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Proceedings
ofthe
Rockbridge Historical Society
Volume IX
1975-1979
Sharon R. Ritenour and Larry I. Bland, Editors
Joellen K. Bland, Assistant Editor
Lexington, Virginia
1982
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:
49-31386
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROCKBRIDGE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY, VOLUME NINE. Copyright © 1982 by the Rockbridge Historical Society, Box 514, Lexington, Virginia 24450.
m
WAL"lWORTH
PUBLISHING
COMPANY
DON MILLS, INC.
Salem, WV 26426
(304) 782-1179
ISSN 0080-3383
Printed in the United States of America.
To George West Diehl
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vu
Sources of Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Th e Liberty Hall Dig: Archaeology in Lexington, Virginia
John M. McDaniel . . . ........ ... . . . . . . . ...... ........ . . . .. . . ..... .
Recollections of a Liberty Hall Volunteer
Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
The Society 's Properties: Their Past and Their Future
Pamela H. Simpson, Royster Lyle , Jr. ,
Allen W. Moger, Richard R. Fletcher . ........ . ..... . . .. . . .. ... . ... . 25
The First Graduating Class of Liberty Hall Academy
Charles N. Watson, Jr. .... . ... . . . . . . . .... . . ... .. . . .... . ... . ..... . . 35
Benjamin Franklin in France
Gerard M. Doyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Rockbridge County Gravestones and Their Carvers
Cary A. Schneider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Self-Determination and the Sense of Roots
Joy E. (Lamm) Bannerman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Lee in Command
Louis H. Manarin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
,;
'
" California " Taylor of Rockbridge: "Bishop to the World"
Charles W . Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Jordan's Point-Lexington, Virginia: A Site History
Catharine M. Gilliam ... . .. . .. .. .. .. . . . . ..... . ..... . .. . . . ...... . . .. 109
Junius M. Fishburn (1830-1858): Professor of Latin
William W. Pusey III .. . .... .. . . .. . . . . ..... .... .. . ....... . ..... . . . . 139
The Forest and the Pioneer Tradition
S. Todd Lowry ... .. .. .. ...... . .. . . .... . ..... ... . . .. .. . . . . .. . . ... .. 157
V
Contents (continued)
The Preservation of Family Papers
Anthony R. Crawford ............................................ 167
Virginia Place Names: The Rockbridge File
Douglas W. Tanner ............................................... 171
The Prehistory of Rockbridge County
Edgar W. Spencer .................................. .. . ....... .... 177
Lexington in the 1860 Census
Edwin L. Dooley, Jr .................................... . ......... 189
Stonewall Jackson in Lexington
Katharine L. Brown .............................................. 197
Trade and Transportation in Rockbridge: The First Hundred Years
John W. Knapp ..... ... .... ..... .......... . ... . ... ....... ... .... . 211
Rockbridge Historical Society
Officers .......................................................... 232
Activities ......................................................... 233
Index ....... . ......... ... ..... . ... . .......... ... . . ...... . ........... 240
vi
Preface
Thousands of definitions and epigrams seek to describe the study of
history: lessons; bunk; tricks played by the living on the dead; a good idea;
bad. But rarely do commentators mention that it is fun. For over forty
years, Rockbridge County, Virginia, has had a formally established organization dedicated to promulgating this idea. The Rockbridge Historical
Society has prospered while repeatedly demonstrating that people enjoy
studying history. Since its foundation in 1939, the society has acted upon its
belief that the publication of its Proceedings was one of the best instruments
it possessed for preserving and disseminating the stories of the area's past.
The twenty essays in this volume are arranged in the order in which they
were delivered orally at the society's various quarterly meetings. They
represent varied stages in their authors' researches. Some were preliminary
reports presented extemporaneously or from notes and transcribed later.
Some essays were interim reports of ongoing projects. The editors have
sought to give this diverse collection a coherent style while preserving the
authors' individuality. This was done, in part, by following the precepts set
down in A Manual of Style, twelfth edition (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1969).
The writers whose works are printed here are, of course, the most important contributors to this volume's success. But numerous others also
gave important assistance. Richard R. Fletcher, the society's president since
1979, was instrumental in fostering the publication program. He also encouraged (and badgered) authors to submit their efforts to the editors.
The George C. Marshall Research Foundation-established to preserve
the memory of one of the country's greatest leaders through the promotion
of historical research-provided the editors, office space, and equipment
(as well as the authors of two of the essays included in this volume). The
editors used the typesetting facilities at the News & County Press in Buena
Vista to speed the publishing process.
The Andre Studio of Lexington and James Dedrick and William Godfrey
of the Lexington News-Gazette contributed their talents in reproducing
many of the illustrations in the volume. Others who assisted the project
were Jim Adams, Nat Chapman, Barbara Crawford, 8. McCluer Gilliam,
Winifred Hadsel, and Kathi Howard. The staffs of the library and archives
of the Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute
also provided generous assistance.~
vii
Sources of Illustrations
page
3
5
6
11
14
18
21
26
29
29
30
31
32
39
41
48
54
57
60
66
68
71
72
73
75
80
90
page
Courtesy John M. McDaniel
Courtesy John M. McDaniel
Courtesy John M. McDaniel
Courtesy Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr.
Courtesy Washington & Lee University
Archives
Virginia Cavalcade, Winter, 1972, p. 16
Courtesy Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr.
William Oliver Stevens, The Shenandoah and Its Byways (New York,
1941); drawing by the author
(top) Photo by Larry I. Bland
(bottom) Rockbridge Historical Society
(RHS) Collection, Washington & Lee
University Archives
RHS Collection, Washington & Lee
University Archives
RHS photograph
RHS photograph
Herbert Clarence Bradshaw, History of
Hampden-Sydney College (1976)
Henry A. White, Southern Presbyterian
leaders (New York, 1911)
Courtesy Tennessee State Library
Courtesy of the American Philosophical
Society
Claude-Anne Lopez, Mon Cher Papa:
Franklin and the ladies of Paris (New
Haven, Conn., 1966)
Phillips Russell, Benjamin Franklin
(New York, 1926)
Courtesy Cary A. Schneider
Courtesy Cary A . Schneider
Photo by Sharon R. Ritenour
Courtesy Cary A. Schneider
Photo by Larry I. Bland
Photos and rubbings courtesy Cary A.
Schneider; advertisement from the
Lexington Gazette, July 6, 1877
Map by Larry I. Bland
Maps courtesy The American Heritage
Pictorial Atlas of United States History (1966)
92 Map courtesy The American Heritage
Pictorial Atlas of United States History (1966)
95
98
100
l 03
107
114
118
118
Photo by Mathew Brady
Courtesy Charles W . Turner
Courtesy Charles W . Turner
Courtesy Charles W. Turner
Courtesy Charles W. Turner
Photo by Sharon R. Ritenour
(top) Photo by Larry I. Bland
(bottom) RHS Collection, Washington
& Lee University Archives
119 Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed
Book NN, p. 245
viii
120 (top) Association for the Preservation
of Virginia Antiquities (APV A)
photograph collection; courtesy E. S.
Humphreys
120 (bottom) APV A photograph collection;
courtesy Henry J. Tardy
121 (top) APVA photograph collection;
courtesy E. S. Humphreys
121 (bottom) APVA photograph collection;
courtesy Washington & Lee
University Archives
128 (top) RHS photograph
128 (bottom) APVA photograph collection;
courtesy John L. Couper
133 RHS collection, Campbell House library
136 Photos by Larry I. Bland
137 Photos by Larry I. Bland
144 Faculty Minutes, Washington & Lee
University Archives
151 (left) D. X. Junkin, The Reverend
George Junkin, D.D., LL.D. (Philadelphia, 1871)
151 (right) RHS Collection, Washington &
Lee University Archives
160 Tools courtesy S. Todd Lowry; photo
by Larry I. Bland
161 Tools courtesy S. Todd Lowry; photo
by Larry I. Bland
162 Tools courtesy S. Todd Lowry; photo
by Larry I. Bland
166 Photo by Sharon R. Ritenour
173 U .S. Geological Survey map
179 Map courtesy Edgar W . Spencer
180 J . L. Campbell Papers, RHS Collection, Washington & Lee University
Archives
184 Courtesy Edgar W. Spencer
185 Courtesy Edgar W. Spencer
192 U.S . Census return, 1860 (microfilm)
193 U.S. Census return, 1860 (microfilm)
201 Courtesy Stonewall Jackson House,
Lexington
202 Courtesy Stonewall Jackson House
Lexington
'
208 (left) Photo by Sharon R. Ritenour
208 (right) Courtesy Stonewall Jackson
House, Lexington
216 Map by John W. Knapp and Larry I.
Bland
218 Seymour Dunbar, A History of Travel
in America (Indianapolis, 1915).
219 Encyclopedia
International (1973),
18:472
226 Map by John W. Knapp and Larry I.
Bland
230 Courtesy Valentine Museum
The Liberty Hall Dig:
Archaeology in Lexington, Virginia
John M. McDaniel
•
~ /~J., ?
~~/ UR PROJECT FOCUSES ON AN academic institution, a type of
~~archaeological site that has received little attention but which
promises to yield valuable cultural data. The lack of attention
heretofore directed to such sites can be attributed to two factors: first, there
were relatively few academic institutions functioning during most periods of
concern to archaeologists, and second, those that were established have
physically evolved in the same locations, causing such disturbances to the
sites that the applicability of archaeological techniques is obviated.
It is our good fortune that the eighteenth-century campus site of Liberty
Hall Academy has undergone relatively little disturbance. This lack of
disturbance, combined with the myriad cultural insights that investigation
of behavior in the context of an academic situation allows, has provided us
with a particularly exciting research opportunity.
John M. McDaniel, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at Washington and Lee
University, was directing the archaeological excavations at the ruins of Liberty Hall Academy.
Dr. McDaniel spoke to the Rockbridge Historical Society in Evans Dining Hall at Washington
and Lee University on January 27, 1975. A version of his address was later printed in the
Quarterly Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Virginia 31 & 32 (June 1977 & September
1977).
John M. McDaniel
The school to which Liberty Hall Academy traces its origins was founded
in 1749, some twenty miles northeast of Lexington, Virginia, in what is
currently Augusta County (near the present-day village of Greenville). The
school was privately run until 1774, when tp.e Presbytery of Hanover was
given control of the school. The Presbytery named the school Augusta
Academy and entrusted its operation to a recent Princeton graduate,
William Graham. Graham was shortly thereafter ordained a Presbyterian
minister and played a vital role in the school's development. He served the
institution by securing funds, as rector, instuctor, and chairman of the
Board of Trustees for some twenty-two years.
In 1776, as a response to the signing of the Declaration of Independence,
the school changed its name to Liberty Hall Academy. The American
Revolution brought hard times-a lack of students and raging inflation
made the school's very existence difficult. In 1779, the Reverend Mister
Graham moved his family to their farm, one-half mile northwest of
Lexington. Several students followed Graham, studying with him and
keeping the school alive. After the war, the Board of Trustees decided to
continue the school at its site adjacent to Graham's farm. In 1782 the
trustees petitioned the Virginia General Assembly for an act of incorporation which was duly granted. The school awarded its first degrees in
1785 to twelve young men.
During the mid-1780s, a schoolhouse was constructed on the site. This
building served the academy until it was destroyed by fire in 1790. At that
time, the trustees decided to build a more substantial structure of local
limestone. They let out a contract for its construction and that of a
steward's house. On Christmas Day, 1793, they officially accepted both
buildings from the contractor.
The school continued in the 1790s to be plagued by financial difficulties.
The trustees unsuccessfully petitioned the General Assembly for support.
Their financial problems were finally solved when George Washington
bequeathed his stock in the James River Company to the school; the
dividends provided a steady source of income. A consequence of this gift
was the General Assembly's attempt in 1796 to gain control of the school.
The legislators established a new Board of Governors for their "College of
Washington" and divided it into four divisions of studies. Protests lodged
by the Liberty Hall Academy Board of Trustees and other Virginia
educators and statesmen caused the act to be repealed. In appreciation for
Washington's gift, the trustees renamed the school Washington Academy in
1798.
In November of 1802, the trustees had the stone Academy house insured
against fire with the Mutual Assurance Society of Richmond. It was a
timely move, for a few weeks later the wooden roof of the building caught
fire, and the structure was gutted. The damage sustained in the fire was such
2
Liberty Hall Dig
that the building was declared to be beyond repair. The people of Lexington
prevailed upon the trustees to move the school closer to town. This was
done and the site was abandoned.
Washington and Lee University, the school that has evolved from
Washington Academy, acquired the site in 1932. Despite some agricultural
activity, there had been no major alterations of the area between 1803 and
1932. The construction of athletic fields, between 1932 and 1976, has encroached on the area that comprised the eighteenth-century campus;
however, a significant portion of the campus has been preserved.
The history just outlined is summarized from a thirty-seven-page paper
written from data collected during our initial stage of documentary
research. We believe this paper provides the most complete history of the
eighteenth-century campus yet compiled. The question is often raised why
this extensive history, gleaned from minutes of the meetings of the Board of
Trustees and other relevant documents, does not make archaeology an
unnecessary, if not expensive, exercise. As anthropologists, we believe that
questions concerning the cultures of members of this academic community
are unanswered by the historical data. As an early step in our strategy, we
articulated these questions as hypotheses to be tested.
Our first hypothesis is that the academy established by the Scotch-Irish at
Liberty Hall Academy was significantly different from other American
AA
400----+---+--
BB
~Structure Three
350-+----+----+--
300-+---+---+--
Site of Current
Archaeological Investigations:
Liberty Hall Academy,
Washington & Lee University,
Lexington, Virginia
I
3
John M. McDaniel
academic institutions of the period. Our historical research has been
oriented to these other eighteenth-century schools, and we are confident
that the data gleaned from the archaeological effort will be of critical
importance to us in the testing of this hypothesis.
A second hypothesis is that the school, located as it was near the frontier
in the eighteenth century, was isolated.
A third hypothesis addresses the realm of non-academic activity at
Liberty Hall Academy by stating that extracurricular activities in the
eighteenth-century institution were limited.
Our next hypothesis deals with the subject of social organization. This
hypothesis states that with respect to variations in status and role, the
Scotch-Irish population at Liberty Hall Academy was an extremely
homogenous one.
Our final hypothesis concerns the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian's world view
in general and their attitudes toward aesthetics in particular. It states that
the Scotch-Irish who established and maintained Liberty Hall Academy
placed relatively little emphasis on aesthetics. The extant histories are
replete with data which imply the Scotch-Irish settler was tough, pragmatic,
and impressively unimpressed with the "elegant life." We believe our archaeological data will allow us to determine if this is in essence true, or if it
might be either an exaggeration, or in fact, a basic misconception. From an
anthropological perspective, it is the testing of hypotheses such as these that
demonstrate the capabilities of archaeology in assessing relatively elusive
cultural values and perceptions.
Our fieldwork was initiated in the spring of 1974. Our first season (April
to August) was dedicated to a survey of the area and the ongoing collection
of historical data. Our survey has consisted of a detailed study of aerial
photographs, maps, and historical documents of a variety of types. Also,
we have implemented mechanical, instrumental, and visual survey techniques; furthermore, we have established one-meter-square test pits in selected areas. Our survey efforts have been rewarded with the location of
four architectural structures, two roads, a well, and a trash pit. Our intensive work has been oriented to three areas of the site, where our
Structures One, Two, and Three are located.
Structure One is a set of foundations sixty-four feet by twenty-two feet
discovered during our first season of fieldwork. The building is oriented
along a northeast to southwest line, and we have substantial remains of
three walls. The western wall is the best preserved and is divided into two
sections by a sill stone at its mid-point. The northern and southern walls are
less well preserved; relatively little remains of the eastern wall. To the
southeast of the structure is another foundation which we have called the
"Ghost Wall." The exact function of this wall remains unclear, although
we are confident it is not one of the four main foundations of Structure
4
Liberty Hall Dig
The dig at Structure One is in the foreground. The shell of Liberty Hall's
main building is in the background.
One. Several stones are set within Structure One in such a manner so as to
suggest they may have served as bases for internal supports.
Approximately eighty percent of Structure One has been excavated.
There are no detailed historical records of a building of these dimensions in
the eighteenth-century campus; however, there are no extant detailed
records of the steward's house. The chronological implications of a number
of artifact types we have excavated indicate we are dealing with a structure
built between 1785 and 1805. Ceramics and an 1801 Liberty half dollar
excavated from the structure have helped us establish this chronology.
Many artifacts from Structure One indicate it was used for the preparation
and consumption of food; moreover, we find little evidence of artifacts
which can be related to pure academic activities-that is, laboratory
equipment or classroom tools. Hence, we suspect this was the steward's
house, where the students' food was prepared and consumed. It is also of
interest that a substantial number of small artifacts within the structure date
from a post-1803 period; hence, it begins to appear this structure was used
after the campus was moved in 1803.
The main building of the campus, the Academy house, remains in a
relatively good state of repair. Originally three stories tall, it had corner
5
John M. McDaniel
A few of the metal buttons found during the dig. The scale is in
centimeters.
fireplaces in each room. Designated Structure Two, it has been protected by
the University since it reacquired the property.
This structure has provided a wealth of small artifacts, many of which are
similar to those found in Structure One. However, we have also found small
artifacts associated with academic pursuits such as inkwells, styluses, and
portions of writing slates.
Our excavations of the springhouse have just begun. Designated as
Structure Three, it has yielded a variety of small artifacts, such as ceramics
and bottles, all of which belong to a post-1803 context. It appears this
structure was used into the twentieth century.
With respect to our basic hypotheses, it is premature for us to provide
conclusive answers; nevertheless, some clues have been forthcoming. For
example, the data do suggest the Scotch-Irish did exercise an interest in and
concern for aesthetics. Numerous small artifacts, such as buttons and fine
Chinese Export Porcelain pieces, imply there was interest in the aesthetic
qualities of tools. In addition, a detailed examination of the Academy house
itself provides testimony to a people who were obviously concerned with
appearances.
A great number of imported tools, including the Chinese Export Porcelain mentioned above, Spanish coins, and English ceramics, suggest the
6
Liberty Hall Dig
concept of the isolated, self-sufficient, Scotch-Irish frontiersman should be
challenged.
In terms of the homogeneity of the population, we have not yet excavated
data that suggest women played a major role on the campus. However, we
have found evidence which may indicate a degree of heterogeneity of the
population with respect to economic status. The great range of ceramic
types we have found raises the possibility that students may have brought
these pieces from homes of varying social status.
There are few data which suggest military activity on the site. We have
excavated one hundred and fifty-six metal buttons; however, only two are
known military types, and both were found in a post-1803 context in
Structure One.
In testing our hypothesis concerning comparisons with other institutions
of this period, we have found some striking similarities between Liberty
Hall Academy and Princeton University. These similarities include physical
details of the respective campuses, various aspects of the curriculum, and
even the form of the degree awarded. The identification of these similarities
may prove to be important to us not only by helping us learn more about
Liberty Hall Academy, but may also help us to gain access to insights
concerning cultural change and the diffusion of ideas in eighteenth-century
America. With respect to the curriculum, most of the data come from
historical documents; however, a few quartzite projectile points found
suggest that perhaps some interest in prehistory was displayed by members
of the institution.
We have collected information that indicates the nature of extracurricular
activities engaged in by members of the community. We have found a
variety of flint and shot associated with firearms. The presence of birdshot
and the lack of military tools in general indicate these may have been used
for hunting. We have excavated large numbers of fowl bones in association
with Structure One, and many of these appear to be representative of grouse
(bonasa umbel/us). Certain members of the community (possibly students)
appear to have owned musical instruments, such as the "Jew's Harp."
Further, ceramic marbles suggest some of these activities involved games.
Finally, if smoking can be considered an extracurricular activity, we have
substantial evidence of its popularity in the myriad pipebowl and pipestem
fragments we have collected.
In addition to the data we have collected regarding our specific
hypotheses, it is apparent we are accumulating information which
challenges some of the commonly accepted concepts concerning the school.
For example, it was long believed that all the buildings on the campus
burned in 1803, and the entire site was abandoned. Our data suggest
structures survived the fire and were used after the Academy house,
Structure Two, was abandoned. Further, many residents of Lexington and
individuals interested in the history of Washington and Lee University have
7
John M. McDaniel
assumed the main academic building was used exclusively for classes. Our
data suggest students lived, as well as studied, in the structure. This dualpurpose function may prove to be typical of early academic buildings.
In the context of preservation, we are proud it is our project that has
resulted in the protection of an area over four acres in size, encompassing a
substantial portion of the original campus. A copy of a portion of a
nineteenth-century development map indicates the nature of threats that
have been imposed on this area.
Future seasons of work at Liberty Hall Academy will be dedicated to the
completion of the excavation of Structures Two and Three. We will also
continue our work in the realm of survey and documentary research. In the
context of the survey effort, we will test the area around a brick and frame
farmhouse, Structure Four, for evidence of an earlier structure or structures. We now suspect the rector's house, which is discussed in the histories
but which we have so far been unable to locate, may have been on the site of
Structure Four.
A substantial period of time will be allocated to an ongoing assessment of
the artifacts we have excavated. Dr. Michael Pleva, associate professor of
chemistry at Washington and Lee, plays an active role in our project and is
engaged in the spectrographic analysis of our ceramic and metal artifacts. A
careful study of all artifacts will be made. We will test the ceramics from
this area with Stanley South's ceramic dating formula in the interest of
making contributions in assessing the accuracy of his predictions in the
context of this geographical area.
In addition, a paper we submitted on our already extensive button
collection is to be published. We believe we have identified variations in
metal button types that have not previously been described in the literature.
We now plan to test how our categories of button types, based on morphological variations, hold up to a spectrographic assessment of the alloy
components.
From a long-term perspective, we hope our Liberty Hall Academy work
will represent a first step in a commitment to an investigation of other
eighteenth-century Scotch-Irish sites west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The
Liberty Hall situation is certainly not a typical Scotch-Irish site. On the
contrary, its unique nature is a major factor contributing to the advantages
it offers us; however, providing an appreciation of the ''culture of the
eighteenth-century Scotch-Irish" will demand that we get access to other
site types. As a step towards this goal, we are engaged in survey work
oriented to the location of forts, trading posts, churches, and home sites.
We have realized some success in this endeavor and now know there are
more than enough sites to keep us busy after the work at Liberty Hall is
finished. J]
8
Recollections of a
Liberty Hall Volunteer
Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr.
'.•.
-.v
" "9~~:~
! J,'
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; I ~,
~~L.YMOTHER'S FATHER WAS Coupland Randolph Page, ' a
Lexington boy. Page was a student at Washington College when
the Civil War broke out in 1861, and he joined the Liberty Hall
Volunteers, a part of the Stonewall Brigade of the Army of Northern
Virginia. He served with the Volunteers until June, 1862, when he became a
staff aide with General William N. Pendleton, chief of Artillery of the
Army of Northern Virginia. From February, 1864, until the surrender at
Appomattox in April, 1865, he was adjutant of Cutshaw's Battalion of
Artillery. 2
7 ~9
Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr., a Staunton physician, read from and commented on the
memoirs of his grandfather, Coupland R. Page, at the quarterly meeting of the Rockbridge
Historical Society at Lejeune Hall, Virginia Military Institute, on April 28, 1975 . Dr. Shields is
a 1932 graduate of Washington and Lee University and a graduate of Harvard Medical School.
1. His father was William Nelson Page, a graduate of, and later teacher at , HampdenSydney College; he came to Lexington as the principal of the Ann Smith Academy.
2. Wilfred Cutshaw graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1858, lost a leg three
days before the surrender, and' after the war was a n assistant professor at V .M . I. , and later
became the city engineer of Richmond .
9
Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr.
After the war, following a period of driving horse-drawn streetcars in
Richmond, he attended the Virginia Theological Seminary, from which he
graduated in 1872. Thereafter, he served as a priest in the Episcopal Church
in Maryland.
Many years after the war, Coupland Page wrote an account of his experiences. This manuscript was rediscovered, rolled up in a tin cylinder,
when my sister and I were going through the effects of my aunt in Winchester in the mid-1960s. It was saved from inadvertent destruction by good
fortune.
These recollections include only accounts of the formation of the Liberty
Hall Volunteers and their activities through the Battle of First Manassas
(July 21, 1861), a meeting with Stonewall Jackson at Weyers Cave in June,
1862, and some memoirs of the Battle of Gettysburg. This essay includes
selected portions of the memoirs, including all of those mentioning
Stonewall Jackson.
Some comment on the origin of the Liberty Hall Volunteers is in order.
On May 13, 1776, the trustees of Augusta Academy formally renamed the
school "Liberty Hall," thereby becoming the first academic institution in
the colonies to cast its lot with the growing sentiment favoring independence. During the Revolution, Liberty Hall Volunteers fought against
the British. In March, 1781, they were present at the Battle of Guilford
Court House, when Lord Cornwallis was forced to withdraw his army to
what he presumed would be the protection of the seacoast. In June, 1781,
the Reverend William Graham, rector of Liberty Hall Academy and captain
of the local militia, took his men to Rockfish Gap to defend the Valley
against Tarleton's Cavalry.
In 1861 the Liberty Hall Volunteers were again formed to fight in defense
of the Valley, but against a different invader. In his book Liberty Hall
Volunteers, Dr. W . Gleason Bean quotes from the Lexington Gazette of
June 13, 1861: "The patriotic fire which animated the breasts of the boys of
Liberty Hall in the days of our Revolutionary struggle is still alive in the
breasts of their worthy descendants.''
Individual members of the Civil War unit had additional connections
with the Revolution. Coupland Page's family came from Yorktown,
Gloucester, and Williamsburg, where they had been actively involved in the
government of early Virginia and in the struggle for independence. Page
was following the example of his father's father, who had been a student at
the College of William and Mary when the Revolutionary War broke out,
and had left school to join the American army. Coupland Page and his
peers had no choice consistent with honor but to defend their homeland.
The decision was a dangerous one, as the statistics of the Liberty Hall
Volunteers given in Dr. Bean's book show. There were one hundred eighty-
10
Liberty Hall Volunteer
The author and his grand/ather, Coupland Page, at Winchester, Virginia,
in 1914.
one Volunteers, of whom seventy-two were in the original company of
Washington College boys who formed the hard core (nearly all the officers)
of the company. The Volunteers lost forty-three dead and seventy-two
wounded; most of the others were captured. Only two of the original
company, and six recruits, stacked arms as Liberty Hall Volunteers at
Appomattox. A few others, including the writer of these memoirs, had been
transferred to other units.
The following excerpts are from Coupland Randolph Page's recollections, particularly those relating to Stonewall Jackson.
WAR AT HAND
Quaeque ipse . .. vidi.
During the evening service at the Presbyterian Church,
11
Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr.
Lexington, Virginia, on the second Sunday in May, 1861, while
the choir was singing the hymn before the sermon, the old sexton
handed a telegram to a member of the choir, who after reading
it, sent it to his beloved father, the Pastor of the Church. The
noble man of God placed it upon the Bible on his pulpit, and at
the close of the sermon, with the deepest sympathy for his
hearers read it before the congregation.
It was like a brilliant flash of light before The Throne of God
to his devoted flock and after singing the closing hymn, amid the
burning tears of all present, in the beauty of his faithfulness to
God's will, he pronounced with loving heart the benediction.
The news on the morrow was announced to the members of
the disbanded College Company who had not yet left for their
homes, viz: That the Governor had sent orders for the Company
to report to Colonel Jackson at Harper's Ferry, as soon as
possible.
A meeting was called at once, and after some unavoidable
delay, the Company was organized and made ready to obey the
Call of Virginia to the front.
June 8th, 1861.
THE LIBERTY HALL VOLUNTEERS
Pro aris et Forcis.
On the morning of this, their Natal Day, the Company formed on the campus of Washington College and from there
marched up town to the courthouse, where, upon their arrival,
"Old Zeus" (Prof. James J. White), our beloved Captain, gave
command as follows: "Front! Order Arms! Stack Arms! Unsling Knapsacks! In Place! Rest!"
The day was perfect; loyal hearts from the county and town
were present in large numbers to witness a scene never before or
since, nor ever more to be seen by mortal man. Death-like
silence reigns, as the venerable man of God, with uplifted hands
invokes the blessing of Heaven upon his noble son who, with
sword in hand, and his company with muskets, bow before him.
At the close of his prayer, he withdraws in tears.
A beautiful silk banner, the gift of the ever blessed daughters
of brave old Rockbridge, is then presented to the company by
one of her eloquent sons who at the close of his impressive
oration unfurls it, as the Captain gives order, "Take Arms,
Present Arms!" And taking it into his hands from the Orator
12
Liberty Hall Volunteer
passes it over to the safekeeping of the color bearer. At this stage
of the scene a short pause is made, which no language can ever
describe. With the company standing at "Parade Rest" he
comes to the front and with reverence looking at the banner,
turns with loving heart to the weeping daughters, and accepts
their precious gift, with the assurance that the Liberty Hall
Volunteers will make it a shield for their protection on the day of
battle, and christen it with their life's blood in defense of our
beloved South.
We were then given a half-hour in sweet communion with our
loved ones, and after the final parting, The Long Roll, the Roll
Call, the Benediction by the beloved old man of God and the
Captain's orders, we wheeled to the right by fours and marched
to meet the Storm of War gathering along the forefront of the
Potomac River.
Marching by the dear old College with mingled regret, we
were soon halted in front of the ever loyal V.M.I., at whose feet
we mounted the familiar old stage coaches, once the means by
which the students and cadets were enabled to reach their happy
homes, but now, alas! used to transport them on their way to
protect their loved ones at home upon the field of battle.
At the crack of the drivers' whips, we take one last lingering
look at the familiar hills surrounding us, upon whose brow the
Old Patriots and their children wave us onward until we pass out
of sight through the old bridge on North River.
They passed on to Staunton on their way to Winchester and Camp
Stephens near Martinsburg. On July 18, 1861, the Army of the Shenandoah, under General Joseph E. Johnston, which included Jackson's
Brigade and the Liberty Hall Volunteers, left the Winchester area to go to
the aid of General Beauregard, who was being attacked by the Yankees at
Manassas.
Coupland Page saw his brother on the evening of Friday, July 19, and
noticed the text from the Twenty-seventh Psalm, third verse, on the front of
Willie's tent: "Though an host of men were laid against me, yet shall not
my heart be afraid; and though there rose up war against me, yet will I put
my trust in him."
At twilight we arrived in a pine thicket, our first position,
about the left centre of the Confederate line of works, some
distance in rear of Longstreet's command at Blackburn's Ford
and Bonham's Brigade at Mitchell's Ford on Bull Run.
13
Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr.
Reunion of the surviving members of the Liberty Hall Volunteers, June 14,
1910. First row (left to right): William Bell, C. F. Neal, J. N. Lyle, G. B.
Strickler, Everard Meade, William Meade, J. L. Sherrard. Second row: H.
R. Laird, J.B.H. Jones, William A. Anderson. Third row: S. R. Moore, J.
P. Amole, Coupland R. Page, J. T. McKee, T. M. Turner.
We spent the night there, remained concealed in the same
position all day Saturday and Saturday night. Having nothing to
do after breakfast on Saturday, some of us visited the battlefield
of the 18th. In the garden of an old farmhouse, close to our
hiding place, I saw the first new-made grave of a soldier, and
upon going into the garden to find whose grave it was, through
tears and with an aching heart, I read this inscription on a pine
board, ''Major Carter Harrison.''
That was enough for me, in sightseeing, upon the first battlefield I had ever visited. A brave, gallant officer, beloved by
my precious mother, to whom he was nearly related; the idol of
his own devoted family in their lovely home in Eastern Virginia,
now made desolate!
THE FIRST BATTLE OF MANASSAS.
July 21, 1861
By the brilliant light of the morning stars marking the approach of this ever memorable day, the Liberty Hall Volunteers
stood in ranks after reveille, answering to their names at roll
call. From every heart in the First Brigade of the Army of the
Shenandoah present that morning, the response was the same:
"ready for action."
14
Liberty Hall Volunteer
We had a hurried breakfast, prompt inspection of arms, and
each man was furnished with a good supply of caps and "buck
and ball" cartridges, and we left our knapsacks under guard in
the pine thicket in which we had camped that night. The brigade
was formed soon after daylight in rear of our encampment. The
4th Virginia Infantry was then sent over to a commanding hill
towards Stone Bridge to pull down fences, cut away scrub pines,
and prepare the position for artillery. Here the Liberty Hall boys
had the full benefit of some fine blackberries which the early
morning dew rendered very palatable. After finishing our work
we took a short rest and it was there that we got our first glimpse
of the Yankees in the morning sun just peeking over the hills
near Centerville and casting its reflection upon the flashing
bayonets of the enemy crossing the Centerville road on their
march to turn the left flank of the Confederate Army above
Stone Bridge. . . .
Upon reaching the Brigade, our regiment went into a small
oak grove where "Old Jack" and his staff were sitting on their
horses under the shade of a large oak tree, near which our
company halted to rest. We had hardly time to cool off since the
return of the Regiment to the Brigade, when all of a sudden,
volleys of musketry and artillery firing were heard in the
direction of the extreme left of the Confederate Army, with
increasing intensity. I shall never forget the excitement and deep
interest manifested by my comrade Ben Bradley, who was
cheering and throwing up his cap as I took him by the arm and
said, ''Ben, you had better save your breath; we will get into it
soon enough.'' Putting on his cap, he replied saying, ''Coup, my
boy, we will never get a chance, they are too far off." Just then
James Thompson, a cadet I had known at the V.M.I., and that
day acting as an aide-de-camp on "Old Jack's" staff, came
rushing like a streak of lightning with his horse in profuse
perspiration, halted near our company, and recognizing me,
said, "Hello, Page, where's 'Old Jack's' headquarters?"
Pointing to the big oak tree, I replied, "Jim, you will find him
over there in that group of horsemen.''
"Old Jack" receiving his pupil very cordially, heard what he
had to report, gave him his orders, and Jim, remounting his
horse, left for the battlefield fairly flying. The General, seated in
his saddle as firm as a rock, without opening his mouth to any
member of his staff, quietly rode over to where Colonel Preston
was sitting on his horse at the head of our regiment, and calmly
said, "Colonel, order the Long Roll!" Forming the Brigade in
15
Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr.
the twinkling of an eye, this order ran through every Regiment
and Company with a vim, "Right shoulder, shift arms! By
fours. Right! Double quick, march!"
Off we put and kept it up for over two miles without a break
as far as I could see, running through all sorts and conditions of
men, some wounded, many without a scratch, a great many
calling out, "Go back, boys, go back; it is all over with us, the
Army is cut to pieces!'' . . .
We filed into a slight ravine which afforded some protection
while preparing for immediate battle. The Brigade was formed
at once, and the command given, "load at will, fix bayonets, in
place, rest." Then a band of white cotton cloth was fastened
around the left arm just above the elbow and over the cap or hat
band of every officer and soldier, the battle countersign, ''Pro
aris et forcis" (for our altars and firesides) being given to
everyone at the same time.
"Old Jack" in the meantime having ridden forward to select a
line of battle ordered his artillery to the front after having
selected the strongest position he could find on the eastern edge
of the Henry Hill upon which ran a belt of young pines affording some excellent cover which merged into a dense oak
wood towards the crossing of the Warrenton and Manassas
roads. The Brigade was ordered up and deployed in the
following manner: Along the line of battle selected the 33rd was
placed in the oak woods near the Sudley Road on our extreme
left, the 2nd, 4th, 27th and 5th in regular order, the 5th being on
our extreme right. With the Rockbridge battery in front of our
company, and other batteries on the right and left upon the crest
of the Henry Hill along our front the line was completed. Now
came the tug of war!
For over two hours and a half we lay flat upon the ground in
the broiling hot sun, not a breath of air stirring, and without a
drop of water except for those who had filled their canteens and
those who were detailed to care for the wounded and dying;
exposed to the most destructive artillery fire of the Yankees, yet
strange to say, not a man moved in our 4th Virginia Regiment.
The saddest of all while in this position was to witness the explosion of a Yankee shell which killed four of my company,
including Ben Bradley, Charley Bell and Paxton, without the
privilege of helping to remove their bodies from under fire. Very
soon after this a shell passing through the battery exploded in
front of us, a piece of which struck my file leader, Calvin Utz, in
the head. After the litter bearers removed his body, I took his
16
Liberty Hall Volunteer
position. He died that night. I do not remember after this time
who were wounded before the charge was made. Just here, I
must mention one of the most sublime acts of heroism and
heartfelt sympathy ever manifested by any officer or soldier
upon the field of battle. Our regiment was in the centre of the
brigade, our company next to the Color Company, in the centre
of the regiment. General Jackson's position was in front not far
from the centre of our company, when not riding along the line
of battle. It so happened that he was returning from the right
flank, when a shell exploded which nearly destroyed the head of
the company; hearing the explosion and witnessing the effect of
its destructiveness, he rode at once through a perfect sheet of
shelling to the side of our beloved brave Captain calmly giving
orders to the litter bearers, to remove the bodies of his heroes to
the rear.
My God! It was enough to have made the Angels of Heaven
weep when those two faithful sons of the Man of Galilee grasped
each other's hand and in silent prayer, invoking Heaven's
protection upon their living, wounded, and dying soldiers, along
the battle front, as they separated in mutual grief to take their
respective posts of duty.
THE STONEWALL BRIGADE
in the
FIRST BATTLE OF MANASSAS, July 21, 1861
... Among the officers, who were about this time using every
effort to collect the shattered remains of their commands, in the
rear of our Brigade, was General Bee. I did not hear General
Jackson's promise to him to "use the bayonet," but I shall
remember as long as life lasts when sitting on his horse in the
front of our company, with uplifted hand, "Old Jack" exclaimed, '' All is well; this day we will drive them across the
Potomac;'' and again, when we arose from the ground and were
preparing to charge, I heard him say to Colonel Preston:
"Reserve your fire and give them the bayonet."
Just here, I want to state a fact, not recorded by the writers of
the history of this battle, viz; Having had some difficulty in
unbuttoning my cartridge box when we loaded our muskets in
the ravine mentioned above and having buttoned it at that time
after loading my musket I thought, now that we were about to
charge, it would be best for me to have it in readiness as soon as
I fired my first shot, and while turning my head to pull the
17
Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr.
A nineteenth-century artist's conception of the New York Zouaves, conspicuous in their red uniforms, attacking the Stonewall Brigade at Henry
Hill, July 21, 1861.
cartridge box around to where I could more readily unbutton it,
I saw General Bee who was trying to get his men in line not far
from the left rear of our Regiment, sitting on his horse and
heard him, with sword in hand, pointing to our Brigade, and
heard him call out to his men, "Rally men! Rally! Look at
Jackson's men standing like a Stone Wall!"
THE CHARGE.
It was now after three o'clock, the most critical hour of the
day, the time to test the mettle of every officer and man in the
Confederate Army. Thank God, instead of advancing their
army in Division formation from its center, with strong Brigades
on their right and left flanks composed of troops being collected
from the Stone Bridge, to beyond the Manassas-Sudley road, the
Yankees made separate attacks, disjointedly, with some success
on each flank for a while, and it looked as if they would carry
the day. But there was a solid line of five regiments on the east
edge of the Henry Hill, only one of which had as yet been
engaged (the 33rd Virginia) and when they came forward to
force themselves over the plateau of the Henry Hill on our center
and were approaching a pine thicket which they had not yet
discovered: an old grey cap with a white cotton band around it,
whose weary owner, having sent his artillery to the rear, confronted them with a solid line of bayonets . There was no sign of
18
Liberty Hall Volunteer
fear in his eyes, no excitement, no challenge given; but a voice
was heard in Heaven and upon earth, when with sword uplifted,
he rushed forth with his Stonewall Brigade, and with the 4th and
27th Infantry, pieced the centre of the Yankee line of battle. We
climbed the hill in perfect order, without firing a shot, but with
many a brave man falling to rise no more and others badly
wounded retiring to the rear to die ere the close of the day.
The account gives some details of fighting with the New York Fire
Zouaves. Page wrote of his musket barrel being bent out of shape when a
large shell exploded just in front of him, and how he took in its place the
splendid rifle of a dead Zouave.
He then writes of learning that his brother, Willie, had been killed. He
tells of meeting his brother, Dr. Page, and of seeing Willie's body, which
was to be taken to their grandmother's in Cumberland County.
After a good night's rest and my bruises attended to by a
doctor in the hospital for a day or two, I joined my company
sheltered in their homemade tents not far from the battlefield.
From here we went to below Centerville where "Camp Harman'' was established and the brigade for the first time in its
history, subjected to brigade guard and drill with frequent
regimental outpost duty and picketing in front of Manson and
Mason's Hill. After joining the company near the battlefield, I
made a full report of my Zouave rifle to Captain White and he
allowed me to keep it until we were thoroughly established at
Camp Harman. When on brigade guard I used it for a while,
and when detailed at headquarters for guard duty on a certain
occasion, I was stationed on the second post near a spring in rear
of the house in which Old Jack had his quarters. I had taken the
rifle over there when ordered to report for duty, thinking it all
right but after being relieved one morning at the spring, in
reporting to the guard tent to await my next tour of duty, Old
Jack came out with his hand in a sling, and seeing me polishing
the blamed rifle, came up to me and asked, ''Where did you get
your rifle? Your company use muskets?" I said, "General, I
killed one of Billy Wilson's New York Fire Zouaves and took his
rifle and sword bayonet but his cartridge box was shot to pieces
and I left it with him. I have mine." I thought this would satisfy
him but quick as a wink, he sent for Sandy Pendleton and his
Ordnance officer, and 1 thought I would die. He looked as mad
as a hornet. They both knew me well and gave me a royal
handshake, congratulating me on joining the Rifles. Old Jack,
cooling off a little said, "Mr. Page, what became of your
19
Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr.
musket?" I replied, "I lost it." Sandy and Bill Allen looked very
serious. The dear old fellow knew me well and was devoted to
my parents. "Will you tell us how you lost it?" I replied,
''General, I got into the Ricketts Battery . . . . I left the Battery
and in going down the Henry Hill to close in on the Yankees
rapidly retreating across Young's Branch, a 20-pound shell
exploded and a piece knocked me senseless and bent my musket,
and I left it on the field. I was revived by some comrades, and in
going back to where I killed the Zouave, I brought off this rifle
and sword bayonet." Then I added, "If the muskets have been
collected from the battlefield, I can find mine.''
He then directed Bill Allen to take me over to the big pile of
all sorts of muskets in the corner of the yard, while Sandy
Pendleton held my rifle. I hadn't long to search as the damaged
guns were in a pile to themselves. I always kept my musket in
first class order and before leaving Winchester I had cut a big
"P" on the stock (knowing, however, that it was against the
regulations) but thank God, it saved me this time. I soon found
my musket and revealed the secret to Bill Allen before I
presented it to Old Jack. Bill Allen gave a wink to Sandy, as I
did it. And the General, looking me full in the face, asked me,
"How do you know this musket is yours?" I answered, "I cut
that 'P' upon it in Winchester before joining the regiment."
With a smile, he said: "Lieutenant Pendleton give the rifle to
Captain Allen. Captain Allen, we captured several boxes of new
muskets such as Mr. Page's company use. Give him one in place
of his pet rifle.''
Then with a warm grasp of my hand, he said: "Mr. Page, you
have been a good soldier. You have my sincere sympathy in the
loss of your brave brother. God bless you. As soon as I heard of
your noble brother's death, I notified, through Dr. White, my
pastor, your dear parents, with whom my wife is still staying in
Lexington.''
A few days after this, while we were at Camp Harman, he
offered me the position of chief of couriers at Headquarters but
I declined, preferring to remain with my company, being a
corporal in line of promotion. After Old Jack was ordered to
take command of the Valley district including a certain portion
of Western Virginia in October 1861, the Liberty Hall Volunteers were assigned to guard duty of General Joseph E. Johnston's Headquarters at Centerville, where we remained until the
brigade was ordered to join his new command the last of
November 1861 near Kernstown.
20
Liberty Hall Volunteer
A portion of Coupland Page's manuscript describing the scene with
Stonewall Jackson and the captured Zouave rifle printed on the previous
page.
THE LAND OF MEMORIES
After the close of Jackson's Valley Campaign, while we were
camped near Weyer's Cave, June 14, 1862, I was talking with
some of my comrades of the Liberty Hall Volunteers, 4th
Virginia Regiment, Stonewall Brigade, when the officer commanding the company called me aside and said: ''Coup.,
General Jackson has just sent for you to report to his
headquarters. Go as soon as possible." As I was about to leave,
he handed me a large official envelope which I put into my
pocket, and started off at once. In going over to Headquarters
to report, I stopped to speak to his old cook, "Jim," who used
to give me buckwheat cakes with suitable trimmings when not on
guard at the General's Headquarters in Winchester, before and
after our return from the Romney campaign. Jim had a fine
breakfast, real coffee, and everything in readiness. The
surroundings were such as to give me a great deal of encouragement, and having known the old Major by his friendship
for my parents, prior to the war, I was fool enough to believe
that the General had actually sent for me to take breakfast with
him, though I was not at that time very strong on miracles.
Upon reaching the front of the General's tent, I noticed that
the flaps were down, and gave the tent pole several raps, but
21
Randolph Tucker Shields, Jr.
received no response. Pulling aside one of them, I peeped in and
found the noble old hero upon his knees. As soon as he had
finished his prayers, he came out and looked around. I took my
proper position, gave him the best salute I had on hand, having
almost lost the art, by carrying a blamed old ten-pound Harper's
Ferry flintlock altered musket and a wad of "Buck and Ball"
cartridges, since the 14th of April, from Swift Run Gap via
Staunton and McDowell to Franklin, thence to Harper's Ferry,
then back up the Valley, until the close of the fight at Port
Republic, where he gave us time to collect our thoughts near
Weyer's Cave ....
And in return for the salute, received an invitation to come
into his tent and take a seat.
He received me with a very cordial shake of the hand, as he
knew I had left his wife at my home in Lexington, when our
company was ordered to report to him at Harper's Ferry, June
1861.
As I entered his tent, the only chair I could find was a box of
ammunition which he thought, next to his Bible, the most
suitable equipment for a soldier in war time.
After I had taken my seat, looking me steadily in the face, he
said, "Mr. Page, have you received anything official through
these headquarters from the War Department?" I replied, "No,
General, but as I left camp the commanding officer of my
company gave me a long official envelope, and as I thought it
was from the Quartermaster, in reference to some clothing I am
sadly in need of and being anxious to get back to camp as soon
as you were through with me, so as to get my musket ready for
inspection, I have not noticed the envelope, nor do I know its
contents." "Take the envelope from your pocket, open it and
read what is within," he ordered.
I read as follows:
War Department,
Richmond, Va., June 1862
Corporal Coupland R. Page, Co. "I", 4th Virginia
Regiment, Stonewall Brigade, is hereby promoted to
Sergeant Maj-or in the Regular Artillery of the Confederate
States Army, for gallant and meritorious services rendered, and will report for duty at once to Brigadier
General William N. Pendleton, Chief of Artillery, Army
of Northern Virginia.
George W. Randolph
Sec'y of War
22
Liberty Hall Volunteer
I put the comm1ss1on back in the envelope, and said,
"General, I have always tried to do my duty since I left home. I
much prefer to remain with my company. I am perfectly
satisfied where I am, and am not fighting for promotion and
don't deserve any."
He was quite silent for a few moments, then arose and coming
to where I was standing, offered me his hand, and pressing
mine, said, in the most sincere manner: "Mr. Page, you have
been a good soldier, and have won your promotion, which no
soldier should ever refuse. God bless you. You will find transportation ready for you in Staunton. Report to General Pendleton for duty as soon as possible."
With a broken heart, and a large vacuum awaiting Old Jack's
smoking breakfast, I returned to camp immediately, turned over
to the captain my Harper's Ferry friend and ammunition pack,
took a last sad look at my beloved company, bid an affectionate
farewell forever to the dear brave boys and struck out on foot
for Staunton, where I hoped to fill my empty haversack.
Reached there after dark and reporting to the Quarter Master,
received transportation to Richmond via Lynchburg. The commissary having closed its department for the night, my haversack remained empty.
I reported to General Pendleton, June 17, 1862, and served on
his staff until February 1864, and was present on the battlefield
every day during the battle of Gettysburg. [I
23
The Society's Properties:
Their Past and Their Future
A Panel Discussion
-y--~.(;
1f~~f
Introduction by Pamela H. Simpson
"f:~o MUCH RECONSTRUCTION AND REMODELING has taken
~ J ~ ' place recently on the society's corner in Lexington that we thought it
appropriate to pause and take a look at the society's properties-the
Castle, the Campbell House, and the Sloan House-and to investigate their
past, to reiterate how they came to be owned by the society, and to review
what has been done and what might be done in the future. The panel's
members are: Mr. Royster Lyle, Jr., assistant director of the George C.
Marshall Research Foundation and a noted local architectural historian;
Dr. Allen W. Moger, the society's president and professor emeritus of
history at Washington and Lee University; Mr. Richard R. Fletcher, newly
retired director of the Lexington Visitor Relations Center and chairman of
the society's House and Property Committee; and myself, a Washington
and Lee University architectural historian who has become fascinated by
the community's rich heritage. Mr. Lyle will relate the story of the oldest of
the properties.
The Panelists spoke at the quarterly meeting of the Rockbridge Historical Society on July 28,
1975, in the yard behind the Sloan House, Lexington.
25
Simpson, Lyle, and Moger
"The Castle" by Royster Lyle, Jr.
DESPITE THE EFFORTS OF MANY members of the Rockbridge Historical
Society who have studied the history of the Castle, very little that is helpful
is known about it. At the society's April, 1960, meeting, Miss Mary Galt
delivered a paper on the building's history. She relied heavily on earlier
research by Dr. E. Pendleton Tompkins, Dr. Leslie Lyle Campbell, Mrs.
Ruth A. McCulloch, Miss Ellen G. Anderson, and others. After sifting
through the research done by her associates, Miss Galt began her talk by
observing that ''in this historic little building, which is our proudest
possession, we have a first-class mystery." It will be some time before the
society has another group of such outstanding researchers as those I have
mentioned. My effort will be to recap what has been learned thus far.
The Castle's first owner was Andrew Reid, the first clerk of the Rockbridge County court. He lived a long life and remains one of the most
prominent citizens the town has produced. Although the court records
indicate that he did not receive title to the Castle property until 1794, there
is good reason to believe that he had possession of it earlier-perhaps much
earlier-and that the present building could have been built on "Lot No. 7"
as early as 1778. Moreover, one theory is that the building predates the town
itself and that Randolph Street was laid off to fit in front of it.
26
The Society's Properties
Dr. Campbell did exhaustive research on the building over a long period
of time. He first became interested in the Castle when he rented a room
there as a Washington and Lee University student between 1883 and 1887.
The records in the society's files include numerous studies that he pursued
and many descriptions that he wrote on the subject. He was fascinated with
the fact that the building was not parallel with Randolph Street, as standard
building practice would have made it. His mathematical calculations
(preserved in the society's archives) led him to conclude that the building
was one degree and fifty-four minutes off from parallel, the north end of
the structure listing slightly to the east.
The Castle served Andrew Reid as an office. As he was clerk of the court,
it was also the center of much legal and political activity. The courthouse
then was a one-room building made of logs. Apparently the county's
records were kept in Reid's office. In 1796, when most of Lexington was
destroyed in the Great Fire, the Castle was apparently saved, as the county's
records survive completely.
The Castle is thus in the neighborhood of two hundred years old. Unlike
many of the fine late eighteenth-century stone structures in the county, the
Castle was built of field stone (or rubble) rather than cut stone (or ashlar).
Therefore, it has had difficulty surviving the ravages of time. It has changed
hands many times, has suffered a number of fires, and has been rebuilt in
such a fashion that it is almost impossible to discern the eighteenth-century
appearance of the structure.
The building has housed many different persons and has seen varied uses,
including that of blacksmith shop and student boardinghouse. Dr. Campbell chronicled the student boarders that he remembered in a series of
essays in the Rockbridge County News (March 22 and 29, 1934) entitled
"Some Old Castilians."
Finally, through the generosity of Professor Hale Houston, in 1945 the
Castle became the property of the Rockbridge Historical Society. In 1948,
Dr. Campbell headed an effort that accomplished certain renovations which
returned the building to an attractive structure-one that appeared to
everyone as it may have been when Andrew Reid was its inhabitant. For
almost thirty years, the building was the society's meeting place and the
repository for its artifacts and archives.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Castle is not its architecture or
its old stonework, but the numerous stories that are attached to its history.
For instance, there is the one about all of the burned-out families in
Lexington coming to the Castle to have their meals cooked during the
difficult first days after the great conflagration in 1796. And there is the tale
of how Castle resident Phil (Dixie) Nunn-one of Lexington's most picturesque characters-lost his life's savings when his paper money cache was
eaten by mice.
27
Simpson, Lyle, and Moger
"The Sloan and Campbell Houses" by Pamela H. Simpson
IN
1974 THE SOCIETY DECIDED to name its property at 107 East Washington
Street the "Sloan House," not because anyone named Sloan ever lived
there, but in order to preserve the name of the man who probably built it
and who definitely built the Campbell House next door.
Born in 1806, Alexander Thompson Sloan was the oldest of the eight
children of John and Martha Shields Sloan of Lexington. When he was
twenty-three, in 1829, Alexander's father died, leaving seven young children
to his and his mother's care. In order to support the family, he and his
mother opened the Jefferson Hotel in 1831. It was located on Main Street
near the site of the present Robert E. Lee Hotel. Sloan managed the hotel
for his mother for the next eighteen years, earning a reputation among his
contemporaries as "one of the best landlords in town." He was also noted
for his quick wit as well as for his kindly heart as he patiently served as
surrogate father for his young brothers and sisters.
The Sloan family had apparently come to Lexington from Greensboro,
North Carolina, and it was there in September, 1834, that Alexander found
a bride, Eleanor. They returned to Lexington ten days after their wedding,
moved into the hotel, and continued to live there until 1845. The new Mrs.
Sloan, while understanding of her husband's family and business
responsibilities, nonetheless grew tired of having to move her own family
out of the hotel and having strangers use her bed and furniture whenever
events brought large groups of visitors to Lexington.
Recognizing this difficulty early in the 1840s, Sloan purchased what his
wife described as a "rough and unsightly piece of ground" on the corner of
Washington and Randolph streets from the heirs of Andrew Reid. (Her description of the plot might still be used, although recent landscape efforts
have somewhat calmed the terrain.) There, between 1844 and 1845, Sloan
had built his "dwelling house" and several "tenements." Early court
records describe five houses on the site. One was the Castle, which we know
was there when he bought the property and was used as a blacksmith's shop
at the time; the second was the main house, now the Campbell House at 101
East Washington Street; the third was a frame house, now destroyed, which
stood next to 101 on Washington Street; the fourth was the present Sloan
House at 107; and the fifth was the Rhodes House, another brick structure
taken down many years ago. Sloan lived in what we now call the Campbell
House and had tenants in the others. He and his wife set up housekeeping in
their new home in April of 1845.
Sloan's own house is a large townhouse with a traditional plan of a
central hall separating two rooms on each of two stories. It is also
distinguished by several fine details such as the elongated fan light over its
double doors and the shuttered false windows on Randolph Street. The
28
The Society's Properties
The society's corner in Lexington: the Campbell House is in the center; the
Sloan House is at the extreme left; and the Castle is at the extreme right.
The view is from across the street from point "B" on the map below.
-~ \
'nrf t ,
7
.........-+-.------~ E
::P.'<:--------...._-1_a-....,o
A map drawn by Leslie Lyle Campbell of his property (three-quarters of an
acre from points B-F-P-A-W-S-B).
29
Simpson, Lyle, and Moger
latter touch is evidence of the . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,
builder's desire for symmetry
since the placement of actual
windows would have been impractical. The low profile of its
pitched roof is another reflection
-,~;i.~~~~H,...,...,,.
of current taste in the 1840s
As Ad111if
·.1istrnto1· of the Estate of Alc.xnndcr T ..1Slo,111, dt'c'd.
which called for lower roof lines. I will sell """. of POBLiC .fl OCTION, llt. his lllte resi·
deuce in th To,;n of Lexington , m, F,·i,lay tlw lDtA day of
Several older buildings in the
community actually had their
steeply pitched roofs lowered in
ONE
ONE BUGGY, ONE CARIUAGE (1VEW,)
this period in order to conform to
·:1mma 11]11ni. 'Oh'.lrn iw 1~.
the popular style.
S01ne Farmln~ Utensils,
ONE SETT Of' HIA.t.: KSHITH TOOLS,
The tenement house at 107 is
Q l' .lllHYl.\ t: 'l'OO J. :; . .\:'ill .IJ.I. 'J'IIE IIOl ' >'l-:tlOI.U .1:\ 1) Kl'l't'HEN
typical of the "I" house form, a
common vernacular house type
TEltMS.-Six months c1·cdit on all sums of lhe dollars 1111d
which originated in England and upward!!-muler th11t llmount c11sh will be r r1111i1"1Jd.
8U~l·!.::r;:~;II~ ~;\·~:~tt~1 i~1j1:\1;:,~~:tl):~:';~ :~:~c~li~c:~~j~'.I}~!~~~ :I~~:11;~
::,'t tJ~CJllll j~:d~~\:a
was widely used in this country, ;~~~~d~~t i•;~:~~~ f~i~h;::tL~-t:r::··:C~:~~;~,-~ i'tcc~fi ~.~,~:d~~"~ecD:~ul~t ~n° :::;
posscs~ion the B ook s nrc, nml close their nccounts bv bond without delay .
\Y:H. DAVlDSO;x . •lldrn'r , nf .JI.. T . Sloan , dec'd.
especially on the frontier, from
f:-1.i:!.
the late seventeenth through the ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~
late nineteenth centuries. It usually was a sign of economic achievement in
an agrarian community and was most popular in this area from the early
1800s through the 1860s.
The curious three-story effect that the house now has was a result of
modifications made when Washington Street was severely graded in the
1850s. If one imagines the road several feet lower than the house rather than
above it as it is presently, and pictures steps leading up to a two-story
wooden porch rather than downward, it is easier to understand the building
as a typical, modest but sturdy townhouse of the period.
In 1852 Alexander Sloan died, leaving nine small children, two of whom
died within the next year. Shortly before his death, Sloan had sold the hotel
and gone into the dry goods business as well as a blacksmith partnership.
The debts against the estate were such that his wife was forced to sell at
auction her own house and all the tenements around it. Samuel Dold bought
the main house and the Castle in 1855, and Mathew White bought the house
at 107. Later Dold sold the Campbell House to Robert McDowell who in
turn sold it to four of the six Waddell sisters in 1866. The Sloan House was
used as rental property by most of its owners. In 1937 it was finally acquired
by Hale Houston, thus once again uniting the properties under a single
owner.
How these properties came into the hands of the Rockbridge Historical
Society will bring to a completion the history of these properties, and Dr.
Moger has that story.
AOMINISTHATOH'S
SA ti.
; -,~11:·HDRii"iAiiiaNS:
!l
0
1
11
XOl·. !11h .
30
1
The Society's Properties
"The Houstons and the Campbells"
by Allen W. Moger
hw
LOCAL HISTORICAL societies are as fortunate as ours in the
ownership of property to serve as
the · center for its work and to
produce income to help support
its act1V1t1es. This valuable
property on the corner of
Randolph and Washington
streets came to us through the
affectionate goodwill and generosity of three members of the
Houston and Campbell families:
Hale Houston, his sister Catherine Estell Houston, and Leslie
Lyle Campbell who married
Catherine.
Hale Houston (1871-1945)
The progenitors of these three
came to the Valley of Virginia from Northern Ireland by way of Pennsylvania among the first wave of Scotch-Irish immigrants of the 1730s. They
were devout Christians and ardent Presbyterians. The Houstons and the
Campbells produced many leaders, especially Presbyterian ministers.
Dozens from each family attended Augusta Academy, Washington College,
and later Washington and Lee University.
Hale and Catherine Houston were children of William Wilson Houston
and his wife Mary E. Waddell who had married in 1864. They had a large
family. After the father died in 1891 while serving a church in Alabama,
Mrs. Houston brought her family to Lexington; they lived in what is now
the large white-painted brick house in the hollow on the northeast edge of
the Washington and Lee campus. Here she lived among relatives and
friends. In 1866 four of the six Waddell sisters had bought this property for
fifty-two hundred dollars. At that time it included what we now know as the
Campbell House, the Castle, and at least one frame house.
