Young people's history of Virginia and Virginians

Front matter

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Class F' 9 ?, u

Introduction

T" HAVE been induced to write this little book in the hope that a brief recital of the history of my native State may awaken in my young countrymen a higher appreciation of the intelligence, courage and patriotism of their forefathers, by imparting a more exact knowledge. of the sacrifices which they made and of the prominent part they bore in the establishment of civil and religious liberty on this continent, and in the upbuilding of the great American Republic, designed to transmit to their posterity the priceless heritage won by their valor; and, also, for the purpose of countervailing the false impressions made by so many of the histories which have been, and are even now, used in our schools, as to the motives which inspired the conduct of their fathers in the events leading up to and culminating in the great struggle of i86i-'65.

That the Virginians of 1861 were inspired by the same patriotic spirit which animated the Virginians of 1776; that they contended for the right of self-government as taught in the Declaration of Independence, and in withdrawing from the Union exercised a right which arose out of the very nature and history of the Federal Constitution, cannot be denied by any honest, candid, intelligent student of our country's history. While this is true, the Virginian of to-day recognizing that the Union established by his fathers, founded upon the consent of the States, has, by the arbitrament of battle, been converted into "an indissoluble Union of inde- [5]

6 Introduction

structible States," is as loyal to the new Union, and modified Constitution, to which he looks as the palladium of human liberty, as his fathers were to the old, and is as ready to shed his blood in its defence.

In the preparation of this work I have freely availed myself of the admirable books of John Esten Cooke, Miss McGill, Mrs. Susan Pendleton Lee and Philip A. Bruce.

I have not found occasion to tell the history of any other State or people save Virginia and her sons. Her glories are all her own. She has no shame.

Table Of Contents

Chapter page

I Columbtxs — Effect of His Discoveries— John Cabot — Queen Elizabeth — Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir

Humphrey Gilbert — Their Voyages 9

Chapter I

COLUMBUS EFFECT OF HIS DISCOVERIES JOHN CABOT QUEEN ELIZA- BETH SIR WALTER RALEIGH AND SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT THEIR

VOYAGES.

ii^s^^^iri^ " Columbus. — Before the time of '^^^^^S Columbus the contments of North

America and South America were entirely unknown to the people of the Old World, who supposed that Europe, Asia and Africa, and the islands lying near their coasts, were the whole earth. In 1492 Columbus, by sailing westward across the Atlantic Ocean, discovered first the Bahamas, and subsequently the West India Islands, and on his third voyage the South American continent.

EfEect of His Discoveries. — These discoveries by Columbus quickened the spirit of adventure among the maritime nations of Europe, each desiring to share in the wealth, as well as the glory, to be had in those new-found lands.

The Spaniards and Portuguese. — Italy furnished some of the best sailors, but the most active and enterprising nations were the Spaniards and Portuguese, between whom the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic church, assumed to divide the New World. The former made inany voyages along the southern coast of North America and conquered Mexico and Peru, but other nations were by no means idle and paid little heed to the Pope's orders.

The English. — In 1497 Jo^i^ Cabot, a native of Italy, but at that time a merchant of Bristol, in England, and his son, Sebastian, under a patent from King Henry VII, made the first voyage attempted by the English and discovered the North American continent off the sterile coast of Labrador. Sailing for ' some distance along its shores, he took possession of the country >^^' in the name of the King of England. This was fourteen months . before Columbus ever saw the continent of America, and two years before the ship of Amerigo Vespucci, from whom it took its COLUMBUS name, left a European port.

England's Claim. — English vessels would sometimes visit the fisheries which, within seven years after the discovery by Cabot, had been established on the coast of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland by the hardy mariners of Brittany and Normandy in France, but no effort was made to settle the country for nearly a hundred years; nevertheless, the discovery by Cabot gave England a claim to a large portion of the North American continent, which she afterward successfully asserted.

