University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER IV.

Virginia had boldly opened the work of the

Revolution. The changes she had wrought may
not have been sensibly felt by her citizens for years,
but they went to the very foundations of national
happiness. Her conduct had been directed by
reason. That enthusiasm had been felt in her
bosom, is true; but it was enthusiasm which neither
blinded her eyes, nor misguided her arm.
Her statesmen were already looking to the future;
they saw before them a singular crisis; such a
concurrence of events favourable to human freedom,
as had never before existed; and they hastened
to seize its advantages. They prepared to carry
their reforms into every department of life in which
they were required, and to establish them upon a
basis broad as the welfare of the people.

It was natural that the system of Law proper for
the new Commonwealth should have been one of
the first objects of their attention. Virginia had
brought from her mother country the English
Common Law, and early Statutes, and these were
held to be binding wherever they were applicable
to the circumstances of the Colony. In addition,
her own Assemblies had enacted several volumes
of statutes, and, frequently, the English Parliament
had expressly extended to her the effect of their legislation
These sources furnished to her the law which
bound her people when the Revolution commenced.
It ought not to surprise us that many of her most
accomplished citizens had learned to revere this
time-honoured system, under which they had so
long lived. The Common Law and the general
current of early English enactments, had much to

commend them even beyond the venerated memories
of the past, which encircled them. They
breathed a sturdy and honest spirit; they loved
the trial by jury; they fostered a temper of independence
and moral purity. Yet with their acknowledged
merits, they combined vices, rendered
only the more dangerous by their inveteracy, and
wholly incompatible with the principles which had
been already announced in Virginia. To these
vices her law-makers turned their thoughts, and,
while they retained the general system as the basis
of their jurisprudence, they laboured to take from
it every rule inconsistent with freedom.

It would not be proper, in this work, to review
the laws of the state in detail, and to trace with
minuteness the various changes through which they
have passed in assuming their present form. This
would be the province of the professed jurist, rather
than of the historian. Yet the laws of every people
constitute a most important part of its history; they
mould its character, and, in turn, are shaped by its
dispositions. They act and react upon it, and often
furnish the soundest test of its welfare. And there
are some laws which, in their very nature, are inseparable
from the destinies of their subjects; they
do so entwine themselves around the social interests
of man, and so constantly affect his practice, that
he cannot be impartially considered without them.
Upon such laws it is the duty of history to bestow
due attention. And of this character were some
which engaged the thoughts of Virginia's sages, in

the very infancy of her existence as a sovereign
state.

The first of these upon which notice shall be
bestowed, was the law of entail. A very early
period of English history had witnessed its rise,
and succeeding years had moulded it into form.[281]
Under this law, landed property was fixed for perpetuity
in the same family; the father held it for
his life without power to sell or encumber, and at
his death his oldest son succeeded to the same
rights and the same restrictions. If the first son
died without issue, the second and other sons took
the property in the same way, and thus a succession
almost unlimited was provided. This scheme
has planted itself deeply in the heart of England;
it is congenial to her constitution, and keeps alive
the aristocratic spirit which many of her sages
have held to be necessary to her welfare. Yet her
enlightened sons have not been blind to the enormous
evils flowing from entails, and long ago these
evils were great enough to make the courts look
with jealous eyes upon the system. Children were
prone to disobedience when they knew their parents
could not disinherit them. Creditors were defrauded,
for the heir could not be compelled to pay
debts contracted by an extravagant father; treasons
were encouraged, for the lands could not be forfeited
by crime.[282] Hence, in England, gradually

arose the doctrine that entails might be destroyed
by a judicial process known as a fine and common
recovery. In this, the ancestor, the heir, and all
other parties interested, usually joined, and the
effect was to give to the possessor a title in fee
simple, so that the property might be sold, or
divided, or charged with debts, or otherwise appropriated,
according to the general law of the land.
This mode of breaking entails has been constantly
used in England, but so strong is the tendency to
privileged order there, that many thousand broad
acres are yet locked in the embrace of the statute
of King Edward the First.

Hardly had the settlement of Virginia been commenced,
before the working of this system was
seen. Her cavaliers and gentlemen were the very
people who would be most partial to its use. They
had grown up in contact with classes in the mother
country, who loved it as a national privilege, and
in their eyes a genuine entail was connected with
all that was gentlemanly and dignified. Gradually
plantations were established, and were bound in
rigorous family settlements. The preference of
sons to daughters was of course admitted in full
strength, and the oldest son was still the favourite
tenant in tail. Down from ancestor to heir, the
lands skirting the Rappahannoc and the Powhatan
descended in endless line. For a long time before
the Revolution, the law operated in power; large
possessions in land were held without encumbrance
by the same family. The father was lord in his
lifetime, and the son was lord in expectancy and

legal right. Nothing can convey a more vivid
idea of the strong aristocratic feeling pervading
Virginia, than her course as to this scheme. We
have seen that in England the courts set their faces
against entails, and permitted them to be docked by
a fine and recovery; but the law-makers of the
"Old Dominion" held all such innovations in high
contempt, and by a statute enacted in 1705, forbade
their use, and declared that no estate-tail
should be destroyed, except by act of Assembly.[283]
And to complete their work, in 1727 they enacted
that slaves might be attached to lands, and might
be entailed with them, subject to all the incidents
proper to the system.[284]

Under these circumstances, the policy was
allowed its full influence in Virginia. A special
act of the legislature was sometimes asked and
granted to break a settlement, but such cases were
comparatively few, and were not favoured. All
the evils attending the system in England existed
in the Colony, with divers aggravations. Over
the whole eastern region, fine lands were held by
families who guarded their privileges with more
than English jealousy. An aristocracy neither of
talent, nor learning, nor moral worth, but of landed
and slave interest, was fostered. The members of
the Council of State were always chosen from this
class,[285] and in many respects they were regarded

as the peerage of the land. The hope of enjoying
special marks of kingly favour kept the whole body
in watchful dependence on the Crown. And dangerous
distinctions of another kind flowed from the
policy. Where lands could neither be sold nor
mortgaged, debts must often have been contracted
which were never paid, yet the tenants in tail lived
in luxurious ease, to which others were strangers.
The rich people of Virginia were then richer than
at present, and the poor were poorer. There was
no prospect for that equal distribution of property
which is the legitimate reward of industry. Coaches
drawn by four horses rolled from the doors of the
aristocracy, and plate of gold and silver in the
utmost profusion glittered on their boards, while
the poor artisan and labourer worked for the necessaries
of life without hope of ever gaining any portion
of the property guarded by entail. Thus an
artificial state of society was produced, unfavourable
to freedom, and fruitful in discontent.

On the 12th day of October, Mr. Jefferson opened
his batteries upon this fortress of Virginian pride.
He obtained leave to bring in a bill which provided
that thereafter all estates tail should be converted
into fee simple, so that the owner might sell, devise,
mortgage, or otherwise dispose of them as he
pleased.[286] He encountered warm opposition. Edmund
Pendleton was the great champion of antiquity,
the enemy of innovation. We are not to
suppose that this distinguished man was wanting in
patriotism, but he was cautious and cool. He had

drank so deeply of the fountains of English lore,
that he did not relish the new spring of waters
opened in America. He feared they would intoxicate
and destroy. He was virtuous and benevolent,
kind as a friend, philanthropic as a man, and therefore
the more formidable as an opponent. He was
an elegant and impressive speaker, quick as lightning
to seize a point, and persevering to maintain
it. He brought all his powers to bear against Mr.
Jefferson's bill, and nearly defeated it. Finding
that popular opinion was running too strongly
against entails to permit him to save the entire
policy, he introduced an amendment to the effect
that the tenant in tail might convey in fee simple
if he thought proper so to do.[287] This amendment
came within a few votes of success, and it would
have left the evil nearly as great as before, for the
aristocratic feeling was yet strong enough to have
preserved many family settlements from destruction.
But, finally, the friends of the bill prevailed;
it passed without material amendment. The axe
was applied, and the tree of entails, which had
been growing for centuries, was levelled with the
ground.[288]

The wise men of the state were convinced that

their whole system of jurisprudence needed revision.
The law we have just noticed was so important,
that immediate action had been applied to it,
but Mr. Jefferson was resolved that, if possible, the
whole legal fabric should be remodelled, that it
might be fitted to the wants of a free people. Early
in the session he brought in a bill for the purpose,
which was passed on the 24th of October, and, on
the 5th of November, revisors were appointed, to
whom was committed the whole subject, with instructions
to take the Common Law, the English
and Virginia Statutes, to examine them, to suggest
reforms, to arrange their suggestions in the shape of
bills, and to report their labours to the Legislature,
in order that the bills might be considered, and, if
approved, passed into laws. The revisors were
Thomas Jefferson, Edmund Pendleton, George
Wythe, George Mason, and Thomas Ludwell Lee;
but, after the work was commenced, Mr. Mason
and Mr. Lee withdrew.[289] They were not lawyers
by profession, and though their views might sometimes
have been useful, they felt themselves incompetent
to a task requiring the highest legal learning.
The three remaining gentlemen proceeded to their
work with zeal, and in three years they were prepared
to make a report.

As this subject is perfectly distinct in its character,
it will be best at once to follow the revisors
in their learned labours, instead of recurring to them
in the history of the years that succeeded. Early

in the year 1777 the committee met and distributed
their task. With great propriety they determined
to retain the Common Law as the basis of their
reforms, and to embrace in their bills only such
alterations as they thought should be applied to it,
together with such enactments as would supply
the place of all prior British and Virginia Statutes.[290]
To have swept away at once the whole existing
system, with the thousands of judicial decisions
made upon it, and to have substituted for it a compact
code, would have been a work of great labour
and delicacy, and would have diminished the certainty
of the law. Errors of opinion on this subject
are common to the inexperienced. A simple
code may suffice for an infant people. But as society
widens, as orders are established, as property
increases, as intricate relations arise, so must rules
vary and distinctions be drawn. Therefore, the
most accurate written laws that human wisdom
could devise, would become subjects of litigation;
every phrase would involve a context, every word
would be weighed and found wanting, and until
centuries of judicial proceedings had passed, uncertainty
would prevail.[291] Considerations like these
determined the revisors of Virginia, although, for a
time, Mr. Pendleton was strongly in favour of an
original code.

They divided the work by assigning to Mr.
Jefferson the whole Common Law and the English

Statutes prior to the fourth year of King James the
First, when the Articles of Instruction for the Colony
took effect.[292] To Mr. Wythe, the British Statutes
from that date to the Revolution; and to Mr.
Pendleton, all the Virginia enactments.[293] They
went to their homes, and in time not devoted to
other duties, they laboured assiduously upon the
new code. By the 18th of June, 1779, they were
ready to report, and presented to the Legislature
the result of their work, in a volume of ninety
pages, containing one hundred and twenty-six bills.

Some of these reforms were adopted in a short
time, but the greater part of the work was not
taken up until 1785. James Madison had entered
the Legislature in the session of 1776. He was
then a young man, and had hardly tried his noble
powers; but in subsequent years he became more
and more eminent. To his exertions in 1785, the
new code was principally indebted. Many objections
were made, some sound, some senseless;
"endless quibbles, chicaneries, perversions, vexations,
and delays of lawyers and demi-lawyers,"[294]
but at length most of the bills were passed with
little alteration.

To a few only of these reforms will it be proper
in this work to refer. The law of descents had
engaged the special thought of Mr. Jefferson. The
English system had been loved in Virginia. The
oldest son was the heir and inherited all the lands
of the father, while other sons and all the daughters

were fain to be content with scanty portions. The
injustice of this scheme had availed nothing in argument
with the aristocracy. Mr. Pendleton was
anxious to preserve it, and finding that his companions
were inexorable, he begged at least that
the Jewish rule might prevail, and that the first
born son might receive a double portion;[295] but Mr.
Jefferson replied that unless the eldest son required
a double portion of food, or could do a double
amount of work, he did not see the justice of
giving him a double share of property. Thus the
dispute was ended—nature prevailed—the law of
primogeniture was abolished; and the statute of
descents substituted for it in our state, is a beautiful
illustration of natural principles. It gives to all
children equal portions, and when there are no
children, it directs property into channels which
the heart and the head of every sane man would
be prone to choose. In proof of this, it is certain
that, except under very peculiar circumstances,
wills in Virginia have been found to make almost
the same disposition of property that the law would
have made had the owner died intestate.[296] Mr. Jefferson's
statute of descents has been very slightly
altered in subsequent years, and a learned mind
has said that the only important change has deformed
rather than improved the graceful symmetry
of the original.[297]

It had been Mr. Jefferson's ardent desire to introduce

into the laws permanent enactments for
the support of education among the people. He
proposed to have William and Mary elevated into
a university, to establish colleges as an intermediate
grade of schools, and to divide the state into districts,
in each of which a public school should be
supported. But this plan, though sometimes feebly
urged, was never carried out. The strong Episcopal
odour of William and Mary, made it ungrateful
to those who had been called Dissenters,[298]
and it may be that Virginia already exhibited some
of that apathy on the subject of education which
has since covered her with shame in the eyes of
her sister states!

