"The people of Providence Congregation packed all the sand used in building their church from a place six miles distant, sack and sack, on the backs of horses! And what is almost incredible, the fair wives and daughters of the congregation are said to have undertaken this part of the work, while the men labored at the stone and timber. Let not the great-granddaughters of these women blush for them however deeply they would blush themselves to be found in such employment. For ourselves, we admire the conduct of these females; it was not only excusable, but praiseworthy—it was almost heroic! It takes Spartan mothers to rear Spartan men. These were among the women whose sons and grandsons sustained Washington in the most disastrous period of the Revolution."
There was little social life in those early days such as their eastern cousins knew along the James River. Except for their church festivals, they did little entertaining. Twice a year they held the Lord's Supper and this lasted for four days, with religious services each day. During these times families living nearest the church invited those who lived at great distances to stay with them. Often some young couple would be married, either just before or immediately after these services. Then there would be a little merriment, extra cakes and a few playful pranks.
Dr. Ruffner has left us a description of Timber Ridge, which was built near Fairfield in Rockbridge County in 1776. The school took its name from the fine oak trees which grew along its ridge. He writes:
"The schoolhouse was a log cabin. The fine oak forest, which had given Timber Ridge its name, cast its shade over it in summer and afforded convenient fuel in winter. A spring of pure water gushed from the rocks near the house. From amidst the trees the student had a fine view of the country below and the neighboring Blue Ridge. In short all the features of the place made it a fit habitation of the woodland muse and the hill deserved the name of Mount Pleasant. Hither about thirty youths of the mountains repaired to 'taste of the Pierian spring.' Of reading, writing and ciphering, the boys of the country had before acquired such knowledge as primary schools could afford; but with a few late exceptions, Latin, Greek, algebra, geometry and such like scholastic mysteries were things of which they had heard—which they knew perhaps to lie covered up in the learned heads of their pastors—but of the nature and uses they had no conception whatever.
"It was a log hut of one room. The students carried their dinner with them from the boarding-schools in the neighborhood. They conned their lesson either in the schoolroom where the recitations were heard, or under the shade of the trees where breezes whispered and birds sang without disturbing their studies. A horn—perhaps a cow's horn—summoned the school from play and scattered classes to recitations.
"Instead of broadcloth coats, the students generally wore a far more graceful garment, the hunting shirt, home-spun, home-woven, and home-made, by the industry of wives and daughters.
"Their amusements were not less remote from the modern taste of students—cards, backgammon, flutes, fiddles, and even marbles were scarcely known among these mountain boys. Firing pistols and ranging the field with shotguns to kill little birds for sport, they would have considered a waste of time and ammunition. As to frequenting tippling shops of any denomination, that was impossible because no such catchpenny lures for students existed in the country, or would have been tolerated. Had any huckster of liquors, knicknacks, and explosive crackers, hung out signs in those days, the old Puritan morality of the land was yet vigorous enough to abate the nuisance. The sports of the students were mostly gymnastic, both manly and healthful—such as leaping, running, wrestling, pitching quoits and playing ball. In this rustic seminary a considerable number of young men began their education, who afterwards bore a distinguished part in the civil and ecclesiastical affairs of the country."
The Valley of Virginia has often been termed "the granary of the South." It is no wonder that farmers from time to time have tried to shorten their labor in the wheat fields by inventing machines to do their work.
The name Robert McCormick means little or nothing to most of us, yet on his farm, Walnut Grove, near Lexington he made repeated attempts to invent a workable reaper. His son, Cyrus, had watched with growing interest each of his father's undertakings. His regrets must have been as keen as the elder McCormick's when they realized one May morning in 1831 that the clumsy machine could not replace the hand scythe and cradle.
Cyrus knew something of machinery and determined to improve his father's poor invention in time for the next harvesting. During the intervening six weeks he stayed in the workshop as much as the busy growing season would allow and secured the ready help of a slave boy, Joe Anderson.