Drake's Voyage Around the World. — In 1579 Sir Francis Drake, an Englishinan, passed through the straits of Magellan, explored the Pacific coast and returned to Europe by way of the Cape of Good Hope. This was the second voyage around the world, the first having been made in 1520 by Magellan, a Portuguese

. • ,1 • r o • SIR tKANClj DRAKE

navigator m the service of Spam.

Queen Elizabeth. — In the month of January, 1558, more than sixty years after the first voyage of Cabot, the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King Henr}^ VIII, was crowned Queen of England. She was then twenty-five years of age, and her coronation was the occasion of great rejoicing among the English people, who hoped for a new era of peace and prosperity at home under her reign. In this they were not disappointed.

Her Character and Government. — The queen's early years had been passed in virtual captivity, and her youth clouded with many sorrows, but she showed a kind and forgiving spirit toward those from whom she had received much unkindness, and she managed the business of her government with equal prudence and wisdom. She encouraged agriculture, trade and navigation, and so increased her navy that she has been called "The Queen of the Northern Seas." Her wise government was respected at home and abroad, and about her throne were gathered a group of the most remarkable men who figure on the pages of England's history. Her Interest in Colonization. — Her reign is of peculiar

QUEEN ELIZABETH

12 YojNG People's History

interest to the student of Virginia history, because she it was who gave the first impetus and the greatest encouragement to those adventurous spirits who early turned the tide of emigration toward this State, which is named in honor of the "Virgin Queen." Up to the date of EHzabeth's accession England had done but little in the way of discovery and had made no progress in the establishment of colonies. Spain and France had far surpassed her in these directions. Onlv a mischance prevented the establishment of a Spanish colony on James River, in which event the whole region would have owed allegiance to Spain instead of England, and our history to-day might be very different.*

Sir Walter Raleigh. — Among all the gallant band of knights and gentlemen who thronged the court of Elizabeth there was not one more attractive than Walter Raleigh. Handsome in person, his ready wit and his brave and resolute character soon won him the especial favor of the queen, who conferred upon him the honor of knighthood, and hence he is known in history as Sir Walter Raleigh.

His Introduction to the Queen. — There is a very pretty story told of his first introduction to Elizabeth, which illussiR WALTER RALEIGH ^j-^^eg \^{^ clevcmess and the grace of his manners. At that time the streets of London were not what thev are now, and it happened that one day as the queen was going with a gay company of knights and ladies to take her pleasure on the water, she came to a muddy place which she could not pass without soiling her shoes. While she was hesitating what to do a young gentleman sprang forward and spread his cloak upon the ground, and the queen

* Lucas DeAyllon, in 1526, began the settlement of San Miguel, it is said, on the very spot on which Jamestown was built. The death of DeAyllon, the rivalry and strife between his successors, and sickness so discouraged the colonists that the settlement was abandoned.

passed over it dry shod. Of course, she enquired the name of the gallant young cavalier, and learned it was Walter Raleigh. We are told that he "spoiled a handsome cloak and gained many suits" at one and the same time, for from that day the queen showered favors upon him and would have made him one of her attendants.

First Expedition Under Gilbert. — But Raleigh's brave and adventurous spirit was not satisfied with the life of ease and idleness at court. His attention and interest had long been directed toward the western world, where, since Columbus's first voyage, in 1492, many new discoveries and settlements had been made. Together with his stepbrother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, he besought the queen to give him the means to fit out an expedition which might claim for England a share in the rich treasures to be found beyond the seas. She readily complied with his wishes and endorsed his plans, and in 1583 a fleet, imder the command of Gilbert, set sail for the shores of America. Elizabeth sent him a jeweled anchor and a message of encouragement. He succeeded in reaching the island of Newfoundland, but his ships were soon afterward scattered by a storm, compelling his return. His own vessel went down on the homeward voyage while he was endeavoring to cheer and encourage his people, reminding them that "we are as near heaven at sea as on land," and bidding them "be of good cheer."

