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 38
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In the war of The revolution, Petersbarg was twice visited by the enemy. On the 22d of April, 1761, the British, under Gen. Phillips, left Williamsburg, salled up the James, and on the 24th landed at City Point. " The next day," says Girardin's Hist. of Va., " they rausched up to Petersburg, where Baron Steuben received them with a body of militia, somewhat under 1000 men. Although the enemy were 2,300 strong, Steuben opposed their progress. For two hours, he skilfully and bravely disputed the ground with them ; the assailants were twice broken, and precipitately ran back until supported by fresh troops. During the interval of time just stated, they gained but a mile, and that by inches. The inferiority of the Virginians in numbers obliged them to withdraw about 12 miles up the Appomattox, till more militia should be assembled. They retired in good order over a bridge, which was taken up as soon as the militia passed, so as to secure their retreat. The whole loss of the Virginians, in killed, wounded, and taken, amounted to about 60. That sustained by the enemy, was con- jectured to be more considerable."
From an article entitled " Reminiscences of the British at Bol-
* Lient .- Col Simcoe, in his " Journal of the operations of the Queen's Rangers," states the loss of the British at one man killed and 10 wounded, of the light infantry.
*
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DINIVIDDIE COUNTY.
lingbrook,"* published in the Southern Literary Messenger of January, 1810, we extract some interesting facts :
There is, perhaps, no house in Virginia connected with a greater number of military revolutionary recollections, than Bollingbrook, in the town of Petersburg.
On the approach of the enemy, a large portion of the people of the town made their escape. General Phillips took up his residence at Bollingbrook. He and the officers of his family are said to have treated Mrs. Bolling with a good deal of courtesy, and (some add) addressed her always as Lady Bolling. Arnold is recollected as a handsome man, that limped in his gait.i He was fond of caressing the children of the family, and dan- dled them on his knee.
Both the houses on Bollingbrook hill were occupied by British officers.# Mrs. Bolling was allowed the use of a room in the rear of the east building. Two sentinels were placed at each door of the house with crossed bayonets. The British soldiery repeatedly set on fire the feuces about Bollingbrook, and frequently " all around was in a light blaze."§ Upon these occasions, Mrs. Bolling was obliged to send her servams to arrest the flames, and she was thus kept in a state of continual apprehension and alarm. . On the next day after his arrival, (fo wit, the 26th of April,) General Phillips (accord- ing to Arnold's letter to Sir Harry Clinton) burnt 4000 hhds. of tobacco. The ware- houses which belonged to Mrs. Bolling, at her solicitation, were spared on condition that the inhabitants should remove the tobacco from them, which was accordingly done, by extraordinary exertions, during the night of the 25th. This conflagration must have presented a striking and picturesque spectacle. The scarlet-dressed soldiers moving about amidst the flames, scattering the fire-brands, and officiating in the work of de. struction-the burning of the shipping on the river, reflecting its lurid glare on Poca- hontas and Blandford-heightened the effect of the scene.
:
Arnold, on dit, cautioned Mrs. Bolling to be careful in her intercourse with General Phillips, not to irritate him, as he was a man of an ungovernable temper. This lady, during that period of terror, suffered an intense solicitude and anxiety, which discovered itself in her unconsciously darning the needles, with which she was knitting, into the bed by which she sat. Her conduct during this trying erisis, displayed a heroism which doubtless won the respect of the British officers ; who are in general " men of honor 'and cavaliers."
After committing devastations at Osborne's, Manchester, Warwick, &c., the enemy set sail, and proceeded down James River, until, receiving (near Hog Island) counter- manding orders, they returned up the river. On the 7th of May, they landed in a gale of wind at Brandon ; and on the 9th, marched 30 miles, and entered Petersburg late in the night. They came so unexpectedly as to surprise ten American officers, who were there for the purpose of collecting boats to convey the army of the Marquis de Lafayette across the James River.
General Phillips entered Petersburg this second time, sick of a bilious fever ;- be ar- rived on the 9th of May, and breathed his last on the 13th, at Bollingbrook. He lay sick in the west room front of the cast building. During the illness of General Phillips, the town was cannonaded by Lafayette from Archer's hill, il and it is commonly re- 'ported that he died while the cannonade was going on. It seems, however, more pro- bable, that this cannonade occurred on the 10th, when Lafayette (according to Ar- ·nold's letter) " appeared with a strong escort on the opposite side of the river, f and having stayed some time to reconnaitre, returned to Osborne's." Cannon-balls fired upon that occasion, were preserved in the town some years ago, and may be yet extant. The Americans being aware that Bollingbrook was head-quarters, directed their shot par-
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* These reminiscences were written by Chas. Campbell, Esq., of Petersburg, a gen- tleman better informed upon the history of eastern Virginia than any one we have met · in the course of our investigations, and to whom we are indebted for much valuable in- formation.