Their purpose was to make a living by renting rooms and running a
boardinghouse for students at General Lee's College. They did not profit
financially, for in 1891 they conveyed the property to their bachelor
brother, B. Harrison Waddell, a teacher who lived elsewhere. The property
was conveyed for one dollar and ''in further consideration of disbursements
made by B. H. Waddell for a long period of years keeping property in
repairs and paying taxes,'' and for his assumption of all obligations on the
property, including the mortgage. However, the sisters sustained them-
31
Simpson, Lyle, and Moger
The Waddell sisters: (standing, left) Mrs. Janetta Waddell Smith
(1844-1902); (standing, right) Mrs. Edmonia Waddell Nichols (1839-1904);
(seated, left to right) Mrs. Lucy Waddell Preston (1836-1915), Mrs. Mary
E. Waddell Houston (1837-1913), Mrs. Maria L. Waddell Pratt
(1842-1922), and Miss Martha M. Waddell (1827-1898). The family also
included Jive brothers.
selves, and their home became one of the most memorable social centers in
Lexington. Since three of the four sisters married well while in Lexington,
we must conclude that their post-Civil War adventure was a success.
Students roomed in the Castle and the Campbell House and ate at the
Waddells' table. About forty years ago, Leslie Lyle Campbell, whose room
was on the first floor of the Castle when he was a student at Washington
and Lee during the 1880s, wrote a fascinating article for the Rockbridge
County News on the Waddell era. He called his account "Some Old
Castilians." It dealt primarily with men who had lived in the Castle and
how prominent many of them later became. Largely nostalgic, he describes
the fond memories associated with the Waddell establishment.
Meanwhile, Leslie Lyle Campbell had become a student at Washington
and Lee where he received the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees and where he taught
for a short period. Two years after Catherine Houston had come to
32
The Society's Properties
Lexington with her mother, she and Leslie were married in the brick house
to which the Houstons had moved in 1891.
For the next forty years Leslie had a distinguished career as teacher and
research scholar in physics. While he was head of the physics department at
Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, a modern science building was
constructed under his supervision. Then for twenty-six years he was head of
the physics department at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, until
his retirement in 1932.
On two different occasions Campbell was on leave for sp~cial research at
Harvard University (where he received his M.A. degree in 1904) and later at
Cambridge University in England. On both occasions his research resulted
in scholarly papers which were published in learned journals. He was
among the few distinguished Washington and Lee graduates selected as
alumni charter members of Phi Beta Kappa when that scholarly
organization was first established at Washington and Lee in 1911 . He was
also a member of several professional scientific organizations in the United
States and in Europe.
In 1891 Catherine's brother, Hale Houston, had received a degree in civil
engineering from Washington and Lee. After about two decades of teaching
at Clemson College, Hale became a member of the faculty at Washington
and Lee in 1921. Very important to the Rockbridge Historical Society was
the fact that Hale-known affectionately as "Uncle Bud"-bought from
his uncle, B. H. Waddell, the property on the corner of Washington and
Randolphs streets which four of the Waddell sisters had purchased in 1866.
Later he bought the brick house now called the Sloan House and converted
it into rental apartments for students. He also rented two apartments in the
Castle.
Since Uncle Bud never married and Catherine and Leslie had no children,
he persuaded his sister and her husband to sell their home on Ware Street in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the 1930s and come to live with him at
101 East Washington Street. There they lived until Uncle Bud's death in
1945 and Catherine's two years later. Dr. Campbell lived to be one hundred
years old, passing away on June 9, 1964.
One day I went with Charles Turner to see Dr. Campbell where he lay on
his bed in the room to the right of the entrance of what we now call the
Campbell House. He was obviously a grand old man, but he was too weak
for much talk. I should like to note that without the daily visits and the
constant attention of the society's Dr. Charles Turner, it would not have
been possible for Dr. Campbell to live his last years in the house he so dearly
loved.
These three people-Catherine, Leslie, and Hale-had much in common.
All found great pleasure in nature as expressed in gardens, birds, and
33
Simpson, Lyle, and Moger
flowers. Leslie left a note dated from 15 Ware Street, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 1930: "Catherine is in her yard. She is among her roses. Her
birds come to be fed. The birds know Catherine's smile, and are not
afraid . " After her death, Leslie wrote: "For fifty-four years she wrought
with hand, head and heart, and brought to Earth rare bits of Heaven.''
They all loved the beautiful garden which was primarily Uncle Bud's work.
There was a greenhouse whose foundations are still in use as flower beds.
Forty years ago, no one in Lexington had a more beautiful garden than
Uncle Bud.
All three loved Lexington and its history. They were charter members of
the Rockbridge Historical Society when it was formed in 1939, and Dr.
Campbell was one of its early presidents. Uncle Bud's will left the Castle to
the society in 1945; the rest of the property went to his sister and her
husband. Leslie's will left 101 East Washington Street to the society in
memory of Catherine and Hale; 107 East Washington was to be rented to
keep the property in repairs and to support the society's work. His will
requires that none of the property is to be sold.
Rounding out the program, Richard R. Fletcher, chairman of the House
and Property Committee, praised the work of the volunteers who had given
generously of their time in the society's property improvement program.
Miss Margaret Davis, he noted, had undertaken the cultivation of a fine
garden and other decorative plantings in the vicinity of the three buildings.
He also emphasized the society's goal of developing a Community
Museum as part of its bicentennial program. This facility would be in the
Campbell House and serve as an adjunct to the city Visitor Center in the
Sloan House next door. The continued improvement of the appearance of
the three buildings and the grounds around them, he observed, "enriches
the memory of the generous benefactors who gave us the challenge." [!]
34
The First Graduating Class
of Liberty Hall Academy
Charles N. Watson, Jr.
~
~l[J'
;H~IBERTY HALL ACADEMY was founded in 1776, but not until
~,~December, 1782, did the State of Virginia grant the institution a
charter which authorized the granting of degrees. The academy's
board of trustees did not exercise this privilege until September, 1785, when
the Bachelor of Arts degree was awarded to twelve men. The degrees were
awarded retroactively, for most of the recipients had completed their
studies at Liberty Hall some years before. 1
These first graduates counted among their number a state governor, a
circuit court judge, a state legislator, and three college presidents. Others
Charles N. Watson, Jr., a 1975 graduate of Washington and Lee University, was working with
Dr. John M. McDaniel as a Liberty Hall Scholar-a program of research into the early history
of the college in cooperation with the archaeological excavation at the Liberty Hall ruins. Mr.
Watson spoke to the Rockbridge Historical Society in Lejeune Hall at the Virginia Military
Institute on October 27, 1975.
1. The Washington and Lee Historical Papers, 6 vols. (Baltimore, Md.: John Murphy,
1890), 1: 30, 36.
35
Charles N. Watson, Jr.
played prominent roles in the affairs of the Presbyterian church. While
these men did not achieve great fame, they are nevertheless important as
examples of the educated elite that brought civilized institutions to the
rough and tumble society of the western frontier. In addition, their
biographies give us interesting glimpses of the issues and events of their day:
Federalism, Republicanism, land speculation, frontier education, the Great
Revival, and slavery among others. America's post-revolutionary period
was a turbulent one of expansion during which many of the institutions and
traditions we take for granted today were forged. The Liberty Hall men
were active participants in these events.
The class of 1785 is unique in this early period in that eight of the twelve
men were Presbyterian ministers. Although Liberty Hall was founded and
staffed by Presbyterians, the percentage of its students entering the ministry
was normally not so high. Of forty-eight students who attended the school
between 1782 and 1789, only twelve entered the ministry; fifteen men chose
law as a career. 2
At the end of the Revolution, the Presbyterian church was a strong and
well-organized denomination. Its congregations were organized into administrative bodies called presbyteries, several of which formed a synod. At
regular intervals elected representatives from all synods met in a general
assembly to hear disputes and to make policy. The Presbyterians were
anxious to spread their influence into the western territories, and in the
1780s they formed several new presbyteries to serve the frontier. 3 Several
members of the Liberty Hall class of 1785 played important roles in this
Presbyterian expansion.
The first of the eight ministers to be chronicled is the Reverend Terah
Templin, the son of a farmer who lived near Virginia's Peaks of Otter.
After completing his studies at Liberty Hall, Templin studied theology. In
1780 he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Hanover. Shortly
thereafter he moved to Kentucky where, in 1781, he preached the first
Presbyterian sermon in that territory. Settling in Washington County, he
organized several congregations there and in nearby Livingston County.
When the newly formed Transylvania Presbytery held its first meeting in
October, 1786, Templin was present. His colleagues in the presbytery,
several of whom were his Liberty Hall classmates, must have thought well
of him, for in October, 1795, they elected him one of the two commissioners
to the General Assembly. In addition, he served as moderator and clerk of
2. Alumni Directory, 1926 (Charlottesville, Va.: Michie, 1926), pp. 41-49.
3. William Warren Sweet, Religion on the American Frontier, 1783-1840, 3 vols. (Chicago:
University of Chicago, 1936), 2: 3-53.
36
First Graduating Class
the presbytery on various occasions. 4
In 1802 the Transylvania Presbytery was included in the new Synod of
Kentucky. Soon afterward, the presbytery was divided in half, the southern
portion being formed into the Cumberland Presbytery. Templin was one of
the ten ministers assigned to this new presbytery. Cumberland Presbytery
soon became the focus of one of the many schisms that wracked the
Presbyterian church during the early nineteenth century.
The problem had its roots in the Great Revival which started in Kentucky
and soon spread over the frontier. In the beginning it was a low-key affair,
but it rapidly became chaotic as the westerners gave themselves up to
religious enthusiasms and emotional excesses such as speaking in tongues
and the so-called "bodily exercises" of jerking, falling, and fainting. The
disorder that came to typify the camp meetings greatly troubled the more
conservative Presbyterians. Even more alarming to them was the fact that
the westerners were generally rejecting the Calvinistic doctrines of the
Presbyterian church in favor of the evangelical teachings of the Methodists
and Baptists. A number of Presbyterian ministers on the frontier were
influenced by evangelism and began to preach doctrines that departed from
strict Calvinism. All of these things led to the formation of revival and antirevival factions within the Presbyterian church, with the anti-revivalists in
the majority overall.
An informal survey of the records makes it clear that the great majority
of Presbyterian ministers from Liberty Hall stood by the conventional
Calvinism taught them by the Reverend William Graham, the rector of
Liberty Hall. By and large they sided with the anti-revivalists. Templin was
no exception.
Shortly after the formation of Cumberland Presbytery, a revivalist
faction gained control. This group then proceeded to ordain as Presbyterian
ministers a number of young men who lacked the educational qualifications
required of Presbyterian ministers and who were unwilling to accept all
aspects of church doctrine. Templin and the other anti-revivalists in
Cumberland Presbytery protested vigorously against these irregularities.
Finally, the matter was raised before the Synod of Kentucky. The synod,
controlled by the anti-revivalists, dissolved the Cumberland Presbytery,
reannexing it to Transylvania Presbytery. This was not an entirely
satisfactory solution, however. Strife between the two factions in that area
continued until 1810 when the revivalists broke away and formed their own
Independent Presbytery. 5
4. Robert Davidson, History of the Presbyterian Church in the State of Kentucky, with a
Preliminary Sketch of the Churches in the Valley of Virginia (New York: Robert Carter, 1847),
pp. 80-81; Lewis Collins, History of Kentucky, 2 vols. (Louisville, Ky.: John P. Morton,
1924), 2: 460-61, 515; Sweet, Religion on the American Frontier, 2: 32, 140, 157, 161.
5. Sweet, Religion on the American Frontier, 2: 282-84, 83-94.
37
Charles N. Watson, Jr.
Templin died in 1818 at the age of seventy-six. Transylvania Presbytery
mourned his passing, eulogizing him as an "Israelite indeed in whom there
was no guile. " 6 Interestingly, Templin's living to such an advanced age was
the rule rather than the exception for these early Liberty Hall graduates.
This is remarkable considering the harsh conditions on the frontier. These
men, the ministers particularly, traveled extensively on horseback, frequently sleeping on the ground, and were often exposed to the elements and
to hostile Indians. Medical care on the frontier was rudimentary. Nevertheless, they lived to ripe old ages.
William Wilson was born in Pennsylvania in 1751. He studied theology
under Reverend William Graham and was licensed to preach in 1779. In
1780 he became pastor of Augusta Church, a post he held until 1810.
During this period he also made missionary trips into what is now West
Virginia. In addition to preaching, Wilson taught grammar school.
Teaching was a common occupation among Presbyterian ministers during
this period. In many cases congregations were less than generous in supporting their minister. Thus, teaching as a sideline became a necessity for
the impecunious pastor if he was to survive. 7
During the Great Revival, Wilson maintained a tolerant attitude towards
the previously mentioned "bodily exercises." Under pressure from conservative colleagues, he discouraged such exercises in his own congregation,
but he tended to defend them as innocent.
Wilson suffered from a disease referred to as "Erysipelas of the head." It
manifested itself in seizures that impaired his ability to speak and caused
him to resign his pastorship in 1810. He continued to fill vacancies and to
do missionary work when he was able until his death in 1835 at the age of
eighty-four. 8
Moses Hoge was born in Frederick County, Virginia, in 1752. He studied
theology and was licensed to preach in November, 1781. It had been his
original intention to go to Kentucky, as some of his classmates had done,
but while visiting on the south branch of the Potomac River, he formed
friendships and accepted the call of a congregation in Hardy County. After
five years there, Hoge was forced to move for health reasons. He and his
wife went to Shepardstown, where he soon gathered a large congregation. 9
6. Collins, History of Kentucky, 2: 460-61; Sweet, Religion on the American Frontier, 2:
274.
7. J. N. Van Deventer, Augusta Church, 1737-1900 (Staunton, Va.: Ross, 1900), pp. 22-24;
Walter B. Posey, The Presbyterian Church in the Old Southwest (Richmond, Va.: John Knox,
1952), p. 43.
8. William Foote, Sketches of Virginia, Series I and II (Philadelphia, Pa.: WilliamsMartien, 1850), II, p. 210; Van Deventer, Augusta Church, pp. 25-26.
9. William B. Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, 7 vols. (New York: Robert Carter,
1858), 3: 427.
38
First Graduating Class
A scholar as well as a minister,
he taught grammar schools
during his stays in Hardy County
and Shepardstown. In 1807 he
was named president of Hampden-Sydney College, succeeding
the Reverend Archibald
Alexander, another distinguished
Liberty Hall alumnus. In 1812
the Synod of Virginia resolved to
establish a seminary in conjunction with Hampden-Sydney
and named Hoge to be its
professor. From that date until
his death in 1820 at the age of
sixty-eight, Hoge served both as
president of the college and
professor of its divinity school.
The members of Liberty Hall's
first graduating class generally
Moses Hoge
did not distinguish themselves as
.__________________, authors. Hoge was an exception
in that he wrote a number of religious books and tracts, the best known of
which was his Christian Panoply: An Answer to Paine's "Age of Reason"
published in 1799. His sermons were so well regarded that they were
collected and published in book form after his death. 10
Samuel Houston was born in Rockbridge County in 1758. He served with
the Virginia Militia during the American Revolution and saw action at the
battle of Guilford Courthouse. He was ordained in 1782 and married
shortly afterwards. In 1783 he moved to the western frontier, 11 settling in
what is now east Tennessee.
In the late 1780s Houston became deeply involved in an attempt to create
a new state in the west known as Franklin. This episode began in 1784 when
North Carolina ceded her western territories to the national government.
The western residents were generally pleased with this and set about
organizing a local government and preparing to apply for admission into
the Union as a new state. But in November, 1784, the North Carolina
legislature repealed the cession act and attempted to restore its authority
over the western territories. Unfortunately for North Carolina, the
10. Ibid., pp. 427-29.
11. Washington and Lee Historical Papers, 3: 88; George W. Diehl, The Reverend Samuel
Houston, V.D.M. (Verona, Va .: McClure, 1970), pp. 41-42.
39
Charles N. Watson, Jr.
statehood movement had gained too much momentum and the frontiersmen were in no mood to reattach themselves to North Carolina. In
December, 1784, the westerners held a convention to adopt a provisional
constitution for Franklin, as they ,now called their state. Plans were made to
hold another convention in 1785 for the purpose of adopting a definitive
constitution. 12
Houston and several colleagues set about drawing up a constitution that
would be appropriate for the new state. To assist them they called upon
Houston's old teacher, Reverend William Graham. The resulting document
is believed to have been largely Graham's work. It was the first original
constitution west of the mountains and has been called one of the most
democratic ever produced in the United States. The governor, his executive
council, the members of the unicameral legislature, and all county officials
were to be elected by the adult male population; provision was made for the
removal of corrupt or immoral incumbents. All legislation of a general
nature was to be referred to the people before being enacted, and the
assembly was required to publish annual accounts of income and expenditure. Houses of correction were to be established, as was a state
university. Freedom of worship was guaranteed and there was to be no
established church. Office holders, however, had to be men of good
character and had to believe in the inspiration of the Bible, the Trinity, and
the Protestant religion. Reverend Graham had a deep distrust of lawyers,
and his constitution would have banned them from holding any office in the
state. He also wanted a provision which limited the amount of land any one
man could hold, doubtless to curb land speculation.
The constitutional convention met at Greenville in November, 1785.
Houston presented the Graham constitution to the convention and a heated
debate ensued. When a vote was taken, the draft constitution was defeated.
At that point, John Sevier, the governor of Franklin, proposed that a more
conservative constitution based on that of North Carolina be adopted; this
was quickly done.
Opponents of Graham's constitution had publicly attacked it as being
impractically democratic and having too many religious overtones. But
Thomas Abernethy, writing in From Frontier to Plantation in Tennessee,
maintains that these were not the real reasons for its defeat. He blames its
downfall on John Sevier and his associates, who feared the loss of their
political influence and lucrative land speculation businesses if such a radical
constitution was adopted. Thus they engineered its defeat and the adoption
of a more conservative document.
12. John T. Moore and Austin P. Foster, Tennessee: The Volunteer State, 1796-1923, 4
vols. (Nashville, Tenn.: S. J. Clarke, 1923), 1: 119; Thomas P. Abernethy, From Frontier to
Plantation in Tennessee (Chapel Hill, N. C.: University of North Carolina, 1932), pp. 70-72.
40
First Graduating Class
The battle over Graham' s
, constitution led to bitter strife
;. between its partisans and enemies
·.i th~t .persisted long ~fter its
.1:.::· reJect10n at the convention. The
opposing factions assailed each
't \;}~other with pamphlets and
Jrl•
•.. ·J broadsides, an innovation on the
... ·:it'~l
·.,: .:•f frontier. At one point Graham
was burned in effigy. Houston
and his friends were never able to
win enough support to get their
constitution adopted . Internal
strife and external pressure
weakened
the
Franklin
movement, and after a few years
North Carolina regained control
of the insurgent districts until
1791, when they were again ceded
to the federal goverPment. They
became part of Tennessee when
William Graham.
that state was formed in 1795. 1 3
Houston's activities in the west made him both friends and enemies.
Some reviled him as a narrow-minded clergyman, but historian Noel B.
Gerson wrote that he was one of the district's best-educated men and
recorded the following anecdote:
... -·if~
Houston was considered somewhat eccentric because he loved to
wear unorthodox clothes, often sporting a broad-brimmed
beaver hat and draping a bright blanket over his shoulders.
When his friends warned that his clothes would attract Indians,
he replied, ''Gentlemen, I place my faith in the Lord, so I know
that no harm will come to me. Besides, I carry a rifle and a brace
of pistols, and no one, not even Bill Cocke or Jack Sevier is a
better shot than I am. The savages know it and they will leave me
alone. " 14
Houston left Tennessee in 1789 and returned to his native Rockbridge
County, where he became pastor of the churches of Falling Spring and High
Bridge. In 1791 he was elected to the board of trustees of Liberty Hall
Academy, a post he held until 1826.
13. Abernethy, From Frontier to Plantation in Tennessee, pp. 76-90.
14. Noel B. Gerson, Franklin, America's Lost State (New York: Crowell-Collier, 1968), p.
11.
41
Charles N. Watson, Jr.
Another of Houston's concerns during these years was agriculture. He
followed closely the latest developments in agricultural science, and
practiced various methods of crop rotation on his farm. In 1827 he helped
to found the first agricultural society in Rockbridge County. Though old
age and failing eyesight took their toll, he remained active in presbytery
affairs and preached intermittently until his death in 1839 at the age of
eighty-one. 15
Samuel Carrick was born in York County, Pennsylvania, in 1760. Upon
completion of his education in 1783, he was licensed to preach and became
pastor of the Rocky Spring and Wahab Meeting House congregations. He
was a charter member of Lexington Presbytery at its founding in 1785. In
that same year he traveled north and visited congregations in the synods of
New York and Philadelphia.
In 1791 Carrick moved to the frontier area that was soon to become
Tennessee. The next year he organized a church at the confluence of the
Holston and French Broad rivers in Knox County. Shortly afterwards, he
moved to the new settlement of Knoxville, where he organized the first
church and opened a school. In 1793 Carrick's wife died. At the time of her
death, Knoxville was threatened by a large Indian war party. Despite his
grief and the nature of his occupation, Carrick took up a rifle and sallied
forth to help drive off the attackers, leaving his wife's body to be buried by
the women of the settlement. 16
In 1794 Carrick's classical school was taken over by the territorial
legislature and chartered as Blount College, making it the first strictly
nondenominational college in the United States. It was also coeducational.
Carrick was named the college's president, and under his leadership the
school provided classical and liberal arts training for the children of the
comparatively wealthy. The curriculum in 1805 included Latin, rhetoric,
logic, geography, mathematics, ethics, and natural philosophy. The college
continued to flourish after Carrick' s death in 1809, eventually becoming the
University of Tennessee. 11
Perhaps the most eccentric and tragic figure in the class of 1785 was the
Reverend Adam Rankin. Rankin was licensed to preach in October, 1782.
Shortly thereafter he married and went to Kentucky. Settling in Lexington,
he became pastor of Mt. Zion Church and operated a school. He was a
15. Washington and Lee Historical Papers, 3: 89; Diehl, Samuel Houston, pp. 74-75, 80-82.
16. Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, 3: 433-34; Pioneer Presbyterianism in Tennessee (Richmond, Va.: The Presbyterian Committee of Publication, 1898), p. 19; Posey, The
Presbyterian Church in the Old Southwest, p. 52.
17. Posey, The Presbyterian Church in the Old Southwest, p. 52; Erwin T. Sanford, Blount
College and the University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee, 1894), pp.
12-13.
42
First Graduating Class
popular minister with a large congregation. On occasion, as many as five
hundred people attended his services. 18
Rankin strongly believed that he had been called by God to reform the
church, particularly in the matter of its psalmody. 19 Of all the controversies
that rent the Presbyterian church during this period, this was seemingly one
of the more trivial. Yet to Rankin and many others, it was a matter of grave
importance.
Presbyterians had traditionally sung only Old Testament psalms in their
services, using a psalm book entitled the Whole Psalms of David in English
Metre prepared in the seventeenth century by Francis Rouse, an English
puritan. In 1707 another English puritan, Isaac Watts, published Hymns
and Spiritual Songs. Several years later he published Psalms of David
Imitated. Watts felt that many psalms were foreign to the spirit of the New
Testament and were not relevant to the contemporary circumstances of
Christians. He attempted to Christianize the psalms, omitting whole psalms
or portions of psalms which did not lend themselves to the Christian
purpose. They were made to speak to the conditions of eighteenth-century
Christians rather than to Old Testament Israelites. Watts's hymns and
revised psalms became popular with American Presbyterians, but there was
a vocal minority who felt that it was blasphemy to sing anything but the
unrevised Old Testament psalms. Rankin was one of the most vigorous
exponents of this point of view. 20
In 1785 Rankin attended two conferences at Cane Run, Kentucky, where
he introduced the psalmody question. Not content simply to advocate the
use of Rouse's psalms, Rankin bitterly attacked those whose views differed
from his. However, he found little sympathy for his rigid views at Cane
Run.
Next he appeared, uninvited, at the first General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church at Philadelphia in May, 1789. He was angered by a
ruling that allowed Watts's psalms and hymns to be used by those
congregations who elected to do so. The General Assembly listened
patiently to Rankin, but refused to repeal the ruling. Instead, it warned
Rankin to moderate his stand on psalmody and to stop his vehement attacks
on those who disagreed with him. Unrepentant, Rankin returned to Kentucky and continued to heap abuse on those ministers who permitted the use
18. Robert Stuart Sanders, Annals of the First Presbyterian Church of Lexington, Kentucky, 1784-1959 (Louisville, Ky.: Dunne, 1959), p. 9; Davidson, Presbyterian Church in the
State of Kentucky, p. 95; Sweet, Religion on the American Frontier, 2: 136.
19. Sanders, Annals of the First Presbyterian Church of Lexington , p. 9.
20. Ernest Trice Thompson, Presbyterians in the South, 3 vols. (Richmond, Va.: John
Knox, 1963), 1: 216-18.
43
Charles N. Watson, Jr.
of Watts's psalms and hymns, calling them swine, robbers, deists,
hypocrites, and blasphemers. When rebuked for this, he replied solemnly
that his actions were directed by divine dreams and visions. 21
By 1789 the Presbytery of Transylvania had had enough of Rankin's
antics and brought charges of misconduct against him . But rather than
answer these charges, Rankin went to England for a year. There he devoted
himself to the intense study of a special subject whose exact nature he never
revealed.
When Rankin returned from England, the presbytery renewed the
charges, found him guilty, and deposed him from the ministry in October,
1790. Rankin, who still enjoyed the support of most of his old
congregation, joined the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church. He and
his supporters organized the Ebeneezer Associate Reformed Church in
Lexington, Kentucky, sometime between 1793 and 1798. 22
When the Great Revival began to sweep Kentucky during 1797, Rankin's
theological conservatism led him to oppose it. In 1803 he issued a pamphlet
entitled ''Review of the Noted Revival in Kentucky'' in which he vigorously
attacked revivalism. Some of his bitterest attacks were directed against
revivalists who claimed to receive guidance from visions. 23 This is ironic in
view of his own earlier claim to be guided by dreams and visions. Apparently he considered his own visions to be the only authentic ones.
In 1803 Rankin became involved in a dispute with another Associate
Reformed minister in Lexington. Charges and countercharges were filed,
and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Synod sent in a commissiort to
settle the matter. The case dragged on until 1818 when the commission
found Rankin guilty of lying and slander and suspended him from the
ministry.
Rankin and his loyal congregation became independent. He continued to
minister to them until 1825, when he had a dream which convinced him that
the time for the rebuilding of the Holy City was at hand. Anxious to participate in this great event, he started off for Jerusalem; but got no further
than Philadelphia, where he died on November 25, 1827, at the age of
seventy-two. 24
John McCue was born in Nelson County, Virginia, in 1752. He decided
to become a minister in spite of advice from Thomas Jefferson to study law.
Licensed to preach in 1782, he married in that same year and moved west of
21. Davidson, Presbyterian Church in the State of Kentucky, pp. 88-89 ; Robert Stuart
Sanders, Ebeneezer Presbyterian Church (Frankfort, Ky.: Roberts, 1954), p . 17.
22 . Davidson, Presbyterian Church in the State of Kentucky, pp . 90-93; Sanders, Ebeneezer
Presbyterian Church, pp. 12-13 .
23. Posey, The Presbyterian Church in the Old Southwest, p. 27.
24. Sanders, Ebeneezer Presbyterian Church, p. 13; Davidson, Presbyterian Church in the
State of Kentucky, pp. 95-97.
44
First Graduating Class
the Allegheny Mountains, where he busied himself organizing congregations and doing missionary work. In 1791 he became pastor of Tinkling
Spring Church in Augusta County. Like many other Presbyterian ministers,
he taught school in his spare time. McCue preached and taught at Tinkling
Spring until his death in 1818 at the age of sixty-six. 25
McCue's otherwise uneventful career was interrupted by a particularly
ugly incident concerning his treatment of slaves. In 1815 the Reverend
George Bourne of Port Republic, Virginia, spoke out strongly against
slavery. Bourne was the first of those advocates of immediate abolition of
slavery whose uncompromising denunciations helped to bring about
polarization, secession, and civil war. The famous abolitionist William
Lloyd Garrison once stated that Bourne's writings had had more influence
on his own views than anything else save the Bible. But the Lexington
Presbytery thought Bourne's denunciations of slave-owning ministers were
too outspoken and brought him to trial on charges of slander. 26
A piece of evidence that came to light at the trial was a letter written by
Bourne in which he told of an unnamed Presbyterian minister who had
raised a Negro woman from childhood. One Sunday morning he took her to
his apple orchard, stripped her naked, and tied her to a tree. Then he
whipped her until he had exhausted himself. Leaving her tied up, he rode to
his church and preached a sermon. When he returned, he whipped her again
until he was exhausted. He then called in a fresh hand who also whipped her
until he was tired. The punishment concluded with the unfortunate slave
being washed down with salt.
Bourne did not identify the minister during the trial, but afterwards,
when he had moved to Pennsylvania, he wrote back saying that John
McCue was the minister referred to in the letter. 21 The allegation against
McCue was never proven, but the incident illustrates the strong feelings that
already were beginning to surface on the slavery issue.
Andrew McClure was born in Augusta County, Virginia, in 1755.
Licensed to preach in 1783, he went to Kentucky in 1786 and became a
member of the Transylvania Presbytery. Little is known of McClure's
career. He is credited with organizing the first church in Bourbon County,
Kentucky, at Paris. He also organized the Salem Church in Clark County,
and the Hopewell and Sinking Springs churches in Bourbon County. In
1787 he became pastor of the Stonemouth and Sinking Springs congregations, where he served until his death in 1793. McClure was married and had
25. Howard McKnight Wilson, The Tinkling Spring (Richmond, Va.: Garrett and Massie,
1954), pp. 238-40; Howard McKnight Wilson, The Lexington Presbytery Heritage (Verona,
Va.: McClure, 1971), pp. 101,212.
26. Thompson, Presbyterians in the South, 1: 328-30.
27. Wilson, Lexington Presbytery Heritage, p. 91.
45
Charles N. Watson, Jr.
two daughters and two sons. His will showed that he owned a respectable
amount of property, including a house, a farm, and two slaves who were
manumitted in accordance with the will. 28
Samuel Blackburn was born in Augusta County, Virginia, in 1761. He
served for a time in the Continental Army. After the Revolution, he taught
school and studied law. In 1785 he married Ann Matthews, the daughter of
General George Matthews, a wealthy, though somewhat shady, Georgia
politician and land speculator. Matthews was elected governor of Georgia
in 1793, despite the fact that he had not yet fulfilled the residency
requirement. His son-in-law won a seat in the Georgia state legislature at the
same time. 29
Blackburn's fortunes in Georgia prospered until he and his father-in-law
became involved in the Yazoo land fraud of 1795. Land speculation was a
popular and profitable business on the frontier. In Georgia, as elsewhere, a
great deal of corruption accompanied the business. Between 1789 and 1796
the state sold or granted twenty-nine million acres in the twenty-four
organized counties in the state, despite the fact that these counties contained
but nine million acres.
Speculators hoped to gain control of the western territories claimed by
Georgia which stretched to the Mississippi River. To this end they used their
political influence to have the state sell vast tracts of land at low prices. In
1795 a group of speculators brought a bill authorizing such a sale before the
Georgia legislature. Known as the Yazoo Act, it involved the sale of fifty
million acres to four land companies. According to one source, ''bribery
and fraud appeared in the title of this act, in its body, and accompanied its
passage." Large bribes in land, slaves, rice, and money were offered to
legislators to induce them to vote for the bill. The bill passed, and Governor
Matthews, himself a speculator, signed it into law. 30
Blackburn voted against the bill. On the surface this would appear to be
an indication of great courage and integrity, but many Georgians were
suspicious of his motives. George Gilmer records:
His [Blackburn's] conduct in relation to the Yazoo Act, was
such as to excite suspicion, that he held with the hare whilst he
ran with the dogs. Though he voted against the act, it was
alleged that he spoke for it, and would have voted the same way
if it could not have otherwise passed, and that his voting against
28. Robert Stuart Sanders, Presbyterianism in Paris and Bourbon County, Kentucky,
1786-1961 (Louisville, Ky .: Dunne, 1961), p. 145; Sweet, Religion on the American Frontier,
2: 129-30; Collins, History of Kentucky, 2: 72.
29. Washington and Lee Historical Papers, 4: 167; E. Merton Coulter, A Short History of
Georgia (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina, 1933), p . 165.
30. Coulter, Short History of Georgia, pp. 198-202.
46
First Graduating Class
it was done by consent of the speculators, to save the Governor,
his father-in-law, from suspicion of being concerned in the
purchase. 31
Whatever the truth of these accusations, the fact remains that when the
people of Georgia became aware of what had been done, a storm of protest
was raised. The corrupt legislature was voted out, and the reformers passed
a rescinding act. One of the legislators who was sent packing and found it
expedient to relocate in another state was Samuel Blackburn.
Blackburn went to Bath County, Virginia, and settled on a farm called
"Wilderness." He practiced law there for thirty years and became one of
the most successful orators and criminal lawyers of his time in Virginia. He
also reentered politics and represented Bath County in the legislature for
several terms. A staunch Federalist, his speeches were laced with strong
abusive denunciations of the Republicans that made him long remembered
by the state's parties. Blackburn ran for Congress on the Federalist ticket in
1811 and again in 1813, seeking to represent the district composed of
Augusta, Bath, Hardy, Rockingham, and Pendleton counties. His platform
stressed peace, commerce, and no foreign alliances. Both times he was
defeated by the Republican candidate, William McCoy of Pendleton
County. 32
Blackburn maintained a lifelong interest in Liberty Hall's affairs. From
1797 to 1830 he served as a trustee, and he was influential in securing for the
school a large donation from the Society of the Cincinnati. 33
A slave owner, Blackburn-like many other prominent Virginians of this
period-had no desire to see the institution of slavery continued indefinitely. In his will he freed his forty or so slaves and directed that funds
be taken from his estate to pay for their passage to Liberia, a provision that
was faithfully carried out following his death in 1835 at the age of seventythree. 34
Archibald Roane was a native of Pennsylvania. He completed his studies
at Liberty Hall in 1784 and worked there as a tutor until October, 1785,
when he took up the study of law and moved to the frontier. 35
The frontier was expanding, and with it the need for lawyers to serve the
multiplying communities. At the time most lawyers in the United States
31. George R. Gilmer, Sketches of Some of the First Settlers of Upper Georgia, of the
Cherokees, andoftheAuthor(New York: D. Appleton, 1855), p. 87.
32. Coulter, Short History of Georgia, p. 202; Washington and Lee Historical Papers, 4:
167-68; Gilmer, First Settlers of Upper Georgia, p. 120.
33. Ollinger Crenshaw, "General Lee's College: Rise and Growth of Washington and Lee
University," 2vols. (WashingtonandLeeUniversityLibrary, 1973), 1: 19-33.
34. Washington and Lee Historical Papers, 4: 169.
35. Ibid., 1: 36.
47
Charles N. Watson, Jr.
were established east of the
mountains and considered
frontier practice unpleasant and
inconvenient. But those lawyers
who did cross the mountains
found many opportunities for the
swift acquisition of wealth,
power, and prestige. Roane was
one of several such young lawyers
who came into Tennessee about
the same time, and who became
influential in the affairs of that
territory. Andrew Jackson was
another member of this group.
Two major political factions
existed in Tennessee during
Roane's life. East Tennessee was
controlled by John Sevier, who
was immensely popular with the
common people. When Tennessee became a state he was
repeatedly elected governor.
Archibald Roane,
However, he was not a skillful
governor of Tennessee, 1801-3.
politician and his group lacked
organization and coherent policy.
The other faction was led by William Blount, a Federalist who served as
territorial governor. After statehood was achieved, he became one of
Tennessee's senators. While he lacked Sevier's popularity, he was an astute
politician with many influential friends. His strength was centered in
Middle Tennessee. 36
Roane become a Blount protege. In 1790, Blount, then territorial
governor, appointed Roane to be territorial attorney. In 1795 Roane was
elected judge. In 1800 the Blount group nominated him to be their
gubernatorial candidate. The popular John Sevier was not running, as he
had served three consecutive terms and was not eligible for a fourth. With
Sevier out, Roane was easily elected. During his two-year administration,
the great seal of the state was adopted, an anti-duelling law was enacted,
four new counties were formed, the Tennessee-Virginia boundary was
surveyed, and the position of state attorney general was created.
In 1802 a vacancy occurred in the post of major general of militia. Both
Andrew Jackson and John Sevier sought the post. When the militia officers
36. Abernethy, From Frontier to Plantation in Tennessee, pp. 121-24, 164-65.
48
First Graduating Class
voted, as was then the custom, the result was a tie. Governor Roane broke
the tie by casting the deciding vote for Jackson. In the gubernatorial race of
that year, Sevier was once again eligible to run and anxious for revenge
against Roane and Jackson. Jackson served as Roane's campaign manager,
and the race became virtually a struggle between Sevier and Jackson, for
Roane was not an active campaigner. Jackson unearthed evidence that
Sevier was guilty of fraud and forgery in some of his land speculations.
Despite this, Sevier was elected by a wide margin. Roane never again held
high office, and he died in 1819. 37
William Mcclung was originally from Rockbridge County. We have only
an outline of his life. He became a lawyer and went to Kentucky where he
served in the state House of Representatives and in the state Senate. He
became a judge of the circuit court of Kentucky, but in 1800 Congress
repealed the circuit court system, thereby eliminating Judge McClung's
position. He died in 1815. 38
The last of the graduates of 1785 to be discussed was also a Rockbridge
County man, James Priestly. He came from an indigent family, but his
intelligence so impressed Reverend William Graham that he took the young
man into his own home to insure the boy a proper education.
Priestly became a distinguished scholar, devoting his life to the
promotion of classical literature. Greek literature was his favorite subject,
and he knew the orations of Demosthenes by heart. He was briefly employed as a tutor at Liberty Hall. 39
In 1784 Priestly went to Kentucky where he became principal of Salem
Academy at Bardstown. Under his guidance the school enjoyed a high
reputation. In 1792 he moved to Baltimore and taught briefly at Cokesbury
College. Returning to Kentucky, he taught at an academy in Danville.
Finally, in 1809 he accepted the presidency of Cumberland College in
Nashville.
Throughout his career as an educator, Priestly devoted himself to those
with the best and most classically turned minds. For others he had little
concern. He had a somewhat irascible and imperious temper, and students
and the community held him in great reverence and awe. On one occasion
the students began to riot over some minor grievance. Dr. Priestly, arrayed
in academic cap and gown, went out into the yard and confronted the
rioters, his face rigid and grim, his eyes blazing. The boys looked at him for
a moment, then fully sobered, they scampered for their rooms and their
Latin books.
37. Moore and Foster, Tennessee, 1: 149,156,272,296, 303-4, 308.
38. Collins, History of Kentucky, 1: 25 .
39. Washington and Lee Historical Papers, 2: 136.
49
Charles N. Watson, Jr.
In 1816, when Cumberland College closed temporarily, Priestly opened a
school for young ladies. When the college reopened in December, 1820, he
resumed his duties as its president. Two months later he died suddenly at the
age of sixty-one. Cumberland College survived and is today known as
Peabody College. 40
We have seen how several members of the class of 1785 participated in
public affairs and politics. In doing so they reflected the philosophy of their
teacher William Graham, who believed that an educated man had an
obligation to participate in pµblic affairs, regardless of his occupation. But
while these men had interesting careers, the effect of their endeavors on the
destiny of the nation and of their states was slight.
The class did make some important contributions to the affairs of the
Presbyterian church during this period, extending it into the frontier and
doing valuable missionary work. But perhaps their most important and
lasting contributions were made in the field of education. For a democratic
form of government to survive, the people must be literate so that they can
understand the issues and participate fully in the system. George
Washington was well aware of this when he made his famous donation to
Liberty Hall and spoke of his wish ' 'to promote literature in this rising
empire.''
The Reverend William Graham was aware of it also and sought to instill
this awareness of the importance of education in his pupils. His success is
evidenced by the class's contributions to education which ranged from
teaching grammar schools to founding colleges to serving on the board of
trustees. For the most part, their work was done in the west where schools
were most needed. Many young men must have received their first formal
education from a member of the class of 1785 and gone on to lead full and
satisfying lives as a result. For this, if nothing else, the class of 1785 deserves
to be remembered. I]
40. Alfred Leland Crabb, Nashville-Personality of a City (Indianapolis, Ind. : BobbsMerrill, 1960), pp. 77- 78 , 173-75; The National Cyclopedia of American Biography , 8: 130.
50
Benjamin Franklin
in France
Gerard M. Doyon
•#'JJ~
OCTOBER 22, 1788, at eighty-two years of age and the end of his
career, Benjamin Franklin wrote: "I love France and have a
thousand reasons to love her. Her welfare concerns me as would that
of my mother." On another occasion he remarked: "Every civilized man
has two nationalities, that of the country of his birth and that of France."
Yet for the first sixty years of his life Franklin thought of himself as an
Englishman. The French language and culture were strange to him; and the
court of Versailles, always seen in his native New England as papist and
despotic, was for him an adversary in religion and politics.
Franklin's youth was spent in an environment unfavorable to all that was
French. He was born on January 17, 1706, in a modest home on Milk Street
in Boston, into a working-class family who had immigrated from England
the previous century to an English colony. Franklin's childhood memories
were darkened by the mortal danger which hung over Massachusetts from
French Canada or Quebec and from the many French woodsmen roaming
freely in what is today Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. He heard
~~) long
Gerard Maurice Doyon is professor of art history at Washington and Lee University. He spent
part of the summer of 1975 in Paris, a recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for
the Humanities, and visited Passy where Franklin had lived, now in the fashionable Sixteenth
District of Paris. Dr. Do yon spoke to the Rockbridge Historical Society at the Keydet-General
Restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, on February 2, 1976 .
51
Gerard M. Doyon
frightening tales of atrocities committed by the Indians, allies of the French,
notably the one at Deerfield (today Manchester, New Hampshire).
There were a few French settlers in Boston-Paul Rivoire for one (better
known as Paul Revere)-but they were Huguenots who spoke with bitterness of the country that had chased them away. Timothe (or Timothy
in Boston), helper of Franklin the printer, was one of these French
Protestants.
In 1726 Franklin moved to Philadelphia. In 1754-55 Pennsylvania was
seriously threatened by the French-Canadian woodsmen, many of them
half-breeds, and their Indian allies, who came down from Lake Erie on the
north and from Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh) on the west. Franklin
found himself involved with the defense of Pennsylvania. For him New
France was the mortal enemy of the English colonies. In 1760 the conquest
of Canada by the English brought Franklin great joy and relief. He was a
good and loyal citizen of the British Empire.
Franklin lived in London for eighteen years as a representative from
several of the thirteen colonies. In February, 1766, he read, as "His
Majesty's loyal opposition," a long speech in Parliament opposing the
Stamp Act previously imposed upon the colonies. The speech made a
profound impression upon European liberals, and the following year his
anti-tax stand was translated into French and published in Strasbourg. At
the end of 1766 he was invited to visit France, and he accepted with
reservation and distrust. He was sixty-one years old and very much English,
which is another way of saying very anti-French.
For several years Franklin had received polite invitations from French
scientific circles which admired his scientific accomplishments. But he was
reluctant to visit a country which had always been considered an enemy.
Thanks to a long letter from an admirer-Doctor Barbet-DubourgFranklin wrote from Paris on September 14, 1767, that he was resigned to
the trip.
Franklin the Englishman took the first step in acquiring his "double
nationality," which he would speak of in his later years, when he set foot in
Calais on August 28, 1767. He was a perceptive observer in his remarks to
his traveling friends that ''the French love to complain whether there is
reason or not." But he also conceded that "although the French baggagehandlers are just as greedy as the English, they are at least more polite.'' His
French education had begun.
Paris and the Parisians amused him. In a long letter to his English friend
Polly Stevenson, he remarked that there must be ten thousand-no, a
hundred thousand-hairdressers in Paris. Men, as well as women, passed
long hours at the hairdressers. As a result, in order not to spoil their
hairdos, they carried their hats under their arms.
52
Benjamin Franklin
Speaking again of the Parisian women, Franklin explained at length, and
not without amusement, how they applied rouge: ''On a piece of paper, cut
out a hole three inches in diameter, place it on your cheek just below the
eye, then with a brush dipped in vivid red powder or rouge, paint your
cheek and paper. Upon removing the paper you will find a perfect spot of
red on your cheek the size of the hole in the paper, a neat spot without a
fuzzy edge. It's the fashion here for everyone, from actresses to ladies of
breeding. But, it stops there for the queen, although no longer young, has
enough natural beauty to dispense with make-up."
Franklin added that this image of the queen was not hearsay, for he had
seen her, as well as the king. Thanks to the recommendation of Mme
Victoire, the king's sister, and Mme Adelaide, his sister-in-law, Franklin
was received at the court. There he met the king, the queen, and their four
daughters. In addition to the honor of being introduced to the royal family,
Franklin was invited to Sunday dinner at the court. The table was in the
shape of a horseshoe, and the dinnerware was made of gold! Franklin was
seated between the queen and her sister-in-law Mme Victoire. When the
king or the queen desired to drink, a servant called out "a toast to the
king! " or "a toast to the queen!"-and everyone drank!
Franklin recalled how ''the king paid me the honor of taking special and
personal interest in me. There is not a Frenchman more convinced that this
king and this queen are the best and most loveable couple in the world. And
their four daughters are adorable! Mme Henriette, especially, the eldest, is
surely the most lovely and most charming woman imaginable! How
beautiful are these French women-all French women!"
Franklin had nothing to criticize concerning Paris. "The French surpass
us in cleanliness. The water they drink comes from the Seine but in filtering
it though a large basin of clean sand it becomes as clear as spring water. One
walks pleasantly through streets kept swept clean. The streets are well paved
and since the stones are cubic they are turned when they are worn so that
they are like new.''
Franklin was especially pleased with the manner in which the French
expressed concern for his comfort and well-being, "for the manner in which
we are greeted everywhere shows the courtesy of the French." Franklin did
his best to return their courtesies and to please them. He rushed to rid
himself of his English clothing with its heavy wigs and to dress like the
French with a small wig, leaving the ears exposed. "I'm told that it makes
me look twenty years younger and that I look dashing,'' he wrote with
obvious pleasure. In no time Franklin was transformed from francophobe
to francophile.
The most lasting friendships were those he made with intellectuals.
Franklin had long discussions with the Marquis de Mirabeau. In addition,
53
Gerard M. Doyon
he was soon in complete harmony
with the philosophes. He now
understood that the interests of
the American colonies would
become more and more allied to
those of France.
Franklin returned to London
on October 8, 1767, enchanted
with his visit to France and with
the hope of returning soon. Two
years later Dr. Barbet-Dubourg,
the one who had made the
original
invitation,
asked
Franklin to come to Paris to go
over in person some of the
difficulties received from Father
Berthier in a letter dated
February 29, 1769, in which there
was a pleading invitation to make
another visit to France. It was
Portrait of Franklin by
signed,
''Father Berthier,
Philippe-Amedee Vanloo.
franklinist." Franklin, a Boston
Protestant, accepted with pleasure the warm invitation from a representative of Rome.
At the age of sixty-three, this time with joy, Franklin left for Paris in
June of 1769. Unfortunately, there are few documents remaining of this
second trip . All that is known is that he arrived in Paris at the end of July
and left at the end of August. It was at this time that the translation of
"Poor Richard's Almanac" was completed by Barbet-Dubourg. The first
edition appeared under the title of "Poor Henri" in place of "Richard" to
avoid the French play on words which could be made to mean "Poor Rich
Man." The five later editions appeared under "Old Richard." Franklin was
proud to note that the French edition carried a portrait engraving "of me
which looks so French as to make me a citizen of this animated nation.''
This translation contributed in large part to the popularity of Franklin in
France since it promised "an easy way to pay taxes," which was in effect a
method of holding down taxes in the first place. The French hated taxes as
much as anyone. This won for Franklin a place with Voltaire and Rousseau
in French esteem and admiration.
Naturally, Franklin was received cordially by the physiocrats and intellectuals. He attended a meeting of the Academy of Science on August 22,
where he was elected an associate member for his work with the lightning
rod. This academy had bestowed this honor on only eight persons outside of
1 - -_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____.
54
Benjamin Franklin
France. In addition, Franklin was elected a member of the Academy of
Medicine and a member of the Academies of Sciences of the cities of Lyon
and Orleans.
The public saw Franklin as a magician, a sorcerer, and a genius who had
tamed lightning; popular images of him in these roles were produced.
Monsieur Judlin built an animated image of Franklin, painted and dressed,
and produced it in series. Another of his French friends, Mlle MarieCatherine Biheron, was famous for her wax figures of great men. She made
one of Franklin which was part of a wax museum on the Champs-Elysees
until World War I. Old photographs of it are all that remain.
The most important trip Franklin made to Fran~e was his third. On
December 4, 1776, at dusk, a boat coming from the Bay of Quiberon, where
the sea was choppy, was carried quickly by the incoming tide to the river of
Auray. It eventually docked at the little port of Auray on the south coast of
Brittany. There an old man of seventy landed on the shore with the help of
"Temple," a young man of sixteen. With them was a blond boy of six,
"Benjie." Temple and Benjie were Franklin's grandsons. Today the spot is
known as the quay Benjamin Franklin. The old man wore glasses of his
invention and had a fox-fur hat on his head from which his long white hair
appeared at the back. Franklin and his two grandsons had arrived in secrecy
on a very serious mission. On this historic evening a Breton fishing village
held the destiny of the United States.
Franklin and his young companions finally arrived in Versailles on
December 20, after a trip of two months on the high seas in mid-winter and
sixteen days by wagon on the roads of France. As soon as he was lodged in
the Inn of the Beautiful Picture (today Number 8, Place Hoche), Versailles,
he received the secret visit of the Comte de Vergennes, minister of foreign
affairs under Louis XVI, who gave him this advice: "Above all, be very
discreet. Make believe you came to France for your health and for the
French education of your grandchildren." In reality, Vergennes was
troubled by Franklin's arrival and asked Louis XVI, "What will we do?"
It seemed best that Franklin leave Versailles, and on Oecember 21, a gray
and cold winter day, he quietly departed for Passy on the outskirts of Paris.
He went to Passy at the arrangement of Vergennes; there were too many
English spies in Paris.
At this point, Jacques Donatien Le Roy de Chaumont came to Franklin's
aid. He was a great financier, shaker and mover of things, deeply involved
in the cause of the American Revolution. He and another financier, Caron
de Beaumarchais, secretly sent ships from Nantes with arms and military
supplies so desperately needed by the armies of General Washington.
Franklin and his grandchildren remained in Passy for a long time, more
than eight years, practically in isolation. But Franklin loved it, writing once:
"I live in a lovely house located in a pleasant village only a half-mile from
55
Gerard M. Doyon
the gates of Paris. I have a large French garden in which to promenade."
His house was a private estate, l'hotel Valentinois, razed in 1868. It is now
Place Franklin. It did not cost him a penny, for his host, Mme de
Chaumont, faithful supporter of the American cause, would never accept
rent.
Franklin came to France to negotiate a military alliance as well as one for
financial and commercial assistance. An audience at the court was granted
fifteen months later when it was no longer possible to keep his mission
secret.
Franklin understood that before he could expect direct help from the
French crown, he first had to win public support for the cause of American
independence. Public opinion was first won in the salons or at the socials
given by the leading matrons of the time. One of these molders of public
opinion was Mme Geoffron, whose salon was devoted to politics. The
American ambassador visited these salons, for he understood their power.
Franklin's style of dress at the salons surprised everyone. The image he
hoped to create was that of the Quaker, which he knew was fashionable in
France. "Here at last is an American who does not look nor act like an
Englishman!" everyone cried. Franklin worked hard at creating this image
of the peaceful and wise Quaker. This patriarch was soon welcome
everywhere. Playing the part of the wise grandfather, he smiled and listened
much more than he talked. He listened with interest, especially if a woman
was talking. His gentleness disarmed everyone. He left every salon at the
end of the evening the victor. He knew that the only way to fascinate this
polite world was to remain mysterious. Doors opened to him. Every matron
in Paris sought his company at her salon. Paris was at his feet-and soon
the court also. Mme Campan, teacher of Marie-Antoinette's children,
introduced the wise old man to the court. Mme de Polignac, the king's
brother's wife, held more political power than the king himself. She praised
Franklin-and the American cause-at the court, even in the king's
presence. Her husband, the Comte de Polignac, had more support for his
political views than had his brother the king. And these were the views of his
wife, champion of Franklin. The ladies of the court won the battle for
Franklin. After fifteen months of agonizing indecision, Louis consented to
receive Franklin at the court on March 20, 1778.
The thought of meeting the king doubtless filled Franklin with anxiety,
for he wanted to make a good impression. He had discarded the habit of
wearing a wig at the time it was required in order to be received at court. He
went shopping for a proper and formal wig worthy of his position as the
representative of the American Congress to the Court of France. The
hairdresser, as diplomatic as Franklin, told him that "Doctor Franklin has
a large head as well as a great head." More humbly, Franklin answered,
56
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin surrounded by the ladies at the court of Versailles. An
engraving (c. 1830) by W. 0. Geller from a painting by Baron
Jolly.
"Your wigs are too small." Moreover, Franklin had developed a heavy
paunch; he called himself "a fat old fellow." He found that his formal silk
suit, absolutely necessary dress for presentation at the court, was now too
tight. So he merely wore his everyday brown velvet suit, without wig.
On March 20, 1778, an immense crowd awaited Franklin's arrival at
Versailles. Upon catching sight of him, the crowd exclaimed in a hushed
voice, "He is dressed like a Quaker!" Well, not quite. He wore his dark
brown suit, gray stockings, black shoes with the characteristic silver
buckles. And on his nose were perched his famous little eyeglasses. Here he
was out of uniform-no sword, no wig, no silk suit, no lace shirt, no dainty
handkerchief hanging from the cuff of his sleeve, no ornaments of any
57
Gerard M. Doyon
kind. Yet he looked grand with his bald head fringed with sparse long hair.
Simple yet dignified, but certainly not in the proper attire.
The king was the first to speak. "Monsieur Franklin, I pray that you
assure your Congress of my friendship. I hope it will [be] for the good of the
two countries." Franklin answered (in French, of course), "Your Majesty
may count on the gratitude of Congress and on its fidelity to the agreements
made.''
The court of France at this time was one of the youngest in history; Louis
was twenty-one, Marie-Antoinette nineteen. As the French say, "We hate
our parents but fall in love with our grandparents.'' Franklin at this
youthful court enjoyed the affection given to the dearest grandfather.
This official reception at Versailles increased Franklin's popularity in
France. John Adams, who arrived in Passy on April 8, 1778, a month later,
and who did not like Franklin, quickly discovered the extraordinary interest
Franklin held for the French. Adams said, "When they speak of him, one
would think he was to restore the Golden Age,'' and added with some
detectable jealousy, "He is 'the natural man,' the honest man sought by
Diogenes."
This enthusiasm is best expressed in a reunion of Franklin and Voltaire
just before the latter's death. One day Franklin and the youngest of his
grandsons, Benjie, went to Voltaire's apartment (now 27 quai Voltaire on
the Left Bank). Voltaire began to speak-in English! Franklin pushed
Benjie gently towards the old philosopher and asked him to bless his
grandson. Immediately, Voltaire, who neither believed in God nor in
Liberty, placed his bony hands on the head of the little one and uttered (still
in English) these words: "My child, always remember these two words, God
and Liberty." All present felt tears come to their eyes. Tears really began to
flow when the two great men kissed each other on both cheeks in the French
manner. Ben Franklin, who was quite overweight, made a striking contrast
to Voltaire, who was skin and bones. It was Mardi Gras meeting Ash
Wednesday. To add to the comedy, when Voltaire sneezed, Franklin
quickly said, ''God bless you.''
From the moment he arrived in France, painters, sculptors, and engravers
began making images of Franklin. Out poured portraits, prints, and
statuettes of all kinds in the image-more or less-of Franklin. These same
images would at times be entitled "Georges Washington," with the s added
to George as in French. The French had little difficulty with the name
Franklin, but pronounced Washington as "Vah-seen-get-on." A large
number of homes had images of these two men over or on the fireplace
mantle. The craze spread so that people, peasants as well as bourgeoisie,
bought medallions, picture boxes, bottles, and busts in porcelain or plaster
signed by leading artists.
58
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin became the subject of a rivalry between the two greatest
sculptors of the age, J-J Caffieri and Antoine Houdon. Both wanted the
monopoly of a portrait bust from life of Franklin which could be duplicated
as often as needed. Caffieri was the first to do a bust in terra-cotta of the
great man (now in the Mazarin Library, Paris). But Houdon did not accept
defeat, and he too managed to get Franklin to pose for a bust (now in the
Petit Palais, Paris) which he exhibited with triumph facing the one of
Caffieri at the Salon of 1779. Houdon is better known in Virginia for his
bust of Washington, as well as his full-length monumental statue of our
first president. Houdon is also well known here for his portrait busts of
Jefferson.
Franklin managed to learn French reasonably well, considering how late
in life he began. In a letter written to Lafayette congratulating the Marquis
for naming his first-born, a girl, "Virginia" for "the most beautiful
American colony," he added: "I wish you a dozen other children, one for
each of the other twelve colonies. Virginia is a lovely name for a girl, as are
Georgia and Carolina. But for boys, Massachusetts and Connecticut are
just too much unless they are savages."
Among his neighbors at Passy, Franklin counted only friends, more often
feminine than masculine. He got along extremely well with his landlords
and benefactors, the Chaumonts, nicknaming their daughter Sophie "my
little pocket dog'' (people actually carried little dogs in their large pockets at
that time). This enchanted Sophie. When she became engaged to Comte de
Tonnere (Count of Thunder), Marie-Therese Chaumont teased the old
inventor with, "Well, Mister Franklin, your lightning rod has not prevented
'thunder' from striking my daughter!"
"At the age of seventy and more, Franklin has not lost his taste for love
and beauty,'' accused John Adams in a scolding manner. It would be
exaggerating, however, to accuse Franklin of being a woman chaser.
Franklin answered Adams's unjust accusation with a letter in which he
pointed out: ''You speak of the attention I pay the French ladies and they to
me in return. Let me explain. The French are the most polite people on
earth. The moment they meet you they wish to know what pleases you and
pass the word around. Someone, apparently, spread the word that I loved
women. Soon, everyone introduced me to their ladies (or the ladies introduced themselves) to be kissed-on the neck. To kiss on the lips or on the
cheek is not the fashion here for the first is too forward, even vulgar, and
the second spoils the makeup." "French women," Franklin added, not
without pleasure, "also have a thousand other ways of pleasing you, as
much for their attractiveness as for their intelligent conversation.''
One of these dear friends of Passy was the Comtesse d'Houdetot (the
"Sophie" of Rousseau's Confessions). Sophie was not pretty-admitted
59
Gerard M. Doyon
even by Rousseau himself who rendered her immortal in literature-but she
had great wit and much charm. She always spoke and wrote in rhyme and
expected others to reciprocate. This was most difficult for Franklin, who
had difficulty with French grammar, especially with the masculines and feminines . One day he
wrote to Sophie in jest: ''For more
than sixty years, masculine and
feminine things have given me
many problems. I had hoped that
by the age of eighty I would be
relieved of them. However, the
French feminines especially
continue to bother me. This makes
me all the more anxious to get to
Heaven where, I am told, these
differences will be abolished ."
Since Sophie loved flowers and
plants, Franklin had a Virginia
dogwood shipped to her for her
''English garden, ' ' the first such
tree in France. Six years later
Sophie wrote him in Philadelphia,
always in rhyming verse, that she
went often to think of him under
Diogenes Discovering Franklin
(a French print made in 1780).
the dogwood tree covered with
white blossoms on beautiful
spring days.
