USA > Virginia > Sketches of Virginia : historical and biographical > Part 56
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
"On that hill, out at the south end of this street, were the barracks for prisoners taken with Burgoyne.
"Now let us go across to the old stone churches on the hills that skirt the town on the east. "That building farthest to the north is the Catholic Church, with its consecrated ground and few monu- ments. This next, without a steeple, is the Presbyterian, built after the Revolutionary war; that old wooden building next, with monuments near, is the German Presbyterian ; that stone building, with a steeple, is the Lutheran, and holds within its walls, the ashes of the amiable and revered minister, Christian Streit.
"It is to this second house we are to go ;- a place hallowed by many associations of a spiritual and sacred nature :- The place of the first meeting of the Presbytery, at Winchester, in 1794, when Dr. Hoge preached from the text, 'The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field,'- and Hoge, and Hill, and Lyle, and Legrand formed the Presbytery, to which Williamson was speedily attached; - two of whom still remain, lingering on the horizon of life, having had in connexion · with them some ninety ministers and candidates, a part of whom still remain, and part have gone to meet the Lord Christ ;- the place of . licensure of our much loved, venerated Virginia Professor of Theo- logy, at Princeton, Oct. 1st, 1791 ;- the place of the meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in 1799 ;- the scene of the ministrations of eminent men, and of revivals of religion, in which Zion may say, 'this and that man was born here ;'-the place of assembling of audiences before whom a man might well weigh his words. What scenes of interest have these walls witnessed when the Presbyteries and Synod of Virginia have met, and, with superhuman
465
WINCHESTER GRAVE-YARD.
energy have acted for all time ! What varied talents have here given utterance to the solemn and weighty conceptions embodied in the gospel of Jesus Christ !
"'Tis a quarter of a century since I visited this place of solemn worship for the living, and gathering for the dead. And as I look around on Winchester, what a change has passed ! Then this whiz- zing and puffing down at the depot was never dreamed of,-the stage came lazily in, three times a week, bringing the mail, and whatever passengers necessity compelled to take the bruising over the rough roads of the valley which then had no turnpike .- How the whole town is changed ! A spirit of emigration seized the old houses, -the congregation of the dead,-the very bones of Fairfax,-and the old stone church, on Loudon street, and all passed away. A man of business, a quarter of a century ago, coming back from the grave, or from his exile, would not know the scenes of his traffic and his gains. Market street, with its railway, and depôt, seems a more beautiful creation of yesterday from the ruins of the past. And the paved walks and streets everywhere, leave you to look in vain for the deep soil that once greeted you at every step. The lights of the law that sat along on those western hills-Powell, and Carr, and Holmes, and White,-that galaxy of the bench when Winchester was the seat of the Chancery Court, - all have gone to sleep with their fathers,-and all but one sleep here.
Come, let us enter the yard at this low place at the south-east cor- ner, let us go on to the old locust tree,-now read the lowly slab,
" Major General DANIEL MORGAN, departed his life On July 6th, 1802, In the 67th year of his Age. Patriotism and valor were the prominent Features of his character ; And the honorable services he rendered to his country during the Revolutionary war, crowned him with Glory, and will remain in the Hearts of his Countrymen a Perpetual Monument to his Memory.
Here, then, beneath this slab, the man whose voice could make sol- diers tremble with his hoarse shoutings, lies as quiet as that infant there !- What a man !- a day laborer in this valley some eighty years ago, -- a volunteer against the Indians, and marked by his com- mander as an officer, for his enterprise and courage,-a wagoner, and an abused colonial militia man in the service of his king,-an officer of the riflemen at the storming of Quebec with Montgomery, 30
-
466
WINCHESTER GRAVE-YARD.
and at the battle of Saratoga,-a major general in the Continental army,-and always a kind-hearted, honest man,-rough among rough men,-sensitive of honor,-generous with the brave, -- and almost civil to cowards,-here he sleeps with honorable men. Around him here are the ashes of talent, learning, and refinement,-a con- gregation of youth and age,-such as a citizen soldier and a Chris- f tian man might choose for his companions in the grave.
Step a little northward, and read again :-
"SACRED to the memory of General DANIEL ROBERDEAU, who departed this life January 5th, 1795, Aged 68 years.