The proposed law of crimes and punishments
seems to be the most exceptionable part of the work
done by the revisors. It is true, they sought to
cleanse the blood-stained code of England; the
one hundred and sixty capital crimes made by the
British Parliament,[299] were not to exist. Only treason
and murder were to be punished with death,
but for other deep felonies they provided the penalty
of hard labour on the public works. This policy
is more than doubtful; shaved heads, mean clothing,
and limbs fettered with iron shackles, when openly
shown, have seldom done any thing either for the
reformation of offenders, or for general morals. By
some unaccountable perversion of judgment and
feeling, the revisors had established the barbarous
"lex talionis," the law of retaliation for some

offences.[300] Poison for poison, maim for maim,
wound for wound; this was literally their system,[301]
and for certain infamous crimes the punishment
denounced was so revolting, that it is hard to believe
it ever could have obtained the sanction of
statesmen and sages! The bill was defeated in
the Legislature by a single vote. We have every
reason to rejoice that it was lost; it might have
darkened the reputation of its distinguished authors;
it would not have met the demands of the age, and
it would probably have retarded Virginia in her
subsequent efforts to ameliorate her criminal code.

Thus a gradual but decisive change was wrought
in the law of the state, and was reflected upon
the social system. Lord Bacon has said that
Time is the greatest innovator, but that he works
slowly and imperceptibly, and it were well that
man should imitate him. Nothing ought more to
raise our esteem for the wise men of the Revolution,
than a view of the caution—the apparent delay—with
which they worked reform. There was
change, but there was no shock; no sudden rending.
They applied the principles of freedom from
time to time, and slowly and gracefully wove them
into their system.[302] The innovations we have
already noticed were, of all others, best adapted to
secure human liberty. The conscience was released
from bondage by the laws as to religion;
the forbidding of entails prevented the rise of

hereditary privileges, and of any aristocracy other
than that of worth and talent; the law of descents
divided property according to nature, and promoted
equality among men. Under such a system, the
highest guarantees would be afforded for contentment
and happiness.

Turning immediately back from this review, we
find the Legislature of Virginia contemplating a
most singular and dangerous measure. It is humiliating
to fall from wisdom to folly, from liberty to
slavery. Yet, before we pass sentence of condemnation
upon the conduct of such men as lived in
1776, it will be proper to give them the benefit of
every circumstance explaining their action, and
covering, in some degree, its deformity. While
they were in session, war was raging in the Northern
States. Washington had struggled in vain
against the disciplined troops under the British
generals. He had been defeated on Long Island,
and after the enemy took possession of New York,
he had been driven through the Jerseys before a
powerful force. Patriot hearts sank; the cause of
the Revolution seemed lost; resistance was hardly
opposed to the progress of the enemy, and their
course was marked with rapine and violence. As
the British and Hessian troops passed through the
Jerseys, they committed horrible excesses. A
Hessian soldier ravished a young girl, and while
her unhappy father was endeavouring to release
her, he was mortally wounded by the comrades of
the ravisher.[303] Another girl, young and modest,

was forcibly violated by a British officer, and was
afterwards found by a small party of Americans in
company with some of her female companions, who
had with difficulty made their escape.[304] Fields
were wasted, cattle destroyed, fruit trees cut down,
houses burned; it seemed as though the conquerors
were resolved to teach America her duty to England
by reducing her to original desolation.

At this time the legislators of Virginia seemed
to lose all hope. In perfect despair they listened
to a proposal, startling even to themselves. This
was neither more nor less than the appointment of
a dictator, with absolute powers, military and civil,
united in himself! Those friendly to this project
sought a precedent in Roman history, which tells
that in times of extreme danger, a dictator was appointed
to take care of the commonwealth. They
might have remembered that if such a step had
ever produced transient good, it had at last been
fatal; that example is dangerous, and power seducing;
and that Rome was lost when her Cæsars
had gained a permanent dictatorship. But it is
needless to argue against a scheme, the very statement
of which is enough to expose its madness.

There is little doubt that Patrick Henry was the
man intended by the advocates of the dictatorship
for this office, but we have no reason to believe that
he favoured or even knew of the scheme.[305] As the
matter went forward, fierce passions arose; the
friends and opponents of the measure often exchanged
angry remonstrances, and, at last, so high

did their excitement become, that they walked on
different sides of the streets of Williamsburg.[306] No
member was more distinguished for stern opposition
to the plan than Archibald Cary, the venerable
speaker of the Senate. He had introduced the resolutions
of May 15, declaring Virginia to be free
and independent, and his unbending patriotism
made him formidable to the enemies of freedom.
Meeting Colonel Syme, the brother-in-law of
Patrick Henry, in the lobby of the House, Mr.
Cary is said to have addressed him in a voice of
fierce feeling: "Sir, I am told that your brother
wishes to be dictator; tell him from me that the
day of his appointment shall be the day of his
death; for he shall feel my dagger in his heart before
the sunset of that day."[307] The spirit of antiquity
was not lost: another Brutus was ready to stab
another Cæsar in the person of his friend. But
the sacrifice was not demanded. Colonel Syme
replied, in amazement, that his brother had never
given countenance to the scheme, or to any other
that would endanger liberty. Only a short time
before, Mr. Henry had been so much indisposed
that he was obliged to go into the country, and he
had not resumed his duties when the dictatorship
was proposed. It is probable that he would have
used all his influence against it. The project was
soon abandoned, and, though it was renewed in
1781, and wanted only a few votes of success,[308] yet,
since the Revolution, the people of Virginia have
looked upon it as an unnatural and half-forgotten
dream.

Since the appointment of Robert Carter Nicholas
as Treasurer, the finances of the state had
been managed with skill and fidelity. Difficulties
had arisen and were increasing; paper issues
seemed necessary, and the evils to which they gave
birth have become a mournful part of American
history. But these were ills for which the best of
human efforts at that time could provide no cure.
Mr. Nicholas had given perfect satisfaction. His
labours had been incessant, and finding that they
preyed upon his health, and would moreover prevent
his serving as a delegate in the Legislature,
he signified his wish to resign. The Assembly
passed a resolution expressing gratitude for his past
services, and requesting him to continue his duties
at least until the close of the session; this he consented
to do. George Webb was elected to be his
successor.[309]

(1777.) Those who are familiar with the events
of the Revolutionary War, will remember that comparatively
few of its battles and military operations
occurred in Virginia. While the states north and
south of her were the scenes of bloody struggles,
she was long free from dangerous invasion. But
let it not be supposed that she was idle, or that her
children were indifferent spectators of the toils of
their brethren. Her quotas of Continental troops
were regularly furnished, and volunteers under
such men as Morgan and Stevens, went from her

counties to fight for freedom. As the war advanced,
and as depressing causes gained strength, it was
found more difficult to keep full the regiments with
the regular army, under the commander-in-chief.
Governor Henry at one time determined to fill the
vacancies by volunteers for six months. (Feb. 21.)
But Washington protested against this measure; a
short term of enlistment would have been ruinous;
it would have swelled the army for a season, only
to leave it feeble at a time when numbers would
be most important.[310] The Governor yielded, and
issued a proclamation urging enlistments on such
terms as would make the recruits of real service,
and so much energy was shown in this work, that
early in May the required battalions were almost
complete.

The exertions of Virginia for the general cause,
often left her deficient in military strength for her
own defence. Throughout the reports and correspondence
of her high officers, we read bitter complaints
of the want of ammunition and arms in
times of danger. Early in the war, a scarcity of
gunpowder had been felt, and to supply it, General
Lee had sent Colonel Gibson and Captain Lynn
to New Orleans, as special agents to purchase this
commodity. After an expedition full of danger,
they returned with twelve thousand pounds of
powder, which they had bought for eighteen hundred
dollars.[311] Yet this stock was soon exhausted,
either by use at home, or by drafts for the Continental
service; and when afterwards the state was

invaded, serious disasters occurred from the want
of warlike stores. These incidents will be noticed
in their proper order.

On the 30th of May, Patrick Henry was unanimously
re-elected Governor of the state, to serve
for another year. Though the duties assigned by
the Constitution to his office had not brought him
into brilliant action, yet he had so discharged them
as to gain increased love from the people. He had
kept alive the spirit of the Revolution; had breathed
the fire of his own patriotism into the councils of the
state, had urged on enlistments by his eloquence
and personal efforts, and had crushed treason
wherever it appeared in the eastern counties.[312] If
the imprudent had dreamed of making him dictator,
he had not encouraged their dreams; if the
envious had accused him of undue ambition, he
had disarmed their envy by his candour. The
votes of all parties were given to the man in whom
all felt equal confidence.

While war was in the land and Virginia was bearing
her part, we are refreshed by finding some of her
sons intent upon promoting the progress of science
within her borders. Dr. Small, of William and
Mary College, had always been eager to diffuse a love
of letters, and Governor Fauquier had applied his refined
taste to the same purpose. Mr. Jefferson had
been the pupil of the first, and the protegé of the
latter; he had learned lessons from both, and probably
excelled both in the distinct systems of
philosophy they had sought to inculcate. George

Wythe may not have sparkled so brightly as did
these, but he was the soundest of scholars, and the
most practical of instructers. Rev. James Madison,
Professor of Mathematics in William and Mary,
lent his aid, and John Page rejoiced to give his
classical knowledge to a cause in which his bosom
friend was so much interested.[313] These, with other
kindred spirits, formed a society to diffuse light; to
collect and publish matter which would aid the
inquirer into science; to study chemistry, and to
apply it to the agriculture of Virginia. Even
during the war their labours did not cease; though
the society could not meet frequently, an active
committee was at work, and from numerous articles
contributed for its inspection, it chose several
of uncommon excellence, which were intended for
the press. It is much to be regretted that their
purpose was not carried out.[314] Subsequent events
caused the decline of the society; but if in after
years the torpor pervading our state has ever been
disturbed by the friends of science, we may find
the germ of the movement in the body of which
John Page was the president, and Thomas Jefferson
the leading member.

Connected with their efforts was the action of
the Legislature in aiding manufactures and general
education. They passed laws for the building of
iron and salt works, and for encouraging by bounties
those who would engage in them. At the last
session, the trustees of Hampden Sydney Academy,

in Prince Edward County, had made an earnest
appeal for aid. They represented that it was not
their desire to interfere with the established college;
but that it was fair that all should be encouraged.
A monopoly in the province of training
youth, was perhaps more dangerous than any other
monopoly, and if Oxford and Cambridge, by their
watchful rivalry, had sometimes saved the freedom
of the English nation, it might not be amiss that
William and Mary should have a rival. Their
position was remote from the scenes of war, and
favourable to study; their system of instruction
was catholic and liberal; they asked not the full
establishment given to the older College, but they
prayed that they might be incorporated, and might
have such aid as would enable them to erect suitable
buildings for the students, who were daily
applying for admission.[315] The Legislature heard
their prayer with favour. An act of incorporation
was not granted to them until 1783,[316] but at the
session of 1777, a bill passed authorizing the
trustees to raise, by lottery, a sum of money sufficient
for the purpose designated.[317] A sensitive
mind cannot but deplore the use of this unhappy
scheme of gaming, by the trustees of an institution
so sacred in its origin as was Hampden Sydney
College. It is not easy to ascertain whether real
benefit was derived from the scheme. It is certain
that in 1784 the funds of the institution were so
low that to aid them the Legislature granted
several hundred acres of land, which formerly belonged
to British merchants, and were forfeited
during the Revolution.[318] Since that time, varied
fortunes have befallen the College; often it has
been filled with students and adorned by accomplished
professors, and though for several years
past it has been languid in its movements, there
are symptoms of good attending it which promise a
bright renewal of its usefulness.

