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Gc 975.5 C15h 1326966
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02374 4938
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/historyofcolonya00camp_0
HISTORY
OF THE
COLONY AND ANCIENT DOMINION
OF
VIRGINIA.
BY
CHARLES CAMPBELL.
PHILADELPHIA : J. B. LIPPINCOTT AND CO. 1860.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by CHARLES CAMPBELL,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Virginia.
6. 6 111 1 -19-31.9
PREFACE.
$27.50
1326966
ALTHOUGH Virginia must be content with a secondary and unpre- tending rank in the general department of history, yet in the abund- ance and the interest of her historical materials, she may, without presumption, claim pre-eminence among the Anglo-American colonies. While developing the rich resources with which nature has so munifi- cently endowed her, she ought not to neglect her past, which teaches so many useful lessons, and carries with it so many proud recollections. Her documentary history, lying, much of it, scattered and fragmentary, in part slumbering in the dusty oblivion of Transatlantic archives, ought to be collected with pious care, and embalmed in the perpetuity of print.
The work now presented to the reader will be found to be written in conformity with the following maxim of Lord Bacon: "It is the office of history to represent the events themselves, together with the counsels, and to leave the observations and conclusions thereupon, to the liberty and faculty of every man's judgment."
I avail myself of this occasion to express my acknowledgments to Hugh B. Grigsby, Esq., (who has contributed so much to the illustra- tion of Virginia history by his own writings,) for many valuable suggestions, and for having undergone the trouble of revising a large part of the manuscript of this work.
PETERSBURG, VA., September 2d, 1859.
(xi)
SUMMARY OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I .- Early Voyages of Discovery. Sir Walter Raleigh's Colony of Virginia . 17
II .- Early Life and Adventures of Captain John Smith 30
III .- Landing at Jamestown and Settlement of Virginia proper. Wingfield, President of Council. Ratcliffe, President .. 35
IV .- Smith's Explorations. Smith, President. 55
V .- Smith's Adventures with the Indians. His Administration of the Colony. His Departure. His Character and Writings .. VI .- The Indians of Virginia. 85
70
VII .- Sufferings of the Colonists. Wreck of the Sea-Venture. Mis- cellaneous Affairs. Percy, President. Lord Delaware, Go- vernor. Percy, Acting Governor. Sir Thomas Dale, High Marshal. Sir Thomas Gates, Governor 92
VIII .- Pocahontas visits England. Her Death. Yeardley, Deputy Governor 112
IX .- Argall, Governor. His Administration. Powhatan's Death 124
X .- Sir Walter Raleigh. 132
XI .- First Assembly of Virginia. Powell, Deputy Governor.
Yeardley, Governor. 138
XII .- Negroes imported into Virginia. Yeardley, Governor 143
XIII .- London Company. George Sandys, Treasurer. Wyat, Go- vernor 149
XIV .- Tobacco. 153 XV .- East India School. 158
XVI .- Massacre of 1622.
160
XVII .- Extermination of Indians. 166
XVIII .- Dissolution of Charter of Virginia Company. Earl of South- ampton, Nicholas Ferrar, and Sir Edwin Sandys. 169
XIX .- Royal Government established in Virginia. Yeardley, Gover- nor. West, Governor. Pott, Governor. Sir John Harvey, Governor 179
XX .- Maryland settled. Contest between Clayborne and Lord Bal- timore. 187
XXI .- Virginia during Harvey's Administration. He is recalled and succeeded by Wyatt .. 193
(xiii)
xiv
SUMMARY OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXII .- Virginia during the Civil War of England. Berkley, Go- vernor. Kemp, Governor 199
XXIII .- Virginia during the Commonwealth of England. Bennet, Governor 210
XXIV .- Maryland during the Protectorate. XXV .- Virginia during the Protectorate. Digges, Governor.
