USA > Virginia > A history of Virginia : from its discovery and settlement by Europeans to the present time. Vol. II > Part 14
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& Girardin, 190.
b Wirt, 149.
c Jefferson's Notes, 131-134.
213
VIRGINIA TROOPS.
1776.]
looked upon it as an unnatural and half-forgotten dream.
Since the appointment of Robert Carter Ni- cholas 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 pre- vent 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 con- sented to do. George Webb was elected to be his successor.ª
(1777.) Those who are familiar with the events of the Revolutionary War, will remember that com- paratively few of its battles and military operations occurred in Virginia. While the states north and south of her were the scenes of bloody struggles, But she was long free from dangerous invasion.
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 MS. minutes of Assem., 1776-'77; Girardin, 186, 187.
-
214
WANT OF AMMUNITION.
[CHAP. IV.
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.ª 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 corre- spondence of her high officers, we read bitter com- plaints 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 hun- dred dollars.b Yet this stock was soon exhausted, either by use at home, or by drafts for the Conti- nental service ; and when afterwards the state was
a Girardin, 213. b Note in Girardin, 145.
215
SCIENCE.
1777.]
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 unani- mously 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.ª If the imprudent had dreamed of making him dic- tator, 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 bear- ing 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 re- fined 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 pro- bably excelled both in the distinct systems of philosophy they had sought to inculcate. George
a Wirt, 148.
216
SCIENCE.
[CHAP. IV.
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.a 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 arti- cles 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.' 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 Jeffer- son 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 boun- ties those who would engage in them. At the last session, the trustees of Hampden Sydney Academy,
a See Tucker's Jefferson, i. 28-
b Girardin, 221.
41; Girardin, 220.
217
HAMPDEN SYDNEY.
1777.]
in Prince Edward County, had made an earnest appeal for aid. They represented that it was not their desire to interfere with the established col- lege; but that it was fair that all should be en- couraged. 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 suit- able buildings for the students, who were daily applying for admission.ª The Legislature heard their prayer with favour. An act of incorporation was not granted to them until 1783,' but at the session of 1777, a bill passed authorizing the trustees to raise, by lottery, a sum of money suffi- cient for the purpose designated." 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
2 Girardin, 228.
Hening, ix. 321, 322.
b Hening, xi. 272-275; Act of In- corporation, May, 1783.
218
LA FAYETTE.
[CHAP. IV.
low that to aid them the Legislature granted several hundred acres of land, which formerly be- longed to British merchants, and were forfeited during the Revolution.ª Since that time, varied fortunes have befallen the College; often it has been filled with students and adorned by accom- plished 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 con- venient. On the 28th June, the Legislature ad- journed.b
While the people of the " Old Dominion" were watching the progress of war in the other states, two strangers appeared among them whose charac- ters at once attracted to them the love of the gene- rous and good. A young nobleman of France had left the luxuries of his native land, and the endear- ments 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 advan- tages, he wished to embark for the New World,
a Hening, xi. 392, 393. b Girardin, 229.
219
-
DE KALB.
1777.]
and then neither his friends nor his sovereign op- posed 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.ª The true nobility of his spirit now appeared : " Hitherto," he said to the American Commission- ers, "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."b .
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 gene-
a Sarran's La Fayette, i. 24. h Ramsay's Revolution, in Sarran, i. 24.
220
GENERAL THOMAS NELSON. [CHAP. IV.
rous 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."ª 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 Williams- burg, 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 quali- ties he united tried courage, and a skill in military combination which would have made him distin- guished 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 Chesa- peake Bay, and Sir William Howe, landing eighteen thousand men, advanced towards Philadelphia.b Washington offered him battle, and the well-known struggle at Brandywine immediately followed.
a Weems' Life of Marion, 107,
edit. 1845.
b Girardin, 232.
221
DESERTIONS.
1777.]
