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 49
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The Richmond Academy, Win. Bark principal, is a school for the preparation of youth for college in the bigher branches of classical and mathematical education. There are five teachers, and some ninety or one hundred pupils. The pupils are allowed the privilege of being enrolled in a corps of cadets, at their option, in which the exercises of drill and military tactics are taught by a competent professor.
The Orphan Asylin is an institution under the direction of the " Ladies' Humane Association," for the education and support of female orphans. A large number of this unfortunate class are maintained there annually. A commodious and elegant building has been recently erected, out of a munificent bequest of the late Edmund Walls, Esq.
There is also, in Richmond, a Lancasterian free school for the use of the poor.
The following are slips cut from newspapers. The first was published a few years since, under the signature of C. C., and is a graphic sketch of the Virginia convention of 1889-30. The sec- ond is an inscription on a monument, at Turkey island, in this county. The last is from the Virginia Gazette of August -, 1776;
CONVENTION OF VIRGINIA, --- I attended the debates of this body a fortnight. The capi- tol, in which the convention sat, is a fine building, nobly situated-muore ac than any
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HENRICO COUNTY,
other I have seen in this country. Richmond is a picturesque place ; the James looks beautiful there in a spring morning ; the rocks and islands, and foaming rapids, and mur- mining falls, and floating miste, all light and glorious, under a clear blue sky. The convention brasted several men of distinction-Madison, Monroe, Gics, Marchell. Han- dolph, Leigh, Tazewell, &c. Mr. Madison sat on the left of the speaker, Mr. Morroc on the right. Mr. Madison spoke once for half an hour ; but although a pin might have been heard to drop, so low was his tone, that from the gallery I could distinguish only one word, and that was, "Constitution." He stood not' more than six feet from. the speaker. When he rose, a great part of the members left their seats and clustered around the aged statesman, thick as a swarm of bees. Mr. Madison was a small man, of ample forehead, and some obliquity of vision, (I thought the effect probably of age,) . his eyes appearing to be slightly introverted. His dress was plain ; his overcoat a faded brown surtout. Mr. Monroe was very wrinkled and weather-beaten --- tograceful ir atti. tude and gesture, and his speeches only common-place. Mr. Giles wore a crutch-was then governor of the state. His style of delivery was perfectly conversational-no ges- ture, no effort ; but in ease, fluency, and tact, surely he had not there his equal ; his words were like honey pouring from an eastern rock. Judge Marshall, whenever he spoke, which was seldom, and only for a short time, attracted great attention. His ap- pearance was revolutionary and patriarchal. Tall, in a long surtout of blue, with a face of genius, and an eye of fire, his mind possessed the rare faculty of condensation ; he distilled an argument down to its essence. There were two parties in the house ; the western or radical, and the eastern or conservative. Judge Marshall proposed something in the nature of a compromise. John Randolph was remarkably deliberate, distinct, and. emphatic. He articulated excellentiy, and gave the happier ciff ct to all he said. His person was frail and uncommon his face pale and withered-but his eye radiant as a diamond. He owed, perhaps, more to his manner than to his matter ; and his mind was rather poetical than logical. Yet in his own peculiar vein, he was superior to any of his cotemporaries. Benjamin Watkins Leigh out a distinguished figure in the conven- tion, as the leader of the lowland party. Ils diction is clear, correct, elegant, and might be safely committed to print just as spoken. Yet high as he stands, he is not perhaps in the highest rank of speakers. He never lightens, never thunders; he can charm, he can convince, but he can hardly overwhelm. Mr. Tazewell I never saw up but once, for a moment, on a point of order ; a tall, fine-looking man. P. F. Barbour presided over the body with great dignity and cose. Of these seven extraordinary mon, four have since died, to wit : Monroe, Giles, Randolph, and Marshall. Mr. Leigh is now a Uni- ted States senator, and Mr. Tazewell governor of Virginia.