In July when the wheat was ready to harvest Cyrus and his father moved the machine out to the field. There a crowd of neighbors gathered and watched with fascination as the reaper cut six acres of wheat during the day.
McCormick continued to improve his invention and other farmers risked their money in purchasing the first six he offered on the market. Eventually the news spread to the grain fields of the Middle West and he opened factories to supply the farmers there.
For years the inventor strove to improve the reaper; he discovered that other labor saving devices were needed equally as badly, and he offered other types of farm machinery to the rich farm lands.
Inventive genius lay near Lexington along other lines, too. It was near here that James Gibbs invented his common sense stitch sewing-machine which was a forerunner of our more modern models. And what a labor-saving machine that was to all the housewives!
The Scotch-Irish were determined to have the best schools and colleges for their children. The Hanover Presbytery, which in 1776 embraced all the Presbyterian churches in Virginia, established a school which they called Liberty Hall Academy. This was built in Lexington, Virginia, with the Reverend William Graham, a native of Pennsylvania, as its first president. George Washington, in 1796, gave the school a regular endowment, the first of its kind. This is how it was made:
The Legislature of Virginia "as a testimony of their gratitude for his services," and as "a mark of their respect," presented to George Washington a certain number of shares in the Old James River Company, an industry then in progress. Unwilling to accept anything for his own benefit, he gave it to the Liberty Hall Academy.
In 1812, the Trustees of the school voted to ask the Virginia Legislature to change the name to Washington College. Many others decided to follow George Washington's fine example. A Mr. John Robinson left his whole estate to the college; the next to aid it, we are told, was the newly organized Society of the Cincinnati of Virginia.
Old records of the school throw an interesting light regarding the expenses of a student in those far-off days. The treasurer's bill for tuition, room rent, deposits and matriculation was $45 per year. Board was $7.50 a month. Laundry, fuel, candles and bed amounted to about three dollars per month. The cost of everything averaged about $140 a year.
When he was beset and overwhelmed, and without supplies, Robert Edward Lee reached Appomattox in April, 1865, and surrendered to General Grant on April 9th. He realized that the people of the South needed courage and strength, and though he was offered many places of honor with splendid salaries, he decided to help rebuild Virginia. When the call came to become president of Washington College in Lexington he accepted and took up his duties there in October, 1865.
As he spoke to the students assembled in the new chapel he saw familiar faces. Many of them had followed him during the years of the War Between the States; they, too, had courage and hope. These boys and men loved the noble man and they were willing to follow him in rebuilding their homes and the Southland.
"All good citizens must unite in honest efforts to obliterate the effects of war, and to restore the blessings of peace. They must not abandon their country, but go to work and build up its prosperity.
"The young men especially must stay at home, bearing themselves in such a manner as to gain the esteem of every one, at the same time that they maintain their own respect.
"It should be the object of all to avoid controversy, to allay passion, and to give scope to every kindly feeling."
In every respect he was prepared to be the president of a great school, for he himself had been a model student at West Point. He had already served as Superintendent there for three years.
He was very happy during the short years he lived in Lexington. He had the grounds improved, planted many trees, and repaired the much worn buildings. He studied and worked over the courses of study and enlarged the faculty.
A young girl who was visiting in the home of General Lee in Lexington, tells the following story. It was soon after the Surrender at Appomattox and his acceptance of the Presidency of Washington College.
General Lee, with his family, was living in one of the comfortable and large houses near the college. Their home at Arlington had been confiscated during the War Between the States, and they had no furniture except some which neighbors had lent them.
—Courtesy Virginia State Chamber of Commerce
Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.
One day a letter came to General Lee, telling him good news. A lady who lived in New York wrote him that her husband had died, and having no children she had decided to give up housekeeping. She had been very happy and had loved her home. Now she wanted the furnishings to belong to someone who would appreciate and would care for them. She wrote she sympathized with them in not having their own furniture and that there was no one to whom she had rather give hers.
General Lee hated the thought of accepting, until he read on, that if he could not use the furniture himself, perhaps he could use it in his college. After some time he wrote the lady he would be very grateful and would appreciate it very much.