On the 20th October, the Legislature again as- sembled. Their most important action was that produced by the state of war. They exerted them- selves to complete the Continental line. Finding that enlistments were slow, a draft from the un- married 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 pro- vided, that from this law should be excepted the wife concealing her husband, the widow her son, and the child his or her parent.a Advantage was taken of all circumstances favourable to the great end of enrolling soldiers ; Baptists and Methodists, and other religious societies, were invited to or- ganize separate companies, and to appoint officers of their own persuasion. Sometimes energy exhi- bited 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.' 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
a Girardin, 255.
b Ibid. 256.
222
BRITISH DEBTS.
[CHAP. IV.
been assailed by writers on morals,a 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 prin- ciples 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.b 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 Ameri- cans, 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 trans- mitted to them abroad,. would have strengthened the common foe, and weakened Virginia.c There- fore they enacted that commissioners should be appointed to take charge of the lands and person- alty 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 pro- per officer a certificate of the amount and date of the payment; from the proceeds thus accumulated in the treasury, the Governor and Council were
ª See Jonathan Dymond's Es- says on Morality, edit. 1842, page 76.
b Blackstone, (by Chitty,) i. 287.
c Preamble in Hening, ix. 377.
223
LITIGATION.
1777.]
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 pay- ment of their creditors, if any such were in Ame- rica.ª 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. 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 repeal- ed, and thus the rights of British creditors in Vir- ginia 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
ª Hening, ix. 378-380 ; Girardin, 257.
b Hening, x. 66, 67 ; Act, May, 1779.
c Hening, x. 227.
224
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. [CHAP. IV.
master.ª 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 dis- tinguished counsel.' The court thought that the laws of Virginia were not intended absolutely to confiscate British debts ; 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 origi- nally 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 un- der 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
a The reader is referred to Wirt's Court. 99, 131. See, also, Dunlop et Patrick Henry, 219-258.
b Ware v. Hylton et al., 3 Dallas, 199, 285, and 1 Cond. Rep. Sup.
al. v. Ball, 2 Cranch, 180-185 ; Hop- kirk v. Bell, 3 Cranch, 454-457.
c Patterson, J., Cond. Rep. i. 121.
225
JOSIAH PHILLIPS.
1778.]
Commonwealth.ª The well-known defects of this scheme will not now be dwelt upon; while the war lasted the " Articles" might suffice ; for out- ward danger pressed the states together, and inva- sion 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 forc- ing them to their duty, it made requirements of states, only to be disobeyed or neglected."
(1778.) Early in the next year the eyes of the vigilant were drawn to disorders in the south- eastern part of the state, which called for redress. Many of the people there living were still dis- affected, 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 de- fenceless homestead, murder all the inhabitants, burn the house to the ground, and return to their
a Resolutions in Girardin, 258, tions, published in Philada., in 1828, 259.
pp. 7-16.
b The " Articles of Confederation" c Madison Papers, i. passim, Vir- will be found in the Amer. Constitu- ginia Debates, 1788, 30, 31.
VOL. II.
15
226
BILL OF ATTAINDER.
[CHAP. IV.
hiding-place laden with booty. The very name of Phillips spread terror through the country ; chil- dren 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 de- serted with the first opportunity.ª 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 institu- tions, 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 recommend- ing that unless they should surrender themselves within a limited time, they should be attainted 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
a John Wilson's letter to Governor Henry, May, 1778; Wirt, 159, 160.
1778.]
PHILLIPS CAPTURED.
227
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.ª
This was the first act of attainder passed in Vir- ginia 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 in- justice 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 in- dicted the prisoner in regular form for murder and robbery." Upon this indictment he was tried ; he
a Act in Wirt's Henry, 160, 161 ; Girardin, 305, 306.
b Girardin, 306; Wirt says " for highway robbery" alone, 161.
228
PHILLIPS EXECUTED.
[CHAP. IV.
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 sin- gular 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 Dele- gates, 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 !a 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 wil- lingly 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 ene-
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