USA > Virginia > Historical collections of Virginia : containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c. relating to its history and antiquities ; together with geographical and statistical descriptions ; to which is appended, an historical and descriptive sketch of the District of Columbia. > Part 34
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* Patrick Henry, when governor, resided at Williamsburg, Richmond; at Salisbury
221
CHARLOTTE COUNTY.
It is beautifully situated on an elevated ridge, the dividing line of Campbell and Chop- fotte, within a quarter of a tale of the janetion of Felling River with the Staunton. From it the valley of the Stranton stretebas southward about three miles, varying from a quarter to nearly a mile it width, and of to oval like form 'Through most of the med. ows, waving in their golden luxuriance, slowly winds the river, overhung by mossy foli- age, while on all sides gently sloping hills, rich in verdure, enclose the whole, and im- part to it aa air of seclusion and repose. From the brow of the hill, west of the house, is a scene of an entirely different charac er ; the Bine Ridge, with the lofty Peaks of Otter, appear in the horizon at a distance of nearly sixty miles. At the foot of the garden. au- der a dense cluster of locust and other trees, enclosed by a wooden paling, are the graves of Patrick Henry and his wife, overrun with myrtle, and without any monuments over them.
Under the trees seen on the left of the picture, in full view of the beautiful valley bee neath, the orator was accustomed in pleasant weather to sit mornings and evenings, wit's his chair leaning against one of their trunks, and a can of cool spring-water by his side, from which he took frequent draughts. Occasionally, he walked to and fro in the yard from one clamp of trees to the other, buried in revery, at which times he was never in- terrupted. Among the relics in the house is the arm-chair in which he died, and a knife given to him when a boy by his uncle, Patrick Henry, which he carried through life, and had in his pocket at the moment of his death. In the parlor hangs his por- trait, a masterly production, by Sully, representing him pleading in the British debt cause. The dress is black, cravat white, and a red velvet mantle is thrown over the shoulders .* He appears three-quarters face, leaning partly back, with his spectacles thrown over his forehead ; and the expression is one of deep solemnity and impressive. 2083.
Under the description of Hanover county, thereader will find a succinct memoir of Heury : and in that of New London, Campbell county, and of the city of Richmond, are views of buildings memorible as the scenes of some of his celebrated oratorical et- forts. We now give some reminiscences, collected by us from a reliable source while in this section of the state. They are mainly detached facts, without connection, and must necessarily be given in that manner.
When fourteen years of age, Mr. Henry went with his mother in a carriage to the Fork church in Hanover, to hear preach the celebrated Samuel Davies, afterwards pres- ident of Princeton college. His eloquence made a deep impression on his youthful mind, and he always remarked. he was the greatest orator he ever heard. When a mem- ber of the Continental Congress, he said the first men in that body were Washington, Richard Henry Lee, and Roger Sherman ; and later in life, Roger Sherman and Georgo Mason, the greatest statesmen he ever knew. When governor, he had printed and cir. culated in Richmond, at his own expense, Soame Jenyns' View of Christianity, and But- ler's Analogy of Natural and Revealed Religion. Sherlock's sermons, he affirmed, was the work which removed all his doubts of the truth of Christianity ; a copy of which, until a short time since, was in the possession of his children, filled with marginal notes. He read it every Sunday evening to his family, after which they all joined in sacred mu- sie, while he accompanied them on the violin He never quoted poe ry. His quota- tions were from the Bible, and his illustrations from the Bible, ancient and modern his- tory. He was opposed to the adoption of the Federal constitution, because he thought it gave too much power to the general government ; and in conversation with the father of a late venerable senator from Prince Edward, ho remarked with emphasis : " The President of the United States will always come in at the head of a party. He will be supported in all his acts by a party. You do not now think much of the patronage of the President ; but the day is coming when it will be tremendous, and from this power the country may sooner or later fall. '
In the British debt cause, of which Wirt gives a full account, Mr. Henry made great preparation. He shot himself up in his office for three days, during which he did not see his family ; his food was handed by a servant through the office-door. The Countess of Huntington, then in this country, was among the auditors, and remarked, after heare ing the arguineuts of the several speakers,t " that if every one of them had spoken io
Chesterfield county, and at Leatherwood, Henry co. Afterwards, he dwelt on the Ar- pomattox, in Prince Edward ; at Long Island, Campbell co., and removed to Red IND in 1735, four years previous to his death.