In the meantime Mrs. Lee was looking forward to its coming, for her large rooms were indeed very bare. At last the great boxes came. General Lee was busy, so Mrs. Lee waited until he could be present to have them opened.
After lunch one day, General Lee had men come to open them. Mrs. Lee's eyes shone as the first box revealed two huge red velvet carpets.
She looked at the General. His eyes were shining too.
"Look, my dear," he said, "The very thing we need! If we cut them carefully, we will have enough to carpet the platform and the aisles of the new chapel!"
"Of course," she smiled, never saying one word about how warm and lovely they would make the double parlors in their own home.
The next box was opened with intense interest. The men lifted out the upper part of a handsome bookcase. The next brought the lower half, a lovely desk, with many drawers.
"Oh," thought Mrs. Lee. "That will fill up that terrible space between the windows."
"This is the very thing we want," General Lee said, as the men took them to the walk. "We will put that in the basement of the new chapel. We will use it for our records and put our best books in the bookcase, and this will be the beginning of our college library."
And so it went. He used the best of everything for his college, and Mrs. Lee took only the odds and ends which did not fit anywhere else. Someone told her she should have taken a stand and insisted upon taking some of the best.
"Oh, no," she laughed, "it was worth giving all of it up to see the joy the General had in putting it to use in his college. The boys come first—both of us are so interested in them."
General Lee died in October, 1870, loved by men and women, boys and girls in both the North and South. His body rests under a beautiful white marble figure, which was sculptured by his friend, Edward Valentine. It is called the Recumbent Statue of General Lee and lies in the Chapel of Washington and Lee. This is now a shrine to which hundreds come daily from all over the world to pay their homage, love and respect to this great man.
—Courtesy Virginia State Chamber of Commerce
Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute was first an academy and was established in connection with Washington College by an act of the Legislature during the years 1838-9. A guard of soldiers had been maintained at the expense of the State for the purpose of affording protection to the arms deposited in the Lexington arsenal for the use of the militia in western Virginia. It was through the influence of Governor McDowell, who came from Rockbridge County, that this militia was made into an educational unit of Washington College.
One seldom thinks of the Virginia Military Institute without associating with it the noted Colonel Claudius Crozet—soldier, educator and engineer. He was the first president of the V.M.I. Board of Visitors. An imposing hall at the Institute is named in his honor.
In the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hall hangs the painting which depicts the charge of the corps of cadets at the Battle of New Market. "This great painting, not a mural, is one of the largest canvas paintings in the country"—according to authorities there.
Among other memorial buildings is the one erected in honor of Brigadier-General Scott Shipp, a former cadet, instructor and superintendent; Maury-Brooke Hall, dedicated to Matthew Fontaine Maury, the Pathfinder of the Seas and honoring Commander John Mercer Brooke, inventor of the deep-sea sounding apparatus and builder of the first successful iron-clad vessel, the "Merrimac."
During the War Between the States the greater part of the buildings were destroyed by Federal authority. When General Lee heard of this tragedy he wrote to General F. H. Smith, the superintendent there. We quote his letter because of its prophetic message:
"Camp Petersburg, (Va.) July 4, 1864.
"I have grieved over the destruction of the Military Institute. But the good that has been done to the country cannot be destroyed, nor can its name or fame perish. It will rise stronger than before, and continue to diffuse its benefits to a grateful people. Under wise administration, there will be no suspension of its usefulness. The difficulties by which it is surrounded will call forth greater energies from its officers and increased diligence from its pupils. Its prosperity I consider certain.
"With great regards, yours very truly,
"R. E. Lee."
There is a glamor attached to this Virginia school unique in the country. It comes not alone from the bright cadet uniforms, the parade grounds, the gray stone barracks and the esprit de corps evidenced there; part is kept alive by the hundreds of loyal alumni and friends whose devotion is unlimited. This "West Point of the South" maintains the traditions of the time of Stonewall Jackson and graduates young officers for the army and young men for every field of business. A current Broadway show of popular appeal and a cinema of note is that of "Brother Rat" which depicts the life at V.M.I.
