I'KKSEXTED liY cr*- a i -ii Pitt and Wilkes and St. Asaph streets will COR. CAMERON AND ST. ASAPH sTs. remind ouc of ihe kindly offices of friends in Great Britain during the colonial contest. The city fronts at a convenient elevation on the river where the depth will admit of vessels drawing over twenty-five feet of water. Once its port was a very busy one, with a commerce extending to the West Indies, South America and Europe. Before the time of railroads the merchants of the place kept up an extensive trade in wheat and other farm commodities, brought over the turnpikes by the caravans of white sheet topped wagons from the rich lands of the Shenandoah and adjoining regions. I The old town's historical associations are of surpassing interest to every lover of the lore of Colonial timrs. No locality in the thirteen original provinces was more inti- mately connected with the beginnings and subsequent development of the spirit and feeling which led to the declaration of American Independence. It was indeed a hot bed of patriotism all through the long struggle. Her people were early imbued with the spirit of resistance to the oppressive measures of Great Britian and no town in all the colonies re- sponded more promptly and continually for troops and re- sources, through the contest. "Here it was" says a cotempo- rary English traveler "that Geo. Washington amid the plaudits of the inhabitants first stepped forth as the patron of sedition and revolt and subscribed fifty pounds for the support of hostili- ties." The town was then about twenty-five years old and its population about five thousand. THE LLOYD HOUSE. WASHINGTON AND QUEEN STS. 14 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS Through the years of the continental strife and general trouble incident to it, as everywhere else, the industries of the town were greatly depressed, but prosperity re- turned with the dawn of peace. The wagon trains again came down with their freight, from the far frontiers, and commerce again unfurled her sails as in the years agone. In 1814, the population was nearly 8000. In 1816, two years after the capitulation to CHRIST CHURCH, ALEXANDRIA, VA. and plunder by Admiral Gordon, commander of the British fleet up the Potomac, the arrivals of sails at its jjort were, nineteen shijis, forty-two brigs, fifty-two schooners from foreign ports and three hundred and twenty-two coastwise entries. Had the conditions of trade and traffic and the various local economic industries which then existed continued unchanged through the succeeding years, Alexandria to- day could doubtless show a population double and treble that which it now claims. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 15 The construction of the Potomac Canal and the laying of the three several railways, the Baltimore and Ohio, with its branch to Winchester, the Midland and the Loudoun and Hampshire, ended the old time wagon industries over the mountains and diverted most of the wonted trade to other points. Here in the spring of 1755 met the Colonial Governors, Dinwiddie of Virginia, Shirley of Massachusetts, De Lancy of New York, Morris of Pennsylvania, Sharpe of Maryland and Dobbs of North Carolina, to arrange plans for the prosecution of the French and Indian war on the Ohio river. This meeting of the colonial governors might be called the second congress in America. Tiiat of the council at Albany in 1747, the first. Christ Church, built in 1767 on Washington street near to King with its unaltered pew of George Washington will bring back forcibly the plainer days when the great hero mingled so often in religious service with his neighbors and friends of old Fairfax. , j^ifrt«iTf jitttft MARSHALL HOUSE. The spacious rooms of the Old City Hotel on Royal street between King and Cam- eron will call up many festive scenes when the same revered personage was wont to lay aside his dignity for the time and trip gaily through the mazes of the dance, with fair women and brave men: here also, he had his headquarters when he visited Alexan- dria, and here in 1799 he gave his last military order to the Alexandria volunteers. The Marshall House on King street above Royal, will make fresh the tragic circum- stances of the killing of Col. Ellsworth of the New York Zouaves, May 24th, iS6r. That was the first blood shed in Virginia durmg the war. The following tragic ac- count of the occurrence is from the Alexandria Gazette : "Probably no survivor of the Army of the Potomac visits Alexandria without inquir- ing for the Marshall House. It became famous in history in the early days of the late war, and has so remained ever since. It was in this building that one of the bloodiest tragedies of the war was enacted, in which two men met their death in a terrible en- counter. "The spring of 1861 found Alexandria, as well as many other Southern cities, in a ferment of excitement. The place was held by a few companies of Confederate soldiers, who flaunted the stars and bars literally within sight of the Capitol and under the guns of the Federal steamer ''Pawnee," which was anchored off the city at the time. 16 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS "Onebeautiful Saturday afternoon, a fewweeks before the lamentable tragedy which concentrated the atten- tion of the country on Alexandria, James Jackson, who was the lessee of the Marshall House, a sort of tavern more than a hotel, situated on the southeast corner of King and Pitt streets, flung to the breeze, from the roof of that building, a large sized Confederate flag, with the defiant assertion that the man who lowered it would do so over his dead body- The oc- casion was one of some rejoicing and enthusiasm among those who had cast their fortunes with the Confederacy, or who sympathized with the disunion movement. "A few days before the capture of Alexandria, President Lincoln and his Cabinet, from some elevat- ed spot in Washington, with field glasses, viewed the objectionable flag, and in the course of the conversation that followed, Mr. Lincoln remarked that the ensign of treason would not remain there long ; nor did it, as on the night of Thursday, May 23, 1861, a silent move was made on this defiant city, which resulted in COL. ELMER E. ELLSWORTH. its capturc and the stampede of its Confederate garri- son to Manassas Junction on the Orange and Alexandria (now Virginia Midland) Railroad, about twenty seven miles distant. "The plans of the Federal troops, through some miscarriage, proved ineffectual so far as capturing the rebel soldiers was concerned, and only a small company was netted, 'i'he Federal troops were sent in three directions, when the move on the city was made — some by way of Chain Bridge above Georgetown, others via the Long Bridge, where trains now pass from Washington into- Virginia, and the remainder by water. The Confederate pickets around the wharves and on the outskirts of the city gave the alarm in time to allow a safe retreat, and when Uncle Sam's soldiers entered the city, those of ■the Confederacy were well on their way south. "The New York Fire Zouaves were among those who reached Alexandria by water. No doubt their young and patriotic, though ill-starred colonel had viewed the obnox- ious flag from a distance as well as Mr. Lincoln, and had longed for the opportunity of lowering it. The Marshall House is situated five blocks in a vvesterly direction from the wharf where the Zouaves landed. It was very early in the morning when Colonel Ellsworth, with a small squad of his men, proceeded up the street of Alexandria, little dreaming that in le.ss than half an hour's lime his lifeless body was to be borne over the same street to the boat from which he had just landed. Cameron street, a commer< iai thoroughfare, up which he wended his wav, was comparatively deserted. But few people were moving, the bulk of the city's inhabitants being asleep. The inmates of the Marshall House were still in the arms of Morpheus, oblivious to the fact that the rebels hail vanished before the defenders of the Union, while the flag of the Confederacy was hanging limp in the absence of any breeze. The ill- fated Colonel Ellsworth soon reached the fatal tavern and with his half-dozen followers ob- tained an entrance. Meeting with no opposi- THE ELLSWORTH TRAGEDY. tiou, and uot dreaming tor a moment they OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 17 would encounter any resistance in the face nf the fact that the city had been captured, the colonel proceeded imnaediately to the roof for the purpose of taking possession of the coveted flag. "After passing through the front door, a staircase was encountered which ran spiral- ly, the first turn leading to the second floor, the third to the next floor, and the fourth to the garret and roof. The colonel and his men, before they reached the roof, met a man in his night-clothes coming out of one ot the rooms, of whom they inquired for the proprietor. The man replied that he was a boarder himself, and knew nothing of the whereabouts of the proprietor. It has since been suggested that the unknown individ- ual was Jackson himself. It took the Zouaves but a few minutes to lower the flag and detach it from the pole which protruded from the trap-door, and Colonel Ellsworth having taken it in charge, began his descent. About half-way down the flight of stairs leading from the garret, he saw Jackson, but partially dressed, emerge from one of the rooms on the landing armed with a double-barrelled gun. Ellsworth, little dreaming of the bellicose nature of the man with whom he had to deal, pleasantly remarked to him, "I've gotten a prize." Jackson made some defiant retort, and, before any one could divine his intention, raised his gun and discharged it at the colonel. An extra- ordinary charge of buckshot had been placed in the weapon, and a hole was torn in the unfortunate Ellsworth's breast large enough in which to place one's fist. Colonel Ellsworth, it is said by some, fell without a groan, though others have asserted that he gave vent to an audible sigh. In his descent he fell on his face on the landing, and while his life's blood was flowing his followers were avenging his death. The weapon Jackson used was an ordinary double-barrelled shotgun, and after killing Ellsworth he took aim at those who were with him, but before he could pull the trigger the second time the gun was knocked upward by the Zouaves and the charge entered the door frame. Francis E. Brownell, one of the squad, then sent a bullet crashing into Jackson's head and as he fell, sword bayonets were thrust through him. Jackson's body was forced down the flight ot stairs leading to the second floor, and fell on the landing. The body of Ellsworth was subsequently raised by those who had accompanied him into the fatal building, covered with an American flag, and silently and sorrowfully borne to the boat from which he had a short time before landed. "Considering the terrible tragedy which had been enacted, the day proved a remark- ably quiet one, Jackson's body was soon picked up by his friends, washed, and placeii in a coffin, and it lay in state throughout day and night. "The scene of the tragedy was visited by numbers during the day. The landing up- on which Jackson fell and where he had writhed in death agony presented a sickening sight. Blood filled a space about two yards square, and it was necessary to go on tip- toe to avoid walking in it. There was a pool of blood about a foot square where Ells- worth had fallen. "Colonel Farnham succeeded Ellsworth in command of the Zouaves. On the 21st of July following, the regiment participated in what proved to the Federal army the in- glorious battle of Bull Run. The Zouaves and the famous Black Horse Cavalry en- gaged in hand-to-hand encounter throughout the eventful day, with terrible carnage to both, during which Colonel Farnham was struck on the ear by a piece of shell, from the effects of which he died a few weeks later. In the stampede from the fatal field the Zouaves suffered greatly, and the Monday following, the survivors straggled into Alex- andria in a bedraggled, dejected, condition, many of their comrades being then stark and stiff on the bloody field of Bull Run. A cold rain had set in, and no provision had been made for their reception, and they were on the verge of suffering. It was in this emergency that nunibers of the prominent people of Alexandria, though southern sympathizers, exhibited a christian spirit which the good-natured Zouaves were not slow to appreciate. Houses were opened and entertainment afforded many of them and their straggling confreres by parties whose political predilection; -v :re hostile to the prin- ciples for which the vanquished had fought. "The Zouaves lingered about Alexandria for a few months, and the term of theit enlistment having expired, they were mustered out of i-ervire 18 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS "Jackson, the destroyer of Colonel Ellsworth, was a typical Southerner. Though brave and fearless, his political predilections had run riot with his judgment, and, rather than let the rash threat of protecting his flag come to naught, preferred sacri- ficing his life. There is little to be said in palliation of his act save that he lived at a time when men's blood had reached the fever-heat of excitement, and when rashness was occasionally exhibited by the champions of both sides. "The killing of Ellsworth produced the greatest sorrow as well as exasperation in the North, and Alexandria was immediately beseiged by parties from a distance, anxious to inspect the scene of the tragedy. A piece of oil-cloth on the landing on which the col- onel fell was cut up and carried away by relic hunters. The flooring subsequently met the same fate, and finally the balusters were cut away, piece by piece, and carried North. For several years the old Marshall House was looked upon as a sad memento ot war times by soldiers of both sides — by the Federals as a place where a brave and promising young ofificer laid down his life at the beginning of the four-years conflict, and by the Confederates as the spot where a determined sympathizer of their cause showed a courage in the face of inevitable death equalled by few on either side. "About twenty years ago, on a cold, weird night, the Marshall House was found to be on fire, and, despite the exertions of the fire department, but little more than the bare walls were left standing. Upon being rebuilt, it ceased to be a house of enter- tainment and the new building is used for other purposes." There is more at Alexandria to call up the memory of Washington than in any other place in our country except that of Mount Vernon. Alexandria was, emphatically, his own town. It was his post-office, his voting and marketplace. It was the meeting- place of the lodge of Freemasons to which he belonged. He was a member of its cor- poration council, and owned property within its limits. He was the commander of its local militia, and was a member of its volunteer fire company. He slept in the houses of many of its leading citizens, and danced the minuet with its fairest daughters. He was a vestryman of the parish, and was a regular attendant of Christ Church, where his pew is kept undisturbed to this day. This farthing, struck in the London mint in the year 1752, when George the Second was reigning monarch was doubt- less brought over the sea by one of Brad- dock's soldiers three years later and put into circulation in the new born hamlet of Belle Haven. From its worn appear- anceit must have been kept nimbly going from pocket to pocket and the story of its wanderings if we could read it now would be a very entertaining one. Mayhap it helped to pay for many a mug of cider or grog, or dinner, while the troops were waiting for their long march through the wilderness. THE OLD TAVERN. In the ball room of the city hall the birth-night balls, in honor of the birthday of the king and queen, were given before the revolution, when Gen. George Washington was a very young man and danced at them with no thought of disloyalty. From the court yard went all the coaches for Georgetown, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, before the city of Washington was anything but swamp and forests, and not even I'aid- out, and to Williamsburg, Richmond, Charleston and New Orleans, as soon as a regular road was opened through the wilderness. In those days Alexandria was con- sidered a central place of importance to which the fashions were sent from Philadelphia. Later, when the British came to help fight the French and Indians, when General Braddock had his headquarters, and held his council of war in the Carlyle House on the opposite side of the market, some of his officers, and many people of distinction, were glad to stay at the City Hotel, then known as Claggett's or Gadsby's Tavern. Later still, long afterwards in fact, when Gen. Lafayette was entertained by the OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 19 JVIasonic Lodge, "he alighted from his carriage at the door of the City Hotel at 3 o'clock," dined at the banquet in the ball room, and lodged there during the festivities incident to his visit. VISITOR GENERAL LAFAYETTE. The visit of General Lafayette to Alexandria is one of the green spots in the city's history. There are some now living who remem- ber the occasion ; others who have a dim recol- lection of it when, as little children, they toddled along, having hold of their parents' hands. This was in the year 1824, the city at that time put on a holiday attire, anti the enthusiasm animat- ed all from the youngest to the oldest. At that time hundreds of Alexandrians could be found who had fought in the seven years' con- flict for independence. To them the name of Lafayette was sacred, and many who participat- ed in the honors conferred upon the illustrious Frenchman had been encouraged by his presence and valor on the field of battle. It is unnecessary to describe all the details of his reception and entertainment while here. Let it suffice when it is said that almost every one in the community turned out and vied in doing honor to him, who when the infant republic most needed help, left his own land and cast his fortune with us, and lived to see the independence of a country declared which has grown and prosper- ed ever since. The house where Lafayette was entertained while in Alexandria is one of the most promi- the city. It is situated on the southwest corner of St. Asaph and Duke Such are a few of the many points of historic interest which the old town pos- THE LAFAYETTE HOUSE. nent in stre^jLS sesses for the curious wayfarer within its borders THE CARLYLE HOUSE. Few of all the colonial buildings of A-^irginia left standing, have more interesting his- torical associations than the Old Car- lyle Mansion wiiich forms a portion of the Braddock Hotel on North Fair- fax street. It was built by John Car- lyle in i745,-\vhen the town was in its infancy and surrounded by forests. At that time the waves of the Poto- mac washed close to the walls of the building, but by subsequent levellings and fillings of theimmediatehill slopes for the city's improvements, they have receded to the distance of several hun- dred yards. The structure of cut stone and massive walls, thanks to the reveren- tial care of generations of owners is still in a good state of preservation. In the colonial days when it stood a- lone it must have presented a stately appearance with its wide porch on the CARLYLE HOUSE. — FRONT VIEW. pcmj: old historic landmarks .vi.'si and its spacious veranda on the east, comntianding an extensive view of the river and the heights of the Maryland shore beyond. The lower apartments are wainscoted 10 the ceiling and ornamented with carved work in oak. The builder of the Mansion House with a commendable reverence for the associa- tions of the older days, which witnessed the founding of the town, while he had to CARLYLE HOUSE, REAR VIEW. obstruct the building on two sides would not allow it to be altered nor hidden, and it no»v stands apart with its lower floors, ^council chamber and all, just as the council left it in 1755. The personages who composed the council were: Gen. Edward Braddock, *The council house where the governc-rs and commandevs of the king deliberated in secret sessions, is hut little changed. Its mnssive structure has endured well through the long years. In its untenanted chombnrs the cricket chirps and the spider fashions its web. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. Commodore Keppel; and the colonial governors: Shirley of Massachusetts, De L . of New York; Morris of Pennsylvania, Sharpe of Maryland, Dinwiddie of Vinii) -', Dobbs of North Carolina, GenejalSt. Clair and /enjamin Franklin. They met '■ provide against the alarming emergencies from the encroachments of the French an Indians on the western frontiers. Alexandria is connected with other towns and cities by the Southern Railwa\ . Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and Ohio, the Chesapeake and Ohio and the Norfolk and Western railway lines: and Steamers ply regularly to Baltimore, Norfolk and other points. Thirty-nine trains of the Washington and Mount Vernon railway oass through the city daily. Fairfax Court House is fourteen miles distant, Manassas iwenty-seven, Winchester ninety, Fredericksburg fifty miles, Richmond one hundred and ten miles and Norfolk two hundred and ten miles. The city and county of Alexandria were included in that portion of the District of Columbia ceded in 1791 by the State of Virginia to the general government. The District was ten miles square and contained 100 square miles. The square lay diagonally, each angle facing one of the cardinal points of the compass. In 1846, all that portion of the District consisting of about 36 square miles lying on the west bank of the Potomac was ceded back to Virginia. Before the final establishment of the seat of government on the Potomac, offers of land and money for that purpose were made, by the inhabitants of Trenton, Lancaster, Wright's Ferry, York, Carlisle, Harrisburg, Reading, Germantown, Baltimore, George- town and Williamsburg, and the question of a choice of location was the source of long and bitter contentions until at last settled in accordance mainly with the wishes of Gen. Washington. Alexandria was the county seat of Fairfax county from 1754 to 1800. About this time the District of Columbia was formed and Alexandria then became the seat of the new county of Alexandria. At the same time the county seat of Fairfax was establish- ed at its present location. "In Alexandfia in 1775 was held a convention of delegates from Virginia and Maryland to consider questions relating to the navigation of the Potomac and the im- port duties thereof. This meeting led to demands from Pennsylvania and Delaware which resulted in an adjournment until September, 10 Annapolis, Md., where there were present, delegates from five States, who, after diligent conference, adjourned to meet representatives of all the thirteen States in Philadelphia, which body framed the Constitution of the United States. It can therefore be said that the American Union owes its birth to Alexandria." Though the former commercial glory of the old town of Alexandria has waned and well nigh disappeared before the newer conditions of trade and traffic — though no square rigged vessels lie now a days in her docks, discharging their cargoes of augar, molasses and other tropical productions from Barbadoes, Jamaica, Trinidad, Santa Cru^ and other islands of the Carribean Sea as in the years long gone — though the rumble of the long and incessant w;igon. trains from the west, which once crowded her streets and made every class of its citizens prosperous, has been silenced by the swifter transit of the railway train, still, there is a prestige remaining for it which the passing of the de- cades cannot destroy. It will alwajis be one of the places of the Old Dominion sti.te to attract pilgrimages from lands afar, on account of its interesting historic associations; and doubtless, it will become the pleasant abiding place for large accessions of people, who love the quiet, and whose business or social inclinations will keep them close to the National Capital. It will not lose its mature and leisurely ways. Its old and sub- stantial houses will be preserved with pious care to afford to coming generations of patriots fond glimpses of the vanished past, when an infant people threw cfF the tram- mels of kingly power, and merged into a life of independence. O town ot' old with changeless life. Though leaves drop on dismante d way — With graves and memories dear. Though quaint old houses fall. Thy ways bear impress all of strife, Still, is brave struggle of thy day But ne'er with line of fear ! Carved on each massive wall. SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS . .'ay of pride, O day of power ^Yhen fruitful West sued at thy doors, When ships at anchor lay, And East held out its hands, Aod wharves bedeck'd with princely dower And the gray piers on thy fair shores Loomed up in grand array. Were gates to many lands. At Jones' Point just before crossing Great Hunting Creek, a wide estuary of the Po- 0U13C. stands the Light House which marks the spot where was planted the initial stone of the boundaries of the district, which was ten miles square. c# THE LIGHT HOUSE. Buder which is Buried the "initial Jurisdiction Stone" of Dist. of folumhia. ONE OF THE FORTY JURISDICTION stones" of THE DISTRICT LINES. The District of Columbia, was authorized by Congres'; in 1790. The survey of its boundaries was made in i 791. After the completion of the survey the line was cleared of trees to the width of twenty feet on each side of the line. Along this forty foot lane through the woods and over the hills and valleys, stone monuments forty in all, were set exactly one mile apart. They were of free stone, four feet in length, two feet in the earth and two feet above, and on each one of them vvas the inscription — "Jurisdic- tion of the United States." After the lapse of a little more than a century, all but two of these monuments remain in place, but in various states of preservation. At Jones' Point was also the site of Old Fort Columbia, a fortification of wood and earthwork, mounting some heavy guns, among them the" cannon left bv Braddock's army in 1755 as too cumbrous to transport over the mountains. This fort was the first attempt by the government to guard the river approaches to the National Capital, It was not dismantled until after the trouble with Finance in 1798-9. The heavy stones that made the battery, still lie at the end of the point, and some of the guns which made its armament are stuck up as posts at street corners along the river front. Tust before this fort was demolished — for it was in 1794 only a ruin — Congress determined to build another one on the Potomac. John Vermonnet was appointed by Gen. Knox, Secreta?)' of War, in May, 1794, to take control and direction of the new fort, etc., to be built upon the Potomac river. General Washington selected the site for the new fort, a riverside knoll nearly opposite Mount Vernon, and part of the old manor of Warburton, in Maryland. Charles Dig- ges had purchased the land before 1740, and naming it a manor, affected lordly manners. He had his river barge built like a Venetian gondola, and it was inanned with negro OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. • 23 slaves wearing the costumes of gondoliers. His daughter, Jane Digges, married Col. John Fitzgerald, one of Washington's aides in the Revolution, afterwards Mayor of Alexandria. The land was bought of Thomas A. Digges in 1808 for ^3,000, and the new fort was begun in 1809. Battery Jlogers, some years since dismantled, was during the civil war a strong earth- work a few hundred yards above the Point with an armament of heavy guns. As you cross Great Hunting Creek, to the left on the Maryland heights is seen Fort P3 IH Q K hi o o o p; o C3 !? (—1 Fh K Foote, and Rosier's Bluff; and further down, the expanse of Broad Bay, uniting with the Potomac. To the right, looking from the railway bridge over Hunting Creek, stretches a scope of country pleasingly diversified by gently sloping hills and vales, and dotted with hamlet and farm-houses. Prominent among the many objects of the landscape is the 24 « SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS tall spire of the Episcopal Theological Seminary, which, if it could speak of the transac- tions of some of the years of the past, could tell startling stories of the presence of mustering armies. Around it in almost every direction, at the beginning of the civil strife, the plains and hill slopes were white with the tents of the gathered regiments, brigades, and divisions of Union soldiers. Everywhere over the suddenly populated region was heard the drum's wild beats, the fife's shrill notes, the bugle's echoing calls. The numerous remains of their entrenchments, earthworks, and other defences still prominent at every turn for miles, attest with melancholy certainty the great prepara- tions which were then made by them for the impending conflict, which ere long broke with such terrific force within our borders. Union forts frowned from every salient point of those now so quiet and peaceful hills, and a hundred flagstaffs unfurled over all, their starry flags to the passing winds. The locality is one naturally possessing a saddening interest to the tourist. Every year it is visited by numbers of the surviv- ing veterans who figured in the scenes of the stirring times of forty years ago. The grass grows green on every hill Where circling ramj^arts frown'd. Forgotten all through lapse of lime Is every martial >ound ; The sword is resting on the wall Of lowly home or princely hall. The brave corn lifts in regiments. Ten thousand sabers in the sun ; The ricks replace the battle-tents, The bannered tassels toss and run. The neighing steed, the bu^''e's blast — These be the stories of the past. The earth has healed her wounded breast. The cannon pbjw the+ields no more ; The heroes rest : O let them rest In peace along the peaceful shores ; They fought for peace, for peace they fell : They sleep in peace and all is well. ONLY A MEMORY. Just beyond the Seminary, in full sight up the valley, are the picketing grounds which long divided the two armies ; and near by is Bailey's Cross Roads, where was man- oeuvred by the Union forces, in November, 1861, in the presence of President Lincoln preparatory to the peninsula campaign, one of the grandest military reviews of any country or time. Through these camping and drilling grounds, and far on beyond, may still be traced the course of the old military road, laid out through the then dense wilderness a hundred years jjrevious, by which a portion of Braddock's army under General Halket marched on their disastrous expedition. Halfway between the Seminary and the railway bridge, is Cameron Ford where Hunting Creek is crossed by the Old King's Highway from Williamsburg, the Ancient Capital of Virginia, to the Shenandoah River. Over this highway General Sherman at the close of the Civil War led his army back to the National Capital on their return from their march from "Atlanta to the Sea." Over this same highway too, Washing- ton always passed when he rode into Alexandria on horseback or in his coach. A short distance above the Electric Railway is the new iron bridge of the turnpike to Accotink ei{^it miles below. On Seminary Heights are the remains of Fort Worth constructed by Gen. Kearney's first New Jersey brigade in 1861. It had an arma- ment of heavy and long range guns. Groui)ed around this fort in close proximity so as to command all the approaches to Alexandria were Forts Ellsworth, Farnsworth, ^Villard, NVeed, O'Rourke and Lyons. The last named, was on Mount Eagle and in- cluded within its works the home of Bryan, eighth Lord Fairfax whose title was confirm- OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 2o .ed to him by the English house of Lords in 1800. He was the son of William Fairfax of Belvoir, and was for two years a rector of Christ Church. Although he was an ar- dent royalist, the friendship between him and Washington always continued the same. Leaving the bridge at Great Hunting Creek the railway enters and passes through the lands of the "New Alexandria Land and Riverlmprovement Company." Their town, projected a few years ago has not yet realized the sanguine hopes of its projectors but the new era of general prosperity, thrift and progress will doubtless bring to its admir- able situation for manufacturing industries all the needed possibilities for success. < ^ > ^ w. %^ < "Z^ :i \^ < -% < •— 2; o o From New Alexandria the road passes over an alhivial level, formerly covered with a dense forest, until it reaches the station which takes 'ts name from the near by Dyke, constructed just after the Revolution by Dr. Augustus Smith of West Grove plantation of which it was a part, at a great expense, to make a large scope of meadow, by keep- 26 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS ing out the waters. The undertaking proved successful but the embankments were cut a few years after by some malicious person, and were never repaired. Along the crests of the range of hills to the right of this level, in colonial times, stood the homesteads of the Johnstons, the Wests, and Emersons, prominent Virginia families. Some piles of bricks and stones and wasting springs are all that are left to tell of them now. The arm of the river which passes near to the Dyke station lends attractions to the surrounding landscape, and its shaded nnoksin the sultry days of summer offer pleasant retreats to the dwellers of the neighboring cities. From the Dyke the road rises by a slight deflection to the right through lands once a part of the Hollin Hail plantation of two thousand acres belonging to George Mason of Gunston. The site of the old Mansion as pretentious as that of Gunston, is reached by a road from Belmont Station. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 27 It is one mile distant. A quaint, long, rambling structure known in the neighborhood as the Spinning House, still stands. In it in generations gone was done all the spin- ning and weaving for the many occupants of the great plantation. This plantation ad- joined that of Mount Vernon between which was a boundary line of "double ditching." It was a part of a large scope of land of seven thousand acres patented by George Ma- son before the founding of Alexandria. Thomson Mason, a son of George the patriot, and author of the Bill of Rights and Constitution of Virginia, built and resided in the mansion after the close of the revolution. The foundation of the walls may still be traced with exactness, showing the building to have been large and spacious; and the surrounding grounds indicate well arranged lawns, terraces and approaches in keeping with a pretentious manorial dwelling. It was destroyed by fire about 1824. The situation had been well chosen for a home. It was high and airy and command- ed a charming landscape of forests and hills and stretches of miles in extent ; and copious springs gushed near by, from the hill slopes for thirsting man and beast — springs which still fiovv as full and perennially as when the bond folks "toted" their crystal measures in the primal days. He named the homestead Hollin Hall after an old country seat of some of the Mason family in England. Gunston Hall where George Mason lived was ten miles down the river. Ere the lands of this estate had been impoverished by that continuous system of slave culture which demanded of them everything and returned to them nothing, they pro- duced large crops of tobacco, grain, wool and hemp. In the spinning house this wool and hemp was spun and woven into fine and coarse fabrics for the household needs and the hands of the plantation. The spinning wheel and the loom were kept going with little intermission through the whole year, for there was quite an army of the work people to clothe. Very near to the mansion along the valley on the east side coursed the old Colonial road, now obliterated, which branched from the King's High- way heretofore described, near to "Gum Springs" and made then a continuous way for the southern travel even so far down as Savannah, until after the revolution, over the Potomac by Clifton Ferry and on to Philadelphia. The turnpike which now runs by the mansion site-on the west side was not laid until after 1850. Like his father George, of Gunston, Thomson Mason was an earnest patriot and was prominent in the decisive measures which precipitated the opposition to British op- pression. He had signed the Virginia protest against the injustice of the Stamp Act, and when the war resulted he joined the army under his neighbor Washington and testified as a brave soldier, his sincerity in the colonial cause. In June, 1781, his fatiher writing to his brother George says of him, "your brother Thomson has lately returne'd from a tour of military duty upon the James river. He commanded a force in a close action, with coolness and intrepidity." Belmont Station is on the highlands. Here the river flows close by, broadened by the confluence of the Broad Creek estuary on the Maryland side. This estuary in i 707 was declared a port of entry for "all ships of commerce" and at its head was then laid out a town which for many years was a busy shipping place for the immense tobacco products of the neighboring plantations. An Episcopal Church was established there in 1694 in which building, service is still held. Beyond Belmont station a few hundred paces is the line of survey marking the upper boundary of the "Old Mount Vernon Estate" of eight thousand acres, which in Wash- ington's" time was divided into five main farms or plantations, and designated respect- ively. River, Dogue Run, Mansion House, Union, and Muddy Hole farms. River farm, which the railway strikes first, and formerly known as Clifton's Neck, was pur- chased in 1760 for the sum of three dollars per acre. It consisted of two thousand acits, but has been since divided and subdivided like all the other farms into smaller tracts, which are occupied by settlers chiefly from the Northern States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and elsewhere, who have made many improvements upon them by clearing up the grounds, enriching the soil, planting orchards, and construct- ing fencing and comfortable dwellings. The surface of these highlands is gently un- dulating, and consists of a great -diversity of soils, which are remarkably easy of tillage 28 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS and very susceptible of a high and profitable fertilization, and are particularly adapted to the production of all kinds of farm staples, fruits, and garden vegetables needed by the adjacent cities. The divisions lying immediately along the river afford situations for homes of surpassing beauty ; and while they are proverbially healthy, and are abund- antly supplied with perennial springs of pure soft water, for every domestic require- ment; the railway makes them suburban by giving thsm quick and easy transit to and from the National Capital at all times of the year. cc ^ 0) K ■^ rn p > O Si 5^ to O ^-, H O >5 fcO HH ►J .~ u^l f/J r-, ►-, A short distance from Wellington Station to the leit and in full view, stands on the river-bank the old Wellington House built by William Clifton previous to i 760. It was occupied by Col. Tobias Lear, who for nearly fourteen years was private and mili- tary secretary to the general, and private tutor to his adopted children, George W. Park Custis, and his sister Nelly, and who was in 1805 United States Commissioner to OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 29 treat with the hostile powers of the Barbary States at the time of the memorable expedition of General Eaton. By a provision of Washington's will he was to be tenant of the house and premises rent free until his death. This was in consideration of his great services to him, especially during his presidency. He died in 1816. Afterwards, the farm was occupied by two generations ot the Washington family, Charles A., a grand- nephew, being the last, until 1859. Charles was a genial, jolly fellow, but not so well up in the arts of practical faming as his illustrious uncle. On one occasion, he went into town to have some ploughshares sharpened which were urgently needed to make ready his grounds for wheat sowing, but falling in with some old cronies he was in- duced to make a month's visit to the "Springs;" but it wasall the same to Uncle Toby and the rest of the waiting "hands," for they had a long holiday, though the wheat crop went by default. In farming he was an experimentalist, though always disas- trously. He read in the Country Gentleman of the great profits of barley growing, and so resolved to try his hand also. One morning in spring, when the robin and blue bird were piping their jubilant songs, he had his "gang" ploughing a ten acre field. The barley was sown, and the harvest time came, and the grain was flailed out and loaded on a two- horse team for the Alexandria market. The hopeful proprietor mounted his saddle horse and went up, in advance, to dispose of his crop. But barley was an un- known quantity he found, on arriving at the store of his merchants ; but later, however he succeeded in bartering his grains to a brewer for a barrel of beer, which he sent home to his cellar. The tidings of the transaction soon spread among his many jolly town companions, and, slipping down the river by boat after nightfall to the Welling- ton House, they succeeded before morning in drinking up the entire crop of barley. From Arcturus, the next station beyond, a smooth, winding avenue leads down a few hundred paces to Andalusia, one of the many desirable places on the old Estate which the railway has made readily accessible to those who are in quest of situations for charming suburban homes. This point in our journey is best described in the sub- joined story of A Summer Outing. THE STORY OF AN OUTING AT ANDALUSIA, VA. Twelve miles from the National Capital, down the Potomac, on the Virginia shore, is a spot whose memories will be like holy benedictions to me through all the coming years of my life. I was needing rest, and there I found it in a sweet and quiet seclu- sion such as I never enjoyed before, -^a rest which had no circumstances to disturb nor shadow to mar. This place Elysian is reached by the Mount Vernon Electric Railway. From Arc- turus Station, midway between Alexandria and the home of Washington, you wind by a hard, smooth avenue along green fields, and through orchards laden with ripe and ripening fruitage, till you are in the shadows of a hundred stately oaks and walnuts, many of them of a century's growth. Here in the midst of these leafy sentinels is a home which in all its surroundings and influences, more nearly than any other, fills up the measure of my ideal dreamings. Andalusia is distant from the travelled highways, and before the coming of the elec- tric car was a terra incognita, with rarely a visitor, save of the surrounding neighborhood to invade its quiet borders. The passengers from the deck of the passing steamer de- scried it in the distance, showing like a gem in its setting of river and cool enbower- ing trees, but it was only a glimpse of hidden beauties to be remembered and cherished or forgotten. Now, by rapid and easy transit many pilgrims find their way thither, although it is but a private home. Little picnic parties from the cities adjacent, through the courtesy of the proprietor, hie there through the summer days to spread their repasts under the shadowing boughs, and make .merry on the inviting green sward. Ar ists come to sketch the delightful and varied views of its environs, the cycler to wheel over the smooth avenues, the angler to throw his line into the still river nooks, and the wearied, like myself, to seek the balm of rest. In this ideal home by the Potomac I found a welcome and a hospitality which re- 30 SOME OLD HISTOKIC LANDMARKS called the many stories I had read, of entertainments in Virginia homes of the olden time. For tired nature there was no lack of sweet restorers. There were libraries, inviting to every range and department of knowledge. There was music to soothe and harmonize, pictures, and cabinets of curios to amuse, and a wilderness of flowers to please the eye. All too swiftly passed the lime, as I fondly tarried in the midst of so many allurements from the dull and perplexing routine of business in the city. Hours of the bright mid- summer days I watched from the vine-hung verandas of the "Old Mansion," the broad o z c e4 river's expanse before me, vi-ith its flitting shadows, its sails, and passing steamers. Sometimes it was a leisurely stroll along the pebbly shore, or boating in the still waters that beguiled me, and sometimes it was straying over the site of the old Indian town of Asasomeck, looking for arrow heads, javelin points, fragments of pottery, and other re- mains of the ancient dwellers. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 81 One serene evening, as the parting rays of the setting sun were fading beyond the hills I joined a boating party for an excursion to the opposite shores of "Maryland, my Maryland." A delightful ride over a stretch of two miles of the still waters brought us to the head of "Broad Bay," where we landed, and then walked in the twilight a short distance up the valley to an ancient chapel, erected in the time when all the surrounding region was a part of the realms which owned the rule and sway of the king of "Old England." Within the walls of this chapel, our Washington, Lord Fairfax, and many other noted men of that time were wont to worship. Jvlany ge-nera- tions of its congregations are lying under the crumbling stones of the briar grown graveyard, and as I pondered wher-e so often had been read that last solemn ritual of "dust to dust," many a vision tiitted before me, of happy bridals and solemn fun^erai trains of the "dead past" ot the long ago. As w€ turned in pensive mood from the sacred place., the full moon was up and beam- cVI SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS ing brightly on the still waters of the grand old river to light us back on our homeward way. The sketch of my outing would be incomplete, if I failed to mention a sail down the river to Fort Washington and also a ride over the electric road to Mount Vernon. Reader, did you ever climb to the heights of the old fort? If not it is worth a jour- ney to do so. Go there on some fair midsummer day, and survey from its vine covered battlements the broad and varied expanse outlying before them. In that expanse the eye may trace out the National Capital, with its towering dorne and obelisk, sitting superl)ly enthroned in the mist and dimness of the far away liills to tlie nortli, and the grand old river flowing down in its seaward course through its setting of green slopes and plains and wooded crests, gives to all the view a charm and beauty not often sur- passed. A visit to the home and tomb of the immortal chieftain is surely an event to linger long in the memory of every patriot. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. But I am reaching the limits of the tyjjos, and so must not tarry, otherwise the story of my outing with its round of varied pleasures and enjoyments would be a long one. To the friends who had kindly bidden and welcomed me to their hospitalities I said goodby, and with many regrets at parting, turned homeward from the long to be re- membered scenes of Andalusia. O, homestead by the river side When rains of life are faHing, I'll go in fancy to thy fold , And hear the robin calling His sleepy mate at early dawn ; I'll watch the river flowing And see the sway of trees and flowers As winds round them are blowing, And tho' throujjh splendid castles In foreign lands I'll roam, O, may my heart be pure and true, As in the dear old home. From Andalusia to Mount Vernon the distance is three miles, with the intervening stations of Herbert's Spring, Snowden's, Hunter's and Riverside Park at Little Hunt- ing Creek, which make the occupants of numerous adjacent farms conveniently accessi- ble to this important line of travel. The creek divides the original River Farm of Washington's map from the Mansion House Farm, and one mile beyond, the road ter- minates at the gates of the Mount Vernon Mansion. BROAD CREEK-OLD CHURCH AND OLD HOUSES. Four miles below Alexandria, on the Maryland shore, and opposite to Andalusia, on the Virginia side, is the estuary or bay of Broad Creek. There Washington often went, as he tells us in his diary, with his friend and neighbor, Diggs, of Warburton Manor, to throw his line for the finny denizens of the still waters. At the head of this bay, where now only the light-draught scow boat can ascend the silt-filled channel, large schooners used to lie at their moorings and load with cargoes of tobacco, wheat, and corn for the foreign pons. It was a busy neighborhood then, when the odd and ancient looking houses, which have stood through the changes of one hundred and fifty to two hundred years were comparatively new, and the surrounding lands were fertile and produced abundantly all kinds of farm products. ST. JOHN S CHURCH. BROAD CREEK, MD. over 200 years old. There is much in this isolated locality to interest the curious delver into the scenes and circumstances of the olden time. The weather-beaten tenements, so dilapidated and forlorn in appearance ; the impoverished fields and the forsaken landing-place with never a freight nor cargo to be loaded or discharged, will murmur to him, as he thoughyuUy scans the desolation, in audible stories of how the generations of toilers 34 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS came and went — how they fretted out life's fitful fever, and were at last gathered from their labor of successor failure to the densely populated burial-place of the settlements. The creek meanders down from the far uplands in bright rivulets, touching in its course the borders of many an old home whose mournful landmarks of falling tene- ment or blackened hearthstones or deserted springs are rnute but eloquent reminders of the long faded years when those now impoverished fields in their primitive fertility yielded to the tobacco and maize planters their fifty and a hundred fold. More than two hundred years ago an Episcopal church was organized here by the first dwellers. The parish was at first known as Piscataway, afterwards King George's, and the Church of St. John's. The first house of worship was of logs and built in 1694, rebuilt with bricks in 1722, and enlarged to its present dimensions in i 763, John Addison, William Hatton, William Hutchinson, William Tannhil), John Emmet, and John Smallwell were of its first vestry, and Rev. George Tubman its first rector. This church antedates all other Episcopal churches of the Potomac region of Maryland. The leading spirit in the organization of this church was Col. John Addison a member of the Governor's council and an uncle of the celebrated Joseph Addison. The burial place of the old kirk is densely peopled with the dead of departed congre- gations. Over most of the graves is a wilderness of tangled vines. Many of the stones are levelled and sunken nearly out of sight, with inscriptions worn and hard to deciph- er. Hundreds of graves have no stones at all, presumably of the earliest burials. A broad marble slab lies over the remains of Enoch Lyells, killed in a duel, August 7, 1805, with the following inscription ; "Go, our deal- son, obey the call of Heaven ; Yet, oh, what pen can paint the parents' woe ? Thy sins were few — we trust they are forgiven. God only can punish ihe hand that <^ave the blow." OLD HOUSE AT BROAD CREEK, MD. 200 years old. The quarrel of the duelist h td its ongin in offensive reimrks made at a ball in the village of Piscataway, and the duel took place at Johnson's ^prirg, on the Virginia sliore. The young man who was killed and who liad made the remarks was averse to the encounter, but was goaded on to his death by his father and mother. His antag- onist was named Bowie, who afterwards fled to the new settlement of the southwest. To him belongs the unenviable reputation of originating the bowie knife. The hip-roofed house over two hundred years old still remains on the shore of Broad Creek vviiere the wounded man was carried by his friends to die. It stands lonely and ghost like, scarred and blackened by the mutations of time, a grim memorial not only OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 35 of the duel, but of the more prosperous days of the locality, when square rigged vessels even, sailed from the now lonely and desolate place with cargoes of tobacco and other valuable freight of a fertile and productive region. Long after the event of the duel the old house was to all the negro population an ob- ject of aversion ; and even to the present time stories handed down through the gen- erations, are told of strange lights which were seen flitting and hovering over the local- ity, on dark and dismal nights. These lights if seen as averred, may not have been due entirely to the distorted imagination of the ignorant negroes but as well to the phosphorescent exhalations from the decaying matter of the surrounding marshes. THE DOGUE IN DIANS-ASSAOM ECK. AljiS for them ! their day is o'er, The plough is on their hunting-grounds. Their fires are out from shore to shore ; The pale man's axe rings thro' their wo'ods, No more for them the wild deer bounds,— The pale man's sail skims o'er their floods. ' On the shores of the Mount Vernon estate, and far inland to the west, once roamed a numerous tribe of aborigines of the Algonquin race whose prowess was acknowledged and feared by all the surrounding tribes. The chief settlement or village of "Assao- meck, according to the investigations of Professor Holmes, of the National Ethno- logical Bureau, occupied the site now known as Andalusia, four miles below Alexan- dria. The great number of stone axes, javelin and arrow points, and fragments of pottery which have been turned up there by the plough, sufficiently attest the fact. Here, in 1608, that fearless explorer and doughty old soldier. Captain John Smith, on his way up the Potomac to beyond the present site of the National Capital, stopped to hold parley with the reigning chief, and smoke the pipe of peace and friendship. Their settlement was the scene of a cruel and unsparing massacre by a force of aveng- ing colonists during the Bacon rebellion of 1676. Where their cabins clustered along the river shore in the primeval days, the suburban homes of Andalusia now rise up to greet the eye of the passer. FORT WASHINGTON, AND THE MOUTH OF THE PISCATAWAY-LEONARD CALVERTWITH HIS VANGUARDOF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. Seven miles below Alexandria, on the commanding heights of the old manorial es- tate of "Warburton," in Maryland, are the frowning battlements of Fort Washmgton. They help to give picturesqueness to the grand landscape of which they are a part, and they represent an expenditure of many hundred thousands of the public treasury, and many years of hard toil of long-vanished builders. But that is all. For the de- fence of the National Capital, they are practically useless against the new methods of naval attack. In 1814, when the British fleet came up the Potomac, the garrison then occupying the works, abandoned them and allowed the enemy to proceed to Alexan- dria and plunder the city without molestation. At the foot of the heights, just under the walls where the waters of the Piscataway and the Potomac unite, came, in i6''4. Governor Leonard Calvert with two hundred followers, most of them Roman Catholic gentlemen and their servants, to establish, under the provisions of a royal cha.-ter to his brother, Cecil Calvert (Lord Baltimore), a settlement of the new region of Maryland, as yet untenanted save by roving aborigines. He anchored his vessels, the "Dove" and a small pinnace, proclaimed the catholic faith, raised the standard of Old England and proceeded to negotiate with the Indians, who assembled on the shore to the number of five hundred. The chieftain of the tribe would neither bid him go nor stay, "He might use his own discretion." It did not seem safe for the English to plant their first settlement in the wilderness so high up the river, vvhereupon Calvert descended the stream, examining in his barge the creeks and estuaries near the Chesa- peake. He entered the river now called St. Mary's and which he named St. George's, and "about four leagues from its junction with the Potomac" he anchored at the Indian town of Yoacomoco. To Calvert the spot seemed convenient for a plantation. Mut- ual promises of friendship were made between the English and the natives, and upon the twenty-seventh day of March, 1634, the Catholics took quiet possession of the place, and religious liberty obtained a home — its only home in the wide world — at the 36 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS humble village which bore the name of St. Mary's. Very soon after this time all the region around the Piscataway river was explored by the Calvert colonists ; and the Jesuit Missionaries who had come over with the proprietor established their missions from St. Mary's up to the Anacostia river. The parent mission under the direction of Father White was located at Piscataway. Great hopes were entertained by them of the evangelization of the Indians. Schools were instituted among them. A printing press, the first in all the colonies south of Massachusetts Bay was set up at Piscataway and catechisms and portions of the gospels were printed in the Indian tongue, some copies of which v/ere brought to light only a few years ago in the library of the Vatican in Rome. For more tha'n two hundred years they had lain there forgotten in the gath- ered dust with the reports, the fathers had sent of their missions in those early times along the wild shores of the Potomac. Numbers of the Indians we are told by the chroniclers embraced the new faith and OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 37 were baptized, among them King Chilomachen, his Queen, children and attendants. Of these self sacrificing missionaries, one of their faith has said: -'Their pathways were through the wilderness and their first chapels were the wigwams of the savages. They assisted by pious rites in laying the foundations of a state. They kindled the torch of civilization in the new found lands. They gave consolation to the grief stricken pilgrim. They taught the religion of Christ to the sons of the forest. The history of Maryland presents no better, no purer, no more sublime lesson than the story of the toils of her first missionaries." WHEN KING GEORGE 2ND. OF ENGLAND RU LED VI RGI N I A. CLIFTON FERRY. JOHNSOn's SPRING. DUELLING GROUND. "As ancient was this hostelry When folks lived in a grander way As any in the land may be, With ampler hospitality." Built in the Old Colonial day * * * * By 1745 vvith the exit of the aboriginal inhabitants from the tide water regions of Virginia, the wave of civilization had advanced up the Potomac even to the slopes of the Blue Ridge. In that year was passed by the General Assembly an act establishing a public ferry from Clifton Neck, now the river farm of the Mount Vernon estate, to the Maryland shore. Capacious boats were provided for the ferriage of vehicles of every description as well as for pedestrians, horses and cattle, and were manned by sturdy negro oarsmen ; and but a few minutes were required by them to cross the stream. By this ferry went all the travel by land through the colonies between New York and Georgia. The rates of ferriage were "for a man or horse one shilling, for every coach, chariot or wagon and the driver thereof six shillings. For every cart or four wheeled chaise and the driver thereof four shillings. For every two wheeled chaise or chair two shillings." Archdeacon Burnaby in his travels through the middle settlements of America in 1760 tells us he crossed the Potomac at this point going northward by Upper Marlboro and Annapolis. The Old Ferry House as shown in the engraving stood on the brow of the hill about fifty yards from the tide level. It fell to ruins fifty years ago. It was a noted place of entertainment on the great highway. The traveller always found under its roof an abundance of good fare ; for the river was stocked with the finest fish and the forests around abounded with wild game ; and there was no stint of apple brandy, cider and beer, old Jamaica and other beverages for all who were inclined in that direction, and most folks were so disposed in those primitive times. Not far from the doorway of the hostelry gushed the spring calK'd by the Indians, the "Great Fountain." Its waters clear and cold, still pour out from the hill side un- abated from year to year, just as they did in colonial times. Their source doubtless is among the distant rocks of the Blue Ridge. Perhaps the first white man who ever drank of them was Captain John Smith when he ventured up the Potomac in 1608. And no wonder that he told in his journal of the "sweet waters", with which the new region abounded. This locality was in the years far back a noted resort for duellists. The last duel was fought in 1805 as elsewhere noted in these pages. Later on, it was a favorite place for summer social gatherings of every description. Fourth ot July parties met there from the two cities and celebrated Independence Day ; and Washington tells us in his diary that he met his neighbors there at barbecues and other social and political gatherings. No highway in all the land had more interesting historical associations than this by the Old Ferry. No road was used more frequently by Washington. He always took it when going to his river farm and 10 the races at Annapolis. It was the road he travelled when going to the first Continental Congress. 38 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS In his diary for Aug. 30th, 1774, he says "Col. Pendleton, Mr. Henry and Col. Mason came to my house and remained all night." "Aug. 31, these gentlemen dined" here, after which Col. Pendleton, Mr. Henry and myself set out on our journey for Philadelphia." They crossed the Potomac by Clifton ferry five miles below Alexan- dria into Prince George county, Maryland and reached Upper Marlboro for supper and lodging. "Sept. ist, breakfasted at Queen Ann's ten miles further and dined at Annap- olis. Crossed the head of the Bay to Rock Hall in Kent county by the packet ferry. Here we supped and lodged. Sept. 2nd, dined at Rock Hall and thirteen miles further on in the journey supped and lodged at Newtown on Chester river." "Sept. 3rd, breakfasted at Downs (now Galena) sixteen miles beyond. Dined at Buck tavern ten miles further. Lodged at New Castle eighteen miles. Breakfasted at Christina Ferry eight miles. Dined at Chester twelve miles. Fifteen miles beyond, after sup- ping at the New Tavern in Philadelphia lodged at Dr. Shippens, in all one hundred and fifty-one miles in five days." CLIFTON FERRY. Down this highway in 1781 came the forces of General Green going to the Carnli- nas, and the armies of Washington, Lafayette, and AVayne going to Yorktown. By "Washington's orders at the time the local militia was summoned to repair all the ways over which the troops, the beef cattle, the baggage wagons and artillery were to pass through the several counties of Virginia ; and the planters all along were requested by him as a particular mark of respect to assist the ofificers from point to point in their carriages. The National Capital was then but a straggling settlement with its few buildings in the midst of forests and swamps, with difficult approaches to it from every side. The Long Bridge had not been built and the only ferry to the Virginia Shore was that to Analostan Island, from Georgetown. The only traces of this highway in its course through the Mount Vernon estate may OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 39 be seen in the clump of trees on the electric railway at Arctnrus Station, as shown in the accompanying engraving. Clifton Ferry was discontinued after iSoS. The Old Ferry House as shown in the engraving stood on the brow of the hill about fifty yards from tide level. Fifty years ago it fell to ruins. "With weather stains upon its wall And creaking and uneven floors And stairways worn and crazy doors, And chimneys huge and tiled and tall." THE OLD ROAD. But a remnant left of the old highway, When George of England held royal sway — Only a hollow, worn deep in the hill — But listen well — it has tales to tell Of the tide of travel that over it roU'd For a hundred years in the days of qld. Lift ye the veil, and the throngs shall pass Before your vision a^ in a glass. You will hear the creak of the cumb'rous wain ; Vou will hear the teamster's shouts again. Before you will pass on its tedious way The stage and four of the ancient day. Anon, you will see the planter ride With liveried coachman at his side — The gangs of toilers will come and go From their endless tasks of joy or woe. The steps of armies you will hear And their bugles will greet you loud and clear- Their drum's wild beat you will hear as well Echoing afar through the wooded dell — They are veterans tried and service worn With garments faded and rent and torn ; They have fought at Trenton and Lexington — Tliough fields they have lost, they have glory won, And their good flintlocks and powder dry They are keeping well tor the by and by. Brave continentalers — tliey are marching down For the final fray at Old Yorktown ! M.irk ye the leaders in buff and blue — Washington and (Ireene and "mad W^iyne" too ; And Lafayette and Chasieleux And the dashing count of Rochambenu, Our friendly allies from France afar Who have come to turn the tide of war. Ihe-e are the visions which you may see If you lift the veil by the old highway. Fort Washington and Fort Hunt opposite to it on the Virginia shore command the aj)proach by water to the National Capital and as a result of several years of constant t\-ork upon them by the Government are now fully equijiped for defence. When the great avenue in contemplation, to connect Arlington and Memorial Bridge with Mounr Vertion shall be constructed, it will doubtless pass very near to Fort Hunt and so be come a military as well as a public highway down from the National C.ipital. Little Htmting Oeek which the road crosses at Riverside Park is the natural and lower boundary of Washington's Riv'er Farm of 2000 acres just travelled over, and which he purchased of William Clifton in 1767. On the south side of the creek lies the other large farms of the Old Mount Vernon estate known as the Mansion House farm, Union farm, Dogue Run farm and Muddy Hole farm, containing in the aggre- 40 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS gate, 6000 acres. The part of the estate on which the home is situated was included in a royal grant of 5000 acres made by Gov. Thomas, Lord Culpeper, in 1670 to Lieut. Col. John Washington and his associate in maritime adventure, Nicholas Spencer, in consideration of their services to the Virginia colony for bringing to its new lands from England one hundred immigrants or settlers. This Coh John Wash- ington was a great grandfather of General George Washington whose father Augustine purchased of the Spencer heirs their right in the original grant. By purchases from time to time previous to the Revolutionary war the General added one thousand acres more to the already large domain until its boundaries embraced a total of Sooo acres as held at the time of his death in i 799. There is hardly a spot over this vast extent of land which has not known of the pres- ence of this great rural proprietor. There is not a valley, nor a hill, nor rivulet, nor spring that has not associations of him. He laid all its roads, divided all the different plantation tracts and directed in person all the improvements which went on from year to year over the estate. Little Hunting Creek in Washington's time was bordered by a dense growth of forest trees, which almost entirely shadowed its waters; and at all seasons of the year, wild fowl, ducks, geese and swan gathered there in great numbers, affording for the General and his visiting friends ample opportunities for shooting which were as jealously guard- ed from invading poachers as those of any game reservation in Old England ; and the same protection was given to the game animals which wandered the wooded domains of the estate. Augustine Washington, father of George, laid the first foundation of the Mount Ver- non Mansion just previous to 1736. He erected then only the middle portion of the building as we now see it in its more pretentious entirety, with its commanding front, its broad veranda, its belfry and its numerous apartments. ' The first structure was plain and simple, but with its four rooms it was then deemed an ample dwelling place, and no important additions were made by the new proprietor until after his marriage which occurred in 1759. Between that time and the year 1786 he had fashioned the Mansion into very much the form and appearance which it presents to ns today. His guests were constantly increasing frr>m at home and abroad and he needed more roorn and style for their entertainment. He obtained from England workmen and materials and by the close of 17S5 had completed his improvements in which he was his own architect, drawing every plan and specification with his own hand. The interior of the old house remained to a great extent unchanged, but wings were added and the ex- terior remodeled, so that its appearance today is very much the same as when com- pleted then. The Mansion is built of wood in imitation of cut stone, mainly after the style of a French Chatteau of the time of Louis fourteenth, is ninety-six feet in length by thirty- two in width, of two stories and a finished attic, with dormer windows surmounted by a graceful cupola which commands a fine view of the varied country surrounding it. Along the entire front, facing the river and Fort Washington is a wide veranda sup- ported by high square pillars and paved with a tesselated pavement of stones brought from White Haven, England, in 1785. The ground floor contains six rooms (there were originally but fourj with the old spacious hall in the centre of the building, ex- tending through it from east to west, and the stairway. On the south side of the hall is the parlor, library and breakfast room, from which last a narrow staircase ascends to the private study on the second floor; on the north side a music room, parlor, and dancing-room, in which when there was much comjiany the guests were sometimes enter- tained at table. The principal feature of this room is the large mantelpiece, wrought in Italy, of statuary and Sienite marbles, exquisitely carved in every part, bearing in relief, scenes in agricultural life. The interiors of the new rooms were finished to cor- respond with the old ones. At the same time were built, near the mansion on either side, a substantial kitchen and laundry, connected with it by collonades. These, with other outlying buildings then erected, all remain, with the exception of an extensive conservatory. Washington, thus occupied with the development of his estate, was meanwhile unconsciously exercising a powerful influence on national affairs. He was OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 41 obliged to maintain an extensive correspondence, and the opinions and counsels given in his letters were widely effective. No longer the soldier, he was now becoming the statesman. Exact plans and dimensions of the Mansion have been taken and will be preserved for use in case of destruction by fire. o §5 GEORGE WASHINGTON AND HIS HOME. Tell us attain the story Our sires and grnndsires told ; We love to hear it often, 'Tis ever new. tho' old. On the fourteenth day of December, 1799, George Washington, the successful soldier and leader, the true patriot, the wise statesman, the estimable private citizen, the public benefactor and friend of all mankind, passed peacefully from earth, in his quiet home at Mount Vernon, to the inheritance of the rich rewards awaiting a life of exceeding great usefulness and honor. Since the occurrence of that event which brought grief 42 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS and sorrow to the infant nation he had so faithfully labored to direct and establish, only one hundred years have elapsed, hardly five generations of his posterity; and a few of late were still remaining among us who were then children. Yet, such was the sublime character and great worth of the revered chief, and such have been the grand results to the world of his heroic deeds and unselfish sacrifices, that in our grateful remembrance and almost pious veneration of him, the vista of time through which we look back in contemplation of his life and public services seems to us more like one of long centuries than that of the few scores of solemn anniversaries which have been recorded. As this vista lengthens and grows dimmer with the passing away of each succeeding year, we delight more and more to recount the story of his childhood and early training, of his military services and exploits, of his subsequent civil career, and, finally, of his retired life as a farmer on his broad Virginia estate, where, in the peace- ful tranquility of a mind untroubled by vain ambitions or harrassing regrets, he lived the happiest days of his eventful life. Mount Vernon, the home and tomb, will ever continue the grand focal point to which the generations of our republic will fondly turn in their love and admiration for the great chief. Then, shall we not keep on telling the "old, old story?" — the story which, though so often relocated, will be forever new, and will forever charm and please, — the one which poets shall sing and orators proclaim — the one which sires and grandsires shall relate to the eager ears of little children on their knees, which shall cross every sea, and be heard in every land and in every clime. Let it be told, and again and again repeated, so that no event nor circumstance connected with the bril- liant career of the pater pntrhr shall remain unknown or forgotten. His life and the precious memories of its well shaped and rounded works are the common patrimony of all liberty loving peoples and will be kept fresh and perennial. LAWRENCE WASHINGTON- HALF BROTHER OF GEORGE. Lawrence Washington deserves more than the incidental notices which have been accorded to him in other chapters of this Hand-book. In our regard ior the merits and career of his distinguished brother, on whom too much praise cannot be bestowed, we are apt to lose sight of the noble and magnanimous spirit which was so instrumental in moulding and shaping that character which shines with such transcendant lustre in the galaxy of our Revolutionary heroes. Fifteen years older than his brother George, he at once in his orphanage filled the place of the correct fraternal exemplar and pa- ternal adviser. When Lawrence came up from the lower Potomac to the occupancy of the domains of twenty-five hundred acres "lying along and south of Little Hunting Creek," George accompanied him to his new home, established by his father Augus- tine a short time previously, and named in honor of his old commander, Mount Ver- non, until Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax needed him to assist his cousin Geo. William Fairfax in establishing with compass and chain the butts and bounds of his possessions in the Shenandoah Valley. Major Lawrence Washington was the second child and only surviving son of Augus- tine Washington, and his first wife Jane (Butler) Washington, and was born in West- moreland connty, Virginia, 1718. He was among the organizers of the "Ohio Com- pany" to explore the western country, encourage settlements, and conduct trade with the Indians. It was in his relations with this company that he won an enviable dis- tinction, as did his brother George after him, by avowing himself an advocate of re- ligious toleration at a time when the statutes of Virginia recognized but one religious faith. Never very strong physically, with the continued and increasing pressure of his public duties in the state council and the land company, his health gave way, and in I 75 I, accompanied by his brother George, he went for healing to the Island of Bar- badoes, but receiving no relief he returned to die at his Mount Vernon home, July, 1752. His marriage with Annie Fairfax had been blessed by four children, three of whom had died. His surviving child, Sarah, was still an infant, at the time of her father's death. After providing in his will for his wife, he left Mount Vernon to his daughter, but in the event of her death without heirs, it was to go to his "beloved brother OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 4P> From an original painting in possession of Mr. Lawrence Washington, By courtesy. 44 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS George." This daughter died within a _, ear, and George inherited the Home" before lie was twenty one years of age. COL. JOHN WASHINGTON, OF CAVE CASTLE, ENGLAND. The political dissensions which convulsed the English people in the beginning of the seventeenth century, finally brought violent death to their king, ('harles the First, and established in the placeof their monarchical government, the [jrotectorate of Oliver Crom- well, As a result of the revolution, the prominent adherents of royalty found them- selves without occupation or favor under the new rule, and many of them left the country and sought asvlum in the newly-opened land "beyond the seas." Among these were Col. John Washington, the great grandfather of the Revolutionary General and first president of the United States, and his brother Lawrence who migrated from South Cave in the east riding of Yorkshire on the banks of the Humber river. They settled first in 1659 in the county of Westmoreland at Bridge's Creek. They had pas- sage over in a ship owned by Edward Prescott of which John (jreen was Captain. During the voyage a woman of the name of Elizabeth Richardson, a fanatical zealot in- curred the displeasure of some of the passengers on account of her insane rantings and singular behavior, and was hanged by them to the yard arm, under the accusation of ])racticing the art of witchcraft. In her misfortune she appealed to the commiseration of Col. John who vainly interposed to save her. The wanton and lawless act was so revolting to his intelligence and kinder feelings that upon landing in the Chesa- peake, he reported the case to the au- thorities and had the owner and Cap- tain of the vessel held in bonds to appear for trial before the provincial court of St. Mary's. The trial, owing to the un- certainties and delays of those early times never took place. John Washington seems to have been a man of means es well as influence. He patented a large tract of land be- tween the Potomac and the Rappahan- nock, raised tobacco extensively and was elected a member of the House of Bur- gesses. His marriage to Ann Pope oc- CAVE CASTLE, ENGLAND. curred soon afier his arrival in the »y courtesy of Mr. Henry Dudley Teeter. colouy. Having a military inclination, he was appointed a colonel of the militia. In this capacity he became a con- spicuous actor in many of the tragic events of the Bacon rebellion during the year of 1665-6 which followed the harra.