The foundation of this pillar was laid in the calamitous year 1771, when all the great rivers of this country were swept by inundations never before experienced ; which changed the face of nature, and left traces of their violence that will remain for ages.
On Monday last, being court-day, the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE was publicly proclaimed in the town of Richmond, before a large concourse of respectable freehold- ers of Henrico county, and upwards of 200 militia, who assembled on that grand occa- sion. It was received with universal shouts of joy, and re-echoed by three volleys of small-arms. The same evening the town was illuminated, and the members of the committee held a club, where many patriotic toasts were drunk. Although there were near one thousand people present, the whole was conducted with the utmost decorum, and the satisfaction visible in every countenance, sufficiently evinces their determination, to support it with their lives and fortunes.
Now will America's sons her fame increase, lu arms and science, with glory, honor, and peace.
" EDMUND RANDOLPH Was an eminent lawyer, and a warm friend of the revointion. After having filled several honorable stations in the state, he was, in 1779, elected to a seat in Congress, and held it until 1782. In 1787, he was a member of the convention which formed the federal constitution, but voted against its adoption. The next year he was chosen governor of Virginia, and in 1789, was appointed attorney-general of the United States ; and in 1794, secretary of state, which office he resigned the succeeding year. He died Sopt. 12th, 1313." His personal and intellectual characteristics are described in the British Spy.
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HENRY COUNTY,
" The old Stone House," Main-street.
"'I'be old Stone House," is situated on the northern side of Main- street, a few rods below the market. It is the oldest dwelling standing in Richmond, and among the first ever built in the town.
It is the residence and property of Mrs. Elizabeth Welsh, and has been in the same family for six generations. Mr. Jacob Ege, her great-grandfather, was a native of Ger- many, who settled upon this spot when there were few or no inhabitants on the site of the town, and previous to the erection of Byrd's warehouse. Mr. Ege had originally intended to have settled further up the country, but was so well pleased with the place, that he took no some land for a garden, and built this house. When President Monroe was a young man, attending school in Richmond, he boarded here. Mr. Samnel Ege, the father of Mrz. Welsh, resided in this house during the revolution. At that time it was one of the best honses in Richmond. It has been honored by the visits of Wash- ington, Jefferson, Lafayette, Madison, Henry, and other distinguished personages. This part of the town was first settled, and it gradually extended to the capitol, which build- ing was commenced in 1780, and was several years in constructing. It was a ques- tion whether it should be on Richmond Hill, or where it now is. It was decided by a gentleman's giving all the land included in the capitol square.
When the British, under Arnold, invaded Richmond in 1781, Mr. Ege was absent on duty, as a commissary in the American army. The first his wife (Mrs. Welsh's mother) knew of their approach, was the seeing a body of their cavalry galloping down Richmond Hill, then much steeper than at present. She described it as the mnost beau- tiful sight she ever witnessed. One of their officers quartered with her. The enemy broke open the stores, and emptied, the liquors and provisions into the gutters. The spirits ian into the creek and gutters. The cows and hogs, having partaken of the liquid, were seen staggering about the streets.
HENRY.
HENRY was formed in 1776, from Pittsylvania, and named in honor of Patrick Henry. It is in foun approaching a square of about 18 miles on a side. Its extreme sw. angle is crossed by the two branches of Mary's River; but the greater part of the area of the county is included in the valley of Smith's River, which on- ters the county near its Nw. angle, and forms a junction with the
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ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY.
Dan near its sE. angle. Tobacco, Indian corn, oats, and wheat, are the principal staples, Pop, in 1840, whites 4,218, slaves 2,832, free colored 240 ; total, 7,335.
Martinsville, the county-seat, lies near the w. bank of Smith's River, about 70 miles aw. of Lynchburg, and 194 miles from Rich. mond. It is but a small village, situated on a beautiful eminence. commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country, and well supplied with excellent springs.
ISLE OF WIGHT.