Who can resist a story about the Revolutionary War? There is a fascination surrounding the heroes and heroines of that era and most of us listen attentively to any legend depicting the action of our forefathers.
From a point along the Skyline Drive one may look toward Culpeper County. (In fact, in all probability you passed through a part of this old county if you took an east to west route to reach the drive.) Among other things Culpeper is justly famous for its Minute Men of the Revolutionary War.
The town was formed from Orange in 1748 and was named in honor of Lord Culpeper, Governor of Virginia from 1680 to 1683. This land was a part of the original land grant to Lord Fairfax. It was here in the old Courthouse that young George Washington produced his commission as surveyor. The record reads:
"20th July, 1749—George Washington Gent. produced a commission from the President and Master of William and Mary College, appointing him to be surveyor of this county, which was read, and thereupon he took the usual oaths to his majesty's person and government, and took and subscribed the abjuration oath and test, and then took the oath of surveyor, according to law."
Speaking years later in the Senate, John Randolph of Roanoke remarked that the Minute Men "were raised in a minute, armed in a minute, marched in a minute, fought in a minute, and vanquished in a minute." These soldiers chose as part of their uniform green hunting shirts with "Liberty or Death" stamped in large letters across the front. Buck tails hung from their old hats and from their belts swung tomahawks and scalping knives. Their wild appearance on reaching Williamsburg, the capital of the colony, set the inhabitants in as much fear as did the thought of invasion by the enemy! Lieutenant John Marshall who was later to become Chief Justice was among the number—as was his father.
The slogan of the Minute Men "Liberty or Death" brought forth humor from one wag who said the phrasing was too strong for him; he would enlist if it were changed to "Liberty or Be Crippled."
Almost upon their immediate arrival at Williamsburg they were marched to Norfolk County and were participants in the Battle of Great Bridge.
Not so far from Gordonsville there is a simple marker near the site of "Belle Grove," a little church made famous by a blind preacher. And back of the monument itself is a story well worth repeating. It is a tale told by William Wirt in his British Spy.
In that account Wirt said:
"It was one Sunday as I travelled through the county of Orange, that my eye was caught by a cluster of horses tied near a ruinous old wooden house in the forest, not far from the roadside. Having frequently seen such objects before, in travelling through these States, I had no difficulty in understanding that this was a place of religion."
He stated further that he was filled with curiosity as to the type of minister who would preach in such a wilderness as he was passing through and so he stopped and joined the worshippers. He described the preacher, a Presbyterian in faith, as having one of the most striking appearances he had ever seen and a most remarkable delivery.
"I have never seen, in any other orator, such a union of simplicity and majesty. He has not a gesture, an attitude, or an accent, to which he does not seem forced by the sentiment which he is expressing. His mind is too serious, too earnest, too solicitous, and, at the same time, too dignified, to stoop to artifice. Although as far removed from ostentation as a man can be, yet it is clear from the train, the style, and substance of his thoughts, that he is not only a very polite scholar, but a man of extensive and profound erudition."
James Waddel was the name of this remarkable old man of God. He was born in Ireland in 1739 and was brought to America as an infant.
Another interesting tale was told in the neighborhood. Waddel's fame as a preacher had spread through the vicinity. On one occasion a committee from a different faith prepared to wait on him and urge him to occupy their pulpit as well as his own. Upon nearing his dwelling they were shocked to hear sweet plaintive notes coming from a violin and resolved to learn who in his household would dare to play the devil's instrument. They crept softly to the window. Such amazement was theirs when they saw their potential minister himself drawing the bow—and with apparent enjoyment and satisfaction. More quickly than they had approached did they leave the yard and felt righteously thankful that they had seen the true nature of the man before it was too late!
Not only did the Blind Preacher serve as minister, but like others of his profession he conducted a school.