" The name declares the origin and the 'father land.' A soldier in the Revolution, - a follower of Whitefield, - his descendants scat- tered over Virginia, inherit the blessings secured by the covenant of God to the persecuted, yet faithful Huguenots, 'remembering mercy to thousands, (of generations) of them that love me and keep my commandments.' Every soldier of the Revolution has his name enobled. The simple private, enrolled as a soldier of Washington, claims, and history will yield it to him, to be an integral part of an army such as the world had not seen, and may not see again. But its officers, - the planners of its campaigns, - the leaders of its bat- tles, - why - our hearts swell as we pronounce their names, - our blood pauses as we stand here at their graves. The envious opposi- tion of the Cincinnati made one right judgment, in their folly. They said truly when they said, a place on the roll of that board of officers was a patent of nobility. The Cincinnati fell ; but history preserves the record of its true nobility ; and all posterity will admit its claim.
" How much it is to be desired that the last hours of the soldiers of the Revolution were better known; that their conversation on religious experience were as carefully preserved as their principles and maxims of politics and war ! Many, very many lived, and many more of them died, firm believers in Revelation, believers in Jesus. All the sins and destructive follies of the camp, with their grievous inroads upon morals and religion, could neither find, nor make these brave men infidels. This 'thunderbolt of war,' -this ‘ brave Mor- gan, who never knew fear,' was, in camp, often wicked, and very pro- fane, but never a disbeliever in religion. He testified that himself. On leaving the Southern army, somewhat grieved at a supposed slight of Greene, he returned to this beautiful valley, from which Gates had allured him. Look eastward, where those blue mountains em- bank the horizon, and the Shenandoah, seeking its way to the Poto- mac, skirts their base. There stands Saratoga ; one scene of his glory was the name of his home. As the infirmities of age came on, and the last struggle drew near, the old soldier displayed the skill
467
WINCHESTER GRAVE-YARD.
of former days. When chased by Rawdon, he turned at the Cow- pens, made his preparations for death or victory, and gained the victory ; so now as he felt the approach of disease, and saw the ad- vance of death, he entrenched himself in the impregnable truths of the gospel, and gained victory over death by the grace of Christ. We mourn he lived so much and so long a sinner - we rejoice that he died a Christian.
" In his latter years General Morgan professed religion, and united
· himself with the Presbyterian Church in this place under the pasto- ral care of the Rev. (now Dr.) Hill, who preached in this house some forty years, and may now be occasionally heard on Loudon street. His last days were passed in this town; and while sinking to the grave he related to his minister the experience of his soul. 'Peo- ple thought,' said he, 'that Daniel Morgan never prayed ; people said old Morgan never was afraid ; people did not know.' He then proceeded to relate in his blunt manner, among many other things, that the night they stormed Quebec, while waiting in the darkness and storm with his men paraded, for the word to advance, he felt unhappy ; the enterprise appeared more than perilous ; it seemed to him that nothing less than a miracle could bring them off safe from an encounter at such an amazing disadvantage. He stepped aside and kneeled by the side of a munition of war - and there most fer- vently prayed that the Lord God Almighty would be his shield and defence, for nothing less than an Almighty arm could protect him. He continued on his knees till the word passed along the line. He fully believed that his safety during that night of peril was from the interposition of God. Again he said about the battle of the Cow- pens, which covered him with so much glory as a leader and a sol- dier, he had felt afraid to fight Rawdon, with his numerous army flushed with success, and that he retreated as long as he could, till his men complained, and he could go no further. Drawing up his army in three lines on the hill-side; contemplating the scene, in the distance the glitter of the advancing enemy ; he trembled for the fate of the day. Going to the woods in the rear, he kneeled in an old tree top, and poured out a prayer to God for his army and for himself and for his country. With relieved spirits he returned to the lines, and in his rough manner cheered them for the fight; as he passed along, they answered him bravely. The terrible carnage that followed their deadly aim decided the victory. In a few mo- ments Rawdon fled. 'Ah,' said he, 'people said old Morgan never feared, they thought old Morgan never prayed, they did not know ; old Morgan was often miserably afraid.' And if he had not been, in the circumstances of amazing responsibility in which he was placed, how could he have been brave ? Now, who shall say that, his pre- servation in these cases, and in many others, was not indissolubly connected with his prayers and fervent cries to God ? He called on God, and the Lord heard him. And when he came in his old age, penitently to the throne, confessing his sins like Manasseh, who will
468
WINCHESTER GRAVE-YARD.
not hope that God heard him, and covered him with the mantle of everlasting righteousness ?
