The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution, Vol. 2 (of 2) / or, Illustrations, by Pen And Pencil, of the History, Biography, Scenery, Relics, and Traditions of the War for Independence

by Benson John Lossing

CHAPTER XVII.

Virginia, hail! Thou venerable state

In arms and council still acknowledged great!

When lost Britannia, in an evil hour,

First tried the steps of arbitrary power,

Thy foresight then the Continent alarm'd;

Thy gallant temper ev'ry bosom warm'd.

And now, when Britain's mercenary bands

Bombard our cities, desolate our lands

(Our prayers unanswer'd, and our tears in vain),

While foreign cut-throats crowd the ensanguined plain,

Thy glowing virtue caught the glorious flame,

And first renounced the cruel tyrant's name!

With just disdain, and most becoming pride,

Further dependence on the erown denied!

While Freedom's voice can in these wilds be heard,

Virginia's patriots shall be still revered."

Holt's New York Journal, June, 1776=.

ICHMOND, the metropolis of Virginia, is situated at the Falls of the James River, a locality known and mentioned as early as 1609, two years after the commencement of a settlement at Jamestown, and the same year that Henry Hudson first entered and explored New York Bay and the North River. In that year, Captain West was sent, with one hundred and twenty men, to make a settlement at the Falls. They pitched their tents at the head of navigation, at a place now known as Rockett's, just below Richmond. It was near one of the imperial residences of Powhatan when the foundations of Jamestown were first laid. Captain John Smith, then president of the colony, visited West's settlement toward the close of 1609. He disliked the situation, on account of the overflowing of the river, and, purchasing from Powhatan a tract now known by that name, two miles below Richmond, where the Indians had a palisade fort, he directed the settlers to remove thither. They refused compliance, while Smith strenuously insisted upon obedience. An open rupture ensued. Smith committed some of the ringleaders to confinement; but this so exasperated the remainder, that, with menaces of death, they drove him to his vessel in the river. The Indians espoused the cause of Smith, and the settlers and the natives became bitter enemies. Smith, greatly chagrined, sailed down the river for Jamestown. As soon as he was gone, the Indians fell upon West's people, and slew several of them. The remainder were glad to recall Smith, who had not proceeded far down the river, and receive his aid. He again imprisoned some of the leaders, and established the settlement at Powhatan. There they had a strong fort with dry wigwams, and about two hundred acres of land ready to be planted. On account of the beauty and fertility of the place, they called it "Nonesuch." As Smith was about to depart, West, who had been at Jamestown, returned, and, by his influence, stirred up a mutiny, which ended in the settlers abandoning "Nonesuch" and returning to the Falls.

A fortification, called Fort Charles, was erected at the Falls in 1615. Thirty-four years afterward, Captain William Byrd, having been granted certain privileges contingent upon his making a settlement at the Falls of fifty able-bodied men, well armed, as a protection against the Indians, built a trading-house and mill upon the present site of Richmond, about three fourths of a mile above Rockett's. The place was called Byrd's Warehouse. The building from which the name was derived stood near the present Exchange Hotel.

Founding of Richmond.—Scenery on ihe James River at Richmond.—Expedition of Arnold to Virginia

A town was established there with the name of Richmond (so called because of its similarity in situation to Richmond on the Thames, near London), in May, 1742, on land belonging to Colonel William Byrd, of Westover. It is situated upon the north side of the James River, upon the high hills of Shockoe and Richmond, and the margin of Shoekoe Creek, which flows between them to the river.

The scenery from almost every point of view around Richmond is exceedingly picturesque.

The river is almost half a mile wide, dotted with beautiful wooded islands, and broken into numerous cascades, which extend to Westham, six miles up the stream. The Capitol stands in the center of a large square, upon the brow of Shoekoe Hill, in the western division of the city. From its southern colonnade there is an extensive view of the best portion of the town, of the river, with its islands and cascades, and the flourishing manufacturing village of Manchester, on the opposite shore, with a back-ground of fertile slopes. From this point the eye takes in almost the whole area of Richmond, made memorable by Revolutionary events. Let us consider them.