And what happened to the old church itself? Long abandoned as a meeting house for the Presbyterians, about 1850 it was sold and taken down by the "Sons of Temperance" and converted into a temperance hall at Gordonsville. Later it housed a school. Finally it was sold to a colored preacher as a church for his flock.
Outstanding among the old churches in this part of Virginia is Hebron Church in Madison County.
The little colony of Germans at Germanna, to whom we have already referred, and a few immigrants from Holland were responsible for its early establishment. First it was known as "Old Dutch Church." Located on its original site its existence has been in three different counties: Orange, Culpeper and now Madison!
Hebron is the oldest Lutheran church not only in Virginia but in the South. About 1733 the nucleus of the congregation met and sent a representative to England for a pastor. It seems a bit surprising that no English parson felt the call to tend the flock in an outpost of Virginia, but it is true that no one was possessed of the missionary spirit to that extent.
In 1735 a Hessian who had come to America eight years before, the Rev. Casper Stoever, left his home in Pennsylvania and became the first pastor. His annual salary, by the way, was four thousand pounds of tobacco or just about forty dollars in currency. This was paid by the congregation in addition to the taxes which were required of the Non-Conformist churches towards the upkeep of the established English church.
Everyone in Madison is vastly proud of the old pipe organ at Hebron. It was built in 1800 at Philadelphia and brought to its present place on wagon—a journey which took a long time and infinite pains. Jacob and Michael Rouse were entrusted with the task of hauling. The organ cost two hundred pounds sterling. Interesting, too, is the complete old communion service which dates back to the church's early beginnings.
In recent years visiting concert organists have played on the fine old instrument at the request of the congregation.
During the administration of former President Hoover a fine camp was built on the banks of the Rapidan River in Madison County where the Chief Executive, his family and friends enjoyed the trout fishing and rustic life that the camp afforded. A main lodge was erected for the President. Guest lodges for the Cabinet members and others were located nearby. This retreat is within easy driving distance of the White House and was in constant use for week-ends during the summer months. From Washington the Presidential parties took route 211 to Warrenton and from there two routes were offered: either a continuation of route 211 to Sperryville, then south to Criglersville on route 16, or from Warrenton to Culpeper to Criglersville.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Hoover became very much interested in the life of the mountaineers who grew to be their friendly neighbors. You have heard the story, no doubt, of the small unlettered boy who brought a gift to the President and who aroused in him and Mrs. Hoover the desire to see a school built in the neighborhood which would serve a large mountain area. An excellent little frame building nestles among the sloping hills which attracts the children of all ages within a radius of many miles. One part of the building is used for class instruction and the rest for living quarters for the teacher. This school was made possible largely through the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Hoover.
One may see the school and the entrance to the Rapidan Camp by following the road which leads from Big Meadow, a plateau on the Skyline Drive, to Criglersville.
The camp is still in use at times. Cabinet members and other government officials enjoy its stream and mountain beauties, but not to the extent of former times.
Every school child knows the outstanding facts about Thomas Jefferson. He will rattle off quickly that he was born near Charlottesville in Albemarle County, in 1743, that he was at William and Mary College when only seventeen and played his fiddle which he had carried as he rode the long miles between Charlottesville and Williamsburg. He graduated there and was admitted to the bar. Thomas Jefferson drafted, at the request of the Committee, the Declaration of Independence. He was Governor of Virginia during the trying years of the Revolutionary War. We shall not give all the offices which he held, except to mention that he spent some years abroad in France as United States Minister. For almost forty years he served his country, having been President of it from 1801 to 1809.
It is from the quaint letters of his granddaughter, Ellenora Randolph, that one may read of the tenderness, the lovable disposition and the human side of this great American.
She was said to be his favorite grandchild and she writes of how she sat on his knee and played with his huge watch chain. He never went to Philadelphia without bringing her little luxuries which it was impossible to buy in Virginia. He brought her a Bible, a lady's side saddle, a Leghorn hat, and a set of Shakespeare.
