USA > Virginia > A history of Virginia : from its discovery and settlement by Europeans to the present time. Vol. II > Part 7
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From his retreat in Norfolk, Dunmore was the moving power of a disgraceful warfare waged upon the property and lives of the people exposed on the bay, or up the lower rivers. He made demonstra- tions against Suffolk, in the county of Nansemond, but a force of riflemen, commanded by Major Mar- shall, and Lieutenant Scott, drove him back to his safeholds. A point known as the Great Bridge, had become very important to both parties. It was not more than twelve miles from Norfolk : it crossed a branch of Elizabeth River, and was connected by
a See Wirt, 130-134, and 138; Girardin, 108.
commenced, as a soldier, a career which he afterwards continued with b This was the great John Mar- so much distinction, as a statesman shall, who now in his 21st year and a jurist.
102
GREAT BRIDGE.
[CHAP. II.
a long causeway with the firm land ; deep swamps surrounded it, and the road through these led to Norfolk, and when once gained, opened the way for the American army. On the island, at the ex- tremity of the causeway nearest Norfolk, the Eng- lish had thrown up a small fort, and on the other side stood several houses, principally used in the extensive trade in turpentine and shingles, carried on through the seaport.
Colonel Woodford, with the second regiment, and a number of minute men, was sent down to attack the enemy, and if posssible open the way to Norfolk. He arrived on the 2d December, accom- panied by Adjutant Bullet, whose courage and ex- perience were thought all-important at this crisis. From this time until the 9th, nothing decisive took place-the patriots were employed in throwing up a breastwork in front of the causeway leading from the bridge. Frequent skirmishes took place, and in one of these some negroes were taken prisoners, on whom were found a quantity of gashed balls. They declared that this was done under the direc- tion of Dunmore, who spared no means that fero- city could suggest, to injure the people so lately under his charge.ª
The English force consisted of about one hun- dred regulars, and more than three hundred tories, convicts, and negro slaves. A stratagem is said to have brought on their attack. Major Marshall's servant deserted and informed the British com-
a Burk, iii. 441 ; Girardin, 84.
103
DEATH OF FORDYCE.
1775.]
mander that Woodford had only three hundred shirt men with him, and that these were in a wretched state of discipline and preparation. It is not easy to decide whether this scheme was or was not with the sanction of the American officers. The number reported was not far from the truth, and the term "shirt men" was applied by the English to the rifle troops of Virginia, who wore the graceful hunting-shirt, afterwards so well known in the battles of the Revolution. But an attack was resolved on. (December 9.) At the head of a select body, embracing the flower of the regulars, and the best of all the other troops, Cap- tain Fordyce charged across the bridge, and ad- vanced upon the breastwork. He was received with a shower of bullets from rifles, but the outer guard was broken and dispersed in confusion. The breastwork was now immediately in front. Waving his hat gallantly over his head, and cheering on his men, Fordyce rushed forward in the face of a terrible fire, which flashed along the whole Ame- rican line. A ball pierced his knee; he staggered forward and fell, but instantly springing upon his feet, he brushed his knee slightly with his hand, as though he had fallen by accident, and continued his advance. Bullet pointed him out to his rifle- men, and the words of caution had hardly passed his lips, before Fordyce fell dead to the ground, fourteen balls having entered his body.ª This was the signal for the total rout of the English. Colo- nel Stevens, with a body of riflemen on the left,
a Girardin, 86; Burk, iii. 442; Howe, from Va. Gaz, 397.
104
AN INCIDENT.
[CHAP. II.
threw in a flanking fire, the enemy fled precipi- tately across the bridge, leaving the second in com- mand mortally wounded, and Lieutenant Battut severely hurt, and a prisoner in the hands of the patriots.
The courage displayed by the Virginians in these scenes, was only equalled by their humanity. Good authority has proved that Dunmore had told his inexperienced troops that they would be scalped if they fell into the power of the enemy, and when one of the patriots ran forward to help a wounded soldier who fell on the causeway, the prisoner in great alarm cried out, "For God's sake, do not murder me!" The man replied by raising him tenderly from the ground, and carrying him out from the dangerous passage. So striking was the incident, that the British commander, Leslie, ac- knowledged it with deep feeling from the platform of the fort.a" The brave Fordyce was interred with the honours of war. The cruelty of their own Governor could not make the soldiers of Virginia forget the duty they owed to a generous and fallen enemy.
