University of Virginia Library

JAMES BARBOUR.

The Barbour family of Virginia, it is claimed, is of Scottish origin,
and to be of the lineage of John Barbour,[2] one of the earliest Scotch
poets and historians; archdeacon of Aberdeen as early as 1357, and who
died in 1396. A national work of his, still extant, called The Bruce, is
a metrical chronicle of the warlike deeds of Robert the First (13061329)
in his efforts for the independence of his beloved country. Barbour
also composed another book, setting forth the genealogical history
of the kings of Scotland, and deducing their origin from the Trojan
colony of Brutus. He was a favorite author with Sir Walter Scott,
who frequently quotes his lines, which are remarkable, also, for their
intelligibility to the modern reader. In the Land Records of Virginia
the name of William Barber appears as a patentee of lands in Hampton
parish, York County, May 6, 1651. William Barber speedily became
a man of mark and influence, since in 1656 he is found again as a
patentee with the title of Lieutenant-Colonel or County-Lieutenant of
York. In October, 1660, the Governor, Sir William Berkeley, with
Colonel William Barber,[3] Colonel Gerard Fowke, Colonel Kendall,
Thomas Warren, Rawleigh Traverse, and Thomas Lucas were the superintendents
for the erection of the State House at Jamestown. There
are subsequent grants of land in Rappahannock County to William and
to Richard Barber. Thomas Barbar appears as a patentee in New
Kent County in 1714. William Barber was a Burgess from York
County in 1718, and Charles Barber from Richmond County in 1723.

But the definite ancestor of the subject of our sketch was James

Barbour,[4] who appears as a grantee of lands in St. George's parish,
Spottsylvania County, June 26, 1731, and again, in 1733, of lands in
St. Mark's parish in the same county. He was one of the first vestrymen
of this latter parish, at its organization at Germanna, in 1731, and
served in that office until the division of the parish in 1740, which threw
him into the new parish of St. Thomas, in Orange County, in which
division he lived. Among his children was James Barbour, who represented
the county of Culpeper in the House of Burgesses in 1764, was
colonel and commander-in-chief of the militia of the county in 1775,
and was the father of Mordecai, Thomas, Richard, and Gabriel Barbour,
the last three of whom emigrated to Kentucky. Mordecai Barbour
married a daughter of John Strode, of "Fleetwood," Culpeper County,
and was the father of the late Hon. John Strode Barbour, statesman
and lawyer, and grandfather of Hon. John Strode Barbour, a present
representative of Virginia in the National House of Representatives,
and whose material and political services to the State have gained him
enduring regard. Thomas Barbour, another son of James Barbour, the
settler in what is now Orange County, was a member of the House of
Burgesses in 1769, when it issued the first protest against the Stamp
Act. He was again a Burgess in 1775, and was a member of the
"Committee of Public Safety," of Orange County, in the same year. He
married Isabella Thomas, granddaughter of Philip Pendleton.[5] Their
third son was the Hon. Philip Pendleton Barbour, Speaker of Congress
and of the Virginia Convention of 1829-30, and a Justice of the United
States Supreme Court. He married Frances Todd, daughter of Benjamin
Johnson, Burgess, of Orange County, and had issue: Philippa, married
Judge Richard H. Field; Elizabeth, married John J. Ambler, of "Jacqueline
Hall," Madison County; Thomas, M. D., married Catharine
Strother; Edmund Pendleton, married Harriet, daughter of Colonel
John Stuart, of King George County; Quintus, married Mary, daughter
of James Somerville, of Culpeper County; Sextus, and Septimus.
Justice Barbour died in 1841, and his wife, aged eighty-five, in April,
1872. James Barbour, the subject of this sketch, the fourth son of
Thomas Barbour, was born in Orange County, June 10, 1775. His
education was limited, and chiefly obtained while he was acting as a
deputy sheriff, but his tutor for a time was the celebrated James Waddell,
commemorated as the "Blind Preacher," by William Wirt, in his
British Spy. James Barbour entered the service of the State at the
age of twenty-four years, as a member of the memorable Assembly of
1799. His colleague from the county of Orange was James Madison
(afterwards President of the United States), and he looked forward with
eager expectancy to a conflict in debate of that able intellect with
Patrick Henry, also a member elect of the Assembly. But he was disappointed
in the death of the great orator of the Revolution, in June,
1799, before the body convened. James Barbour participated in every
debate, ably vindicated the famous resolutions of Mr. Madison, and was
the proposer of the anti-duelling law—one of the most stringent and
effective legislative acts ever passed. While still a member of the
Assembly, he was elected by it, January 3, 1811, Governor of Virginia,
to succeed George William Smith, who was one of the victims
of the awful burning of the Richmond Theater, on the 26th of December
preceding. The administration of James Barbour, covering the important
period of the second conflict with Great Britain, was signally
able, vigilant, and patriotic. He was emphatically the "War Governor,"
and in pledging his personal means to sustain the credit of Virginia,
takes honorable rank with Governor Thomas Nelson, of the Revolution.

