USA > Virginia > Albemarle County > Albemarle County > Albemarle County in Virginia; giving some account of what it was by nature, of what it was made by man, and of some of the men who made it > Part 4
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"The house where General Phillips resides is called Blen- heim. It was erected shortly after that memorable battle by a Mr. Carter, Secretary of the Colony, and was his favor- ite seat of residence. It stands on a lofty eminence, com- manding a very extensive prospect. Colonel Carter, its pres- ent proprietor, possesses a most affluent fortune, and has a variety of seats surpassing Blenheim, which he suffers to go to ruin. When General Phillips took it, it was crowded with negroes, sent to clear a spot of ground a few miles off. The extent of his land is immense, and he has fifteen hundred negroes on his different plantations.
"The Congress must be acquitted of the bad treatment of the prisoners; they were misguided and duped by a Colonel
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Harvie, a member from this province. When Virginia was fixed on as a depot for the prisoners, Colonel Harvie pro- posed to Congress to remove the Convention army to a tract of land belonging to him, about six miles from Charlottes- ville, about four from the Blue Mountains, and near two hundred from the sea coast; and if Congress approved, he would engage to build barracks and lay in provisions by the ensuing spring. The resolution was passed the latter end of June. Colonel Harvie immediately resorted to Virginia, and set all his negroes, and a number of the inhabitants, to build the barracks and collect provisions ; and after having planned everything, he left its completion to the management of his brother, and returned to Congress. His brother not possess- ing so much activity, and not being perhaps so much in- terested in the business, did not pay proper attention to it ; and this was the cause why the barracks were not finished, and affairs were in such confusion on our arrival. Colonel Harvie supposed all would be ready by Christmas.
"Colonel Bland, who commands the American troops, was formerly a physician at a place called Petersburg on the James River, but at the commencement of the war, as being in some way related to Bland, who wrote a military treatise, he felt a martial spirit arise within him, quitted the Esculapian art, and at his own expense raised a regiment of light horse. As to those troops of his regiment with Washington's army, I cannot say anything; but the two the Colonel has with him here for the purposes of express and attendance, are the most curious figures you ever saw ; some like Prince Pretty- man with one boot, others without any ; some hoseless, with their feet peeping out of their shoes, others with breeches that put decency to the blush ; some in short jackets, and some in long coats, but all have fine dragoon caps, and long swords slung around them ; some with holsters, some with- out. but, gramercy, pistols, they haven't a brace and a half among them ; but they are tolerably well mounted, and that is the only thing you can advance in their favor. The Colonel is so fond of his dragoons, that he reviews and maneuvers them every morning, and when he rides out, has
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two with drawn swords before, and two behind. It is really laughable to see him thus attended by his ragged regiment, which looks, to borrow Shakespeare's idea, as if the gibbets had been robbed to make it up; then the Colonel himself, notwithstanding his martial spirit, has all the grave deport- ment as if he were going to a consultation. He greatly amused some of us calling to see him not long since. He had just mounted his horse to ride out, and seeing us ap- proach, and wishing to air his French, he called out very pompously to his orderly, 'Donnez moi-donnez moi-eh- mon scabbard!' "
In May 1779, he wrote,
"A few days ago Madame Riedesel, [who with her hus- band, Baron Riedesel, was living at Colle, near Simeon] with two of her children, had a narrow escape. As she was going to the barracks in her post chaise, when the carriage had passed a wooden bridge-which are of themselves very terrific, being only so many rough logs laid across beams, without any safeguard on either side-an old rotten pine fell directly between the horses and the chaise, but providentially did no other damage than crushing the two fore wheels to pieces, and laming one of the horses.
"I am filled with sorrow at being obliged to relate the death of W-, a relative of Sir Watkin Williams Wynne. He had been drinking peach brandy till he became insane; and riding from Charlottesville to the barracks, he contrived to escape his companions, and next morning was found dead in a by-place five miles off, being tracked by the foot -prints of his horse in the snow."