—Courtesy Virginia Conservation Commission
"Monticello", Near Charlottesville, Va.
She tells how Jefferson's wife had died when his daughters were quite young and that he had been so kind and sympathetic in "shaping their lives."
There is an interesting love story here, too, for Ellenora met and fell in love with Joseph Coolidge of Boston. He came a-wooing the Virginia beauty, and according to the custom of that day, he wrote Mr. Jefferson of his intentions to marry his granddaughter before he proposed to her.
The following is Jefferson's reply to Joseph Coolidge:
"Monticello, October 24, 1824.
"I avail myself of the first moment of my ability to take up a pen to assure you that nothing would be more welcome to me than the visit proposed and its object.... I assure you no union could give me more satisfaction if your wishes are mutual. Your visit to Monticello and at the time of your convenience will be truly welcome, and your stay, whatever may suit yourself. My gratification will be measured by the time of its continuance....
"I expect in the course of the first or the second week of the approaching month to receive here the visit of my ancient friend, General LaFayette. The delirium which his visit has excited in the North envelopes him in the South also ... and the county of Albemarle will exhibit its great affection and unending means in a dinner given the General in the building of the University, to which they have given accepted invitations to Mr. and Mrs. James Madison and myself as guests; and at which your presence as my guest would give high pleasure to us all, and to name, I assure you more cordially than sincerely your friend;
(Signed) "Thomas Jefferson."
The wedding accounts give the names of fifty distinguished Americans who came to pay their respects to Ellenora and her husband. Every distinguished foreigner came in person; besides these, there came many of the men who had known and loved Jefferson during all his years of service. Imagine all the horses that had to be fed, all the gigs and coaches and all the Negro servants who had to be quartered. No one is surprised that what the man had accumulated was fast disappearing with so much hospitality.
But Ellenora had her troubles upon arriving in Boston. Her presents and other possessions had been sent by boat and it had sunk! Her letter tells of her great distress at losing the trinkets associated with her happy girlhood. But most of all, she expressed her grief upon losing a writing desk which Grandfather Jefferson had had made for her by his master carpenter, a Negro servant. This was a very talented carver who had faithfully carried out each detailed design which his master had given him. Now he was old and had grown blind and he could no longer make one. This is Jefferson's letter to his granddaughter—and explains how a most historic desk went a-travelling:
"It has occurred to me that perhaps I can replace it (desk) not indeed to you, but to Mr. Coolidge, by a substitute, not claiming the same value from its decorations but the part it has bourne in our history, and the event with which it has been associated.... Now I happen to possess the writing box on which the Declaration of Independence was written. It was made from a drawing of my own, by Ben Randall, a cabinetmaker in whose house I took lodging on my first arrival in Philadelphia, in May, 1776, and I have had it ever since. It claims no merit of particular beauty. It is plain, neat and convenient and taking no more room on a writing table than a modern quarto volume it displays itself sufficient for any writing. Mr. Coolidge must do me the favor of accepting this. Its imaginary value will increase with the years. If he lives till my age, he may see it carried in the procession of our nation's birthday."
So this is how the famous desk went to New England and was finally sent to the State Department in Washington by the Coolidges in 1876.
When Thomas Jefferson was an old man, he began to carry out his dream, one which he had had for a long time, to build a university. All his life he had loved to draw plans and he carefully made his own blueprints. He drew plans for lovely Monticello when he was twenty-eight years old. His friends came from far and near to get him to draw plans for their homes. Ashlawn, Montpelier and others are monuments to this master builder. He had his own ideas about educating the young men of Virginia. He wanted to see them fitted to be fine citizens by having a good education, for he knew it was through good citizens that a good government would be realized. But first he had to educate his friends along this line. Many of them still thought a tutor in the family was the best way. Many did not believe in "mass education." For ten long years he worked to get a bill through the Legislature which called for the establishment of the University of Virginia. At last, in 1825 the school was opened. But many years passed before Jefferson could get the buildings he had dreamed of and had planned. Then when he was eighty-two, his dream came true.
