USA > Virginia > A history of Virginia : from its discovery and settlement by Europeans to the present time. Vol. I > Part 27
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420
BLACKBEARD, THE PIRATE. [CHAP. VII.
nistration passed away, we note a single incident to break in upon its happy monotony. Although often heavily chastised, pirates continued to infect the shores of America and prey upon defenceless merchantmen. At this period one character, in particular, distinguished himself by a course of ferocity even beyond that of the worst of his com- peers. John Theach was his real name, but he was best known by the title of "Blackbeard," to which the hideous natural appendage that he wore gave him undisputed claim. He exhibited, in its most intense form, every cruel and revolting trait that could grace the character of a pirate. Four- teen wretched women were at once the instruments of his detestable pleasures, and the victims of his infernal passions. He often personated a fiend for the entertainment of his crew, and once gave them a scenic display intended to represent the regions of the damned !. With him nothing was more common than the murder of his own men, whom he slew when heated to frenzy by rage and in- temperance.
(1718.) This wretch had long been the scourge of the seas near the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia, and hitherto all efforts to bring him to justice had been unavailing. Governor Spotswood and the Assembly had proclaimed an ample reward for his capture, and when it was at length known
times crossed the Atlantic. The insolence of Spotswood," Revolt Am.
Governor was generally in the right,
Chalmers speaks of " the impudent and was supported by the people.
Colon., ii. 73; an expression betray-
ing ignorance as well as injustice.
a Grahame's Colon. Hist. iii. 87.
421
HIS CAPTURE AND DEATH.
1718.]
that he had been seen off the coast, Lieutenant Maynard, commanding a small English ship of war in the waters of Virginia, hastened to find and attack him. (Nov. 21.) He discovered the pirate vessel watching for prey at the mouth of one of the dangerous inlets to Pamlico Sound, and im- mediate preparations were made for battle. Black- beard saw that a decisive hour had arrived, and drinking deep draughts of ardent spirits to excite himself to desperation, he placed , one of his men with a lighted match at the' magazine, instructing him to blow up the ship should she be captured. The fight which followed was terrible, but Maynard and his heroic crew were victorious. . When the outlaw chief found that his orders were not obeyed, he rose with a cocked pistol in his hand, but in the act of stepping back he fell to the deck and almost instantly expired. His body was covered with wounds, from which blood had flowed in streams around the spot where he stood.ª The rest of the pirates were taken, and, after solemn trial, they all met the fate their crimes deserved.b
In the close of Spotswood's administration, a controversy respecting boundaries, which had long been pending between North Carolina and Virginia, was placed upon a ground which at least prevented the continuance of embittered feeling. This dispute had been so serious, that the Gover- nor had found it necessary to forbid by proclama- tion any settlements in the doubtful territory be-
a Grahame's Colon. Hist., iii. 89.
b Oldmixon's Brit. Emp., i. 402.
422
COLONEL WILLIAM BYRD. [CHAP. VII.
1
yond the Nottoway and Meherrin Rivers.ª Com- missioners were at length appointed on both sides, who surveyed the land and marked the bounds within which each colony was to have jurisdiction and control, leaving a small part yet to be appro- priated. Among these commissioners was Colonel William Byrd, a Virginia gentleman of great wealth, respectable talents, and untiring industry, to whom our state is much indebted for the preservation of her ancient records. He kept a journal of the route and proceedings of the surveyors, which has descended to us, and which is replete with humour and good sense. After this survey, the contro- versy was in great measure ended, though legisla- tion was from time to time applied to the subject.b
Though Alexander Spotswood was beloved by all classes in the colony, he was by no means so highly regarded by the powers then ruling in Eng- land. Whether he was considered as too warm a friend of the people to be a decided friend to the King, we do not know; but he was often thwarted in his schemes, and disappointed in some of his most reasonable expectations. When he applied to the English government for a vote of money, to defray the expenses of his progress across the Alle- ghany Mountains, his claim was heard with cold- ness and displeasure. It was vain to urge that this undertaking had been very useful to the mother country, inasmuch as it developed the re-
.
a Governor's Proclamation, in He- ৳ Burk, iii. 103, 104; Hening, iv. ning's Hist. Doc., iv. 546, 547. 175-177.
423
DRYSDALE AND CARTER.