* Ilis usual dress while in the legislature.
t They were, on the part of plaintiff, Messrs. Ronald, Baker, Wickham, and Starke : and on that of the defendant, Messrs. Henry, Marshall, Innis, and Alex. Campbell, s
222
CHARLOTTE COUNTY.
Westminster fall, they would have been honored with a peerage." Mr. Henry bad a diamond ring on his finger, and, while he was speaking, the Countess exclaimed to the Judge, Iredell-who had never before heard him-" The diamond is blazing !" " Gra- cious God !" replied he, " he is an orator indeed." In this cause he injured bis voice so that it never recovered its original power.
The following anecdote was related by President Madison, at the conclusion of the Jate war, to a party of gentlemen assembled at his residence in Washington. In the revolutionary war, certificates were given by the legislature to the Virginia line on continental establishment, stating the amount due to them, which was to be paid at a future time. The necessities of the soldiers, in many instances, compelled them to part with the certificates to speculators for a trivial sum. Madison brought a bill before the legislature to put a stop to it. He had previously asked Mr. Henry if he was willing to support it. The reply was "yes ;" but having no further communication with him on the subject, Mr. Madison feared he had forgotten the circumstance. After the bill was read, he turned to where Mr. Henry sat, with an anxious eye, upon which the latter immediately arose and addressed the house. Mr. Madison said that upon that occasion he was particularly eloquent. His voice reminded him of a trumpeter on the field of battle, calling the troops to a charge. He looked alternately to the house and the audi. ence, and saw they were with the orator ; and, at the conclusion, one of the chief specu- lators in tickets, then in the galleries, exclaimed in an audible voice -- " That bill ought to pass !" -- it did pass, and unanimously.
We conclude this article by the subjoined extract from " the Mountaineer," a series of Essays, originally published in 1813 in the "Republican Farmer, at Staunton, and written by Conrad Speece, D.D., pastor of the Augusta church :
Many years ago, I was at the wid, in one of our district court:, of a man charged with murder. The case was briefly this: the prisoner had gone, in execution of his office as a constable, to arrest a slave who had been guilty of some mi-conduct, and bring him to justice. Expecting opposition in the busi- ness, the constable took several men with him, some of them armed, They found the slave on the plantation of his urister. within view of the house, and proceeded to seize and bind him. His mistress, seeing the arrest, came down and remonstrited vehemently against it. Finding her efforts unavailing, she went off to a barn where her husband wis, who was presently perceived running briskly to the house. It was known be always kept a loaded rifle over his door. The constable now desired his com- pany to remain where they were, taking erre to keep the shive in custody. while he himself would go to the house to prevent mischief. He accordingly ran towards the house. When he arrived within a short distance of it, the master appeared coming out of the door with his rifle in his hand. Some witnesses said that as he came to the door be drew the cock of the piece, and was seen in the net of raising it to the position of firing. But upon these points, there was not an entire agreement in the evidence. The constable, standing near a small building in the yord, at this instant fired, and the fire had a fatal effect. No previous malice was proved against him ; and his plea upon the trial was, that he had taken the life of his assailant in necesary self-defence.
A great miss of testimony wis delivered, This was commented upon with considerable ability by the lawyer for the commonwealth, and by another lawyer engaged by the friends of the deceased for the prosecution. The prisoner was also defended, in elaborate speeches, by two respectable advocates. These proceedings brought the day to a close. The general whisper through a crowded house was, that the man was guilty and could not be saved.