Further Efforts. — Sir Walter was much grieved when he learned of the disaster, but he was^not discouraged, and immediately set about fitting out fresh ships for another effort. Indeed, most of his life was devoted to this object, and all of his private fortune was spent in attempts to establish English colonies in America. So many were his voyages, so tireless his efforts, and so unswerving his courage and devotion to this end, that he was called the "Shepherd of the Ocean."

Voyage of Amidas and Barlow. — It was in the summer of 1584 that two vessels, sent by him under the command of Captains Amidas and Barlow, reached the coast of what is now North Carolina. They were charmed with the beauty of the country, its magnificent forests, the luxuriance of its vegetation, and the abundance of its game. The natives, who called their country Wingandacoa, or "good land," treated them with kindness, and they returned to London filled with enthusiasm, and gave glowing accounts of the land and of its inhabitants. It was then that the name Virginia, or "Virgin Land," was bestowed upon the region they had visited, and for a long time this was the only designation by which America was known.

Lane's Colony. — In 1585, the year after the expedition under Amidas and Barlow, Raleigh sent out another, with a view of making a permanent settlement under the governorship of Ralph Lane, who was afterward knighted by Queen Elizabeth. Sir Richard Grenville, a brave sea captain, was placed in charge of the fleet, and landed the colony on Roanoke Island, in Albemarle Sound, on the North Carolina coast. Grenville did not remain long, but, leaving the settlement in the charge of Lane, he returned to England. There were no women with the party, and the men composing it set diligently to work to explore the mainland, and like many who came after them, wasted much time in a vain search for gold. It was generally believed that the western continent was very narrow, and they anxiously sought a way across it, in order to open up a new route to China and the East.

Search for the South Sea. — The Indians soon grew tired of their white visitors, and, being anxious to be rid of them, told Lane that the Roanoke River rose in the west so close to the seacoast that its head-waters were salt. Believing the story, he set out with most of his men to follow the stream to its source. Long before reaching it his provisions became exhausted, and only the courage of their leader stimulated his men to persevere. They had taken two dogs with them, and finally were reduced to eating these, boiling the flesh with sassafras leaves to season it. This was the last food obtainable, and when it was exhausted they were forced to turn their faces homeward.

They reached Roanoke Island just in time to prevent the Indians from murdering the rest of their comrades.

Sir Francis Drake — Abandonment of the Colony. — About

this time Sir Francis Drake, one of the most daring seamen of his day, who had returned from his voyage around the world only a few years before, came over from the West Indies to see how the colonv fared. He found the colonists much disheartened, and furnished them with provisions and one or more ships to enable them to extend their discoveries, or, if necessarv, to return to England. While he was still w^ith them a violent storm arose, wrecked some of his ships and carried others out to sea. When the storm was over Drake devised plans for continuing jthe colony and for further discoveries; but the colonists, worn out and discouraged by their hardships, decided not to let escape what might be a last opportunity of returning to England; and, embarking in one of Drake's vessels, sailed for home with him. A few days after their departure a ship sent by Raleigh, laden with all the stores needed, arrived, but finding the settlement deserted, returned to England. About a fortnight later Sir Richard Grenville arrived with three well furnished ships, and, unwilling to lose possession, left fifteen men on the island to guard the rights of England.

Tobacco. — Sir Ralph Lane and his comrades were the first to introduce tobacco into England. They learned to smoke it from the Indians ; and it is said soine of the first pipes tised in England were made of walnut shells, with straws for stems.

Anecdote of Raleigh. — Sir Walter Raleigh adopted the practice, and many men and women of fashion followed his example. It is said that his servant, coming suddenly into the room where he was smoking one day, thought that he was on fire, and emptied a pitcher of ale over his head in an effort to extinguish the flames.

Second Settlement at Roanoke. — In 15S7 Raleigh made another attempt to found a permanent settlement on Roanoke Island. This time he sent women and children as well as men, and they reached their destination in safety. They found the tenements deserted, the fort in ruins, the wild deer feeding on the rank vegetation of the gardens, while human bones scattered in the fields told that the men left by Grenville had fallen by the arrows and tomahawks of the Indians.

