Key,
George Divers, Thomas Garth, Thomas W. Lewis, Garland
Carr, Thomas Bell, Robert Jonett, W. W. Hening, and
Cornelius Schenk as "Commissioners to reinstate such records
as had been lost or destroyed." These persons or
others were certainly appointed for this purpose, as the Court
in one place ordered the transactions of the Commissioners
"for reinstating the records destroyed by the enemy," to be
recorded. A copy of Gideon Carr's will was proved before
them, and directed to be placed on record. On a deed from
Thomas Goolsby to Samuel Shelton dated July 1745, the
following memorandum was inscribed: "February Court,
1788. This Indenture was produced to the Court, and it
appearing from a certificate on the same, that it had been
formerly recorded in this Court, the record whereof was destroyed
by the British in the year 1781, on motion of Samuel
Shelton it was ordered by the Court that it be recorded again,
in pursuance of an act of Assembly for that purpose." The
act here referred to may be found in Hening XII, 497. It

is hard to conceive any conduct in an army more outrageous,
more opposed to the true spirit of civilization, and withal
more useless in a military point of view, than the destruction
of public archives.

Other interruptions of the series however have happened
since that time. The order books of the Court are missing
from 1785 to 1791. Those for the years 1805 and 1827 are
also wanting. It is difficult to account for these losses,
except from want of due care in the removal of the books at
different times from one office to another.

During the long interval posterior to 1748, two events
transpired on which it is desirable to have as much light as
possible, the change of location of the Court House, and the
Revolutionary War. Materials fortunately exist to furnish
some account of both.

The first occurrence was rendered necessary by the partition
of the county in 1761. The territory on the south side of
James River was cut off to form the county of Buckingham.
That part which lay north of the James, and west of
the Rockfish from its mouth up to the mouth of Green
Creek, and thence west of a line running directly to the
house of Thomas Bell, and continuing thence to the Blue
Ridge, was constituted the county of Amherst. At the
same time there was added to Albemarle that part of Louisa
lying west of a line, beginning at the boundary between
Albemarle and Louisa on the ridge between Mechunk and
Beaverdam Swamp, and running along said ridge till intersected
by an east course from the widow Cobb's plantation,
and thence a direct course to the Orange line opposite the
plantation of Ambrose Coleman. When this arrangement
took place, it left the Court House on the extreme southern
border, and rendered attendance thereat unnecessarily inconvenient
to the people residing in the northern sections of the
county.

What proceedings transpired to determine the site of the
new Court House, whether it was fixed by the judgment of
the County Court, or settled by a popular vote, there remains
no means of knowing. Certain it is no more suitable place

than the one selected could have been chosen. It occupies
almost the exact centre of the county, it lies in the midst of
a fertile country, and it is beautiful for situation. Lofty ideas
were evidently entertained in relation to its establishment.
A thousand acres were purchased from Colonel Richard Randolph,
of Henrico, extending north and south from near
Cochran's Pond to the south side of Moore's Creek, and east
and west from the Chesapeake and Ohio Depot to Preston
Heights. The title to this property was vested in Dr.
Thomas Walker as Trustee, and he was empowered to sell
and convey it to purchasers. The town was planned at the
eastern edge of this tract, and consisted of four tiers of
squares, each tier running east and west, and containing
seven squares, and the four tiers extending from Jefferson
Street on the north to South Street on the south. The public
square for the courthouse was exterior to the limits of the
town. The act of Assembly establishing the town was
passed in November 1762. It is therein recited that fifty
acres of land contiguous to the courthouse had already been
laid off into lots and streets, and as it would be of great advantage
to the inhabitants of the county if established a town
for the reception of traders, it was so established, to be
called and known by the name of Charlottesville. Dictated
by the spirit of loyalty then prevalent, the name was given
in honor of Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz, who
had recently become Queen of England as the wife of King
George III.

There being two half-acre lots in each square, the original
town contained fifty-six lots. They were not disposed of
with great rapidity. At the first sale in September 1763,
about a year after the survey of the town, fourteen lots were
sold to seven purchasers. Ten more were sold at intervals
during the next year. Strange to say, the most of those
alienated at first were remote from the courthouse, and lay
on Main, Water and South Streets, although it is within the
memory of some living since the Square ceased to be the
business centre of the town. The next sale took place in
October 1765, when twenty-three lots were disposed of, fourteen

being purchased at once by Benjamin Brown and David
Ross. By this time it may be supposed the courthouse was
built, and the prospects of the new settlement being somewhat
assured, the spirit of speculation began to operate.
In the deed to John Moore of Lot No. Three in 1765, it
was stated that the Court of the County was recently held
thereon.

The residue of the public land was divided into fifteen
parts, designated as outlots. They ranged in size from
thirty-three to one hundred and fifty acres. The smallest
of them lying north of the town and immediately on the
public square, was sold to John Moore in April 1764. On
this lot was a spring in the ravine behind Miss Ross' residence,
which had already acquired the name of the Prison
Spring. The latter part of the same year two others adjoining
the town on the south, and containing seventy-three
acres, were purchased by Richard Woods. In October 1765,
eight more lying to the north, south and west, and aggregating
upwards of six hundred acres, were bought by John
Moore, Joel Terrell, and Richard and Samuel Woods. The
last sale of outlots mentioned occurred in 1791, when the
most northerly of them was sold to Dr. George Gilmer.
The whole sum realized by the county from the sale of town
lots and outlots averaged a pound an acre, amounting to
thirty-three hundred and thirty-three dollars.