About dusk, candles were brought, and Henry arose. His manner was exactly that which the British Spy describes with so much flicity ; plain, simple, and entirely unassuming. "Gentlemen of the jury." said he. "I dare say we are all very much fatigued with this tedious trial. The prisoner at the bar has been well defended already ; but it is my duty to offer you some further observations in behalf of this unfortunate mon. I khai aim at brevity. But should I take up more of your time than you expect, I hope you will hear me with patience, when you consider that BLOOD is concerned."
I cannot admit the possibility that any one who never heard Henry speak should be made fully to con- ccive the force of impression which he gave to these few words, " blood is concerned." I had been on my feet through the day. pushed about in the crowd, and was excessively weary. I was strongly of opinion, too. notwithstanding all the previous defensive pleading;, that the prisoner was guilty of mor- der; and I felt anxious to know how the matter would terminate. Yet when Henry had uttered these words, my feelings underwent an instantaneous change; I found every thing within me answering at once, yes, since blood is concerned, in the name of all that is righteous, go on ; we will hear you with patience until the rising of to-morrow's son. This bowing of the soul mu-t have been universal ; for the profoundest silence reigned, as if our very breath had been suspended. The spell of the magician was upon us, and we stood like stitnes around him. Under the touch of his genius, every particular of the story assumed a new aspect, and his cause bec ime continn illy more bright and promising. At length he arrived at the fatol act it-elf. "Yon have been told, gentlemen, that the prisoner was bound by every obligation to avoid the supposed necessity of fring, by leaping behind a huge near which he stood at that moment. Had he been attacked with a club, er with stones, the argument would have been un- answerable, and I should feel myself compelled to give up the defence in despair. But surely I need not sell you, gentlemen, how wide is the difference between sticks or stones, and double-triggered loaded riffes cocked at your breast." The effect of this terrific image, exhibited in this great orator's peerless man- Bier, cannot be described. I dare not attempt to delineate the paroxys of emotion which it excited in every heart. The result of the whole was, that the prisoner was acquitted ; with the perfect approba-
cousin of the poet. This case " was discussed with so much learning, argument, and eloquence, as to have placed the har of Virginia, in the estimation of the federal judges {if the reports of the day may be secredited,) above all others in the United States "
223
CHARLOTTE COUNTY.
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tion, I believe of the numerous assembly who attended the trial. What was it that gave ouch transcen- dent force to the eloquence of Henry ? His reasoning powers were good : but they have been equalled, and more than equilted, by those of many other men. His inngination was exceedingly quick, and commanded all the stores of nature as materials for illustrating his subject. His voice and delivery were inexpressilly happy. But his pust irresistible chann was the vivid feeling of his cause with which he spoke. Such feeling infallibly communicates itself to the breast of the hearer.
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Roanoke, the seat of John Randolph.
The residence of the late John Randolph is near the Staunton, in the southern part of the county, several miles above its junction with the Dan, and about thirteen below Charlotte court-house.
The name, Roanoke, is derived from a small creek running through the plantation. The buildings are in a dense forest, which has scarce ever echoed to the woodman's axe. On leaving the main road, the traveller threads his way through the woods by a narrow path, for about half a mile, when, a few rods distant, the dwellings and out- houses suddenly appear through the foliage, without any cultivated land or clearing in view, sceming, from the wild seclusion and primitive aspect of the spot, to have been the abode of a recluse, rather than of a statesman, whose fame extended beyond the limits of his native land.
The two buildings in front were occupied by Mr. Randolph, and those in the rear by his domestics. That oo the right is clapboarded, and is much the most commodious : it was the one in which he dwelt in summer. On the ground-floor are two rooms, one containing his books, the other is the drawing-room, adorned with convenient and neat furniture. The library is large, well selected, and contains many rare works. Most of the books bear evidence of careful perusal, and the striking passages are marked with the pencil. Among the many pictures and portraits in these rooms is one of Pocahon- tas. The arms are bare to the elbow, displaying an arm and a hand of exquisite beauty. The hair and eye are a raven black,-the latter remarkably expressive, and the whole countenance surpassing lovely, and beaming with intelligence and benignity.