But the affection Benjamin Franklin and Mme d'Houdetot held for each
other did not compare with that he held for two other charming neighbors,
Mme Brillon de J ouy and Mme Helvetius . When she first met the great
American, Mme Brillon was about thirty, he more than seventy. Thus she
was young enough to be his daughter. Intelligent and beautiful, her parents
had married her to a man much older than she without her consent. Furthermore, this husband lacked intelligence, was mean to her, and was
unfaithful. It was natural, therefore, that she confided in Franklin as she
would in a father, as she did in her letters to her "dear Dad," pouring out
her problems with her husband and her jealousy of his "girl friends," who
more often than not were cheap barmaids, for he lacked taste in everything.
Franklin answered in French with fatherly advice.
But when, in early 1781, Franklin asked the Brillons for the hand of their
eldest daughter for his grandson Temple, he was stunned. Although the
Brillons were fond of Temple, whom they called "little Franklin," they
60
Benjamin Franklin
refused. Friendship was one thing; marriage another. They preferred a
husband who was French and Catholic. Although Mme Brillon always kept
her affection for Franklin, he did not for her. He could never understand
this side of French mentality, at once open and closed.
If Mme Helvetius was not as physically appealing as was Mme Brillonwhen Franklin first met her she was fifty-nine, he seventy-two-she was far
superior in intelligence and culture to the younger woman. She had been so
beautiful that despite the years, she remained extremely seductive. Most
interesting for Franklin, who was a widower, Anne-Catherine also was
widowed and her two children, girls, were married.
Franklin was much taken by this extraordinary woman who could still
provoke passionate declarations from men and cries of jealousy from
women much younger. One of these women was Abigail, wife of John
Adams.
Abigail was an austere figure, as are all good New England Puritans. She
was shocked at the conduct of Mme Helvetius towards Benjamin Franklin,
and especially towards her husband John. Invited to dinner one evening,
Mme Helvetius greeted not only Abigail, but Ben and John as well, with a
kiss on the cheek! And throughout the evening she put her hand in Ben's
from time to time, and even at one time she placed her arm on the back of
John's chair. (This last act is what most likely irritated the Puritan woman.)
"I was greatly scandalized at her conduct," she wrote to a woman friend in
Boston; "In my opinion, she is a very bad woman. And, furthermore,
Franklin has become a drunkard since living in France-he drinks wine!"
In defense of this last accusation, Franklin not only pointed out that God
once changed water into wine, but had also created man with an elbow
placed exactly where needed to bring a glass of wine to his lips. Unfortunately, we do not know Abigail's reaction nor her answer.
After having known Mme Helvetius for eight years, Franklin was faced
with returning to Philadelphia in 1785. Saddened at the thought of leaving
his dear Anne-Catherine, he suddenly proposed. She was sixty-seven, he
eighty. Very gently she refused to marry him. He was crushed! For the
second time he had misunderstood the difference between friendship and
marriage, even between friendship and love. In effect, even after eight years
in France, Franklin had always remained English. His last letter from
Passy, in July, 1785, upon leaving France, was addressed to "the woman I
love excessively," and he added: "I do not say that I love you for there is
nothing original in that since all the world loves you. I just hope you love
me a little." Anne-Catherine answered him in a letter sent to Philadelphia:
"I will love you always. Think of writing me now and then."
Franklin died five years later, on April 7, 1790, at the age of eighty-four,
without ever having written a single line to the woman he vowed "to love
forever." Why? This genius who seemed to have understood everything,
61
Gerard M. Doyon
from the lightning of the heavens to the Gulf Stream of the oceans, war and
peace, and the politics of men, may never have examined his heart. A
French woman, as wise as she was beautiful, had known his heart better
c:~
than he.~~
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Benedite, Leonce. La France et l'Amerique. Paris: Armand Colin, 1928.
Chinard, G. Benjamin Franklin et la France. Paris: Georges Lang, 1955.
"Le Monde de Franklin et de Jefferson." Catalogue d'Exposition au Grand
Pala is. Paris, le 25 avril, 1977.
62
Rockbridge County Gravestones
and Their Carvers
Cary A. Schneider
~
.~'-'G}
r~ J
HE WEATHERED SANDSTONE AND MARBLE gravestones
'-"«j._ ~ crowding close beside our old meetinghouses provide us with a range
~
of symbolic carvings that today constitute our largest body of early
American stone sculpture. In our graveyards both the secular and sacred
sentiments of our forefathers found expression at the hands of local
stonecutters. These stonecutters managed to convey an astonishing diversity
of pictorial images, which, within the confines of their otherwise rigid
society, reflect not only the attitudes prevalent in their own time, but are
capable also of reaching beyond them both in their originality and vision.
In Rockbridge County, as elsewhere in early America, many Presbyterian
meetinghouses were located in the middle of the community's graveyard.
The close proximity of the meetinghouse meant that the graveyard served as
a place of contemplation and instruction during the recess between the
morning and afternoon sermons of the Sabbath. In an age when illiteracy
was not at all uncommon, the gravestones of our ancestors relied heavily
upon symbolism in order to convey their messages of the mortality of man
and the rewards of heaven .
Cary A. Schneider, a 1976 graduate of Washington and Lee University, spoke to the Rockbridge Historical Society on April 26, 1976, in Maury-Brooke Hall at the Virginia Military
Institute. Mr. Schneider's address was a result of research completed in connection with his
senior art history thesis.
63
Cary A. Schneider
As examples of early American stone sculpture, the early gravestones of
Rockbridge County stand not only as monuments to the individuality of the
deceased, but also as testimonials to the excellent craftsmanship and the
innate sense of design of the stonecutters who carved them. The earliest of
these stonecutters were probably unsophisticated men who worked locally
to supply the necessary stones for their community. These stonecutters
probably had little or no formal training to guide their designs and inspirations, but were influenced instead by the engraving style common in
books of the period, by broadsides, and by the simple designs decorating
pottery, carved furniture, and even quilt patterns. Yet, despite their lack of
formal training, these artisans-who left few, if any, personal records or
documents a bout the sources of the imagery they employed-can be
credited with developing one of the fi rst native art forms in America .
We know the names of several of these early stonecutters who worked in
Rockbridge County from the signatures they sometimes carved on the
headstones they designed. For example, the gravestone of James Miller at
Falling Spring Presbyterian Churchyard bears the signature of James
Fagan, who was a very active local gravestone carver in the middle of the
nineteenth century. Often the signature of the gravestone cutter is accompanied by the name of the town or city where he worked, thereby offering us information about where the stones were actually produced . Many
of the gravestones placed in Rockbridge County graveyards in the
nineteenth century were brought from Richmond, Norfolk, Lynch burg,
and Staunton; others came from Maryland and Philadelphia. For instance,
four of the very large slabstone or tablestone monuments in Jackson
Memorial Cemetery are signed by John Struthers of Philadelphia, a
marblemason who worked closely with the architect William Strickland on
several Philadelphia buildings . Another tablestone in Jackson Memorial
Cemetery bears the signature of Thomas Traquair, another P hiladelphia
marblemason who, like Struthers, carved some of the most elaborate
monuments at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Altogether abou t thirty-seven stonecutters have been identified by their
signatures on local gravestones. These signatures were probably meant to
serve as advertisements of a stonecutter 's ability and sometimes even included the street address of the marbleyard where work might be purchased .
Unfortunately , most of the Rockbridge County gravestones are unsigned.
Often the names and inscriptions on many of the early gravemarkers in the
county have been effaced by the weather and the passing years; but the
major emphasis in my work has been to concentrate on the folk art rather
than on the epitaphs which are interesting in themselves.
The technique referred to as rub bing allows for the strengthening of
designs that have been worn by age and weather and allows fo r the faithful
reproduction of the stonecutters' actual image. Nevertheless, gravestone
64
Rockbridge Gravestones and Carvers
decorations are usually in very low relief with the result that rubbing designs
gives a much more striking contrast than the actual tombstone has to the
viewer.
A rubbing was made of the oldest gravestone which I found in Rockbridge County; it is the stone of John McDowell who is buried in the
McDowell Family Graveyard near Fairfield. The inscription on the stone is
nearly impossible to read, but the writing becomes at least partially legible
from the rubbing. The inscription on this stone reads:
HEER LYES
THE BODY OF
JOHN MACK
DOWELL
DECED DEC [?]
1743
John Mack Dowell was one of the earliest settlers in the area, and he was
killed by the Iroquois Indians from New York as they traveled south to fight
the Cherokees.
The Mack Dowell gravestone indicates the type of gravestone used by the
earliest settlers. The inscription is rather crudely incised and bears a
minimum of information about the deceased. Minuscule letters, requiring
obviously more skill, were avoided by the stonecutter. Detailed lettering and
words written in a beautiful script do not appear regularly on gravestones
until the nineteenth century.
The gravestone of John McKy was carved thirty years later. John McKy
is believed to have been the first white settler in what is now Rockbridge
County. He died in 1773 and is buried at Timber Ridge Presbyterian
Church. The stone bears the signature of the stonecutter-Nethaniel
Evins-and the date the monument was constructed can be seen on the
headstone-I 774. Of course Nethaniel Evins was not primarily a
stonecutter; courthouse records indicate that like most early settlers, he
managed a very large farm.
The large coffin-shaped slabstone which Nethaniel Evins carved is meant
to serve as a visual image to point out a moral lesson. The message is that all
men should anticipate the life of the soul after death, and this belief is
reinforced by the epitaph which appears on this badly cracked stone:
Remamber Man°As•you pas by
0
As you Are NOW•S0°once was i•
As i Am Now you soon°will be
Threfore Think on°Eterniy
0
NETHANEL EVINS
BULDER
0
65
Cary A. Schneider
John McKy gravestone.
The lettering on John McKy's stone is carved with greater precision than
that on the stone of John Mack Dowell. There is a neatness and simplicity
to the work of Nethaniel Evins which makes his work immediately
recognizable.
Another fine example of the work of Nethaniel Evins is the coffin-shaped
slabstone which he carved for the grave of his wife, Mary Evins, who died in
1777. This gravestone is in the McDowell Family Graveyard. The inscription reads:
HERE, L YS, THE ,
INT ARD BODDY OF
MARY EVINS WHOW
DEPARTED THIS LIFE 1777
THE Sie.OF HIR EAG
In the late eighteenth century grave slabs were a common form of
gravemarker throughout the county; these large grave slabs probably
originated as an effort to safeguard a new grave from wild animals.
Notice that the inscriptions on the stones to Mary Evins and John McKy
each begin by describing the state of the deceased: "Here lies the body
of .... '' This statement reflects an explicit tendency to stress that only a
66
Rockbridge Gravestones and Carvers
part of the deceased remains-the corruptible body-while the soul, the
incorruptible or immortal portion, has gone to its eternal reward.
A grave with a similar arrangement-headstone, footstone, and slabstone
as at John McKy's grave-can be seen at the Timber Grove Graveyard. This
grave is inscribed to John Paxton who died in 1787. By placing a slabstone
between the headstone and footstone, the early stonecarver might have
wanted us to view the grave as a bed of rest and an adequate house for the
dead. Actually, the word "cemetery" itself is based upon a Greek root
which means "to lull to sleep." Many other gravestones in Rockbridge
County support this idea since their epitaphs express the view of the grave as
a residence, or as a "gloomy Mansion" within which the deceased is enclosed.
From the late eighteenth century until the late 1830s the profiles of many
gravestones took the form of a doorway representing the portal through
which a person's soul would pass en route to glorification in heaven-a
portal between the translation from the flesh into spirit and the translation
from death into resurrection. The John Grigsby gravestone in the Falling
Spring Graveyard is a fine example of this three-lobed or doorlike silhouette
which recalls the tripartite form of ancient triumphal arches. John Grigsby
died in 1794, and his epitaph also expresses the idea of the grave as a
''residence'':
Pause Reader, here and look with solemn dread
Upon the last lone dwelling of the dead;
Tho' num'rous graves appear on every hand,
This was the first of all the silent band.
Nevertheless, notice that the inscription on the John Grigsby gravestone
does not begin with "Here lies the body of ... "; instead the grave reads
"Sacred to the memory of .. . " which is quite different from the earlier
form. The earlier stones which read "Here lies the body" are gravemarkers
meant primarily to mark the location of the deceased. In contrast,
statements like this-in ''memory of'' -are meant to stress the importance
of the gravestone as a memorial statement, as a commemorative
monument. Epitaphs and inscriptions change along with gravestone design
and as we examine gravestones from the early nineteenth century, we find
they tend more to sentiment combined with eulogy.
Occasionally gravestones in the form of a doorway have elaborate
decorative designs on the back or reverse side of the stone. The gravestone
of Eleanor Paxton, who died in 1815, shows this decorative pattern on the
back of the gravestone. Two other gravestones from the same cemetery
have a similar geometric design on the back: the stone of David Templeton
(died 1824) and Polly Templeton (died 1821). All three of these examples
can be seen in the Paxton-Amole Graveyard which is about three and onehalf miles southwest of Buena Vista off Route 608.
67
Eleanor Paxton gravestone.
James Caruthers gravestone.
68
Dr. William Montgomery gravestone.
Rockbridge Gravestones and Carvers
The gravestone of Mary Wardlaw at the New Providence Presbyterian
Churchyard again illustrates a headstone in the shape of a doorway or
triumphal arch design. Among the earliest images to appear on gravestones
in Rockbridge were those which signified the passing away of the flesh, the
objects used at its entombment, and the ultimate triumph of death. These
included the coffin-shaped slabstones, as at the Mary Wardlaw grave of
1808; mourning palls, as on the stone of Elizabeth A. Stuart, who died in
1848 and is buried at Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church; and skull and
bones, as on the stone for James Caruthers in Jackson Memorial Cemetery
from 1826.
The skull and bones portray dramatically the inevitability of death and its
ultimate victory over life. The crossbones used with the skull in their
Christian context, may refer to the legendary skull and bones of Adam on
Mount Golgatha, the site of the Crucifixion. By extension the emblem
would be an appropriate iconographic symbol for a headstone since it
would suggest the eternal life of the resurrected spirit after death, like
Christ's example.
Winged forms suggested the transitory nature of life on this earth. The
stone of Joseph Paxton in the Glasgow Cemetery probably dates from the
early 1820s. When Joseph Paxton died in 1820, he was only ten years old
and the so-called soul effigy on this stone is meant to represent the personalized face of the child as an angel.
Both the skull and crossbones motif and the soul effigy design appear
very rarely in Rockbridge County. One of the other soul effigies present in
this local area is on the stone of Eliza Morrison, who died in 1852 and is
buried at the graveyard at the original site of the New Monmouth Church.
This carving is signed by the marblemason Fagan; unfortunately, the face
on the soul effigy has been badly damaged.
In colonial meetinghouses the minister might set an hourglass on the pulpit to measure the duration of his sermon. The congregation was thus
well aware of the fact that a representation of this timepiece on the stones
near their churches meant a passage of time. On New England gravestones
the inscription "Tempus Fugit" (meaning "Time Flies") often accompanies a carved hourglass. On the stone of Dr . Montgomery (who died
in 1826) in Jackson Memorial Cemetery, the hourglass appears, as does a
book representing his wisdom, a compass denoting rationality, a square
denoting moral uprightness, a scythe which is an attribute of Father Time,
and a candle which death will snuff out.
Also at the top of Dr. Montgomery's gravestone is a carving of a cinerary
urn. These urns appeared on many gravestones in Rockbridge County in the
early nineteenth century and they remained a popular motif until the Civil
War. The ashes symbolicly contained within the depicted urns represented
penitence, and the death of the body and its return to dust in the final
69
Cary A. Schneider
resting place: "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" as the common funeral verse
goes. Another cinerary urn appears on the stone of Zechariah J. White,
who died in 1824 and is buried in the New Providence Graveyard. The
swirllike design that appears at the right df the urn is a flower, whose
purpose is explained by the metaphor in the epitaph:
When blooming youth is snatch'd away
By deaths resistless hand,
Our hearts the mournful tribute pay
Which pity must demand.
The monument is signed in the lower right hand corner by Patrick H.
Donnelly (1790-1840) of Lexington, who was active as a local stonecarver in
the 1820s. A close examination of the cinerary urn shows that the
stonecarver carved flames rising from the top of the urn. This was an attempt to symbolize the soul rising from mortal ashes.
The monument for Phebe and John Paxton in the Glasgow Cemetery is
the earliest pedestal type monument in Rockbridge County. It was probably
carved by Patrick H. Donnelly in the 1820s. This monument also has flames
rising from the top of the urn.
Later in the nineteenth century draped urns often appeared at the top of
obelisks and columns; J. B. Gaddess & Brother of Lynchburg designed such
a monument in the New Providence Graveyard for Elizabeth McChesney
Echols, who died in 1853. The Hileman family monument in Jackson
Memorial Cemetery provides one of the finest examples of a draped urn on
a pedestal to be found in the county; it is not surprising, since the Hileman
family produced five gravestone carvers who were active in Rockbridge
County in the nineteenth century.
Urns occur on many gravestones accompanied by willow trees. The stone
of John Harper at the High Bridge Presbyterian Church depicts a scene with
an urn, a willow, and the older crossbones motif. The stone of James
Alexander at the Oxford Presbyterian Church marks the grave of a fourteen-year-old boy; so the cinerary urn is appropriately carved in association
with a small rosebud hanging from a broken stem-a common symbol for
the death of a child. The willow, which appears in conjunction with these
other symbols, probably appears as a result of the Christian legend which
tells us that the willow tree continues to flourish and remain whole no
matter how many of its branches are cut. Thus the willow serves as a symbol
of the gospel of Christ, which remained intact however widely distributed.
Generally, the cutoff willow branch and the broken stem of a flower indicated simply a life cut off by death. A beautiful example of the cut branch
motif is the stone of Martha Wilson Houston, who died in 1856 and is
buried at High Bridge Presbyterian Church; her stone was carved by Fagan.
Epitaphs often refer to this image and one can often find the phrase "Cut
down in the bloom of life" on many Rockbridge County gravestones.
70
Rockbridge Gravestones and Carvers
Hileman family monument.
The willow often overhangs a
small carving of a favored tomb
or freshly dug grave on many
local gravestones; here the willow
stands like some perpetual
mourner, as on the stone to
Martha Montgomery, who died
in 1854 and whose headstone was
carved by Fagan for the Oxford
Presbyterian Graveyard. Another
example from the same graveyard
commemorates the grave of
Benjamin and Jane Black; it was
also carved by Fagan in the 1850s
and clearly shows how the willow
was to become the dominant
image for the expression of
Victorian sentiment once the
vivid symbology and direct force
of the older images declined.
In the 1850s James Fagan of
Lexington
carved
several
gravestones which are designed
like the mourning pictures which
commonly appeared on burial
invitations. Many of the
elaborate mourning scenes which
appear at the tops of numerous
local gravestones are probably
based upon printed examples of
the conventional mourning scene
published by several lithography
firms in the first half of the
nineteenth century, including a
commercial version produced by
Nathaniel Currier in 1835. The
old graveyard at the original site
of
the
New
Monmouth
Presbyterian Church contains
some of the best preserved
examples of these mourning
scenes on sepulchral monuments
in Rockbridge County.
71
Cary A. Schneider
Flower and Gothic motif.
Mourning pall motif.
Occasionally a figure appears in these scenes which is meant to represent
the deceased. On the stone of George Adams, carved by Fagan, a small
child points toward heaven; this stone is in Jackson Memorial Cemetery and
dates from about 1852. Another gravestone, that of Nathan Mccluer at
Falling Spring Presbyterian Church, portrays a reclined figure of the
deceased watched over by his guardian angel, while the outstretched arms of
another angel signifies God's acceptance of the dead man's soul into
heaven. Other gravestones portray weeping women as a reference to the
concept of grief and perhaps familial piety, instead of to a particular
surviving member of the family.
Flowers and leafy clusters were often used both emblematically and for
the sake of beautiful adornment on hundreds of headstones. In a
remarkably fine state of preservation is the monument to James F. Harper
(died 1860) in the Ebenezer Associate Reformed Church Graveyard; here
among Gothic tracery are carved wreaths of flowers and garlands of
acanthus leaves.
Bouquets of spring flowers also are common carvings on local
gravestones. A small bouquet rests on a stone-carved pillow atop the small
monument to Nancy Brooks (died 1858) in Jackson Memorial Cemetery.
The suggestion of seasonal regeneration was implicit in such an image,
72
Rockbridge Gravestones and Carvers
Handshake motiffrom the gravestone ofG. D. Crawford.
expressing the hope for the spirit ' s resurrection beyond the grave. Garlands
of victory, known from antique times, often hang from the tops of obelisks
and columns. The garland might thus symbolize either the victory of death
or the victory of the soul over death. A laurel garland hangs from the top of
a broken column on the monument to Elizabeth McBride who died in 1858.
The design of the entire monument shows the influence of the Neo-classic
revival which introduced architectural motifs into the design of gravemarkers. The McBride monument is located at New Providence Presbyterian Church, a church which itself was built in the Greek revival style.
A large number of gravestones in the county are decorated with Gothic
tracery and examples can be found in nearly every mid-nineteenth-century
graveyard. Not only did local residents favor the Gothic style for some of
their most important buildings and residences, but also recognized that
Gothic designs were appropriate for the cemetery and could inspire some
distinctly original gravestones.
The flight of a glorified soul to heaven has been represented since ancient
times by the image of a bird-probably one of the most poetic and loveliest
of visual metaphors. The dove is a classic symbol of Christian constancy
and devotion, as well as a reference to the Holy Ghost. When holding an
olive branch in its beak, the dove signifies the hope for God's providence
73
Cary A. Schneider
based on the Biblical story of Noah's ark and its dove messenger. Scattered
among the tombstones in Rockbridge County are numerous examples of
this motif. One of the finest examples is the gravestone of Ann Johnston,
who died in 1854 at the age of fifty-one and is buried in Jackson Memorial
Cemetery.
The hand of the Lord is another common image on gravestones of the
mid- to late-nineteenth century. The hand of the Lord signifies omnipotence
and guidance and is usually represented as pointing upward toward heaven.
The stone of Mary E. Wilson, who died in 1885, shows the hand of the Lord
pointing to heaven; a ribbon carved near the hand reads: GONE HOME. The
gravestone is located in the Lebanon Presbyterian Churchyard between
Goshen and Craigsville. A similar design common in nineteenth-century
graveyards is a handshake-presumably, God welcoming the deceased into
heaven or the deceased bidding farewell to his friends on earth. The handshake carved on the stone of A. C. Johnson (died 1881) in Falling Spring
Presbyterian Churchyard shows a ribbon tied and joining the two hands
clasped together; on this ribbon appears the word Farewell. The finest
executed handshake design in the county was carved by J. J. Hileman and is
located at the entrance to Jackson Memorial Cemetery. The stone marks the
grave of G.D. Crawford, who died in 1858.
The lamb was another common design which appears repeatedly on the
gravestones of young children. It stands for innocence and the Resurrection
of Christ, and is the most popular design on gravestones in Rockbridge
County after the Civil War. Sometimes the lamb appears as a relief carving
on the face of the gravestone, similar to many designs appearing in stained
glass church windows. Other times the lamb is a freestanding sculpture
sleeping on top of the funeral monument, as on the small tablestone in the
Falling Spring Graveyard to Hugh Blair Chandler, who died in 1854 as an
infant.
The Crown of Righteousness is another widespread motif on gravemarkers after the Civil War. Its use is based on many scriptural passages,
among them this passage from Timothy: "Henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give
me at that day; and not me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.''
The crown thus represents Resurrection in Christ and is most commonly
found with the cross of Christianity inside of the crown. The cross and
crown design appears on the stone of William Preston Barger, who died in
1882 and is buried in the High Bridge Presbyterian Graveyard.
Some of the most beautiful gravestone carvings in local cemeteries are of
angels. Usually these angels are carved as symbols of the soul's flight to
heaven and the soul of the deceased in heaven. The angel on the headstone
of Mary Leckey, who died in 1861 and is buried in the Bethany Lutheran
74
Rockbridge Gravestones and Carvers
Angel motif.
Lamb motif.
Author's rubbings (reduced 50%) o f , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
gravestone signatures by Fagan (1845;
LEXINGTON MARBLE WORKS •.
Fecit. = [he] executed [it}) and Hileman
(1859). Advertisement from the July 6,
J. J. HILEMAN
has constantly on hand a large assortment of
1877, Lexington Gazette.
Fine Marble Work of different designs,
1ucb u
.American and Italia11, ·Marble
MONUMENTS, TOMBS, GRA. VE-STONES,
Harb le .Han ties 45 Furniture ){antle1.
Monnments from $25 to $500.
Headstones for children, from $6 tQ $60.
"
" adults, " $10 to $250.
Lettering, $6 per hundred.
Those in W'1nt.of &ny article in my line will
plea.se give me a call or address a line; and
any order entrusted to me will be executed
with neatnesa and.dispatch on very imoderate
t.erm,. carefully boxed free of cost, -and guaranteed aafe i,o any .dist!.!lce.
W- Prices moderate.
March 24, 1871.
75
Cary A. Schneider
Church Graveyard, is one of the finest examples of this type. The beautiful
angel on the obelisk carved to the memory of Catharine Malina Smith in
Jackson Memorial Cemetery may possibly be meant to recall the angel
discovered at Christ's empty tomb. Here the angel would serve as a symbol
of the Resurrection. The angel has just picl<:ed a lily which is carved at the
base of the obelisk and carries the lily with her as she ascends to heaven.
Having established that religious philosophy and changing fashions
influenced the design of gravestones, the question arises who the men were
who carved these stones. Because the region's early population was
relatively sparse, the making of gravestones could hardly have provided
anyone with a sufficient source of income. As I have already noted, the only
eighteenth-century gravestone carver whose name we know-Nethaniel
Evins-was primarily a farmer. But with the growth of population the
business of providing gravestones became a trade in which men could be
engaged for a livelihood. As a result of the apprenticeship system practiced
in the early nineteenth century, there emerged entire families of stonecutters
whose craft was practiced through several generations.
The Donnelly, Hileman, and Fagan families alone produced nine outstanding stonecutters whose work can be found in graveyards throughout
the county. Advertisements placed in local newspapers demonstrate that
these carvers produced not only gravestones, but also marble mantels, table
and counter tops, and all types of stone work for public and private
buildings.
To conclude, we have seen how the graveyards of Rockbridge County
preserve many memorials which commemorate the earliest residents of the
county. The inscriptions on these stones can provide us with some basic
information as to who they are. Their gravestones have a sculptural beauty
and diversity from which we sense something more than untutored creative
instinct. We are confronted here with part of a tradition that lived through
generations until it was extinguished with the introduction of ready-made
monuments in the late nineteenth century. [!]
76
Self-Determination and
the Sense of Roots
Joy E. (Lamm) Bannerman
lina, up on See-Off Mountain. She grows and puts up her own food,
milks her cow, chops her wood, knows how to butcher and timber,
is acquainted with the native wild flowers and wildcats, has reared four
children, cooks, and tends the sick. She also has organized her community
whenever there was a need for action, be it for a road for the school bus, for
community center work, on issues to be faced, or when someone on the
mountain died. Lula's life is hard, painful, and full of struggle, but it has
made her wise. Through my conversations with her, that wisdom has infused my understanding of what "self-determination" and the "sense of
roots" are all about. As I speak with you, Lula's words will guide me. I
also hope to share with you something of my work in oral history and landuse planning. I will discuss the challenges you face in this transition time for
Rockbridge County.
Because the increased traffic brought by the interstate highway threatens
to open up your peaceful, historic town to strip-development comJoy E. (Lamm) Bannerman was director of the Southern Appalachian Writers' Cooperative,
the former director of the Appalachian Oral History Project, and a lecturer on oral history and
land-use planning. Ms. Bannerman spoke to the Rockbridge Historical Society in duPont Hall
at Washington and Lee University on October 25, 1976. She also lead a workshop on oral
history on October 26 in the society's Campbell House.
77
Joy E. Bannerman
mercialism, rapid growth, and twentieth-century plasticity, community
leaders have decisions to make; and they will need to act on those decisions.
With regard to these changes and decisions, I would like for you to
remember Lula Johnson's words as a warning: "I never expect the best, but
I expect some. When I start working at anything, I expect to have something
to show for it; maybe not the best, but at least something.''
Lula also talked about "fighting." When asked to explain, she said:
"What I mean by fightin' is talkin' and don't give up! That's what I mean.
Don't give up! You keep on and on 'til you've had something accomplished. You may only accomplish a little bit this year, and maybe next
year a little bit more, but only if you keep on tryin' !"
Like Lula, I believe that a healthy measure of idealism is necessary for
pragmatic action, and a certain amount of pragmatism is necessary in order
to examine an idealistic topic such as self-determination and the sense of
roots. I would like to bring that topic down to earth by looking at it from
three perspectives: first, the topic and myself (not as an "ego trip" but as a
means of relating the personal to the general); second, the topic and the
Appalachian region (a pointed example of traditions in transition); and
third, the topic and you (i.e., discovering roots, making things happen).
It seems to me a paradox that I am speaking on the subject of roots when
I seem to be continually journeying. The paradox is resolved in my mind
because of the purpose of my journeying: to discover the concrete meaning
of "roots" and to form values that endure by understanding those roots in
order that we might develop alternatives for a more sane, humane, and lifesustaining future.
I perceive four benchmarks on my journey. First, I established and
directed the Appalachian Oral History Project at Appalachian State
University of Boone, North Carolina, in conjunction with a consortium of
three other schools (Alice Lloyd College, Lees College, and Emory and
Henry College) on both sides of the mountains. Together we sought to
discover what the grounding of our particular culture was-that is, the
predominant and socially bonding values which gave meaning, purpose,
and form to the life of those who had lived and were living in the mountains
in relatively isolated, self-sufficient communities. The project involved
many people in the process of looking at their collective past and present so
that they might make more informed choices about the future they wished
to shape for themselves and their heirs. Interviewers were students who
came from the mountain communities where they returned to talk with
several generations of family, friends, and persons who carried out specific
functions in the community, who created its works of art, or who were
transmitters of its heritage.
78
Self-Determination and Roots
Participation in that process led me to my second "benchmark." I
became involved in the social, political, and economic issues of the North
Carolina mountains where I lived. That involvement arose when the
concreteness of a particular people and way of life was being threatened by
outside intervention and usurpation of natural resources. People in communities were saying that they wished to have a voice and a choice in this
inexorable process of change. Thus my work, with others, centered around
land-use issues, agrarian alternatives, and protective legislation.
At the same time, I was working on a manuscript (my third "benchmark") called "Notes on the Question of Values," which is a personal
evaluation of the dynamics in question in this change process and a means
of reflection on that evaluation. Fourthly, the culmination of all this work
has come in the past year as I have been traveling and interviewing people to
learn about alternatives in land-use planning, housing, and marketing, and
to learn about the possibilities for greater creative, artistic, cultural expression that may arise out of and be transmitted by a folk culture as a
means of insuring its stability and vitality in the midst of being threatened.
Housing, history, legislation, art, and economic alternatives all seem
related to people's basic values: values of the past-memories; values of the
present-how we earn our living, what we eat, where we go, where we live,
what objects we create or use or are entertained by; and the values by which
we make the decisions that shape our future-the values a community must
understand and act upon.
When we look at the question of self-determination and the sense of roots
in terms of the Appalachian region, the processes of learning, reflecting,
and acting are particularly crucial in these changing times. Briefly, what is
happening is not new but is a heightening of ongoing efforts to control and
use natural resources. There is an onslaught on natural resources-from
coal and gas to timber, water, and land-for resort, recreation, and secondhome development. Thus the natural resources are being destroyed, consumed, or otherwise exploited for short-term gain. With the opening of
transmountain highways, there is a rapid increase in the urbanization
process. Fierce controversies are thereby created on every front, from those
having to do with transportation to those having to do with local services
and governmental control.
Similarly, there are tremendous cultural conflicts over land-use options
because of the clash of conflicting values. The urbanites and the entrepreneurs are seeking natural resources or escape in mountain lands; this
has driven land prices up until they are now often prohibitive for native
people. On the other side of the conflict is the indigenous population who
have lived here in agrarian communities seeking to maintain their own
79
Joy E. Bannerman
Smyth County
Grayson County
VA
NC
Ashe County
Alleghany County
Wilkes County
N
1
An important example of the conflict between local self-determination
and the development of the Appalachian region by outside interests occurred over the proposed Blue Ridge Project during the early 1970s on the
Virginia-North Carolina border not far from the author's home. The
Appalachian Power Company (a subsidiary of the nation's largest electric
utility, based in New York City) wished to dam the New River (the oldest
river in North America). In addition to the land needed-27,900 acres in
Virginia (9.6 percent of Grayson County) and 14,200 acres of North
Carolina-the project would displace 893 dwellings, 41 summer cabins, 10
industrial establishments, 23 commercial facilities, 5 post offices, 15
churches, 12 cemeteries, and 8 miscellaneous structures. The project
became a cause celebre in the national media; it was ultimately defeated
and the New River designated a national scenic river.
80
Self-Determination and Roots
traditions and way of life, but who are instead enticed to provide services
for, or to sell land to, those who have no respect for the land, the people, or
their cultural traditions.
This brief sketch is meant to highlight the significant point that changes
are inevitable, in the mountains as elsewhere. What we must look at are the
possible alternatives to the present leveling and destructive processes that
continue without care, forethought, or consensus. As these processes are
highlighted in the mountain region, so they continue in every region of our
country as our society becomes one of transients, or migrants-a society
that has lost its roots.
Thus I come to address "the topic and you." I would like to ask you to
think for a moment about that topic. Self-determination: your part in the
inexorable process of change and growth, your means of shaping the future
by your will, your care, your commitment to a place, to a people. And the
sense of roots: in a biological sense, roots are that part of a "communal"
organism which nourish, give strength, allow a plant to bear leaves , flower,
and fruit, and which holds it securely grounded through many different
seasons and storms. We too have roots-the roots of our civilization, our
millenial histories; the roots of our particular place, cultural grouping,
family grouping-which nourish and ground us, individually and communally. If we allow them to shrivel and die, we cut ourselves off from
them at our peril.
Thus a crucial question arises: do we learn from and extend that
heritage-those roots which nourish our creative, productive, caring
capacities-or do we let them disintegrate and be absorbed into the plastic
assembly-line culture of a materialism which substitutes objects for
meaningfulness? It is not a question we can avoid, because to refrain from
addressing and answering it is in fact to answer it.
I would suggest here some ways that you may begin to learn from and to
extend your heritage, your sense of roots in the face of change. First, you
must determine that you wish to do so. Then, as you accept and strengthen
your common rootedness, you must ask these basic questions : who and
what are we? who and what do we want to be? who and what is standing in
the way of this transformation?
Such questions, I believe, can best be answered in the process of oral
dialogs. These would include such things as informal chats around the
table , around the fire, over the fence with neighbors, or at community
gatherings. You may also record such conversations to serve your community. These provide a record of your common heritage, a record of your
valuable differences in the midst of commonality-a means of coming to
know more about the values and beliefs you hold in common-and a way of
achieving a consensus about what you want from the future so that you will
have a basis for acting .
81
Joy E. Bannerman
This process of reconstruction and reflection is the process of oral
history. The tapes and written transcriptions which are the products of such
history may be used to stimulate further thought and dialog through individual research and study projects, newspaper columns, radio and
television presentations, comtnunity forums, club projects and histories,
educational curricula, and through governmental meetings-where they
may be used as sources of information and as evidence in strongly
presenting your informed perspectives and choices. Thus your community
can use oral history as a tool, as a vehicle to reinforce a sense of self-worth,
and as a means for bringing the past to bear on the present and future in
concrete and creative ways.
As all people in this community (and this diversity of occupation, social
status, sex, and age is essential) have a chance to reflect through conversation on their past, present, and future lives, they also have a chance to
consider broader issues and their ambiguities. They gain a sense that what
they have to say matters, that they matter. Thus as personal experiences and
perceptions are shared, so is the sense of self-worth and possibility. Our
ability to choose the options which will influence our future is realized as we
experience this sense of possibility. Without it we feel trapped by a very big
world in a very small space; we feel impotent to act.
The challenge for you, together, is to gain a sense of your roots so that
you might thereby gain a sense of possibility and self-determination for
your community. But let me add a word of warning here. You live in a place
that has a certain idyllic charm, a sense of time passing as a slow-moving
stream. It is a place imbued with a deep sense of history, of connections
with a past that lives in the history books and archives of our nation. It is
also a place graced with natural beauty, rarefied academics, and aristocratic
traditions. What can so easily happen is that you may be lulled into a
complacency by all this and fail to realize that the greatest threat to constructive change-since change is inevitable-is the insularity and charm of
the place itself. You may be blinded by what you now have. But even
blindness, carefully assessed, can become a means of developing strengths
and skills to lead you beyond your present limits. Do not be blind to your
blindness!
I would like to share with you some notes I made for our nation's
bicentennial, because I think they address our topic in ways that might
stimulate your own thinking.
Nineteen seventy-six could be, should be, the beginning of a revolution in
terms of: a transformation of the human spirit-a new way of looking at
ourselves, our world, our relationship to each other; a renewal of the sense
of possibility; a responding to the great needs of man-the need to face
82
Self-Determination and Roots
those critical problems which threaten our very survival (war, racial conflict, economic and political injustice, hunger, etc.), the need to "find
ultimate sense here and now in the ordinary humble tasks and human
problems of every day," and the need to integrate all levels of experience
into our lives.
What is it that we need most and yet most often lack?-a sense of
community and a sense of se/f-sufJiciency. These are two of the basic
qualities which enabled us to become a nation in 1776. Lacking in 1976,
they are the things which may soon destroy us.
Community involves our interaction with others. Is this interaction only
through social or business "games," or is it through sharing of personal
commitments to some goal or goals that will enhance our ''quality'' of life?
Do we participate in activities in which we share, or only in those in which
we take from others or are ''taken'' by them? Are we encapsulated and
isolated by our own affluence?
Considering not only personal self-sufficiency but also community selfsufficiency, what have we sacrificed? To what? To whom? Why? What
sorts of permanent restructuring could we do in our individual or corporate
lives which would enable us to survive in the worst, the leanest of times (i.e.,
energy crisis, food crisis, unemployment)?
To achieve a sense of community and of self-sufficiency, we need to have
a strong sense of who we are by becoming aware of our past, our roots, our
heritage. We should become aware not only of our corporate history-in
which we all share a certain sense of triumph and blame-but also of our
personal history and heritage which we so often deny and are so often called
upon to deny by our educational and social systems. Until we go through
the assimilating process of accepting the many facets of our past, we will
not be able to accept the reality of our present.
We should become aware of our present, of who we are now (and why).
And considering our alternatives, we should seek to discover how we might
shape our lives in a personal sense and shape the many forces which affect
it, in order to become the person and people we could best be, in the sense
of fulfilling our personal destinies and of helping in the transformation of
our world.
The years and centuries are road maps helping us to understand where we
once were, how we got to where we are now, and where it is we are going.
They are significant to us only as we accept them and experience them. If we
reflect on 1776 only in superficial terms, then we will only understand
ourselves in superficial terms. If we experience 1976 only as a combination
of events which keep us busy and amused, then we will experience ourselves
only in terms of activity and amusement. If we look forward to 2176 only as
83
Joy E. Bannerman
a nebulous date when some form of life will have to cope with problems that
are no longer ours, then we will remain trapped in the problems of our
insignificant present.
But there is another way. If we reflect on 1776 in terms of the creation
and celebration (however fraught with sacrifice) of a "new world," then we
will understand that creation and celebration are possible within our own
lives . If we experience 1976 as a celebration of a new, deeper sense of
community and commitment, then we will understand what it means to
create and celebrate our own "new world." If we envision 2176 as the
culmination of all our efforts as part of the chain of life past and future,
then we will press on, however painfully, in the joyous task of becoming all
that we have the potential to be.~]
84
Lee in Command
Louis H. Manarin
~l
elf&~
"We must decide between the positive loss of inactivity
and the risk of action. "
(c)'-s AN AMERICAN WAR, the Civil War was unique. The manner
of the warfare peculiar to that war had not been seen in America
before, nor was it to be repeated. Elements of tactics and strategy
established prior to the war were used during it. At the same time, weapons
and ideas were introduced that brought about changes and influenced
future warfare. But the basic principles of strategy and the basic problems
of logistics changed less than did the tools of war. As usual, the new and the
old were intermingled.
By the time of the Civil War, the conduct of war was no longer determined solely by the military commander. The American system of
government had brought about changes in military administration; military
policy-i.e., strategy-was conceived behind the lines by the civil and
military authorities. Thus a commander's actions could be controlled by the
civil authorities. This becomes even more important when it is realized that
during the war the entire resources of each nation were mobilized for war,
~i.)':"
Louis H. Manarin, state archivist at the Virginia State Library, was the associate editor of The
Wartime Papers of R. E. Lee (1961). He had been editor-historian for the Virginia Civil War
Centennial Commission and editor for the North Carolina Department of Archives and
History. Dr. Manarin addressed the Rockbridge Historical Society in Evans Dining Hall,
Washington and Lee University, on February 7, 1977.
85
Louis H. Manarin
and the ultimate objective of the opposing forces was to destroy their
opponent's will to resist by either defeating his armies or destroying his
resources. Thus, the American Civil War may be referred to as the first
total war occurring on this continent-the beginning, for Americans, of
modern warfare.
Into this war Lee brought thirty-six years of military training and experience. With the exception of the Mexican War in 1846-48, he had seen
no active field service; he had never commanded large numbers of troops.
Primarily he served in the Engineer Corps prior to his appointment as
superintendent of West Point, 1852-55 . From 1855 until he resigned his
commission, Lee served in the cavalry on the frontier.
From the beginning Lee saw that it would be a long war. He urged total
preparation for war where the producers would provide the necessities and
the soldiers would fight. He felt the entire South should be mobilized for
war and urged the total mobilization of arms-bearing men by conscription,
if necessary. Although he would have welcomed foreign aid, Lee believed
that the South should look to itself for its defense and not seek assistance
from European powers whose interests, he felt, were strictly for financial
gain.
Lee's career in the Confederate service may be divided into two phases.
The first, the organizational-administrative phase, was carried on from
headquarters without any direct control over the command of the fighting
units as such. Lee's duties for the first year of the war were of this nature.
He conceived the plan of defense or offense and relied on others to put it
into effect; at the same time he was closely associated with the administrative duties of organization and supply. The second phase may be
defined as the command phase. When Lee assumed command of the Army
of Northern Virginia he shaped his plans with the concurrence of the
president and the secretary of war, and then proceeded to carry them out.
The administrative job of supply was out of his hands. As commander of
the Army of Northern Virginia, he saw that the best defense was to keep the
enemy away from Richmond and the heart of the Confederacy and to
defeat his army. To accomplish this end he felt it would be necessary to
frustrate the enemy's designs, to break up campaigns undertaken at vast
expense and thus destroy his will to continue the war, and to do so at the
smallest cost to the Confederacy. Thus Lee's efforts from June, 1862, to
April, 1865, might be considered as one campaign. Because of the size and
equipment of his army in comparison with his opponents', Lee was unable
to employ the massive hard-hitting tactics associated with total war. As
early as 1862 he saw that defensive strategy would mean defeat. To meet the
advances of his opponent he relied on the only alternative-maneuver. By
the spring of 1863 he felt that there was only one alternative-invasion and
86
Lee in Command
victory on enemy soil. In 1864, forced on the defensive, unable to maneuver
save to a new defensive position, Lee realized the end was near. Throughout
the war he sought to baffle his opponent by maneuvering to advantage,
forcing his opponent to disperse his forces, then striking when opportunity
presented, always with the objective of destroying the enemy's army or
disrupting his campaign.
During his Confederate military career he was assigned to five different
positions. Each assignment was different in that it presented its own
problems; yet it becomes evident in the final analysis that they wer_e interrelated. Each assignment familiarized him with certain aspects of warfare
and of the war, and to a degree prepared him for his duties as commander
of the Army of Northern Virginia. In the first year of the war he received
the training necessary to develop and mature his own thinking about the
type of war in which he was participating. In this period (April, 1861, to
May, 1862), there is evident growth in Lee's art of war and preparation for
what was to follow.
When Lee assumed command of Virginia forces in April, 1861, he first
sought to bring order out of the chaos that existed. Establishing the
necessary administrative departments, he then began to mobilize the
manpower of the state through a succession of calls by counties. First the
men were called up from the counties which bordered the Union states.
These border counties were divided into districts. Each district was
responsible for the defense of the area encompassed within its designated
boundaries. The next call went to the interior counties. Men were ordered to
rendezvous at rail depots and assigned to specific districts. In conjunction,
Lee also sought to mobilize the production. Within each border district he
sought to establish land and water defenses to cover all routes of advance.
During this period he displayed his abilities as an organizer and administrator. Governed by the policy of defense proclaimed by the Confederate States, he sought to prepare a total defense in Virginia.
From this administrative position Lee was sent to western Virginia in
August, 1861, with the nominal title of coordinator. Here he encountered
for the first time the problems involved in launching an offensive. His
difficulties were relieved somewhat in that before his arrival the Federal
commanders had committed themselves to definite routes of advance. In
such mountainous terrain, once committed they would either have to
continue, stop, or withdraw. Extensive maneuver was prohibited by the
terrain. As coordinator, with two separate armies on two separate fronts,
Lee failed to initiate a coordinated plan of action. While he remained with
one army, the other-torn by internal dissension between the ranking
generals-was allowed to undertake independent action. Failure to coordinate the armies was a mistake. Here, also, Lee planned his first campaign
87
Louis H. Manarin
and learned through experience that raw and inexperienced officers could
not be expected to execute a complex maneuver which called for precision.
Lee returned from western Virginia a wiser man.
In the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Eastern Florida, his
next command, November, 1861-M:irch, 1862, Lee was called on to
establish a defensive system to protect the coast. Here he established
military districts as in Virginia. On his arrival in South Carolina, he received
news that the Federals had captured Port Royal. He had an uncommitted
enemy on his front who had the seapower to land forces anywhere along the
coast. Lee withdrew his defens es and established them out of range of the
enemy gunboats. A line was established in front of the railroad from
Charleston to Savannah and a no-man's-land was created in front. More
important was the fact that Lee was forced to establish this defense with
limited means against an enemy who had not committed himself to any
route of advance. He met this by coordinating his districts in defense of the
main routes of advance and used the railroad to transport needed reserves.
He adhered to the policy of defending the road at points of possible advance, but retained a mobile reserve to move to any threatened point on the
road.
When Lee returned to Virginia in March, 1862, to become an adviser to
President Jefferson Davis, his job was strictly administrative, but western
Virginia had given him experience in combat and the southern coast
command had combined the two . Lee was a valuable adviser to Davis, for
he knew both the Confederacy's weaknesses and its potential, and as adviser to President Davis, he received his first opportunity to plan a campaign. As he viewed the Confederate situation, he concluded that the only
way to break up the Federal concentration on Richmond would be to create
anxiety on the part of the enemy by assuming the offensive in another area.
Lee saw the opportunity for a counteroffensive in the Shenandoah Valley,
and by means of discretionary suggestions, he advised, directed, and encouraged Jackson to assume the offensive. In his orders to Jackson he
advised that the blows, in order to be successful, must be swift and sure.
This was the first time Lee had an opportunity to employ this maneuver, but
it was one he relied on to the very end as a means to reduce the enemy's
superiority in strength.
Administratively Lee proved himself in carrying out the concentration on
the Peninsula. Again he was given an opportunity to reveal another of his
abilities-to dispose the troops so as to meet all eventualities while
preparing to concentrate on the enemy's route of advance, and to do so
once the enemy's main objective was determined. This policy he adopted
while confronting an enemy army preparing to advance. Perhaps at no
other period of the war was Lee so free to exercise his abilities as a
strategist.
88
Lee in Command
When Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia in June,
1862, he shaped his plans with the concurrence of the president and the
secretary of war, and then proceeded to carry them out. The administrative
job of supply was out of his hands, however; as the war progressed he
frequently maneuvered his army to obtain supplies. More than anything
else, the lack of supplies affected Lee's policy of maneuver . As the war
progressed, he measured his moves to oppose his adversary by the yardstick
of supply. Finally, when he was unable to assume the offensive, he was
forced to establish defensive measures; when supplies were not even
available to sustain the defensive, defeat resulted.
As commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee saw that the best
defense was to keep the enemy from Richmond and heart of the Confederacy. To do so he relied on maneuver of his army or a maneuver
element acting independently but in conjunction with his army. His campaigns reveal the success with which a weaker army can stave off the blows
of its superior opponent and still have an opportunity to destroy its adversary. Not all the opportunities were gained by Lee's strategy directly, but
he was quick to grasp them when his opponents faltered. When his adversary assumed the defensive, Lee sought to maneuver him out rather than
launch an all-out assault. In front of Richmond in 1862, Lee concentrated
his strength, reinforced by Jackson, on the left of his line opposite the
numerically and defensively weaker Union right. His object was to
maneuver McClellan out. The initial move failed for lack of coordination,
but Lee quickly seized the opportunity to retain the initiative which his
move had given him. McClellan retreated, changing his base of supply to
the James River. During this series of engagements, known as The Seven
Days, Lee sought to destroy his adversary. Victory was not enough; he
wanted to destroy McClellan's army. Again, for want of coordination, his
efforts failed .
After the Seven Days battles around Richmond, Lee was forced to divide
his army and to send Jackson to oppose General John Pope, who was
advancing from northern Virginia. Initially, Jackson was to cover from
Fredericksburg to Gordonsville, but as Pope's advance indicated a move on
the latter place, Jackson moved to defend it. This move forced the Federals
to reinforce Pope by withdrawing troops from Richmond. With Burnside
and McClellan moving to reinforce Pope, Lee moved the balance of his
army to Jackson's support. The Federal move to concentrate on Pope
relieved Lee of any anxiety of a move on Richmond from the south or east,
and allowed him to use his interior lines to concentrate on Pope before
Burnside and McClellan could. Lee quickly seized the initiative from the
inactive Pope and maneuvered to turn his right. Wherever he moved, Lee
found the Federals. He concluded that the only way to force Pope to retire
would be to strike at his communications. Dividing his army, Lee ordered
89
Louis H. Manarin
Jackson to march around Pope's right and strike his communications, while
Longstreet held him in front. The maneuver was a complete success. It is
doubtful, however, that Lee ordered Jackson to attack a passing Federal
force, which attack inaugurated the Second Battle of Manassas. Lee wanted
to avoid a general engagement and desired to rely on maneuver to force his
opponent to retire. He knew he would have to fight, but wanted to choose
the time and place. As events transpired, when Longstreet came up on
Jackson's right and the attack was delivered, the result was complete victory.
To retain the initiative and gather needed supplies, Lee moved into
Maryland. There he divided his army in order to open his communications
through the Shenandoah Valley and to maintain the advance. Pressured
while his army was divided, he was compelled to abandon the advance and
90
Lee in Command
retire. For the first time Lee assumed the defensive in order to reap the
fruits of victory from his campaign of maneuver.
The battle at Sharpsburg may be considered a draw, but Lee's army never
fully recovered from it. From Sharpsburg Lee withdrew into Virginia where
he hoped to draw McClellan into the Shenandoah Valley, forcing him to
extend his line of supply. When McClellan crossed the Potomac, he moved
just east of the mountains. Again Lee divided his army, and sending
Longstreet east of the mountains, he left Jackson in the Valley as a
maneuver element. Jackson was ordered to either create a diversion to force
McClellan to send troops against him or attack McClellan's flank or rear.
Jackson did neither, but his presence created apprehension.
With Burnside in command, the Federal army moved to Fredericksburg,
and Lee concentrated his army to oppose any attempt to cross the Rappahannock. He positioned one wing to the heights west of the town and one
wing south and east of the town on the south bank of the Rappahannock.
This disposition would allow him to protect the two routes of advance open
to his opponent. When the Federals moved to assault the heights west of the
town, Lee consolidated his army and successfully withheld the enemy
assaults.
The year 1862 was perhaps Lee's most successful year as commander of
the Army of Northern Virginia. By maneuver he was able to deceive, create
anxiety, make and take advantage of opportunities, and win victories.
However, by the end of August, his supply problem had become so acute
that it was a major factor in determining his movements. The invasion of
Maryland was undertaken with this as one of the main considerations.
Afterwards, when he moved to oppose Burnside at Fredericksburg, he
assumed a position just west and south of the town. Earlier he had proposed
moving further south to the North Anna River where he could assume a
defensive position with room to maneuver. The position at Fredericksburg
did not provide this necessity. Lee felt he could win a defensive victory, but
could not maneuver to defeat or destroy Burnside. He gave as his main
reason for taking position at Fredericksburg his desire to retain the
productive land between Fredericksburg and North Anna under Confederate control. Although he realized complete success depended on
freedom of maneuver to oppose the enemy advance, that freedom was being
restricted by the shortage of supplies.
By the end of 1862 it was apparent to Lee that the South could not
support an extensive campaign of maneuver within its own borders.
Maneuver in Virginia served to keep the enemy reeling for a short time, but
produced no long-range relief. Realizing that ''we must decide between the
positive loss of inactivity and the risk of action,'' Lee concluded that ''there
is no better way of defending a long line than by moving into the enemy
91
Louis H. Manarin
7
country.'' Thus Lee proposed to extend his campaign into enemy country
where he would seek to maneuver as he did in Virginia in 1862.
During the advance, Lee's army was divided to create as much anxiety as
possible and to subsist in different regions. The advance terminated at
Gettysburg, where Lee's army was defeated and forced to retire back into
Virginia. Here the effects of the breakdown in the Confederate supply
system greeted Lee. He was forced to assume a defensive position and send
a third of his army to Tennessee. Still he succeeded in forcing Meade to
retire by maneuvering to turn the Federal right. Unable to pursue Meade's
column, he retired to his old position behind the Rapidan River.
Although he realized the ultimate result should he be forced to remain on
the defensive, Lee saw no possibility of assuming the offensive until supplies, men, and equipment were accumulated in sufficient quantity. In 1864,
forced on the defensive, unable to maneuver save to a new defensive
92
Lee in Command
position, Lee saw the end near. He sought to strike his opponent while he
was in motion, but his own weakness prevented any successful assault.
Again he tried a maneuver element in the Valley and at Culpeper Court
House. A diversionary move was made against Washington, but it failed,
and the end result was that the maneuver element at Culpeper had to move
to the aid of the maneuver element in the Valley, and they were both
overwhelmed and destroyed.
Lee planned his moves after careful evaluation of all reports and a mental
process of eliminating all moves he assumed were possible by comparing the
nature of the moves with the information received. From this information
he would interpret the enemy's intentions, often defending against several
possibilities until the actual move was revealed. In this light it is important
to note that he frequently defended against moves as he would have
executed the move had the situation been reversed . This can be seen in his
defense of South Carolina, Georgia, and Eastern Florida. While McClellan
was on the Peninsula, Lee sought to defend against an advance south of the
James River. At Fredericksburg in December, 1862, Lee felt Burnside
would advance by Port Royal to outflank the Confederates and move on
Richmond. In 1864 he maneuvered and met Grant at every turn. In all his
moves Lee arrived at his own conclusions after hearing all reports and
weighing the situation.
Throughout the period when Lee was commander of the Army of
Northern Virginia, he did not devise any master strategy for the Confederacy. Because of this he has been criticized for what is often termed his
parochial viewpoint. It is said that he could not see beyond Virginia. As
commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, he was primarily concerned
with the movements of his own army, but he realized the total effect that
such movement would have throughout the Confederacy. When he moved
on Pope, Lee advised the president that the movement would cause inactivity along the coast and the withdrawal of troops from the west to support
Pope. The Federals remained inactive along the coast and some Federal
troops were withdrawn from western Virginia to support Pope. Again when
he proposed the invasion which terminated at Gettysburg, he saw this as the
only move possible by any Confederate army in the field that could possibly
force the Federals to move troops from one area to another. Lee felt that
the Confederate forces in the west could assume the offensive if troops were
transferred to the east to meet his advance. Although this idea can be seen in
his correspondence, he never submitted the plan in writing.
Lee adhered to the concept of the military being subordinate to the civil
authorities. He advised the president and the secretary of war in many
matters, one of them being Confederate strategy. Initially the Confederate
authorities had assumed a strictly defensive strategy. No move was to be
made save in defense. Lee broke from this policy when he assumed the
93
Louis H. Manarin
offensive and crossed into Maryland. He did so after advising the president
of his intentions, but without waiting for an official reply. This move into
Maryland can be termed a defensive measure also, as Lee moved to draw
the Federals away from northern Virginia; realizing he would have to meet
them, Lee desired to do so on their territory.
There are perhaps three specific instances when Lee's ideas and opinions
weighed in shaping Confederate strategy. The first was while he was
presidential adviser. At that time he strongly urged Davis to move Johnston's army down the Peninsula to meet McClellan's advance. The
president, strongly influenced by Lee's arguments, ordered Johnston to
move down the Peninsula. Johnston's own views were to keep the army
around Richmond, reinforce it, and maneuver a portion into northern
Virginia with the intention to invade, while a smaller part of the army held
at Richmond. The adoption of Lee' s ideas gave the Confederates the time
necessary to concentrate, and gave Lee the opportunity to initiate what
became known as Jackson's Valley campaign.
The second important instance was when Lee invaded Maryland. It was a
step from the defensive strategy which had stagnated the Confederate
cause. More important, it brought the war home to the North and showed
the interested world powers that the South was capable of assuming the
offensive. The results of this campaign were abruptly cut short when
McClellan received the copy of Special Order No. 191 and learned that Lee
had divided his army. However, Lee's decision to assume the defensive at
Sharpsburg must also be considered in relation to total Confederate
strategy. After the battle, his army was never the same.
The third instance was his advice in the spring of 1863 that either
Johnston in Mississippi, Buckner in Kentucky, or he should advance into
enemy territory to force a concentration on the advancing army and a
reduction in the force opposing the others. Lee ' s army was in the best
position to move and had proved itself capable of doing so. Lee knew the
move was perhaps a last effort on the part of the Confederacy to draw
Federal forces away from other areas. Should it fail, he would be forced to
retire to Virginia where he would assume the defensive and maneuver when
an opportunity presented itself.
In addition to the three instances mentioned above, Lee continually
advised the president on possible moves and their results should they be
executed. When he moved against Pope and into Maryland, he urged that
the offensive be assumed in western Virginia and Kentucky. He did so again
in 1863 during the Gettysburg campaign and when Longstreet was sent
west. Generally, Davis would authorize the movement of forces within the
state of Virginia when Lee advised that they move in conjunction with his
army. However, Davis could not or did not always accept Lee's advice.
94
Lee in Command
Perhaps the most critical failure
of Davis's to support Lee came
during the Gettysburg campaign,
when Davis failed to comply with
Lee's request for the return of all
units to his army and his
suggestion of collecting a force at
Culpeper Court House. Davis's
failure to do so seriously affected
the outcome of the campaign. It
was not until the spring of 1864
that Lee began advising coordinated moves by all armies east
and west. Prior to that time his
suggestions had hinged on the
results of the movements by his
army. The reason for doing so in
1864 is apparent, when it is
realized that no Confederate
force could move offensively
without some move on another
front. The weakness of the
Confederacy
made
this
necessary. Hence, we see Lee
advising Davis that either his or
Johnston's army should be
strengthened and their moves
coordinated to execute the
necessary maneuver in order to
continue the war with any
prospect of victory. In February,
1865, when he was appointed
commander in chief, Lee sought
to coordinate the movements of
the two Confederate armies. It
was too late and no one saw it
more than Lee.
Although indebted to earlier
military strategists and tacticians
Mathew Brady's photograph of Lee on for the basic elements of the art
the porch of his Richmond home a few of war, Lee treated each problem
days after Appomattox.
as it arose in the best way he
95
Louis H. Manarin
knew with the means at his disposal. In determining his moves Lee concluded: "We are compelled to depend upon the resources of our officers
and men in making the most of what we have and not to wait until we get
what we would prefer." The scarcity of supplies, transportation, equipment, artillery, and men-in-all-arms, as well as the presence of a powerful
enemy, restricted his ability to maneuver. Lee's full potential was never
realized during the Civil War. Always faced with the problem of meeting a
superior opponent with limited means, Lee was forced to adapt his strategy
to obtain the best results. He never had military superiority. He could
defeat his adversary in battle but never destroy him. [~
96
"California" Taylor of Rockbridge:
"Bishop to the World"
Charles W. Turner
c:-y: .