Not long after the commencement of this session,
the Governor had been advised to remove arms and
military munitions, together with the public records,
to a place less exposed than the seat of government.
Williamsburg was not far from the bay, and might
be reached from British cruisers, who entered the
James. Richmond was selected as a safe place of
deposit, and the removal was made as soon as convenient.
On the 28th June, the Legislature adjourned.[319]

While the people of the "Old Dominion" were
watching the progress of war in the other states,
two strangers appeared among them whose characters
at once attracted to them the love of the generous
and good. A young nobleman of France had
left the luxuries of his native land, and the endearments
of his family, to come to America. Gilbert
Motier de La Fayette, had watched the opening
struggle for freedom with intense interest. When
the arms of the patriots had gained some advantages,
he wished to embark for the New World,

and then neither his friends nor his sovereign opposed
him, but when Washington was driven from
New York, and reverse after reverse depressed
America, he was positively forbidden to engage
personally in a cause that seemed so desperate.[320]
The true nobility of his spirit now appeared:
"Hitherto," he said to the American Commissioners,
"I have done no more than wish success to
your cause; I now go to serve it. The more it has
fallen in public opinion, the greater will be the
effect of my departure."[321]

The ship in which he embarked is said to have
been chased by French cruisers, sent out to arrest
him; but, happily escaping, he entered the port
of Charleston, in South Carolina, early in the year
1777.

La Fayette was accompanied by the Baron De
Kalb, a German by birth, but a Brigadier-General
in the French army. Like his young companion,
he came to battle for liberty in America. As these
two distinguished men passed through Virginia,
they were hailed with enthusiasm by her citizens.
Her learning and talent rejoiced to do them honour.
Their stay was brief, as they were anxious to meet
Congress, and join the Continental army, but they
were both destined to revisit Virginia. De Kalb
passed through in 1780, to fight like a lion and die
like a hero on the field of Camden, and to draw
from Washington that pathetic lament uttered over
his grave, "Here lies the brave De Kalb, the generous

stranger, who came from a distant land to
water with his blood the tree of our liberty.
Would to God he had lived to share with us its
fruits."[322] And the greenest laurels won by La
Fayette were those gained in Virginia, in the closing
scenes of the Revolution.

An English fleet was hovering on the American
coast, and keeping each exposed state in fear of a
descent. (August 16.) At length it appeared at
the mouth of the Chesapeake, and immediately the
Virginia militia were put in motion to meet the
attack. They repaired with alacrity to Williamsburg,
York, Portsmouth, and other points where an
assault seemed probable. Thomas Nelson was
County Lieutenant of York, and in time of danger
was looked to as a leader for the troops. He was
a man of excellent education and decided civic
talents; he was affable and modest, beloved by his
friends, respected by opponents. With these qualities
he united tried courage, and a skill in military
combination which would have made him distinguished
had his field been wider. The Governor
and Council appointed him Brigadier-General, and
gave him command of all the forces of the state.
Had the British landed, they would have met steady
opposition, but the fleet sailed to the head of Chesapeake
Bay, and Sir William Howe, landing eighteen
thousand men, advanced towards Philadelphia.[323]
Washington offered him battle, and the well-known
struggle at Brandywine immediately followed.

On the 20th October, the Legislature again assembled.
Their most important action was that
produced by the state of war. They exerted themselves
to complete the Continental line. Finding
that enlistments were slow, a draft from the unmarried
militia was resorted to; one able-bodied
man was drawn by lot from every twenty-five, and
a bounty of fifteen dollars was paid to the soldier
thus drafted. Desertions had become so common
and so ruinous that it was enacted that if a man
concealed a deserter, he should take his place; and
if a woman, she should pay a heavy fine; but with
tender regard for human sympathies, it was provided,
that from this law should be excepted the
wife concealing her husband, the widow her son,
and the child his or her parent.[324] Advantage was
taken of all circumstances favourable to the great
end of enrolling soldiers; Baptists and Methodists,
and other religious societies, were invited to organize
separate companies, and to appoint officers
of their own persuasion. Sometimes energy exhibited
itself in doubtful means; materials for clothing
were seized wherever found, and being immediately
appraised, were paid for on the spot, and converted
into clothes for the soldiers.[325] The exportation of
beef, pork, and bacon, except for the use of the
army, was forbidden; monopolies were crushed,
and every movement of domestic commerce was
watched with jealous eyes.

Another series of acts were passed, which have

been assailed by writers on morals,[326] and which
afterwards gave rise to extended litigation. Early
in the war, many inhabitants of Virginia left her
soil and fled to England; they abhorred the principles
of the Revolution, and would willingly have
seen its overthrow. These were known by the title
of "English Refugees." They were, in the worst
sense of the word, "alien enemies," and not merely
enemies, but traitors to their country. According
to the received rules of the common law, such could
hold no property, and enjoy no civil rights.[327] Yet
the law-makers of Virginia were not disposed to
proceed to extremity; they had not learned that
England had yet gone so far as to confiscate all
property within her bounds belonging to Americans,
and they wished to govern their action by
her own. To permit the rents and profits of estates,
and debts accruing to alien enemies, to be transmitted
to them abroad, would have strengthened
the common foe, and weakened Virginia.[328] Therefore
they enacted that commissioners should be
appointed to take charge of the lands and personalty
of the "refugees," and to pay the profits arising
from them into the Public Loan Office; all debtors
of such refugees were also authorized to pay their
debts into the Loan Office, receiving from the proper
officer a certificate of the amount and date of
the payment; from the proceeds thus accumulated
in the treasury, the Governor and Council were
empowered to appropriate sufficient sums for the
support of the wives and children of the fugitives,
if they had left any such behind them, and for payment
of their creditors, if any such were in America.[329] The balance was to be held subject to the
future order of the Legislature, whose action was
to be guided by the conduct of Great Britain. It
will not be premature at once to state, that two
years afterwards, another act was passed, declaring
that all the property of British subjects, real and
personal, should be vested by escheat and forfeiture
in the Commonwealth, still subject, however, to the
disposition and control of the Legislature.[330] From
the operation of this act, British debts authorized
to be paid into the Loan Office by the law of 1777,
were expressly excepted; but, in a short time
thereafter, this clause of the law of '77 was repealed,[331] and thus the rights of British creditors in Virginia
were chiefly dependent on the construction of
the law of 1779.

Many years after the close of the Revolution, a
celebrated cause was tried in the United States
Courts, in which these laws of Virginia all came
under review. It would not be proper here to give
an extended account of this struggle. It was long-continued
and gave exercise to the highest legal
learning, and the most brilliant popular eloquence.
Patrick Henry was engaged in it, and his course in
its management has been traced by the hand of a

master.[332] It will be sufficient to say that a case
involving all the questions of the original contest
came before the Supreme Court of the United
States in 1796, and was elaborately argued by distinguished
counsel.[333] The court thought that the
laws of Virginia were not intended absolutely to
confiscate British debts;[334] but they decided that,
admitting these laws were so intended, and were
originally valid, yet they were repealed by the
Treaty of Peace in 1783; one article of which
provided that creditors on either side should meet
with no lawful impediment in the recovery of their
debts.

At this session the Legislature turned its thoughts
to the plan of union which had been proposed by
Congress for the approval of the several states.
The "Articles of Confederation" had been originally
prepared in November, 1776; they were not
the result of painful thought and profound research,
but were offered in haste, and adopted for want of
something better. The emergency was pressing,
disunion would have been fatal, and the world
needed some tangible evidence that the states were
confederate. (December 15.) Virginia, by her
Assembly, passed a unanimous resolution, that under
the circumstances of the country, these articles
ought to be approved, and instructed her delegates
in Congress to ratify the plan in the name of the

Commonwealth.[335] The well-known defects of this
scheme will not now be dwelt upon;[336] while the
war lasted the "Articles" might suffice; for outward
danger pressed the states together, and invasion
forced them to raise men and money. The
plan was not affirmatively vicious, but it was weak,
contemptible, a mere rope of sand. Instead of
bearing down immediately upon persons, and forcing
them to their duty, it made requirements of
states, only to be disobeyed or neglected.[337]

(1778.) Early in the next year the eyes of the
vigilant were drawn to disorders in the southeastern
part of the state, which called for redress.
Many of the people there living were still disaffected,
yet they could not be removed without
measures approaching to cruelty. A brutal wretch
in Princess Anne County, named Josiah Phillips,
became distinguished in marauding. Through his
own county, and Nansemond and Norfolk, he
prowled like a wild beast in search of prey. His
followers were outlaws like himself. When hard
pressed by pursuers, they would lie concealed for
days in the swamps of the country. The matted
undergrowth and deep gloom of these fastnesses
were their protection; but when the danger passed,
they would suddenly sally forth, fall upon a defenceless
homestead, murder all the inhabitants,
burn the house to the ground, and return to their

hiding-place laden with booty. The very name of
Phillips spread terror through the country; children
trembled when they heard it, and even bold
men feared his stealthy attacks. The militia were
often called out to form bands for his destruction,
but so great was their apathy, that not more than
five or six men would attend at a muster; or if a
sufficient number were enrolled, most of them deserted
with the first opportunity.[338] Upon receiving
a full report of the facts, Governor Henry addressed
a message to the Assembly, (May 27,) in which
he spoke of the difficulty of reaching the murderers
by the ordinary process of law, alluded to their
enormities, and urged decided action. This gave
rise to a proceeding which has been thought little
in accordance with the spirit of American institutions,
and which under any other circumstances
could hardly be justified. The House of Delegates
resolved itself into a committee of the whole on
the state of the country, and on the 28th of May,
a report was made by Mr. Carter, reciting the
crimes of Phillips and his band, and recommending
that unless they should surrender themselves
within a limited time, they should be attained of
high treason. Messrs Jefferson, Smith, and Tyler,
were appointed to prepare a bill, which was duly
reported, and after passing through the regular
forms in both houses, became a law on the 1st day
of June. It declared that unless Josiah Phillips
and his associates should voluntarily surrender
themselves to some duly authorized officer of
government, on or before the last day of June,
they should stand and be attainted and convicted
of high treason, and should suffer all its penalties,
whenever they could be applied. After the 1st of
July, all persons were empowered to pursue and
slay the outlaws wherever they could be found,
provided they should be in arms at the time, or
else they were authorized to capture and bring
them to justice.[339]

This was the first act of attainder passed in Virginia
since the opening of the Revolution, and it
is also believed to have been the last. Such acts
constitute the most dangerous exercise of power
that law-makers can use. In England they have
been the means of perpetrating cruelty and injustice
beyond expression, and so frightful are they
in every aspect, that modern improvements in
government reject them altogether. If ever there
was a case in which a bill of attainder was just and
salutary, it was that of Josiah Phillips and his
band of robbers. Yet so shocking to our moral
sense is the principle of condemning to death a
man unheard, that we cannot but rejoice to find
that in fact it was not used. After long evading
his pursuers, Phillips was captured and brought to
trial. Instead of seeking to enforce against him
the penalties of the attainder, Edmund Randolph,
the Attorney-General, rejected it entirely, and indicted
the prisoner in regular form for murder and
robbery.[340] Upon this indictment he was tried; he

pleaded a license from Lord Dunmore, to make
war upon the people of Virginia; but could a
license from a renegade Governor justify murder
and robbery? His plea was overruled; he was
convicted, and suffered death according to the
solemn sentence of the court. It is a fact too singular
to be overlooked, that Edmund Randolph,
who at that time filled both the office of Attorney-General
and that of Clerk to the House of Delegates,
seems to have forgotten entirely the true
character of the prosecution against Phillips. For,
ten years afterwards, in the great debate on the
Federal Constitution, he replied to Patrick Henry's
eulogy upon the government of Virginia, and in
terms of eloquent invective denounced the course
pursued as to Phillips, whose condemnation and
death he ascribed solely to the bill of attainder![341]
And in continuing the debate, Mr. Henry appears
to have fallen into the same error.

Feeling in all their force the evils of slavery
which their English ancestors had introduced
among them, the people of Virginia would willingly
have abrogated the institution. But it was
now fixed beyond remedy; even after the great
drain caused by death during Lord Dunmore's
attacks, and the number he carried away, the slaves
in eastern Virginia were still nearly one half her
population. To banish them was impossible; to
make them all free would have been ruinous to
private resources at a time when they were most
needed, and would have introduced domestic enemies,

whose ferocity would have had no check
but their ignorance; to establish a plan for their
gradual emancipation was a matter of extreme
delicacy, and one for which the public mind
was not prepared. But there was one barrier
to the increase of the evil which the Legislature
could erect; they could turn back the poisonous
stream of importation which the British
government had long forced into their land.[342] On
the 5th of October, the Assembly enacted that from
that time forth, no slaves should be imported into
the Commonwealth by sea or land; any person so
importing should be subject to a fine of one thousand
dollars for each one brought in, and the slave
himself should be absolutely free.[343] From this law
were excepted slaves brought by transient visiters
to the state, those which might vest in the owners
by descent, devise, or marriage, and those that
might be brought by citizens of other states intending
to reside in Virginia, and who should make
oath that they did not intend to evade the law, and
that their slaves had not been imported from
Africa or the West India Isles after the 1st day
of November, 1778.[344] Under these laws the slave
trade to Virginia was cut off, one immense source
of increase was destroyed; and if the curse was not
removed, it was at least confined to narrower limits.
Yet since this time, the process of natural propagation
has kept slavery nearly even with freedom,
and until within a few years past, the philanthropist
looked in vain for symptoms of its decline
in the "Old Dominion."

