USA > Virginia > A history of Virginia : from its discovery and settlement by Europeans to the present time. Vol. II > Part 18
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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
a Note in Girardin, 534, 535. b Otis's Botta, ii. 399 ; Girardin, 529.
1781.]
SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS.
277
would speedily be battered down upon him, and despairing of relief from Clinton, he began with re- luctance 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 an- nihilate 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 cross- ed; 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 day- light appeared, the attempt was discovered, and the fire from the batteries became more violent than ever.ª 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, .
a Otis's Botta, ii. 401.
278
SLOOP OF WAR BONETTA.
[CHAP. IV.
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 Aber- crombie's corps laid down their muskets, he cover- ed his face and turned aside, biting the hilt of his sword !ª 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 pri-
a Dr. Thatcher, in Howe, 528.
279
TREATY OF PEACE.
1781.]
soners, will sink into insignificance when com- pared with the moral effect produced by the sur- render 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 neces- sary 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 Ver- sailles, 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 ac- knowledged. Their boundaries, though not per- fectly defined, were not narrowed, and clauses were introduced favourable to trade between two coun- tries, who were now to deal with each other as free and sovereign nations.ª
a Gordon, iii. 382, 383; Otis's ly enriched his volume. Yet the Botta, ii. 451. With the siege of work is prolix and uninviting: it has been read by few, and will be sought by none who look merely for entertainment. He has fallen into the error of introducing a complete history of the Revolutionary War, into a work intended to be confined to Virginia. His admiration for Mr. Jefferson sometimes approaches the ludicrous. See Jefferson's Works, i. 41; Henry Lee, 146. York closes the History of Louis Hue Girardin. He was a French- man by birth, but taught school a long time in Virginia. His dispo- sition was amiable, and his habits were studious. He undertook to continue Burk, and having taken up his abode near Monticello, Mr. Jef- ferson supplied him with a large amount of MS. matter, which great-
280
VIRGINIA AND THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP. IV.
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 encou- raging the soul of freedom. And in arms, Virginia had not been less distinguished : George Washing- ton 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 be- fore 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.
CHAPTER V.
Peace has its dangers-Virginia's generosity-Charters of King James I. -Domain of Virginia narrowed by charters to other states, and by Treaty of Paris in 1763-Validity of her claim-Land Companies- Virginia's claim disputed in Congress-Objections to it considered- Maryland and the Confederation-Virginia's dignified protest-She finally cedes her lands northwest of the Ohio-Extent of this gift-Pat- rick Henry-British Refugees-Proposed law to encourage intermar- riage between Whites and Indians-Resolution to incorporate all reli- gious societies who should apply-Act to incorporate the Protestant Episcopal Church-General assessment to support Religion proposed- Mr. Madison's memorial against it-It is rejected-Bill of Religious Liberty-Mr. Jefferson-Memorials of Hanover Presbytery-Bill adopt- ed by the Legislature-Act incorporating the Episcopal Church repealed -Capitol-Statue of Washington-Houdon the statuary-Edmund Ran- dolph Governor-Vices of the Confederacy-Necessity for a new go- vernment-Forms of Civil Government considered-Ancient debate on the subject-Mixed character of British Constitution-The conduct of America in 1787-'88 peculiar-Incipient measures to secure a change in plan of Confederation-Federal Convention in 1787-Constitution proposed-Debate in Virginia Convention-Edmund Pendleton-Go- vernor Randolph-George Nicholas-Henry Lce-Francis Corbin- John Marshall-James Innes-James Madison-Opposition to proposed Government-Patrick Henry-George Mason-James Monroe-Wil- liam Grayson-Constitution adopted by Virginia-Amendments finally secured.
IT has been said, that the history of Virginia after the opening of the Revolution, will be found to turn principally upon two points-civil and reli- gious freedom ; and we have seen the skilful mea- sures adopted to secure them. It might be sup- posed, that now when the struggle of war was over,
282
CHARTERS OF JAMES I.
[CHAP. V.
and the mother country no longer pretended to claim jurisdiction, these great blessings were safe, and that the people of the Commonwealth would enjoy them in full. But peace had its dangers as well as war. The pressure of peril had kept to- gether a system which had little innate tendency to cohesion. At no time during the actual struggle for Independence, was America in so much danger of anarchy, as she was after its close. And as true liberty is as far removed from licentiousness as from despotism, so the nation without government is as miserable as that governed by a tyrant. We shall see that the patriots of Virginia had yet much to accomplish, before she could consider her free- dom as secure.