Virginia nobly demeaned herself in the War of 1812. Many of her
sons highly distinguished themselves in the combats by sea and land,
and she suffered from the invasion of the enemy. In May, 1813, Admiral
Cockburn with a British fleet entered Chesapeake Bay, and commenced
a series of depredations on private property, which far eclipsed
those which had made the name of Dunmore infamous in the War of
Independence. An English fleet of four line-of-battle ships with twelve
frigates was collected in the bay, near the capes and Lynhaven Bay.
They carried a large land force under Sir Sydney Beckwith, the naval
commander being Admiral Warren. They were closely watched from
Norfolk and Hampton. The harbor of Norfolk was chiefly defended
by the armament of Mr. Jefferson's famous "Gunboat System," but for
the threatened emergency, large bodies of militia, from the upper counties
of the State, had been ordered to the seaboard. Unused to the malaria
of the summer season in lower Virginia, a large number of them
were prostrated with sickness and many of them died. General Robert
Barraud Taylor, of the State line, commanded the military district, and
Commodore Cassin, of the United States Navy, directed the sea defences.
On the 20th of June, the advance of the English frigate "Junon," upon
Norfolk, was gallantly checked by our immature American Navy.
Some movements on the following day among the British shipping,
which had moved near Newports News, seemed to indicate an early

attack upon Craney Island, near the mouth of Elizabeth River, and
which commands the approach from Hampton Roads to Norfolk. Its
defence was therefore all-important. The forces on the island consisted
of about 400 infantry of the line, 50 riflemen from Winchester, under
Captain Roberts, 91 artillery in two companies, one from Portsmouth,
Captain Arthur Emerson, and the other from one of the upper counties,
commanded by Captain Richardson; the whole force being under the
command of Lieutenant-Colonel H. Beatty, assisted by Major Wagner
of the infantry, and Major Faulkner of the artillery service. Of this
force 43 were on the sick-list. On the evening of the 21st, they were
reinforced by order of General Taylor, by Captain Pollard of the United
States Army, with 30 of his company from Fort Norfolk; Lieutenant
Atkinson from Culpeper County, with 30 volunteers of the militia of
Isle of Wight County, and by 150 seamen and marines, under Lieutenants
Neale, Shubrick and Saunders, from the frigate "Constellation,"
Captain Tarbell. On the morning of the 22d, the enemy landed about
2,500 troops, under Sir Sydney Beckwith, with the view to approach
from the west side of the island, across the water in that direction,
which at low water was passable by infantry. Soon after they landed,
there approached about 50 boats filled with men, which directed their
course to the north side of the island. Here two twenty-four-pounders and
four six-pounders had been advantageously posted by Major Faulkner.
These were gallantly and effectively served by Captain Emerson and
Lieutenants Parke G. Howle and Godwin, aided by Lieutenant Neale
and his command. A galling fire was opened upon the approaching
foe, and the guns were trained with such fatal precision that five of
their barges were sunk, and one of them literally cut in twain. The
other boats hauled off in discomfiture and the valorous Virginians had
to speedily succor the drowning wretches thus left struggling in the
water. Admiral Warren's own barge, the "Centipede," 52 feet long,
and working 24 oars, stranded and was taken with 22 men, a brass
pounder and numbers of small arms. In the meanwhile the landed detachments
were attempting to cross the narrow inlet in front of the battery,
but were grievously harassed at long shot, and when they came
nearer the havoc was so fearful that they precipitately retreated. So
eager were the Virginians for the fray, that the Winchester riflemen
pursued the foe into the water, hoping to reach them with their bullets.
The loss of the enemy was fully 200, besides the prisoners named, and
50 deserters, whilst on the American side not a man was lost. In transmitting
the report of Colonel Beatty to the Secretary of War, General
Taylor justly remarks of this brilliant feat. "The courage and constancy
with which this inferior force, in the face of a formidable naval
armament, not only sustained a position in which nothing was complete,
but repelled the enemy with considerable loss, can not fail to command

ALEXANDER SPOTSWOOD,

Governor of Virginia

From a copy in oil, in the State Library of Virginia.