1723.]
sources of her distant territory, and furnished her with the means of rendering it profitable. Eng- land was already deeply involved in debt, and she looked to her colonies rather for supplies, than as objects of expenditure. After a service of nearly thirteen years, Spotswood was removed, and his place was filled by Hugh. Drysdale, of whom we know little and see little, except his signature to the acts of two sessions of the General Assembly.ª The former Governor did not leave the colony, but, retiring to his plantation near Germanna, in. the newly created county of Spottsylvania," he passed many quiet days in mining and agricultu- ral pursuits, surrounded by an attached family, and beloved even by the lower animals that his care had domesticated." When the alarm of war was again heard, in 1739, he was called from his retirement to take command of the colonial forces; but he died ere he was able to strike a blow in be- half of his adopted country.ª
Drysdale died on the 22d day of July, 1726, and, after a short season, during which the govern- ment was administered by Robert Carter, as Presi- dent of the Council, William Gooch arrived, still empowered to serve only as lieutenant of the im-
a Hening, iv. 142, 181 ; Burk, iii. c. Read an extract from Colonel Byrd's Progress to the Mines, writ- 96; Chalmers's Revolt Amer. Colon., ii. 79, 80. He dates Drysdale's ac- ten in 1732, in Howe's Hist. Collec., cession in 1722.
৳ Act of 1720, Hening, iv. 77. One of the boundary lines of Spott- sylvania then ran " through the high mountains," to the head of Rappahannockiver.
476.
d Burk, iii. 101; Campbell, 94; Outline, in Howe, 89.
424
WILLIAM GOOCH.
[CHAP. VII.
mortal Orkney.ª (1727, Oct.) From this period, the observant reader of American history will mark an interesting change in the feelings and policy of the several provinces, in their intercourse with each other. In their childhood, they had shown little disposition to unite in bonds of friend- ship. They had in truth manifested but too much of the petulant jealousy which children are prone to exhibit in their days of juvenile folly. As the settlements grew older, they were kept apart by a consciousness of conflicting interests. Their trade was fettered, and their hearts were rendered cold, by the unfeeling policy of their common mother. But when their eyes were gradually opened to their own strength and importance, they began to cast off these unworthy doubts, and to regard each other with ever-growing confidence. They stood erect; and feeling within themselves the develope- ment of those energies which have since rendered them so formidable, they exchanged salutations of mutual pride and friendship. The coalescing movement began at the North, where the Puritan colonies had long been known under the common bond of New England, and gradually the gene- rous feeling made its way to the South. New York, Pennsylvania, and their young sisters on the Atlantic-Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia-no longer regarded each other as rivals, but began to interchange expressions and deeds of
1
a List of Governors, on first page of Hening, vol. iv. Burk and Camp- bell say nothing of Carter. Chalmers's Revolt Am. Colon., ii. 161.
1741.] EXPEDITION AGAINST CARTHAGENA. 425
fraternal love. It may be, that the American set- tlements were not yet conscious of the pressure of that golden chain of sympathy, which was at last to unite them never to be sundered; but they were already alive to influences which induced each, at once, to extend to the others the hand of confi- dence and affection.
William. Gooch was one of the most popular governors that ever blessed the colony over which he presided. His urbane manners were the open expression of a warm and generous heart. If his 1 conduct was sometimes tinged with a shade of in- tolerance, there was much in the events surround- ing him to produce it. It was now a favourite policy of England to appoint military officers to. administer the affairs of her provinces. The trou- bled state of Europe rendered war either a present or a rapidly approaching evil; and it was no longer possible to confine the heat of human passions to the ancient world. Gooch was a brigadier-general in the English service. When the far-famed expe- dition against the Spanish town of Carthagena was projected, Virginia and North Carolina were called upon for supplies of armed men, and they furnished them without delay.ª (1741.) The brave Governor himself headed the forces from Virginia, and em- barked in the transports that attended the naval command of Admiral Vernon. To relate minutely all the events of this disastrous expedition, would be foreign to our present subject; but many hearts
a Chalmers's Revolt of Am. Col., ii. 198, 199 ; Campbell, 94; Burk, iii. 101, 104; Grahame, iii. 212,
426
ITS FAILURE.