When noticing the adventures of Sergeant Champe, while endeavoring to abduct Arnold from New York (see page 206), I mentioned the fact that the traitor sailed, in command of an expedition, to Virginia, taking Champe with him. Arnold left New York (a) with nearly fifty small vessels, and six hundred troops, principally a Dec. 16, 1780 Loyalists, for the purpose of carrying on a predatory warfare in Virginia. Contrary winds detained them at Sandy Hook, and they did not leave their anchorage there until five days had elapsed. (b) Arnold entered Hampton Roads on the 30th of b Dec 21 December. His fleet had become dispersed, and several ships were missing. Anxious to distinguish himself in the service of his royal purchaser, and favored by the capture of some small American vessels by his advance frigate, he pushed up the James River to seize or destroy the public stores at Richmond and Petersburg. Williamsburg, situated about half-way between the James and York Rivers, was the Capitol of the state when the Revolution broke out. It was peculiarly exposed to the depredations of the enemy, and was an unsafe place for the public records and stores. Richmond, though quite an insignificant town of about eighteen hundred inhabitants, one half of whom were slaves, offered a more secure place for publie stores, and the quiet deliberations of the Virginia Legislature; and thither, in the summer of 1779, the troops, arms, and ammunition, together with the public records, were sent, by order of the Assembly. Finally, the Burgesses, by an act passed in May, 1779, made Richmond the permanent seat of government, and there all

* This view is from a long shaded island extending up the river from Mayo's Bridge, one of the three structures which span the stream at Richmond. Down the river from our point of view' is seen Mayo's Bridge, and, in the extreme distance, the lower portion of Richmond, upon Richmond or Church Hill. Several fish-traps are seen among the rapids in the river. On the left are observed two or three smaller islands. Since the above sketch was made, a bridge, for the accommodation of the Danville rail-way, has been constructed from the Richmond end of Mayo's Bridge, diagonally, to the southern end of the Petersburg rail-way bridge, crossing very nearly our point of view. Not content with thus marring the beauty of one of the finest series of islands and cascades in the country, the company have covered the bridge, so as to shut out from the eyes of passengers the surrounding attractions. Wherefore?

Arnold, with his Fleet, in the James River.—Approach to Richmond.—Activity of Jefferson.—The Militia

the state offices were located at the period in question. Thomas Jefferson was then Governor of Virginia. *

On the 3d of January, (a) Arnold, with his fleet, anchored near Jamestown, ** and the a 1781 next day proceeded as far as Westover, the seat of the widow of Colonel Byrd, about twenty-five miles below Richmond, where he landed almost a thousand troops, *** and led them toward the metropolis. Governor Jefferson had been apprised of the approach of the fleet, but was not certain whether Richmond or Petersburg was the point of the intended attack, until advised of the debarkation of the British troops. The whole country was speedily alarmed. Jefferson called out all of the militia from the adjacent counties; but so sudden was the invasion, and so great was the panic, that only a handful could be collected The white population were few, and scattered over plantations, with their habitations widely separated; and private interest, in many cases, made the planters more intent upon securing their slaves and horses from capture than defending public property. Only about two hundred armed men could be collected for the defense of Richmond. ****

The enemy encamped on the night of the 4th at Four Mile Creek, twelve miles below Richmond. Governor Jefferson, perceiving that resistance with his handful of raw militia would be useless, turned his attention to the salvation of the public stores. By his activity a large quantity was secured. Much of the portable property was carried across the river to Manchester, and also the stores which had been sent to Westham, six miles above Richmond, were ordered to be conveyed to the south side.

One object which Arnold had in view was the capture of Governor Jefferson. That officer left Richmond on the evening of the 4th, tarried a while at Westham to hasten the removal of the stores, and then rode on to join his family at Tuckahoe, eight miles further. Early the next morning he took them across the river to a place of safety, and then rode to Britton's, opposite Westham, and gave further orders respecting the disposition of the stores, b Jan. 5, 1781Hastening to Manchester, he arrived there in time to see the invading troops march, unopposed, into Richmond, at one o'clock. (b)

When within a few miles of Richmond, Arnold so disposed his troops as to have the appearance of twice their actual number. A patrol of the militia who were assembled at Richmond, met them when within four miles of the town, and, hastening back with the intelligence that fifteen hundred British troops were within an hour's march of the place, produced the greatest alarm and confusion. Many of the inhabitants fled into the country, and were afterward followed by the militia themselves, when the enemy entered the town.