the approbation of their government and the applause of their country,"
and adds: "It has infused into the residue of the army a general
spirit of competition, the beneficial effects of which will, I trust, be displayed
in our future conflicts." The heroic defence of Craney Island
filled the enemy with rage and shame. They abandoned their designs
upon Norfolk, and Hampton was the next point of attack, led by Cockburn
in person, on the 25th of June. Invested with the small force of
400 artillery and infantry, under Major Stapleton Crutchfield, he was
unable to withstand the furious assault of a foe, by sea and land, ten
times his number. The enemy took possession of Hampton and committed
the most revolting deeds. A wanton destruction of private
property took place, and the degraded soldiery and the negro slaves,
who had been enticed from their owners, were allowed to riot in every
species of brutality. The militia of the country, however, collecting in
formidable numbers for an attack, the British evacuated the town on
the 27th of June, and soon after the invading fleet left the Chesapeake,
and prepared for a descent upon North Carolina. It is noteworthy that
the patriotic ladies of the city of Richmond, early in 1812, contributed,
by the sale of their jewels, towards the building and equipping of a vessel
of war called the "First Attempt," the command of which was given
to Captain Isbon Benedict.

In 1815, Mr. Barbour was elected by the Virginia Assembly to the
United States Senate, and served continuously for ten years, until
1825. In this body he took an important part in the discussion on
the Missouri question, and his speeches on the abolition of imprisonment
for debt elicited great applause and commendation throughout
the Union. He was chairman of the committee on foreign affairs, the
District of Columbia and other important committees, and frequently
President pro tem. of the Senate. In 1825, upon the invitation of President
John Quincy Adams, he became a member of his cabinet, as
Secretary of War, and served in that capacity until May 26, 1828, when
he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
to Great Britain. His brief sojourn in England was a season of unalloyed
pleasure to him. The bitterness of the (then) recent conflict
between the two countries had measurably passed away, and Great
Britain was beginning to cherish a sentiment of pride in the lusty Republic,
which she had long regarded as a rebellious child of her own.
James Barbour was everywhere received with the utmost cordiality. A
commanding physique and noble mien (in which he was, in the estimation
of many, the peer of the majestic statesman, Daniel Webster),
added to wondrous colloquial powers, in which pathos, humor and eloquence
were charmingly blended with a sunny geniality of manner,
united in a personal magnetism which claimed the regard of all in
every circle which he entered. His ready wit and patriotic impulse
were happily exhibited in his reply to the good old Bishop of Bath and

Wells. They were chance companions at a large dinner party, and
after some brilliant manifestation of the rare colloquial powers of Mr.
Barbour, the good old Bishop naively inquired, "How long, sir, have
you been in this country?" "About two months," was the reply. "You
astonish me," said the Bishop, "for you speak the English language remarkably
well, considering your brief sojourn here." "Why, sir," said
Mr. Barbour, "I represent a country where we flatter ourselves that
we have preserved the English language in greater purity than you
have in England." A visit to Mr. Coke of Holkham (subsequently
created Earl of Leicester), is referred to in a brief diary kept by Mr.
Barbour, as one of rare enjoyment to him. Holkham was a striking
manifestation of what agriculture, under the combined influence of
skill, capital and perseverance, can accomplish, for these had rendered
fertile and bounteously productive, thousands of acres of the sandy lands
of Norfolk County, which the merry monarch, Charles the Second,
had sarcastically said, was only fit to be cut up into roads for the remainder
of his kingdom. Mr. Coke recited to Mr. Barbour many interesting
anecdotes relating to the revolt of the American Colonies, at
which period he was a Member of Parliament, and was wont, he said,
in the greatest throes of the struggle, with Edmund Burke and others,
in the luncheon room (with hand over the mouth) to drink "Success to
America!" Another reminiscence, recorded by Mr. Barbour, is so remarkable
that it is deemed worthy of preservation here. He narrates
with manifest satisfaction, that Mr. Coke had the rare privilege and
exquisite delight of seeing a vessel launched at Woolwich, which was
composed in large part from the timber of trees which he had himself
planted when a youth.