Matthews, Governor. 233
222
XXVI .- Virginia under Richard Cromwell and during the Interreg- num. Berkley, Governor. 240
XXVII .- Loyalty of Virginia. Miscellaneous Affairs. Morrison,
Governor. Berkley, Governor. 249
XXVIII .- Scarburgh's Report of his Proceedings in establishing the Boundary Line between Virginia and Maryland. "The Bear and the Cub," an extract from the Accomac Re- cords 259
XXIX .- Miscellaneous Affairs 263
XXX .- Berkley's Statistics of Virginia 271
XXXI .- Threatened Revolt 274
XXXII .- Rev. Morgan Godwyn's Account of the Condition of the Church in Virginia 277
XXXIII .- Indian Disturbances. Disaffection of Colonists. 280
XXXIV .- Bacon's Rebellion . 283
XXXV .- Bacon's Rebellion, continued. 293
XXXVI .- Bacon's Rebellion, continued. 308
XXXVII .- Closing Scenes of the Rebellion 313
XXXVIII .- Punisliment of the Rebels. Berkley's death. Succeeded by Jeffreys. 319
XXXIX .- Chicheley, Governor. Culpepper, Governor 326
XL .- Statistics of Virginia 331
XLI .-- Effingham, Governor. Death of Beverley. Effingham's
Corruption and Tyranny .. 335
XLII .- William and Mary proclaimed.
College chartered. An
dros, Governor.
343
XLIII .- Condition of Virginia. Powers of Governor. Courts and State Officers. Revenue. 349
XLIV .- Administration of Andros. Nicholson again Governor .... 356
XLV .- Assembly held in the College. Ceremony of Opening. Go- vernor's Speech. 364
XLVI .- Church Affairs. Nicholson recalled. Huguenots. 367
XLVII .- Rev. Francis Makemie. Dissenters 371
XLVIII .- Nott, Lieutenant-Governor. Earl of Orkney, Governor-in- chief 375
XLIX .- Spotswood, Governor 378
L .- Indian School 384
LI .- Spotswood's Tramontane Expedition 387
LII .- Virginia succours South Carolina .. Disputes between Spotswood and the Burgesses. Blackbeard. 391
XV
SUMMARY OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER LIII .- Spotswood's Administration reviewed. His subsequent Career and Death. His Family 398
LIV .- Drysdale, Governor. Robert Carter, President 411 LV .- Gooch's Administration. Carthagena Expedition. 414 LVI .- Settlement of the Valley. John Lewis 423
LVII .- Rev. James Blair. Governor Gooch and the Dissenters. Morris. Davies. Whitefield. 433
LVIII .- Gooch resigns. Robinson, President. Lee, President. Burwell, President. 444
LIX .- Dinwiddie, Governor. Davies and the Dissenters. George Washington. Fairfax 452
LX .- Hostilities with the French. Death of Jumonville. Wash-
ington surrenders at Fort Necessity. 460
LXI .- Dinwiddie's Administration, continued. Braddock's Ex-
pedition 469
LXII .- Davies. Waddell. Washington 482
LXIII .- Settlers of the Valley. Sandy Creek Expedition. Din-
widdie succeeded by President Blair. 488
LXIV .- Fauquier, Governor. Forbes captures Fort Du Quesne ... 500 LXV .- " The Parsons' Cause." Patrick Henry's Speech. 507 LXVI .- Patrick Henry. 519
LXVII .- Rev. Jonathan Boucher's Opinions on Slavery. Re-
marks 526
LXVIII .- Disputes between Colonies and Mother Country. Stamp Act. Speaker Robinson, Randolph, Bland, Pendleton, Lee, Wythe. 530
LXIX .- Stamp Act opposed. Loan-Office Scheme. Robinson's Defalcation. Stamp Act Repealed. Offices of Speaker and Treasurer separated. Family of Robinson. 538
LXX .- Bland's Inquiry .- Death of Fauquier. Persecution
Baptists. Blair's tolerant Spirit 549
LXXI .- Botetourt, Governor. Parliamentary Measures resisted. Death of Botetourt. Nelson, President. American Episcopate 556