—Courtesy Virginia State Chamber of Commerce
Rotunda of University of Virginia
Today one may see his university, set on a sloping hill. The buildings are models of architecture and Jefferson himself superintended the construction of them. It is told that he often watched the carpenters from Monticello through a telescope. Jefferson also planned those early courses of study and helped in the selection of the faculty. The spirit of Jefferson is still felt there today and each generation of students has been enriched by it and the noble traditions of the school.
Many famous students have gone there. Edgar Allan Poe wrote "The Raven" and "Anabel Lee" there. An Arctic explorer from the University was Elisha Kane. Walter Reed studied medicine and, as we know, won the fight against yellow fever by his heroic experiments. Each year, men go out from this great old school who help to build a greater country—just as Jefferson dreamed they would.
After his death on July 4, 1826, someone found a paper on which he had written these words:
"Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom
and Father of the University of Virginia."
And today, one finds his tomb halfway up the hill to Monticello and the words above are cut upon the simple shaft which marks his grave.
Monticello is open to the public and may be reached by a hard surface road leading out of Charlottesville. Through careful research and diligence the Monticello Memorial Association has brought back to the home much of the fine furnishings which Jefferson himself had collected. At the present time the second and third floors of the mansion are being faithfully restored.
So reads the last stanza of an inscription on a tablet erected in his memory. But who was Jack Jouett and what of his "greatest ride?"
During the stirring days of the American Revolution Thomas Jefferson was Governor of Virginia. Hearing that the British were expected to reach Richmond he recommended that the capital of the colony be moved to Charlottesville until after danger from the enemy should pass. This was done and Jefferson stayed at his home, Monticello.
At Cuckoo Tavern in Louisa County, fifty miles from Charlottesville, young Jouett was sitting around one night getting the latest news of the rebellion, when Tarleton, who commanded a British force, came into the place. Jouett hid from sight and overheard Tarleton talking with several other English officers. They said they were impatient to be on their way to Monticello to capture Jefferson, Patrick Henry and other Virginia leaders. Jack stayed to hear the route they would take to Charlottesville and then slipped away on his horse.
The famous ride occurred on back roads in order to beat the British to their destination. He crossed to the main road long enough to tell a family of Walkers that the British were coming for the Governor. Later Tarleton drew in at the same home and demanded breakfast from Mrs. Walker. Knowing that time meant a great deal to the rider going ahead with the news, she delayed the meal as long as possible.
As Jouett climbed the last hill to Monticello he heard the horses of Tarleton's party in the distance, so he spurred his animal on and in a last-minute sprint he reached the home. The plans were revealed and Jefferson hurriedly assembled his family. As their carriage left by a back road the English came up another and searched in vain for the Governor.
Jouett went from there to Charlottesville to warn the members of the legislature of the impending danger and they fled to Staunton—all but seven of the legislators who were overtaken and captured. The story is told of how he saved General Stevens, a member of the Assembly. As they rode along, some British soldiers saw them and set their horses at a great pace. Jack had on a plumed hat which might appear important to the soldiers; he told the general to ride slowly across an open field as if he were the owner out on an inspection tour of his lands. He himself would dash off in the hope of getting the troopers to follow him. The plan worked. Jouett finally left the pursuers far behind and later on he returned to his home in Charlottesville.
Much later the Virginia legislature passed a resolution commending the valor of Jack Jouett and presented him with a pair of pistols and a sword as a mark of appreciation of his service to the State. Swan Tavern, left him by his father, occupied his time after the war. He died in Kentucky where he had moved as an old man.
Thomas Jefferson knew the two young men whom he wanted to explore the great Northwest, for they had been born almost at the foot of Monticello. They were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Each of them, almost as boys, had been a soldier and each loved adventure.
Meriwether Lewis had inherited a fortune from his father and he could have settled down to a life of ease. But after eighteen he would not go to school any longer. He had fought in the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania and then entered the army. He was commissioned captain in 1800 and served for three years. Then Thomas Jefferson asked him to be his secretary and it was in this office that Jefferson found his admirable qualities.