The dwelling on the left was his winter residence, and the one in which he usually partook of his ineals. It is a log structure, which is entered through a shed, paved with water-worn pebbles and supported by unhewn posts. Notwithstanding its extreme sim- plicity, it is tilly furnished. These rooms are also hang with portraits. One of them is a fine drawing of his servant Jupiter-or, as be is commonly called, Juba -- dressed as a sportsman. with a double barrelled gan on his shoulder. Over the fireplace in the bedroom is a portrait of Mr. Randolph, when twelve years of age. It is a fine oil painting, from the easel of the celebrated Gilbert Steart. In the fresh rosy complexion. and round chubby face of this beautiful little boy, it would be difficult to the ants r. - semblance to the thin, cadaverons lineaments of the original in his latter years. Joha end Juba, the favorite servants of Randolph, yet reside in the small huts shown in the background.
224 :
CHARLOTTE COUNTY.
The first is a man of strong mind, and the general expression, and the high. well. developed forehead, denote an intellect of greater than an ordinary cast ; by: the latter -the affectionate and faithful Juba -- was more appreciated for the qualities of his heart. As we mounted our horses, on leaving Roanoke, at the close of a fine summer's day in 1843, we said to him : " Juba, you lost a fine master when Mr. Randolph died." " Ah !?? replied he, " he was more than a father to me."
About 100 yards to the right of where the foregoing view was taken, is the grave of Randolph. It is in the midst of the forest, with no marble memorial ; but two tall pines hang their rude limbs over the spot, and the wind mournfully sighs through their branches.
A
Fac-simile of the signature of John Randolph of Roanok
JOHN RANDOLPH OF ROANOKE* was born June 2d. 1773, at Cawson's, Prince George county, the family seat of his mother. Ile was descended in the seventh generation from Pocahontas, the Indian princess. This lady died at Gravesend, England, in 1617, at. the age of twenty-three. Thomas Rolf, her son, became a citizen of Virginia, and left ut his death a daughter, who married Col. Robert Bolling, by whom she had one son and five daughters." They married respectively, Col. John Fleming, Dr. Wm. Gay, Mr. Thomas Eldridge, Mr. James Murray, and Col. Richard Randviph. John Randolph of Roanoke, was the son of John Randolph, a wealthy country gentleman, who died at Matoax, his residence on the Appomattox, near Petersburg, where he lies burried. John Randolph of Roanoke's mother was Frances Bland, daughter of Col. Theodorick Bland, jun., who was a brother of Richard Bland, a member of the continental congress. Surviving her first husband, she married secondly, St. George Tucker, the eminent jurist. John Randolph's half-brothers, now surviving, are Beverley T. Tucker, professor of law at William and Mary, and Heury St. George Tucker, professor of law at the University of Va.
The mother of John Randolph was an exemplary and pious member of the Episcopal denomination, and a lady of sprightliness and talent. She brought up her son strictly, " teaching him,"" as he often remarked, " the Lord's prayer and the ten commandments." John Randolph passed a short time at three colleges : Princeton, Columbia, and William and Mary ; but he used to say, that he acquired all his knowledge from his library at Roanoke, and by intercourse with the world.