LXXII .- Rev. Devereux Jarratt 563
LXXIII .- Duty on Tea. Dunmore, Governor. Revolutionary Pro- ceedings 568
LXXIV .- Dunmore's Administration. Revolutionary Proceedings .. 572 LXXV .- Richard Henry Lee. Congress at Philadelphia. Patrick Henry. Washington 577
LXXVI .- Battle of Point Pleasant. General Andrew Lewis. Corn- stalk 582
LXXVII .- Logan. Kenton. Girty. Dunmore's ambiguous Conduct 590 LXXVIII .- Daniel Boone 595
LXXIX .- Second Virginia Convention. Henry's Resolutions and Speech 599
LXXX .- Thomas Jefferson 603
xvi
SUMMARY OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER LXXXI .- Dunmore removes the Gunpowder. Revolutionary Com- motions. Patrick Henry extorts Compensation for the Powder from the Governor 607
LXXXII .- The Mecklenburg Declaration 615 LXXXIII .- Dunmore retires from Williamsburg. Washington made Commander-in-chief. 618
LXXXIV .- Committee of Safety. Carrington, Read, Cabell. Death of Peyton Randolph. The Randolphs of Virginia ... 624 LXXXV .- Dunmore's War. Battle of Great Bridge. Committee of Safety and Colonel Henry 632
LXXXVI .- Dunmore's War, continued. Colonel Henry resigns ..... 639
LXXXVII .- Convention at Williamsburg. Declaration of Rights and Constitution of Virginia. Patrick Henry, Go- vernor. George Mason. 644
LXXXVIII .- Declaration of Independence. George Wythe. Benja- min Harrison, Jr., of Berkley. Thomas Nelson. 652
LXXXIX .- Richard Henry Lee. Francis Lightfoot Lee. Carter Braxton 659
XC .- Dunmore retires from Virginia. Events of the War in the North. Death of General Hugh Mercer. 664
XCI .- Death of Richard Bland. The Bland Genealogy. Peti- tions concerning Church Establishment. Scheme of Dictator. Hampden Sidney College. The Virginia Navy 670
XCII .- Examination of Charges against Richard Henry Lee. His Honorable Acquittal 681
XCIII .- Events of the War in the North. General Clark's Expe-
dition to the Northwest 685
XCIV .- Convention Troops removed to Charlottesville. Church Establishment abolished. Events of the War in the South. Battle of King's Mountain. Jefferson, Go- vernor 693
XCV .- Arthur Lee. Silas Deane. Dr. Franklin. James Madison . 701
XCVI .- Logan. Leslie's Invasion. Removal of Convention Troops 706
XCVII .- Arnold's Invasion 710
XCVIII .- Battle of the Cowpens and of Guilford. Phillips and Arnold invade Virginia 715
XCIX .- Cornwallis and La Fayette in Virginia. Nelson, Go- vernor 726
C .- Capture of the Patriot. The Barrons and Captain Starlins. Battle of the Barges 738
CI .- Washington in the North. Cornwallis occupies York- town. Battle of Eutaw Springs. Henry Lee. Wash- ington invests Yorktown. Cornwallis surrenders ..... 742
HISTORY OF THE COLONY
AND
ANCIENT DOMINION OF VIRGINIA.
CHAPTER I.
1492-1591.
Early Voyages of Discovery-Sir Humphrey Gilbert-Walter Raleigh-Expedi- tion of Amadas and Barlow-They land on Wocokon Island-Return to Eng- land-The New Country named Virginia-Grenville's Expedition-Colony of Roanoke-Lane, Governor-The Colony abandoned-Tobacco-Grenville returns to Virginia-Leaves a small Colony at Roanoke-Sir Walter Raleigh sends out another Expedition-City of Raleigh chartered-White, Governor- Roanoke found deserted-Virginia Dare, first Child born in the Colony- White returns for Supplies-The Armada-Raleigh assigns the Colony to a Company-White returns to Virginia-Finds the Colony extinct-Death of Sir Richard Grenville-Gosnold's Voyage to New England.