.
.
,,17;J~~
~· ~
'
ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY IN VIRGINIA has given to the nation a
J~ number of eminent men and women; among them was Methodist
Bishop William Taylor. Though he was named bishop of Africa in
1884, he was actually heralded as "Bishop to the World," according to the
Methodist literature of the time, for he preached on all continents and
islands on three oceans. 0. F. Morton, in his history of Rockbridge County,
declares that Taylor preached more widely than any man of the Christian
church in any age. 1
Taylor was born in a log cabin on the brow of Hogback Mountain, some
four miles from Rockbridge Baths, on May 2, 1821. His grandfather James
was Scotch-Irish, had married into the Audley Paul family, and had fought
in both the French and Indian and the Revolutionary wars. His grandson
had his grandfather's sword hanging in his bedroom as a child. His father,
Stuart, married Martha E. Hickman; one was said to be a mechanical
Charles W. Turner, Rockbridge Historical Society librarian and genealogist, is professor of
history at Washington and Lee University . Dr. Turner addressed the quarterly meeting of the
Rockbridge Historical Society at duPont Hall, Washington and Lee University, on April 25,
1977.
1. Oren F. Morton, History of Rockbridge County (Staunton, Va.: McClure, 1918), p. 276.
97
Charles W. Turner
Taylor's Hogback Mountain birthplace.
genius and the other an expert cloth maker. The family were devout
Presbyterians; their favorite pastor, Reverend Andrew Davidson, was
longtime pastor of the Oxford Presbyterian Church. 2
William grew up to be a giant of a man of whom another bishop was to
say "as having had enough raw material in him to make nine ordinary men .
He looked like one of the major prophets, tall, gaunt, with a head of excessive size, penetrating eyes set beneath shaggy brows, a long and grizzled
beard, a wrinkled forehead and a smile kindly and humorous. His voice full
and resonant, in song it was full of high notes, in public speech clear and
commanding. " 3 His beard was to keep him from having a sore throat.
He attended school in Lexington very briefly. Most of his preparation for
the ministry later came from self-study of the scriptures and other religious
books that he would practically memorize. When it came time to be
examined for the ministry, his performance compared well with students of
Dickinson College and other schools of the time. His early training enabled
him to teach for a time at Rapps Mill in Rockbridge.
Both he and his family were converted to Methodism in the 1840s. He
described his conversion in this fashion. One day he rode out to Shaw's
campground with John Littleton, a blacksmith of Lexington, to hear a
2. William Taylor, Story of My Life (New York : Privately printed , 1896), Introduction .
3. Charles W. Turner, "Rockbridge Produced Bishop," Virginia Advocate [Methodist State
Journal, Richmond, Va.], May 25 , 1972, p. 4.
98
"California" Taylor
circuit rider, W. H. Enos. Enos's preaching proved so convincing that
William was led to the Mourner's Bench and a convert, James Clark,
grabbed him in his arms. From that day on, he was encouraged by his father
and others to begin a preaching ministry and to become ordained in the
Methodist church.
Taylor started his preparation while he was still teaching school. His
father outfitted him with a horse and saddlebags filled with books to begin
riding over the country to preach. He was appointed circuit rider to a
number of areas in Western Virginia, including Highland, Bath, and
Rockbridge counties, where he served for six years. Afterwards he was
called to Georgetown and Baltimore to spread the word . 4 From this start his
ministry eventually spread over the whole English-speaking world and took
him to all the continents, where he spent several years in each area. His
labors necessitated a hundred voyages and the opening, organizing, and
administering of mission fields in India, Latin America, Australia, and
Africa.
En route from one field to another he had time to prepare sixteen
volumes concerning his life and work. The proceeds from sales went to
support his work. While in the field he maintained a schedule which found
him speaking from one to six times daily; such activities were financed
largely by his own efforts. He preferred it that way. 5
On his first circuits he held revivals in Lexington, Deerfield, Fincastle,
Sweet Springs, and Franklin, Virginia. While at Fincastle he met and
married Annie Kimberlin, to whom five children would be born; three
would reach adulthood. He was a rugged and hearty man, for his travels
took him into the mountains and rough back country. For this he received a
salary of one hundred dollars per year. 6 By now he was a very forceful
speaker, and his messages won the hearts of many converts. Taylor told the
gospel story everywhere he went, and he always carried a Bible.
One day when in Baltimore, his friend Christian Kernes told him that
Bishop Lorenzo Waugh desired to talk with him. Upon seeing the bishop,
he was told that the Methodist Conference-meeting in Staunton in May,
1848-had decided to send two missionaries to California. The bishop
declared that the men must have great physical force, be full of courage,
and possess a pure heart. Acting on those criteria, Taylor had been selected
as one and Isaac Owen of Indiana as the other. After consulting his wife
and praying over the matter, Taylor agreed to go. The members of his
Baltimore flock loved him and his wife so much that they tried to persuade
them to stay; but they agreed to help him by sending with him a 24-by-364. Taylor, Story of My Life.
5. Turner, "Rockbridge Produced Bishop," p. 5.
6. Ibid .
99
Charles W. Turner
_.
-;- ?"~
. ~.;-· ·~·;,,-.~•
. ..
-~
- ··
__ . :,·
Taylor riding circuit in Western Virginia.
foot prepared chapel with a tin roof that he might assemble after he arrived
at his destination. 7
The two missionaries and their families selected different routes to reach
their field; Owen took the John C. Fremont Trail, while Taylor went by sea
around the Horn. After some search the Taylor family found passage with
Captain F. W. Willson, who was sailing on the clipper Andelusia. The trip
took 153 days, and Taylor, according to Anne Booth, a passenger, held
daily services on board. Mrs. Booth felt Taylor was a fine person, though
7. William Taylor, Planting the Cross in California (New York: Privately printed, 1896), p.
101.
100
"California" Taylor
she viewed his theology as too narrow. She preferred the preaching of the
more liberal E. Kellan, an Episcopal minister, who seemed more tolerant
and friendly. Taylor apparently learned a good deal from Kellan, for it
seems his sermons and methods changed some during the voyage. The
people on board were taken with his eloquence, his and his wife's singing,
and his simple gospel messages. 8
The trip proved difficult. When the vessel reached the Horn, Mrs. Taylor
gave birth to a child who was named Oceana, but the child survived only
fourteen days. Great sympathy was shown the couple by the passengers
when this happened.
There was only one stopover, at Valparaiso, Chile, for provisions. There
they learned that the territorial governor of California had been replaced ·
and that the first minister of the gospel had been murdered and his body
sealed in a barrel labeled."beef." This report did not seem to worry Taylor.
He was eager to land when they reached San Francisco in September, 1849,
anxious to start his missionary program. He had been encouraged by many
of the travelers who were ardent supporters of his work. Issac Owen, his
partner who had been traveling across country, arrived at the same time. 9
When Taylor landed in San Francisco, the town consisted of a few
wooden homes, but most of the ten thousand or so men lived in tents.
Captain Otis Webb, a seaman, kindly allowed the Taylor family to live with
him for the first month. He, too, was to become a warm friend of the
Taylors. To rent a house, the parson found it took $500 a month out of his
$750 salary. Spurred by such cost, and showing his perseverance and
strength, one day he crossed the bay in a whale boat and cut his own lumber
to build his house. In six weeks he had a one-story house with five rooms
and a hall, all plastered, with a basement for his study. His new house cost
$1,600. The property was replete with a small garden which he fenced
snuggly. Here members of the first Methodist congregation gathered for
regular study of the gospel message. Everywhere he went he attracted
members because of his simple direct methods of telling the gospel. 10
Baptist minister 0. C. Wheeler invited Taylor to preach in his church for
the first two Sundays after his arrival. For reasons unknown, Taylor
decided not to erect the prefabricated chapel brought from Baltimore.
Instead a shanty was constructed with a blue canvas roof until lumber,
brought from Oregon, was purchased to build a 25-by-40-foot chapel on
Powell Street, a site later occupied by City Hall. Prior to his departure for
8. Anne Booth, Journal (kept while on the Andelusia), Bancroft Library, University of
California, Berkeley.
9. Taylor, Story of My Life, p. 105.
10. Ibid., p. 120.
101
Charles W. Turner
the east in 1856, the congregation's membership outgrew the small chapel,
and a larger structure, costing $15,000, was constructed. 11
By December, 1849, he took his message of salvation to the San Francisco
streets, though he was warned that gamblers and miners would attack if not
kill him. Fearlessly he commenced his first open-air service in Portsmouth
Square, a plaza then surrounded by gambling and drinking houses. The
latter were always crowded day and night, and especially on Sunday, with
men of all ages. Taylor, accompanied by his wife, stood on a carpenter's
workbench and began by singing together the great hymn, ''The Royal
Proclamation," which proclaims in part: "Hear the Royal Proclamation,
the glad tidings of salvation published to every creature to the sons of
nature that Jesus reigns .... " Their voices carried to the nearby tents and
establishments that made up that area of the town. Taylor was twenty-eight
years old, six feet in height; and his face was smooth shaven; he made an
impressive figure. His introductory remarks showed his peculiar genius of
commanding attention:
Gentlemen, if our friends in the Atlantic states, with the views
and feelings they entertained of California Society, when I left
there, had heard that there was to be preaching this afternoon in
Portsmouth Square in San Francisco they would have predicted
disorder, confusion and riot; but we, who are here, believe very
differently. One thing is sure, there is no man who loves to see
those stars and stripes floating in the breeze [as he pointed to the
flag] and who loves the institutions fostered under them; in a
word, there's no true American but will observe order under the
preaching of God's word anywhere and maintain it if need be.
We shall have order, gentlemen. 12
Having said this, he launched into his sermon "What Think Ye of
Christ?'' This was the first of some six hundred sermons that would follow,
all given in the open before people of all creeds-some Christians, some
unbelievers. He had the ability to seize on a passing or trivial circumstance
and turn it to telling advantage. This, along with his native wit, good
humor, patience, and gentlemanliness, made for success in quest for souls.
Above all his fearlessness and ability to convince his audiences made him
the most effective evangelist on the West Coast.
On one occasion he preached at Pacific Street Wharf with a whiskey
barrel as his pulpit. Taking advantage of the situation, he said, in part:
11. John W. Winkley, The Methodist Pioneers of California (San Francisco: Confere nee
Historical Society, 1947), pp. 11-13.
12. Taylor, Story of My Life, pp. 141-42.
102
"California" Taylor
Taylor as a young man (the frontispiece to his Seven Years' Street
Preaching in San Francisco) and later with his famous long beard.
Gentlemen, I have my pulpit today, as you see, a barrel of
whiskey. I presume this is the first time this barrel has been
appropriated for a useful purpose. The ''critter'' contained in it
will do no one any harm while I keep it under my feet. And let
me say now to you, to sailors and to landsmen, never let the
"critter" get above your feet. Keep it under your feet and you
have nothing to fear from it.' 3
The following Sunday there was a barrel of pork for him to use, which his
admirers had brought up that he might contrast the flesh with the spirit.
While laboring in San Francisco for seven years, he performed five
ministries: namely, he was pastor of his chapel on Powell Street, missionary
to the surrounding area, a hospital minister, street messenger, and finally,
he preached at the "Seamen's Bethel," speaking to sailors between ship
decks of vessels anchored in the bay. 14 A day from his journal, November 1,
1851, reads: "Yesterday morning I, as usual, led a class at 9 A.M., preached
at the long wharf at 10 A.M . , at Bethel at 11 A .M. , the State Marine Hospital
at 2:30 P.M., the Plaza at 4 P.M., and again at Bethel at 7 P .M . These are my
13 . Ibid., p. 143.
14. John Paul, The Soul Digger: or Life and Times of William Taylor (Upland, Ind.: Taylor
University , 1928), p. 22 .
103
Charles W. Turner
regular Sunday appointments.'' 1 s This shows how he labored, and the
results of his work would soon be revealed in larger and larger ventures.
He had time for circuit rides and establishing churches in Santa Cruz, San
Jose, and Sacramento. At the latter, the Baltimore prefabricated chapel,
which he had brought 'round the Horn, was assembled to serve as the first
Methodist church in the state capital. Much of this church work was
supported by lay contributions of bags of gold dust. 16 His annual reports to
the Methodist Conference give the details of these various activities. 11 His
reports reveal such items as the starting of a Sunday School in his home and
the building beside the chapel of an addition to be known as a ''Library of
Christian Concern." None of this could have been done without ardent
support of the early settlers. 18
Besides this work, he was a staunch advocate that the California Indians
be provided reservations on which schools could be established to educate
them; he helped establish the first mental hospital in California, and was a
force behind founding of the University of the Pacific. Finally, the first
California Methodist Episcopal Quarterly Conference was held in his
chapel on Powell Street in December, 1849. 19 He was, indeed, one of the
pioneers of the Golden West. He was soon known as "California Taylor."
One of San Francisco's settlers declared, "he had the happy faculty of
bringing out old and acceptable truths, giving them new energy and
prophetic vision. " 20 The rough miners everywhere in the area knew and
respected his name.
His first California vacation, a deer hunt, was taken in 1856. It lasted two
weeks. Afterwards, he decided to return east and undertake a mission to
Canada to raise money to support the expenses of planned missions. Taking
the Panama route, accompanied by his wife and three sons, Stuart Morgan,
Charles Reid, and Osman Baker, he returned to New York. There he
decided to make his ministry pay for itself by writing books of his life and
work. The first, entitled Planting the Cross in California, was followed by
fifteen others. One of the latter would be a six-hundred-page autobiography, published in 1896. The revenue from the books helped to pay off
debts and provided funds for subsequent endeavors around the world. He
wrote in a very clear and direct manner, giving his Lord credit for every
success. He always appeared the most humble of persons. 21
15. Leon L. Loofbourow, In Search of God's Gold (Richmond, Calif.: Privately printed,
1951), p. 51.
16. Taylor, Story of My Life, p. 127.
17. Isaac Owen Papers, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
18. Taylor, Story of My Life, p. 128.
19. Taylor, Planting the Cross in California, p. 143.
20. Paul, Life and Times of William Taylor, p. 35; California Christian Advocate 9 (June 5,
1902): 53.
21. Paul, Life and Times of William Taylor, p. 36.
104
"California" Taylor
While in Canada he decided, after his family returned to California, to
begin a preaching mission in Australia. He sailed first to London, then
Palestine, via the Indian Ocean to Australia. While there in the 1860s he
mailed some eucalyptus seeds to his wife living in Alameda, California; she
planted them, thus starting that tree specie on the West Coast.
In the first areas he traveled he doubled the Methodist church membership, while scores of young men were recruited for the ministry. Between
1870 and 1877, Taylor's work was in India, where he had gone on the invitation of missionary James M. Thoburn. He preached to both natives and
English-speaking groups, visiting between Bombay and Lucknow. Later, he
visited Ceylon. In south India, a jurisdiction outside the Methodist Mission
Board's geographical division, Taylor won many converts and organized a
group of mission stations. This was accomplished on a self-supporting ba~is
and was organized into the South India Annual Conference. Taylor subsequently transferred his membership from California to the new Indian
conference he had helped form. This was not because of any disappointment with the California Methodists, but his work was now to shift to
an overseas program.
After a short furlough in New York, Taylor turned his activities to Latin
America, where he founded schools and churches, placing a carefully
selected group of men in charge of them. Prudently, he tried to avoid antagonizing the Catholic church already entrenched there.
By now his work had become self-supporting and some Methodist leaders
criticized his position on this issue in the 1880s: he was too independent.
Because Taylor never wished to antagonize his associates, he resigned his
position and became simply an ordained layman. When the General
Conference of 1884 met in Philadelphia, his position was upheld. The
membership lauded him for his independence and loyalty. He appeared
there with a long beard, which he declared protected his throat from colds
in various climates, and his appeal for missions was supported with great
enthusiasm. Much to his surprise, he was named bishop of Africa at sixtytwo years of age. He would accept only if he was not restrained and would
be allowed his self-sustaining principle-that is, of being on his own as he
had been allowed to be before.
This time he organized the work in his jurisdiction himself. He first
selected his aides-preachers, teachers, doctors, mechanics, etc. All that he
could promise recruits was plenty of hardships, hard work, danger, and
sacrifice. There was such a large response to his call that he could not take
care of all the persons who volunteered. The first station was founded in
Angola, where he arrived with forty assistants. Eventually five stations were
added after language barriers had been overcome. Another group of
stations was later located in the interior of Liberia.
105
Charles W. Turner
The American African bishop, showing his strength and vigor, walked
hundreds of miles along jungle trails over the ensuing twelve-year period,
beloved and trusted by assistants and natives alike. Regular reports of his
work were well received at the General Conference of 1888, 1892, and 1896.
However, as early as 1892; his demanding life and age began to tell on his
health. Health complications were aggravated in 1896 when he was struck
down by a guard by mistake on the Leopold Estate in the Belgian Congo.
The conference retired him after that, although he said he refused to be put
on the shelf. 22 He returned to Africa for two more years to his Kaffir haunts
as a simple missionary.
Taylor returned to New York to finish his autobiography-leaving his
family in California-which he dedicated to his "Divine Sovereign." At the
conclusion of the foreword, Reverend P. H. Bodkin of Los Angeles wrote a
poem which shows how much his associates thought of him:
Long his years have been and toilsome
years of weariness and pain;
Years of unrequitted labor, till the
master comes again;
Years exile from his kindred cheerfully
forsaking all,
Pleading but the voice of duty and the
Savior's loving call.
In Faith an Abraham, an Enoch, walking
closely with his Lord;
In integrity, a Daniel, fear less in both
deed and word,
In his loving heart, a David; in world-wide
labors a Paul;
In his holy consecration he is peer among them
all!23
Before returning to California, he visited his old home in Virginia where
he preached at the Lexington Methodist Church on May 16, 1895, and
visited a cousin, Mrs. Mary Wilson of Wilson Springs. The attendance was
so large that the audience could not get in the church, and many heard the
bishop through the open windows. 24
Taylor lived in retirement from 1896 to 1902 at Palo Alto, California. In
May, 1902, he died and was buried in Oakland, survived by his wife and
22. Turner, "Rockbridge Produced Bishop," p. 4.
23. Taylor, Story of My Life, Introduction.
24. Turner, "Rockbridge Produced Bishop," p. 5.
106
"California" Taylor
The dedication page of Taylor's autobiography.
107
Charles W. Turner
three outstanding sons. 25 Many testified to his power of grasping the
mission, his stirring prayers, his dedication and control. Concerning his
mission Taylor had stated: "I am comforted in the fact that for more than
fifty years of my gospel ministry, I stood near the strait gate that opens into
the Kingdom of God and tried with the help of the Holy Spirit to show poor
sinners the way in. " 26
To remember him, Methodists built a church, the Temple Methodist
Church, in San Francisco, and a hotel was named in his honor. In 1952
some took similar rides by horse to commemorate his missionary efforts.
Finally, in Upland, Indiana, stands Taylor University.
Truly he was a "Bishop to the World." Important, too, are the countless
churches and missions that he started on many continents. No other
missionary bishop accomplished so much in one lifetime for the Christian
faith. No wonder they say of him that he was equal to nine men. [ff
25. San Francisco Call, May 19, 1902, p. 2.
26. Paul , Life and Times of William Taylor, p. 41.
108
Jordan ,s Point-Lexington, Virginia
A Site History
Catharine M. Gilliam
~-~
~~
/Q~f
~ ~COTCH-IRISH
IMMIGRANTS moving south from Pennsylvania
~ · settled the Shenandoah Valley during the eighteenth century. These
'"· settlers used what came to be known as the Great Road, which had
previously been the Indian path through the Valley. Lexington, Virginia,
was established less than a mile south of the point where the Great Road
crossed the North River. The history of the area on the river, which was
called Jordan's Point during the nineteenth century, provides a perspective
on the settlement and development of the town of Lexington.
Every major form of transportation which linked Lexington with the
other areas of the state, from the eighteenth century until the twentieth
century, is involved in the history of the Point. From early river transportation and a ford across the river, to the covered bridge and the North
River Canal, the Point was a center of activity . Although Lexington is now
a city with virtually no industry, it grew during the nineteenth century
because it was a commercial center for the surrounding agricultural area,
and because continued efforts were made to establish industry. This
Catharine M . Gilliam, a senior majoring in architectural history at the University of Virginia,
spoke to the Rockbridge Historical Society at duPont Hall on the campus of Washington and
Lee University on October 24, 1977. The subject of Ms. Gilliam's presentation, Jordan's
Point, was later known as the V .M.l. Island on the Maury River at East Lexington .
109
Catharine M. Gilliam
commercial and industrial development was focused at the Point. The
history of the Point involves a great number of prominent figures in
Lexington's history.
The Point is located where Woods Creek flows into the Maury River,
which was called the North River until the twentieth century. The area
referred to as the Point consists of approximately fourteen acres, although
it was first included in much larger pieces of property. A millrace, which
met Woods Creek and flowed into the North River, made an island of most
of the Point. Woods Creek flows through Lexington to the Point. The town
was originally established at an elevation safely above the river and the
creek.
Most of what is now Rockbridge County was included in Borden's Grant
of 1738. The land was granted to Benjamin Borden by George II on the
condition that at least one family for every 1,000 acres settle in the area
within a given amount of time. The grant consisted of 92, I 00 acres and
included the site of Lexington. 1 A map of the original settlements shows
that the Point property was included in the land first conveyed to Gilbert
Campbell. 2
Campbell operated a ford across the North River to the Point. Campbell's Ford is referred to in numerous historical accounts of the period. An
order of the court of Orange County in 1745 to establish the Great Road,
later called the Junction Valley Turnpike Road, as a county road lists the
crossing of the North River at Gilbert Campbell's Ford as a landmark.
Presumably Campbell's house was located near the ford, although there is
no definitive evidence of what structures were located at the site in the first
half of the eighteenth century. Gilbert Campbell died in 1750. 3
The ford at the Point was called Paxton's Ford in the last half of the
eighteenth century, although the property was apparently never owned by a.
Paxton. The property was sold by Moses Bennett to Robert Lusk. Lusk sold
the property to William Alexander in 1778. The deed, dated September 1,
1778, describes property containing one hundred sixty-four acres and
conveys "all houses, buildings, profits, and appurtenances what so ever. " 4
William Alexander was one of the most important figures in Rockbridge
County history in the second half of the eighteenth century. He was born on
March 22, 1738, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish immigrants who had come to this country in 1734. The Alexander family
1. Claude La Varre, "Borden's Grant," Lexington Gazette, Bi-Centennial Edition, 1938.
2. Map of Borden's Grant, Rockbridge Historical Society archives, Washington and Lee
University Library.
3. Oren F. Morton, History of Rockbridge County, Virginia (Staunton, Va.: McClure
Press, 1918), pp. 161, 147 .
4. Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed Book A, p. 105.
110
Jordan's Point
moved to Rockbridge County (then part of Augusta County) in 1747, and
settled on the South River. William's father, Archibald Alexander, was a
farmer at South River. In 1749 his uncle, Robert Alexander , founded
Augusta Academy, which ultimately became Washington and Lee
University. 5
William Alexander donated the land for Liberty Hall Academy when
Augusta Academy was moved to a site near his home and renamed. Later,
he was a trustee of Washington College from 1782 until 1792. William
Alexander married Agnes Ann Reid of Rockbridge County in 1767. Their
son, Archibald Alexander, born in 1772, became president of HampdenSydney College, and was the first head of the Theological Seminary at
Princeton University. 6
William Alexander moved his family from the South River farm to the
property on the North River about 1778. He started a new farm and opened
a store where Woods Creek met the North River. The family lived in a
house near the store. The store sold a variety of goods. William Alexander
was fined in November, 1778, for selling liquor without a license. A bill
from Alexander's store for the funeral expenses of John Paxton included
charges for nutmegs, loaf sugar, brown sugar, four and one-half yards of
linen, eleven gallons of rum, waggoning, and ferriage. It is also recorded
that pencils, paper, and knives were available at the store. 7
William Alexander's property on the North River was adjacent to the
land owned by his brother-in-law, Andrew Reid, who was the first county
clerk of Rockbridge County and served in that position from 1778 until
1831. William Alexander's farm and store at the Point established commerce which was to continue until the twentieth century.
Rockbridge County was created in 1778 by an act of the Virginia General
Assembly. It was formed from parts of Augusta County and Botetourt
County. Lexington was established at the approximate center of the county
on property which Isaac Campbell, son of Gilbert Campbell, gave for the
town. The property included 26% acres. The primary reason for the choice
of the site was its location on the Great Road.
William Alexander bought lot number nineteen when the town of
Lexington was planned. He built a house about 1790 on the northwest
corner of Main and Washington streets. 8 Alexander moved his family and
5. Duncan Lyle, "The Alexanders," unpublished manuscript without page numbers,
Rockbridge Historical Society archives. Augusta Academy was first renamed Liberty Hall
Academy, then Washington College, and finally Washington and Lee University.
6. Lyle, "The Alexanders ."
7. "William Alexander (1738-1797)," pp. 1-2, Rockbridge Historical Society archives;
Ruth Anderson McCulloch, "Rockbridge and Its County Seat, " Proceedings of the Rockbridge Historical Society 1 (1939-1941): 73.
8. Ibid., 64-65 .
111
Catharine M. Gilliam
store to the house, but the Point property was not sold until many years
after his death. The house is now known as the Alexander-Withrow House.
The brickwork includes glazed headers in the diapering patterns. When the
house was damaged by fire in 1796, the William Alexander family moved to
a portion of their property on Woods Creek. The site of this farm is now the
front campus of Washington and Lee University, which was moved there
after the Liberty Hall buildings were destroyed by fire. 9
William Alexander died in 1797 and left the Point property to his sons. 10
One son, Andrew Alexander (1768-1844), apparently owned the property
although he did not live there . Another son, John Alexander (1776-1853),
lived at Clifton, a brick house on the north side of the river less than a mile
downstream from the Point. John Alexander's son, Archibald (born 1825),
operated a large business at the Point for several years before· moving it to
the Clifton property. 1 1
The farmers of western Virginia first transported their products on the
river by the batteaux. These boats were constructed by tying a raft across
two canoes. The rivers were cleared out to some extent, but generally the
batteaux were used when the river was especially high. This system was not
satisfactory because the batteaux could not always be used, the loads were
severely limited in size, and the trip was extremely dangerous. The
destination was Lynchburg, where the products could be shipped to
Richmond. Balcony Falls was the most dangerous point on the trip between
Lexington and Lynchburg, and there a high percentage of the cargoes was
lost in the river. During the time the batteaux were used, Cedar Groveseveral miles upstream from the Point-was "the metropolis of Rockbridge." 12 Manufacturing was developed at Cedar Grove earlier than at the
Point, but after the canal reached Lexington, operations at Cedar Grove
were abandoned.
The next period in the history of the Point began when John Jordan
obtained and developed the property. The various historical accounts do
not agree on the exact dates of his ownership and the extent to which he
developed the Point. Nevertheless, the property had been developed to a
certain extent before Jordan moved to Rockbridge County, a fact which has
been largely ignored.
John Jordan, a native of Goochland County, was born in 1777. He
married Lucy Winn of Hanover County about 1800, and they moved to
9. Historic American Buildings Survey, Virginia Catalog (Charlottesville, Va.: University
Press of Virginia, 1976), p. 142; "William Alexander (1738-1797)," pp. 1-2.
10. Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Will Book 2, p. 14.
11. Lyle, "The Alexanders."
12. For a general description of the batteaux see John D. Capron, "From Batteaux to
Packet Boat," manuscript, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg, Virginia; Morton, History of
Rockbridge County, p. 259.
112
Jordan's Point
Lexington by 1802. His brother, Hezekiah Jordan, moved to Rockbridge
County about 1803. The J ordans had thirteen sons and two daughters,
several of whom remained in Rockbridge County and were prominent in
business. John Jordan was a pioneer in the iron industry in western
Virginia. He and his sons operated iron works in Rockbridge, Bath,
Botetourt, Alleghany, Amherst, and Louisa counties. 13
Jordan was instrumental in developing transportation in western
Virginia. He was responsible for building the first highway, known as
Jordan's Trail, across North Mountain west of Lexington. He built the
Balcony Falls section of the James River and Kanawha Canal in the 1830s,
and became a leader in the movement to extend the canal to Lexington.
Jordan's contributions in Rockbridge County extended to architecture as
well. He introduced the Classical Revival style to the area, probably influenced by the architecture of the University of Virginia for which he
supplied some of the bricks. A letter from Archibald Stuart to Thomas
Jefferson (March 9, 1819) "accuses Jordan of conspiring to monopolize the
brickwork contracts for the building of the University of Virginia." 14
Jordan built several outstanding houses in Lexington in the early
nineteenth century. His major work was Washington Hall, the central
building of the Washington College campus, which was begun in 1824. He
served as architect and contractor for these buildings.
In 1818, John Jordan built a house for his family on the hill above the
Point. The house is one of the earliest and finest examples of the Classical
Revival in Rockbridge County. The house was originally known as Jordan's
Point, although it is now called Stono. It is uncertain when John Jordan
purchased the Point property, but it is clear that he had interests at the site
before he built his family's house.
Jordan and his partner, John Moorehead, petitioned in 1810 to put a toll
bridge across the river near their new flour mill. Jordan obviously understood the potential advantages of the waterpower at the Point. A
number of sources state that the bridge was actually built in 1810, but this is
unlikely. 15 Apparently Jordan waited until 1834, when he "contracted to
bridge North River near his mill at a cost not to exceed $1500. The bridge
was to have two passageways." 16 This bridge allowed a faster and safer
crossing of the Valley Turnpike Road into Lexington.
13. John S. Moore, "John Jordan, Baptist Layman," Proceedings of the Rockbridge
Historical Society 6 (1961-1965): 64, 66.
14. Jerry J. Donovan, "John Jordan, Virginia Builder," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 9 (October 1950): 18.
15. Henry Boley in Lexington In Old Virginia (Richmond: Garrett and Massie, 1936, reprint
1974) states that the bridge was built in 1810 (pp. 17-18). A mistake may have been made
because the original petition had been made in 1810. The early date is repeated by Marshall W.
Fishwick in" John Jordan, Man oflron," The Iron Worker 21 (Autumn 1957): 1-8.
16. Morton, History of Rockbridge County, p. 164.
113
Catharine M. Gilliam
Stono, built by Colonel John Jordan in 1818.
There are several reasons why it is unlikely that Jordan and Moorehead
built the toll bridge in 1810. All accounts of the bridge describe it as a
covered bridge. The earliest covered bridges in the United States were built
about 1808-10 in New England, and it is unlikely that such a structure
would have been built in Lexington at that date . Although Hezekiah Jordan
bought property on the river in 1813, John Jordan apparently did not own
the property in 1810. Jordan left Rockbridge County to serve in the War of
1812, which may have necessitated a delay in his plans. Jordan bought
Point property from Arthur Walkup in 1820 and from the estate of Andrew
Alexander in 1844. 11 It is possible, nevertheless, that he bought Point
property before 1810 in a deed which was not recorded .
Photographs of the Point do not show the mills clearly enough for one to
determine their construction. Jordan' s Grist Mill was probably located on
the millrace. A later sawmill was built on the river near the bridge.
In 1839, John Jordan's son Benjamin announced in the newspaper that
he was renting the Lexington Mills and Smithery. 18 The Jordans had a
foundry and forge at the Poiqt, but probably brought pig iron to the site
17 . Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Will Book 13, p. 126.
18. Lexington Gazette, June 1, 1839.
114
Jordan's Point
from one of the iron furnaces which they operated. The Jordan family had
a fairly sizeable operation at the Point by the time the bridge was definitely
constructed in 1834.
The tolls collected at the bridge were too high for some travellers who
continued to ford the river. On May 6, 1845, an agreement with John
Jordan, concerning his toll bridge, was recorded in Rockbridge County
Circuit Court. Jordan was granted permission to close the ford at the river
if he would reduce the tolls on his bridge. The rates agreed upon were:
footman - 5 cents
horse and sulky - 15 cents
2 horses and carriage - 25 cents
wagon and 4 or 6 horse team - 30 cents
every 6 head of meat cattle - 3 cents
hogs and sheep per head - V4 cent. 19
Stage contractors were to pay twelve dollars a year, and Jordan was
responsible for keeping the bridge open and in good repair. The type of
construction of the first bridge across the North River at the Point is not
known. It is highly likely that the stone abutments used for subsequent
bridges were built originally by Jordan.
In the late 1830s there was increasing interest in constructing a canal to
Lexington. The James River and Kanawha Canal, which George Washington had hoped would connect the East Coast with the Mississippi River, was
built between Lynchburg and Richmond. Between the 1820s and 1850s
produce was taken to Lynchburg on the batteaux.
The enthusiasm for the canal grew in Lexington, and John Jordan was
instrumental in encouraging the building of the North River Canal. An
editorial in the Lexington Gazette of November 30, 1839, expressed the
popular sentiment.
The James River and Kanawha Company have advertised for
proposals for completing the Canal by sections, up to the mouth
of the North River. We sincerely hope that means may be
provided for the speedy accomplishment of this great work.
We mean to recommend Col. John Jordan, of this vicinity, as
a director of the Company, at the next election. The Board needs
the assistance of Col. Jordan's great business talents and indomitable energy.
Apparently some feeling developed in Lynchburg that it would be more
profitable to stop the construction of the canal at that city. An editorial in a
Lynchburg paper suggesting the termination of the canal brought a quick
and angry response from the editor of the Lexington Gazette on December
10, 1839.
19. Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed Book Y, p. 317.
115
Catharine M. Gilliam
There is no section of the whole line of the Improvement, so
important to the people of Rockbridge, and of this region of the
country, as the section through the mountains. We have subscribed liberally to the Improvement, with the distinct understanding, that the Canal was to be prosecuted at least as far
as the mouth of the North River, and, if it is not completed to
that point, we shall ask the Company to refund our subscriptions-the Improvement being substantially different from
that to which we subscribed.
The construction of the canal across the mountains was slow. The James
River and Kanawha Canal did not reach Balcony Falls until about 1850. In
a letter to the editor of the September 30, 1847, Lexington Gazette, a reader
urged completion of a North River branch of the canal, listing several
products which could be transported from the Valley by the canal. These
included: "Iron ore, whiskey, brandy, cider, apples, butter, eggs, potatoes,
turnips, lime, marble, hemp, hides and skins, wool, beef, pork, mutton,
venison, rye, corn, oats, lard, buckwheat, Mill Offal, tobacco, hay,
vinegar, bark, cement, hoop-poles, posts for fencing, staves, shingles,
plank, scantling, &c., &c."
An improved means of transportation was necessary to the continued
growth of western Virginia agriculture and industry. The canal system was
considered by most to be the answer to the problem. It was assumed that the
canal would eventually reach Lexington, and the town become a trade
center for the counties to the north and west. When the Thorn Hill estate
south of Lexington was put up for sale in the 1850s, the advertisement read:
"The improvement of the North River by canal and slackwater navigation,
connecting Lexington with the James River and Kanawha Canal, which is
now in progress, will afford every possible facility for transporting the
crops of the farm to the Richmond market. " 20
In 1850, as the canal approached completion to Glasgow, a group of men
formed the North River Navigation Company. Their objective was to see
that a canal was built from the James River and Kanawha Canal at Glasgow
to Jordan's Point in Lexington. Colonel John Jordan was president of the
company, and Major Williamson, a professor at the Virginia Military
Institute, was the engineer. The Board of Directors included Dr. John W.
Paine, Colonel James Paxton, Colonel Jacob Ruff, and Captain Henry
Jones. 21
The construction of the canal required specialized materials and labor. In
order to encourage the expansion of the waterway, citizens were encouraged
20. Lexington Gazette, October 1851.
21. Ibid., July 11, 1850.
116
Jordan's Point
to develop the necessary resources. One of these was hydraulic cement,
which was first produced near Lexington in the late 1830s. The works
required for this cement, which was to be used in the construction of the
canal, included kilns for burning the limestone, mills for reducing the stone
into powder, and the hoppers of the pulverizing mills. 22
A contract between the James River and Kanawha Company and John
Jordan for building canal locks specifies the standards for such structures.
The floor and foundation of the lock was to consist of either compact rock
or large hewn timbers placed one foot apart and filled in with gravel. The
lock foundation was to be at least 136 feet long and the lock chamber between the walls 15 Y2 feet wide and 100 feet long between the gates. The
walls of the canal lock were to "consist of rubble masonry of the best
quality, laid in hydraulic lime mortar." The walls of the canal were covered
with boards and plank. The contract specified that the hydraulic cement
was furnished to the contractor by the James River and Kanawha Company. It also specified that "no spiritous liquor will be allowed to be used
on the work. " 23 The specifications were used for all the canal locks, and the
high standards of material and craftsmanship are exemplified by the locks
at the Point in Lexington, which are in exceptionally good condition after
almost a century in which they have been neither used nor repaired.
In September of 1851, the James River and Kanawha Company announced that by October 1 the canal would be open from Lynchburg to the
North River. To this announcement the Lexington Gazette responded: "It
will thus be seen that 'hope long deferred' is about to be realized by the
opening of the great water line through the mountain gorge of the Blue
Ridge into the Valley of Virginia." When the canal was completed to
Buchanan, a stage line from Lexington to the canal was established for
passengers to meet the packet boats. The first stage was operated by the
firm of Boyd, Edmond, and Davenport. 2 4
Although John Jordan played a major role in bringing the canal to
Lexington, he did not live to see it reach Jordan's Point. He died on July 25,
1854, and some of the property at the Point was put up for sale. An advertisement in the Lexington Gazette by James J. Jordan, executor of his
father's estate, announced that "Eight Lots, situated on the Junction Valley
Turnpike Road, near 'The Point' and three large and desireable pasture lots
adjoining" would be auctioned. 25 The eleven lots, as described in the advertisement and in Jordan's will, contained two dwelling houses, a stone
foundation for another dwelling house, a spring, a slaughterhouse, and a
22.
23 .
24.
25.
Ibid., February 9, 1838 .
Contract between James River and Kanawha Company and John Jordan.
Lexington Gazette, September 25 and October 9, 1851.
Ibid., January 4, 1855.
117
Jordan's Point in 1981. The photograph was taken from approximately
the position of the R in "RIVER" on the map below. The footbridge at the
extreme right was built in 1981 on the footings of the old railroad bridge.
Hospi lal . .
~
The Point as it appeared on "Gray's New Map of Lexington"
(Philadelphia, 1877). The Valley Railroad actually crossed just above the
river bridge when it finally reached Lexington in 1883.
118
17
I
I
/
/-:-~:--
A portion of H. W. Farnam's "Map of Jordan's Point" (1873).
119
The Point in the late nineteenth century. The columned structure on the
skyline at the left is "Stano"; the large structure on the skyline to the
right of the mansion is the V.M.I. barracks.
120
Late nineteenth-century photograph of the Point buildings and railroad
siding taken from approximately the Nin the directional indicator on the
map on p. 119, looking southeast.
Photograph (c. 1935)from the new U.S. 11 highway bridge.
121
Catharine M. Gilliam
stable. These lots were probably on the upper end of the island and on
adjacent property, although the "Point property" containing a mill and
foundry are not described in the will. 26
One of the lots was bought by Joshua L. Deaver. Deaver was a shoe
merchant in Lexington and referred to his "factory," which may have been
located at the Point, in his advertisements. The ten remaining lots were
bought by John Jordan's sons, Samuel F., John W., and Edwin. In 1856
the Lexington Foundry advertisements were signed "Jordan and Stratton."
The land was eventually acquired by the James River and Kanawha
Company. On September 1, 1859, the following advertisement appeared in
the Lexington Gazette:
JORDAN'S POINT PROPERTY
FOR SALE
Pursuant to an order of the Board of Directors of the James
River and Kanawha Company, will be sold on the premises, on
Wednesday, the 14th day of September next, the lots laid down
on a plat of said Point property, and numbered from 1 to 8
inclusive, on which are situated the MILL, FACTORY,
FOUNDRY, &c. The plat of said property can be seen at all
times in the Circuit Court Office.
The terms will be made known on the day of the sale.
Reasonable credit will be given.
Thomas H. Ellis, Pres't.
J .R. & K. Company
Lexington, Aug. 29, 1859
A deed dated June 4, 1860, describes very specifically property which was
sold by Samuel F. Jordan to the James River and Kanawha Company. The
property included a stable, sawmill, the millrace and the toll bridge. The
property had been acquired on October 31, 1854, by John Letcher, and it
was conveyed to Samuel F. Jordan by deed bearing the date September 16,
1859. 2 7
The first packet boat reached Lexington at Jordan's Point in November,
1860. The first large commercial operations were Campbell and Company
and A. Alexander's. A. M. Lusk and Company began operating at the
Point in 1862. These stores sold for cash or would trade household or farm
products for produce which could be shipped on the canal. The advertisement in the December 4, 1862, Lexington Gazette for A. Alexander's-operated by Archibald Alexander, the grandson of William Alexander-is typical of the time.
26. Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed Book 13, p. 235.
27. Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed Book 13, p. 396; Deed Book 11, p. 298.
122
Jordan's Point
ATTENTION FARMERS
I am buying Flour, Wheat, and all kinds of Country Produce,
for which I will pay the market rates. I also wish to buy a large
quantity of
FLAX SEED
for which I will pay a good price.
I also have for sale at my Lumber House all kinds of groceries
that can be obtained such as sugar, rice, &c.
COTTON CLOTH, OSNABURGS, CALICO
A. Alexander
Jordan's Point
The Jordan brothers continued to do business at the Point, although it is
not clear who operated the mills and the foundry in the 1860s. The sons of
John Jordan continued to be prominent in the iron industry and established
Rockbridge Baths in the county. The advertisement of William Jordan
indicates that the Point was a center for trading in Rockbridge County.
PORK WANTED
I wish to purchase about 20,000 lbs., good, heavy PORK,
delivered either at Rockbridge Baths or at Jordan's Point, near
Lexington.
Wm. Jordan, November 13, 1862
The canal not only increased trade for the area, but provided a new
means of travel. The following advertisement describes the terms of travel
by canal.
Through from Lexington direct from Lynchburg and
Richmond without changing boats.
Fare to Lynchburg - $2.50
Fare to Richmond - $4.00
On and after the 13th inst. our BOAT will leave Lexington on
the old days, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 2 o'clockA.M.,
will reach Lynchburg at 3 o'clock P.M., and arrive in Richmond
second A.M. at 6 o'clock.
Passengers preferring to go on board the Boat in the evening,
will find bunks provided for sleeping.
R. Edmond & Co.
October 9, 1862
The Jordan's Point property was advertised for sale by the James River
and Kanawha Company again in 1862. The property is described as being
very valuable because "it is at the head of the North River Improvement, a
branch of the James River and Kanawha Canal; thus connecting in one
direction, with the central water line of the State, and by it with the im-
123
Catharine M. Gilliam
portant railroads, which touch the Canal both at Lynchburg and Richmond
while in another direction it is distant only about twenty miles from the
Virginia Central Railroad.'' The advertisement gives a more complete
description of the structures on the site than is available at earlier dates.
There is upon it a large and well built FLOUR MILL, the
machinery of which is propelled by water power, a large building
originally designed for a Cotton Factory, an old Forge and
Foundry, a Saw Mill, and several Dwelling Houses; and appurtenant to it a Covered Bridge across the North River, connected with the Junction Valley Turnpike Road. 28
The majority of this property was sold by the James River and Kanawha
Company to Calvin McCorkle. The sale is recorded in a deed dated January
1, 1863. 29 The accompanying plat is drawn to scale and shows the location
of the toll bridge, a sawmill, the tollhouse and dwelling, a foundry and
forge, a mill and miller's house, two shops, two dwelling houses, a log
house, a factory, a springhouse, the public wharf, and the gauge dock. The
gauge dock, lot number eighteen, and the property between the sold lots,
were reserved by the James River and Kanawha Company. The deed
reserves a storehouse which was built by the Confederate States of America
and continued in that ownership.
After he purchased the majority of the property at Jordan's Point, Calvin
Mccorkle opened a business there with Andrew M. Lusk. Apparently
Mccorkle continued to rent a building to Campbell and Company and, for
a short time, to A. Alexander. Campbell and Alexander jointly operated a
canal boat, the Rockbridge, which made weekly trips between Jordan's
Point and Lynchburg. 30 A month after the Mccorkle-Lusk business began
operating at the Point, A. Alexander moved his business across the river.
He relocated his warehouse to the north side of the river, approximately
three hundred yards below the covered bridge. In advertisements at the time
of his move, Alexander pointed out that Augusta County farmers who
brought their goods to be shipped on the canal, would save the cost of the
toll bridge, operated by Mccorkle, by doing business with him. Alexander
continued to operate his business, later known as Clifton Warehouse, in
competition with the Jordan's Point businesses until September, 1876. 31
Calvin Mccorkle and Andrew M. Lusk advertised a receiving and forwarding business. They sold farm products at the Point and shipped goods
on the canal. Farmers were paid for their products and could obtain staple
28.
29.
30.
31.
124
Lexington Gazette, December 4, 1862.
Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed Book II, p. 407.
Lexington Gazette, May 20, 1863.
Ibid., June 3, 1863, and September 22, 1876.
Jordan's Point
goods and groceries at the Point. In May of 1863, Mccorkle and Lusk
advertised that they had a lumber house on the canal, operated two canal
boats, and were "fitting up a store room to be ready soon." Apparently in
response to Alexander's bid for customers, Mccorkle and Lusk advertised
that ''persons bringing produce to our house will pass the toll bridge free of
toll. " 3 2
Mccorkle and Lusk were soon joined in business by John Gibson, and
operated under the name Mccorkle, Lusk and Company. The company
advertised in the Staunton Spectator and the Lynchburg Virginian, as well
as the Lexington Gazette. In September of 1863, Mccorkle, Lusk, and
Company bought a new canal boat, the Liberty, which ran between
Lexington and Richmond. Calvin Mccorkle rented pastureland for horses
near the Point. 33
The products advertised by Mccorkle, Lusk, and Company and Campbell and Company were numerous. Advertisements in 1863 described
special products such as: bale cotton, cooperas, soda, pepper, candles,
tobacco, calicoes, Mason Original Blacking, horn buttons, Queensware
dishes, nails, molasses , lard, "Our Own" schoolbooks, coffee mills and
grain bags, and a wide variety of fabrics. 3 4
In addition to Mccorkle, Lusk, and Company and Campbell and
Company, Edward J . Leyburn and Company, which operated a mill upstream from the Point, advertised that flour would be delivered on board of
boats at the Point. 35
Campbell and Company moved to a new store ''near the little bridge,''
presumably the bridge across Woods Creek, in November of 1863. The firm
ran an advertisement in May of 1864 which began: ''FRESH BLOCKADE
GOODS (partly on consignment) . We are receiving and opening a valuable
assortment of New Goods bought chiefly in England and brought on the
steamer 'Advance,' on her last voyage.'' Campbell and Company continued
to operate at Jordan ' s Point until June 12, 1864, when Union soldiers
burned the store. The company reopened in July of 1864 on Main Street in
the building which had formerly been occupied by William C. White and
Company, "nearly opposite the Court House. " 36
Calvin Mccorkle and his wife, Mary Jane Mccorkle, sold the majority of
the Jordan's Point property in 1864. Two undivided fifths of the property
were sold to Joseph G. Steele. Andrew M. Lusk and John Gibson each
purchased one undivided fifth of the property. 3 7
32.
33 .
34.
35.
36.
37.
Ibid., May 5 and 13, 1863.
Ibid., May 13, September 2, and July 22 , 1863 .
Advertisements in the Lexington Gazette throughout 1863.
Ibid., July 1, 1863.
Ibid., May 25 and July 6, 1864.
Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed Book J J , pp. 454,463.
125
Catharine M. Gilliam
On May 4, 1864, the new firm of Gibson and Company, operated by
John Gibson and G. W. Johnson, took over Mccorkle, Lusk, and Company's business at Jordan's Point. There does not seem to have been any
change in the nature of the business, although it was short lived since
General Hunter's Union troops burned the buildings at Jordan's Point
when they raided Lexington on June 11-12, 1864. The people of Lexington
burned the covered bridge when they knew the enemy troops were approaching, but the army successfully crossed the river and burned a number
of important buildings. 38
The following advertisement appeared on the front page of the July 26,
1864, edition of the Lexington Gazette:
A RARE CHANCE
For Investment
Jordan's Point
For Sale at Auction
The undersigned will offer for Sale at Public Auction, on
MONDAY, the first day of August next, (it being Court-day) in
front of the COURT-HOUSE of Rockbridge County, that
valuable estate, commonly known as "Jordan's Point."
The property lies on the North River Canal (a branch of the
James River and Kanawha Canal) at the head of navigation-it
had upon it a large and very valuable MERCHANT MILL, a
Commission and Forwarding House, with all the necessary
buildings attached, including a large and commodius 4-story
building, which was used as a Storing House, but was built with
the design of establishing a Cotton Factory. These buildings
were destroyed by fire during the late raid of the Yankee army
through this Valley. The walls are yet standing, and in good
condition, and may be rebuilt readily. The water power (which is
immense, the finest in this whole section of the country, and
probably as good as any in the State, capable of operating any
kind of machinery), is unimpaired.
This property has now upon it 4 good and substantial dwelling
houses, together with various other houses and lots, the whole
comprising some 17 or 18 lots, each susceptible of improvement
and adapted for business stands, being at the head of Canal
navigation and within the corporate limits of the town of
Lexington (a thriving town of some 2 thousand inhabitants) in
38 . Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. The Lexington Gazette' s August 23, 1864, edition
contains a section from the journal of one of General Hunter ' s soldiers . The piece very likel y
was written by the paper's editor, but it is nevertheless interesting.
126
Jordan ,s Point
which is located the Virginia Military Institute, Washington
College, &c. THIS IS A RARE CHANCE FOR INVESTMENT. Such valuable property is rarely thrown on the
market. Persons desireous of seeing a plat of the property, can
do so by calling at the Clerk's office of Rockbridge Co. Court.
The TERMS of sale will be made known on the day of sale.
For further particulars, address Geo. W. Johnson, Lexington,
Va.
JOHN GIBSON
GEORGE W. JOHNSON
Lexington, July 22, '64-tds.
P .S. The TERMS of Sale will be made satisfactory to the
purchaser.
The rebuilding of the bridge after the war was not begun until 1870. It
was not completed until about 1879. This second bridge is the one which is
recorded in photographs and was in use through the 1930s. The bridge was
built on two stone abutments on either side of the river. A drawing of the
bridge without the exterior siding indicates that it was a Burr truss bridge. 39
The artist may have misrepresented the framing of the bridge, although the
Burr truss could certainly have been used. The bridge, which was framed in
wood, had vertical plank siding on the sides and a metal roof. It took a long
time to complete the second time because of problems with contractors and
a series of floods which prevented completion of the work.
A flood in 1870 washed away large parts of the canal. An editorial,
entitled "River and Harbor Improvements" in the January 7, 1876,
Lexington Gazette, expressed a pride in Rockbridge County and demonstrated the importance of the canal to its citizens.
In 1870, when the flood swept away dams, lakes, and a great
part of the tow-path from our Canal, Rockbridge put her hand
in her pocket and brought out $50,000 to rebuild it; but then the
North River Canal is not necessary to the national defense, nor
can it claim to be an "internal sea," so we must pay for our own
sailing.
Did anybody ever hear of anybody helping Rockbridge do
anything? We pause for a reply.
The Jordan's Point property was sold in 1873. In a deed dated September
18, 1873, the property was conveyed by Joseph G. Steele and wife, George
W. Johnson, deceased, Edward J. Leyburn and wife, and D.R. Revely and
39. Richard Sanders Allen , Covered Bridges of the Northeast (Brattleboro, Vt.: Stephen
Greene, 1957), p. 6.
127
Catharine M. Gilliam
The North River Bridge at Lexington: (above) early in this century; (below)
shortly before being torn down.
wife, to Edward McMahon, J. C. Green, and Sigmund Hirsh. Mr. McMahon was from Staunton, and Mr. Green and Mr. Hirsh were from
Salem. Mr. J .D.H. Ross began business operations at Jordan's Point about
November of 1873, although he did not own the property. Ross lived at
Sunnyside, southwest of Lexington. He was married to the daughter of
Samuel McDowell Reid, who was instrumental in bringing the canal to
128
Jordan's Point
Lexington. 40 Ross operated a mill on Woods Creek, probably at the Point. 41
The first commercial business which operated at the Point after the Civil
War was McMahon, Ross, and Company's Point Warehouse. The company had a weekly column in the Lexington Gazette, and in 1876 advertised:
We have in store perhaps the largest stock of General Merchandise ever brought to the Lexington market. Our place of
business is at the head of navigation on North River, within the
limits of the corporation of Lexington, the boats coming up to
our very door and discharging their cargoes. We own our
business house, so we have no rents to pay. We buy in larger
quantities than perhaps any other house in the county, and we
endeavor to find the cheapest markets in which to purchase our
supplies. Our freights are so considerable, the public carriers
compete for the privilege of carrying them, and so we have been
enabled to deliver our Goods in our store at the Lowest Possible
Rates.
The firm advertised a wide variety of goods: sugars, coffees, syrups,
bacon, and "Flour of the well known Beechenbrook brand." They claimed
that Beechen brook flour ''would, if generally introduced to the tables of
our citizens, do more to preserve peace in the family by the prevention of
that irritability caused by Dyspepsia than anything we know of." McMahon
and Ross listed a number of ''fancy groceries,'' including a variety of teas,
cheese, macaroni, and canned goods. Some of the available canned goods
were apricots, strawberries, and salmon from San Francisco. Starch, soap,
and spices were also sold. The store had "a full line of staples, and many
dress goods and notions.'' They also advertised saddles and bridles, boots
and shoes, hats, Queensware and china in full sets of forty-four pieces, and
hardware items. The Point Warehouse delivered "all goods to our friends in
Lexington without charge. " 42
A plan of architectural significance which involved the Point was
proposed in 1870. Alexander Jackson Davis, who had designed the
buildings of the Virginia Military Institute, was assisting in their rebuilding.
In a letter to the superintendent of the Institute, Davis proposed that a
"Rockbridge Park" be developed in the area of Woods Creek. Davis
suggested that ''a nursery or botanic garden for exotic hardy shrubs and
trees be got up under the auspices of the V .M.I." and that Davis "be invited
to deposit in the library of the V .M.I. plans for simple but elegant 'hut
cottages' to cost, say $500 to $5,000 each." No action was ever taken on the
plan, but it is interesting to consider that Davis, who had been influential in
40. Boley, Lexington in Old Virginia, p. 174.
41. Lexington Gazette, January 7, 1876.
42. Ibid., McMahon, Ross, and Company's column.
129
Catharine M. Gilliam
the development of landscaped communities in the North, should propose
such a plan for the Woods Creek area. Davis was applying principles of
landscape and architecture which were successful in New York and New
Jersey to a growing southern town which was recovering from the
destructive effects of the Civil War. His failure to comprehend the impracticality of the plan can be attributed to the fact that he had not visited
Lexington since almost twenty years earlier. 43
The railroads had not reached Lexington in the 1870s, and the canal
companies continued to operate. Some of the canal companies which
operated boats between Lexington and Lynchburg were Pettigrew and
Lucado, Johnson and Burke, and the James River Canal and Packet
Company. A. Alexander was the agent at Lexington for the James River
Canal and Packet Company. The canal was important to Lexington, as was
expressed in the Lexington Gazette.
The Lynchburg News gives as the bonded debt of Canal,
$1,250,000; receipts, $140,000; salaries of employees other than
laborers, $54,854.
Receipts are nearly 12%, salaries are nearly 6%. Existence
depends on increase of receipts or reduction of expenditures,
perhaps both can be accomplished, perhaps both ought to be.
The friends of the Canal ought to look this matter squarely in
the face.
Hopes remained high in Lexington for the future of Jordan's Point.
When the Winn property near the Point was auctioned in 1876, the advertisement read: "This property is situated near to Jordan's Point, and is a
very desirable investment in view of the prospective improvement of that
part of town. " 44
The partnership of McMahon and Ross was ''dissolved by mutual
consent on the first of January, 1877." 45 The business was succeeded by
Ross and Green, operated by property owners J .D.H. Ross and J. C.
Green.
The Ross and Green partnership lasted only until May of 1878. While the
partnership existed, the retail business at the Point expanded. Ross and
Green advertised goods in a number of departments. The clothing
department sold clothes for men, women, and children. Piece goods and
notions were expanded to include over one hundred types of material, a
variety of hairbrushes, pins, and buttons. The boot and shoe department
advertised seventy-five varieties.
43 . Matthew W. Paxton, Jr., "A. J. Davis, Creator of V .M.I. Gothic," The Proceedings of
the Rockbridge Historical Society 7(1966-1969): 101-15.
44 . Lexington Gazette, July 14 and April 14, 1876.
45. Ibid., July 14, 1876.
130
Jordan's Point
The grocery department was "complete in every particular." Stoneware
goods were sold as well as "Beautiful gilded and flowered China Sets." The
hardware department was "very much enlarged" under Ross and Green's
ownership; iron, nails, horseshoes, and hatchets were sold. The store
contained a hat department which the owners claimed would "tickle the
fancy of any one who pays much attention to his head gear." Saddlery,
leather, harness, collars, and bridles were also available. In addition, Ross
and Green advertised the "Valley Chief" reaper and mower, three brands
of plows, hammered iron, nail rod, plow moulds, blister steel, sheer steel,
and grind stones. Ross and Green also operated the Point mills. 46
In a deed dated March 12, 1877, J.C. Green conveyed to his wife, A. E.
Green, his undivided one-third interest in the Jordan's Point property "for
her sole and separate use. " 41
It is not clear what other businesses operated at the Point during the time
that McMahon, Green, and Hirsh owned the property. S. Hirsh and Son
was a new store which advertised during 1877. The store sold clothes and
groceries and seemed to be Ross and Green's closest competitor. It is not
certain that Sigmund Hirsh operated this store on his Point property. Also
advertising during 1877 was the Harman Brothers Mail Line Packet. They
advertised packets running through to Lynchburg and Richmond and
leaving Lexington "from our wharf at T. E. McCorkle's. " 48 T. E. Mccorkle operated a store somewhere in Lexington, although it is not certain
that this store was at Jordan's Point.
In the January 18, 1878, edition of the Lexington Gazette, a notice announced that the Jordan's Point property was to be sold at auction. The
Circuit Court of Rockbridge County ordered that the property be sold as a
result of the case of J. G. Steele, Receiver v. Edward McMahon and others.
The property description read: "The buildings consist of a large Merchant
Mill with superior water power, Plaster Mill, large Store House, with
facilities for loading and unloading directly from the boats; together with
such other buildings as have been found necessary to carrying on an extensive business. The property is the most valuable in the county as a
business stand.''
The property was not immediately sold, but J .D.H. Ross bought J. C.
Green's interest in their company in May of 1878. Their partnership was
dissolved and the business was operated by Ross under the name Ross and
Company. The retail business remained the same as it had been under
Ross's earlier partners. In 1880 Ross and Company announced that their
46. Ibid., 1877 extra printed for Ross and Green, and the firm's column of July 6, 1877.
47. Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed Book PP, p. 426.
48. Lexington Gazette, January 12 and August 17, 1877.
131
Catharine M. Gilliam
new plaster mill was in operation. The company accepted corn and other
produce in exchange for plaster. 49
As Ross gained control of the businesses at the Point, his expectations for
future growth at the site were high. In a typical advertisement he announced:
Col. Parsons, Vice President of the Richmond and Allegheny
Railroad thinks it impossible to make the terminus of our
branch of that road at any other point than the immense
warehouse and supply store at Ross and Co., and they [Ross and
Co.] propose by low prices and fair dealing to continue the
popularity of their house, now so great as to attract the attention
of Railroad Kings . so
Ross was not alone in his belief that Jordan's Point would be a good
location for a railroad station. An editorial in the February 24, 1881,
Lexington Gazette expressed similar ideas.