William Clark was four years older than his friend Lewis. He was born in 1770 and was a brother of George Rogers Clark. When he was fourteen years old he went with his family to the Ohio River where his brother George had built a fort. There he learned the ways of the Indians and often he was in the thick of their raids. He, too, joined the regular army and received his commission when he was only eighteen years old. He went to St. Louis and was commissioned as second lieutenant of the artillery and ordered to join the great expedition.
Captain Lewis was first in command and he selected his men carefully. There were fourteen soldiers in the little party and two Canadian boatmen, an interpreter, a hunter and a Negro servant.
Thomas Jefferson did not give them a lot of orders. The following instructions show his wisdom:
"Treat them (Indians) in the most friendly and concilliating manner which their own conduct will admit; allay all jealousies as to the object of your journey; satisfy them of its innocence; make them acquainted with the position, extent, character, peaceable, and commercial intercourse with them; confer with them on the points most convenient as mutual emporiums and the articles of most desirable interchange for them and us. If a few of their influential chiefs, within practicable distance wish to visit us, arrange such a visit with them, and furnish them with authority to call on our officers on their entering the United States, to have them conveyed to this place at the public expense. If any of them should wish to have some of their people brought up with us and use such arts as may be useful to them, we will receive, instruct, and take care of them."
The fact that so little trouble was had by the party is due to the skill which Clark used in handling the Indians. We will not go into the details of the expedition, for everyone knows what a wonderful, rich territory was gained for the United States by that expedition.
Fredericksburg, fifty-five miles south of Washington and about the same distance north of Richmond, Virginia, on Route 1, rightly claims to be one of the most historic cities in the United States. Visitors who make a tour of the Valley of Virginia and the Skyline Drive may want to begin their trip here, for it serves as a hub for long or short visits to neighboring places of interest. From Fredericksburg one may drive to Culpeper, Sperryville and Panorama and enter the Skyline Drive at that point, or he may wish to go from Fredericksburg to Warrenton and thence to the Skyline Drive. Another excellent route is by way of Orange and Stanardsville and on to Swift Run Gap, the Southern entrance to the Drive at the present time.
"Kenmore", the Home of Fielding Lewis and Betty Washington Lewis, Fredericksburg, Virginia
A splendid trip from this old city is to "Wakefield," the birthplace of George Washington, in Westmoreland County, and from there to "Stratford Hall," the ancestral home of the Lee family and the birthplace of General Lee, both in Westmoreland County. About two miles from Fredericksburg on this route is "Ferry Farm" where George Washington spent a part of his boyhood.
In the city itself there are shrines to famous folks of an earlier period. The home of Mary Washington, mother of the first President, is open to the public. "Kenmore," former home of Betty Washington Lewis and Colonel Fielding Lewis is well cared for by an association. Both these homes have good examples of eighteenth century furnishings. The Rising Sun Tavern was the scene years ago of the Victory Ball after the surrender at Yorktown; it was host to most of the famous men of Virginia and neighboring States for years. In the Masonic Lodge are a number of relics of Washington's time and an original Gilbert Stuart portrait of the General. General Hugh Mercer, a noted physician of the Revolution had his apothecary shop in Fredericksburg and the visitor may see it upon request. Mary Washington's will is on record at the courthouse here.
On Charles Street in Fredericksburg, Virginia, stands a shrine to the memory of James Monroe, who served his country in more public offices than any other American in the history of the United States. This quaint story-and-a-half brick building, which he occupied from 1786 to 1788, was the only private law office in which Monroe practiced his profession. It was built in 1758 and stands in its original state, even to the woodwork and mantles of the interior. Only the old brick floor and plastering had to be restored. This was accomplished in 1928, when the building was opened to the public as the first shrine to the memory of the fifth President. At that time there was placed in it the largest number of Monroe possessions in existence, handed down for five generations in straight line to his descendants, who made the shrine possible.