-sing retaliations of the Indians on the colonists for their depredations upon their domains of forest and stream. After the murder of the herdsman, Henn, in 1666, by the Dogue Indians, in Truro parish, near the Occoquan river, and the prompt pursuit of the murderers by the mounted rangers of the county of Stafford to their town of Assaomeck twenty miles up the Potomac, where they were overtaken and massacred at the doors of their wigwams, all the other tribes on both sides of the river, up and down, took refuge with the Fiscata- ways, a powerful tribe dwelling on the heights now occupied by the battlements of Fort Washington ; and here in alliance they proceeded to fortify themselves by embank- ments, ditches and palisades against the advance of the colonists. To dislodye this force of savages, two thousand troops of the Maryland and Virginia militia were speedily raised and placed under the command of Col. John Washington, who had under him M;iiors Nl.son, Brent and other military notables of the time. After a protracted siege of SIX weeks the small number of the besieged who had escaped bullets and starvation, capitulated to their assailants. The destruction was complete and vengeance was satisfied. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 45 Three years before this siege Col. John as elsewhere related had been engaged with Nicholas Spencer in bringing into the province one hundred immigrants, for which they obtained a royal patent for 5000 acres now included within the bounds of Mount Vernon. At the time of this patent, Stafford was the uppermost county, stretching intermin- ably beyond the Alieghanies and to the Mississippi valley. Prince William and Fair- fax were not set off until nearly fifty years afterward. The town of "Assaomeck" was about four miles below Great Hunting Creek on that division of the Mount Vernon "river farm" now known as Andalusia. It was just opposite to Broad Creek in Mary- land. Col. John died in 1677. He was first married in England. His wife and two children came with him to Virginia, but the three died soon after arriving. As else- where noted his second wife was 'Ann Pope of Pope's Creek, Westmoreland county. By this alliance he had children — first Lawrence, born i66r, who in 1690 was married to Mildred Warner, of Gloucester Co., Va. His child Augustine was born at Bridge's Creek 1694. He was twice married, first April 20, 17 15, to Jane Butler, daughter of Caleb Butler of Westmoreland county, by whom he had four children of whom only Lawrence survived to manhood, born 1718 died in 1752 at his home at Mount Ver- non. Augustine born 1720, died young. Their mother died in 1728 and was buried in the family vault. Augustine was again married to Mary Ball "the rose of Epping Forest" and daughter ot Joseph Ball of Lancaster county, Va. By her he had six children, namely, George, born at Wakefield, February 22, 1732 — died at Mount Ver- non December 14, 1799; Betty born at Wakefield June 20, 1733 — died March 1799; Samuel born at Wakefield, November 15,1734 — died 17S1; John Augustine, born doubtless at Epsewasson, Fairfax county, Va., January 13, 1756 — died 1762 ; Charles born doubtless at same place, May 2,1738 — died 1799; Mildred born at Wakefield, June 21, 1739 — died 1740. Mary the mother died at Fredericksburg, August 25, 1789 at the age ot 82. Betty Washington was married to Col. Fielding Lewis. Their son Lawrence was married to Eleanor (Nellie) Parke Custis. SUMMARY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. "What is a name ; As we wreathe or build it ; And the birth dawns beacon adown the ages Stucco or granite, bastile or fane ; With a lurid fla.'^h or a blaze sublime. And the ste;n years crumble or freshly gild it As to meaner goals or diviner stages. As it grows in honor or reaps disdain. It exemplars Man through the storms of time." George Washington, whether as a private citizen mingling with his neighbors and friends in a social or business capacity, or whether as a dignified actor and director in the public and national affairs of his country, is one of the very few men in the records of history who have successfully and triumphantly withstood' the test and scrutiny of the world's adverse criticism. He stands out on the shifting scenes of the world's annals as a grandly imposing and unique personage, meriting and commanding as well, the veneration of every observer, no matter of what country or nationality — and the citizens of the country he loved and defended, in theii enthusiasm and gratitude for his brilliant public services, love to contemplate him as a personage divinely ordained and appointed to open the way, not only for civil and religious liberty in America,. but everywhere among the oppressed of humanity. He left the quietude and enjoyments of a rural life when great political emergencies needed a capable advisor, actor and leader whose sentiments were known to be unre- servedly opposed to royal impositions and exactions and in favor of home rule and independence; and stepping forth on the scene of action was hailed with acclamation as the man eminently (jualified for the momentous and responsible duties before him. By his prompt and patriotic response to a common call he won the popular confidence and esteem, and by his wise and prudent counsels many discordant elements were harmonized and brought into subjection to the cause he had espoused. ,But his new. sphere of action was to be amid perplexities and trials which might have discouraged many a brave commander. His mission was to hastily organize in,to armies, raw re- 46 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS cruits from the peaceful avocations ot life and direct them against the veteran soldiers of his king, to dispute their invasion of colonial soil, and while performing this diffi- cult service he was everywhere to move among and come into contact with stealthy foes among his own countrymen who were committed to the cause of royalty and the betrayal of the colonists. PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON. From a painting by Gilbert Stewart. He was not a soldier because of his fondness for tinsel, parade or mere military glory but because of the exigencies of the times in which he lived. After theseexigencies has passed he gladly yield up all investiture of military authority and dropped back to the enjoyments of the calm delights of peace and quietude in his rural retreat ; not sigh- ing, as many warriors had done before him, that there were no more victories to OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 47 achieve, but rejoicing in the coming of the blessed reign of peace. His mission as a soldier had been grandly accomplished and he was well content to await its beneficent results. As a victor he was magnanimous, lenient and forbearing — never vaunted of his mili- tary prowess ; and of all the pictoiial representations which adorned his rooms at Mount Vernon, not one of them represented any of the revolutionary scenes in which he had figured. There have been soldiers who have achieved mightier victories in the field and made conquests more nearly corresponding to the boundlessness of selfish ambitions; statesmen who have been connected with more startling upheavals of societ) ; but it is the greatness of Washington that in public trusts he used power solely for the public good; that he was the life and moderator and stay of the most momentous revolution in human affairs; its moving impulse and its restraining power. Combining the cen- tripetal and centrifugal forces in their utmost strength, and in perfect relations, with creative grandeur ot instinct he held ruin in check and renewed and perfected the in- stitutions of his country. Finding the colonies disconnected and dependent, he left them such a united and well ordered commonwealth as no visionary had believed to be possible. So that it has been truly said, "he was as fortunate as great and good." This also is the praise of Washington, that never in the tide of time has any man lived who had in so great a degree the almost divine faculty to command the confidence of his fellow men and influence all classes. Wherever he became known in his family, his neigh- borhood, his county, his native state, the continent, the camp, civil life, the United Slates, among the common people, in foreign courts, throughout the civilized world of the human race, and even among the savages, he, beyond all other men, had the con- fidence of his kind. On the sixteenth of June, 1775, he appeared in his place in Congress, after his a|i- pointment as commander-in-chief of the colonial armies, and after refusing all pay be- yond his expenses, he spoke with unfeigned modesty to his colleagues — "As the Con- gress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in their service and for the support of the glorious cause. But I beg it may be remem- bered by every gentleman in the room that 1 this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with." Washington was not a bigot nor a zealot in religion, nor even a sectarian. "Pro- foundly impressed with confidence in God's providence, and exemplary in his respect for the forms of public worship, no philosopher of the eighteenth century was more firm in the support of freedom of religious opinion ; but belief in God and trust in His over- ruling power formed the essence of his character. He believed that wisdom not only illumines the spirit, but inspires the will. He was a man of action and not of theory or words. His creed appears in his life, not in his profession. His whole being was one continued act of faith in the eternal, intelligent, moral order of the universe. His broad and liberal conceptions of what constituted the basis of a common fatherhood and a common brotherhood would not allow of any narrowing or dwarfing of his natural convictions by the trammels of religious dogmas or formulas, and so he was tolerant of the fullest religious liberty and thought, believing that every man had the right implanted in him by the God of nature to worship Him in vvhatever way seemed to him best, consequently the creed of no church ever held him exclusively within its narrow limits. His true and tried friends were confined to no religious denomination, but were chosen from the widest range of religious thought, and selected only for real worth and integrity of character. His published letters in reply to the personal addresses of the various religious organizations of the United States in the early days of the re- public, all breathe the most commendable spirit of Christian liberality and toleration, and show him to have been devoid of any sectarian prejudices. As his diary bears witness, he was accustomed to attendance at all forms of worship, and doubtless he al- ways found something in each which his unprejudiced judgment could approve and ac- cept. In his neighborhood no churches existed but the Episcopal. These the laws of 48 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS the colony bad established, to the prejudice of all others, and made respectable, and it was quite natural, from his reverential and orderly habits, that he should have been an habitual attendant at their services with his neighbors ; and while he was one of the vestry in the church of both Alexandria and Pohick, he doubtless busied himself very little about .vestry matters, further than to fill the miscellaneous requirements.* Though a communicant, of the established Church and a respecter of its forms and its clergy from early associations, yet was he in sympathy and perfect accord with Thomas Jefferson, George Mason and Patrick Henry in their efforts to repeal all laws which discrim- inated in favor of any one religious sect by giving to it tithes and glebes, and enabling it thereby to keep up its congregations and attendance upon its services. He appears to have been so impressed with the im- portance of listening to the inward monitor, or, as the Quakers are wont to express it, "the still, small voice," that in his rules of civility and behavior, written out by him for his guidance at the age of thirteen he enjoined upon himself "to labor to keep alive in his breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience." At that early age his code of rules show that he had determined to begin life right, and the story of all his subsequent years is evidence that he continued right. The germs of -innate goodness and excellence had been implanted in his being and through wise parental solicitude and instruction and a strict obedience to duty ; they steadily and beautifully unfolded to public observation and admiration with the passing of the years of his life. The pole-star of his impulses and the drift of his being were right and duty; to these everything was subordinate. He read correctly the motives of men and measured accurately their capabilities, and rarely erred in his estimate of character. He was frank in his intercourse — never dissembled, never stooped *In those times the duties of the church vestry embraced not only religious matters but also many secular neighborhood affairs, re- quiring the judgment of just such a practicaf man as Washington. Under the direction of the vestry the tithe collector went forth to levy upon every land owner in the parish Under their authority the "processioners" surveyed and established all land boundaries. To the Church Wardens it pertained to bind apprentices to their masters — record of the indentures being duly made in the vestry book. To them were paid the fines for the violation of Sunday penal statutes. Thus in 1775 we find the following entry in the proceedings of the vestry of Christ Church of which Washington was a member. "By cash received of Mr. Wm. Adams for the several fines for deer killing out of season, delivered to him by Mr. Bryan Fairfax ^2.ios." and in 1778 the following : £ s. d. By Lawrence Monroe for gaming 2 10 o " Thomas Lewis for hunting on Sabbath . . 50 " John Lewis c o Upon the vestry also devolved the relief of the poor, the medical care of 'the sick, the charge the burial of the dead, maintenance of the blind, the lame, the maimed and also of foundlings vagrants. for and OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. ' 49 to mean devices nor subterfuges. While he was open and courteous, fraternal and ap- proachable, he was never trivial, never forgot his dignity, but always, whatever the occasion, so demeaned himself as to inspire every one with whom he came into con- tact, whether socially or in a business way, with the feeling that he was one of the very first of men among men. Washington was not an orator, and seldom attempted to ex- press himself at length on any public occasion, but as a writer he excelled. His style, as preserved in many volumes of miscellaneous letters and state papers, was plain, clear, and without unnecessary verbiage, and his expressions were rarely marred by instances of false syntax, though he had never had the advantages of more than a very limited common school education ; but from his youth upward he had been a constant and at- tentive reader of the best literature of the times, and was very observant of the acknowl- edged models of the English language. In all his business transactions, and they were many and varied, no instances have been recorded by any writer of any attempt on his part to get the advantage of any of his fellows. He was a fast friend and a patron of merit. He recognized the divinity of labor, and believed that it should be respected and fully requited. True, he was a slave holder, but it was for the reason that labor was urgently needed in those times to open and subdue the wilderness, produce supplies, and develop the great resources of the country ; but he did not look upon his bondsmen as mere machines, devoid of feelings or sensibilities. I'here is the most authentic evidence that he looked most carefully after their welfare in respect to diet, raiment, quarters, and seasons of toil; had them taught habits of industry, provided medical attendance for them in sickness, allowed them religious instruction and by his last bequest, made July 9, 1799, ordered that they should all be freed. And it is but just to mention in this connection that from no one of his freed folks or their immediate descendants has there ever been heard any instance of unnecessary severities under his benign rule as a master. The estate was large, and land for tillage was plentiful, and every family had ample privilege of having plots of ground for growing all kinds of vegetables, while fish were abundant in the river and creeks, and wild game plentiful in the woods. In 17S6, he wrote to Robert Morris, "There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery. But there is only one proper and effectual mode by which it can be accomplished, and that is by legislative authority : and this, as far as my suffrage will go, shall never be wanting." i\nd in another letter, written to his nephew, Robert Lewis, August 17, 1799, four months before his death, he says, "I have more negroes on my estate of Mount Ver- non than can be employed to any advantage in the farming system : and I shall never turn planter thereon. To sell the overplus I cannot, because 1 am principled against that kind of traffic in the human species. To hire them out is almost as bad, because they cannot be disposed of in families and I have an aversion to that system." In a letter to John F. Mercer, of Virginia, September, 1786, he wrote, "I never mean, unless some particular circumstances should compel me to it, to possess another slave by purchase, it being among my first wishes to see some plan adopted by which slavery in this country may be abolished by law." Martha, his widow, in 1801, man- umitted all the slaves she held in her own right. The relation of the African race to our nation, Washington represented. He was not a radical reformer, not an ideal theorist, but a practical thinker and actor, and as such he interpreted the African's destiny. He recognized his capacity to be a tiller of the soil and a mechanic, and treated him kindly ; and taught and practised the prin- ciple of emancipation. He regarded slavery, indeed, as the law of the land, and de- nied the right of any citizen to interfere with the legal claims of the master to his slave but he thought the law ought to be changed, and he stands in our history as the repre- sentative of the old school of emancipationists who regarded slavery as a fading relic of a semi-civilized form of society. He could work with the negro and mingle praise with blame in his judgments, and, without having extreme opinions of their gifts or virtues, he thought them fitted for freedom and capable of education. He was methodical in all his undertakings and pursuits, no matter how common 50 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS place; kept a diary of ordinary as well as extraordinary events, and noted down reg- ularly from day to day his expenditures, whether incurred for household necessities, raiment, the carrying on of his farm arrangements, or for traveling. His strict atten- tion to details, added to his habit of close observation and investigation and correct judgement, was the secret of the remarlahannock ran in the reign of good Queen Anne, All townless from the mountains to the sea, Old Jamestown was forlorn and King Williamsburg scarce born — 'Twas the year of Blenheim's victory, Whose trumpets died awayin fjr Virginia. In the cabin of an old tobacco farm, Wheie a planter's little wife to a little girl gave life. And the fire in the chimney made it warm. It was little Mary Ball, and she had no fame at all. But the world was all the same as if she had; For she hnd the right to breathe and to tottle and to teethe. And to love some other cunning little lad ; Though he proved a widower, it was all the same to her, For he gave her many a daughter and a son, And the family, was large and the oldest, little George, Was the hope of little Widow Washington. The name resounded not in time we have forgot, It was nothing more than .Smith or Jones or Ball ; And (George's big half brothers had the call on their stepraother's Affection, like the babes of her own stall ; They paid the hirger taxes, and the Ayletts and P'airfaxes Received them in their families and lands. While the widow thought upon it, she rode in her sunbonnet. Midst her slaves who tilled her gulleys and her sands. Till they sought to take her George upon the royal barge, And give him a commission, and a crest, When her heart cried out, "O no! something says he must not go : My tirst-born is a father to the rest." She could find him little schooling, but he did not learn much fooling, 64 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS And he dragged the mountain o'er with chain and rod, The Blue Ridge was his cover and the Indian his lover And his duty was his Sovereign and God. Still her rival in his heart was the military art, And the epaulettes she dreaded still were there. There are households still where glory is a broken-hearted story, And the drum is a mockery and snare. From the far off Barbadoes, from the yell of Frenchman foes, From the ghost of Braddock's unavailing strife, She beheld her boy return and his bridal cnndles burn, And a widow like herself became his wife. By Potomac's pleasant tide he was settled with his bride, Overseeing horses, hounds and cocks and wards, And It seemed but second nature to go to the legislature And play his\hand at politics and cards, Threescore and ten had come when the widow heard the drum. "My God !" she cried, ''what demon is at large ?" 'Tis the conflict with the king, 'tis two world's mustering, And the call of duty comes to mother's George. "O war ! To plague me so ! Must my first-born ever go !" Her answer is the bugle and the gun. The town fills up again with the horse of Mercer's men. And the name they call aloud is Washington. In the long, distracting years none may count the widow's tears ; She is banished o'er the mountains irom her farm ; She is old and lives with strangers, while ride wide the king's red rangers And the only word is "Arm !" and "Arm" ! and "Arm !" "Come home and see your son, the immortal Washington, , He has beat the king and mighty Cornwallis !" They crowd her little door and she sees her boy once more ; But there is no glory in him like his kiss. The marquises and dukes, in their orders and perukes, The aides-de-camp, the generals and all. Stand by to see and listen how her aged eyes will glisten To hear from him the tale of Yorktown's fall. Upon that, her lips are dumb to the trumpet and the drum ; All their pageantry is vanity and stuff. So he leans upon her breast, she cares nothing for the rest — It is he and that is victory enough ! In the life that mothers give, is their thirst that man shall live And the species never lose the legacy. To live again on earth and repeat the wondrous birth — That is glory — that is immortality. Unto Fredericksburg at last, when her fourscore years are past. Now gray himself, he rides all night to say : "Madame — mother — ere I go to become the President I have come to kiss you till another day." "No, George ; the sight of thee, which 1 can hardly see. Is all for all — good-by ; I can be brave. Fulfill your great career as I have fulfilled my sphere ; My station can be nothing but the grave." The mother's love sank down, and its sunset on his crown Shone like the dying beams of perfect day ; He has none like her to mix in the draught of politics The balm that softens injury away. But he was his mother's son till his weary race was done ; Her gravity, her peace, her golden mien Shed on the state the good of her sterling womanhood, And like her own, was George" s closing scene. George Alfred Townsend. When Mary Washington died, August 25, 1789, aged eigthy-three years, her body ■was buried on the spot chosen by herself on the home plantation, Kenmore, on the Rappa- hannock. It was a favorite place of resort during the last years of her life, on a beau- tiful eminence overlooking the town in which so much of her life was passed, and OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 65 within sight of her own house and that of her daughter, Betty Lewis. It is a lovely- spot,, in a large field, not far from the peaceful Rappahannock, with the famous Marye Heights as a background, a pretty clump of cottonwood trees surrounding the lonely grave. l"he view in every direction from this spot is at once beautiful and in- spiring. Small wonder is it that the woman, who appreciated everything in nature that led the soul to nobler and better thoughts should have loved this spot in life and preferred it as a final resting place to the darkness of the family vault in Westmoreland county, where the body of her husband was laid. WASHINGTON'S HABITS, MANN ERS AN D APPEARANCE. The work which Washington accomplished in the course of his public and private du- ties was simply immense. And when we estimate the volume of his official papers — his vast foreign, public and private correspondence — we can scarcely believe that the space of one man's life could have comprehended the performance of so many varied things. But he brought order, method and rigid system to help him. These accessories he re- lied on, and they led him successfully through. He rose early. His toilet was soon made. A single servant prepared his clothes and laid them in readiness. He shaved and dressed himself, but gave very little of his precious time to matters of that sort, though remarkable for the neatness and propriety of his apparel. His clothes were made after the old fashioned cut, of the best, though of the plainest materials. The style of his household and equipage when President, corresponded with the dignity of his exalted station. About sunrise he invariably visited and inspected the stables. Then he betook himself to his library till the hour of breakfast. This meal was plain and simple, and with but little change from time to time. Indian cakes, honey, and tea formed this temperate repast. On rising from the table, if there were guests, and it was seldom otherwise, books and papers were offered for their amusement, and re- questing them to take care of themselves, the illustrious farmer proceeded to his daily tour over his farms which sometimes extended a score of miles. He rode unattended by servants, opening the gates, letting down and putting up bars as he visited his la- borers and inspected their work. Oftentimes when his adopted daughter, Nellie Cus- tis, had grown up, she accompanied him in his rounds. Washington was a progressive farmer and introduced many new methods in the til- lage of his lands. His afternoon was usually devoted to his library; at night, his la- bors over, he would join his family and friends at the tea-table and enjoy their so- ciety for several hours, and about nine o'clock retired to bed. When without com- pany he frequently read aloud to his family circle from newspapers and entertaining books. Washington liked the cheerful converse of the social board. After his retirement from public life, all the time he could spare from his library was devoted to the im- provement of his estate and the elegant and tasteful arrangement of his house and grounds. The awe that was felt by every one upon the first approach to Washington evidences the imposing air and sublimity which belong to real greatness. Even the frequenters of the courts of princes were sensible of this exalted feeling when in the presence of the hero, who, formed for the highest destinies, bore an impress from na- ture which declared him to be among the noblest of her works. Washington at the age of forty-three was appointed commander-in-chief. In stature he a little exceeded six feet ; his limbs were sinewy and well-proportioned ; his chest broad; his figure stately, blending dignity of presence with ease. His robust consti- tution had been tried and invigorated by his early life in the wilderness, his habits of occupations out-of-doors, and his rigid temperance ; so that few equalled him in strength of arms or power of endurance. His complexion was florid ; his hair dark brown ; his head in its shape perfectly round. His broad nostrils seemed formed to give expression and escape to scornful anger. His dark blue eyes, which were deeply set, had an ex- pres(j»ion of resignation, and an earnestness that was almost sadness. THE FIRST CELEBRATION OF THE ADOPTION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. It is remarkable that the first report of a celebration in Alexandria in any way con- G6 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS nected with national affairs was reported by no less a hand than that of General George Washington. ^Vhen the news reached that city that the requisite nine States had ac- ceded to the Federal Constitution, the people of Alexandria immediately ordered a festival, and Washington, after attending it, addressed his friend, Charles Pinckney, under date of Mount Vernon, June 28, 1788, as follows: "No sooner had the citizens of Alexandria, who are Federal to a man, received the intelligence by the mail last night, than they determined to devote the day to festivity. But their exhilaration was greatly increased, and a much keener zest given to their en- ioyments, by the arrival of an express, two hours before day, with the news that the Convention of New Hampshire, had on the 21st instant, acceded to the new confed- eracy by a majority of eleven voices. Thus the citizens of Alexandria when convened, constituted the first assembly in America who had the pleasure of pouring a libation to the prosperity of the ten States which had already adopted the general government;" and, after speculating upon the course of the remaining States, he added : "I have just returned from assisting at the entertainment." These citizens had a dinner at the City Hotel, which is still standing. LIEUTENANT GENERAL WASHINGTON. In 1798 during the war between France and England in the administration of President John Adams, the French government had authorized the capture and confis- cation of all vessels of neutral powers trading w-ith England. Against this course the protests and demands of the United States through its envoys were treated with indif- ference and even insolence, provoking to the commencement of hostilities by two naval engagements. In the extraordinary crisis, Congress then in session in Philadel- phia authorized the enrolling of 10,000 ofificers, musicians and privates to enforce its demands if necessary by actual war and George Washington was appointed and com- missioned July 3, 1 79S, Lieutenant General to command the provisional army. Happily however, the threatened conflict was averted, mainly through the personal intervention of Dr. George Logan, a United States Senator, and a member of the society of Friends. His peaceful and philanthropic influence with the French Court prevailed against its arbitrary measures, but his unofficial interference cost him a reprimand from Congress. THE PASSING AWAY OF WASH I NGTON . "How sleep the brave who sink to rest \Vith all their country's honors blest." There came to Mount Vernon a bleak, forbidding winter day, December 14 1799. Washington was engaged in planning and superintending some improvements on his estate which occupied his presence till a late hour in the evening, when, on returning to the mansion, he complained of a cold and sore throat, having been wet through by mists and chilling rain. He passed the night with feverish excitement, and his ailment increased in intensity during the next day and until midnight, when, surrounded by his sorrowing household and the medical attendant, he passed gently and serenely from the scenes of earth to the realities of the great unknown. He was in the sixty-eighth year of his age. His faculties were strong and unimpaired to the last. He was conscious from the first of his malady, that his end was near,, and he waited for the issue with great composure and self-possession. "I am going," he observed to those around him "But I have no fears." His mission had been well and nobly accomplished. His great life-work, the influence of which will reach to the remotest period of time, was accomplished. At the supreme moment Mrs. Washington sat in silent grief at his bedside. "Is he gone?" she asked in a firm and collected voice. The physician, unable to speak, gave a silent signal of assent. "Tis well," she added in the same untremulous utterance , "all is over now. I shall soon follow him ; I have no more trials to pass thro<%h." She followed three years later. They both rest side by side in the new burial vault at the old homestead by the river. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 67 The following quaint announcements of Washington's death from the newspapers of this locality will be of interest : The Georgetown Cenfinel of Liberty, a. semi-weekly, in its issue of December 17, 1799, thus announces to the country and the world the death of General George Wash- ington. "This mournful event occurred on Saturday evening about eleven o'clock. On the preceding night he was attacked with a violent inflammatory affection of the throat, which in less than twenty-four hours put a period to his life. If a long life de- voted to the most important public services; if the most eminent usefulness, true great- ness, and consummate glory ; if being an honor to our race and a model to future ages ; if all these could rationally suppress our grief, never perhaps ought we to mourn so little. But as they are most powerful motives to gratitude, attachment, and venera- tion for the living and of sorrow at their departure, never .ought America and the world to mourn more than on this melancholy occasion." The Alexandria Times and District of Columbia Advertiser, of Friday, December 20, 1799, of which one half sheet is all that is known to be in existence, thus announced Washington's death and funeral ; "The effect of the sudden news of his death upon the inhabitants of Alexandria can better be conceived than expressed. At first a gen- eral disorder, wildness, and consternation pervaded the town. The tale appeared as an illusory dream, as the raving of a sickly imagination. But these impressions soon gave place to sensations of the most poignant sorrow and extreme regret. On Monday and Wednesday the stores were all closed and all business suspended, as if each family had lost its father. From the time of his death to the time of his interment the bells continued to toll, the shipping in the harbor wore their colors half mast high, and every public expression of grief was observed. On Wednesday, the inhabitants of the town, of the county, and the adjacent parts of Maryland proceeded to Mount Vernon to perform the last offices to the body of their illustrious neighbor. All the military within a considerable distance and three Masonic lodges were present. The concourse of people was immense. Till the time of interment the corpse was placed on the por- tico fronting the river, that every citizen might have an opportunity of taking a last farewell of the departed benefactor." WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY AND BIRTHNIGHT BALL. February 22,1732. What day is this of proud acclaim, The plaudits of a nation swell Of rolling drum and trumpet strain, 0"er mountain, hill, and plain. And banners ftoating on the breeze, -vt » <■ 1 •.• . ^c v. j j A J u^ ~;. i„„^ ;„ 5 JNot for ambition s sehsh deeds — And cannon booming loud agam .-' tvt . r .1 , , " ° JNot tor the conqrors name, A people come with grateful praise, This day the glorious mede is given. And hearts in unison, But for the nobler fame, As well befits to celebrate c , _ i ^ -^ j j 1-1 u- .u f \\i 1 :„ f „ t Joy ™3n world wide accorded The birth of Washington ; a j j u .- ^ And grander grown by time — From East and West and North and South, The fame that conies of duty Throughout our broad domain. And life of deeds sublime. At the close of the Revolution commenced the birthday celebrations and birthnight balls in honor of the successful chief. They soon became general all over the republic. The first of these was held in Alexandria. In the large cities where public balls were castomary, the birthnight ball in the old- en time was the gala assembly of the season, and was attended by an array of fashion and beauty. The first President always attended on the birthnight. The etiquette was, not to open the festivities until the arrival of him in whose honor it was given ; but so remark- able was the punctuality of Washington in all his engagements, whether for business or pleasure, that he was never waited for a moment, in appointments for either. '•' The minuet, now obsolete, for the graceful and elegant dancing oT which Washing- ton was conspicuous, in the vice-regal days of Lord Botetourt in Virginia, declivied 68 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS The commander-in-chief danced for his last time a minuet in after the Revolution 1 781 at the ball given in Fredericksburg in honor of the French and American officers on their return from the triumphs of Yorktown. The last birthnight he attended was in Alexandria. February 22, 1798. He always appeared to enjoy the gay and festive scenes of those occasions, remaining till a late hour with the participants, his neighbors and friends; for, remarkable as he was for reserve, and the dignified gravity inseparable from his nature, he ever looked with most kind and favoring eye upon this rational and' elegant pleasure of life. MARTHA DANDRIDGE. Martha Dandridge, daughter of Col. John Dandridge of New Kent county, Va., was born May, 1732. Her education was quite liberal for the times. It was said she was remarkable among the belles who graced the courts of the Vice regal governors, Gooche and Dinwiddie, for her beauty and accomplishments. She was married first to Col. Daniel Parke Custis of Arlington, on the eastern shore of Virginia who was son of John Custisoneof the King's council in the province and son-in-law of Col. Daniel Parke, a native of York county, Va., where he possessed large estates butspent most of histime in England. He was a favorite aide to the Duke of Marlborough in the battle of Blenheim, Germany, which was fought on the second of .August, 1704. Marlborough commanded the English troops and Marshall Tallard those of France and Bavaria. Tallard was defeated and slain with a loss of 27000 slain and 13000 made prisoners. By this victory the electo- rate of Bavaria became the prize of the victors. Col. Parke had the honor of bearing the joyful tidings to Queen Anne who gave him her min- iature portrait set in diamonds, a thousand pounds sterling and made him governor of the Leeward Island. His portrait as de- lineated by the artist Kneeler is that of a courtly gentleman with coat of crimson velvet embroidered with gold, a waistcoat of silver gray fabric with richly wrought figures of gold, and sash of green silk and gold. Daniel Parke Custis at the time of his marriage with Martha Dandridge was an ex- tensive tobacco planter in New Kent county on the Pamunkey river. He died at the age of thirty leaving his widow a large fortune in lands, slaves and currency. She did not remain a widow long. About two years after her husband's death she made the acquaintance of Col George Washington whose praise on account of his recent ex- ploits, was on all lips, and they were uniie-d in marriage January 6th, 1759, four years after the Braddock war. She brought to her second husband beside a large land es- tate, thirty thousand pounds in cash, consisting of certificates of deposit in the bank of England. Three months after the marriage of the twain, they took up their abode at Mount Vernon and there continued to live the rest of their lives. The marriage nuptials were celebrated in the little ]iarlor chamber near the White House, the home of the widow Custis on Pamunkey river. The gay governor of the provinces was gorgeously arrayed in scarlet and gold. Col. Washington was all glorious in a costume of blue and silver with scarlet trimmings and with gold buckles on his knees and on his shoes. The bride wore silk and satin brocade and laces. She had pearl ear drops and pearls about her neck. There was plenty of good eating and drink- ing in conformity with old time Virginia hospitality. AVIDOAV MARTHA CUSTI.'? AT 30. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 69 WHEN MARTHA WASHIXfiTON W AS EIGHT YEARS OLD. C "^"^ . THORNTON GRAY, ONE OF WASHINGTON'S "SARVFNTS."' OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 71 He was an ancient colored man, His age one hundred ten ; He hailed from old Virginny, And once a slave had been. His hair was thin and silver'd, His brow with furrows set, Features fine cut and moulded, And face as black as jet. In olden times, the story ran. That kings and noblemen, In Afric's sultry climate, His forefathers bad been ; And as I gazed upon him. And closely scann'd his mien. It seemed a trace of royalty Full well might yet be seen. He bow'd him low and tip'd his hat. And laid aside his hoe. The while I briefly interviewed About the long ago. "My name is Thornton Gray," be said "Dey calls me 'Uncle Thorn,' Lived mos'ly in Old Fairfax, In Wes'mo'land was born. "Was ris by Mars' Wilkers'n ; Great farmer, may depend ; Own'd all de big plantation Dey call'd de River Bend.' "Made heaps of fine tobacco, Had stores of corn and wheat ; Hard labor, mind you ; but de ban's Had plenty den to eat. "Times aint de same as den dey was ; 'Pears like dey's chang'd all round ; De folks dat lived when I was young. All dead and under ground. '"Taint long I knows for me to stay , Here after all de res' , I only waits de Lord's good time, Sho'ly he knows de bes'. "I soon shall yhere de trumpeter Blow on his trumpet horn, An' call me home to glory. An' de riserickshum morn." My good freed man, to him I said. Of age, one hundred ten. You might relate much history, Of former times and men. I wait to hear the story. Which none can tell but you, For none have lived five score of years And ten more added to. You must have seen the Britishers, And neard the cannons roar; "Why bless you, chil', was mos' a man. And heard and seen de war." And Washington, you must have seen, That great and good hero, Who led the Continentalers ! And fought our battles through. "Why surely I has seen him, And know'd him well ; for, boss, I was de Gineral's sarvent ; Took care de Gineral's hoss ! Fine man he was for sartin, Good friend to ail de poor — Dar's none in dese days like him, And none, folks said, before." Enough, I said ! I'm well repaid : And grasped his trembling hand — No honor hath a man like >his. In all our glorious land ! No further did I question him About the long ago. And when I said to him good-by. He took his garden hoe. Who hath beheld our Washington, And lived to tell us so, Deserves as well a story As many others do. And hence our homely ballad, A tribute slight to pay To this departed colored man. And ancient — Thornton Gray. ,The James, the York, the Rappahannock and the Potomac flow from the Blue Ridge and the AUeghanies through their rich and lovely valleys and mingle with the Atlantic waves and form the Chesapeake, which seems a sea of diamonds with its phosphores- cent lights scintillating under the twinkling stars. Virginia has nearly 2000 miles of navigable tide waters, abounding in fish and oysters and other luxuries of the sea. Along these beautiful valleys are some grand old mansions and magnificent planta- tions. At the gate of one of these old homes, we saw not long ago a relic of a past age — an old decrepit darkey, leaning against the fence looking with sad and wistful eyes over the broad fields and beautiful grounds. Years had passed since I had been in this part of old Virginia, and I had no idea of meeting any one I knew. He came to me with feeble steps -and bent form ; and as he looked back through the years of long separation he called me to memory and through streaming tears, said. "Lord, Massa, has you come back to deold home agin after so many long years?" It was old uncle Ephraira. I asked what he was doing there. "Laws, chil', I was just looking 72 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS "IT WAS OLD UNCLE EPHRIAM" 'UNCLE JOE AND AUNT DORCUS DEY DANCED DE JIG." ober de old place once more ; old Mistis and C)ld Marster lies yonder in de garden, and all de young folks done gone way off, I is de las one ob de old plantation stock lef. I was thinking ob dem big old corn shuckings we uster have in old Marster's time, when I was de foreman on de plantation. Ah ! dem was grand times befo' de war! Big corn shuckings all de fall, plenty good things, wind up wid a great big supper, and den old Uncle Joe and Aunt Dorcus dey danced de jig for de white folks, Laws, chile, dem was good old times befo' de war! Possums ain't fat nor taters ain't sweet and juicy now like dey was in dem good old days befo' de war." -m^ "dar com' mars' wash'ngton. run chil' an' open de gate." OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND WASHINGTON'S BARN. Washington had an inventive as well as a systematic and thorough turn of mind, and was always devising some new and better method for the lessening of the labors of the hands on his estate. He greatly improved many of the unwieldly implements then in use, such, as ploughs, harrows, hoes, and axes; for he had carpenter, smith, and smithy always at hand to materialize his ideas. ,W:}M„ WASHINGTON S SIXTEEN-SIDED BARN. His circular, or sixteen-sided barn of brick and frame, sixty feet in diameter and two stories high, was the wonder of his neighbors. The threshing or treading out floor, ten feet wide was in the second story, all round the centre mows; and the oxen or horses were taken up to it by an inclined plane. The floor of it was of open slats, that the grains might, without the straw, fall through to the floor below. Later, he had constructed, a device, worked by horse power, by which the heads of wheat sheaves, held on a table against rapidly revolving arms, were beaten out : this was probably the first step, after the hoof and flail, towards the power-thresher of the present day. WASHINGTON'S COACH. Made in England, 17S9. The body and wheels were of cream color, then very fashionable, with gilt relief, and the body was suspended upon the old-fashioned heavy leathern straps, like those of the former day stage coaches. Part of the sides and front were shaded by green Venetian blinds, enclosed by black leather curtains. The lining was of black, glossy leather. The Washington arms were handsomely painted on the doors, vviih the characteristic motto, ''Exitvs, acta jrrobat^'' — the result proves actions. Upon each of the four panels of the coach was a picture of the four seasons. Usually, the General drove but four horses, but on going from Mount Vernon to the seat of government, at Philadelphia or New York, he drove six. 74 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS A LOVE SONNET BY WASHINGTON AT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN, FROM HIS DIARY. Oh ye gods, why should my poor restless heart Stand to opj^ose your might and power, At last surrendered to Cupid's feather'd dart, And now lays bleeding every hour For her that's pitiless of my grief and woes, And will not on me pity take. He sleeps amongst my most inveterate foes, And with gladness never wish to wake. In deluding sleeeping let my eyelids close, That in an enraptured dream I may In a soft, lulling sleep and gentle repose Possess those joys denied by day By your bright sparkling eyes I was undone ; Rays you have ; more transparent than the sun, Amidst its glory in the rising day None can you equal in your bright array ; Constant in your calm and unspotted mind ; Equal to all, but will to none prove kind. So knowing, seldom one so young, you'll find. Ah I woe's me, that I should love and conceal. Long have I wish'd, but never dared reveal, Even though severely love's pains I feel ; Xerxes the great, was not free fiom Cupid's dart, And all the greatest heroes felt the smart. A LOVE LETTER WRITTEN AT SIXTEEN, FROM HIS DIARY. Dear Sally : — This comes to Fiedericksburg fair in hopes of meeting with a speedy passage to you if your not there, which hope you'l get shortly, altho I am almost discouraged from writing to you, as this is my fourth to you since I received any from yourself. I hope you'll not make the old proverb good, out of sight out of mind, as its one of the greatest pleasures I can yet forsee of having in Fairfax, in often hearmg from you, hope you'l not deny me. I pass the time much more agreeably than I imagined I should, as ther's a very agreeable young lady lives m the same house where I reside, (Colonel George Fairfax's wife's sister), that in a great measure cheats my sorrow and dejectedness, tho not so as to draw my thoughts altogether from your parts. I could wish to be with you down there with all my heart, but as a thing almost impracticable shall rest myself where I am with hopes of shortly having some min- utes of your transactions in your parts which will be very welcomely received by vour Geo. W. EXTRACTS FROM WASHINGTON'S DIARY. 1773- May I. Went fishing in Broad Creek. April 13, 1774. In company with Colonel Basset went fishing in Broad Creek. 1774- Went to Pohick Church wiih Mr. Custis. Went to the barbecue at Accotink. Colonel Pendleton, Mr. Henry, and Colonel Mason came in the evening and stayed all night. Colonel Pendleton, Mr. Henry, and I set out on our jour- ney to Philadelphia to attend the Congress. Dined with Mr. Pleasants (a Quaker). Dined with Joseph Pemberton (a Quaker). Went to Quaker meeting in the forenoon, and to St. Peters in the afternoon. Went lo Christ Church, and dined at the New Tavern. Went to the Presbyterian meeting in the forenoon, and to the Romish church in the afternoon. Dined at the New Tavern with the Pennsylvania Assem- bly, and went to the Ball afterwards. Wasliington at Three Score Years, MOUNT VERNON DURING THE CIVIL WAR. The Mount Vernon home during the four years of the civil war was considered by the soldiers of both armies as sacred and inviolable ground and consequently not to be invaded by the spoiler. The thunders of its neighboring battles echoed over its beau- tiful and quiet seclusion and armed fleets sailed by its still shores on their swift errands of death. It was well that the great hero and patriot after liis patriotic services and victories, heard and saw them not — that he knew nothing of their direful and'baleful import. His dying hope and prayer had been that peace and fraternal accord might reign for long generations within the borders of the land he had loved and defended so well. All that was at an end. The internal strife he had so much feared and de- OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. lO precated had came to his country. The dragon folds of hostile armies were circling the hills and winding over the fair valleys and plains. THE LASTRESTING PLACE OF WASH I NGTON. Speak low ! — the place is holy to the breath Of awful harmonies, of whispered prayer ; Tread lightly ! — for the sanctity of death Brocds with a voiceless influence in the air. The last resting place of Washington is in a secluded hollow at the upper entrance to the deep wooded dell along which lies the pathway from the river. The spacious vault is built of bricks with an arched roof; its iron door opetis into a vestibule, also built of bricks, in which seen through a picketed iron gate are two marble sarcophagi con- taining respectively: the one on the right the remains of Washington and the one on the left those of Martha his wife. Over the vault door in a stone panel are the words. "[ am the resurrection, and the life ; He that believeth in me though He were dead ; Yet shall He Live." The vestibule is twelve feet high. The gateway is flanked by brick pilasters surmounted by a stone coping which covers a gothic arch. Over this arch is a white marble tablet inscribed, "Within this enclosure rest the remains of General George Washington." The coffin or toinb of Mrs. Washington is perfectly plain with a simple inscription. That of the General is plain also, except the lid on which is represented in relief the American shield over the flag of the United States. The latter is hung in festoons, and the whole issurmounted as a sort of crest by an eagle with open wings perched upon the superior bar of the shield. Each tomb consists of an excavation from a solid block of Pennsylvania marble. This vault and inclosure were erected many years ago in pursuance of instructions given in the following clause of Washington's will : "The family vault at Mount Ver- non requiring repairs and being improperly situated, besides, I desire a new one of bricks and upon a larger scale at the foot of what is called the Vineyard enclosure, on the ground which is marked out, in which my remains and those of my deceased re- lations now in the old vault and such others 'of my family as may choose to be entomb- ed there, may be deposited." The old vault referred to was on the brow of a declivity in full view of the river, about three hundred yards south of the mansion on the left of the present pathway from the tomb to the summer house on the edge of the lawn. It is now a ruin. Therein lay the remains of Washington un- disturbed for thirty-seven years, when an attempt was made by some vandal to carry them away. The insecure old vault was entered and a skull and some bones taken. But these com- prised no part of the remains of the illustrious dead. The robber was detected and the bones recovered. The new vault was then, 1837, immedi- ately built and all the family remains gathered into it just as they lie today. From one of the persons who was pres- ent at the transfer, we have the following account: "On entering the vault we found everything in confusion. Decayed fragments of coffins were scattered about, and bones of various parts of the human body vvere seen promiscuously thrown together. The decayed wood was dripping with moisture. The slimy snail glistened in the light of the door's opening. The brown centipede was dis- turbed by the admission of fresh air and the mouldy cases of the dead gave a -pungent and unwholesome odor. The coffins of Washington and his lady were in the deepest recesses of the vault. They were of lead, inclosed in wooden cases. When the sar- WASHINGTON S TOMB, 76 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS cophagi arrived, the coffin of the chief was brought forth and the decayed wooden case removed. The leaden lid was found to be broken. At the request of Major Lewis the broken part of the lid was turned over exposing to view a head and breast of large dimensions which appeared by candle light to have changed but little in the lapse of time. The eye sockets were large and deep and the breadth across the temples, to- gether with the forehead appeared of unusual size." These remains were placed in the marble sarcophagus and sealed from sight October 7th, 1837 and since that time have never been disturbed. IMPROVEMENT AND PROTECTION OF THE MOUNT VERNON ESTATE. Elsewhere in this "Hand Book." allusion has been made to the changes which have been wrought on the Mount Vernon Estate since the passing away of its distin- guished proprietor at the close of the last century. First, of its rapid decadence, through neglect and improvident culture, from well ordered conditions of agriculture to those of unthrift and desolation, and finally, after the lapse of half a century, of the coming of new hands from places remote, to begin the work of transforming the wasted areas to fields of waving grain and clover, and to orchards of abundant fruitage. The work of restoration has been increasing from year to year since 1S52, and, now that the electric railway has made the entire domain suburban to Alexandria and Wash- ington, the prospect of still greater imjirovements becomes brighter and more encour- aging. With the cheap and rapid transit which is afforded by this road to and from these cities there will cloubtless be large accessions of new settlers from localities far less favored, to occupy the divisions and subdivis^ions of the many large farms of the estate. Just after the Mexican war when the general government was casting about to find a suitable location for the National Military Asylum, or Soldiers' Home, as it is now called, the Hon. Lewis McKenzie'and other prominent citizens of Alexandria proposed and strenuously urged upon the authorities the acquirement by purchase of a thousand acres of the estate for that purpose. No more fitting choice could have been made for a soldier's refuge, and the property could have been secured at that time for less than thirty thousand dollars. In 1859, the "Ladies' Association," with their patriotic contributions of two hun- dred thousand dollars, purchased the "Mansion" and two hundred acres, and began the work of restoring and preserving the buildings and the immediate grounds. How well they have succeeded in their efforts, the present attractive appearance of the prem- ises and the orderly arrangements of policeing and other daily duties incident to the reception of visitors most satisfactorily attest. And while a grateful and appreciative public are ready and willing to accord to the patriotic association all due credit and praise for their earnest and continuing care and solicitude, there is a rapidly increasing conviction, nevertheless, among all such as reverence the name and goodly fame of Washington, all over our land, that the time has come for the control of the "Home and Tomb" to pass into the hands of the general government, that our people may be relieved from the odium of laving all pilgrims to this much frequented shiine under capitation tribute before allowing them permission to enter the gates of its enclosures. As Washington wasabove'and beyond all merely mercenary motives, and despised un- dignified scliemings, so the place which was honored by his living presence and which holds his ashes ought to be accessible without money or price. In Europe every mau- soleun) of note is freely opened to visitors without charge, and not only every mauso- leum but every depository of arts and literature; and reproachful allu.'-ions are not un- frequently heard by Ainerican tourists abroad from foreigners who have been required to pay a fee at the entrance to the mausoleum of George Washington. May we not hope that among the many unreasonable customs of our country which are doomed to pass away before the march of progress, this discreditable custom of levying tribute at the gate of Mount Vernon may be among the first to be discontinued. To the objection so often urged by those who look with disfavor upon the change pro- posed, that the place under government control would not be so well cared for and guarded from depredations as under the present provident management of the ladies, it OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. seems only necessary to refer to the result through many years of that control of the Smithsonian and National museums, the agricultural grounds, and public parks, the Congressional library, Arlington and other public charges now under exclusive govern- ment care. A tithe of the yearly appropriations wasted on worthless fortifications, and- warships would amply suffice to keep up all needed repairs at Mt. Vernon, and a small detail of soldiers from the army would supply the required work of policeing and pro- tecting all from the hands of the spoiler. __££ - "?: — 5—: — ^^ WASHINGTON'S MILL AT EPSEWASSON. Lord Thomas Culpeper was vice regal governor of the colony of Virginia one year, that of 1679. On his return to England at the close of his administration, he, with several associates, obtained, as a court favor, a royal grant of all the lands, timbers and water ways of the Northern Neck of Virginia, which included all the territory lying be- tween the Potomac and the Rappahannock rivers, and the head of the waters thereof The rights of his associates to the grant, Culpeper subsequently purchased and became -ole proprietor, and as it was for his interest to have his millions of acres settled and 78 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS improved, he took advantage of the provisions of a law which had been passed by the colonial legislature allowing to every person who would import from England a settler, the reward of a title to fifty acres of unseated lands, and thus it came to pass that Lieut. Col. John Washington, a greatgrandfather of the General, and Col. Nicholas Spencer, a cousin of the proprietor, both of whom had served in the legislature ol Virginia in 1666-67, and the latter as president of the council, for and in consideration of having, at their own expense, imported one hundred English immigrants inio the colony, re- ceived in the "twenty-seventh year of the reinge of our Sovereigne Lord, King Charles ye second. Anno Domini 1674," a grant from the proprietor of five thousand acres of land "scituate, lying and being in the county of Stafford,* in the freshes of Pottomeek river and neare opposite to Piscataway, Indian towne of Mariland and, neare the land of Capt. Giles Brent on the north side, and neare the land surveyed for Mr. Wm. Dudley and others on the south side, being a necke of land bounded betweene two creeks and the maine river on the east side, and by the said maine river of Pottomack on the north, and by a creeke called by ye English, Little Hunting Creek and the maine branches thereof. On the south by a creek named and called by the Indians Epsewasson Creek and the maine branch thereof, which creeke, di- vides this land of Griene and Dudley and others on the west side by a right lyne drawne from the branches of the aforesaid Epsewasson and Little Hunting creek, in- cluding the aforesaid quantity of 5,000 acres, together with all trees, profits, como- dyties, emoluments, and additions whatsoever therein belonging, and all manner of mines of gold, silver and copper. And provided that if the said Lieut. Colonel John Washington and Col. Nicholas Spencer, their heirs or assigns, shall not plant or seate the said lands within the term of three years next ensuing, then this grant and every- thing herein contained to be null and void." This grant or tract remained undivided and but little improved until the year 1690, when by an order of the court of Stafford one John Washington and George Brent were commissioned to make an equal division of it between Lawrence, son and heir of Col. John Washington, and the heirs of Col. Spencer. The division was made so that each share should have half of the river boundary and half of the back line as nearly as in point of quality could be made, and that one creek should belong entirely to one share, and the other creek to the other share. The part next to Epsewasson creek fell to the Spencers, and the part next to Little Hunting creek fell to Lawrence Washington with the contingent that the former was to pay to the latter twenty five hundred pounds of tobacco and a certain amount in cash to makeup for estimated differences of value. Some time after this division, Lawrence Washington, dying, left his share of 2500 acres to his daughter, Mildred, who married Roger Gregory: and in 1726 they both united in a deed for the same property to Capt. Augustine Washington, the father of the General, for the consideration of about nine hundred dollars. He was a sea faring man. In 1725 he was captain of a ship, carrying iron from Agokeek, Colchester and other iron furnaces and bringing back convicts as settlers. He was born in 1694 and died in 1743 in King George county. In the year 1734 or 35, he came up from the lower river lands of Westmoreland which he had deemed unhealthy, to make improve- ments on the upper Potomac grant. He brought with him his family consisting of Mary, his wife, and their children consisting of Augustine, Jane, George, Betty and Samuel. He settled down with them at the head of that beautiful arm of the river next below Mount Vernon known as Doeg Bay and on the banks of the Epsewasson, a stream flowing into it, constructed a grist and saw mill. All the surrounding lands v.-ere at that time in process of settlement, and as they came into cultivation, mills for sawing the timbers for habitations and grinding the grains for feeding the pioneers be- came an urgent necessity, and Captain Augustine, with his keen foresight, was among the first to anticipate and provide for these wants. Nearby the grist mill, he erected a small dwelling, where the prudent and matronly housewife, Mary, went her rounds of busy care, "looking well to her household and eating not the bread of idleness," where the youthful George, the hope afterwards of unborn millions, passed several years of *Now in the county of Fairfax. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 79 his useful life, and where the younger children, John Augustine and Mildred, were probably born. The mill was provided with the best machinery that could then be obtained, and so excellent in after years was the flour manufactured for export under the management of George, the son, that its brand always passed without inspection. Large cargoes of it were shipped to the West Indies and other points in schooners, which then came in the deeper waters and loaded at the very doors of the mill. The picture as given is not an ideal of the old structure, but a correct representation of it from a drawing made long years ago. In this mill was ground also, all the flour and meal for the surrounding neighborhood as well as the grists of the grain products of the five large plantations of the Mount Vernon estate. There are a few still living who have youthful memories of the mill in the closing days of its usefulness, who heard the busy din and clatter of its old wooden cog wheels and saw the dusty miller taking his tolls and the cumbrous ox wains, with their ebony colored drivers bringing in and carrying away th^ir grists. The shaky tenement stood until the beginning of the fifties. The plash of the pent up waters over its great wheel with foam, and rainbow hues, and the clatter and din of its grinding gear have been silent for nearly three-score years. The long race way which led the hurrying waters from the pond far up the valley across the fields to turn the busy wheel is now a grazing ground for cattle. The springs no longer confined by dyke or dam are scattered and running to waste. Many of the stones of the mill walls have been carried away to be used for foundations of houses in the neighborhood. At the door of a farm house nearby, the great nether stone that ground the whilom grists, now serves as a stepping stone to the doorway. The stream whose depth floated the trading schooners of the olden time, and where the fisherman cast his net lor herring and shad ; and where the youthful George mayhaps angled and took his first lessons in the art of swimming, have been filled by the descending alluvion from the cultivated fields through the many years, and are now no more than an easy fording place. Augustine Washington remained at Epsewasson but a {ew years, but to him they were years of busy life. Besides building the mill as described, he erected the middle and original portion of the Mount Vernon mansion for his son Lawrence, who was then ab- sent from the province and engaged in the siege of Carthagena. It will be remembered that the mill was one of the last places visited by General Washington in his usual round of inspection of his farming premises, on the day pre- vious to his sudden death. The locality is one rather sequestered and lonely, with rarely a passing traveler. But go there reader as the writer has gone many a time, if your sympathies and rever- ential inclinations are for objects like these and take your seat in the drowsy quiet of a midsummer day under the shadowy branches of one of the oaks still remaining of the olden forest ; and while you gaze on the briar grown ruins and listen to the murmur of the dwindled stream which goes hurrying on in its course to join the waters of the ma- jestic stream but a mile or two beyond, the mystic veil which hides the vanished years of a century and a half will rise, and lo! all around you will throng the faded scenes and forms of the early days. The fallen stones will move from the scattered heaps un- der the straggling vines and brambles and take their places in the walls again. The mill of Augustine and George Washington will be itself once more. The water will come pouring down over the mossy wheel. You will hear the clattering of the grind- ing gear, and the plantation wains will bring in and carry away their burdens. You will see the dusty miller taking his tolls and filling the bins. A horseman will ride up, and hitching his horse by the door, go in and hold parley with the miller, and you will not need to ask who he is, for his stately mien and dignified bearing will at once proclaim him the proprietor. You will see, too, the trading schooner waiting at the landing for its cargo for Jamaica or Barbadoes. The early pioneers in rough homespun garb and quaint vehicles will pass along the old highway by you in toilsome march for the new Canaan of their imaginations, there to fix their landmarks and lay the hearth stones. Anon, you will see straggling companies of provincial troops dressed in kersey or buckskin, with heavy flint lock muskets on their shoulders, hurrying up to the camp so SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS at the new born hamlet of Alexandria. General Eraddock and Governor Dinwiddle, Commodore Keppleand General John St. Clair will ride along in the pomp of vice re- gal chariot and dashing retinue and guards of British regulars in showy scarlet uni- forms bright with gilding and tinsel. War's wild alarum has been sounded, and the frontiers must be held against the encroachments of the French and their murderous Indian allies. Among other passers up the highway, you will see a strippling wagon boy in homely workman's garb driving his own team, and like the rest of the wayfarers hurrying to the camp. He had been for a year in the employ of John Ballentine, haul-' ing iron ore to his furnace at Colchester, but the drum and fife of the troopers and the wild rumors of war have opened the vision of his adventurous spirit to other duties and other lines of action. He is going to offer his team to Braddock's quartermaster to haul supplies for the army over the mountains. Very obscure, lowly and friendless was this wagon boy then, but under that homespun shirt and buckskin cap were the lion heart and comprehensive intellect which when ere long the opportunities came to him were to win for him a re- nown as a soldier and commander, world wide and imperishable. The boy who plodded over the weary roads of the Occoquan with his loads of ore for the furnace became in after years the strategic and trusted soldier, the intrepid lead- er of the riflemen of Virginia and the swaying spirit and hero of Quebec, Saratoga and Cowpens. The years pass on. The war is over. The French and Indians have receded and peace and safety for the new settlements reign in the place, of alarm. Braddock is resting in an unmarked grave in the far off wilderness beyond the mountains. The jirovincial troopers are back from the disastrous rout at Duquesne to their homes in the lowlands. Col. Washington, the hero of the day, has been elected to the House of Burgesses from the county of Fairfax, and has been down attending the session at Williamsburg, and now we see him coming up the highway in his coach and four with outriders. But he is not alone. Beside him sits a prim, matronly looking lady at- tired in silk and laces who but the day before was the widow Custis. Now, she is Mrs. George Washington and is going up to preside as the mistress of the manor house of Mount Vernon. Other historic scenes appear and vanish as we gaze, and the Vir- ginia Colonel again rides along as he goes to and from the provincial capital. Years later the continental armies of Washington, Green, Lafayette and Wayne surge along, going to the closing act in the revolutionary drama. Not in all the thirteen colonies was there a more historic road than this which cours- ed down from the mountains by Alexandria, Epsewasson and over the Occoquan at Col- chester and. down to Williamsburg. It is one of the most interesting landmarks in our State. The site of the old mill we have been describing is distant two miles from the Mount Vernon Mansion, two from old Belvoir, one from Woodlawn, the second home of Nellie Custis Lewis, and a half mile from the turnpike leading from Alexandria to Ac- cotink. It will repay a diversion from the beaten line of travel with the varied reflec- tions it will evoke from every pilgrim, whose patriotism and reverence are wont to kindle at every shrine around which lingers an association or memorial glimpse, how- ever faint and dim, of the illustrious personage whose name and fame, are indissolubly linked with so much that we all value and hold in kindly remembrance and holy trust. WOODLAWN, THE HOME OF NELLIE CUSTIS LEWIS. The portrait of Miss Nellie Custis by Gilbert Stuart from which the accompanying engraving was taken and which is now in the possession of Prof. William F. Lee of Lexington ("oUege, Va., was considered by cotemporary judges an excellent likeness and one of the most beautiful faces the artist had painted in the colonies. Miss Nellie was frequently in the company of Stuart at Mount Vernon and other places, the result of which was a very cotdial and enduring friendship. The portrait was the most at- tractive picture among the rare paintings at Arlington House, the residence of her OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 81 brother for about fifty years. It is the likeness of a maiden about eighteen years of age, the admired of all who attended the republican court during the last years of Washington's administration as President of the United States. She is dressed in a plain white garment, in the scant fashion of the day, one of her plump, bare arms forming a conspicuous feature of the picture, her chin resting upon a finger of her gently closed hand. Her sweet face, regular in every feature, is garnished by her dark curls, tastefully clustering around her forehead and temples, while her long hair, gathered in an apparently careless manner on the top of her head, is secured by a cluster of white flowers. The whole picture is modest, simple, beautiful. "Nellv Custis," as she was called in her maidenhood, was as witty as she was beau- tiful: quick at repartee, highly accomplished, full of information, a good conversation- alist, the life of any company whether young or old, and was greatly beloved by her foster father, the great patriot. When in June, 1775, Washington was appointed Com- mander-in Chief of the Continental Army, he placed John Parke Custis, the father of "Nellie," on his staff, in which capacity he served during most of the long war that followed. He was aide to Washington at the siege of Yorktown in the autumn of 1 7S1 and was then a member of the Virginia Assembly but dying that year of fever, his WOODLAWN, THE HOME OF NELLIE CUSTIS LEWIS. children, George W. Parke Custis and Eleanor Parke Custis, were left orphans, the for- mer only six months old and the latter nearly three years old, and became the adopted children of Washington, and the fondly cared for inmates of the home at Mount Ver- non. Here a private tutor of collegiate training was provided for them and under the watchful and exemplary care of their distinguished guardians; their young minds were developed for the practical duties of life. Nellie was born at Abingdon, the Custis homestead on the Potomac just above the four mile run, March 21, 1778. Her mother was a descendant of Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, through her grandfather Benedict Calvert of Mount Airy, Maryland. A paternal ancestor, John Parke, was,a tone time a member of the English Parliament and afterwards a soldier in Queen Anne's army in Holland and became an aide de camp of the renowned Marlborough at the battle of Blenheim in Germany, fought August 2nd, 1801. Marlborough commanded the English troops and Marshal Tallard those of France and Bavaria who lost the day with 27000 killed and wounded, and 13000 made prisoners. By the victory, the Electorate of Bavaria became the prize of the victors. 