IsLE or WiGur was one of the eight original shires into which Virginia was divided in 1634. Its name originally was Warros- quyoake shire, which it retained three years only, when its present one was given to it. The county is 37 miles long, with a mean width of 11 : it has many crecks and swamps upon its surface, and a great variety of soft, though it is generally thin and sandy. Pop. in 1840, whites 4,918, slaves 3,786, free colored 1,268 ; total, 9,972.
SmithGeld is in the northern part of the county, 85 miles south: easterly from Richmond, 15 above Hampton Roads, and 3 miles from James River. It lies on an elevated bank on the margin of Pagan creek. a bold and navigable stream, commanding a beauti- ful view of both land and water scenery --- the country for 10 miles on the opposite bank of the James is in full view. This town was established in February, 1752, ten years after the founding of Richmond. Arthur Smith, Esq., the original owner of the land, had then laid it out into streets and lots, and being "an healthy place, and open to trade and navigation," it had begun to be built and settled upon. By the provisions of the act, Robert Burwell, Arthur Smith, William Hodsden, James Baker, James Dunlop, James Arthur, and Joseph Bridger, gentlemen, were appointed trustees. Smithfield at present contains 10 or 12 stores, 1 Episco- palian, ! Baptist, and 1 Methodist church, and a population of about 1000. The village is ornamented with shade-trees; and the numerous porches to the dwellings impress the stranger favorably as to the social and neighborly habits of its people. Several ves- sels sail from Smithfield with the exports of the county. Among these is bacon, cured here, which has long been celebrated, and commands the preference in all markets. Mayfield is a small vil- lage in the western part of the county.
Within an hour's ride from Smithfield, near the road to Suffolk, in the depths of the forest, stands an ancient church in ruins. It is alike an object of interest from its secluded situation, and its great antiquity. We have before us a communication from a highly respectable gentleman of this vicinity, which gives strong evidence. that it was built in the reign of Charles 1., between the years 1630
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JACKSON COUNTY.
and 1035. Tradition, too, states that it was the second churcht erected in Virginia. The brick, lime, and timber, were imported from England. The timber is English oak, and was framed be-
Ancient Church, near Smithfield.
fore shipment. The whole structure was built in the most sub- stantial manner ; and even now, the wood. work, where not exposed to rain. is perfectly sound, and the mortar sufficiently hard to strike fire when in collision with steel. The structure is of brick, has a lofty tower, and is in good preservation. lis walls are overrun with a delicate net-work of vines.
In its dav, it was a splendid edifice, One window, of about 25 feet in height, was composed of painted glass, representing serip- tural subjects. It was probably abandoned about the period of the American revolution, when the Episcopal church, for a time, be- came nearly extinct in Virginia. Within the last twenty-five years it has been temporarily occupied by a sect called O'Rollvites. There is a project, which may be carried into effect, to repair it. If successful, generations yet unborn will meet within its time-hal. lowed walls, where, even now, more than two centuries have elapsed since their forefathers first raised the hymn of praise to the living God.
JACKSON.
JACKSON Was formed in 1831, from Mason, Kanawha, and Wood. ats length is 33, and its mean breadth 24 miles. The surface is
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JAMES CITY COUNTY.
hilly, and the soil well adapted to grazing. The bottom lands on Mill creek and its branches are of the first quality. From the interior of the county, the principal exports are cattle and pork ; along the Ohio, which bounds it on the west, the people expert large quantities of suaves, hoop-poles, and lumber of all kinds. Pop. in 1840, whites 4,803, slaves 87; total, 4,890.
Ripley, the county-seat, les 238 miles northwesterly from Rich- mond, and 19 from the Ohio River, on the Great Mill creek, at its confluence with Sycamore creek. Although but recently estab- lished, it is a thriving village, containing 2 mercantile stores, and about 30 dwellings. Ravenswood, 10 miles NE. of Ripley, on the Ohio, contains I church, I store; ) steam saw-mill, and about 15 dwellings.
JAMES CITY.
JAMES CITY was one of the eight original shires into which Virginia was divided in 1634. It has York River on its northern, and the James on its southern boundary. Its length is 28 miles. mean breadth 8 miles. Pop., whites 1,325, slaves 1,947, free colored 507; total, 3,779.