THE discoveries attributed by legendary story to Madoc, the Welsh prince, have afforded a theme for the creations of poetry; those of the Northmen of Iceland, better authenticated, still engage the dim researches of antiquarian curiosity. To Co- lumbus belongs the glory of having made the first certain dis- covery of the New World, in the year 1492; but it was the good fortune of the Cabots to be the first who actually reached the main land. In 1497, John Cabot, a Venetian merchant, who had become a resident of Bristol in England, with his son Sebas- tian, a native of that city, having obtained a patent from Henry the Seventh, sailed under his flag and discovered the main con- tinent of America, amid the inhospitable rigors of the wintry North. It was subsequent to this that Columbus, in his third voyage, set his foot on the main land of the South. In the
2 (17)
18
HISTORY OF THE COLONY AND
following year, Sebastian Cabot again crossed the Atlantic, and coasted from the fifty-eighth degree of north latitude, along the shores of the United States, perhaps as far as to the southern boundary of Maryland. Portuguese, French, and Spanish navi- gators now visited North America.
Dreadful circumstances attended the foundation of the ancient St. Augustine. The blood of six hundred French Protestant refugees has sanctified the ground at the mouth of St. John's River, where they were murdered "not as Frenchmen, but as heretics," by the ruthless Adelantado of Florida, Pedro Menen- dez, in the year 1565.
In the summer of the ensuing year he sent a captain, with thirty soldiers and two Dominican monks, "to the bay of Santa Maria, which is in the latitude of thirty-seven degrees," together with the Indian brother of the cacique, or chief of Axacan, (who had been taken thence by the Dominicans, and baptized at Mexico, by the name of the Viceroy Don Luis de Velasco,) to settle there, and undertake the conversion of the natives. But this expedition sailed to Spain instead of landing.
This region of Axacan comprised the lower part of the pre- sent State of North Carolina. The Spanish sound of the word is very near that of Wocokon, the name of the place, according to its English pronunciation, where the colony sent out by Raleigh subsequently landed .*
In the year 1570 Father Segura and other Jesuit missionaries, accompanied by Don Luis, visited Axacan, but were treacher- ously cut off by him. In the same year, or the following, the Spaniards repaired to the place of their murder and avenged their death.t
In 1573 Pedro Menendez Morquez, Governor of Florida, ex- plored the Bay of Santa Maria, "which is three leagues wide,
* Memoir on the first discovery of the Chesapeake Bay. Communicated by Robert Greenhow, Esq., to the Virginia Historical Society, May, 1848, in Early Voyages to America, (edited by Conway Robinson, Esq., and published by the Society,) p. 486. Mr. Greenhow cites for authority the Ensayo Chronologico Para la Historia de la Florida of Barcia, (Cardenas.)
+ MS. letter of John Gilmary Shea, Esq., author of "History of the Catholic Missions among the Indian Tribes of the United States," citing Barcia and Ale- gambe.
19
ANCIENT DOMINION OF VIRGINIA.
and is entered toward the northwest. In the bay are many rivers and harbors on both sides, in which vessels may anchor. Within its entrance on the south the depth is from nine to thir- teen fathoms, (about five feet nine inches English,) and on the north side from five to seven; at two leagues from it in the sea, the depth is the same on the north and the south, but there is more sand within. In the channel there are from nine to thir- teen fathoms; in the bay fifteen, ten, and six fathoms; and , in some places the bottom cannot be reached with the lead." Bar- cia describes the voyage of Morquez from Santa Helena "to the Bay of Santa Maria, in the latitude of thirty-seven degrees and a half,"* and makes particular mention of the shoal running out from what is now Cape Lookout, and that near Cape Hatteras, the latitude and distances given leaving no doubt but that the Bay of Santa Maria is the same with the Chesapeake.t Ten years will probably include the period of these early Spanish visits to Axacan and the Chesapeake; and these explorations appear to have been unknown to the English, and Spain made no claim on account of them. Had she set forth any title to Virginia, Gondomar would not have failed to urge it, and James the First would have been, probably, ready to recognize it.
In the year 1578 Sir Humphrey Gilbert obtained from Queen Elizabeth letters patent, authorizing him to discover and colo- nize remote heathen countries unpossessed by any Christian prince. After one or two unsuccessful expeditions, Sir Hum- phrey again set sail in 1583, from Plymouth, with a fleet of five small vessels. The largest of these, the bark Raleigh, was com- pelled in two days to abandon the expedition, on account of an infectious disease that broke out among the crew.
