 | CHAPTER X. History of southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870 |  |
REPORT
Of the Committee of the Legislature of North Carolina, on Walker's
Line, at their session at Fayetteville, which began on
the 2nd. of November and ended on the 22nd. of December,
1789.
Mr. Person, from the committee to whom was referred the letter
from his Excellency, the Governor of Virginia, on the subject
of establishing the boundaries between this State and Virginia,
reported that it is proposed on the part of Virginia that the line
commonly called Walker's line be established as the boundary between
us. Should this proposal not be acceptable to this State,
they then will appoint commissioners to meet any persons who
may be appointed on the part of North Carolina, empowered to
confer on the propriety of establishing Walker's or Henderson's
line, and to report to the Legislature of their respective State
their proceedings.
On examining the manner in which those lines were run by the
commissioners in the year 1780, they find that the commissioners
began and extended the line together about forty miles, when some
difference took place and the commissioners on the part of this
State ran a parallel line two miles north of the other line, for
about half the distance, and extended the line no farther. Mr.
Walker and the other commissioners from Virginia extended the
line to the Tennessee river and marked its termination on the
Mississippi by observations, leaving the line from the Tennessee
to that place unsurveyed.
As the difference between said lines would be only two miles,
running most of the distance through a mountainous, barren country,
and as they have great reason to believe, from the information
true line, your committee are of the opinion that the object is not
worth the expense of sending commissioners to confer on the
propriety of establishing Henderson's line in preference to that of
any other and do recommend that a law be passed confirming and
establishing the line usually called Walker's line as the boundary
between this State and the State of Virginia, with a reservation
in favor of the oldest grants from either State in deciding the
rights of individual claimants in the tract of country between the
two lines commonly called Henderson's and Walker's lines.
This report was not definitely acted upon until the 11th of December,
1790, upon which day an Act was passed establishing Walker's
line as the boundary line between the States, which action of
the General Assembly of North Carolina was immediately communicated
to the Governor of Virginia at the fall session, 1791,
of the General Assembly of Virginia, and on the 7th day of December
the following action was taken by the General Assembly
of Virginia:
§ 1. Whereas, official information hath been received by the
General Assembly that the Legislature of the State of North
Carolina have resolved to establish the line as the boundary line
between North Carolina and this Commonwealth, and it is judged
expedient to confirm and establish the said line on the part of
this State, be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, that
the line commonly called and known by the name of Walker's
line shall be, and the same is hereby declared, to be the boundary
line of this State.
§ 2. And be it further enacted, That in all courts of law and
equity within this Commonwealth, the claims for lands lying between
the line commonly called Walker's line and the line commonly
called Henderson's line shall be decided in favor of the
oldest title, whether derived from this Commonwealth or from
the State of North Carolina.
In the meantime the State of North Carolina, through her senators
in the Congress of the United States, had conveyed and ceded
to the United States of America all of her western possessions, including
the territory affected by the disputed line and which cession
was accepted by the Congress of the United States on the 7th
day of April, 1790.
As a result, the authorities of the southwest territory, now included
in the State of Tennessee, denied the right of North Carolina
to act in the premises, and held the action taken to be invalid,
and asserted their right to the territory lying between the Walker
and Henderson lines.
In the spring of the year 1792, the Governor of Virginia, by
proclamation, asserted the authority of this Commonwealth to the
lands in dispute, and directed Colonel Arthur Campbell, the
county lieutenant of this county, to transmit a copy of the law
and proclamation to William Blount, the Governor of the southwest
territory, and to Gilbert Christian, the county lieutenant of
Sullivan county.
Pursuant to the direction of the Governor, Colonel Campbell,
on the 7th of June, 1792, addressed the following letter to Governor
Blount:
I enclose you a copy of a law, with a proclamation of the
Governor of Virginia, by the same conveyance. I am instructed
to exercise the authority of the State to the boundary, usually
called Walker's line. In this business, it is the wish of the Executive
that the subordinate officers conduct themselves in an amicable
manner to the inhabitants over which North Carolina formerly
exercised Jurisdiction, and with due respect to the authority
of the Government south of the River Ohio; these orders are perfectly
consonant to my own feelings and sentiments. Therefore,
Sir, if you have any objections to make to the change taking place,
or anything to ask in favor of the people, it will be respectfully
attended to by me and immediately reported to the Governor of
Virginia.
