University of Virginia Library

LORD BOTETOURT.

Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt, son of John Symes Berkeley,
was born in 1718. He was Colonel of the North Gloucestershire
Militia in 1761; represented that shire in Parliament; and in 1764 was
raised to the peerage. He was the second of Lord Talbott in a duel
with John Wilkes in 1762, and was Constable of the Tower of
London in 1767. The accession of Lord Botetourt to the vice-royal
government of Virginia, occurred at a period rife with discontent
among the American Colonies, and pregnant with swiftly approaching
and momentous events. The brilliant Horace Walpole, writing to Sir
Horace Mann, August 14, 1768, after alluding to the disquiet in America,
says: "Virginia, though not the most mutinous, contains the best
heads and the principal boutes-feux. It was thought necessary that the
Governor should reside there. It was known that Sir Jeffrey Amherst
would not like that; he must besides have superseded Gage. At the
same time, Lord Botetourt, a court favorite, yet ruined in fortune, was
thought of by Lord Hillsborough."

To this bit of cabinet history, the relentless Junius personally adds
of Botetourt, "Having ruined himself by gambling, he became a cringing,
bowing, fawning, sword-bearing courtier." It would appear from
the subsequent career of this best beloved of our colonial viceroys that
the character so pitilessly drawn by the stern censor was hardly merited.
He received the appointment of Governor (succeeding Sir Jeffrey Amherst)
in July, 1768, though he did not arrive in the Colony until sometime
in October following. A contemporary presents a foil to the
venomously drawn picture of Junius. Edmund Randolph, in a MS.
history of Virginia, in the collections of the Virginia Historical Society,
says of Lord Botetourt: "If from birth and education he had not been

a courtier, his dependence on the Crown for the revival of an extinguished
title, must have generated habits to conciliate and please. He
came hither, not only with the grace of polished life, but also with the
predilections of the people, who were proud in being no longer governed
by a deputy. His predecessors, Fauquier, Dinwiddie, Gooch, Spotswood,
Nicholson and Drysdale, had been the vehicles of sinecures to
some principals who never cast an eye or thought on Virginia. Through
Botetourt, the Colony was assured by the King, that as a mark of honor
to it, the residence of the chief Governor there should never be dispensed
with in the future. Always accessible on business, adhering
without a single deviation to the resolution of sleeping every night in
the metropolis, affable to the humblest visitor in social circles, easy
himself, and contributing to the ease of others, he was sincerely and universally
beloved. In his public functions, his purity and punctuality
confirmed the attachment which his qualities as a gentleman had begun.
By his patronage, he inspired the youth of William and Mary with
ardour and emulation, and by his daily example in the observance of
religion, he acquired a kind of sacred ascendancy over the public
mind."

Solicitous to serve the Virginians, Botetourt pledged his life and
fortune to extend the boundary of the Colony on the west to the Tennessee
River, on the parallel of 36½ degrees. On the 11th of May, 1769,
when the Assembly was convened, the Governor, attended by a numerous
retinue of guards, rode from the palace to the capitol in a luxurious
state-coach drawn by six milk-white horses—a present from George
III.—and the insignia of royalty was displayed with unusual pomp. On
that day and the one following, he entertained fifty-two guests at dinner.
The Assembly, however, on the 16th instant following, venturing upon
the assertion of certain colonial prerogatives by the passage of resolutions
against parliamentary taxation, and the sending of accused persons to
England for trial, was dissolved by him. But this exercise of arbitrary
power was speedily condoned by an action of cordial conciliation.
Botetourt, having received from the Earl of Hillsborough, Secretary of
State for the Colonies, assurance that it was not the intention of the
Ministry to propose any further taxes, and that they intended to advocate
a repeal of those already complained of, called the Assembly together,
and communicated these assurances, pledging himself to every
exertion in his power towards the redressing of the grievances of the
colonists, and the promotion of every measure tending to their advancement
and prosperity, which led to an interchange of cordial greeting between
the colonial legislative bodies and the Governor, and the inauguration
of that warm sentiment of esteem and affection already so graphically
portrayed. But the generous-minded Botetourt, soon finding that the promises
held out to him by the Ministry were utterly faithless, and indignant
at the deception practiced upon him, demanded his recall. Shortly after