Her people may be pardoned for indulging in feelings of pride, in reviewing the liberal spirit which impelled her to sacrifice self to the common good. From the time when she first became a member of the American league, it is evident that she considered her own interests as bound up in those of the Union. Her conduct was directed not merely by fraternal love to the other states, but by a calm exercise of judgment, which taught her that a wound in the hand affects the nerves of the whole body, and that the comfort of each member depends on the general health. The action of Congress made the cession of her public lands the first subject for her thoughts after the Revolution.
The charters of King James the First had granted to Virginia a vast territory on the American con- tinent. The Charter of 1609, in particular, had
C
283
VIRGINIA'S DOMAIN NARROWED.
1783.]
conveyed a huge belt of country, running from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.ª It had long been conceded, that the dissolution of the London Company in 1624, had not deprived the Colony of a right to her lands. These were still retained under her control, subject to the final decision of the King ; and the regular mode of obtaining title to them was by a grant under the seal of the Pro- vincial authorities.b By successive charters to the states of Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the domain of Virginia had been much reduced, and by operation of the Treaty of Paris, in 1763, between Great Britain, France and Spain, the ter- ritory west of the Mississippi was taken from the British Colonies." Yet after these reductions, Vir- ginia retained title to the country on her west and northwest, running from latitude thirty-six and a half to a line touching the southern margins of the Lakes Erie and Michigan. To this she had solemnly asserted her right in the Constitution adopted in 1776, and to prevent all improper inter- ference, she had declared void every purchase made from the Indians, unless by authority of her General Assembly.d
Had any thing been necessary to complete the equity of her claim, it might have been found in the conquest achieved by Colonel Clarke, in '78 and '79. A native born Virginian commanding volunteer troops from the soil of the State, raised by authority of her Assembly, paid by her grants,
ª Hening, i. 80-98; 1 R. C. 37.
c Grahame, iv. 91.
b See vol. i. 270.
`d Constitution, cl. 21 ; R. C. i. 37.
284
LAND COMPANIES.
[CHAP. V.
commissioned under the seal of her executive, acting in her name, and receiving the allegiance of the conquered to her sovereignty, had penetrated this western region, and reduced it to submission. We have seen the importance attached to this con- quest in the treaty of peace, and in a recent judicial decision, it has been vouched as the crown of the Virginia title.a Under these guarantees, none of her statesmen doubted her right, and it was regarded by her as resting on the firmest ground of law and conscience.
But it was to be disputed. During the Revolu- tion, certain speculators in land had formed them- selves into compact bodies in order to increase their strength, and had obtained from divers states acts of incorporation. The principal of these were known as the Indiana and Vandalia Companies. Their policy consisted in sending keen agents to treat with the native chiefs, and the wild white men who might occupy western lands; to dazzle simple minds with glittering ornaments, or to entrap the more wary with hatchets, rifles, and powder, offered in trade; to obtain grants of un- occupied tracts, and then to insist, before Congress, upon the validity of these purchases. It is strange that such claims ever should have found favour. Even before the Constitution of '76, the State had exclusive control over her waste lands, and no
ª This is the celebrated case of has not yet been reported, but I have Commonwealth vs. Garnett et al., read the printed sheets; see also, in the General Court of Virginia, argument of the Hon. John M. Pat- decided December Term, 1846 .- It ton, in the same case.
1783.]
285
VIRGINIA'S CLAIM DISPUTED.
grant from the Indians could have been valid with- out her concurrence. But many circumstances in- duced Congress to look with unfriendly eye upon the title of Virginia, and to hear patiently all that could be said against it.a
In addition to individual corporations, the other states of the Confederacy interposed a claim. It was contended that when the yoke of the British Government was thrown off, the waste lands with- in the limits of each colony, and over which the British sovereign claimed full control, became the common property of the American Union,-that the states in their federate capacity succeeded to the rights of the Crown,-that this territory had been defended by the blood and treasure of all, and should therefore be applied to the benefit of all. The weakness of these arguments may be seen at a glance ; for with as much propriety might it have been insisted that the Confederacy succeeded to all other rights claimed by the King of England, as to the control of the colonial lands. On such a principle, the Union would have had the right to appoint governors, deputies, and even petty offi- cers for the states ; to veto their laws, and to inter- fere in many respects with their internal police. It is true that when the government of the mother country was discarded, a sovereignty succeeded to the rights of the Crown, but it was the sovereignty of Virginia alone, and not that of the states in union. Nevertheless this claim was sufficiently plausible to meet with many advocates in Congress.
a Girardin, 372 ; Madison Papers, i. 92.