Virginia Dare. — The colony was in charge of John White, and soon after it landed a female child was born, to whom was given the name of Virginia Dare. She was the first child of English parents born in America, and was a granddaughter of Governor White.

Disappearance of the Colony. — Soon after her birth her grandfather went to England for supplies for his people, but when he arrived there he found the country threatened by a Spanish invasion. Ships sent by Raleigh with .supplies were captured or driven back, and when White returned, after an absence of three years, no trace of the colony could be found, except the word croatan carved on a tree. He had left behind him eighty-nine men, seventeen women and eleven children, and not one of them was ever seen again. Their fate continues a mystery to this day. It was said that some of them afterward found shelter among the Indians on the coast of North Carolina. This was never verified, and their story remains one of the saddest of the many tragedies of our history.

1. What countries are called the Old World?

2. How was the New World discovered?

3. What was the effect of the discovery?

4. What nations were most active?

5. Tell of John Cabot and his discoveries.

6. Who established fisheries? When?

7. What country claimed a large portion of North America? Why?

8. Who was Queen Elizabeth?

9. Tell of her character and government.

10. What was she called?

11. Why was Virginia so named?

12. What nations had made most progress in establishing colonies?

13. Who was Sir Walter Raleigh?

14. Tell of his first meeting with the queen.

15. Who was Sir Humphrey Gilbert?

16. Tell of his voyage and fate.

17. How did this affect Raleigh?

18. Whom did he send out, and when?

19. Where did they go, and what report did they make?

20. When and by whom was a colony landed on Roanoke Island?

21. Who was in charge of the settlenient?

22. What did thev set out to search for?

23. Tell of the result.

24. Who paid a visit to the colony, and what was the consequence?

25. Who introduced tobacco into England?

26. What anecdote is told of Raleigh?

27. When did Raleigh make another effort at settlement, and with ,-hat result?

Chapter II The Fate Of Raleigh The Virginia Company The First Charter

EXPEDITION UNDER NEWPORT SETTLEMENT AT JAMESTOWN CAPT.

JOHN SMITH.

Colonization Abandoned. — After the sad disappearance cf little Virginia Dare and her kinsfolk and friends, many years passed before another attempt was made to settle Virginia. Sir Walter Raleigh having fruitlessly expended ;/^4o,ooo, a large sum in those days, was too poor to fit out any more ships, and Queen Elizabeth was too busy with a war with Spain, then the richest and most powerful country in the world, to pay any attention to the matter.

Fate of Raleigh.— Though Sir Walter fought with great bravery and distinction in this war, he was afterward so unfortunate as to incur the displeasure of the queen and her successor, King James, and was thrown into prison, where he remained twelve 3^ears before he was released. The rest of his life is a sad record of disappointments and misfortunes which fell so heavily upon him that he never again was able to accomplish anything in the way of colonizing Virginia, although he made more than one effort to learn something of the fate of his Roanoke settlers. But he never lost faith in the future of the colony, and while a prisoner in the Tower said to Gosnold, "/ shall yet live to see Virginia a great nation." In 1618 King James I, to please the King of Spain, ordered him to be beheaded, and he was executed in the Tower. When he ascended the scaffold he felt the edge of the axe, and said: "This is a sharp medicine, but it is a sure cure for all diseases."

Death of Elizabeth. — In 1603 Queen Elizabeth died, and her cousin, James VI, of Scotland, became King James I, of England.

The Virginia Company — While Raleigh was a prisoner in the Tower of London, some of the men who had been associated with him in his former enterprises organized themselves into a Virginia Company. Among those especially interested in the project were Bartholomew Gosnold, a brave sea captain who had formerly made an unsuccessful attempt to colonize what is now New England. Associated with him were Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, Captain John Smith, an English soldier, and several other well known gentlemen.