Although Colonel Woodford was too cautious to attack the British fort, he determined, if possible, to drive the enemy from the island. Colonel Stevens volunteered for the duty, and succeeded in crossing the bridge with one hundred of his finest marksmen. Here he placed his men under cover, and kept up an incessant fire, which soon wrought the desired end. The negroes fled in dismay, and
ª Virginia Gazette, Howe, 398.
105
TERROR OF THE TORIES.
1775.]
the tories followed them after a feeble resistance. Finding the fort no longer tenable, Major Leslie abandoned it, and with his regulars, made good his retreat to Norfolk. His whole loss, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, amounted to one hundred and two men, and he left behind him two spiked cannon. Not one Virginian was killed, and only one received a wound.ª
When Lord Dunmore heard of the result at the Great Bridge, he was frantic with rage. He raved like a madman, and swore that he would hang the messenger who brought the news. But his passion soon gave way to fear. The road to Norfolk was now open to the patriots, and Woodford made preparations to approach the town. The triumph of the tories was over. Trembling with alarm, and conscious that they merited nothing but infamy, they dreaded to meet the victors. Boastings and insolence were exchanged for impo- tent murmurs. Colonel Woodford sent a message to the mayor and town authorities, informing them that he was marching with no intent to make war on the inhabitants, and that he would use no vio- lence unless he was opposed : he therefore desired to know what reception he might expect. To this missive no answer was returned: the chief men had become too much involved in British interests to escape, and it is to be feared that too many of the inhabitants were unfavourable to the cause of freedom. Nothing now could be seen on all sides but men and women flying into the country with such valuables as they could carry. Among these
ª Girardin, 88.
106,
NORFOLK.
[CHAP. II.
fugitives, Dunmore vied with the most active in his preparations for flight. While the danger was distant he was brave, but the moment it approach- ed, his cowardly heart gave way. He went hastily aboard a man-of-war in the harbour, and the Eng- lish fleet at the same time received a wretched train of traitors from Norfolk, who feared to face their patriot countrymen.
Woodford had been joined by Colonel Robert Howe of North Carolina, who brought with him about four hundred and thirty fresh troops. Howe's commission was from Congress, and under the rules of the service he took precedence of the Vir- ginia officer, but the utmost harmony prevailed be- tween them. At 10 o'clock, on the night of the 14th December, the Americans entered Norfolk ; a few scattering shots were fired by disaffected inhabitants, but in a short time all was quiet, and the town was fully under patriot control.a Warm congratulations were exchanged between the sol- diers and those brave citizens who had remained faithful in the hour of trial; and addresses full of gratitude poured in upon the commanders. It might now have been hoped that Dunmore would have retired, and that, as he was unable to hold the place, he would not seek an unmanly revenge, by endeavouring to injure the town. But there was nothing generous in his nature : his disappoint- ment galled him to frenzy, and he sought victims in all Virginians, whether they were friends or foes.
a Girardin, 96, 97 ; Burk, iii. 448.
107
NORFOLK.
1775.]
The whole force of the Americans under Howe and Woodford, amounted to twelve hundred and seventy-five men. Many were raw recruits, but some were experienced riflemen, and all were ani- mated by a common spirit of courage and freedom. To attack the town under these circumstances, was beyond Dunmore's views: he contented himself with idle threats, and clamours for provisions. The utmost vigilance was exerted to prevent supplies from being obtained by the enemy, and not a bushel of salt or of grain entered the British ships, that was not bought with peril, and often with blood. But on the 19th, the frigate Liverpool, of twenty-eight guns, commanded by Captain Henry Bellew, appeared in the harbour, together with an armed brig, laden with ammunition and military stores. Encouraged by this reinforcement, Dun- more renewed his marauding attacks upon the towns and plantations on the rivers : food was what he principally sought : he had so long been accus- tomed to luxury, that he could ill bear the mise- rable pittance of sea-stores, with which the English were forced to satisfy their hunger. Captain Bellew joined heartily in his efforts, and finding that nothing could be obtained by persuasion, he re- solved to try force. He exchanged messages with Colonel Howe, in which he declared that he was unwilling to fire upon the town, but that he would do so unless a supply of fresh provisions should be - furnished for his men. To this menace the Ame- rican replied by firmly refusing all aid for the English in general, although he permitted supplies
108
NORFOLK ATTACKED
[CHAP. II.
to be sent off for the Captain's private table.ª This course did not allay his irritation, and probably hastened the catastrophe which followed.