82 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS Col. Parke had the honor of bearing the joyful intelligence to Queen Anne who, as a token of her regard gave him her miniature portrait set in diamonds, a thousand pounds sterling and appointed him governor of the Leeward Islands. In the rebellion in Antigua he became obnoxious to the seditious faction and fell by a musket shot. Washington had a nephew, Lawrence Lewis, the sixth child of Col. Fielding Lewis and Betty Washington, who was the second child of Captain Augustine Washington, who was the second child of Lawrence, who was the first child of Col. John Washing- ton the immigrant to Bridge's Creek, Westmoreland county, Va., in 1657. He had served meritoriously in the revolutionary struggle and toward the close of it was an aide on the staff of General Daniel Morgan the renowned wagon boy of the Occoquan. He was much at Mount Vernon after the retirement of Washington from the presi- dency, and the ''blessing" of a "good husband for Nellie when she would want and deserve one" was bestowed upon her. She and Lawrence were married Feb. 22, 1799. Many suitors had sought her hand to be denied for the one her grandfather had chosen and preferred for her over all others. About a month before the happy event the Pa- triot wrote to his nephew saying : "Your letter of January loth, I received in Alexan- dria on Monday, whither I went to become the guardian of Nellie, thereby to authorize a license for your nuptials on the 22nd of next month." I'he wedding took place on the last anniversary of his birthday that Washington spent on earth. Great preparations had been made for the event. The mansion was decked with flowers and evergreens, and ample provision made for a time of festivity and good cheer ; and the gentlefolk of the surroundingcountry invited. There were assembled for theoccasion the Dandridges, Custises, Calverts, Lees, Lewises, Corbins, Bushrods, Blackburns, Masons, Carrolls, and many others. The ceremony was performed in the great drawing-room lighted by many waxen tapers, which brought out in strong relief the silent portraits on the walls, in curious contrast with the merry throng before them. The stately minuet was danced and the spirited Virginia reel. Low voices whispered tender words in hall and ante- rooms, and the house soon to be so silent and mournful, echoed with mirth and hilarity. It was a brilliant scene. The picturesque costumes of the colonial days were still in vogue, — rich fabrics, and richer colors, stomachers, and short clothes, jewelled buckles and brooches, powder and ruffles everywhere. Mount Vernon never witnessed such a scene again. Ten months later in the same spacious drawing room the scene of these bridal festivtof Shakespeare i£ 6s, 3 floor carpets in gentlemen's room 2£ 5s, i large carpet li;^, I mahogany wash desk, &C., I^ 2s od ; I mahogany close stool l^ los, 2 matre?ses 4^^ los, I pair andirons, tongs, fender and shovel, 3^ los ; I pair andirons, tongs, fender and shovel, 3^ 17s 6d ; i pair andirons, tongs, fender and shovel, l;^ 17s 6d ; I pair dog, irons in great kitchen 3^^, i hot rache 4^, i roastmg fork 2s 6d, I plate basket 3s, i mahog- any spider make tea table i;^ lis, i screen los, I carpet 2^ 15s, i pair bellows and brush lis, 2 window curtains 2/^, l large marble mortar 1 ;C is, I hot rache in cellar l£ 7s 6d. 2 mahogany card tables 4.£, 1 bed, pair of blankets, 19 coverlets, pillows, bolsters and i mahogany table, 11^ ; bottles and pickle pots 14s, I dozen mountain wine i^ 4s, 4 chariot glasses frames 12s 6d, 12 pewter water plates i^^. Another inventory of the Belvoir house furniture is given by Conway in his "Barons of the Potomac." This was sold at a public sale in December of 1774. In the dining room — I mahogany 5 ft. sideboard table 5;^ 5s, I pair mahogany square card tables ^jC 5s, I oval cistern on frame 2£ 1 7s, I knife tray 6s, i scalloped mahogany stand 14s, 2 dish trays i£ 12s, i large mahogany cut rim tea tray i /^ los, I sconce glass, gilt in burnished gold, 15;,^ ; 12 mahogany chairs 17^, 12 covers for chairs l^ los, 3 crimson marine drapery curtains il^ 5s, I large wilton Persian carpet g/^ 15s, I pair tongs, shovel, dogs and fender 1;,^ lOs. In the parlor— I mahogany table and I glass to take off 3^^ 15s, I mahogany spider leg table 2jC 5s. I folding fire screene lined with yellow l£ Is, 2 mahogany arm chairs 5;,^ 5s, i chimney glass lO;/;, dogs, tongs, shovel and fender, 2jC 14s 6d ; 2 Saxon green plain drapery curtains 5;^. In Mrs. Fairfax's chamber — i mahogany chest of drawers S£ los, i bedstead and curtains 8s, window curtains 1^155, 4 chairs 3^ 2s, covers for same 8s, I dressing table lO;^, i pair dogs, shovel and tongs, i;^ 13s. In Col. Fairfax's drawing room— I oval glass in burnished gold 5;,^ los, i mahogany shaving table ^^ 3s. I mahogany desk, &c., i6;{^ i6s ; 4 chairs and covers 4^ 8s, I mahogany settee bedstead, Saxon green, ■JjC i8s, covers for same 9s, i mahogany Pembroke table 1/^ l8s, dogs, shovel, tongs and fender, 1/ 13s, utensils for kitchen 20;/^. Another inventory of many other articles of furniture we omit for want of space. As our readers may be curious to know something about the stock of literature in a gentleman's library as well as of the style of his household furniture one hundred and fifty years ago on the banks of the Potomac, we give the inventory of the books of William Fairfax in his Belvoir home as follows: Batavia illustrated, London Magazine, 7 vols., Parkinson's Herbal, Knolle's History of the Turkish Empire, Coke's Institutes of the laws of England, 3 vols., England's Recovery, Laws of the colony of Massachusetts Bay, Laws of Merchants, Laws of Virginia, Complete Clerk and Conveyancer, Hawkin's Pleas of the Crown, Gunnel's Offences of the Realm of England, Ainsworth's English and Latin Dictionary, Haine's Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, Blackmore's Prince Arthur, History of the Twelve Cesars by Suetonius, John Calvin's Institution of Re- ligion, Fuller's Church History from its Rise, Locke on the Human Understanding, A New Body of Geography, Croope's Law Reports, Heylin's Cosmographv in 4 vols. Collection of Voyages and Travels, Political Discourses by Henry, Earl of Monmouth, Wooten's State of Christendom, Hobart's Law Reports, Johnson's Excellency of Monarchical Government, Latin and French Dictionary, Langley's Pomona or Gardening, A Political Piece, Strada's History of the Low Country Wars, Spanish and OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 97 English Dictionary, Latin Bible, A Poem on Death, Judgment and Hell, Knox's Martyrology, Jacob's Law Dictionary, Chamberlayne's Great Britain, Hughes's Natural History of Barbadoes, Laws of His Majesty's Plantations. The way to get Wealth. This, in those early times of bookmaking, was doubtless considered not only an exten- sive library, but a learned one for a private home, and may be taken now as an index of the general drift and bent of the literary inclinations of the Belvoir Fairfaxes. It was all solid reading; though in these days, when styles and tastes in literature are so widely different, it would be accounted very dry reading, and not of much value or in- terest by the general reader ; and one cannot help speculating now, after the lapse of so long a time, how variously, in the mutations of the generations the quaint volumes of the collection were scattered after their sale, into what different hands they passed, and wheiher any of them aie still in exi-^tence in any library of to-day. Doubtless they found their way in the course of years into the lofts and garrets of the surrounding neighborhoods, were over and over resold at public auctions and were eventually con- sidered as rubbish and went the ways of destruction. Lord Thomas Fairfax did not visit the new world until the year 1739, and then he did not come with a decided intention of permanently remaining. However, hespenta year in examining the country and then returned to England. But he had been so well pleased by his Virginia empire, its delightful climate, its virgin freshness and beauty, the fertility of its lands and their varied resources, that after settling up his personal affairs, disposing of his commission in the "Rojal Blues" and giving to his cousin Robert his Kentish estates, he determined to bid a long adieu to the home of his nativity — a longer one perhaps than he imagined it would be; for he never recrossed the seas, but died forty years afterward, a veritable hermit in the Shenandoah valley^at the extreme age of 93 years. For six years he tarried with his cousin and agent, William, in the newly erected mansion at Belvoir; and it was during some part of this time that he first met the youthful Washington, just fresh from the instruction of "Hobbs" and "Williams," who had taught him the mysteries of the three R's and a smattering of land surveying and had assured him doubtless that he was then ready to begin the great battle of life. And here it was that the great proprietor made a contract with the young graduate of fifteen to brave the perils and dangers of a but slightly explored wilderness, inhabited by treacherous Indians and half breeds, to assist his cousin, George William Fairfax, to survey and map out his remoter possessions in the Shenan- doah valley. Early in the year 1750 William Fairfax, accompanied by his son in-law, Major John Carlvle, of Belle Haven, made a visit to England, from which place he wrote home a number of letters still extant, and which would be very interesting reading did space allow of their publication here in our story of Belvoir. George Wm. Fairfax born as already noticed in Nassau in 1724 succeeded on his father's death which occurred in 1757 to his large estate, and he was heir apparent to the Barony of Cameron. He had been educated in England as was then the usage with the sons of the wealthy colonists. Like his father William he had found favor among his neighbors on account of his many estimable qualities and from time to time he had served them in various public capacities of trust and honor. In 1748 while a member of the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg he became ac- quainted with Miss Sarah Carey, daughter of Col. Wilson Carey, and in a letter to his cousin Lord Thomas Fairfax he wrote "Dear Cousin Tom, while attending at the General Assembly I have had several opportunities of visiting Miss Carey, and finding her an amiable person, and to represent all the favorable reports made of her, I address- ed myself and having obtained the younglady's and the parents' consent we are to be married on the 17th inst." In 1773, accompanied by his wife he went to England to look after some property he had recently inherited there. They never returned to Virginia, but both died and were buried at Bath, England, without issue, he in 1787, she in iSii. 98 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS On his way over he passed the ships which brought to the colonies the ill-fated cargoes of tea which were either burned or cast overboard in the harbors of Boston, Annapolis and Bridgeion. ^Vashington consented to act as his agent at home in his absence, supposing the agency would be of but short duration. But owing to long de- lays in the settlement of his English affairs and the occurrence of the political troubles of the colonies, he never returned to Virginia, although it had been his intention to do so and rebuild the Belvoir Mansion. He finally directed his agent, George Wash- ington to dispose of his household furniture and the stocks and fixtures of the plantation and to lease the premises of Belvoir. A. sale was accordingly held on the estate in Au- gust, 1774, whichcontinued two days ; and asecond sale was heldin Decemberof the same year. The inventories of the articles of the household furnishings as far as can now be gathered have already been given. The property was then leased to Rev. Andrew Martin, a cousin, for a term of seven years, but in a short time after, the old home was destroyed by fire. The owner's long absence and the fact that the place was desolate, together with the excitement, and derangement of business incident to the revolutionary war, caused the whole estate to rapidly depreciate in value. The long and incessant cultivation of tobacco and corn crops, chiefly of the former, had absorbed the virgin fertility of the soil, and the broad fields which had formerly been so clamorous with the shouts and refrains of the negro gangs, one by one had lapsed back into wilder- ness conditions. It was very natural that Washington who had been so often a welcome guest in the cheerful, hospitable apartments of the now blackened and desolate walls should write to a friend shortly after, of his great sorrow whenever he visited the ill-fated place. In that letter to one of the Fairfaxes in England he says :"It is a matter of sore regret when I cast my eyes toward Belvoir, which I often do, to reflect that the former occupanti of it with whom I lived in such harmony and friendship are there no more, and that the ruins can only be viewed as the mementoes of former pleasures." After the removal of George William Fairfax to England, Washington, in a letter to him in June, 1786, thus expressed himself: "Though envy is no part of my nature, yet the picture you have drawn of your present home and way of living is enough to create a strong desire in me to be a participant in the tranquility and rural amusements you have described as your lot. I am getting into the latter as fast as I can, being determined to make the remainder of my life easy, let the affairs of it go as they may. I am not a little obliged to you fur the assurance of contributing to this by procuring for me a buck and a doe of the best English deer; and in regard to the offer of my good friend, Mrs. Fairfax, I have to say that I will receive with great pleasure and gratitude the seeds of any trees or shrubs she may be pleased to send me which are not natives of this country, but reconcilable to its climate; and while my attentions are bestowed upon the nurture of them, they would, if anything were necessary to do it, remind me of the happy moments I have spent in conveisaiions on this and other sub- jects with your lady at Belvoir." Early in 1775 ^Vashington relinquished the agency of the Belvoir estate, as his time was chiefly absorbed by the pressing duties imposed upon him by the imminence of the revolutionary struggle. Years ago this estate of Belvoir with its two thousand five hundred acres of good farm- ing lands, passed from the hands of the Fairfax family ; and with the exception of about two hundred and fifty acres the entire area has lapsed back to a veritable wilderness, chiefly of pines and cedars, which have grown up from the ridges, still, everywhere to be seen, of the old corn and tobacco crops. Once, nearly every acre of its arable por- tions was under tillage, but as the impoverishing process of cropping without remun- eration to the soil went on, through the generations, as was so often the case in old Virginia, the wornout acres here and there were abandoned to the invasion of the wiry sedge grass and wild wood growth. The encroachments were slow but sure, for there were no hands to check nor stay their progress. Now, this wilderness is awaiting the coming of axes and hoes^and ploughs which, in the hands of capable, industrious, and practical settlers, will reverse the order of nature, clear the cumbered lands, turn anew OP VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 99 the kindly furrows, scatter again the seeds, gather again the harvests and build up in the wastes, homes of comfort, with gardens and orchards, and all the surroundings which make rural life so pleasant and desirable. Almost within sight of the National Capital, lying on tide water, and near to the line of the new Electric Railway, the realization of all these possibilities cannot, we think, be so very remote; and some lover of the picturesque and beautiful, with histor- ic pride and veneration for the associations of the "dear, dead past beyond recall," which linger around the famous locality by the "grand old river," will, we trust, come with ample means and classic taste, and on the foundations of the old Fairfax home, erect a structure which will be worthy of the superb situation and the story of its memorable events. In 1814 what portion of the walls of Belvoir were left standing from the fire, were leveled by the shot from the British fleet of General Gordon when retreating down the river from the sacking of Alexandria. Little did George William think, such is the irony of fate, when at the beginning of the revolutionary struggle, with a leaning to the British side of the controversy, he passed out over the threshold of his stately home, on his way to England, that it would be soon burned, and that British shot and shell would finish up what the flames had left of it to be destroyed. George William Fairfax, born 1724, was married to Sarah Carey, daughter of Col. Wil- son Carey of Celeys on James lliver, in 1748. A few years before the American Revo- lution he and his wife left Belvoir and went to England expecting to return, but never did. They died at Bath, he in 1787, she in 181 1. The curious wayfarer of our time who strays by the site of the once stately mansion of Belvoir will find only fallen walls, blackened hearthstones, mounds of briar grown bricks and rubbish, to mark the historic spots where through so many years went on the long forgotten routine of domestic events and incidents of colonial life in the Fairfax family succession. Of all these events and incidents which would be fraught with so much interest to the present generation, only the most fragmentary accounts have come down to us through either written record or word of tradition. Only here and there a canvas memory — some familiar names, and some wandering, vague report of grace and loveliness and gallant exploit. Their failings are lost sight of and'no longer dwell in living recollection. Let them so remain, bright images gilded by the sunlight of the past and clad in all their halo of romance — with nothing hidden by the distance but their human imperfections. We know that in connection with Mount Vernon, this home of the Fairfaxes was one of the chief social centres of the tide water region of the Old Dominion, with always open doors and a generous hospitality for the coming' guest. We know that within its walls our Washington was an oftimes and welcome guest. From Mount Vernon it was but'a few minutes' sail or pull with the oars; and well he knew how to handle both. ^Here it was that he met the charming Miss Mary Carey, sister of Mrs. George Fairfax, and became conscious for the first time in his stripling years of the conquering fascinations of female charms, only to be denied after- wards the coveted privilege of being a suitor and claimant of the hand and heart ofthe youpg lady by the stern and unyielding father, who failed to perceive in the young aspirant a prospect of that wealthy and influential alliance which he had contemplated for his daughter. "His heiress," said the haughty old cavalier, "had been used to riding in her own chariot attended by servitors." The love-lorn youth pressed no more his claim after such an unexpected rebuff, and never saw her but once again. That was when he nodded to her pallid and fainting visage in a window of the old capital of Williamsburg, when he rode through on his triumphal march, with waving banners and music playing, from the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. We know also that Lord Thomas Fairfax, the proprietor, the scholar and graduate of Oxford, and the friend of Addison, the whilom devotee of fashion and gayety in old London town, and the jilted and inconsolable lover, was for years a dweller under the same roof. We know, too, that in those halls were gravely talked over and considered by many great minds of the time, various measures for the public weal in the infant colony, preparatory to their proposal and final enactment in the House of Burgesses at the 100 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS vice-regal capital of Williamsburg. This is all of the story which has come down to us through the long lapse of the years. The rest of it for the most part is silent forever with the dust of the many actors of those times. Some of it may still be preserved in musty letters and other papers in old lofts and garrets, some time, it maj be, to be res- cued and unfolded for the curious listener by faithful chroniclers yet to < ome. But in our fondness for all such reminiscences of the olden times, we may go back in imagi- nation through the dim and shadowy vistas of the past, and giving loose rein to fancy, I" 3 i'gJO?^ ^ > D. fD -<^ D" 3 n" ^ ^- "-'Si' »3 JO £ o s 3i' —' —, ^ —, •<; _ t; m p ^ C- Cl -1 X. <^ ►^ P c« " 5.0 p p 3 "^ — S _ 3 e: ■-<: n r* &. - • 3- 2 -^ C. rt o *< Ji ^ a P P sr "^ =r ■■T' tT ^ rt ST O 7 ^ - R ° rt n. — ui < — > 13 • 2. ^ q- ^TO 5. ^<^. p ?r - '^ 5 "o ^ -a- p' p !^ „ S p 5' s- '" M . _. — £, n> era o o P 2 o ■^ "?'< P 3 ZL O ^ :? _ =^ C 3 — rr- T 3 c "" f* '* 3 . p ^ < t— 3- 3 — « £ c = < VS ft X S q- S? ='^ ° - P -: rt rt M s:?l ^~ rt T ft o c -1 ^ rii " " oi -^ n q p - 5; ™ s. S = " -,'t' r^ 2. S = ft — , "> B ^ :i X ^ re ET — S „ >^ -•=-^ =r <• -- 1^ ft n> -: "^^ 3' o ^ i Z^. 9- a 5:? ? 3 let it summon up and reincarnate fcr i.is the many other gt?ests of high degree who came and went from year to year over those thresholds as social or other occasions invited. Let us for a time be spectators within those old halls with their massive oaken doors and wide fireplaces, and their wainscoted and panrelled walls whereon hang fowling- pieces and antlers of the chase, and from which look down ancevtral faces, and appear OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 101 pictures of old castles and scenes of battle. Many shadowy forms stand out in strange outline before our wondering visions. We smile at their quaint costumes and their ways of speech, but they are men and women well bred, with courtly manners and comely lineaments, and they please us well by their easy dignity and stately demeanor. They pass on and vanish. Another group comes up — a group of neighbors and friends listening intently to the "freshest advices" by the latest ships just in from London, Amsterdam, or Barbadoes to Alexandria or Dumfries, it may have been, after a voyage of weeks or months. The London Gazette informs them of the "wars and rumors of wars" in Europe, of the campaign in Germany and India, and of the course of hostili- ties between England and France ; and precious letters are read telling of how all is going with friends they left behind them in the homes so far away over the seas. The scene changes. Strains of music are floating on the air, and ladies fair, and gay gallants bow gracefully to each other and trip gaily through the mazes of the minuet. Meanwhile, as the music and the dance go on, my Lord Thomas sits complacently in his easy armchair, attired in velvet coat, and ruff, doublet and silken hose and buckles. His dancing days are over, for he has passed his threescore milestone, and his hair is well silvered o'er, but he watches intently the gliding figures over the oaken floor, and mayhap, his thoughts are far away in halls of Yorkshire or Kent, or old London, when in his heyday of life he, too, had tripped so gaily with the giddy girl who had so cruelly won his heart and then played him false for another. The old baron is genial and kindly to all, and everybody is fond of him and graciously defers to his lineage and experience. He chats pleasantly with the guests, delights in their merriment, and anon, in drowsy mood, goes nodding, and then passes away to the land of dreams. We linger still, and the scene again changes. The blessed Christmas tide comes round. The busy note of preparation is rife in ])arlor and kitchen, the hickory yule logs are piled and lighted, and their cheery and warming flames go trooping up the great stone chimneys into the midwinter night. The holly branches and mistletoe boughs are hung on the walls. Genial and convivial friends, young and old, come in from anear and afar, and there is full measure of kindly feeling and good cheerand a jocund time for all. The bountiful board smokes as in old England's manorial homesteads, with savory venison, wild turkey, and the wild boar's head from the surrounding forests. As we wait still longer in the shadows of the old mansion we may still give wider range to fancy, and call up to view scenes of mirth and rejoicing, as when joyous bridal bells were chiming; or scenes of sorrow and mourning, as when funeral bells were tolling. And, waiting still longer with the coming and going of the years, we may note the passing out over the threshold of the old mansion its master and mistress, to take that long voyage across the ocean which was to separate them forever from their Virginia home. And yet a little longer we will wait, till the household heirlooms and treasures are sold under the hammer of the auctioneer and are scattered widely over the lands, and finally, lill that baleful day comes, when those storied walls go down in fire and crumble to dust, and there is an end to all the times of glad meetings and good cheer — of all the times of song and music and the dance, and of all the kindly greetings and farewells at the ancient homestead of Belvoir. The years Upon the strong man, and the haughty form Have gone, and with them manv a glorious throng Is fallen, and the flashing eye is dim — Of happy (Ireani'i. Theirmark is cm each brow, They trod the hall of revelry, where throng'd. Their shadows in each heart In their swift course The bright and joyous, and the tearful wail They vvaved their sceptres o'er the benutifitl. Of stricken ones is heard where erst the song And they are not. They laid tlieir pallid hands ' And reckless shout resounded. These are only the picturings of fancy, and to many they may seem idle and vague, even foolish ; but they are picturings which some of us love to linger over, and are loth to let pass from our visions, for they touch responsive chords of our hearts and set them to rhythm and accord with all that belongs to those remote but cherished tiires; and as the vistas lengthen and grow dimmer we shall but cling to them and love them all the more. Scattered over the tide- water region of Virginia, are hundreds of such heaps of bricks and stones, as those to be seen on the site of the old house of Belvoir we have been de- 102 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS scribing; and they arrest the attention of the thoughtful passer and tell to him mute but pathetic and impressive stories of the past, of rural mansions, of the great Virginia estates where culture, refinement, and a generous hospitality abounded. Only a few of the typical old buildings remain tor us, and these are passing rapidly from view, and the time is not far distant when the last of these landmarks of the vice-regal and revo- lutionary times will be no more. GREENWAY COURT. WHERE LORD THOMAS FAIRFAX LIVED. Not far from the little village of Milwood, in the Shenandoah Valley, there stood a few years ago an ancient mansion of peculiar interest. It was plainly a relic of the re- mote past — quaint in style, and suggestive to the beholder of strange circumstances and histories. Tall locusts of a century's growth surrounded it, and waved their spreading branches over its steep roof and windows. This ancient mansion was once the home of an English nobleman, who only chanced to live in Virginia, and did not directly influence to any con- siderable measure the events of the period in which he was an actor. And what, it may be asked, had Thomas, Lord Fair- fax, Baron of Cameron, the sixth of the name, of Greenway Court, m the Shenandoah Val- ley, to do with the history of this era? What did he per- form, and why is a place de- manded for him in our annals? The answer is not difficult. With this notable person who has passed to his long rest, and lies nearly forgotten in the old church at Winchester is con- nected a name which will never be forgotten. His was the high mission to shape in no small measure the immense strength of George Washington. His hand pointed attention to the rising planet of this great life, and opened its career toward the zenith — the planet which shines now, the polar star of our liber- ties, set in the stormy skies of the Revolution. The brilliance of THOMAS SIXTH LORD KAiKi-Ax. ^^^^ Star no man can now in- ...... Tin Ai • ^ • crease nor obscure, as no cloud From a painting in the Masonic Lodge Room, Alexandria. j- •.. . ■ ' ^ & > can dmi it, yet, once it was un- known, and needed the assistance, which Lord Fairfax afforded. Any account of the youth of Washington must involve no small reference to the old fox-hunting Baron who took an especial fancy for him when he was a boy of sixteen, and greatly aided in developing his capabilities and character. Fairfax not only thus shaped by his counsels the unfolding mind of the young man, but placed the future leader of the American Revolution in that course of training which hardened his mus- cles, toughened his manhood, taught him self-reliance, and gave him that military re- OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 10^ pute in the public eye, which secured for him at a comparatively early age the appoint- ment of commander-in-chief of the Continentalarmies overall competitors. First and last, Fairfax was the fast and continuing friend of Washington, and not even the strug- gle for independence in which they espoused opposite sides, operated to weaken this regard. In imagination let us look at this old house in which Lord Thomas passed about thirty years of his bachelor life. It stands before us on a green knoll — solitary, almost, in the great wilderness, and all its surroundings impress us with ideas of pioneer life and habits. It is a long, low building, constructed of the limestone of the region. > A row of dormer windows stands prominently out from its steep over-hanging roof, and massive chimneys of stone appear outside of its gables which are studded with coops around which swarm swallows and martins. From the ridge of the roof rise two belfries or lookouts, constructed probably by the original owner to give the alarm in case of an invasion by the savages. Not many paces from the old mansion was a small log house in which the eccentric proprietor slept, surrounded by his dogs, of which he was passionately fond ;• the large edifice having been assigned to his steward. A smalt 104 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS cabin of stone near the north end of the house was his office; and in this he trans- acted all the business of his vast possessions, giving quit-rents, signing deeds, and holding audiences to adjust claims and boundary lines. Scattered over the knoll were the quarters for his many servants. And here in the niidst of dogs and horses, backwoodsmen, Indians, half-breeds, and squatters, who feasted daily at his plentiful board, the fine gentleman of Pall Mall, the friend of Joseph Addison, passed more than a quarter of a century. He lived in this frontier locality the life of a recluse. He had brought with hiui an ample library of books, and these were welcome companionship for him in his solitary hours. Ten thousand acres of land around his unpretentious lodge he had alotted for a manorial estate, with the design at some time ol erecting upon it a castle for a residence. This design he never exe- cuted. At the age of twenty- five. Lord Fairfax was one of the gayest of the young men of London socfety. He went the rounds of dissipation with the fondest enjo}meni, and was considered one of the finest beaux of his day. He was well received by all classes. Young noblemen, dissipating rapidly theirpatrimonial substance, found in hima congen- ial companion in their intrigues and revels; Countesses permitted him to kiss their jewelled hands; and when he made his bow in their drawing-rooms, received him with their most patronizing smiles. ^ But our young lord after a time found himself arrested in his gay round of pleasures in the haunts of silk stockings and hooped petticoats. He had revolved like a gaily-colored moth about many beautiful luminaries without singeing his wings, but his hour of fate came. One of the beauties of the tinne trans- fixed him. He circled in closer and closer gyrations. His pinions were caught in the blaze, and he was a hopeless captive. My Lord Fairfax no longer engaged in re- vels or the rounds of dissipation, but like a sensible lover accepted the new conditionf, and sought only to make everything ready for a life of real happiness in the nuptials of two loving and confiding hearts. He turned resolutely from the frivolous past and looked only to the promising future, which he saw as if unfolding something higher and mare substantial for his achievement and enjovment. Then the real sweetness and depth of his truer nature revealed themselves from beneath the wrappings of dissipation and vice. He gave up everything which had pleased him forthis woman ; and'all that he now asked was permission to take his affianced away from the dangerous atmosphere of the court, and to live with her peacefully as a good nobleman of the provinces. He loved her passionately, and wished to discard all who threatened to interfere with the exclusive enjoyment of her society. All his resources were taxed to supply the most splendid marriage gifts ; and absorbed in this delightful dream of love, his happiness was raised to the empyrean. But he was destined to have a sudden awakening from his dream, a terrible, almost fatal fall from his cloudland. He had expended the wealth of his deep and earnest nature on a coquette — his goddess was a woman simplv — and a very shallow one. She threw Fairfax carelessly overboard, and married a nobleman who won her by the superior attractions of a ducal coronet. Thus struck doubly in his pride and his love, Fairfax looked around him in despair forsome retreat to which he might fly and forget in a measure his sorrows. London was hateful to hitn, the country no less distasteful. He could not again plunge into the mad whirl of the one, nor rust away in the dull routine of the other. His griefs demanded action to dissipate them — adventure, new scenes — another land was needed. This process of reflection turned the young man's thoughts to the lands in far away Virginia which he held in right of his mother, the daughter of Lord Culpeper. to whom they had originally been granted ; and finally he bade adieu to England and came over the seas. Such were the events in the early lite of this gentleman which brought him to Virginia. The house of Belvoir to which Lord Fairfax came was the residence, as has already been stated, of William Fairfax his cousin, to whom he had intrusted the manage- ment of his Virginia lands. Lawrence Washington, the eldest brother of George had married a daughter of William ; and now commences the connection of the already aged proprietor and the boy of sixteen who was to lead the armies of the Revolution. Washington was a frequent inmate of the Belvoir home, and the boy was the chosen companion of the old Lord in his hunting expeditions. In the retkless sports of the OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 105 field the proprietor seemed to find the chief solace for his love-lorn griefs. Time slow- ly dissipated his despairing recollections, however, and now, as he approached the middle of that century, the dawn of which had witnessed so much of his misery, the softer traits of his character returned, and he was to those for whom he felt regard a most delightful and instructive companion. Almost every trace of personal attraction, though, had left him. Upwards of six feet in stature, gaunt, raw- boned, near-sighted, with light grey eyes, and a sharp aquiline nose, he was scarcely recognizable as the ele- gant young nobleman of the days of Queen Anne. But time and reflection had mel- lowed his mind, and when he pleased, the old gentleman could enchain his hearers with brilliant conversation, of which his early training and e^jperience had given him very great command. He had seen all the great characters of the period of his youth, had watched the unfolding of events and studied their causf.s. All the social history, the scandalous chronicles, the private details of celebrated personages had been famil- 106 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS iar to him, and his conversation thus presented a glowing picture of the past. Some- thing of cynical wit still clung to him, and the fireside of Belvoir was the scene of much satiric comment between the old nobleman and his cousin William. But Fair- fax preserved great fondness for youth, and took especial pleasure in the society of our George of Mount Vernon. He not only took him as a companion in his hunts, but liked to have the boy with him when he walked out ; and it may be easily understood that the talks of the exile had a deep effect upon young Washington. The import of Lord Fairfax's connection with the future commander-in-chief lies chiefly in the commission which he intrusted to Geo. Wm. Fairfax, his cousin, and Wash- ington, the boy of seventeen, that of surveying and laying out his vast possessions in the Shenandoah Valley. Providence here as everywhere seemed to have directed the movements of man to work out His own special ends. This employment as surveyor on the wilderness frontiers was the turning-point in the young man's life, and the results of the expedition of three years in its influences on his habits and character, the infor- mation and self-reliance it gave him, and the hardships it taught him to endure are now the property of history. *It is not a part of our design to follow the young surveyor in his expedition which led him from Greenway Court to the headwaters of the Potomac where Cumberland now stands, and thence into the wilderness of the "Great South Branch," a country as wholly unknown as it was fertile and magnificent. He returned to Mount Vernon a new being, and the broad foundation of his character was laid. The first act of his eventful life had been played— the early lessons of training and endurance thoroughly learned — theground work of his subsequent exertions fixed; and the prudence, courage, coolness, and determination which he displajed on this arena, made him general-in-chief when the crisis came, of the forces of the Revolutionary struggle — Lord Fairfax had given him the impetus. From him he had received the direction of his genius, and to the attentive student of these early events the conviction becomes more and more absolute that Lord Fairfax was the great "influence" of his life. And the interest attaching to the career of this noble p.itrou consists chiefly in his connection with the life of the rising hero. Having formed as we have seen in no small measure the character of the boy of seventeen, he lived to receive the tidings that this boy had overthrown forever the dominion of Great Britain in America on the field of Yorktown. So had Providence decreed; and the gray haired baron doubtless felt that he was only the humble servant in that all powerful Hand. After Yorktown — after the supreme defeat of the proud English general by the lad whom he had trained, it was, as he said, "time for him to die." His death took place in 1781, at the age of ninty-two, and his body bes buried in the old Episcopal churchyard at Winchester, Va. His barony and its prerogatives according to English law descended in the absence of a son to his eldest brother Robert, who thus became seventh Lord Fairfax. The latter died in Leed's Castle, England, 1791, without a son. The baronial title then fell to Rev. Bryan Fairfax, son of William Fairfax then dead, and 'urother in-law of Lawrence Washington. „. , „ n „ r- 1.1 > . t r" "^ Right lion. F.c'v. Bryan, Iiglitli lord Fairfax, His main and last residence in Virginia was curtesy oi m.ss f. m Burke. *See ■ Story of Young Surveyors" by author OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 107 Mount Eagle on a high eminence near Great Hunting Creek, Fairfax county. But he had another homestead known as "Towlston Hall," a few miles above Alexandria, destroyed by fire just before the Revolution. He became the Eighth Lord in descent, and died at Mount Eagle in 1802. He was probably buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery near Alexandria. On a tablet in this burial place erected by his granddaughter is the fol- lowing inscription : In Memoriam. Right Hon. Rev. Bry.a.n, Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron AND Rector of Christ Church, Fairfax Parish. Died .\t Mount Eagle, Aug. 7, 1802, aged 78. The Lord forsaketh not the Saints. They are Preserved Forever. The last living heir to the title of Lord, in line of descent is Mr. Albert Fairfax of New York City. He has become by the recent death of his father, John Contee Fair- fax of Mar) land, the twelfth Baron. The great landed estates of Lord Thomas Fairfax with their entails were in effect confiscated by the success of the American Revolution ; and the legislature of Virginia in 1785 passed an act in relation to the Northern Neck, declaring that the landholders within said domain "should be forever after exhonerated and discharged from all com- positions and quit rents for the same." This was the end of the millions of acres of the royal Culpeper patent. A daughter of Bryan Fairfax, "Sally," a favorite young friend of Washington, died in early womanhood. A son, Thomas, lived beyond the age of eighty and died at Vaucliise near Seminary Hill, Va. in 1846, a zealous convert to the doctrines of Swedenborg. He was a man of broad and liberal views of human duties. He lib- erated all the slaves belonging to his patrimonial estate and was the originator of the African colonization society. DESCENT OF THE FAIRFAX TITLE. The Fairfaxes have been prominent personages during a thousand years of English and American history. Coming down through that history we find mention of Sir Thomas Fairfax of Denton near Otley on the banks of the river Wharfe in Yorkshire. His eldest son Thomas was Knighted for distinguished service before the city of Rouen in 1594 and in 1625 was created by Charles I, Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron, in the Scottish peerage His son Ferdlnando became second Lord Fairfax and was commander-in-chief of the parlinmcntary forces at the battle of Marston Moor in 1644. His son Thomas became third Lord Fairfax and was generalissimo of the armies of pirliamenl under Oliver Cromwell in the war against the forces of Charles I. His name was on the list of judges to try the King, but he was not present at the trial. He died in 167 1 and was succeeded in the title by his cousin Henry, fourth Lord Fairfax, of the cavalier branch of the f.\mily. This nobleman's eldest son Thomas, fifth Baron Fairfax, was married to Catherine, daughter of Lord Culpeper, and his son Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax, became proprietor of the "Northern Neek" in Virginia. He came to Virginia just previous to 1740 and lived the rest of his life, chiefly at Greenway Court in the Shenandoah Valley. His cousin Robert in England became seventh Lord, Bryan Fairfax son of William of Belvoir became eighth Lord. His son Thomas who died at an advanced age in 1846, succeeded to the title as ninth Lord. He was succeeded by his grandson Charles Snowden Fairfax, as tenth Lord. The title after his death fell to his brother, John Contee Fairfax as eleventh Lord. The last of the line is his son Albert Kirby Fairfax, of New York City as twelfth Lord. WASHINGTON'S LAST VISIT TO HIS MOTHER. HIS MIDNIGHT RIDE. He speeds at night when the world is still, A beacon bright as the guiding Star Over lonely plain and meadow and hill ; The Eastern Magi sought afar — His way is rugged and lonely and dim ; He sees the light of a mother's eyes But a friendly beacon is shining for him — Ever before his pathway rise ! Early on an April day of 1789 a wearied messenger arrived in haste at the gates of Mount Vernon. He had ridden from the city of New York, a distance of over two hundred and fifty miles, partly in lumbering stage coaches and partly on horseback over a highway abounding in ferries and fording places and much of it very rugged and difficult of passage. The messenger was the venerable Charles Thompson, secretary of the Continental Congress, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He had been commissioned by the new Congress under the Federal constitution to announce to Gen- 108 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS eral Washington in his retirement, that he had been unanimously chosen to be the chief magistrate ot the United States. The presence of the distinguished chief was urgently desired at the seat of govern- ment, and he immediately set himself about the arrangement of his domestic affairs preparatory to obeying the important summons. His new duties as president would make necessary a long absence from his home, in the distant metropolis, and he must hastily make a tour of inspection over his large estate to view the condition of his vari- ous plantations, note their prospects for crops and give all needed directions to his overlookers, for he was as careful and methodical in the management of his acres as he had been in the campaigns of the Revolution. But he could not start on the long journey he had to make, until he had performed a sacred and very kindly duty. Always filial in his disposition and dutiful in his deep emotions of gratitude to the American people for their spontaneous expression of their confidence. in his ability to again serve them, he did not forget his mother who had ever been to him the kind and affectionate counsellor and abiding friend, and who had proved so influential in shaping and directing his young inclinations after having been so early bereft of the care and parental guidance of his father. She was living at her rural home near Fredericksburg, fifty miles distant. Andalthough ithad beenbut a short time since he had looked upon her furrowed face and received her blessings, he felt that under the circumstances he must now again behold her. She was aged and infirm, and it might be the last opportunity for him to see her among the living. So, when the shadows of evening had far lengthen- ed and disappeared athwart the fields, he mounted his fleetest horse, and accompanied by his faithful servant started on his mission in obedience to the promptings of that in- ward monitor which from boyhood he seemed always to have considered decisive. Passing the borders of his own pleasant domain he reached the wooded heights of Accotink as the last faint rays of the sunset were fading beyond the western hills. It was no broad highway that he had taken, with smooth, level tumpiked surface, albeit, it was the main stage road, the old "King's Highway" from Williamsburg, the provin- cial capital, up through the Northern Neck to the Shenandoah, and the road over which the early planters once rolled their tobacco wains, and drove their liveried coaches, or clattered fleetly with their thoroughbreds, though it was little better than a bridle path, rough and vexatious to the wayfarer. But our rider was no stranger to its gullied ways and winding courses, since that time fifty odd years before, when a small boy four or five years of age with his father Augustine and his mother Mary, and his little sister Betty and his younger brother Samuel, he was brought up in the family carriage from the old homestead in Westmoreland to the new home at Epsewasson, two miles below where now stands the mansion of Mount Vernon, a home not then established, though it had been projected by Augustine the father. Over the same road, thirty years before, when a young man of twenty-eight, he had ridden in his coach and four from Williamsburg with his bride, the widow Martha Cusiis to her new home at Mount Vernon. Through the chill and lonely hours of the night did our Washington with the one great and controlling purpose in view ride on and on to his destination, sometimes through plantation clearing or straggling hamlet, and sometimes through stretches of woodland, fording or ferrying the many streams now deep and full with the spring time freshets. At Colchester, eight miles away he drew in his horse's rein and tarried awhile for re- freshments for man and beast, with mine host of the "Arms of Fairfax" a hostelry still standing solitary in the wastes of the vanished town. When he again mounted his horse and clattered down the street of the drowsy hamlet to the banks of the Occoquan, the ferryman made haste to set the distinguished wayfarer over the swiftly flowing stream, as many a time he had done before, and bid him speed over the hills and val- leys of Prince William. On and on he pursues his solitary way. He leaves behind him the highlands of ro- mantic Occoquan, and the roaring of its cascades die away in the distance. He cross- OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 109 es the waters of the Neabsco, Quantico, Choppawamsic, Aquia, and Potomac creeks into the sandy lowlands of Stafford and Spotts) Ivania. As he sped fast through the watches of the night with no token or sound of life to re- lieve the stillness of the surroundings save here and there the glimmering light in lonely farm house or negro cabin, or the baying of watch dog or croaking of frog in the way- side fen, how profound and varied must have been the thoughts that drifted through the mind of the great man. For thirty years he had been prominently connected with the history of the colonies, had been through many years a member of the Virginia Assembly, had been a member of the Continental Congress, had been conspicuously instrumental with other compat- riots in developing and successfully directing the spirit of independence under the op- pressive measures of Great Britain, had been commander-in-chief of the victorious American armies in the Revolution, and now was to be first President of the United States. The road he passed over was historic. In 1676 the armed rangers and colonists, of the Bacon Rebellion under the lead of his own great grandfather Col. John Washington had hurried to their bloody work at Assaomeck and Piscataway. Over a portion of it in 1 716 had clattered the Knights of the Golden Horse Shoe under the gallant Spotts- wood to open a way for the white man through the AUeghanies to the great West. Later, in 1740, Virginia's contingent of provincials passed over it to join the forces of Admiral Vernon fighting the Spaniards at Carthagena. Then in 1755 it had seen the passing of other Virginia troops on their way with Braddock to fight the French and Indians on the banks of the Ohio, and in 1781 it was gay and noisy with the "conti- nentalers" going to and from Yoiktown. Before the early dawn, Washington had finished his journey, and damp with the night airs, was standing at the gate of the maternal home on the borders of the Rappa- hannock. Of the notable interview between the honored chief and his aged mother, George Washington Parke Custis, his adopted son, has left us this enthusiastic and inter- esting narrative. "The President had come all unheralded and unannounced. After their first moment of greeting he said, 'Mother, the people of our republic have been pleased with the most flattering unanimity to elect me their chief magistrate, but before I can assume the functions of the office, I have come hastily to bid you an affectionate farewell, and to ask your maternal blessings. So soon as the weight of public business which must necessarily attend the beginnings of a new government, can be disposed of, I shall hasten back to Virginia' — and here the matron interrupted him with — 'And then you will not see me. My great age and the disease which is fast hastening my dissolution warn me that I shall not remain long in this world -. and I trust in God that I may be better prepared for another. But go George and fulfill the destiny which heaven ap- pears to have intended for you. Go, my son and may God's and a mother's blessing be with you to the end !' The President was deeply moved. His head rested fondly on the shoulder of his parent whose aged arm feebly but affectionately encircled his neck. Then tlie brow on which fame had wreathed the fairest laurels ever accorded to man, relaxed from its Inftly bearing. That look which could have overawed a Roman Sen- ate, was bent in filial tenderness upon the time worn features of the faltering matron. He wept ! — a'thousand recollections crowded upon his mind as memory retracing scenes long past, carried him back to the lowly homestead of his youth in Westmore- land where he beheld that mother whose care, education and discipline had enabled him to reach to the topmost height of laudable ambition. Yet how were his glories forgotten in the moment, his exploits and his victories, while he gazed upon her from whom he was soon to part to meet no more. Her premonition's were but too true. She passed away from earth in August of the same year, 1789, at the age of eighty-five." Passing from the dear pathetic presence, and hurriedly retracing his way, next morn- ing, back to Mount Vernon, the President elect, perhaps did not hear the plaudits in the streets of Federicksburg. He rode all day and reached his home before evening. 110 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS having exhibited his powers of endurance at the age of fifty-seven, by riding over eighty miles in twenty-four hours. His good wife Martha in his absence had busied herself in making ready the necessary traveling equipage, and on the following morning, April i6th, the President set out for New York, then the seat of the new Government. GUNSTON, THE HOME OF GEORGE MASON. "Twas an old colonial palace Through the thrilling land ; Ere that brazen boom In those days it was a great house, Thunder'd Freedom from the State House Spacious, feudal, grand." The next place of historic interest below the Fairfax home of Belvoir on the Poto- mac,- is an estate which in its original entirety contained seven thousand acres and be- longed in the colonial days to Col. George Mason, the distinguished patriot, whose name is verv prominent in early Virginia history, and especially in that portion of it which relates to the Revolutionary contest. He was not a soldier and had no aspira- tions for official dignity and honor, but he was a thinker and a most forceful writer, and better than all, a man ot correct principles and honest purposes. On one of the commanding situations of his manorial domain he erected in 1758, a pretentious dwelling where for thirty-four years he lived in almost princely style, dis- pensing a generous hospitality to his wide circle of acquaintances in the colonies and devoting his time to his broad acres, the pursuits of literature, the promotion of neigh- borhood improvements and the dissemination of his liberal and popular ideas of colon- ial independence. The founder of the Virginia family of Masons of whom George Mason, the builder of Gunston Hall and fifth in line of descent, was a member of the long parliament dis- solved by Oliver Cromwell in the reign of Charles the first of England. Like Hyde and Falkland, though fully committed to the reformation of many of the then existing evils of the royal prerogative, he did not favor the overthrow of the monarchy; for when the two great factions of the kingdom came into armed conflict he organized a military body to defend his king against the measures of Cromwell and his party. After the disastrous battle of Worcester which sealed the fate of Charles, MasOn fled in disguise with many others of the royal adherents from the English realm, and in 1651 found refuge in the province of Virginia, whither his family soon after followed him. He settled first in the county of Norfolk, but later moved to Pasbitansy on Acohic creek near the Potomac where he died and was buried. In 1676, theyear of Bacon's Rebellion, he commanded a force against the Indians and represented the same year the county of Stafford in the Hotise of Burgesses. Stafford was carved out of Westmoreland the year before, and was so named by Mason in honor of his native county of Staffordshire, England. His eldest son, also called George, was married to Mary, daughter of Gerrard Fowke of Gunston Hall, Staffordshire, England. The eldest son by this marriage also bore the name of George, the third of this name, and like his father, lived and was buried on the patrimonial estate ot Acohic. Their wills were recorded in Stafford county Court in 1710 and 1715 respectively. George Mason the fourth in descent and eldest son of the last named, married a daughter of Stevens Mason of Middle Temple, attorney general of the colony of Vir- ginia in the reign of Queen Anne. He established a plantation in Dogue Neck on the Potomac, then in Stafford, now in Fairfax, on land which he had inherited, and was the Lieutenant and chief commander of the county of Stafford, in 1719. He was drowned by the upsetting of his sail boat. He left three children, two sons and a daughter, of these two sons one was George Mason of the Virginia convention and the other Thomson, hardly less celebrated than his brother, who settled in Loudoun county and was frequently a member of the Assembly, an eminent lawyer and a true patrii>t. His son, Stevens Thomson Mason was a member of the Virginia convention which ad)pted the Federal Constitution, and was a United States Senator as was also his son Ar-nistead. George Mason of the text, the fifth of the name, was born in 1725, seven years be- OP VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. HI fore Washington. At the age of twenty-five he was married to Anne Eilbeck of Maryland, aged sixteen. This was in 1750. She was said to have been a very eslinia- ble woman. She died at the age ot thirty-nine leaving children, George, Anne, Wil- 112 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS liam, Thomson, Mary, Daniel, Sarah, John and Elizabeth. Of the sons, George, and Thomson of Hollin Hall served in the Continental Army, Thomson settled in Loudoun county,' The last surviving son of John, lived on Analostan Island opposite to George- town. He was the father of James Murray Mason who for years was United States "Hi .ill ihi,hii|i!'lll ;:? :lrl yt -•/i^T^l^f Senator from Virginia ; who figured with Slidell in the famous Trent affair and was after- wards confederate commissioner to England. He died at Clermont, Fairfax county, 1849 ^E>^^ 43 years. His eldest daughter by his second wife became the wife of Samuel OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 113 Cooper, Adjutant Generalof the Confederate Army. Another daughtermarried S. Smith Lee, brother of Robert E, Lee and was the mother of General Fitzhugh Lee. Col. George Mason was twice married. His second wife was named Brent but of this alliance there was no issue. His last years were made miserable by chronic gout. He died in 1792 and was buried in the family grave yard at Gunston, but no stone was set to mark his grave until a hundred years afterward. In 1S96 through the instrumen- tality of the "Sons of the Revolution" a small granite shaft was erected to the memory of the distinguished statesman and patriot. George Mason was one of the best and purest men of his time, and possessed the con- fidence of those younger civilians, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, whose opinions he did much to mould and shape along the lines which led to American Independence. He was a near neighbor to Washington and the Fairfaxes, and on the most intimate terms with them. In 1776 we find him writing to his agent in London a powerful statement of the wrongs -inflicted by the mother government upon the colonies; and about the same time appeared his masterly exposition of "colonial rights," entitled "Extracts from the Virginia charters, with remarks upon them." In 1769 he drafted the "Arti- cles of Association" against importing British goods, which the Burgesses signed in a body on their dissolution by Lord Botetourt; and in 1774 he drew up the celebrated Fairfax county resolutions, upon the attitude to be assumed by Virginia. In 1776 he was elected to represent his county in the convention of that year, and drew up the "Bill of Rights" already alluded to which was adopted. Jefferson, then in Philadel- phia, had written "a preamble and sketch" to be offered, but Mason's had been re- ported, and the final vote was about to be taken when it arrived. Mason's bill was therefore adopted, but Jefferson's "preamble" was attached to the Constitution. Ma- son sat afterwards in the Assembly, and supported Jefferson in his great reforms of organic laws, such as the cutting off of entails, the abolishing of primogeniture, and the overthrow of church establishments. The disinterested public spirit of the man may be inferred from the fact that, by birth and education, he belonged to the dominant class and to the Episcopal Church. He also advocated the bill forbidding the further importation of slaves, in 1778, and ten years afterwards sat in the Convention to decide on the adoption or rejection of the Federal Constitution. He was elected one of the Senators for Virginia, but declined the honor on account of pressing home duties, and continued to reside on his Gunston estate. In the much admired group of sculptured heroes and statesmen which adorns State House Square in Richmond, his statue is conspicuous. George Mason with all his force of intellect; with his correct judgment of the pur- poses and actions of men, with his fine perceptions of right and wrong among individ- uals, communities and nations, which won for him the approval and admiration of all among whom he moved, and with his fitness for any position of public trust and confi- dence, was remarkably modest and unassuming. He was domestic in his attachments and inclinations, and cared more for the enjoyments of his, home life than for the en- vied circumstances, often vexatious and forbidding which surround the politician and legislator. By his own fireside in the midst of his family circle in his own manorial halls was ihe yjlace of all others most dear to him. But wiihal, he was no recluse. He went often out from his fireside and circle and mingled freely with his friends at church at elections, at barbacues, and on other social occasions, and he loved to have them come and share under the roof of Gunston his large and cordial hospitalities. His library was extensive and varied for the time, and in it be found perennial delights. He was not a learned man according to the common acceptation of the term, but his knowledge of the world so far as he had delved and studied was very correct and practical. He was not an orator and never indulged in lofty flights of language to carry convictions but he had been endowed with a great store of strong common sense which he put forc- ibly into all the phrases of his public addresses and documents. He had an abiding interest in the affairs of his county and parish, and he co-operated earnestly with the founders of the towns of Alexandria and Colchester, the first stones of both of which he had seen laid in the wilderness. Letters of this sterling patriot to his children have been preserved and are replete 114 SOME OLD HISTOEIC LANDMARKS with good advice and parental solicitude. One of them, a sample of them all, to his son John, a merchant in Bordeaux, France, and to whom he consigned cargoes of his planta- tion products, closes as follows: "Diligence, frugality and integrity will infallibly in- sure your business, and your fortunes. And if you content jourself with moderate things at first you will rise, perhaps by slow degrees, but upon a solid foundation." In his last will and testament he thus charges his sons: "I recommend to you from my own experience in life, to prefer the happiness of independence and a private station to the struggles and vexations of public business; but if either your own inclinations or the necessities of the times should engage you in public affairs, I charge you on a father's blessing, never to let'the motives of private interest nor ambition induce you to betray, nor terrors of poverty nor disgrace nor fear of danger nor of death deter you from asserting the liberty of your country, and endeavoring to transmit to your country's posterity those sacred rights to which you were born." George Mason held many slaves, for he had numerous plantations under cultivation, requiring a vast amount of labor, and his exports of grain and tobacco to foreign mark- ets were on a large scale, but like his neighbors Washington and Jefferson he deplored the existence of the system in the colonies, for he foresaw clearly the consequences of its workings in the generations which were to come after him. He said in the Virginia convention: "This infernal traffic originated in the avarice of the British merchants. The British government constantly checked the attempts of Virginia to put a stop to it. The present question concerns not the importing states alone but the whole union. Maryland and Virginia have already prohibited the importation of slaves expressly. North Carolina has done the same in substance. All this would be in vain if South Carolina and Georgia be at liberty to import them. The western people are already calling out for slaves for their new lands and will fill their country with them if they can be got through those two states. Slavery discourages arts and manufactures. The poor despise labor when it is performed by slaves. They prevent the migration of whites who really enrich and strengthen a country. They produce the most pernicious effect upon manners. Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of Heaven on a country. As nations can not be rewarded nor punished in the next world they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects Providence punishes national sins by national calamines. I regret that some of our Eastern brethren have from a love of gain embarked in this nefarious traffic. I hold it essential in every point of view that the general government should have the power to prevent the increase of slavery." What his ideas of religious toleration were, may be learned from the last article in his Bill of rights. "Religion, or the duty we owe to" our Creator and the manner of discharging it, tan be directed onlv by reason and con- viction — not by force nor violence ; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the ex- ercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience, and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice christian forbearance, love and charity towards earh other" — Mason was a member of the church of England but his influences were for its disestablishment. Gunston Hall is one of the very few colonial dwelling places of the upper Potomac tide water region which are still standing as in the past, one stone upon another. But it has shared a better fate than the most of them, thanks to its enduring mateiials of construction and to two of its proprietors since the civil war. Col. Edward Daniels and Mr. Joseph Specht ; it is now in as good condition as in the days of its builder and first master. Not only its interior of spacious apartments with their high ceilings, wainscotings and elaborate stairways have been put in pleasing order, but its exterior of quaint roofs and gables, and dormer windows and tall chimneys has been well cared for. The manorial domain of seven thousand acres which once belonged to it has dwindled down to only a few hundred. Long may the old historic landmark contin- ue through the mutations of time to call up to coming generations memories of a ster- ling, self sacrificing patriot whose potent influences in the shaping of the beginnings of our republic have never been sufficiently understood and recognized. The patriotic and curious pilgrim who wishes to visit this colonial shrine can board the steamer w-hich plies daily between Washington and Mount Vernon. Or if he pre- OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 115 fers going leisurely by land, he can in carriage take the old King's Highway at Alex- andria and visit in his way of eighteen miles, Mount Vernon, Washington's old mill at Epsewasson, Woodlawn, Belvoir and the little hamlet of Accotink at the head of Accotink Bay where in the hostelry of "Royal George," long since gone to ruin, Wash- ington often met his neighbors after a barbecue or fox chase. The site of the van- ished town of Colchester on the Occoquan, seven miles below Mount Vernon will well repay a visit. The following lines were written by a sojourner under Gunston roof on a Christmas night a few years ago. I sat in Gunston Hall ;^ 1 saw the hearth-stone blaze, Each captive husband vied Griiii shadows on the wall As in colonial days, With lover by his side Around me pressed, In this old hall; To own her sway As memories of the past With beauty flashing high, Who practised less the art Came crowding thick and fast. And gallants thronging nigh, To win than keep a heart And to my mind, at last. As if some love-lit eye That once to Cupid's dart Their theme adressed. Held them in thrall. Had fallen prey ; Back from the shadowy land They seemed to grow apace While wives with sweethearts strove They pressed, a noble band, Like old Antenor's race. To keep the torch of love A stalwart race;— Of Trojan fame. In constant flame, I sa.v them come and go. Or men of lofty state, That, like sweet Omphale, As if they thought to show On whom the good and great They might retain their sway Their stately grandeui to Bestowed their utmost weight And yet their lords obey My mind apace. Of honored name. By rightfid claim. From wall and ceiling high, Then prouder forms were seen. So passed the shadowy throng, And ancient panel nigh, Of more majestic mien, — In misty group along. Their faces showed. Those grand old knights, As fancy played, I marked them, one and all. Whose sires at Runnymede Or pictured, one by one. Majestic, grand, and tall. Stocked England with a breed These spectral scenes upon As from the corniced wall Of men that made kings heed My mind, as night wore oa Their shadows strode. Their subjects rights With deep'nmg shade. Then hall and mansion wide Their spectral grandeur showed And as my eyelids fell They filled on every side. In every step they Irode They grew more palpable With phantoms grand; Through ancient hall, These spectres grand, While, at the outer gate. While women held their place That still, in Gunston Hall, Pressed carriages of stale. Supreme in every grace Hold nightly carnival. With spectral steeds to mate With which the Gothic race As fancy stirs withal The shadowy band. Invests them all. Her conjurer's wand. 1 The Gunston estate was divided into the following named "quarters" or "plantations" Gunston, Occoquan, Pohick, Stump Neck, Hallowing Point, Dogue Run, and Hunting Creek. From these places the exports of grain and tobacco were large for many years after their clearing of the original growth of heavy timber. But other commodities were produced as appears from an account book of the proprietor before us, such as beef, tanned hides and wool. Of the last named article there are the following entries : 1789 167 fleeces 30,7 p'jg. "90 164 " 398 " "91 166 " 384 " "92 171 " 458 " George Mason, like his neighbor Washington, was orderly and methodical in all his business affairs, and his integrity in his dealings is a fact well established. GUN.STON HALL RESTORED. "Whatever was in condition to remain as it was originally, siands to-day, voicing in more eloquent lan- guage than could be conveyed by the most fervent patriot the spirit of the past. Thus the long, worn flights of sand stone steps leading to the porched entrances on the north and south fronts of the mansion, the most beautiful external features of the house, have weathered the hundred and fifty years that they have stood and are now battered and hollow with age and long use. The principal entrance to the house is on the north side, and is made through a large, square porch, solidly built of brick and stone, with a peaked roof, supported in front by four Doric pillars of stone. The front door is crowned by a lunette of glass that corresponds to the arched front of the porch, and on either side are narrow hall windows. The southern portico is a smaller, octagonal structure, quite classic in its grace of form. In this picturesque retreat, doubtless, Colonel Mason was wont to entertain his dis- tinguished guests of a summer evening, where they might rest and be refreshed by the cool breezes arising from the quiet waters of Pohick Bay, as it was then called, now Gunston Cove, not many yards below". 116 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS This porch is said to have been a favorite spot, too, for a quiet turn at draughts between Washington and Mason. The mansion is built of bricks that were imported from Scotland, and its walls, interior as well as exterior, have the thickness of three of these very large blocks. It is surmounted by a long, sweeping Virginia roof, that gives slope to the walls of the chambers in the second story, and necessitates the quaint dormer windows that are an added feature of attraction. Four immense brick chimneys rear themselves high above the roof, from the four corners of which they spring, though they have their bases in the im- mense cellar that runs beneath the entire house. The present owner of the mansion has built a tall observation tower on the top of the house, sacrificing somewhat the architectural harmony of the structure to the pleasure of enjoying the inimitable landscape spread before one for miles below. INTERIOR OF THE HALL. Within, the house has the admirable features of the best of the Southern mansions of its time, the wide hall running across the entire breadth of the house, broken only by a tine broad staircase ascending atone side, and in this case relieved half way down its length of wall on either side by a carved panel reaching from floor to cornice, where they form themselves into two graceful arches, that meet in the centre of the ceiling in a drop in the form of a huge acorn carved in wood. From both sides of the hall enter the chief rooms of the house, the doors curiously low in proportion to the height of the walls, with deep panelled casements, and opening into four apartments of fine dimensions. On the right of the main entrance is what is known as the Jefft-rson room, as here there is reason to believe that Thomas Jefferson consulted and talked over with his friend and settled many a question that is embodied in this country's laws, giving more than reasonable indorsement to the popular belief that in this room the American Declaration of Independence was practically framed. The room is at present modernly furnished with the elegant appointments of a lady's boudoir, being the sitting room of the daughter of the house, but its most prominent ornament withal is a fine bust of the third President of the United States. HISTORIC WHITE PARLOR. On the south side, and communicating with this room, is the handsomest apartment in the mansion, and is the room in which all affairs of e-pccial ceremony took place. It has been alluded to as the White • Parlor, taking the name from the ivory white woodwork in which it is finished. '1 his woodwork is of particular note, being of a character in its elaborate hand carving and solidity that is not often reproduced today. However, the wood fitments of Gunston Hall arc one of its notable features. George Mason brought over from England several workmen to erect and decorate the woodwork throughout his house, and they spent three years in accomplishing the task. The two doors in the White Parlor, its two large windows, and the recesses on either side of the big square open fire place are all incased in broad, fluted, square pilasters with frontals decorated after the chaste Doric desi^^ns. The ht-avy panelled doors are also finished with classic scrolls. A Northern architect visiting Gunston Hall not long since — fortunately it was not belore the arrest of its decay — offered $2,000 for the woodwork of this room, which he had an ardent desire to transfer to a colonial mansion he was erecting near Boston. The plainer, though very handsome woodwork in wainscoting, cornices, doors, mantel and window frames, and otherwise finishing of the mansion's stately dining room, situated across the hall from the White Parlor, has an appropriate finish of oak graining. As one sits at the characteristically hos]ntable board of (iunston Hall, thought irresistibly travels back to former guests who have been regaled in this room. They present an imposing array — the great Washinj^ton himself frequently came over from Mount Vernon, six miles away ; Jefferson was a very frequent Gunston Hall s;uest ; Adams, Madison, and Monroe, who was a political pupil of. Mason; Randolph and Henry visited it ; also the gallant La- fayette ; and Geneial Green, in fact, all the notable statesmen of the time were guests at one time or another of this "Solon and Cato," the law giver and the stern patriot of the age in which he lived. The library, occupying the north front of the house, is again handsomely finished in dark, carved wood, with deep, glass inclosed alcoves in the east wall filled with shelving for books. Ascending the beautiful stairway, with its graceful, hand turned, mahogany balustrade, one is surprised to find on turning to the second flight, over the broad hallway at its head, a series of graceful arches sup- ported by square fluted pillars. A broad hallway runs from end to end on this floor between the rows of chambers on either side, each with its nidividual feature of quaintness and beauty. The room occupied by Lafayette when he visited Gunston Hall is that situated in the southwest corner, with two small gable windows gathering all the possible warmth from the late sun, and its dormer window commanding a fine view of the sloping lawns below and the peaceful Potomac in the ncr distance.'' The "Princeton" Catastrophe— Bursting of the "Peacemaker." On the 28th of February, 1844, a large party ofladiesand gentlemen of Washington including President Tyler and the members of his Cabinet with their families, were in- vited by Commodore Stockton, of the navy, to pass the day on the frigate "Princeton" lying at anchor off the city of Alexandria. The day was fine and the company num- erous and brilliant, not fewer than four hundred in number of whom the majority were. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 117 ladies. After the arrival of the guests the "Princeton" got under way and proceeded down the river a short distance beiow Fort Washington. During the passage down, the largest gun of the vessel, the "Peacemaker," firing a ball of two hundred and twenty-five pounds, was fired several times to test its strength and capacity. The gun had been constructed from a model of, and under the immediate direction of the commodore, and Mr. Tyler had manifested a great interest in its success. At two p. m. the ladies of the party were invited to a sumptuous repast in the cabin. The gentle- men succeeded them at the table, and some of them had got through and left it. The ship was on her return to her anchorage, and when opposite Broad Bay, the commander proposed, for the special gratification of the President and hi? Cabmet, to fire the gun again, a salute, as he said, in honor of the "great peacemaker" of his country — George Washington. Accordingly, all the members of the Cabinet started to go upstairs, the President with them, but at that instant they were called back to hear a toast proposed by Miss Wickliffe. It was this: "The flag of the United States, the only thing Amer- ican that will bear a stripe." This was received with great enthusiasm. The Pres- ident in response then gave as a toast, "the three great guns, — the 'Princeton,' her commander, and his 'Peacemaker,' This was loudly applauded by the ladies and then the members of the Cabinet started to go upstairs again. At this moment, Mr. Upshur, of Virginia, Secretary of State, had his hand on the President's arm and said to him, "Come Mr. Tyler, let's go up and see the gun fired," Just then Colonel Dade asked Mr. Waller, the President's son-in-law, to sing an old song about 1776, The President replied, "No, by George, Upshur, I must stay and hear that song; it is an old favorite of mine. You go up, and I'll join you directly." Accordingly, away went Upshur, Gilmer, and the others to see the gun fired. Messrs. Benton, Phelps, Hannegan, Jarnegan, Virgil Maxey, Commodore Kennon, Colonel Gardiner, and many others following. The President remained below, listening to the singing, and just as Mr. Waller came to the name of Washington, off went the gun. "There," said the master of ceremonies, "that's in honor of the name, and now for three cheers." And just as they were about to give them, a boatswain's mate rushed into the cabin be- grimed with powder and said that the "big gun" had exploded and killed many of those on deck. On this announcement the shrieks and agonizing cries of the women were heart-rending, — all calling for their husbands, fathers, brothers, and so on, rush- ing wildly into their arms and fainting with the excess of feeling. When the gun was fired the whole ship shook, and a dense cloud of smoke enveloped the entire group on the forecastle, but when this blew away an awful scene presented itself to the spectator. The lower part of the gun, from the trunnions to the breech, was blown off, and one half section of it was lying on Mr. Upshur. It took two sailors to remove it. Mr. Upshur was badly cut over the eye and on his legs; his clothes were literally torn from his body, he expired in about three minutes. Governor Gilmer of Virginia, was found to be equally badly injured. He had evidently been struck by the section of the gun before it had reached Mr. Upshur. Mr. Sykes, member of Congress from Nevr Jersey, endeavored to raise him from the floor, but was unable. A mattress was brought for him, but he soon expired. Mr. Maxey, of Maryland, had his arms and one of his legs cut off. the pieces of flesh hanging to his mutilated limbs, cold and bloodless in a manner truly friglitful. He died instantly. Mr. Gardiner, ex-member from New York, and Commodore Kennon, lingered about half an hour, unconscious, and expired with- out a groan. The fl igs of the Union were placed over the dead bodies as their wind- ing sheets. Behind the gun, the scene, though at first equally distressing, was less a- larming. Commodore Stockton who was knocked down, rose to his feet and jumped on to the wooden carriage to survey the effects of the calamity. All the hair of his head and face was burned off. Judge Phelps, of Vermont, had his hat blown off". Nine seamen were seriously wounded and Colonel Benton and many others were stun- ned by the explosion. Such was the force of it that the starboard and larboard bul- warks of the ship were shattered and the gun blown into many pieces. Judge Wilkins had taken his stand by the side of Governor Gilmer but some remarks falling from the lips of the latter, and perceiving that the gun was about to be fired he explained, "though Secretary of War, I dont like this firing, and believe that I shall 118 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS run," so saying he retreated, suiting the action to the word, and escaped injury. The most heart-rending scene, however, was that which followed. The two daughters of Mr. Gardiner, of New York, were both on board and lamenting the death of their father while Mrs. Gilmer from whom they vainly atterripted to keep the dreadful news of the death of her husband, presented truly a spectacle fit to be depicted by a tragedian. There she sa on deck, with hair dishevelled, pale as death, struggling with her feelings and with the dignity of a woman, her lips quivering, her eyes fixed and upturned, with- out a tear, soliloquizing, "Oh certainly not ! Mr. Gilmer cannot be dead I Who could dare to injure him ? Yes, O Lord have mercy upon me ! O Lord, have mercy upon him !" And then, still more apparently calm and seeming to be collected, with the furies tearing her heart within, "I beseech you, gentlemen, to tell me where my husband is? Oh! impossible, impossible! can he, can he, can he be dead? Impossible!" Here Senator Rives of Virginia, drew near. "Come near, Mr. Rives," she said in a soft whisper, which resenibled Ophelia's madness, "tell me where my husband is — tell me if he is dead. Now certainly, Mr. Rives, this is impossible." Mr. Rives stood speechless, the tears trickling down his cheeks. "I tell you Mr. Rives, it is impossible," she almost shrieked; and then again moderating her voice, "Now do tell his wife if her husband lives!" Here several ladies exclaimed, "God grant that she may be able to cry; it would relieve her — if not, she must die of a broken heart." A daughter of Mr. Gardiner, one of the victims of the ill-fated party and to whom the President was paying attention, and who in the following June became his wife, gave the following relation a few years ago. "When we got down to the collation served in the cabin the President seated me at the head of the table with him and handed me a glass of champagne. My father was standing just back of my chair so I handed the glass over my shoulder, saying, 'Here, pa.' He did not take it but said •My time will come.' He meant his 'time to be served,' but the words always seemed to me prophetic. That moment, some one called down to the President to come to see the last shot fired, but he replied that he could not go, as he was better engaged. My father started with some other gentlemen and left us. Just then we heard the report and the smoke began to come down the companion-way. 'Something must be wrong', said a bystander, who started to go and see. He got to the door then turned around and gave me such a look of horror, that I never shall forget it. That moment I heard some one say, 'The Secretary of State is dead.' I was frightened, of course, and tried to get upstairs. 'Something dreadful has happened,' I exclaimed. 'Let me go to my father !' I cried, but they kept me back. Some one told me that the gun had exploded, but that there was such a crowd around the scene it would be useless for me to try to get there. I said that my father was there, and that I must know if any evil had be- fallen him. Then they told me he had been wounded. That drove me frantic, I begged them to let me go and help him — that he loved me, and would want me near him. A lady, seeing my agony,. said to me, 'My dear child, you can do no good; your father is in heaven.' " The bodies of the victims of this dire calamity, which casta gloom over the whole land, were taken up to the capital. Five hearses, conveying the remains of Messrs. Upshur, Gilmer, Kennon, Maxey, and Gardiner, followed by a long train of carriages and a great concourse of citizens, on horseback and afoot, passed in silence up Penn- sylvania Avenue and proceeded to the Executive Mansion. The coffins of the distin- guished dead were taken into the East Room and placed on biers to await the funeral solemnities which occurred on the Saturday following." OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. L19 OLD HISTORIC LETTERS. What is the harvest they bring us, Flotsam of life and the years? Kissed by the dust in their sleeping Bathed in love's sunshine and tears. The enthusiastic delver among old historic records now and then finds himself in the presence of veritable apparitions of personages whose faces are seen no more save as they look down through the limnings of the painter from their lonely places on the old ancestral walls, whose voices were silent long generations before the time of his earliest memories. ' These are the apparitions: A bundle of letters, folded, tied and laid away, when and by whom, by what careful, loving hands no record tells us. They rise up from old trunks, boxes, barrels, and musty shelves, in dust strown lofts and garrets. To sit down alone in the quiet and open these bundles of missives, faded and worn, sometimes in tat- ters and hardly decipherable, is like taking a long journey backward through the vanished years, and holding pleasant communion with the dead, and learning somewhat of the lore of the times when they were living, moving actors on the world's wide stage. And we are glad to notice that an interest is at length being fostered among our people, though thousands of opportunities have already irretrievably passed away, for the bringing to light of such of these precious historic souvenirs as have escaped destruction and securing for them preservation from further liability to loss. The societies of the Daughters and Sons of the Revolution have shown a zeal in this direction at once wortliy of commendation and general emulation. Whatever relates to the trials, sacrifices, habits, manners and customs of the ancestors of the colonial days — whatever comes up to the surface in the course of more studious investigation to throw new and more ample light on their, home and neighborhood life takes on additional interest and fascination for all classes of our people, an interest thatvvill increaseas the widening years go on, and as patriotic impulses become more and more the incentives to action. This letter taken from a bundle preserved with pious care through all the mu- tations of succeeding times, we open and read with feelings akin to awe. It is dated June 14th, 1723. It is to a correspondent in London and reads : "Wakefield, Virgima. Dear Brother — We have n^it a schoolmaster in our neighborhood until now in nearely twenty years. 120 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS We have now a young minister living with us who was educated at Oxford, took orders and came over as assistant to Rev. K-t falling to ruins — vnore care to keep in order the burial places, to reset the falling memorial stones, restore their fading inscriptions and keep up their inclosures. The Old Gateway of Mount Vernon, and Lodges. Through this gateway in Washington's time was the only carriage road leading to the Mansion ot Mount Vernon. I'he road connected about one mile distant to the west with the Old King's Highway from Williamsburg by Alexandria and on to the Shenandoah. It was a much traveled way and is still used, but the approach for the great tide of travel which now sets in to the consecrated home is by the Electric railway and Steamboats. THE SWIFT SURE STAGE, STARTS FKOM THE GREEN S^^^'^^ THEE 124 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS THE OLD VIRGINIA REEL. Very sweet and very merry, very faint and f^^r away, Now I hear the ancient fiddlers on the strings begin to play, Keeping time with swaying bodies and a kind of whispered croon 'Till a host of dainty slippers follow to the dear old tune. Ah, the instruments are shattered and the strings are snapped in twain, And the fiddlers have forgotten and will never play again ! 'Twas the creaking of the branches on the shingles to and fro That recalled to me the music and the mirth of long ago. But above the stars eternal in their faded pinks and blues, With the powder on their ringlets, and the buckles on their shoes I shall see the beaux and sweethearts in a long procession kneel And their harps will play the music of an old Virginia reel. Minnie Irving. SOME Old Historic Landmarks OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND, DESCRIBED IN A HAND-BOOK FOR THE TOURIST OVER THE Washington, Alexandria and Mount Vernon Electric Railway, BY W. H. SNOWDEN, A. M. OF ANDALUSIA, VA. MEMBER OF THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AUTHOR OF HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF NEW JERSEY, VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND, &C. Volume II ALEXANDRIA, VA: PRINTED BY G. H. RAMEY & SON. 1903. Copyright, imi BY William H. yjs'owi>EK, THE NAME OF MOUNT VERNON. While every American has heard of Mount Vernon and has read the story of the services of the renowned patriot whose dust is enshrined in its soil, not one in a hun- dred perhaps knows the origin of the name. James, the unfortuuate Duke of Monmouth, nephew of Algeron Sidney, but who claimed to be the son of Charles II. of England, and who by a life of intrigues sought to make himself king and in consequence lost his life on the scaffold in 1685, had a private secretary named Vernon, who after the duke's death found favor in influential quarters and under the reign of William III, became Secretary of State. He left a son, Edward, born 1684, who, much against his father's wishes and entreaties, entered the navy, and serving with distinction at the beginning of his career rose eventually to the rank of admiral of the British navy. In 1722 he was elected to the House of Commons, and having in July, 1 739, declared there in a speech that Porto Bello, a coveted Spanish town on the South American coast, might be reduced with six sail of the line, and that he would stake his lite and his reputation on the success of such an expedition, he was accordingly despatched soon after with a squadron to make the attempt then considered a chimerical one. He was successful, and made himself exceedingly popular, at least with his men, by distributing among them generous bounties m captured Spanish doub- loons, which had just arrived from Spain to pay Spanish troops defending the city. On returning to England he was welcomed with acclamation and his prowess as a naval commander was everywhere acknowledged. He received the thanks of both houses of parliament and was voted the freedom of the city of London. From that time, however, his star declined. An expedition which he undertook against Carthagena in 1740-42, signally failed of its purpose. SmoUet, at that time a naval surgeon, accompanied the fleet and has told the story of it in "Rhoderic Random," one of his novels, in which he compares Vernon and General Wentworth, who at the attack commanded the auxiliary land forces, to Ceasar and Pompey. "The one," he says "would not brook the authority of a superior, while the other was impatient of that of an equal, so that between the pride of the one and the insolence of the other the enterprise was a failure". A part of the land forces under Wentworth, auxiliary to Vernon at Carthagena consisted ot a regiment of volunteers from Virginia in which Lawrence Washington served as a cap- tain, and apparently he was either very favorably impressed with the personal qualities of the admiral or his abilities as a commander; for he gave his name to the new home which his father, Augustine, had been establishing for him on the Potomac during his absence on the seas, and so it came to pass that one of the fairest situations which ever crowned a river expanse or smiled beneath the radiance of a summer sky, has been known the wide world over for a hundred and fifty years as Mount Vernon. How this situation, the nucleus of the subsequent great "estate" of eight thousand acres became a part of the Washington possessions has already been told in a previous paper of this series, the "Old Mill at Epsewasson." Lawrence Washington lived to enjoy his new home but ten years. After his death, in 1752, it became the inheritance of his brother George by the provision of his father's will, contingent on the death of Sarah, only surviving child of Lawrence and Anne Washington, which occurred very soon after that of her father. It will be remembered that Lawrence Washington, through the influence of his friend the admiral, secured for his brother George an appointment ao mid-shipman in the Brit SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS ish navy, which he was only prevented from accepting by the earnest protestations and entreaties of his mother, which saved him from a lile and career which might have given him but little public prominence for the mission which was to bring him his world-wide renown. Vernon's popularity with the masses of the English people was so great that despite bis unfortunate Carthagena expedition he was actually elected a member of parliament from three districts at the same time after his return. Probably his known hostility to the existing government had much to do with his popularity. The enemies of Wal- pole exalted his praises till his heroism was made a proverb, his birthday signalized by celebrations and bonfires and his head was selected as a favorite ornament for sign posts. In 1745 he was detailed to watch with his fleet the North sea, in view of the pretender's adherents. The next year a serious quarrel ensued between him and the British government which resulted in his writing two pamphlets which so much exasper- ated the authorities that by the King's express command his name was striken from the list of the admirals. He died in 1757 at his seat in Suffolk, and, notwithstanding his disgrace, a handsome monument was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey. PEN PORTRAITURE OF WASHINGTON BY A COTEMPORARY. DESCRIBED AT THE AGE OF THREE SCORE. "My own first sight of him seems like a remote vision ; it was only from a distance and in my early boyhood. I had been walking up the street, when I approached a great cavalcade, attended and surrounded by floods of people, all of whose looks seemed to be bent on one object. On a dark sorrel horse, which he rode with military grace and ease, was an officer of large size, wearing the triangular cocked hat which appears in all paintings of the battle scenes of the Revolution, and attended on either hand by officers of his staff. They were so heavily loaded with dust as to be entirely of one color. Hats, coats, boots, hands, saddles, holsters, horses, seemed all of one uniform drab, — as if they had been riding for hours along a highway, without stopping to re- move the dust as it accumulated upon them. They told me that was General Wash- ington ; and I afterwards heard my father read from the papers of the day an account of his having been crowned, as he passed the bridge at Gray's Ferry, with a chaplet of flowers, and greeted by a band of beautiful young ladies, chanting a song of welcome to the hero who had closed the eventful struggle for freedom by the then recent victory of Yorktown. I was too far off to recognize his features ; but the mounted figure is even now distinctly before my mind's eye ; and I instantly recognized it again, when I saw, for the first time, Trumbull's picture of the surrender of Yorktown, that now oc- cupies one of the panels of the Rotunda of the Capitol. The Washington there drawn is precisely the one I saw coming into the city by the road from Gray's Ferry. "My next view of him was a nearer and more distinct one, — it was as worshipper. My parents, who were Episcopalians, had a front pew in the gallery of Christ Church, in Philadelphia ; and from that favorable post of observation, I noticed in the middle aisle, a pew lined with crimson velvet, fringed with gold, into which I saw a highly dignified gentleman enter, accompanied by others younger than himself, and most re- spectful in their deportment towards him, who were members of his military family. I was but a youug boy, and the impression, as I well remember, on my youthful mind was, that I had never seen so grand a gentleman before, Everybody else seemed to be of the same mind ; for I do not consider it a slander on the very respectful congrega- tion worshipping in that church to say, that far more looks were fixed upon that pew than on the puljMt. The dejiortment of Washington was reverent and attentive ; his eyes, when not on the prayer book, were on the officiating clergyman, and no witless or irreverent worshipper could plead Washington's example. I have since been in the church at Alexandria, which was his parish church, have handled the prayer book he used, and seen his well known autograph in the front of his Bible; and there the same impression existed as to his regular and exemplary attendance and demeanor. He OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. O could not always be present in the church at Philadelphia, in the afternoon, being pressed by the exigency of public affairs, which, in the mind of Washington, were ever held to be matters of necessity. Hence he gave orders that in case certain important despatches were received during his attendance in church, they should be brought to him there : and I have seen them delivered into his hands. He opened them imme- diately and deliberately and attentively read them through ; then laying them on the seat by his side, he resumed his prayer book, and., apparently gave his mind to the sol- emnities of the place and the hour. "But once I had an opportunity far more favorable, of beholding this greatest of men under circumstances the best possible for exhibiting him to the fullest advantage. It was a privilege which could happen but once to any man ; and I esteem the hour when 1 enjoyed it as one of the brightest moments I was ever permitted to know. Its re- membrance yet glows vividly on my mind — years have not dimmed it ; the whole scene is yet before me; and I need not say with what force repeated public occasions of a like kind have since recalled it to remembrance. Yes, it was my favored lot to see and hear President Washington address the Congress of the United Slates, when elected for the last time, — of men now living, how tew can say the same. "I was but a school boy at the time, and had followed one of the many groups of people who, from all quarters, were making their way to the Hall in Chestnut street, at the corner of Fifth, where the two Houses of Congress then held their sittings, and where they were that day to be addressed by the President, on the opening of his second term of ofifice. Boys can often manage to work their way through a crowd better than men can; at all events, it so happened that I succeeded in reaching the steps of the Hall, from which elevation, looking in every direction, I could see nothing but human heads ; a vast fluctuating sea, swaying to and fro, and filling every accessi- ble place which commanded even a distant view of the building. They bad congre- gated, not with the hope of getting into the Hall, for that was physically impossible, but that they might see Washington. "Many an anxious look was cast in the direction from which he was expected to come, until at length, true to the appointed hour, (he was the most punctual of men,) an agi- tation was observable on the outskirts of the crowd, which gradually opened and gave space for the approach of an elegant white coach, drawn by six superb white horses, having on its sides, beautiful designs, painted by Cipriani. It slowly made its way, till it drew up immediately in front ot the Hall. The rush was now tremendous. But as the coach door opened, there issued from it two gentlemen, with long white wands, who, with some difficulty, parted the people, so as to open a passage from the carriage to the steps, on which the fortunate school boy had achieved a footing, and whence the whole proceeding could be distinctly seen. As the person of the President emerged from the carriage, a universal shout rent the air, and continued as he very deliberately ascended the steps. On reaching the platform he paused, looking back on the carriage, thus affording to the anxiety of the people the indulgence they desired, of feasting their eyes upon his person. Never did a more majestic personage present himself to the public gaze. He was within two feet of me ; 1 could have touched his clothes; but I should as soon have thought of touching an electric battery. Boy, as I was, I felt as in the presence of a divinity. As he turned to enter the Hall, the gen- tlemen with the white wands pre:eded him, and, with still greater difficulty than before repressed the people and cleared a way to the great staircase. As he ascended I as- cended with him, step by step, creeping close to the wall, almost hidden by the skirts of his coat. Nobody looked at me ; everybody was looking at him ; and thus I was 'permitted, unnoticed, to glide along, and happily to make my way (where so many were vainly longing and struggling to enter) into the lobby of the chamber of the House of Representatives. Once in, I was safe ; for had I even been seen by the offi- cers in attendance, it would have been impossible to get me out again. I saw near me a large pyramidal stove, which fortunately, had but little fire in it, and on which I 6 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS forthwith clambered until I had attained a secure perch, from which every part of the Hall could be deliberately and distinctly surveyed. Depend upon it, I made use of my eyes. "On either side of the broad aisle that was left vacant in the centre, were assembled the two Houses of Congress. As the President entered, all rose, and remained stand- ing till he had ascended the steps at the upper end of the chamber and taken his seat in the Speaker's chair. It was an impressive moment. JNotwithstanding that the spacious apartment, floor, lobby, galleries, and all approaches, were crowded to their utmost capacity, not a sound was heard ; the silence of expectation was unbroken and profound ; every breath seemed suspended. He was dressed in a full suit of richest black velvet ; his lower limbs in short clothes with diamond kneebuckles and black silk stockings. His shoes, which were brightly japanned, were surmounted with large square silver buckles. His hair carefully displayed in the manner ot the day, was richly powdered and gathered behind into a black silk bag, on which was a bow of black ribbon. In his hand he carried a plain cocked hat, decorated with the Ameri- can cockade. He wore by his side a light, slender, dress sword, in a green shagreen scabbard, with a richly ornamented hilt. His gait was deliberate, his manner solemn, but self-possessed, and he presented, altogether, the most august human figure I had then, or have since beheld. "At the head of the .Senate stood Thomas Jefferson, in a blue coat, single breasted, with large bright basket buttons, his vest and small clothes of crimson. I remember being struck with his animated countenance, of a brick-red hue, his bright eye and foxy hair, as well as by his tall, gaunt, ungainly form and square shoulders. A perfect contrast was presented by the pale, reflective face and delicate figure of James Madison ; and above all, by the short, burly, bustling form of General Knox, with ruddy cheek, prominent eye, and still more prominent proportions of another kind. In the semi-circle which was formed behind the chair and on either hand of the Presi- dent, my boyish gaze was attracted by the splendid attire of the Chevalier D'Yrujo, the Spanish ambassador, then the only foreign minister near our infant gov- ernment. His glittering star, his chapeau 5ras, edged with ostrich feathers, his foreign air and courtly bearing contrasted strongly with the nobility of nature's forming who stood around him. It was a very fair representation of the old world and the new. How often has the same reflection occurred to me since, on witnessing the glittering, and now numerous company of foreign dignitaries collected round our Presidents by an inauguration day, or the recurrence of our national anniversary. "Having retained his seat for a few moments, while the membersresumed their seats, the President rose, and taking from his breast a roll of manuscript, proceeded to read his address. His voice was full and sonorous, deep and rich in its tones, free from the trumpet ring which it could assume amid the tumult of battle, (and which is said to have been distinctly heard above its roar,) but sufiiciently loud and clear to fill the chamber and be heard, with perfect ease, in its most remote recesses. The address was of considerable length ; its topics, of course, I forget, for I was too young to un- derstand them; I only remember in us latter part some reference to the Wabash River (then a new name to n)y ear) and to claims or disputes on the part of the Indian tribes. He read, as he did everything else, with a singular serenity and composure, with manly ease and dignity, but without the smallest attempt at display. Having concluded, he laid the manuscript upon the table before him and resumed his seat ; when, after a slight j)ause, he rose and withdrew, the members rising and remaining on their feet until he left the chamber. "The paper was then taken up bv Mr. FJeckley, the Clerk of the House, andagain read from beginning to end. Berkley's enunciation, by the by, was admirably clear, giving every syllable of every word. "This form having been gone through, the members of the Senate retired, and I took advantage of the bustle to descend from my unwonted and presumptuous elevation, and mingle with the dissolving crowd." OF Virginia and Maryland. CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH, "They come in great procession, With firm but noiseless tread, From the mists of the far horizon — Those ghosts of the mighty dead. In front of the glittering pageant With the clear, dark eyes serene Behold in his ruff and doublet, The Knight of the Virgin Queen ! — John Smith the fearless captain Of the mighty days of old. With the beard and swarthy forehead And the bearing free and bold ! He has fought in the bloody battles Of the Old World and the New With a soul unmoved by peril — A stout heart, kind and true ! He has flashed his glittering falchion In the sun of Eastern lands, And t&iled, a woe worn captive, In the wild Caucasian Lands ! He has bent with knightly homage To the beauty in her bower, But here, in the purple sunset He has met with a fairer flower ! She comes ! like a fawn of the forest, With a bearing mild and meek. ADVENTURER, SOLDIER AND EXPLORER. The blood of a line of chieftains Rich in her glowing cheek. With the tender fluttering bosom And the rounded shoulders, bare — The folds of her mantle waving In the breath of the idle air. With a crown of nodding feathers Set roiind with glimmering pearls. And the light of the dreamy sunshine Asleep in her raven curls ! Our own dear Pocahontas ! The Virgin Queen of the West — With the heart of a Christian hero In a timid maiden's breast! You have heard the moving story Of the days of long ago, How the tender girlish bosom Shrank not from the deadly blow. How the valiant son of England, In the woodland drear and wild, Was saved from the savage war club By the courage of a child. And now in the light of glory The noble figures stand The founder of Virginia, And the pride of the Southern land !" Previous to the year 1608 no human eye had ever rested on the broad tide and fair landscapes of the Upper Potomac River, save that of the wild and roving red man. In the Spring of that year the adventurous and intrepid discoverer Captain John Smith of the little English colony at Jamestown, "with the intent of searching out every inlet, and bay fit for habitations and harbors," fitted out an open barge of about 8 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS "three tons burthen" and accompanied by "fourteen chosen men, Walter Russell, doctor of physics, and six other gentlemen: Ralph Morton, Thomas Momford, William Cantrill, Richard Featherstone, James Burne and Michael Sicklen and seven soldiers ; Jonas Profit, Anas Todkill, Robert Small, James Watkins, John Powell, James Red and Richard Keale who were to work the barge and to act on the defensive in case of encounters with the natives. Their boat was fitted with sails and conveniences for rowing. As they coasted the wild shores of the Chesapeake and its affluents, many mar- velous and exciting incidents attended their expedition which are quaintly set forth in the valuable journal of the Captain, published in London, 1620, and still extant in the Congressional Library. On the 1 6th of June, the explorers discovered the Potomac, and proceeding up the stream about thirty miles they landed on the Virginia Shore, but the hostile reception they met with from the Indians forced them back to their boat. Not dismayed however by this treatment they continued on in their northward course, touching at various points for observation and supplies, until they had reached the Great Falls, thirteen miles above the site of Washington City. Captain Smith and his men were delighted by the deep, broad, flowing river which bore them on its surface. They had seen the rivers of Europe, but they were tiny streams compared with this new one they had just found, albeit they were bordered by great cities. Their own historic Thames the port of the mighty city of London doubtless seemed very insignificant to them. The affluents of the new river draining the vast regions of both Virginia and Maryland whose primal depths, not yet choked by the accumulations of silt from the tobacco and cornfields of the future came down deep and full with their tributes of waters. The bordering forests of the rich slopes and plateaus around them contained oaks which had been scattering their autumn leaves for hundreds of years. Everywhere an abundance of "sweet springs" poured from the banks. Groups of deer and bears drank along the margins and were hardly startled by the firing of carbines. Every prospect was a marvel to the explorers. The fish were so plentiful as to be readily taken with basket and spear all about the barge; wild fowl, geese, swans and ducks flocked everywhere and the woods were alive with wild animals and all could be secured for subsistence with but little effort. The natives with but few exceptions came down in wonder to meet the pale faced strangers in their "winged boat" and exchange friendly greetings and to furnish them with corn and other supplies. All things proclaimed to the adventurers that the new region must be a most desirable one for the planting of English colonies. It was without doubt a land of plenty they thought, for little toiling. Its soil, deep and rich would produce a hundred fold ; its climate was genial and fragments of shining metal which they found in the river sands and cliffs created in their minds the belief that they had found the veritable Pactolis which was to yield cargoes of gold. And no doubt they •returned to Jamestown with flush of satisfaction and anticipation. To one of Smith's inclinations and indomitable energies the varied possibilities which he had contemplated as he made this expedition must have filled his being with high resolves and hopes for his future career. No one of the early American pioneers had more correct conceptions of the conditions needed for successful colonization, nor a broader comprehension of the unrivaled facilities for civilized empire afforded by the new world, and there may have been some prescient glimmerings of the wondrous future of the new found lands floating in his vision. But as he surveyed from his little bark the interminable forests of all the shores and the expanse of waters cleft by the frail stone-hewn canoe of the strange savage people, he hardly dreamed that two and a half centuries hence by the tide of that same lonely wilderness river the capital of "time's greatest empire" was to be so superbly enthroned. Captain Smith had carefully noted in his journal all the important circumstances of his voyage, and had quite accurately mapped the course of the main stream with its creeks and inlets, and both his journal and map remain to tell us how well he executed the work vvhich had been entrusted to him by the colony. He became afterwards the OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 9 most prominent man and the leading spirit in the deliberations and workings of the first company of English colonists numbering one hundred and five persons who in 1607 made the first settlement of Jamestown. His early lite had been given to the cause of freedom in the 'Low Countries" where he had fought for the independence of the Bavar- ian republic. As a traveler he roamed over France ; had visited the shores of Eygpt ; had returned to Italy; and panting for glory had sought the borders of Hungary where there had long existed an hereditary warfare with the followers of Mahomet. It was there that the young English cavalier distinguished himself by the bravest feats of arms in sight of Christians and infidels, engaging fearlessly and always successfully in single combat with the Turks, which custom from the days of the crusades had been warran- ted by the rules of chivalry. His signal prowess in these encounters gained for him the favor of Sigismund Bathori the unfortunate prince of Transylvania. At length he with many others was overpowered in a sudden skirmish in the glens of Wallachia, and was left severely wounded on the field of battle. A prisoner of war he was now according to the Eastern custom, offered for sale like a beast in the market place, and was sent to Constantinople as a slave. A Turkish lady had compassion on his misfortunes and his youth, and designing to restore him to freedom had him removed to a fortress in the Crimea. Contrary to her comm.ands he was there, subjected to the harshest usages among half savage serfs. Within an hour after his arrival the overseer of the estate pursuant to his master's suggestion ordered his head and face shaved. A ring of iron with a long, crooked arm to it, was riveted about his neck ; and his clothes being taken from hini, he received as a substitute a side of undressed skin and a rough coat made of buffalo hair. The dwelling of this harsh master was a castle large and strong with many extensive enclosures about it and surrounded by high stone walls. Upon the plantations of the estate attached to it were many Christian slaves, and besides these, near a hundred Turkish convicts sentenced to hard labor ; and Smith as the last comer was regarded as the slave of slaves to them all. But this was a servitude which he did not long en- dure. His Turkish master one day on a round of inspection having visited a farm house about a league from the castle where Smith was threshing out grain, in the ex- citement of the moment at the abusive treatment to which he was subjected, the new slave attacked the insolent Turk with his threshing bat and killed him on the spot. Then, having concealed the dead body under a stack of straw he dressed himself in the Turk's clothing, and filling a knapsack with provisions mounted the dead master's horse and fled swiftly for his life. Thus was it that one of the most distinguished of the early planters of Virginia was a runaway slave. After wandering uncertainly for days, Smith was fortunate to light upon the road or bridle path rather, leading north toward the Russian frontier, and after traveling upon it for sixteen days taking care all the while to keep from being observed, which in that unfrequented region was not a mat- ter of so much difficulty, he reached a Muscovite garrison on the banks of the river Don. Here again his Knightly bearing, adroitness and social accomplishments, added to his recent perils and escape, were at once the passport for him to woman's sympathy and intercession. The governor of the place gave him a very hospitable reception, and with friendly letters from governor to governor he passed through the southern province of Russia to Hermanstadt into Transylvania. After having been well received and entertained in Transylvania, Smith proceeded by way of Prague to Leipsic, in which city Prince Sigismund had taken up his residence, and whither Count Meldritch, Smith's late Colonel, had also retired. Both of these personages received him with much good will, and the Prince to repair his losses gave him a purse of fifteen hundred gold ducats. His purse thus replenished, Smiih made the tour of Germany, France and Spain, and even crossed from Gibraltar to the Spanish-Africa fortress of Tangier. While on that coast he became acquainted with the captain of a French armed ship, and with him went to the city of Morocco. He had entertained some designs of adventuring in the wars of that country, but finding the city in a very ruinous condition, and the civil struggles 10 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS there not so much a regular warfare as "perfidious and bloody murder" he hastened to leave the wretched country, but not until he had borne a part in a desperate fight be- tween his friend the French captain and two Spanish men of war. He reached Eng- land in the course of the year 1604 and having fallen in with Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, was easily induced by that navigator to take an active part in the newly planned project for planting a colony in Virginia, an enterprise into which our brave adventurer in European lands entered with all his characteristic enthusiasm and in which his large experience was of such great service. Most readers are acquainted with the romantic story of Captain Smith's capture by the Indians on the Chickahominy ; of his sentence to death by Powhatan, their king, and of his narrow escape from his terrible fate by the kindly intercession of Pocahon- tas the child daughter of the King, who threw herself between the upraised club of the savage executioner, and the heroic adventurer and thus saved his life. In 1609, Captain Smith by an accidental explosion of gunpowder at Jamestown was so severely injured that he was compelled to return to England for surgical assistance. He lived twenty-two years after, dying in 1631, but he did not revisit the scenes of his pioneer adventures and perils in the New World. In his death the struggling col- ony at Jamestown lost a brave, heroic spirit, an earnest unselfish friend and promoter of their interests, a wise and safe counsellor and director through good and evil report. From the first, his most ardent hopes and exertions had been for the success of the ven- ture, but all his solicitude was repaid with only false accusations and ingratitude. He received for his sacrifices and perilous exertions, not one foot of land — not the house even he had built, nor any r^ivvard but the approval of his conscience and that of the world. POCAHONTAS-THE DUSKY MAIDEN AND PRINCESS. The pathetic story ot the dusky maiden who, obeying the spontaneous impulses of her kind- lier nature, nearly three hundred years ago on the banks of the Chickahominy, won the clemency of her stern father, King Powhatan, and rescued from a barbarous death, at the imminent peril of her own life, one who had no claims upon her of consanguinity nor long friendship, but was a stranger and an alien to her and her people, will continue to be acknowledged as an established fact, notwith- standing the malignant atfempts of cynics to pervert and falsify the plain historical evidences upon which its veracity depends. It will still hold its place in the earliest chapters of Vir- ginia history, and still command, as it ever has done, the interest and admiration of the young and old of our republic. The circumstances of the rescue of Captain John Smith, according to the most trustworthy chronicles, are these : From the time of his first landing on the banks of the J.imes river with the voyagers sent out under the auspices of the Virginia company of London in 1606 to that of his departure from Jamestown for England in 1609, he omitted no opportunity to collect all possible information concerning the geography and varied resources of the country for the occupation of which he had so faithfully labored from the beginning of the enterprise. It was on one of his excursions in pur- suit of this object that he was surprised and captured by the natives and carried before their king, Opechancanough. But in this strait his characteristic adroitness and tact i oCA^OnTo. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 11 served and saved him. Drawing from his pocket the little compass which had served to guide him through the wilderness, he amused the savages by an explanation of its wonderful properties, and increased their admiration of his superior genius by impart- ing to them some vague conceptions of the form of the earth and the nature of the planetary bodies. To the Indians who detained him as their prisoner, his captivity was a stranger event than any circumstance of which the traditions of their people preserved the memory. He was allowed to send a letter to the fort at Jamestown, and the sav- age wonder was increased ; for he seemed by some incomprehensible agency toendow the paper with the gift of intelligence. The curiosity of all the clans of the neighborhood was awakened by the actions of the prisoner. He was conducted in triumph from the settlement on the Chickahominy to the Indian villages on the Rappahannock and the Potomac, and thence through various towns to the residence of Opechancanough at Pamunkey. There for the space of three days they practiced incantations and cere- monies, in tlie hope of obtaining some insight into the mystery of his character and his designs. It was evident to them that the pale faced stranger was a being of a higher order than that of their own, and gifted with influences to sway and control other minds at will. They parleyed among themselves, and queried, "Was his nature kind- ly and beneficent; was he to be considered a friend and to be taken into their confid- ence, or was he to be dreaded as a wily and dangerous intruder?" Their minds were bewildered as they beheld his calm fearlessness in the face of danger, and they sedul- ously observed towards him the utmost deference and hospitality, as if to propitiate his power should he be rescued from their hands. In their dilemma they referred the de- cision of his fate to Powhatan, who was then residing in what is now Gloucester county, on York river, at a village to which Smith was conducted through the regions now so celebrated; where the youthful Lafayette hovered upon the skirts of Cornwallis, and where the arms of France and those of the colonies were united to achieve the crowning victory of American independence : and where nearly a hundred years later occurred many of the important events of the great civil struggle between the States of the North and the South. The grim warriors of Powhatan as they met in council to make their decision, dis- played their gayest apparel before the Englishman whose fate was in their hands. The fears of the feeble aborigines were about to prevail and the immediate death of Smith, repeatedly threatened and repeatedly delayed, would have been inevitable but for the timely intercession of Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, a girl of "tenne or twelve years old which not only for features, countenance and expression much exceeded any of the rest of her people, but for wit and spirit was the only nonpareil of the country." "The gentle feelings of humanity are the same in every race and in every period of life. They bloom, though unconsciously, in the bosom of a child." Captain Smith had easily won the confidence and affection of the Indian maiden and now ihe impulse of mercy was awakened in her breast. Slie clung firmly to his neck and as his head was bowed to receive the strokes of the executioners, did the child like superstition of her kindred, reverence her interposition as a token from a superior power? Her fearlessness and her entreaties persuaded the council to spare the "agreeable stranger" who might make hatchets for her father and rattles and beads for herself, the favorite child. The barbarians, whose decision had long been held in suspense by the mysterious awe which Smith had inspired, now resolved to receive him as a friend and to make him a partner of their councils. Accordingly, they tempted him to join their bands, and sought to gain his assistance in an attack upon the colonists at Jamestown, but when his decision of character succeeded in changing the current of their thoughts they dismissed him with mutual promises of friendshi[j. Thus the captivity of Smith did itself become a benefit to the colony ; for he had not only observed with care the country between the James and Potomac, and had gained some knowledge of the language and the manners of the natives, but he now was able to establish a peaceful 12 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS intercourse between the English and the tribes of Powhatan ; and witii her companions the chihl who had rescued liim from death, afterwards canac everyday to the fort with baskets of corn for the garrison. Captain Smith returned to England in 1609 and never revisited the colony. Soon after, Pocahontas was sent to live with a friendly tribe on the upper Potomac, in the neighborhood of Potomac creek. In the year 1612 a foraging party of the colonists under the command of Captain Argall sailed thither for the purpose, as they said, by some strategem, of capturing the ssquestered maiden, that they might hold her for the ransom of many Englishmen then prisoners of Powhatan, and also "to get such arms and tooles as he and other Indians had got by murder and stealing from others of their nation, with some quantity of corne for the colonies reliefe." To gain this end Argall promised Japasaws, the ruling sachem, the gift of a copper kettle if he would betray the unsuspecting Pocahontas into his hands, which was accordingly done in this wise: Japasaws made his wife pretend to be very anxious to see Captain Argall's vessel and beg of him to take her aboard and then threatened to beat her for her importunity un- til she cried ; but at last said, if Pocahontas would accompany her, she might go, and "thus they betrayed the poore innocent girl aboard" and carried her to Jamestown, where she found in the person of John Rolfe, a young man of twent)'-eight, an admir- er and a suitor for her hand, and to whom she was married in the little church of the colony with becoming ceremonies April 5, 1614. About a year after this interesting event, Governor Dale sailed for England taking with him Rolfe andhis Indain bride, and a nuinber of other natives. Captain Smith was at this time about to embark upon a voyage to New England, but before sailing he wrote a letter to his sovereign, recommending Pocahontas to her good graces, express- ing his gratitude to h'u old friend and preserver in the wilderness for her kindness to him and for the many services she had rendered the Englisli in Virginia, and declaring that "she had been under God the instrument to preserve the colony from death, famine and utter confusion." The Indian wife Pocahontas soon became a general favorite with the colonists at Jamestown and readily fell into their civilized ways. She was christened Rebecca and duly instructed in the English language and the doctrines of the church. In 1616 she sailed from Virginia with her husband- for England, where, as the daughter of an Indian King, she was received with great enthusiasm and solicitude, and everywhere entertained with becoming marks of respect. "Lord and Lady Delaware presented her at court, and 'divers courtiers and others' who saw her, declared that they had seen many English ladies worse favored, proportioned and behaviored." The grotesque adornments of a savage maid were exchanged for the jewels, silks and laces of a court lady, and we are told that she "did not only accustorne herself to civilitie, but still carried herself as the daughter of a king, and vvas accordingly respected." By princes she was received as a princess, and by the dignitaries of the church she was welcomed as the first fruits of missionary effort in the new world. The Lord Bish- op of London entertained her at his palace with "festival, state and pomp." In the rich apparel befitting a lady of rank and fashion she sat for her portrait. Costly presents were bestowed upon her, and at the theatres she listened to flittering adulations of which she was the object. All of this time Master Rolfe seems to have sunk entirely into the background and to have shone only by reflected light. But all the homage and flattery which Pocahontas received could not impair the simplicity of the "Guardian Angel of Virginia" nor make her forgetful of old friends. Her meeting with Captain Smith, after years of separation, upon British soil and amid her grand surroundings, was beautiful and touching. Before leaving for New England the bold adventurer went to see her and "addressed with a modest saluta- tion," befitting, as he thought, her rank, whereupon she turned from him and covered her face, "not seeming well contented." Captain Smith was amazed and "repented OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 13 him." Her warm heart was wounded at his formal greeting. She recalled her girl- hood in Virginia, the circumstances of his preservation in the wilderness and all other circumstances of their old time friendship, and insisted upon calling him "father," of which he says "though I would have excused 1 durst not allow of that title, because she was a king's daughter." She would have her vvaj', however, and to the captain's remonstrance made answer: "You were not afraid to come into my father's country, and caused fear to him and all his people but me, and do you fear now that I should call you father? I tell you then I will and you shall call me child, and so I will be forever and ever your countryman." When early in the year 1617 Captain Argall, the same who bought our princess with a copper kettle, was ready to return to Virginia as a deputy governor of the colony Rolfe and Pocahontas were to sail with him and arrangements were made for their accommodation on the admiral's ship, but this wild flower of America was destined never to see her native woods again. At the age of twenty-two she fell a victim of the English climate and was buried "in ye chauncel" at the church at Gravesend. Her husband, Master Rolfe, who had been appointed secretary and recorder general of the colony, sailed as he had planned for Virginia, and her little son Thomas, whom she dearly loved, was left in England, where he lived with his uncle, Henry Rolfe, until he had completed his education. He then cast his lot with the colonists in Virginia and became there a man of wealth and prominence. He married a Miss Poythress and had one child, Jane, who married Colonel Robert Boiling, of Virginia. A few of the names of those who claim descent in direct line from Pocahontas through her granddaughter, Jane Boiling, are as follows: Boiling, Randolph, Gay, Eldridge, Murray, Whittle, Cary, Page, Blair, Meade, Kennon, Bland, Walke, Robertson, Cabell, West, Eppes, Wiley, Archer, Dickens, Smith, Fairfax, Fisher, Stanard, Morris, Stewart, l-Cinckel, McPhail, Coleman and Williams. Of John Rolfe, William Wirt Henry in an able address before the Virginia His- torical Society, in which he successfully vindicates the veracity of John Smith, the virtue of Pocahontas, and the honesty of Rolfe, says : "He was one of the most active persons of his time in developing the resources of the infant colony. He will be ever remembered in history, however, as the husband of Pocahontas, who, born the daughter of a savage king, was endowed with all the graces of character which became a christian princess, who was the first of her people to embrace Christianity and to unit in marriage with the English race, who, like a guardian angel, watched, over and preserved the infant colony which has developed into a great people, among whom her own descendants have ever been conspicuous for true nobility, and whose names will be honored by a grateful posterity." The attractive story of the princess Pocahontas as related by Captain Smith him- self and corroborated by cotemporary authorities, has come down to us through the long generations, and remains for us, despite the futile attempts of flippant iconoclasts to disprove it, a beautiful idyl of that spontaneous sympathy which the better feelings of the human heart move to action at the coming of their appointed times and circumstances. Generations more of human life and its activities may come and go, and cen- turies more may roll away, but the romantic incident of heroic interposition which occurred in the wilderness of the Chickahominy will still be household words and noble incentives in the homes of every descendant of the adventurers who followed the lead of Gosnold to the shores of the Chesapeake. 14 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS OLD HOMESTEADS OF FAIRFAX COUNTY. "They bring to us who linger still Fond memories of a distant shore, Whose headlands with the years recede And dimmer grow forever more. O'er lapse of time and change of scene And weary waste which lies between In loving way our hearts we lean And keep their memories ever green." There are those who have no inclinations in common with the antiquarian spirit which loves to visit old homesteads and their peculiar surroundings, no sympathy for the kindly instinct which tempts to traverse the long neglected gardens and fields, the ways which were trodden by the busy feet of generations of toilers long since dust, no reverential impulses which lure from the beaten paths of labor and traflfic to the family burial places where these generations sleep in obscurity and loneliness aftet- the end of life's fitful fever. By such, our efforts in the patient, tedious work of searching out, and gathering up into shape from rare old tornes of print, or musty ledger or journal of fading script in nook or corner, or from torn and crumbling letter and the recitals ot living witnesses the widely scattered facts of the by gone days will hardly be appreciated. To them stories of the faded past are, as naught. They have little of the reverential feeling for the times when sire and grandsire were strug- gling in the days of manhood or womanliood to establish their homes and neigh- borhoods. AN OLD FAIRFAX HO.MFSTKAD. There are others tor whom these old time inernorials have an interest, a fascination strong, and abiding as life itself; who love to visit the plain, antiquated mansions yet left as landmarks here and there at wide intervals over the land, who delight to loiter in the lanes and paths, and by the melancholy hearthstones, who will gather with reverential hand, a bud or a blossom or a leaf as they pass, and in so doing find sweet recompensing solace for their care. It is in the appreciation and reverence of these accordant spirits that our encouragement and reward must be. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 15 Everything relating fo those past times ought surely to have a fascination for us now, the old roads and paths, the springs running to waste, the dismantled gardens, the daffodils and jonquils coming up in their wonted places at the return of every spring time, the old apple and pear trees, scathed by many a storm but still showing here and there a blossom for fruitage, and the grape vme gnarled and twisted, still sending forth its tendrils and reaching out for support as when it once clambered the doorway trellis and shaded the garden walk. Why should not these old home sites have a warm place in our affections ? They are the places where generations of our kind and tongue were cradled. From under their roofs went forth' as the years passed on and the hives swarmed, to plant anew the scions of families and neighborhoods along all lines of civilization in every region of the habitable earth. Then why should we not love to linger in the old paths and highways and by the deserted thresholds and wasting fountains? Are they not hallowed to us And baby's joys and childish fears By mother's songs of long gone years, And youthful hopes and joyful tears? This desire for retrospection, this fondness for going back to see how our predecessors lived, wrought and struggled in their day and generation, to know of the employments, the social diversions and enjoyments which occupied their lives and filled up the measure of their being is an attribute which appeals to something more than mere curiosity. It appeals to the sacred ties of family league and kinship, reaching back- ward and forward, building the generations of men together with enduring compact and drawing out the plaintive music of our being from the solemn alternation of the cradle and the grave. It is much to be regretted at this late period in our history that some one imbued with a love for colonial lore had not undertaken fifty or seventy five years ago the work of collecting and preserving all the scattered materials for a history of the old colonial homesteads of Fairfax county. Then there were many persons still living in the neighborhoods who could have given authentic relations of the events and cir- cumstances they had lived through or had known of from those who went before them, which, with their passing away were irretrievably lost. If now we could recall this vanished lore and learn when and by whom all these ancient homesteads were found- ed, and have correctly mirrored to our visions the generations of life histories in the past, how grateful would we feel to the painstaking chroniclers who anticipated the delight their pages would afford us long after they had joined the innumerable caravan. In many a lone and sequestered surrounding of our old county still lurks the in- spiration for historic reverie or enduring fiction. The homesteads of families most prominently associated with the stirring events of our colonial history were nearly all of them established in the decade between" 1730 and 1740, notably those of Mount Vernon, Gunston, Belvoir, Lexington, Newington, Hollin Hall, Towlston Hall, Mount Eagle, Cedar Grove, Vaucluse, Clermont, Abbing- don and Clifton, every one of them, excepting the one first named was built of brick and stone in a substantial manner, with thick walls, and generally with great outside chimneys, having capacious fire places for roaring fires fed by well seasoned billets of oak and hickory wood. The style of architecture in all of them was much the same. The apartments v/ere large and rambling, the ceilings high, and wainscotted walls of oak or walnut finish were common. The roofs were steep, and the roomy attics they enclosed were lighted by dormer windows. A spacious veranda was the adjunct of every dwelling and there was no lack of clambering vines about all the walls and gables. Some of these, as at Belvoir and other ruined places are still to be seen making a hard struggle for existence among the heaps of brick and stone. The preservation of such of the old homesteads among us as have so far escaped destruction by fire and neglect should be a matter for serious consideration to all 16 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS who revere the past, and delight to cherish its many interesting associations, Belvoir and Nevvington, the old parsonage of Truro parish, Hollin Hall, Towlston Hall, Vau' cluse and Clermont and Lexington and many others are no more. A few are left us as landmarks and among them Gunston, the home of George Mason, and Wood- lawn the once stately country seat of Eleanor (Nellie Custis) Lewis, built by the munificence of George and Martha Washington. THESHIPSWHICH CARRIEDTHE Fl RST SETTLERS TO JAM ESTOWN IN 1607-24. Whose are the Ships that are sailing Over the stormy sea, Bending and sw.iying and tossing As reeds in the wind storm may ? And whither away are they sailing Into the distant west, What shore remotely lying Is the haven of their quest ? When we read the story of the adventures of the Grecian Princes who voyaged to Colchis with Jason more than three thousand years ago to bring back the "golden fleece;" one of the particular features of interest to us in the account is that the ship in which the heroes made their world renowned expedition was named Argo. Later down in the course of the centuries the same interest attaches to the frail caravals of Columbus, the "Santa Maria," the "Pinta" and "Nina," which in 1492 bore him, and his crews from the port of Palos in Spain to the as yet unknown shores of the new world ; to the Dol[)hin, the small ves--el of Verazzini, the Florentine navigator, which in 1524 first touched upon the coast of North Carolina and thence plowed the waters of the Atlantic coast into far northern latitudes ; to the "Gabriel" and the "Michael, ""the two stout little barks of twenty-four tons apiece, which in 1576 weighed anchor and set their sails in the Thames off Old London Bridge" to bear Admiral Martin Fro- bisher and his companions wcstwar.l over the Atlantic in search of the El Dorados of Cathay; to the "Golden Hind" in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe in 1580 ; to the "Squirrel," a bark of ten tons only, in which the noble Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583, sailed into the harbor of St. John, on the shore of New Foundland, raised a pillar inscribed with the arms of England and took possession of the territory in the name of his sovereign, Qtieen Elizabeth, and in which, on his OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 17 homeward voyage, he went down at midnight into the ocean's stormy depths, con- soling his brave companions with the assurance that "they were as near to heaven on the sea as on the land ;" to the "Speedwell" and "Discoverer," the small ships of Martin Pring which in 1603 first explored the coast and bays of Maine; to the "Half Moon" in which the adventurous Henry Hudson and his men in 1609 explored the same coast and opened the way to the first settlement of New York; to the "Restless" of Adrian Block who with it in 1613 entered Long Island Sound and explored its contiguous waters; to the "May flower" which in 1620 carried the "pilgrims" from Delfhaven to the Plymouth rock; to the "Ark" and the "Dove" which in 1634 brought Leonard Calvert and his two hundred followers to lay the foundations of civil and religious liberty in Maryland; to the "Key of Calmar" and the "Griffin" of the Swedish West India Company, which in 1638 conveyed the Swedes and Finns to the shores of the Delaware; and to the "Welcome" which in 1682 bore the en- lightened lawgiver and wise statesman, William Penn, of ever blessed memory, and his peaceful colonists to found the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The "Virginia Company of London," chartered in 1606, to whom had been ac- corded the rights and franchises of colonization previously granted to Sir Walter Raleigh, by Queen Elizabeth of England, during the same year, fitted out their expe- dition of colonists for Virginia in three vessels, the largest of which did not exceed two hundred tons burthen. They were the "Sarah Constant" in charge of Captain Christopher Newport (commander of the fleet,) carrying seventy men; the "God Speed." in charge of Captain Christopher Newport, carrying fifty-two men, and the "Discoverer" a pinnace in charge of Captain John Ratcliffe, carrying twenty men. They cleared from London the 19th of December, 1606, but were detained by un- favorable weather in the Downs until the ist of January, 1607. On the 26th of April following, after a tedious voyage by way of the Canary Island, they were driven by a storm into Chesapeake bay ; and on the 13th of May they landed at a point on one of its rivers which in honor of their sovereign they called James, and began the settlement of Jamestown. Unlike the storied ship which carried Jason and his companions to Colchis, the frail ships which came like wandering birds over the wide and lonely wastes to the wilderness lands ot our Atlantic coast, brought no chimerical nor mythical dreamers, but men bent on solid realities — men in quest of homes under new conditions; men who were to be the beginners under the most adverse circumstances of a great and flourishing commonwealth. Of these ships of the long ago, what after their historic voyages? No chronicler has told us to what other ports they sailed and in wha> havens they found rest at last. The planting of the colony at Jamestown, the first permanent settlement on our Atlantic coast, and the florid accounts carried back to England by every returning adventurer of the vast and varied resources of the new country for trade and com- merce, stimulated greatly the building of sea going vessels, London at that time was over-crowded with idlers and adventurers of every description who looked hopefully across the ocean to improve their condition. Some of these could muster sufficient resources to pay their passage, but thousands came over under contract to pay their way in labor, after landing. In the proceedings of the "Virginia Company of London" which had in charge the fostering of the young Virginia colony we find mention of the following names of Ships which that company fitted out and sent to the colony from 1607 to 1624, the Discovery, Pheonix, Diana, Falcon, Mary Margaret, Unity, Blessing, Swallow, Virginia, Deliverance, Patience, Delaware, Blessing, Hercules, Dainty, Elizabeth, Mary and James, Star, Prosperous, Trial and Three Carvills, to r6ii. Between 161 1 and 1624 were fitted out and sent the Marmaduke, Jonathan, Lon- don, Furtherance, Bonny Bess, Treasurer, Abigail, Merchant, Prosperous, Marigold, Elizabeth, Bona Nova, Tiger, Hercules, Swan, Warwick, John and Francis, Sarah. 18 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS Treasure, Elizabeth, Susan, George, Diana, Sampson, Neptune, Eleanor, Gift, Edwin, Falcon, Swan, Adam, Bona Ventura, Concord, Sea Flower, and others, which plowed the waters of onr coast in those long faded times and folded their white wings and dropped their anchors in every bay and river and creek of the red men's ancient possessions. They brought the pioneers, the forerunners in the wilderness wastes, the founders of our civilization who were to make the rough ways smooth and the crooked ways straight, but they passed in the night and were seen no more. The timbers of some of them, keel and keelson and broken ribs and rusted bolts may yet be resting deep under beds of silt and drift in the home havens of Old England after last voyages. Some of them perhaps in voyages ill starred, went down in storm and tempest to lie forever beneath the fathomless depths of mid ocean. These ships were from seventy to three hundred tons burthen, and nearly every one of them brought a welcome consignment, of "young, handsome and honestly educated maidens" to be disposed of to accepted and worthy colonists at "one hun- dred and twenty pounds of good leaf tobacco each. This was to pay in part the expenses of migration. FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA. OUTLINES OF EARLY HISTORY. In the year 1634, twenty-eight years after the landing of the English colonists at Jamestown, Virginia, the various settlements which had been made by them over the new territory, were by an act of the General .-Assembly of the province organized, into eight distinct shires or counties, with the following names and locations: The Isle of Wight, west of the James river ; Henrico, Warwick, Elizabeth City, James CAly, York, and Charles City, between the James and the Rappahannock rivers, and Northampton on the eastern shore of Chesapeake bay. In 1648 the isolated settle- ments which had been made at Chicoen on the shores of the lower Potomac, were organized into another county with the name of Northumberhnd. Its boundaries were defined as embracing all the territory lying between the Potomac and Rappa- hannock, and the head waters thereof, and which afterward by inheritance became the sole possession of Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax, through a royal grant of Charles Second to his grandfather Thomas, Lord Culpeper, for a time provincial governor, and known as the Northern N^ck of Virginia. With the rapid accession of immi- grants from the mother country the tide of colonization advanced steadily up the rivers and their tributaries and in 1653 was organized the county of Westmoreland. From Westmoreland in 1673, was formed the county of Stafford. From Stafford in 1730 was formed the county of Prince William and from Prince William in 1742 was established the county of Fairfax. The Hon. William Fairfax, a cousin and the fagent of the lord proprietor had come up from Westmoreland a few years before and founded his home of Belvoir on a tract of twenty-five hundred acres lying next below the estate of Mount Vernon and between the tributaries of Epsewasson and Accotink. He opened here an office for the disposition of the Fairfax lands, though patents for a large portion of them had already been issued in tracts of from a thousand to ten thousand acres and the most of them, too, were cleared of timber and under cultiva- tion. The timber then being counted of little value, the trees were girdled, and when dead were felled, cut into logs, rolled together in great heaps and burned on the ground, their ashes serving to still more fertilize the already enriched and luxuriant crops. These burnings made red the skies of the autumns and were occasions of night time jubilees to the negroes, who came in to assist from all the surrounding plantations, and there was never stint of old Jamaica or kindred grogs to stimulate to hearty work and exuberance of African jollity. Tobacco from the first was the staple product of the soil and was deemed by the planter the sine qua non of his existence, and its production, supply, demand and price were the all engrossing themes of discussion at the cross roads tavern, the village store and the court sessions. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 19 Tobacco was interwoven with all the woof and warp of Virginia's early life. Many acts of the General Assembly were passed regulating its culture, and one prerogative of the early vestry of the established church was to appoint "processioners" — reput- able free holders — to make and return enumeration of all tobacco plants in each parish. The salaries ot church ministers and civil officers were paid in the weed and it, or notes representing it in the store houses, were the currency of the country. The salary of a minister was 16,000 pounds of it per annum, the value of which varied from ^40 to j£So in money. A "sweet scented parish" was worth more than an Orinoco parish. There was a deduction of eight per cent, for cash, and tobacco was sometimes as low as six shillings per hundred weight current money. Soon after the organization of the county the General Assembly ordered that com- modious warehouses should be erected at the Occoquan "ferry" and on the Potomac at Belle Haven just above the miouth of great Hunting Creek, and that all the to- bacco coming in by the various rolling roads should be stored there for inspection by the regularly appointed inspectors. These two points were made ports of entry and soon became busy marts of traffic, sending out for many years by ships to foreign ports, cargoes of tobacco and other valuable products. The town of Alexandria was chartered by an act for erecting a town at Hunting Creek Warehouse, in the county of Fairfax, 1748. The land dedicated for the town was vested in the Right Honor- able Thomas, Lord Fairfax, the Hon. William Fairfax, esq., George William Fairfax, Richard Osborne, Lawrence Washington, Wm. Ramsay, John Carlyle, John Pagan, Gerrard Alexander, Hugh West and Philip Alexander. The town of Colchester was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly in 1753 and laid off in 1754 by county surveyor George West on land belonging to Dr. Peter Wagener. The charters for both towns contained very much the same pro- visions and were secured mainly by the influence of Major Lawrence Washington, then representing the new county in the House of Burgesses. The first court sessions of the county were in all probability held at Colchester, but the minutes of them have not been preserved. The first minutes which appear on the books of the clerk's office are those of the year 1752. Then it was ordered by the court that the county records be removed from Occoquan Ferry presumably to the new courthouse which had been built on lands donated by Wm. Fairfax. The .site, now known as court house hill, two miles north of Vienna on the old Braddock road leading from Alexandria through Clark's and Key's Gaps to the Shenandoah. General Sir Peter Halket, with his brigade, consisting of the 44th British regulars and several companies of provincials, a part of Braddock's army, camped there on the night of April 11th, 1755. At that time all the neighborhoods north of Alexandria, being isolated and strug- gling, were in a state of alarm from the incursions of hostile Indians from beyond the mountains, and the holding of the sessions in the new courthouse was evidently of short continuance, not longer probably than three or four years, as appears from the following clause in the will of William Fairfax: "Unto my son George William I devise fourteen hundred acres of land called Springfield, together with the late courthouse." On the court minutes of 1752 is a record of a petition of the inhabitants of the county "against the removal of the sessions, and that the courthouse be fortified," and this is all the light which the existing court minutes throw upon the matter. In 1755, the year of the Braddock war, the following act was passed by the General Assembly ; "That the sum of ten pounds shall be paid by the treasurer of this colony to any person or persons for every male Indian enemy, above the age of twelve years, by him or them taken prisoner, killed or destroyed within the limits of the colony at any time within the space of two years after the end of this Assembly." 