Ruins at Jamestown.
Jamestown, the first settlement in British America, was settled by Capt. John Smith and bis companions, May 13th, 1607. The site is a point of land projeering into the James. The water ix gaining on the shore, and the time may arrive when the waves will roll over it. Of this deeply interesting spot, little remains but a church-yard, and the tower of an ancient church-a venerable memento of antiquity, carrying back the taind of the traveller. a.s
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JAMES CITY COUNTY.
he hurries by in a passing steamer, to scenes long since vanished " down time's lengthening way." . How appropriate and beautiful are the reflections of the British Spy at this spot :
It is difficult [says he] to look at this venerablo steeple, surrounded as it is with these aw ful proots of the mortality of man, without exclaiming, in the pathetic solemnity of our Shakspcare,
" The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solomin temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherits, shall dissolve ; And, ilke this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a wrock behind."
Whence, my dear S , mises the irrepressible reverence and tender affection with which I look at this broken steeple ? Is it that my soul, by a secret, subtle pro- cess, invests the mouldering ruin with her own powers ; imagines it a fellow-being ; a venerable old man, a Nestor, or an Ossian, who has witnessed and survived the ravages of successive generations, the companions of his youth, and of his maturity, and now mourus his own solitary and desolate condition, and balls their spirits in cvers passing cloud ? Whatever may be the cause, as I look at it, I feel my soul drawn forward as by the cords of gentlest sympathy, and involuntarily open my lips to offer consolation to the drooping pile.
Where, my S , is the busy, bustling crowd which landed here two hundred years ago ? . Where is Smith, that pink of gallaning. that flower of chivalry ? I fancy that I can see their first slow and cautious approach to the shore ; their keen and vigi- jant eyes piercing the forest in every direction, to detect the Ining Indian, with his tomahawk, bow and arrow. Good heavens ! what an enterprise ! how full of the most fearful perils ! and yet how entirely profitless to the daring men who personally undertook and achieved it ! 'Through what a series of the west spirit-chilling hardship . head they to toll !-- How often did they east their eyes to England in vain ! and with what deluvive hopes, day after day, did the Etile famished crew strain their sight to catch the white sail of comfort and relief ! But day after day the sun set, and darkness covered the earth ; but no sail of comfort of relief came. How often in the pongs of hanger, sick- ness, solitade, and disconsolation, did they think of London : her shops, her markets groaning under the weight of plenty ; her streets ewarming with gilded coaches, busting hacks, with crowds of lords, dukes, and commons, with healthy, busy, contented faces of every description ; and, among them, none more healthy, or more contented, than those of their ungrateful and improvident directors ! But now-where are they all ? the little famished colony which landed here, and the many-colored crowd of London --- where are they, my dear S ..... ? Gone, where there is no distinction ; consigned to the common carth. Another generation succeeded them ; which, just as busy and as basiling as that which fell before it, has sunk dowa mito the same nothingne.s. Another, and yet another billow, has ruled on, each emulating its predecessor in height ; towering for its moment, and curling its foaming honors to the clouds; then roaring, breaking, and perishing on the same shore.
It is not known, precisely, when the church, the tower of which remains, was built. A church was erected very soon after its first settlement, which the Westover Ms. says " cost no more than £50." The following extracts from Smith's History, will throw some light upon the subject :
And so we returned all well to James towne, where this new supply being lodged with the rest, accidentally fired their quarters, and so the towne, which being but thatched with reeds, the fire was so fieree as it burnt their palisade's, (though eight or tex yards distant,) with their armes, bedding, apparell, and much priuate prouision. Good Master Hant, our preacher, lost all his liberary, and all he had but the cloathes on his backe : yet none neuer heard him repine at his losse. This happned in the winter, in that extreame frost, 1607 .-- Smith, book 3, (Richmond edition,) p. 168.