this, on October 15, 1770, he fell a victim to an attack of bilious fever.
He appears to have met death with the calm fortitude of the philosopher
and the confiding trust of the Christian. The pure-minded and deeply
pious Robert Carter Nicholas, the Treasurer of the Colony, with whom
he was on terms of the strictest friendship, having during one of his
visits to the Governor observed that he thought that the latter would be
very unwilling to die, "because," as he said, "you are so social in your
nature, and so much beloved, and you have so many good things about
you, that you must be loth to leave them," his lordship made
at the time no reply; but a short time after, being on his death-bed, he
sent in haste for Colonel Nicholas, who lived near the palace, and who
instantly repaired thither to receive the last sight of his dying friend.
On entering his chamber he asked his commands. "Nothing," replied
his lordship, "but to let you see that I resign these good things which
you formerly spoke of with as much composure as I enjoyed them;" after
which he grasped his hand with warmth, and instantly expired. His
death was deeply lamented by the colony, and the funeral ceremonies
incident upon his burial were conducted with great state, the ostentation
exhibited being unprecedented in the country. A verification of the
display, being copies of bills presented against his estate (inclusive of
those for the funeral expenditures) lies before the writer.

The originals, lately in his possession, have been returned to their
owner, Miss Sarah Nicholas Randolph, of "Edgehill," Abermarle
County, Va., the great grand-daughter of Thomas Jefferson. The expenses
aggregate about £700 sterling, and the items are stated with great
minuteness. The remains appear to have been enclosed in three several
coffins—one of lead, furnished by one Joseph Kidd; an "inside coffin,"
and one of black walnut, by one Joshua Kendall. The "inside coffin"
was laid with "Persian fully ornamented," and the "outside coffin," covered
with "crimson velvet," ornamented in the best manner. There
were "eight silver handles and sixteen escutcheons for his lordship's
coffin," and "one large silver plate engraved, a lute-string shroud, mattress,
pillow and cap." The church was hung with black cloth, and it
and the hearse were ornamented with "escutcheons." "Sixteen books of
silver leaf," and "one dozen books of Dutch metal," also appear as
charges. Staffs were borne by, and cloaks furnished the mourners.
There were "streamers for the horses," and an extensive list of articles
for the costuming of the numerous attendants upon the obsequies.

The interment did not take place until the 20th of October, if it was
not later, as numerous items of the incidental expense were entered on
that date. The body was deposited in one of the vaults beneath the
chapel of William and Mary College, and a beautiful marble statue of
Botetourt was erected at the expense of the Colony in 1774 in front of
the old capitol. It now stands, much mutilated, in front of William
and Mary College, whither it was removed in 1797.

The pedestal is inscribed with a glowing tribute to the merits and
virtue of the beloved viceroy. In the parish church of Stoke Gifford,
Gloucestershire, England, a long monumental inscription also commemorates
his worth. Lord Botetourt gave to the College of William and
Mary a sum of money, the interest of which was sufficient to purchase
annually two gold medals—one to be given to the best classical scholar,
and the other to the best scholar in philosophy. This medal was annually
awarded until the Revolution. In Howe's Historical Collections
of Virginia, an account is given of the joyous and impressive reception
of Lord Botetourt by the colonists, together with an ode, recited and
sung with an accompaniment of music on the occasion.

On the evening of the 22d of February, 1876, there was held at the
theater in the city of Richmond, Va., a ball, in commemoration of the
the vice-regal court of Williamsburg, as it appeared during the government
of Lord Botetourt. The participants, in most instances the lineal
descendants of distinguished men and courtly dames who formed the
society of the colonial capital, Williamsburg, reproduced the attire of
that day in all of its original resplendance and impressive concomitants.
Many were the treasured memorials, transmitted heirlooms, jewels,
swords, fans, rich brocades and satins, and costly laces—which were
drawn forth from careful and jealous keeping for the occasion. The
stage of the theater was fitted up for the brilliant tableaux, the body of
the building being filled to overflowing with spectators. This memorable
occasion was the accomplishment of a number of patriotic ladies
who desired to celebrate appropriately the birthday of Washington,
and at the same time earn money with which to improve the condition
of the Virginia room at Mount Vernon.

The name of Botetourt is commemorated in that of one the counties of
Virginia.

The portrait of the Governor given in this work is from a very rare
print, of which probably the copy in the collections of the Virginia Historical
Society is the only one in America.