The improvements made in the town before the Revolution
seem to have been few and scattered. One of the
earliest was the residence of Joel Terrell, which was built
on the corner of Market and Fifth Streets, where the City
Hall now stands. Thomas West, a saddler by trade, lived
on Main Street, on the square now occupied by the Letermans'
Store. Samuel Taliaferro resided on the square to
the east, on which afterwards stood the dwelling and store
of Colonel Thomas Bell, occupied later by the family of Jesse
Scott, and at present the seat of the Post Office. The first
home of Dr. George Gilmer was on the south side of Main
Street, near the present location of T. T. Norman's Store.
John Day, a blacksmith, lived on the southeast corner of

Water and First Streets. Tucker Woodson, Deputy Clerk
of the County, who married Elizabeth, daughter of John
Moore, had his residence north of town, near the road to
Cochran's Mill. A short time before the outbreak of the
war, John Jouett built his public house, the Swan Tavern,
on the east of the public square, where the house of the late
Samuel Leitch now stands. The square on which is now
erected the Perley Building, was known in those days as
"the Grass Lot," and on a part of it was a house in which
a Richard Scott lived, and which when sold during the war
was reserved to him for his life. In a house on Lot Twenty-one,
now marked by Huyett's Corner, a Mary Murphy lived
the latter part of the war. Being afterwards married to
Joseph Neilson, they sold it in 1784, and the same year it
came into the possession of Robert Draffen, a former merchant
of Charlottesville.

As the war of the Revolution drew near, the people of
Albemarle were deeply aroused. Their opposition to the
obnoxious measures of the British government was prompt
and strong. Upon the first mutterings of the storm, an
independent company of volunteers was formed, and by
spirited resolves they devoted themselves to the public welfare.
When the election of officers was entered upon, the
choice fell upon Charles Lewis, of North Garden, as Captain,
Dr. George Gilmer and John Marks, as Lieutenants, John
Harvie, as Ensign, William Simms, William Wood, William
T. Lewis, and John Martin, as Sergeants, and Frederick W.
Wills, Thomas Martin, Jr., Patrick Napier and David Allen,
as Corporals. As soon as the news was received of the
removal of the powder by Lord Dunmore, without waiting
for a call, eighteen men at once marched to Williamsburg.
How long they remained under arms, does not appear. They
returned home shortly after, in the midst of the prevailing
uncertainty. But their eagerness to sustain "the cause of
America," was unabated. In fact so enthusiastic was their
warmth, that they were not disposed to listen to counsels
which cooler minds deemed prudent. On receiving a message
from Captain Hugh Mercer, to the effect that the Speaker

and others thought the companies assembled should be dismissed,
they were at a loss how to act. It was determined
however that the matter should be submitted to the decision
of the company. They voted to march again, and on July
11th, 1775, twenty-seven men under Lieutenant George Gilmer
proceeded a second time to Williamsburg.

The Convention which met on July 17th of that year,
formed sixteen districts in the colony, in which troops should
be raised for its defence. In one of these Albemarle was
associated with Buckingham, Amherst and East Augusta.
The Committee of the district convened on September 8th,
1775, at the house of James Woods in Amherst. There were
present from Albemarle, Charles Lewis and George Gilmer,
from Amherst, William Cabell and John and Hugh Rose,
from Buckingham, John Nicholas, Charles Patterson and
John Cabell, and from Augusta, Sampson Matthews, Alexander
McClanahan and Samuel McDowell. Thomas Jefferson
was the other delegate from Albemarle, but was absent at the
Continental Congress, of which he had been appointed a
member the previous June. At this meeting it was resolved,
that two companies of minutemen should be enlisted in each
of the counties of Albemarle, Amherst and Buckingham, and
four in that of Augusta, and that these ten companies should
constitute a battalion under George Matthews, of Augusta,
and afterwards Governor of Georgia, as Colonel, Charles
Lewis, of Albemarle, as Lieutenant Colonel, Daniel Gaines, of
Amherst, as Major, and Thomas Patterson, of Buckingham,
as Commissary. This battalion was raised and went into
camp November 11th, 1775, three miles from Rockfish Gap,
and continued in training till December 6th. Inquiry fails
to find any local tradition of the place of this camp, but it is
said that grounds at that distance from the Gap, and admirably
fit for military exercises, may be found on the main road
between Hebron and Rodes' Churches. Charles Lewis appears
as Colonel of a battalion the next year, and was ordered
by the Convention in May to North Carolina. He was afterwards
Colonel of the Fourteenth Virginia Regiment, and at
the time of his death in 1779, Commander of the post at
Charlottesville.

Soldiers from Albemarle fought on all the important battle
fields of the war, Long Bridge, Trenton, Stony Point,
Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga, Monmouth, Savannah,
Charleston, Camden, King's Mountain, Cowpens, Guilford,
Eutaw and Yorktown.

The most striking event connecting the county with the
war, was the location within its bounds of the camp for the
Convention Troops, as they were called; that is, the prisoners
captured in October 1777, at Burgoyne's surrender.
These troops were first sent to Boston, whence they were to
be allowed to return to Europe on their parole not to serve
again till exchanged; but Congress on account of its unsatisfactory
relations with the British authorities, refused to
ratify the terms of the Convention, and the next year directed
the prisoners to be removed to Charlottesville. Being led by
way of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Frederick, Maryland,
they reached their new quarters about the first of the year
1779, and remained until October 1780. The camp was
stationed on the northern bank of Ivy Creek, on what is now
the farm of the late George Carr, and the place has ever since
borne the name of The Barracks. There remain some interesting
reminiscences of this episode of the war, derived from
contemporary documents.

The prisoners arrived in the winter, when a spell of extremely
bitter weather was prevailing. Such was the lack
of preparation for their reception, and such their sufferings,
that numerous remonstrances were presented by their officers
to the Governor of the State, as well as to Congress. Demands
were made for their immediate removal. In this state
of affairs Mr. Jefferson wrote at much length to Patrick
Henry, the Governor at that time, stating the circumstances,
and urging that there was no necessity for a change. The
letter, dated March 27th, 1779, is valuable for the interesting
facts it preserves. In the course of it he says,

"There could not have been a more unlucky concurrence
of circumstances than when these troops first came. The
barracks were unfinished for want of laborers, the spell of
weather, the worst ever known within the memory of man, no

stores of bread laid in, the roads by the weather and the
number of wagons soon rendered impassable; and not only
the troops themselves were greatly disappointed, but the
people of the neighborhood were alarmed at the consequences
which a total failure of provisions might produce.

"The barracks occupy the top and brow of a very high
hill; you have been untruly told they were in a bottom.
They are free from fog, have four springs which seem to be
plentiful, one within twenty yards of the picket, and another
within two hundred and fifty; and they propose to sink
wells within the picket. Of four thousand people it should
be expected according to the ordinary calculations, that one
should die every day. Yet in the space of more than three
months there have been but four deaths, two infants under
three weeks old, and two others by apoplexy. The officers
tell me the troops were never so healthy since they were
embodied.

"The mills on James River above the falls, open to canoe
navigation, are very many. Some of these are of great
value as manufacturers. The barracks are surrounded by
mills. There are five or six round about Charlottesville.
Any two or three of the whole might in the course of the
winter manufacture flour sufficient for the year.

"The officers after considerable hardship have procured
quarters comfortable and satisfactory to them. In order to
do this, they were obliged in many instances to hire houses
for a year certain, and at such exorbitant rents as were sufficient
to tempt independent owners to go out of them, and
shift as they could. These houses in most cases were much
out of repair. They have repaired them at considerable
expense. One of the general officers has taken a place for
two years, advanced the rent for the whole time, and been
obliged moreover to erect additional buildings for the accommodation
of part of his family, for which there was not room
in the house rented. Independent of the brick work, for the
carpentry of these additional buildings I know he is to pay
fifteen hundred dollars. The same gentleman to my knowledge
has paid to one person thirty-six hundred and seventy

dollars, for different articles to fix himself commodiously.
They have generally laid in their stocks of grain and other
provisions. They have purchased cows, sheep, &c., set in
to farming, prepared their gardens, and have a prospect of
quiet and comfort before them.

"To turn to the soldiers. The environs of the barracks
are delightful, the ground cleared, laid off in hundreds of
gardens, each enclosed in its separate paling; these are well
prepared, and exhibiting a fine appearance. General Riedesel
alone laid out upwards of two hundred pounds in garden
seeds for the German troops only. Judge what an extent of
ground these seeds would cover. There is little doubt that
their own gardens will furnish them a great abundance of
vegetables through the year. Their poultry, pigeons and
other preparations of that kind present to the mind the idea
of a company of farmers, rather than a camp of soldiers.
In addition to the barracks built for them by the public, and
now very comfortable, they have built great numbers for
themselves in such messes as fancied each other; and the
whole corps, both officers and men, seem now happy and
satisfied with their situation."

Besides this narrative of Mr. Jefferson, there is extant an
account of the Barracks, and of the condition of affairs in the
surrounding country, in the published letters of Major
Thomas Anbury, a British officer, and one of the prisoners.
These letters were despatched from time to time to his friends
in England, and exhibit a detail of his experiences and observations,
from Burgoyne's march from Canada till near the
close of the war. They were written in a free, dashing style,
and while his descriptions are sprightly and entertaining,
they present things in such aspects and colors as would naturally
be expected from a British point of view. Most of
those written from Albemarle were dated at Jones's Plantation,
and the circumstances to which he refers make it evident
that the place was that of Orlando Jones, situated north of
Glendower, and now bearing the name of Refuge. Respecting
matters concerning the prisoners, he writes,

"On our arrival at Charlottesville, no pen can describe the

scene of misery and confusion that ensued; the officers of
the first and second brigades were in the town, and our arrival
added to their distress. This famous place we had
heard so much of, consisted only of a courthouse, one tavern,
and about a dozen houses, all of which were crowded with
officers; those of our brigade were therefore obliged to ride
about the country, and entreat the inhabitants to take us in.
As to the men, their situation was truly horrible, after the
hard shifts they had experienced in their march from the
Potomac. They were, instead of comfortable barracks, conducted
into a wood, where a few log huts were just begun to
be built, the most part not covered over, and all of them full of
snow. These they were obliged to clear out and cover over,
to secure themselves from the inclemency of the weather as soon
as they could, and in the course of two or three days rendered
a habitable, but by no means a comfortable, retirement.
What added greatly to the distress of the men was the want
of provisions, as none had as yet arrived for the troops, and
for six days they subsisted on the meal of Indian corn made
into cakes. The person who had the management of everything,
informed us that we were not expected till spring.

"Never was a country so destitute of every comfort. Provisions
were not to be purchased for ten days; the officers
subsisted upon fat pork and Indian corn made into cakes,
not a drop of spirit of any kind; what little there had been,
was already consumed by the first and second brigades.
Many officers to comfort themselves put red pepper into
water to drink by way of cordial. Upon a representation of
our situation by Brigadier General Hamilton to Colonel Bland,
who commanded the American troops, he promised to make
the situation of the men as comfortable as possible, and with
all expedition. The officers upon signing a parole might go to
Richmond and other adjacent towns, to procure themselves
quarters; accordingly a parole was signed, which allowed a
circuit of near a hundred miles. And after they had drawn
lots, as three were to remain in the barracks with the men,
or at Charlottesville, the principal part of them set off for
Richmond, while many are at plantations twenty or thirty

miles from the barracks. On the arrival of the troops at
Charlottesville, the officers what with vexation and to keep
out the cold, drank rather freely of an abominable liquor
called peach brandy, which if drunk to excess, the fumes
raise an absolute delirium, and in their cups several were
guilty of deeds that would admit of no apology. The inhabitants
must have thought us mad, for in the course of three
or four days there were no less than six or seven duels
fought.

"I am quartered with Major Master and four other officers
of our regiment at this plantation, about twenty miles from
the barracks. The owner has given up his house and gone
to reside at his overseer's, and for the use of his house we
pay him two guineas a week. It is situated upon an eminence,
commanding a prospect of near thirty miles around
it, and the face of the country appears an immense forest,
interspersed with various plantations four or five miles distant
from each other. Informing the Commissary of provisions
where we were quartered, he gave us an order on a
Colonel Coles, who resides about four miles distant, to supply
us, he being appointed to collect for the use of Congress in
this district; who upon application sent us about a month's
provision of flour and salt pork for ourselves and servants.
Cattle, horses, sheep and hogs followed the cart, to lick the
barrels containing the salt meat.

"The house where General Phillips resides is called Blenheim.
It was erected shortly after that memorable battle
by a Mr. Carter, Secretary of the Colony, and was his favorite
seat of residence. It stands on a lofty eminence, commanding
a very extensive prospect. Colonel Carter, its present
proprietor, possesses a most affluent fortune, and has a
variety of seats surpassing Blenheim, which he suffers to go
to ruin. When General Phillips took it, it was crowded with
negroes, sent to clear a spot of ground a few miles off. The
extent of his land is immense, and he has fifteen hundred
negroes on his different plantations.

"The Congress must be acquitted of the bad treatment of
the prisoners; they were misguided and duped by a Colonel

Harvie, a member from this province. When Virginia was
fixed on as a depot for the prisoners, Colonel Harvie proposed
to Congress to remove the Convention army to a tract
of land belonging to him, about six miles from Charlottesville,
about four from the Blue Mountains, and near two
hundred from the sea coast; and if Congress approved, he
would engage to build barracks and lay in provisions by the
ensuing spring. The resolution was passed the latter end of
June. Colonel Harvie immediately resorted to Virginia, and
set all his negroes, and a number of the inhabitants, to build
the barracks and collect provisions; and after having planned
everything, he left its completion to the management of his
brother, and returned to Congress. His brother not possessing
so much activity, and not being perhaps so much interested
in the business, did not pay proper attention to it;
and this was the cause why the barracks were not finished,
and affairs were in such confusion on our arrival. Colonel
Harvie supposed all would be ready by Christmas.

"Colonel Bland, who commands the American troops, was
formerly a physician at a place called Petersburg on the
James River, but at the commencement of the war, as being
in some way related to Bland, who wrote a military treatise,
he felt a martial spirit arise within him, quitted the Esculapian
art, and at his own expense raised a regiment of light horse.
As to those troops of his regiment with Washington's army,
I cannot say anything; but the two the Colonel has with
him here for the purposes of express and attendance, are the
most curious figures you ever saw; some like Prince Prettyman
with one boot, others without any; some hoseless, with
their feet peeping out of their shoes, others with breeches
that put decency to the blush; some in short jackets, and
some in long coats, but all have fine dragoon caps, and long
swords slung around them; some with holsters, some without,
but, gramercy, pistols, they haven't a brace and a
half among them; but they are tolerably well mounted, and
that is the only thing you can advance in their favor. The
Colonel is so fond of his dragoons, that he reviews and
maneuvers them every morning, and when he rides out, has

two with drawn swords before, and two behind. It is really
laughable to see him thus attended by his ragged regiment,
which looks, to borrow Shakespeare's idea, as if the gibbets
had been robbed to make it up; then the Colonel himself,
notwithstanding his martial spirit, has all the grave deportment
as if he were going to a consultation. He greatly
amused some of us calling to see him not long since. He
had just mounted his horse to ride out, and seeing us approach,
and wishing to air his French, he called out very
pompously to his orderly, `Donnez moi—donnez moi—eh—
mon scabbard!' "

In May 1779, he wrote,

"A few days ago Madame Riedesel, [who with her husband,
Baron Riedesel, was living at Colle, near Simeon]
with two of her children, had a narrow escape. As she was
going to the barracks in her post chaise, when the carriage
had passed a wooden bridge—which are of themselves very
terrific, being only so many rough logs laid across beams,
without any safeguard on either side—an old rotten pine fell
directly between the horses and the chaise, but providentially
did no other damage than crushing the two fore wheels to
pieces, and laming one of the horses.

"I am filled with sorrow at being obliged to relate the
death of W—, a relative of Sir Watkin Williams Wynne.
He had been drinking peach brandy till he became insane;
and riding from Charlottesville to the barracks, he contrived
to escape his companions, and next morning was found dead
in a by place five miles off, being tracked by the foot-prints
of his horse in the snow."

From the Barracks, to which he had removed in the early
part of 1780, he wrote later,

"The log huts of the men are becoming dangerous from the
ravages of insects, that bear the appellation of Sawyers, and
are infested with rats of enormous size. The prisoners are
deserting in great numbers, especially the Germans, and
duels have become very frequent among the German officers."

On November 20th, 1780, he wrote from Winchester,

"About six weeks ago we marched from Charlottesville

barracks, Congress being apprehensive that Cornwallis in
overrunning the Carolinas might by forced marches retake
the prisoners. The officers murmured greatly at the step,
having been given to understand that they were to remain
till exchanged. Many had laid out considerable sums to render
their huts comfortable, particularly by replacing the wood
chimneys with stone, and to promote association, they had
erected a coffee house, a theatre, a cold bath, &c. My
miserable log hut, not more than sixteen feet square, cost
between thirty and forty guineas in erecting. The woods had
been cleared away for the space of six miles in circumference
around the barracks. It had become a little town, and there
being more society, most of the officers had resorted thither.
After we quitted the barracks, the inhabitants were near a
week in destroying the cats that were left behind; impelled
by hunger, they had gone into the woods, and there was reason
to suppose they would become extremely wild and ferocious,
and would be a great annoyance to their poultry. We
crossed the Pignut Ridge, or more properly the Blue Mountains,
at Woods's Gap, and though considerably loftier than
those we crossed in Connecticut, we did not meet with so
many difficulties; in short, you scarcely perceive till you are
upon the summit that you are gaining an eminence, much
less one that is of such a prodigious height, owing to the
judicious manner that the inhabitants have made the road,
which by its winding renders the ascent extremely easy.
After traveling near a mile through a thick wood before you
gain the summit of these mountains, when you reach the top,
you are suddenly surprised with an unbounded prospect that
strikes you with amazement. At the foot of the mountain
runs a beautiful river; beyond it is a very extensive plain,
interspersed with a variety of objects to render the scene still
more delightful; and about fifty miles distant are the lofty
Alleghany Mountains, whose tops are buried in the clouds."

As Anbury's work is out of print, it will no doubt prove
acceptable to give a few extracts, in which are presented
the condition of the country, and the state of society, as
viewed by a stranger occupying his peculiar circumstances.

"The plantations are scattered here and there over the
land, which is thickly covered with timber. On these there
is a dwelling house in the centre, with kitchen, smoke house,
and other outhouses detached, and from the various buildings
each plantation has the appearance of a small village.
At some little distance from the houses are peach and apple
orchards, and scattered over the plantations are the negroes'
huts, and tobacco barns, which are large and built of wood
for the cure of that article. The houses are most of them
built of wood, the roof being covered with shingles, and not
always lathed and plastered within; only those of the better
sort are finished in that manner, and painted on the outside;
the chimneys are often of brick, but the generality of
them are wood, coated on the inside with clay; the windows
of the better sort are glazed, the rest have only wooden shutters.

"All taverns and public houses in Virginia are called
Ordinaries, and 'faith, not improperly in general. They
consist of a little house placed in a solitary situation in the
middle of the woods, and the usual method of describing the
roads is, From such an ordinary to such a one, so many
miles. The entertainment you meet with is very poor indeed;
you are seldom able to procure any other fare than eggs and
bacon with Indian hoe cake, and at many of them not even
that. The only liquors are peach brandy and whiskey.
They are not remiss however in making pretty exorbitant
charges. Before the war, I was told, one might stop at any
plantation, meet with the most courteous treatment, and be
supplied with everything gratuitously. Gentlemen hearing
of a stranger at an ordinary, would at once send a negro
with an invitation to his house.

"Most of the planters consign the care of their plantations
and negroes to an overseer; even the man whose house we
rent has his overseer, though he could with ease superintend
it himself; but if they possess a few negroes, they think it
beneath their dignity; added to which, they are so abominably
lazy. I'll give you a sketch of this man's general way
of living. He rises about eight o'clock, drinks what he

calls a julep, which is a large glass of rum sweetened with
sugar, then walks, or more generally rides, round his plantation,
views his stock, inspects his crops, and returns about
ten o'clock to breakfast on cold meat or ham, fried hominy,
toast and cider; tea and coffee are seldom tasted but by the
women. He then saunters about the house, sometimes
amusing himself with the little negroes who are playing
round the door, or else scraping on a fiddle. About twelve
or one he drinks a toddy to create him an appetite for dinner,
which he sits down to at two o'clock. After he has dined he
generally lies down on the bed, rises about five, then perhaps
sips some tea with his wife, but commonly drinks toddy till
bed time; during all this time he is neither drunk nor sober,
but in a state of stupefaction. This is his usual mode of
living which he seldom varies; and he only quits his plantation
to attend the Court House on court days, or some
horse race or cock fight, at which times he gets so egregiously
drunk, that his wife sends a couple of negroes to conduct
him safe home.

"Thus the whole management of the plantation is left to
the overseer, who as an encouragement to make the most of
the crops, gets a certain portion as his wages; but having no
interest in the negroes any further than their labor, he drives
and whips them about, and works them beyond their strength,
sometimes till they expire. He feels no loss in their death,
he knows the plantation must be supplied, and his humanity
is estimated by his interest, which rises always above freezing
point. It is the poor negroes who alone work hard, and I
am sorry to say, fare hard. Incredible is the fatigue which
the poor wretches undergo, and it is wonderful that nature
should be able to support it. There certainly must be something
in their constitution as well as their color different from
us, that enables them to endure it. They are called up at
daybreak, and seldom allowed to swallow a mouthful of
hominy or hoecake, but are drawn out into the field immediately,
where they continue at hard labor without intermission
till noon, when they go to their dinners, and are seldom
allowed an hour for that purpose. Their meal consists of

hotniny and salt, and if their master is a man of humanity,
touched by the finer feelings of love and sensibility, he allows
them twice a week a little fat, skimmed milk, rusty bacon and
salt herring to relish this miserable and scanty fare. The
man of this plantation in lieu of these, grants his negroes an
acre of ground, and all Saturday afternoons, to raise grain
and poultry for themselves. After they have dined, they return
to labor in the field till dusk in the evening. Here one
naturally imagines the daily labor of these poor creatures
was over. Not so. They repair to the tobacco houses where
each has a task of stripping allotted, which takes up some
hours, or else they have such a quantity of Indian corn to
husk; and if they neglect it, they are tied up in the morning,
and receive a number of lashes from those unfeeling monsters,
the overseers, whose masters suffer them to exercise their
brutal authority without restraint. Thus by their night task
it is late in the evening before these poor creatures return to
their second scanty meal, and the time taken up at it encroaches
upon their hours of sleep, which for refreshment of
food and sleep together can never be reckoned to exceed eight.
When they lay themselves down to rest, their comforts are
equally miserable and limited; for they sleep on a bench or
on the ground, with an old scanty blanket, which serves them
at once for bed and covering. Their clothing is not less
wretched, consisting of a shirt and trousers of coarse, thin,
hard, hempen stuff in the summer, with an addition of a very
coarse woolen jacket, breeches and shoes in winter. But
since the war the masters, for they cannot get the clothing as
usual, suffer them to go in rags, and many in a state of
nudity. The female slaves share labor and repose just in the
same manner, except a few who are termed house negroes,
and are employed in household drudgery. These poor creatures
are all submissive to injuries and insults, and are obliged
to be passive. The law directs the negro's arm to be cut off,
who raises it against a white person. Notwithstanding this
humiliating state and rigid treatment to which they are subject,
they are devoid of care, contented and happy, blest with
an easy, satisfied disposition. They always carry out a piece
of fire, and kindle one near their work, let the weather be
ever so hot and sultry.

"There were, and still are, three degrees of rank among
the inhabitants, exclusive of the negroes; but I am afraid the
advantage of distinction will never exist again in this country,
in the same manner it did before the commencement of hostilities.
The first class consists of gentlemen of the best
families and fortunes, which are more respectable and
numerous here than in any other province. For the most
part they have had liberal educations, possess a thorough
knowledge of the world, with great ease and freedom in their
manners and conversation. Many of them keep their carriages,
have handsome services of plate, and without exception
keep their studs, as well as sets of handsome carriage
horses.

"The second class consists of such a strange mixture of
character, and of such various descriptions of occupation,
being nearly half the inhabitants, that it is difficult to ascertain
their exact criterion and leading feature. They are
however hospitable, generous and friendly; but for a want of
a proper knowledge of the world, and a good education, as
well as from their continual intercourse with their slaves,
over whom they are accustomed to tyrannize, with all their
good qualities they are rude, ferocious and haughty, much
addicted to gaming and dissipation, particularly horse
racing and cock fighting. In short, they form a most unaccountable
combination of qualities, directly opposite and
contradictory, many having them strangely blended with the
best and worst of principles, many possessing elegant accomplishments
and savage brutality; and notwithstanding all
this inconsistency of character, numbers are valuable members
of the community, and very few deficient in intellectual
faculties.

"The third class, which in general composes the greatest
part of mankind are fewer in Virginia in proportion to the
inhabitants, than perhaps in any other country of the world;
yet even those who are rude, illiberal and noisy, with a turbulent
disposition, are generous, kind and hospitable. We

are induced to imagine there is something peculiar in the
climate of Virginia, that should render all classes of so hospitable
a disposition. The lower people possess that impertinent
curiosity so disagreeable to strangers, but in no degree
equal to the inhabitants of New England. They are averse to
labor, much addicted to liquor, and when intoxicated extremely
savage and revengeful. Their amusements are the
same with those of the middling sort, with the addition of
boxing matches.

"We found many gentlemen of the province very liberal
and hospitable to the British officers, among whom I may
mention Messrs. Randolph, of Tuckahoe, Goode, of Chesterfield,
and Cary, of Warwick. In conversing with the prisoners,
they carefully refrain from politics. So warm and
bigotted was the prevailing spirit, that those who exercised
such courtesy incurred much criticism and censure. Some
went so far on this account as to threaten to burn Colonel
Randolph's mills. He however treated the matter with an
easy independence, offering on the other hand five hundred
pounds for the discovery of those who made the threat.

"There is a place called Kentucky, whose soil is extremely
fruitful, and where an abundance of buffaloes is
found. The emigration of the people to that place is amazing,
seeking thereby to escape the tyranny and oppressions
of the Congress, and its upstart dependents.

"In this neighborhood I visited Colonel Walker, a member
of Congress, and found his home a hospitable house, but
unpleasant, because the family chiefly conversed on politics,
though with moderation. His father is a man of strong
understanding, though considerably above eighty years of
age. He freely declared his opinions of what America
would be a hundred years hence, and said the people would
reverence the resolution of their fathers, and impress the
same feeling on their children, so that they would adopt the
same measures to secure their freedom, which had been used
by their brave ancestors."

As can be seen by every intelligent reader, some of the
information Anbury received from others was erroneous, or

misunderstood, many of his observations were no doubt
hastily formed, and all related to a country, and people, suffering
under the hardships of war, and were tinctured by the
prejudices and mortification of a vanquished enemy. Still
his account is full of interest to those now living, inasmuch
as it exhibits the views of a young man of cleverness and
education, and especially of one who spent nearly two years
of that memorable era on the soil of the county, and among
the men who were then the conductors of its affairs. Copies
of his Travels, as his book was called, are now rarely to be
found.

Not long before the removal of the prisoners, an unhappy
tragedy occurred at the Barracks. James Garland, Jr., an
officer of the guards, was killed by Lawrence Mansfield
while on duty as a sentinel. According to all the traditions
connected with the case, it was a justifiable homicide. It
was owing to a refusal to halt and give the countersign.
The motive of Garland is differently explained. One account
represents him as designing to test the competence
and fidelity of the guard. Another version has it, that he
was indulging a spirit of frolic. With a number of companions
he had been invited to an entertainment in the neighborhood.
As they mounted their horses, he announced that he
would have a little fun with the sentry. He preceded the
others, and approaching the station was hailed. He continued
to ride on heedless of the warning. The sentinel
raised his gun, and intended, as he said afterwards, to fire
above the offender; but just as the gun was discharged,
Garland's horse reared, and the ball struck the rider's head
with fatal effect. His remains were buried on his farm some
miles west of Batesville, and but a few years ago his grave
was pointed out near the cabin of a negro, who in the
changes of the times had become the owner of the place.
The will of the unfortunate man is on record, and from the
serious spirit with which it is pervaded, one would judge
that the first account more probably indicates the reason of
his conduct.

The Tarleton Raid upon Charlottesville took place in June,

1781. With two hundred and fifty horse, the British commander
was passing Louisa C. H. at a rapid rate, when they
were seen by John Jouett, who at the time was a temporary
sojourner at the place. Suspecting their object, he leaped
on his horse, and being familiar with the roads he took the
shortest cuts, and soon left the enemy behind. He obtained
a considerable advantage in addition by the detention Tarleton
underwent at Castle Hill, where he stopped for breakfast,
and for the capture of several members of the Legislature who
were visiting Dr. Walker. Meeting an acquaintance near
Milton, he despatched him to Monticello to warn Mr. Jefferson,
who was then Governor of the State, while he pushed
on to give the alarm at Charlottesville. By this means the
Legislature which had just convened at that place, was
notified in time to adjourn, and make a precipitate retreat
to Staunton. After a short interval Tarleton and his troop
entered the town. Though disappointed in their main object,
they remained a part of two days, and it is said destroyed a
thousand firelocks, four hundred barrels of powder, together
with a considerable quantity of clothing and tobacco. The
most important as well as most useless waste they committed,
was the destruction of the public records already mentioned
—a great contrast to the orders given the officer detailed to
Monticello, to allow nothing on the premises to be injured.
It is stated that Captain John Martin, a son-in-law of old
David Lewis, was stationed in the town with two hundred
men. Had they been seasonably apprised of the real state of
the case, they might have lain in ambush in the gorge below
Monticello, and sent the enemy on their return more quickly
than they came. But the suddenness of the alarm, the uncertainty
respecting the numbers approaching, and the widespread
terror of Tarleton's name, probably led Captain Martin
to think that the most prudent course was to withdraw from
the scene.