From the Barracks, to which he had removed in the early part of 1780, he wrote later,
"The log huts of the men are becoming dangerous from the ravages of insects, that bear the appellation of Sawyers, and are infested with rats of enormous size. The prisoners are deserting in great numbers, especially the Germans, and duels have become very frequent among the German officers."
On November 20th, 1780, he wrote from Winchester,
"About six weeks ago we marched from Charlottesville
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barracks, Congress being apprehensive that Cornwallis in overrunning the Carolinas might by forced marches retake the prisoners. The officers murmured greatly at the step, having been given to understand that they were to remain till exchanged. Many had laid out considerable sums to ren- der their huts comfortable, particularly by replacing the wood chimneys with stone, and to promote association, they had erected a coffee house, a theatre, a cold bath, &c. My miserable log hut, not more than sixteen feet square, cost between thirty and forty guineas in erecting. The woods had been cleared away for the space of six miles in circumference around the barracks. It had become a little town, and there being more society, most of the officers had resorted thither. After we quitted the barracks, the inhabitants were near a week in destroying the cats that were left behind; impelled by hunger, they had gone into the woods, and there was rea- son to suppose they would become extremely wild and fero- cious, and would be a great annoyance to their poultry. We crossed the Pignut Ridge, or more properly the Blue Moun - tains, at Woods's Gap, and though considerably loftier than those we crossed in Connecticut, we did not meet with so many difficulties ; in short, you scarcely perceive till you are . upon the summit that you are gaining an eminence, much less one that is of such a prodigious height, owing to the judicious manner that the inhabitants have made the road, .. which by its winding renders the ascent extremely easy. After traveling near a mile through a thick wood before you gain the summit of these mountains, when you reach the top, you are suddenly surprised with an unbounded prospect that strikes you with amazement. At the foot of the mountain runs a beautiful river ; beyond it is a very extensive plain, interspersed with a variety of objects to render the scene still more delightful; and about fifty miles distant are the lofty Alleghany Mountains, whose tops are buried in the clouds."
As Anbury's work is out of print, it will no doubt prove acceptable to give a few extracts, in which are presented the condition of the country, and the state of society, as viewed by a stranger occupying his peculiar circumstances.
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"The plantations are scattered here and there over the land, which is thickly covered with timber. On these there is a dwelling house in the centre, with kitchen, smoke house, and other outhouses detached, and from the various build - ings each plantation has the appearance of a small village. At some little distance from the houses are peach and apple orchards, and scattered over the plantations are the negroes' huts, and tobacco barns, which are large and built of wood for the cure of that article. The houses are most of them built of wood, the roof being covered with shingles, and not always lathed and plastered within; only those of the bet - ter sort are finished in that manner, and painted on the out- side ; the chimneys are often of brick, but the generality of them are wood, coated on the inside with clay ; the windows of the better sort are glazed, the rest have only wooden shut- ters.
"All taverns and public houses in Virginia are called Ordinaries, and 'faith, not improperly in general. They consist of a little house placed in a solitary situation in the iniddle of the woods, and the usual method of describing the roads is, From such an ordinary to such a one, so many miles. The entertainment you meet with is very poor indeed ; you are seldom able to procure any other fare than eggs and bacon with Indian hoe cake, and at many of them not even that. The only liquors are peach brandy and whiskey. They are not remiss however in making pretty exorbitant charges. Before the war, I was told, one might stop at any plantation, meet with the most courteous treatment, and be supplied with everything gratuitously. Gentlemen hearing of a stranger at an ordinary, would at once send a negro with an invitation to his house.