Arnold, advised of the weakness of the place, halted at Rockett's, and sent Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe, with the Queen's Rangers, to drive the military from their position

* The public buildings were only temporary. The old Capitol in which the Legislature held its sessions was private property, and stood upon the site of the present custom-house.

** The Americans had a battery on Hood's Point, and when, late in the evening, the enemy anchored, a fire was opened upon them. Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe landed with one hundred and thirty of the Queen's Rangers and the light infantry and grenadiers of the 80th regiment, and made a circuit of about a mile in the dark to surprise the garrison. On approaching the battery it was found to be abandoned, and the fleet suffered no further inconvenience. See Simcoe's Journal, page 161.

**** Simcoe, who accompanied Arnold, says, "General Arnold's force did not amount to 800 men." American writers generally agree that the number was at least 900.

**** "The bare communication of the fact," says Tucker, in his Life of Jefferson, "that a force of one thousand, or, at most, fifteen hundred men, was able to invade a country containing at that time a population of more than half a million, and fifty thousand enrolled militia, march to its metropolis, destroy all the public, and much private property found there and in its neighborhood, and to leave the country with impunity, is a fact calculated to excite our surprise, and to involve both the people, and those who administered its affairs, in one indiscriminate reproach. But there seems to be little ground for either wonder or censure, when it is recollected that these fifty thousand militia were scattered over a surface of more than as many square miles; that the metropolis which was thus insulted was but a village, containing scarcely eighteen hundred inhabitants, half of whom were slaves; and that the country itself, intersected by several navigable rivers, could not be defended against the sudden incursion of an enemy, whose naval power gave it the entire command of the water, and enabled it to approach within a day's march of the point of attack."

The British at Richmond.—Old City Tavern.—Baron Steuben.—Depredations by British Frigates

(A A) upon Richmond Hill, near St. John's Church, on the south side of the Shockoe Creek.

He marched up the hill in small detachments, when the militia, after firing a few shots, fled to the woods in the rear. Along the base of the hill, leading into the portion of the town lying in the valley, Simcoe sent his cavalry to surprise the militia there. The latter escaped across the creek to Shockoe Hill, followed by the whole body of the Rangers, and made a stand near the site of the Capitol (B).

A large number of spectators were also there, and as the Rangers ascended the hill, they fled to the country, hotly pursued by the enemy's cavalry.

After taking possession of Richmond, Arnold ordered Simcoe to proceed to Westham, and destroy the cannon-foundery and the magazine there. The trunnions of most of the cannons were broken off; the powder in the magazine which they could not carry away was thrown into the river, and, before night, the foundery was a desolation. The Rangers returned to Richmond, and the whole hostile force quartered in the town during the night. (a) Arnold and Simcoe made their quarters at the Old City Tavern, yet standing on Main Street, but partially in ruins, when I visited Richmond. Many houses were entered and plundered by the invaders.

They obtained a considerable quantity of rum, and a large portion of them spent the night in drunken revelry.

Baron Steuben, who was then collecting the Virginia levies for General Greene's army at the South, was at Colonel Fleming's, in Powhatan county, a few miles from Manchester. Thither Governor Jefferson went to solicit aid. While there, some of the citizens waited on him to tender an offer from Arnold to spare the town, provided British vessels were permitted to come up unmolested, and carry off tobacco from the warehouses. The governor promptly rejected the proposal, and the enemy applied the torch.Jan. 5, 1781.

* Note.—This plan represents the invasion of Richmond on the 5th of January, 1781. A A is the first position of the American militia on Richmond Hill; B, the second position of the military and people on Shockoe Hill; C, the Queen's Rangers marching to the attack; D, the eavalry of the Queen's Rangers: E, Yagers; F, the main body of the British with General Arnold; G, two cannons in battery; H, a fine plantation, opposite the present Rockett's.