Another act of this Assembly proved its jealous
watchfulness for the common good. After France
recognised the independence of the United States,
and became their ally, the English Parliament
were driven to a final "Conciliatory Bill" to recover
their dominion. This act made many concessions,
but it did not concede the great point of
independence, and, without this, all others were of
no avail. The Bill was carried to America by
three special Commissioners, Lord Carlisle, William
Eden, and Governor Johnstone. Johnstone
had before professed to be a friend of America and
attached to the opposition, but after having "touched
ministerial gold" his eyes were opened to his
errors, and he became a fit agent for the Ministry.[345]
The Commissioners sent the plan of conciliation to
Congress, together with a letter from themselves.
In this edifying composition abuse is poured out

upon America and France. Such men as Hancock
and Adams are stigmatized as "audacious and
wicked leaders;" Dr. Franklin is called "a dark
agent;" Congress is accused of "impudence;"
Louis XVI is declared to have "exhausted every
infamous resource of perfidy and dissimulation" in
negotiating with the Colonies, and to have acted
treacherously towards Great Britain. So gross was
the insult offered to France, that the fiery young
La Fayette challenged the Earl of Carlisle to single
combat for words which as head of the Commission
he had made his own! The Earl, whose discretion
exceeded his valour, declined the meeting, on the
ground that his conduct had been official, and that
he was accountable for it to none except his sovereign.[346]

Congress treated the Commissioners and their
offer with calm contempt, and rejected the plan of
conciliation proposed by the Ministry. Foiled in
each effort to obtain a more favourable decision, the
agents now resorted to measures distinguished in
infamy and violence. George Johnstone sought to
open a secret correspondence with members of
Congress, and, by a female agent, he offered to Mr.
Reed, a delegate from Pennsylvania, ten thousand
pounds sterling, and the best office in the Colonies
that his Majesty could bestow, if he would use his
influence in favour of the Conciliatory Bill. Mr.
Reed's reply has immortalized him: "I am not
worth purchasing, but such as I am, the King of

England is not rich enough to do it."[347] The Commissioners
were stopped in their course by no considerations
either of honour or prudence. With the
hope of scattering disaffection, and of rending the
Union asunder, they addressed manifestoes to the
Assemblies of the separate states, and to the people
generally, in which they sought to rouse individual
prejudices, to awe the timid, to distract the brave,
to seduce the wavering by hopes of pardon. They
concluded their addresses by plain intimations that
though leniency had thus far been practised, yet if
the Colonies threw themselves into the arms of
France, England would seek to make them useless
to her enemy, by wasting their country with fire
and sword![348]

The manifestoes named the 11th November as
the time within which the states must make submission;
but, much to the chagrin of the agents,
every where their offers were spurned with contempt.
In the month of October, the Legislature
of Virginia learned, through the executive, that a
British officer had arrived at Fort Henry, from
New York, bearing these addresses to the Speaker
of the Assembly, the several members of government,
and to all ministers of the Gospel. Major
Thomas Matthews, who commanded the Fort, refused
to receive these papers until he heard from
the Governor. (Oct. 17.) The Legislature passed
a resolution approving in warm terms of the conduct
of Major Matthews, directing him to express

to the British officer their indignation at his conduct,
and that of his principals, and to order him
instantly to depart from the state, with the assurance
that any one making a similar attempt should
be seized "as an enemy to America."[349] Thus, the
infamous designs of the Commissioners failed of
success, and, in despair of effecting any thing, they
left the country and returned to Great Britain.
Of the whole wretched system pursued by the
English Ministry towards America, no part was
more dishonouring to themselves, and more efficient
in uniting the Colonies, than the Bill and Commission
of 1778.[350]

While vigilant guardians were shielding the
eastern counties from danger, events were passing
in the "far West" which had a material bearing on
the welfare of Virginia. We have, heretofore, in
the progress of this work, glanced at the tide of
migration which was filling up the country beyond
the Blue Ridge, and we have seen that many things
contributed to make this territory alike important
in peace or war. Beautiful as were the vales, fertile
as was the land, verdant as were the savannas
of the West, it required more than ordinary men to
people and reclaim them. But nothing could repress
the eagerness with which this task was prosecuted,
after some of its hardy charms had been
tasted by adventurers from the north and east.
The stream of settlement flowed yearly onward;
at first, a few dauntless woodsmen shouldered their

rifles and plunged into the wilderness, then a single
wagon, carrying a brave family, and accompanied
by the father and his sturdy sons, broke its rough
way into the new country; soon other families
came, and neighbours began to salute each other.
As early as 1772 permanent settlements were made
west of the Alleghanies, and between them and the
Laurel Ridge, and the next year they reached the
Ohio.[351]

Six years before, Daniel Boone had entered
the Kentucky of the Indians, "the dark and
bloody land," often the scene of savage conflicts,
and afterwards the battle-ground of natives and
whites. Yet it was beautiful enough to have
stilled human passions. Resting upon a bed of
limestone, and abounding in mysterious caves and
fountains, the land was yet generous and grateful
for the slightest care. After retreating from the
Ohio, it was elevated, even mountainous, and
topped with heavy forests; in the south, underneath
a lofty growth of trees, was found a barrier
of giant reeds, so thick and tough, that the adventurer
would shrink back discouraged; but in the
vales through which the three great rivers ran,
the ground was literally "the garden of the West."
Grass grew, so green and tall that thousands of
cattle might have feasted upon it; the ash, the
walnut, the buckeye, the elm, the mulberry, the
poplar, all towered in majesty, as though to assert
their dominion over the land. The soil was so
rich, that in after years it was found that many

crops of corn, hemp, or cotton must be raised, before
it was sufficiently reduced for making wheat.[352]
Such a country could not remain long neglected;
it was settled from Virginia and North Carolina,
and every year became more vigorous, until it was
erected into a state in 1785.

To meet the dangers of a new country, the luxurious,
the feeble, the timid, would seldom offer. The
pioneers and their families were among the wildest
and most fearless of men pretending to be civilized.
A rich planter coming from the East would hardly
have recognised a feature among his brethren of the
Alleghany and Ohio regions. Incessant watchfulness
and war gradually assimilated them to the
Indians, until they even went beyond them in
physical accomplishments. With as many wiles
and stratagems, as much fierceness and patient
endurance, they had more strength, more fleetness,
more skill in using weapons. The western settler
was clothed in a hunting-shirt which left his limbs
free in motion, a tomahawk was in his girdle, a
long rifle was grasped in his hand, his feet were
protected by mocassins instead of shoes.[353] In this
last point he fared better than his wife, who generally
went bare-footed in summer.[354] Hunting,
among the men, became a serious avocation, and
was brought to a system. In autumn the deer
were pursued and taken in great numbers; in winter
the bear and wolf became the hunter's prey.
Nothing could exceed their skill in using the rifle

Solemn shooting-matches were often held, which
to them at least, were as important as the Olympic
games to the Greeks. It was common for the
marksman at ninety yards to cut his bullet in
twain on the edge of a knife, and to snuff the wick
of a candle without extinguishing it. From early
years the boys were trained to forest life; their
very sports partook of this character. They imitated
the cries of young animals so accurately that
often the parents themselves were deceived and
fell into the snare.[355] In the long winter evenings,
families assembled in their warm huts, and the
younger members heard with delight from the old,
tales of daring adventure, and "accidents by field
and flood."[356]

As the West thus filled, it became more and more
interesting to the belligerents of the Revolution.
Hamilton, the English Governor at Detroit, was a
man of firm character, but cold and cruel. He
sought to bring all the Indian tribes under his
control, and to rouse them against the Americans.
He paid a tempting price for every white scalp
brought by his savage allies; and with infernal
ingenuity, he urged them to the work of death.[357]
But his course was soon to be arrested. Among
the people of Western Virginia, was Colonel George
Rogers Clarke, a man so cool in danger, so heroic
in combat, so prompt in difficulty, so untiring in

toil, that John Randolph of Roanoke, has bestowed
upon him the expressive title of "the Hannibal of
the West."[358] The whole territory west of her own
and the Pennsylvania frontier, belonged to Virginia,
but as it was yet thinly inhabited by whites,
she had not exercised over it direct jurisdiction.
It now became important to secure this country, to
drive back the savages, and to check the English
by a well-directed stroke. Early in the fall, two
expeditions were planned; one, consisting of nearly
a thousand men, was placed under the command of
General McIntosh, and sent against the Sandusky
towns, but this attempt accomplished little, and at
last failed entirely.[359] Far different was the conduct
of the other. By his own request, about two hundred
and eighty men were assigned to Colonel
Clarke; they were selected from the bone and
sinew of the land, and with them he prepared for
a daring attempt. Descending the Monongahela,
he re-embarked at Fort Pitt, and went down the
Ohio in boats until he reached the "Great Falls,"
about two hundred and forty miles from its mouth.
Here the adventurers hid their boats, and taking on
their backs as much food as they could carry, plunged
into the forests north of the river. In three days
their provision was exhausted; they fed upon roots
and mast found in the woods; yet with undiminished
courage they pressed on. At midnight they
arrived near the town of Kaskaskia on the Mississippi,
about one hundred miles above the mouth of
the Ohio. Worn down by travel and hunger, the
Virginians yet resolved on an assault; to conquer
or perish was the only alternative. The town consisted
of nearly two hundred and fifty houses, and
was so fortified that it might have made formidable
resistance, but the people had not dreamed of attack.
Surrounded by forests, and nearly twelve hundred
miles from the frontiers of the East, they had
thought themselves secure. In the darkness they
were roused by the summons to surrender; and so
skilful were the measures of Clarke, that not one
man escaped captivity. The town was taken, and
after receiving hasty refreshment, a body of the
Virginians, mounted on fleet horses, proceeded up
the river, and surprised three other French towns,
equally unprepared for assault. Thus the whole
region was reduced; Philip Rocheblane, the Governor
of Kaskaskia, was captured, and was sent
to Virginia, together with the written instructions
he had received from the English authorities of
Quebec and Detroit, urging him to rouse the Indians
to war, and to reward them for every deed of
blood.[360]

The Legislature received with joy intelligence
of these events. (November 23.) They voted
warm thanks to Colonel Clarke, his officers and
men, for their "extraordinary resolution and perseverance."[361] Learning that the people of this region
had willingly transferred their allegiance from
England to the United States, the Assembly passed

an act, erecting the territory into a county called
Illinois, and establishing there a provisional government.[362] But the triumph was not to be confirmed
without a further struggle. When Governor Hamilton
heard of the successes of Clarke, he was
excited to renewed effort by rage and disappointment.
He collected a body of more than six hundred
men, chiefly Indians; with these he designed
to overwhelm the feeble force in Illinois, to sweep
the Virginia settlements in Kentucky, to advance to
Fort Pitt, and perhaps to carry ruin into the heart of
West Augusta.[363] About the middle of December, he
arrived at Vincennes on the Wabash, and having
repaired the fort, he sent most of his Indians to
attack the white settlements on the Ohio, reserving
to himself only one company of men.