" The last of his riflemen are gone ; the brave and hardy gallants of this valley that waded to Canada and stormed Quebec, are all gone ; gone too are Morgan's sharp-shooters of Saratoga. For a long time, two, that shared his captivity in Canada, were seen in this village, wasting away to shadows of their youth, celebrating with enthusiasm the night of the battle, as the year rolled round - Peter Lauck and John Schultz. But they have answered the roll-call of death, and have joined their leader - the hardy Lauck wondering that Schultz, the feeblest of the band, whom he had so often carried through the snows of Canada, should outlive him. There is interest around the last of such a corps. 1
" Come step across to that old wooden church over south ; pass by that curiously wrought slab from England ; go on by the marble that says
" DEATH" Inscribes A beloved Mother's name upon The Tablet.
And a little to the westward, on a white marble upright slab, is the short memorial of one of the six of Morgan's company known dur- ing the campaign as the Dutch mess, all of whom lived to a great age : and five sleep here : Kurtz and Sperry a few feet from this grave.
"IN" memory of JOHN SCHULTZ. Who departed this life 5th day of November, 1840, in the 87th year of his age.
A little to the east lies the other comrade Grim, who some years since joined the corps in the grave, without a monument. There is no inscription for Peter Lauck, he lies a little farther on - in the rear of this stone church with the steeple, in sight of his residence on that beautiful hill out South, near that tablet, that says the man 1 that sleeps beneath was from Manheim in Germany, more than a century ago -- the man that disdained to set a private table for Louis Philippe, in the little village of Winchester, because as he said - none but gentlemen ever stopped at his house, or eat at his table; and turned him from his door for making the request. The sixth one, Heiskill, sleeps in Romney.
"When the improvements in the new burying-ground, now in con- templation are completed, a visit to these mansions of the dead will become as familiar as instructive. Men will say, 'the last of
469
WINCHESTER GRAVE-YARD.
the soldiers of Quebeck lie here ; and there, their old commander who bowed the knee only to God.' Look around here upon the old inhabitants of this village, the Hoffs, the Bakers, and the Millers, and Smiths ; stop a moment at the grave of the kind-hearted Sin- gleton, and then enter this old church to pay a tribute to the reverend dead. Read the epitaph of the meek, the irreproachable Streit; and then go out and stand a moment at a grave, where widows may take comfort; the grave of his wife Susan Streit.
" Come let us go back to the first yard. Look for a few moments and see how death has gathered the inhabitants of these beautiful hills, and this lovely valley, into his treasury. Powell, the gentle- manly lawyer, from that Northern Hill, rising to pload at the bar, and gone in a moment, lies there. Look at the pleasant white resi- dence down westward close upon us; and now at these two tablets by the east wall here, two sisters in one grave, and a manly brother by their side, gathered in in fourteen months, in the very budding of their youth, lovely in their lives, and in their death not divided ; read their names; and you recognize Virginia's Professor of law. And this erect monument bears the name of a talented young phy- sician from the village, Dunbar, cut down in his prime; and that slab, the name of another, M'Gill, who sleeps with his kindred, and in the faith of the gospel. And these amiable ladies all around closely wrapped in the solitude of this crowded place.
" Look over west to that far distant brick dwelling on that sightly eminence ; and here now by this south wall, in this decaying wooden enclosure ; in the southern corner of it. There lived, and here lies Robert White, who limped with his honorable scars from the field of Monmouth to this grave; the patriot, the Judge, who knew no peer upon the Virginia bench, but Marshall, and Pendleton, and Washington, and Roane; and what is more, in his last days the humble, devout Christian. Here under this slab lies Chapman, a minister of God; this week receiving a long-expected princely for- tune, and next weck called to his heavenly crown, while in this village a wayfarer to his distant family. And this next slab covers the Senator and Governor Holmes, amiable in his life, and in his death cheered by that gospel he heard in his youth at Old Opecan. On this side, in this smooth place, sleeps his brother the Judge, from that north-western hill ; and on that side, also without a mark, his brother-in-law, the Rev. Nash Legrand, one of the first mission- aries of the Commission of the Virginia Synod. . Legrand, a name, dear to the Virginia Church, as now borne by one venerable repro- sentative of the last generations of Christians, a hearer of John B. Smith. One wonders why Legrand docs not sleep among his at- tached people of Opecan. But he, and his brother-in-law by his side, came here to Winchester to find a grave beside the benevolent Surgeon of the Revolution, the skilful Baldwin, the poor man's friend, long a beloved physician in Winchester.