"Most of the planters consign the care of their plantations and negroes to an overseer ; even the man whose bouse we rent has his overseer, though he could with ease superintend it himself; but if they possess a few negroes, they think it beneath their dignity; added to which, they are so abomi - nably lazy. I'll give you a sketch of this man's general way of living. He rises about eight o'clock, drinks what he
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calls a julep, which is a large glass of rum sweetened with sugar, then walks, or more generally rides, round his planta - tion, views his stock, inspects his crops, and returns about ten o'clock to breakfast on cold meat or ham, fried hominy, toast and cider ; tea and coffee are seldom tasted but by the women. He then saunters about the house, sometimes amusing himself with the little negroes who are playing round the door, or else scraping on a fiddle. About twelve or one he drinks a toddy to create him an appetite for dinner, which he sits down to at two o'clock. After he has dined he generally lies down on the bed, rises about five, then perhaps sips some tea with his wife, but commonly drinks toddy till bed time; during all this time he is neither drunk nor sober, but in a state of stupefaction. This is his usual mode of living which he seldom varies; and he only quits his plan- tation to attend the Court House on court days, or some horse race or cock fight, at which times he gets so egregi- ously drunk, that his wife sends a couple of negroes to con- duct him safe home.
"Thus the whole management of the plantation is left to the overseer, who as an encouragement to make the most of the crops, gets a certain portion as his wages; but having no interest in the negroes any further than their labor, he drives and whips them about, and works them beyond their strength, sometimes till they expire. He feels no loss in their death, he knows the plantation must be supplied, and his humanity is estimated by his interest, which rises always above freezing point. It is the poor negroes who alone work hard, and I am sorry to say, fare hard. Incredible is the fatigue which the poor wretches undergo, and it is wonderful that uature should be able to support it. There certainly must be some- thing in their constitution as well as their color different from us, that enables them to endure it. They are called up at daybreak, and seldom allowed to swallow a mouthful of hominy or hoecake, but are drawn out into the field immedi - ately, where they continue at hard labor without intermission till noon, when they go to their dinners, and are seldom allowed an hour for that purpose. Their meal consists of
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hominy and salt, and if their master is a man of humanity, touched by the finer feelings of love and sensibility, he allows them twice a week a little fat, skimmed milk, rusty bacon and salt herring to relish this miserable and scanty fare. The man of this plantation in lieu of these, grants his negroes an acre of ground, and all Saturday afternoons, to raise grain and poultry for themselves. After they have dined, they re- turn to labor in the field till dusk in the evening. Here one naturally imagines the daily labor of these poor creatures was over. Not so. They repair to the tobacco houses where each has a task of stripping allotted, which takes up some hours, or else they have such a quantity of Indian corn to husk; and if they neglect it, they are tied up in the morning, and receive a number of lashes from those unfeeling monsters, the overseers, whose masters suffer them to exercise their brutal authority without restraint. Thus by their night task it is late in the evening before these poor creatures return to their second scanty meal, and the time taken up at it en - croaches upon their hours of sleep, which for refreshment of food and sleep together can never be reckoned to exceed eight. When they lay themselves down to rest, their comforts are equally miserable and limited ; for they sleep on a bench or on the ground, with an old scanty blanket, which serves them at once for bed and covering. Their clothing is not less wretched, consisting of a shirt and trousers of coarse, thin, hard, hempen stuff in the summer, with an addition of a very coarse woolen jacket, breeches and shoes in winter. But since the war the masters, for they cannot get the clothing as usual, suffer them to go in rags, and many in a state of nudity. The female slaves share labor and repose just in the same manner, except a few who are termed house negroes, and are employed in household drudgery. These poor crea - tures are all submissive to injuries and insults, and are obliged to be passive. The law directs the negro's arm to be cut off, who raises it against a white person. Notwithstanding this humiliating state and rigid treatment to which they are sub - ject, they are devoid of care, contented and happy, blest with an easy, satisfied disposition. They always carry out a piece
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of fire, and kindle one near their work, let the weather be ever so hot and sultry.
"There were, and still are, three degrees of rank among the inhabitants, exclusive of the negroes ; but I am afraid the advantage of distinction will never exist again in this country, in the same manner it did before the commencement of hostil- ities. The first class consists of gentlemen of the best families and fortunes, which are more respectable and numerous here than in any other province. For the most part they have had liberal educations, possess a thorough knowledge of the world, with great ease and freedom in their manners and conversation. Many of them keep their car - riages, have liandsome services of plate, and without excep- tion keep their studs, as well as sets of handsome carriage horses.