(1779.) Colonel Clarke perceived the danger.
Happily at this time a Spanish trader arrived from
Fort Vincennes, and told him how much Hamilton's
force had been reduced. Quick as lightning,
he seized the opportunity. Sending a galley filled
with men, and armed with two four-pounders, and
four swivels, to ascend the Wabash, he himself
selected one hundred and thirty of his best men,
and marched directly towards the fort. Great
hardships attended them; five days were employed
in crossing the sunken lands of the Wabash, which
were frequently overflowed, and at one time the
men marched six miles up to their waists in ice
and water. They would have been frozen had not
the weather been remarkably mild. They arrived

in front of the town, nearly at the time when the
galley made her appearance on the river. Nothing
could exceed the astonishment of the besieged.
The people of the town surrendered at once, and
joyfully transferred allegiance to Virginia; they
even assisted in attacking the fort. But Hamilton
was desperate, and for eighteen hours the fort was
defended amid an incessant fire on both sides.
(February 23.) During the night, after the moon
went down, Colonel Clarke caused an entrenchment
to be thrown up, overlooking the strongest
battery of the foe, and the next morning his marksmen
commenced pouring rifle bullets upon the
artillerists. The fire was not to be endured; no
man could show himself without being cut down;
in fifteen minutes two cannon were silenced. Governor
Hamilton demanded a parley, and on the
next evening the fort and all its stores were surrendered,
and the Governor and his men became
prisoners of war.[364]

Whether we consider the hardships endured, the
courage displayed, or the results obtained in these
achievements, we must alike assign to Colonel
Clarke a high place in the temple of renown. It
has been said that his conquest was afterwards regarded
as the true basis of the claim of the United
States to a northern boundary on the Lakes. In
the treaty of peace, England insisted on the Ohio
as the boundary, and the Count de Vergennes, in
behalf of France, was disposed to assent, but the

American Commissioners urged the success of
Clarke with so much force, that their claims were
at last admitted.[365] We must ever deplore the seeming
ingratitude of which this great man afterwards
had cause to complain. The state had not made
adequate provision for his soldiers, and in fitting
them out he had himself contracted debts which
were afterwards sued to judgment, and his property
was wrested from him. Virginia sought to repay
him and his men, by granting to them a large tract
of land within the bounds of the present state of
Indiana; but its value was then nominal, and it
yielded little to General Clarke. Disappointment
drove him to intemperance; he sought to drown
care in the bowl.[366] A sun which had risen undimmed,
and had shone at meridian with splendour,
went down at last amid clouds and gloom.

Hamilton and several of his chief officers were
sent to Virginia. Meanwhile a change had taken
place in her government. Patrick Henry had declined
a re-election as Governor, believing that the
spirit of the constitution forbade it. Thomas Jefferson
was duly chosen on the 1st day of June to be
chief magistrate of the Commonwealth. John Page
was voted for in opposition, but this circumstance
did not at all impair the good feeling existing between
these two friends.[367] A short time after Mr.
Jefferson commenced his duties, the prisoners from
Illinois arrived in Williamsburg. Written evidence

accompanied them, showing that Hamilton
had offered rewards for scalps and none for prisoners;
that he had incited the Indians to many
acts of cruelty, and that his companions had approved
and aided. Therefore the Council advised
retaliation, and the Governor, acting under their
advice, caused Hamilton, together with Dejean, a
magistrate, and Lamothe, a captain of volunteers,
to be confined in the dungeon of the jail, fettered
with iron shackles, deprived of pen, ink, and paper,
and forbidden all converse, except with their keeper.[368]
Such rigour could do nothing but harm; it was
unworthy of a generous people, even if Hamilton
had been guilty of all the enormities ascribed to
him; but one who had personal acquaintance with
him has expressed the opinion that his nature was
manly and upright, and that if he sanctioned Indian
hostilities, it was under the express orders of his
Government.[369]

General Phillips, the commander of the "Convention
troops," who were then prisoners of war in
Albemarle County, made a solemn protest against
the treatment of Governor Hamilton and his subordinates,
as being alike unwarranted by the laws
of war and the facts of the case. Much indignation
prevailed among the British officers in New York
and elsewhere, and threats were made that not one
officer of the Virginia line should be released until
the prisoners at Williamsburg were enlarged. On
the 17th July, Mr. Jefferson wrote to the Commander-in-chief

for advice, and Washington, with his
accustomed nobleness of soul, recommended a lenient
course. Accordingly, the captives were brought
out, and offered liberty on parole, if they would engage
neither to say nor do any thing to the prejudice
of the United States, until exchanged.[370] After
some demur, all assented, and in the following
year, Governor Hamilton was allowed to go to
New York.

Thus commenced Mr. Jefferson's career as Governor.
He was called to the office at the opening
of a period of peculiar difficulty, and for the demands
of which he was little suited. He was profound
as a statesman, sagacious as a law-maker,
and ingenious as a philosopher; but as a soldier
and a general his skill existed in theory, and not
elsewhere. The time was again coming when Virginia
was to be visited by actual war. The British
commanders turned their eyes to the South, and resolved
to possess it by vigorous campaigns. Already
Georgia had been reduced to submission
While Patrick Henry was yet Governor, a serious
invasion of Virginia was projected. Admiral Sir
George Collier, with a fleet of armed ships and
transports, carrying two thousand troops, under
General Matthew, entered Hampton Roads on the
9th of May. The Virginians had built Fort Nelson,
on the west side of Elizabeth River, and not
far below Portsmouth, to protect the Gosport shipyard,
and the town of Norfolk. The fort was

built of heavy logs with earth forced in between
them; it was strong on the water side, but almost
uncovered in the rear. The British brought up
the Rainbow sloop to batter it in front, while land
forces prepared for an assault. Finding that he
could not hold it, Major Thomas Matthews, the
commandant, sent off his ammunition, spiked his
guns, hoisted his colours, and then retreating before
the enemy, found a safe refuge in the fastnesses of
the Dismal Swamp.[371] General Matthew took possession
of the fort, and thence despatched strong
bodies of men to Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk.

Every where the progress of the English was
marked with devastation; they burned houses, destroyed
live stock, ruined private furniture, and
carried off booty. Defenceless women were violated,
and seven Frenchmen found at the Great
Bridge were inhumanly put to death.[372] The militia
of the country offered but feeble resistance. The
town of Suffolk, in Nansemond County, was very
important to Virginia. Besides other stores, several
thousand barrels of pork had been accumulated
there for the use of the army. As the enemy advanced,
Colonel Willis Riddick made several efforts
to stop them, but not more than one hundred
and fifty militia could be collected, and these, of
course, could make no stand against six hundred regulars.
(May 13.) The British set fire to the town.
Several hundred barrels of tar, pitch, turpentine,
and rum had been stored in lots near the wharves;

the heads of the barrels were staved, and their contents
taking fire, ran down into the river, in a broad
sheet of flame. The burning mass floated over to
the opposite shore, and set fire to the dry herbage
of a marsh, which was instantly in conflagration;
the town was burning at the same time; public and
private stores were alike destroyed; and before the
enemy left it, the country for miles around was a
scene of ruin. After committing ravages in other
places, the troops re-embarked, and the fleet sailed
back to New York about the last of May.[373]

How could a body of troops, certainly not overwhelming
in numbers, thus desolate whole counties,
without effectual resistance? This is a question
often asked. To answer it we may say that
there was much in the condition of Virginia to account
for her feebleness and to excuse her rulers
Regular soldiers withdrawn for the Continental
service; no ships to guard the entrance of her bay;
no heavy forts to protect Hampton Roads; a wide
country thinly peopled; scanty supplies of ammunition;
indifferent arms; undisciplined militia: these
facts explain the result. Yet we cannot entirely
acquit the authorities of the land; there ought to
have been preparation. We shall soon see the
same scenes repeated and enlarged, and the same
fatal inefficiency attending the movements of the
invaded.

(1780.) Early in the session of the next year,
the Legislature made every preparation that law
could do for the defence of the commonwealth.

War was coming nearer to them every day; the
enemy was generally successful in the South, and
after overrunning the Carolinas, Virginia would be
the next point of attack. The Assembly authorised
the Governor to call twenty thousand militia
into the field, if necessary; to impress provisions
and clothing; to lay an embargo on the ports of the
state, when expedient; to hasten the manufacture
of arms, and to raise money by new taxes.[374] At the
same time they filled the Continental regiments by
drafts of one man from every fifteen, and provided
for a new issue of paper money. This last was
ruinous, but necessary. It is true, the state bills
had fallen so low in value that hundreds of nominal
dollars would hardly buy food for a day for a single
man; but they had no other money, and no hope
except to wait for better times, when the public
faith should be redeemed. The Assembly farther
empowered the Governor to punish desertion severely,
and to confine or remove all persons thought
to be disaffected to the common cause.

On the 20th June, General Horatio Gates received
notice of his appointment to command the
southern army. He immediately left his farm in
Berkeley County, and passed through Fredericksburg
and Richmond, on his way to join the Baron
De Kalb, in North Carolina. While in Fredericksburg,
the hero of Saratoga met with the eccentric General
Charles Lee, and in conversation with him expressed
high hopes for the coming campaign, "Take
care," said Lee, "or your northern laurels will soon

be covered with a southern willow."[375] The prediction
was but too speedily verified. It will not be necessary
to accompany the unhappy Gates through the
bloody field of Camden, where his own hopes, and
those of his country, came near to annihilation.
(August 16.) He met the British army under
Cornwallis, and was totally defeated; the militia
fled, and Gates was borne away in vain efforts to
rally them; the Continentals fought and died, and
the heroic De Kalb fell in their midst, after receiving
eleven wounds. The brave Colonel Porterfield,
who commanded the Virginia regulars, was one of
the victims of this day. The Virginia militia were
among those who ingloriously fled from the field.
Colonel Stevens who commanded them was almost
maddened by their conduct; he urged, he implored,
he threw himself upon their bayonets, and turned
them towards the enemy, but all in vain. A false
move directed by Gates had exposed them to a disadvantageous
attack, and they never recovered from
their panic.[376]

The unfortunate General was soon superseded,
and returned to Virginia depressed with grief and
mortification. (December 28th.) As he passed
through Richmond, the Legislature was in session,
and generously sought to soothe his pain by a vote
of sympathy. They assured him of their high regard
and esteem; that the memory of former services
could not be obliterated by the late reverse,
and that Virginia, as a member of the Union, would

always be ready to testify to him her gratitude.[377]
He retired to his farm in the country, which he did
not leave again during the war. If he had erred
by the indulgence of vanity, and had grossly sinned
in striving to supplant Washington, his punishment
was ample, and we have reason to believe his repentance
was sincere.[378] As a gentleman of courteous
and liberal character, he was respected by all who
knew him.

After the defeat of Gates, Cornwallis had hoped
to be able to penetrate Virginia, and for this purpose,
had urged Sir Henry Clinton to send a sufficient
force from New York to co-operate with him.
Accordingly, about the close of October, a British
fleet entered Chesapeake Bay, giving convoy to
three thousand troops, under General Leslie. Some
of these were disembarked at Portsmouth, some at
Hampton, and others at points in the Bay in Princess
Anne County; but, after a time, all were concentrated
at Portsmouth, and entrenchments were commenced.
The movements of the foe were mysterious
and seemed undecided, but the mystery was
soon explained. Instead of being able to advance
into Virginia, Cornwallis had made a precipitate retreat;
the total overthrow of his subordinate, Ferguson,
at King's Mountain, had deranged all his
plans. General Leslie was thus left without support.
These facts were discovered by a singular incident.
A man whose appearance excited suspicion, was
apprehended between Portsmouth and North Carolina.

When it was proposed to search him, he was
observed to carry something rapidly from his pocket
to his mouth; this was taken out, and found to be
a letter written on silk paper, rolled in goldbeater's
skin, and tightly tied, so as not to be larger than a
goose-quill. The letter was signed A. L., was dated
Portsmouth, Virginia, November 4, 1780, and directed
to Lord Cornwallis. It informed his lordship
that the writer had already written to him;
knew not certainly where he was; waited his orders,
and would reward the bearer if he brought
him a note or mark from his lordship.[379] This missive
explained all, and relieved Governor Jefferson
from some of his anxiety. Militia were ordered to
guard the passages from Portsmouth, but no collision
took place. Could the French fleet, then hovering
on the American coast, have been informed
of the true state of things, they might have caught
the enemy as "in a net;"[380] but, on the 22d November,
the British re-embarked, and clearing from
Hampton Roads, sailed for Charleston. They had
committed devastations, but these were never sanctioned
by their officers, whose conduct had been
worthy of generous soldiers.[381]

This invasion led to a change, which will not be
understood without a preliminary statement. When
Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga, the "Convention"
between himself and Gates provided that the
prisoners, rank and file, should be kept together,

and should be permitted to go to England, not to
serve again against America, until exchanged.
This would have enabled Great Britain to employ
them elsewhere, and to send against America the
troops whose places they took. Certainly, therefore,
it was an arrangement most unfavourable to
the United States. Some delay occurred in getting
quarters for these troops in Boston, and British
authorities having on several occasions uttered and
acted the principle that "faith was not to be kept
with rebels," Congress resolved not to suffer the
prisoners to embark until England should expressly
ratify the Saratoga Convention. Meanwhile, some
place, at once secure and comfortable, was to be
selected, in which they might be quartered. The
neighbourhood of Charlottesville, in Virginia, was
chosen, and early in 1779, the troops, numbering
more than four thousand souls, were transferred to
this spot. On the top and brow of a ridge, five
miles from the town, barracks were built for them
which cost twenty-five thousand dollars. The
officers rented houses and settled their families,
bought cows and sheep, and turned farmers; their
society was sought by the gentlemen of the country,
and music and literature enabled them to beguile
the hours of captivity. The ground near the barracks
was laid off in several hundred gardens;
the men enclosed them with separate paling, and
cultivated them with care. The German General,
Reidésel, is said to have expended two hundred
pounds in garden-seeds for the use of his own troops.
As far as possible the prisoners were made quiet
and content, and their sojourn was a source rather
of gain than of injury to Virginia. Forty-five
thousand bushels of grain for their use, were to be
supplied by her harvests every year, and it has
been estimated that in each week thirty thousand
dollars were circulated by reason of the presence of
these troops.[382] Their health was remarkable; in
three months only four deaths occurred at the barracks;
two were infants, and two soldiers fell victims
to apoplexy.