(1776.) The first day of the new year, was one of signal misfortune for the most flourishing sea- port of Virginia. The frigate Liverpool, the ship Dunmore, and two sloops of war were moored with their batteries bearing upon the town, and at half past three in the afternoon, they opened a tremen- dous fire. Heavy balls were hailed upon the houses, and the streets exposed to the ships were swept with incessant broadsides. Under cover of this iron storm, a party of sailors and marines, well armed, were landed in boats, and immediately set fire to the warehouses and other buildings upon the wharves. The great quantity of turpentine and pitch stored in these houses caused them to burn with frightful rapidity. The flames de- voured all before them, and the heat was soon so intense that neighbouring buildings on other streets caught fire, and in their turn spread the conflagra- tion. But in the midst of this scene of ruin, the patriots were at their post; a battalion of riflemen drew near the shore, and singling out their men in the party on the wharves, they poured upon them a fire which drove them back to their boats. Again and again the attempt to land was renewed. Ma- rines and sailors gained the shore, but hardly had they touched the wharves, before the fatal rifles were at work, and with severe loss they retreated to the ships. Colonel Stevens, at the head of a
a Girardin, 100.
109
AND BURNED.
1776.]
select body of Virginia troops, was in constant mo- tion, and repulsed every attack made during the night, and the three days that followed.a
Had the Americans contended only with human foes, they would have triumphed. But the fire raging in the town was a more fearful enemy. The wind blew strongly from the shore, and carried burning shingles to an immense distance into the heart of the city. Heavy volumes of smoke settled in the streets, and clouds of heated ashes were driven in the faces of those who sought to extin- guish the flames. The fire of the English ships was not suspended for a moment. The incessant roar of their cannon was heard, and every part of the town became a mark for their balls. No re- spect was paid either to private property or to edi- fices intended for religious worship. The time- honoured church of brick, which stands in the midst of the city, yet carries the mark of a heavy bullet, which shattered one of its corners.' For three days and nights the fire burned without in- termission. Warehouses and stores, private man- sions, and public buildings were alike its victims. Nine tenths of the town were reduced to ashes, and property amounting to three hundred thousand pounds sterling was destroyed. The distress at- tending this calamity can be more readily ima- gined than described. Out of a population of six
* Burk, 450; Girardin, 101; and see Letter from Howe and Wood- ford to the Convention, Virginia Ga- zette, Sup., Jan. 5, 1776.
b This building is now known as
St. Paul's Church.
110
DISTRESS.
[CHAP. II.
thousand persons, more than four thousand were at once deprived of their homes, and driven forth to seek shelter in the counties above.ª
Amid these scenes of destruction, it is singular that, on the part of the patriots, so few lives should have been lost. One aged woman was killed by a cannon ball in the upper part of the town. Several children and females perished in the streets, either from the shot from the ships, or from the fall of burning houses; but of the troops, not one man was killed, and only seven were wounded.b The loss of the enemy is supposed to have been much more severe. With what feelings Lord Dunmore could have contemplated the wanton destruction of the town, to whose people he owed so much grati- tude, it would be difficult to divine. Brutal re- venge may have been sated, but no really valuable end was obtained. No food was procured ; no foes were subdued; no spirit of disaffection was over- come. The Americans had rather gained confi- dence by their successful resistance; their souls were fired with indignation against an enemy ca- pable of such measures, and their very misfortunes were converted into nutriment for courage and pa- triotism.c
We must now follow Dunmore to the close of his inglorious career in Virginia, although, before he left her shores, events not connected with him
a Girardin, 101, 102; Woodford and Howe, in Va. Gazette, Jan. 6.
c See a noble letter, signed an . " American," in the Virginia Ga. b Woodford and Howe, Va. Ga- zette, Jan. 5, 1776; Belsham, vi. 162. zette ; Burk, iii. 451; Girardin, 101.
1776.]