RAILROADS A-BOOMING
Lexington is in the midst of a Railroad excitement unprecedented in all her history. The Valley, the Richmond and
Alleghany, The Shenandoah Valley, the Pittsburgh-are all
looming up with more or less probability of early completion to
this point. The locations of the depots are matters of interest,
which will affect the future prosperity and extension of our
town. We have heretofore spoken of our water-power and the
bearing its utilization for manufacturing purposes will have
upon the growth of the town both as to population and as to
wealth. Of course in the matter of the location of the depots, this
great interest should not be overlooked. It is important to the
business men of Lexington that the depots should be in the
town, so that the trade shall not be transferred to other points,
and it is important also to the traveler that they should be accessible and convenient to the hotels and business portion of the
town .... It strikes us that the probability of manufacturing
industries springing up at the Point and along the river will
induce the railroads to have a freight depot accessible to these
industries, and also that the conveniences of travel will
necessitate a depot at some point convenient to the hotels and
business portion of town. We therefore believe there will of
necessity be a freight depot at or near the Point and another
depot more immediately in the town for passengers and the
general trade of the town.
49. Ibid. , May 3, 1878, and January 22, 1880.
50. Ibid ., April 4, 1879.
132
Jordan's Point
A Lexington Manufacturing Company twenty-year bond issued on April 1,
1884, and signed by president J.D.H. Ross.
Apparently, in the belief that a railroad station at the Point would increase production of the mills at the site, J .D.H. Ross formed the Lexington
Manufacturing Company and purchased the Jordan's Point property. A
deed dated March 1, 1882, records J. C. Green and A. E. Green's sale of
their one-third undivided interest in the Point property to the Lexington
Manufacturing Company. In a deed dated April 21, 1882, the interest in the
Point property owned by John Echols and Joel C. Green, which had been
obtained from Edward McMahon and wife on October 30, 1877, was sold
to J .D.H. Ross, acting for the Lexington Manufacturing Company. Onethird of the interest in the Point property owned by Sigmund Hirsh and
Mina Hirsh was conveyed to J .D.H. Ross and Agnes R. Ross and the
Lexington Manufacturing Company in a deed dated, May 22, 1883. s 1
Ross and Company was dissolved and ended the extensive retail business
at Jordan's Point. Upon dissolution, the company announced that its
storehouse, a four-story brick building, was to be used by the Lexington
Manufacturing Company for a woolen mill. They urged customers to
51. Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed Book UU, pp. 86, 129; Deed Book WW, p. 72.
133
Catharine M. Gilliam
"come and buy your goods and help start an enterprise which will be useful
to the community. " 52
The railroad reached Lexington in 1883, but the station was not built at
Jordan's Point. Although a spur line was eventually built at the Point, the
station was located near the site of the Castle Hill Hotel. This decision
reduced the chances for the success of the mills at Jordan's Point, the only
industries which took advantage of Lexington's waterpower.
Business at Jordan's Point declined predictably. The Lexington
Manufacturing Company advertised for farmers to deliver wheat to the
Point mills as late as January, 1889. Listed in the Lexington Business
Directory as operating at the Point in the 1890s was J. Frank Argenbright,
tinner. His advertisements requested that persons wishing to see an example
of his work look at the gymnasium at Washington and Lee University, ''the
largest piece of roofing ever put on in the town of Lexington." By September, 1890, J.D.H. Ross and A. Ross advertised that they were operating
a real estate business in Glasgow. 53
In 1893 the Lexington Manufacturing Company leased their works at
Jordan's Point to Loyall, Lilly, and Gilmore, which did "home building,
carpentry, and shop work," for "a number of years." Loyall, Lilly, and
Gilmore advertised that they would make to order and keep in stock sash,
doors, blinds, mouldings, ceiling, and dressed flooring. 54
By decrees of the Circuit Court of the County of Rockbridge, entered on
September 17, 1890, and on September 23, 1899, in connection with the case
of U. B. Simpson and Son v. The Lexington Manufacturing Company, it
was ordered that the Jordan's Point property be sold at auction or
privately. On September 21, 1900, all of the Jordan's Point property was
sold to P. B. Moses. On July 25, 1904, P. B. Moses directed the Special
Commissioner to convey the property to R. B. Moses, F. L. Moses, and N.
W. Moses. 55
The Moses' milling business was operated as the Lexington Roller Mills.
The business has been described by General John S. Letcher as he
remembered it.
Moses' Mill was a busy establishment. The mill building
where wheat and corn were ground to produce flour and corn
meal was a large, square, four-story, counting the cellar, red
brick building. Power for the mill came from water in the mill
race which passed under the road and then through a turbine. A
railroad spur came across the highway and into the mill grounds
52.
53.
54.
55.
134
Lexington Gazette, April 27, 1882.
Ibid., January 3, 1889, August 21 and September 4, 1890.
Ibid., April 1893.
Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed Book 98, p. 144.
Jordan's Point
which were on the point of land between Wood's Creek and the
tailrace after it left the turbine. In addition to the mill building,
there was a large one-story storage building and a cooperage
where flour barrels were manufactured. There were several other
small buildings which were used for various purposes connected
with the larger buildings. Freight cars were brought in on the
spur track to be loaded with barrels of flour from the storage
building. Operating at full capacity the mill produced eighty-five
barrels a day. 56
Also at the Point at that time was Straub's blacksmith shop.
The property was left to various members of the Moses family. In 1946
N. P . Moses and Genevieve H. Moses sold the Jordan's Point property to
the Virginia Military Institute. In 1950 the Virginia Military Institute sold
the property to the Town of Lexington, which still owns the property. The
1950 deed referred to the deed and accompanying plat of the transaction
between the James River and Kanawha Company and Calvin Mccorkle. 57
The covered bridge at the Point was used until 1940 when a new highway
bridge was constructed downstream from it. The Highway Department gave
the bridge to the Rockbridge Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. The chapter was formed in 1940 for the
purpose of preserving the bridge. Although they replaced the exterior siding
of the bridge and arranged for landscaping at either end of it, the APVA
chapter lasted little more than one year. The bridge was considered
dangerous and was torn down about 1946. ss
The Point property has few remaining physical reminders of its importance to Lexington. Nevertheless, an analysis of the factors which
determined Lexington's location and founding, as well as its growth and
development, emphasizes the role of the Point. The location on the main
road through the Valley at a major river crossing led to early stores and
homes at the Point. When the area became densely enough populated to
justify the establishment of Rockbridge County, the location nearest the
Point was chosen for the county seat. High cliffs separated the town from
the Point site, which was limited in size by the cliffs and the river.
The Point's significance, in part, is the result of its ownership by
prominent citizens. Regardless of the location of the property, the initiative
56. John S. Letcher , Only Yesterday in Lexington, Virginia (Verona, Va.: McClure, 1974),
pp . 3-4.
57 . Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Deed Book 98, p. 194; Deed Book 138, p. 353; Deed
Book 174, p. 194; Deed Book 192, p. 141; Deed Book 209, p. 369.
58. Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, Year Book, 1938-1939-1940
(Richmond: APVA, 1940), pp. 89-91.
135
136
5
Jordan's Point-December, 1981: (1-2) the wharf wall along lot "5"
where the "FACTORY" juts into the stream; (3) the wall along lot "4";
(4) the wall at point "K"; (5) an old building around point "A"; (6) the
old bridge abutment on the south bank. [All references are to positions on
the map on p. 119.]
6
137
Catharine M. Gilliam
and investment by men such as William Alexander, John Jordan, and
J .D.H. Ross turned the potential of the site into business and trade which
led to prosperity for the town. The investments and interest of the owners
and townspeople in the site demonstrate a tremendous pride in the town and
confidence that Lexington would continue to grow in influence.
Jordan's Point was the farthest point west built on the canal which had
been planned to link the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River.
Lexington was becoming a leading center for trade in the Shenandoah
Valley and western counties when technological developments reduced the
importance of the canal. The expansion of the railroad into western
Virginia made the canal obsolete.
It was assumed at the time of the building of the railroad that Jordan's
Point would be as significant an area for the railroad as it had been for the
canal. The development in transportation changed the significance of the
Point's features. The location as a center of an agricultural area was no
longer as important. The area would have had to develop manufacturing to
take advantage of the waterpower in order to justify locating a major train
station there. Neither the strength of the waterpower nor the size of the
Point area could have supported the kinds of industry that the railroads
wanted to serve.
Just as the decision to build the canal to Lexington had resulted in a surge
in development and prosperity, the decision of the railroads to serve
Lexington only at a passenger station halted that development. Lexington
was to remain a college town which enjoyed the majority of its expansion
and development during the canal era of the nineteenth century. tB1
138
Junius M. Fishburn (1830-1858)
Professor of Latin
William W. Pusey III
_r:<.~·--~
~;1;1\?
~~/; '(: f
,
V / ,~
',
I
c~·~ JJr£HEN YOU WALK ALONG the path in the Stonewall Jackson
@;c~~ Memorial Cemetery in Lexington, from Main Street toward the
monument and tomb of the Confederate hero, you go by an
enclosure with gravestones marking the burial place of Dr. George Junkin,
seventh president of Washington and Lee University (then Washington
College) and his family. On an October afternoon in 1925, a few descendants and family friends were present in the cemetery for the reinterment of
Dr. Junkin and his youngest daughter, Julia Fishburn, whose remains had
been removed from a suburb of Philadelphia. Dr. Junkin was reburied by
the side of his wife, and Julia finally came to rest next to her only child and
her husband. Daughter Elinor (Jackson's first wife) and other relatives
already lay within the enclosure; and the grave of his oldest daughter,
Margaret, near that of her husband, Colonel John T .L. Preston, was also
close by. Junkin and Julia had hastily fled Lexington for Pennsylvania not
William W. Pusey III, former dean of the college, was professor of German at Washington
and Lee University. He is a graduate of Haverford College and holds an A.M. from Harvard
and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Dr. Pusey is author of The Interrupted Dream: The
Educational Program at Washington College (Washington and Lee University), 1850-1880,
published in Lexington, Virginia, by Liberty Hall Press in 1976. He addressed the Rockbridge
Historical Society on February 27, 1978, in Evans Dining Hall at Washington and Lee
University.
139
William W. Pusey III
long after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, while three of his
children remained behind in Virginia. The reburial of the two fugitives of
sixty-four years previously seemed emblematic of a final healing of the
wounds of civil war and family separation. 1
We now turn back from the end of our story to its beginning, to Julia's
husband, Junius Matthew Fishburn. The purpose of my essay will be to
show Fishburn both as a typical academic intellectual of the upper South,
conditioned by the social forces of time and place, and beyond that, as a
man of strong individuality, large talents, and great promise. His biography
must be pieced together from a wide variety of sources; it remains fragmentary, intriguing, and incomplete. 2
Junius Fishburn's father, Daniel (who died in 1863), was the proprietor
of a general store in Waynesboro and was characterized by his temperance
and stern piety. "A youth of quick and active intellect," Junius began the
study of Latin in Waynesboro and continued his education under the pastor
of the Waynesboro and Tinkling Spring churches. 3 In 1846, at the age of
sixteen, he entered Washington College as a sophomore and received his
A.B. degree three years later. Junius ranked eighth in a class of twenty-two,
a position below his friends' expectations. This undistinguished record his
brother Clement attributed to his youthfulness and predisposition to "the
frolicsome. " 4
In college Junius took the prescribed curriculum, which, as in all
"literary" institutions of the period, was heavily weighted with Latin,
Greek, and mathematics, with a bit of science and moral philosophy thrown
in. He was elected at once to the Graham Philanthropic Society, one of
Washington College's two literary groups, and for three years participated
regularly in its debates. 5
1. Rockbridge County News, October 29, 1925; D. X. Junkin, The Reverend George
Junkin, D.D., LL.D.: A Historical Biography (Philadelphia, 1871), pp. 517,526.
2. There is no published biography of Junius M. Fishburn; the best account is contained in
"Memoirs of Clement D. Fishburne," volume one, Fishburne Family Papers, Alderman
Library, University of Virginia. Primary sources include Junius M. Fishburn's letters to
members of his family, Fishburne Family Papers; Fishburn's letters to the Central
Presbyterian and to the Lexington Gazette; and his "Diary," Michigan Historical Collections,
Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. See also the Washington College records:
Faculty Minutes, Trustees' Papers, Trustees' Minutes, Constitution and Record Book of the
Alumni Association, Records of the Graham Philanthropic Society, and the Record Book of
the Franklin Society, all in the Washington and Lee University Library; also, the Lexington
Gazette and the Valley Star; further, Marion Harland's Autobiography: The Story of a Long
Life (New York and London, 1910). I wish to express my especial indebtedness to Ollinger
Crenshaw's manuscript, "General Lee's College: Rise and Growth of Washington and Lee
University," (Washington and Lee University Library, 1973).
3. My account of Junius Fishburn's early life is based on the affectionate "Memoirs" of his
brother, Clement.
·
4. "Memoirs," pp. 11-13.
5. Records of the Graham Philanthropic Society, September 5, 1846.
140
Junius M. Fishburn (1830-1858)
His conduct at Washington College (despite his alleged "frolicsome"
disposition) appears to have been exemplary; at least he was not cited by the
watchful faculty for misconduct or "delinquencies," as were many
students. Perhaps the climax of Junius's hardly distinguished undergraduate career was his selection, along with that of his future faculty
colleague, Alexander L. Nelson, as one of a number of commencement
speakers. 6
Apparently uncertain as to his future occupation, in the fall after his
graduation Junius took charge of the classical school in Waynesboro which
his younger brother, Clement, was attending. At this time he made a
profession of religion and became as earnest a Christian (and Presbyterian)
as his father. He wondered whether he had the duty to become a preacher,
but his success as a teacher of foreign languages induced him to choose
teaching as his lifework. Consequently, he enrolled in 1850 at the University
of Virginia, rooming with classmate Alexander Nelson. He studied ancient
and modern languages and-for a month only-intermediate mathematics. 7
It is interesting to note that in addition to Nelson, another of his future
colleagues at Washington College, James J. White, was pursuing approximately the same studies, as was Edward S. Joynes, later professor of
modern languages under General Lee. 8
In the fall of 1851 Fishburn again taught in a classical school, this time in
the home of William M. Blackford in Lynchburg, acquiring a "great
reputation as an able and enthusiastic teacher. " 9 It must have been during
this year in Lynchburg that Junius made the acquaintance of George
William Bagby, man-about-town, who was later to become well known as a
"gentle satirist" and a "bellicose secessionist," and in 1860, as editor of the
Southern Literary Messenger. There is a curious and intriguing letter to
Bagby, written in 1853, in which Fishburn, noting that he is now "very
differently fixed" in Lexington, happily remembered "those times" and
their "sudden, rapid acquaintance with the ladies and with each other-and
the incidents scattered along that period [that] are very precious bits of
reminiscence.'' 10
I have found no daguerreotype or other kind of photograph of Junius
Fishburn. According to his brother, "he was rather handsome, had dark
brown hair and eyes and well-formed features and was about 5 feet 8 inches
6. Faculty Minutes, February 27, 1849; Lexington Gazette, June 26, 1849.
7. Here my account follows Clement's "Memoirs," p. 13, quite closely.
8. University of Virginia Catalogue, 1850-51, pp. 9-11.
9. Clement' s "Memoirs , " p. 13; Philip Lightfoot Scruggs, The History of Lynchburg,
Virginia, 1786-1946 (Lynchburg, n.d.), pp. 65, 75, 346.
10. The quoted characterization of Bagby is from Virginius Dabney, Richmond: The Story
of a City (New York, 1976), p . 159 . Letter, March 11, 1853, Virginia Historical Society (italics
added) .
141
William W. Pusey III
high." At any rate, in appearance as well as in personality he was obviously
an attractive young man to Mary Virginia Hawes, a budding Richmond
writer; more than half a century after their last meeting she still clearly
remembered him and wrote eloquently of her "monumental friendship"
with him. 11
Mary Virginia (Ginnie) Hawes, who as "Marion Harland" was to
become a novelist of considerable, if ephemeral, reputation, was born in the
same year (1830) as Junius. A precocious girl, she wrote the initial draft of
Alone, her first and possibly best novel, when she was sixteen. When the
novel was published in 1854, it was an immediate success and eventually
more than 100,000 copies of it were sold. Alone was followed in the next
year by The Hidden Path, which also had a large sale. In all, she wrote some
twenty-five novels. Her Common Sense in the Household (1871), also a
best-seller, was the first of twenty-five volumes dealing with domestic
economy. An intense woman of exceptional vigor, she also wrote books on
travel, colonial history, and biography. In the summer of 1856, a few days
after Fishburn's wedding, she married Edward Payson Terhune, a young
Presbyterian clergyman from New Jersey, and early in 1859 moved north
with him from Charlotte Court House, Virginia, to Newark. 12
It is a mark of Junius Fishburn's charm and intellect that this unusual
woman considered their friendship and correspondence an "important"
stage in her education. And this "great woman" and "staunchest [of]
friends" must likewise have significantly contributed to Junius's intellectual, spiritual, and emotional development. 13
Both reported on what must have been their last meeting. In July, 1855,
Ginnie and her father undertook a trip to Boston and the White Mountains,
and Junius accompanied them as far as New York. Promenading on the
deck of a Potomac steamer, she hinted at her affection for another man,
and that evening as they strolled along Washington's moonlit streets, he
talked of his betrothal to "the woman who was waiting for him in the
college town engirdled by the blue Virginia mountains." Junius wrote his
sister from Berlin that Ginnie's presence in New York, where she was
correcting proofs for The Hidden Path, kept him from being "blue ... as
indigo," the day before he sailed. She and her father bade him Godspeed.
Fifty-five years later she wrote that she "was glad it so happened." 14
11. Clement's ''Memoirs,'' p. 11; Marion Harland's Autobiography, pp. 222-26.
12. Mary Hudson Wright, "Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune ('Marion Harland'): Her Life
and Works" (Diss., George Peabody College for Teachers, 1934), gives a detailed account of
Marion Harland.
13. Marion Harland's Autobiography, p. 224; Fishburn's letter to his sister, November 15,
1855.
14. Marion Harland's Autobiography; pp. 225-26; Fishburn's letter to his sister, November
15, 1855. She was referring, of course, to her future husband.
142
I
Junius M. Fishburn (] 830-1858)
But was she? In her Autobiography, to be sure, she stressed the "calm
confidence" and absence of "untimely storms and sudden gusts" of
passion in their relationship. 15 It is tempting, however, to deduce from The
Hidden Path, the novel she was completing in 1854-55, that her feelings for
him were warmer than those of a sister.
After the Civil War, renowned as Marion Harland, she portrayed Junius
Fishburn as the protagonist of her novel, Jessamine, "affectionately"
dedicating it to his sister-in-law, Margaret J. Preston, not only as a tribute
to her, "but as another seal set upon the dear and sad memory we hold in
common, and which cannot fail of renewal in writing or reading" the book.
With her fond recollections of Junius, recorded in her Autobiography more
than fifty years after his death, she indeed laid ''a sprig of rosemary ...
upon Friendship's Shrine." 16
While Fishburn was teaching school in Lynchburg, he was elected
professor of Latin and modern languages at Washington College, and he
took up his duties there in September, 1852, at the age of twenty-two. The
rigid academic program and the strict discipline that Junius knew well from
his student days had remained almost the same during his absence from
Lexington, although there had been significant faculty changes. Fishburn
himself took the professorship formerly held by George E. Dabney, while
James J. White joined the faculty in the same year as professor of Greek.
John L. Campbell, a Washington College graduate of the class of 1843, had
become professor of physical science the previous year. When, in 1854,
Major (later Lieutenant General) Daniel Hill accepted a call to Davidson
College, the Cincinnati professorship of mathematics went to Junius's old
friend Alexander Nelson. President George Junkin, D.D., completed the
faculty roster, serving also as professor of mental and moral science. 11
The faculty minutes reveal Fishburn as an active participant in its
generally routine activities. He served as its clerk, sometimes gave the
opening prayer, and often made motions. He also attended to curricular
concerns, changing the reading schedule of his sophomore and junior Latin
courses. 18
Fishburn was evidently outstanding as a teacher, for a letter to the editor
of the Valley Star at the end of his first year of teaching remarked that in the
examination of the sophomore Latin class, "the young gentlemen acquitted
15. Marion Harland's Autobiography, p. 224.
16. Ibid., p. 226.
17. To be sure, the agricultural course had just been dropped, probably as a result of
President Junkin's evaluation of it as a source of moral, intellectual, and physical evils
[William W. Pusey III, The Interrupted Dream: The Educational Program at Washington
College (Washington and Lee University), 1850-1880 (Lexington, Va., 1976), pp. 11, 14);
Washington College Catalogue, 1848-49, 1852, 1853.
18. Faculty Minutes, 1852-55; "Faculty to Board of Trustees," Trustees' Papers, 1853.
143
William W. Pusey III
As clerk pro tem of the Washington College faculty, Fishburn took the
minutes of meetings (above from May 24, 1853).
themselves with great credit to their excellent instructor, Professor Fishburn." This commentator noted that Fishburn was quite a young man, who
gave ''promise of being one of the ripest scholars in the State.'' A couple of
weeks later, the same newspaper carried a column from the Roanoke
Beacon praising young Professor Fishburn's recent lecture in Salem,
Virginia, on education. Expressing gratification with his ''impressive''
delivery, the Beacon commended his concern for the "lessons of early
obedience'' and his emphasis on high standards in preparation for the
avocations of life. 19
Junius ' s enterprise, competence, and value to the college were rewarded
in his third year as a professor with a salary increase of fifty dollars. 20
Professor Fishburn also became active in the Alumni Association, serving
on its executive committee and on an ad hoc group to consider a proposal
for the alumni to appoint the college's trustees. When, on Fishburn' s
recommendation, the association determined that it was appropriate for
''the only college endowed by the Father of his Country'' to furnish a block
to the Washington National Monument, he was appointed to solicit a dollar
apiece from the alumni. Some six months later, the success of the drive
19. Valley Star , Jul y 7 and 28 , 1853.
20 . Trustees ' Minutes, July 3, 1854.
144
Junius M. Fishburn (1830-1858)
could be reported: one hundred dollars paid for the block and a balance of
nine dollars transferred to the society's treasurer. 21
Fishburn also participated in activities of the town not directly connected
with Washington College. In March, 1853, he was elected a debating
member of the Franklin Society and attended its meetings fairly regularly
until he left for Europe. He was involved in at least three of the society's
debates, supporting the affirmative in such topics as: "ls the doctrine of
predestination taught in the Bible?'' After his return from abroad in March,
1857, he delivered "a very able and interesting lecture" to the society on the
character and operation of the schools in Prussia. 22
It is hardly surprising that with his deep religious convictions Junius
should quickly become involved in the church activities of the town and
county. In the fall of 1852, along with Major Thomas Jackson, he was
elected to the board of managers of the Rockbridge County Bible Society.
About the same time he began teaching Sabbath School in the Presbyterian
Church, where he must certainly have felt at home. In addition to Major
Jackson, at least two of his colleagues, Professor Campbell and Major Hill,
also gave instruction in the Sunday School. Fishburn became its superintendent in the spring of 1854 and, save for his absence in Europe, continued
in this capacity until shortly before his death. 23
At twenty-five Junius Fishburn appeared to have every reason to be
satisfied with his life and work in Lexington. Obviously, however, he felt
the need to expand his already considerable knowledge of the classics, to
inspect the sights and monuments of antiquity, to improve his teaching
methods, and to accumulate material for future use in the classroom. On
July 4, 1855, he asked permission of the board to spend the next year in
Europe to prepare himself "more thoroughly as a teacher of ancient and
modern languages.'' The trustees granted his request, and in less than three
weeks Junius embarked for Europe. 24
It was not at all strange that Fishburn should select Germany as the
country in which he wished to study. In the middle of the nineteenth century
the German universities were preeminent. The "scientific method" was not
limited to physics and chemistry, but also extended to philology and
21. Constitution and Record Book of the Alumni Association, December 26 [20?], 1853,
July 3 and 4, 1854; see al so Lex ington Gazeue, December 22, 1853, and November 16, 1854.
22. Record Book, Franklin Society, 1853-58; Fi shburn , along with Major Jack son, was on
the winning side o f the debate on predestination (Philip Williams, Jr., " The Franklin Society:
A Study of Debates, 1850-1861" [Diss ., Washington and Lee University, 1941], pp. 19, 62);
Lexington Gazette, March 19, 1857.
23. Lexingron Gazette, November 11, 1852; Librarian' s Book , Sabbath School, 1852-58,
Lexington Presbyterian Church .
24. Fishburn to Clement , October 29 and November 6, 1855; Fi shburn to "a friend,"
reprinted in the Lexington Gazelle, November 22, 1855 ; Tru stees ' Papers , July 4, 1855;
Trustees ' Minutes, July 4, 1855. Fishburn sailed on July 21, 185 5 (Fi shburn 's "Diary, " March
3, 1856).
145
William W. Pusey III
classical studies. If an ambitious American scholar wanted to prepare
himself for a university career, it was almost imperative for him to study in
Germany. Many aspiring American academicians were to go to Germany in
the second half of the nineteenth century; yet in 1855-56 their number was
still relatively small. Junius's initiative was thus considerable; he was in the
vanguard of serious American classicists. 25
It is possible to trace Fishburn's movements quite accurately during most
of his sojourn abroad. 2 6 Arriving in Le Havre, he went on to Paris and then
traveled directly to Berlin, where he spent six months, matriculating at the
university for the winter term. On February 23, 1856, he left Berlin for a
tour of Italy and Switzerland, apparently without having seen other parts of
Germany. En route back home, he stopped briefly for sightseeing in
Heidelberg and in Bonn, where he celebrated the Fourth of July. After a
stay in London, he left Liverpool for New York around July 25, 1856, just
about a year after his departure from the United States.
As we have seen, Junius was serious about the objectives of his leave of
absence. He detailed his progress in letters printed in the Central
Presbyterian, an influential religious weekly published in Richmond, in his
hometown newspaper, the Lexington Gazette, and in several private letters
to members of his family. In a period when letter writing was an accepted
form of literature, it is not surprising that Junius's correspondence is
usually lengthy, always articulate, and sometimes eloquent. A portion of his
European diary has also been preserved. 2 1
A regularly enrolled student at the university, Fishburn took part in two
seminars: one on Cicero, and the other on Thucydides with the worldfamous classical philologist August Bockh, whose lectures on Greek antiquities he also attended. Other lecture courses included Tacitus, Roman
history, and Sophocles' Electra. "By way of variety," he also heard
"public" lectures on the geography and history of Egypt in the time of the
pharoahs, the Acropolis, and the geography of Asia Minor. 28
25 . On the importance of German universities for nineteenth-century American intellectuals, see, for instance, Albert Bernhardt Faust, The German Element in the United
States (Boston and New York, 1909), II, 201-49; and my article, "Edward Southey Joynes's
'Old Letters' from Germany," Studies in Nineteenth Century and Early Twentieth Century
Literature: Essays in Honor of Paul K. Whitaker, ed . Norman H. Binger and A. Wayne
Wonderley (Lexington, Ky ., 1974), p. 140.
26. From his published and private letters; the part of his "Diary" that has been preserved
(February 23-July 4, 1856); and Henry Simmons Frieze's "Diaries," 1855-56, Michigan
Historical Collections, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
27. I have found eight published letters and six family letters from abroad. The extant
"Diary" begins only with Fishburn 's departure from Berlin . Marion Harland, Autobiography,
p. 224, considered his letters to her " but a degree less charming than his conversation ."
28. Outlined to Clement, who at that time was teaching Greek at Davidson College (letters
of October 29 and November 6, 1855); on Bockh, who transformed "classical philology into
an historical science," see G . P. Gooch, History and Historians in the Nineteenth Century,
rev. ed. (l 959; rpt. Boston, 1965), pp. 28-32.
146
Junius M. Fishburn (1830-1858)
In addition to his demanding university studies, 29 Junius made a conscientious effort to draw maximum benefit from other intellectual and
cultural advantages offered by Berlin. Showing praiseworthy initiative, he
obtained a private interview with the venerable naturalist, humanist, and
explorer, Alexander von Humboldt, discussing with him such topics as Mr.
Jefferson (whom the German "knew and admired"), slavery, theological
studies in the United States, the Smithsonian Institution, the University of
Virginia, and Matthew Fontaine Maury. 30
As a zealous Presbyterian, Fishburn, characteristically, was distressed by
the Berliners' disregard of the Sabbath, whose observance was "anything
but such as a reverer of the Fourth Commandment would desire to see."
While the Lutherans might be devout on Sunday morning, they thought
that the rest of the day and evening belonged to them and devoted it, very
generally, "to pleasure-seeking." 31
Yet it should not be thought that all Junius's observations about Germany were of a serious or intellectual nature. His letters also contain
comments on feather-bed blankets, the skating mania, matrimonial advertisements, German misconceptions of Americans as "walking arsenals,"
German stoves, a patriotic celebration of Washington's Birthday by the
twenty-some Americans in Berlin, the need for additional money for his
stay abroad, and the value of sauerkraut as a memory strengthener. 32
Quite satisfied with his rigorous six months in Berlin, and with his
progress in the German language, 33 Fishburn was well prepared to enjoy a
cultural vacation in Italy. As he emerges from the pages of his diary, Junius
was a much more relaxed and personable figure than is apparent from his
public or private letters. In Rome he found it almost warm enough to inspire "dolce far niente." The Presbyterian ethic could be counted on to
guard him from falling into this error for any length of time, but listen to
his entry for May 3: "Drank a bottle [of good wine] after dinner under a
willow tree before a little chapel to the Virgin. Best wine I ever drank-pure
grape. Took a gallon with us." Ironically, back home some of his friends
and colleagues, several months before, had petitioned the Virginia General
Assembly against licensed liquor shops in Lexington. 34
29. Junius boasted in a letter to his sister (November 15, 1855) that he could afford to write
to her after "a good day's work" lasting from 6:30 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.
30. Central Presbyterian, January 19, 1856.
31. Ibid., March 8, 1856.
32. Lexington Gazette, November 22, 1855; Central Presbyterian, February 2 and May 3,
1856; letter to his father, November 19-21, 1855; letter to Clement, February 18, 1856. At the
Washington's Birthday celebration, a "son of Virginia" (presumably Junius) read Margaret
Junkin's ballad, "The Old Dominion," and a toast was drunk to the author.
33. Fishburn to Clement, February 18, 1856.
34. "Diary," March 24, 1856; Crenshaw, "General Lee's College," chapter 10, p. 29, n. 65.
Among those signing the petition (February 9, 1856) were President Junkin, Major Jackson,
and Professor White.
147
William W. Pusey III
Just to be in classical surroundings delighted Junius. Sailing from Genoa
to Civita Vecchia through "a classic sea" in the moonlight, he fancied that
the waves breaking against the prow of their vessel had ''the flow of
hexameter verse.'' On an excursion from Rome he was happily aware that
he was on the road once traveled by Cicero and Horace and ''that crowd of
gentry who make biographical dictionaries necessary." He was pleased even
by the lizards he saw, "descended from the classical fellows." 3 5
In describing the cultural monuments of Italy and the other countries he
visited after leaving Germany, Fishburn employed an enthusiastic tone,
unflagging and almost monotonously expressed in superlatives. Yet who
can really criticize Junius 's unrelenting ardor? In the l 850s-and long
after-the cultural (as well as the geographical) gap between the old world
and rural Virginia was great. For Fishburn in Rome, St. Paul's basilica was
"the finest church," the night illumination of St. Peter's "the grandest,"
and the display of fireworks on Easter Monday the most "wonderful" he
ever saw. Even toward the close of his trip his zeal did not abate. He
recorded that Worms was ''one of the most interesting places in Europe.'' 36
A continuing thread through Fishburn's letters from Italy and his diary is
his revulsion for what he considered to be the tyrannical and hypocritical
aspects of Roman Catholicism. A papal ceremony in St. Peter's he
characterized bluntly as ''the greatest scandal-insult, blasphemous
burlesque on the Savior's humility-which I ever conceived of." To be sure,
he was not impervious to the beauty and effectiveness of Catholic pageantry
and ritual, but he considered such "shows," as far as religion was concerned, to be "little less than splendid blasphemies. " 37
There was no question about the firmness of Junius's own Presbyterian
convictions. Arriving in Civita Vecchia on a Sunday, he declined absolutely
to start for Rome. His companions tried to prove to him that "works of
necessity, charity, and mercy" could be carried out on the Sabbath, and
that leaving the dirty and unattractive seaport fell into this category.
Fishburn urged them to go on without him, but as a result of his refusal they
all stayed over in the port. Junius's diary entry is succinct, a bit prim, and
characteristic: ''Pleasanter to spend Sunday in such a hole as this, than to
be traveling with an uneasy conscience. " 38
There can be no doubt of the extent and depth of the impressions
Fishburn gained from his Italian journey. His "bewildered mind" was so
affected by the "grand and beautiful, or touching or terrible works" in the
Uffizi Gallery in Florence that, in essence, he wondered whether the "calm,
35. Central Presbyterian, July 5, 1856; "Diary," March 25 and April 8, 1856.
36. "Diary," March 22, 23 , 24, and July 2, 1856.
37. Ibid., March 20 and May 22, 1856; Central Presbyterian, July 5, 1856.
38 . Andrew D. White to John W. Fishburne, December 16, 1916, Fishburne Family Papers;
"Diary," Sunday, March 16, 1856.
148
Junius M. Fishburn (1830-1858)
quiet, even Lexington life" could gratify the desires and tastes he was
developing. Yet as the spring of 1856 wore on, Junius was getting increasingly eager to return to Washington College and to his friends and
family. In Geneva the June days rolled slowly and pleasantly past. Junius
was "not exactly studying-but reading French." But (to paraphrase
Robert Burns) his heart was in the highlands of Virginia; he had written his
fiancee when to expect him home. 39
On the evening of August 20, 1856, Junius Fishburn and Julia Junkin
were married in Lexington by the father of the bride, the president of
Washington College. Five years younger than Junius, Julia was George
Junkin's youngest child. In February, 1854, "upon profession of ... faith
in Christ," she was admitted to membership in the Presbyterian Church,
and in church activities her path and Junius's must frequently have crossed.
Propinquity must also have played a part in the courtship, for Junius had
his lodgings in one of the rear rooms on the second floor of the center
building (now Washington Hall), little more than a hundred yards from the
Junkin residence (later named the "Lee-Jackson House") on campus. Their
engagement apparently took place in the spring before Professor Fishburn
left for Europe. 40
Clement Fishburn, who as a student must have seen her frequently,
remembered Julia as "bright, energetic, amiable, and very pretty," and
asserted that "a more happy marriage could not have been made." Their
only child was named after his maternal grandfather, who loved him dearly.
George Junkin Fishburn died in Dr. Junkin's arms of diphtheria in August,
1859, about sixteen months after his father's death.
Fishburn's marriage to Julia and the move of the young couple into her
father's home, where she served as his housekeeper, added a family
relationship to Junius's already existing friendship with two other members
of the household, Major Thomas Jackson and his bride's oldest sister,
Margaret. Jackson had earlier paid Junius frequent social visits in the
latter's quarters. One evening after tea, when Clement dropped in on his
brother, Jackson also appeared, and the two professors "saluted each other
with easy cordiality." Clement reported his surprise that the major
remained standing for the hour and a half of his stay with Junius, discussing
such things as the Spanish spoken in Mexico. Junius subsequently explained
39. "Diary," May 15, June 15, and May 30, 1856. Professor Frieze, of the University of
Michigan, who was with him in Geneva, noted in his "Diaries," June 3, 1856, that "Professor
Fishburn reads a little French in the evening."
40. Lexington Gazette, August 28, 1856; Repassing at My Side: A Story of the Junkins,
comp. by Richard D. and Elisabeth C. Robinson (Blacksburg, Va., 1975), p. 12; Sessional
Records of the Presbyterian Church of Lexington, Va., February 11, 1854; Clement's
"Memoirs," p. 17; "Diary," April 3, 1856.
149
William W. Pusey III
to his brother that for reasons of health, Jackson preferred to stand when
visiting a friend with whom he felt at ease. 4 '
Major Jackson married Dr. Junkin's middle daughter, Elinor, in August,
1853, and after their wedding trip (on part of which they were accompanied
by her sister Margaret), they settled down in her parents' home. After his
wife's death in childbirth the following year, Jackson stayed on in the house
of his father-in-law, who meanwhile himself had become a widower.
Jackson remained at Dr. Junkin's at least until February, 1857, six months
after his brother-in-law-(in-law) Junius and his wife had also taken up
residence there. 42
Increasingly well-known as a poet of distinction, Margaret (Maggie)
Junkin began contributing to the Southern Literary Messenger as early as
1849, and her poems frequently appeared in subsequent issues of this
eminent periodical, which was published in Richmond. 43 At least by 1855
Junius was a good friend of his prospective sister-in-law. He wrote her a
"very pleasant letter" about "wicked" Berlin, and later one from Florence.
In Vienna he confided to his diary that the ''pure chaste statues draped and
postured like [those] of virtue and benevolence" reminded him of this
writer. Margaret continued to be a member of her father's household
during the first year of Fishburn's marriage, until she herself wed John T.L.
Preston, professor of Latin at V.M.I., and a widower with seven children.
While there is no record that she was ever as close to Junius as to her other
brother-in-law, Major Jackson, she would eventually share his "dear and
sad memory" with fellow author Ginnie Hawes. 44
His salad days over, and happily married to a daughter of the president of
his college, Junius resumed his teaching with customary vigor and "an
earnestness and assiduity seldom equalled." It was natural that as an
American scholar returning from Germany, he should introduce German
methods and attitudes into his courses, as well as enriching them through
his personal acquaintance with scenes of classical antiquity. 45
For one sophomore, to be sure, Fishburn was too advanced for American
students. Although he stood fourth in a Latin class of twenty-five, William
41. Clement's "Memoirs," pp. 17, 21-23; Junkin, The Reverend George Junkin, p. 505 .
42. Lenoir Chambers, Stonewall Jackson, 2 vols. (New York, 1959), 1: 251, 258; Junkin,
The Reverend George Junkin, p. 497; Thomas Jackson Arnold, Early Life and Letters of
General Thomas J. Jackson: "Stonewall" Jackson (New York, 1916), p. 252 . Jackson
remarried in July, 1857.
43. See David K. Jackson, The Contributors and Contributions to The Southern Literary
Messenger, 1834-1864 (Charlottesville, 1936).
44. Elizabeth Preston Allan, The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston (Boston and
New York, 1903), pp. 70, 93, 98, 71-75; "Diary," May 17 and February 27, 1856; dedication
to Jessamine.
45. The quotation comes from an obituary in the Lexington Gazette, April 1, 1858, signed
"P." (identical notice also in the Valley Star, same date, signed "J. "); Clement's "Memoirs,"
p. 17. On the attraction of German universities for America n students, see John A. Walz,
German Influences in American Education and Culture (Philadelphia, 1936), pp. 51-52.
150
Junius M. Fishburn (] 830-1858)
George Junkin, president of
Washington College and Fishburn 'sfather-in-law.
Fishburn 's friend James J. White,
professor of Greek at Washington
College.
M. Willson, of nearby Brownsburg, wrote his Aunt Lizzie that "Prof.
Fishburn should have staid in Germany," for he had "imbibed too freely
their notion of searching into ever little minutiae of the language," and
wanted "to make you too thorough to suit 'Young America.' " 46
Back from Europe, Fishburn picked up his share of routine faculty duties
again, and at the end of the year, Dr. Junkin recommended a salary adjustment both for him and for Professor White. The board dutifully, if not
recklessly, added one-fifth of tuition fees to their base pay of eight hundred
dollars and house. Reflecting educational statesmanship or nepotism,
President Junkin suggested a bonus for his son-in-law, pointing out to the
trustees that "Prof. Fishburn's department [had] felt a powerful stimulus
from his improvement and his materiel purchased for the benefit of his
classes. '' 47
Junius served again on the executive committee of the Alumni
Association and continued to manifest his Presbyterian fervor as head of
the Sabbath School and by attendance at religious anniversaries in Richmond. He was also gaining a reputation at home and in the state as a lecturer on education. 48 Fishburn's death cut short work on new editions of
46. Catalogue, 1857; letter, December 17, 1856; the Willson Letters are in the Ulrich B.
Phillips Collection, Yale University.
47 . Trustees' Papers, July I, 1857; Trustees' Minutes, July I, 1857 .
48. Constitution and Record Book of the Alumni Association , July 2, 1856, and July 2,
1857; Central Presbyterian, April 3, 1858; William M. Willson, letter to his aunt, October 26,
1857.
151
William W. Pusey III
Livy and several other classical authors and preparation of a Latin grammar
incorporating advances made by German scholarship. His publications
were limited to a few short poems that appeared anonymously in
newspapers and magazines, and a substantial paper on "Education in
Prussia.' ' 49
First delivered to the Franklin Society in March, 1857, this address was
also given to the Education Convention in Richmond in August of the same
year and, at the request of the convention, published in the Southern
Literary Messenger not long thereafter in a slightly condensed version. Late
in October, Fishburn was speaking again in Richmond, this time to the
Mechanics' Fair, and presumably on the same topic. 50
Even in its abridged form in the Messenger, "Education in Prussia" was
a lengthy document. Divided into three parts, the lecture first sketched the
"historical theory of education." It then went to a carefully documented
description of the Prussian school system, which was based on this theory.
Then Fishburn applied these matters to the subject of the schools in the
United States. Approaching his conclusion, he attacked the low admission
standards of American universities, and the efforts of colleges to become
little universities. He loyally defended, however, the quality of scholarship
in Virginia which, in glowing terms, he attributed to Jefferson and his
university . 51
Although it was long, detailed, erudite, and in part derivative, 52
''Education in Prussia'' was nevertheless the recipient of highly favorable
reviews. The Lexington Valley Star termed it able, instructive, and wellinformed, attractively presented despite necessary statistics. The comment
in the Richmond Dispatch was fulsome in its praise of the address and its
author. "A brilliant and appreciative audience" packed the hall of the
House of Delegates and gave the speaker its "most undivided attention."
The Richmond commentator ended his review by terming Professor
Fishburn "one of the most promising of that brilliant array of young
scholars" now appearing in Virginia. His prophecy that the Washington
College scholar was ''destined to occupy a high position in his noble
vocation and in the world of letters," seemed reasonable. 53 However, it was
not to be.
49 . Lexington Gazette, April 1, 1858; Clement's "Memoirs," p. 19. According to Clement,
nothing was left in such form that it could be used.
50. Lexington Gazette, March 19, September 3, October 15, and December 3, 1857.
References to the Mechanics' Fair do not record the subject of Fishburn's speech.
51. Southern Literary Messenger, October 1857, pp. 241-54.
52 . Fishburn mentioned Alexander D. Bache' s Report [on Education in Europe (1839)] and
an article in the Biblical Repertory, October 1852 (Southern Literary Messenger, pp. 243,245).
53 . Valley Star, March 26, 1857, referring to the lecture given to the Franklin Society;
Richmond Dispatch, August 28, 1857 (reprinted in Lexington Gazette, September 3, 1857) .
152
Junius M. Fishburn (] 830-1858)
It was February 8, 1858. Senior examinations were in progress, and all
seemed to be following its regular routine at the sleepy little semiPresbyterian college in the placid Valley of Virginia. But that evening, in
order to suppress noise interfering with the examinations, Professors
Fishburn and Campbell entered a dormitory and came upon two drunken
students. Both offenders were dismissed the next day by the faculty, and a
petition for readmittance of the culprits, signed by a large number of
students, was declined. 54
The regular business of the college seemed to flow by quietly for a week,
until the end of the intermediate examinations. But unbeknown even to the
Argus-eyed faculty , real trouble was brewing. A pact was signed on
February 11 by forty-five students (slightly more than half of the student
body), pledging themselves "to carry out the affair of burning in effigy
Profs. Campbell and Fishburn. " 55 Then, on the evening of February 15,
many students in disguise marched boisterously through town and, on
returning to the front of the college buildings, burnt the effigies of the two
offending professors.
Several students stepped forward promptly with appropriate apologies,
indicating that they had intended to express no personal disrespect for the
professors but only disapprobation of their official conduct. When three
students who had not apologized were dismissed, the other signers of the
compact announced that they were pledged to each other to share the
penalty inflicted on any of their group. Clearly on the spot, the faculty
sagaciously turned the responsibility of deciding whether these students
should stay in college over to the students themselves and their parents.
Although the faculty boasted that no interruption of regular college
exercises took place, it considered the situation parlous enough to meet·
frequently on it. Soon, however, Fishburn was no longer able to attend the
meetings, since he was confined to bed by sickness. He died in the Junkin
residence on March 26, 1858, just five days before his twenty-eighth birthday. Ironically, the student disorder pursued him to the very end. At the
meeting called in consequence of his death, the faculty also concerned itself
further with the readmission of a student dropped because of his misconduct in the affair. 56
No one, I assume, finds it pleasant to be burned (or hanged) in effigy, but
I know of no reason to infer that this incident contributed psychologically
to Fishburn's death. His co-victim, Professor Campbell, survived and
taught at Washington and Lee almost thirty more years. The cause of death,
54. Here, for the most part, I am following a circular on the "Recent Disturbances at
Washington College," published by the faculty, March 15 , 1858 (printed copy in the Faculty
Minutes; reprinted in the Lexington Gazette, March 18 , 1858).
55. This fascinating document can be found among the Trustees' Papers, 1858.
56 . Faculty Minutes, March 13, 19, and 29, 1858 .
153
William W. Pusey III
given in the faculty minutes, was a combination of measles and dysentery,
and it is known that an epidemic of measles hit neighboring V.M.I. at about
this time. Junius's pastor surmised that his health might have been adversely affected by excessive diligence in pursuit of his studies. Only the
firmest believer in predestination would likely heed Junius's curious
presentment of two years earlier. He had jotted down in his Italian diary:
"26 years less to live ... : the remnant may be few-cannot be many. " 57
The notices of Junius's death were quite numerous and, of course,
complimentary. Yet in their total effect they definitely revealed that the
esteem and respect in which Fishburn was held exceeded the norm of
customary obituary pieties. Meeting in the chapel on the day after Junius's
death, the students unanimously adopted a eulogistic tribute to their mentor
(tormentor?). For Junius the irony persisted: of the three student committee
members, two had just a few weeks before signed the notorious pact. And
the notice of the Graham Philanthropic Society, mourning "one of her
valued alumni,'' likewise bore the signature of a former conspirator. 58
One of the longest obituaries appeared in the Central Presbyterian.
Stressing Fishburn's personal worth and his frequent attendance at religious
occasions in Richmond, the eulogist called attention to his scholarship and
to a mind improved by earnest application to culture at home and abroad.
The admixture in Fishburn of piety and scholarship, not surprisingly, was
generally noted. The resolution of the college's trustees mentioned both his
Christian character and his intellect of high order (in that sequence), and the
obituary in the Gazette also lauded his eminent "mental and moral
characteristics." Another commentator, also clearly in tune with the times,
praised him as a philologist who had few equals of his age and noted that his
was a college whose professors zealously advocated "a sound, classical, and
strictly religious education. " 59
Thus on his death, Junius Fishburn was widely hailed as a distinguished
exemplar of the system of higher education prevailing in the South during
the pre-Civil War period. Yet, in addition to the approved union of
religious conviction and scholarly mind, another characteristic was attributed to the deceased Latin professor. In one of its three notices on
Fishburn's death, the Richmond Dispatch acclaimed him as "a gentleman ... of manners bland, cordial and attractive." This note was
57. William Couper, One Hundred Years at V.M.J., 4 vols. (Richmond, 1939), 1: 329;
Richmond Dispatch, March 31, 1856; obituary signed "W.S.W." (certainly Dr. William S.
White, the local Presbyterian pastor) in the Rockbridge Historical Society Papers; Fishburn,
"Diary," March 31, 1856.
58. Lexington Gazette, April l, 1858. Two of these plotters / pranksters became clergymen,
the third a lawyer.
59. Central Presbyterian, April 3, 1858; Trustees' Minutes, June 30, 1858; Lexington
Gazette, April I, 1858; obituary notice by "S . T." (identity not known to me), Rockbridge
Historical Society Papers (italics added).
154
Junius M. Fishburn (] 830-1858)
echoed by the college's alumni association, which mourned the loss of "an
able, polished and efficient officer." Junius was thus perceived as having a
special quality-call it poise, sophistication, or charisma. At any rate, he
was not soon forgotten. Fifty years later an alumnus, who as a freshman
had been in his Latin class, recalled that in his death ''the college suffered a
great loss. " 60
Junius's intellectual elegance, perhaps most manifest in his brilliance as a
speaker, reflected remarkable progress in a man still quite young who began
life as the son of a storekeeper in the Valley of Virginia. Undergraduate
study at Washington College and advanced work at the University of
Virginia were notable influences in his development, as were, of course, his
study in Germany and his travels through Italy. I am inclined to think,
however, that it was his close association with two of the leading women
writers of his time, Ginnie Hawes and Maggie Junkin, that played the major
role in his acquisition of this extra dimension of grace of mind.
Certain attractively "human" traits we saw in the Junius of his younger
years seem, somehow with elusive rapidity, to have vanished in the mature
man. Where, oh where, had "the frolicsome" proclivities of his college and
(possibly) his Lynchburg days gone, or the bibulous indulgences of his
Italian journey? They were early victims, no doubt, of a countervailing
"puritan work ethic."
In conclusion, it is fascinating to speculate where Junius's life of promise
would have led him, had he not died prematurely. It is tempting to accept
his brother's admiring prediction that having attained an enviable position
in the ''commonwealth of letters'' and wide recognition among the scholars
of Virginia, "his prospects for further promotion and greater reputation
were unusually good. " 61
Junius's early death at least spared him an exceedingly difficult and
poignant decision. While his attitude toward slavery was nominally in
agreement with accepted Southern views, it was not without ambiguities.
On the other hand, his position on "disunion" was unequivocal; he felt its
consequences would be so catastrophic that "too much cannot be sacrificed
to prevent anything so direful. " 62
In April, 1861, Dr. Junkin ordered the removal of the "disunion" flag
that students had hoisted over the statue of Washington on the center
60. Richmond Dispatch, April 1, 1858 (also reprinted in the Lexington Gazette, April 8,
1858); Constitution and Record Book of the Alumni Association, July I, 1858 (italics added);
Alexander S. Paxton, Memory Days: In Which the Shenandoah Valley is Seen in Retrospection
(New York and Washington, 1908), p. 272.
61. Clement's "Memoirs," p. 19.
62. While abroad, Fishburn had arguments over slavery with his "generous, smart, noble,
refined, well-informed" friend (from New York State), Andrew D. White ("Diary," May 2,
1856), and with another friend and traveling companion, Professor Frieze (Frieze's "Diaries,"
June 6, 1856); Fishburn to Central Presbyterian, June 28, 1856.
155
William W. Pusey III
building. The faculty, however, gave its official and unanimous backing to
the students and decided to allow the Southern flag to continue to fly.
Would Junius have voted in opposition to the symbol of disunion and in
support of his father-in-law (in whose house he presumably would still have
been living), resigned from Washington College as did Junkin, and driven
north with him to Pennsylvania? I believe not. His roots in Virginia and his
affection for his native state were too deep for him to abandon it. It is more
likely that, with anguish, he would have sided with his faculty colleagues
and friends in Lexington against his Yankee father-in-law, and like his
brother Clement (also an opponent of secession), would soon have joined
the Confederate army. 63
This unanswerable question finally became moot on that October afternoon about fifty years ago. [ff
63. Faculty Minutes, April 17, 1861; Crenshaw , "G eneral Lee's College," chapter II, pp.
23 - 32; Clement 's "Memoirs," pp. 117, 123-25.
156
The Forest and the
Pioneer Tradition
S. Todd Lowry
~~
G\~&%
(c>'~ N
INTEGRAL PART OF Virginia tradition is the classic Virginia
ham. The historic reliance of the early settler and plantation owner
upon hogs-raised in the woods and fattened on acorns and
chestnuts in the fall-seems, at first glance, to make the woodland hograising practice and cured ham and bacon ideal examples of the pioneer's
adjustment to the pristine forest and its resources. Woodland hog raising
can thus be viewed as an example of the European struggle to adjust to a
new environment. This line of thought fits a standard scenario that emphasizes the naturalistic spontaneity of the pioneers. Severed from their
European heritage and faced with a completely new ecological environment, the settlers evolved a new and distinctive culture from their
individualistic energies and originality interacting with the rich untouched
resources of the eastern seaboard.
~.r.
S. Todd Lowry, professor of economics and administration at Washington and Lee University,
has had a longtime interest in forest economics and forest history. This address was, in part, a
result of his research for "The Nature of Pre-Industrial Forest Planning," a paper he
presented at the Spring Forestry Symposium at the Duke University School of Forestry in
April, 1974, reprinted in Forestry and Long-Range Planning (Durham, N.C.: Duke University
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, May 1977), pp. 18-30. Dr. Lowry spoke to the
Rockbridge Historical Society in the garden behind the Campbell House in Lexington on
August 28, 1978.
157
S. Todd Lowry
It is worthwhile to reexamine this ideologically convenient tradition.
First, the Roman agricultural writers gave recipes for curing ham and
assured their readers that, if properly smoked, the meat would be protected
from insect damage. In twelfth- and thirteenth-century England, the beech
and oak forests were not measured in acres or hectares, but in "pannage."
Pannage was the term applied to the right to pasture hogs in the forest. A
forest with a pannage of ten was a plot that could be relied on to fatten
about ten hogs for fall slaughter. Such an area was apparently around
twenty-five acres.
The importance of hog raising in the English woodland economy seems to
have been largely ignored or forgotten in our obsession with the scenario of
pioneer originality in the colonies. The English tradition gave rise to the
distinction between "fruiting timber" and barren timber." The former
referred to beech and oak forests which provided mast for hogs, and the
latter referred to coniferous timber which was not productive since forests
were not primarily valued for timber, but for a host of incidental products
and rights. Paramount among these rights were hog raising, browse for
livestock, and the all-important hunting rights exclusively asserted by the
nobility.
The term "barren forest" came to the new world and was first used to
refer to coastal pinelands, such as the New Jersey Pine Barrens. It later
evolved to mean the pine savannas or more open lands such as the
"bluegrass barrens of Kentucky." In Rockbridge County, some of the
draughty, gravelly land north of the Alone Mill neighborhood was referred
to as "The Barrens." It was classic barrens, apparently, open land with
sparse timber dominated by pitch pine.
If we turn back to the question of the distinctively American years, we
must start with the Turner Thesis. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner
looked to the Ohio Valley and the trans-Appalachian west to find the
crucible of distinctive American institutions and outlook. Here, according
to Turner, pioneers of European origin were sufficiently severed from their
past traditions and-in interaction with the frontier forest environmentworked out a spontaneous American culture forged from the individualistic
natural capacities of free men coping with the challenges of the forested
frontier.
James Westfall Thomson, in his "History of Stock Raising in the U.S.
before 1860" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1942),
found the genesis of the frontier spirit in the mountain stock-raising industry where "whipper snappers" and "whip crackers" or just "crackers"
lived an independent existence herding hogs, horses, and cattle in the
backwoods. Through the eighteenth century they brought these animals
down to the coast in the fall; horses used for work and beef and pork for
158
Forest and the Pioneer Tradition
salted rations were shipped to the British and Spanish plantations in the
Caribbean.
Other scholars have argued that the period between the French and Indian War and the American Revolution (i.e., 1763-75) was crucial. They
argue that the frontier tradition was forged in the forbidden zone between
the line of the Proclamation of 1763 (i.e., the crest of the Appalachians) and
the areas of denser Indian settlement. Here families of squatters broke with
the previous settlement pattern of dependency upon the British garrisons
for protection along the frontier; they moved into these lands across ''the
line" where they were subject to being routed out and having their homes
burned by British patrols, as well as being attacked by Indians defending
their treaty rights.
There are two questions we should raise about this tradition of emphasizing the original aspects of the pioneer forest culture in the United
States. (See Lillard, The Great Forest, for a good history.) The first
question is whether the American pioneer's technology was truly original.
The collection of woodworking tools displayed here tonight-the froe for
making clapboards, shakes, shingles, and barrel staves; the broad ax for
hewing; the draw knife and spokeshave for finishing tool handles and
making chairs, wheels, etc.-would, with one major exception, probably
have been found in their characteristic form in Joseph of Nazareth's carpenter shop. The exception is the American-developed "felling ax." The
European ax was lighter, with the handle inserted in an eye formed by a
band of iron bent into an oval or round ring, with a steel blade welded to the
fused ends of the band. The frontier smiths in the Atlantic colonies
developed a heavier ax with a squared "poll" or projection of the head
opposite the blade giving weight and balance to the ax head and providing a
heavier base for supporting the blade. Mounted on a hickory handle, this
ax-the "poll ax" or "American felling ax"-was adapted to heavier work
in hardwood forests. Nevertheless, it stands more as a symbol of a quantitative than a qualitative adjustment to the technological requirements of
the forest culture.
The second question is whether Frederick Jackson Turner and others are
justified in their emphasis upon the individualistic, libertarian aspects of the
frontier. We should note that before the colonial experience had properly
given rise to the experiential data for such an ideological tradition, writers
such as Adam Smith (1723-90, a Scotsman) were eclectically rounding up
arguments for individual freedom in commercial activity. Smith relied on
the "system of natural liberty" as the ideological basis for his repudiation
of the preceding tradition of feudal economic domination and royal control
over marketing procedures which had come to stifle the commercial
potential of the eighteenth century. In France Jean Jacques Rousseau
159
S. Todd Lowry
Felling axe and broad axe.
(1712-78) was extolling the principles of natural justice and natural law, the
noble savage, and the virtues of a pristine existence in the New World free
from the corrupting influences of stagnant European traditions.
When one looks at this intellectual heritage, it becomes obvious that the
ideological rationalizations for the originality of the pioneer culture were
already spelled out in Britain and Europe. One must be wary about interpreting what developed in the United States as spontaneous and novel
rather than as the result, in part, of a diffusion of European and English
traditions. We may recall Charles Dickens's somewhat satiric comments on
American life in his novel, Martin Chuzz/ewit, in which the essentially
ideological character of the American picture of itself is drawn in humorous
tones. Perhaps we have made too much of the originality of the frontier and
our forest heritage, and should look more closely at the rich stream of
cultural continuity from a heavily forested north European background .
When we reexamine the relation of the rural Englishman to the forest, we
find that the economic life of many villages was intricately bound up with
160
Forest and the Pioneer Tradition
A f roe and mallet-used to rive (split) shakes, shingles,
barrel staves, and deals.
the products of the woodlands where forests still existed . From the Norman
conquest through the seventeenth century, the complex of rights in forest
land held by the crown, or in feudal tenures, and peasant rights was crucial
to the economy of the villages and towns around the forests. Rights in
fuelwood (coppice), timber (tall forest), tan bark, hop stakes, hurdles,
fencing materials, rights-of-way, pannage (hog pasture), browse for sheep,
goats, calves, cattle, and horses, and hunting rights were all held by
tradition or as part of copyholds. In addition, there was the tradition of
"assarts": the occupancy of parts of the woodland by landless peasants
who were squatters. These squatters were frequently not driven out because
of absentee ownership and uncertainty over rights.
We have all heard of the Magna Carta, or the Great Charter, under which
the English nobility secured guarantees of certain political rights from a
reluctant King John in 1215 A.O. However, little attention has been given by
historians to the much longer series of documents-which was of much
more importance to the English commoner-known as the Magna Carta
161
S. Todd Lowry
Drawknife (or drawing knife) and hewing hatchet.
Forestalis or the Great Charter of the Forest. This collection of documents
was developed during the decade following the famous Magna Carta. It
defined the rights of the populace in forest lands and is part of a tradition of
the presumption of rights in public and absentee-held land that we have
come to think of as a primarily American expression of frontier repudiation
of a passive peasant heritage.
A recent work, Whigs and Hunters by E. G. Thompson, has shed some
interesting light on the vitality of something akin to the pioneer spirit which
survived in England into the eighteenth century. Thompson analyzed the
factors that led up to the repressive legislation in 1720 known as the Black
Acts. These acts were directed against a pattern of rural unrest throughout
the early eighteenth century that was most conspicuously characterized by
groups of armed men who blackened their faces with a mixture of gunpowder and water and openly and defiantly poached game in forest land
that was aggressively claimed by private owners or by the crown. These
claims ignored traditional rights long held by the populace.