The First Charter. — King James gave the enterprise his endorsement and drew up a charter for the government of the colony. This was the first charter granted in America, and by its terms two colonies were to be established in Virginia, a northern and a southern. The boundaries of the southern colony were to extend four hundred miles along the coast, half that distance north of the mouth of James River, and the same distance south, and to extend inland from sea to sea. The chief authority in the government of the colony was the King of England. The king himself appointed a council of thirteen in London who were to control and direct its affairs. There was also to be a Virginia council to act under the London Company.

Its Provisions. — The terms of the charter were in the main wise. The right of trial by jury was guaranteed the colonies, and efforts were to be made to christianize the Indians; but what you should chiefly note is the evident determination of the king to control and dictate the policy of the colony in all respects. His endorsement and approval limited its every action.

Character of King James I. — James was neither a wise nor a liberal monarch, and he was prepared to enforce his authority on his subjects at home and abroad with all the strength of his narrow and bigoted nature. It was this same course which, persevered in by his successors, at last brought about the war of the Revolution. The Virginians were loyal and devoted to the crown of England until its oppressions and tyrannies became unbearable, and finally drove them to revolt.

The First Colonists. — On the 19th of December, 1606, three vessels, the Susan Constant, the God Speed, and the Discovery, under the control of the Virginia Company, and commanded by Captain Christopher Newport, set sail for America. The first of the three bore the little company which was to found the earliest permanent English settlement in the territory now known as the United States. The ships were very small, the largest being only one hundred tons burden and the smallest scarcely twenty. It was six weeks, owing to storms and contrary winds, ere they lost sight of the coast of England, and it was nearly four months before they landed in America.

A Long Voyage. — The sailors of that day were very ignorant and timid, and not many were brave enough to put to sea and sail directly across the Atlantic by a new and unknown route. They usually beat their way southward to the Canary Islands and thence to the West Indies, thus making their journey doubly long. April had come before they sighted the longed-for shores and refreshed their weary eyes with the verdure and beauty of a Virginia landscape in the springtime.

Driven Into the Chesapeake.— They had at first intended to settle upon that ill-fated Roanoke Island where their predecessors had perished, but a sudden storm arose and their frail vessels, helpless before it, were driven into Chesapeake Bay; and to the headlands at its entrance they gave the names of the king's sons, calling them Cape Charles and Cape Henry. They discovered the mouth of a large river, which they named in honor of King James, and the headland at its mouth thev called Point Comfort, because it afforded a safe anchorage. Up this river they sailed in search of a landing.

Landing at Jamestown. — On the 13th of May, 1607, they landed on a peninsula, about forty miles up the river. It is said they were influenced in their choice of this spot by the fact that the water was six fathoms deep and they could fasten their vessels to the trees on shore; but, Vvdiatever the reason may have been, the selection was most unfortunate, for the spot though beautiful with forest trees, wild grapevines and blossoming shrubs and flowers, was low and unhealthy, and much of their subsequent suffering resulted from this cause.

The First Church. — Their first act on landing was to arrange for a place of worship. They stretched a sail from the boughs of two adjacent trees and made a sort of pulpit under it. Here they had religious services morning and evening. They felled trees and built themselves houses, and having named their settlement Jamestown, set to work to make themselves as comfortable as circumstances would permit.

Their Dangers. — There were two especial dangers which threatened the safety and prosperity of the colonists. One was the hostility of the Indians and the other was their own unfitness for the situation in which they found themselves.

Character of the Colonists.— In their ranks were men from every walk in life. There were knights and gentlemen, who thought that labor of any kind was a disgrace, and there were industrious craftsmen who desired to do their duty if they were properly directed. Some had come in search of treasure, some to convert the Indians, and some to conquer new territory for the king ; but all were unskilled in the work necessary to be done, and unprepared for the hardships to be endured. Industry, self-control, and consideration for the rights of others are virtues we should all strive to acquire and practice. These were lessons oitr colonists had yet to learn. But their greatest need was a competent leader, a man whom they could trust and respect. After much suffering they found him in Captain John Smith.