In the spring of 1799, Mr. Randolph presented himself to the clectors of Charlotte as a candidate for Congress, in competition with Me. Clement Carrington, a federalist, and Mr. Powhatan Bolling, a democrat. On the same occasion he encountered Patrick Henry, then a candidate for the state senate, and opposed to those measures Mr. Ran- dolph advocated. They met at the court-house, and supported a long and animated discussion. Mr. Henry was then in his 67th year ; the measure of his fame was full ; the late proceedings of the Virginia assembly, in relation to the alien and sedition laws, had filled hun with alarm -- " had planted his pillow with thorns, and he had quitted his retirement to make one more, his last, effort for his country." Enfeebled by age and ill. health, with a linen cap upon his head, he mounted the hustings, and commenced with difficulty ; but as he proceeded, his eye lighted up with its wonted fire, his voice assumed its wonted majesty ; gradually accumulating strength and animation, his eloquence seemed like an ard'enche threatening to overwhelin Ins adversary. Many present con- sidered it his best effort. Mr. Moulton remarked, that many of its passages were indeli. bly impressed upon his memory. In the course of the speech, Mr. Henry said, " The alien and sedition laws were only the fruits of that constitution, the adoption of which he opposed. .... If we are wrong, let us all go wrong together," at the same time clasp- ing his hands and waving his body to the right and left. His auditory unconsciously watced with him. , As he Gnished he literally descended into the arms of the obstreper. ous throng, and was borne about in triumph, when Dr. John IL. Rice exclaimed, "the aun has set in all his glory."
* Ilugh A. Garland, Esq., of Petersburg, is preparing a biography of John Randolph. from whom will doubtless be given an authentic and full memoir.
,
CHARLOTTE COUNTY.
As Mr. Henry left the stand, Mr. Randolph, with undaunted courage, arose in his place. He was then about 26 years of age-a mere boy from college, who had, probably, never yet addressed a political assembly -- of a youthful and unprepossessing appearance. The audience, considering it preseroptions for him to speak after Mr. Linary, partial's dispersed, and an Irishman present exclaimed, " Tut ! tut ! it won't do, it's nothing but the bating of an old tin pin after hearing a fine church organ." But if " the sun of the other had set in all his glory." his was about to rise with, perhaps, an equal brilliancy. Ile commenced : " his singular person and peculiar aspect ; his novel, shrill, vibratory intonations ; his solemn, slow-marching, and swelling periods : his caustic crimination of the prevailing political party : his cutting satire ; the tout ensemble of his public début, soon calmed the tumultuous crowd, and inclined all to listen to the strange orator, while he replied at length to the senthneuts of their old favorite. When he had concluded, loud huzzas rang through the welkin.
" 'This was a new event to Mr. Henry. He had not been accustomed to a rival, and little expected one in a beardless boy : for such was the aspect of the champion who now appeared to contend for the palm which he was wont to appropriate to himself. He returned to the stage and commenced a second address, in which he scored above his usual vehemence and majesty. Such is usually the fruit of emulation and rivalship. He frequently adverted to his youthful competitor with parental tenderness ; compliment- ed his rare talents with the liberality of profusion ; and, while regretting what he depre- cated as the political errors of youthful zeal, actually wrought himself and audience into an enthusiasm of sympathy and benevolence that issued in an ocean of tears. The gesture, intonatious, and pathos of Mr. Henry, operated like an epidemic on the trans- ported assembly. The contagion was universal. An hysterical phrensy pervaded the audience to such a degree, that they were at the same moment literally weeping and langhing. At this juncture the speaker descended from the stage. Shouts of applause rent the air, and were echoed from the skies. The whole spectacle as it really was, would not only mock every attempt at description, but would almost challenge the im- agination of any one who had not witnessed it. With a recollection of the event, Mr Randolph, eighteen years afterwards, in his place in the House of Representatives of the U. S, speaking of the general-ticket law, which was carried by the democratic party by a majority of tive votes only in the popular branch of the Virgini & Assembly, said : e Had Patrick Henry fived, and takes his seat in the Assembly, that law would never have passed. la that case the electoral vote of Virginia woul I have been divided, and Mr. Jefferson lost his election ! Five votes! Mr. Chairman ! Patrick Henry was good for five times five votes," **
In this contest Afr. Henry was elected to the Senate of Virginia, bat did not live to take his seat ; and Mr. Randolph was returned to Congress, in which body he was at different intervals for more than twenty-four years, including the time he served in the United States Senate. Well did the people of Charlotte obey the last lajunction of Patrick Henry in the specch above described, when he said, " He is a young man of promise ; cherish him, he will make an invaluable man."