What was happening was that the market process was extending itself to
agricultural land in eighteenth-century England, and the new acquirers of
interests in large tracts were trying to establish freehold estates in lands that
had been part of a complex collection of user rights held by copyholders
under previous feudal tenants. Rights had also been historically asserted by
neighboring villagers and adjacent farmers. The attempts to fence off large
tracts of forest land resulted in peasants battering down gates to reopen
rights-of-way on old forest roads and extensive poaching of game. As a
162
Forest and the Pioneer Tradition
result of some of the more serious shooting incidents, some men were
sentenced to the gallows and some were transported to Maryland.
Although this tradition of militant assertion of rights in the forest has not
been extensively studied, we know that at least some of the colonists who
did not come here voluntarily brought with them something akin to the kind
of pioneer spirit that made it so difficult for Benjamin Borden to develop
his grant in Rockbridge County. The brazenness of squatters made the
semi-manorial control of the area nearly hopeless. This spirit was as alive in
the England of the early eighteenth century as it was in the American
backwoods.
Having emphasized the diffusion from England of both the forest
technology and forest ideology of the frontier in the colonies, we should
note that a similar case can be made for the French, German, and Scan:dinavian heritage. However, we shall now look at what was different and
original in the forest culture of the colonies.
The most conspicuous difference between the American temperate
hardwood forests and the north European hardwood forests is "ecological
complexity," meaning a multiplicity of species and genera. During the ice
ages, glaciers extended southward from the Scandinavian Peninsula, and
the southward migration of plants and animals was cut off by glaciers that
formed on the Alps and Pyrenees and by the Mediterranean Sea. This
resulted in a long, narrow latitudinal band of vegetation in which only a
limited number of best-adapted species survived. After the recession of the
glaciers, this limited species complex reoccupied the temperate areas of
Europe. By contrast, in the United States as northern vegetation moved
south, the more southerly forms adapted to the colder climates and moved
back north when the glaciers receded, resulting in a much more varied and
complex aggregation of genera and species. This complex and novel forest
was what the European settlers had to learn to use, and their accumulated
grasp of the technical properties of the American forests is a story in itself.
We need only to point out that such prominent American trees as black
locust, black walnut, tulip poplar, and hickory are not found in Europe.
Moreover, where the Europeans have only one or two species representing
each genera, we have ten or more prominent oaks in each region, several
hickories and elms, and a bewildering aggregation of secondary trees and
shrubs-hackberry for making snuff sticks and dogwood for making
wooden gluts (wedges), mallet heads, and weavers' shuttleblocks.
One of the most interesting stories that illustrates the novelty of North
American forest products to the Europeans comes from Jacques Cartier's
second voyage into the St. Lawrence when he spent the winter of 1535-36 at
the present site of Montreal. By January most of Cartier's men were
disabled with scurvy as a result of the vitamin C deficiency in their rations.
163
S. Todd Lowry
The party had built a fortified camp and was very careful to send only their
healthiest men out to carry water from the river; that way the Indians would
not be aware of their weakened condition. However, this facade could not
be maintained, and one day an Indian stopped one of Cartier's ailing
seamen as he labored up the hill from the river with water for the camp. The
Indian gestured to him that he was obviously afflicted with a known
disease, and indicated an evergreen tree from which he should take some
leaves and brew a tea which would improve his health. The Frenchman took
some of the leaves into camp, and several of the men tried the recommended
brew. In a few days all those who had taken the tea regularly were so
recovered that the whole camp embraced the remedy. Some were even
convinced that they had been cured of ''the French Pox,'' but this did not
prove true. Cartier took specimens of the tree back to France, naming it
"Arborvitae" or "Tree of Life" (thuja occidentalis). The vitamin C in its
leaves is, in fact, an effective antiscorbutic. A beer made with the tips of
black spruce twigs was used by the New England fishermen for the same
purpose. Eastern arborvitae-or lake state white cedar as it is also calledextends its natural range southward into the mountains of Virginia. It is
found near springs along the banks of the Maury River. Horticultural
varieties of the tree have been brought back from France over the years, and
it is a widely planted ornamental, lining the front lawn of Col Alto in
Lexington.
The pioneers also learned to make use of hickory and locust. Hickory is
not only very strong, hard, and flexible-making it suitable for bows and
long tool handles-it has a resistance to crushing or compression that makes
it unexcelled among temperate woods for tool handles. Hickory wood
inserted into the eye of an ax head or hammer head will stay firm and tight
when subjected to heavy impacts and stresses. The colonial frontiersmen
learned that "second growth hickory" was superior in hardness and
strength. This wood was taken from small trees that resulted from very
rapid growth of stump sprouts after the parent tree had been cut. In this
particular type of wood, the faster growth wood is actually harder and
denser than slower growth wood. To this day, ax handles that show
heartwood or "red wood" are considered commercially unacceptable
because of the traditional identification of the sapwood with fast growth.
The black locust is another interesting case. Local rural residents of
Rockbridge County assured me, when I first came here, that there were two
kinds of locust: "white locust" and "yellow" or "mountain locust." My
response was that there was only one kind of locust common in Rockbridge
County, namely Robinia Pseudoacacia.
Their reply was that white locust grew down in the valley on richer
ground, the wood was lighter colored, harder, more difficult to work or
164
Forest and the Pioneer Tradition
drive nails or staples into, and less rot resistant when used as fence posts (its
major use in which it is superior to treated pine posts). The yellow locust
was described as a mountain tree, with dark colored wood, very fine
grained, showing slow growth, much softer, and more rot resistant. Actually, the two types of wood are produced by the same species of tree, but
the important morphological difference is a result of growth rate. The slow
growth locust in poor sites does most of its growing in the spring, producing
softer, more porous wood which accumulates more resins and toxins as it
becomes heartwood. It is therefore both softer and more rot resistant.
Not only did the pioneer forest culture develop a vast lore in specifically
North American wood technology with traditional species and morphologies of wood for a host of specific uses, it also developed the use of
shakes, shingles, and barrels. Because of the availability of premium woods
for shingles for vital roofing, and because of the extensive problem of
transporting raw materials in some sort of container, shingles and
cooperage were symbols of the culture. Chestnut, cedar, and white oak were
excellent shingle- and shake-producing trees.
The barrel probably had its origins in pre-Roman Gaul. In the rough
American back country it served as container, crate, dolly, cart, and forklift
all rolled into one. Tight cooperage for whiskey, brandy, flour, and salt was
vital to frontier transport where goods had to be rolled up ramps onto
wagons, loaded into bateaux for floating down the river, or trans-shipped
to seagoing vessels. Slack cooperage was used for such products as tobacco,
tar, rock lime, and apples. The barrel and the cooper's art assumed a
conspicuous place in the American economy where transportation problems
and an emphasis on exported raw materials for cash income played major
roles in the life of the people.
In conclusion, we should perhaps reexamine some of the habitual
premises about the cultural novelty of the pioneers' adjustment to the
forests of North America. We surely find much interesting material that
gives us a richer understanding of our heritage when we trace the diffusion
of technology from Europe, whether it be tools or housetypes. There is
ample evidence that much of the ideology was hammered out in the studies
of English and Scottish philosophers. What we do have, as a fascinating
subject for historical study, is a wealth of knowledge about the characteristics and premium uses of different woods. As a preservationist, I would
like to see more interest in both the preservation of this knowledge and in
the hand skills associated with the use of the tools employed by the frontier
&":-+~
era f tsman. ~.§
165
An unprocessed manuscript collection containing highly acidic paper
(the New York University publication at the top), severely folded and
creased documents, rusting paper clips, and brittle old rubber bands.
166
The Preservation
of Family Papers
Anthony R. Crawford
~tiY
...... ~,~~~
!
1~RESERVING FAMILY PAPERS is the focus of this essay. It seeks
(~-;; to explain why it is difficult to care for and preserve "papers" by
..._.:_y describing the inherent characteristics of paper materials that make
preservation such a difficult process. It also offers some basic suggestions as
to how individuals can go about caring for their papers.
The emphasis here is on family papers; the preservation of books,
photographs, and works of art will not receive direct attention. It should be
noted, however, that many of the methods used in preserving family papers
can be applied to other forms of paper. This is not a scientific treatise
stressing technical restoration procedures. Rather, the information and
practices considered are basic in nature and they can be practiced at home.
With the recent emphasis on family papers and historical records,
publicized through such events as the American Bicentennial, the disclosure
of the Nixon papers and tapes, and the book and television series Roots,
Americans have begun to take more interest in personal and family papers
tucked away in their attics, basements, and garages. They are beginning to
Anthony R. Crawford was archivist at the George C. Marshall Research Foundation in
Lexington, Virginia, when he delivered this address. Mr. Crawford spoke to the Rockbridge
Historical Society in the reading room of the George C. Marshall Research Library on October
23, 1978.
167
Anthony R. Crawford
value letters, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks, legal records, certificates,
and diplomas.
But in spite of their interest, many people do not know how to protect
and store their papers and are unaware of what happens to papers stored
under poor conditions. Many do not know that their collections might be
valuable enough to justify preservation and use by scholars in a research
library.
It is difficult for one to know whether a collection of family papers has
lasting historical importance. In the past a great deal of emphasis has been
placed on the papers of famous persons-presidents, congressmen,
government officials, military leaders, business giants, well-known writers,
etc. Today, however, historians realize that often a tremendous amount of
vitally important information can be found in the papers of lesser-known
people.
So often collections are destroyed because their owners think they are
insignificant or are left to family members who lose interest and allow them
to deteriorate or simply disappear. Owners of family papers should seek the
advice of a professional manuscript curator to determine whether their
collection is of historical value and worthy of deposit in an appropriate
research library. Important papers should be put in proper depositories,
such as responsible local and state historical societies, university manuscript
divisions, and specialized research libraries.
Whether the owner of an important collection of papers actually decides
to place his material in a depository is, of course, a personal decision.
However, if the papers are no longer of use to the owner or his family, or he
is unable to preserve the collection properly, then it should be donated to a
depository where it can be saved and made available to researchers.
It should be emphasized, however, that a collection does not have to be
recognized by a respectable manuscripts depository as historically
significant in order to be important or to justify proper preservation in the
home. The fact that people save and use various papers signifies that those
papers are important to them, and an effort should be made to preserve
them.
Although the quantity may vary from person to person, almost everyone
has a variety of papers he is responsible for-contracts, deeds, receipts,
warranties, important letters, automobile, real estate, and bank records,
etc.-which document legal matters and business transactions. Many
people save incoming correspondence and make carbon copies of outgoing
letters. Others collect manuscripts, autographs, stamps, postcards, etc.,
while most individuals save photographs and newspaper clippings regarding
important events and people in their lives. Besides keeping their own
papers, people often inherit the papers of other family members.
168
Preserving Family Papers
To preserve a collection of papers at home, certain basic procedures
should be followed. One must realize that, as a result of mass-production
methods during the last 150 years, the average piece of paper contains acid
and other chemical impurities which cause it to deteriorate. The most
important factor influencing this deterioration is the environment in which
paper is housed.
Paper lasts much longer under a constant temperature of 65- 70 degrees
and a relative humidity of 50%. "Constant" means twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week, so environmental changes do not cause the paper to
go through extreme physical alterations such as swelling and contraction,
dampness and dryness. Papers in the attic, basement, or garage are subjected to extreme ranges of temperature and humidity. They become brittle
under hot, dry conditions and collect mold in a cool, wet atmosphere.
If at all possible, papers should be stored within the living area of the
house where the environment is more evenly regulated. This means air
conditioning in the summer and protection against dry heat in the winter. If
one is unsure of the climate in his home, a simple thermometer-hygrometer
can test the conditions so the most advantageous place can be selected for
the storage of papers. Those who are willing to make the investment can
purchase humidifiers and dehumidifiers.
Remote storage locations may be infested with insects and rodents. These
pests not only destroy the physical papers but also the information recorded
therein. Periodic inspections and pest control measures are essential.
Light, artificial and from the sun, is also an environmental enemy of
paper. Light breaks down the paper structure, causes it to yellow, and fades
the ink, as evidenced by a yellowing newspaper left on a porch or uncovered
inside a house. To avoid this, paper should be stored and protected from
light.
In addition to a proper environment, there are several elementary
processing steps which can be used to ensure paper preservation. Folded
papers should be flattened prior to storage. Folding and unfolding a piece
of paper weakens the structure of the paper along the folded area, making it
susceptible to tearing. After a paper has been folded for a time, it is difficult
to unfold it without the risk of damage; thus great care should be taken in
flattening papers. Another reason for doing this is that unfolded paper
takes less space to store. If a paper is dusty, it should be carefully cleaned
with a soft bristle brush by starting in the center and lightly brushing
outward in all directions.
Once flattened and free from loose dirt, papers can be placed carefully in
file folders. It is wise to put no more than twenty-five pieces in a file folder
and to store the folders vertically in boxes or cabinets. Folders and other
containers should be adequately labeled so that a user can locate an item he
169
Anthony R. Crawford
is looking for without the unnecessary handling of unwanted papers. The
arrangement of the folders is determined by the nature of the file and how it
will be used; however, often the most convenient order is alphabetical by
correspondent, organization, or subject. Letters can also be arranged
chronologically.
Research libraries use specially treated acid-free folders and boxes to
store papers. While most people cannot afford to use these materials at
home, they should at least purchase file folders made of quality paper.
Ordinary tape and paste should never be used since they react chemically
with paper to cause deterioration and discoloring. Over a period of time
tape will become sticky and adhere to other documents. Only paste that is
free from chemicals harmful to paper should be applied to important
papers.
Paper of very poor quality (i.e., meant to last for only a short time), like
newspapers and telegrams, should be isolated into separate folders. Such
paper is very acidic and acid migrates to other documents, causing them to
deteriorate as well. It is a good idea to photocopy acidic pieces to preserve
the information long after the originals have disintegrated.
Should a piece of paper have a tear, do not try to repair it. Most often,
attempts to repair tears do more harm than good. The information can
usually be saved if the item is simply protected against further damage by
careful storage.
Never use metal fasteners to keep papers together. Staples, paper clips,
and fasteners rust and, over a period of time, deface the paper. Metal
objects also increase the probability of tearing during use and storage.
Clearly, one does not have to be a professional archivist or manuscripts
curator to prolong the life of a collection of papers. Anyone with common
sense and a respect and appreciation for the papers in his possession can
take basic measures to enhance their preservation. Then, if a personal
collection is recognized as historically important, it can be made available to
a research library to ensure its preservation and use for scholarly research
for generations to come. [ell
170
Virginia Place Names:
The Rockbridge File
Douglas W. Tanner
-._ ·:· ___,,_.
\
C.
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~
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I
J;
.
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~-,..,
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{J
Y PURPOSE IN APPEARING before the Rockbridge Historical
~~ Society is, frankly, one of persuasion: I hope to encourage you to
undertake a comprehensive survey of place names in Rockbridge
County as one of the priorities of your society. I hope to convince you that
such a survey can be a fascinating pursuit and an immensely rewarding
approach to the recovery, organization, and presentation of a diverse and
often obscure body of information on local history.
As an example, I might choose the name Lexington, with which you are
all familiar. Lexington, Virginia, as you know, took its name from
Lexington, Massachusetts, shortly after the famous Revolutionary encounter of 19 April 1775 between British regulars and colonial "Minutemen." There are Lexingtons in at least twenty other states whose names
were similarly inspired, many in the then frontier states and territories of
South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Ohio.
Douglas W. Tanner, director of the Place Name Survey of Virginia, spoke to the Rockbridge
Historical Society on January 22, 1979, in Evans Dining Hall on the campus of Washington
and Lee University. Mr. Tanner, field archivist and assistant professor in the Manuscripts
Division of the University of Virginia Library, is the author of Place Name Research in
Virginia:A Handbook (1976) and Madison County Place Names (1978).
171
Douglas W. Tanner
Lexington, Massachusetts, gained its name in 1713, possibly for Robert
Sutton, Lord Lexington (1661-1723), a British soldier and diplomat ; but
more probably from the village or villages in Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire counties, England, forme"ly spelled Lexinton but now
customarily spelled Laxton. This name and its variants ultimately trace
back to the Old English settlement "Laexa's TUN," or "the TUN of
Laexa's people."
The foregoing etymology of a commemorative naming probably tells you
more than you would ever want to know about the name Lexington, but its
recital hints at the richness and diversity of naming practices and
geographical interconnections which lie behind even the most familiar of
names. It demonstrates, as well, the ancient linguistic connection between
personal and geographic names aptly expressed in literary form by Ellen
Glasgow (The Woman Within) as follows: "I loved, as a child, the farm of
Jerdone Castle, in the way one loves not only a place but a person."
In human affairs, place names rank second in importance only to personal names as determinants of identity. Upon meeting a person, our first
question after asking the person's name (and, perhaps, occupation) is
usually where he or she is from. As with personal names, people take pride
in the places and place names with which they are associated. They often
imagine that they know where familiar place names came from, as well as
they know their own names. Yet, like the study of personal ancestry-to
which in determining pedigrees we apply the term genealogy-the study of
place name derivations can be complicated and tricky. We might call a
correct place name derivation an' 'appelligree, '' for want of a better term.
At the simplest grammatical level, a place name may be classified formally as a binomial proper name, usually a noun phrase, compounded from
a generic or general term modified by a specific term, analogous to the
genus and species classification of the plant and animal kingdoms and to the
construction of personal names. In the name "John Smith," Smith is the
generic, or family, name, and John is the specific. in "Natural Bridge,"
Bridge is the generic, and Natural the specific, or modifier.
No matter how complicated the apparent construction of the name, the
same principles apply. Grammatically, "Armistead Tyler Hutchins
Morganthaler III" is indistinguishable from "South Fork Chalk Mine
Run." This naming system obviously derives from our English language
heritage, but it should come as little surprise that it occurs almost universally throughout the civilized world, regardless of the language employed.
In our language, the generic terms and many of the specifics are common
coin. "Lake," "River," "Hill," "Town," "Bay," and "Mountain" are
among our most common nouns. They are used throughout the United
States and other English-speaking parts of the world. In this country, more
than 1,000 generic terms are in current use for natural features alone. One
172
Virginia Place Names
scholar has counted 737 generics
in use in Virginia at some point in
its history, including at least one
term apparently unique to the
Old
Dominion:
''tump, ''
denominating a marshy island on
the Eastern Shore. Certain usages
are more regional than national,
"hollow,"
including "gut,"
"run," and "cove" (as applied
to a mountain valley).
Specific terms are most
commonly adjectives, as with the
modifier "Cold" in "Cold
Run," but their flexibility is
limited only by the general
tendency of place names in
English/ American usage toward
brevity. "Old Man Bull John
Smiths Mountain'' (Madison
County) is perhaps the exception
that proves the rule. Imagination
- and cultural acceptibility set the
limits for usage, in an intricate
naming process which reflects
our complex perceptions of our
environment and our history as
well. No classification scheme
has yet been devised that can
adequately explain this cultural
process.
Deriving from the English and
European examples, place name
studies in this country have been
largely linguistic in inspiration.
They have been aimed primarily
at recording the ongms and
perceived meanings of the names.
Following the example of the
English Place-Name Society,
organized in 1924, the American
Name Society, which was
w..-...~-~...............;;;......;..;.;;;.;.~;;.:;..;:;;;..;&1w-1~ founded in 1953 as an affiliate of
~.
7
173
Douglas W. Tanner
the Modern Language Association, organized as recently as 1969 a Place
Name Survey of the United States.
The aim of this national survey is to collect and subject to scholarly
analysis the great body of place name information available, partly as a
result of the mapping activities of the United States Geological Survey, and
the standardizing decisions within the U.S.G.S. of the United States Board
on Geographic Names. The emphasis of these agencies has been more
geographical-to describe physically the features to which place names have
been applied-than it has been linguistic.
The Virginia survey, of which I am director, was organized in 1971 to
pursue the goals of the national survey on the state and local levels. Unlike
most other states, the Virginia survey was fortunate enough to have the
advantage of a preexisting organization, the Virginia Place Name Society,
founded in 1960 to promote Virginia place name studies generally.
In the nearly twenty years since its inception, the V.P.N.S. has pursued
with determination its aim of making Virginians more aware of their place
name heritage. In a series of occasional papers, it has published studies of
individual place names, such as "Ah Sid" in Rockbridge, as well as
statewide studies of particular aspects. Most recently, the society has
published surveys of Greene and Madison county place names, as well as a
handbook on place name research methods in Virginia which I put together
in 1976.
As the survey has progressed, our goals have become broader. I have
become convinced that place names are an important key to the development of understanding of the cultural landscape as it has changed over time.
Place name studies are an ideal means of organizing seemingly random
local history information. They are an ideal medium for the indexing of
map features, which has been an enduring problem in local history. If
thoroughly done, a place name guide can serve as a master index to names
on current and historical maps.
The magnitude of the task of gaining statewide coverage is great. There
are more than thirty thousand place names on the 805 current U.S.G.S.
maps covering Virginia. If we include the many obsolete names, variant
usages, and manmade features not named on the current maps, it may well
be that there are more than one hundred thousand names to be surveyed in
Virginia. Only around two thousand features were covered in the most
recent statewide survey, Raus M. Hanson's Virginia Place Names (1969).
In Virginia, unlike some states of the Union and Canadian provinces,
there is no official agency responsible for recording place names on a
systematic basis. There is no state board on geographic and cultural names,
corresponding to the United States Board on Geographic Names, which
passes officially on names in dispute. The Virginia Historic Landmarks
Commission researches names only as they pertain to designated historic
174
Virginia Place Names
buildings or districts. The Highway and Transportation Department in
Richmond demonstrates concern for map names, but chiefly as they pertain
to correct usages on the county and city map series which they publish.
Our survey, wholly voluntary, has achieved successes through interested
individuals, who have generously agreed to undertake work in selected
counties. A survey of four counties of the Northern Neck has been adopted
for publication by the Virginia State Library in the near future. Mathews
County and other counties of the Middle Peninsula have been surveyed or
are nearing completion. Active efforts are going forward in a number of
additional counties.
But for the interest and cooperation of groups such as yours in sponsoring survey work, if you choose to do so, the task of surveying such a
large number of place names and the features to which they apply would
appear insurmountable. Based on my survey of Madison County, where
information was derived on more than 770 features, 209 of which appear on
the current U.S.G.S. quadrangle maps, I would estimate that there are
nearly 1,500 features in Rockbridge County deserving of coverage, of which
only some 400 appear on the current maps.
My experience has been that current maps neglect the names that are
often of greatest interest to local historians, folklorists, genealogists,
students of material culture, and interested citizens: the names of roads,
fords, mill sites, educational institutions, churches, and other historic
buildings. Nor do maps explain the origins or derivations of names, or the
shifts that place names often go through before arriving at their current
forms.
Speaking as somewhat of an outsider-although I have visited Lexington
and Rockbridge as frequently as I have been able, and I have tried to keep
abreast of historical and literary scholarship of and on the area-there are
numerous obscure Rockbridge place names which need locating and explaining: Barger, Canicello, Crowder, Elmeria or Elmira, Flumen, Locker,
Sideway or Sidney, and Zollman. There are colorful names whose stories,
however apocryphal, deserve to be told: Denmark, Murat, Shake Rag
Branch, Heartsblood, Target Hill, Tory Hollow, Yankee Horse Ridge, and
doubtless many others.
There is no doubt that the delineation of place name origins involves close
research in local history sources, including maps, printed histories and
genealogies, newspapers, unpublished records, and personal memories and
recollection s. But there is no doubt in my mind that the effort is repaid
many times over in the increased understanding that such a survey makes
possible of the historic and cultural landscape of a locality.
I might cite two of my favorite examples from the Madison County
survey, recently completed. One is that of the Hebron Valley, near the
center of the county. The most fertile and most beautiful area of the
175
Douglas W. Tanner
county-and the earliest settled, by German settlers from the Germanna
colony in 1725-the Hebron Valley had never been described in any local
history or named on any map until depicted in the place name survey. All
the notice had previously gone to the Hebron Church, justly famed as the
oldest Lutheran church in continuous use in the United States, from 1740.
The church arguably took its name from the valley, yet only the former had
previously been described in the literature.
The other example, a far humbler one, is that of Goonamana Hollow, a
small valley in the northern part of the county which has been renamed
"Hidden Valley" by its current owner. The name "Goonamana Hollow"
was said by a former resident to be of Indian origin; yet subsequent research
established the name "Gooney Manor Road" for a road just over the ridge
from the hollow. More than likely, the valley took its name from the road
nearby, corrupted to its supposed Indian pronunciation.
Still further research made it obvious that the road must somehow have
taken its name from ''Gooney Manor,'' a large proprietary land tract over
the Blue Ridge in Warren County, owned in the eighteenth century by
Thomas, Lord Fairfax. Surveyed in 1748, this estate was named after
Gooney Run, a mountain stream, which was named in turn for a favorite
Fairfax hound named "Gooney," which drowned in the stream during a
freshet.
As there is no evidence that "Gooney Manor Road" in Madison County
led over the mountains to Gooney Manor in the colonial period, it appears
likely that the road and valley names are survivals from the Civil War, when
General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson referred to the road in reports of
his passage over the mountains into Madison County, evidently under the
mistaken impression that it continued under the same name.
Similar discoveries await the individual or group willing to investigate the
origins of such Rockbridge County names as Battle Run, Toma Run, Ad
Cox Knob, Licklog Springs, Three Sisters Knob, and many other names
which appear on no maps or in no gazetteers. I pledge all possible assistance
from the Place Name Survey of Virginia toward the collection and
preservation of place name information, for the delight and edification of
the people of Rockbridge and of Virginia as a whole. I]
176
The Prehistory of
Rockbridge County
Edgar W. Spencer
Society's program devoted to the theme "A Sense of Place." The
book by that title, through its prose and paintings, makes us
acutely aware both of the beauty of nature and the magnitude of the losses
we sustain as we destroy our natural environment-or as the author might
say, "as we destroy places."
T. S. Eliot's poem "Little Gidding" is an equally suitable starting point
for '' A Sense of Place,'' and for my comments about the geology of
Rockbridge County. It reads:
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
An artist provides one perspective about a place, a geologist another quite
different one. In many ways the geologist's perspective is more akin to that
Edgar W. Spencer is professo r of geology and chairman of the geology department at
Was hington and Lee University . He is the author of Basic Concepts of Historical Geology
(1962), The Dynamics of the Earth (1972), Introduction to the Structure of the Earth (second
edition, 1977), and other college texts. Dr. Spencer addressed the Rockbridge Historical
Society in Dunlap Auditorium of the Lexington Presbyterian Church on April 23, 1979.
177
Edgar W. Spencer
of the historian in that both attempt to establish a chronology of events to
obtain a better understanding of them, and to demonstrate the relationship
of events to one another. The two fields differ in the time scales with which
they work, in the methodology, and in the types of events with which they
deal, but the goals are not unlike.
Before we consider the relationship between the geological past and the
history of Rockbridge County, I would like to outline some of the more
important features of our geological history, which will present some new
views about our past and especially about how our history fits into a different time frame-the frame of geological time. If you are used to thinking
of science as dealing with very precise data, you may be surprised to know
that our margin of error in dating events for the early part of the geological
history of Rockbridge County is at least 5 to 10 percent. The oldest event we
know about in Rockbridge County took place about a billion years ago; so,
our margin of error in dating that event probably amounts to something on
the order of 100 million years. Fortunately, the errors are less as we approach more recent time. But remember that for geologists the last ten
thousand years is called recent time . At this scale everything from Borden's
grant to the last issue of the News-Gazette fits within the last few moments
of geological time.
The first events in Rockbridge County's past for which we have direct
evidence are recorded in the ancient rocks now found exposed in the high
peaks of the Blue Ridge and in the James River Gap. We have no idea what
the land surface of that time was like, for the rocks we see were formed
many thousands of feet below that ground surface by the melting of still
older rock. These melts cooled, crystallized, and became the granitic rocks
we find today. It is likely they formed deep within an ancient mountain
system which was gradually eroded away over a period of millions of years
until the mountains had vanished. At present rates of erosion that would
take about 20 million years.
About 900 million years ago we were situated between two major volcanic
centers-one in the Mount Rogers area and a second more extensive one to
the north. Lava flows from the northern center spread over vast areas just
to the east of Rockbridge County and almost extended into this area. These
events were followed by the transgression of the ocean across the lava flows
and the underlying granitic rocks. This sea became the site of deposition of
sediments, the first of which are composed of pebbles and coarse sand. As
the sedimentary deposits grew thicker, muds, sands, and silts slowly accumulated until they were over a thousand feet thick. Gradually conditions
changed as streams carrying sands from the west caused a thick blanket of
sand to be spread across the county. These sands were probably deposited in
an environment similar to that found along the east coast today. At that
time, nearly 600 million years ago, the beaches of Rockbridge County were
178
Prehistory of Rockbridge County
~OGERSLAVAFLOW
composed of a beautiful, clean, white sand and probably adorned by sand
dunes. Fishing and clamming, however, were not good, since neither of
these groups had appeared on earth at that time. The county was inhabited
by nothing more advanced than worms, which were abundant and have left
their markings to be seen today all along the outcrop of these sands which
are now cemented into a resistant quartzite and hold up the western slopes
of the Blue Ridge.
During most of the next 300 million years of Rockbridge County's past, it
was covered by marine waters and a rich variety of mostly shallow water
environments are recorded. At times it was a mud flat on which fine clayrich sediments accumulated. Some of the typical tidal flat deposits in this
area are iron rich and brightly colored. Except for the vegetation, along the
east side of the valley we would see a terrain as richly colored as the painted
desert of Arizona. For much of that 300 million years this area was a
carbonate bank somewhat like the Bahama Banks; for a short time there
were reefs with a rich profusion of marine invertebrate animals; and at least
one more time it was the site of sand beaches. The sands from these younger
beaches, like the earlier ones, are cemented and make highly resistant layers
of rock which today are etched out and hold up the ridges in the Allegheny
Mountains.
Although the water was generally shallow, the earth's crust was unstable
and it subsided, allowing a total sediment accumulation in excess of thirty
thousand feet thick. Our rock record shows unmistakable evidence of at
least two earlier periods of crustal unrest in other parts of the Appalachians,
but the dramatic turn of events which transformed this area came about
between 200 and 250 million years ago when Rockbridge County ceased to
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An 1879 geological cross-section of Rockbridge County by Washington and Lee University geology professor J. L.
Campbell in his "Silurian Formation in Western Virginia," American Journal of Science and A rts 18(1879): 19.
Prehistory of Rockbridge County
be an oceanic area and was transformed into part of one of the world's
great mountain systems. According to most of our present models, the last
major phases of mountain building took place in the Appalachians in
response to the collision of African and North American continental plates.
The effects of these impacts were felt throughout the southern Appalachians and are well displayed here in Rockbridge County as seen in
deformed rocks . The ancient granitic rock s of the Blue Ridge were uplifted
and forced westward into the thick sedimentary accumulations which
responded by folding like a table cloth shoved from the side. In places the
layers broke through and slid to the northwest. Whole sections of the rock
masses of the Blue Ridge were thrust to the west. It was at thi s time that the
rock layers had imparted to them the configuration which is largely
responsible for the shape of the present land surface.
The last 200 million years have been a time of slow but persistent erosion
and etching out of the features of the landscape. This has been accomplished mainly as a result of the effects of streams and down slope
movements of surficial materials, and by the subsurface solution and
removal of limestone by water under the ground.
The landscape which has evolved through the action of these agents on
the underlying bedrock configuration is of such great variety and beauty
that it stimulates strong feelings of a sense of place, a feeling I expect most
of us have experienced at one time or another when returning to Rockbridge
County from the outside world-perhaps on driving over the divide at
Timber Ridge toward Lexington at sun set. From this point on the divide
between the James and Shenandoah rivers, one obtains a sweeping view of
the three major physiographic divisions in Rockbridge County-the Blue
Ridge which stands high because of the underlying granitic rocks and
quartzites, the rolling hills of the Great Valley floored by less resistant
limestones and shales, and the ridges of the Allegheny Mountains held up
by folded quartzites. One wonders if Borden saw something of thi s view as
he entered the county for the fir st time in 1737, as he rode south along the
valley.
Certainly the landscapes of this county are among our most valuable
assets. In part their beauty is due to the great variety of landforms we see,
and these are a direct consequence of the varied composition and the
complex underlying bedrock structure. The massive granites of the Blue
Ridge, the shales and limestones of the valleys, and the quartzites of the
Alleghenies each have their own distinctive forms.
One finds interesting stories associated with the names of many of the
natural feature s of this area. I was fa scinated by the life history of the man
whose name Sallings Mountain bears. John Peter Salling, who came to this
country in 1733 from Germany, obtained a land grant of four hundred acres
just south of Borden's grant and settled on it in 1740, just two years before
181
Edgar W. Spencer
Stephen Arnold settled in Arnolds Valley. Salling was possibly the first
white man to visit the upper valley. He lived an exciting, eventful life, even
if only part of the accounts of his adventures are correct. The story is that
he set off with one or two others to seek a way to the Ohio River. They were
captured by Indians at Salem and taken to the Ohio by way of Tennessee.
They escaped while floating down the Mississippi on boats made of hides,
only to be captured by the Spaniards who intended to take Salling to Spain
to be tried as a British spy, but the ship was captured by the British who
landed him in Charleston, South Carolina. From there he walked home to
the forks of the James River. I think he definitely deserves to have a
mountain named after him.
The intimate relationship between the geology and the history of
development of this area is perhaps most clearly seen in the suitability of
soils for different types of uses. The steep flanks of both the Blue Ridge and
the Alleghenies are mantled by bouldery mountain soils composed of
erosion products of quartzites which are exposed high on these slopes.
These soils lack the nutrients needed by most crops; they are difficult to
cultivate and unproductive. In contrast, the limestones generally weather to
produce good soils, some of which are excellent for cultivation. I have been
fascinated to find, while mapping in the Alleghenies, that one can predict
the location of the outcrop belt of a certain limestone bed by noting where
the last "usually abandoned" farmhouse is located as one walks up toward
the ridges. The early settlers discovered very quickly where the productive
soils were. Unfortunately, they did not have the foresight to protect and
save those soils from erosion on steep slopes. Once the soil is stripped away,
it is probably lost in the time frame of history, although one may find it
reassuring to know the soil will be replenished in the time frame of
geological history.
I was interested to see the emphasis placed on natural features and
resources in what probably amounted to early equivalents of our overall
economic development studies. One of these written by a familiar Rock bridge figure, Matthew Fontaine Maury in 1868, mentioned our iron ore
and marble quarries, but placed most emphasis elsewhere. Maury wrote:
Rockbridge ... is a fine grape country. I know of no part of the
world where more delicious grapes are produced than those
which Mr. Wiess, a vine dresser from the Rhine, furnishes our
table. They are grown in his vineyard in the neighborhood of
Lexington. I have seen larger berries in the green-houses, and
larger bunches in the dry counties where cultivation is carried on
by means of irrigation, but a more delicious grape for the table,
I have not seen either in Spain, the Mediterranean, France,
182
Prehistory of Rockbridge County
A few major events in the history of Rockbridge County.
Time
Events
I-81 constructed.
Lee and Jackson live here.
{
Recent
Cenozoic Era
65 million years ago
Mesozoic Era
First Indians arrive.
/
l
First explorers from Britain.
Ice sheets covered the region north of the Ohio River.
Present shape of the land begins to emerge.
1
Gradually the mountains were eroded to lower elevations.
200 million years ago
Major mountain building affected the area. Mountains
thousands of feet higher than those present now probably
stood here.
Muds and sand probably covered the area.
Beach sands covered the area. These are now exposed on the
ridges in the Allegheny Mountains.
Paleozoic Era
, Shallow marine waters covered the area. Limestone formed.
Reefs were present at times.
Mud flats covered the region.
Seas advanced across the county leaving beach sands now
600 million years ago
exposed at Balcony Falls and along the west slopes of the Blue
Ridge.
Lava flows spread across the area now called the Blue Ridge.
Precambrian Era
Rocks now exposed in the Blue Ridge were deep in the Earth's
crust and were cooling after being hot enough to melt.
Mexico, South America or Africa, or in any other part of the
world where I have been.'
1. Matthew F. Maury, Physical Survey of Virginia, Preliminary Report No . II (Richmond,
Va.: N. V. Randolph, 1878), p. 119.
183
Edgar W. Spencer
View of the flank of the Blue Ridge where the ancient quartzites are tilted
and form the mountain front at Balcony Falls near Glasgow. The Maury
River (flowing from the bottom of the photograph upward) joins the James
at this point.
I don't know if Commodore Maury was given to exaggeration or not, but
if this is accurate, perhaps we should take note of it for the future. Another
major asset he mentions is our mineral water.
This county lies, with the famous region of mineral waters of
Virginia, in, perhaps, the most remarkable region in the world.
With a radius of 100 miles, a circle may be drawn, lying chiefly
in Virginia, which will include varieties of all the mineral waters
of Europe from hot to cold, salt, sulphur, chalybeate, alum, &c.
The Rockbridge Baths; the Alum Springs; the Cold Sulphur
Springs; Wilson's Springs , with other mineral waters that have
not been brought to notice as watering places, are all in thi s
county. 2
I looked in vain for some connection between the geology of this area and
the motivation of Benjamin Borden or James McDowell, but it became
clear that the natural resources of the area played a critical role in the
2. Ibid ., p. 120.
184
Prehistory of Rockbridge County
The Valley is viewed from the east, over the James River Gap, with the Blue
Ridge in the foreground and the Valley in the distance.
development which followed. The rich soil, the forest, the discovery of iron
ores, the limestone, the rivers and the drop in elevation along them were all
important, but the iron ores provide the most fascinating stories. The first
iron furnaces built west of the Blue Ridge were built on Irish Creek, and
three different types of iron ore were discovered very early. Ores located
along the flank of the Blue Ridge were used in the furnaces at Irish Creek,
Buena Vista, and in Arnolds Valley. Other ores which occur in the
Allegheny Mountains were used to manufacture steel at Goshen Pass where
the Bath Iron Works was located. This furnace had been in operation for at
least three generations in 1825. Its size is not known, but Dr. Tompkins
reports that an inventory of food at that furnace listed thirteen thousand
pounds of pork and six thousand pounds of beef. Many of the workers were
slaves rented from the east, but this and other furnaces were clearly an
important economic factor in the area for many years. At the time the eight
furnaces of this county were in operation, it has been estimated that each
burned 140 cords of wood per week. That amounts in a year to a four-byfour-foot pile of wood long enough to reach Philadelphia. Pictures of that
time reveal the impact that such use had on the denuded mountain slopes of
the area.
185
Edgar W. Spencer
The importance of the iron ores was well established, and as railroads
reached and were planned for the area, the situation prompted flights of
fantasy in the minds of many, including one of my predecessors at
Washington and Lee University, Dr. J. L. Campbell, who in 1882 wrote:
The time has come when the facilities for intercommunication
and for rapid and cheap transportation along the valley of the
James must bring in capital and develop new enterprises, until
this region shall become second to no other portion of the State
of Virginia, and shall rank with the other leading industrial belts
of the country ....
Convenient sites for furnaces and other manufacturing
establishments are favorably distributed . . . . Fuel is within
your reach without limit. The extensive forests that have been
mentioned will yield vast supplies of charcoal. ... Within
convenient distance of the lines of railway are the iron-ores of
five of the important geological formations of Virginia, practically inexhaustible in quantity, of almost every known variety,
and adapted to the manufacture of iron suitable for all purposes . . . . Lying side by side with these ores are vast beds of
limestone, the value of which has been fully established for
fluxing, for the manufacture of lime of different kinds, or for
building-stone of superior quality. 3
A few years later this same mind-set produced the boom of 1889, which
was inspired by Reverend Moomaw-described by Dr. Tompkins as a man
of vision and intellect. He conceived the idea of buying land, laying it off in
streets, and selling lots. A stock company was set up and the idea caught on.
Some one-acre wooded sites were sold as ''villa sites,'' but most lots were
laid off with 25- or 50-foot road frontage and 125 feet deep.
The main attraction of this scheme was the iron ore which was to serve as
the basis for a booming diversified industrial economy. The scheme worked
so successfully that ten assistants had to be hired to record the deeds in the
county clerk's office, and more than fifteen hundred deeds were recorded in
a single month. In 1891 similar boom efforts were mounted in Glasgow and
Goshen, but all were destined to fail ultimately, partly for lack of ore.
Finally, I would like to touch on some of the many connections between
the natural conditions in this area and our future. The best agricultural
soils, though very limited in area, are largely still available for future
agricultural uses. We could still try to produce the best grapes in the world
commercially. However, because these soils lie on low slopes, the land is
3. J . L. Campbell, Geology and Mineral Resources of the James River Valley (New York: G .
P. Putnam's Sons, 1882), pp. 2, 118-19.
186
1
Prehistory of Rockbridge County
attractive for other uses; these soils are slowly but steadily being lost to
other types of development.
The ''inexhaustible'' iron ores are no longer economically available, but
the iron is still here, and we possess several other mineral resources. The
only tin mine in this country was located on Irish Creek, and tin could yet be
found in commercial quantities. Shales suitable for manufacture of brick
and ceramics are present in abundance, and high calcium limestones
suitable for chemical lime, fertilizer, and cement are found here. Forest
products will obviously continue to be an important part of our economic
base. In addition, we have several sites suitable for dams and large scale
empoundments of water for hydroelectric power generation in the county;
abundant ground water supplies exist along the flanks of the Blue Ridge,
and a large surface water supply is available in the James River.
Unfortunately, the drainage of most of this area is too efficient. The
steep slopes of the topography, which produce rapid runoff of waters on the
ground surface, combined with the narrow flood plains of our valleys cause
the water levels in our streams to rise rapidly, making the area flood prone.
Despite the flood hazards, we have been fatally attracted to the rare flat
ground in our floodplains. There we have located not only a significant part
of one of our cities, but numerous other installations ranging from industries to mobile home parks.
The hardness of our water is due to the solution of limestone. When it
dissolves, cavities are created, producing a widespread network of underground caves and channels, which is one of the reasons this is a valley.
Where this process is advanced, the ground is unstable and may subside or
collapse. Throughout this terrain, pollutants introduced into the groundoften through sinkholes-may travel rapidly and widely .
For years we have shown a disdain for many of the hazards which arise
from the character of the natural systems which formed and continue to
shape our land.
We have been especially fortunate to retain the beautiful and relatively
unmarred landscape, which is perhaps the most distinctive quality of
Rockbridge County, making this a special place. I hope we all recognize
that these qualities are fragile and easily destroyed. The dilemma we face is
how to preserve the unique qualities while accommodating the changes
which surely lie ahead . [j
187
Edgar W. Spencer
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Campbell, J. L. Geology and Mineral Resources of the James River Valley.
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1882.
Gussow, Alan. A Sense of Place: The Artist and the American Land. New
York: Seabury Press, 1970.
Maury, Matthew F. Physical Survey of Virginia, Preliminary Report No.
II. Richmond, Va.: N. V. Randolph, 1878.
Tompkins, E . P. Rockbridge County, Virginia. Richmond, Va.: Whittet &
Shepperson, 1952.
188
Lexington in the
1860 Census
Edwin L. Dooley, Jr.
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.
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~~ . HE RESTORATION OF THIS early nineteenth-century house, the
Jackson House, and the establishment in its rooms of a research
center mark the beginning of an important and long-term effort to
develop a better understanding of the man to whom it once belonged and to
whom it is dedicated, Thomas Jonathan Jackson, and the community in
which he lived and worked for nearly a decade.
Each year our store of knowledge concerning Lexington's past has been
augmented through the work of students and scholars of history, art, and
architecture. Though much has been accomplished thus far, I believe that
the future will not only add to our store of knowledge, but that our
knowledge will be greatly refined. In looking at the history of Lexington
and Rockbridge County, one finds worlds within worlds, and countless
avenues to explore.
One such avenue is that of the science of vital statistics, or demography. I
would like to focus attention on this subject and attempt a closer look at the
people who formed the community of which Jackson was a part: the people
Edwin L. Dooley, Jr., was director of the Virginia Historical Society when he delivered this
address. He had previously been director of the Virginia Military Institute Museum, a history
teacher, and V .M.I. 's public information officer. Mr. Dooley spoke to the Rockbridge
Historical Society at the Stonewall Jackson House in Lexington on July 23, 1979.
189
Edwin L. Dooley, Jr.
who lived in these houses which surround us, worked in these buildings, and
traveled along these streets and sidewalks.
Local source materials relating to the people of Lexington are to be found
in abundance in the collections of the Rockbridge Historical Society, the
libraries of our institutions of higher learning, and in the pages of the
Lexington Gazette. This rich historical deposit will be mined by scholars
and students as part of the program of the Jackson House Research Center.
Another valuable source, one which forms the basis for my comments
today, is the collection of published United States Census schedules, and
especially the one for the year 1860. Reading the pages of that lengthy
document, it is almost possible to picture in one's mind the Lexington of
Jackson's day.
The taking of the census in 1860, although the eighth census in the young
nation's history, was considered sufficiently newsworthy to rate a brief
mention on the front page of the June 7 issue of Alphonso Smith's
Lexington Gazette. There readers were informed that the census takers of
the United States had commenced their work on the first day of June. By
mid-August they had completed their task of creating an inventory of the
town and several districts of the county.
Research has revealed the name of only one census taker, a Mr. Poindexter, who canvassed the Brownsburg area. How many other census takers
were involved in collecting information remains an unanswered question, as
does the question of what procedure was followed for gathering these vital
statistics. All we learn from the actual census schedules is that the work was
carefully reviewed by John B. Brockenbrough, who signed each page as
"Assistant Marshall." A lawyer in his mid-twenties, he was the son of
Judge John W. Brockenbrough of Rockbridge County.
The census takers working the county had a strenuous task to perform,
considering the means of transportation, the conditions of the roads, and
the suspiciousness of farmers and mountain folk living on back roads and
up mountain hollows.
In all, these officers had 603. 7 square miles of land to cover and a total of
approximately 17,248 persons to enroll in their books. Given these numbers, we are able to determine that the population density of Rockbridge in
1860 was slightly higher than the average for the state, which then included
West Virginia, or 28.6 persons per square mile of land area, in contrast to
the state-wide average of 24.8 persons per square mile.
Of the 17,248 persons recorded in the Rockbridge census, 740/o, or
12,843, were free whites; 30/o, or 428, were free blacks; and 230/o, or 3,977,
were slaves. Statewide, 650/o of the population was free and 350/o was slave,
making Rockbridge County about 100/o higher than the average in the
category of free and about 100/o lower than the average in the category of
slave.
190
Lexington in the 1860 Census
Of the total number of free inhabitants enrolled in the Rockbridge
census, 11 %, or 1,544, lived in Lexington, and 88%, or 13,271, lived in the
county. Also, of the total number of free inhabitants enrolled in the census,
50%, or 6,636, were white males; 47%, or 6,207, were white females; 2%,
or 238, were black males; and 1%, or 190, were black females. One-half of
a percent of the free population were born in other states, with the largest
number from Maryland, and one-half of a percent were foreign born, with
the largest number from Ireland.
It was, in short, a community with a relatively high population density,
almost evenly divided between male and fem ale, containing a substantial
number of slaves, and a population which was overwhelmingly rural.
In Lexington, out of a total free population of 1,544, only 128 persons
held real estate, and the total value of that property was $871,089.00. The
average holding was valued at $6,805.38. The census record shows that
Jackson held $3,800.00 worth of real estate in 1860, placing him, on a scale
of one to ten, in category five, which included those holding real estate
valued at between $3,000.00 and $5,999.00. There were 26 persons in this
category, 55 below, and 46 above. The highest category on this economic
ladder included three persons: John W. Jordan, fifty-five years old, farmer,
$40,000.00; Samuel McDowell Reid, sixty-nine years old, farmer,
$60,000.00; and Mathew White, seventy-five years old, farmer, $71,475.00.
Also, according to the census schedules, in Lexington there were 331
persons who held personal estates, with a total cash value of $1,135,026.00,
or an average estate of $3,429.08. Jackson's personal estate was valued at
$5,200.00, or slightly above the average.
In Lexington there were 307 free white males listed as having occupations, and their average age was thirty-seven. Jackson, who was thirtysix years old in 1860, approaches the average in the population profile.
These statistics reveal a relatively youthful society, as there were 255 free
white males, with occupations, under the age of fifty, and only 52 over the
age of fifty.
Jackson, as a professor of natural and experimental philosophy at the
Virginia Military Institute, might be classified as a "professional man."
Out of the total free and employed population of Lexington and Rockbridge (2,955), only 5%, or 149, could be thus classified; 3%, or 79, were
merchants; 1OJo, or 23, were managers; 17 OJo, or 513, were skilled laborers;
1%, or 29, were apprentices; 1OJo were cadets at V.M.I. or students at
Washington College; 28%, or 842, were unskilled laborers; and 44%, or
1,320, were farmers.
The wide range of occupations found in the 1860 census reveals a
community which could be quite self-sufficient. By far the largest grouping
was that of farmers, with 51 OJo of the total working force in the county, or
2,551-listing that occupation as their primary means of support. To this
191
Edwin L. Dooley, Jr.
Negative print of the 1860 census page-
group, which included 1,311 white, black, male, and female farmers, might
be added many of the 842 "laborers" who no doubt earned a living by
hoeing and plowing on farms .
The next occupation , listed in order of the number of persons so employed, was that of builder. Out of the entire work force there were 107
carpenters, 84 in the county and 23 in Lexington , or nearly 4% of the
working population and nearly 7% of the non-farming group. There were
six masons, seven brick-layers , ten plasterers, five painters, and one "architect." The abundance of carpenters and the small number of brick-layers
suggests that by 1860 either most construction was limited to wooden barns
and frame dwellings, or most brick-layers were itinerant laborers and
therefore did not show up in the census schedules.
The county had fifty-two millers, Lexington had two; the county had
forty-nine coopers, Lexington had three; the county had forty-six
blacksmiths, Lexington had three.
In the Lexington portion of the census are listed nearly 125 different
occupations, wi th the largest number of persons engaged as seamstresses,
carpenters, clerks, lawyers, shoemakers, merchants, professors, physicians,
school teachers, and washers and ironers, in that order.
The town also had a fair number of tailors, ministers, printers,
cabinetmakers, confectioners, saddlers, coachmakers, plasterers, and
harnessmakers. Among the remaining number were three hatters, one
daguerreotypist, two cons tables, three jewelers, one coach painter, one
192
Lexington in the 1860 Census
-listing Jackson and his wife "M. Annah" [Mary Anna Morrison].
cashier, one drummer, three hotel proprietors, one chairmaker, one stage
agent, one silversmith, one cigarmaker , three tinners, one gunsmith, two
barbers, and the governor of Virginia , to name but a few.
All of these Lexington people and their families, which tended to be
large, and their boarders, who tended to be numerous, occupied a mere 262
dwelling houses within the confines of the town. The resulting average of six
persons per dwelling house suggests a relatively high population density,
perhaps a housing shortage, and it follows that in such an environment few
residents were or could long remain unknown to their fellow townspeople.
The information contained in the 1860 census allows us to view Lexington
and Rockbridge in quantitative terms, thus aiding our understanding
through the process of analysis. When applied to narrative histories, such
analysis will confirm, correct, or enlarge our understanding of Jackson's
community, and from such data we can construct a socio-economic
framework in terms of which the historical experience of Jackson's time can
be more fully understood.
But a quantitative view of Lexington is not the only reward to be gained
from a careful study of the census. The list of names recorded on the pages
of the 1860 census also reveals patterns which seem to show the actual path
of the census takers and the economic and social composition of certain
neighborhoods. Although this use of the census relies on a fair amount of
conjecture and educated guessing, it provides certain keys to a fuller understanding of other source materials such as maps, deeds, wills, newspaper
193
Edwin L. Dooley, Jr.
advertisements, family letters, and narrative histories which, in turn, add
substance to the framework of the census. Taken together, these sources
provide us with a mental picture of Jackson's Lexington.
Many questions arise in using the census in this fashion. For example, it
would be helpful to know if the census takers gathered their information
door to door, or if they gathered it at the courthouse, at post offices, or at
churches. If they traveled door to door, were they methodical in their work,
or did they move haphazardly around the town? Did the census takers only
visit dwelling houses, as the lists would have one believe, or did they
question townspeople in their places of business or even on the streets and
sidewalks as they went about their daily routine? And how could they know
that they had enrolled everyone?
Internal evidence reveals only the most simple of plans, namely a survey
of the town by streets or neighborhoods. For example, at one point a census
taker recorded the name of James S. Smith, twenty-four, a jeweler. We
know from the Gazette that there was a James S. Smith & Co. jewelry store
in Lexington, but no location is given. However, as the next two names on
the census list are of a tailor and a clerk, followed by Miss Jane W. Fuller,
sixty-two, a librarian, it may be conjectured that the census taker was
traveling west on Nelson Street. The reason for this guess is that Miss Fuller
was probably encountered at work in Franklin Hall, at the corner of Nelson
and Jefferson Streets, where she served as librarian. The supposed westward path of the census taker is confirmed by the next name on the list, that
of David L. Hopkins, thirty-two, gentleman. The census taker had obviously crossed Nelson to the Hopkins house, which still stands at 120 West
Nelson Street.
Hopkins's name is followed by the names of a carpenter and two apprentices. Then, suggesting that the census taker traveled to a fashionable
group of houses along what is now Lee Avenue, there appear the names of
David E. Moore, sixty-one, long-time commonwealth attorney of Rockbridge; J.T.L. Preston, forty-nine, professor at V.M.I.; Thomas L.
Preston, twenty-five, minister; and Dr. William Nelson Pendleton, fifty,
rector of Grace Episcopal Church. Samuel McDowell Reid, who lived in
this prestigious neighborhood of Lexington nabobs and was the owner of
the Reid-White House, apparently was not at home when the census takers
arrived. His name does not appear beside those of his neighbors, but it does
appear in the area about one hundred names further down the list.
Elsewhere the census taker encounters a John T. Figgat, fifty-one,
saddler. It is known that Figgat, in 1847, sold a house on Main Street to the
Baxter sisters, who ran a school there for many years. The appearance of
the name of Louisa P. Baxter, twenty-five, a teacher, just three names down
the list from Figgat's, suggests that the census taker was heading north on
the west side of Main Street. Seven names follow thereafter before one
194
Lexington in the 1860 Census
comes to the name of Thomas C. Craft, thirty-five, a hotel keeper. At that
point our census taker had doubtless reached the foot of North Main Street,
near ''The Letcher Spring,'' since Craft is known to have been the keeper of
the Exchange Hotel, later called "the Old Blue," which once stood at that
location.
Because Craft's name is followed by that of John J. Hileman, twenty-six,
a mason, there can be no doubt that the census taker was, indeed, heading
north on Main Street. We know that there was a J. J. Hileman in Lexington
in 1850 making marble mantles and gravestones; we know that there was a
tombstone yard on Main Street; and an 1860 issue of the Gazette carries an
advertisement for John J. Hileman's Rockbridge Marble Works on Main
Street ''below the Exchange Hotel.'' Later, in 1877, this firm moved to 319
South Main Street.
Two names beyond is the name of W. N. Page, fifty-five, principal of
Ann Smith Academy, who, one assumes, should not have been encountered
at that location on Main Street. One's first inclination is to suppose that the
census taker had resumed his count in another section of town; however,
the subsequent appearance of William H. Letcher's name, seventy-nine,
carpenter, confirms that the census taker was still on Main Street. Letcher,
who built Franklin Hall in 1827-28, was the governor's father, and it is
known from other sources that he had a home in that area of town. Living
with him, according to the census, was Samuel H. Letcher, thirty, a lawyer.
The very next name and household to appear in the census is that of John
Letcher, forty-seven, governor of Virginia, whose house still stands on
North Main Street, on the campus of Washington and Lee University.
From these and other examples, it is safe to say that the census, used with
care, enables us to reconstruct certain neighborhoods of the town, since the
census takers appear to have gathered their information door to door.
The neighborhood in which Jackson lived is easily located in the pages of
the census. At one point the census taker picks up the name of Samuel M.
Dold, sixty-two, merchant, possibly in the Dold Building at the corner of
Washington and Main streets. His name is followed by that of Margaret M .
Witherow, forty-five, who lived in the vicinity of the Jackson House and
boarded students enrolled at Washington College, and Sarah L. Gallady,
twenty-eight, seamstress.
We know that Jackson's house, in 1852, was situated between S. M. Dold
on the northwest and Sally R. Wilson's house and lot on the southeast, and
that there were several wooden buildings contiguous to his house. The June
7, 1860, Gazette announces that Miss Sarah E. Fitzpatrick had opened a
dressmaking establishment in Lexington in rooms adjoining the residence of
Major Thomas J. Jackson. But Fitzpatrick's name appears nowhere in the
census. The next name after Sarah Gallady, in fact, is that of George
Shearley, forty, a tanner, who was doubtless the proprietor of the Lexing195
Edwin L. Dooley, Jr.
ton Tannery on the southwest corner of Randolph and Henry streets,
almost directly behind Jackson's house.
Not many pages afterwards, the census taker seems to be moving through
a working-class neighborhood wh'en he comes upon A. B. Tanquary, thirtyseven, a tinner. It is known that he and Frank Rhodes were partners in a tin
and iron factory on Randolph Street, below Henry Street. The next name is
that of Jacob Fuller, forty-four, who taught classics in Franklin Hall and
who was evidently found at his magnificent home, "Blandome," by the
census taker. The next name to appear is that of Robert J. Hillis, thirty-six,
a tailor, known to have been living on Randolph Street. Three names later
appears Hiram H. Henderson, forty-four, a wagonmaker, whose shop was
at the northwest corner of Randolph and Henry streets. His advertisement
in an 1860 issue of the Gazette states that his establishment was located
opposite the Lexington Tannery, mentioned above.
Tracing the steps of those diligent census takers along the streets of
Lexington finally brings us back to the Jackson House and its surroundings.
Jackson was encountered by the census taker not in his house, but at the
Virginia Military Institute, where, judging by the list of cadet names which
follows his, he apparently was found in his classroom.
Jackson's neighborhood was definitely not a fashionable section of town.
It was, in fact, a mix of middle-class and working-class families. Thomas
and Mary Anna Jackson were surrounded by seamstresses, tinners,
wagonmakers, clerks, shoemakers, and laborers, as well as by a few doctors
and lawyers. Almost in his own backyard, and certainly within smelling
distance, was the Lexington Tannery, in which Jackson, the businessman,
had a financial interest. Nevertheless, from his back porch he had a clear
view of the Virginia Military Institute, the window of the classroom in
which he daily taught natural and experimental philosophy, and the parade
ground where he instructed cadets in artillery tactics.
This brief journey through Jackson's Lexington, based on information
found in the 1860 census, has been meant to demonstrate the rich deposit of
historical information to be mined from that source, properly understood
and used. In the future, students of local history will find in the library and
archives of the Jackson House Research Center an expanding collection of
information on Jackson and the Lexington of his day. The 1860 census will
be but one of many resources which will enable the student and scholar to
better understand Lexington at one of its most important moments in
history, and to better understand that remarkable military leader who is
remembered by generations as "Mighty Stonewall," but who also so easily
summarizes the community of Lexington in which he lived and worked as a
professor, householder, businessman, and respected citizen. [j
196
Stonewall Jackson
in Lexington
Katharine L. Brown
~1'
It~
;ffl
j f-7\'1,
' ~l:
~ ' ~~'HOMAS JONATHAN JACKSON was fatherless at two, orphaned
~~at seven, was posted around to relatives as a child and around the
states and Mexico as a young army officer. He longed for a place to
belong and a home of his own. In Lexington he found them. In August,
1851, exactly one week after his arrival in town to assume his duties at the
Virginia Military Institute, he wrote his beloved sister Laura Arnold:
"From my present room which is in the second story of the Lexington Hotel
I have a lovely view of Mountain scenery. Lexington is the most beautiful
place that I remember of having ever seen when taken in connexion with the
surrounding country. " 1
Lexington's 1851 population of about fifteen hundred was about twenty
percent of what it is today, and the total student population was under two
Katharine L. Brown was director of the Stonewall Jackson House in Lexington, Virginia, when
she presented this address. Dr. Brown spoke at the quarterly meeting of the Rockbridge
Historical Society in the yard of the Stonewall Jackson House on July 23, 1979.