. + From a wound received at Saratoga, where Phillipa was made captive with Bur- goyne's army.
# There was then a tavern somewhere near the corner of Old and Market streets, called the " Golden Ball," at which a number of the British quartored.
. § Chastellux says, speaking of the enclosure, " It was formerly surrounded by rails and she raised a number of fine horses there, but the English burnt the fences, and care ried away a great number of the horses."
h On the north side of the river opposite the town.
" The Appomattox.
PETERSBURG.
The above view was taken on an eminence about half a mile north of the central part of the town. In the center of the view is seen the depot of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad ; on the right, a glimpse of the Appomattox river, and beyond, the principal part of Petersburg.
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DINWIDDIE COUNTY.
ficalarly at that house,> a measure which, considering the sickness of General Phillips, would hardly have been jestifiable, but for the horrid series of derastations in which he had just been engaged, in company with that odions traitor Arnold This officer, in the early part of the cannonade, was walking across the yard, until a ball having passed very near him, he hastened into the house, and directed all the inmates to go down into the cellar for shelter.t General Phillips was removed down there. Mrs. Bolling also took refuge there, with one or two ladies who were with her. Aubareyt (ff memory serves, mentions that dieing the thing of the American artillery. Phillips, being then at the point of death, exclaimed --- " Wont they let me die in peace ?"'
Gen. Phillips died on the 13th of May, and was buried in the grave-yard adjoining Blandford church. There reposes one, of whom Mr. Jefferson said-" he is the proud. est man, of the proudest nation on earth."
On the 20th of May, 1781, just one week after the death of Phillips, Lord Cornwallis entered Petersburg on his route from Wilmington, North Carolina. He remained in" Petersburg only three or four days, and, as is understood, made his head-quarters at Bol. lingbrook. General O'Hara, it appears, was quartered at what is commonly styled the " Long Oruary," -- about a mile to the west of Petersburg, on the main road. Mrs. Bolling found it necessary to visit this officer at that place, for the purpose of recovering certain negroes and herses, which had been taken from her, and were then there. The general consented to restore the slaves, but with respect to the horses proved quite in. exorable. He is described as a harsh, uncouth person. He was wounded at the battle of Guilford, and surrendered Lord Cornwallis' sword at Yorktown.
At the siege of Toulon, in. a sortie made by the youthful Napoleon, a grenadier in the darkness of the night drew a wounded prisoner down into a ditch ; that prisoner was Major-General O'Hara, of " Long Ornary" memory, commander-in-chief of the british forces.
On the 21st of October, 1812, 103 young men from this place and vicinity embarked in the service of their country, and conse- crated their valor at the battle of Fort Meigs, on the 5th of May, 1813. They were extensively known as the " Petersburg Volun- teers." They remained in service one year, and on their discharge received the following highly commendatory testimonial of their gallant and soldier-like conduct.
GENERAL ORDERS.
Icad-Quarters, Detroit, 17th October, 1813.
The term of service for which the Petersburg Volunteers were engaged having ex- pired, they are permitted to commence their march to Virginia, as soon as they can be transported to the south side of the lake.
Ix granting a discharge to this patriotic and gallant corps, the General feels at a loss for words adequate to convey his sense of their exalted merits ; almost exclusively com- posed of individuals who had been nursed in the lap of ease, they have, for twelve months, borne the hardships and privations of military life in the midst of an inhospita- ble wilderness, with a cheerfulness and alacrity which has never been surpassed. Their conduct in the field has been excelled by no other corps ; and while in camp, they have set an example of subordination and respect for military authority to the whole army. The General requests Capt. M'RAE, his subalterns, non-commissioned officers, and privates, to accept his warmest thanks, and bids them an affectionate farewell.
By command, ROBERT BUTLER, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General Herewith is a list of this corps : the italicised letters attached to their names signify
* Two balls struck the house, one of which being spent, lodged in the front wall of the house ; the other passed through the house, and killed a negro woman (old Molly! who was standing by the kitchen door. in the act of reviling the American troops.