* This is a frame building, and stands on the northwest corner of Main and Nineteenth streets. A portion of the lower part is yet inhabited (1852). The glass and some of the sashes in the upper story are gone, and the roof is partly decayed and fallen in on the west end. Here Cornwallis and other British officers were quartered at a later period, and beneath its roof the good Washington was once sheltered.

** British frigates ascended the rivers of Virginia, and levied contributions upon all the tide-water counties. On one of these occasions the Mount Vernon estate was menaced with destruction by Captain Graves, of the Acteon. The manager, Mr. Lund Washington, to save the buildings, complied with the terms, and consented to furnish a supply of provisions. Washington highly disapproved of this proceeding, and, in a letter to his nephew, declared that he would rather have had the buildings destroyed, than saved by such "a pernicious example."

Departure of Arnold from Richmond.—French Fleet in Hampton Roads.— Houdon's Statue of Washington.

a Jan. 7.Quite a number of public and private buildings, together with a great quantity of tobacco, were burned. The public records had been saved through the vigilance of Jefferson; and Arnold, finding no more plunder or objects on which to pour out his wrath—the ire of a most vindictive heart toward those whom he had foully wronged—withdrew to Westover, and re-embarked to proceed to commit other depredations upon the river shores and the coasts of the Virginia bays. On the same day Jefferson returned to Richmond, and quiet was restored.

A large body of militia rapidly rallied around Steuben; and General Nelson also collected another large force lower down on the James River. Arnold was pursued, but succeeded in reaching Portsmouth, opposite Norfolk, where he established his head-quarters.

Soon afterward a French sixty-four gun ship (the Eveille), and two large frigates, from Newport, entered the Chesapeake. * Thus menaced by land and water, Arnold resolved to remain at Portsmouth, whither the large French vessels could not follow. ** The little fleet, after making a few captures, and efforts to ascend the Elizabeth River, returned tob Feb. 24, 1781 Newport, (b) having been absent only fifteen days. We shall meet Arnold again presently.

I passed the day after my arrival at Richmond in visiting and sketching some localities and objects of note within the city. I first went up to the Capitol, where, after loitering an hour in the state library, I copied the fine statue of Washington, by Houdon, a celebrated French sculptor, which stands within an iron railing in the center of the rotunda. It was made in. Paris, five years after the close of the Revolution, by order of the Virginia Assembly, under the direction of Mr. Jefferson, who was then minister at the court of Versailles. The statue is of fine white marble, of life size; the costume, the military dress of the Revolution. The right hand of the patriot rests upon a staff, the left is upon the folds of a military cloak covering one end of the fasces, with which is connected the plowshare, the emblem of agriculture, the chief pursuit of the Virginians. The inscription upon the pedestal was written by James Madison, afterward President of the United States. *** In a small niche near is a marble bust of La Fayette, and in the gallery of the rotunda is a fine full length portrait of Chief-justice Marshall.

From the Capitol I walked to the Monumental Church, a neat edifice of octagon form, belonging to the Protestant Episcopalians. It derives its

* At the solicitation of Governor Jefferson and of Congress, Luzerne, the French minister, had requested that, if possible, a ship of the line and some frigates might be sent up the Chesapeake to oppose Arnold. It was determined to use every effort to capture the traitor; and, while Steuben was narrowly watching his movements from a nearer point of view, Washington detached La Fayette with twelve hundred men, drawn from the New England and New Jersey lines, to march to Virginia, and co-operate in the double enterprise of defending that state and capturing the renegade. M. de Tilley was detached from Newport, on the 9th of February, with a sixty-four and two frigates, for the Chesapeake. The little squadron of De Tilley captured the Romulus, a British frigate of forty-four guns, and also two privateers, one of eighteen and the other of fourteen guns; sent four prizes to Yorktown, and burned four others. They also captured about five hundred prisoners. Fortunately for Arnold, Admiral Arbuthnot gave him timely warning of the approach of the French vessels, and, as I have mentioned in the text, he escaped up the Elizabeth River. The events at Portsmouth and vicinity will be detailed presently.

** The Eveille did not attempt to follow him from Hampton Roads. One of the frigates, the Surveillante, ran aground in endeavoring to ascend the Elizabeth River, and was got off only by taking out her guns and casks of water.

*** The following is a copy of the inscription: