TO THE PEOPLE OF VIRGINIA.
The part I bore in the transactions which form
the subject of the following narrative, is my voucher
for its authenticity. My admiration of the gallant
people, whose struggle for freedom I witnessed and
partook; the cherished friendships contracted among
them, at a time of life when the heart is warm, and
under circumstances which called all its best feelings
into action; and, above all, the connexion then
formed, which has identified me with Virginia, and
which, during the last five years, has been the source
of all my happiness; are my inducements to dedicate
this work to you. The approbation which, in
acknowledging, more than rewarded my humble
services, is my warrant for hoping, that this tribute
of grateful veneration will be favorably received.
Among those whom Virginia, at this time, honors
with high places in her councils, I see, with pride,
the names of many with whom I once stood, shoulder
to shoulder, in the eye of danger. Of my regard
for these, this is not the place to speak, for they are
not thus to learn my sentiments concerning them.
The record of their praise, and the reward of their
glorious deeds, is on the page of history.
But there are others who will die without their
fame, and whose names will sink with them into the
tomb, of whose unpretending devotion to their native
country I am proud to testify. They belong to that
class, peculiar to a society whose institutions are
based on domestic slavery; the honest, brave, hardy,
and high-spirited peasantry of Virginia. Among
them, I saw examples of simple virtue and instinctive
patriotism; and from their lips I heard lessons of
that untaught wisdom, which finds its place in minds
uncorrupted by artificial systems of education, and
undebased by abject and menial occupations. The
names of Jacob Schwartz and Christian Witt deserve
to live in history. But the narrative, in which I
have endeavored to preserve them, will, in after
times, be classed among romances. Such is the
fate of all men, whose deeds shame the vaunted
achievements of those the world calls great.
Be it so. It is not the less my duty to testify of
what I have witnessed. Remembering the virtues
which I saw displayed by such, I take pride in
dedicating to the whole people of Virginia, in all
ranks and classes, this imperfect record of what I
witnessed in her late glorious struggle.
E. W. S.
P. S. My date reminds me that this is the anniversary
of that glorious day, on which Virginia first
declared herself an independent State. May its
auspicious return ever find you FREE, HAPPY, and
GLORIOUS!