[CHAP. VII.
in the colony long mourned the losses it produced. Vernon was brave, but he was possessed neither of the skill nor of the self-command requisite for suc- cess. The military and naval chiefs lost precious hours in idle disputes, and sacrificed more precious lives in rash endeavours. The fire of the enemy cut down comparatively few, but a more fearful foe assailed them : disease preyed upon their strength; fatal fevers swept them away by thousands; gloom filled their souls, and all energetic effort was at once destroyed." In melancholy condition they weighed their anchors, and left the spot which had been to them a scene of continued defeat and mortality.2
A short time after the Governor's return, an As- sembly convened, embracing an unusually large number of members, and much excited by recent events. Gooch addressed them in a speech full of military spirit. The war in which King George the Second was engaged was lauded in strong terms, and the burgesses were entreated to make suitable provision for maintaining it, to build forts, to encourage the importation of powder and ball, and to appoint annual salaries for gunners and en- gineers. But the legislature was not yet prepared to commit their state so fully in the contest. They returned a polite answer to the Governor, assuring
a Campbell, 94; Outline, in Howe, 89; Burk, iii. 104; Grahame, iii. 213; Smollett's Contin. of Hume, viii. 257-260, chap. 7. The reader will recall the expressive lines of Thomson :
" Such as of late at Carthagena quenched
The British fire. You, gallant Vernon! saw
The miserable scene. * *
* * * * * * you heard the groans Of agonizing ships from shore to shore ; Heard nightly plunged amid the sullen waves
The frequent corse."
SUMMER.
1743.]
DEATH OF JAMES BLAIR.
427
7
him of their patriotic wish to defend the country ; but they passed no act for the purposes he had so strenuously urged upon them.ª They were more attentive to measures of peace than of war. At this session was passed an act establishing the town of Richmond, on land owned by Colonel Byrd, and beautifully disposed in successive hills: extending nearly to the banks of James River.b .The town grew slowly until 1779, when the seat of govern- ment was transferred thither from Williamsburg, and then immediately it assumed a prominence which has ever since been retained.
(1743.) In the next year, the College lost its pre- sident, and the country a valued citizen. James Blair had been educated under the best influences of Scottish literature, yet had he retained his at- tachment to the English Church. He may be called the father of systematized learning in Virginia; and if he had an abiding admiration for the privileges and dignities of the clergy, he was able to unite with it an ardent love of freedom, and a strong de- sire to see letters flourish in America. These two last-mentioned things were inseparably connected. Every oppressor hated learning and opposed its progress.c (Nov. 4.) The death of Blair was fol-
a Burk, iii. 105.
b Burk, iii. 105. Colonel Byrd owned a warehouse which occupied a spot very near the site of the pre- sent Exchange Hotel, in Richmond. Vide Howe's Hist. Collec., 304; Or- dinances of Richmond City, 1-4.
c Chalmers calls Blair, " the Bishop
of London's seditious commissary," Revolt Am. Colon., ii. 73. It will not be impertinent to give here one closing sentence from Sir William Keith, to show what were his senti- ments on this point. "Although great advantages may accrue to the mother state, both from the labour
428
COMBAT WITH THE INDIANS. [CHAP. VII.
lowed in a short time by that of another man, whose name deserves a high place in the records of colonial improvement. William Byrd was im- mensely rich, and his habits manifested a tendency to profusion and luxury ; but wealth did not ener- vate his character; he was constantly active, and exerted himself in many plans for the welfare of a people whom he truly loved. Cold indeed must be the heart that will not accord to such a man the praise of having deserved well at the hands both of those who knew and of those who survived him.ª
In the huge county of West Augusta, a serious conflict occurred between a band of Shawanese Indians and a company of militia, under Captain McDowell. At the first fire, the Captain and seven of his men fell dead on the spot; and before the whites could recover from the shock, another volley was poured in by the natives with fatal effect. We know not how to account for the want of courage shown by the colonists on this occasion : the sa- vages were even permitted to carry off their dead and the scalps of their lifeless victims. No imme- diate march against them took place, and the fron- tier settlements in the valley were agitated with fears of Indian massacre.b Happily, however, the evil day was yet deferred for a time; a treaty was
and luxury of its plantations, yet Trade and Government of Virginia, they will probably be mistaken who 187. imagine that the advancement of ª Campbell, 95, 96; Burk, iii. 114; Outline, in Howe, 89, 90, and Hist. Collec., 304. . literature, and the improvement of arts and sciences, in our American Colonies, can ever be of any service b Campbell, 95, says in 1742; to the British state !"-Remarks on' Burk, iii. 110, says 1743. Chalmers's
429
FANATICISM AND INTOLERANCE.