"And this next slab ! who that attended the burial here a quarter of a century ago, can forget ! The company assembled that day
470
WINCHESTER GRAVE-YARD.
were not people to forget, or be hastily forgotten. Alas ! as I run over their forms in the imagination of memory, and look around, they are themselves, many of the prominent characters, gone, passed away, gathered to this very yard. It was a funeral to call together the minister and his people. And here came the pastor with the session, and the church, and the congregation, that worshipped with him in this house. Here they stood, feeling as one man with the waves of sorrow breaking over him. It seems to me but yesterday I stood, just where that grave now covers a young lady, that was standing here tben, Miss Slater. And ah ! just by, lies in her girl- hood, the lovely scholar, Theda Bent. Oh! how many of that company are gone ! e
"Why, think over the session - there was the upright and gen- tlemanly Bell, of whom nobody dared harbor an ill thought, with his face covered; the meek, thinking, successful, silent Grey, with his white locks, and sorrowful face; the devout Little, whom the heathen will bless through his child and the sympathy of American mothers ; the patriotic amiable Beattie, with his bald crown and mild face : the fervent, simple-hearted Sperry, the personification of former days, with his bent shoulders and meek countenance ; the generous-hearted Smith, then fresh in his manhood, sleeping, now fresh in that new-made grave by the north wall beyond M'Gill's : the dignified, deep, impassioned, Gamble, with his thin gray hairs, the image, with Grey, of north of Ireland elders, the very things themselves ; these, with two elders now living, stood here then; and all sleep on these hills now.
" The hearse, though looked for, yet coming somewhat unexpect- edly, drove directly to the gate; - for she had died away from home : death found her on a visit. We gathered in haste, and in silence. People did not speak, as they met at the gate : they scarce nodded. They stood around in amazement, they scarce wept, it was not a time for tears, the frost that nipped the flower chilled our blood. 'Careful,' said one voice that all knew, as the bearers jostled the bier against the half-opened gate, every hand raised in- voluntarily with the father's. As the coffin of the amiable girl reached its bed, she that bore her, stood motionless, silent, once, only, bending as if to go down to her child. Our hearts bowed with her. One groan broke from him, that stood by her side like a muf- fled statue. Its accents all knew. One shrill cry from her young companions answered, and died away in sobs and tears : then all wept; - then all was silent. Death reigned in silence that day. We felt his triumph; - but we felt the victory Christ Jesus gives a dying virgin. Read this slab,
IN MEMORY - of ELIZABETH M. HILL who departed this life Sept. 7th 1818 just entering the 23d year of her age.
471
REV. WILLIAM HILL, D. D.
Death loves a shining mark, a signal blow; Not simple conquest, triumphed in his aim ; Early though welcome was her happy fate Soon not surprising death his visit paid.
Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
"In how many hearts the sorrow of that day wrought purifica- tion, by the Holy Spirit, can be known only when the books are opened at the last day. But at this grave some youthful hearts were touched with a sorrow that only the balm of Gilead healed. Death loves a shining mark !- how many shining ones has he gathered to these hills ! Gems on earth - gems in heaven. Soon, the actors of that day will all be where spirits meet not human voices or human eyes ; where Christ in glory will fill all hearts.
"These monuments are the Records of Winchester, the history of her past. Should one feel pride and ambition rising in his soul; tell him to walk through these yards. If you feel worldliness coming over you, come here and count these sinking mounds. Does the heart fail, from the troubles of life, come visit these regions of the dead. Does the youth need energy, show him the grave of Tid- ball, the elder M'Gills, the Conrads, the elder Dunbar, the Hoffs, the elder Bakers, and Millers, and Holliday, and Riley who never forgot what he once knew; and tell him, what was done by these may be done again. Does the heart fear about religion ? The re- cords here point to Jesus Christ, who brought life and immortality to light ; here lie persons that trusted him, from the old Revolution- ary General down to the child; believe and thou shalt live for ever. Would that all the dead of Winchester lay together on these hills, and all had monuments. That those who sleep out in the western suburbs, with Fairfax and M'Guire, and Balmain, had been gathered in these yards, along these eminences. Here, then, would be the pilgrimage of their sons, to find their fathers' graves, to get lessons how to live and how to die. VIATOR.