"The second class consists of such a strange mixture of character, and of such various descriptions of occupation, being nearly half the inhabitants, that it is difficult to ascer- tain their exact criterion and leading feature. They are however hospitable, generous and friendly ; but for a want of a proper knowledge of the world, and a good education, as well as from their continual intercourse with their slaves, over whom they are accustomed to tyrannize, with all their good qualities they are rude, ferocious and haughty, much addicted to gaming and dissipation, particularly horse racing and cock fighting. In short, they form a most un- accountable combination of qualities, directly opposite and contradictory, many having them strangely blended with the best and worst of principles, many possessing elegant accom- plishments and savage brutality; and notwithstanding all this inconsistency of character, numbers are valuable mem- bers of the community, and very few deficient in intellectual faculties.
"The third class, which in general composes the greatest part of mankind are fewer in Virginia in proportion to the inhabitants, than perhaps in any other country of the world ; yet even those who are rude, illiberal and noisy, with a tur- bulent disposition, are generons, kind and hospitable. We
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are induced to imagine there is something peculiar in the climate of Virginia, that should render all classes of so hos - pitable a disposition. The lower people possess that imper- tinent curiosity so disagreeable to strangers, but in no degree equal to the inhabitants of New England. They are averse to labor, much addicted to liquor, and when intoxicated ex- tremely savage and revengeful. Their amusements are the same with those of the middling sort, with the addition of boxing matches.
"We found many gentlemen of the province very liberal and hospitable to the British officers, among whom I may mention Messrs. Randolph, of Tuckahoe, Goode, of Chester- field, and Cary, of Warwick. In conversing with the pris- oners, they carefully refrain from politics. So warm and bigotted was the prevailing spirit, that those who exercised such courtesy incurred much criticism and censure. Some went so far on this account as to threaten to burn Colonel Randolph's mills. He however treated the matter with an easy independence, offering on the other hand five hundred pounds for the discovery of those who made the threat.
"There is a place called Kentucky, whose soil is ex- tremely fruitful, and where an abundance of buffaloes is found. The emigration of the people to that place is amaz. - ing, seeking thereby to escape the tyranny and oppressions of the Congress, and its, upstart dependents.
"In this neighborhood I visited Colonel Walker, a mem- ber of Congress, and found his home a hospitable house, but unpleasant, because the family chiefly conversed on politics, though with moderation. His father is a man of strong understanding, though considerably above eighty years of age. He freely declared his opinions of what America would be a hundred years hence, and said the people would reverence the resolution of their fathers, and impress the same feeling on their children, so that they would adopt the same measures to secure their freedom, which had been used by their brave ancestors."
As can be seen by every intelligent reader, some of the information Anbury received from others was erroneous, or
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misunderstood, many of his observations were no doubt hastily formed, and all related to a country, and people, suf- fering under the hardships of war, and were tinctured by the prejudices and mortification of a vanquished enemy. Still his account is full of interest to those now living, inasmuch as it exhibits the views of a young man of cleverness and education, and especially of one wbo spent nearly two years of that memorable era on the soil of the county, and among the men who were then the conductors of its affairs. Copies of his Travels, as his book was called, are now rarely to be found.
Not long before the removal of the prisoners, an unhappy tragedy occurred at the Barracks. James Garland, Jr., an officer of the guards, was killed by Lawrence Mansfield while on duty as a sentinel. According to all the traditions connected with the case, it was a justifiable homicide. It was owing to a refusal to halt and give the countersign. The motive of Garland is differently explained. One ac- count represents him as designing to test the competence and fidelity of the guard. Another version has it, that he was indulging a spirit of frolic. With a number of compan - ions he had been invited to an entertainment in the neighbor- hood. As they mounted their horses, he announced that he would have a little fun with the sentry. He preceded the others, and approaching the station was hailed. He con- tinued to ride on heedless of the warning. The sentinel raised his gun, and intended, as he said afterwards, to fire above the offender; but just as the gun was discharged, Garland's horse reared, and the ball struck the rider's head with fatal effect. His remains were buried on his farm some miles west of Batesville, and but a few years ago his grave was pointed out near the cabin of a negro, who in the changes of the times had become the owner of the place. The will of the unfortunate man is on record, and from the serious spirit with which it is pervaded, one would judge that the first account more probably indicates the reason of his conduct.