At the same time Colonel Campbell addressed a letter to Gilbert
Christian asking information as to the orders given by Governor
Blount as to the disputed territory, and in reply received
the following letter from Gilbert Christian:
"Dear Sir,—Some days past I received a letter from you, requesting
me to inform you whether Governor Blount had given
special orders to me to draft between Walker's and Henderson's
lines. Sir, my orders are to draft the men required from the County
of Sullivan, which I conceived extends from Henderson's line
when the Assembly of North Carolina passed the cession Act, that
part was claimed by North Carolina, but after they passed the s'd
cession Act, and at the same Assembly they passed a resolve, giving
up that part to Virginia with a condition Congress would consent
to it, which has never been done as I know of. I have seen a
proclamation from the Governor of Virginia, informing the people
in those bounds that the Assembly of North Carolina made such
a Resolve, and at the next year's Assembly they appointed a committee
to confirm the s'd Resolve, which they did, But Congress
had received the cession Act, before that several months, and
appointed and commissioned Governor Blount to exercise his authority
over the ceded territory. I cannot see what right North
Carolina had to say anything about our territory, without our consent
or the consent of Congress, for the Constitution says the people
are not to be bound by law, but by their own consent, either by
themselves or by their Representatives in General Assembly. So,
Sir, I apprehend the State of Pennsylvania had as great a right
to have confirmed the aforesaid Resolve as the State of North
Carolina. If the Executive of your State had mentioned in the
Proclamation a confirmation of the Resolve aforesaid by Congress,
it might have been considered authentick, but as it is I cannot conceive
it so."
Upon the receipt of this letter, Colonel Campbell enclosed the
same to the Governor of Virginia, and addressed the following
letter to the Governor:
The enclosed letter from the commanding officer of the
militia of Sullivan county, seems to be an avowal of an opposition
to an act of our Legislature, for establishing Walker's line as the
boundary line to this State.
"That I conceive it my duty to forward it to your Excellency.
About half of the inhabitants between the lines seem desirous to
be governed by the laws of Virginia, but they complain of it as an
oppression to be harassed by the authority of the Southwest Territory,
and to pay obedience to the laws of this State at the same
time."
The authorities of the Southwest Territory used every means
possible to induce the people in the disputed territory to give their
allegiance to the Southwest Territory. Governor Blount published
which purported to give the reasons why the people living
in the disputed territory should be subject to the authority of the
territory. The arguments used were exemption from the payment
of taxes, local convenience and the accessibility of the seat of government
of the Southwest Territory.
The State of Tennessee was admitted into the Union on the 1st
day of June, 1796, and the Constitution of the State adopted in
the same year defines the boundaries of the State as follows:
"Beginning on the extreme height of the Stone mountain at the
place where the line of Virginia intersects it in latitude thirty-six
degrees and thirty minutes north, running thence along the
extreme height of the said mountain to the place where Watauga
River breaks through it; thence a direct course to the top of the
Yellow mountain, where Bright's road crosses the same; thence
along the ridge of said mountain, between the waters of Doe River
and the waters of Rock Creek, to the place where the road crosses
the Iron Mountain; from thence along the extreme height of said
mountain to the place where Nolichucky River runs through the
same; thence to the top of Bald Mountain; thence along the extreme
height of said mountain to the Painted Rock, on French
Broad River; thence along the highest ridge of said mountain to
the place where it is called the Great Iron or Smoky Mountain;
thence along the extreme height of said mountain to the place
where it is called the Unicoi or Unaka Mountain, between the
Indian towns of Cowee and Old Chota; thence along the main
ridge of the said mountain to the southern boundary of this State,
as described in the Act of session of North Carolina to the United
States of America that all the territory, lands and waters lying
west of said line, contained in the chartered limits of the State
of North Carolina, are within the boundaries and limits of this
State."
The boundaries of the State of Tennessee as fixed by the Constitution
of 1796 were incorporated in the Constitutions of that
State, adopted in the years 1834 and 1870.
It will thus be seen that the Constitution of the State of Tennessee
designates their northern line to be in thirty-six degrees and
thirty minutes north latitude, when, in fact, the line now insisted
of the true line.
Such was the condition of affairs at the beginning of the year
1800.
On the 10th of January, 1800, the General Assembly of Virginia
adopted the following resolution:
"Resolved, That the Executive be authorized and requested to
appoint three commissioners, whose duty it shall be to meet commissioners
to be appointed by the State of Tennessee, to settle and
adjust all differences concerning the said boundary line, and
to establish the one or the other of the said lines, as the
case may be, or to run any other line which may be agreed on for
settling the same; and that the Executive also be requested to
transmit a copy of this resolution to the Executive authority of
the State of Tennessee."