. The spring approaching, and the ship departing, Mr. Scrireper and Captaine Smith divided betwixt them the rebuilding James towne ; the repairing our pallisadoes ; the cutting downe trees ; preparing our fields : planting our corne, and to rebuild our church, and to recover our store-house. All men thus busie at their severall labors, Master N.i son arrived with his lost Pheniz .- Book 3, p. 170.
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JAMES CITY COUNTY:
The Phoenix arrived, says Sparks, in his Life of Smith, in the spring of 1608. Smith says, under the chapter headed " The youernment deuolucd to Captaine Samuel Argall 1617 :"
In March they set saile, 1617, [from England,] and in May he [Argall] arrived at James townc, where hee was kindly entertained, by Captaine Yearley and his companie, in a martiall order, whose right-hand file was led by an Indian. In James towne he found but fiue or six houses, the church downe, the pallizado's broken, the bridge in pieces, the well of fresh water spoiled, the storehouse vsed for the church ; the market- place and streets, and all other spare places planted with tobacco ; the saluages as fre- quent in their houses as themselues, whereby they become expert in our armes, and had. a great inany in their custodie and possession ; the colony dispersing all about, planting tobacco.
From the above, it is evident that previous to 1617, or 10 years after the first settlement of Jamestown, there were two churches destroved. This tower now standing may have belonged to the second church. and survived its destruction. It could not have been part of the first, for that "cost no more than £50;" or it may have been the tower of a third. We can only surmise that the tower has been standing about 230 years. It is unnecessary to detail further the early history of Jamestown, as it is delineated in the general history of Virginia in this volume.
Two actions were fought in this vicinity in the revolution. The first was June 25th, 1781, and took place at Spencer's ordinary, in the forks of the roads leading to Jamestown and Williamsburg. The subjoined account is from Girardin :
Lafayette, attentive to the movements of his adversary, no sooner observed bis retreat from Rielmond, than he himself moved ouward , displaying, however, the same salutary circumspection as before, and uniformly keeping his main body at the distance of about twenty miles from the foe. Cornwallis reached Williamsburg on the 25th of June. During his halt in that place, hearing that the Americans had some boats and stores on Chickahominy River, be charged Lieut .- Col. Simcoe with the destruction of these. The latter, attended by his corps and a party of yagers, easily performed the task. Lafayette, after passing through Richmond and New Kent Court House in par- suit of Cornwallis, had taken post on Tyre's plantation, about twenty miles from Wil- liamsburg. There he was informed, by his exploring parties, of Simcoe's expedition to the Chickahominy, and immediately detached Lieut .- Col. Butler, of the Pennsylvania line, with orders to strike the British partisan on his return. Butler was well known for his skill and courage. His achievements at Saratoga had placed hin by the side of Morgan, and he had uniformly and gloriously maintained this high ground. The con- fidence of Lafayette could not be better placed. On the present occasion, where only a partial engagement was sought, the detachment confided to him consisted. besides his continentals, of the rifle-corps under the Majors Call and Willis, and about one hun- dred and twenty horsemen. This last force was commanded by Major M Pherson. of Pennsylvania. He mounted some infantry behind his dragoons, and, seeking Simcoe with unusual ardor and speed, overtook him near Spencer's plantation, six or seven miles above Williamsburg. A sharp conflict immediately ensued, in which the British yagers and the American cavalry were alternately repulsed. The arrival of the riflemen, headed by Call and Willis, gave to the action additional fierceness ; but the superiority of the hostile cavalry, compelled Butler's van to fall back upon the body of continentale stationed. in the rear. Here the contest ended; Simcoe resuming his retreat, and Butler not choosing to pursue lie breuse he was informed that Cornwallis, upon hearing the first fire, had ordered his main body to the support of the returning detachment. The official accounts of the two generals widely differ as to the loss sustained by each party in this action. Lafayette states the enemy's loss at sixty killed and one hundred wounded. Cornwallis says that three officers and thirty privates only were killed and wounded. Among the killed, a Lieutenant Jones seems to have excited peculiar regret. The loss of the Americans in killed and wounded has not been recorded ; but if we credit the
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statement of the British commander, three of their officers, with twenty-eight privates, were taken prisoners.