"Winchester, August 26th, 1843."
From this time the current of events did not run smoothly with Dr. Hill. Whether in his bewildering afflictions, under which the father and mother grew old in a day, he had lost his wonderful tact in con- ducting affairs, or whether the affairs had assumed a form and cur- rent he could no longer guide, perhaps can never be decided by man. There were some naturally fiery elements in his Church and in his session ; and on some questions of Christian conduct, there was a division commencing among his members. With a cheerful un- clouded mind he probably could have directed the elements of strife into a peaceful channel ; unhappily he steered upon the quicksands.
In attendance on the General Assembly in the spring of 1819, Dr. Hill,-for while his domestic affliction was newly on him, the autho- rities of Dartmouth College conferred upon him the academic honor,-
472
REV. WILLIAM HILL, D. D.
heard his brethren relate the advantages their churches had received from publicly renewing their covenant to be the Lord's. After some reflection and correspondence, he prepared a paper to be pre- sented to his session and Church. Having assembled them he read and explained the paper ; and proposed a general and public renewal of their covenant by individual signature. Some were ready to sign ; others thought the whole procedure, an uncalled-for innova- tion on settled habits. The majority of session being opposed to action, time was demanded for consideration. The matter was laid over, and finally abandoned. The tendency to division was thereby increased, and mutual recriminations encouraged. The best means of promoting the life of godliness in the congregation, could not be agreed upon, partly from the difficulty of the subjects, and partly from the uncongeniality of disposition and habits of the persons concerned. They were united in their preacher and not in them- selves.
Ill health came upon Dr. Hill, and with it sufferings calculated to give prominence to some characteristics of his temperament. In his family, and his social intercourse, he maintained the dignity of a suf- fering man. In some discussions involving character before the Pres- bytery and before the Synod, he may have lost his balance, and pressed on with vehemence ending in a severity he himself had not anticipated. Fond of discussion, he loved to drive his opponent to the wall. If in the discussion, religion or morals appeared to him to be implicated with dishonor, his vehemence was relentless ; confessions and submis- sion, or subjugation and disgrace, were the only alternatives. Col- lision with him, was greatly dreaded in cases where there were ex- asperating circumstances. He feared no enemy; and dreaded no conflict. His industry in hunting up facts, and circumstances, and items of proof, was untiring ; his perseverance in a cause indomi- table; his resources were inexhaustible. He would with seeming carelessness expose himself to heavy blows ; but his tact in recover- ing himself was surpassing. He would spy an adversary's weak points, catch the least mismove, and give him no time to recover. if his opponent lost his temper he lost his cause; and he had the power to try a man's temper, and excite a man's fear. Coolness, clearness, precision of words and thoughts, and a stout heart, were the weapons to meet his onsets. An unwary or timid adversary was swept away. In his cheerful hours, his discussions like his conver- sations were deeply interesting, abounding with amusing anecdote, and full of instruction ; he poured out his stores in public and private with a lavish hand, and never seemed to hold any thing in reserve for some future time. When the debate assumed a saturnine cast, then the earnestness became severity; the sentences were arrows dipped in bitterness, or even in fire, that burned in the bones of the assailed. The sufferer never forgot the speech; and hardly knew how to love, or even forgive, the man. As a public prosecutor, he would have been unrivalled, the terror of all evil doers; and the defenders of crime would have earned their heavy fees, when they
.
-
473
REV. WILLIAM HILL, D. D.
cleared the accused from his charge. For these reasons many de- clined any resistance to the schemes and opinions of the Doctor that should bring themselves into notice; and trembled when they found him in opposition to themselves, or their actions. When any did resolve to meet him and oppose his opinions, they did it with a calculation and determination that insured a conflict, in which a stranger would see more vehemence than the cause apparently re- quired. It is more than probable the Doctor was unconscious of the depth of the wounds he gave; as he was very sensitive of any inflicted on himself.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.