After Cabot's discovery, for many years the vessels of various flags had frequented the northern part of America for the pur- pose of fishing, and when Sir Humphrey reached St. John's Harbor, the thirty-six fishing vessels found there at first refused
* "A 37 grados y medio." Alegambe says: "Axaca ab æequatore in Boream erecta 37º."
In a map found in a rare work, in French, dated 1676, entitled "Tourbe Ardante," shown me by Townsend Ward, Esq., Librarian of Pennsylvania Hist. Society, the Chesapeake is called St. Mary's Bay.
20
HISTORY OF THE COLONY AND
him admittance; but upon his exhibiting the queen's commission they submitted. He then entered the harbor, landed, and took formal possession of the country for the crown of England.
As far as time would admit, some survey of the country was made, the principal object of which was the discovery of mines and minerals; and the admiral listened with credulity to the promises of silver. The company being dispersed abroad, some were taken sick and died; some hid themselves in the woods, and others cut one of the vessels out of the harbor and carried her off. At length the admiral, having collected as many of his men as could be found, and ordered one of his vessels to remain and take off the sick, set sail with three vessels, intending to visit Cape Breton and the Isle of Sable; but one of his vessels being lost on a sand-bank, he determined to return to England. The Squirrel, in which he had embarked for the survey of the coast, was very small and heavily laden, yet this intrepid navigator persisted in remaining on board of her, notwithstanding the urgent entreaties of his friends in the other and larger vessel, the Hind; in reply to which, he declared, that he would not de- sert his little crew on the homeward voyage, after having with them passed through so many storms and perils. And after proceeding three hundred leagues, the little bark, with the admi- ral and all her crew, was lost in a storm. When last seen by the company of the Hind, Sir Humphrey, although surrounded by imminent perils, was seated composedly on the deck with a book in his hand, and as often as they approached within hear- ing was heard to exclaim: "Be of good cheer, my friends; it is as near to heaven by sea as by land." At midnight the lights of the little vessel suddenly disappeared, and she was seen no more. Sir Humphrey Gilbert was descended from an ancient family in Devonshire; his father was Otho Gilbert, Esq., of Greenway, and his mother, Catharine, daughter of Sir Philip Champernon, of Modbury. He was educated at Oxford, and became distinguished for courage, learning, and enterprise. Ap- pointed colonel in Ireland, he displayed singular energy and ad- dress. In the year 1571 he was a member of the House of Commons from Compton, his native place. He strenuously de- fended the queen's prerogative against the charge of monopoly,
21
ANCIENT DOMINION OF VIRGINIA.
alleged by a Puritan member against an exclusive grant made to some merchants. He was the author of several publications on cosmography and navigation. Having attracted the attention of the queen in his boyhood, she at length knighted him, and gave him one of her maids of honor in marriage. When he was preparing for his voyage she sent him a golden anchor with a large pearl at the peak, which he ever after prized as a singular honor. Raleigh accompanied this present, which was sent through his hands with this letter: "I have sent you a token from her majesty-an anchor guided by a lady, as you see; and farther, her highness willed me to send you word that she wished you as great hap and safety to your ship as if herself were there in person, desiring you to have care of yourself as of that which she tendereth. Farther, she commandeth that you leave your picture with me."