1745.]
concluded with the hostile tribe, who were already under the influence of the Six Nations ; the hatchet was buried, the silver chain was brightened, and peace was solemnly declared to exist between the belligerents.ª
As the minds of men became expanded by knowledge, toleration for the opinions of others on religious subjects had been gradually established. Yet the very existence of this word. " toleration" will prove how far public opinion yet fell below freedom and truth. No insolence can exceed that of human governments which have declared their purpose to " tolerate" what the laws of God have placed beyond their control. It would be wiser in them to announce toleration to the course of the sun in the heavens! Governor Gooch was religi- ously inclined, but his religion was bounded by the rubric ; he knew some Scripture, but it was all from the English Prayer Book. (1745.) In the midst of his administration, there appeared in the colony a large number of fanatics, composed of Methodists, Moravians, Quakers, and a sect known as New-light Presbyterians. What these last- named persons believed is not certainly known, but they were doubtless impressed with the delu- sive hope, that an immediate revelation had been made to them by the Deity-a hope which, from the death of the Apostles to the present hour, has been invariably productive of folly and crime in
notice of this skirmish will mislead a Colden's Five Nations, in Burk, the incautious reader. Revolt Am. iii. 112. Col., ii. 201.
430
CHARGE TO GRAND JURY. [CHAP. VII.
those encouraging it, and of relentless persecution in church authorities. These. wild declaimers spread themselves abroad, preaching their doc- trines to all who would listen. We do not learn that they were guilty of any deeds adverse to the substantial interests of the state. If they were dis- orderly, they were amenable to police regulations ; if they were rebellious, Virginia had a law of trea- son. No unwonted rigour seemed to be required. In later and happier times, the flames of their zeal would have been permitted to expire for want of fuel. Resistance tended only to make them more determined and enthusiastic. (April 25.) But the Governor was greatly scandalized by their course, and at the next meeting of the General Court, he proceeded to deliver an edifying charge to the Grand Jury, directing their thoughts to these per- sons, and urging them to present or indict them under the laws requiring conformity. The chief offence of these hapless dreamers seems to have consisted in the doctrine, that salvation was not to be obtained in any communion except their own.ª Of this the Governor complained ; but he might with justice have been reminded, that such doc- trine was neither unknown to nor unapproved by many in the church to which he adhered with all his powers, both of mind and body.
The whole of this charge has been preserved,
a Governor's charge to Grand Hawks's Eccles. History of Vir- Jury, in Burk, iii. 119. See Camp- ginia, 110. bell, 96, 98; Outline, in Howe, 90; . b In Burk, iii. 119 to 121.
431
CHARGE TO GRAND JURY.
1746.]
.
1
and may be read with profit by those who wish to study one of the closing pages of American intole- rance. It shall here be passed, with the remark, that unless the worthy Governor generally wrote more correctly, neither his rhetoric nor his thought merited the commendation which Mr. Burk has been pleased to bestow upon them.ª We find afterwards a proclamation, issued by Gooch, against Romish priests who might come from Maryland.b. He had no love for any rational crea- ture that pretended to think differently from his church on the subject of religion; and it deserves to be noted, that he was sustained by men who were afterwards among the sternest supporters of freedom in all her expansion. The General As- sembly passed laws against Moravians, New- lights, and Methodists, and the name of Pendleton" appears among those who approved the Governor's counsel.c
It may be that their minds had been stimulated to undue severity by events which had lately shaken the mother country to her centre. Charles Edward, the young popish pretender to a throne from which his popish ancestor had been driven nearly a half century before, had landed in Scot- land under the favouring eye of France. High- land clans had flocked to his standard, and in two battles their resistless onset had broken English armies to pieces. (1746, April 27.) But the re-
a Hist. Va., iii. 136.
b Burk, iii. 125.
· Outline, in Howe, 90; Burk, iii. 122, 123, and 125.
432
CAPITOL DESTROYED BY FIRE. [CHAP. VII.
verse came. The Duke of Cumberland was in the field, and at Culloden the hopes of the Roman Catholic party in the English realm were for ever crushed. (Oct. 10.) The Pretender fled again to France, after wandering for a time in imminent hazard amid the caves and fastnesses of the coun- try over which he had hoped to reign.2 . When news of his first progress in Scotland reached Vir- ginia, she hastened to express her loyalty to the King, and her resolve to resist with all her strength the effort of the Pretender ;b and when his over- throw was announced, sincere joy pervaded every class of her people.
