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 81
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Early in 1779, he was again a short time in Congress, but ill health again compelled him to return to Virginia. In 1780, when the state undertook to borrow two millions of dollars for the aid of Congress, Gen. Nelson opened a subscription. Calling on several friends, they declared that they would not lend him a shilling on the security of the ' commonwealth, but they would lend him all they could possibly raise ; upon which he added his own personal security to that of the state, and succeeded in raising a large pro- portion of the sum required. By this and similar patriotic exertions, he suffered severe pecuniary losses, but never relaxed his exertions. He had at the beginning anticipated sufferings and sacrifices in effecting the independence of his country, and prepared his mind to meet and sustain them. In 1781, when the storm of war burst upon Vir- ginia, Gen. Nelson was actively employed in effecting plans to oppose the enemy ; and, succeeding Mr. Jefferson as governor, he was compelled to unite in himself the two offices of governor and commander of the military forces. By great exertions Gov. Nel- son kept his forces together until the capture of Cornwallis. To do this, he exerted his personal influence, his official authority, and his private fortune, to the utmost extent. After the surrender, Washington, in lus account of it, made a very honorable acknow- ledgment of the valuable services of Gov. Nelson, and the militia under his command, during the siege, in securing its important issue.
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In a month after, ill-health compelled Gov. Nelson to retire again to private life, where malice and envy preferred base accusations against him for mal-administration of his office. But he was most honorably exculpated by the legislature. He never again entered public life, His time was passed in retirement at his plantation in Han- over, and at York. His health gradually declining, he died in Hanover, Jan. 4th, 1789, aged fifty years.
About a mile and a half below Yorktown, on what is called the Temple Farm. are many old chimneys, indicating the site of an ancient settlement. Abont a quarter of a mile from the York. on the margin of a forest, are to be seen the vestiges of an ancient temple. It was surrounded, a few yards distant, by a wall,
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probably intended for defence against sudden attacks from the In- dians. Within the enclosure are several defaced and broken monuments. One only is legible, a flat slab adorned with the insignia of heraldry. It bears this inscription :
Major William Gooch, of THIS Parish, dycd Octob. 29, 1655. Within this tomb there doth interred lie, No shape but substance, true nobility ; Its self though young, in years, but twenty-nine,
Yet graced with vertues morall and divine ;
The church from him did good participate In counsell rare fit to adorn a state.
Yorktown is memorable in American history as being the spot where, on the 19th of October, 1781, the army of Cornwallis sur- rendered to the combined armies of America and France. Dr. Thatcher, a surgeon in Washington's army, has given in his jour- nal a full account of the siege and surrender, which gives its inci- dents as they transpired from day to day. From this lucid narra- tion we subjoin the following :
27th Sept .- We arrived at Yorktown yesterday from Jamestown, and have encamped within one mile of the enemy's line of redoubts.
28th .-- The French troops have arrived, and encamped on our left. Yorktown is situ- ated on the south bank of the river, about fifteen miles from its entrance into Chesapeake Bay. In this little village, Lord Cornwallis, with about seven thousand troops. has taken his station, and is endeavoring to fortify himself against the impending danger of our combined operations. His communication by water is entirely cut off by the French ships of war stationed at the mouth of the river, preventing both his escape and receiv- ing succor from Sir Henry Clinton at New York. The allied army is about twelve thousand strong, exclusive of the militia under Gov. Nelson. The Americans form the . right, and the French the left wing of the combined forces, each extending to the borders of the river, by which the besiegers form a half circle round the town. His Execlieney General Washington commands in person, and is assisted by Major-General Lincoln, Baron Steuben, the Marquis de Lafayette, General Knox, &c. The French troops are commanded by General the Count Rochambeau, a brave and experienced officer, having -under him a number of officers of distinguished character. Unbounded confidence is reposed in our illustrious commanders, the spirit of emulation and military ardor univer- sally prevail, and we are sanguine in our expectations that a surrender of the royal army must be his lordship's fate.
A cannonade commenced yesterday from the town, by which one man received a wound, and I assisted in amputating his leg. 30th .- We were agreeably surprised this morning, to find that the enemy had, during the preceding night, abandoned three or four of their redoubts, and retired within the town, leaving a considerable extent of command- ing ground which might have cost us much labor and many lives to obrain by force. Our light infantry and a party of French were ordered to advance and take possession of the abandoned ground, and to serve as a covering party to our troops, who are em- ployed in throwing up breastworks. Considerable cannonading from the besieged in the course of the day, and four militiamen were wounded by a single shot, one of whom died soon after. An occurrence has just been announced which fills our hearts with grief and sorrow. Col. Alexander Scammel being officer of the day, while reconnoi- tring the ground which the enemy had abandoned, was surprised by a party of their horse, and after having surrendered, they had the baseness to inflict a wound which we fear will prove mortal ; they have carried him into Yorktown.