Yet captivity is never grateful; man may have
every physical want supplied, but without liberty
he is not happy. Desertions from the station often
occurred, and at one time in so great numbers that
Mr. Jefferson found it necessary to write to the
Commander-in-chief, with the hope that he might
arrest some of a party of nearly four hundred, who
were making their way to the North.[383] When
General Leslie penetrated Virginia, and fortified
himself at Portsmouth, the prisoners became more
and more restive. Many deserted and joined their
countrymen; several were apprehended in attempting
the same course, and there were serious fears
that the whole body of British captives would rise
and endeavour to overcome their guard. The Germans
were less impatient, but the danger was
pressing. Under these circumstances it was thought
expedient that the whole of these troops should be
transferred from Virginia to some place of greater

safety. (Oct. 26.) They were now about two thousand
one hundred in number; desertions, death,
and partial exchanges having greatly reduced them.
Fort Frederick, in Maryland, was prepared for
their reception; two divisions were formed; on the
20th November, the British were marched from
their barracks, and crossing the Blue Ridge, proceeded
through the Valley to Maryland; the Germans
followed to Winchester in a few weeks, and
about the end of the year all were safely quartered
in their new stations.[384]

(1781.) The next year was pregnant with the
fate of America; but before we proceed to its
military history, the order of events will require
reference to a subject of high importance, and of
influence not yet exhausted. On the 2d day of
January, the Legislature passed a resolution offering
to cede to Congress all the lands of the Commonwealth
in the huge territory northwest of the
Ohio River, for the benefit of the states composing
the Union. This liberal grant was made with the
immediate design of inducing all the states to become
parties to the Articles of Confederation. It
was proposed on certain conditions, and as nearly
three years passed before it was finally ratified, its
farther consideration will be deferred until it can be
regularly presented.

The previous dangers of Virginia might have
warned her rulers to be prepared for a renewal of
invasion. The invasion of Leslie was so recent that
its marks were yet visible, and in addition to

these, Washington, ever vigilant, had warned the
Governor of movements in New York which
threatened a descent.[385] Yet no adequate means of
defence were used, and when the storm actually
commenced, it met feeble resistance. On the last
day of the old year, Mr. Jefferson received intelligence
that twenty-seven ships had entered Chesapeake
Bay, and were standing up towards the
mouth of James River. This should have been
the signal for vigorous movements; not for flying,
but for fighting. Had General Nelson been called
to the capital, and suffered to direct the military
operations, it is probable that the enemy would
have been checked, and Richmond saved from impending
insult. But this efficient officer was in
the counties near the coast, striving to organize the
militia, and to make the stand which afterwards so
distinguished him.[386] The hostile fleet sailed slowly
up James River, on the 2d and 3d of January, and
on the 4th, at 2 o'clock, P.M., the invading force
landed at Westover, on the north side of the river,
and twenty-five miles below Richmond, thus making
it certain that the capital was their object. The
enemy were about nine hundred in number, and
many of them were deserters from the American
army.[387] They were commanded by Benedict Arnold,
the traitor, the man of infamy, whom the
conscience of a world would have condemned to
the gibbet, and whose natural courage hardly neutralized
his fear of falling into the hands of his
countrymen.

It is deeply to be regretted, that no leader was
present to use the resources at hand for defending
Richmond. Pressing as was the emergency, ample
means existed for resistance, and had they been
turned against the enemy at the critical moment, it
is not improbable that they would have been successful.
On the 4th of January, two hundred militia
were assembled, and by placing in the ranks
the men of the town, and the teamsters of ammunition
wagons, together with new arrivals from the
country, the number by the 5th would have been
considerably increased. At the foundry, near
Westham, and hardly six miles above Richmond,
were more than five tons of gunpowder and other
warlike stores, and in the city there were five brass
four-pounders, and a full supply of muskets, with
all necessary accompaniments.[388] The natural position
of Richmond is strong; hills descend to the
river on all sides, and cannon properly planted, and
backed by resolute men, would have opposed formidable
resistance to the invaders, who were entirely
without artillery.

But Governor Jefferson was not a warrior. His
call for militia on the 4th was the only step that
bore even the appearance of defence; all his other
measures were for flight, and for flight conducted
with singular disregard to every thing except the
safety of persons. In reviewing the course adopted

under his order, it is hard to avoid the impression
that a strange bewilderment pervaded his proceedings,
betokening the absence not merely of military
skill, but of firm nerves, and of apprehension quick
in times of danger. The five brass cannon were
planted, not against the enemy, but at the bottom of
the James; the teamsters and militia, instead of
loading muskets with powder and ball, loaded wagons
with arms and ammunition, and drove them
off in haste to Westham. When news was received
that the British had landed at Westover, orders
were given to throw the remaining stores directly
across the river from Richmond, with the hope of
preserving them.[389] Why it should have been supposed
that these military munitions would be safe
at Westham, if they were not so in Richmond, it is
not easy to divine. If the city was taken, there
was nothing to prevent the enemy from marching
up or crossing the river, as was afterwards fully
proved. But Mr. Jefferson urged on the fugitive
operations with vigour; at about half-past seven in
the evening of the 4th, he mounted his horse, and
leaving the capital, rode speedily to Westham to
see to the arms, and thence went on to Tuckahoe,
eight miles above, arriving at one o'clock in the
night. Hither his family had preceded him. Following
the Governor's example, most of the white
inhabitants of Richmond at the same time took to
flight.

The town at this time did not contain three hundred
houses, but was rapidly expanding up and

down the river.[390] (January 5.) At about one o'clock
on this day, Arnold, at the head of his troops, entered
the principal street without encountering the
slightest opposition. Meanwhile Mr. Jefferson
crossed the river, and came down to Britton's opposite
to Westham. He was still anxious as to the
arms; they were never pointed at the enemy, but
fearing they might be shot at from the other shore,
or be wet by rain, he had them removed to a place
of greater safety.[391] During the evening, while he
was at Colonel Flemming's, five miles above Britton's,
some citizens from Richmond waited on him,
conveying an offer from Arnold not to burn the
town, if British ships might be allowed quietly to
come up and take away the tobacco there stored.
This offer was rejected; if acceded to, it would
probably have saved none of the public stores.
Hardly had the British entered the town, before
Colonel Simcoe, at the head of a body of infantry
and fifty horse, dashed forward upon Westham,
burned the foundry, the boring-mill, the magazine,
and several other houses, threw the five tons of
gunpowder into the canal, and destroyed all the
papers belonging to the Auditor's office and the
Council of State. They then returned unmolested
to Richmond.

(January 6.) Arnold commenced his work by
destroying a great quantity of private stores in the
town. Many warehouses were broken open, and
casks containing ardent spirits were rolled out and

staved. The liquor ran in streams down the gutters,
and cows and hogs partaking freely, were seen
staggering about the streets. Thus the foe might
have learned a lesson of temperance. They burned
several private, and all that could by any possibility
be considered as public, buildings. Three
hundred muskets, three wagons, and a set of artificer's
tools, were included in the destruction. The
five brass pieces buried in the river under the Governor's
order, were found by the British, raised
and borne off in triumph.[392] Having thus wrought
his pleasure in the capital, the enemy commenced
his march in the evening, and retired leisurely to
his shipping, striking a body of one hundred and
fifty militia at Charles City Courthouse, of whom
one was killed and eleven were captured. In forty-eight
hours the invaders had penetrated thirty-three
miles into the country, committed the desired waste,
and returned. On the 10th, they re-embarked, and
with a fair wind sailed down the river.

(Jan. 8.) Finding the coast clear, Mr. Jefferson
once more took possession of his capital. So animated
had been his movements during the past three days,
that he had borne down his horse with fatigue, and
had then been driven to mount "an unbroken colt."[393]
Such exertions may well be pleaded as his excuse
for declining to take the field in person in the subsequent
skirmishes. Virginia was not without her
brave spirits, and had they but gained a chance for
fair combat, the enemy would have had little to
boast of for the future. Baron Steuben, a Prussian

officer, was a Brigadier-General in the American
service. He had accompanied General Greene to
Virginia, and had happily been detained. He was
a fine tactician, and indefatigable at the drill. Now
he came forward, and assumed the difficult task of
disciplining the militia. In a short time, thirty-seven
hundred were ready, in three divisions: one
under General Weeden, at Fredericksburg; another
under General Nelson, at Williamsburg, and
in the low counties; and the third under Steuben,
who followed closely on the enemy.

Some of the British vessels had ventured up the
Appamatox, to a place known as Broadway's, when
they were fiercely attacked by General Smallwood,
with three hundred militia, armed with muskets,
and they returned precipitately to City Point. Not
content with this success, Smallwood brought up
two four-pounders, and opened upon the ships at the
Point a fire which drove them down the river to
join the main fleet. Baron Steuben now marched
with his division towards a landing called Hood's,
hoping there to intercept part of the adverse force;
but the ships arrived there three hours before him,
and Arnold, with all of his troops, disembarked.
Now a blow was to be struck by a hero; Colonel
Clarke, the conqueror of Illinois, was with Steuben,
and earnestly asked permission to go forward with
two hundred and forty men. His request was
granted. Placing his force in ambush near the spot
where Arnold and his men were landing in the
night, he gave them a close volley, which killed
seventeen on the spot, and wounded thirteen.

They were thrown into the utmost confusion; but,
recovering, they returned the fire, and charged with
the bayonet.[394] The Virginians, being few in number,
and without bayonets, were compelled to retire,
yet the partial success of their attack will
convince us that resolute resistance would have
stopped the progress of the enemy.

Arnold marched slowly down towards the Bay,
destroying stores, and carrying off tobacco wherever
he could find them. Finally, he established his
force at Portsmouth, and threw up entrenchments.
Mr. Jefferson was eager to capture him, and offered
five thousand guineas to any of the men of General
Muhlenburg's western corps who would accomplish
the work.[395] But the traitor knew his danger,
and kept close quarters, never stirring beyond them,
unless with a guard. Meanwhile the attention of
General Washington was more and more directed
to Virginia; his quick eye saw that with a sufficient
naval force at the mouth of the Bay, and firm
operations on land, the British might be overcome;
his representations induced the French Admiral
Destouches to sail with his fleet from Rhode Island,
for the Chesapeake; but, meeting the English
squadron under Arbuthnot, a battle ensued, which,
though indecisive, induced the French to return to
Newport.