111
DUNMORE'S DEGRADATION.
had occurred, which powerfully influenced her des- tinies. After the burning of Norfolk, he could have had little hope of an amicable settlement of his hostilities against the Colony ; yet, in the month of February, we find him entering into correspon- dence with Richard Corbin (formerly the King's receiver-general), and insidiously urging a return to allegiance to Britain. His letter was laid before the Committee of Safety, and an interview took place between Mr. Corbin and the discarded Go- vernor ; but nothing like an approach to submission can be detected in the conduct of the guardians of Virginia.ª
Dunmore was again reduced to a wretched con- dition. His fleet consisted not only of the men-of- war, but of more than fifty transports, carrying a crowd of unhappy tories, men and women; a great many negroes, who had been enticed from their masters ; and a rabble of convicts and other de- graded characters, who had joined his standard in more prosperous times. With them he cruised up and down the bay, landing at one point, burning a house at another ; stealing private property from a third. His fleet was scantily supplied with food, and the increasing heats of the season threatened sickness of the most fatal character.
Meanwhile the great drama of the Revolution had fully opened, and to provide for the safety of the South, Congress had appointed Major-General Charles Lee to the command of the southern divi- sion of the United Colonies. This well-known
ª Girardin, 117-119.
112
GENERAL CHARLES LEE.
[CHAP. II.
officer was an Englishman by birth, and a Vir- ginian by adoption. He was brave to enthusiasm, and excitable to a fault; his temper was generous, but impatient ; he knew better how to control others than himself. His brilliant talents and chivalrous bearing had already endeared him to all who knew him, and his eccentricities had not yet become so glaring as to forfeit public confidence. He arrived at Williamsburg on the 29th of March, and took in at a glance the military condition of Virginia. ~ He saw that so long as the fleet of Dunmore continued to hover on the eastern waters, the disaffected of the counties on the bay would meet with aid and countenance, and though their number was not large their example was pernicious. In the coun- ties of Norfolk and Princess Anne, particularly, the tories still assembled in strength, and finding all more gentle measures useless, General Lee warmly supported a stern system, which the Committee of Safety at length adopted in full.
Orders were sent to Colonel Woodford to remove all the inhabitants of these two counties living be- tween the Great Bridge and Kemp's Landing on the one side, and the ocean on the other. They were to be carried into the interior, and, at the same time, all their live stock and other movable property was to be conveyed to a place of safety, and kept for the benefit of the owners.ª At the same time General Lee ordered that if any persons should be discovered in correspondence with the enemy, they should be seized as traitors, their houses
a Order of Committee, April 10; Girardin, 142, 143.
113
GWYNN'S ISLAND.
1776.]
should be burned, and they should be sent pinioned and handcuffed to Williamsburg, with a written statement of their crimes.a
These harsh but necessary commands, were car- ried into effect by Woodford, with a humanity and skill which reflect on him the highest credit. It was found impossible to execute the purpose in its literal sense, but so many of the people were re- moved, that few were left to be tampered with by the enemy, and Dunmore found himself in immi- nent danger of famine, from the cautious measures which had cut off all his streams of supply.
Just in the mouth of the River Piankatank, and within the limits of the county now known as Mathews,' lies an island not more than four miles in length and two in breadth, remarkable for its fertility and beauty. Gwynn's Island contains about two thousand acres of land, and at the time of the Revolution it abounded in natural wealth- in cattle, fruits, and vegetables, in good water, and luxuriant verdure.
Dunmore came out from Hampton Roads with his whole fleet, and after manœuvring for a time to divert the attention of his vigilant enemies, he sailed immediately for the island, and on the 24th of May landed his force, and formed an entrenched · camp for their defence. He had with him at least five hundred men, including the negroes who had been seduced from their masters. Here he re- mained more than a month, varying the monotony
a General Lee's Instructions, Gi- rardin, 143, 144.
b Mathews was formed from Glou. cester County.
VOL. II. 8
114
GWYNN'S ISLAND.
[CHAP. II.
of his life by occasional robberies committed on the neighbouring plantations. He considered himself secure from attack ; his fleet was anchored around the island, and protected by indentations of the coast from the heavy gales which sometimes sweep from the ocean up Chesapeake Bay. But as the heats of summer gained strength, fevers began to prey upon his men, increased, doubtless, in viru- lence by their own profligate habits : many died, and were hastily interred in hillocks of sand by the water's side. Dunmore's courage was again ebb- ing away, and a vigorous attack only was neces- sary to drive him from his post.