October 1st and 2d .- Our troops have been engaged in throwing up two redoubts in the night-time ; on discovery, the enemy commenced a furious cannonade, but it does not deter our men from going on vigorously with their work. Heavy cannon and mortars are continually arriving, and the greatest preparations are made to proseente the siege in the most effectual manner
3d and 4th .- A considerable cannonading from the enemy, one shot killed three men. and mortally wounded auother. While the Rev. Mr. Evans, our chaplain, was standing
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near the commander-in-chief, a shot struck the ground so near as to cover his hat with sand ; being much agitated, he took off his hat and said, " See here, general." " Mir. Evans," replied his Excellency, with his usual composure, "you had better carry that home and show it to your wife and children." Two soldiers from the French, and one froin us, deserted to the enemy, and two British soldiers deserted to our camp the same night. The enemy, from the want of forage, are killing off their horses in great numbers ; six or seven handred of these valuable animals have been killed, and their carcasses are almost continually floating down the river. The British are in possession of a place called Gloucester, on the north side of the river, nearly opposite Yorktown ; their force consists of one British regiment, and Col. Tarleton's legion of horse and infantry. In opposition to this force the French legion, under the command of the Duke de Luzerne, and a detachment of French infantry and militia, are posted in that vicinity. Tarleton is a bold and impetuous leader, and has spread terror through the Carolinas and Virginia for some time past. In making a sally from Gloucester yesterday, they were attacked by the French, and defeated, with the loss of the commanding officer of their infantry, and about fifty men killed and wounded ; among the latter is Tarleton himself. The duke lost three men killed, and two officers and eleven men wounded. It is with much con- cern we learn that Col. Scammel died at Williamsburg, of the wound which he received a few days since, when he was taken prisoner ; the wound was inflicted after he had surrendered. At the request of Gen. Washington, Lord Cornwallis allowed him to be carried to Williamsburg, where he died this day, universally lamented, as he was while living universally respected and esteemed. The commander-in-chief was well apprized of his merit, and bestowed on him marks of his friendly regard and confidence. For some time he sustained the office of adjutant-general to our army, but preferring a more active command and the post of danger, he was put at the head of a regiment of light infantry for this enterprising campaign. The British have sent from Yorktown a large number of negroes sick with the smallpox, probably for the purpose of communicating the infection to our army ; thus our inhuman enemies resort to every method in their power, however barbarous or cruel, to injure and distress, and thus to gain an advantage over their opposers.
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7th .- A large detachment of the allied army, under command of Major-General Lin- coln, were ordered out last evening, for the purpose of opening iitrenchments near the enemy's lines. This business was conducted with great silence and secrecy, and we were favored by Providence with a night of extreme darkness, and were not discovered before daylight. The working party carried on their shoulders fascines and intrenching tools, while a large part of the detachment was armed with the implements of death Horses, drawing cannon and ordnance, and wagons loaded with bags filled with sand for constructing breastworks, followed in the rear. Thus arranged, every officer and soldier knowing his particular station, orders were given to advance in perfect silence, the distance about one mile. My station on this occasion was, with Dr. Munson, my mate, in the rear of the troops, and as the music was not to be employed, about twenty drummers and fifers were put under my charge to assist me in case of having wounded men to attend. Our troops were indefatigable in their labors during the night, and be- fore daylight they had nearly completed the first parallel line of nearly two miles in ex- tent, besides laying a foundation for two redoubts, within about six hundred yards of the enemy's lines. At daylight, the enemy having discovered our works, com- menced a severe cannonade; but our men being under cover received no injury. A
French soldier deserted to the enemy, after which there was a constant firing against the French lines, and one officer was killed, and fifteen men were killed or wounded. In the latter part of the night it rained severely, and being in the open field, cold, and un- comfortable, I entered a small hut made of brush, which the enemy had abandoned ; soon after, a man came to the door, and seeing me standing in the centre, instandy drew his sword, and put himself in an attitude to plunge it into me. I called out friend, friend, and he as speedily to my great joy responded, " Ah, Monsieur, friend," and re- turning his sword to its place he departed. I think he was a French soldier, and it is doubtful whether he or myself was the most frightened.