On the 26th of March, the British General Phillips
arrived at Portsmouth with two thousand men.
He immediately assumed the command, much to

the relief of the soldiers, who heartily despised
Arnold. Treason may be encouraged, but traitors
will always be hated. Phillips was not long content
with inactivity. On the 18th April, he commenced
ascending the James, sending parties to
York, where they spiked guns, and to the Chickahoming,
where they burned a twenty-gun ship, then
on the stocks. On the 24th, the whole body of
troops, numbering twenty-three hundred men,
landed at City Point, and marched directly upon
Petersburg. Here Baron Steuben, with one thousand
militia, prepared to receive them; although so
much their inferior, he most gallantly contested the
ground, pouring in several fires, which threw the
British van into confusion, and made them retreat
precipitately upon their comrades. The enemy
gained inch by inch; in two hours they had advanced
but a single mile; yet, at length, the Virginians
retreated, and in perfect order passed a
bridge which spanned the Appamatox. General
Phillips took possession of Petersburg, burned
many hogsheads of tobacco, and some small vessels
lying at the wharves, and then despatched Arnold
to Chesterfield Court-house, where he destroyed the
barracks, and burned a quantity of flour. On the
30th, Phillips and Arnold again united, and marched
to Manchester. They desired to pay Richmond
another visit, as courteous as the last; but
this time, they were disappointed.[396]

The Marquis de la Fayette had earnestly sought
for service in the South, and Washington, who had

great confidence in his prudence, assigned to him
the responsible duty of defending Virginia. Full
of hope, the chivalrous young Frenchman sought
his charge; he brought with him a small body of
Continental troops from Annapolis, and, on the
29th of April, entered Richmond. His very name
excited enthusiasm; militia came in on all sides,
and, under the stimulus of his addresses, desertions
ceased, and courage kindled into flame. When the
British learned of his arrival and preparations, they
abandoned all thought of attacking Richmond, and
marched down to Bermuda Hundreds, burning and
destroying tobacco, flour, mills, and shipping on the
way. They re-embarked their land forces and
sailed down the river; but, on the 6th of May, a
boat with despatches from Portsmouth, met Phillips,
and the moment he read them, he gave a signal,
and the whole fleet turned once more up the James,
and with a fair wind sailed to Brandon. Here
provisions for six days were dealt out to every man,
and on the 9th of May the army once more entered
Petersburg.[397] We shall soon see the cause of this
sudden return.

General Phillips was already labouring under a
mortal disease, but his ruling passion appeared
strong in death. He was a proud man, thoroughly
English in feeling, and he would fain have held
Americans in contempt. In reply to a message
from the Governor, he wrote to him and directed
his letter to "Thomas Jefferson, Esq., American
Governor of Virginia." Mr. Jefferson felt the

stroke, and soon returned it; having heard of the
arrival of a British vessel at Alexandria, with refreshments
for the "Convention troops," before he
granted a passport he wrote to Phillips, directing
to "William Phillips, Esq., commanding the
British forces in the Commonwealth of Virginia."
This was a bitter pill for the proud Englishman to
swallow, but Mr. Jefferson resolved that no supplies
should go to the Convention troops until his
lesson had been learned.[398] Providence dissolved
this vapour of punctilio which threatened to suffocate
humanity. General Phillips died at Petersburg,
on the 13th of May, and the command of the
British again devolved upon Arnold.

Meanwhile a new and most important actor was
preparing to come forward. Lord Cornwallis was
advancing from the south; he had sent an express
to apprise Phillips of his motions, in order that
they might effect a junction at Petersburg. This
had caused the rapid return of which we have
spoken. On the 25th of April, his lordship
marched towards Halifax, sending before him the
dashing Colonel Tarleton, with one hundred and
eighty dragoons and light troops, who scoured the
country in every direction. Near Roanoke, an incident
occurred highly honourable to Cornwallis.
A sergeant and private of Tarleton's troop, during
the night had forcibly violated an unhappy girl in
the country, and robbed the house in which she
lived. The next morning, Lord Cornwallis, attended
by six dragoons of his guard, overtook

Tarleton, and directed him to draw up his men in
a line. Some country people were present, and
pointed out the delinquents. They were seized,
tried by martial law, condemned and instantly
executed.[399] This well-timed rigour did much to
preserve order in the subsequent march. On the
20th of May, Cornwallis entered Petersburg, and
formed a junction with Arnold.[400]

It would be hard to find terms of praise too high
for the conduct of Lafayette at this crisis. Young,
brave, impetuous, with fiery blood running through
his veins, there was much to tempt him to a rash
encounter. But to the courage of a Cæsar, he
added the prudence of a Fabius. He now commanded
three thousand troops, Continental and
militia; but an expected supply of eleven hundred
muskets had not arrived, and they were imperfectly
armed. Cornwallis moved from Petersburg, and
crossed the James at Westover, fully convinced
that "the boy" could not escape him. As he advanced,
Lafayette retreated, watching his every
motion, and detecting every stratagem to ensnare
him. His lordship was very anxious to prevent
the junction of Lafayette and General Wayne,
who, with eight hundred men of the Pennsylvania
line, was rapidly approaching from the north.
But finding his young adversary too wary to be
entrapped, he suddenly changed his plan, and encamped
on the North Anna River, in the county

of Hanover. The Marquis passed through Spotsylvania
County to the Raccoon Ford, in Culpeper,
where, on the 10th of June, he was joined by
General Wayne.

In the meantime, Governor Jefferson had been
in great trouble. War was approaching on all
sides, and feeling a painful sense of his incompetency,
he wished to withdraw from public service,
that a more efficient successor might take his
place.[401] The Legislature met in Richmond on the
7th of May, but finding Phillips and Arnold uncomfortably
near to them, they adjourned on the
10th, to meet in Charlottesville on the 24th. Mr.
Jefferson's term of office expired on the 1st June;
a re-election was a matter of course, if the incumbent
desired it, and if he appeared to be equal to
all the duties; but neither of these conditions
existing in the Governor's case, he signified his
wish to retire, and that General Nelson should be
elected in his stead.[402] The Legislature readily acquiesced
in his views; and in thus relieving him
from harassing cares, they were doubtless well
pleased to promote the welfare of the state. The
same regard for the interests and honour of the
Commonwealth, required that the Assembly should
investigate Mr. Jefferson's conduct during the
months of invasion. In the course of the session,
George Nicholas, a member of the body, young, but
talented and honest, introduced articles of impeachment,

founded on regular charges of incompetency,
against the Governor, but ere they were acted
upon, the Legislature fled before Tarleton; and
after the triumph at Yorktown, they were finally
dropped.[403] In their place the Assembly passed a
vote of thanks to Mr. Jefferson, confining their
plaudits to his civic attainments, which were
worthy of all praise.[404]

Cornwallis had halted, but he was not inactive;
two objects engaged his thoughts. Just between
the Rivanna and the southern branch of the James,
is a spot known as the Point of Fork, where the
Virginians had gathered a quantity of military
stores. Baron Steuben, with about six hundred
raw militia, defended it. At the same time, the
Legislature were assembled in Charlottesville, and
Mr. Jefferson had sought repose at Monticello. To
strike Steuben, Cornwallis detached Lieutenant-Colonel
Simcoe, with five hundred picked men,
Queen's Rangers, infantry and cavalry, trained to
partisan warfare, and full of confidence in their
leader. To catch the law-makers and Governor,
together, Tarleton was started with his hundred
and eighty dragoons, and a number of mounted
infantry. These two detachments moved nearly
at the same time.

As Simcoe approached, Steuben caught intimations
of an intended attack, and, with proper caution,
he retreated across the south branch of the

James, carrying with him all the important stores.
Hardly had he passed, before the British partisan
appeared on the heights skirting the Rivanna, and
so sudden was the rush of his cavalry, that thirty
Virginians fell into his hands. The prey had
escaped; but, determining, if possible, to get at the
stores, Simcoe resorted to a most ingenious stratagem,
and the plain-sailing old Prussian fell into the
snare. The British spread their camp far and wide
over the hills, lighted a large number of fires, and
used every sign that would indicate the presence
of the whole British army. Hearing of Tarleton's
approach on his left, and fearing that he would be
crushed, Steuben retreated as fast as possible,
marching during the night nearly thirty miles, and
leaving behind him all the more heavy stores.
Simcoe followed up his advantage, by sending on
a small body, as if in hot pursuit, and having driven
the Baron out of reach, and destroyed the stores, he
prepared to rejoin Cornwallis.[405]

Meanwhile Tarleton moved forward with his
accustomed speed towards Charlottesville, passing
through the county of Louisa. (June 4.) On his
way he fell in with twelve wagons loaded with
clothing for the southern army; these he immediately
captured and burned. Learning that a
number of distinguished gentlemen were at the
houses of Mr. John Walker, and Dr. Walker, in
Albemarle, and nearly on his route, he resolved to
pay his respects to them. He detached a party to
Mr. John Walker's, while he himself, with his

dragoons, galloped up to the residence of the
Doctor. At the two places, were captured Colonel
John Simms, a member of the Virginia Senate,
and William and Robert Nelson, brothers of General
Nelson, who was soon to be Governor of the
state.[406] Tarleton was not discourteous to his host;
but he wanted a morning meal, and as two breakfasts
had been already secretly devoured by his
subordinates, he placed a guard in the kitchen to
secure the third.[407] Slight as were these delays they
saved the Legislature; while the Englishman was
pursuing single birds, the flock escaped him.

As the British dragoons passed through Louisa,
a Mr. Jouitte had observed them, and divining
their object, he mounted a fleet horse, and galloped
off like lightning, through paths and by-roads, to
Charlottesville, while the enemy followed the beaten
track. The moment he arrived, the Assembly
passed a vote to convene in Staunton on the 7th,
and then dissolving, the members fled away, like a
covey of partridges before a keen sportsman. The
very name of Tarleton had a melting effect upon
the body. Knowing nothing of their flight, he
came on at a sweeping pace, and when near the
Fords of the Rivanna, he detached a party under
Captain McLeod to seize Mr. Jefferson, at his well-known
mountain residence. The sage of Monticello
was then entertaining some friends from the
Legislature, but hearing that the dragoons were
winding round the road which led to his house, he
sent off Mrs. Jefferson and her three children in a

carriage to Colonel Carter's, about six miles distant,
and directing his horse to be brought to a back
gate, opening on the road, he mounted, and leaving
the road, plunged into the dark recesses of Carter's
Mountain.[408] Thus he easily made his escape; his
prudence and self-possession saved him from captivity.
Demosthenes fled from Cheronæa, and Horace
was frightened at Philippi: these illustrious examples
shall for ever excuse the orator, the statesman,
the wit, who shall withdraw his precious life
from the field of battle; but Mr. Jefferson needs no
such excuse; he did not fly the well-contested field;
he only retreated before overwhelming odds; he
could not be expected to cope singly with a squadron
of armed dragoons.

It is due to Captain McLeod to say, that he permitted
no violence to be offered to private property
at Monticello. All of Mr. Jefferson's books and
papers were treated with sacred respect, and if any
pillage was done, it was unknown to the commander.
In Charlottesville, finding his chief game
had escaped him, Tarleton sought for military
stores: he destroyed one thousand new firelocks
made at the foundry near Fredericksburg, four
hundred barrels of powder; and a stock of clothing
for soldiers.[409] Seven members of the Legislature
had fallen into his hands, and with these he turned
again to join Cornwallis and Simcoe, near the Point
of Fork. Tarleton's career in Virginia illustrated
the prominent traits of his character: always active

and reckless; not cruel, unless policy required it;
unscrupulous in measures to gain his ends. He
slept on the floor, while his subordinates rolled in
comfortable beds; and once on a sudden alarm, he
threw aside his razor, sprang half shaved into his
saddle, and with sabre in hand, prepared to rush
into the thickest of the fight.[410] It is not strange
that such a partisan should have had reputation.

Even in Staunton, the Legislature did not feel
safe. On the morning of the 7th, Lieutenant
Brooke, at the head of a small body of Virginia infantry,
crossed the Blue Ridge, to convey a message
from the Baron Steuben. As this squadron approached
at a rapid gait, the Assembly received
notice of their coming, and instantly betook themselves
to flight, believing that they were still pursued
by Tarleton.[411] Some time elapsed before they
could be reassured and brought back to their duties.
On the 12th of June, they elected General
Nelson Governor of the Commonwealth.

Cornwallis had advanced from the North Anna,
and established himself near the Point of Fork.
He took possession of Elk Hill, one of Mr. Jefferson's
farms, and on this and other plantations in
Virginia, a system of frightful devastation was carried
on. The cattle were slaughtered or driven
off, all the horses fit for use were seized, and the
throats of the young horses were wantonly cut; the
growing crops of grain and tobacco were destroyed,

and every barn and fence was reduced to ashes.
Indeed, from the opening of the game by Arnold, to
its close at Yorktown, the British appeared intent
upon breaking the sinews of the Commonwealth.
In their invasions thirty thousand slaves were carried
off, of whom twenty-seven thousand are supposed
to have died of small-pox or camp fever, in
the course of six months. In the same time it is
estimated that property amounting to three million
pounds sterling, was destroyed or carried away by
the invaders.[412] It was just that the authors of this
ruin should suffer the full retribution which finally
overtook them.