20 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS From Freedom Hill the sessions were moved to Alexandria, where ihey were con- tinued until about iSoo, when they were again moved to their present place. Catesby Cooke was the first clerk, from 1742 to 1746; John (iraham the next, from 1746 to 1752; Peter Wagner next, from 1752 to 1795; Geo. Deneale next, from 1795 to 1801. The first justices mentioned \n the records were Lewis Elzey, John Minor, Moses Linton and John Carlyle. In 1751 the names of William Fairfax, George Wm. Fairfax, Chas. Broadwater, Benj. Sebastian, Jno. West, Dan'l McCarty, Jno. Turley, Ed. Payne, Wm. Elzey and Lewis Elzey appear as justices, 1752 — Ordered that there be erected in the town of Alexandria a whipping post and stocks, also a ducking stool for the punishment of offenders. All county officials were then obliged to take the following oath: "I,- , do solemnly declare that there is no substantiation in the sacrament of the Lord's supper, nor the elements of bread and wine, nor afier the consecration thereof by any one whatsoever." Same year ordered that the sheriff collect of every titheable person seven pounds of tobacco, the county levy for that year. Ordered that Wm. Fairfax and Geo. Wm. Fairfax be executors of Lawrence Wash- ington. 1755 — Panel of grand jury : Townsend Dade, Henry Gunnell, Thos. Shaw, Jas. Speer, Sanford Remy, Jno. Jenkins, Thos. Lewis, Ed. Nash, Wm. Boylston, Davis Piper, Chas. Thrift, Wm. Buckley, William Kitchen, Benoni Halley, Jno. Ashford, Daniel Tramwell, Richard Sanford, Jno. Barry and Rob Sanford — "sworn and charged to well enquire and true presentement make of all crimes and mis- demeanors." Bounties of one hundred and fifty pounds ot tobacco ordered to be paid for the heads of young wolves not exceeding the age of six months, and one hundred pounds of tobacco for heads of older wolves. Every claimant for these rewards was required to produce to the court a certificate from a justice of the peace that 4ie was legally entitled to them by the act of assembly, after the heads had been produced and sworn to. 1755 — "John Loftin, of Truro Parish, presented by the grand jury for absenting himself from divine service within this two months last to the knowledge of two witnesses. The penalty for each offence of this kind was fifty pounds of tobacco." Certificates were presented by many of the inhabitants for pay tor impressment of horses for his majesty's service in General Braddock's army. They were allowed and paid at from 250 to 300 pounds of tobacco per head. William Fairfax indicted for not keeping public roads in order. Charles Tyler and John Posey granted license to keep ordinaries at Colchester. It was ordered by this court that the following scale of prices for diet and drinks be posted at least six feet high on the doors of all ordinaries in the county : For a gallon of rum, 8s: for a gallon of brandy, los; for a quart of cider, 4d; for a quart of Madeira, 2s 6d; for a gill of rum made into a punch, 6d; do, with loaf sugar, 4d; one doz. Eng. strong beer, is 2d; one doz, Eng. porter, is; a hot diet with small beer or cider, is 6d; a cold diet with small beer or cider, is; a night's lodging with clean sheets, 6d; one gallon corn or oats for horse, 4d; stabling and fodder for horse 34 hours, 6d. This scale of prices was continued the legal regulation for all ordinaries or taverns for half a century. Ordered, by the court, that a ducking stool be erected at the court house for the "ducking of disobedient wives and gossiping, scandal making women," of the Mrs. Grundy type; also a whipping post. The ducking stool was ordered according to the following act of assembly passed in 1665 ; it had antiquity if not propriety in its favor : "Whereas often times many babbling women often slander and scandalize their neighbors for which their poor husbands are often brought into chargeable and vexatious suits and cast into great damages. "Be it therefore enacted, That in actions of slander occasioned by the wife as afore- OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 21 said, after judgment is passed for the dammages, the woman shall be punished by ducking ; and if the slander be so enormous as to be adjudged a greater dammage than 500 pounds of tobacco, then the woman to suffer an excess of ducking accordingly." The salaries of all county officials, the allowances of Burgesses and all court charges and fines were paid in tobacco. The Sheriff for whipping a person was paid twenty pounds — for putting an offender in the stocks ten pounds, for pillorying a person twenty pounds, tor ducking a scolding woman twenty pounds, for hanging a felon two hundred and fifty pounds, for recording a deed the charge was one hundred and fifty pounds, for probating a will fifty pounds and for a marriage license twenty pounds. Warehouses for this staple commodity were established by law in different parts of the county and inspectors appointed to inspect all deposits made therein. Tobacco for many years constituted nearly the entire currency — gold and silver were rarely seen. It was the main hope and wealth of the people, and at all times and seasons formed the chief topic of conversation. Nearly all the lands were planted with it, and the area of its cultivation was only diminished when the fertility of the soil was exhausted. None but free-holders and house-keepers to have the right of suffrage in the viva voce elections for Burgesses. Every Burgess to receive an allowance of one hundred and twenty pounds of tobacco a day for his services during the sessions of the Assembly, and an allowance for expenses for traveling to and from Williamsburg — for these expenses the Fairfax member was allowed pay for twelve days. George Mason of Gunston appeared before the court, took the oath according to law, and repeated and subscribed to the test, pursuant to receiving his commission as colonel. It was ordered that Joseph Brown, Cain, Abraham, Joan, Harry, Beulah and Frank, negroes belonging to Col. Henry Lee, be added to the list of titheables in Cameron parish. By an act of Assembly "all male persons of the age of sixteen years and upwards, all negroes, mulattoes and Indian women of the same age, and all wives of free negroes, mulattoes and Indians were declared to be titheable and chargeable for defraying the public, county and parish levies. All through the summer and autumn of 1775, ^fter the disastrous repulse of Brad- dock, the frontier settlements between Alexandria and the valley and beyond, were in continual fear of roving parties of Indians, now bolder and more vindictive than ever against the advancing settlers, and more persistent in their encroachments toward the tide waters. Gov. Dinwiddie, under date of October 18, writes to Col. Washington, then in command at Winchester : "I wish you may get a troop of horse from Fairfax county, as they will be of great service in clearing the woods of savages and I shall be glad if they can send down a number of scalps." It was "ordered that every soldier of the militia was to be furnished a firelock with one flint well fixed to the same, a double cartrouche box and three charges of powder, and to be continually in readiness to appear at the place and time appointed for muster and exercise, and to keep at the place of his abode one pound of powder and four pounds of shot or balls and to bring the same into the field when required." In 1757 by an act of assembly creating the county of Loudoun, Fairfax, which on the north had extended to the Blue Ridge mountains, ceased to be a frontier county. The new county absorbed the boundaries of Cameron parish. After 1758 the inhabitants of the county were for a while comparatively safe from Indian depredations. But in 1762, after the treaty of Fontainebleau, by which all the territory claimed by the French in America, passed to the English, the vindictive spirit of the Indians, smothered far a long season, was again aroused to spread terror and alarm among the frontier settlers. Pontiac, the cunning and insidious chief of the Ottawas and always the friend of the French, by inflaming harangues and repre- sentations that the ancient hunting grounds of the red men were to be wrested from them by the English, succeeded in uniting the yet lingering tribes in a conspiracy 22 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS for their general destruciion. The plot was well laid and conducted with Indian craft and secrecy. At a concerted time an attack was made upon all the outlying posts from Detroit to Fort Pitt, where now stands the city of Pittsburg, Many of the small stockaded forts, the places of refuge of woodland neighborhoods, were sur- prised and sacked with remorseless butchery. The frontiers of Pennsylvania, Mary- land and Virginia were laid waste; traders in the wilderness were plundered and slain, hamlets and farm houses were wrapped in flames and their inhabitants mas- sacred. This war, from the daring savage chief who instigated it, is known in history as the war of Pontiac. It vvas not of long continuance though disastrous in its effects. Most prominent among the provincial spirits engaged in suppressing the insurrection was Captain Daniel Morgan, the wagon boy of the Occoquan. From 1763 to 1783, a period covering the revolutionary struggle and in which there must have been made on the books entries of many events which would now ma- terially help in writing the history of that stormy time no records now appear. After 1785 no more entries are to be seen in the court minutes of penalties for fail- ure to pay tithes for ecclesiastical purposes, or neglect to attend divine worship on Sundays. In that year by an act of the General Assembly, Patrick Henry being governor, through his influence, assisted by such liberal spirits as Jefferson, Madison, Mason and George Washington, the law of the colony, which for one hundred and sixty- six years had protected the Anglican church in its policy of exclusive intoler- ance and had existed as a barrier in the way of many progressive influences for the advancement of the colony, was annulled and entire religious freedom was thenceforth accorded to all dissenters, and Quakers, Catholics, Baptists and Presbyterians who had become a numerous population and to whom the "establishment" had become exceedingly oppressive, were free to worship according to their conscientious dictates. In 1790 by an act of Congress creating the District of Columbia, a scope of land ten miles square lying partly in Maryland and partly in Virginia, for the seat of the United States government, old Fairfax lost another portion of its territory. The county of Alexandria was then established and the court sessions and records were at the same time removed to and permanently established at their present location. The foregoing outlines of Fairfax county history are necessarily limited, but very many additional facts and circumstances of a varied character in its connection will be found elsewhere in the course of our historic series. THE DUCKING STOOL FOR COM MOIM SCOLDS. The English settlers brought to the United States the ducking stool as an instrument of punishment, as they imported the common law. At Plymouth, whence the Pil- grims sailed can be seen today the old ducking stools. Even in 1808 a woman was ducked there. The Puritans brought over the common scold law, and it was adopted in New Jersey and Delaware. In 1889 the Grand Jury of Jersey City indicted Mrs. Mary Brady as a common bcold. It was found to be there, as here, still an indictable offence, and that the ducking stool was yet available as a means of punish- ment, not having been specifically abolislied by the Revised Statutes. The stool was used in Virginia, for Bishop Meade, in his "Old Churches, Ministers, and Families in Virginia," writes of ducking scolds from a vessel in the James River. From the Old Dominion the practice of thus treating scolds reached Pittsburg. It would be digressing to repeat the history of the establishment of courts in this city by Virginia, which began Feb. 21, 1775. On the second day of that court, the birth- day of George Washington, then but 43, the Sheriff was ordered to employ workmen .to build a ducking stool at the confluence of the Ohio with the Monongahela. By patient delving one can dig up much curious information about the ducking stool. Allusions to it occur in English chronicles all through the sixteenth, seven- OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 23 teenth, and eighteenth centuries. Scolding women in those olden times were deemed offenders against the public peace. Blackstone in his "Commentaries" treats of the common scold in his chapter on "Public Wrongs." After discussing offences of graver degree his prelude is: "To descend next to offences whose punishment is short of death." These offences are such, he says, "as annoy the whole community in general, and not merely some particular portion, and, therefore, are indictable, not actionable, as it would be unreasonable to multiply suits by giving every man a separate right of action for what damnifies him in common only with the rest of his fellow subjects." Then the great jurist treats of six classes of public nuisances, and concludes: "Lastly, a common scold, communis rixatrix (for our law Latin confines it to the feminine gender,) is a public nuisance to her neighborhood. She may be indicted, and if convicted placed in a certain engine of correction, called the trebuckett casti- gatory, or cucking stool, which in the Saxon language is said to signify the scold stool though now it is frequently corrupted into ducking stool because the residue of the judgment is that when she is so placed therein she shall be plunged in water for her punishment." Blackstone was a better jurist than etymologist. There was in even as early as the fifteenth century the punishment of sitting in the cucking stool for using short weights, selling bad ale, and scolding, but it was a chair of disgrace placed in front of the offender's own home. In the lapse of time the cucking and the ducking sti)ol became synonymous. In his "Travels in England" in 1 700, Mission writes: "The way of punishing scolding women is pleasant enough. They fasten an arm chair to the end of two beams, twelve or fifteen feet long, and parallel to each other, so that these two pieces of wood, with their two ends, embrace the chair, which hangs between them upon a sort of axle, by which means it plays freely, and always remains in the natural hori- zontal position in which the chair should be, that a person may sit conveniently in it, whether you raise it or let it down. They set up a post on the bank of a pond or river, and over this post they lay, almost in equilibrium, the two pieces of wood, at one end of which the chair hangs over the water." The English poets have had their thrusts at the ducking stool, when their eyes in fine frenzy rolling seem to have caught inspiration from the temper of the shrew. In 1665, in "Homer a la Mode," the poet sings: She belonged to Billingsgate And sat in the bottom of a pool, And oftentimes had lid in state, Enthroned in a cucking stool. Butler in his "Hudibras" has the fling : March proudly to the river side And o'er the waves in triumph ride. Bourne relieves his mind ; Astride it set but a Xanlippe, And not a lambkin on the lea Thence twice or thrice, virago, dip ye, Will leave the stream more meek than she. West wrote a complete poem on the stool in 1780, the philosophy of which lies in the extracted couplet : No brawling wives, no furious wenches, No fire so hot but water quenches. All through England there were the stools used for ducking scolds. There was one at Rugby, and in 1820 a man was ducked for beating his wife. Court records reveal many instances where the penalty was inflicted on women. What a stool cost is 24 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS shown by an old account in the archives of Rugby. It has a smack of legislative expense bill. It runs thus ; "172 1 — Paid for a lock for ye ducking stool and spent in town business, is. 2d. "1739 — Sept. 25, ducking stool repaired, and Dec. 21, a chain for ducking stool, 2S. 4d. The chair used at Scarborough, England, is yet preserved. It was last used in 1795, when Mrs. Gamble was "ducked three times over the head and ears." In the museum at Ipswich is another. It has iron rods converging over the seat, with a ring through which to run a pole. In 1728 the constable of Morley charged two shillings for a pole. The stools in some cities were on wheels, and were called scold- ing carts. At Kingston-upon-Thames ducking was not infrequent, and the London Post, in 1745, reports the ducking of "a woman who keeps the Queen's Head alehouse for scolding, in the presence of 3,000 people." It was at Leominster, in 1809, that the last recorded ducking of a woman occurred in England. The stool used is pre- served in the jail there. Jenny Pipes was paraded through the town on the stool and ducked near Kenwater Bridge. There was another instrument of punishment ^or scolds, but not as ancient as the stool. It was the brank, or scold's bridle. Its modern autotype is the mask of the baseball catcher, except there was a sharpened plate of iron in front that hurt the tongue when an effort to talk was made. The brank figures in literature as frequently as the stool. THE HOME OF HUMPHREY PEAKE. Humphrey Peake in Colonial times was proprietor of a small plantation adjoining General Washington's River Farm and lying immediately on Little Hunting Creek and along the Old King's Highway and not far from Gum Spring. He and Wash- ington and their families were on intimate terms and frequently made visits to each other's Homes. A daughter, Nancy, was one of the society belles of the time. Her name is mentioned as one of the young ladies of the neighborhood who attended a dancing school held at homes of different planters alternately during the winter seasons. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 2o The dwelling as shown in the picture, is now but a wreck of its former self. A portion of it has been torn down and removed. It had great chimneys with capacious fire places. Wide verandas extended round the structure and the apartments were in good colonial style, and many a time doubtless they were lively with gay companies and sheltered distinguished guests on their way up or down the King's Highway. Washington often stopped there on his way to or from Alexandria, or when out deer hunting as he tells us in his diary. Not far from the dwelling is the old family burying ground, its graves shaded by oaks and pines and over grown with brambles and trailing vines. Here are some of the inscriptions of the moss covered stones. Humphrey Peake S'r, died january 3 i, i785, aged 54 years. Mary Peake, died november, 1805, aged 67 years. William Peake, died 1793, aged 37 years. early maryland history. chapter i. OLD PISCATAWAY AND THE COLONY OF CALVERT. '•Now let the ludian's paddle play By English yeomen, squared and hewed, Over the bright Piscataway ! And the grim flankered block house bound Wide over hill and valley spread With bristling palisades around — Once more the forest dusk and dread, So, haply shall before thine eyes, With here and there a clearing cut The dusty veil of centuries rise. From the walled shadows round it shut : The old strange scenery over lay Each with its farm house builded rude The tamer pictures of to-day." Close by the frowning summits and battlements of Old Fort Washington, in the county of Prince George's, Maryland, flow down the waters of the Piscataway and mingle with those of the broad Potomac. This stream, though beautiful and pictures- que to look upon, is not very prominent on the map. On some of the maps it is not traced at all. Nevertheless, it is one around which cluster most interesting historic and legendary narrations of the long vanished past, some of which I propose to furnish for the readers of these chapters. Its channel is nowhardly deep enough for light draft wood scow or fishing skiff. — But once on a time, ere the surrounding forests were hewn down by the English pioneers and their sloping lands were plowed up for tobacco and corn culture, and made loose enough to be washed down by a thou- sand gullies as choking sediment into its primal depths, many a stately ship and brig and schooner came to moor by the busy wharves of its then thriving port of Piscat- away town, some miles higher up, to take on cargos of tobacco and other products for European and West Indian markets. George Washington in a letter dated 1760 and written to Robert Carey & Co., in London, in reply to queries about the facilities for commercial trade and traffic in Virginia and Maryland, speaks of the Piscataway harbor and port as being among the best on the Upper Potomac, having good anchorage and being safe from violent winds. The first white man whose foot ever pressed the shores of Piscataway was that "bolde and knightly soldier and adventurer," Captain John Smith. That was two hundred and ninety-six years ago, when with fourteen chosen voyagers from the young settlement of Jamestown, he made his renowned exploration of the region bordering the Upper Potomac river. Here he landed in his pinnace, held parley with the natives, established with them friendly relations and obtained needed sup- plies of maize and venison. 26 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS At the time of the coming of the Europeans this locality was the seat of the tribal government of the numerous and powerful nation of the Piscataways, whose doinain lay east of the Potomac and stretched in one direction to the hunting grounds of the Patuxents, and included the finest and richest portion of the territory of Maryland. It also embraced a part of the country bordering upon the Patapscu, including the sites of Baltimore and Washington. Here on the Piscatawaj river was the capital — the stockaded town of these fierce Algonquins where dwelt in savage state, the "VVeromace," or great chief. After the voyage of Captain Smith, we find but little mention of Piscataway in any existing records until the year 1623, when Governor Francis VVyatt, of Virginia, went in person up the Potomac and took full revenge of the Indians who had been accused of massacreing Capt. Si)illman and his party, some time before, at Belvoir, OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 27 just below Mt. Vernon. Many of the Piscataway tribe were slain, their wigwams burned and their stores of corn carried down to Jantiestown in, the vessels of the expedition. The circumstances of the massacre noted are these. About the year 1621 the settlers about Jamestown being 111 extremities for subsistence fitted out a pinnace or schooner called the Tiger and sent Captain Henry Spillman and twenty-six companions to the waters of the upper Potomac with English commodities to barter with the Indians for their maize. Spillman had lived for a number of years in the colony, had traded much with the natives and was conversant with their language. The party ascended the stream and anchored their boat at a point it has been conjectured near the site of Belvoir just below Mount Vernon. The captain and twenty-one of his men went ashore to hold parley with the chief of the tribe. . While there, says an early chronicler, the vessel was surrounded by Indians in canoes. They clambered on to the decks and would have taken possession of the boat but for the presence of mind of one of the crew who fired a cannon which so frightened the natives that they jumped into the water and swam away, and presently a man's head rolled down the bluff when the five men weighed anchor and returned to Jamestown, Spillman and the most of his party were massacred but a few of them were made prisoners among them Henry Fleet who remained in captivity for several years but afterwards on escaping returned to Eng- land and in 1627 he figures again in a voyage up the Potomac in the pinnace Paramour, a vessel of one hundred tons burden, fitted out by William Clobbery a prominent merchant of London. When Capt. Fleet first ascended the upper Potomac in the Tiger he found the country all about the site of Washington very populous with the native tribes, even numbering thirty thousand. He ascended as far as the Falls. In the year 1634 Governor Leonard Calvert with two hundred of his followers, most of them Roman Catholic gentlemen and their servants, but some of them Pro- testants, dropped the anchors of their two vessels, the Ark of three hundred and fifty tons, and the Dove of twenty tons at the mouth of the Piscataway, with the design of there establishing under the provisions of a royal charter from Charles the first of England to his brother, Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, a colony in the wilderness region of Maryland as yet untennanted save by roving aborigines, under whose bene- ficent legislative enactments all classes of its subjects might realize religious security and peace through the practice of justice and not by the exercise of arbitrary and intolerant power. The Indians of the locality to the number of five hundred warriors came down in fierce array to the banks of the river; and here again Fleet ap- pears upon the scene of action as an interpreter. After the first apprehensions of fear had been allayed, the governor asked their permission to make a settlement within their borders, and live with them in "peace and brotherly love." To this proposal the only ansA^er of the Chief or Emperor was, that "they might do as they wished — they could either stay or go." It was near the close of the month of March. The great forests were budding into foliage. Wild animals were roaming in their midsts and fish swarmed in all the waters. From the hillsides gushed forth springs innumerable. Everywhere ap- peared unlimited resources for life, luxury and contentment. It seemed to them "a goodlie and most inviting place to sit downe" after the perils and hardships of their long ocean voyage; and doubtless they would have done so; but Calvert and his companions concluding that it might not be so safe for them to begin their prospec- tive settlement so far up the river, dropped down the stream near to the Chesapeake Bay where, in case of hostilities from the Indians, they could flee to their ship and escape. They entered a stream sixty miles below which they called St. George's, but which 28 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS is now known as St Mary's. Here they cast anchor again near the Indian town of Yoacomico; and, as at Piscataway, all the conditions seemed favorable for a "plan- tation." "It would be easy," they reasoned, "by presents of cloth and axes, and hoes and knives and other articles of civilized usages to gain the good wmII of the natives and to purchase their right to the soil." They readily gave consent that the English should occupy one half of their town and after the harvest of maize, become the exclusive tenants of the whole. Mutual promises of friendship and peace were made, so that on the 27th day of March, 1634, they erected the banner of old England, planted the symbol of their religious faith and took possession of their heritage in the name of their sovereign King Charles and Christ. In honor of their Queen, "Henrietta Maria/' they called their province Maryland, and with the declaration, "that no person professing to believe in Jesus Christ for or in respect of religion should be molested," they began their government and religious liberty then and there obtained a home, its only home in the wide world, at the humble village of St. Mary's;" and thence forth the persecuted Quakers, Baptists and other dissenters of Virginia and Massachusetts fleeing from the wraih of intolerance and bigotry could come in and sit down joyfully and contentedly within their borders with none to persecute or make them afraid. The "Ark and the Dove," says another, bore to the fertile soil of Maryland a people for whom legislative freedom and religious liberty had already been secured by the wise forethought and fraternal policy of tiie Lord proprietor — a people whose first dealings with the natives insured their homes against the depredations so often committed in other colonies, and thus left undisturbed the foundation? of that home life, and that spirit of conservatism which characterizes the Mary landers of the present day. EARLY MARYLAND HISTORY. CHAPTER II. THE EARLY CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES ALONGTHE SHORESOF THE POTOMAC. With Calvert came a number of fathers or priests who were ready to take their lives in their hands, penetrate the wilderness haunts of the sa/ages, announce to tiiem the glad tidings of a better life and in fraternal spirit, labor for their conversion to the Catholic faith. A parent mission was immediately established at St. Mary's, with auxiliaries reach- ing to different points up the Potomac, even so far as the site of the National Capital. Some particulars of the operations of these self-sacrificing missionaries, one of their number, Father Fisher, has left u^ in a letter written by him from the settlement in 1640, which may not be devoid of inttrest to the reader : "On our journeys we take with us a chest of bread, butter, cheese and dried corn, cut before ripening — some beans and flour. In another chest a bottle of wine for Mass, a bottle of holy water for bajitism, an altar stone, chalice and vestments : while a third chest contains trifles for ])resents for the natives, sue h as bells, combs, needles, thread and fish hooks, blankets and a tent for sleeping under, and arms for hunting and utensils for cooking food. We endeavor, if possible, to reach some English dwelling or Indian village at nighifall ; if not, we lie down under the branches of trees, build a fire, prepare a rude repast, thank God for it and rest for the night with as joyful and contented minds as we ever did in the more luxurious provisions of Europe with this present comfort, that God imparts to us foretastes of what he will bestow on those who labor faithfully in this life; and he mitigates all hardships, with a sense of pleasure, so that His Divine Majesty appears to be present with us in an extraordinary manner." Father White who has been called the "Apostle of Maryland" in its early days, in 1639 planted his mission cross at Kitta Maquindi, the Capital of Piscataway, the OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 29 realm of the Tyac or Chief, Chitemachen or Chilomacon, who had succeeded to his title and power by the murder of his brother, long the reigning sovereign. This chief having been pre-disposed by dreams to which the Indians gave so much cred- ence, received the missionaries with great kindness. In these dreams it had been shown to him that a people with pale faces would come to his tribe from afar and confer upon them great blessings. Shortly after the arrival of Father White, the Tyac fell sick and forty conjurers or medicine men in vain tried ever) remedy in the range of their rude practices, when the missionary prescribing some simple treatments, his patient soon began to recover, and in time was entirely cured of his malady. This circumstance only tended to confirm the Chief in his favorable impression of the strangers. Then, he listened to their spiritual instructions, and "touched by grace," resolved to not only encourage missionary efforts among his people, but to set the example of embracing the faith, in which he was joined by his Queen and children. He laid aside the dress of skins he had previously worn, put on civilized raiment and began the study of the English language, dispensed with his concubines and medicine men with their incantations, and with devotion became an observer of the fasts and abstinences of the Church. Then, openly avowing his renunciation of all his former superstitions and idolatries, he was accounted "worthy to receive the holy sacrament with proper dispositions." Visiting St. Mary's soon after his conversion, he was received with every mark of consideration by the Governor and his council, and when it was considered that he was sufficiently instructed and his dispositions deemed certain, he was solemnly bap- tised on the 5th day of July, 1640, in a chapel built of bark for the occasion at his capital of Kitta Maquindi (Piscataway) in the presence .of Governor Calvert, his Secretary and many other of the principal inhabitants of the province with great pomp and display. In an old volume before the writer, treating of early Catholic missions in North America, and printed in Latin is an interesting picture of this baptism. Afterwards, his Queen, his little son, his Chief Counsellor, Mesorcoques, and many more of his tribe were admitted to the same blessing. The King assumed the name of Charles in honor of the English Sovereign. His Queen who had been the devoted friend of the Missionaiies, received the name of Mary. The other neophytes received christian names also. In the afternoon the King and Queen were remarried accord- ing to the riies of the Church, and then a large cross, hewn from a great tree, was erected, the Indian Chief, the English Governor and his Secretary, with natives and settlers, lending their shoulders and hands to bear it to its destination, the two Jesuit fathers chanting as they went, the litany of our Lady of Loretto — the murmuring of the river as it flowed down in its course and the depths of the great forests echoing their responses. The two Missionaries were afterwards prostrated by fever and were conveyed to St. Mary's. Father Altham did not rally from its effects. He sank under it and died November 5th, 1640. Father White began to mend after a time and gaining some strength, joined Father Rroek at Piscataway in order to make the mission as solid as possible: but he again fell sick, exciting the alarm of his brother in the work who feared that listening only to the admonitions of his zeal he would sink under his age and infirmities. Much ot the success of the Society's labors in Mary- land depended upon Father White, in as much as he possessed the greatest influence on the minds of the Indians and spoke their language with more accuracy and fluency than any other of the laborers. He translated portions of the Bible into the Indian dialect, prepared a catechism for the missionary and school service and set up in 1642 a printing press for publish- ing them, the first ever in operation in any of the British provinces. One of the 30 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS catechisms is still preserved as a memento of those early missions in the archives of the Jesuit Society in Rome, Father Broek was to be the next victim to the climate and the hardships for mis- sionary labors, who after announcing the faith to the Anacos.tan orSnake tribe some miles higher up the river and converting tlieir Chief, died before the close of the year. In a letter he wrote just before his death, he closed by saying: "I would rather labor for the conversion of the savages, and expire on the bare ground deprived of all human succor and perish with hunger, than to once think of abandoning this Holy Work of God. From the fear of want may God grant me grace to render him some service, and all the rest I leave to Him. The King of the Piscataways lately died most piously, but God will for his sake, raise up seed for us in his neighbor, the Chief of the Anacc>stas, who has invited us to come to him, and has decided to become a christian. Many more in other localities have the same desire. Hopes of a rich harvest shine forth, unless frustrated by the want of laborers who can speak the language and are in sound health." Father Broek had looked forward to great results in proselytmg the natives along the waters of the Potomac, and had in contemplation the founding of a missionary school for their education, so that native teachers might be sent out to the surround- ing tribes. At St. Mary's the young Emperor of Piscataway vvas solemnly baptised, and there remained, to be educated in the usages of Christianity. Father While still continued to labor at Piscataway and the dependent missions. The efforts of the missionaries at Port Tobacco resulted in the conversion of nearly all of the natives of that locality, and there Father White was subsequently stationed after the descent of the Susquehannah tribes upon the Piscataways in 1641, in which many of both the Piscataways and white settlers were killed. King Chilomachen, after his baptism, strove zealously, we are told by the chron- icles, for the conversion of his race around him; and earnestly commended, by ex- ample, the ways and habits of the English as being far better for them than the savage usages of their fathers. Great hopes were entertained of his civilizing influences by the missionaries, but he died in less than a year after his conversion, "most piously rejoicing in the religion he had adopted." His young daughter, Annie, having been carefully educated at St. Mary's in the English ways and the Catholic faith succeeded him as Queen. In the year 1669, only two of the priests of the Indian missions were continuing in that work, and after the year 1674, their labors were much interrupted by the encroachments of neighboring tribes of Indians, as will be presently seen in our narration, and also by the visitation of the smallpox, which gre.itly wasted the native population along the Potomac, and toward tlie close of the century as their remaining numbers rapidly dwindled awav, there was but a small field left for missionary work. Of these missionaries, one of ih-iir faith has said : "Their pathway was through the wilderness and their first chapel the wigwam of the savage. They assisted b) pious rites in laying the corner stone of a State. They kindled the torch of civilization in the wilderness. They gave consolation to the grief stricken pilgrim. They taught the religion of Christ to the simple sons of the forest. The tiistory of Maryland presents no better, no purer, no more sublime lesson than the story of the toils, and sacrifices of her early missionaries." No complete list of the band of religious apostles of the Jesuit society who came to Maryland before 1649 has been handed down to us, but the following embraces nearly all of them, Andrew White styled the apostle of Maryland, John Altham, Thomas Capley, Ferdinand Fulton, Father Ferret, John Morgan, Philip Fisher, Roger Rigbie, John Knowles, Thomas Gervasse, Mr. Morley, Lawrence Starkie and Mr. Wilkinson. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 31 "The misbionaries found these Maryland Indians, a people, generous, amiable and grateful ; temperate and chaste in their lives ; not moved by sudden impulse, but grave, deliberate and firm of purpose, and fearing nothing they went at once among them and shared their wild forest life. They followed them on their hunts, they launched the frail canoe on the waters of unknown streams, bivouaced with them in the depths of the primeval forests, and after chanting matins and lauds, slept fearlessly and peace- fully among those dusky warriors under the starry canopy of heaven." EARLY MARYLAND HISTORY. — CHAPTER III. THE MASSACRE OF OPECH ANCANOUGH- BACON'S REBELLION-PASSING OF THE PISCATAWAYS. In 1622, twelve years before the landing of Calvert, occurred the great massacre of the Virginia colonists under the rule of the Indian Chief Opechancanough, the King of the Paraunkies, and the younger brother and successor of Powhatan, which was the beginning of a long series of hostilities between the whites and the Indians. The former were dominant and aggressive, and made but little effort to conciliate and secure the good will and kindly relations of their copper colored neighbors. The Indians were revengefu-l — never forgot their old feuds, and their animosities increased as time went on. They had before the coming of the English, selected for their villages, sites the most advantageous to them with regard to fishing, hunting and maize cultivation, and these the colonists coveted and encroached upon. The Indians before superior force retreated reluctantly mile by mile into the fastnesses of the wilderness and for many years in retaliation kept up harrassing depredations upon the advancing settle- ments until the laborers on the plantations, the familes in their frontier homes, and the wayfarers on the highways were in continual fear of being cut off by the lurking foemen who were from time to time succored by new accessions of other tribes from the head waters of the Chesapeake who had been driven southward before more powerful tribes with whom they had long been at war. At length, the troubles between the two races culminated in what is known in history as "Bacon's Rebellion," which occurred during the administration of Governor Berkley. And now again. Old Piscataway in connection with this sanguinary revolu- tion is to figure prominently on the historic page. In the year of 1675, which was before the settlement of any of the lands between Great Hunting Creek in Virginia, and the site of Washington City, as some of the straggling pioneers on the outposts south ot that stream, then in the county of Stafford but now in the county of Fairfax were repairing to religious service one Sunday morning they found the bodies ot Robert Hen, a herdsman and a friendly Indian mortally wounded by the door of their isolated cabin in the forest. They had been hacked by knives and tomahawks and left for dead. Hen had just sufficient breath to utter the name of Doeg, meaning that the bloody work had been done by some of that tribe ; a tribe of Indians who once roved over all that territory in Virginia from the Occoquan to the Blue Ridge. A boy who had been concealed in the cabin came out and told how the Indians had come at the break of day and committed the murders. News of the occurrence soon spread through the settlements, and Col. George Mason, the first immigrant of of that name, and Capt. Giles Brent, both living a few miles below, speedily mustered their rangers, started in pursuit of the Doegs whom they drove twenty miles up the river to their town of Assaomec. This they surrounded. "The King came trembling forth and would have fled, when Capt. Brent catching hold of his hair told him he was come for the murderers of Robert Hen. "The King slipt loose whom Brent shot dead with his pistol. The Indians then shot several 32 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS guns out of their cabins. The English returned the fire, then the Indians thronged out of the cabins and fled. The English shot as many as they could, so they killed ten and brought away the King's son," Later fourteen more of them were shot. All of the Indians who escaped took refuge with the Piscataways. Other Indians fleeing before the fierce pursuit of the Virginia settlers further down the river, had also taken refuge under the same protection, and all were combined by solemn league ; and together, they proceeded to fortify themselves against the whites. They threw up according to a chronicler of the time, "high banks of earth around their town with flankers, having many loopholes, and around this they dug a ditch, and outside of all they built a high palisade of timbers wattled together and interlaced thickly by sapplings. Within these defences they deemed themselves safe and proclaimed defiance to the colonial forces. To dislodge them from their stronghold, a force of one thousand mil- itia was raised in Virginia, though contrary to the sanction of the Governor and his Council, through the efforts of Nathaniel Bacon of Virginia, one of the most popular and prominent men of his time. He had aroused the settlers of his province in every parish and they responded promptly to his call to arms. This force was placed under the command of Col. John Washington, the first immigrant of his name, and the great grand-father of George Washington, the revolutionary leader. The command was joined by several hundred more from Maryland and siege was laid to the fortified place of the savages. The war was waged with fierceness and malignity. After it had continued for some days and many desperate sallies had been made from the intrenchments, six chiefs were sent out to hold parley, who were shot down ; when the siegers continued their work until the end of six weeks. The Indians, to avoid starvation rushed madly out from their defences, only to fall victims to the fury of their foemen who gave them no quarter. The massacre of the natives was complete and vengeance was satisfied. The sun of the Piscataways went down in disaster and blood. The same race, which had held out to them the cross of Christ and announced to them in gentlest words the fullness and fruition of its glorious promises of, "Peace on earth and good will to men," brought also for them che terrible alternative of the destroying sword. Generations came and went and feuds continued between this hapless people and the colonists, until the dwindled remnants of the weaker race melted entirely away before the superior strength of their rapidly increasing rivals. It was but the old, old story of man's inconsistency and perfidy retold. The name alone of this powerful tribe is perpetuated in the beautiful btream which still pours Its tribute of waters to the sea. Over all the hills and valleys they so prouldly and freely traversed through their centuries of lordly and undisputed sway, they left their innumerable mementos in enduring stone, the axes, the spears and arrows they wielded, which will continue to be their silent witnesses to the pale faced plowman, so long as his plowshare shall upturn the mould of their ancient war paths and hunting grounds. EARLY MARYLAND HISTORY. — CHAPTER IV. THE COWIIIMGOFTHE PERMANENT SETTLERS. The career of the missionaries to the natives along the Maryland shores of the Potomac as we have seen, was transient. The Indians disappeared from their ancient ranges and left the fathers without a field for further work. They had uttered their cries of warning and entreaty in the wildernesses, and they had advanced fearlessly through hardships and perils, zealously intent on their one single purpose. Nature's ereat resources everywhere teeming around them in inexhaustible array turned them never aside from their aim. That the great areas of rich land were waiting to be OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 33 turned to economic account through the prosaic agencies of brawn and sinew, and axe and plow and hoe, was no concern of theirs. But the advance guard of other toilers was following closely in their tracks. These came not with crucifix and rosary. They bore compass ^nd chain to measure and parcel out the lands lor homesteads. They bore axes to level the lordly oaks of the forests, and plowshares to upturn the long accumulated riches of the soil beneath them. They brought and scattered the seeds of future fruitage and harvests, and set the hearth-stones of civilization; and the horn of plenty poured out its fullness in their paths. They were chiefiy immigrants from Scotland, well to do, rugged and industrious. Their religious tradiiions and usages were those of the established Church of England. They were not aggressive with their opinions and beliefs, but as these had been held by their fathers through many generations, naturally, thev were dear to them and they were jealous of their preservation. So, their first care was to organize parish, congregation and chapel. Long before the organization of the counties Charles, organized 1692, and Prince George's organized 1694, when St. Mary's county stretched away to the mountains and beyond interminably, the only county yet established in the Maryland colony, these immigrants had explored all the lands, even to the Great Falls of the Potomac, and were occupying many of the most desirable localities for tobacco planting; for this was the industry which loomed up everywhere as the main source of profits. The timbers fell fast before the negro gangs, the slavers had brought from "darkest Africa," and were rolled together and burned to ashes on the spot, which mingling with the already fertile soil, gave wonderful luxuriance to the growth of the "weed " and for many years the yield of the crops was enormous. These plantation log rollings, with those on the opposite shores of Virginia, were the first instances of this method of timber clearing ever adopted in the colonies. Later on, when the "North Western Territory" was divided into States, they became general in Ohio, Lidiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Merchants in London, Glasgow and even in Amsterdam, were not slow to find out the commercial advantages of this new region of country and sent their ships into the deep havens of St. Mary's, Port Tobacco, Piscataway, Broad Creek and An- acostia. At the heads of all these streams capacious warehouses were established by law to which the tobacc.o products of wide areas were rolled down in hogsheads to be inspected by legally appointed inspectors before shipping to Europe. In the early years of 1700, the firm of James Brown & Co., of Glasgow, sent out an agent or consignee to Piscataway port, and established there a general merchandis- ing store to supply the planters with everything needed in their dwellings, and for the carrying on of their outside industry in the fields; for as yet, they had manufactured nothing to speak of, being exclusively an agricultural people. They had smithie, for horseshoeing, and the making of hoes and knives for cultivating and cutting tobacco, and looms for the weaving of coarse cloths for negro clothing. Little more than these was all. The saw mill and the flouring mill were almost unknown. In the year 1707, it was ordered by the Assembly of Maryland that a Town he laid out on the South side of Piscataway River at or near the head thereof, to contain forty or fifty acres at the discretion of the commisioners. The first settlers along the Potomac chose for their dwelling places, elevated situa- tions, commanding pleasant views of river or creek and near to copious springs of water — wells they never dug. Their first houses were constructed of hewn timbers massive and strong, with great outside chimneys and capacious fire places where oak and hickory fagots made cheerful flames and glowing beds of coals. These dwellings were comfortable, if not luxurious, with wealth of carpets and fine linen and upholstery and garnished walls; and in those times now seeming to us so 34 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS mystical and remote, when the woods everyw-here teemed with wild game, such as deer, pheasants, partridges and turkeys, and the streams were alive with wild fowl and fishes of the finest varieties, and all so easily secured, there was no stint we may readily imagine of appetizing bounties for the tables which were set under their roofs. The whole country was truly a Canaan, As the years passed on, the rude and primitive dwellings which had served their purpose well for a generation, gave place to structures more pretentious and con- venient of either wood or brick or of stone. Their i)roprietors had prospered with the profits of tobacco and other farm products, and now, could furnish their houses quite luxuriously, and afford stylish and fashionable apparel tor their families. This is well attested by reliable traditional accounts, but is more certainly established by items of the shipping invoices of the times yet existing and lying before me. These are carpets, rugs, tapestries, India, French and Holland goods, China tea-sets, Eng- lish dinner sets, decanters, wine glasses, wines, brandies, Brittania ware in all varieties, fine cutlery, mirrors, pictures, books, cloths, velvets, silks, brocades, damasks, ribbons, buckels, fine boots, shoes and slippers, harness, coaches, saddles, watches, rings, and feathers, with other luxurious and useful articles innumerable. This was some years before the beginning of tiie American Revolution. Life then on the Maryland plantations was one of continual leisure and ease. Out of doors the crops were planted and gathered by the bond people under the watchful eye of the hired overlooker. In doors the household routines and domestic economies, were mostly entrusted to the same serving people, so that the master and mistress had comparatively little care for the everyday necessities around them. With so much leisure as was their lot, if time hung heavily on their hands, we have no means now of knowing. We only know that they contrived a round of social diversions and amusements through the whole year. In summer it was fishing, or sailing or horseback riding, horseracing or tournaments, or merry makings under the oaks on the greens. In the long winter evenings there were convivial gatherings from house to house, and the Christmas holidays were always an uninterrupted season of festivities. As in the old country when the blessed anniversary came round, they lighted the yule log, hung the holly and mistletoe boughs and with well filled cellars and larders, feasted on the fat of the land. At all their gatherings intoxicants v»'ere indispensable concomitants of hospi- tality and friendly greeting. This we mention not disparagingly nor reproachfully ; for if, the usages of our marvelously progressive generation in this respect as well as in many others seem to us more correct and rational, we must remember, that we are a hundred and fifty years further on in the line of human progress and moral and re- ligious developments. EARLY MARYLAND HISTORY. CHAPTER V. INCREASE OFTOBACCO AND OTHER FARM PRODUCTS COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY-THE REVOLUTION ARY CRISIS. The first permanent settlers in the counties of Charles and Prince George did not have long to wait for large accessions to their numbers. Alluring reports of the goodliness of the land they had chosen, of its favorable climate, its clear and bracing atmosphere, of the fertility of its hills and valleys, and of the marvelous supplies, of the sources of subsistence everywhere abounding in forest and stream, had gone out by every ship which sailed for London and Glasgow, and multitudes came to see for themselves and to realize whether true or false were the stories they had heard. The new owners were all of the same nationalities, English and Scotch, and while some of them were not very desirable subjects to assist in building up a State, the most of them were of good repute, well intentioned and possessed of means to OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. found new homes and brave the incidental difficulties in their new heritage across the seas. As the clearing of forests for cultivation extended from the Potomac to the Patuxent, the product of tobacco and other farm commodities increased rapidly. The capacious warehouses at the heads of all the streams were kept constantly filled and ships came and went with their cargoes. But little attention at that early time was given to the construction of commodious highways. Often the old Indian trails were slightly widened and over them the tobacco hogsheads were rolled to the ship- ping points. Through the hogsheads, axles ot iron were driven lengthwise and on the ends of these worked the shafts for the horses. That seems now to us a aueer and rude device for transportation, but it stood them in good stead of wagons,"^ and filled the purpose. A ship's cargo was about three hundred hogsheads, supplemented, generally by hewn timber, salt fish, hides of cattle, and pelts of wild animals. Those who are curious to know the names of some of the ships which came into the Maryland ports along the Potomac, long previous to and up to the Revolution and loaded with tobacco, will find them in the following list: The Clyde, Pallas, Jenny, Fanny, Potomac, Active, Hanston, Christie, Peggy, MoUey, Moore, Eolus, Annapolis, Lady Margaret, Patuxent, Diana, Mermaid, Nancy, Mellum, Echo, Glencairn and Friendship. How many more were engaged in that early commerce there is now no means of knowing. In 1774, Alexander Hamilton, the agent of Brown & Co., of Glasgow writing to them from Piscataway says, in a letter before us : "The ship Jenny arrived at this port in a bad time, so many ships having arrived just before her, that all the craft is employed and until some of them are despatched she must wait her turn." A voyage across the ocean then, required from three to five weeks. The peaceful agitation of the question of the independence of the thirteen colonies which had been going on here and there among them, in town and country since the French and Indian war, had before 1770 become almost general, and public meetings and conventions were the order of the times, to protest fearlessly against the arbitrary and oppressive measures of the mother country. As a consequence, credit was impair- ed in all departments of trade and traffic, business was deranged, the currency fell into depreciation and the collection of debts was attended by great difficulties. The colonists of Maryland shared largely with those of Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, in the restless spirit of discontent under grievances daily growing more severe and intolerable, and openly counseled armed resistance, as the only sure means of amelioration. They foresaw in this alternative, depression, gloom, distress and a bloody conflict, but beyond all, they discerned the compensating radiance of brighter days. The tobacco trade at the heads of all the streams was controlled by the capital of English and Scotch merchants. They had built store houses and stocked them with all manner of merchandise, and their agents had sold goods largelv on credit to the planters, anticipating the undisturbed continuance of the favorable conditions of supply and demand, which had prevailed from the beginning of the settlements. They of course were loyal to the crown, and the talk of resistance to British acts every- where rife in all neighborhoods, with the beating ot drums and the mustering of companies and regiments of troopers, and the wild rumors of conflict, brought to them dismay ; for they saw in them all, only depreciation of their credits and possi- bly the confiscation of their property. In this connection some extracts from a book of manuscript letters before me, written by Alexander Hamilton, agent at Piscataway, dur- ing the turbulent times to his firm of merchants, Brown &: Co., in Glasgow may not be uninteresting reading now, after the lapse of a hundred and thirty years when the struggling thirteen provinces have expanded to a vast Republic of forty independent states, with a population of eighty millions, enlightened, prosperous and happy, and 36 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS in resources and wealth and attainments in science and the arts, the peer of the British realm with her thousand years of history and all her prestige of conquest and royalty. Under the date of May 30, 1774, he writes ; "The Post has just brought the reso- lutions of the city of Annapolis which you have, herein, enclosed. Despatches have been sent to the Burgesses of every county to come to the capital and enter into further resolutions. I imagine they are too violent to continue. However, time wdl show. Should they adhere to these resolutions, the consequences will be extremely fatal to the people trading with great Briitain, at all events, it will be productive of a great deal of mischief by encouraging those who are always tardy, to delay the payment oftheir debts. I am afraid I shall find it a difficult matter to make any kind ot collections, and it will be necessary if more lenient measures are not ))urpued, to shut up our store at once, and await the results of this heat. It is said the Bostonians have strongly re- commended to the southern colonies, to distress as much as they can, the trade with Scotland, giving for a reason that the Scotch members in the House of Commons were unanimous against the rights of the provinces. But it is suspected that it is done to terrify the trade of Glasgow and force them to petition the Parliament, for a repeal of the "Tea Act," well knowing they have very considerable interest in this part of the continent. The most thinking part of the people with whom I have had any conver- sation, blame these violent measures of the radicals of the metropolis and say that such an inconsiderable province as Maryland, ought not to have taken the lead at any rate, but to have waited the action of the more considerable ones, and then, have assembled and weighed maturely their 'resolves' and the consequences". early maryland history. — chapter vi. Troubles Increasing— Battle of Lexington— Great Crops of Tobacco, Wheat AND Corn- Burning of the Brig Peggy and Cargo ofTea at Annapo- lis—Daniel Morgan's Rifle Regiment— Col. Geo. Washing- ton Appointed General AND Commander IN Chief of the Continental Armies. The war clouds were dark, and darker gathering. The conflict at arms was inevita- ble. No hand could stay it. Under date ot June 13, 1774, the agent at Piscataway writes. "Most of the stores along the Potomac have received their summer goods, but have not opened them for customers, nor do they intend to, until they see how matters are likely to be settled between Great Brittain and the colonies. There is to be a meeting of the commitees of each county of this province at Annapolis, to consider measures for the general good of the colonies, although the Metropolis and some other of the committees have resolved agreeiible to the printed resolve sent you by the Jenny, yet it is expected these will be rejected in some measure, by the general commiitee. From what I can learn of the people, they are in general greatly averse to those violent measures, and are desirous of living in amity with Brittain. It is expected the mode then, will be a free exportation and a partial importation, and that agents will he select- ed to attend a grneral Congress of the other colonies for the purpose of effecting a speedy and amicable accomodation with Brittain. Should violent measures be adopt- ed in that assembly, it will be necessary to pack up our goods and send them home. The consequences will be destructive to this country. May God dispose the hearts of all parties to have this point settled on a firm and lasting foundation." August 17, 1774. "The people are alarmed at the scarcity of goods and the re- solves of non-importation and exportation. A general meeting of depulies from all the colonies is to be held at Philadelphia the i6th of September to finally settle the mode of proceeding with Great Brittain. I wish they may rot proceed so violently as they have done. They have already been greatly blamed by the most thinking people, who are sensible of the imi)ropriety of such inconsiderate and harsh behaviour. — There is OP VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 37 the greatest prospect of good crops this year that I have ever seen since I came to this countr}'. There has been double the quantity of wheat made that ever was made be- fore. The prospect for corn is vastly greater than has been seen in the memory of the oldest man. The prospect for tobacco is also promising." October 14th, 1774. "The Congress have resolved that the non-importation take place the ist of December next, and it is said, though the Congress have not yet pub- lished their resolves, that the exportation will be stopped next September, or until the act of Parliament so obnoxious to the American colonies is repealed. ' In the Northern colonies the people are determined not to submit to be internally taxed by great Brit- tain, and will go any lengths rather than give up their liberties. I wish this affair may be amicably settled." October 31, 1774: "The colonies are extremely averse to the late Parliamentary measures, and say they never will submit to be taxed without their consent, but would be willing to. pay any reasonable sum toward the exigencies of the government, pro- vided they be allowed to raise it as they judge most convenient to themselves. This measure is much talked of, and if settled agreeable to the parties would prevent a great deal of mischief. There is no telling to what lengths a riotous mob will go, headed by a few violent, hot headed men." "An instance of it happened at Annapolis about ten days ago. A brig belonging to Messrs. Dick & Stewart arrived in port. On board of her was a quantity of tea, con- signed to Messrs. Williams, mere hants. ■ Mr. Stewart imprudently entered his vessel and paid the duty. The committee of the city and county assembled and resolved that the tea should be burned. They delivered their opinion to the people, a majority of whom were satisfied with that, but a few people from Elkridge and Baltimore insist- ed on burning the brig along with the tea. The people were again assembled, and it was again put to a vote, and there was a great majority for burning the tea only. However, those desperadoes from Elkridge and Baltimore, threatened to go back to their homes and bring three thousand men, put Mr. Stewart to death, pull down and destroy his house and burn his brig, unless he would himself go with them and fire his own vessel, which he was under the necessity of doing or be murdered. This step is generally exclaimed against by every prudent man, and particularly by the committee and inhabitants of Anne Arundel county, whose province it was to judge of this matter, looking upon it as a most scandalous insult offered to them by these people from the upper counties. Should the differences between Brittain and the colonies continue a twelve- month longer, and the act of imi)orts and exports be strictly adhered to, the poor people and all those who could not lay in more goods than will answer their present necessities-, will be in the utmost distress, and will, I am afraid, be exceed- ingly riotous against the better class of people who have fully supplied themselves for a length of time. If the British premier, who seems to be thoroughly acquainted with the situation of this country and its inhabitants, and a man of great firmness, should persevere in his plan, I am greatly afraid he will gain his points, however, it will not be without some blood shed. It is said the people- of Massachusetts Bay are very desir- ous of cutting off General Gage before he has fortified himself and received fresh rein- forcements from Brittain and the other parts of the continent." November 14, 1774: "Unless there is a repeal of the laws so disagreeable to the people of America, you need not send to this port any more goods. Goods are ex- tremely scarce, and I think there will be great distress this winter. I send you a Maryland newspaper for your amusement." May 16, 1775 • "Unless the mother country shall quickly adopt some conciliatory measures, all commercial intercourse between the two countries will be at an end. It is at this time generally believed, that the Congress now sitting at Philadelphia will put an immediate stop to exportation, and also take the different provincial governments in their own hands. Then, your property here will be in a very desperate condition for 38 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS many of your debtors would make the troublous times an excuse for defaulting. There has been an engagement between the Brittish regulars and the country people of Massachusetts Bay." June, 30, 1775 : "Congress has called for 800 riflemen from the frontiers of Virgin- ia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, under Captain Daniel Morgan to reinforce the Pro- vincial army at Boston. A captain's pay to be ^7, 10 s. a month ; a lieutenant ;^6, an ensign ^^5 ; sergeant j£^ ; a corporal ^2, 15 s, and a private ^2, 10 s. One million dollars in paper money is to be issued. Col. George Washington is appointed General and Commander-in-Chief of the army at Boston, and three Generals are ap- pointed under him. Col. Charles Lee, Major Gates and Col. Putman, the two first British officers under half pay. There has been another engagement at Boston, in which Provincials evidently received a severe drubbing. Affairs everywhere here have a gloomy aspect. The ports will be closed on the loth of next September." July 15, 1775 "Congress has resolved after repeating to the public that their petition to his majesty has been rejected, and that an arnied force is sent out to reduce them to subjection, that troops be immediately raised throughout the colonies for defence of their liberties and that they be prepared for a bloody war." August 2, 1775, "I am afraid I shall he abliged to leave this country and take passage home. The opposition to all who will not side with the Provincials is great. The most unexceptionable conduct will not screen any man. The cry is, 'if they will not fight for us they are against us, no neutrality now.' There has been an amazing large crop of wheat made. I never saw such a plenty of grain of every kind, as well as of tobacco." EARLY MARYLAND HISTORY. CHAPTER VIL The Minute Men— Arnold's Expedition to Quebec— Many of the Maryland Families leaving-Decline in Piscataway. The letters of the old manuscript book of the Piscataway agent which follow con- secutively, from the close of our last chapter, to March, 1776, are interspersed with many more allusions to events and circumstances then transpiring, which have become im- portant matters of history. Under date of August 26th, 1775, Mr Hamilton writes: "You will see by the newspapers that go home by this ship the Jean, that an association has been formed which all able bodied persons in the colony between the ages of 16 and fifty, are expected to join and appear at musters and drills whenever required by the military authorities ; and one-fourth of their number are to hold themselves in readiness to march for the public service at any time, and to any part of the continent. All who refuse to jom this association are to be reported to the 'committee of safety..' and dealt with accordingly. These troops are known by the name of 'minute men,' and are to be paid when on actual duty only. I have ever since the first congress, openly declared that I would not fight against my sovereign and the land that gave me birth, and lately, when there wa^ a false alarm spread through the country, that some Brittish troops had landed on the Patuxent, I was called upon to fight and I refused." September 2d, 1775: "I have resolved to stay here as long as I can. The Rev. Mr. H. A. Addison of Broad Creek Church, will leave next week. He goes to London. He can not approve the course of the present leaders, by whom he is looked upon as a friend to the British Government." Feb. 9th, 1775: "A detachment'of the Grand Continental army, under the command of Brigadier General Montgomery, had sometime ago invested Quebec, and on the OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 39 31st of December, 1775, attempted to storm it, but were repulsed with loss. The General, his aide, several officers, and a number of privates were killed, and many officers and privates were made prisoners." This was the disastrous termination of the fool-hardy expedition of General Benedict Arnold. Arnold at that time was only a reckless adventurer, horse trader and jockey, making a livelihood bv cunning and trickery, two attributes which served him instead of integrity and honesty of purpose his life long, and which brought him to grief in the end. But he had managed to win the confidence of Washington, and by his plausible and persistent representations, had induced him to believe that with a small force of armed men, he could in twenty days march through the wilds of Maine, surprise the garrison of Quebec and take possession of the city, at that time the best fortified place in the world. Accordingly, ten companies of infantry and three of riflemen were as- signed to him for the undertaking. The distance was six hundred miles, through silent, pathless solitudes, and was not accomplished until the end of six weeks. Morgan commanded the riflemen and led the expedition. How they made tlieir vvay through almost impassable jungles and thickets, the way- side brambles tearing their scanty uniforms to tatters. How they waded rivers and mired through swamps and morasses, how they dragged their boats and baggage over the long portages from stream to stream. How they suffered from hunger and the intense cold of the Autumn and Winter nights of that higher latitude and how at last, after having at the dead of night made the crossing of the rapid two mile current of the St. Lawrence, they fearlessly assaulted with a force of barely six hundred shivering, half famished men, a city with two thousand cannon on its ramparts and a garrison of more than a thousand well conditioned defenders in its barracks, is a story of perils, bravery and exciting incidents the most marvelous in the history of the Continental struggle. But Daniel Morgan, the "wagon boy of the Occoquan," was the intrepid leader, the animating spirit. In the darkness of the winter nights, through a blinding snow storm, he led his handful of valiants along the narrow, tortuous streets lighted only by the blazing of musketry and artillery, and never faltered in the heroic advance until overpowered by many times their number. Arnold fell wounded in the onset and had but little part in the assault, but he wrongly received the credit until after many long years, the facts of historic research awarded it to the true hero. In the autumn of 1775 very many of the families in Prince George and Charles who had no affiliation with the declared objects of the Provincials, made haste to arrange their business affairs, to leave their different neighborhoods for refuge in England or Scotland. Every out going sliip took its quota of this element of Maryland society. The Piscataway agent of Brown & Co., Glasgow, hurriedly disposed of the Merchan- dize of their three stores at Piscataway, Bladensburg and Lower Marlboro and fled to the back woods of Virginia, where he remained during the eight years of the war. When he returned in 1783 he found much of their property destroyed and the many debts which he had left uncollected, outlawed or repudiated. From this time, the prosperity of Piscataway town began to decline. New conditions in trade and traffic were taking place. The channel of the once deep river was fast filling up with the washings from the adjacent cultivated fields by the summer and winter floods, and Alexandria, more eligibly situated on the main stream, was becoming the shipjiing point for all the region surrounding it. EARLY MARYLAND HISTORY. CHAP! ER VIII. OLD PISCATAWAY OFTO-DAY. AN OLD Bl LL OF LADI NG. A LETTER OFOTHER DAYS. The stranger who approaches the ancient hamlet of Piscataway by the lonely Mary- land roads, or makes his tedious way to it by the shallow stream once so broad and 40 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS deep, and surveys the forlorn aspect of unthrift and desolation which has settled like a pall, over dilapidated tenements, deserted ways and sunken piers, finds it difficult to realize that there was once a time when it was a prosperous port tor foreign commerce, with many square rigged vessels coming and going with valuable cargoes, when in the counting house, clerks were busy taking account of large trade and traffic in pounds shillings and pence and making out bills of exchange, and bills of lading for mer- chants in London, Glasgow, Greenock and even Amsterdam. But so it was, as the old ledgers and invoice and letter books of the merchants attest, and here before me, is one of the many bills of lading which went out with the cargoes over the stormy seas. "Shipped October 2C, 1760, by the grace of God, in good order and well condition- ed to the order of James Brown &Co., merchants in Glasgow, Scotland, two hundred hogsheads of Orinoco tobacco, one hundred hides, three hundred pounds of tallow, five bales of pelts, and sundry other articles of merchandise, by Alexander Hamilton, agent, in and upon the good, fast sailing ship, Clyde, whereof is master under God, for this present voyage. Captain James Smith, and now riding in Piscataway river. Prince George county, Province of Maryland, and by God's grace bound for the port of Glasgow, in Scotland, and so, God send the good ship and cargo in safety to her destined haven. amen." This waif saved as a brand from the burning, faded and crumbling to the touch, is a ready talisman to summon up for the historic student who delights in old time lore, the mystical events and circumstances of the long forgotten past. It is the magic link which reaches backward and unites the chain of the then and the now. It opens a vista through a hundred and forty years. It takes us almost back to the French and Indian war. Braddock had been lying in his grave in the wilderness but five years : Alexandria was a prospering town ofsix or seven hundred inhabitants ; Georgetown was a straggling hamlet, and the surveyor was running his lines through the forests where now rise the spires and domes of our National Capital. Lord Fairfax was living his recluse life in the solitudes of the Shenandoah valley, with only hunters, half breeds and packs of hounds for his companions. George William Fairfax was living in the stately mansion of Belvoir, on the Potomac, and Col. George Washington, in the flush of his first military honors, had just brought widow Martha Custis to be the mistress of his home of Mount Vernon. From a bundle of letters which are but shreds of their former selves, we take with careful and reverent hands one, whose faded lines opens for us some glimpses of retros- pection athwart the span of the faded years. Piscataway, Prince Geo. go., Md. Sept. 2, 1 775. Mv dear Cousin Sallie, In my last I promised you I would write again at my earliest opportunity, for I knew very well how anxious you would be to get tidings from your friends in this distant part of the world, just at this critical time. The ship, Margaret, now taking on cargo at this port will sail for Glasgow some time this week, and Capt. Spier, our mutual friend commanding, has kindly offered to carry to you my letter and my package containing some men>entos, among them, pieces of embroid- ery, the work of my own hands, also a book of pressed wild flowers which I gathered in the summer. Accept them, please, as slight tokens of my remembrance and abiding affection. You see that though long distance separates us, you have not been forgotten. I wrote you in my last, by the Pallas, that we were having troublous times. Every day since then, I believe, they have been growing still more so. As there are great differences of opinions among our people about resistance to the late acts of Parliament, there are naturally many angry contentions, and families are divided and estranged. Wild rumors are continually coming to alarm and terrify. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 41 The noise of drum and fife is heard everywhere and troopers are mustering and drilling in every neighborhood. The news of the battle of Lexington in the Massachusetts Colony which the courier brought down a while ago, has made woeful excitement in all these parts. Many of our people have gone to Annapolis and Alexandria where recruiting offices have been opened and drill masters are constantly drilling the raw militia for the army at Boston. I do not know what the end of it will be, but older and wiser heads than mine for-see a long and bloody conflict between the colonies and the mother country. Many of our friends are already on their way to Boston, where blood has been shed. Uncle Rob went as a captain and cousin Jim as lieutenant. Uncle Rob, you know was always fond of adventure. He was a soldier in the Braddock war, and fought the French and Indians under Col. Washington who is now general commander in chief of the Provincial armies. The general was always one of his heroes and he is ready to follow his lead again. If you could come back here you would find everything so changed from the time you left us three years ago. The neighborhoods are quite deserted, so many young men have left at the call for troops, and some have been going back to the mother country by every ship, and more are preparing to go before the tenth of September when the nonimportation act goes into effect. But I must not fill my letter with accounts of all these things. So, I wall tell you something about your friends in Broad Creek and other neighborhoods as well as in this, where you visited. Your Aunt Barbara Lyell long a sufferer was laid to rest a fortnight ago. I saw your friends Ruth Addison and Mary Emmet at church lasi Sabbath. I heard from your acquaintances the Hutchinsons and Hattonsafew days ago, they were all well. Betty Low and Susie Lloyd go out on the Margaret. Our congregation at the Broad Creek church is now very small, oftimes no minister is at the service, only lay readers. There have been several weddings, not- withstanding the great commotion. But parties and balls have had their day I guess for a long time to come. I assure you I would rather be in the quiet and peace of dear old Glasgow just now, but my line of duty is here, and I must remain and pray for better days. I cannot say now when I shall write again, they say no ships will be sailing, but when I can, I will send you tidings. Excuse my rambling epistle, and believe me as ever, your loving cousin, Susie Noble." early maryland history. chapter ix. THE REGION AROUND PISCATAWAY-ITS HISTORIC ASSOCIATIONS. At the angle formed by the junction of the Potomac and the Piscataway rivers rises the eminence on which stand the frowning battlements of Fort Washington. Looking northward from the tops of these battlements the eye ranges over a scope of country which for lines of picturesque and quiet scenery, has few if any rivals in any other region of all our beautifully diversified land. Looking northward, the broad river seems a veritable lake, with its expanse of peaceful waters shut in by the slight easterly deflection of its course at Alexandria, and by its prominent borders of gently sloping woodland, and cultivated fields. Beyond this expanse, rise the stately spires and domes and lofty obelisk of the National Capital and still further beyond in the hazy distance may be discerned the faint outlines of the Blue Ridge. Looking south- ward from the battlements, there are pleasant, never tiring landscapes of sloping 42 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS fields and wooded crests and the widening river stretching far away in its seaward course till lost from sight, by another deflection to the west. Not more remarkable is this scope of country for its configuration of natural beauties, than for the many important and interesting historical associations which belong to it. Of these associations the earliest relate to the Potomac, when Captain John Smith that famous adventurer, soldier and explorer ascended its waters to find what manner of lands they jilowed through and what manner of people inhabited them, this was in the spring of 1608, one year after the planting of the English colony at Jamestown. "With the intent of searching out every inlet and bay fit for habitations and harbors" he fitted out at Jamestown an open barge of about three tons burthen and left the mother settlement in June, accompanied by "^Valter Russel, doctor of physics, and six other gentlemen, Ralph Morton, 'I'homas Momford, William Cantrill, Richard Featherston, James Burne, and Michael Sicklemore, and seven soldiers, Jonas Profit, Anas Todkill, Robert Small, James Watkins, John Powell, James Redd and Richard Keale, who were to work the barge and act on the defensive in case of encounter with the natives. Their boat was open, fitted with sails and conveniences for rowing. Many marvel- ous and exciting incidents attended their expedition which are set forth in the valu- able Journal of the Captain published in London, 1620, and still extant in the congressional library. They found the waters abundantly stocked with fish, so abundantly that they could be readily taken with bucket or basket, or speared from the boat's side. Wild fowl, geese, swans and ducks flocked everywhere and the woods were alive with deer and other wild animals, and all could be secured for subsistence with little effort. The natives came down to gaze upon the strange sight of the pale faces cleaving their way with winged boat through their great waters. Once, they appeared in great numbers and discharged their arrows at them from the concealing thickets of the shore, but a volley of resounding musketry from the soldiers put them to sudden flight. Generally tlie red men were friendly, and offered the adventurers freely of their stores of maize, meats and fruit. The summer heats had set in and violent thunder storms assailed the party, drench- ing their clothing and spoiling their supplies of biscuit, and some of the men were prostrate with sickness and clamored to return. Captain Smith was not the leader to be thwarted in his undertaking. He had com- menced it not for mere pastime nor out of idle curiosity, and not until his barge had grounded on the rocks above the wilderness site where now stands the National Capital of our republic, did he submit to retrace his course. The map which Captain Smith hurriedly made as he sailed, appears to day with his journal and bears evidence to his skill and accuracy as a delineator. The course ot the great stream, the direction of its numerous affluents, were quite correctly traced and along with his configuration of the shores, he noted the location of all th eprincipal aboriginal settlements. During the twoity ycMrs next succeeding the year of this exploration, the pages of the early chroniclers bear witness to numerous tragic occurences connected with this region. In years when the supplies of maize fell short among the settlers about Jamestown, it was customary for them to fit out expeditions ostensibly for the purpose of trading with the Piscataway and other neighboring tribes who had always stores of the needed grains, but really to invade by force their settlements and take from them the object of their quest. But later, in one of these forays in the neighborhood of Belvoir, just below Mount Vernon on the Virginia side, retribution followed in the massacre of nearly every man of the foraging party. This was in 1621 and the cir- cumstances were as follows : Captain Henry Spillman, a gentleman who had been OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 43 living in the Virginia country thirteen or fourteen years, at one time a prisoner among the natives and one of the best interpreters of the Indian dialects, having been furnished with a bark called the Tiger and twenty-six men vvell armed, was sent from Jamestown to trade with the natives. He had lived a long time among the savages, and whether he presumed too much upon his acquaintance with them, or whether they sought to be revenged for the slaughter among them by the English in years before, or whether he sought to betray them or they him, was never known. Spillman and twenty-one of his men went on shore, leaving the bark and five men in tlie stream. While they were ashore the vessel A^as surrounded by Indians in canoes. Tliey clambered on to the bark and would have taken possession, but for the presence of mind of a sailor who fired a small cannon, which so frightened the natives that they jumped into the river and swam ashore. Soon after, a great clamor was heard on the land and presently a man's head was thrown down the bank, and the five men hurriedly weighed anchor and returned to Jamestown. Thus perished Captain Spillman. In this massacre Henry Fleet, for' some unknovvn reason, was spared and afterwards ransomci by the colonists. In 1623, Governor Wyatt, of Virginia, went in person up the Potomac and took full revenge upon the Fiscataways and other tribes who had slain Captain Spillman, "putting many to the sword and burning their wigwams together with a prodigious quantity of corn which they had hidden in the woods." In 1634, forty-eight years before the landing of William Penn on the shores of the Delaware, came Leonard Calvert, brother of Cecil Calvert, with about two hundred of his followers, the most of them Roman Catholic gentlemen and their servants, looking for a favorable situation for the founding of a colony, for which he held a royal charter from the first Charles of England to his father George, first Lord Baltimore, in 1632, confirming to him and his heirs as "absolute Lords and proprietaries, the ter- ritory of Maryland, to be held by them under tenure of fealty, only, paying to the crown a yearly rent of two Indian arrows and a fifth of all gold and silver which might be found." They dropped anchor at . Piscataway, nearly opposite Mount Vernon, and held parley with the chief of the Piscataway tribe who came to the shore with five hundred of his people, not in hostile attitude, but in wonderment at the appearance of the pale faced strangers. Calvert, through Henry Fleet, his interpreter, queried with the chief if he would be willing for himself and com- panions to settle down upon his lands and live with them always as brothers, but to this he would give neither refusal nor consent, telling him only, that he could do as seemed best to him ; Calvert was much pleased with the favorable situation of the locality, with its woods and shores and waters ; and he would have been well satisfied to begin there his prospective settlement, but he was in a wilderness country a hundred miles from the Bay, and he knew not the number and the character of the savages by whom he was surrounded. So, weighing anchor, he set sail again and dropped down to St. George's Bay, where the Indians welcomed the little band to their homes and land^, and divided with them their stores of provisions. But he planted the cross, the symbol of his religion, and afterwards, sent Father Andrew White to establish a Catholic Mission, some relations of which, have already been given in another chapter. In 1675 occured what is known in early colonial history as "Bacon's rebellion," which was the culmination of along series of feuds and retaliations, disastrous to both races and particularly to the Indians, who lost forever the ancient hunting grounds of their ancestors. Of the troubles of this rebellion, Piscataway and its surroundings had full share. Various Algonquin tribes sought refuge here, and surrounded them- selves with strong defences of intrenchments, ditches and jjalisadcs, and for six weeks held out against the Virginia and Maryland troops, infantry and cavalry, under the 44 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS command of Colonel John Washington, the first immigrant of that name and grand- father of the President. Only a few of the Indians escaped either starvation or massacre. In another chapter we have related how the pioneers came and took possession of all this region and with axe and brand and plow share, opened their plantations, and set their homesteads and altars, and helped to build up the Maryland commonwealth ; and how the bosom of the Piscataway was whitened for long years before the Ameri- can Revolution by the sails of a busy foreign commerce, carrying away the products of the cultivated acres. The ships have passed from the peaceful waters, and are only a saddening memory now. The pioneers who felled the forests and erected the first homes and altars, have been dust under the vines and brambles of the old kirk yard for many a long year, but the broad acres remain, stretching over valley and hill ranges and along pleasant water courses, not so fertile as once on a time, but still kindly, and destined we think, at some time not far off, to again, under new conditions, find restoration to their ancient value and productiveness. THEOLD KING'S HIGHWAY. In passing along with our chain of events, we must not forget the "Old King's Highway" of the Northern Neck of our State; for it was truly an historic landmark. No road in all our broad empire was more intimately connected with more of the colonial circumstances which led to the long and heroic struggle of the Revolution and the consequent federation of the thirteen British American provinces under a republican form of government. Hitherto, no chronicler has turned aside to write its history and call up its varied associations through the vanished generations, to note the varied tide of travel which has surged over its way in the alternating times of peace and war. Its history and associations are not yet remote enough to take hold on our imaginations and enshrine themselves in our memories and affections, but as the years roll away, they will become fond themes for not only the chronicler, but they will enliven the pages of romance, and our troubadours will sing of them in their songs. Long years, mayhap centuries and centuries before the prow of the adventurous Captain John Smith had touched the site of our National Capital, before the echo of an axe had been heard in the Potomac wilderness, or any plow share had upturned the virgin furrows, this road was but a trail or path between the lowlands and tide- water shores of the Chesapeake and the valley beyond the Blue Ridge mountains, along which only the roving sons of the forest threaded their wild journeys. It lay through a region of country which nature had bountifully supplied with all the needed requirements of a nomadic life. Deer, elk and bears, and other wild animals of the forest, furnished meats — 'every stream was stocked abundantly with fish — there were plums, grapes, berries and nuts every where, growing without human care or thought, and here and there along the trail, particularly at the crossings of the streams, were doubtless maize clearings and wigwams, the stations in their journeys where they camped and halted for rest ; for they never hurried, as time was no consideration with them. Home to them was wherever they lingered and kind nature provided lavishly for all their wants. Those were halcyon days for the Virginia red men, halcyon days of roving, hunting and fishing. No stranger had yet set foot upon their shores to dispute their titles and despoil them of their possessions, but over the "great waters" in the "white winged boats" they were coming. The doom of the forest lords was sealed. Their heritages were to pass forever from them. In the spring of 1607 the little fleet sent out from England by the London company under command of Capt. Newport and consisting of three ships — if such small and frail vessels might be dignified by the name, for the largest of them did not ex- OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 45 ceed one hundred tons burden —entered the Powhatan or James river, and sailing fifty miles up the stream, came to anchor on its eastern shore where their voyagers of one hundred and five men began the settlement of Jamestown. The English colonists were adventurers who indulged in the most extravagant hopes of speedy enrichment in the new found realm. In the wilderness of woods, spreading interminably ; in the great water expanses ; in the wonderful fertility of the soil ; and in the imaginary mines of the precious metals, they saw resources which were to be for them the springs of wealth untold. They had come to subjugate and rule. They turned their steps northward toward the sources of the rivers. They followed the ancient trail of the Indian, and on their right hand and left, with axe and plow thev felled the forests and made them homes and settlements, a great chain of empire from the tide waters to the great barriers of the Blue Ridge mountains. The red men receded before the advancing wave of civilization to return no more as possessors. The path was widened by the axeman, the rough places were made smooth, the crooked ways were made straight. The streams, then of far greater volume than now, were bridged or ferried. The tobacco planters made it a great rolling road, and it became a "way and a highway for the nations." The seat of the colonial government was continued at Jamestown until 1698, when after successive and discouraging calamities of fire and epidemic it was removed to James City county, seven miles inland, then known as the Middle Plantation, and one of the eight original counties into which Virginia was divided in 1634; the other seven being York, Henrico, Charles City, Elizabeth City, Isle of Wight, Warwick and Northampton. The new seat was "3. ridge at the head of two great creeks, one flowing into the James and the other into York river, each navigable for sloops within a mile of the town ; at the head of which creeks were good landings and two noble rivers not above four miles from either." By this seat passed up from the waters of the bay just below, the great Indian trail before mentioned, but now called a public highway. From Williamsburg it continued to New Kent Courthouse in New Kent county. Thence it continued to Bowling Green in Caroline county, thence to Fredericksburg in Spottsylvania county, thence to Stafford Courthouse in the county of Stafford, thence to Dumfries in the county of Prince William, thence across the Occoquan river to Colchester in the county of Fairfax, and thence on, by way of Washington's mill of Mount Vernon, at the fording of Epsewasson creek, and by Gum Spring at the fording of Little Hunting Creek, and on over the fording of Great Hunting Creek to Alexandria. From Alexandria there were two separate trails, varying from i to 12 miles apart in their courses to the mountains. One of them, the most easterly and nearest the Potomac, now known as the Middleburg turnpike, continued still through Fairfax county by Falls Church and Dranesville, and through Loudoun county by Lees- burg and Clark's Gap in the Catocton mountains, and by Hillsboro to Key's or Vestal's Gap in the Blue Ridge mountains, a total of seventy-four miles from Alex- andria, and from the waters of Chesapeake Bay to the mountains, two hundred and thirty miles. It was over this branch that General, Sir Peter Halket's Forty-fourth regiment of British regulars, together with several companies of provincial troops, a part of Gen. Edward Braddock's army, marched, in April, 1755, on their expedition against the French and Indians, which ended so disastrously to the English troops and so fatally to both Braddock and Halket themselves. The diary of the march is as follows: "Ap. II. To ye old court house 18 miles. To Mr. Coleman's on Sugarland run 12 miles. To Mr. Miner's 15 miles. To Mr. Thompson's (Quaker) 12 miles. To Mr. Key's ferry of the Shenandoah 17 miles." 46 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS The road, from the circumstance of this march, has ever since been remembered as Braddock's road. The other branch of the highway, and of about the same extent, generally known as the Little River turnpike, passed from Alexandria through Fairfax county about two miles west of the present court house and on through Loudoun county, by Aldie, in the Bull Run hills, to Snicker's Gap, in the Blue Ridge mountains, and thence over the Shenandoah and across the valley beyond. This branch, or a considerable extent of it, is also remembered as Braddock's road, from the circumstance of a part of his wagon train with stores and ammunition having passed over it. It was over this road that the young surveyors, George Washington and George William Fairfax, journeyed in the spring of 1747 on their expedition to the Shenandoah valley to survey the lands of Lord Thomas Fairfax. In October of 1753, Washington, at the age of 21, with a colonel's commission, again traversed it as a messenger dispatched by Gov. Dinwiddie to the French commandant of a fort on a branch of French creek, 15 miles below Lake Erie, to remonstrate against the encroachments of the French upon the Virginia frontiers. The fort was distant six hundred miles by a way over rugged mountains and through a howling wilderness, with many intervening streams and other forbidding impediments, and for the most part of the distance no roads but the narrow paths of the red men. His companions were Lieutenant Jacob Van Bram, soldier and swords- man ; Christopher Gist, a noted pioneer and Indian trader, and several guides. Again he passed over it in 1754 the year previous to the memorable Braddock war, on the expedition which resulted so unfavorably at Fort Necessity or Great Meadows, as appears from the following extract from his diary : Alexandria, April 2, 1754. "Everything being ready, we began our march according to our orders, with two companies of foot, commanded by Capt. Peter Hog and Lieut. Jacob Van Bram, five subalterns, two sergeants, six corporals, one drummer, one surgeon, a Swedish gentle- man — two wagons guarded by one lieutenant, a sergeant, a corporal and twenty-five soldiers. We left Alexandria Tuesday morning and pitched our tents four miles beyond Cameron, having marched six miles. On the twentieth had got to Col. Cresaps." This was near the junction of the north and south branches of the Potomac river. As the wave of civilization advanced upward from the tide waters toward the mountains and the territory now embraced within the boundaries of Prince William, Fairfax and Loudoun, was brought under cultivation and dotted over with farm houses and hamlets, the immense products of the fertile lands found their way over this highway and its branches to the shipping ports of Alexandria and Colchester. Most of the tobacco was rolled down in hogsheads, independent of wagon transpor- tation. Wagons then were few in number and the most of theni were employed in the carrying of supplies to settlers beyond the mountains. By an act of assembly passed in 1772 levies were authorized upon the titheables of Fairlax, Loudoun, Berkley and Frederick ior keeping this highway and its branches in repair, and in 1785, com- panies were empowered to turnpike them and erect gates for the collecting of tolls from travelers. The valley lands beyond the Blue Ridge had been settled by a colony of hardy and industrious Germans and the most of them were devoted to the growing of corn and wheat. Flouring mills were erected on all the available streams and henceforth for many years their valuable products were to bring to the Common- wealth a tide of employment and prosperity unequalled in her history. The advent of the railway, with its flying trains to annihilate space and move with celerity the burdens of caravans, was yet but a dim dream of the future, and the wagon had its days of success and glory. It was an era of thrift, not only for the farmer and the miller, but the wagon maker and every other class of mechanics had full share of its blessings. The cross roads stores, taverns and smithies and the wagon stands at intervals of three or tour miles all along the way flourished, and nobody croaked about OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 47 hard times and scarcity of money. There was an equitable interchange of labor which made all classes inter-dependent, and gave to all a due proportion of the capital employed in the existing industries. There were no millionaires then to centralize the people's wealth and absorb the local industries, which were the life blood of the rural communities. There are persons still living among us who have distinct recollections of the busy scenes of those days of wagoning, a generation or more before the beginning of the v.'ar. They can tell of the capacious conestogas or land schooners with white canvas tops on high bows raking fore and aft which they saw through all seasons of the year coming down over the highways into the town, oftentimes twenty or thirty in a train, most of them drawn by four and some by six horses, all well freighted with flour, meal, beef, pork, hides, butter, eggs, and other country produce, each one carrying from five to seven thousand pounds to a load. It was not unusual to see a hundred and sometimes several hundred of these quaint vehicles in the different streets of the town, either lo'ad- ing or unloading. They carried back salt, plaster, fish, oysters, molasses, sugar, iron, hardware, tools, farming implements, furniture and all other articles needed by the remote settlements. They were periodic as the days, weeks and months, keeping up a constant trade beneficial to all classes and all localities. The stores, hotels, taverns and wagon yards prospered; everybody indeed was profitably employed. Ships, barks, biigs and schooners busy in the foreign and coasting, trade made at the same time a goodly array of masts and sails at the warehouses along the wharves. All the in- dications in those days were for rapid, continuous and widely expanding growth for Alexandria. No city seemed to be more advantageously situated. A majestic river flowed by it with deep and steady water to the sea. Its inland traffic from a vast scope of country to the west was increasing, and its continuance for all time seemed assured. This was the impression of all travelers who visited the town in that era of thrift and progress. The eminent Thomas Twining, one of the energetic Englishmen who laid the foundations of the British East India empire among them, has left this record of his visit just before 1800. "Arrived at Alexandria, we landed at a handsome quay recently built nearly in the centre of the water line, and walked up the town to the inn, passing on our way through a large, open space, apparently intended for a market place. The town being built upon a slope from the interior to the water's edge, appeared to much advantage as we rowed toward it from the middle of the river. But the circumstance which most struck me, was the vast number of houses which I saw building as we passed through the streets and the number of people employed as carpenters and masons. The hammer and trowel were at work everywhere — a cheering sight and a remarkable contrast with the dilapidation of cities which I had seen in my former travels. Although the latter were calculated to afford a deeper interest in some respects, the scene of new and active life, the foundations of future prosperity which Alexandria presented, made me feel how much more gratifying it is to observe the rise of a new State than the decline of an old one." O day of pride, O dny of power, When fruitful West sued at thy door When vessels anchored lay, And East held out its hands, And wharves bedeck'd with princely dower, And thy gray pines on thy green shores Loom'd up in strung array! Were gates to many lands. The people of Alexandria were early imbued with the spirit of resistance to the oppressive measures of great Britain, and no town in all the colonies responded more promptly and continuously for troops and resources through the long struggle for independence. Here it was, says another English traveler, "that George Washing- ton, amid the plaudits of the inhabitants, first stept forth as the public patron of sedition and revolt and subscribed fifty pounds towards the commencement of hostil- ities." The town was then twenty-five years old, and its population about five thousand. Through the years of national strife and general trouble and uncertaint)', 4S SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS as every where else, the industries of the town were greatly depressed, but prosperity returned with the dawn of peace. The wagon trains again came down from the far frontiers and commerce again unfurled her sails as in the years agone. In 1810 its population was nearly eight thousand. In 1816, two years after its capitulation to and plunder by Admiral Cockburn, commander of the British fleet, the arrivals at its port were nineteen ships, forty-two brigs, fifty-two schooners from foreign places and three hundred and twenty-two coastwise entries. Had the conditions of trade and traffic, and the various local economic industries which then existed, continued unchanged through the years, Alexandria to-day could doubtless show a population double or treble that which it now claims. The con- struction of the Potomac canal, and the laying of the three several railroads — the Baltimore and Ohio, with its branch from Harper's Ferry to Winchester ; the Mid- land, and the Loudoun and Hampshire, ended the old-time wagon industry over the mountains and diverted most of the wonted trade to other points. Though the former commercial glory of the old town has waned and well nigh dis- appeared before the newer conditions of trade and traffic which we have above cited — though no square rigged vessels lie nowadays in her ^ocks, discharging their cargoes of molasses, sugar and other tropical commodities from Barbadoes, Jamaica, Trinidad, Santa Cruz and other islands of the Carribean Sea, as in the years long gone, though the rumble of wagons which once crowded her streets has been silenced by the swifter transit of the railway train, still, there is a prestige remaining for it which the passing of the decades cannot destroy. It will always be one of the places of the Old Dominion State to attract pilgrimages from lands afar, on account of its interesting historic associations; and doubtless, it will become the pleasant abiding place lor large accessions of people, who love the quiet, and whose business or social inclina- tions will keep them close to the National Capital. It will not lose its mature and leisurely ways. Its old and substantial houses will be preserved with pious care to afford to coming generations of patriots, fond glimpses of the vanished past when an infant people threw ofif the trammels of kingly power and merged into a life of independence. THE KNIGHTS OF THECOLDEN HORSESHOE. "SIC JURAT TRANSCENDERE MONTES." We lift the veil, and Spottiswood, And the solemn haunts of the red men At the head of his gallant band, With the saxon voices ring. Is spurring toward the mountams ^^^ ^^^^ ^.^^ ^^ ^.^ ^^^^^ And the unknown Westernland. ^^^ ^,^^ p^^^j^^^ ^^ j^,^ ,^j^^ The gay young Knights of the Horseshoe When the shrill neigh of the coursers Ride past in a joyous throcg; Rings on the mountain air — And the great wild forest echoes -d • • »u • ,.,. , p ... Knips in the crimson sunset, With the merry shout and song. -^^T- .. t r .. •' " Ul the long forgotten years, So they stand on the Blue Ridge Mountain, When the glens gave back the laughter And drink to the health of the King ; Of the gay young Cavaliers. The voyage of Captain John Smith and his fourteen companions up the Potomac in the summer of 1608, revealed to them the fact that the low, flat regions which everywhere bordered the waters of the Cheasapeake, did not stretch interminably inland. A few miles above the Indian town of Tohoga where now stands the city ot Washington, their course was arrested by rapids and falls, and all about them were high and rocky hills which shut them in like walls. The natives whom they there met, told them marvelous stories of a great mountain barrier many miles farther up the stream, and beyond that, of still greater mountains whose tops reached to the clouds, and still beyond these of a vast region of valleys and plains watered by wide rivers and lakes which poured their floods into a far off sea, and that the entire extent OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 49 of the country from the east to the west, and from the north to the south, was ranged by herds of buffalos and elk, and peopled by countless nations and tribes of their own race. Smith was not prepared to explore the river and lands beyond the falls, and so, leisurely descended its waters, devoting most of the summer to examining its shores and obtaining information concerning the ntjmber, names and strength of the tribes <5f Indians inhabiting them. In the autumn of the year he was again at Jamestown where he was welcomed by the colonists, who were more than ever convinced of his abilities and of bis great usefulness to them as a counsellor and director in the be- •GOVERNOI? SPOTTSWOOT). ginnmg of their settlement. He wrote out a description of liis expedition and made ■3. map jf the wonderful river upon whose waters he had sailed, to accompany it, both •of which are still eKtant. He related to the colonists tbe stories he had heard from ahe natives concerning the mountains and the vast realms beyond the tide waters, and -doubtless, his restless, adventurous spirit would have been the first at an early day to plan and lead another expedition to verify them by actual exploration, had he not teen compelled by a serious gunpowder accident, to return to England the following vear ; for he was a believer of the theory then everywhere prevalent, that a way was yet to be discovered througli these new realms, which would afford a shorter, quicker and safer way for ships to China and other Asiatic countries. The colonists had been particularly instructed by the 'Loi>don company before ■sailing from England, to explore every _great river flowing from the north or northwest. 50 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS hopeful that one might be found to empty from some great lake or inland sea whence another or others flowed westward and emptied into the Pacific ocean. Ralph Lane, the governor of the unfortunate colony planted by Sir Walter Raleigh on Roanoke Island a few years before, lured by the stories of the Indians, that the Roanoke nver had its source in a vast spring far away to the northwest and so near to a salt sea beyond it, that its waves in times of great storms were washed into and mingled with the waters of the fountain — with a company of his men, started up the stream to explore it. They did not find the great spring nor the salt sea, for hunger and other disasters drove them back to the island settlement. The little colony Smith had left behind him at Jamestown, consisting of hardly five hundred persons was kept busy with the cares and duties of establishing their plantations and home- steads and fixing regulations for the common weal, and had no time we may imagine for projects of this kind; and strange to relate, more than a century was to pass by before the coming of the man and the time for the accomplishment of the delayed object. Twenty-four shires or counties had been established. Jamestown was in its dotage and no longer the provincial capital, and Smith had been sleeping for nearly ninety years in a London church yard. Alexander Spottswood was sent over in 1710 with a royal commission from Queen Anne to be governor. It was an appointment which brought joy to the people, for he was a man of education, practical in his ways and liberal and progressive in sentiments, the very opposite of Culpeper, Berkeley, and some others ot his pre- decessors, who had deprecated the introduction of the printing press and the general diffusion of knowledge as public calamities. His administration began by the intro- duction of various measures for political and economic reform. He brought with him the right of habeas corpus, a right guaranteed to every royal subject in England by Magna Charta, but hitherto denied to Virginians. Governor Spottswood had been bred in the army, at the battle of Blenheim he was one ot the aides of the Duke of Marlborough, and there received a wound in the breast. In his character were united the spirits of chivalry and adventure, and for the exercise of the latter he was to find a field in the Virginia solitudes. At the close of August of 1716 he organized a company of horsemen to find a pass through the Indian's "barrier" to discover what manner of lands and waters were ly- ing beyond. The cavalcade, consisting of the "young bloods of the cocked hat gentry' ' under his lead, set out from the palace gate at Williamsburg and followed mainly the course of the "old king's highway" through the counties of James City, New Kent, Hanover, Caroline and Spotlsylvania to Fredericksburg, receiving additions as they went. At Fredericksburg they left the "highway" and took a westerly course to Germanna on the Rapidan, where the governor had established iron works and had settled about them a colony of Germans, who had planted vineyards and were making wine from "stocks brought from France, Germany and Italy. The location was near the after- ward battlefields of the "Wilderness" and became well known during the civil war. Before leaving Germanna and the limits of civilization, the cavalcade was reinforced by several more gentlemen, a "squad of rangers" and two Indian guides, when their num- ber in all was about fifty persons. They had provided for a vt^ritable holiday excursion. Packhorses accompanied with tents, an abundance of substantial provisions and "an extraordinary variety of liquors, such as Virginia red and white wines, Irish noquebaugh, brandy, shrub, two sorts of rum, champagne, Canary, cherry punch, cider, etc. So, while the "knights" had taken due care to arrange for bodily subsistence, they had not been unmindful of something to exhilirate their spirits and keep up their courage as they rode through the unexplored wilderness on their errantry. They marched by short stages, as the way betore them was in many places entirely impassable, until opened and cleared by their i,xemen. When they camped, right royal were the feasts they had spread for them under the branches of the great trees of the forest, by the full, gushing springs and clear OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 51 rivulets. The season of the year was a pleasant one for the making of such a journey, and doubtless the days were serene and all the landscapes bright and glorious with the early autumn's tinting. But of this the chronicler has told us nothing. Only these brief records he has left us. which, however, afford interesting glimpses of the progress of the expedition : "August 27th. Got our horses shod at Germanna and our tents ready. 29th. Ail things having been arranged, we set out from the German settlement on our intended journey. At five in the afternoon the governor gave orders to encamp on a small stream three miles from the place of starting, whierell weie to attack the fort at Niagara, and that Col. John.-lon with 5,000 men raised to the northward, was to attack Crown Point. Col. Washington was appointed aide to the General and so proclaimed in cimp, but he was not ))re?ent at the deliberations of the council on account of sickness, which kept him at Mt. Vernon. He had orders to join Ins command when able to do so. He did so at Cumberland. 2,500 horses, 250 wagons and 1,100 beeves had been promised the army by Virginia and Maryland but only 20 wagons and 200 horses were furnished. On the 20th of April, Braddock having made sure of the exit of every .straggler of his motley army, prepared to depart himself. He had purchased of Governor Sharpe a chariot and six. In it he look his seat and escorted by his company of Virgina Ij'ght Horse and a detachment of foot, he rolled out of the town on his "triumphal march." The little drums rattled at his departure and the townsfolk fired a salvo and wished him good speed. Doubtless the haughty veteran was in good s|)irits. He certainly had no misgivings of the expedition. His thoughts were only of the chastisement of the gay Gaul and of the laurels he would win on the distant Ohio. He followed in 'the tracks of Halket and his men up the King's highway. Little better then was this way than a bridle path worn through the great forests, only an old Indian trail of the long gone centuries, widened somewhat, and smoothed a little for the needs of the pioneers and tobacco planters. Scant room there must have b^en for the coach and six, and the outriders of the elegant generalissimo. It was OP VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 59 a wide contrast to the broad and level turnpikes he had wheeled over in old England. However, there was a novelty about the journey in which a ronnantic and poetic temper- ament might have found compensation. The progress was tedious, but it afforded oppor- tunity to evolve military strategies and fight imaginary battles. And the camp chest which accompanied had been well supplied by the good friends of Bellehaven, with ample store of eatables andspiritous drinks. Well for the general and his suite as they rode along gady under the overhanging boughs of the almost interminable forests, that they did not foresee the dire calamities, which fate had in store for them, when the swelling buds all about them of those April days should burst into the fullness of leaves and branches. Not till the 20th of May did Braddock and his suite reach Wills' Creek now Cumberland, Maryland, 100 miles from Alexandria. Here they found a strong fort just completed by some provincial troops as a part of a system of frontier defences. The little garrison in their isolated situation hailed their coming with delight and welcomed it by a salute of seventeen guns. In a few days, the regiments of Halket, Dunbar and Gates arrived by way of Winchester, through which settlement the com- mander also had passed, and a camp was established for rest, instruction and further prepartions for continuing the march. Here it was, that Washington first joined the command. In this camp the severest military discipline was enforced. By general orders the most trivial offences were punished by from one to five hundred lashes, and the deserter was to be hanged without mercy, although returning to his post. After three weeks of encampment, during which they had fared bountifully from supplies which had been sent them from Pennsylvania, the army consisting all told of twenty one hundred men, was again on their march to the Ohio, yet one hundred and thirty miles beyond. Owing to the extreme difficulties of this march over rugged moun- tains and deep ravines, through dense forests, swamps, and swollen streams, the Ohio was not reached until the close of the first week of July On the 9th of tha«t month occurred the disastrous engagement with the French and their allies. For his obstinacy in refusing to listen to advice as to the mode of conducting the battle, given to him by old Indian fighters which, later, he vainly regretted, he paid the penalty with his life. With him were slain twenty-six out of eighty-six of his offi- cers, among them Sir Peter Halket, and 37 were wounded, including Col. Gage and other field officers. Of the men, one-half were killed or wounded. Braddock braved every danger. His secretary, Shirley, was shot dead and both his English aides were disabled. It was a rout. The regulars were panic stricken and fled; even fired upon the provincials mistaking them in the smoke for the enemy. Braddock had five hoises disabled under him; at last a bullet entered his right side and he ftU mortally wounded. He was with difficulty brought off the field and borne in the train of the fugitives. All the first day he was silent; but at night he roused him- self to say, "Who would have thought it ?" Dunbar was now in command. On the i2tii of July he destroyed the remaining artillery and burned the public stores, and the heavy baggage to the value of a hundred thousand pounds, pleading in excuse, that he had the orders of the dying general and being himself resolved in midsummer, to evacuate Fort Cumberland and hurrying to Philadelphia for winter quarters. Accordingly the next day they all retreated. At night, Braddock roused again from his lethargy to say "We shall know better how to deal with them another time" and died. His grave was made near Fort Necessity, and tlie place is still pointed out. Thus ended the famous ex|)edition of Braddock against the French and Indians and the first days of military glory at Alexandria. Since the occurrence of the events we have narrated hardly a century and a half has passed. The circumstances seem dim to us now and very far away, for the succeeding years have wrought so many changes among the nations. But they are not so distant after all, when measured by the allotted duration of a life time. The straggling hamlet of Bellehaven, then a frontier post in the midst of alarms, and peril? 6o SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS from Indian incursions, has grown to be a pretentious town, and the wave of civilization has rolled westward two thousand miles beyond it and encompassed with its blessings the realms of a continent. It presents now, but few traces of the exciting circumstances of those primitive times; here and there an ancient landmark may still be seen to revive memories and traditions; a hip-roofed house with quaint gables, an outside chimney, a dormer window. The Council Hall where the governors deliberated remains much the same and the old military highway still holds its way to the mountains but the conditions of the town have changed with the passing of the generations. Voyage ofthe Brothers Lawrence and George Washington to THE Island of Barbadoesin1751. "The breezes cnme, the light wintls blew As glad to bear their bark away To tropic lands beyond the sea." The twenty-eighth day of September, 1751, came bringing to the newly established home of Mount Vernon a dark shadow of grief and suspense. Its worthy and honor- ed proprietor. Major Lawrence Washington, never so rugged as his younger brother George, had contracted a pulmonary trouble in his hard military experiences at the siege of Cartagena under the command of Admiral Vernon in 1740 and '42, which had steadily increased with the passing nf the year's, and had resisted all his efforts for its cure. A voyage to England as well as a year's sojourn at Berkley Springs in Vir- ginia, had given hiin no permanent relief, and now, as a last resort he was going to try the milder airs and other favorable conditions of the Island of Barbadoes, the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands and belonging to Great Britain. The schooner "Fredericksburg," bound for that place, had dropped down from the town of Alexandria, ten miles above, and was lying at anchor in the Potomac opposite'to the mansion ready for his embarkation. Lawrence, on his return from Car- tagena, had married, July 1743, Annie, eldest daughter of Hon. William and Sarah Fairfax, and four children had been born to them, only one of which, Sarah, survived. From this little household, he vvas now to bid a sorrowing adieu for an indefinite inter- val of time, and we can readily imagine how affecting must have been the parting, considering the many uncertainties of the voyages to and from the island, and of the duration of time he might have to be absent from his home. The companion of his voyage was to be that brother whom he had always regarded with GO much tenderness md filial affection, and who in return had most gratefully recip- rocated his solicitude. The (iifference in the ages of the two was fourteen years. Law- rence was thirty-three and George nineteen. The time was three years after the surveying expedition of the latter and George VVilliam Fairfax over the mountains to the Shenandoah Valley. Many neighbors and friends came down that morning to the little landing on the river to see the brothers embark. It was an event which cast a gloom over many more households than that of Mount Vernon ; for they were both well known and esteemed afar and anear, for their sterling traits of character, and their usefulness in the direction of public affairs in the province. Lawrence had represented the county ol Fairfax in the House of Burgesses, had been a promoter of the manufacture of iron and other useful industries; and was then an active and influential member of the Ohio Company which had been organized tor the purpose of exploring, settling and developing the resources of the wilderness lands of the great Ohio valley. Little did the skipper of that West India trading bark which bore these two voyagers adown the wide waters of the Potomac on that autumn morning, imagine the value of the freight entrusted to his skill and watchful care, amid- the storms and tempest and billows ofthe great sea. Little did he dream of the great renown which was, ere the passing of many years to come to one of them as soldier, statesman, and grand exemplar of his race. As was his habit, George kept a diary not only of personal incidents and circumstances OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 6 1 attending the sail, and their sojourn on the island, but also a log book of the vessel's courses and distances and the changes of weather experienced from land to land. Unfortunately a number of the pages of these records have been destroyed in the long interval of time and the chain of the narrative is broken in many places but enough of it remains to make a story replete with curiosity and interest for the present and all its succeeding generations. We are not told by the future commander-in-chief and first president that he took his turn as seaman in the working of the schooner, but it is not improbable that he did so, considering his practical turn of mind, and judging that he would naturally wish to apply what rudiments of navigation he had previously learned. Doubtless, he found enough subjects for thought and inquiry every day in the changing of the winds, the appearance of the skies and tlie waters, in the flight of birds and the movements of the new varieties of fishes, in the stories ot the sailors, and at night, in the contempla- tion of the constellations of the heavens, to agreeably divert his mind and relieve the voyage of monotony. Nearly five weeks were required to make the schooner's run of two thousand miles from the Potomac to Bridgetown, the capital of the island, where they landed on the fourth of November. That the voyage was a tempestuous and a perilous one is shown by the following entries from Washington's journal beginning when they had got well out to sea on the sixth day: "Oct. 4th. These twenty-four hours clear weather and little wind, with great sea from the northward. Oct. 5th. These twenty-four hours had moderate winds from the north with smooth sea and clear weather. Made all the sail we could. Oct. 6th. Little wind, fair weather and smooth sea. Caught a shark, a pilot-fish and a dolphin. Had the two latter for dinner. Oct. 7th. Little wind, smooth sea and fair weather. Many fish swimming around us ; caught a dolphin and had it for supper. Oct. 8th. Wind southwest and fair weather. Oct. 9th. Fine, clear weather with moderate gales of wind and smooth sea. Oct. 10th. Weather clear, moderate breeze and smooth sea. Oct. iith. Light wind. Espied a sail. Oct. i2tl-i. Fresh gales of wind with wavering weather. Oct. 13th. Variable winds and squalls of rain. Oct. 14th. Variable winds with a great swell from the southward. Discovered a brigantine standing to the westward. Oct. 15th. Fresh and wavering gales with contending sea. Oct. i6th. Wavering winds and hard squalls. Oct. 17th. Hard gales of wind with heavy seas, which endangered our masts. Discovered a sail standing to the northward. Oct. i8th. Heavy seas, northeast storm and squalls of rain. Oct. rgth. Hard squalls of wind and rain with a fomenting sea jostling in heaps, occasioned by the wavering winds which in twenty-four hours veered continually, the compass not remaining two hours at any point. The seamen seemed disheartened, confessing they had never seen such weather before. It was universally surmised there had been a violent hurricane not far distant. A prodigy in the west appeared toward the sunsetting about 6 p. m. remarkable for its redness. 0( tober 2otli. A constant succession of hard winds, squalls of rain and calms, 62 SOME OLU HISTORIC LANDMARKS which were so sudden and riighty we durst not go under any, but reefed sails. A sloop that for the two preceding days was in sight of us hung out a signal, but whether distressed or not we were uncertain. If distressed we were incapable of relieving theui by the contrary winds. Oct. 21. This day was not much inferior to the foregoing. We were obliged to lay to at 8 a. m. until 6 p. m. October 22. Light and wavering winds with a large tumbling sea running many ways. All hands busily engaged refitting the rigging which had suffered much in the preceding storms. October 23. Wind in the east vvith fine and regaling weather. Found our supply of bread almost eaten up by weuvil and maggots. October 24. Fresh breezes; made a tack to the eastward. October 25. Contrary winds, with scjualls of rain. October 26. Light and shifting winds with rains succeeding. < October 28. Fresh gales of wind. Unbent, mended and set the main topsail. November 2. Wavering gales. November 3. This morning arose with agreeable and encouraging assurances of a certain and steady trade wind which after near five weeks of buffeting and being tossed by a fickel and merciless ocean, was gladdening news. November 4. Regaling and gentle gales. Hazy weather and rain. Found the land plain by appearing at about three leagues distance, when by our reckonings we should have been near one hundred and fifty leagues to the windward. We were to the leeward about the same distance, and had we been but three or four leagues more we should have been out of sight of the island and probably not have discovered our error in time to have gained land for three weeks or more " So ended the voyage of the two Virginia brothers. In the journal from which the foregoing observations were taken was also carefully noted by Washington on each day of the voyage, the latitude and longitude, and the courses and distances made by the schooner in as methodical a manner as if he had been himself the sailing master. And doubtless before anchor was cast in Carlisle bay, he was as conversant with nautical terms and knew as much about making and taking in sail and finding latitude and longitude as many a sea-faiing man of years of experience. On landing at Bridgetown the brothers were kindly entertained in the household of Major Clarke, the commandant of the fortifications of Carlisle bay by whom they were introduced to the governor and otlier prominent citizens of the town. Every where the utmost cordiality and hospitality were extended to them. Dinners, teas, parties, theatricals and other enteriammenls were given in their honor, and excuisions through the adjacent plantations where they "saw fields of sugar cane, corn and fruit trees in a delightful green." The great variety of tropical fruits and other rich prc^luctions of the fertile soil everywhere to be seen was bewildering to Washington and vvith his characteristic fond- ness for everything pertaining to rural life, nothing could have been more agretable to his ardent mind. Of the fruits he saw he mentioned the "granadilla," "sajjpadilla," "pomegranate," sweet orange, water lemon, forbidden fruit, apples, guavas, &c. In his journal he describes the industries of the island, its fortifications, modes of farming, productions and the characteristics of the inhabitants. As usual with him, nothing of importance in any department of life escajjed his attentive observation. As the sojourn of George was to be for some weeks and that of Lawrence for a ranch longer time, they secured permanent quarters as told in the following entry: "Thursday 8th, came Capt. Croftan with his proposals, which, tho' extravagantly OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 63 dear, my brother was obliged to give, ^15 per month which is his charge exclusive of liquors and washing which we Hnd In the f^vening we removed some of our things up and ourselves. The place is very pleasantly situated pretty near to the sea, and about one mUe from town. The prospect is extensive by land and pleasant by sea, as we command the view of Carlisle bay and all the shipping in such manner that none can go out or in without being open to our view." Lawrence at once sought medical advice concerning his malady on his arrival, and while he did not receive great benefit he had determined to give the climate, the sea breezes and other recommended sanitary conditions of the locality a fair trial, but as the time passed bringing no favorable change to him, but only discouragement and de- spondency on account of his wide separation from his family, it was agreed between the brothers that George should return home, and that Lawrence in a short time should try the Island of Bermuda and write from there of his condition; and if any im- provement had taken place George was to return with his brother's wife if her friends should approve of that course. Accordingly as his diary tells us, "On Sunday, December 22nd, he took his leave of his brother and new made friends at Bridgetown and embarked on the schooner Industry, Capt John Saunders, for Virginia, weighed anchor, and got out of Carlisle bay about 12 o'clock. After a voyage of five weeks as tempestuous as the one out, he landed at the mouth of York River and thence proceeded across the land by way of Williamsburg to his brother Austin's at Wakefield, reaching there March 4th, 1752, Resting with his brother a day and night, he rode next d.iy to the home of his mother near Fredericks- burg. Here he tarried one night, and rode the next day to Mount Vernon to deliver the message he had brought from his brother for his wife. Lawrence did not long remain on the island. Pleasant as were the tropical airs, kind as were the new made friends who strove incessantly to minister for his welfare and enjoyment, he tired of all his surroundings. His thoughts, his affections and great ties were elsewhere. On the banks of the Potomac two thousand miles away, his devoted wife with her frail child, was waiting and longing for his return. He wrote to a friend: "The unhappy state of my health makes me uncertain as to my return. If I grow worse I shall hurry home to my grave; if better I shall be induced to stay longer here to com- plete a cure." All his hopei were deceptive. In (iespair he returned home in time to receive the kind ministrations of his anxious wife and friends and died in his own house at Mount Vernon, July 26, 1752. AN OLD MERCHANT'S LEDGER. Before me lies a waif '.vhicli has escaped fire and flood and the many other destruc- tive agencies of time, to tell to the living of today its mute but curious and instructive story of a generation of people long since dust. It is a merchant's ledger. It was brought from Old London town. Its folio leaves are paper made from linen and are strong to resist hard wear and usage. They are now yellow but well preserved. The pages are filled with accounts of trade and traffic in Colchester on ttie Occoquan river, running through the years of 1760 i, 2 and 3 when that long since vanished town was a flourishing shipping port and frontier post, and was bidding fair to become a populous and enduring place of habitation. The entries of the old book are by a clerkly hand. They are not in the least faded, and are very legible — just such script as the curious antiquarian delights to follow. The orthography is sometimes a little quaint but that does not detract from its interest and value after so long a la[)se of time. When the first page of this ledger was written Virginia stretched interminably over the Alleghanies toward the Pacific ocean. Williamsburg was its vice regal capital and Francis Fauquier its vice regal governor. Only five years before, the French traders 64 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS and inhabitants had been in undisputed possession of the Ohio valley, but now had abandoned it beforeihe steady advance of the Englishman. The county of Fairfax had been organized but fifteen years und that of Loudoun but two years. George II was on the British throne and William Pitt was prime minister. The States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee were but outlying counties of Virginia in her north western territory. Gen. Braddock had been lying in his wilderness grave five years. Benjamin Franklin, first postmaster general, was busy arranging the first continental mail routes. Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington, leaders of the contending armies at Waterloo had not yet seen the light. Colonel George Washington twenty-eight years of age, flushed with his first military experiences on the Ohio had just brought his bride, the widow Martha Custis, to be mistress of Mount Vernon and had yet seven years to tarry before assuming command of the continental army of the thirteen original provinces. Alexandria was but little more than a straggling village of five or six hundred inhabitants. Georgetown was an inconsiderable hamlet and where now rise the domes and spires of the National Capital the surveyor with chain and compass was cutting his way through forests still frequented by remnants of the old Algonquins. Lord Fairfax was living his recluse life in the solitudes of the Shenandoah valley with only hunters, half breeds and packs of hounds for his companions, and George William Fairfax was living in his elegant mansion of Belvoir on the Potomac. Daniel Boone and his hardy followers had not left their native sand hills of North (Carolina to begin their perilous settlements in Kentucky. Then stately merchant ships came into the deep waters of the Occoquan — some from London, some from Glasgow, some from Amsterdam and son»e from the West Indies. Now and then a bark careering darkly from the Bight of Bennin or the coast of Guinea furled her sails in the Colchester Haven and landed her living freights to take up their march in gangs for their allotted places of toil. Colchester was a growing and busy frontier town. Its merchants were prospering by large trade and traffic and lived like [)rinces. Long lines of sheet topped wagons went constantly from its port carrying over the King's Highway their merchandise to the advance settlers of the lands along and far beyond the mountains. As yet not a steamboat nor steam car had come to change the long exi.'-ting condi- tions of travel and to revolutionize every department of industries. To turn over the pages of this old book and read the items noted down by a hand OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND O5 which has been dust for nearly a hundred and fifty years is like taking a long journey backward and being a spectator of the events and circumstances of the vanished town and its surrounding neighborhoods. On the pages of this book are entries against hundreds of the towns-folk of Colchester and the surrounding planters; and from the articles of merchandise set down against them we learn that they had no lack of the comforts, even luxuries of life. They bought broadcloths, silks, brocades, velvets, fine linens, carpets, rugs, mirrors, china and silverware and wines and other liquors, notably peach and apple brandies. Among the names of patrons are those of George Washington, Lawrence Washington, George Mason, George William Fairfax, Dr. Craik, afterwards surgeon general of the continental army, Richard Henry Lee, General Weedon, Captain Wagner, Bertrand Evvell, Captain Posey, Daniel McCarty, Jonn Ballandine and others prominent in colonial history. Parson Scott of Pohick is charged with half a gallon of old Jamaica, and Bryan Fairfax, afterwards rector of Christ Church, with a pack of playing cards. These old ledgers scattered here and there among the homes of our land are not without value in a historic point of view. They throw not a little light on the customs and usages of the early days of colonial life. They are helpful to the genealogist in his difficult work of tracing the lines of families, and ought to be placed beyond the liabilities of destruction. Interesting Notes. Braddock's Secretary Shirley wrote to Governor Morris, "We have a General most judiciously chosen for being disqualified for the service. While encamped at Fort Cumberland nearly 6 weeks in May and April, Franklin by great efforts obtained of the Pennsylvania Assembly the following provisions for the Army: 50 oxen, loo sheep, 12 hams, 8 cheeses, 24 flasks oil, 10 loaves sugar, 1 cask raisins, I box spices, i box pickles, 5 kegs vinegar, I keg herring, 2 chests lemons, 2 kegs spirits, i barrel potatoes, 3 tubs butter, 8 kegs biscuits. For each one of the subalterns a box, made up of 6 pounds loaf sugar, 6 pounds muscavado sugar, i pound green tea, i pound Bohea tea, 6 pounds coffee, 6 cheeses, ^ chest white biscuit, }4 pound pepper, i Gloucester cheese, i keg butter, 2 doz old Madeira wine, 2 gal. Jamaica sherrets, i bottle mustard, 2 hams, Yi, doz. dried tongues, 6 pounds rice, 6 pounds raisins. Commodore Anson sailed round the world 1740, Keppel with him in the Centurion 60 guns. Staff of Braddock's Army. Edward Braddock, General Cominandt'r in Chief; Robert Orme, Esquire, Roger Morris, Esquire, George West, Esquire, Aides de Camp; William Shirley, Esquire, Brother of Governor Shirley, Secretary. Sir John St. Clair, Department Quartermaster General British Army in North Amei-ica; Matthew Lewis, General assistant ; Francis Halket, Esquire, Major of the Brigade. Officers Virginia Troops. Captains Stevens, *Waggener, *Polson, *Peyronie, Stewart. Lieutenants ^Hamilton, Woodward, *Wright, Spilt Lorper. Stewart, *Waggener McNeill. ^Killed HISTORY OF THE LONG VANISHED TOWN OF COL.CHESTKR ON THE OCCOQUAN RIVER. I hear the tread of pioneers The echoes of a mighty world Of Nations yet to be — Are rounding into form. The first low wash of waves Where soon shall roll a human sea. Each rude and jostling fragment Soon its fitting place shall find — The rudiments of empire here The raw material of a state, Are plastic yet and warm, • Its muscle and its mind. We are prone to grope with patience and perseverance through the darkness which shrouds the vistas of remote antiquity, and are content if here and therein our toil- some research, some glimmering ray reveals to our delighted vision the mystic un- foldings of a new historic fact relating to the beginnings of kingdoms and empires long vanished from the earth. We never weary of the stories of the dynasties of Assyria, Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome and their crumbled cities. We delight to trace the streains of the old world, and become in our infatuation familiar with every torrent and every brook. We visit in fancy the borders of the Eurotas, and linger by ■the side of the golden Hermus. The annals of the early empires with their long series of conquests and wars of ambition and revenge allure us more than the stories of our courageous colonists who caine not with the sword nor spear, not for conquest nor plunder, but to subdue the wilderness ranges, extend the domain of civilization and the useful arts, and to proclaim the glad tidings of great joy unto all i)eople. We have not cared sufficiently to preserve the scattered fragments of their impor- tant and interesting history. Incur forgetfulness and indifference, many a precious document has been irretrievably lost — many a valuable tradition has been unheeded and suffered to pass without record. Why should not their trials, their labors, their life histories and experiences claim our deep and abiding interest and our pious and unreniitting care, to gather up and place beyond the possibility of destruction every- thing of moment pertaining to them. They have left us no ivy-crowned towers, no mouldering castles, nor moated gates to tell of princely power and lordly sway, no heraldic renown, no stories of empty pomp and pageant, but heritages of far greater value they have given us, which as their descendants it is our duty to cherish, preserve and carefully perpetuate. For these considerations we owe them kindly mention, and should do them honor by the reverential respect of a grateful remembrance. They were of the earth earthy we know, and like all the generations which preceded them they were born to evil and if they had their foibles, perhaps we may not greatly err in passing them over with lenient consideration, even with forgetfulness. If all their customs and usuages do not exactly square with our standards of ethics we must remember that the world moves on with its generations of progress and changes. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 67 They were the brave and adventurous pioneers in the wilderness. They were the outposts of civilization on the remote shores of" the new world. They made it possible for us and those who shall come after us in the coming time, to enjoy certain inalien- able rights, among which are "liberty and the pursuit of happiness." They upturned the lands and produced the harvests. They founded the homes and neighborhoods. They set the hearthstones and altars. They brought the germs of progress and reforms and were the makers and builders of our empire. In our gratitude for what they did, let us not forget them. If in the past we have not been as industrious gleaners as we might have been of the fields of their exploits and experiences, even now, at this advanced period, it is not too late to explore the contents of old boxes and trunks in loft and garret, and bring to light their bundles of faded letters, their ledgers and their ancient books, wills and title deeds, not too late to interview the living witnesses whose memories reach far back on the pathway of forgotten events; not too late for reverent hearts and kindly hands to erect over the dust of William Fairfax, of Belvoir, the paternal counselor, and the true and trusted friend and adviser of our Washington, a fitting memorial to his public services and nobility of character; not too late to rescue from fast consuming decay the once stately mansion of Wood Lawn, erected by the loving munificence of George Washington for his adopted daughter, and neice, Nellie Custis Lewis who passed within its spacious walls twenty years of hernoble and and exemplary life; not too late to do merited justice and honor to the memory and eminent services of a distinguished Virginia hero, of whom it may be said, that for patriotism, soldierly skill and deeds of valor, magnanimity of character, and integrity of purpose he was second to no other officer who drew sword in the long continental struggle and of whom we shall have occasion to make particular mention further on in our sketch; not too late to care for all other burial places and homes and heroes around which and whom cluster so many associations of the "dear dead past" of our old Virginia commonwealth. It certainly is not too late for us to organize historical societies where none have existed before. Every county of our State should have one of these useful organizations, auxiliary to the very useful parent society at Richmond, with active workers in every township, to collect the fragments of historic data here and there variously scattered, and not yet made avail- able to the annalists; and as fast as gathered, this information should be published in the county newspapers for preservation as well as for items of general interest; and in this connection, we should remember in every step of our researches that many things which seem trivial to us now, may become very important a century or even a decade hence, and we should not allow them to be lost when it lies in our way to save them. There may be in some of our homes many faded letters telling of hopes and struggles in the revolutionary contest that would make their writer's names bright on the nation's record, were not the number of those who rendered that our golden age so countless. Pious is the task of tracing the services of some reverend ancestor, who gave whatever he had to give when his country called, but whose name is not now remembered. Those days are fast becoming, to our younger race, almost mythical, so that every living word from the actors in them becomes of use in vivifying scenes that else would seem dim fables. To stimulate to these historic researches into the olden times which we owe to the generations of the past, as well as to those of the future, I have prepared as the result of long and varied reseaches among all known available sources of reliable informa- tion the following: 6S SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS SKETCH OFTHE VANISHED TOWN OF CO LCH ESTER, ON THE OCCOQUAN, which our readers will find to be not merely a neighborhood history but one which will embrace in its scope, covering a period or more than a century, notices of events, circumstances and personages of much more than local significance. "Sunk are their bowers in shapeless ruin all And the long grass o'ertops the mouldering wall, No busy steps the grass grown foot-way tread, For all the flowery flush of life has fled." The early colonists who were lured to the province of Virginia by the stories of ils many advantages as a place for European settlement, found no region of its vast and varied territory more inviting than that which borders the river Occoquan. Its timber of every needed variety for the construction of habitations, boats and all other economic appliances of civilized life was abundant and everywhere its lands, agreeably diversified by hill and vale, were naturally fertile and easy of tillage: perennial springs gushed profusely from every hillside, and the river was deep and capacious enough for seagoing vessels. Most prominent of all the attractions was that of the transparency of the atmosphere to the new comer from over the seas, and after his experiences with, the dense and gloomier airs of his native land. Almost every object in the new realm must have been to him a source of wonder and delight. Such abundant picturesque and grand scenes as met his eyes must have fully com- pensated him for leaving his old English home and making the long and perilous OLD FERRY OVER THE OCCOQUAN ocean voyage. There was no need to scramble for anything for comfort. The woods and the streams and morasses yielded enough for all. As the red man gave way to his smarter brother, the pale face, and moved to other hunting grounds far away to the west, Virginia becaAie m truth a garden of luxury and abundance to all who came with earnest resolves and willing hands to its domains. So early as the year 1650 a few pioneers from the low lands of the Potomac and James, braving the hardships of the wilderness territory, and risking the hostility of the many lurking Indians, who still menaced the peace and lives of the white men, OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 6g built here and there on the far frontiers, their isolated cabins and opened the way for future comers. On the Maryland side of the Potomac the tide of civilization had been steadily advancing with axe and plow from the St. Mary's settlement upward. Calvert had commenced there his proprietary government in 1634 and although a Roman Catholic, had invited settlers of all creeds to make their homes within his pleasant borders. Father White and his sacrificing band of missionaries were ex- tending their stations and preaching their faith to the natives who roamed the shores of the iNIattawoman and the Piscataway. Many Scotch families, among whom were the Edraudsons, the McGreggors (Magruders), BoWies, Addisons and others were occupying the fine situations between the Piscataway and the Eastern branch, then included in the county of St, Mary's which stretched indefinitely to the valley of the Ohio. A few years later they organized an Episcopal congregation and erected at the head of Broad creek in St. John's parish, the first building for public worship in that service in the province of Maryland. They made large cleariugs of the fertile land and established a busy shipping port for their tobacco. The surveyor was busy with compass and chain running his lines over the densely wooded region now occupied by the cities of Washington, Georgetown and their far reaching suburbs. In 168S the exclusive right and title to all of that vast region known as the Northern Neck of Virginia, from which have been partitioned and established the counties of Northiunberland, Lancaster, Richmond, Westmoreland, King George, Prince William, Stafford, Fairfax, Loudoun, Fauquier, Culpeper, Madison, Page, Shenandoah, Hardy, Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley, JefTeison, Frederick and Clarke descended to and was vested in Lady Catharine Culpeper, widow of the colonial governor, and Lord Thomas Fairfax, his grandson, who jointly empowered George Brent, of Woodstock, Stafford county, and William Fitzhugh, of Eagle's Nest, same county, as agents to issue j)atents for all unsettled lands in the said Neck, lying between and bounded by the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and their afifluents. The first title to Lord Culpeper had been derived from letters patent granted to him by King James in 16S8. Most of the territory now included within the bounds of lower Fairfax was soon covered by patents issued to Giles Brent, Charles Broadwater, William Fitzhugh, Robert Flovvson, George Mason, Daniel McCarty, Rice Hooe, William Fairfax, Robert Alexander, Richard Ousley, Nicholas Spencer, Lieut. -Col. John Washington, Wm. Greene, William Dudley and others. The number of acres conveyed to Spen- cer and Washington, March ist, 1674, by Thomas, Lord Culpeper, was five thousand, which were paid for in white immigrants at fifty acres a head. This Washington was great-grandfather of the general and one of the prominent actors in the Bacon rebel- lion of 1676 as will be noticed further on in our sketch.. He was master of a ship for some years trading between England and the province, carrying out tobacco, timber, iron and other commodities and bringing in white servants to the planters. The patent of Washington and Spencer included all that tract of land lying on the Potomac and between the two screams known as Little Hunting Creek and Dogue or Epsevvasson creek, the 2,500 acres lying along the first named creek falling by division to Washington and the 2,500 acres lying along the last named creek falling to Spencer which were subsequently purchased by the heirs of Washington. Brent's patent included all that part of the Mount Vernon estate, tvi^o thousand acres in ex- tent Iving north of T^ittle Hunting creek and along the Potomac and known for many years first as Piscataway then Clifton's Neck and later as the River Farm of Mount Vernon, through which runs the Washington and Mount Vernon Electric Railway for four miles of its course. This patent was granted in 1654. In 1669 a patent was granted by William Berkeley, governor of Virginia, to Robert Howscn. This included a scope of 6000 acres of land fronting on the Potomac river and extend- ing from Great Hunting creek to Pomit's Run near the Little Falls above the present cite of Georgetown. A tobacco rolling warehouse was some years after, established on the site of the present town of Alexandria, then called Belle Haven. The name of -^ 70 SOME OLD HISTOKIC LANDMARKS these warehouses was suggested doubtless by the method of transporting the hogsheads of tobacco, which was the fixing of shafts to the outer ends of an axle passed length- wise through the hogshead. The rolling roads were but little wider than the casks, and the horses or oxen were harnessed tandem. Howson did not hold his patent long but disposed of it to John Alexander, of the county of Stafford, who soon partitioned it to others. On this land settlements liad been made by squatters to some extent by the beginning of 1700, and in 1738 a public warehouse for the storing of tobacco was already in use at the head of Great Hunting creek, not far from the present fording of Cameron run. Then, there was deep water at that point and large vessels could come in and take on cargoes. In 1748, by an act of the General Assembly, "sixty acres of land, parcel of the lands of Philip Alexander, John Alexander and Hugh West, situate, lying and being on the south side of Potomac river about the mouth of Great Hunting creek, in the county of Fairfax, shall be surveyed and laid out by the surveyor of said county for a town, and the Right Honorable Thomas, Lord Fairfax, the Hon. William Fairfax; Esqrs. George William Fairfax, Richard Osborne,- Lawrence Washington, William Ramsay, John Carlyle, John Pagan, Gerard Alexander, Hugh West and Philip Alexander were appointed directors and trustees for designing, building, carrying on and maintaining said town and laying ofif its streets and market place. And thus, the Hunting creek settlement became an incorporated borough and a port of entry, with the privilege of holding "two general fairs each year for the sale and vending of all manner of cattle, vituals, provisions, goods, wares and merchandise whatever." To go back in our story, the years of 1675 ^^^ 'l^> were fraught with dire calami- ties to the Virginia colonists. Their policy toward the Indians had not been of that character to cultivate amity and good feeling and grievously, as the sequel proved, they were to suffer for it. The Indians before the coming of the English had selected for their settlements the places most advantageous to them with regard to fishing, hunt- ing and maize cultivation, and these the colonists coveted and encroached upon. The Indians before superior force retreated reluctantly mile by mile into the fastness- es of the wilderness and for many years, in retaliation kept up harrassing depreda- tions upon the advancing settlements, .until the laborers on the plantations, the families in their homes and the wayfarers on the highways were in continual fear of being cut off by the lurking foemen who were from time to time succored by new accessions of other tribes from the head waters of the rivers and who had been driven southward before more powerful tribes with whom they had long been at war. At length, the troubl'es between the two races culminated in what is known in history as Bacon's Rebellion, which occurred during the administration of Governor Berkeley. The outlines of the story of this conflict which are all we can now give are these: One Sunday morning in 1675 ^^ some settlers south of Great Hunting creek in the parish of Truro, then included in the county of Stafford but now in the county of Fairfax, were repairing to the church, presumably the original, of that at Pohick, they found the bodies of Robert Hen, a herdsman and his companion a friendly Indian, mortally wounded by the door of their isolated cabin in the forest. They had been hacked by knives and tomahawks and left for dead. Hen had just sufficient breath to utter the name "Doegs" — meaning that the murderous work had been done by some of that tribe, the tribe which roamed the territory now occupied by the counties of Fairfax and Prince William and whose chief town of Assaomeck was on the Potomac four miles below Alexandria. A boy who had been concealed in the cabin came out and related how the Indians had come at the break of day and committed the murders. News of the occurrence soon spread through the various settlements, and Col. Geo. Mason, commanding the infantry rangers and Capt. Giles Brent commanding the cavalry, a kind of standing army which had been raised and equipped and kept in readiness for such emergencies by the county of Stafford, crossed the Occoquan by the ferry and started in pursuit of the Doegs, whom they drove twenty miles up the OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 71 river and came upon them at dawn surprising them in their cabins and slaying many of their number among whom was their king. Doubtless the scene of their massacre was the settlement at Assaomeck already mentioned. Such of the Indians as escaped crossed the river and sought the protection of the Piscataways in Maryland. Other Indians fleeing before the pursuit of the colonists further down the river had also taken refuge under the same protection, and all were combined by league, and to- gether they proceeded to fortify themselves against the whites somewhere on the heights now occupied by ihe defenses of Fort Washington. There they "threw up," according to the chronicler of the time "high banks of earth around their town with flankers having many loopholes, and around this they dug a ditch, and outside of all, they built a high palisade of timbers wattled together and thickly interlaced with sapplings." Within these defenses they deemed themselves safe and proclaimed defiance to colonial forces. To dislodge them from their stronghold, a body of one thousand militia, foot and horse, was speedily raised m Virginia and placed under the command of Col. John Washington, the first immigrant of that name to Virginia and the great gran,dfather of tlie revolutionary leader. This command was joined by several hundred more from Maryland, and siege was laid to the fortified place of the savages. The conflict was waged with fierceness and malignity. After it had continued for some days and many desperate sallies had been made from the fort, six chiefs were sent out as messengers to treat for reconcilliation. These were shot down and the siegers continued their work until the end of six weeks, when the Indians in desperation, to avoid starvation, rushed in a body from their defenses only to fall victims many of them, to the fury of their foemen who gave them no quarter. The massacre of the natives was almost complete. Vengeance was satisfied and the power of the natives forever broken. This war was not vvaged with the concurrence of the governor and his council; but it was at the instance of the planters who assumed the responsibility of the movements and chose for their leader the intrepid Nathaniel Bacon one of the many actors in the events of the world's history who have had to wait through the lapse of time for a proper appreciation and recognition of their services in the cause of governmental reforms. Berkeley was a royalist and believed that all government should emanate from the king and not from the people. Free schools and the printing press were abominations in his sight, for they enlightened the masses and made possible popular rule. At a session of the General Assembly in 1679, it was ordered "that for the further security of the frontier parts of Virginia from the incursions, of the Indians, a fort be built near Occoquan river, strong and well covered, sixty foot long and twenty-two foot broad, and one small house of tenne foot square to be strongly built for amunition, both which to be built and paid for at the public charge," and that Major Isaac Allerton and Colonel George Mason take upon them to provide the several! necessarys hereafter mentioned for the said workc and houses, for which they shall be reimbursed by the publique, in the county of Stafford, that is to say — eight thousand eight penny nails, five thousand ten penny nails — foure iron pots of about eight gallons each with pot hookes — four iron pestles — two haire sifters — twelve milke trayes — six spades — two crosscut saws — six wedges — two broadaxes — six hilling hoes — two drawing knives — two hand t>aws — one grind stone — two hammers — six gimlets — two augurs — one adze — two frying pans — ten bushels of salt and foure wash tubs. This fort was to be garrisoned by able and sufficient mounted men, "eache a case of good pistolls — Carbine or shot gun and a sword, together with two pounds of leaden bullets or high swan shot and also that the garrison be provided with five bushels of shelled Indian corn and two bushels of meal — eighty pounds of goode, well salted porke, or one hundred pounds of well salted beefe for foure months, for such men and horses." The garrison was to be supplied with "a goode boate and oares to pass over the streame, foure horses at a time." 72 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS The ruins of this fort or "block house" were remembered by old residents of the locality living forty years ago, and according to their accounts, it stood on the brow of the hill, south of the river, near the old ferry highway. Before the year 1735 a large portion of the region between the Occoquan and the Potomac had been occupied, cleared of its forests and put under cultivation. A regular ferry had been established as early as 1725 "for the convenient transportation across the Occoquan of coaches, wagons, and other carriages and travelers on foot at the following rates of ferriage: For every footman, 3 pence; for every head of neat cattle, 3 pence; for every horse, 3 pence; for every coach, chariot or chaise with four wheels, or a wagon, 18 pence; for every two wheel chariot or cart, 10 pence and for a hogshead of tobacco, 3 pence and no more." Under an act of the General Assembly protecting the franchises of all ferr)men of the colony at that time in force and for 100 years thereafter, "any person convicted of setting a wayfarer over a stream near to a ferry" was made liable to pay for every such offence five pounds lawful money of the commonwealth. In 1675 ^'^^ county of Stafford had ordered "that a boat be kept at this ferry" in continual readiness night and day to carry over the mounted rangers in pursuit of prowling savages." Here also was located one of a chain of blockhouses occupied by scouts, watchers and overlookers. This was fifty years before the regular King's Highway was established from Williamsburg to the Blue Ridge. These scouts had a roving commission from the governor with orders "to protect the frontiers at all hazards." Each trooper was well and completely armed with a case of good' pistols, a carbine or short gun and a cutting sword, together with two pounds ot powder and ten pounds of lead bullets or high swan shot and beef and hard biscuit. No chronicler has left us the story of the deeds of those rangers, of their perilous expeditions, forays and encounters. They remain dead secrets in the valleys, among the hills and mountain slopes and along the rivers and creeks. We only know that they established security in the solitudes and that the axe and the plow and the cabin followed fast in their traces. Previous to 1740 many families came into the Occoquan region from Scotland and their descendants are now known by the familiar names of McCarty, McGreggor now Magruder, Maxwell, Henderson, Campbell, Jaraieson, Adams, Randal, Douglas. Carlyle, McPherson, McCrea, Grayson, Lawson, Robinson, Kenedy, Kinchelo, Fergur- son. Grant, Powell, Neville, Hooe, Edmundson, Graham, Murray, Thornton, Drum- mond and many others. Tobacco was the great and all absorbing staple product of the new and fertile plantations along the Occoquan and public warehouses were established by law for its storage and official inspection. The location of these houses was on the stream at the ferry for the King's Highway running down to Williamsburg, the provincial capital, one hundred and fifty miles distant. The inspectors were ap- pointed by the governor and council on the recommendation of the courts, and they were enjoined under severe penalties from allowing the storage of any but the best qualities of the crops. The "ferry," the warehouses, store and tavern became in time the nucleus of quite a numerous settlement and was the social as well as the trad- ing centre of the country for many miles around. Previous to 1742 the ferry neighbor- hood was included within the boundsof "Truro parish" of Prince William county but in that year it became a part of the new county of Fairfax. Prince William had been set off from the counties of Stafford and King George in 1730 with the county seat at Dumfries, then a flourishing shipping port on the Quantico. In 1753, eleven years after the organization of Fairfax, through the influence of Lawrence Washington, half brother of George who represented the new county in the House of Burgesses, an order was secured for the laying off of lots for a town at the Occoquan ferry, the provisions of which we cite from Henning's Statutes of Virginia: "It having been represented to the General Assembly of Virginia that a town on Occoquan river on lands of Peter Wagener, would be very convenient to navigation OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND 73 and trade and contribute to the advantage and convenience of frontier inhabitants, twenty-five acres of land are hereby ordered to be set apart, laid out and surveyed in to lots with convenient streets, a place for landing of boats on the river and a market square — the lots to be disposed of at auction to the highest bidder with the conditions that each purchaser be required to erect on each lot within two years, one house of brick or stone, or well framed wood, at least twenty feet square, with nine feet pitch, with brick or stone chimneys, and in default of these conditions the lot or lots are to revert back to the person or persons from whom purchased, and Peter VVagener. Daniel McCarty, John Barry, William Elzey and Edward Washington are hereby ap- pointed commissioners to carry out the provisions of this charter." This order was dated 1753. One year after this, the survey was made by George West. Forty-two lots were staked off, the most of them with 142 feet fronts by 165 feet in depth on streets 60 feet wide as is shown on the accompanying map made at the time by the county surveyor. Col. George Mason, ofGunston, in after years so distinguished as a sagacious. statesman and a trusted public servant in many important positions of his State, and Daniel McCarty, of Cedar Grove, were the first directors of the new town. The former of the two being the owner of several thousand acres near adjoining, the gre Iter portion of which being under cultivation in tobacco and grain, was particularly interested in the establishment of a shipping port so convenient for his products, and this solicitude for the success of the place like that of McCarty also an extensive planter continued through all his years. The town lots laid off were soon purchased by enthusiasts who believed they fore- saw great success for their ventures. There were no mines of the precious metals from which to make fortunes in a day, but nature's other resources for all of life's comforts and luxuries lay in profusion all about them, waiting only for the appointed hands of development. Houses rose apace, most of them wood and stone, and stores and ordina- ries were opened and multiplied as adventurers gathered, and eventually the streets were extended beyond their original limits and many additional lots were laid off. Essex was the principal street and Potomac and Fairfax the principal cross streets. Through Essex coursed the King's Highway. Commodious landings and piers were construct- ed where large vessels could lie safe at moorings, for there was no stint of oaks and pines in the near woods, and of quarries. All the conditions and possibilities seemed favorable and encouraging for the growth of a large town. I have seen a letter in a Philadelphia paper of a few years later written by a tourist through Virginia who thus alludes to the newly established port. "I was ferried over the Occoquan, a deep and capacious stream with romatic surroundings and pleasant prospects, where a town has been projected and chartered and called Colchester. It is beautifully situated in a fine region, has wide streets with an ample market space and substantial landings. Numerous houses have been built, some of them quite elegant, and vessels from Europe often come into the docks with cargoes of broadcloths, kersies, dufifields, cot- tons, crapes, rugs, blankets, Norwich stuffs, linens, furniture, wearing apparel, calicos, Persians, Taffaties, and other East India silks, Holland sheetings, wines, spices, coffee, tea, sugars, tropic fruits, axes, locks, hinges, nails, carpenters' joiners' and 'smiths' tools, fire arms, anchors and all other supplies needed for a new and thriving settle- ment. These ships take back with them tobacco, indian corn, wheat, flour, pork, hemp, masts, staves, boards, walnut planks, iron ore and furs. Imported commodities are sent coastwise in shallops and other small sailing craft to many other points on the tidewater, and a large trade in all kinds of provisions is kept with remote posts on the frontiers and over the mountains by the two great wagon roads to William's and Vestal's gaps on the Shenandoah. I dined at the Essex House, a commodious tavern or ordinary near the ferry, built partly of stone and partly of wood, with great outside chimneys of stone having capacious fireplaces. The dinner was of smoking venison and fish taken from wood and water that morning, and supplemented with tempting cakes of maize and a pitcher of excellent cider. The rate was one shilling and six pence which I did not demur at for so good a repast." Another traveller a few years 74 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS after tells of his entertainment at the "Arms 'of Fairfax," where all manner of good tare was provided for the guest. The population of Fairfax in 1756 was of whites 5,488, and of negroes 1,842, but the county then extended indefinitely up the river, for Loudoun was not partitioned oiT until the year after. As the years went on, the incoming ships for outward cargoes of tobacco brought constantly new accessions of settlers and took back encouraging re- ports of the advantages of the place for trade and traffic. Travel was increasing on the King's Highway and new plantations were opening near and afar beyond. The knights of the "Golden Horse Shoe" under the lead of the gallant Spottswood had opened the way through the Blue Ridge Barrier to the fabled terra incognita beyond and shown that it was not a "land of venemous reptiles and pestilential ex- halations" as the story had gone with the colonists for more than a hundred years after the planting of Jamestown, but a goodly realm of great rivers and wholesome springs, and valleys deep with the forest mould of centuries. Dumfries was a flourish- ing place on Quantico creek, twelve miles below, though never so large, and Alexan- dria, on the Potomac twenty miles higher up, had been begun three years in advance of the Occoquan borough but neither of then) was considered a dangerous competitor for the increasing business of the upper Potomac region. Colchester in colonial times was doubtless a busy and stirring settlement. It was named ior an ancient borough and market town on the river Coin in the county of Essex, England, fifty one miles from London, and the former home of some of the projectors, notably Peter Wagener, who was born there in 1717, his father being Rev. Peter Wagener, rector of Sisted Parish. Peter the son, as already stated, owned the land on which Colchester was built. He was possessed of large tracts of land in the neighborhood and for forty-three years from 1752 he was clerk of the county of Fair- fax. He died in 1795 aged 78 years. The fact that an order of the court was given in 1752 for the removal of the county records from Colchester to Springfield on the old Braddock road eighteen miles above Alexandria, gives plausibility, even certainty, to the supposition that the regular sessions of the county were held there for the first ten years of its history; that is, the official terms of clerks Catesby Cooke to 1746, and John Graham to 1752. The new town on the Occoquan had a deep and navigable waterway and became in brief time the center of a large tobacco and grain trade. To its spacious warehouses from every direction by the rolling roads came great quantities of the Virginia staple in rolling hogsheads, and large square rigged and other vessels went sailing away with cargoes of it to the distant ports of London, Amsterdam, Madeira and Lisbon. At one time if we are to believe traditionary accounts, there were thirty stores and some of them quite extensive for the time. It had a bank of exchange, a tannery, several cooperies, bakeries, smiths and wagon shops, a furnance and forge, flour mills a rope walk, snuff factory, and other industries needed by an increasing population. Burnaby in his travels through "the middle parts of the colonies" in 1759 says: "There are iron works, furnaces and forges worked by cuts from the Occoquan just above Colchester, carried on by John Ballandine a very ingenious gentleman, which are of great public utility. The trade of this port consists chiefly ot tobacco and wheat and there is a very fine back country to support it and a considerable number of ships are laden here annually." A theatre was kept up also for the numerous showmen and mountebanks who then strolled the opening country. The same traveler alludes also to these strollers and describes one of their theatrical performances in an empty tobacco warehouse artistically fitted up for the occasion. For the through travel from and to Williamsburg, Fredericksburg, Dumfries and other buroughs lying on the great highway below, and also for that of the travel between the ferry and the mountains above, there were established a number of ordi- naries or inns. The "Essex House" and the "Arms of Fairfax" have already been OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 75 mentioned. The name of only one other has been handed down — the "Cross Keys," which stood somewhere in the neighborhood of the landing. The market house as already noted was on Essex street. Here were held also the fairs and all public gatherings of a secular nature. The fairs were authorized by law and often lasted for days, during which the rural population for miles around came in and there was high carnival of good cheer and merry making in which doubtless the roistering element had its full share. Cider, beer and other beverages of a more po- tential nature contributed to the general mirth, hilarity and abandon. Pohick Church edifice, five miles distant, accommodated all who were religiously inclined. The services there were of the established or royal Church of England. Every other religious service was prohibited in the colony by the most oppressive penal- ties. Davis, an English traveler, who passed much of his time in this neigborhood THE ARMS OF FAIRFAX. about 1800 published a book of his observations which he inscribed to Thomas Jefferson. He was a teacher in the family of Thomas EUicot, a Quaker and proprietor then of the flour mill a short distance above the ferry. In his book he thus describes a visit to the ancient parish church "I rode to Pohick on Sunday and joined the congregation of parson Weems, a minister of the Episcopal church who was cheerful in his mien that he might win men to religion. A Virginia church yard on a Sunday resembles rather a race course than a sepulchral ground. The ladies come to it in carriages, and the men after dismounting from their horses make them fast to the trees. P.ut the steeples to the Virginia churches are designed not for utility but for ornament; for the bell is always suspended to a tree a few yards distant. I was astounded on entering the yard to hear "Steed threaten steed with high and boastful neigh." Nor was I less stunned by the rattling of carriage wheels, the cracking of whips and the vociferations of the gentry to the negroes who accompanied them. But the 76 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS discourse of Mr. Weems calmed every perturbation; for he preached the great doctrine of salvation as one who had felt its powers." This was the church where George Washington frequently attended religious service. He was also one of its vestry, as had been his father Augustine, and contributed largely to its support. It was distant about five miles from Mt. Vernon. "■ Parson Weems was the author of a "life" of Washington, a book abounding in many curious and quaint descriptions which set all the established canons of criticism and rules of taste at utter defiance. It was published in 1808. Weems, first of all others in his book related the oft heard story of the "little hatchet." He little thought when his story shaped itself in his imagination that it was to descend to posterity andbe grounded into the heads of children in the nursery as a piece of immortal and instruct- ive truth. The book is very rare now, and not often to be found, save on the shelves of old libraries, but it will well repay a perusal to any one who can find it, for its quaint style and lofty flights of language, j POHICK CHURCH. The remains of parson Weems lie entombed in the old family burying ground of Belle Air a few miles from Dumfries. Davis thus speaks of the "ordinaries" of Colchester: "They are not inferior to those of the market towns of old England, having numerous and convenient apartments with carpets and looking glasses ; and no man more complaisant and courteous than the landlords. Only enter their houses with money in your pocket and their features soften into the blandishments of delight. Call, and your mandates are obeyed. Extend your leg and th^^ bootjack is forthcoming. Every luxury that money can pur- chase may be had at first summons. The choicest viands cover the tables, and ice cools the Madeira which has been thrice across the ocean." With such sumptuous fare provided, and such accomodating offices from "mine hosts," surely those who OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 77 came over to visit their friends in the newly planted colony must have been favorably impressed with the country's hospitality and resources. At that time wild game of all kinds was plentiful in the forests, and fish of excellent varieties were abundant in all the streams. The entire land was indeed a veritable Canaan with milk and honey everywheie abounding. The keeper of every ordinary or tavern in the ancient -borough was required by law to keep posted on his door for public inspection the following scale of prices to govern his charges for diet and toddies. This scale was ordered by the court of Fairfax county in 1755 and was continued the regulation with but little change for half a century — Gallon of rum, Ss; gallon of brandy, los; quart of cider, 4d ; quart of madeira, 2s 6d; ^ill of rum made into a punch v.'ith loaf sugar, 6d; do with brown sugar, 46; one doz. Eng strong beer, is 6d; do porter, is; a hot diet with small beer or cider, is 6d; a night's lodging with clean sheets, 6d; one gallon corn or oats for horse, 4d; stabling and fodder for horse twenty four hours 6d. The region around Colchester, now overgrovvn with pines, cedars and sedge grass or yielding but meagre returns to the small farmer with his scattered patches of corn and market products; were then planted in the old Virginia staple, and as prices were mostly good in the European markets, the planter prospered under his cheap labor system and exemption from opipressive taxation and had money to spend at store and tavern. In 1758 healthy negro boys arrived in the colony for the plantations were bought for from 20 to 30 pounds sterling and adults from 40 to 50 pounds, and tobacco of first quality commanded from 15 to 20 shillings per hundredweight. ' In Colchester occurred the circumstance related of parson Weems, when he unex- pectedly filled the role of fiddler for a strolling show of "Punch and Judy" in the absence of the regular musician. A large audience, composed chiefly of the parson's parishioners, had assembled to witness the performance, but at the eleventh hour it was found that the company's fiddler had been imbibing too much "rum" or Madeira to accompany the play with harmony of sweet sounds. So, knowing that Weems who was no sorry player, was on the ground, the showman was only too glad to press his reverence in for the emergency and it was not long before everything was going merry as a marriage bell. But unluckily one of the crowd, too curious in such matters, just before the close of the play, raising the curtain, disclosed to view the familiar face of the jovial and merry making parson. But the disclosure, instead of working to his discredit was promptly and considerately overlooked and forgiven when he came forward with bland and smiling countenance and told the audience by way of expla- nation of his little irregularity, that "out of kindness and the purest of motives he had determined that thev should not be disappointed in an innocent amusement. Weems was termed the ''fiddling parson," and the story goes that like good old Lyman Beecher, of New England, he was as much at home in the semi- quavers and demisemi quavers of the jig and the hornpipe as in the slower and more staid measures of hymn and psalmody. It is related of him that on a Saturday night he would repair to the mansion nearest the church and as soon as the evening meal was over and he had officiated with due solemnity at prayers which came directly after supper, he would produce his violin and according as the season permitted, in the parlor, the hall or on the portico would entrance the assembled auditory with a performance which long remained the delight of the story teller and a traditional model to all ambitious fiddlers. He was particularly pleased with the scores of sable listeners who were wont to crowd under the windows or in the passages; for he knew well that the more they were delighted with his music the more certain they were to be at church service next Sunday. Our parson of Truro parish was doubtless a sincere, enthusiastic, honest clergyman, the enemy of gambling, intemperance and most of the prevailing vices of his day, against which he wrote books which had' great popularity, going through many /b SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS editions and he is said to have been the genial and winning advocate of virtue and religion, the warmth of his heart and his many kindly cfhces endearing him to the people of all classes wherever he went, and preparing them to give a fond ear to his fervid appeals for truth. Above all he was an ardent partriot whose enthusiasm for the liberties of his countrymen was the master passion of his soul. He was no ascetic, and did not go his ways moping and groaning in spirit because of the ills of life around him. His "odor of sanctity" that he left with his vestments in the sacristy offended no one. Of the eccentric but well meaning and striving parson whose dust rests unmarked in the family burying ground of historic Belle Air mansion, but a short distance from Occoquan, we may perhaps speak as did the poet Goldsmith of the preacher of the "Deserted Village of Auburn." "Unskillful he to fawn or kees for power. By doctrine fashion'd to the varying hour; Far other aims his heart had learned to prize, More bent to raise the wTetched than to rise. His house was known to all the vagrant train, He chi'd their wanderings, but relieved their pain; The long remembered beggar was his guest," "The ruined spendthrift now no longer proud, Claim'd kindred there and had his claim allowed. Pleas'd with his guests the good man learned to glow, And quite forgot their vices in their woe." PARSON WEEM.'i. Those were quaint times, times of large moral and religious license. The morals were loose and permitted wide departure from the more rigorous standards of our straight laced time?. Church observances were kept up in strict conformity with the traditional usages and fashion prevailing in old England and the creed and rituals of the church were not lost sight of, but beyond this there did not seem to be, judging through the lapse of time much fervent religious zeal among the laity or clergy. It was customary after Church services, says Fontaine in his account of the manners and customs of those early times in Virginia, for the congregation to fill their pipes with the fragrant plant and indulge in a friendly smoke. At that time all the clergymen of the different parishes of the province were appoint- ed by the governor on the recommendation of the bishop of London, and the annual stipend of each one of them was sixteen thousand ])Ounds of tobacco, made and provided by legislative enactment. The value of this salary, however, was variable by reason of the changes in the market price consequent on the quantity sliipped to Europe and also on account of the quality or kind of tobacco. In some parishes only "Oronoco" could be raised which was inferior to "sweet scented." Many a poor clergyman's household was filled with joy at tidings of his promotion from an Oronoco parish to a sweet scented parish as they are described in the old vestry books. But there were many parishes where little or no tobacco could be grown to advantage and these were left without regular ministrations. The Virginia settlers were social and convivial to a wonderful degree. They had jione of the gloomy austerity and morbid piety of the New England puritan. Our popular evangelizing methods had not yet sprung up among them nor were they vexed by the expostulations of our temperance societies. No gathering was there among them of any kind whether civil or religious, where foreign or hotne made drinks more or less intoxicating did not form a part of the programme, at the evening party, at the OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. /» horse race, the fox chase, the barbecue, at the election, the mustering and even at the funeral. On every occasion indeed, the flagon and the cup were in order. "They were a gay, happy people; a race of sportsmen, cock fighters and fox hunters, bright, humorous and sociable ; in the saddle by day and feasting and dancing by night ; and we leave them with the impression that the hounds were always baying in Virginia, that the sun shone all day long, and all night the fiddles scraped and the darkies sang, But these men were the strongest intellects of their century. With no pretensions nor show of book learning, they seem to have possessed themselves of all the essential in- formation of their time. They had a soundness of judgment, a breadth of grasp, a lofty ambition and a high and strong sense of honor which made them master minds. "Some subtle combination of climate, life, and thought produced this result, which, like all such things becomes difficult in the last analysis; and unfortunately the Virginians, while they were great makers of history, were not wiiteis. Scraps, relics and ruins are all that remain of their curious and interesting civilization and for many phases of their life, we have only the onesided comments and criticism on its excesses." j The town of Colchester was protected in a time of peace, but afar in the West the war cloud was rising. Early in the spring of 1755 the wild din of the drum and fife of the recruiting sergeant was heard in its streets summoning the inhabitants of town and neighborhood to arms. Startling rumors had been coming down by couriers and fleeing settlers from Winchester and beyond, telling of hostile incursions of the French and their murderous Indian allies from the Ohio valley. Governor Dinwid- dle had issued his proclamation and call for troops for the common defence and they were hurrying from the Virginia counties below, by the great highway and "ferry" to the general rendezvous at Alexandria. The Governor from Williamsburg came up in his vice regal chariot, accompanied by General Braddock, Commodore Keppel and their showy retinues on their way to Alexandria to meet in council of war with the other provincial Governors, Delancy, Morris, Shirley, Sharpe and Dobbs. Keppel's fleet was sailing up the Potomac|from Hampton, bringing the royal troopsjwho were to co-operate with the provincial forces. In the council which was held in the old Carlisle House were to be arranged the details of the prospective campaign which be- fore the close of the succeeding summer was to end so disastrously to the British and pro/incial forces. One company of the "royal guards" followed the general and Governor and camped by general orders for a night at Colchester. Col. ^\ashington had been commissioned to superintend the raising and equipment of volunteers for the war with headquarters at Alexandria. From Colchester went a company of rangers not decked out in gaudy uniforms of scarlet plumes and guilding like the "guards," but in hunting jackets and trousers of plain and coarse materials, but each man had his flint lock musket, his horn of powder, bag of bullets, long knife and tomahawk. Little though'" their brave captain as his hardy men took up their line of march from the banks of the Occoquan that he was soon to see so many of his command fall before the deadly fire of the Indians in ambuscade and the blundering British regulars, in front of the battlements of Fort Duquesne. Here is the story of the slaughter as told in the official account: "The conduct of the Virginia troops was worthy of a better fate. They boldly formed and marched up the hill, only to be fired upon by the frightened royal troops. Captain Wagener brought up eighty men to take possession of a knoll on the top of which a fallen tree was lying, three or four feet in diameter, which he intended to use as a bulwark. He marched up and took possession with shouldered arms, and with a loss of only three men killed by the enemy. As soon as his men discharged their pieces upon the Indians in the ambuscade which was exposed to him from their position, and when the movement might have driven the enemy from their coverts, the smoke of the discharge was seen by the British soldiery and they fired upon the gallant little band, so that they were obliged to leave their position and retreat down the hill with a loss of fifty killed out of eighty. Some of the men who were thus sacrificed had been with Colonel Washington the vear before in the 80 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS expedition to the Great Meadows. Capt. Wagener had been well known by him for years as a neighbor and through often meeting together at the court sessions and other public gatherings of the county, and they were destined to be often thrown together in coming years; for at the commencement ot the revolution Col. Wagener commanded a Virginia regiment and did good service in the continental struggle. During the few years of the troubles with the French and Indians the progress of Colchester was slow, but the days of prosperity came again with the return of peace. The colonies of settlers along the Shenandoah and the streams beyond, now secure in their possessions and pursuits were augmented by large accessions of German and other immigrants ; and the overland trade by the great roads leading to Williams', Vestal and Ashby's gaps flourished more than ever before. Ships came and went with their cargoes, and the town expanded and grew into importance as a port of entry and trading center. The "General Assembly" in 1762 authorized the court of Fairfax "to erect, build and completely furnish so many strong, close and substantial houses as shall be sufficient to contain all the tobacco coming to Colchester for inspec- tion." Colchester was on the great highway or "post road" from Baltimore to Fredericks- burg and other important points of the southern tidewater region, and here is an old advertisement giving the schedule of stage coach travel at the beginning of the present century : "Stage Line From Baltimore to Richmond, — The traveling public is informed that stages leave Balimore daily at 3 a.m. Arrive at Colchester in Virginia the same even- ing before dark, 66 miles. Leave Colchester 3 a. m., arrive at White Chimneys, Hanover county, before dark, 70 miles. Leave White Chimneys 3 a. m. and arrive at Richmond by 10 a. m. 30 miles. Returning leave Richmond 8 a. m., arrive at Bowling Green same evening — 47 miles. Leave Bowling Green 3 a. m. and arrive at Alexandria by dark — 72 miles. Leave Alexandria at 3 a. m. and arrive at Baltimore by 2 p. m." In 1784 Nathaniel Twining was by an act of the general assembly granted the sole and exclusive right of conveying passengers between Alexandria and Richmond, for each passenger five pence per mile and five pence for every 150 pounds of baggage exceeding 14 pounds conveyed in stage coach. In 1787 John Hoomes was granted the exclusive right for the same service at 3 pence 3 farthings per passenger and same charge for 150 pounds of baggage. Washington in one of his diaries thus records one of his experiences at the Colches- ter ferry. "In attempting to cross the Occoquan, April, 179T, with the four horses attached to my chariot, by neglect of the person who stood before them, one of the leaders got overboard, when the boat was in swimming water, fifty yards from the shore. With much difficulty he escaped drowning before he could be disengaged. His struggling frightened the others in such a manner that one after another in quick succession they all got overboard, harnessed and fastened as they were, and with the utmost difficulty they were saved, and the carriage escaped being dragged after them, as the whole of it happened in swimming water and at a distance from the shore, providentially, indeed miraculously, by the exertions of persons who went off in boats and jumped into the river as soon as the batteau was forced into wading water. No damage was sustained by the horses, carriage or harness." The first President had just started out that morning from Mount Vernon, eight miles above, to make a friendly tour, the first after his election, through the States of the South. It was not a very auspicious beginning, but as he was not a superstitious man he kept on, according to his diary, a few extracts of which we give to show his ways of traveling: "Proceeded on to Dumfries where I dined, after which I visited and drank tea with my niece, Mrs. Thomas Lee. Friday 8th. Set out about 6 o'clock ; breakfasted at Stafford Courthouse and dined at my sister Lewis's in Fredericksburg. OF VIKQINIA AND MARYLAND 81 "Saturday 9th, dined at an entertainment given by the citizeRs of the to\¥n. Re- ceived and answered an address from the corporation. Sunday, 19th, left Fredericks- burg about 6 o'clock ; myself, Major Jackson and one servant breakfasted at Gen. Spottswood's — the rest of my servants continued on to Todd's ordinary where they also breakfasted. Dined at Bowling Green, and lodged at Kenner's tavern 14 miles farther, in all 85 miles. A wide contrast we perceive between the primitive and cumbrous way of a chief magistrate making his official rounds among his people with coach and four a century ago and the rapid luxurious ways of transit which he may have at his disposal in our day and generation. Ten years before this experience Washington had crossed the Occoquan by this same ferry with his ragged and battered army, going down to checkmate the move- ments of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. General Lafayette also passed down the same way. The troops of both commands were quartered at Colchester for several days to recruit for the long march before them, and ample commissary supplies were laid in from the stores and mills of the neighborhood. The county lieutenants had been instructed by Washington, "to order out all the local militia to repair the roads by which the troops were to march, and make them passable for wagons, as the baggage trains of the American forces, and the Infantry, artillery and cavalry and the beef cattle were all to take that route," and Washington also wrote to prominent citizens of the different neighborhoods through which the armies were to pass "as a pleasing mark of attention" to assist the French officers, Lafayette, Rochambeau, Chasteleux, and others with their carriages from point to point. Colonel George Mason of Gunston had charge of the Occoquan ferry for some years after the tolls were abolished and received for its maintenance and daily service two thousand jiounds of tobacco annually. Davis, the traveler, already quoted, speaks of a "grand bridge which had supplanted the ferry as having semi-elliptical arches scarce inferior to those of princely London." This was erected by Thomas Mason in 1795. Its building was authorized by the general assembly. In a letter written by George Mason dated 1791, he makes mention of a ship going out from the port laden with tobacco and another lying at the warehouse loading with the same commodity. Among other industries of the place were extensive iron works, a furnace and a forge. The iron was made from a combination of surface or bog ore found near Colchester and magnetic or mountain ore brought down in scows from the Virginia shore near the Great Falls of the Potomac. Some of the cannon and round shot used in the battles of the revolution were cast there. Burnaby in his description of the place says there were two flour mills and a saw mill. This was in 1759. The Hendersons and Cockburns were prominent merchants of the town and sent goods they had im- ported, by coasting vessel to New York and Philadelphia and the rising towns of the South, which appears by old ledgers still preserved. Many c>f their commodities were sent by wagons to the frontier settlements as far as the Shenandoah Valley and beyond, wagoned through the different gaps. The names of other merchants of Colchester that we have met with in our researches are Grayson, Ross, Chapin, Mitchell, Linton, Barnes &: Ridgate, Lindsay, Gurden, Jenifer & Hooe, Hartshorn & Co., Ferguson & Gibson, Bavley & Stone, Thompson & Washington, Stuart & Muschett, Mick & Wrird, EUicott, Campbell &: Wheeler, McCrea &: Co., Harrison, Walker, Hoskins, Skehon, Mason, Carson, Willet, McPherson, and Belt. The Star of Colchester which dawned so promisingly had reached its zenith and was beginning to wane before 1800. Like many another town such as Jamestown and Dumfries in Virginia, and St. Marys and Joppa and Queen Anne and Charlestown in Maryland for all of which their projectors doubtless forecasted "old walls and happy days," it was compelled to yield to the shapings of new conditions of trade and traf- fic, and travel born of the progress of invention and discovery until its glory passed 82 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS away forever. The yield of tobacco from the surrounding lands had greatly diminish- ed and Alexandria, on the main river, but a few miles above with a situation far better for commerce, though but a few years older, diverted its business and completely over shadowed its growth and existence. In 1809 a great flood swept away the "grand bridge with its semi-elliptical arches" and filled up the deep channel of the stream, so that its navigation was difficult and foreign vessels came no more for cargoes to its docks. The iron works, tanneries, cooperies and rope walks fell into disuse. Many of the inhabitants with occupations gone, migrated to new homes then opening everywhere in the great West beyond the Alleghanies, and one by one the warehouses, stores and ordinaries ceased their traffic and were closed. Numbers of those who still remained fell victims it is related of an epidemic of "pleurisy." As the years passed, new highways were opened diverting the tide of travel. In 1815 a drunken woman accidentally set fire on a windy day to some tenements. The flames rapidly spreading left nearly every building of the ill-fated town in ruins. Thus, the work of destruction by flood and pestilence and fire was complete. The stones, bricks and other valuable materials of these ruins served afterwards to build up farm houses on neighboring lands. The plough-share long since turned up their foundations and the very streets on which they stood. Of all the tenemeiits but two or three are now remaining. These siand ghost-like and forlorn in their loneliness, mute but elo- quent witnesses of a century and more of passing strange events. One of these build- ings is the old hostelry, known as the "Arms of Fairfa.\." It shows all over it the marks of age but it is quite well preserved considering the many destructive mutations which it hassurvived. Under its roof were sheltered from time to time many of the fore- most actors in the great struggle which led to our national independence. In its rooms were held many meetings of the Virginia patriots in those stirring days to con- sider the grave issues born of the oppressive measures of the British parliament. In the palmy days of the town when the tide of travel surged by its door over the old "King's Highway" from Williamsburg up over the Occoquan and on through the estate of Mount Vernon to Alexandria and beyond to the Blue Ridge mountains it was a hostelry of great repute anear and afar. It was the Inn where the red and yellow lumbering stage coach always stopped with its wayfarers. It was the place where the politicians of the surrounding neighborhood came to fix up their slates for the coming elections and where the loungers did congregate to get the "freshest advices" dropped by the passing travelers. The old weather beaten structure on account of interesting historic associations surely deserves that timely care of some of our patriotic societies which might make possible its yet long continuance as a land mark of the vanished town. Not a vestige of the piers and wharves where stately ships had come so often to de- liver and receive cargoes is now to be seen. But here before me is a "Bill of Lading" of one of the many cargoes which left the long vanished warehouses. It has survived the changes of the years. The paper is brown and crumbling. The writing is almost illegible. The hand which traced it has been dust a hundred and fifty years. It is a talisman to call up the scenes of the once busy port and to make them fresh again — "Shipped October 20th, 1750, by the grace of God in good order and well condi- tioned, fifty hogsheads of sweet scented tobacco and ten of Oronoco by Henry Gray- son, merchant, in and upon the good ship Enterprise, whereof is master under God for this present voyage Captain John Robinson, and now riding at anchor in Occoquan rivtr and by God's grace bound for Rotterdam, &c., and so God send the good ship to her destined haven in safety. Amen." An aged resident of the neighborhood remembers a portion of the old landings of the port, but no one living can tell just where stood the hostelry nearby the ferry known as the Essex H'ouse and often spoken of by early travelers. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 83 "Low lies that house where nut brown draughts inspired ; Where gray beard mirth and smiling toil retired ; Where village statesmen talked with looks profound, And news much older than their ale went around. Imagination fondly stoops to trace The glowing splendors of that parlor place — The Whitewashed walls, the nicely sanded floor The vanished clock that ticked behind the door, The chest contrived a double debt to pay — A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day." There are old ledgers of the merchants bound in vellum still in existence, which afford curious reading and give us exact information about the prices of all the'articles of merchandise then sold in the stores, afld the names of the customers of the times George Washington's among them. But this waif dated Colchester on Occoquan, Va.' May, 1760, is the only letter we have seen from that far offshore of the past. '♦Dear cousin Mary, I have opportunity to send you a message by Mr. John Mc- Gregor, master of the brig "Good Fortune," which came into our port of entry near- ly three weeks ago, and is now loading with tobacco and will sail for London in a few days. By the Good Fortune we received your welcome letter and the bale of acceptable tokens of your abiding remembrance and affection. Nothing you could have sent us would have been more useful to us in this far off country. We are very grateful for your good offices. McGregor is said to be a good seaman and his vessel very staunch, but the weather at sea was very tempestuous and he was nearly six weeks making the voyage. May he find more favoring gales on his return. I have conclud- ed to be a Virginian and to cast my lot among the colonists. I like the country. It is a land of plenty for everybody. Colchester has a very pleasant situation on a deep river. Its trade is increasing and houses are building. We see many Indians passing through, but they are friendly and going over the mountains. The wars are over and the plantations are peaceful and quiet. We have regular church service in the neigh- borhood. The people are very hospitable to all newcomers. Remember me to ail inquiring friends, and believe me as ever, 'Your loving cousin, Joseph Adams." In 1776 Colchester suffered from the malicious depredations of Governor Dunmore the last of the colonial vice regents. Failing in his attempt to subjugate the people of the province to his arbitrary rule he was compelled to flee from Williamsburg, and collecting a lawless band of his adherents, tories and negroes, he embarked with them on a fleet of vessels — schooners and sloops, and commenced a series of harassing incur- sions upon the plantations and settlements all along the tide water regions. They sailed up the Occoquan, burned the flour mills, a number of dwellings and a portion of the landings but were compelled on the appearance of the Prince William militia to retreat. Colchester became a post town doubtless at the time of the French and Indian war, for Benjamin Franklin then postmaster general, was in Virginia establish- ing: mail routes and post offices. By old ledgers of merchants it is evident that an office was established there before 1760. No record, however, of the fact exists in the post office department at Washington earlier than 1790. Then, William Thompson was postmaster and held the office until 1793, when Zachariah Ward succeeded him and continued until 1S04, then Samuel Bailey succeeded and continued until iSix, whom Thomas Morgan succeeded and continued until October, 1815, when the office was discontinued. Of the families which left the firesides of the old town in its decadence and bent their ways toward the opening lands of the sun setting beyond the Alleghanies, to the rich lands of the Ohio, the Wabash, the Illinois and the Mississippi, who shall tell? Who shall tell the story of their migration ? Who shall tell how they scattered and branched to the remote regions of the earth as the years went on ? Some of them mayhap did not find the Canaans of their hopes and dreams and came to grieve that 84 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS they had left the pleasant banks of the Occoquan. To others perhaps, the life lines fell in favoring places and they prospered and were glad that they had shaken the dust of Virginia from their feet. There is for us now, when so many years have passed and so many marvelous changes have been wrought in our country, a pathetic interest in the vanished settle- ment of the Occoquan. Colchester was a connecting link between the time when the Virginia pioneers crossed the waters of the Occoquan to take possession of the slopes and valleys of the Blue Ridge and the time when the United colonies were passing through their first decade of independence. Forty years ago the writer first visited this interesting locality and with all the eagerness of a historic pilgrim listened to the recitals of aged men who were well grown boys before the disastrous calamities already noted befell the town. From these living witnesses he gathered many of the facts set forth in this sketch and he trusts that the efforts here made to preserve a few of the old landmarks of Virginia from ir- retrievable destruction may stimulate others of like tastes and inclinations to similar work in other directions of the wide field of our much neglected colonial history. There were old slaves on the surrounding plantations who remembered much about early events of the Occoquan region. They told also strange stories they had heard from the lips of their fathers and grandfathers of the circumstances of the elder days as they tended together the "bacca and cawn craps," or sat grouped on winter nights in the glowing fire light of the log cabins— stories of Indian massacres, of dead felons hanging in chains by the waysides and of slavers landing their cargoes of men and women from **de coast of Gumea" who chattered in their strange tongues "like monkeys" as they went off in gangs to "de way back plantations." During the first year of the civil war the locality of Colchester was alternately occupied by the scurrying troops of both of the contending armies. Now it was the troopers of Stuart or Mosby or Hampton dashing over the fenceless fields of sedge and cedars. Now it was the raiders of Custer and Sheridan galloping down the gullied and otherwise forsaken highways. The pensive wayfayer as he passes over the site of this vanished town which was founded two years before the fleet of Com- modore Keppel with the army of General Braddock sailed up the Potomac to Alexan- dria, sighs as he recalls the din and traffic once heard along the streets of Essex, Fair- fax and Potomac in the early colonial days, and with sadness akin to grief thinks of the forgotten life histories — the joys and sorrows, the hopes and fears and disappoint- ments which were realized by the generations whose places shall know them no more forever, Where life and beauty But go at the gloaming Dwelt long ago, Down by the river's side The waving sedges And listen, listen And brambles grow, ^ To its hurrying tide. All who met there In its rip|)ling and its rhythms In days of yore In fancy you may hear Now see not, hear not, Some token low or knelling They are no more. Of each forgotten year. In passing along with the thread of our story we must not lose sight of the "Old King's Highway," for it was truly an historic landmark : none in all our land more so — none more closely connected with more of the colonial events and circumstances which led to the great "Revolution" and the union of the thirteen provinces. Long years, mayhap centuries, before the sound of the axe was heard in the Poto- mac wilds or any plow share had upturned the virgin furrows, it was but a path or trail between the tidewater shores and the lowlands, and Alleghany mountains, along which only the roving sons of the forest threaded their way. When the Englishman OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 85 came he cleared and widened it and made it "a way and a high way" for his modes of travel. For nearly a hundred years after the founding of Alexandria and Colches- ter it was the busiest thoroughfare in Virginia. It was the great stage coach and post route between Richmond and Baltimore. In, 1795 ^ second bridge was built over the Occoquan two miles above Colchester, and from this a new road, the present Tele- graph road, was laid out to Alexandria which being shorter than the old highway, diverted much of its travel, and the steamboat lines of the upper Potomac, the first of which was established in 1815, diverted still more. In 1804 the present town of Occoquan was incorporated. Thirty-one acres belonging 10 Nathaniel Ellicott, pro- prietor of the flour mills, James Campbell and Luke Wheeler, were laid off into lots with convenient streets, and James Keith, Thomas T. Page and James Coffer were appointed first trustees of the town. The route of the old highway north of Colches- ter was through Lorton Valley, by Lewis Chapel, Accotink, Washington's old mill, head of Little Hunting creek at Gum Spring, and thence by the head of Great Hunt- ing creek at Cameron to Alexandria. From Alexandria beyond, it branched into two roads which followed the old Indian trails of which one kept on nearly identical in the course of the present Leesburg turnpike till passing through Loudoun county it found a pissage gap in the Blue Ridge at the Shenandoah. The other followed the trail nearly identical with the course of the present Little River turnpike, passed through Aldie and Middleburg and found a gap in the same ridge. Both of these roads since 1755 have been called Braddock's from the fact that a portion of his army passed over each. In another sketch of this series I have made the old highway the subject of an ex- tended description embracing its many interesting historical associations with map accompaniment and table of distances. The old "ox road" must not be passed by without a notice. It also was originally an Indian trail and was one of the first tobacco rolling roads opened to the Colchester warehouses. Its course may now be traced across the telegraph road at Violets, by Stoneleigh, the Almshouse, Chantilly and on to Dranesville and beyond to the Poto- mac. Our sketch of Colchester would be incomplete without a more particular allusion to the iron works of John Ballandine, mentioned by the English traveler Burnaby. The glowing fires of the furnaces which melted the ores into cannon and shot for the conti- nental army, long since ceased to cast their glare upon the hurrying waters of the Occoquan. The din of the ponderous hammers which beat and fashioned in the early days the anchors and plow shares has been silent a hundred years, but the ruins of the old works are yet visible, the heaps of slag heie and there remaining, the dried up sluiceways and the almost obliterated wagon roads of other days are fraught with associations which vividly call up to memory a hero of five wars whose sacrifices, patriotism and soldierly deeds our country has been slow to properly appreciate and fittingly recognize. When Dinwiddie and Braddock and Commodore Keppel with their showy retinues and scouts passed through the town, and the rangers of Wagner marched awav as already noted, this hero not yet twenty years of age, was filling the humble roll of teamster in the employ of Ballandine, hauling ore to his furnace for a few shillings a day. His adventurous spirit caught the military enthusiasm of the times. He left ore and furnace and turned his horses' heads up the King's Highway in the direction of the military encampments at Alexandria where all was activity and busy preparations for the expedition over the mountains. Henceforth for many years his hitherto prosaic life was to be one of strange adventures more like the marvels of romance than the actual realities of history. In the inevitable course of his destiny he was to be a most conspicuous actor and directing spirit in the momentuous events and circumstances which called into being and shaped the grand conditions of our American republic. 86 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS Braddock's quartermaster needed wagons to carry up the baggage and supplies of the army. He joined the expedition though not as an enlisted man, but as a driver of his own team. And now we follow him in his toilsome course over the newly opened and rugged ways of the forest and swamps, and through the bridgeless streams of the wilderness region ; and ere long we find him under the direction of a British subaltern in charge of the entire wagon train. And no one could have been selected better qualified for the difficult position ; for all his boyhood occupation, first as a farmer in New Jersey, and afterwards as a teamster in Virginia, hauling merchandise from tide- water to the frontier posts, or iron ore to the iurnace of Ballandine, had been a fitting preparation for his responsible charge. Handy with an axe, he could readily fell a tree; with his strong shoulder he could move mired wheels; with his intuitive knowl- edge of horses, he could coix them into drawing the laden wagons through the difficult places and his good judgment and management inspired the other teamsters. It was when giving orders one day about the passage over a rocky road that he had a dispute with a British lieutenant, who in his rage struck him with his sword. This was too much for our stripling teamster. He could not brook the officer's insolence and so felled him with his strong arm to the ground. For this act of insubordination he was sentenced by a drumhead courtmartial to be tied to a tree and receive on his bareback four hundred and ninety-nine lashes. He submilted heroically, and, as he afterwards related, counted every lash. After the barbarity was finished the flesh hung in strips from his back, but he survived the ordeal, vowing that sooner or later he would have his vengeance on "Royal George," and truly he was as good as his word as the sequel proved. Ninety-nine out of a hundred men taken in the ordinary, with less of moral courage and honest conviction, would have slunk away from their post in utter abjectness and mortification at this humiliating treatment and been heard of no more. Not so with our hero. He kept faithfully on along the rugged lines he had chosen and which were to lead to triumph and success. His manliness and integrity won for him con- fidence and respect. The insolent officer came to him in remorse and contrition and asked to be forgiven for having been the cause of his fiendish treatment. The name of this military upstart no page of history has handed down to us. A merited oblivion covers it, while that of another officer, not one of tliose who came over the seas with Braddock, bedizened with lace and tinsel but one of the Virginia provincial line in blue and buff and homespun who very soon after gave to him the helping hand of friendship, will ever be one of the foremost in the annals of time. It was after the disastrous battle on the Monongahela when the British regulars were fleeing in confusion that the coolness, judgment and eminent services of our hero in the perilous work of carrying off the wounded from the field were particularly noticed by Col. Washington, who afterwards specially mentioned his meritorious conduct to Governor Dinwiddie. On the 30th of August, 1755, he enlisted as a soldier in the 2nd company of the Virginia Rangers commanded by Capt. John Ashby. He was the tallest man in the company and the second on the roll. His height was over six feet and his age twenty. Capt. Ashby had been one of the first to employ him. When a mere boy he first settled in Virginia, and he knew well his good qualities for a soldier. He did not continue long a private. Through Col. Washington's influence he was made an ensign, then a lieutenant, and a little later a captain, though the haughty Governor was reluctant to accord these merited honors to one who had so lately been known as only a common laborer. Washington had discovered in him superior judgment and great ex'Ccutive ability, and the emergencies along the frontiers at ihit time required every man of that character for the common defense. And now, we take our leave of Daniel Morgan, the plodding, but competent and faithful wagoner, and make the acquain- tance of Captain Morgan at the head of a company of fearless fighters of the Virginia line who are proud of their leader for they recognize in him a born soldier, a daring chief and a magnanimous comrade. Let us follow him in his wonderful course as he steadily carves out his way to fame and to his country's gratitude by deeds of daring and masterly efficiency with rarely a parallel in the history of any struggle. For several years after the Braddock expedition, along the frontiers, his life was beset with OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 87 perils and dangers in numberless encounters with predatory bands of French and Indians. Over and over his cap and jacket were cut through with balls. In convoying supply expeditions from post to post long distances through the wild- erness regions he had many narrow escapes and adventures. On one occasion while going to Winchester with dispatches he was ambushed by Indians and many of his command slain. He himself was shot through the neck, the ball tearing away a part of his jaw and a number of his teeth. Faint and weak from loss of blood he imagined his wound was fatal, but not relishing the thought of leaving his scalp for the savages he clasped his arms about the neck of his trusty horse and urging him by spur to his utmost speed was enabled to outdistance his wild pursuers and reach the fort in safe- ty. Often afterwards did he relate how the last Indian in the race finding his efforts hopeless uttered a wild, despairing cry and gave up the pursuit, at the same time throwing his tomahawk after his fast receding victim. When at length tranquility had been established along the borders by the abandon- ment of French claims and the migration farther westward by the Indians, Captain Morgan returned to the banks of the Shenandoah. In 1762 he received from Virgin- ia for his services on the frontiers a grant of land a few miles from Winchester, and hanging up his sword, was again a follower of the plow. On his acres he built a com- fortable dwelling and called his home the "Soldiers Rest." To this home he brought his wife, the daughter of a neighboring farmer, Abigail Bailey by name, a woman of rare womanly endowments, whose gentle ways and winning sympathies were to be for him an inspiration and a radiant star to brighten the pathway of all his future years. Her inclinations like his own were all rural and domestic, and "she looked well to the ways of her household." But space does not now permit us to follow the varying fortunes of Captain Morgan with more than the briefest mention of his meteor-like course through the stirring events of the colonial days, for the story is a long one and fills many of the brightest pages of our national history. His career from the day he threw off his last wagon load of iron ore at the Colchester iron furnace on the banks of the Occoquan to the time when, forty five years after, a major-general with a military renown world wide he sat a worthy and dignified representative from the State of Virginia in the Congress of the Republic he had been so eminently instrumental in establishing, is one which to us now has more of the glamor of marvelous romance than the certainty of historic fact. In another colonial paper already prepared; "A Hero of Five Wars," we have re- counted at length the exploits of our wagon boy as ensign, lieutenant and captain in the years of frontier warfare with the Indians after the defeat of Braddock, and in the wars of Pontiac and Dunmore and in the tory rebellion in Hampshire and the whiskey insurrection in Western Pennsylvania. We have followed him in 1775, ^^ the trusty rifleman of the Shenandoah to the head- quarters ot VVashington at Boston to take part in the impending conflict of the revo- lution. Thence we will go with him on that ill advised, ill starred expedition of Arnold six hundred miles through the wilderness of Maine in which he and his men were subject to labors and hardships, rigors of climate and extremities of hunger rarely experienced by any other expedition of the world's history, until at the end of fifty-six days they stood a wasted, shivering band of adventurers on the banks of the St. Lawrence river. We will tell how the spectral army successfully crossed the wide and rapidly flowing river at midnight, running the gauntlet of two sloops of war stationed in the stream, how he camped under the frowning battlements of Quebec, and how soon after, he led his men through a blinding storm of snow and sleet and the dark- ness of a winter night into the very heart of the garrisoned town, making his way by only flashes of blazing musketry and cannon. Later on in the progress of the war, with a colonel's commission, most worthily bestowed by Congress, we will keep track of our hero as he hovers like a whirlwind with sharpshooters about the retreating troops 88 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS of Cornwallis across the Jerseys; as he defeats and puts to utter rout the flower of the British under Burgoyne and his renowned generals in the two desperately contested battles of Saratoga ; as he drives back the attacking regiments ot Howe at White Marsh ; as he swoops down with impetuous force upon the legions of Tarleton the scourge of the Carolinas, at the Cowpens, winning new laurels of victory in the defeat of their exultant commander, and, finally, when broken down by his life of hardships, as he returns to the bosom of his family, followed by the acclamations of his country- men, with a reputation and character which no act of intrigue, selfishness nor disloyal- ty had ever blemished. The interesting incidents and associations connected with the early days of our hero, when in the long ago a mere boy he drove his team in the neighborhood of Colchester seem to bring him very near to us, and make us feel as if we had a very large right in him, in his great fame and renown. For the time, we stand in his noble, command- ing presence and the light of his frank and winning countenance is upon us. Many of us have often traversed the roads he plodded over in his obscurity before the mantle of greatness fell upon his shoulders. The waters of the Occoquan still hurry on in their seaward course as they did when Braddock and Dinwiddle and Keppel crossed that April morning a hundred and fifty years ago. As then, the birds still carol their springtime and summer lays ; as then the skies still bend lovingly, and boughs and fields are green with nature's life, but Colchester with its busy streets, its warehouses its landing, and coming and going ships has disappeared save only here and there a lonely house standing ghost- like in the solitude. 'J'hese with the remnants of the "old furnace and forge of Ballandine," and the grass grown heaps of ore and slag, and the almost obliterated wagon roads of the olden time are all eloquent and impressive reminders of our gallant Morgan. Here was a man all untaught ot the schools, friendless, unaided and without en- couragement in his aims, until he had climbed high on the ladder of success, and fully demonstrated his intuitive capabilities of faithfully serving, or successfully directing in any and all emergencies. On that unsullied journey he never trampled on the rights of others, but with una- bating zeal in the attainment of a high and lofty purpose he loitered frequently with tenderest charity to aid hii less gifted and lagging fellows. With an intelligence singularly acute, and a judgment of men and things rarely ex- celled, he always addressed himself to his line of action and duties with extraordinary success. These talents were not self absorbed. He labored not for self alone but for others. Strong as a man he was yet tender as a woman. Brave, generous, large hearted and sympathetic he forgot his own case in the contemplation of those around him. Self-reliant, energetic, sanguine and courageous he often plucked success from doubt and disaster, and victory fiom portending defeat. These manly qualities, too attractive for isolation won him friends and followers. They converted the poor wagon boy of the French and Indian war to the peerless hero of the American Revo- lution. His place was always in the midst of dangers. He was always at the head of a forlorn hope, always cheering and animating his troops by encouraging words and in- spiring them to heroism by his example. He always shared with hirned among the prisoners from Canada. His conduct as an officer in the expeditions with General Arnold last fall — his intrepid behavior in the assault upon Quebec when the brave Montgomery fell, the inflexible attachment he professed to our cause during his imprisonment, and which he perseveres in, all in my opinion entitle him to the favor of Congress and leads me to believe that in his promotion the state will gain a good and valuable officer. I am, sir, your very obedient servant, Geo. Washington. The following is from the first chapter of The Hero of Cowpens, by Rebecca Mc- Conkey : " 'I took thee from a sheep cote to be a prince and a ruler.' "It is no matter of regret to us that the human origin of our hero is overhung with mystery. We like it. What a license this to give the imagination ! The old Greeks would have set it down thus — 'Son of Jupiter and .' We moderns might do well to take a hint out of this old and beautiful mythology, that so delighted to mix up the gods with the aflFairs of men. "Eternal truth ! that bloomed into a higher meaning in our Christianity where God in his word and his Providence continually shows us how He renews the world from the lowliest sources, using the things which are not to confound the mighty, and bring to nought the things which are. "Nature disallows heredity, and hacks it with a two-edged sword. How shall we OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 91 account for Luther, Shakespeare, Cromwell, Napoleon or Washington. Having been here without precedent, we thereupon build great expectations and behold the outcome. ^'Nature is averse to dynasties, and when there is brave work to be done, the work- men spring into their places by the word of His power." "One person only could have lifted the veil of mystery from his antecedents — our hero himself — but he declined to do it — nor did he give a reason for the silence he maintained. There was some vague hints that he was ot Welch extraction; his par- ents having migrated hither somewhere between 1720 and 1730. But no reminiscence of father, mother, sister or brother, childhood or home ever escaped him. Itis uncer- tain whether he had his birthplace in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, his family having lived on both sides of the river alternately. His descendants came to New Jersey about 1736. There is another misty suggestion, that he ran away from his home on some disagreement with his father. We would however, take him just as we find him, Daniel Morgan, 'Native American in its loftiest sense, asking no questions.' We like to think that there must have been honor and virtue in the stock that sent forth such a shoot — perhaps wrong and injustice somewhere; but over all our hero draws a pall of unbroken silence. Yet we know of a surety the gods were there and did set their seal to give the world assurance of a man." AN HISTORIC PICNIC. Saturday, August 7th, was a gala day on the historic banks of the Occoquan. The occasion was the first annual joint meeting of the Prince William county Educational Association and the Historical Society of the counties of Prince William, Fairfax and Alexandria. The weather was all that could have been desired. At an early hour the steamer, .