8th and 9/h .- The duty of our troops has been for several days extremely severe ; our regiment labors in the trenches every other day and night, where I find it difficult to avoid suffering by the cold, having no other covering than a single blanket in the open field. We erected a battery last night in front of our first parallel. without any anno :. ance from the enomy. Two or three of our batteries being now prepared to open ou the town, his Excellency Gen. Washington put the match to the first gun, and a furious dis-
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charge of cannon and mortars immediately followed, and Earl Cornwallis has received his first salutation.
From the 10th to the 15th, a tremendous and incessant firing from the American and French batteries is kept up, and the enemy return the fire, but with little effect. A red hot shell from the French battery set fire to the Charon, a British 44 gun ship, and two of three smaller vessels at anchor in the river, which were consumed in the night. From the bank of the river, I had a fine view of this splendid conflagration. . The ships were wrapped in a torrent of fire, which, spreading with vivid brightness among the coui- bustible rigging, and running with amazing rapidity- to the tops of the several miasts, while all around was thunder and lightning from our numerous cannons and mortars, and in the darkness of night, presented one of the most sublime and magnificent spectacles which can be imagined. Some of our shells, overreaching the town, are seen to fall in- . to the river, and bursting, throw up columns of water like the spouting of the monsters of the deep. We have now made further approaches to the town, by throwing up a second parallel line, and batteries within about three hundred yards ; this was effected in the night, and at daylight the enemy were roused to the greatest. exertions -- the engines of war have raged with redoubled fury and destruction on both sides, no cessation day or night. The French had two officers wounded, and fifteen men killed or wounded, and among the Americans two or three were wounded. I assisted in amputating a man's thigh. The siege is daily becoming more and more formidable and alarming, and his lordship must view his situation as extremely critical, if not desperate. Being in the - trenches every other night and day, I have a fine opportunity of witnessing the sublime and stupendous scene which is continually exhibiting. The bomb-shells from the be- siegers and the besieged are incessantly crossing each other's path in the air. They are clearly visible in the form of a black ball in the day, but in the night they appear litro ? fiery meteor with a blazing tail, most beautifully brilliant, ascending majestically from the mortar to a certain altitude, and gradually descending to the spot where they are destined to execute their work of destruction. It is astonishing with what accuracy an experienced gunner will make his calculations, that a shell shall fall within a few feet of a given point, and burst at the precise time, though at a great distance. When a shell falls, it whirls round, burrows, and excavates the earth to a considerable extent, and bursting. makes dreadful havoc around. I have more than once witnessed fragments of the mangled bodies and limbs of the British soldiers thrown into the air by the bursting of our shells, and by one from the enemy, Capt. White, of the seventh Massachusetts regi- ment, and one soldier were killed, and another wounded near where I was standing. About twelve or fourteen men have been killed or wounded within twenty-four hours; I at- tended at the hospital, amputated a man's arm, and assisted in dressing a number of wounds. The enemy having two redoubts, about three hundred yards in front of their principal works, which enfiladed our intrenchment and impeded our approaches, it was resolved to take possession of them both by assault. The one on the left of the British garrison, bordering on the banks of the river, was assigned to our brigade of light infant- ry, under the command of the Marquis de Lafayette. The advanced corps was led ou by the intrepid Col. Hamilton, who had commanded a regiment of light infantry during the campaign, and assisted by Col. Gimat. The assault commenced at eight o'clock in the evening, and the assailants bravely entered the fort with the point of the bayonet without firing a single gun. We suffered the loss of eight men killed, and about thirty wounded, among whoin Col. Gimat received a slight wound in his foot, and Major Giobs, of his Excellency's guard, and two other officers, were slightly wounded. Major Camp- bell, who commanded in the fort, was wounded and taken prisoner, with about thirty soldiers ; the remainder made their escape. I was desired to visit the wounded in the fort, even before the balls had ceased whistling about my ears, and saw a sergeant and eight men dead in the ditch. A captain of our infantry, belonging to New Hampshire, threatened to take the life of Major Campbell, to avenge the death of his favorite. C'o !. Scammel, but Col. Hamilton interposed, and not a man was killed after he ceased to resist. During the assault, the British kept up an incessant firing of cannon and mus- ketry from their whole line. His Excellency Gen. Washington, Gonerals Lincoln and Knox, with their aids, having dismounted. were standing in an exposed situation waiting the result. Col. Cobb, one of Gen. Washington's aids, solicitous for his safety, said to his Excellency, " Sir, you are too much exposed here, had you not better step a little back ?" " Col. Cobb," replied his Excellency, " if you are afraid, you have liberty to step back." The other redoubt, on the right of the British lines, was assaulted at the same time, by a detachment of the french, commanded by the gallant Baron de Viomi- nel. Such was the ardor displayed by the assailants, that all resistance was soon over-
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come, though at the expense of nearly one hundred men killed and wounded .* Of the defenders of the redoubt, eighteen were killed, and one captain and two subaltern officers and forty-two rank and file captured.t Our second parallel line was inmedi- ately connected with the two redoubts now taken from the enemy, and some new bat- teries were thrown up in front of our second parallel line, with a covert way, and angling work approaching to less than three hundred yards of their principal forts. These will soon be mentled with cannon and mortars, and when their horrid thundering commences, it must convince his lordship that his post is not invincible, and that submission must soon be his only alternative. Our artillerymen, by the exactness of their ann, make every discharge take effect, so that many of the enemy's guns are entirely silenced, and their works are almost in ruins.