This was soon accomplished. Annoyed by the reflection that this degraded band should be suf- fered so long to disturb the welfare of Virginia, the Committee of Safety sent General Andrew Lewis to endeavour to dislodge them. This brave officer had already distinguished himself in his bloody fight with the Indians at Point Pleasant, and he eagerly accepted duty, which would array him in battle against a commander whom he knew too well to respect. On the 8th of July, at the head of an efficient force, he reached a point opposite to Gwynn's Island, and immediately threw up two batteries-one mounting two eighteen-pounders, and the other having several lighter guns. The enemy's land forces were on a point of the island nearly opposite to the American batteries, and pro- tected by a breastwork and stockade fort. Their ships lay in the deep waters around. General Lewis himself opened the engagement. He pointed
115
DUNMORE IN DANGER.
1776.]
one of the eighteen-pounders at the Dunmore, which lay in the stream five hundred yards off, and ap- plied the match : the ball passed directly through her hull, doing much damage in its way ; another shot cut her boatswain in twain, and wounded three other men; and the third, from a nine-pounder in the second battery, beat in a heavy timber in her quarter, and narrowly missed Lord Dunmore, who was aboard. His body was wounded in several places by the splinters, and some of his china was dashed to pieces around him. In terrible fright, his lordship was heard to cry out, " Good God, that ever I should come to this?"a He seemed to think his latter end was drawing nigh.
The fire was too hot to be endured. The Dun- more cut her cables and hauled off amid a raking storm of balls; the Otter, which was next to her, received a shot between wind and water, and slip- ping her cable, with difficulty made her escape. The fleet was now in the greatest confusion, and had the wind blown on shore, many of them would have been captured ; they escaped only by leaving their anchors and making off in haste, followed by discharges from the batteries, which did them heavy damage. Meanwhile the land forces on the island received due attention : their fire was soon silenced. Several of their tents were stricken down by balls from the lower battery under Captain Denny, and nothing but want of boats prevented the patriots from crossing over at once and attacking the en- campment.
" Virginia Gazette, July 29, 1776; in Girardin, 174 ; and in Howe, 377.
116
MISERABLE SCENE.
[CHAP, II.
The next morning General Lewis prepared for the assault. Having collected all the boats and small craft in the neighbourhood, he planted two brass cannon near a place known as Lower Wind- mill Point, and trained them upon two English tenders stationed there to oppose the crossing. The fire was so severe that one of the vessels ran up a small creek, and her crew left her and took to the woods ; the other got aground, and being boarded by the Americans, many of her men were taken prisoners. The patriots crossed to the island, and found the enemy's camp deserted ; not one was left to resist ; the land forces had taken refuge aboard the ships, which were already standing up the bay.
A melancholy scene met the eyes of the victors. The small-pox, and other malignant diseases, had committed fierce ravages among the English while at the island. Five hundred are supposed to have died. One hundred and thirty graves were counted from the encampment to Cherry Point, the northern end of the isle. Corpses in a state of putrefaction were strewed along the shore in half-dug trenches, and with a few shovels-full of earth thrown over them. Among the graves was one, carefully pre- pared and covered with turf, in which the remains of an English nobleman, Lord Gosport, were sup- posed to rest. Some unhappy wretches had been burned to death in brush huts in which they had taken refuge; others were found on the shore gasp- ing for life, and bearing the hideous signs of the disease which was destroying them. The hearts of the patriots were moved to pity by these objects
1776.]
117
DUNMORE SAILS TO NEW YORK.
of wo, and had they sought revenge, they would have found enough to sate it in the misery of their enemies. On their own part the loss was slight : one man only was killed. This was Captain Arundel, who was blown to pieces by the bursting of a mortar of his own invention, from firing which he had been in vain dissuaded by more experi- enced officers.ª
Driven from his late place of refuge, Dunmore sailed up the Potomac River. The spirits of his people were depressed by defeat and sickness, and it may well be supposed that he was not himself in buoyant hope. Yet his predatory excursions were continued. Above Acquia Creek, in the county of Stafford, he burned a beautiful edifice belonging to Mr. William Brent, and the Stafford militia, al- though sufficiently numerous to have opposed him, retreated without striking a blow. But in a short time, thirty brave men from Prince William ar- rived, and by a vigorous charge drove the Eng- lish aboard their ships.b A momentary panic only had seized on the men of Stafford, for no county in Virginia furnished braver hearts for the subsequent years of the Revolution. Harassed on every side, distracted by the mutinies of his own followers, seeing around him hundreds of men sick and dying with the fevers of the season, the wretched Dun- more was a victim of despair and mortification. His hopes of conquering Virginia were gone, and he was himself in imminent danger of being made captive. He sailed with his fleet to Lynhaven
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