\lton, Capt. Leadman commanding, and in waiting at the public land- ing of the town of Occoquan, blew a loud and long blast which was the signal for the many parties who had come into town from all the surrounding neighborhoods to go aboard the boat for an excursion to the site of the vanished town of Colchester a few miles below, on the shore of old Fairfax. There an hour was most agreeably passed by the party, looking and straying over the lands, many acres in extent, where in the early colonial days stood the flourishing and busy borough, chartered by the General Assembly of Virginia in 1752, laid out in 1753 and made a point of entry and shipping port for the immense quantities of tobacco which were brought into its great ware- houses by the rolling roads from the surrounding plantations, some of them fifty miles distant. Out from this point, where the Occoquan was a deep and capacious stream, went fleets of square rigged vessels to the cities of London, Amsterdam and Lis- bon, carrying out cargoes of the Virginia staple, grain, lumber, iron, furs and other valuable products. Smaller vessels carried away to the smaller towns of the tide water region merchandisefrom the warehouses, and trains of wagons kept up an overland traffic with the frontier settlements as far as, and even beyond the mountains. Looking at this day over the grass grown wastes of the old town's site, it seems like the fantasies of a dream when the historian recounts the marvelous changes which have been wrought over and all about it in the hundred and fifty years which have gone by since its first foundations were laid by the Masons, the McCartys and Wageners. Its history is a retrospect deeply tinged with sadness, melancholy and romance. Far away in the opening vista of the faded years we stand upon the heights of the Occoquan and look down upon its waters hurrying on in their seaward course beneath the shadows of the branches of the primeval forests which encompass them. On these waters only the rude bark of the Indian. His wigwam is on the shore. The realm of water, wood and earth all around him in its fulness is his. He has held it by cen- turies of possession and enjoyment. None have come to dispute his title. But, hark ! what sounds are these wliich break upon the solitudes. The invaders have cnmp — the pale faced strangers with firelocks, axes, plows and white winged boats are in his midst 92 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS and lo! before his firelock falls the startled deer — before his axe the great oaks crash upon the stillness^and ways and highways are opened and fields of maize and tobacco stretch far avray over the hills and valleys in the tracks of his plow. The surveyor comes to set his compass by the river's margin where the shore slopes down gently and smoothly to the water's edge. He defines the course of streets and lays off the butts and bounds of lots for a town, and Colchester has its beginnings — and a beautiful site indeed was chosen, for it overlooked miles of the Occoquan and showed also glimpses of the grand old Potofnac in the distance beyond. They name it for a market burough in the county of Essex in old England, fifiy miles from Lon- don, on the river Coin, because some of its projectors are immigrants from that local- ity, notably Dr. Peter Wagener, the owner of the land on which the new town is to be built. The years pass on and we see habitations rise and multiply, and generations of men go to and fro in its streets. We see warehouses and piers and docks and ships and great increase of trade and traffic. But again we look as still other years have passed and the scene has changed. The habitations are deserted. The stir of life has left the streets. Trade and traffic have waned — the warehouses are not filled as once in the palmy days. They are empty and falling, and ships come no more to the piers and docks. Of all those who lived, moved and had their being in those habita- tions and thoroughfares a few only remain. To many of them new homes have open- ed in places remote. Some of them fell before the devouring pestilence that wasteth at noonday. And now looking once more we see devouring flames leaping from roof to roof and completing the destruction of the ill-starred town. Today, only two of the old habitations remain. They stand forlorn and ghost like in the solitude, sad, but suggestive monuments of the long faded years. One of them is a picturesque structure, still quite well preserved, standing close to the "Old King's Highway" from Williamsburg, up over the Occoquan, and on through the estate of Mount Vernon to Alexandria, and beyond to Key's Gap in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the palmy days of the town when the tide of travel surged by its doors it was known as the "Arms of Fairfax." It was a hostelry of great repute near and afar, and under its roof were entertained Washington,' Lafayette and many other distinguished men of the time, both soldiers and civilians. It was the inn where the lumbering red and yellow coach always stopped with its wayfarers. Says a traveler in an old letter: "I dined at the Arms of Fairfax, a commodious tavern not far from the 'Ferry,' built partly of stone and partly of frame. The dinner was of smoking venison and fish, taken from wood and water that morning, and supplemented with a pitcher of excel- lent cider. The rate was one shilling and six pence which I did not demur at for so good a repast." It was the place where the politicians of the surrounding neighbor- hood came to "fix up their slates" for the coming elections, and where the loungers "did congregate" to get the freshest advices dropped by the passing travelers. The massive foundations and great outer stone chimneys have stood well the wear and tear of the hundred and fifty years of its existence. It ought to be protected and cared for in the coming years, as should all other like memorials of the colonial period. To our party every object of the locality, dreary and forlorn as it seemed, was in- vested with a peculiar interest. Truly we were on historic ground, wayfarers in the "seats of the mighty." The plow share has within a few years upturned nearly every rod of the old town's site, and only one of the streets, that of Essex, through which runs the old highway, can now be correctly traced. The hrur allotted for this part of the exercises of the programme having been spent, our party very reluctantly obeyed the captain's summons to again board his little steamer. The trip back was enlivened by songs from the young ladies of the Historical Association. On landing the march was promptly taken up, and all with well filled baskets huiried to the shaded retreats of the stream beyond the clattering mill. As our mission was historical in OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 98 its significance, as well as educational, we fittingly selected an historical spot to spread and enjoy our midday repast. We chose the old gray granite rocks and cool green sward about the dismantled walls of John Ballandine's iron furnace and forge of the long ago, and we were not only on historic ground, but on ground made almost sacred by the oftime presence of a hero who for great natural endowments with all the varied attributes and capabilities which go to make up the successful soldier, leader and commander, was not second to any other hero who drew sword in our great con- tinental struggle, a hero wtiose sacrifices, patriotism and soldierly deeds our country has been very slow to properly appreciate and fittingly recognize. When Governqr Dinwiddle and General Braddock passed through Colchester that April morning of 1755 with their showy sentinels and escorts on their way up from Williamsburg to Alexandria to make ready for that expedition against the French and Indians beyond the mountains, which was to end so disastrously to the British and provincial forces, this hero, then at the age of seventeen, was filling the humble role of teamster in the employ of Ballandine for a few shillings a day, hauling iron ore to his furnace. Squads of provincial troops he saw almost daily passing up the same way. His adventurous spiiit caught the military enthusiasm of the times. He left ore and furnace and turned his horses' heads up the King's Highway in the direc- tion of the military encampment at Alexandria, where all was activity and busy pre- paration for the war ; and henceforth for many years, his hitherto prosaic life was to be one of strange adventures, more like the marvels of romance than the actual realities of historic fact. In the inevitable ot his wonderful destiny under God's appointings, he was to be a most conspicuous actor in the momentous events and circumstances which called into being and shaped the grand conditions of our American Republic. Every one who may read this sketch of our most historic picnic may not know that the strippling teamster who hauled the ore to the furnace and who many a time may have eaten his plain repast on the same gray boulders, as he rested and baited his horses in the shadows of the great oaks, was General Daniel Morgan, the intrepid leader of the Virginia riflemen in the Continental array, and the real hero of Quebec, Saratoga and Cowpens, two of them by far the most important and decisive of the revolutionary battles. But the story of his meteoric course and brilliant exploits is a long and varied one and fills many of the brightest pages of our country's history, so, we now take our leave of the grand old soldier and patriot, the plough boy of the Shenandoah and the wagon boy of the Occoquan. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon our party obeyed the summons of the clanging bell, and assembled in the town hall where we were joined by the citizens of the town, and the meeting called to order by M. D. Hall, Superintendent of schools of Fairfax county, Divine blessings were invoked by Rev. Mr. Kloman upon the objects of the gathering and after the singing of "Love's Old Sweet Song'' a very appropriate ad- dress of welcomt; was delivered on behalf of the good people of Occoquan by S. M. Janney, which was followed by an "historic paper" reciting at length the many inter- esting events and associations of the vanished town of Colchester, read by W. H. Snowden of Andalusia, Fairfax county. George C. Round of Manassas then read his very entertaining historical romance, entitled "Mariamne of Belle Air" and after the singing of another song the large and enthusiastic audience., which had listened with an appreciative attention, adjourned, and all concerned seemed glad that they had had the opportunity of participating in the exercises of the "first annual picnic" of the two kindred societies, whose laudable objects are the diffusion of useful knowledge, the collection and preservation of Colonial history, the interchange of thought on national topics, the encouragement of virtuous actions among the young and the general promotion of social interests and fraternal feeling. 94 SOMK OLD HISTORK' LANDMARKS A FORT ON THE OCCOQUAN. At a General Assembly of Virginia in 1679, it was ordered "that for the further se- curity of the frontier parts of said province trom the incursions of the Indians, a fort be built near Occoquan river, strong and well covered, sixty feet long and twenty-two feet bruad, and one small house tenne foot square to be strongly built for amunition, both of which to be built and paid for at the public charge; and that Major Isaac Alierton, and Col. George Mason take upon themselves to provide the severall neces- saryes hereafter mentioned for the said worke and houses, for which they shall be re- imbursed by the publique in the county of Stafford — that is to say— eight thousand, eight penny nails — five thousand ten penny nails — foure thousand twenty penny nails — foure iron pots of about eight gallons each, with pot hooks — foure iron pestles — two hair sifters — twelve milke treyes — six spades — two cross-cut saws — six wedges — two broad axes — six hilling hoes — two drawing knixes — two hande saws — one grind stone — two hammers — six gimlets — two augers — two files — one adze — two frying pans — ten bushels of salt — and foure wash tubs." This fort was to be garrisoned by "able and sufficient mounted men, with each a case of good pistolls, a carbine or shot gun and a sword, together with two pounds of powder and tenne pounds of leaden bullets or high swan shot, and alsoe that the garrison be provided with five bushels of shelled Indian corne, two bushels of meale, eighty pounds of goode, well salted porke, or one hundred pounds goode, well salted beefe for foure months for such men and horses. The garrison was to be supplied with a goode boate and oars to pass over the streame." JOHN BALLANDINE, John Ballandine of whom mention has been made in connection with General Daniel Morgan the wagon boy of the Occoquan, in the foregoing Historical Sketch of Colchester was descended from a noted line of Scotch ancestors, some of whom came early to the province of Virginia, and were probably among the first settlers of Westmoreland county and afterwards of the Scotch town of Dumfries near the mouth of Quantico creek. All the circumstances of his life so far as they have come down to us lead to the belief that he was one of the rugged, pushing types of his race. He was always fourd among the foremost spirits in useful enterprises of his time which promised private benefits or public advantages. But the iron manufacturing interests chiefly engaged his life long attention. He must have been a man of large means; for he had furnaces and forges in operation in different sections of the province, and a wide distance apart, notably on the Shenandoah, on the James and on the Occoquan rivers. To keep these works running with the many difficulties of travel and trans- portation in those primitive days must have been a case involving not only perils and dangers, but requiring great business tact and mental comprehensiveness. At his furnaces on the James were produced in 1781, one thousand tons of pig iron all of which was shipped to Europe. His furnace and forge on the Occoquan were established in the early years of 1700 and were quite extensive. Cannons were cast there for the Revolutionary war, also shot and shells. It was at these works that young Daniel Morgan, the future military hero of the Continental struggle, was em- ployed at the beginning of the French and Indian war as already narrated. He was hauling for Ballandine bog and mountain ore with his own team at a compensation of a few shillings a day. The bog ore was dug from the lowlands of the neighborhood and the mountain ore was shipped in scows or barges from deposits near the Great Falls of the Potomac. These works were discontinued shortlv after the Revolution. Some of the leveled wall;'- of the works may still be seen. Grass and weeds are growing over the heaps of ore and slag. But the mighty roar of the cascades still goes on unceasingly from the foam covered rocks as in the days when the fiery seething metal ran gleaming into the moulds of the workmen. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 95 Ballandine had also on the Occoquan stream, mills for grinding grains which served a very needed purpose when they supplied Washington's and Lafayette's hungry ar- mies with flour and meal as they halted for rest in Colchester on their way to the fight at Yorktown in 1781. He seems to have been a versatile, all round man, one of the Andrew Carnegie type of men in the business world, restless, enterprising and aggres- sive. He owned stores, vessels, fisheries, plantations and wagon trains. By his great prominence and useful service in the promotion of the various colonial industries, he attracted the favorable notice of Washington and secured his confidence and lasting friendship. In 1775 he assisted the General in his surveys and levelings for the con- struction of the waterways for his grain mills at the head of Dogne Bay. A practical and experienced surveyor, his services were often in request in important divisions of land and the laying of highways. To John Ballandine belongs the credit chiefly of originating the scheme of continu- ous navigation from the head of tidewater on the Potomac to the waters of the OhiO, a distance of over three hundred miles, the removal ol rocky obstructions, the creat- ing of levels, and other engineering devices, "so that boats of large dimensions might go with ease for the transportation of merchandise and passengers." He had looked the whole land over in his journeys to his iron works and had made careful surveys ot the courses and practicabilities of the intervening waters, and drawn all the necessary preliminary plans for the contemplated undertaking which seemed so sensible and promising that they found ready approval and co-operation from the influential pub- lic men ot the time , and none of them were more earnest for the scheme than Wash- ington himself. These plans were submitted for the consideration of a public meet- ing held in Georgetown in October, 1774, which unanimously endorsed them and subscribed their names to the following agreement. We, the subscribers, have considered John Rallandine's plans for clearing Potomac river, and improving the navigation thereof and do approve them ; and to enable him to set about that useful and necessary undertaking, .do hereby agree and promise severally to contribute such assistance, or pay such sums as we have respectively sub- scribed to the trustees named in such proposals, or in their order at such times and places, and in such proportions asshall be required of us for the clearing of the Potomac river." George Washington /^S'^o Thos Ringold looo Ralph Wormly 500 W. Elzey loo Thos. Johnson for self and L. Jacques . 500 Jonas Claphani loo George Flai.x 300 Wm. Deakins, Jr 100 T. Ridout 200 Jos. Chapline 50 Walter Delaney 200 Thos. Johns ^o David Ross for Fredericksburg Co . . 500 Adam Stephens 200 David Ross, self 300 Robt. Rutherford 50 Daniel and Samuel Hughes 500 Francis Deakins loo Benjamin Dulaney 500 Chas. Carroll of Cairollton 1000 When this meeting was held the enthusiasm of the people of Virginia and Maryland for its purpose, and especially such of them as were contiguous to the Potomac was general. But the time was not auspicious for the carrying out of the great work con- templated. The oppressive measures of the British Parliament were beginning to exasperate the colonies, and this exasperation soon brought an open revolt and finally the American Revolution, during the continuance of which all public enterprises languished. In the colonial struggle, Ballandine was an earnest patriot, and cooperated faith- fully with his neighbors, Washington and Mason, for American independence, and with them he signed the celebrated Fairfax resolutions at the beginning of the troubles. He was married to Frances, daughter of Charles Ewell, the first proprietor of the homestead of Belle Air, near .Dumfries. His father was Capt. William Ballandine, who married Mary Ann Bertrand, daughter of Rev. John Bertrand of Rappahannock. 86 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS The remains of John Ballandine doubtless lie in the old family burying ground of Belle Air. OCCOOUAN TOWN INCORPORATED JANUARY 5, 1804. Thirty-one acres belonging to Nathaniel Ellicott, James Campbell and Luke Wheeler laid off in lots with convenient streets— to be called Occoquan, and James Keith^ Thos. T. Page, Edward Washington and James Coffer to be trustees. About this time was laid out the road or highway to Alexandria called the telegraph road, and a bridge was authorized to be built for it about two miles above the Colchester ferry, where are located the Janney grist mills. Nathaniel Ellicott was a Quaker. LITTLE RIVER TURNPIKE CHARTERED IN I 795. In 1795 the Legislature of Virginia authorized Thomas Mason, proprietor of the Colchester ferry, to build a bridge instead with same rates as for ferriage. This was the bridge described by Davis, the traveler. It was standing until 1804, how much later is uncertain. MARYLAND LORDS OF THE MANORS There must be at least, 300,000 descendants of the 30 odd lords of manors of colonial Maryland, counting their descendants in both male and female lines. These descendants are scattered throughout this state and through other states wherever the sons and daughters of Maryland have made their homes. According to the law of descent, it is reckoned to be more noble if the lineal be in the family name of the original grantee. To explain who were these lords of manors is quite a difficult task, for no list has been made of them, no catalogue exists in any of the archives of the state or colony to lead the searcher, but he must plod on through musty records of everything and pick them out one by one as he discovers them. In the beginning, when Lord Baltimore began the settlement of the colony of which he was by grant of the king, sovereign lord proprietor, he decided that an aris- tocracy was as necessary a part of the state as a democracy and that its function should be independent — that is, not confused with the function of democracy ; that its true ancient Greek meaning of "right to rule" should be exemplified. I'his was in 1634, after he had brought over the first settlers to the shores of the Chesapeake. However although the assembly refused to pass his "Bill for Baronies," he possessed sufficient authority from the king as lord proprietor to establish manors with hereditary magis- tracy attached thereto. This was like what in ancient English history is called creat- ing "barons by writ" and in old France would be termed "anoblissements." SOLE TENANT OF THE CROWN. But in regard to the power of the lord proprietor to do these things; in the first place, the Statute of Quia Emptoris, which had been enacted in the reign of King Edward I., in 1570, and which decreed that in all sales or "feoffments," of land the holder should bear allegiance not to the immediate lord or grantor but to the king, was set aside in favor of Lord Baltimore by King (!!harles I., so that in Maryland, Lord Baltimore was sole tenant of the crown and had the power of erecting manors as though he were the king himself. While allegiance to the king was preserved, oath of office was administered in the name of the proprietor and all writs ran "In the year of our dominion." WAS A MILITARY COMMANDER. Now, the lord of a manor has a right to hold court and judge all offenses happening within the limits of his manor, except the crimes of murder, counterfeiting and treason. This right is hereditary so long as the manor passes in the family from father to son. If the manor is sold all rights are transferred to the purchaser. At first no one could possess a manor but a "descendant of British or Irish," but in 1683 ^^ ^^^ decreed that manors might be held by "any person living or trading in the province." This OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND." 97 was SO different from the manner of holding seigneuries established by the French king, Louis XIV, in 1663, as to be worthy of note, tor a person deriving a siegneurie by direct concession from the King was ennobled, nor could he sell the seigneurie without the consent of the King and the next heir, and when this was obtained the rank of nobility did not go with the purchase. Moreover; the seigneur, as an officer was obliged to be the military commander over his tenants, to instruct them for the defense of the country and to settle their disputes as a magistrate. The King, in Canada, was very careful what sort of men were seigneurs, and they were the most splendid nobility a new country has ever had, many of tliem bearing the proudest and greatest names in French history. WAS KILLED BV SLAVERY. Tlie ancient records show that in Maryland the manorial system died out, not be- cause it was unpopular, for no complaint is mentioned by the people against it and the benefits as founders of the province which the lords of the manors conferred on the people could not be forgotten. But what caused it to decline was the introduc- tion of slavery. Many ignoble and unscrupulous but enterprising persons began to use slaves on their places to do the work. A manorial grant did not authorize slavery This was in the latter part of the seventeenth century and as time progressed the lords of manors found themselves steadily falling behind in revenue, owing to the small re- turn which their tenants gave them. They were eclipsed in splendor or display by the ignorant, low bred but wealthy, parvenues whose places were worked by slaves. So, one by one, yielding to the temptation and pressure of events the lords of the manors descended from their exalted position, sold the portions occupied by tenants to those tenants, and with the money purchased slaves to work the portion of the manor reserved for themselves. So the manors disappeared in the plantation. WRIT OF GEORGE TALBOT. Those who rean this should not forget that the lords of the manors of Maryland were the founders and patricians of the province. Lord Baltimore recognized them as such in the writs by which he endowed them with manorial rights. He permitted that anyone finding favor in his sight as a proper person and bringing wealth and people to the province might acquire such manorial rights as the possession of at least 2,000 acres. As an example, a part of the writ creating George Talbot, a cousin of Lord Baltimore, Lord of Susquehanna Manor in Cecil County in 1680 is herein evidence : "Know that for and in consideration that our right trusty and right well-beloved cousin and counsellor Geoige Talbott of Castle Rooney, of County Roscommon, in the Kingdom of Ireland hath undertaken at his own proper cost and charges, to transport or cause to be transported into the province within 12 years from date thereof 640 persons of British or Irish descent here to inhabit, and we, not only having a great love, respect and esteem for our said cousin and counsellor, but willing also to give him all due and lawful encouragement in so good design of peo- pling and increasing the inhabitants of this our province of Maryland, well considering how much this will conduce to the strength and defence thereof, and that he may re- ceive some recompense for the great charge and expense he must be at in importing so great a number of persons into this our province aforesaid, * * * we have thought fit to grant unto our dear cousin and counsellor all that tract or dividend ot land called Susquehanna lying in Cecil County in our said province, * * * con- taining an estimate of 32,000 acres * * * with all the prerogatives and royalties of a manor and the magistracy thereof." These Talbots belonged to an ancient Norman family that had been settled in Ire- land for generations. Of the Catholic party, they were opposed to Protestant Eng- land, and it was the religion only of James II, that recommended him to the Catholic Irish in the days when Prince William of Orange, invited to England by the Protes- tants, chased King James over into Ireland. The George Talbot mentioned in this 98 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS as Lord of the Manor of Susquehanna was cousin ot Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrcon- nell, commonly known as "Dick" Talbott who was one of the Irish generals in the service of King James II, against the Prince of Orange in 1698. It is said tliat Tal- bot, while deputy governor, stabbed a man with whom he quarreled and fled and took refuge in a cave in Cecil County, where for along while his food was brought him by several trained falcons. BASHFORD MANOR. Bashford Manor, on the Wicomico, was granted to Dr. Thomas Gerrard in 1650 for an annual quit rent of 15 bushels of corn. In 1678 he sold it to Governor I'homas Notley, who divided it afterwards into small holdings and sold it, the manor then be- coming extinct. The name of Governor Notley has passed into many families and preserves the memory of one of the foremost founders of Maryland. BROOKE PLACE MANOR. Brooke Place Manor, in St. M iry's County in 1654 reckoned as its lord, Geo. Robert Brooke, president of Lord Baltimore's council. He had in 1650 the Manor of De Brooke, on Battle Creek in Calvert county. He had come from England with his wife and 10 children and brought over 28 other persons — servants, retainers and colonists. He became the commander of the country. His eldest son, Baker Brooke, was confirmed as the lord of the manor. The council of Gov. Charles Calvert met at this manor house July 19, 1762, and it was standing until about 80 years ago. Maryland's oldesi brick house. Cross Manor, on St. Inigoe's Creek in 1639 had been erected in favor of the Hon. Thomas Cornwaleys. The manor house, built of English brick, is the oldest brick house in Maryland, vet standing. Ciptain Cornwaleys was associated with Lord Leonard Calvert and Mr. Jerome Havvley in the government ofthe province. commander of KENT. Evelynton Manor, in the "Baronie of St. Mary," was conceded to the Hon. George Evelyn in 1638. He WaS commander of Kent county in 1737. He came as agent of Clabery & Co., of London (Claibourne's partners), and he superseded that person after that person's departure for England in 1637. He was the means of bringing Kent Island under Lord Baltimore's jurisdiction. He left the colony in 1638 and re- turned to England but he had a brother, Cipt. Robert Evelyn, v/ho was interested more permanently in the province. SITE OF FORT' WARBURTON. Warburton Manor, in Prince George's County, in 169c owned as its lord Col. Wil- liam Diga;es, son of Governor Digges of Virginia, whose father was Sir Dudley Diggf^s master of the rolls to King Charlts I. He married Jane Sewall, daughter of Lady Bal- timore by her former marriage with the Hon. Henry Sewall of London. This manor passed to William, the eldest son of Colonel Digges, and to his children, one of whom, a daughter — Jane — married Col. John Fitzgerald, of Virginia. The government of the United States purchased a part ofthe manor, on which was erected Fort Warbur- ton, which was blown up in 1814. THE TRIAL OF A WITCH. Fenwick Manor, on Cat Creek, in 1651 became the fief of Cuthbert Fenwick, mem- ber of Lord Baltimore's council. In 1659 the manor house was the scene ofthe trial of Edward Prescott for "hanging a witch '' The only witness who was summoned was Col. John Washington, great grandfather of President George Washington. When the dav arrived for the tri.d instead ofthe witness came a letter of excuse in the folloving phraseology : "Because then, God willing, I intend to gette my yowng OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 99 Sonne baptized, all the Company and Gossips being allready invited." As the wit- ness did not appear, the prisoner was discharged. Right Rev. Edward Fenwick, the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Cincinnati, was a descendant of Cuthbert, lord of this manor, whose only brother, Ignatius Fenwick, nianied Sarah Taney, of the family that produced Chief Justice Roger Brooke 1'anev, of the United States Supreme Court. Many other descendants of the lords of Fenwick Manor are scattered about the Western Shore and in the City ot Baltimore. WAS CLERK OF ASSEMBLY. Little Bretton Manor, granted to William Bretton in 1640, passed to the Jesuit missionaries. The house was built of English brick and is yet standing. It has a commanding position, overlooking St. Clements Bay and the Potomac River. Wil- liam Bretton came over from England in 1637 and was a member of the Assembly. His wife, Mary, was daughter of Thomas 'I'al^bs, who came over at the same time. He brought with him, bes-ides his wife and four-yearold son, three servants. For nearly 20 years he was clerk of the Assembly. THE SNOWDENS FROM WALES. Resurrection Manor, between Town and Cuckoid Creeks, was the possession of the Hon. Thomas Cornwaleys in 1650, but it passed soon after into the Snowden family. In 1659 and in 1662 the privy council of the province met there. Captain Cornwaleys came to Maryland with the first expedition and brought with him five servants. He was one of the earliest commissioners of the province. Later he returned to England. The Snowdens came from Wales in i66o and left many descendants. POS3ESSION3 OF THE DARNALLS. Portland Manor, in Anne Arundel county, was the lordship of the Darnalls, whose ancestor. Col. Henry Darrell, reL'itive of Lord Baltimore, came over 20 years before the Protestant revolution in England. Woodyard, another residence of this family, in Prince George's County, is in existence at the present time and is said to be the most interesting family residence in Maryland. This family has many descendants residing in the state. DRIVEN INTO VIRGINIA. St. Clement's Manor, consisting of St Clements Island and part of the adjacent mainland, in 1639 was one of the manors of Dr. Thomas Gerrard, member of the council. It is the only one of the old mansions, the records of which are preserved. From 1659 court was there continuously. This Dr. Thomas Gerrard was a strong Catholic, but he married a Protestant lady and became involved in the intrigues of Claibourne against Lord Baltimore. For this he was attainted of treason and was forced to fly into Virginia, in which colony he settled in the county of Westmoreland, where his descendants intermarried largely and perpetuated the name. The family came originally from Lancashire, England, where it had been seated for several gener- ations, but the name is of Germanic origin and is met with quite frequently in locali- ties settled by Saxon and German people. PASSED TO THE PARKERS. St. Michael's, St. Gabriel's and Trinity Manors, were the dependencies of Leon- ard Calvert in 1639. In 1707 these manors with the exception of the Piney Neck estate, had passed by inheritance to the children of George Parker from the line of their mother's family, who was a daughter of Gabriel Perrot. The first of the Parker family mentioned in the annals of Maryland is William Parker, who was one of a committee commissioned during the lord protectorate of Oliver Cromwell in England, to have charge of the affairs of the province, the rights of the Lords Balti- more falling in abeyance during that period as the Lords Baltimore were royalists. 100 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS A printer's manor. St. Elizabeth's Manor, yet another belonging to Hon, Thomas Cornwaleys in 1639 was on Smith's Creek, but it became the inoperty of the Hon. William Bladen, the "first public printer" of Maryland. His son was Gov. Thomas Bladen, who married Barbara, daughter of Sir Thomas Janssen. OWNED EY THE JESUITS. St. Inigoe's Manor, in St. Mary's county was owned by Mr. Thomas Copley, better known as the Jtsuit priest Father Phillip Fisher. The property is yet retained by the Jesuits. EDLOES AND PLATERS. St. Joseph's Manor, near Tom Creek, on the Patuxent, has been the lordship of the Edloes and Platers. Both these families were among the early settlers. The name of Joseph Edlow or Edloe, is preserved among the Maryland archives as the first of that family on American shores in 1634. The Platers were disloyal to the crown in 1776. one of them, George Plater, being quite notorious for this. But probably in the trans- fer of the manor from one family to another other considerations than that of fealty were principal. AN ATTEMPT AT SOCIALISM. Bohemia Manor, in Cecil county was conceded to Augustine Herman by Lord Baltimore to reward him for making the first map of Maryland. He was of a respect- able family of Bohemia, in Europe, but had settled in the Dutch possessions of New Amsterdam now New York, where in 165 i, he married Jane Varlett. He had visited England and was thought by the Dutch to be altogether too familiar and social with the English to suit their taste. So, on one occasion, when he returned to New Am- sterdam, after 1672, he was arrested and imprisoned. An old account says that he was permitted to take his famous gray horse into jail with him — which must have been in a barn — and he mounted his horse and dashed out, and, though pursued closely, he escaped by swimming witli his horse the Delaware, his horse dying of exhaustion on reaching the further shore. The Augustine Manor was conceded to Herman also by Lord Baltimore. Within the manorial domain of Bohemia was the first attempt made in America by a body of men to practice the |)rinciples of socialism by the abolition of private prop- erty. One of the sons of the loid of the manor joined this body to the great grief of his father, who manifested that grief in a codi* il of his will, wliereby he put the di^pjsal of his property out of the reach of his visionary son. The families of Thomson, Foreman, Chambers and Spencer claim descent from the lords of Bohemia Manor. Maryland's greatest proprietor. Great Oak Manor, in Kent county, was the lordship of Marmaduke Tilden. His ancestors had been lords of Great Tvldens, near Marden, South Kent, England. He was cousin of Sir Richard Tylden of M listed. The family had possessed lands in the parishes of Brencklv, Otterden, Kennington and Tilmanstone in the reign of King Edward HL, and William Tylden paid for lands in Kent, England when the Black Prince was knighted. Sir William Tvlden, of Great Tyldens was the grandfather of Marmaduke Tilden, lord of Great Oak Manor, a direct descendant of Sir Richard Tylden who was senes( hal to Hugh de Lacy, constable of Chester, accompanied King Richard, the Lion Hearted, to the Holy Land and fought under him at the Battle of Ascalon against the Sultan Saladin in the year 1190 A. D. One of the sons of Mar- maduke Tilden was his heir, also a Marmaduke, and the greatest proprietor in Kent owning 31,350 acres. He married Rebecca Wilmer and left numerous posterity. OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 101 OWNED BY THE RINGGOLDS. commander of the county. ^ — . _ „ _, — j „_ , the commander of Ringgold's Artillery in the war between Mexico and the United Stales of 1846. ANCESTORS OF THE BRENTS. Fort Kent Manor, on Kent Island, belonged to Giles Brent. The Brents were related to the Calverts, Lords of Baltimore. They consisted of the brothers Giles and Foulke and the sisters Margaret and Mary, who came into the province in 163S, bringing a considerable nurnber of servants, male and female. Of their descendants Robert Brent married Anna M. Parnham of the family of Hon. John Pole of the Privy Council of England : James Fenwick Brent married Laura, daughter of Gen. Walter H. Overton, of Louisiana, and Gen. Joseph L. Brent married Frances R. Kenner, daughter of Duncan Kenner, of Louisiana. Of this family, also was Hon. Robert James Brent, one time attorney general of Maryland and an oracle of the Maryland bar. HOME OF THE CARROLLS. Dougheregan Manor was the seat ot the Carrolls, the first of whom in Maryland was Charles, who landed at Annapolis sometime in the seventeenth century. To this family belong two men celebrated in the early history of the United States — Charles Cirroll of CirroUton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Right Rev. John Carroll, tJie first vicar general of the United States, as well as the first arch- bishop in Maryland. The grandson of Charles Carroll of Carrollton — John Lee Carroll — was one time governor of Maryland. GIVEN TO A MINISTER. Stokley Manor, whose lord was Jeremiah Laton, in 1675, bequeathed it to the "first Protestant minister who might settle in Baltimore country," so great was his desire to hear the Word spoken as it had been spoken in Massachusetts, from where, he had migrated. A branch of this family were among the settlers of Kings county, Nova Scotia, in 1760, after the expulsion of the Acadian French. MANOR OF THE CARVILLES. St. Barbary's Manor belonged to the Carville family, the first of whom was the Hon. George Carville, attorney general of the province. A person of great conse- quence in the romance of history has been made the subject of a recent novel "Richard Carvel," and supposed to belong to this family. In the City of St. John, NewBrunswick, Canada, a mansion house called Carvell Hall, belonging to a family of that name, being likely of Loyalist origin and mayhap from the Western Shore of Maryland. FORT WASHINGTON. The following extracts are from an intesesting sketch of Fort Washington read be fore the Columbia Historic Society of Washington, D. C, by Dr. Jas. Dudley Morgan of that city, and here published by the courtesy of the author. The colonists from England, in the Ark and the Dove, penetrated as far up the Potomac Piver as what is now called Heron and Blackistone Islands, befort disem- barking. Leaving most of his party here. Governor I^eonard Calvert . v.ii'i a few 102 ifCME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS chosen men of the parly, set out in two pinnaces to further explore the river. They Fnade several landings, one about four leagues up at a point near the present Colcnia Beach, but here the natives on their approai h became alarmecl and fled into the in- terior. Their next stop was after sailing about nine le;igues, which brought them to what is now called Marlborough Point. Here the Indian chief, Archihu, met them in a friendly manner and said, "You are welcome ; we will use one table; my people shall hunt for my brothers " Continuing their voyage of discovery, they came to what was then and is yet called Piscataway Creek, and here they found the surrounding heights covered with Indians, to the amount of about five hundred, in hostile array. After long and patient gesticulations and demonstrations, the colonists convinced the natives that their mission was [)eaceable, and a conference with th^-ir chief then took place. It was here that the English f )und Henry F"leet, who had been captured and held as a prisoner, and through his acting as interpreter much good feeling was shown. Shortly after the arrival of Governor Calvert and his party at Piscataway Creek the Indian chief fell ill, and forty conjurers or medicine men in vain tried every remedy within their power ; when one of Governor Calvert's i).irty. a Father White, by per- mission of the chief administered some medicine to him and caused him to be freely bled; — the treatment was successful, the invalid began to improve, and was soon restored to perfect health The chieftain, though, would not bid Cal\er\ and bis mtn either go or stay, but told him "he might use his own discretion. " Governor Calvert, not overpleased with the dubiousness of his welcome, thought prudence was the better policy, and deeming it unwise to settle so far up (150 milts) the Potomac, after having by various presents persuaded the chief of the Piscatawiys to allow Henry Fleet to accompany them, returned for his copatriots, who were awaiting him at Blackistone's Island, and entering the river now called the St. Mary's and about ten miles from its junction with the Potomac, purchased of the Indians payt of their village, where he commenced his settlement to which was given ihe name (March 27, 1634) of St. Mary's. This purchase of land and treaty with the Indians was much facilitated by a happy occurrence, at least for the colonists, which took place at this time. The Sasquehannock Indians, who lived about the head of the bay, were in the practice of making incursions on their neighbors, the Yoacomicos, in the vicinity of St. Mary's city, partly for dominion and partly for booty, and of the booty women were the mostly desired. The Yoacomicos were at this very time fearing a vi^it3ticn of the Susquehannocks, and had already gotten to a point of safety many of their wives and sweethearts, so that striking a bargain for the purchase of the land was rendered very easy for the colonists. It was but eleven years after (1645) the establishment of St. Mary's city (1634) that among the many acts and regulations for the defense of the province, we read of one for the establishment of a garrison at the mouth of the Piscataway Creek, and authoriz- ing "Thomas Watson of St. George's Hundred to assemble all the freemen of that hun- dred for the purpo;e of assessing upon that hundred only the charge of a soldier, who had been sent by that h-indred to serve at the garrison at Piscataway." In Ridpath's "History of the United States," page 219, we read as follows: "On the present site of Fort Washington, which is nearly opposite Mount Vernon, the Indian village of Piscataway stood. Here Gov. Leonard Calvert moored his pinnace and held a con- ference with the chief of the Piscataways." "This Indian village," sa\s Wilson, in his history, "was fifteen miles south from Washington on the east side of the Potomac at the mouth of the Piscataway Creek, opposite Mount Vernon and near the site of the present Fort Washington." An Indian settlement appears on John Smith's map of Virginia, opposite Mount Vernon, at the mouth of the Piscataway Creek. It is always a subject for congratulation that any enterprise in connection with the interests of our young republic was either instigated by or had the endorsement of General Waslington. He evidently weighed well and considered and overlooked the whole field of facts before promoting or sanctioning an innovation. That he might OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 103 gain a more thorough knowledge of the topography of the country surrounding our Fedeial City, and the course and tributaries -^f the Potomac he, in i 785, accompanied by several friends, among whom was Governor Johnson of Maryland, made a tour of invesMgation, in a canoe, of the upper Potomac, long before the removal of the seat of governmerit to Washington. So it was before recommending to General Knox that promontory on the Potomac for a fort (1794) that he had overlooked, examined and sojourned in the immediate neighborhood and consequently was thoroughly familiar with the locality and knew of its many advantage?. It was often his custom in going either to Bladensburg, Upper Marlborough or to Annapolis to ferry the Potomac from Mount Vernon to Warburton, and thus continue his journey. He has often, when tired or belated, or for social intercourse, stopped and spent some time with George or Thomas Digges at Warburton — what is now Fort Washington. There was evidently much social visiting between the Washingtons and the families at Warburton and other neighboring country seats. In addition to the hospitality extended during the hunting season, Mr. Irving speaks of "water parties upon the Potomac in those palmy days, when Mr. Digges would receive his guests in a barge rowed by six negroes arrayed in the uniform, whose distinguishing features were checked shirts and black velvet cips. As Mr. Irving's -palmy days' were before the Revolution, the Mr Digges referred to was evidently Mr. George A. Digges, who lived at Warburton, until his death in 1792. At this time, Warburton passed into the hands of a bachelor brother, Thomas. As was customary with the sons of the Maryland and the Virginia planters, Thomas Digges had spent his youth in London, where he was known in his circle of friends as the handsome American. Although young Digges lived the life of a youth of fashion among the 'Macaroni' of his day, when his services were needed bv his country, he proved himself to be a man of resolute char- acter, and ardently patriotic. The Continental Congress required a secret and con- fidential agent near the (?ourt of St. James, and Thomas Digges was, through the influence of Washington, selectt^d for this hazardous and important mission." From the period of about 1795, when negotiations were entered into with Mr. George Diggts for the purchase ot part of Warburton at the mouth of the Piscataway Creek, on the Potomac River, for a fort, and the further expense to the government of small sums of money for intrenchments at that point, there was very little done, until Prc'-ident Madison, aroused by the imminent danger of war with Great Britain, directed that M'ajor Pierre Charles L'Enfant proceed to Fort Warburton and report to the Secretary of War the condition of that defense. I'here can be no doubt that had Fort Washington been properly garrisoned and the channel obstructed, as General Winder requested (August 19, 1S14), and suitable batteries erected at the proper time on the river, the British squadron would never Jiave reached Alexandria. The officer who had run away with his command from Fort Washington was tried by the court-martial and dismissed from the service. After the second war with Great Britain, Fort Washington was allowed, as were most of the fortifications throughout the Uriited States, to go to rack and ruin for want of pro- per care to its armament and intrenchments, until in 1850 it was a mere military post, having one or two companies of artillery, and later on, only a detachment of the ordnance corps. In all periods of North American history, aboriginal, revolutionary and secessional, the ground where Fort Washington stands to-day has taken a prominent part. The first order issued during the Civil War for the protection of Washington to the naval forces was dated Januarv 5, 1861, signed Isaac Toucey, Secretary of the Navy, and addressed to Col. John Harris, Commandant Marine Corps, directing that a force of marines be sent to Fort Washington, down the Potomac, for the protection of public 104 SOME OLD HISTORIC LANDMARKS property. Forty men, commanded by Capt. A. S. Taylor, U. S Marine Corps, were sent in obedience to this order. Historic Fort Washington, which has seen so many viscissitudes and taken part in so many wars, invasions, sieges and insurrections of this country, had a garrison flag raised to the top of a new steel flag pole, on Wednesday, December 12, 1902, with military ceremony, the music playing, troops drawn up in line with presented arms, and a salute being fired from the guns of the fort. The new flag, which is a large one, flies from the top of the pole fully two hundred feet above the river. It is so situated on a high hill that it can be seen for miles. Until this time only a small flag had been used at Fort Washington on the flag pole within the old stone fort. Under the author- ity of the War Department the large garrison flag has now been raised, signifying Fort Washington is the headquarters for the Potomac forts. OF THB EXPKDIXION OF ..:The Young Surveyors:.. GEORQK WASHINGTON AND GEORGB Wai^LIAM KAIRKAX TO SURVEY THE VIRGINIA LANDS OF Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax, BY (I Copiously Illustrated by Miss Eugenie De Land. STRICXI^Y AUTHENTIC. FIRST EDITION. ALEXANDRIA, VA, PRINTED BY G. H. RAMEY & SON. 1902. QAaA 5. Copyright, 1902. BY William H. Snowden. THE STORY OF THE YOUNG SURVEYORS IS STRICTLY AUTHENTIC. IT WILL BE FOLLOWED BY THE STORY OF THE VOYAGERS GEORGE WASHINGTON AND HIS HALF BROTHER LAWRENCE WASHINGTON IN 1751-2. /ma ty— f \J o LI rv c)' ^^ i-L r V c Y o "And he dragged the mountains over with chain and rod — The blue sky was his cover, the Indian his lover, And his duty was his sovereign and God." , ry One spring morning, early in the month of March, 1747, eight years before the ( French and Indian war, two young men might have been seen standing at the gates j of "Old Belvoir" the elegant home of the Hon. Wm. Fairfax on the Virginia shore of ' the Potomac river, two miles below Mount Vernon, which latter place was then the residence of Major Lawrence Washington, son of Augustine, and half brother of George Washington of ever honored memory, not yet sixteen years of age, though already nearly of manly stature and possessing much of manly bearing and dignity. The other was George William Fairfax, son of the Belvoir proprietor, and older by eight years than his companion. The former after having completed his school education under the limited tuition of school masters, Hobby and Williams in the county of Westmoreland, Virginia, had come up from the lowlands a short time pre- viously to make his home temporarily with his brother Lawrence until he could find some employment suited to the drift of his natural inclinations. It was here that the two Georges had first met and commenced an acquaintance which was very soon to ripen into confidential friendship, and ultimately, into a brotherly attachment and affection which no circumstances of their after lives were sufficient to mar or change. The inclinations of botbi these young men were much the same. Integrity of pur- pose and action was the basis of both their natures and characters. Both were quick of perception, ardent and eager in their purpose, and anxious to supplement their school rudiments with wide and varied experiences in the greater and more thorough school of the world. Both were fond of adventure which at that early 4 THE STORY OF THE YOUXG SURVEYORS. time in the history of the colony was everywhere opening before them. They were both physically sturdy and capable of great endurance and hardships. They had been receiving of late more advanced instructit)n together in the art and mystery of trigonometry or land surveying, both theoretical and practical, from Lawrence Washington who had received a thorough course of education in old England; for the most promising field of employment then opening for a young man of energy and talent was the "laying off" of plantations in the wilderness territory of the prov- ince. And now, they were about to start together on an expedition over the Blue Kidge mountains to the valley of the Shenandoah river, almost a terra incognita and the home of wild beasts and prowling Indians. Their way was to lead them through the primitive forests and jungles — a way which the bison, the deer and the bear li^id first marked out, long centuries before between the mountains and the sea, and which the roving red man as well, had long threaded. In all the region through which tliey were to pass, plain wagon roads or highways were then unknown and only at long intervals was there to be seen a human habitation or other sign of. civilized life. For guidance in their course they had only their compass and the blazings of the axe on the great tree trunks, made by the earliest pioneers after the coming of Captain John Smith in 1608. 4^ I, $4JkU^^.^^^ YOUNG SURVEYORS STARTING ON THEIR EXPEDITION FROM BELVOIR. Thomas Fairfax, sixth Lord and Baron of Cameron, and cousin of General Fair- fax of Cromwell's parlimentary army, born in England in 1691 had inherited his mother Catherine's extensive landed estate known in liistory and geography as tiie Northern Neck of Virginia lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers I'.-nntt-a uv A VKTATIS 40 En p rav(i(3 lor Grciharrrs "Ma(S aziiie . 1 Cevlif)- that tile p^rinlirig of WashuLc^tuu in 1772. CAreriid-il br Aiisou Dickuisou. Eslj. fomi flu- onqiiial jih.ltirr by l'",-ik'. in \ixx posscssinn.is a f,iirtr[ul reseTntlance of die oHeinal.lhp mily oric in«J of thpTaliT I'aUi.'r, pi-iuj- In lliv ri-voluti / ^ ' J Otten after this expedition of 174/ , before his name and fame had gone to the utmost parts of the earth, Washington was entertained in the same ordinary as he made journeys to the Shenandoah Valley to look after the lands he had there pat- ented. Many other noted historical personages in the colonial days were guests in the lowly inn, among them Daniel Boone and his hardy companions on their way up the old Carolina road from the Sand Hills of Carolina to their remote pos- sessions in the wilds of Kentucky. Louis Phillip, King of France and his two brothers the Duke de Montpensier, and the Count de Boujealais were guests there, Volney tarried there; Lord Fairfax in his hunting excursions often crossed its threshold, and Nellie Custis Lewis always made it her midway stopping place in her later years after removing from Woodlawn to the valley. Near by is a family burying ground where many of the early residents of the neighborhood lie buried. While scores of the Old tavern stands which once dotted the highways leading down from the Shenandoah valle^v and under whose roofs the army of hardy wag- oners found entertainment for "man and beast" in the 3'ears before the coming of railways, have ceased to l)e, and are now forgotten, this historic tenement still stands and is occupied, and with care uaay yet remain a landmark for another generation. Our surveyors on the following morning resumed their journey and crossed the Blue Ridge through Ashby's Gap swimming the Shenandoah and then were in the THE STORY OF THE YOUNG SURVEYORS. r^i'^^^^Wi^- ^ SWIMMING THE SHENANDOAH. great valley of Virginia where it is about 25 miles wide, a region diver.cified by gentle swells and slopes, watered by plentiful springs and streams, and admirably adapted to cultivation. The Blue Ridge bounds it on one side, the Xt)rth Mountain, a ridge of the Alleghanies on the other ; while through it flows that bright and abounding river which on account of its surpassing beauty was named b}- the Indians "'Shen- andoah", that is to say the "daughter of the stars". Pushing on their way, they found rest again at nightfall under the roof of Captain Ashby on the river just named, a short distance above Burwell's Island at the "great bend" of that stream. This was another station for the ferrying and entertainment of wayfarers and the selling of supplies to traders and squatters. On Sunda\^, March the thirteenth. IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHENANDOAH, THF STORY OP THE YOUNG SURVEYORS. 9 they rode to his Lordship's "quarters" four miles higher up the river, passing, tlirough beautiful groves of sugar maples and fertile bottom lands. They had reached a veritable wilderness, such as they had never beheld in all the Potomac or Rappahannock regions. Every object around them was bewildering to their minds we may imagine, and awe inspiring. Remnants of the old Indian tribes still roamed the vast hunting grounds, alive with wild game, to the dismay of the defenceless traveler and pioneer, for be it remembered, the time was eight years before the French and Indian war in which General Braddock figured so inglorious- ly, losing the battle on the Monongahela and his own life. ^^^/^^^ ^iA^ /M^--^ ,^ii:;r M III/,', M ^• ..-.../■■■S:v*^. ^»^, ■// c^ ARRIVAL AT LORD FAIRFAX'S QUARTERS. ' Lord Fairfax liad come to the vidley a year or so before and h;id built for him- self about twelve miles south east of Winchester a stone ''Hunting Lodge" of ample proportions with quarters lor servants, in the centre of a manorial estate often thou- sand acres, on which he liad designed to build at sometime, a palatial residence. He had called his new home ''Greenway Court", where he lived a recluse with his attendants, and scores of hounds, bat che latch string always hung outside of his door, and this was always open wide for the entertainment of the way- farer. He established here a branch of the Bel voir land office and became popular with all classes around him and was very useful and influential in tbe organization of the county of Fredericksburg, and in building up the town of Winchester. Young Washington and his friend found under the roof of Greenway Court wel- come and good cheer, and while they were engaged in surveying and mapping the surrounding lauds the place was to be their home. Henceforth for a time our adventurers were to be surrounded by perils and dan- gers as well as b^' sights novel and interesting, but their new field of action was to 10 THE STORY OF THE YOUNG SURVEYORS. give them valuable experiences, and for one of them it was to lay the foundation of great usefulness to himself, to his country and to mankind the world over. Washington during this expedition kejit a diary not only of all surveys of the tracts and lots made, but also of many curious and interestiui? circumstances incident to the wild, romantic life which iheir business required. From this diary we make the following extracts, which will give to the reader some idea of the daily life of the two Georges as they penetrated the primeval forests of the great valley and with compass and chain escablished the "buttings and boundings" of those wide areas over which are now to be found so many of the fertile valley farms. ;^> ^^^W^'^M^^ CABIN OF LORD FAIRFAX. The surveys were commenced in the lower part of the valley, some distance above the junction of the Shenandoah with the Potomac, and extended for many miles along the former stream. Here and thereonly partial clearings had been made by adventuroussquatters and pioneers, but even their rude tillage of the virgin soil had produced good crops of grains, hemp, and tobacco. The extracts are jn»^t as W'aslungton hurriedly noted ihem down from day to day in his field book, and if his modes of expression and or- thography at that time are not up to the standard of the present day we feel sure that no sensible student will indulge in unkind criticisnj of them, as evidently they were not intended for the public eye. They are some what quaint in style, but they give us fond glimi)ses of^the great personage in his boyhood and make us for the time companions with him as he roughs it in the Virginia wilds. Tuesday, March 15th. We set out early, with intent to run round ye s'd land, but being taken in a rain, and it increasing very fast c;bliged us to return. It clearing about I. o'clock and our time being too precious to lose, we a second time ventured out and worked hard till night, and then returned to Pen- nington. We got our suppers and was lighted into a room, and I not being so good a woodsman as ye rest of my company stripped myself very orderly and went into ye be^l as they called it, when to my surprise I f.iuud it to be nothing IJut a little straw, m Uted together without sheets or anything else, but only one threadbare blanket, with double its vveight of vermen.such as lice, fleas &c. I was glad to get up; as soon as the light was carried from us I put on my clotlies and lay as my companions. Had we not have been THE STORY OF THE YOUNG SURVEYORS. 11 very tired I am sure we should not have sleepe'd much that night. I made a promise not to sleep so from that time forward, chusing rather to sleep in ye open air before a fire as will appear hereafter". March ye 15th. Surveyed a tract of land on Gate's marsh. Ye chain men were Henry Ashby and Richard 'I'aylor. \'e marker Robert Ashby. Ye pilot Wm. Lindsy. March the i6th. we set out early and finished about one o'clock and then travell'd to Fredericks- town now Winchester where our baggage came to us. We cleaned ourselves to get rid of ye game we had catched night before, and took a review of ye town, and thence returned to our lodgings where we had a good dinner prepared for us, wine and rum punch in plenty, and a good feather bed with clean sheets which was a very aggreeable regale. RUNNING LINES. March 17th. Rained till tt-n o'clock, and then clearing up, we reached as far as Major Campbell's, one of the Burgesses, about 25 miles from town. Nothmg remarkable this day nor night, but that we had a tolerable gcod bed to lie on. March i8th. We travelled up about 35 miles to Thomas Barwick's on Potomac where we found ye river so exceedingly high by reason of ye great rains that had fallen up about ye Allegany Mountains as they told us, which was then hringin>j down ye melted snow, and that it would not be fordable for several days; it was then six foot higher than usual and was rising, we agreed to stay till Monday — We this day called to see ye famed warm springs, we camped out in ye field this night. Nothing remarkable happened till ye 20th. When finding ye river much ai;ated in ye evening swam our horses over and carried them to Charles Polk's in Maryland for pasturage till ye next morning. March 21st. Travell'd up ye Maryland side in a continued rain all ye day to Col Cresaps, right agains ye north branch, I believe ye worst roads ever travell'd by man or beast. 12 THE STORY OF THE YOUNG SURVEYORS. ■<^.r7^ TAKING A NAP. March 22. Continued rain and ye freshet kept us at Cresaps. March 23. Rained till about 2.oclock when we were surprised by thirty odd Indians coming from war with a scalp. We had some liquor with us ot which we gave ihem part, it elevating their spirits, put them in a humor for dancing, of whom we had a war dance. Their manner of dancing is as follows: They clear a large circle and make a hre in ye middle, then seat themselves around it, ye speaker making a great speech telling them in what manner they are to dance. After he has finished, the best dancer jumps up as one awakened out of a sleep and runs and jimips about ye ring in a most cornicle manner. He is followed by ye rest, then begins their musicians to play. Ye music is a pot half of water with a deerskin stretch'd over it as tight as it can and a gourd, with some shot in it to rattle, and a piece of a horse's tail tied to it to make it look fine. Ye one keeps rattling and ye other drumming all ye while ye others is dancing. March 25ih, 1748. Went up to ye mouth of Patterson's creek and swam our hor\es over; got over ourselves in a canoe and travell'd up the following part of ye day to Ahram Johnstone's 15 miles from where we camped. March 26. Travell'd up ye creek to Solomon Hedges, esq., one of his majestie's justices of the peace for the county of Frederick, where we camped. When we came to supper there was neither a cloth upon ye table nor a knife to eat wuh, but as good luck would have it we had knives of our own." March 29. Went out this morning and surveyed 500 acres of land and went down to one Michael Stump's on ye south fork of ye branch; on our way shot two wild turkeys. April 2nd. Last night was a blowing, rainy night. Our straw catch'd fire y't we was laying upon and was luckily preserved by one of our mens awaking. THE STORY Oi< THF YOUNG SURVEYORS. 13 April 3d. Last night was a much more blustering night than ye former; we had our tent quite carried ofif with ye wind, and was obliged to lie }e latter part of ye night without covering. April 6th. Last night was so intolerable smoky that we were obliged all hands to leave ye tent to ye mercy of ye wind and fire. This day on our journey was catcb'd in a very heavy rain. We got under a straw house until ye worst of it was over and then continued our journey. April 7. Rained successively all last night. This morning one of our party killed a wild turkie that weighed 20 pounds. Slept in Cassey's house which was the first night I had slept in a house since I came to ye branch. April Sth. We camped this night in a wood near a wild meadow where was a large stack of hay. SWIMMING THE POTOilAC. After we had pitched our tent we made a very large fire. We pulled out our knapsacks in order to re- cruit ourselves. Every one was his own cook, our spits were forked sticks; our plates were large chips. As for dishes we had none. April loth. We took (uir farewell of ye branch and travelled over hills and mountains to Coddy'son Great Cacapehon ;ibout 40 miles. April nth. We trav( lied from Coddy's down to Frederick Town where we reached about 12 o'clock. We dined in town and then went to Ciptam Hite's and lodged. April 12th. Got over Wms. Gap ami as low as Wm. West's in Fairfax county, iS miles from ye top of ye ridge. They were now on the lioine stretch and on the 13th reached their homes of Belvoir and Mount Vernon after an ab.sence of thirteen months. The foregoing extracts are only such portions of Washington's journal as serve to acquaint us with a few of the hardships and perils wliich beset the young surveyors in their romantic work in the Virginia wilderness a hundred and lift}' years ago. While on this expedition Washington wrote to a friend the following letter : Dear Richard : The receipt of your kind favor of the 2nd. of this instant afforded me unspeakable pleasure as I am convinced I am still in the memory of so worthy a friend, a friendship I shall ever be proud of increa■^ing. You gave nie the more pleasure as I received your letter amongst a parcel of bcirharians and an uncouth set of people. The like favor often repeated would give me pleasure altho I seem to be in a place 14 THE STORY OF THE YOUNG SURVEYORS. where no real satisfaction is to be had. Since you received my letter in October I have not sleeped above three nights or four in a bed, but after walking a good deal all the day lay d(jwn before the fire upon a little hay, straw, fodder or bear-skins, whichever is to be had with man, wife and children like a parcel of dogs or cats, and happy is he that gets the berth nearest the fire. Ther's nothing would make it tolerable but a good reward. A doubloon is my constant gain every day that the weather will permit my going out, and sometimes six pistoles. The coolness of the weather will not allow me making a long stay as the lodging is rattier too cold for the time of the year. I have never had my cloths off, but lay and sleep in them like a negro, except the few niglits I have layn in Frederick Town." Geo. Washington. 4l?'ii¥''^S %> '^*^l,m?:^# *fc ^^"^ ■-- tufym,, — ^^ ^'^'^ PREPARING A DINNER. George Wm. Fairfax on his return from this expedition was elected a member of the House of Burgesses from Fairfax C(»unty, when his commission as surveyor in chief was given to Washington wlio continued in the em[)loy of Lord Fairfax for twoyears more, not liowever continuously, in the Shenandoah valley, but also over the territory now included within the limits of the counties of Loudoun and Fairfax. Of his work with compass and chain during this time, he no doubt kept a diary as he had done in the first year, tliough no part of it has been preserved. Having fulfilled his mission as surveyor he returned to the jieace and quiet of the Mount Vernon home. Soon after thi.s he accompanied his brother Lawrence now fast declining in health in his voyage to the island of Barbadoes. This wa^^ in the winter of 1751-2. In the autumn of 1758 wild rumors were coming over the mountains of the encroach- ment of the French col>)nists upon the Virginia frontier which then extended to the waters of the Ohio, and governor Dinwiddle looking about for a suitable person to send on a mission of impury into the circumstances and to remonstrate with the aggressors, selt-cted for that jjurjiose our young hero not yet twenty-one years of age^ How worthily he acquitted himself in tliis emergency and how heroically he bore his part in the war of 1755 as Colonel and aide of General Braddock, and also in after years, how he became the trusted and capable leader of the continental armies in resistance to the oppressive rule of Great Briiitm and was finally chosen to be the first President of the United States of America, are stories which have been told with delight in every household and by every fireside of the civilized world. THE STUKV Of TiiK YOUJSG SUKVEVORS. 1,; How different the after career of George William his whilom friend and com- panion. He had no military as])irations but was honored by many civic positions of trust in his province, and in all of them he fully sustained the integrity and nobility of his early manhood. Many times he was elected to thehouse of Burgesses and for some years he was one of his majesty's Council at Williamsburg. On ihc death of his father in 1757 he succeeded him to his estate and became the proprietor of the Belvior home. He had married a daughter of Col Wilson Carey of Hampton. Like his friend Washington he had deplored the oppressions of the mother coun- try against the Colonists but unlike him he did not consider them sufficient cause for rebellion and resistance by force of arms. ON THE HOME STRETCH. In 1772 he was called to England by private business, and on his voynge out passed the ships which brought the obnoxious cargoes of tea to Boston aj^d other provincial harbors. He never returned to Virginia but died in Bath in 1787 agtd (>3 years. He lived to know of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis to h_is friend "Washington. His wife survived him until 1811 dying then at the age of 81. Over the dust of George Wm. Fairfax in an obscure English Churchyard is a plain mos.< { covered stone which rarely a wayfarer ever comes to look upon. The Jast resting ) place of George Washington ever guarded and preserved in its beauty and sacred- I ness by pious care is a shrine to which come multitudes of reverential pilgrims from every nation and clime, and a grateful people remembering his virtues and the works he did for his country and all humanity have builded for him the grand^-st monument which has ever pointed to the skies. The life stories of the two person- ages however, are inseparable, blending as they do in the main with beautiful 1 ;^.r- mony and accord. The bond of friendship and filial affection formed and strengthened in the early vears of these two noblo men was never broken. Divergent as were their views of t.lie Revolutionar}'' contest the individual as^sociations of former years held sway liiougb n]l the days of their lives; and death only closed their correspondence. 1 mrnediately after the battle of Lexington in 1775, Washington wrote to his friend, then in England, "Uniiapjjv it is to reflect that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a orother's breast, and that the once happy and peaceful plains of America are to be either drenched with blood or inhabited by slaves. 8ad alternative ! But car a virtuous man hesitate in his choice ?" After the battle of Bunker's Hill, July 25, 1775, the General wrote to his friend again— My Dear Friend : "You must no doubt have heard of the enga<,'ement on Bunker's Hill but as I am persuaded you will have a very erroneous account transmitted ol the los-. sustained by the provincials, I do assure vou on my word ihnt ovr 1< fs as appears by the returns made to me amounts to no more than one hundred and thirty-nine killed, tliirty-six missing and seventy-eight wounded. 1 am very truly your friend." G. Washington. X)oubtless it was by letters like these despatchecT after every battle that Mr. Fairfax was continually kept correctly advised of the progress of the great struggle by the commander-in-chief of the Colonial iirmies. To a mutual friend in England on hearing of the death of Geo. William, Wasliington immediately wrote: "Our friend- ship was long, deep and uninterrupted and his loss will be lamented by all who knew him." Tt wns duTinj' one of the candidacies of Mr. Fairfax for a seat in the House of Burges-ies, that of 1V54, that occurred on his account the acrimonious dis;pute between "Sir. Payne, the friend of Col. El*y, his opponent, and his own friend Col. Wji.shington in the market place of Alexandria. Much as we may be inclined to censure the political sentiments of George Wm. Fairfax it is only fair for us to presume that if he Viad remained in Virginia he r:ight finally have alTiiiated perfectly with his old neighbors and friends and readily , :. len in with the tide of opposition to the mother government and shown as much ■ patriotism as did his eminent friend ; and remembering his untiring devotion to tin: Americ;ui jjrisoners of war in England during the contest, his early associations ;'(jid colonial services and his great integrity of character, let us still in our loving charity and niugnanimity think of him only as the bosom friend, the trusted advisor, the el((v,>r brother and companion of the peerless Washington, surveying and mai)ping the. wilderness lands of the Shenandoah and nobly filling his mission as pioneer and do\ng his part in the building up of a great commonwealth. His in .fiurnces for good as well as those of his father, vvhit;h were exerted for the righ ni'Uilding of the character of Washington have nt'ver been properly estimated i5 thou^di he himself fully ai)preciated and valued them, as appears from his private letters, and the old homestead of Belvoir will always possess a peculiar interest as the place wliere th(; nottxl personages we have described passed so much of their .ime in pleasant social companionshii) together. While Washington was roughing it tl)rough the Virginia forests, tracing out and mapping the lands of the future homesteads of civilization, cutting his way through dense thiekets, cl iinbering over rocks and wading streams in true back-woods-man style, slee|)ing often on boughs of pine, broiling his steak over thecoals of camp fires with a wood 'u fork cut from a sa-'pling for a spit, perhaps no expectations of any- thing in the future beyond the nlain .outine ofa planter's life had come to th young adventurer but he was in the hands of destiny and unwittingly he was goin through the prelude to oiie of the gr(, .itest modern liistorical dramas which wa ^oon to unfold in the Colonies and in which he was to be tiie most conspicuous actor JSn APR' 4ii^B