16th .- A party of the enemy, consisting of about four hundred men, commanded by Col. Abercrombie, about four in the morning, made a vigorous sortie against two unfin- ished redoubts occupied by the French ; they spiked up seven or eight pieces of cannon, . and killed several soldiers, but the French advanced and drove them from the redoubts, leaving several killed and wounded. Our New England troops have now become very sickly ; the prevalent diseases are intermittent and remittent fevers, which are very prev- alent in this climate during the autumnal months.
17th .-- The whole of our works are now mounted with cannon and mortars, not less than one hundred pieces of heavy ordnance have been in continual operation during the . last twenty-four hours. The whole peninsula trembles under the incessant thunderings of our infernal machines ; we have levelled some of their works in ruins and silenced their guns ; they have almost ceased firing. We are so near as to have a distinct view of the dreadful havoc and destruction of their works, and even see the men in their lines torn to pieces by the bursting of our shells. Put the scene is drawing to a close. Lord Cornwallis, at length realizing the extreme hazard of his deplorable situation, and find- ing it in vain any longer to resist, has this morning come to the humiliating expedient of sending out a flag, requesting a cessation of hostilities for twenty-four hours, that commissioners may be appointed to prepare and adjust the terms of capitulation. Two or three flags passed in the course of the day, and Gen. Washington consented to a ces- sation of hostilities for two hours only, that his lordship may suggest his proposals as a, basis for a treaty, which being in part accepted, a suspension of hostilities will be con- tinued till to-morrow.
18th .- It is now ascertained that Lord Cornwallis, to avoid the necessity of a surren- der, had determined on the bold attempt to make his escape in the night of the 16th, with a part of his army, into the country. His plan was to leave sick and baggage be- hind, and to cross with his effective force over to Gloucester Point, there to destroy the French legion and other troops, and to mount his infantry on their horses and such oth- ers as might be procured, and thus push their way to New York by land. A more pre- posterous and desperate attempt can scarcely be imagined. Boats were secretly pre- pared, arrangements made, and a large proportion of his troops actually embarked and landed on Gloucester Point, when from a moderate and calm evening, a most violent storm of wind and rain ensued. The boats with the remaining troops were all driven down the river, and it was not till the next day that his troops could be returned to the garrison at York. At an early hour this forenoon, Gen. Washington communicated to Lord Cornwallis the general basis of the terms of capitulation, which he deemed admnis-
* The cause of the great loss sustained by the French troops In comparison with that of the Ameri cans. in storming their respective redonbts, was that the American troops when they came to the ahattis, removed a part of it with their hands, and leped over the remainder. The French troops, on coming no to theirs. waited till their pioneers had cut away the abattis sceundum artem, which exposed them longer to the gallina fre of the enemy. To this cause also is to be ascribed the circumstance, that the redoubt assailed by the Americans was carried before that attneked by the French troops. The Marquis de La- fayette sent his aid, Major Barbour, through the tremendous fre of the whole line of the British, to in- form the Baron Viotuinel, that " he was in his redoubt, and to ask the Baron where he was." The ma- jor found the Baron waiting the clearing away the abattis, but sent this answer: "Tell the Marquis I am not in mine, but will be in five minutes." He instantly advanced, and was within or nearly so, within his time.
i Gen. Damas, in " The Memoirs of his own Time." republished in this country in 1239, says, in rela- Bon to the attack on these redoubts, " I must hore make mention of a curum -tince which characterizes the courage of the French grenadiers. The grenadiers of the regiment of Gatinais, which had been formed out of that of Auvergne, were to lead the attack. The moment it was decided, I said to them, " My friends, if I should want you this night, I hope you have not forgotten we have served together in that brave regiment of Auvergne. " Fans 'Tiche." an honorable name, which it has deserved ever since its creation." I boy answered, if i promised to have their nome restored to then they would satir then gelves to be killed ever to the last man. They kept their word, charged like lions, and lost one-third of their number. The king, on the report I made of this affair, signed the ordinance restoring to this regi ment the name of Ruyase Auvergne."