Captain John Smith. — Smith's career, like that of marty another English soldier of that day, had been full of adventure. He was bom in Lincolnshire, England, in 1580, was the son of a wealthy gentleman, and had received a good education. Being left an orphan at the age of fifteen, he was apprenticed to a merchant by his guardian, but becoming dissatisfied he ran away, and for two years his life was a series of romantic adventures in Europe, Asia and Africa, where he fought under more than one flag and experienced both good and evil fortune. Among others to whom he offered his sword was Sigismund, Duke of Transylvania, then engaged in a fierce conflict with the Turks. After the fashion of the day, Smith dared his adversaries to single combat, and slew three Turkish soldiers who successively came out to break a lance with him. For this feat of valor he was knighted by Sigismund, who bestowed on him a crest bearing three Turks' heads.

His Imprisonment and Escape. — But his fortunes changed, and he was finally taken prisoner by his enemies, who put an iron collar about his neck and kept him at hard labor for many months. With characteristic daring he at length made his escape, and after many hardships reached England, where the wonders and riches of the New World were the all-absorbing topic of the day.

Joins the Virginia Company. — Smith entered with enthusiasm into the project of establishing settlements in Virginia, and, as we have seen, was among the first colonists to sail thither. He was now twenty-five years old, a soldier of fortune, eager for new fields, of enterprise and glory. The Virginia Company promised both, and he promptly enrolled himself among its members.

His Character. — But John Smith was not merely a soldier and a .fighter. He was also a writer of force and power, and a born leader of men. With his undaunted courage he combined an earnest purpose and a ready wit, wdiich stood him in good stead in many personal dangers. The best faculjties of his mind and heart were to be devoted to the service of his comrades, among whom he soon took prominence as a leader. He had received no official appointment as such. Indeed, the colonists themselves did not know who would be their governor until after their voyage was ended.

The Virginia Council. — The names of the Virginia Council were, by the king's orders, sealed up in a box, which was not to be opened until their destination was reached. The box was opened on April 26th, and the names were found to be those of Captains Gosnold and Newport, Wingfield, Smith, Ratcliffe, Martin and Kendall.

Wingfield Made President. — These seven were to elect one of their number an atmual president, and on May 13th Wingfield was chosen to fill that office. A most unwise selection it proved to be. Wingfield was utterly unfit for the position to which he was called. He was indolent, selfish and cowardly, and was envious of Smith, whose abilitv he could not fail to recognize.

Smith's Energy. — The latter was not a man to sit idly by when there was so much to be done, and before long took the lead as the master spirit of the enterprise. But for his courage and devotion the little band might have gone the way of that other on Roanoke Island, whose fate remains a mystery for all time.

1. Why did not Raleigh send out more colonists?

2. What was his fate?

3. Who succeeded Elizabeth?

4. Name some of the members of the Virginia Company.

5. Who drew up its charter, and what were its terms?

6. What was the character of King James?

7. How many vessels were sent, and under whose command?

8. When?

9. By what route did they sail?

10. When did they come in sight of Virginia?

11. Where and why?

12. Where and when did they land?

13. What was their first care?

14. What special dangers threatened them?

15. Of what classes were the colonists comcosed? IG. What was their greatest need?

17. Tell about Captain John Smith.

IS. What was his character?

19. Who composed the first Council?

20. Who was chosen president, and what were his qualifications?

21. What is said of Smith?

Chapter III The Indians

The Indians. — The settlers at Jamestown, as did those at Roanoke and elsewhere in the New World, found the

countryinhabited by a race very / ^^ . %.\M ^h& w-<!\ different

from any \N?^? \ V # *«*" of the

I^DIAN WEAPONS pcople of

the Old World. This race Columbus had called Indians, because he supposed the land he had discovered was a part of the East Indies, and by this name they have ever since been known.