The General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, on November
13, 1801, adopted the following act:
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee,
That the Governor, for the time being, is hereby authorized
and required, as soon as may be convenient after the passing of
this act, to appoint three commissioners on the part of the State,
one of whom shall be a mathematician capable of taking the latitude,
who, when so appointed, are hereby authorized and empowered,
or a majority of them, to act in conjunction with such
commissioners as are or may be appointed by the State of Virginia,
to settle and designate a true line between the aforesaid
States.
2. Be it enacted, That there shall be appointed by the authority
aforesaid one surveyor, who, together with the aforesaid commissioners,
shall each receive five dollars per day as full compensation
for their services and expenses whilst they are performing the
duties enjoined in this act, and there shall also be chosen by the
commissioners one suitable person as marker of the line aforesaid,
who shall receive two dollars per day in full discharge for
his services and expenses.
And whereas, it may be difficult for this Legislature to ascertain
with precision what powers ought of right to be delegated to
the said commissioners; therefore,
3. Be it enacted, That the governor is hereby authorized and required,
as he may deem proper for the purpose of carrying into
effect the object intended by this act consistent with the true
interest of the State.
4. Be it enacted, That said commissioners, as soon as may
be, shall report in writing to the governor for the time being a
true statement of all their proceedings relative to the running and
establishing of the said line, whose duty it shall be to lay the
same before the succeeding Legislature.
Pursuant to the authority thus conferred Peter Johnston, Joseph
Martin and Creed Taylor were appointed commissioners upon
the part of Virginia, and Moses Fisk, John Sevier and George
Rutledge commissioners upon the part of Tennessee to ascertain
and adjust the boundary line between the two States, while Brice
Martin and Nathan B. Markland were appointed surveyors to
run and mark the said line.
The commissioners thus appointed proceeded to the discharge
of their duties and completed their labors at the house of William
Robertson, near Cumberland Gap, on the 8th of December, 1802.
The commissioners and surveyors thereupon reported their
action to the General Assembly of the States of Virginia and
Tennessee. Their report was confirmed and the boundary line
between the States established as reported by an act of the General
Assembly of Virginia passed on the 22d of January, 1803, which
act is as follows:
1. Whereas the commissioners appointed to ascertain and adjust
the boundary line between this State and the State of Tennessee
in conformity to the resolution passed by the Legislature of
this State for that purpose have proceeded to the execution of the
said business, and made a report thereof in the words following,
to-wit: "The commissioners for ascertaining and adjusting the
boundary line between the States of Virginia and Tennessee, appointed
pursuant to public authority on the part of each, namely,
General Joseph Martin, Creed Taylor and Peter Johnston, for the
former, and Moses Fisk, General John Sevier and General George
Rutledge, for the latter, having met at the place previously appointed
for that purpose and not uniting in the general results of
their astronomical observations to establish either of the former
lines, called Walker's and Henderson's, unanimously agreed, in
west line equally distant from both, beginning on the summit of
the mountain generally known by the name of White Top mountain,
where the northeastern corner of Tennessee terminates, to
the top of the Cumberland mountain, where the southwestern
corner of Virginia terminates, which is hereby declared to be the
true boundary line between the said States, and has been accordingly
run by Brice Martin and Nathan B. Markland, the surveyors
duly appointed for that purpose, and marked under the
direction of the said commissioners, as will more at large appear
by the report of the said surveyors, hereto annexed, and bearing
equal date herewith.
"2. The Commissioners do further unanimously agree, to recommend
to their respective States, that individuals having claims or
titles to lands on either side of said line, as now fixed and agreed
upon, and between the lines aforesaid, shall not in consequence
thereof, in any wise be prejudiced or affected thereby; and that the
Legislatures of their respective States, should pass mutual laws
to render all such claims or titles secure to the owners thereof.
"3. And the said Commissioners do further unanimously agree
to recommend to their States respectively, that reciprocal laws
should be passed, confirming the acts of all public officers, whether
Magistrates, Sheriffs, coroners, surveyors or constables, between
the said lines, which would have been legal in either of said States
had no difference of opinion existed about the true boundary line.
"4. This agreement shall be of no effect until ratified by the
Legislatures of the States aforesaid, respectively, and until they
shall pass mutual laws for the purpose aforesaid. Given under
our hands and seals at William Robertson's, near Cumberland
Gap, December the eighth, eighteen hundred and two.