Mr. Barbour was recalled by President Jackson, in September, 1829.
He now retired to the enjoyments of private life, from which he only
again emerged in obedience to the impulses of duty and the claims of
friendship. In the Convention for the nomination of President, held at
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in December, 1839, Mr. Barbour presided.
He was brilliantly conspicuous in his advocacy of the claims of General
William Henry Harrison, and prominent and effective in the campaign
which resulted in his election as President. Soon after this the disease
which was ultimately fatal manifested itself. He died at his seat,
Barboursville, June 7, 1842, within three days of the anniversary of
his birth. Within half an hour of his decease he said to his son,
present at his bed-side, "If any thing is put over me, let it be of the
plainest granite, with no other claim than this:

The following reminiscence, with which the present writer has been
kindly furnished by the venerable statesman, the Hon. Alexander H.
H. Stuart, Staunton, Virginia, evidences the just esteem in which Mr.
Barbour was held by those who were favored in the opportunity to
know his worth. Mr. Stuart writes: "In the greater part of my service
in Congress, from 1841 to 1843, I was a member of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, of which John Quincy Adams was chairman. During
the warm season of the year, Mr. Adams was in the habit of going,
immediately after breakfast, to the committee room, which was a spacious
and airy apartment in the upper story of the southern wing of the Capitol,
where he occupied himself in writing until the committee assembled.
As my family were with me, I also found it convenient to go at an
early hour to the committee room, to examine my morning mail and to
reply to such letters as required prompt attention. In this way it happened
that Mr. Adams and I met in the committee room almost every
day, an hour or two before the time appointed for the meeting of the
committee. And, as it not unfrequently occurred that the other members
of the committee failed to attend, Mr. Adams and I were the only
occupants of the room from eight to twelve o'clock. This close association
often led to very interesting conversation between us in regard to
the early political history of our country, and the statesmen who bore a
prominent part in it. In these interviews I always found Mr. Adams
exceedingly affable, and I need hardly add, interesting and instructive.
On one occasion, on entering the room, with my newspapers and letters
in my hand, I found Mr. Adams sitting at the table engaged in writing.
Not wishing to interrupt him, after exchanging salutations with him, I
withdrew to a window to look over my morning mail. I was shocked to
see, in the Richmond papers, the announcement of the death of my
venerable and honored friend Governor James Barbour. With some
strong ejaculation expressive of surprise and grief, I announced the
fact to Mr. Adams, who seemed as painfully impressed by the news as
I had been. Without uttering a word, he pushed back the papers
which were before him, and folding his arms on the table, rested his
head on them for some time, as if lost in thought. Then slowly raising
his head, he turned his face toward me, and in a voice tremulous with
emotion, said: `Mr. Stuart, I have been connected with this government,
in one way or another, almost from its foundation to the present
hour. I have known personally nearly all the great men who have
been connected with its administration, and I can safely say that I have
rarely known a wiser, and never a better man than James Barbour.'
Such a noble tribute, coming fresh and spontaneously from the heart
of its illustrious author, made an impression on my mind which can
never be erased, especially as my own relations to Governor Barbour

enabled me to recognize and appreciate its justice. On other occasions
I have heard Mr. Adams speak in the most cordial terms of Mr. Barbour,
and refer to incidents which occurred while he was Secretary of
War in Mr. Adams' administration, which illustrated his integrity and
manly independence of character." In an "Eulogium upon the Life and
Character of James Madison," by Mr. Barbour, 8vo, Washington, 1836,
the paternal affection in which the illustrious subject ever held the
reverential eulogist is touchingly manifested. A like dutiful tribute
was rendered to the exalted worth of Mr. Barbour by his warm personal
friend, Hon. Jeremiah Morton, but the writer has been unable to obtain
a copy of it.

Mr. Barbour married, October 29, 1792, Lucy, daughter of Benjamin
Johnson, of Orange County, a member of the House of Burgesses.
The surviving issue of this congenial marriage are: Hon. Benjamin
Johnson Barbour, of Barboursville, Virginia, born June 14, 1821, and
married, November 17, 1844, Caroline Homoesel, daughter of Dr.
George Watson, a distinguished physician of Richmond, Virginia. Mr.
Barbour inherits the rare gifts of his eminent father in a marked degree,
and is a gentleman of profound culture. His addresses, historical, literary,
political, and agricultural, on various occasions, are alike chaste
and felicitous. In 1865 he was elected to the United States Congress,
but the representatives of unreconstructed Virginia were not allowed in
that year to take their seats.

Lucy, daughter of Governor Barbour, married, in 1822, John Seymour
Taliaferro, who was, unhappily, drowned in 1830. Another daughter,
Frances Cornelia Barbour, is the wife of William Hardy Collins,
a distinguished lawyer of Baltimore, Maryland.

A portrait of Governor Barbour is in the attractive gallery of the
governors and distinguished men of Virginia in the State Library at
Richmond. Barbour County, now in West Virginia, formed in 1843
from the counties of Harrison, Lewis, and Randolph, perpetuates the
name of the distinguished Barbour family.