1
286
PROTEST OF VIRGINIA.
[CHAP. V.
The " Articles of Confederacy" contained nothing which could be construed to impair, or in any manner to affect the title of Virginia. The ques- tion of western lands formed a great obstacle to the full adoption of these articles, even to the year 1781. Maryland was inflexible, and refused to be- come a party until the claims of the states should be on a satisfactory basis.
Finding that Congress was disposed to favour adverse pretensions, the Assembly of Virginia pre- pared a remonstrance during its session of 1779. This paper is clear, calm, dignified,-strong in reasoning, generous in spirit, but firm in assertion of right.ª It declares the attachment of the state to the common interest; expresses her "surprise and concern" that Congress should have listened to the claims of the Land Companies, and should have attempted to assume jurisdiction, which threatened to subvert the sovereignty of the indi- vidual states, and to degenerate "into an intolerable despotism ;" clearly defines the rights of Virginia under charters, treaties, constitutional terms; de- clares her willingness to appropriate part of her lands for the benefit of the Continental troops, and to make other sacrifices for the general good ; but concludes with a most solemn protest against any action of Congress "subversive of the internal policy, civil government, or sovereignty, of this, or any of the United American States, or unwar- ranted by the Articles of Confederation." After this remonstrance, it must have been evident, that
ª It is in Girardin, 373-375.
287
JAMES MADISON.
1783.]
any law of the federal government, trenching upon her domain, would have led to a rupture with Vir- ginia ; and that an appeal to her liberality was the only mode in which the wishes of the other states could be attained.
This appeal was made, and was effectual. Con- gress urged all the states claiming unsettled lands to cede them for the general benefit, in order that the Articles of Union might be carried out, and that America might present an undivided front against the enemy. We have seen, that in January, 1781, Virginia responded to the application, by an act declaring her readiness to cede to Congress her northwestern domain, provided they could agree upon the terms of cession. The effect of this act was in accordance with the hopes of its advocates. Maryland became a party to the Confederation, and the government was complete as far as its own powers could avail for any purpose.
But in Congress much difficulty was experienced before the terms of final cession could be agreed upon. The delegates from Virginia looked watch- fully upon the progress of the debate, and always sought to interpose when it assumed a countenance unfavourable to her rights. It is, however, to be deplored that sometimes these delegates disagreed among themselves, and nothing but a spirit of mu- tual compromise, could have prevented their con- flicts of opinion from injuring their state. James Madison had now risen to eminence, and his spot- less character, his undoubted patriotism, his clear intellect, and expanded knowledge, made him, of
288
CESSION OF LANDS.
[CHAP. V.
all others, the man best fitted to guard the interests of Virginia upon this delicate question. Yet his differences with his colleagues were sometimes so serious that he feared the worst results ; and writing to a friend at home in October, 1781, he asks with anxious irony, "Is not my situation an enviable one ?"a Finally, on the 13th September, 1783, Congress declared the terms on which the cession would be accepted, and though they were not pre- cisely those which Virginia thought most reason- able, yet, with true liberality, she waived all far- ther objection, and prepared to authorize the ulti- mate grant. On the 20th December following, her Assembly passed an act empowering any three of her delegates in Congress to execute a deed of cession, conveying the whole territory within the Virginia Charter, " situate, lying, and being to the northwest of the River Ohio."> This grant was on condition that the territory so conveyed should be laid out and formed into states of a certain size, which should have republican governments, and all state privileges; that the Union should reim- burse to Virginia her expenses incurred in sub- duing British posts, conquering and defending the country ; that the French and Canadian inhabi- tants who had acknowledged their allegiance to Virginia, should be protected in their rights of citizenship; that a quantity of land not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand acres, should be re- served for General George Rogers Clarke, and the officers and soldiers of his regiment, wherever a
a Madison Papers, i. 92-100.
b 1 R. C. 40.
1783.]