"Joseph Martin (L. S.)
"John Sevier (L. S.)
"Creed Taylor (L. S.)
"Moses Fisk (L. S.)
"Peter Johnston (L. S.)
"George Rutledge (L. S.)
5. And whereas Brice Martin and Nathan B. Markland, the
surveyors duly appointed to run and mark the said line, have
granted their certificate of the execution of their duties, which
certificate is in the words following, to-wit: "The undersigned
surveyors, having been duly appointed to run the boundary line
between the States of Virginia and Tennessee, as directed by the
run the same, beginning on the summit of White Top Mountain,
at the termination of the northeastern corner of the State of
Tennessee, a due west course to the top of Cumberland mountain,
where the southwestern corner of the State of Virginia terminates
keeping at an equal distance from the line called Walker's and
Henderson's, and have had the new line run as aforesaid marked
with five chops in the form of a diamond, as directed by the said
commissioners. Given under our hands and seals, this eighth day
of December, eighteen hundred and two.
And it is deemed proper and expedient that the said boundary
line so fixed and ascertained as aforesaid should be established and
confirmed on the part of this Commonwealth.
"Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth
of Virginia, That the said boundary line between
this State and the State of Tennessee, as laid down, fixed and
ascertained by the said commissioners above named, in their said
report above recited, shall be, and is hereby fully and absolutely,
to all intents and purposes whatsoever ratified, established and
confirmed on the part of this Commonwealth, as the true, certain
and real boundary line between the said States.
"7. All claims or titles to lands derived from the government
of North Carolina or Tennessee, which said lands by the adjustment
and establishment of the line aforesaid, have fallen into this
State, shall remain as secure to the owners thereof as if derived
from the government of Virginia, and shall not be in any wise
prejudiced or affected in consequence of the establishment of
the said line.
"8. The acts of all public officers, whether magistrates, sheriffs,
coroners, surveyors or constables, heretofore done or performed in
that portion of territory between the lines called Walker's and
Henderson's lines, which has fallen into this State by the adjustment
of the present line and which would have been legal if done
or performed in the States of North Carolina or Tennessee, are
hereby recognized and confirmed.
"9. This act shall commence and be in force, from after the
passing of a like law on the part of the State of Tennessee."
The General Assembly of the State of Tennessee on November
3, 1803, adopted an act confirming the report of the commissioners
establishing the boundary line between the two States and
confirming the title of all lands lying in the State of Tennessee
granted by the Commonwealth of Virginia as fully as if said land
had been granted by the State of Tennessee.
The act in question is identical with the act of the Virginia
Assembly before given.
It was supposed that the boundary line thus established would
forever settle this question, but by the year 1856 it seems that the
old controversy was renewed, and in that year the General Assembly
of Virginia passed an act appointing two commissioners to
meet commissioners appointed by the State of Tennessee to again
run and mark the boundary line between the States. The General
Assembly of Tennessee did not take action in this matter until
the first of March, 1858, on which day an act was passed authorizing
the Governor of the State of Tennessee to appoint two
commissioners to meet the commissioners appointed by the Commonwealth
of Virginia to re-run and mark the line of 1802, and
said commissioners were directed to cause monuments of stone to
be permanently planted on said line where there is now growing
timber by which the line may be plainly marked, said stones to
be planted at least one in every five miles.
The commissioners thus appointed were given full power and
authority to re-run and mark the line of 1802, and it was made
their duty to employ a field party to consist of one engineer, one
surveyor, one back-sighter, one axe-man and such others as were
necessary, the said engineer and surveyor to be well qualified to
make said survey upon scientific principles, said commissioners to
superintend the work.
The Governor of Virginia appointed James C. Black and
Leonidas Baugh commissioners upon the part of Virginia, and
the Governor of Tennessee appointed Samuel Milligan and George
B. McClelland commissioners upon the part of Tennessee, to run
and re-mark said line. The commissioners thus appointed began
work on the 29th of September, 1858, and on the 3d of December,
1859, submitted their report to the executives of the State of
Tennessee and the State of Virginia. Their report was in the
following words and figures, to-wit:
"In obedience to commissions respectively conferred upon us
under an act of the legislature of the State of Virginia passed
the 18th day of March, 1856, and an act of the legislature of the
State of Tennessee, passed the 1st day of March, 1858, authorizing
the executives of each of said States respectively to appoint commissioners
`to again run and mark' the boundary line between
the States of Virginia and Tennessee, we the undersigned commissioners,
proceeded to discharge the duties assigned us, and beg
leave to submit the following as our joint action: Our first object
was to determine the duty with which we were charged under the
acts of both states, which we found to be substantially the same
and both exceedingly vague and indefinite.