+ On the appmach of the enemy, Old Tom, a house servant, was provident enough to bury certain silver plate, money. &c., in the cellar; there is also a vague rumor of un carthen ware tea-pot, full of gold. While Arnold was down in the celiar, he was nos aware that he was in such desirable company. There is still in preservation in the town, à set of China-ware, which was interred at this time
! In his travels in the interior of North America,
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DINWIDDIE COUNTY.
as follows : k. killed at Fort Meigs ; w. wounded at Fort Meigs ; d. died ; p. promoted and p. a. promoted in the army.
Captain : Richard M'ae.
Lieutenants : : Willisin Tisdale, 1st.
Henry Gary, 2d. d.
Ensign : Shirley 'Tisdale, p.
Sergrants : Jamnos Stevens, d kobert B. Cook. p. Bainvel Stevens. w. Jobn Henderson, p. a.
Corporols : N'bn. B. Spotswood, p John Perry, d. Joseph Scott, 10. Thomas G. Scott, w,
Joseph C. Noble, G. T. Clough, k.
Musicians :--- Danie! Eshon, w .; James Jackson, w.
Privates :
Andrew Andrews, d. Richard Adams, John Bignall,
Samuel Cooper, w. James Curcion, d.
William R. Chives, 25.
Edward Branch, p.
George Craddock,
Richard H. Branch.
Lven Dunton,
Thos. B. Bigger, p. a.
Robert Blick, w.
George Burge, William Burton, Daniel Booker.
Grieve Drummond, wo. A. O. Eggleston. p. a. James Farrar, p. John Frank,
Richard Booker, p. 2. George Booker. k.
! Mimund Gec, d. James Gary,
Joseph R. Bentley,
John W. Bentley,
Edmund Brown, w.
Thomas Clarke, Reuben Clempats.
Moses Clements,
Jas. G. Chalmers, p. Edward Cheniworth, d. James Cabiness,
Edward Il. Coghill,
George Grandy. George W. Grymes, Leroy Grives. Edmund M. Giles. p. a. William Harrison, Nathrudel Harrison, Jacob Humbert, John C. Hill,
Benjamin Pegram,
Thomas W. Perry, w.
John Potter, p. a. John Rawlings,
Win. P. Rawlings, d. Evans Rawlings, George Richards, Geo. P. Raybourne, d. John Shorc. k. John Shelton. Richard Sharp, John H. Smith, John Spratt, Robert Stevens, Edward Stith, w. Thomas Scott. w. John H. Saunders, Daniel Worsham, Charles Wynne, Nath. R. Wills, te. Thomas Week.m. Samuel Williams, k James Williams, John F. Wiley, David Williams.
A pleasant anecdote is related of the volunteers in a late num- ber of the Pioneer,* as having occurred at Point Pleasant, while they were passing through that place to the frontier. The author of the story was then on his way from western New York, with his family, bound for Cincinnati. After he had been there about a week, the volunteers arrived. The anecdote we give in his own words :
Being unable to pass the Ohio on account of the running of the ice, they encamped near the village, and remained about two weeks, during which time the writer had an opportunity of learning their character, which soon became of great service to him. Soon as the ice permitted, they struck their tents and began to cross the river, rejoicing in the prospect of sooa reaching the post of danger. Some five or six of these soldiers, impatient of delay, were about to take a skiff which belonged to the writer, who was . then young, inexperienced, and of such very fiery temperament as not to be very pas- sive when his rights were invaded, and therefore began rather abruptly, perhaps, to re- monstrate with them ; and on their persisting in taking the skiff, high words ensued, in which he called them a set of scoundrels. The words were scarcely uttered, when he was surrounded by half the company, all of whom seemed to feel that the indignity was offered to the whole company. As more and more still gathered around him, they said : ' We have a right to use any means in our power to get on where our country calls us. We bear the character of gentlemen at home : you have called us scoundrels; this you must retract, and make us an apology, or we will tear you in pieces.' Thinking 1 knew their character, I instantly resolved on the course to be pursued, as the only means of saving myself from the threatened vengeance of men exasperated to the highest pitch of excitement. Assuining an apparent courage, which I confess I did not feel as strongly as I strove to evince, Iruined slowly round upon my heels, looking them
* The American Pioneer is a monthly periodical, now published at Cincinnati, by John S. Williams. It is devoted to collecting and publishing incidents relative to the early settlement and successive improvement of the country. Its materiel is furnished by numerous correspondents, interested in historical researches. We take pleasure !! directing public attention to this excellent work.
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Win. B. Degraffenreidt, George P. Digges,
James Jeffers. William Lacey, d. . Herbert C. Lofton, w. Benjamin Lawson, Alfred Lorain,
William Lanier, d. William R. Leigh, 10, David Mann, Nich. Massenburg, k. Anthony Mullen, Benjamin Middleton, Roger Mallory, Joseph Mason, 20. Edwd. Mumford, p. a. Samuel Miles, d. James Pace. James Peterson, Richard Pool,
Frederick Gary,
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DINWIDDIE COUNTY.