1. Jackson to Laura Arnold, August 20, 1851. Numerous letters by Jackson copied from
various repositories are kept in the Virginia Military Institute Archives, Lexington, Virginia.
197
Katharine L. Brown
hundred; a newcomer was soon widely known, particularly a handsome
bachelor. Jackson was welcomed into a lively social circle. He had scarcely
been in town ten days when he was placed in charge of firing a twenty-onegun salute to welcome to town a particularly distinguished visitor, President
of the United States Millard Fillmore. 2
Jackson had a sponsor who took him under wing and helped establish
him in Lexington. This was Daniel Harvey Hill, professor of mathematics
at Washington College, who later became a general in the Confederate
army. Hill, also a West Point graduate, had met Jackson during the
Mexican War and was so impressed with his integrity and character, that
when Colonel Francis Henney Smith, another West Pointer, approached
Hill for advice in filling the faculty opening at V .M.I., Hill suggested
Jackson. Hill and his wife, Isabella Morrison of North Carolina, introduced Jackson to many leading people in the town and county, and also
to both of the women he later married-Elinor Junkin, and Isabella's
younger sister Mary Anna Morrison. 3
Jackson soon made the acquaintance of an interesting group of young
people in Lexington. These included Clement Fishburn, a student at
Washington College, whose brother Junius came the following year to teach
classics there and also became a good friend; James W. Massie, a student in
Judge Brockenbrough's law school who had ambitions for a political
career; the McDowell girls at "Col Alto," whose father, former Governor
James McDowell, had recently died; the Junkin girls, Margaret, Elinor, and
Julia, whose father was president of Washington College. In addition,
Jackson had a family friend from Clarksburg, West Virginia, Charles
Harrison, a law student like Massie, and he and Jackson often went calling
in the evening. 4
Although these social contacts were important to him, and certainly made
his leisure hours in Lexington pleasant, Jackson was never wholly at ease
socially. His friend Clement Fishburn described the awkward feeling of
trying to hold a casual conversation with Jackson in a dormitory room
when Jackson insisted on standing erect, even though everyone else in the
room was sitting. Even his future wife, Mary Anna Morrison, who rarely
had anything but awed praise for the man, described his rigid habit of
sitting stiffly on the edge of a chair when calling. 5 In truth, Jackson felt
2. Lenoir Chambers, Stonewall Jackson, Volume One: The Legend and the Man to Valley V
(New York: William Morrow, 1959), p. 214.
3. Daniel H. Hill, "The Real Stonewall Jackson," Century Magazine, February, 1894, pp.
623-28.
4. Charles Harrison to "Ma," December 13, 1852, in Roy Bird Cook, The Family and Early
Life of Stonewall Jackson, 5th edition (Charleston, W. Va.: Education Foundation, 1967), pp.
130-32.
5. Mary Anna Jackson, Memoirs of Stonewall Jackson, reprint of the 1895 edition (New
York: Morningside Bookshop, 1976), p. 64.
198
Jackson in Lexington
most at home not in a social situation, but in fulfilling his dedication to his
work, his faith, and his usefulness to his family and the community.
The matter of church affiliation was an important one to Jackson.
Although baptized an Episcopalian in New York in 1849, he had not been
confirmed. Colonel Smith, the V.M.I. faculty, and the corps of cadets were
predominantly Episcopalian, so it is likely that Jackson attended services at
Grace Church, Lexington. At that time the church was without a minister,
as the Reverend Robert Nelson had resigned in February to become a
missionary to China. His replacement, the Reverend William Nelson
Pendleton, did not arrive until early 1852. 6
Jackson, who had begun to search carefully for his faith in Mexico,
recognized that he needed a spiritual mentor, and at the time he arrived in
town, the denomination into which he had been baptized could not provide
that. The person who immediately met this need was John Blair Lyle, the
bachelor bookstore owner and director of the Presbyterian Church choir.
The tone-deaf Jackson was hardly a potential recruit for the tenor section of
Mr. Lyle's choir. However, Lyle, whose bookshop was more successful as a
meeting place for inquiring minds than as a business, recognized in Jackson
a searching mind, integrity of character, and a soul in need of a home. It
was Lyle who put Jackson in touch with the Reverend Dr. William S. White
of the Lexington Presbyterian Church. On November 22, 1851, Jackson
made his public profession of faith and was admitted as the 974th member
of the Lexington Presbyterian Church. 7 Jackson's faith and his service to
the Presbyterian Church-and to the wider cause of Christianity-was, to
me, the most dynamic aspect of his character from that time until his death
twelve years later.
In February, 1852, Jackson taught his first Sunday School class at the
church, a group of young boys, including J.T.L. Preston's son Willie. One
of the Junkin girls also began teaching that month, and this common interest may have been one of the ties that drew Jackson close to this
remarkable family. He continued regularly at this class until 1858. 8
Jackson apparently gave some careful thought to entering the ordained
ministry this first year he was in Lexington, but he wrote his aunt that he
had decided that he already was where God wanted him. 9 His reputation as
a dedicated Christian undoubtedly led to his appointment as one of the
6. Grace Church Vestry Minutes, 1851-52, R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church ,
Lexington, Virginia.
7. Lexington Presbyterian Church Register , Lexington, Virginia; Royster Lyle, Jr., "John
Blair Lyle of Lexington: Friend and Advisor to Stonewall Jackson, John T.L. Preston and
Francis H. Smith" (manuscript, Stonewall Jack son House, Lexington, Va .).
8. Lexington Presbyterian Church Sunday School Book , 1852-58 .
9. Jackson to Clementine Neale, October [?], 1852, quoted in C ook, Family and Early Life,
pp. 64-65.
199
Katharine L. Brown
original twelve members of the Board of the Rockbridge Bible Society when
it was formed in 1852. In addition, Jackson became a life member of this
local affiliate of the American Bible Society, whose aim it was to distribute
a Bible to every family in Rockbridge County. He took an active role in its
operations, being one of the few directors to attend nearly every monthly
meeting. 10
Jackson had a deep concern for the souls of black folk . J .T.L. Preston
once asked him what he would do if he believed God had called him to be a
missionary to darkest Africa. Jackson replied, "I'd go without my hat."
Although he never felt the call to Africa, he did feel called to bring the good
news to Africans in Lexington. The vehicle was the famous Colored Sunday
School which Jackson founded in 1856. This was not the first effort to bring
Christian education to the town's black population. That honor belongs to
William Henry Ruffner, who had started a similar school several years
earlier. 11 Ruffner ' s class did not last long. Jackson's school developed out
of a challenge presented to him by Margaret Junkin . Jackson maintained
that he could organize a colored Sunday School that would succeed if he
were allowed to do it by himself on his own terms, until it got on its feet,
then other teachers could join him. 12
Unfortunately, the Lexington Presbyterian Church did not keep any
record of Jackson's school, but he apparently began it with the blessing of
the Reverend Dr. White and the session. He recruited pupils by visiting their
masters personally to get permission for their attendance. On the last
Sunday in each month, he visited each master or mistress to report on the
pupil's conduct and progress. There were approximately seventy to eighty
blacks of all ages enrolled in the school. While the work was oral and
consisted mainly of memorization of the catechism, it was the only formal
education Lexington's black people had available to them until after the
Civil War. 13
Jackson's pupils must have struggled to suppress their amusement as the
serious young major opened each session leading "Amazing Grace" in his
dreadful monotone. His public prayer was another matter altogether, and
one which rarely failed to move its hearers. Jackson's first attempt at public
10. Report of the Board of Managers of the Rockbridge Bible Society, Rockbridge County,
Virginia, November 12, 1853 (Richmond, Va .: Elliott and Nye, 1853), American Bible Society
Archives, New York, New York.
11. Anne H. Ruffner [Montreat, N.C.], "Notes on W .H.R." [William Henry Ruffner],
reports that Ruffner and B. Tucker Lacy ran a Sunday School for as many as one hundred
black pupils from the spring of 1845 until the end of the college year in summer, at which time
Lacy left and Ruffner continued the school. Ruffner was a nephew of John Blair Lyle.
12. Margaret Junkin Preston, "The General's Colored Sunday School," Sunday School
Times, December 3, 1887, refers to T _ _ and R _ _ as her friends who had tried a
colored Sunday School before Jackson and had failed.
13. Preston, "The General's Colored Sunday School."
200
Jackson in Lexington
Major Thomas J. Jackson (1824-63) as a professor of
natural philosophy at V.M.I., 1851-61.
prayer at the regular Presbyterian prayer meeting was such a disaster that it
left him speechless and the congregation and minister embarrassed. In time,
however, he developed a remarkable power in prayer which touched the
hearts of his black pupils so that many servants in the neighborhood came
to the Jackson home frequently for family prayer in the evening. 14 That
same power of prayer later touched many men who served with Jackson in
the war.
Several of the children of his colored Sunday School pupils went on to
positions of leadership in the church and in education, including a president
of Morgan State University in Baltimore, and Lexington's own Reverend
14. Ibid.
201
Katharine L. Brown
Dr. Lylburn Downing, longtime
pastor of the Fifth A venue Presbyterian Church in Roanoke. 15
As a new Presbyterian, Jackson was drawn to the Junkin
family, and within a year romance blossomed between him
and the middle daughter, Elinor.
They became quietly engaged by
Christmas, 1852. Although the
engagement was broken off briefly in the spring of 185 3, Jackson
and Ellie were reunited and quietly married by her father, the
Reverend George Junkin, at
Washington College on August 4,
1853. After a glamorous wedding
trip to Philadelphia, New York,
Boston, Niagara Falls, and
Montreal, the couple settled
down in the Junkin home (now
the Lee-Jackson House), saving
Elinor Junkin Jackson
no doubt for a home of their
(1825-54).
own. 16 This was possibly the happiest year of Jackson's life in Lexington, but even this was not without its
tensions.
In December, 1853, Jackson made a decision to try to leave the Lexington
he loved. Perhaps Ellie encouraged him in his ambition. The professor of
mathematics at the University of Virginia had just died, and Jackson
decided to try for the position. He applied formally early in January, 1854,
and sought recommendations from several sources, including a cousin who
was a judge with the Virginia Court of Appeals; Colonel R. E. Lee, who
was then superintendent of West Point; some V .M.I. faculty; and some
townspeople. 11 All wrote highly of him. The Board of Visitors at the
University of Virginia was slow to reach a decision, and the matter continued for six months. It was only in April that Jackson informed his
devoted sister of his candidacy, writing that he was not unhappy at V.M.I.,
but that the University of Virginia was more prominent and paid three
thousand dollars (which was more than double his V .M.I. salary). 18
15.
1963;
16.
17 .
18.
202
"Dr. Holmes, Ex-President of Morgan College, Dies," Baltimore Sun, September 8,
"Dr. L. L. Downing, Colored Pastor Honors Stonewall Jackson," Lexington Gazette.
Hill, "The Real Stonewall Jackson."
Cook, Family and Early Life, p. 133.
Jackson to Laura Arnold, April[?], 1854, V.M.I. Archives.
Jackson in Lexington
I believe Jackson's statement, but I suspect his reasons were more
complex. It is plain fact that he had not been a very successful faculty
member in his two and one-half years at V.M.I. In that short span of time
he had been involved in several incidents that indicated a lack of rapport
with cadets and with Colonel Smith.
At the end of his first academic year had occurred the court-martial of
Cadet J. A. Walker, who had been reported by Jackson for insubordination. This case, stemming from an unpleasant confrontation
between Jackson and this student over whose answer to a physics problem
was correct, led to the cadet's expulsion from V .M.I. and his challenge of
Jackson to a duel. 19 The case left bad feelings in the corps about Major
Jackson.
The very next month a cadet's father complained in writing to Colonel
Smith about Jackson's attitude toward his son-apparently the first
recorded example of such a complaint in the institute's thirteen-year
history. 20 In January, 1853, a Cadet Blackburn was court-martialed for
having played a rather harmless prank on Jackson in front of the major's
quarters in barracks. 21 This did not increase Jackson's popularity with the
corps.
In March, 1854, Colonel Smith appointed Jackson president of a courtmartial to try several cadets, two of whom Smith believed had taken sugar
from the mess hall table. Jackson and his court found the boys not guilty,
and Smith was so displeased that he ordered Jackson to reconvene the
court. This Jackson said he could not do. 22
Even admitting Jackson's rigidity as a teacher and at times as a person, it
is hard to escape the suspicion that Colonel Smith had questions about his
loyalty. Jackson's closest ties seemed to be not with V.M.I. people but with
those at Washington College. This was a time of considerable bad feeling
and suspicion between Presbyterians and Episcopalians in Lexington, and
neither Junkin, the Presbyterian, nor Smith, the Episcopalian, was as
tolerant in matters of denomination as young Major Jackson. The hostility
between the heads of the two colleges was quite pronounced in 1853-54.
Jackson's marriage to Ellie Junkin and his move into Dr. Junkin's home at
the college could hardly have contributed to his popularity with Smith.
It is not surprising to find Jackson grasping at an opportunity that would
at once improve his professional status and income and remove him from a
tense situation. The attempt failed, for in June, 1854, the University of
19. Court-martial of Cadet J. A. Walker, May 6, 1852, Record Group 2, Court-martial
Records, Virginia Military Institute Archives .
20. Charles Mason to Colonel F. H. Smith, June 16, 1852, in William Couper, One Hundred
Years at V.M.l., 4 vols. (Richmond, Va.: Garrett and Massie, 1939), l: 263.
21. Court-martial of Cadet Blackburn, January 26, 1853, Court-martial Records.
22 . Court-martial of Cadets J. Reid and E. Mcconnel, March 4-8, 1854, ibid .
203
Katharine L. Brown
Virginia Board of Visitors elected an older, more experienced professor
than Jackson for the chair. 2 3 Jackson swallowed his disappointment and
accepted the decision as God's will. Until the war took him away, he was
content to remain a Lexingtonian.
On October 22 that year, Jackson's charming and lively young wife,
Ellie, died in childbirth, and his hopes of a home and family faded.
An activity which brought Jackson into frequent contact with a lively,
intelligent group of men, and contributed to the development of his sense of
public issues and his leadership capacities was his membership in
Lexington's remarkable Franklin Society. Jackson was proposed for a
debating membership in March, 1853, by William McLaughlin. He was
elected, inducted, and appointed to the committee to select the next debate
question. From that time on, Jackson was one of the most regular and most
active members of the society, attending nearly every Saturday evening
meeting and participating frequently in debates. His first debate was on a
local topic: "Would capitalists be safe in loaning their money to the North
River Navigation Company to enable it to complete its improvement in case
the James River Company guaranteed a portion of its tolls for the payment
of the principal and interest thereof as contemplated?" 24 If you think the
question dull, it was lively when compared with Jackson's presentation of
the negative side of the topic. As with his first efforts at public prayer, his
first debates were dreadful, but they too improved with time and practice.
The range of topics on which Jackson debated over a period of seven
years was considerable and indicates that his reading was extensive in both
political and intellectual issues of the times. In general, Jackson opposed
expansion of the powers of the federal government-for example as in the
question of whether the central government should carry out internal
improvements such as the Pacific railroad. Internationally he favored a
strong defense policy for the United States. He believed that England and
France were justified in taking action against the Russian drive to overthrow Turkey. In social matters he opposed duelling and favored
prohibition of alcoholic beverages.
A number of the topics on which Jackson debated were, as might be
expected, of some religious interest in their day. He supported the concept
of seminary training for ministers and argued that fairs and festivals to raise
money for churches were not justifiable by the Bible, but on another occasion found that the Bible did support the concept of predestination.
23. Minutes of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia, December 22, 1853,
January 5, 1854, and June 28, 1854, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Virginia;
Jackson to Laura Arnold, July l, 1854, V.M.l. Archives.
24. Minutes of the Franklin Society, April 2, 1853, Franklin Society Secretary' s book,
1853-61, Washington and Lee University Library, Lexington, Virginia .
204
Jackson in Lexington
In a matter of education he expressed his view that colleges devoted too
much time to classical studies. On one topic of special interest, for which he
was the opening and only debater, he argued the affirmative side on
whether "the cause of female education requires the establishment of a
system of colleges similar to those for men." The question of the origin of
species, which Darwin would deal with when he finally published the results
of his investigations in 1859, was debated several times for several weeks
running by the Franklin Society in the mid-1850s. Jackson argued for a
common origin of all human species. 25
The most explosive debate at the Franklin during the entire decade was
introduced in February, 1854, and was debated at nearly every regular
meeting from then until June, including some extra meetings. Attendance
was high, sometimes exceeding seventy people, triple the usual number of
spectators and participants. The question was: "Is it good policy in
Washington College to confine itself to the Presbyterian denomination in
the selection of Professors?" The question arose because of the resignation
of Jackson's friend, D. H. Hill, to go to Davidson College, and the insistence of Dr. Junkin on a Presbyterian replacement. The debate became a
verbal duel between the supporters of Junkin's view and those of Colonel F.
H. Smith's view that the college should be not so exclusively Presbyterian.
This is one of the few major debates in which Jackson did not participate at
all, and in fact, he absented himself from most of the meetings. To take part
on the affirmative would pit him against his commanding officer and
employer; to take part on the negative would pit him against his father-inlaw in whose house he lived. Jackson took the safe path and laid low at
home. 26
Readers may not be accustomed to thinking of Jackson as a businessman,
but in the course of research to develop the interpretation for the restored
Stonewall Jackson House, considerable new information about his business
and financial affairs was uncovered. Jackson was never wealthy-he neither
inherited, nor married, nor made a fortune-yet he was a model of a
Jacksonian American self-made man. He was, in fact, among Lexington's
well-to-do citizens.
When he arrived in Lexington in 1851, his capital probably did not exceed
several hundred dollars saved from army pay. As a professor at V.M.I., his
annual salary ranged from $1200 to $1350. 2 1 As a bachelor he saved, as a
young husband he lived with his in-laws, and as a widower he remained with
25. Minutes of th e Franklin Society, 1853-61, pass im.
26. Minutes of the Franklin Society, Februa ry 26, March 4, 11, 18, and 25 , April I , 6, 8, and
10, May 6 and 26, and June 3, 1854.
27. See the 1860 census schedule for Rockbridge County for an estim a te of Jack son' s
financial assets.
205
Katharine L. Brown
them nearly three years, so that he had ample opportunity to accumulate
capital, which he put to use.
Jackson's investments seem to have been primarily in stocks, but the only
one for which we have record is a certificate for six shares in the Bank of
Virginia, which he purchased in 1858. In April, 1855, Jackson wrote his
sister that he would soon have one thousand dollars on hand to invest in a
farm for their younger half-brother, Wirt Woodson. 28 Jackson was generous with this young man and much concerned with his education and
future.
In the spring of 1856, Jackson made a major investment decision. As
soon as the V.M.I. term ended, he would take his capital, go to Washington
to locate land, go to New York to buy the land warrants at just under one
dollar each, then travel to Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Arkansas to locate
and claim his land. He hoped to buy three thousand acres, one-half in the
north and one-half in the south. He had thus accumulated the equivalent of
nearly three years' salary in savings in his five years in Lexington.
After careful consultation with experienced land investors, Jackson
decided against the scheme. He wrote his sister: "I have concluded to keep
my money invested in stocks of different kinds and thus get my dividends
regularly and trust to the blessing of Providence for gradually increasing my
worldly goods. " 29
The cadets may have called Jackson "Tom Fool," but it is not likely that
his banker did! The identity of Jackson's banker is something of a mystery.
Lexington had limited credit and banking facilities in the 1850s. It was not
until 1857 that the first bank, the Bank of Rockbridge, was founded.
Meanwhile, Jackson banked with a private banker. In October, 1856,
Jackson wrote his sister Laura that he would send a check to their halfbrother "signed by myself on the person with whom my money is
deposited.'' 30 At the time of the Jackson House restoration, I located in the
basement of the Rockbridge County Courthouse what I believe to be this
private banker's ledger, containing Jackson's account. The entries in this
volume appear to indicate that the monies deposited by Jackson with this
person were then lent out and interest credited to Jackson's account.
Jackson's reputation in Lexington's financial circles must have been
responsible for his election in 1858 to the board of the Lexington Savings
Institution. He was also involved in a group called the Lexington Building
28. Bank of Virginia stock certificate, V.M.I. Archives; Jackson to Laura Arnold, April 4,
August 10, September 3, October 6, and December 6, 1855, and January 14, 1856, ibid.
29. Jackson to Laura Arnold from the ship Asia at sea, July 18, 1856, ibid.
30. Jackson to Laura Arnold, October 27, 1856, in Cook, Family and Early Life, p. 142.
206
Jackson in Lexington
Fund Association which apparently provided mortgage money. The group
was dissolved in 1863 and Jackson ended up with a profit of $1,644. 31
Jackson's investments also included one-third ownership in a tannery in
Lexington, located at the corner of Henry and Randolph streets. His
partners in the venture were William Gilham of V.M.I., Jacob Fuller, and
1. T .L. Preston. They purchased a tannery from a ''Mr. W. '' in April, 1860,
for a total of $4,889.86, including all the finished stock. Fuller served as the
financial agent and hired a tanner, Mr. Shirley, and several black workers.
The others served as silent partners. The ledger from this tannery, which is
at the historical society in Greensboro, North Carolina, gives us interesting
insights into the operation of a Lexington business. 32
Jackson also invested in land locally. The Jackson House, purchased in
1858 from Dr. Archibald Graham, was the home where he and his second
wife, Mary Anna Morrison, settled at last. This was his major real estate
investment in the area, and it probably cost him about three thousand
dollars-for that was its insurance value. The deed does not record the
actual cost. 33
In addition to the house, Jackson purchased for five hundred dollars (a
sum which he had not paid off when he left for the war) a twenty-acre plot
on the edge of town. Its location overlaps part of the land that is now
Barger's quarry. Rocky as that was, it could not have been top farm land,
but Jackson loved the place and was apparently successful in wrestling good
crops from its rocky soil. Here he grew wheat, corn, cabbages, pastured his
cow, and spent many of his free hours in this recreation which he had loved
as a boy at Jackson's Mill in West Virginia. During the war he had J.T.L.
Preston arrange to sell the little farm and invest the money in Confederate
bonds. 34
One cannot speak of capital investments in the South without considering
one of the chief forms of that capital: slaves. Most Southerners with large
amounts of money to invest bought slaves. As the figures from the 1860
census show, slavery was more widespread in Rockbridge than most people
31. Robert I. White to Jackson, January 27, 1863, Thomas Jonathan Jackson Papers,
Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina Library, Chapel Hill, North
Carolina.
32. Lexington Tannery Ledger, p. l, original owned by William Moore, director, Greensboro Historical Society, Greensboro, North Carolina.
33. See the Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia policy records, Archibald Graham policy
No. 17,314, November 8, 1852, which values the dwellings at fifteen hundred dollars and the
stone addition to the rear at fifteen hundred dollars; deed between Archibald and Martha
Graham and Thomas J. Jackson, November 4, 1858, Deed Book GG, p. 314, Rockbridge
County Courthouse.
34. On January 16, 1863, a deed was recorded for 320 acres of timberland in the Blue Ridge
Mountains purchased by the tannery partners-Fuller, Gilham, Preston, and Jackson-for
$1,280, Deed Book II, p. 327, Rockbridge County Courthouse. No deed entry recorded
Jackson's purchase of the little farm.
207
Katharine L. Brown
The restored Stonewall Jackson
House in Lexington, 1981.
Mary Anna Morrison Jackson
(1831-1915).
think, with slaves making up 25% of the county's population. Was Jackson
a typical Southern investor? Yes and no. He bought three slaves in
Lexington in the mid-1850s, and he acquired an additional five or six slaves
as the dowry of his second wife, Mary Anna Morrison, in 1857.
The three slaves he purchased were not acquired as investments which
would realize much profit for the owner. Amy was an elderly woman
trained as a cook. When the Jacksons purchased their house on Washington
Street, Amy was installed as the cook there. When Jackson went off to the
war and sent his wife back to her family in North Carolina, Amy was placed
under the care of Margaret Junkin Preston, Jackson's sister-in-law (from
his first marriage). By this time the elderly woman was ill and lived with
Winny Buck, a free black woman in Lexington, who attended her. Maggie
Preston kept Jackson informed of Amy's condition. He inquired after this
servant in letters from camp, and sent money for Maggie Preston to see to
Amy's comfort and needs. When Amy died, she was mourned by the
Lexington black community at a large funeral. Her master paid the funeral
costs. 35
35 . Mary Anna Jackson, Memoirs, p. 115.
208
Jackson in Lexington
Emma was another slave purchased by Jackson. She was about four years
old at the time. Her mother, who belonged to an elderly Lexington lady,
had died, and the older woman was unable to raise the slave child, so sought
a good home for her. Jackson purchased the little girl for an unknown sum
in 1859 while Anna was away taking a health cure. Jackson envisioned that
the child would be a useful maid someday, and surprised his wife with the
new addition to the household when she returned from the health resort.
Emma was apparently somewhat retarded and of limited use as a servant by
her young age and modest abilities, but the Jacksons worked patiently at
teaching her the catechism. She was listed on Jackson's estate inventory. 36
Albert was a young man purchased by Jackson at his own request. Albert
hoped to become a free man and arranged with Jackson to purchase his
freedom with wages received for his work as a waiter. He seems to have
worked at various establishments in the town and county. A ledger from
Rockbridge Alum Springs, which I located in the basement of the Rockbridge County Courthouse, indicated that Jackson was being paid fifteen
dollars per month for Albert's services as a waiter at that popular spa in the
summer of 1859. 3 7
From none of his own three investments in slave property could Thomas
J. Jackson have expected much return. However, from another source there
is a possibility that Jackson did benefit financially from slave property. At
the time of his marriage to Mary Anna Morrison in 1857, Jackson acquired
control of her dowry, for there was no married woman's property act in
Virginia until the 1870s. The Reverend Robert Hall Morrison, her father,
had given each of his daughters five or six slaves as a wedding settlement.
The Jacksons sold two or three of their slaves, her father reported to
another son-in-law, Rufus Barringer. 38 The young couple kept three for
their household servants: Hetty, Cyrus, and George. Hetty had been Mary
Anna's childhood nurse, and Cyrus and George were her teenage sons. 39
Like many other upper-middle-class Southerners, Jackson was caught up
in the web of the South's peculiar institution, but his slaveholding was not
of a sort that could have brought him large profits. Nonetheless, the sale of
at least two slaves from the dowry early in the marriage could have been a
source of the capital that made possible the purchase of their own house in
Lexington.
The Jackson who lived in the solid brick townhouse on Washington
Street in Lexington was a complex man. His faith and the teachings of his
36. Ibid. , p. 119.
37. Rockbrid ge Alum Springs Ledger , Ro ckbridge Count y C ourth o use.
38. Rob ert H. M o rri son to Rufu s Barringe r, Robert Hall Morri son P a pers #1131 , Southern
Hi stori ca l Co ll ec tion , U ni ve rsity o f North Ca rolina, C ha pel Hill, No rt h C arolina.
39. Mary Ann a Jackso n, Memoirs, pass im .
209
Katharine L. Brown
religion guided the direction of his life there. They taught him a sense of
duty and responsibility which he expressed in service to his church as a
Sunday School teacher, deacon, and tither; duty to his profession which he
expressed in a rigid and humorless yet thoroughly dedicated approach to his
teaching at V.M.I.; duty to his community, which he expressed in membership on boards, participation in debates on public issues and an active
role in the growth of its economy; and duty to his household and family
which he expressed in firm and patient guidance for his servants and loving
devotion to his wife.
It was this Jackson of faith and duty who left Lexington one April day in
1861 on a lonely road that led to reknown and the death of a warrior hero. :J]
210
Trade and Transportation in Rockbridge:
The First Hundred Years
John W. Knapp
~~}
~J
~~HE STORY OF TRADE AND TRAVEL in Rockbridge follows
~~~uite naturally the description of the land given by Dr. Edgar
Spencer. Much of the story involves the efforts of settlers and
builders to effect better transportation through this province of valley and
ridge. In the last twenty years, the Rockbridge Historical Society has
published essays by Colonel Robert Hunter on the turnpike movement,
General James Anderson on the history of modern roads, Dr. William
Trout on the North River navigation, and Mr. Tom Brady on iron
manufacturing. And, of course, the society's librarian and former editor,
Dr. Charles Turner, is the expert on railroading (and many other aspects of
local history). My contribution must rely heavily on their work.
I have chosen the "first one hundred years" purposely to reserve for
myself the greatest flexibility, but I intend to deal roughly with the period
from the 1750s to the 1850s. That selection permits me to avoid the cloudy
period before there were definite settlements and court records, and it also
stops short of the post-Civil War period of railroad expansion and the
advent of the automobile.
John W. Knapp, a 1954 V.M.l. graduate who earned his master's and Ph .D. degrees at Johns
Hopkins University, is professor of civil engineering at the Virginia Military Institute. At the
time of this address, he was on sabbatical to research the historical development of transportation systems. Colonel Knapp spoke to the Rockbridge Historical Society in the Parish
House of the R . E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church on October 22, 1979.
211
John W. Knapp
After the French and Indian War, the frontier advanced from the
Allegheny Front at our back doorstep all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Rockbridge County was situated on one of the principal paths (and
crossroads) of that migration toward empire; it was marked for a competitive struggle to develop its own resources and wealth while trying to
profit by the movement of people and goods through its territory. The
patterns of settlement and traffic we see today were firmly established in
that one-hundred-year period.
A glance at the map will indicate why the location was so strategic. The
county lies at the headwaters and almost due east of the falls of the James at
Richmond, directly on what later was to be called the Midland Trail, the
path leading to the Kanawha and the Ohio. It also is astride the Valley Road
that would carry settlers south and southwest to Carolina, Tennessee, and
Kentucky. Below the Potomac, the only full water gap that pierces the Blue
Ridge is the one that begins at Balcony Falls at the Forks of the James. The
Roanoke (Staunton) River water gap, through which passed the Indian path
to the south, was a connection by river with North Carolina and the
Albemarle Sound . Some of the earliest efforts to build canals and railroads
were aimed at diverting the traffic of the Roanoke River Basin to a proper
port at Norfolk or Portsmouth. Still, the James River water gap itself was
not an easy approach to the Valley, and the possibilities of serving midland
Virginia focused very early on lesser depressions in the range, the many socalled wind gaps. To the east, for example, from north to south: Woods
Gap, Rockfish Gap, Irish Gap, Whites Gap, Robertsons Gap, and Poteets
Gap; on the west, Jennings Gap, Buffalo Gap, Panther Gap, Kerrs Creek
Gap, Colliers Gap, Blacks Gap; and the water gaps of the Upper James at
Eagle Rock, Griffiths, and Clifton Forge-Iron Gate. Although the county is
confined now to the Forks of James district, touching only the ShenandoahPotomac drainage on the north, the region within Botetourt and Alleghany
also touches the Roanoke on the south and the New-Greenbrier-Kanawha
system on the west which flows to the Ohio.
The Indian's Path to War was east of the Blue Ridge before the Treaty of
Albany in 1722. Yet Governor Spotswood 's Knights of the Golden Horseshoe found in 1716 a path in the Valley blazed with two notches and a
cross. 1 After 1722 the War Path became the Valley Path, but by the time of
the Treaty of Lancaster in 1744, the Indians had moved further west to the
foot of the Alleghenies because of interference with the white man, as they
explained at the Lancaster Conference. 2 After 1744 the Iroquois Nations
l. Park Rouse, Jr. , The Great Wagon Road: From Philadelphia to the South (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1973), p. 13 .
2. John W. Wayland, A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia (Strasburg, Va.:
Shenandoah, 1927),p.259.
212
Trade and Transportation
confined themselves west of the Allegheny Front in Virginia, although they
were guaranteed use of the central valley path.
The Valley Road was little more than a bridle path at first, fit only for
pack horses. Somewhere near Harrisonburg it turned east as it progressed
south, past the southern end of the Massanutten range and through Cross
Keys to follow the South River of Augusta County and the South River of
Rockbridge. 3 It was along this path that the McDowells and Benjamin
Borden first explored. Dr. George West Diehl told me that he believed they
followed the Great Path along Route 608, all the way to Glasgow at the
Forks of James, and returned to their camp near Steeles Tavern by a path
that led across the ford at the site of Lexington.
James McDowell, Morton tells us,4 was in advance of the family party
and had planted corn in the Valley opposite Woods Gap. In May, 1737,
before John McDowell and Borden struck their bargain of September, the
Goochland Court had ordered Michael Wood to clear a road from the Blue
Ridge east to Ivy. 5 Wood was a Valley settler who had moved east of the
mountains, and his road was the western portion of the famous Threenotched Road that had been built from Richmond west along the drainage
divide between the James and York, really the South Anna and the James .
It was placed there like all good tobacco rolling roads to keep the hogsheads
away from the wet lowlands and to avoid crossing creeks. It is a coincidence
of Virginia history that the westward expansion into the Piedmont coincided with migration down the Valley. As prime tobacco land became scarce
and tended to exhaustion throughout the middle colonies, the search for
new land picked up and so too did the gradual shift to grain and meat as
market crops.
Before 1750 the colonial system of road building was well under way in
Rockbridge. The court would order tithables, or freeholders, to report to an
overseer or surveyor for six days labor each year in cutting or maintaining
the public roads. The effort was little more than clearing and grubbing, and
court records in Virginia order books reflect the citation of prominent men
for failure to comply adequately. 6
Colonels James Patton and John Buchanan had viewed and marked the
central (Indian) path with two notches and a cross, as was promised in the
1744 Treaty of Lancaster. It ran all the way from Frederick County to the
3. Ibid., p. 257.
4. Oren F . Morton, A History of Rockbridge County, Virginia (Staunton, Va.: McClure,
1920; reprint ed., Baltimore: Regional Publishing , 1973), p. 21.
5. Nathaniel Mason Pawlett and Howard Newlon, Jr., "The Route of the Three-Notch'd
Road: A Preliminary Report" (Virginia Highway and Transportation Research Council,
Charlottesville, Virginia, January 1976), p. 4.
6. Nathaniel Mason Pawlett, "Brief History of the Roads of Virginia, 1607-1840,"
(Virginia Highway and Transportation Research Council, Charlottesville, Virginia, October
1977), p. 4.
213
John W. Knapp
Roanoke River. 7 Earlier, incidentally, John McDowell was required by his
contract with Borden not only to survey the Borden tract, but also to ''cut a
good Road for Horses loaded with common luggage and blaze the Trees all
the way plain.' ' 8 This was essential if Borden was to secure his grant by
enticing settlers to come. By about 1750, Benjamin Borden, Jr., confirmed
that there were 145 cabin-rights each holding at least the minimum grant of
a 100-acre tract. Roads had been cleared from several mills to the
meetinghouses and to the principal road-that is, the "great road from
Timber Grove to Woods Gap." Mills had appeared on Hays Creek, Kerrs
Creek, Buffalo Creek, and on both the South and North rivers. 9
There were some distinguished travellers through Rockbridge at this time.
One was Dr. Thomas Walker who made two trips through the county and
southwest Virginia on to the Ohio, one in 1748 and another in 1750. His
journal of the later one survives, recording nearly all of his four month's
trek to Kentucky and back. On his return up the Greenbrier River and
Anthony Creek, he was reduced to a pace of seven to ten miles per day as he
hacked his way through the forest growth. There were reported to be
scattered settlements in the area, but, as he said, he "missed their plantations." Passing up the Jackson River, he stayed at Hot Springs where six
invalids were taking the baths, and the next day, "having a Path," he rode
twenty miles to Captain Jameson's place below Panther Gap. The next day
he easily rode the thirty miles into Augusta Court House, and the following
day to his home, thirty-four miles over Rockfish Gap. 10 There is some
controversy as to whether it was Walker or James Patton who discovered
and named Cumberland Gap, but it appears that they were business partners and that each visited Kentucky at least twenty-five years before Daniel
Boone went there. 11
Another associate of Walker in land deals was the Reverend Robert Rose
(1704-51), a Scotsman and ordained Anglican priest, who came to Virginia
in 1724 to serve as chaplain and bookkeeper at Governor Spotswood's
Germanna plantation. In 1725 he became the first rector of St. Anne's
Parish, Essex County, and remained there until 1748. He was a well-to-do
planter in his own right and eventually moved from his Essex County parish
to his large holdings in Albemarle County (present-day Nelson). On a visit
to the court at Augusta in June, 1751, he rode over Rockfish Gap, attended
7. Ibid., p. 7.
8. Written contract between Benjamin Borden and John McDowell, September 19, 1737,
quoted in Morton, History of Rockbridge County, p. 23.
9. Ibid., pp. 54-56.
10. Thomas Walker, Journal of an Exploration in the Spring of the Year 1750 (Boston,
Mass .: Little, Brown, 1888), pp. 66-68.
11. Ralph E. Fall, ed., The Diary of Robert Rose (Verona, Va.: McClure, 1977), pp. 206-7,
n. 333.
214
Trade and Transportation
court, and continued his journey down the Valley, passing through the
James River water gap to his home on Tye River.
Rose spent the night with Benjamin Borden, Jr., after traveling south
twenty-five miles from Staunton, and the next day crossed over the Maury
River and Buffalo Creek. He stopped to preach to a house full of people at
a chapel near John Mathews's place before going on to spend the night with
John Peter Salling in Glasgow. 12 Dr. Diehl identified this chapel as being
located on Poage's Run adjacent to present-day Falling Springs Church.
Katharine Brown notes in her book, Hills of the Lord, that this
meetinghouse must have been the one referred to in Augusta vestry minutes
as the Forks of James Chapel. 13
Rose noted that the land was lodged on limestone, that it produced grass
and grains, and it seemed that ''Providence designed this County for
pasturage.'' As to the 1,000 acres of excellent flatland which Salling owned
in the confluence of the two branches of the "Fluvianna" (the James), it
possessed every advantage, he said, "except the Conveniency of Water
Carriage." 14
In 1756 George Washington passed through Rockbridge on his inspection
of frontier defenses. It took him about four days to travel from Augusta
Court House to the Carolina line. He then doubled back to the Roanoke
area and went on to the line of forts along Jackson River. 1 5 Douglas S.
Freeman notes that "nothing untoward happened on the way" from
Augusta to Colonel Buchanan's at Looney's Ferry, a clue perhaps to
Freeman's opinion of the tradition that Washington stopped to disfigure
the Natural Bridge. 16 At age twenty-four Washington may have been
foolish enough to do it. 11 His business was the Indians, however, and he was
to find that before he could meet up with Colonel Buchanan, there was an
attack on the fort on nearby Catawba Creek. 18 Little wonder that his
correspondence with Governor Dinwiddie failed to mention the Bridge.
These three travellers and writers are but a sample of our earliest visitors.
Yet they were representatives of a very special group, something beyond the
professions they represented-medicine, theology, and the military. All
were experienced surveyors; all were investors in western land; and they
12. Ibid., pp. 104-5.
13 . Katharine L. Brown, Hills of the Lord (Roanoke, Va.: Diocese of Southwestern
Virginia, 1979), p. 18.
14. Fall, Diary of Robert Rose, p. 105.
15. Frederick B. Kegley, Kegley's Virginia Frontier (Roanoke, Va.: Southwest Virginia
Historical Society, 1938), pp. 237-45.
16. Douglas S. Freeman, George Washington: A Biography, 7 vols. (New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1948), 2: 214.
17. John W. Wayland, "Washington West of the Blue Ridge," Virginia Magazine of
History and Biography 48 (July 1940): 200.
18. Kegley, Virginia Frontier, pp. 237-45.
215
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Trade and Transportation
knew each other and each other's friends. Their frontier connections are
significant: Spotswood, Fairfax, Jefferson, Fry, Lewis, Patton, and
Buchanan, a veritable Who's Who of the Virginia Frontier.
During these early years, the settlers practiced subsistence farming and
home manufacture. They relied on a tenuous communication with
civilization for salt, iron products, and powder and shot, in exchange for
bacon, honey, or hides. What livestock and grain they produced was mostly
for home consumption. The only substantial cash crop, here and in the
Pastures, was hemp for which the court issued certificates. In 1764 John
Paxton certified over seventy-seven hundred pounds, nearly four tons
worth five dollars per hundredweight. 19 He may have been a buying agent
or a contract hauler. If he is the same John Paxton who in 1753 cleared a
road from Edmondson's Mill (below Buena Vista) to the Fork Meeting
House, and the same Paxton of Paxton's Boatyard at the mouth of Buffalo
Creek, we may know where and why water transportation soon was to
become important in the county. The average hemp crop seems to have been
more on the order of five hundred to one thousand pounds. Hemp, of
course, is a form of marijuana and it still grows wild in these parts, particularly along the Cowpasture River.
Soon after the Treaty of Paris in 1763, traffic began to increase steadily
on the old Indian Road. Hordes of settlers moved to the southern reaches of
the Valley; many turned to the southwest on the branch that soon would be
extended as the Wilderness Road. Moravians marched to Piedmont North
Carolina; Scotch-Irish poured out of Pennsylvania all over the backcountry
of Virginia, the Carolinas, and eventually Tennessee and Georgia. Wagons
soon became common and the Conestoga made its first appearance. On the
famous Jefferson and Fry map completed in 1751, the road was identified
simply as the "Indian Road;" but on the edition of 1775 it was relabelled
"The Great Wagon Road from the Yadkin River through Virginia to
Philadelphia distant 435 miles." Parke Rouse quotes Carl Bridenbaugh that
the traffic numbered in the tens of thousands during the last sixteen years of
the colonial era-more over this "rough and tortuous way than all other
main roads put together." 20
The first trading convoy was the pack train. A team of one dozen or so
pack horses, each carrying perhaps two hundredweight, probably netted
only a ton of produce as it plodded along at under two miles per hour. The
wagon of two or four horses or oxen did not increase the speed very much,
but it did allow at least a doubling of cargo weight to two tons and a savings
in real horsepower. What was more important perhaps was the ability to
transport bulk cargo-bedsteads and bureaus as well as flour barrels, for
19. Morton, History of Rockbridge County, p. 56.
20 . Rouse, The Great Wagon Road, p. 68.
217
John W. Knapp
example. Until this regular traffic was established, there was little trading
except for bartering with itinerant peddlars or the excruciating walk or ride
to civilization. 2 1
With the train of settlers came storekeepers to set up beside the
established tavern ordinaries. Contract haulers-wagoners now in addition
to packhorse drivers-began to work up and down the Valley. Liners were
the regularly scheduled freight haulers; tramps moved at will; and teamsters
were sometimes called "crackers" for the rude sound of the bullwhips. 2 2
This tradition lasted through the nineteenth century-the wagons improving with the roads until, with teams of six, they could haul three or four
tons at three to four miles per hour.
Another tradition came into vogue: driving livestock to market. 23
Trading centers grew up along the way, but Philadelphia was still the
principal hub, later to be rivaled by Alexandria and Baltimore. Until the
coming of the railroads, cattle, sheep, and even hogs were driven the full
length of the Valley. By the end of the century, wagons in droves came out
of Tennessee and Kentucky to join the Philadelphia trade. 2 4
Our story is about to bring us to the ''take-off'' point-characterized by
a marked acceleration of productivity and prosperity. It probably is not
worth the effort to try to date it too closely, but it represents the passage
21. lbid. , p. 71.
22 . Ibid ., p . 94 .
23. Ibid., p . 95 .
24 . Lewis C. Gray, History of Agriculture in the Southern United States to 1860, 2 vols.
(New York : Peter Smith, 1941), 2: 881-83 .
218
Trade and Transportation
from subsistence to surplus, from self-sufficiency and household
manufacturing to specialization and the export of marketable goods, from
bartering to cash sales.
By the time of the Revolution, there had been a noticeable change in our
people, their dress, their manners, and their houses. The Reverend Philip
Vickers Fithian, in 1775, described the homes he visited, their relatively
fashionable appointments, their libraries which he enjoyed, and the
fastidiou sness of some peoples' actions. It is an altogether different
populace from the rough, buck skin settlers of twenty-five years earlier. As a
Princeton graduate, he was careful to note the families whose sons were sent
off to school. In his travels he found he could make twenty miles per day on
the main road s, but only seven to ten miles on the back roads in the
Pastures. He said, however, that he could make forty-five miles on a good
summer' s day and that he could gallop his horse over the Warm Springs
Mountain coach road; yet the road to the Greenbrier was "nearly intolerable . " Not much had changed west of the Allegheny Front since Dr.
Walker' s vi sit, although a turnpike had been authorized in 1772 from
Harrisonburg to Warm Springs .
On his visit to Rockbridge, Fithian crossed from the Calfpasture at Mr.
Guy's over a high rocky mountain to the Forks of James-in his words,
rough, slippery, muddy, and untravelable. At the sight of Natural Bridge,
he waxed eloquent and carried away the local tradition that George
Washington had tested his manhood by pitching a rock from bottom to
top. 2s
25 . Robert G. Albion and Leonidas Dodson, eds., Philip Vickers Fithian: Journal,
1775-1776 (Princeton: Princeton University, 1934). See entries for Fithian's excursions to
Goshen, the Cowpasture, and the Forks of James.
A Conestoga Wagon. Invented in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, they had
boat-shaped bodies to keep loads from
shifting on rough trails; the height kept
cargo dry when fording streams; and
the canvas cover, stretched over hoops,
protected it from the elements. Because
of the similarity in covering, the
Conestoga wagons are often confused
with the very different prairie schooners of the mid- and late-nineteenth century.
219
John W. Knapp
In 1784, nearly thirty years after his trip through Rockbridge,
Washington visited his lands on the Ohio River, and on his return discussed
with his friend Thomas Lewis the need for improving the rivers for
navigation. 26 Back at Mount Vernon, he wrote in his journal that the
''Western Settlers stand, as it were, on a pivot, ... the touch of a feather
would incline them any way." He meant, of course, the possibility that they
could become the captives, commercially if not politically, of the
Mississippi trade and of the Spaniards at New Orleans. He soon began his
campaign for improvements in the navigation on both the Potomac and the
James rivers. But he wanted better roads, too. He wrote Governor Patrick
Henry in early 1785: "Do you not think ... that the credit, the saving and
convenience of this country all require that our great roads leading from
one public place to another should be shortened, straightened and
established by law; and the power in the county courts to alter them
withdrawn?" 27 He thus lent his prestige to a movement that would last for
over a century: connect and serve, in fact, bind the West to the East lest we
lose them to others, even our sister states. It would take nearly a century to
perfect the means, but by then the whole country would be changed beyond
anybody's vision.
By the end of the century, little had happened to increase the efficiency of
transport, to improve its reliability, or to reduce ton-mileage costs. With the
introduction of iron manufacturing around the turn of the century and the
growing agricultural surplus, a boost was needed. Boating was an obvious
solution to people with colonial experience. Robert Rose, for example, had
established boating of tobacco from his Nelson County lands by 1750. 28
One of the reasons settlement west of the fall line in Virginia was delayed
until the 1700s was the difficulty of transporting goods to market. The main
object in laying out roads (for commercial purposes, at least) was to get to
the nearest landing as safely and as quickly as possible, or else move the
landing farther upstream. The best arrangement was to roll goods directly
onto an ocean-going vessel and that was usually possible until settlement
advanced too far inland. Moreover, the difficulty of cutting and maintaining roads, and the harsh reality that the cost and distance of wagoning
soon exceeded the margin of profit, combined to make the waterways
primary arteries of commerce.
On nearly all upland rivers navigation was attempted with little or no
physical improvement other than the clearing of snags and river jacks.
From my own studies on Virginia rivers, I can say that where one finds a
26. Wayland, "Washington West of the Blue Ridge," p. 200.
27. Freeman, Washington, 6: n.31.
28. Melvin Herndon, Tobacco in Colonial Virginia: "The Sovereign Remedy," The
Jamestown 350th Anniversary Historical Booklets, E. G. Swem, ed., vol. 20 (Williamsburg,
Va.: Virginia 350 Anniversary Celebration Corporation, 1957), p. 2.
220
Trade and Transportation
drainage area of four hundred square miles, a slope of less than twelve to
fifteen feet to the mile, and ordinary low flow characteristics, there was
probably an established batteaux navigation. That would include the
Roanoke, the Appomattox, the principal tributaries of the James (Rivanna,
Maury, Jackson, Cowpasture), the Shenandoah (on both branches), and
the Rappahannock.
For thirty-five years after the incorporation of the James River Company
in 1786, there were no canal works except at the Richmond falls, and only
clearing up to Buchanan and Lexington. Yet, in Albert Gallatin's report of
1808, the James navigation system was thought to be among the best in the
United States. 29 As early as 1800, iron produced on Dunlap Creek above
Covington was boated down the river. 30 In 1812, when Chief Justice John
Marshall led a team of commissioners appointed by the Virginia legislature
to review the proposed connection of the James and Kanawha rivers, he
found that the farmers of the Jackson River valley brought their produce
every year to Lynchburg and Richmond by boat. One of his companion
commissioners was Andrew Alexander of Rockbridge, who told Marshall
that the Jackson was even then capable of improvements like those that had
already been made on the North River to the great advantage of the citizens
of Rockbridge. 31
Apparently, the river batteaux were a hybrid of canoes and flat-bottom,
square-end tidewater boats adapted to upland rivers. Rose's contribution
was a set of long, narrow canoes strapped in tandem. 32 Soon they were to
become pointed and steerable from both ends, at first five feet wide and
forty feet long, but in their heyday up to nine and one-half feet wide and
ninety feet long. In the early 1800s Mr. Rucker and Mr. Dawson, from the
Amherst County area, patented an improved James River batteau, fortyeight to fifty-four feet long. 33 It was built of sawed boards and had platforms fore and aft. Eventually, the standard craft had running boards along
the gunwales and means for securing a canvas cover for protection against
the elements.
From the Rockingham (County) Register in 1841, we find Jacob Sipes
advertising that he hopes in these bad times his customers will not desert
him and reminds them that he has a sawmill to enable him to make his own
boats, and that he will ship from Bridgewater or Port Republic to
29. Wayland F. Dunaway, History of the James River and Kanawha Company (New York:
AMS Press, 1969), p. 33.
30. Oren F. Morton, A Centennial History of Alleghany County, Virginia (Dayton: J. K.
Ruebush, 1923), p. 73.
31. John Marshall et al., "Report of the Commissioners appointed to view certain Rivers in
the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Year 1812" (Printed according to a joint resolution of
the General Assembly, 1816; Virginia State Library), p. 2.
32. Fall, Diary of Robert Rose, pp. 251-52.
33. Herndon, Tobacco in Colonial Virginia, p. 25.
221
John W. Knapp
Georgetown, or transfer goods at Harpers Ferry to the C & 0 Canal or
railroad. In the previous season he had carried 5,623 barrels by river, over
550 tons. 34
In 1900 "Gabriel" wrote in the Page (County) Courier that as a boy he
had observed a fleet of eighteen boats, each 91h-by-76 feet, pass down the
South Fork. One split open and spilled its load of pig iron; the fleet stopped, recovered the iron, repaired the boat, and then went on. Their eightfoot tin horns could be heard for five miles, and made one's hair stand on
end. When they shoved off from a landing, all would blow, usually a war
song. Such boats ran until the 1880s. 35
The colorful account of a passenger's experience survives in the diary of a
young lady who lived at Glen Wilton on the James below the confluence of
the Jackson and Cowpasture. In the company of two other ladies and a
child, she boarded one of a fleet of six batteaux going down to the canal
head at Buchanan. The boats were seventy-five to one hundred feet long,
she recalled, and were manned by five Negro men. Individual planters
sometimes owned the boats, but usually companies. The owners were
always dubbed "Captain." (On the Shenandoah it was "Commodore.")
They travelled the twenty-five miles down in five hours, but the trip back
took two days with the crewmen, two on each side, working alternately with
long iron-tipped poles. One side would hold while the other side walked
from stem to stern. Meals were cooked on the boat at either end, and when
it rained they ran up a tarpaulin over great wooden hoops. 36
In the Rockbridge area I know of three boatyards, although there must
have been many more. The lower one was Paxton's at Buffalo Creek, as I
have mentioned. It was later to become the head of the first segment of the
North River Canal-Miller's Landing. The road from Lexington, out
beyond General Stonewall Jackson's farm, through Wesley Chapel, was
long known as the Boatyard Road. At M. K. Harlow's, near Bethany
Church and Alone Mill, there are ruins of a cabin known as the "boatman's
house.'' Here, apparently, the local men spent part of the winter constructing boats to carry their products to market. In addition to a gristmill,
there was a limekiln and a distillery in the neighborhood. 37 The object of
such refinement-wheat to flour, corn to spirits, rock to dust-was to
reduce the bulk of raw products to a better, marketable form. At Cedar
Grove, the head of navigation, there was for a time a flourishing com34. John W. Wayland, Twenty-Jive Chapters on the Shenandoah Valley (Strasburg, Va.:
Shenandoah, 1957),p. 190.
35. Ibid., pp . 420-21.
36. Alexander C. Brown, "Bateaux Travel on the Upper James," Daily Press (Newport
News-Hampton, Virginia), January 28, 1968.
37. John W. Knapp, "Report on Navigation in the Maury River Basin" (V.M.I. Research
Laboratories, V.M.I., Lexington, Virginia, 1974), p. 13.
222
Trade and Transportation
munity-gristmill, sawmill, blacksmithy, tailor shop, and stores. An advertisement in the Rockbridge Intelligencer (August 21, 1830) announced
the opening of William Withrow, Jr., and Company, a well-stocked general
store. They proclaimed that "all kinds of produce will be received on
storage, and forwarded to Lynchburg and Richmond by respectable
boatmen. " 38 Among the enterprises to use these services was the Bath Iron
Works whose furnace and forge were located at the head of Goshen Pass.
They wagoned their iron to Cedar Grove Mills and stored it until water
conditions permitted its shipment as far as Richmond. 39
That the river was navigable and attention was given to its condition is
attested by the September, 1832, presentments by the Grand Jury against
Colonel John Jordan of Lexington and James Lindsay of Alone Mill for
obstructing navigation at their mill dams. 40 Lindsay's action was later
dropped, but Jordan was found guilty. By 1839 we know Jordan had installed a lock or sluice at Lexington. 41 About the same time, by his own
deposition in another court action, he described similar work on his forge
dam at the Clifton Iron Works on the Jackson River. 42 There he chose to
build a higher dam than usual in order to increase the head of water, and
therefore he had to install a complete lock system rather than the sluice that
a lower dam would have permitted. Sluices were usually long sloping
spillways built on the side opposite the millrace and wheel. The evidence can
be seen today at Alone Mill and other locations. In the Maury, as in other
upland rivers that were boated, there is physical evidence of sluices blasted
out of bedrock ledges or created artificially by wing dams at riffles and
shoals.
Travel by batteaux was hazardous and limited during the low flow
periods of the year. One expected to wait until the water level was sufficient.
The alternative was wagoning. Jordan practiced both from his works at
Lucy Selina. Half of his pig iron might go to the forge at Clifton and the
other half be split between wagon and boat destined for Lynchburg.
Boating from the mouth of Simpson's Creek on the Cowpasture River
(where Route 60 and Interstate 64 cross now) was somewhat cheaper than
wagoning, but there were delays to be suffered in boating, and the chance of
wetting and rusting any cast iron pieces. 43
38. Rockbridge Intelligencer, August 21, 1830.
39. William Weaver v. Jordan, Davis, and Company (Superior Circuit Court of Law and
Chancery, Rockbridge County, Virginia), deposition no . 50 by Colonel John Jordan, July 1,
1839.
40 . Knapp, "Navigation in the Maury River Basi n," p . 15.
41. Lexington Gazette, March 23, 1838 (letter of Dr. A. Leyburn) and December 2, 1847
(letter on effects of flood).
42. Weaver v. Jordan, Davis, and Company, deposition no. 32 by Colonel John Jordan,
July 22, 1836.
43 . Ibid ., deposition no. 66 by Ira Jordan , June 7, 1839.
223
John W. Knapp
During the Civil War, the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond was
desperate for pig iron and had to make every provision for countering
delays caused by iron lying on the river bank awaiting transportation. 44
Tredegar was never able to raise its production to more than one-third of
prewar levels because of limitations of transport and labor. Incidentally,
before the war, Joseph R. Anderson had turned to northern sources of iron
which were cheaper than the material from western Virginia. The reason
was not only transportation, but also the efficiency of coke versus local
charcoal methods. Competition was fierce, and Jordan was forced to
suspend the operations at Lucy Selina and Australia on Simpson's Creek,
partly for the reason that Cloverdale and other furnaces had a shorter haul
to the canal head at Buchanan, and therefore a price advantage. 45
As the state grew, greater efforts were needed to serve the Valley and
trans-Allegheny regions. State-financed improvements would come with the
establishment of the Board of Public Works in 1816, the passage of the
General Turnpike Law in 1817, and the successive reorganizations of the
James River Company in 1819 and 1832. Each is a sweeping study in itself,
but we will confine ourselves to Rockbridge. County wagon roads and open
river navigation were to continue to be primary feeders of these regional
public works.
In 1841 there were nearly one hundred road precincts in the county, many
of them only one or two miles long. They were strictly of local concern.
Under the turnpike law, the Board of Public Works was to oversee and the
state to provide financial aid for four turnpike projects that passed through
or near the county. They are listed here with mileage and date of incorporation:46
Lexington and Covington, 41 miles, 1829. (From the Catholic
Church, out Lime Kiln Road to Collierstown, and over the
mountain to Longdale Furnace.)
Millboro and Kerrs Creek, 10 miles, 1832. (From the top of Kerrs
Gap, into Little California, past Rockbridge Alum Springs, and on
to Millboro.)
Natural Bridge, 35 miles, 1836. (From Glasgow to Clifton Forge, over
the Short Hills, and up the North Fork of Buffalo Creek.)
Jordan's Furnace and Rockbridge, 18 miles, 1849. (From Australia
Furnace down Bratton's Run to Goshen.)
Of major importance also were four inter-regional "superhighways":
44. Lester J. Cappon, "Lucy Selina's Charcoal Era," Virginia Cavalcade 7 (Autumn 1957):
33.
45. Ibid.
46. John F. Hunter, "The Turnpike Movement in Virginia, 1816-1860" (Ph.D. diss.,
Columbia University, 1956), Appendix B.
224
Trade and Transportation
Kanawha, 94 miles, 1820. (Covington to Gauley Bridge, later extended to Charleston.)
Valley, 92 miles, 1838. (Winchester to Staunton.)
Staunton and Parkersburg, 234 miles, 1838. (Present Route 250.)
Southwestern, 175 miles, 1846. (Buchanan to Bristol.)
We also should mention the competition from the Staunton and James
River (43 miles, 1824) and the Tye River and Blue Ridge (22 miles, 1819),
both of which led to landings on the James River where navigation was
likely to remain open year-round. Finally, there was the great plank road
experiment through Rockbridge, the Junction Valley Turnpike (60 miles,
1849) to connect the Valley and the Southwestern.
Hunter concludes that the turnpikes might have succeeded with better
management and with authorization for the principal engineer to have the
final say on routes, grades, sub base, surface, and drainage. 47 Crozet
repeatedly asked for this authority from the legislature, but with little
response. In the end there was too little funding and it came too late. After
the advent of railroads, roads went back solely to county control, and their
condition deteriorated steadily until just before the First World War. In
1850 a stage that left Lexington after breakfast would stop for lunch at
Rockbridge Alum (and a few hours of recreation) and continue on by
Millboro and Bath Alum to Warm Springs in the evening. 48 In 1920 it would
take Braxton Davis and Jenny Mayo five to six hours along the same route
to go only from Lexington to Rockbridge Alum in a Model-T Ford.
Canals and railroads seemed to offer the great salvation for improved
transportation. The profitable Erie Canal spurred on the river proponents,
but except for the Blue Ridge Canal built through Balcony Falls to Big
Island in the mid-1820s, construction on the James River was delayed until
the 1830s west of Richmond. The canal reached Lynchburg in 1840, North
River in 1848, and Buchanan in 1851.
Railroads began to be built in the late 1820s in Virginia, mostly as connections between ports on the coast and the fall-line cities. Yet by 1827 the
B & 0 was planning to capture the Valley trade as far south as the Buffalo
Gap-Panther Gap-Covington route that later would be followed by the
C & 0. The legislature refused permission, however, and citizens of
Rockbridge petitioned the General Assembly to reverse itself. 49 It was the
mark of genius that Crozet, without having seen a locomotive, (then only a
boiler and box on a wagon and running on wooden rails) switched his
47 . Robert F. Hunter, "Turnpike Construction in Antebellum Virginia," Technology and
Culture 4(Spring 1963): 200.