While at Charlottesville, Tarleton made his headquarters
at the Farm, the residence of Nicholas Lewis. The story is
told, that in living on the enemy, the British soldiers speedily
made way with a fine flock of ducks belonging to Mrs. Lewis,

at the same time for some reason laying no hands on its
veteran leader. When after Tarleton's departure she was
informed of her loss, she promptly ordered a servant to take
the forlorn drake, and riding after the Colonel to present it
to him with her compliments. Appreciating the courteous
irony of the act, the Colonel bade the servant present his
mistress in return his profoundest thanks. It is also related,
that Mrs. Lewis was not as bitter in her feelings towards the
invaders of her country as the other members of her family,
and that the arm chair in which Tarleton sat while an inmate
of her house was ever after cherished as an object of special
veneration.

As the buildings of Charlottesville were not numerous at
that period, it is a question of some interest where the Legislature
held its sessions. It is rather singular that no authentic
tradition in regard to it has been handed down. It has
been claimed, that they convened in the tavern which stood
on the corner of Market and Fifth Streets, where the City
Hall now stands. The same claim has been made respecting
the old Swan Tavern. The house, which is situated in the
rear of the late Thomas Wood's, and which is said to have
been removed from the public square in front of the court
house as a cottage of the Eagle Tavern, has also been pointed
out as the building; but it is not likely that the Eagle Tavern
was built as early as the Revolutionary War. The strong
probability is that the courthouse was the place of their
meeting. It may have been this circumstance that brought
Tarleton's vengeance on its contents; and for nearly fifty years
subsequent to that date, it afforded accommodation to almost
all the public assemblies of the town, both civil and ecclesiastical.

The anecdote is recounted by the historians of Augusta
County in regard to Patrick Henry flying with breathless
haste, when a rumor of Tarleton's approach created a panic
in Staunton. The same story is told, with the scene laid in
Albemarle, and a sturdy Scotch Irish matron of the Blue
Ridge section as the great man's devoted admirer. The orator
with two companions in their flight to Staunton, alighted

at a house near the Ridge to procure the means of refreshing
their weary frames after their hard ride. The mother of the
household, while superintending a supply for their wants,
learned that they were members of the Legislature, and were
escaping from the dreaded Tarleton. She eyed them with
evident contempt, and at length declared her firm belief, that
if Patrick Henry had been there, he never would have
quailed before the foe. "Why, madam," said one of his
friends, laughing, "there is the man himself!" The
announcement received no credit, till the silence of the distinguished
fugitive brought about a reluctant assent. The
looks of the woman betrayed her utter amazement, and she
no doubt thought that things were indeed fast rushing to ruin,
when the idol of her trust had so wofully failed.

It seems there were owners of land in Albemarle, whose
sympathies ran on the British side during the Revolution.
Under the law confiscating the property of such persons to
the State, six inquisitions were held in the year 1779 before
Peter Marks, the public escheator. One of these referred to
eight hundred acres of John Lidderdale on Buck Mountain
Creek, and was held on the premises; another to Lot Twenty-Two
in Charlottesville, on which the former Presbyterian
Church stands, and which belonged to Robert Bain; another
to seven and a half acres adjoining Charlottesville on the east,
belonging to Donald Scott & Co., the property afterwards
owned by Judge Dabney Carr, and later the home of Ira
Garrett; both of these inquisitions were held in Charlottesville.
Another referred to more than three thousand acres
on Ivy Creek, and fifty-two negroes, the property of Francis
Jerdone, including the Farmington estate, and was held at
the house of his steward, James Garland, Jr.; another to two
hundred acres on the south fork of Hardware, and the last to
four hundred and fifty acres on James River, both tracts
belonging to Henderson, McCaul & Co., the inquisition on
the former being held on the premises, and that on the latter
at the house of Charles Irving. In all these cases the juries
rendered a verdict of condemnation. Robert Bain however
appears to have made his peace with the State, as in 1781 the

Legislature by a special act restored his estate, or made compensation
for whatever part had been sold, on condition of
his taking the oath of allegiance. Francis Jerdone too must
in some way have made proper amends in the public eye, as
he himself sold the same property to George Divers in 1785.
It may be interesting to mention the names of the jury which
sat in Charlottesville: James Kerr, foreman, James Marks,
Thomas Garth, Bennett Henderson, Charles Lilburn Lewis,
Benjamin Dod Wheeler, Richard Woods, Charles Statham,
John Key, Benajah Gentry, Isham Lewis, William Grayson
and Jacob Oglesby. In this connection it may be stated, that
in August 1785 a deed from Thomas Meriwether, heir-at-law
of Captain David Meriwether, to Chiles Terrell was ordered to
be recorded, and a note was entered at the same time, that
the same deed had been presented at November Court 1777,
but its record had been refused, because of the suspicion that
Mr. Terrell had not taken the oath of allegiance. In all
ages, such differences of opinion have occurred in the trying
ordeals of warm political strife.