Not daunted by the fate of his heroic kinsman, Raleigh ad- hered to the design of effecting a settlement in America, and being now high in the queen's favor, obtained letters patent for that purpose, dated March, 1584. Aided by some gentlemen and merchants, particularly by his gallant kinsman Sir Richard Grenville, and Mr. William Sanderson, who had married his niece, Raleigh succeeded in providing two small vessels. These were put under the command of Captains Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlow. Barlow had already served with distinction under Raleigh in Ireland. The two vessels left the Thames in April, 1584, and pursuing the old circuitous route by the Cana- ries, reached the West Indies. After a short stay there they sailed north, and early in July, as they approached the coast of Florida, the mariners were regaled with the odors of flowers wafted from the fragrant shore. Amadas and Barlow, proceed- ing one hundred and twenty miles farther, landed on the Island of Wocokon, in the stormy region of Cape Hatteras, one of a long series of narrow, low, sandy islands-breakwaters apparently designed by nature to defend the mainland from the fury of the ocean. The English took possession of the country in the queen's name. The valleys were wooded with tall cedars, overrun with vines hung in graceful festoons, the grapes clustering in rich pro- fusion on the ground and trailing in the murmuring surges of the
22
HISTORY OF THE COLONY AND
sea. For two days no inhabitant was seen; on the third a canoe with three men approached, one of whom was readily persuaded to come on board, and some presents gained his confidence. Going away, he began to fish, and having loaded his canoe, re- turned, and dividing his cargo into two parts, signified that one was for the ship, the other for the pinnace. On the next day they were visited by some canoes, in which were forty or fifty men, among whom was Granganameo, the king's brother. The king Wingina himself lay at his chief town, six miles distant, confined by wounds received in a recent battle. At this town the English were hospitably entertained by Granganameo's wife. She was small, pretty, and bashful, clothed in a leathern mantle with the fur turned in; her long dark hair restrained by a band of white coral; strings of beads hung from her ears and reached to her waist. The manners of the natives were composed; their disposition seemed gentle; presents and traffic soon conciliated their good will. The country was called Wingandacoa .* The soil was productive; the air mild and salubrious; the forests abounded with a variety of sweet-smelling trees, and oaks supe- rior in size to those of England. Fruits, melons, nuts, and esculent roots were observed; the woods were stocked with game, and the waters with innumerable fish and wild-fowl.
After having discovered the Island of Roanoke on Albemarle Sound, and explored as much of the interior as their time would permit, Amadas and Barlow sailed homeward, accompanied by two of the natives, Manteo and Wanchese. Queen Elizabeth, charmed with the glowing descriptions of the new country, which the enthusiastic adventurers gave her on their return, named it, in allusion to her own state of life, VIRGINIA. As hitherto all of North America as far as discovered was called Florida, so henceforth all that part of it lying between thirty-four and forty- five degrees of north latitude came to be styled Virginia, till gradually by different settlements it acquired different names. ;
Raleigh was shortly after returned to Parliament from the County of Devon, and about the same time knighted. The queen
* Wingan signifies "good."
Smith's History of Virginia, i. 79. Stith's History of Virginia, 11.
23
ANCIENT DOMINION OF VIRGINIA.
granted him a patent to license the vending of wines throughout the kingdom. Such a monopoly was part of the arbitrary system of that day. Nor was Sir Walter unconscious of its injustice, for when, some years afterwards, a spirit of resistance to it showed itself in the House of Commons and a member was warmly inveighing against it, Sir Walter was observed to blush. He voted afterwards for the abolition of such monopolies, and no one could have made a more munificent use of such emoluments than he did in his efforts to effect the discovery and colonization of Virginia. He fitted out, in 1585, a fleet for that purpose, and entrusted the command to his relative, Sir Richard Grenville. This gallant officer, like Cervantes, shared in the famous battle of Lepanto, and after distinguishing himself by his conduct during the Irish rebellion, had become a conspicuous member of Parlia- ment. He was accompanied by Thomas Cavendish, afterwards renowned as a circumnavigator of the globe; Thomas Hariot, a friend of Raleigh and a profound mathematician; and John Withe, an artist, whose pencil supplied materials for the illustra- tion of the works of De Bry and Beverley. Late in June the fleet anchored at Wocokon, but that situation being too much ex- posed to the dangers of the sea, they proceeded through Ocra- cock Inlet to the Island of Roanoke, (at the mouth of Albemarle Sound,) which they selected as the seat of the colony. The colonists, one hundred and eight in number, were landed there. Manteo, who had returned with them, had already been sent from Wocokon to announce their arrival to his king, Wingina. Grenville, accompanied by Lane, Hariot, Cavendish and others, explored the coast for eighty miles southward, to the town of Se- cotan, in the present County of Craven, North Carolina. During this excursion the Indians, at a village called Aquascogoc, stole a silver cup, and a boat being dispatched to reclaim it, the terri- fied inhabitants fled to the woods, and the English, regardless alike of prudence and humanity, burned the town and destroyed the standing corn. Grenville in a short time re-embarked for England with a valuable cargo of furs, and on his voyage cap- tured a rich Spanish prize.
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