MAGNITUDE OF THE GIFT. 289
majority of them might prefer to have such land ; that, if necessary, other lands between the Scioto and Little Miami should be reserved for the Vir- ginia troops of the Continental line; and, at last, that all the territory ceded and not reserved, or, by the cession, otherwise appropriated, should be con- sidered as a common fund, for the use and benefit of the states existing or to exist, as members of the American Union, (Virginia inclusive,) " according to their usual respective proportions in the gene- ral charge and expenditure," and should be dis- posed of for that purpose, and " for no other use or purpose whatsoever."a In accordance with these terms, during the following year, a deed of cession was duly executed by delegates from Virginia to the American Congress.b
Such was the magnificent gift bestowed by the " Old Dominion" upon her sisters and daughters of the Union. We may form some idea of its value, if we will consider not merely what it then was, but what it has since become. Without speaking of Indiana and Illinois, we will take a single state nearer to the mother's side. Ohio, with her fertile soil, her well-cultured fields, her grain poured out each year in millions of bushels, her thousand miles of railroad and canal, her cities springing into existence like the palace of Aladdin,-Ohio has already gone beyond her parent in wealth and population. And every part of the Union derives
a This act in full is in R.C. i.39-41. about 1,200,000 ; Ohio of 1,500,000.
b The deed of cession is in Hening, Virginia has 19 persons to a square mile ; Ohio has about 38. Morse's xi. 471, &c.
c Virginia has a population of Geography, 27, 33. VOL. II. 19
290
PUBLIC LANDS.
[CHAP. V.
renewed life from the impulses which have pro- duced results so astonishing. If the new states of America shall ever be disposed to unite with any of the old, in seeking to undermine the institutions, and to endanger the peace of Virginia, they may be reminded that such a course will involve ingra- titude even more than impolicy. For conduct so unworthy of the just and the generous, Shakspeare has furnished an appropriate illustration, and one able to appreciate his genius has pointed to King Lear, who, after stripping himself of his broad lands, and bestowing them on his daughters, was driven out in old age to feel the pangs that can be inflicted by "a thankless child."a
Since the time of this cession, the public lands have always been a subject of high interest and importance to the United States. Nice questions have from time to time arisen concerning them, and in late years, the proper mode of disposing of their proceeds, has drawn much anxious thought from Congress. Great minds have differed in opi- nion on this question ; some have contended, that as the lands were originally granted for purposes common and federal, their proceeds could not be distributed among the individual states; others have argued, that this would be the most appro- priate disposition, and that such was the fair in- ference from the clause " according to their usual respective proportions in the general charge and expenditure," which occurs in the Act of Cession.b
a Argument of Hon. John M. Pat.
ton, in Gen. Court Va., Dec, 1845.
b In favour of distribution to the states, see Henry Clay's Speeches,
291
BRITISH REFUGEES.
1784.]
The latter views have prevailed in Congress. It would not be consistent with the purpose of this work, to dwell farther upon these questions, but it is believed that in the detail which has been given, will be found the basis of every argument that can be applied to the subject.
(1784.) Early in the sessions of this year, the Assembly was called to decide whether foreigners should be invited to Virginia, and particularly whether British refugees should be permitted to return to her soil. Popular prejudice ran strongly against the latter, and many enlightened men in the Legislature thought it hazardous policy to ad- mit them. But Patrick Henry came forward to plead for them, not because he approved their con- duct, or found any excuse for their infidelity to their country, but because he believed they had been sufficiently punished, and that now they would make useful citizens. Their condition abroad had indeed been pitiable ; without property, and generally with luxurious habits, they had found all things adverse to them in the cold, selfish so- ciety of a crowded kingdom. They had petitioned in vain for help; worn down by disappointment and hope deferred, many of them had sunk in utter degradation, some had become insane, and more than one had put an end to their lives by suicide, rather than endure their misery !a Patrick Henry
ii. 56-85, 437-481. Against it, see May 5, 1786; Petition to Parlia- J. C. Calhoun's Speech, January 23, ment, from agents of American 1841, 417-429, Harper's Edit., 1843. Loyalists.
a Virginia Independent Chronicle,
292 INTERMARRIAGE WITH INDIANS. [CHAP. V.
found a congenial theme for his eloquence in argu- ing for these unhappy men. He pointed to the fertile lands, the rich wastes, the undeveloped re- sources of Virginia, and begged that her ports might be thrown open and all might be admitted. He ridiculed the idea of danger from British influ- ence. What! he asked, shall we who have laid the proud British lion at our feet, now be afraid of his whelps ?" His appeals wrought the desired effect : all obstacles to the return of the refugees were gradually removed.
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