The Tarleton Raid upon Charlottesville took place in June,
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1781. With two hundred and fifty horse, the British com - mander was passing Louisa C. H. at a rapid rate, when they were seen by John Jouett, who at the time was a temporary sojourner at the place. Suspecting their object, lie leaped ou his horse, and being familiar with the roads he took the shortest cuts, and soon left the enemy behind. He obtained a considerable advantage in addition by the detention Tarle- ton underwent at Castle Hill, where he stopped for breakfast, and for the capture of several members of the Legislature who were visiting Dr. Walker. Meeting an acquaintance near Milton, he despatched him to Monticello to warn Mr. Jeffer - son, who was then Governor of the State, while he pushed on to give the alarm at Charlottesville. By this means the Legislature which had just convened at that place, was notified in time to adjourn, and make a precipitate retreat to Staunton. After a short interval Tarleton and his troop entered the town. Though disappointed in their main object, they remained a part of two days, and it is said destroyed a thousand firelocks, four hundred barrels of powder, together with a considerable quantity of clothing and tobacco. The most important as well as most useless waste they committed, was the destruction of the public records already mentioned -a great contrast to the orders given the officer detailed to Monticello, to allow nothing on the premises to be injured. It is stated that Captain John Martin, a son-in-law of old David Lewis, was stationed in the town with two hundred men. Had they been seasonably apprised of the real state of the case, they might have lain in ambush in the gorge below Monticello, and sent the enemy ou their return more quickly than they came. But the suddenness of the alarm, the uncer- tainty respecting the numbers approaching, and the wide- spread terror of Tarleton's name, probably led Captain Martin to think that the most prudent course was to withdraw from the scene.
While at Charlottesville, Tarleton made his headquarters at the Farm, the residence of Nicholas Lewis. The story is told, that in living on the enemy, the British soldiers speedily made way with a fine flock of ducks belonging to Mrs. Lewis,
world
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at the same time for some reason laying no hands on its veteran leader. When after Tarleton's departure she was informed of her loss, she promptly ordered a servant to take the forlorn drake, and riding after the Colonel to present it to him with her compliments. Appreciating the courteous irony of the act, the Colonel bade the servant present his mistress in return his profoundest thanks. It is also related, that Mrs. Lewis was not as bitter in her feelings towards the invaders of her country as the other members of her family, and that the arm chair in which Tarleton sat while an inmate of her house was ever after cherished as an object of special veneration.
As the buildings of Charlottesville were not numerous at that period, it is a question of some interest where the Legis- lature held its sessions. It is rather singular that no authen- tic tradition in regard to it has been handed down. It has been claimed, that they convened in the tavern which stood on the corner of Market and Fifth Streets, where the City Hall now stands. The same claim has been made respecting the old Swan Tavern. The house, which is situated in the rear of the late Thomas Wood's, and which is said to have been removed from the public square in front of the court house as a cottage of the Eagle Tavern, has also been pointed out as the building ; but it is not likely that the Eagle Tavern was built as early as the Revolutionary War. The strong probability is that the courthouse was the place of their meeting. It may have been this circumstance that brought Tarleton's vengeance on its contents ; and for nearly fifty years subsequent to that date, it afforded accommodation to almost all the public assemblies of the town, both civil and ecclesi- astical.
The anecdote is recounted by the historians of Augusta County in regard to Patrick Henry flying with breathless haste, when a rumor of Tarleton's approach created a panic in Staunton. The same story is told, with the scene laid in Albemarle, and a sturdy Scotch Irish matron of the Blue Ridge section as the great man's devoted admirer. The ora- tor with two companions in their flight to Staunton, alighted
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