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full in the face, with all the composure I could command, without uttering a word. By this time several of the citizens were standing on the outside of the crowd that surrounded me. The volunteers, not knowing I was a stranger there, thought I had turned round in search of succor from the citizens, and with a view of making my escape-said to me, ' You need not look for a place of escape ; if all the people of the county were your friends, they could not liberate you-nothing but an apology can save you.' The citt. zens were silent witnesses of the dilemma in which the Yankee, as they called me, was involved. I replied, ' I am not looking for a place of escape-I am looking on men who say they have volunteered to fight their country's battles -- who say they are gen.
The Blandford Church.
tlemen at home -- who doubtless left Petersburg, resolved, if they ever returned. to do so with laurels of victory round their brows. And now, I suppose, their first great victory is to be achieved before they leave the shores of their native state. by sivry or seventy of them tearing one man to pieces. Think, gentlemen, if indeed you are gentlemen, how your fame will be blazoned in the public prints-think of the immortality of such a vic- tory ! You can tear me in pieces ; and, like cannibals, eat me, when you have done. I am entirely in your power ; but there is one thing I cannot do. You are soldiers, so am I a soldier ; you ask terms of me no soldier can accept ; you cannot, with a threat over my head, extort an apology from me ; therefore, I have only to say. the greatest scoun. drel among you, strike the first blow ! I make no concession.' The result was more favorable than I had anticipated. I bad expected to have a contest with some one of them, for I believed the course I had taken would procure me friends enough from among themselves, to see me have, what is called ' fair play' in a fisticuff battle. But, I had effected more. I had made an appeal to the pride, the bravery, and the noble generosi- ty of Virginians -- too brave to triumph over an enemy in their power-too generous to permit it to be done by any of their number. A simultaneous exclamation was heard all around me, ' He is a soldier ; let him alone'-and in a moment they dispersed."
.Blandford is said to be older than Petersburg. It was formerly superior in architecture and fashion, and might properly have been called " the court end" of the town ; but her glory has departed. and her sister settlement, Petersburg, has absorbed her vitality. Its old church,
" Lone relic of the past ! old mouldering pile, Where twines the ivy round its ruins gray,"
is one of the most interesting and picturesque ruins in the country. Its form is similar to that of the letter T with a short column. lis
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248
ELIZABETH CITY COUNTY.
site is elevated, overlooking the adjacent town, the river, and a landscape of beauty.
Within the limits of Petersburg, " on the north bank of the Appomattox, within a few feet of the margin of the river, is a large, dark-gray stone, of a conical form, about five feet in height, and somewhat more in diameter. On the side which looks to the cost, three feet above the ground, there is an oval excavation about twelve inches across, and half as many in depth. The stone is solitary, and lifts itself con pievously above the level of the earth. It is called the BASIS OF POCAHONTAS, and except in very dry weather, is seldom without water."
JOHN BURK, a lawyer, was a native of Ireland, and settled in Petersburg, where he wrote and published, in 1804, three volumes on the history of Virginia, bringing it down to the commencement of the American revolution. While here, he wrote plays for an histrionic society in the town, and on the boards of its amateur theatre, acted parts in them. His work on the state he did not live to complete. At a public table Burk used some expressions derogatory to the French nation. A French gentleman accidentally present, named Coburg, a stranger in the country, offended by the remarks, challenged him. They fought at Fleet's Hill, on the opposite bank of the Appomattox, and Burk was killed. The 4th and remaining volume, published in 1816, was written by Skelton Jones and Louis Hue Girardin, the latter of whom was a Frenchman, and, it is stated, wrote under the supervision of Jefferson at Monticello, who, familiar with the era to which it related, imparted valuable information.
GEN. WINFIELD ScorT, the present commander-in-chief of the U. S. Army, was born near Petersburg, June 13th, 1785. As an officer and a soldier his name stands con- spicuous in the annals of our country.
ELIZABETH CITY.
ELIZABETH Cny was one of the eight original shires into which Virginia was divided in 1634. Its form is nearly a square of 18 miles on a side. The land is generally fertile; and that portion known as " the back river district," comprising about one-third of its area, is remarkably rich. There were in 1840, whites 1,954, slaves 1,708, free colored 44 ; total 3,706.