48. Lexington Gazette, August 22, 1850.
49. Legislative Petition to the General Assembly of Virginia, Rockbridge County, 1827,
Virginia State Library Archives, Richmond, Virginia.
225
Brownsburg*
Nineteenth-century transportation facilities in Rockbridge County. The
modern highways (US 11 and US 60) follow old trade routes. The turnpikes
shown are the Lexington and Covington (L & C), the Millboro and Kerrs
Creek (M & K), the Natural Bridge and Clifton Forge (NB & CF), the
Jordan's Furnace and Rockbridge (JF & R), and William Weaver's Goshen
Pass (GP). Boat landings on the North River Canal are shown as stars(*),
and boatyards on the North (Maury) River are shown as diamonds(+).
226
Trade and Transportation
support from canals to railroads as the best solution for a connection with
the far western counties. 50 He argued that the rails were a reliable, allweather conveyance and might make nine miles per hour! In fact, the
earliest through lines soon were making twenty miles per hour, and the
advantage in ton-mileage costs became overwhelming.
Let us examine the story of three Rockbriclge men who were connected
with transportation in this period-three, that is, besides the masterful,
preeminent Colonel John Jordan. Jordan was a contractor on the Blue
Ridge Canal and the Lexington and Covington Turnpike. He built dams,
mills, furnaces, forges, and magnificent manor houses. He and his sons cut
part of the Plank Road and that good Forest Service road which still bears
the family name from Old Buena Vista to the top of the Blue Ridge at
White's Gap. But there are others whose efforts are colorful and varied.
One is "Cap'n" Pritchard, a batteau owner whose "haling place" was
the North River. He appears in our local canal records during the 1850s. 5 1
Batteaux continued to ply the improved waterways, representing about one
out of five of the registered boats. They had the advantage of being able to
hawk their services along the riverbank, not being confined to warehouse
landings as were the large company freight boats. Pritchard probably was a
part-time hauler. In March and April, 1856, he carried four loads down
river toward Lynchburg-each twelve to fifteen tons, and with a variety of
products: iron, nails, apples, whiskey, tobacco, and corn. But in the low
water periods, June through September, he carried only corn, six to seven
tons, in three trips. He continued in business until the Civil War.
"Harrison" and "Ailstock" were fellow batteau-men. Some of the larger
freighters of the period were Rowland, Rosa, Sallie, Fulton, 2 Belles, and
the Colonel Jordan. (And after the war even more musical names: China,
Kangaroo, Warrior, Twilight, Steptoe, Red Rover, Mary Ellen, Swann,
Rucker, Elba, Clifton, Expresso, and the Batteaux Absolem.) In the first
two years after the canal was open to the mouth of Buffalo Creek, larger
boats such as these ran about once every two days, carrying up to sixty tons
each and averaging six thousand tons per year overall. The principal items
were flour, iron, plaster, and merchandise-the first two going out to
market and the others coming in. Plaster, which is gypsum, was a popular
fertilizer along with lime and guano. Merchandise, of course, covered
everything from household furnishings to store goods.
Another of our local men of trade was William Weaver, the great
ironmaster and rival of John Jordan. He was also a man who had to get raw
materials to factory and finished goods to market. As an example of his
50. William Couper, Claudius Crozet: Soldier-Scholar-Educator-Engineer (1789-1864)
(Charlottesville, Va.: Historical Publishing, 1936), pp. 55-60.
51. North River Navigation Company, miscellaneous account books, Rockbridge County
Courthouse, Lexingon, Virginia.
227
John W. Knapp
initiative, consider his private turnpike through Goshen Pass . In 1827 he
petitioned the General Assembly for a charter, saying there was very little
intercourse between the Pastures and Rockbridge County, that private
enterprise had thrown up two frail and unsafe bridges, and that the County
Court would not tax to erect new ones. 52 He got that charter approved and a
year later asked to add a road.
In 1829 Weaver was granted a charter with some extraordinary
provisions: first, the North (Maury) River was declared a public highway
from Hays Creek up to Strickler (now Wilson) Springs, a privilege not
exercised as far as I know. He was excused from the normal fourteen-foot
width of turnpikes, and also was relieved of having to pave it with stone;
otherwise, he was to follow the 1817 Turnpike Act. Tolls were fixed at 6 Y4
cents per footman, 17 cents for man and horse, 12 Yi cents per wheel on
carriage or wagon, 2 cents per head for cattle, 3 cents for horses.
Weaver at the same time was building the forge and works at the head of
the pass and needed a road to Cedar Grove and Buffalo Forge. What better
way to finance an improvement? By 1838, on the testimony of one John A.
Cross, Weaver was ordered by the County Court to show cause why he
should not have the charter revoked. It was alleged that the road and
bridges were out of repair the last eighteen months, that he had not met the
statutory provisions on completion times, and that he was collecting one
thousand dollars per annum in tolls. It took two years to get Weaver into
court. John Jordan testified (with jury excused), and Weaver was found
guilty. His franchise was annulled, and he was fined one cent and costs. 53 At
the same time, in Weaver v. Jordan, Davis and Company, Jordan's son,
Samuel F., Weaver's nephew-in-law, and Samuel's partner, W. W. Davis,
who was Weaver's nephew, were in the midst of a suit with William Weaver
over the Bath Iron Works. The case would last for fifteen years and go to
the Virginia Supreme Court.
The next of our remarkable men is Henry Boswell Jones of Brownsburg,
whom Dr. Turner has just memorialized with the publication of J ones's
diary, covering the period 1842-71. 54 Jones was a progressive farmer,
spirited public official, active churchman, surveyor, mill operator,
storekeeper, and contract hauler. He subscribed to leading agricultural
journals, used plaster, lime, and clover, rotated crops, and carefully
watched his improved yields. He put McCormick's reaper in his fields. He
ground flax seed into linseed oil, and he would wagon flour and oil to
market in Waynesboro, Charlottesville, and even Richmond. He spent time
52. Legislative Petition, Rockbridge County, 1827.
53. Commonwealth of Virginia v. William Weaver, County Court of Rockbridge, Virginia,
1838-1840.
54. Charles W. Turner, ed., The Diary of Henry Boswell Jones of Brownsburg (1842-1871)
(Verona, Va.: McClure, 1979), pp. 4..,.82 passim.
228
Trade and Transportation
each year working on the roads in his precinct, for which after 1837 a new
road law permitted the county to pay local contractors. He surveyed for
turnpikes and new roads, and he served as an officer and director of the
North River Navigation Company. When the James River and Kanawha
Canal reached Scottsville, he often took his wagon loads there rather than
Richmond. Later, in the mid-1850s, when the canal had gotten to Miller's
Landing (The Boatyard), he would for the first time take his wagons to that
point. And it would be over the new turnpike connection, the Brownsburg
and Lexington Turnpike which was one of the appendages allowed by the
charter of the Junction Valley Turnpike. Jones's experience shows that
traffic will divert to flow along the path of least cost and inconvenience.
The 1850s is our climax. Newspapers were full of pleas and protestations.
Canals are cheaper than railroads; the Erie proved it, one will say. Not so,
another; the James River Canal costs are not dropping and railroad costs
have come down every year. Canal boats can compete with one another, but
railroads are a monopoly. Time is money, the railroads are speedy and
regular. We need both; let us have both. Plank roads will be successful
because sawmills are now steam powered, and the mills can move along
with the progress of the road. (The Junction Valley Turnpike was a
desperate effort to tie the good Valley Turnpike to the north with the
Southwestern at Buchanan.) 55
The North River, even before its canal was built, had more traffic than
the main stem up to Buchanan. "Wake up, people of Rockbridge, and
make the North River useful as well as beautiful." To paraphrase that
poetic editorialist: the river will be as bright when bearing the gifts of life to
man as it is now reflecting frowning hills and wasting its music on the
rocks. 56 Weaver challenged Jordan and the directors of the North River
Navigation Company over their estimate of five thousand dollars per mile
for building the canal, an estimate based on Major Williamson's survey.
Weaver, writing under a pseudonym, suggested it would be seven times that
amount. (And he was close to being correct.) He also objected to the
shenanigans of starting the canal in the middle and going both ways. 57 On
this point he won his argument, but only after petitioning the legislature.
Eventually the Navigation Company would have to sell to the James River
and Kanawha Company before the work reached Lexington. Although the
North River Canal continued in use until the 1870s, it was, it is fair to say, a
financial failure. 58 All canal construction stopped, of course, once Crozet
holed through the tunnel at Afton, and rail traffic was established from
Richmond to Clifton Forge.
55 .
56.
57 .
58.
Lexington Gazette, a succession of weekly articles, editorials, and letters during 1850.
Ibid., July 1, 1847, editorial reprinted from Richmond Republican.
Lexington Gazette, letters to the editor, December 5 and 24, 1850.
Dunaway, James River and Kanawha Company, pp . 161-62.
229
John W. Knapp
Stacks of railroad ties on the James River and Kanawha Canal towpath
presage the end of the canal-boat era.
In this final decade before the Civil War, the residents of Rockbridge
were well served by their transportation works. Wagons, stages, and private
chairs could travel on the roads safely, if not always comfortably. Unprecedented (if not grand) accommodations could be had on packet boats
and rail coaches after a not unreasonable journey to the terminals. In
comparison to the period even twenty-five years earlier, the residents had
experienced a revolution in trade and travel.
The population had not quite doubled between 1790 and 1850, and it
would only be trebled by today. Farms in 1790 averaged one hundred fifty
acres as they did in 1850 and do today. The revolution, in other words, was
in terms of production, markets, and transportation. And while we never
captured the hoped-for trade of a large region about us, we did prosper in
this period.
The ton-mileage advantages of the revolution can be seen in the accompanying table. The pack train of ten horses, each with two hundredweight, and traveling at two miles per hour, equals ten horsepower; the
wagon with four horses at two miles per hour and two tons is twenty
horsepower; the batteau with ten tons and two miles per hour is one hundred horsepower; but the train even in its infancy at twenty miles per hour
carrying twenty tons was two thousand horsepower. Today, trains are one
hundred times more powerful. Modern tractor-trailer trucks carry only
twenty-five tons but they average forty miles per hour. The lesson is
evident: in the marketplace technology is triumphant.
230
Trade and Transportation
Comparative Advantage of Various Means of Conveyance
Pack Train
Wagon (x 4)
Batteaux
Canal Boat
Early Train
Avg. Load
(tons)
Speed
(mph)
Horsepower
(hp)
2
10
50
20
2
2
2
2
20
10
20
100
500
2000
The earlier ways are gone but not the memories. To paraphrase Wayland :
In those good old days of stages and wagons and riverboats, the arteries of
trade and travel led to wonder and adventure: ever-changing scenes of
action, sound, and color. The rattling of the stage, the crack of the whip,
the music of the horn, each of them made a path of romance and a trail of
memories. 59 [SB
59. Wayland , Shenandoah County , p. 268 .
231
Rockbridge Historical Society
Society OfJicers
1975-1976
Dr. Allen W. Moger
President
Mrs. Virginia D. Leach
Dr. John Couper
Dr. J. Preston Moore
Miss Mary Monroe Penick
Col. B. McCluer Gilliam
Vice-Presidents
Recording Secretary
Mrs. Robert Knox
Corresponding Secretary
Mrs . S. M. Heflin
Mr. William 0 . Hay, Jr.
Treasurer
Dr. Charles W. Turner
Librarian-Archivist-Genealogist
1977-1978
President
Vice-Presidents
Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary
Treasurer
Librarian-Archivist-Genealogist
232
Mr. D. E. Brady, Jr.
Mrs. J. P. Alexander
Miss Mary Monroe Penick
Mrs. H. Russell Robey
Gen. John S. Letcher
Mrs. Robert Knox
Dr. Allen W. Moger
Mr. William 0. Hay, Jr.
Miss Austina Mallory
Mrs. S. M. Heflin
N. D. Chapman
Dr. Charles W. Turner
Rockbridge Historical Society
1979-1980
Mr. Richard R. Fletcher
President
Vice-Presidents
Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary
Mr. D. E. Brady, Jr.
Miss Margaret Davis
Col. B. Mccluer Gilliam
Mrs . W.W . Heffelfinger
Gen. John S. Letcher
Mr. H. Russell Robey
Col. George M . Brooke
Miss Austina Mallory
Mrs. Virginia D. Leach
Mr. N. D. Chapman
Treasurer
Archivist-Librarian-Genealogist
Dr. Charles W. Turner
Activities of the Society
During 1975
At President Allen W. Moger ' s urging, the society opened the new year
with an effort aimed at reaching a membership of five hundred by the
nation's bicentennial in 1976. Current members were encouraged "to invite
into our circle anybody who is interested in and concerned for the Society
and its objectives: the collection and preservation of, and dissemination of
information about, all things relating to the history, antiquities, landmarks,
and literature of the Rockbridge area."
One of the society's spring projects was the restoration of a monument
honoring slave Frank Padget, who saved several persons from drowning in
the flooded James River in 1854 before he himself drowned. Funds for the
new granite marker bearing a brass plate with inscription were donated by
Ralph and Percy Echols from the John L. Echols Memorial Fund.
233
Rockbridge Historical Society
In April, the Lexington Visitor Center moved its offices from the
Campbell House to the Sloan House, which the city had leased on a longterm basis. The new Visitor Center was opened officially on April 19, the
two hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Lexington (Massachusetts). The
Campbell House rooms were subsequently occupied by the society's administrative offices, which had been moved from the Castle. Other rooms
on the ground floor of the Campbell House were set aside for development
into a Community Museum, one of the society's major projects for the
bicentennial celebration.
Work on the grounds around the society's three properties resumed in the
spring. A large sign was donated which identified the Campbell House as
the home of the Rockbridge Historical Society. At the July 28 general
meeting, House and Property Committee Chairman Richard R. Fletcher
was honored for his work when the membership unanimously voted to
designate that day as "Richard Fletcher Day." In the autumn, the society
agreed to finance brick sidewalks by the Castle and the Campbell House as
its part in the city's brick sidewalk project.
Dr. Charles W. Turner, society librarian, with some help from several of
his Washington and Lee University history students, worked to catalog and
index the society's archives in anticipation of the opening of the Campbell
House library-archives for visitors and researchers. Manuscripts were
stored in the McCormick Library at the university during this phase of the
project.
In mid-December, members of the society's board of directors voted
nineteen in favor, none opposed, to send ·the following statement to the
county's Board of Supervisors:
The Rockbridge Historical Society considers the proposal
before the Board of Supervisors to purchase the Robert E. Lee
Hotel building for use as a jail facility to be inappropriate and
undesirable. The building dominates the historic area. Its use as
a jail would create social and aesthetic as well as physical
problems. This would tend to detract substantially from current
public and private efforts, including those of the Rockbridge
Historical Society, to enhance the appeal of the Central Business
District.
During the year, the society was officially given the status of a tax-free
foundation by the Internal Revenue Service. The society also obtained a
special third-class non-profit mail permit. During the year, the society
retired $3,500 of its $8,000 property improvement debt and finished the
year with $1,749 in the bank. As of December 31, there were 380 members
in good standing, including 58 life members.
234
Rockbridge Historical Society
1976
During the winter and spring, the Museum Committee (Richard R.
Fletcher, Edwin L. Dooley, and Anthony R. Crawford) coordinated the
efforts of numerous volunteers in preparing the society's Community
Museum for opening in June. At its March 29 meeting the Executive Board
adopted a special Resolution of Appreciation for the group working as
docents, helping to prepare artifacts for exhibition, cataloging and
researching them, and studying Rockbridge and Lexington history in order
to develop museum panels. The six women hgnored were Marguerite
Moger, Mary Brady; Marjorie Fletcher, Lanie Ennis, Martha Chisholm,
and Barbara Sanders. The museum was open for several hours per day
during the summer, accommodating approximately six hundred visitors.
The society continued to receive numerous requests for assistance in
genealogical research. In June, Dr. Charles W. Turner was officially
designated the society's genealogist, replacing the late Dr. George West
Diehl.
The July 26 dinner meeting featured the thirty-five-minute film "What
Mean These Stones?" Produced and directed by Bethesda Presbyterian
Church minister Reverend Bernard K. Bangley, the film's subJect was the
history of the Rockbridge Baths community.
The membership goal of 500 set in 1975 was met by September 20; on that
date the society had 440 regular paid-up members and 60 life members. The
society ended the year with 521 members in good standing. Financially the
society continued to prosper. A further payment of $2,250 was made on the
1974 property improvement loan; despite this outlay, the society ended the
year with $1,942.74 in the bank.
1977
The much-admired, widely traveled Rockbridge County Bicentennial
quilt was given a new home in the Campbell House when the LexingtonRockbridge County bicentennial commission ceased to exist at the end of
1976. The society was requested to act as the quilt's custodian, making it
available to various organizations as well as displaying it in the society's
Community Museum in the Campbell House.
During the spring the society took an interest in the status of the title to
the old Rockbridge Alum Springs resort. The site had been entangled in
litigation for some time, and the society was concerned with the site's
vulnerable and fragile condition. A special committee to investigate was
appointed. Also during the spring the society cooperated in placing a
highway marker designating the Youell family ancestral home.
235
Rockbridge Historical Society
The society agreed to act as the sponsor for Reverend Bernard K.
Bangley's twenty-eight-minute film "Portrait of a Farmer," which was
funded by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy.
The film followed Rockbridge Baths farmer Henry McCurdy in the course
of his labors through one year, recording in film and sound the things that
he did and said. This film and Reverend Bangley's previous productionseen at the society's July, 1976, meeting-have been recorded on video tape
and are on file with the Virginia Foundation in Charlottesville. Reverend
Bangley was pastor of the Bethesda Presbyterian Church of Rockbridge
Baths.
During the summer tourist season, the society's Community Museum was
again open on a part-time basis. At least five hundred persons visited the
museum. The society also participated in the festival marking the opening
of the celebration of the city of Lexington's two hundredth anniversary by
sponsoring a booth. The society also assisted in planning and participated in
the ceremony on the courthouse lawn on October 22, which commemorated
the 1777 act of the Virginia assembly which established the county of
Rockbridge and its seat at Lexington.
The Historic Lexington Foundation's extensive and long-term project to
restore the Stonewall Jackson House was assisted by the society. The
restoration staff established their offices and workrooms in the Campbell
House, and numerous Jackson House artifacts were temporarily stored and
displayed there.
The loans-totaling eight thousand dollars-which the society secured in
1974 in order to improve its properties were paid off during the autumn.
The society ended the year with no important debts, $1,753.72 in the bank,
and 486 members in good standing.
1978
The House and Property Committee reported at the June 26 meeting of
the society's Executive Board that considerable effort and funds had been
expended in upgrading the Campbell House and the Castle, not only in the
rental apartments, but also in the houses' electrical wiring and basement
areas.
Librarian Charles W. Turner and his staff completed their work of
cataloging and indexing the society's archives and manuscript collections.
Washington and Lee University Librarian Maurice D. Leach, Jr., offered
the society archival space and services for the collections in the $9 million
library under construction at the school. The society retained independent
ownership of all its documents, but the university library maintains and
catalogs the collection. Under this arrangement the society's papers will be
236
Rockbridge Historical Society
more conveniently accessible to scholars and other researchers. The contract between the two institutions was drawn up during the summer and
signed in October. In recognition of the service the university will be
providing to the society, the Executive Board voted at its June 26 meeting to
donate two hundred dollars to the library. Mr. Leach replied on July 3:
This thoughtful gift will be used to acquire acid free folders
and boxes to house the Society's manuscript collection in our
Special Collections Stacks. This protective device, along with
temperature and humidity control, will ensure future researchers
a longer life of accessibility to these fragile materials.
We look forward to a long and happy relationship with the
Society as we work together to develop Rockbridge County
historical resources.
The society's Community Museum was open for six weeks during the
summer, accommodating about one thousand visitors. The society ended
the year with $1,646.92 in the bank and 440 members in good standing.
1979
As a result of Mr. Tanner's urging at the January general meeting, the
society initiated what President Richard R. Fletcher terms "our biggest new
project in a long while": a place-name survey of Rockbridge County. Dr.
Lloyd Davidson, a veteran of long academic career at V.M.I., consented to
be director of the project; James A. McAleer was named associate director.
The effort was expected to require several years to complete, beginning in
mid-1979. Society Librarian Charles W. Turner assembled the printed
reference works necessary to initiate the project.
When the restored Jackson House was opened again in October and the
offices in the Campbell House occupied by the Historic Lexington Foundation were vacated, the society moved its own offices there, as well as that
of Dr. Davidson's place-name survey. Thirteen society-owned articles
(primarily period furnishings and utensils) were given to the Jackson House
on indefinite loan. The Jackson House will return these items whenever it
can acquire comparable items of its own.
Anthony R. Crawford, archivist of the George C. Marshall Research
Foundation, served as curator of the society's collection of maps and
photographs until he accepted a position in St. Louis, Missouri, at the end
of the year. During the summer he spent considerable time preserving and
cataloging the society's visual archives. Two other members of the Marshall
Foundation staff-Larry and Joellen Bland-were recruited to edit and
publish volume eight of the Proceedings. This volume became available in
December and was sold for seven dollars each. [j
237
Rockbridge Historical Society
ALLEN W. MOGER
WHEREAS
WHEREAS
WHEREAS
Dr. Allen W. Moger has served as President of the Rockbridge Historical Society from 1973 to 1976; and
His terms in that office have been characterized by marked
success and, in particular, an increase in membership to
more than five hundred in good standing; and
The financial status of the Society, the conditions of its
properties, and the standards of its activities merit commendation:
Now, therefore, be it resolved
that the Society, in regular meeting
on February 7, 1977,
expresses deep affection and appreciation
to Dr. Allen W. Moger
for his service as President.
DELLA FRY HEFLIN
WHEREAS
WHEREAS
WHEREAS
238
Mrs . Della Fry Heflin, who died on the 17th day of August,
1979, has been a most valued member of the Rockbridge
Historical Society for many years, during which time she
served for more than thirteen years, from October 1965
until January 1979, as the Corresponding Secretary of the
Society; and
Her service as Corresponding Secretary and her service in
numerous other capacities particularly as a frequent
member of the ad hoc Hospitality Committee and which
service was always characterized by her unfailing interest,
efficiency, and most cordial and pleasant manner; and
The Society has benefitted greatly by her service to the
Society and her presence among us:
Now, therefore, be it resolved
that the Society, in regular meeting on
the 28th day of January 1980
expresses deep affection and appreciation
and sense of loss
to the memory of Mrs. Della Fry Heflin
for her many years of service to the Society
in so many capacities.
Rock bridge Historical Society
GEORGE WEST DIEHL
Dr. George West Diehl, after a distinguished career as Christian minister,
college president, and historian, died suddenly on August 10, 1975, at the
age of eighty-seven. Since then many churches, civic organizations, and
special groups have paid tribute to this man who served them so well for
years.
The Rockbridge Historical Society has special reasons to honor Dr.
Diehl. After seventeen years as pastor of a large church in Corpus Christi,
Texas, in 1949 he came to live in rural Rockbridge and to serve as pastor of
the Oxford Presbyterian Church. Almost immediately he became immersed
in the history of the county, its churches, and its families; before the end of
his first year here he was elected for a two-year term as president of the
Rockbridge Historical Society.
However, his most enduring service was as local historian and as official
genealogist of the society for six to eight years. In this capacity, each year he
answered dozens of inquiries from all sections of the United States concerning local genealogy. In 1974 he wrote: "In all my letters I give the information that the answer is by courtesy of the Rockbridge Historical
Society as I feel that this will give the society prestige. I have had some
excellent repercussions from this.'' Many people sent him small sums for his
services, but he always turned these funds over to the society, refusing to
accept payment for what he did. "I want to pin my answer to the work of
the society,'' he wrote.
Dr. Diehl wrote and published several books on local people and churches and in the process built up an enormous file on Rockbridge and its
families. Three weeks before his death he wrote our treasurer-Mr. Haythat he had finished and had made arrangements for the publication in the
near future of the manuscript for his ninth book. "It is The Brick Church
on Timber Ridge, the history of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Church in Rockbridge County, the narrative of this church in particular and
the brief genealogies of about twenty families of the Timber Ridge area.''
After Dr. Diehl returned to Rockbridge County, he wrote 3:bout and sought
to stimulate interest in our local history. He continually devoted himself to
the purpose for which this society exists. His large collection of personal
and genealogical papers are now deposited in the Washington and Lee
University Library.
We pay honor to George West Diehl and express our appreciation and
admiration for his interest in county history and for his loyal service to the
Rockbridge Historical Society.
William 0. Hay, Jr.
Allen W. Moger
239
Index
Adams, Abigail (Mrs. John): in France, 61
Adams, George: gravestone of, 72
Adams, John: and Benjamin Franklin, 58, 59
"Ah Sid" (Rockbridge Co.), 174
Alexander, Agnes Ann Reid (Mrs. William),
111
Alexander, Andrew, 112,114,221
Alexander, Archibald (father of William),
111
Alexander, Rev. Archibald (b. 1772) : and
Hampden-Sydney College, president of,
39,111
Alexander, Archibald (b. 1825): and the
James River Canal and Packet Co . , 130;
Jordan's Point, business of, 112, 122-23,
124-25
Alexander, James: gravestone of, 70
Alexander, John, 112
Alexander, Robert: Augusta Academy,
founded by, 111
Alexander, William (father of Rev. Archibald), 122; Liberty Hall Academy,
donated land for, 111; Jordan ' s Point,
110-12, 138
"Alexander-Withrow House," 112
Allegheny Mountains : geological history of,
179, 181; soils of, 182
Allen, Bill (captain, Civil War), 19, 20
Alone Mill, 158,222,223
American Name Society, 173-74
Amole, J. P.: Liberty Hall Volunteers,
reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Anderson, Ellen G., 26
Anderson, William A.: Liberty Hall Volunteers, reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Ann Smith Academy, 9n, 195
Appalachian Oral History Project, 78
Appalachian Power Company: and Blue
Ridge Project, map of, 80
Appalachian region: land-use issue of, 79-81
Archaeology: in Lexington, 1-8; Liberty Hall
Academy ruins, map of a rchaeological site
of, 3
Architecture: and Ale xander-Withrow
House , 112; influence of motifs on
240
gravestones, 73; and Col. John Jordan ,
113; of Lexington, 28-30
Argenbright, J. Frank, 134
Arnold, Laura (sister of T. J. Jackson), 197,
202,206
Arnold, Stephen, 181 - 82
Arnolds Valley, 182; iron industry of, 185
Art forms, native American. See Gravestones, Rockbridge County
Associate Reformed Presbyterian church, 44
Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities: and Jordan's Point bridge,
135
Augusta Academy (Liberty Hall Academy),
2, 10,111
Augusta Church (Presbyterian), 38
Australia Furnace, 224
Bagby, George William, 141
Balcony Falls, 112, 113, 116,212
Bank of Rockbridge, 206
Bannerman, Joy E., 77n; article by, 77-84
Barger, William Preston: gravestone of, 74
Barger's quarry, 207
"Barrens, The" (Rockbridge Co.), 158
Barringer, Rufus, 209
Bath Iron Works, 185,223,228
Batteaux, 112, 115, 165, 221-22, 223, 227,
230
Baxter, Louisa P., 194
Beauregard, Gen. P.G.T., 13
Bee, Gen. Barnard E., 17, 18
Bell, William: Liberty Hall Volunteers,
reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Bennett, Moses, 110
Bethany Lutheran Church: graveyard of,
74-76
Bicentennial, American: and interest in
family papers, 167-68; and the sense of
community, 82-84
Bicentennial quilt, 235
Black , Benjamin: gravestone of, 71
Black, Jane: gravestone of, 71
Blackburn, Samuel, 46-47
Index
Blackford, William M., 141
"Blandome," 196
Blount, William, 48
Blount College (University of Tennessee), 42
Blue Hotel, 195
Blue Ridge Canal, 225, 227
Blue Ridge Mountains: geological history of,
178-81; soils of, 182
Blue Ridge Project: and Appalachian Power
Company, map of, 80
Borden, Benjamin, 110, 163, 181, 184; and
John McDowell, 213,214
Borden, Benjamin, Jr., 214,215
Borden's Grant, 110, 181
Bourne, Rev. George, 45
Brady, Mathew B.: photo of R. E . Lee, 95
Brockenbrough, John B., 190
Brockenbrough, Judge John W., 190, 198
Brooks, Nancy: gravestone of, 72
Brown, Katharine L., 197n, 215; article by,
197-210
Buchanan, Col. John, 213,215
Buck, Winny, 208
Buena Vista: "boom" of, 186; iron industry
of, 185
Bull Run, First Battle of. See Manassas, First
Battle of
Burnside, Gen . Ambrose E., 89; and Battle
of Fredericksburg, 91, 93
Caffieri, J-J (sculptor), 59
"California Taylor," 104. See also Taylor,
Bishop William
Campbell , Catherine Estell Houston (Mrs.
Leslie Lyle), 31 - 34
Campbell, Gilbert, 110, 111
Campbell, Isaac : role in establishment of
Lexington, 111
Campbell, John L., 143, 145, 153; geological
cross-section of Rockbridge County by,
180; and Rockbridge County, natural
resources of, 186
Campbell, Leslie Lyle, 26-27, 32-34; map of
property of, 29
Campbell and Co.: Jordan' s Point, business
of, 124-25
"Campbell Hou se," 25; hi story of, 28-34;
photo of, 29
Campbell's Ford, 110
Canals, 130,221,225 ,227,229,231. See also
Blue Ridge Canal; James River and
Kanawha Canal; North River Canal
Ca rrick, Samuel, 42
Cart ier. J acq ue~: a nd th e arhorvitae, 163 - 64
Caruthers, James: gravestone of, 69; photo
of gravestone of, 68
"Castle, The," 25; drawing of, 26; history
of, 26-27, 28-34; photo of, 29
CedarGrove, 112,222-23,228
Cemetery: word origin of, 67. See also
Graveyards, Rockbridge County
Census: of 1860, Lexington and Rockbridge
Co., 189-96;photoofpageof, 192-93
Central Presbyterian, 146, 154
Chandler, Hugh Blair: gravestone of, 74;
photo of gravestone of, 75
Cherokee Indians, 65
Circuit riders, 99, 100
Civil War : battles (see Fredericksburg;
Gettysburg; Manassas, First; Manassas,
Second; Peninsula Campaign; Seven Days
Battles; Sharpsburg; Shenandoah Valley,
campaign of); and R. E. Lee, 86-96; maps
of Eastern Theater, 90, 92; memoirs of
(Coupland R. Page), 9-23; warfare
peculiar to, 85-86. See also Hunter's (Gen.
David) Raid; Liberty Hall Volunteers
"Clifton," 112
Clifton Iron Works, 223
Clifton Warehouse, 124
"Col Alto," 164, 198
Cold Sulphur Springs, 184
Community Museum, 34,234,235,236
Conestoga wagon, 217, 219
Confederate States of America, 86, 87, 88,
89, 93; and Jordan' s Point, storehouse of,
124
Cooperage: frontier transportation, use of,
165
Craft, Thomas C., 195
Crawford, Anthony R., 167n; article by,
167-70
Crawford, G.D.: gravestone of, 74; photo of
gravestone of, 73
Crozet, Claudius, 225,227, 229
Culpeper Court House: in the Civil War, 93,
95
Cumberland College (Peabody), 49-50
C umberland Gap, 214
Currier, Nathaniel: lithographer, 7 1
Cutshaw, Wilfred , 9
Dabney, George E., 143
Davidson, Rev. Andrew, 98
Davis, Alexander Jack so n: "Rockbridge
Park," suggestion of, 129-30
Davi s, Jefferson: president of the Confederacy, 86, 88, 89, 93, 94- 95
241
Index
Davis, W.W., 228
Deaver, Joshua L., 122
Diehl, George West, 213,215 , 239
Documents. See Manuscripts
Dogwood, Virginia: in France, 60
Dold, Samuel M., 30, 195
"Dold Building," 195
Donnelly, Patrick H.: stonecutter, 70, 76
Dooley, Edwin L., Jr., 189n; article by,
189-96
Downing, Rev. Lylburn, 201-2
Doyon, Gerard M., 51n; article by, 51-62
Ebenezer Associate Reformed Church:
graveyard of, 72
Echols, Elizabeth McChesney: gravestone of,
70
Echols, John, 133
Edmondson's Mill, 217
Enos, W. H., 99
Epitaphs. See Gravestones, Rockbridge
County, epitaphs
Evins, Mary (Mrs. Nethaniel): gravestone of,
66
Evins, Nethaniel: stonecutter, 65-66, 76
"Exchange Hotel," 195
Fagan, James: stonecutter, 64, 69-72, 75-76
Falling Spring Presbyterian Church, 41;
graveyard of, 64, 67, 72, 74
Family papers: preservation of, 167-70
Figgat, John T., 194
Fillmore, Pres. Millard: visit to Lexington of,
198
Fire, the Great Lexington (1796), 27
Fishburn, Clement, 140, 141, 149-50, 155,
156, 198
Fishburn, Daniel, 140
Fishburn, George Junkin, 139, 149
Fishburn, Julia Junkin (Mrs. Junius),
139-40, 142, 149, 150, 198
Fishburn, Junius M., 139-56, 198; handwriting of, 144; and Lexington Presbyterian Church, 145, 151
Fithian, Rev . Philip Vickers, 219
Fitzpatrick, Sarah E., 195
Fletcher, Richard R., 25, 34
Folk art. See Gravestones, Rockbridge Co.
Forests: American and European, difference
between, 163-64; and the pioneers, 157-65
Franklin, Benjamin: at the court of Versailles, engraving of, 57; drawing of, 60; in
242
France, 51-62; views on France of, 51,
52-53, 59; painting of, 54
Franklin, state of, 39-41
"Franklin Hall," 194, 195, 196
Franklin Society, 145, 152, 204-5
Fredericksburg, Battle of, 91, 93
Frontier spirit: and forest culture, 157-65
Fuller, Jacob, 196,207
Fuller, Jane W., 194
Furnaces, iron. See Iron industry
Gaddess, J. B. & Brother: stonecutters, 70
Gallady, Sarah L., 195
Galt, Mary, 26
Gaps, wind and water, 212; map of, 216
Garrison, William Lloyd, 45
Gettysburg, Battle of, 92, 93, 94-95
Gibson, John: and Jordan's Point, business
of, 125-27
Gilham, William, 207
Gilliam, Catharine M., 109n; article by,
109-38
Glasgow, 186; and James River and Kanawha
Canal, 116
Glasgow, Ellen, 172
Glasgow Cemetery, 69, 70
Goshen, 186
Goshen Pass Turnpike: map of, 226
Grace Episcopal Church. See R. E. Lee
Memorial (Episcopal) Church
Graham, Archibald, 207
Graham, Rev. William, 37, 38, 49, 50; and
constitution of Franklin, 40-41; and
Liberty Hall Academy, 2, 10; painting of,
41
Graham Philanthropic Society, 140, 154
Grant, Gen. Ulysses S., 93
Gravestone carvers. See Stonecutters
Gravestones, Rockbridge County, 63-76;
epitaphs of, 65-67, 70, 76; motif of, 64,
67-76;photosof,66,68, 71-73, 75
Graveyards, Rockbridge County, 63-76
Great Charter of the Forest, 161-62
Great Revival, 37-38, 44
Great Valley Road, 109, 110, 111, 212, 213,
217
"Great Wagon Road," 217
Green, J. C.: and Jordan's Point, 128,
130-31, 133
Grigsby, John: gravestone of, 67
Guilford Court House, Battle of, 10, 39
Index
Hampden-Sydney College, 39, 111
Harland, Marion. See Terhune, Mary
Virginia Hawes
Harman Brothers Mail Line Packet, 131
Harper, James F.: gravestone of, 72; photo
of gravestone of, 72
Harper, John: gravestone of, 70
Harper's Ferry: in Civil War, 12, 22
Harrison, Carter (major, Civil War), 14
Harrison, Charles, 198
Hawes, Mary Virginia. See Terhune, Mary
Virginia Hawes
Heflin, Della Fry, 238
Hemp, 217
Henderson, Hiram H., 196
Henry, Gov. Patrick, 220
Hickman, Martha E. See Taylor, Martha E.
Hickman
High Bridge Presbyterian Church, 41; graveyard of, 70, 74
Hileman, John J., 74-76, 195
Hileman family: monument of, 70; photo of
monument of, 71
Hill, Daniel H., 143, 145, 205; and T . J.
Jackson, 198
Hill, Isabella Morrison (Mrs. Daniel), 198
Hillis, Robert J., 196
Hirsh, Mina, 133
Hirsh, Sigmund: and Jordan's Point, 128,
131, 133
Hogback Mountain, 97
Hoge, Moses, 38-39; drawing of, 39
Hopkins, David L., 194
Houdon, Antoine (sculptor), 59
Houston, Catherine Estell. See Campbell,
Catherine Estell Houston
Houston, Hale, 27, 30, 31, 33-34; photo of,
31
Houston, Martha Wilson : gravestone of, 70
Houston, Mary E. Waddell (Mrs. William
W.), 31, 33; photo of, 32
Houston, Samuel, 39-42
Houston, William Wilson, 31
Huguenots, 52
Hunter's (Gen. David) Raid: Jordan's Point,
destruction of, 125-26
Irish Creek: iron industry of, 185; tin mine
of, 187
Iron industry, 185-86; Col. John Jordan and,
113,223-24
Iroquois Indians, 65, 212-13
Jackson, Andrew, 48-49
Jackson, Elinor Junkin (Mrs. T. J.), 139,
150,198,202,203; death of, 204; photo of,
202
Jackson, Mary Anna Morrison (Mrs. T. J.),
20, 22,198,207,208,209; and the 1860
census, 192-93; Lexington neighborhood
of, 196; photo of, 208
Jackson, Thomas J . ("Stonewall"), 10-23
passim, 91, 147n, 149-50, 176; and the
1860 census, 191, 192-93, 196; and
Franklin Society, 204-5; investments of,
205-7; in Lexington, 197-210; Lexington
community of, 189-96; and Lexington
Presbyterian Church, 145, 199, 200, 210;
and First Battle of Manassas, 14-19; and
Second Battle of Manassas, 90; and Negro
Sunday School, 200-202; photo of, 201;
and Rockbridge County Bible Society, 145,
199-200; and Seven Days Battles, 89; and
Shenandoah Valley campaign, 20-21, 22,
88, 94; slaves of, 208-9; and V.M .I., 191,
196,197, 199,202-3,205,210
Jackson Memorial Cemetery, 64, 69, 70, 72,
74, 76, 139
James River and Kanawha Canal: and Col.
John Jordan, 113, 115-17; and Jordan's
Point, 122-24, 126, 135, 138; towpath,
photo of, 230
James River Company, 221,224
James River Gap: photos of, 184, 185
Jefferson Hotel, 28, 30
Johnson, A. C.: gravestone of, 74
Johnson, George W.: and Jordan's Point,
business at, 126-27
Johnson, Lula (See-Off Mountain, N.C.),
77-78
Johnston, Ann: gravestone of, 74
Johnston, Gen . Joseph E., 13, 20, 94, 95
Jones, Henry Boswell, 116, 228-29
Jones, J. B. H.: Liberty Hall Volunteers,
reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Jordan, Benjamin, 114
Jordan, Edwin, 122
Jordan, Hezekiah, 113, 114
Jordan,JamesJ., 117
Jordan, Col. John, 223, 228; buildings of,
113-14; and Jordan's Point, 112-15, 138;
transportation, interest in improved, 11317, 227
Jordan, John W., 122, 191
Jordan, Lucy Winn (Mrs. [Col.] John),
112-13
243
Index
Jordan, Samuel F., 122,228
Jordan, William, 123
Jordan's Furnace and Rockbridge Turnpike ,
224; map of, 226
Jordan' s Grist Mill, 114
Jordan' s Point, 109-38; 19th-century commercial center, 109-10, 111 , 116, 123, 138;
maps of, 11 8-19; photos of, 118, 120-21,
128, 136-37; and the railroad, 132-34, 138
J orda n' s Trail , 113
Joynes, Edward S., 141
Jun ction Valley Turnpik e, 110, 117, 124, 225,
229. See also Great Valley Road
Junkin, Elinor. See Jackson, Elinor Junkin
Junkin, Rev. Dr. George, 147n, 149, 150,
151 , 198, 202; engraving of, 151; unioni st
sentiments of, 139-40, 155-56; Washington College (W & L), president of, 139,
143,203,205
Junkin, Julia. See Fishburn, Julia Junkin
Junkin, Margaret. See Preston, Margaret
Junkin
Kimberlin, Annie . See Taylor, Annie
Kimberlin
Knapp, John W., 21 ln; article by, 211-31
Lacy, B. Tucker, 200n
Lafayette , Marquis de, 59
Laird, H. R.: Liberty Hall Volunteers,
reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Land-use issue: Appalachian region, 79-81
Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia), 64
Lebanon Presbyterian Church: graveyard of,
74
Leckey, Mary: gravestone of, 74; photo of
gravestone of, 75
Lee, Robert E.: Confederate military career
of, 86-96; Confederate strategy, shaping
of, 93-96; photo of, 95; superintendent of
West Point, 86, 202
"Lee-Jackson House," 149, 202
Letcher, Gov. John, 122, 195
Letcher, John S., 134-35
Letcher, Samuel H ., 195
Letcher, William H. , 195
"Letcher Spring" (Lexington), 195
Lexington: census of 1860 of, 189-96;
commercial and industrial development of
(see Jordan's Point); establishment of,
111; etymology of name, 171-72
Lexington and Covington Turnpike, 224,
227; map of, 226
244
Lexington Building Fund Association, 206-7
Lexington Gazette, 190
Lexington Manufacturing Company, 133-34
Lexington Presbyterian Church, 11-12, 149;
choir of, 199; Negro Sunday School of,
200- 202 ; Sunday Schoolof, 145,151,199
Lex ington Savings Institution, 206
Lexington Tannery, 195-96, 207
Lexington Visitor Center, 25, 34, 234
Leyburn, Edward J., 127; mill of, 125
Liberty Hall Academy, 1-8, 10, 112; board of
tru stees , 2, 10, 35, 41 , 47; history of, 2-3,
35, 111. See also Liberty Hall Volunteers
- first graduating class of (I 785) , 35-50: and
the Presbyterian ministry, 36-39, 41-45,
50; occupations of, 35 - 36, 50
-ruins: archaeological excavations at, 1-8;
artifacts found at , 5-8; map of archaeological investigations site, 3; photo of
buttons of, 6; photo of excavation site, 5
Liberty Hall Volunteers, 9- 23; in American
Revolution , 10; in Civil War, formation
of, 10-13; in Civil War, statistics of,
10-11; and First Battle of Manassas,
13-19; reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Lindsay, James, 223
Literary societies. See Franklin Society;
Graham Philanthropic Society
Littleton, John, 98
Longstreet, Gen. James, 13, 90, 91
Lowry, S. Todd, 157n; article by, 157-65
Lucy Selina Furnace, 223, 224
Lusk, Andrew M.: and Jordan' s Point,
business of, 124-26
Lusk, Robert, 110
Lyle, John Blair, 199, 200n
Lyle, J. N. : Liberty Hall Volunteers, reunion
(1910) , photo of, 14
Lyle, Royster, Jr., 25; article by, 26-27
Mack Dowell, John: gravestone of, 65
Madison County: place-names survey of,
171n, 173, 174, 175-76
Manarin, Louis H., 85n; article by, 85-96
Manassas (Bull Run): First Battle of, 13,
14-19; Second Battle of, 90
Manu scripts: collection, photo of, 166;
preservation of, 167-70
Marshall, John (Chief Justice), 221
Massie, James W., 198
Matthews, George (Ga. gov.), 46- 47
Index
Maury , Matthew Fontaine, 147; and Rockbridge County, grapes of, 182-83; and
Rockbridge County , mineral waters of, 184
Maury (North) River, 223; boatyards on ,
222, 226; Jordan' s Point, 109-35 passim;
Jordan 's Point, bridge at , 113-15 , 122,
124-25, 126-28, 135
McBride, Elizabeth : gravestone of, 73
McClellan, Gen. George B., 89 , 91, 93, 94
McCluer, Nathan : gra vestone of, 72
McC lung, William, 49
McClure, Andrew , 45-46
M cCorkle, Calvin, 135; and Jordan 's Point,
business of, 124-26
McCorkle, Mary Jane (Mrs . Calvin), 125
Mccorkle , T. E ., 131
McCoy, William, 47
McCue, John, 44-45
McCulloch , Ruth A . , 26
McDaniel, John M ., In; article by, 1-8
McDowell , James, 184,213
McDowell, Gov. James, 198
McDowell , John, 213,214; gravestone of, 65
McDowell, Robert, 30
McDowell Family Graveyard , 65 , 66
McKee, J . T .: Liberty Hall Volunteers,
reunion (1910) , photo of, 14
McKy, John: gravestone of, 65 - 67; photo of
gravestone of, 66
McLaughlin, William, 204
McMahon, Edward: and Jordan's Point,
128-30, 131,133
Meade, Everard: Liberty Hall Volunteers ,
reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Meade, Gen. George G., 92
Meade, William : Liberty Hall Volunteers,
reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Meetinghouses: colonial, 69; Presbyterian, 63
Methodist church : conferences of, 99, 104,
105, 106; missionaries (see Taylor, Bishop
William)
Midland Trail, 212
Millboro and Kerrs Creek Turnpike, 224;
map of, 226
Miller, James: gravestone of, 64
Miller's Landing, 222, 229
Mineral waters, 184
Moger, Allen W., 25,238; article by, 31-34
Montgomery, Martha: gravestone of, 71
Montgomery, Dr. William: gravestone of,
69; photo of gravestone of, 68
Moomaw, Benjamin C., 186
Moore , David E., 194
Moore, S. R.: Liberty Hall Volunteers,
reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Moorehead, John , 113
Morrison, Eliza : gravestone of, 69
Morrison, Mary Anna. See Jack son, Mary
Anna Morrison
Morrison, Rev . Robert Hall, 209
Moses, Genevieve H., 135
Moses, N. P., 135
Moses, P. B.: and Jordan 's Point, 134
" Moses' Mill," 134-35
Natural Bridge, The, 215,219
Natural Bridge Turnpike, 224; map of, 226
Neal , C . F .: Liberty Hall Volunteers, reunion
(1910), photo of, 14
Nelson, Alexander L., 141 , 143
Nelson, Rev. Robert, 199
New Monmouth Presbyterian Church : graveyard of, 69, 71
New Providence Presbyterian Church: architecture of, 73; graveyard of, 69, 70 , 73
New River, 80
Nichols, Edmonia Waddell : photo of, 32
Northern Virginia, Army of, 9, 22; and R . E.
Lee, commander of, 86-87 , 89-93
North Ri ver. See Maury River
North River Bridge: photos of, 128
North River Canal, 122-30 passim, 138, 222 ,
229; boat landings, map of, 226; construction of, 115-17
North River Navigation Company, 116, 204,
229
Nunn, Phil ("Dixie"), 27
Oral history , 81-82; Appalachian Oral
History Project, 78
Owen, Isaac, 99-100, 101
Oxford Presbyterian Church, 98, 239; graveyard of, 70, 71
Padget, Frank, 233
Page, Coupland R., 9-23; and Stonewall
Jackson, 10, 11, 15-18, 19-23; photos of,
11, 14
Page, William Nelson, 9n, 195
Page, Willie (brother, Coupland), 13, 19, 20
Paine, John W., 116
Patton, Col. James, 213,214
Paul, Audley, family, 97
245
Index
Paxton, Eleanor: gravestone of, 67; photo of
gravestone of, 68
Paxton, Col. James, 116
Paxton, John (Timber Grove), 217; gravestone of, 67; funeral expenses of, 111
Paxton, John (Glasgow): gravestone of, 70
Paxton, Joseph: gravestone of, 69
Paxton, Phebe: gravestone of, 70
Paxton-Amole Graveyard, 67
Paxton's Boatyard, 217,222
Paxton's Ford, 110
Peabody College, 50
Pendleton, Alexander S. ("Sandy"), 19, 20
Pendleton, William Nelson: chief of Artillery, 9, 22, 23; ministry of, 194, 199
Peninsula Campaign, 88, 89, 93, 94; map of,
90
Pioneers: and the forests, 157-65
Place-names: derivation of, 171-76
Place Name Survey: of the United States,
173-74; of Virginia, 171n, 174-75, 176
Poindexter, Mr. (census taker, 1860), 190
Poor Richard's Almanac: French translation
of, 54
Pope, Gen. John, 89-90, 93
Pratt, Maria L. Waddell: photo of, 32
Presbyterian church: divisions in, 37, 43-44;
expansion of, role of Liberty Hall class of
1785, 36, 38, 42, 44-45, 50; meetinghouses,
63
-ministers: educational qualifications of,
37; teaching, occupation of, 38, 39, 45
Presbytery: of Cumberland, 37; of Hanover,
2, 36; Independent, 37; of Lexington, 42,
45; of Transylvania, 36-38, 44
Preston, Col. James F., 15, 17
Preston, John T. L., 139, 150, 194, 199,200;
and Lexington Tannery, 207
Preston, Lucy Waddell: photo of, 32
Preston, Margaret Junkin (Mrs. John T. L.),
139, 143, 149; and T. J. Jackson, 198,200,
208; writer, 147n, 150, 155
Preston, Thomas L., 194
Preston, William C. (son of J.T.L.), 199
Priestly, James, 49-50
Princeton University, 2, 7; and Archibald
Alexander, 111
Pritchard, "Captain," 227
Psalmody question, 43-44
Pusey, William W. , Ill, 139n;. article by,
139-56
246
R. E. Lee Hotel, 234
R . E . Lee Memorial (Episcopal) Church, 194,
199
Railroads, 225, 227, 229, 230; and Jordan's
Point, 132-34, 138
Randolph, George W., 22
Rankin, Rev. Adam, 42-44
Rapps Mill School, 98
Reid, Agnes Ann. See Alexander, Agnes Ann
Reid
Reid, Andrew, 28; county clerk, 26-27, 111
Reid, Samuel McDowell, 128-29, 191,194
"Reid-White House," 194
Revely, D.R., 127
Revere, Paul, 52
Rhodes, Frank, 196
"Rhodes House," 28
Richmond: during the Civil War, 86, 88, 89
Roane, Archibald, 47-49; painting of, 48
Rockbridge Alum Springs, 184, 209
Rockbridge Baths, 184
Rockbridge battery: at First Battle of
Manassas, 16
Rockbridge County, 111; and Borden's
Grant, 110; census of 1860 of, 189-96;
court of, 26, 27; geological cross-section,
diagram of, 180; geological history of,
177-81, 182, 183; natural resources of,
184-87; place-names of, 171-73, 174, 175,
176; place-name survey of, 237; trade of,
217-19,220,230
-transportation systems of, 211-31; map of,
226
Rockbridge County Bible Society, 145,200
Rockbridge County News, 27, 32
Rock bridge Historical Society, 190, 211;
activities of (1975-79), 233-37; Community Museum of, 34, 234, 235, 236;
formation of, 34; officers of (1975-80),
232-33; and place-names survey, 171, 175,
176
-properties of, 25-34: "Campbell House,"
25, 33-34; "The Castle," 25, 26-27, 33-34;
"Sloan House," 25, 28, 33-34; map of, 29;
photo of, 29
"Rockbridge Park" : A. J . Davis, suggestion
of, 129-30
Rocky Spring (Presbyterian) Church, 42
Rogers, Mount: volcanic center of, 178
Rose, Rev. Robert, 214-15, 220,221
Ross, Agnes R., 133
Ross, J.D.H.: and Jordan's Point, business
of, 12~-34, 138
Index
Rouse, Francis, 43
Rubbings of gravestones, 64-65; illustrations
of, 75
Ruff, Col. Jacob, 116
Ruffner, William Henry, 200
Salling, John Peter, 181-82, 215
Sallings Mountain, 181
Schneider, Cary A., 63n; article by, 63-76
Scotch-Irish: immigrants, 31, 109; and Liberty Hall Academy, 3-4, 6-8
Seven Days Battles, 89
Sevier, John, 40-41, 48-49
Sharpsburg (Antietam), Battle of, 90-91, 94
Shearley, George, 195-96, 207
Shenandoah, Army of the, 13, 14. See also
Northern Virginia, Army of
Shenandoah Valley, 10, 91, 93, 109; campaign (Civil War) of, 20-21, 22, 88, 94
Sherrard, J. L.: Liberty Hall Volunteers,
reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Shields, Martha. See Sloan, Martha Shields
Shields, Randolph Tucker, Jr., 9n; article by,
9-23; photo of, 11
Shirley, Mr. (tanner), 195-96, 207
Simpson, Pamela H., 25; article by, 28-30
Slaves, 185; of T. J. Jackson, 208-9; in
Rockbridge County, 190, 207-8
Sloan, Alexander T., 28, 30
Sloan, Eleanor (Mrs. Alexander T.), 28, 30
Sloan, John, 28
Sloan, Martha Shields (Mrs. John), 28
"Sloan House," 25; history of, 28-30, 33-34;
photo of, 29
Smith, Adam (economist), 159
Smith, Alphonso, 190
Smith, Catharine Malina: gravestone of, 76
Smith, Francis H., 198, 199, 205; and T. J.
Jackson, 203
Smith, James S., 194
Smith, Janetta Waddell: photo of, 32
Society of the Cincinnati, 47
Southern Literary Messenger, 141, 150, 152
Spencer, Edgar W., 177n; article by, 177-88
Spotswood, Gov. Alexander, 212,214
Steele, Joseph G.: and Jordan's Point, 125,
127, 131
Stonecutters, 63-76
Stone sculpture, early American, 63-64. See
also Gravestones, Rockbridge County
Stonewall Brigade, 9, 13, 15-19, 21, 22
"Stonewall Jackson House," 195, 196, 197;
photo of, 208; purchase by T. J. Jackson
of, 207, 208, 209; research center of, 189,
190, 196; restoration of, 236, 237
"Stono," 113; photo of, 114
Streets, Lexington: regrading of, 30
Strickland, William, 64
Strickler, G. B.: Liberty Hall Volunteers,
reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Struthers, John, 64
Stuart, Elizabeth A.: gravestone of, 69;
photo of gravestone of, 72
"Sunnyside," 128
Synod (Presbyterian): of Kentucky, 37; of
Virginia, 39
Tanner, Douglas W., 171n; article by, 171-76
Tanquary, A. B., 196
Taylor, Annie Kimberlin (Mrs. [Bishop]
William), 99-101, 102, 104-5, 106
Taylor, Charles R., 104
Taylor, James, 97
Taylor, Martha E. Hickman (Mrs. Stuart),
97-98
Taylor, Osman B. , 104
Taylor, Stuart, 97-98
Taylor, Stuart M. (son of [Bishop] William),
104
Taylor, Bishop William, 97-108; drawing of,
100; engraving of, 103; photo of, 103;
photo of birthplace of, 98
Taylor University, 108
Templeton, David: gravestone of, 67
Templeton, Polly: gravestone of, 67
Templin, Rev. Terah, 36-38
Terhune, Edward Payson, 142
Terhune, Mary Virginia Hawes [pseud.
Marion Harland], 142-43, 150, 155
Thoburn, James M., 105
Thompson, James, 15
Thomson, James Westfall: and the frontier
spirit, 158-59
"Thorn Hill," 116
Three-notched Road, 213
Timber. See Forests
Timber Grove Graveyard, 67
Timber Ridge, 181
Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church: graveyard of, 65, 69
Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church, 45
Tompkins, E. Pendleton, 26
247
Index
Tools, woodworking, 159, 164; photos of,
160, 161, 162
Trade, 217-19, 220, 230. See also Transportation systems
Transportation, frontier: use of cooperage
for, 165
Transportation systems: of Rockbridge
County area, 211-31; map of, 226
Traquair, Thomas, 64
Trinity United Methodist Church, 106
Turner, Charles W., 33, 97n, 211,228; article
by, 97-108
Turner, Frederick Jackson: frontier thesis of,
158, 159
Turner, T. M.: Liberty Hall Volunteers,
reunion (1910), photo of, 14
Turnpikes, 219, 224-25, 228, 229; map of,
226
United States Geological Survey, 174; maps,
of Virginia , 174, 175
University of the Pacific, 104
Utz, Calvin, 16
V.M.I. Island. See Jordan's Point
Valley Pike, 225,229
Virginia: lava flows, map of, 179
Virginia, University of: T. J. Jackson seeks
position at , 202, 203-4
Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission:
place-names, research of, 174-75
Virginia Infantry Regiments: Second, 16;
Fourth, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22; Fifth, 16;
Twenty-seventh, 16, 19; Thirty-third, 16,
18
Virginia Military Institute: and A . J. Davis's
"Rockbridge Park," 129-30; and Jordan's
Point property, 135. See also Jackson,
Thomas J ., and V.M.I.
Virginia Place Names (Hanson), 174
Virginia Place Name Society, 174. See also
Place Name Survey, of Virginia
Waddell, B. Harrison, 31 , 33
Waddell, Edmonia. See Nichols, Edmonia
Waddell
Waddell, Janetta. See Smith, Janetta
Waddell
Waddell, Lucy. See Preston, Lucy Waddell
Waddell, Maria L. See Pratt, Maria L.
Waddell
Waddell, Martha M.: photo of, 32
Waddell, Mary E. See Houston , Mary E.
Waddell
248
Waddell sisters, 30-33; photo of, 32
Wahab Meeting House, 42
Walker, Cadet J. A.: and T. J. Jackson, 203
Walker, Dr. Thomas, 214
Walkup, Arthur, 114
Wardlaw, Mary: gravestone of, 69
Washington, George, 2, 50, 58-59, 115; and
improvement of navigation and roads, 220;
in Rockbridge County, 215,219
Washington Academy, 2-3
Washington and Lee University, 112; Alumni
Association, gift to Washington National
Monument by , 144-45; buildings of, 113,
134; and Liberty Hall Academy ruins, 3, 6;
Phi Beta Kappa, established at, 33. See
also Augusta Academy; Liberty Hall
Academy; Washington College
Washington College: Civil War sentiments
of, 155-56; professors of, 141, 143; student
disorder at, 153, 154
Washington National Monument, 144-45
Watson, Charles N., Jr., 35n; article by,
35-50
Watts, Isaac, 43-44
Weaver, William, 227-28, 229
Weyer's Cave: in Civil War, 21, 22
White, James J. , 141, 147n; and Liberty Hall
Volunteers, captain of, 12-13, 17, 19;
photo of, 151; Washington College (W &
L), professor at, 143, 151
White, Mathew, 30, 191
White, William C., 125
White, Rev. William S., 20, 154, 199 ,200
White, Zechariah J.: gravestone of, 70
Williamson, Thomas H.: engineer, 116,229
Willson, William M., 150-51
Wilson, Mary (Wilson Springs), 106
Wilson, Mary E.: gravestone of, 74
Wilson, Sally R., 195
Wilson, Rev. William, 38
Wilson' s Springs, 184
Winchester: in Civil War, 13, 21
Winn, Lucy . See Jordan , Lucy Winn
Witherow, Margaret M., 195
Withrow, William, Jr., 223
Wood, Michael, 213
Woods Creek, 110,111, 129-30
Woodson, Wirt, 206
Yazoo land fraud, 46-47
Zouaves, New York Fire, 18, 19-20
Editors:
Sharon R. Ritenour is assistant editor of The Papers of George Catlett
Marshall at the George C. Marshall Research Foundation in
Lexington, Virginia. A graduate of Bridgewater College and James
Madison University, she taught world history and American history in
Virginia public schools and worked as graduate assistant for the
history department at James Madison University.
Larry I. Bland is editor of The Papers of George Catlett Marshall
at the George C. Marshall Research Foundation in Lexington,
Virginia. He received his Ph.D. in diplomatic history from the
University of Wisconsin, and has taught American history in
Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Assistant Editor:
Joellen K. Bland is editing assistant for The Papers of George Catlett
Marshall at the George C. Marshall Research Foundation in
Lexington, Virginia. A graduate of Purdue University, she is also a
freelance playwright with over twenty-five published dramatizations
of classics.
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