When Cornwallis first arrived in this vicinity, he prepared to cross over the James, at Jamestown, and march to Portsmouth. After baking nine days at Williamsburg, his lordship advanced. on the 4th of July, 1781, to Jamestown Island. The 5th and 6th were employed in transporting his baggage, &c., while the main army still continued in their encampment. Lafayette having received false information that only a covering party remained on this side of the river with Cornwallis, determined to make an attack, the success of which was deemed infallible. The events are thus detailed by Girardin :
The British commander received information of Lafayette's approach about noon on the 6th, and took cvery measure in his power to confirm the belief that his rear-guard only now remained. He drew up the major part of his army in compact order on the main land, deploved a few troops on the island so as to magnify their apparent numbers, drew in his light parties, and directed his piquets to suffer themselves to be insulted and driven in. By this coincidence of circumstances calculated to delude, an error was per- petuated which exposed the American army in Virginia to the mnost imminent peril of etter annilidation.
About three in the afternoon, Infayettele arre hemen to move from Grennanning This late hour was judiciously and happily fixed upon. If only a strong hostile party. should be found at Jamestowa, the remaining part of the day would suffice for its destruction ; if, on the contrary, the main body of Cornwallis's troops should be encoun- tered, the intervening shades of the approaching night would shield the Americans fiom ruin. In their advance to the enemy, not more than one mile and a half distant, Lafay- ette's troops had to pass over a causeway, extending from the house at Greenspring to the Williamsburg road, through a tract of low and sunken ground impracticable to cither infantry or cavalry. The time consumed in the passage of this defile retarded the approach of the Americans to the British till near sunset. The rifle corps under Call and Willis, and a patrol of dragoons, forined the front of the assailants. These were fol- lowed by the cavalry of Armand and Mercer's troop, headed by Major M Pherson. The continental infantry, under Wayue, supported the whole. Steuben was left at Greenspring with the militia, forming a reserve obviously too remote from the acting corps for any efficient purpose. When the advancing column reached the road, parties of riflemen were thrown on its flanks, while the cavalry continued to move in front. The action was soon commenced by a desultory fire of the enemy's yagers. M'Pherson and Mercer being then ordered to take the command of the riffe corps, rapidly led them on to the attack. and drove in the hostile piquets, with innch confusion and some loss on the side of the British. "This advantage was keonly pursued by the American rifle- men, who, taking post in a ditch covered by a rail fence; recommended their fire with considerable effect. Two battalions of continental infantry, led on by Majors Galvan ard Willis, supported by two pieces of artillery under the direction of Captain Savage, now joined the riflemen, and assisted them in successfully maintaining for some time a most arduous conflict against the enemy, who now advanced in a body headed by Lient .- Col. Yorke on the right, and Ident .- Col. Dundas on the left "The superiority of the fee, however, was too great to be long resisted . the riflemen first gave way, then the cavalry, and finally the light infantry. They all fell back upou. Wayne, as did also Capt. Savage with his two field-pieces. The brave leader of the Pennsylvania line had drawn up his men in compact order, under cover of an adjacent wood. He repeatedly directed them to charge the enemy with fixed bayonets, but local circumstances prevented the execu- tion of this order, and allowed only a close and murderons fire. Lafayette, who by this time had discovered his mistake, and became convinced that he had to contend with the main body of the British army, observing that Wayne was nearly ontflanked on both sides, ordered him to retreat to the second line of continentals, drawn up about half a mile in his reat. The darkness of the night favored this retreat. It was, however, found necessary to abandon the two fold-pieces; after which the merase in front of Greenspring was recrossed, and the acting corps, together with the reserve, proceeded to a more remote and safer encampment. Whether from his apprehension of some ani- buscade, or from what was with him a more powerful consideration than fear, a deare
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