Hampton, the county-seat, is 96 miles se. of Richmond. It is on Hampton Roads, 18 miles from Norfolk, 24 from Yorktown, 36 from Williamsburg. Hampton is the residence of many of the pilots of James River. It contains 2 Methodist, 1 Baptist church, and one Episcopalian church. The Methodist society was estab- lished in 1289, and the Baptist in 1791. It has 18 stores and shops, and a population of about 1200.
Hampton is an old town, and one of historic interest. its site was visited hy Capt. John Smith in 1607, on his first exploratory voyage up the Potomac, previous to the settlement of Jamestown. Burk says, " While engaged in seeking a fit place for the first settlement, they met five of the natives, who invited them to their town. Kecoughtan or Kichotan, where Hampton now stands, Here they were feasted with cakes made of Indian corn, and 'regaled with tobacco and a dance.' In return, they presented the natives beads and other trinkets." Hampton was established a town by law in 1705, the same year with Norfolk. The locality was set- tled in 1610, from Jamestown .* The Episcopal church is the old.
" Jones' " Present State of Virginia."
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ELIZABETHI C.TY COUNTY.
est public building in the town, and is said to be the third oktest church in the state. The oldest inscription in the grave-yard at- tached to this venerable edifice, is that of Capt. Willis Wilson. who died Nov. 19th, 1701. Among the public men who Jie buried there is Dr. George Balfour. who died at Norfolk, in 1>30. He was a member of the medical staff in the U. S. Army; and " braved the perils of the west under the gallant Wayne, who, at a subsequent period, on Presque Isle, breathed his last in his arms. In 1298, on the organization of the Navy, he was appointed its senior surgeon, and performed the responsible duties of that office until 1804, when he retired to private practice in Norfolk." Major James M. Glassell, who died Nov. 3, 1838, and Lieut. James D. Burnham, who died March 6, 1828, both of whom were of the U. S. Army, are interred there. Tradition says, that anciently, the king's coat-of-arms was placed upon the steeple; but that in 1776, shortly after the Declaration of Independence, the steeple was rent lengthwise by lightning, and the insignia of royalty hurl- ed to the earth.
On the Pembroke farm, near Hampton, are four ancient monu- ments of black marble. Each is 6 feet long and 3 wide, and sur- mounted with a coat-of-arms. Annexed are the inscriptions :
Here lies ye body of John Nevill, Esq., Vice Admiral of His Majesty's fleet and com- mander-in-chiefe of ye squadron cruising in ye West Indies, who dyed on board ye Cambridge, ye 17 day of August, 1697, in the ninth yeare of the reign of King William ye third, aged 57 years.
In hopes of a blessed resurrection, here lies ye body of Thomas Curle, gent., who was born Nov. 24, 1641, in ye parish of Saint Michael, in Lewis, in ye county of Surry, in England, and dyed May 30, 1700.
When a few years are come then shall I go ye way whence I shall not return .- Job, 16 ch. 22 v.
Here lyeth ye body of ye Reverend Mr. Andrew Thompson, who was born at Stone- hive in Scotlands and was minister of this parish 7 yeares, and departed this life ye 11 . Sep. 1719, in ye 46 yeare of his age, leaving ye character of a sober and religions man.
This stone was given by His Excellency Francis Nicholson, Esq, Lieutenant and Governor.General of Virginia, in memory of Peter Heyman, Esq., grandson to Sir Peter Heyman of Summerfield in ye county of Kent-he was collector of ye customs in ye lower district of James River, and went voluntarily on board ye king's ship Shorc. ham, in pursuit of a pyrate who greatly infested this coast-after he had behaved him- self 7 hours with undaunted courage, was killed with a small shot, ye 23 day of April, 1700. In the engagement he stood next the governor upon the quarter deck, and was here honorably interred by his order.
Hampton was attacked by the British in the war of the revolu- tion, and also invaded by them in the late war.
The first was in Oct. 1775, and was, says Burk, dictated by revenge on the part of Lord Dunmore, for two schooners which had been burnt by two enterprising young men of the name of Barron. These men, afterwards distinguished for their courage and success in maritime adventure against the British, commanded, at this time. two pilot boats-a species of vesel constructed chiefly with an attention to sailing-and kept the fleet of Dunmore constantly on the alert by the rapidity of their movements. H' pur. sued, by keeping close in with the shore, they took refuge in Hampton. The people of the town, fearing an attack, had applied to the committee of safety for assistance, who Bent down " Col. Woodford, with 100 mounted ritlemen of the Culpeper battahon, with- out any other incumbrance than their provisions and blankets. But before the arrival
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