"But the manifest intention of the legislature of Virginia and
Tennessee was, in our opinion, to ascertain and re-mark the compromise
line of 1802, but the laws evidently drafted without a
knowledge of the facts as we found them to exist, imposed upon
us obligations which it was practically impossible to comply with.
"We were required to begin the line `on the summit of the
mountain commonly known by the name of the White Top, where
the northeastern corner of Tennessee terminates' and thence to
run due west `to the top of the Cumberland Mountain where the
southwestern corner of Virginia ends.' This line, by the laws of
Virginia and Tennessee, was declared to be on the parallel of
36 30′ north latitude, and midway between Walker's and Henderson's
lines run in 1779.
"With these legal restraints upon us, after engaging the services
of Professor Revel Keith, an experienced astronomer, and Charles
S. Williams, a practical engineer, with an efficient field party, we,
on the 29th day of September, 1858, repaired to the field, but observation
and experiment soon demonstrated the utter impracticability
of a literal compliance with the requirements of the law.
"We began the experimental work at the town of Bristol, a small
village situated on the compromise line of 1802, at a point where
there was no controversy as to the locality of the line, and our first
observation at that point showed the latitude to be 36° 36′ nearly,
which upon calculation we found to be a little over six statute
miles north of the latitude contemplated by law. Further observations
and experiments all along the line furnished nearly similar
still more insuperable difficulties to a strict compliance with the
requirements of the law. The summit of this mountain, which is
well defined and elevated above the surrounding mountains, we
found to be about three miles, a northeast course from the termination
of the marked timber on the line; and at right angles with
the parallel 36 30′ north latitude, a little over eight miles north
of said parallel. The northeastern corner of Tennessee was designated
by no monument, nor was there any evidence on the ground
by which we could determine the corner or the beginning of the
compromise line of 1802.
"The marks on the timber which were found throughout the
whole line ceased on a spur of a dividing range of mountains that
connects the Stone, Pond and White Top mountains called the
`Divide' from the fact that the waters flow from it both east and
west, and about one mile from the summit of this dividing range.
"At the point where the marks on the line of 1802 terminate
there is no marked corner or any change in appearance of the
marks on the timber indicating a purpose to establish a corner or
beginning point of the line, nor is there any marked timber between
that point and the summit of the `Divide,' although thickly
wooded, except on the summit, where it appears to have been cleared
twenty or twenty-five years ago and is now under cultivation.
"Under this perplexing state of facts we were neither able to
comply strictly with the requirements of the law or definitely to
settle the `northeastern corner of Tennessee,' or to establish the
beginning point of the line we were required to trace.
"The Virginia commissioners insisted that the line should be
extended east from the end of the marked line on the little mountain
south of the Denton Valley to the top of the `Divide,' because
it would be but a continuation of the line from Cumberland Gap,
which is to that point about midway between Walker's and Henderson's
lines, and because the existence of a cross line running
south 22° west was not even known, or the line from the top of
the little mountain westward to the river heretofore recognized as
the boundary, or any part of it.
"And the Tennessee commissioners, that the northern line as
connected by the cross line with the southern should be extended to
the `summit of the Divide,' and the northeastern corner of Tennessee
marked line ascertained, and the summit of the `Divide'
presents the only natural monument that reasonably conforms to
the commissioners' purpose to establish one at the end of the
marks on the line. No conclusive agreement could be made, and
we were compelled to leave the point of beginning an open question.
"After making these and various other experiments calculated
to determine the character of the line and its offsets, and taking
the latitude at different points between Bristol and White Top
mountain, and also at Cumberland Gap in the fall of 1858, we
found from the inclemency of the weather and the advanced
season, that it would be manifestly to the interest of both States
to suspend operations until the following summer, when the season
would be more propitious for the progress of the work.
"On the 7th day of June, 1859, we again, with our `Surveyor
and field party,' assembled at Bristol, and after determining to retrace
and remark the compromise line of 1802, we resumed the
work and accurately ran, re-marked and measured the old line of
1802 with all of its offsets and irregularities, as shown in the surveyor's
report herein incorporated and on the accompanying map
herewith submitted.
| CHAPTER X. History of southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870 | |