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sible, and allowed two hours for his reply. Commissioners were soon after appointed to prepare the particular terms of agreement. The gentlemen appointed by Gen. Wash- ington are Col. Laurens, one of his aid-de-camps. and Viscount Noaille of the French army. They have this day held an interview with the two British officers on the part of Lord Cornwallis, the terms of capitulation are settled, and being confirmed by the commanders of both armies, the royal troops are to march out to-morrow and surrender their arms. It is a circumstance deserving of remark, that Col. Laurens, who is stipu- lating for the surrender of a British nobleman, at the head of a royal army, is the son of Mr. Henry Laurens, our ambassador to Holland, who being captured on his voyage, is now in close continement in the tower of London.
19th .--- This is to us a most glorious day, but to the English one of bitter chagrin and disappointment. Preparations are now making to receive as captives, that vindictive, haughty commander, and that victorious army, who by their robberies and murders have so long been a scourge to our brethren of the southern states. Being on horseback. I anticipate a full share of satisfaction in viewing the various movements in the interesting scene. The stipulated terms of capitulation are similar to those granted to Gen. Lincoln at Charleston the last year. The captive troops are to march out with shouldered arms, colors cased, and drums beating a British or German march, and to ground their arms at a place assigned for the purpose. The officers are allowed their side-arms and private property, and the generals and such officers as desire it, are to go on parole to England or New York. The marines and seamen of the king's ships are prisoners of war to the navy of France, and the land forces to the United States. All military and artillery stores to be delivered up unimpaired. The royal prisoners to be sent into the interior of Virginia, Maryland, and l'ennsylvania, in regiments, to have rations allowed them equal to the American soldiers, and to have their officers near them. Lord Cornwallis to man and dispatch the Bonetta sloop of war with dispatches to Sir Henry Clinton at New York, without being searched ; the vessel to be returned, and the hands accounted for. At about twelve o'clock, the combined army was arranged and drawn up in two lines extending more than a mile in length. The Americans were drawn up in a line on the right side of the road, and the French occupied the left. At the head of the former the great American commander, mounted on his noble courser, took his station, attended by his aids. At the head of the latter was posted the excellent Count Rochambeau and his suite. The French troops, in complete uniform, displayed a martial and noble ap. pearance ; their band of music, of which the timbrel formed a part, is a delightful nov- elty, and produced, while marching to the ground, a most enchanting effect. The Ameri- cans, though not all in uniform, nor their dress so neat, yet exhibited an erect soldierly air, and every countenance boamed with satisfaction and joy. The concourse of specta- tors from the country was prodigious, in point of numbers probably equal to the military ; but universal silence and order prevailed. It was about two o'clock when the captive army advanced through the line formed for their reception. Every eye was prepared to gaze on Lord Cornwallis, the object of peculiar interest and solicitude; but he disap- pointed our anxious expectations ; pretending indisposition, he made Gen. O'Hara bis substitute as the leader of his army. This officer was followed by the conquered troops in a slow and solemn step, with shouldered arms, colors cased, and drums beating a British march. Having arrived at the head of the line, Gen. O'Hara, elegantly mounted, advanced to his Excellency the commander-in-chief, taking off his hat, and apologized for the non-appearance of Earl Cornwallis. With his usual dignity and pe- liteness, his Excellency pointed to Major-General Lincoln for directions, by whom the British army was conducted into a spacious field where it was intended they should ground their arms. The royal troops, while marching through the line tormed by the allied army, exhibited a decent and neat appearance, as respects arms and clothing, for their commander opened his store and directed every soldier to be furnished with a newv suit complete, prior to the capitulation. But in their line of march we remarked a dis- orderly and unsoldierly conduct ; their step was irregular, and their ranks frequently bro- ken. Bus it was in the field, when they came to the last act of the drama. that the spirit and pride of the British soldier were put to the severest test-here their mortifica- tion could not be concealed. Some of the platoon officers appeared to be exceedingly chagrined when giving the word " ground arms," and I am witness that they performed this duty in a very unoficer-like manner and that many of the soldiers manifested a sullen temper,* throwing their arms on the pile with violence, as if determined to lender
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