During the recess of the Assembly in this year, an incendiary fired the Capitol, and before the flames could be arrested, the building was almost totally destroyed. The Governor considered this disaster a sufficient reason for summoning the As- sembly to meet at the College, previous to the time to which they had been prorogued. When they had convened, a grave question presented itself for debate. The rapidly extending population of Vir- ginia had already pressed into the valley beyond the first range of mountains, and the burgesses from Augusta and Frederick would willingly have had the seat of government nearer to their homes. Others were equally in favour of removal, and the late conflagration gave them a fair ground on which
a Voltaire, Précis du Siècle de b Grahame, iii. 286; Burk, iii. Louis XV., v. 10-28; Smollett's 123, 124. Continuation of Hume, viii. chap. xi., 347-351.
1746.]
PETERSBURG AND BLANDFORD. 433
to base their proposal. But it was soon found that ponderous obstacles would oppose any such scheme. The Governor had purchased property in Williams- burg, which derived its chief value from the pre- sence of government business and officers, and in the Council and Legislature there were not a few who deprecated a removal from motives nearly allied to selfishness. It was vain to oppose strong reasons and soothing flattery to the arguments of such a monitor as Mammon. The Assembly ad- journed without any decision on this point, and when, two years afterwards, the subject was re- newed, the Governor threw off all reserve, de- clared himself against the change, and in a short time a heavy majority of members appeared on his side.a Nothing therefore remained but to re- build the Capitol, and guard it more securely for future time.
(1748.) But though unwilling to commence a new town in person, the Assembly was disposed to encourage others in efforts at " cohabitation." Petersburg and Blandford were established : of which the first has become a flourishing mart, and the last has degenerated into a mere appendage.b Sites for other towns were selected in Augusta, in King William, and in Fairfax; but these remained " in paper," and have not gathered to themselves the more substantial materials of wood and stone.
a Burk, iii. 126, 127, and 133;
b Campbell, 99; Burk, iii. 135; Campbell, 98, 99 ; Chalmers's Revolt. Howe's Hist. Collec., 243. Am. Col., ii. 201, 202.
VOL. I.
28
434
GOOCH LEAVES VIRGINIA. [CHAP. VII.
Another revisal of the laws was projected, and an able' committee appointed for the purpose.ª
Thus Virginia enjoyed peace without and within. She had felt but lightly the hand of war, which had pressed with so much force upon her sisters in the North. When the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was concluded, and France and England, for a season, laid aside their arms, Virginia experienced no change in her internal economy, and recognised the treaty only to deplore, with the other American settlements, the shameful submission, which had yielded up to France the dearly-bought prize of colonial heroism.b
Governor Gooch now prepared to leave America, and assume a permanent abode in the mother coun- try. He had presided over the destinies of Virgi- nia during more than twenty-two years, and there were few of her inhabitants who did not respect him as a friend and even love him as a father. His family were linked by many tender ties to the children of the soil, and his name is still known to be esteemed in the " Old Dominion." Just before his departure, the President and Council, accom- panied by the officers of the College, and of the town, paid him a visit, and one selected from among them delivered an address, expressive of
a The members were Peyton Ran- dolph, Philip Ludwell, Beverley Whiting, Carter Burwell, and Ben- jamin Waller .- Delaplaine's Repos. Dict. Am., Part ii. 108; Campbell, 99; Burk, iii. 135.
b That is, Cape Breton, with the town of Louisbourg, which had been captured by forces principally from . New England, in 1745 .- Bancroft, iii. 463-466; Burk, iii. 132; Gra- hame, iii. 305.
1749.]
ROBINSON-LEE-BURWELL. 435
their feelings on parting with their long-tried su- perior. We cannot doubt the sincerity of the tokens of sorrow every where shown on this occa- , sion. The Governor had been firm, yet gentle ; sound in his views; moderate in his measures ; cordial in his intercourse with all who approached him. When, on the 14th August, 1749, he em- barked for his voyage to England, many, by tears and audible blessings, gave proof of the extent to which he had enlisted their affections.ª
Mr. Robinson, President of the Council, suc- ceeded to the administration of affairs ; but he had held his office a very few days ere he was removed by death, and the duties devolved upon Thomas Lee, who had followed Robinson in the presi- dency. Mr. Lee was a gentleman of talents and influence, and it is probable he would have been permanently appointed to the office of Lieutenant- Governor, had his life been spared.b In England, Lord Albemarle had followed Orkney, as Gover- nor-in-chief. Louis Burwell, as President of Coun- cil, administered the government of Virginia during more than a year. While residing in England, he had sustained a severe injury of the head, by a fall from his horse, and had been compelled to undergo the painful operation of the trepan. His habits had been studious, but from the time of this acci- dent, he was subject to attacks of mental aliena-
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