At Albemarle Old Courthouse, the Virginians
had collected a large quantity of valuable military
stores. To destroy these now became an important
object to Cornwallis; to protect them an equally
important one to Lafayette. After his junction with
Wayne, the Marquis moved cautiously from Culpeper
through Orange and the upper part of
Louisa, to Boswell's Tavern, near the Albemarle
line. Cornwallis marked his movement, and threw
forward Colonel Tarleton, with a strong advanced
guard, to such a position, that it seemed inevitable
that Lafayette should either hazard a fight with the
whole British army, or abandon the stores. But
"the boy" was equal to the crisis. There was a
rough road, long disused, leading from a few miles
below Boswell's, to a point on Mechunk Creek;
forthwith Lafayette set to work his pioneers and
axemen; the road was opened, the army passed

along it, and the next morning, to the utter astonishment
of Cornwallis, his adversary was encamped
in an impregnable position on the Creek,
and just between the British army and the stores
at Albemarle Courthouse![413] His English lordship
was once more baffled, and having in the meantime
received instructions from Sir Henry Clinton,
in New York, he changed his front, and marched
slowly towards the eastern coast.

An incident occurred during the opening of the
"Marquis's Road," which happily illustrated the
commingled soldier and gentleman of Lafayette's
character. Full of zeal, he was dashing at a swift
gallop along the line, when his horse struck a private
at work on the road, and felled him to the
earth. The Marquis instantly dismounted. "Soldier,
are you hurt?" he said. The man, who had
risen uninjured, replied, that he was not. "I ask
your pardon," said Lafayette, and waving his hand
with a smile, he remounted and resumed his course.[414]
It was by such conduct, that the chivalric Frenchman
riveted the chains which already bound to
him all American hearts.

(June 16.) Now at last Cornwallis was on the
retreat, and Lafayette was the pursuer; but the
English retired slowly, and as if in perfect security,
while the Marquis used the same eagle-eyed vigilance
which had distinguished his own retreat.

On the Chickahoming, and not far from Williamsburg,
a partial engagement occurred between Simcoe
with his rangers, and Lieutenant-Colonel Butler
of the Pennsylvania line. It was sharply contested,
and was attended with loss to both; Simcoe pursued
his retreat, and Butler did not follow him,
fearing the presence of Cornwallis. After halting
nine days in Williamsburg, on the 4th of July his
lordship prepared to cross the James, having
selected Jamestown Island as the proper point.
During the 5th and 6th he sent over wheel-carriages
of every sort, baggage, bat-horses, every
thing in short except troops; his army in full force
remained on the north side of the river. Now Lafayette
narrowly escaped ruin; inexperienced spies
had informed him of the movements at the Island,
and assured him that the army itself was crossing.
Believing that a feeble rear-guard only was left on the
northern side, he determined to attack it. General
Wayne, with his wonted eagerness for battle, seconded
his views. At about three o'clock on the afternoon
of the 6th, the riflemen, under Call and Willis, advanced
across a causeway leading from Greenspring
towards Williamsburg, and commenced the assault;
the cavalry, under Armand and Mercer, came next;
then followed the Continentals, under Wayne, and
Baron Steuben with the militia formed a corps de
reserve. With consummate art, Cornwallis took
advantage of Lafayette's error, drew his troops
into a compact mass, and ordered his pickets to
suffer themselves to be driven in, as if in confusion.
Suddenly the British displayed in strength; Yorke
attacked on the right, and Dundas on the left; the
riflemen, after a fierce contest, gave way; the
cavalry were broken; two field-pieces were captured,
and the Continentals under Wayne were left
to sustain the conflict. By this time Lafayette
had discovered his mistake, and finding Wayne
outflanked, directed a retreat. The darkness of
the night favoured them; the causeway was gained
and secured, and Cornwallis, content with his advantage,
withdrew his troops.[415] In a few hours he
crossed over to Jamestown Island, and soon afterwards
proceeded to Portsmouth.

Various movements and intercepted orders of
Washington, had led Sir Henry Clinton to suppose
that New York was soon to be the object of a combined
attack by land and sea, to be made by the
French and American forces. Alarmed for his
safety, he had instructed Lord Cornwallis to send
him such troops as he could spare, and then to take
a convenient position on Chesapeake Bay, from
which he might either communicate with the sea,
or send war into the heart of Virginia, as might be
expedient. Subsequently the order for a detachment
to New York was recalled; but Cornwallis,
in obedience to remaining instructions, selected
York and Gloucester Points, and by the 22d of
August had occupied them with his army, and
thrown up strong intrenchments. Here was to be
enacted the last scene of the Revolutionary drama.

It has been supposed by some that all of Washington's
demonstrations against New York, were
parts of an ingenious stratagem, intended to concentrate

Clinton's thoughts on himself, and to lull
Cornwallis into security. But this was not so;
New York was verily his object; yet with that expansion
of purpose which made him formidable
even with inadequate means, he watched the
southern army, ready, if expedient, to shift his line
of attack.[416] Learning that the Count De Grasse
with his heavy fleet was in condition to co-operate
with him on the Chesapeake, he now resolved to
invest Cornwallis in his posts; and turning south
with the French and American armies, from the
Jerseys he conducted that celebrated march which
was the forerunner of his country's triumph. Before
he joined Lafayette, he learned with joy
that De Grasse had entered the Chesapeake with
twenty-five sail of the line, and with nearly three
thousand soldiers aboard his ships. Not a moment
was lost in drawing the combined forces around
the enemy, in landing mortars and munitions, and
in making preparation for a regular siege. Cornwallis
could not conceal from himself the danger
that threatened him; but trusting to Sir Henry
Clinton's promises, he resolved on an obstinate resistance.
His army consisted of seven thousand
fine troops; a sufficient guard protected Gloucester
Point, but the larger part were assembled within
the intrenchments of Yorktown.

In the memorable siege that followed, every
event of which has become familiar to Englishmen
and Americans, nothing strikes us more forcibly
than the incessant vigour with which the besiegers

pressed their work. From the night of the 7th of
October, when the first line of trenches was completed,
the besieged knew not a moment's repose.
Mortars poured a storm of shells upon the outworks
and the town, tearing down the defences,
and often throwing the bodies of artillerists into
the air;[417] heavy cannon pierced the houses with
balls, and dismounted the guns in the British batteries.
The fire of the engineers was astonishingly
accurate and effective. Often their shells struck
within three feet of the point at which they were
aimed, and exploded within a few seconds of the
intended time; at one discharge during the night,
a red-hot shell from the French battery passed entirely
over the town, and fell amid the rigging of
the Charon, a British forty-four gun ship lying in
the harbour; instantly masts, shrouds, and running-gear
were a sheet of flame, and threw a brilliant
light over the whole port; two other ships near the
Charon caught fire, and like her were burned to
the water's edge. Even from the first parallel the
fire was so destructive that the enemy's batteries
were nearly silenced, and much of the town was
reduced to ruin.[418]

General Nelson, the Governor of Virginia, had
joined the army with his militia, eager to lend his
aid to the patriot cause. Seeing that the gunners
did not aim at his own house in Yorktown, and
knowing that it was occupied by British officers,
he earnestly remonstrated; at his request two cannon

were trained upon the building; the first balls
pierced its side and killed two officers then at table,
and in a short time the house was cut to pieces by
the fire.[419] The tenable part of the town was rapidly
narrowed; the besiegers were soon ready to open
their second parallel, within three hundred yards
of the outworks; in approaching it, they had been
severely annoyed by two redoubts thrown in advance
of the intrenchments, and Washington resolved
to carry them by storm.

To capture the redoubt on the right was the
task of the Americans; they were under Lafayette,
and were led to the assault by Colonel Hamilton,
the gallant aid of the Commander-in-chief. The
French advanced upon the other, under the Baron
De Viomesnil. Nothing could exceed the emulation
of these two parties, and the heroism of their
attack; they rushed forward with unloaded muskets,
trusting to the bayonet. Hamilton and his
men drove the garrison before them, and took possession
of their prize with small loss; but on the
left, a bloody conflict took place; the English were
dislodged, but not until the French had lost one
hundred and twenty of their number. Hardly had
these works been carried, before they were included
in the second line of trenches, and mortars
and battering-pieces were pouring destruction upon
the town.[420]

It was evident that this fire must soon decide the
contest; Cornwallis had directed a bold sortie, but
its effect was temporary. Finding that the place

would speedily be battered down upon him, and
despairing of relief from Clinton, he began with reluctance
to contemplate a surrender. Yet it was
hard for that proud spirit to bend; the scourge of
the South, the conqueror of Gates, the pursuer of
Greene and Lafayette, could not, without the
keenest anguish, think of laying down his arms.
He looked around him on every side for an avenue
of escape. A desperate expedient suggested itself;
he might leave his sick, wounded, and weak; his
baggage and heavy artillery, and, crossing with the
rest of his army to the Gloucester shore, might annihilate
the besiegers there, seize horses, mount
his men, and burst away towards the North, like
a lion escaped from the toils of the hunter. On
the night of the 16th, boats were made ready,
troops were embarked, the first division had crossed;
hope once more dawned upon the British
chieftain. But Heaven fought against him. A
furious storm of wind and rain arose, and beat him
back to the southern shore; with difficulty the
men in the boats saved their lives. When daylight
appeared, the attempt was discovered, and the
fire from the batteries became more violent than
ever.[421] The last resource of Cornwallis had been
tried and had failed.

It would have been unworthy of a brave man
longer to have resisted. On the 18th of October,
the articles of capitulation, the heads of which had
previously been agreed upon, were signed by
Cornwallis, and on the memorable 19th, one of the
finest British armies ever employed in America,

marched out from Yorktown, and grounded its
arms. His lordship could not face the event; he
remained in the town, overwhelmed with grief and
vexation. General O'Hara led out the troops, and
surrendered his sword to Lincoln. It is said that
many of the soldiers were seen to throw their arms
violently on the pile, as though they were unable
to conceal their rage; and when Colonel Abercrombie's
corps laid down their muskets, he covered
his face and turned aside, biting the hilt of his
sword![422] We cannot be surprised at these evidences
of intense mortification. Americans had been so
long despised by this proud army, that each soldier
felt his surrender as an individual disgrace.

By express agreement, Cornwallis was permitted
to send the Bonetta sloop of war, unsearched, to
New York; he was thus enabled to provide for the
safety of many loyalists, who deserved the fate of
traitors from their countrymen. On her return, the
Bonetta was to be surrendered to the French, who
were to have the whole naval force and munitions
captured in the harbour of York. The Americans
had the field artillery for their portion. They
gained eight mortars, and one hundred and sixty
pieces of cannon, most of which were of brass. The
seamen were prisoners to France, and the soldiers
to America. More than seven thousand officers
and men composed the military force surrendered
to Washington.

But physical gains, brass cannon and British
muskets, ammunition and stores, ships and prisoners,

will sink into insignificance when compared
with the moral effect produced by the surrender
of Cornwallis. The news spread through
America as though carried by electric sympathy;
every heart bounded with joy; the desponding
hoped, and the hopeful triumphed. It became
evident to all, that Great Britain could not conquer,
and that her efforts would only weaken herself,
without reducing America. It will not be necessary
further to trace the events of a war which
might now be considered as virtually decided. On
the 20th January, 1783, the preliminaries of peace
between England and France were signed at Versailles,
and on the 3d of September following, a
definitive treaty, in which America was formally
included, was entered into between the belligerents.
The independence of the United States was acknowledged.
Their boundaries, though not perfectly
defined, were not narrowed, and clauses were
introduced favourable to trade between two countries,
who were now to deal with each other as free
and sovereign nations.[423]

Thus ended the War of the Revolution. No state
of the Union had more cherished its principles and
improved its advantages than Virginia. If she had
not witnessed so many of its battles as had others,
she had at least not shrunk from the contest. Her
sons had ever been active in the council chamber
and the field. Patrick Henry had "set the ball in
motion," and afterwards had driven it forward by
the breath of his eloquence. Thomas Jefferson
had written the Charter around which every state
was to rally in the hour of danger. Richard Henry
Lee had supported Independence at the critical
moment. Randolph, Pendleton, Mason, Wythe,
Carr, Harrison, all had borne their part in encouraging
the soul of freedom. And in arms, Virginia
had not been less distinguished: George Washington
had gone from her bosom to lead the armies of
America to triumph; Morgan had left his home in
the Valley, to penetrate the forests of Maine, to head
the forlorn hope at Quebec, to drive the enemy before
him at Saratoga, and to overwhelm Tarleton
at the Cowpens; Mercer had fought and bled at
Princeton; Stevens had battled even in defeat at
Camden, and gathered fresh laurels at Guilford;
George Rogers Clarke had entered the wilderness,
and conquered a new empire for his country. The
first voice of warning had been raised in Virginia,
and the last great scene of battle had been viewed
on her soil. Her sister states have not denied her
claims; when peace returned, she was still looked
to as the leader in the unknown course that opened
before America.