Such was Mr. Ran dolph's youthful appearance, that when he made his first appearance at the clerk's table of the House of Representatives to qualify, thit gentleman could not refrain from inquiring his age ; "Ask my constituents, sir," was the reply. Mr. Ran- dolph soon became one of the leaders of the republican party in Congress, and a de- cided politician of the Jeffersonian school. He later was distinguished by his opposition to the embargo and non-intercourse aets, and the gun-boat system of Mr. Jefferson.
In Madison's administration, Mr. Randolph opposed the declaration of war with Great Britain ; but when fears were entertained of the invasion of Virginia, at the time of the burning of Washington, he offered himself to the governor for any post he chose to as- sign him. He was given an office in the corps of topographical engineers, which he filled as long as the corps remained in service. In the administration of Mr. Monroe. be op- posed with ability the Greek resolutions, aid the internal improvement system of the general government. During the administration of J. Q. Adams. he was elected to the U. S. Senate, where he again arrayed himself in opposition to the friends of the presi. dent. It was then that he used those violent remarks which occasioned the duel be- tween himself and Mr. Clay.
The account of this dnel, which we extract, has been given to the public in a letter of Gen. James Hamilton, who accompanied Mr. Randolph to the field on this occasion, in conjunction with Co !. Tuttaal, then a member of Congress from Georgia :
* From the Memoir of Patrick Henry, by B. H. Cummins, A. M .-- in the 2d Amer- Ican edition of the New Edinburgh Encyclopedia, published in 1817
29
926
CHARLOTTE COUNTY.
'The night before the duel, Mr. Randolph sent for me in the evening. I found him calm, but ia & singn. larly alna and confiding woood. He told me that be had something on his mind to tell me. He they remark- ed, " Hamilton, I have determined to receive, without returning, Clay's fire ; nothing shall induce me to harm a hair of his head ; I will not make his wife a widow, or his children orphans, Their tears woald be shed over his grave ; but when the sed of Virginia rests on my bosom, there is not, in this wade world. one individual to pay this tribute upon mine." His eyes filled, and resting his head upon his hand, he remained some moments silent. I replied, " My dear friend," (for ours was a sort of posthumous friend- ship, bequeathed by our mothers.) " I deeply regret that you have mentioned this subject to me, for you call upon me to go to the field and to see you shot down, or to assume the responsibility, in regard to your own life, in sustaining your determination to throw it away. But on this subject a man's own con- science and his own bosom are his best monitors. I will not advise ; but under the enormous and unpro- voked personal insult you have offered Mr. Clay, I cannot dissuade. I feel bound, however, to commou- nicate to Col. Tattnal your decision." He begged me not to do so, and said, "he was very much afraid that Tafinal would take the stods and refuse to go out with him." I however sought Col. Tatinal, and we repaired, about midnight, to Mr. Randolph's lodgings, whom we found reading Milton's great Poein. For some moments he did not permit us to say one word in relation to the approaching duei : aad he at once commenced one of those delightful criticisms on a prissage from this poet, in which he was wont so enthusiastically to indulge. After a pause, Col. Tattnal remarked, " Mr. Randolph, I am told you have determined not to return Mr. Clay's fire ; I must say to you, my dear sir. if I am only to go out to see you shot down, you must find some other friend." Mr. Randolph remarked that it was his determination. After much conversation on the subject, I induced Col. Tattnal to allow Mr. Randolph to take his own course, as his withdrawal, as one of his friends, might lead to very injurious misconstructions, At last Mr. Randolph, smiling, said, " Well, Tattnil, I promise you one thing ; if I see the devil in Clay's eye, and that with mralice prepeuse he means to take my life, I may change my mind."-A remark I knew he merely mide to propitiate the anxiety of his friend.
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