History of Virginia in words of one syllable

Preface

History is bound to be cold with stern, facts. The one who writes it may not give way to flights of thought that will catch the mind of youth.

If this book should prove to be less bare of bright, but true, tales than plain truth is wont to be, thanks are due to those who gave me their aid when I sought for dates and facts for the work.

Chief of these is the Virginia-born journalist John W. Overall, and Mr. R. A. Brock, of Rich-mond.

E. R. S. MCN.

Part Fourth. List Of Illustrations

Fron-tis-piece, . . Fac-ing Ti-tlc Page.

Sir Ra-leigh's Ship 10

First Talk with the Red Man,

The In-dian, ....

Smith's Ships, ....

Pow-ha-tan's Camp, .

Smith Trades with the Red Chief,

New-port's Ship.

Cap-tain Smith, in Cos-tume of the Times,

En-trance to Nat-ur-al Tun-nel,

Nat-ur-al Tun-nel, in Vir-gin-ia,

Po-ca-hon-tas, in the Fash ion-a-ble Eng-lish Cos-tume of the Pe-ri-od. (Cop-ied from an O-rig-i-nal Draw-ing.) . . 35

1 1

13 16

18 20

23 26 28 29 30

Moun-tain-eer's Home, in West-ern Virgin-ia 37

School-house 39

At Peace with the Red Man, . . .42 O-pec-han-ca-nough's Last Bad Deed, . 47

Na-than-iel Ba-con, 52

Old Tow-er at James-town, . . -59 Page from an Old School-book, . . 62 William and Ma-ry Col-lege, Wil Hamsburg, Vir-gin-ia, . . . . -63 Shan-non-dale Springs, with a View of

the Blue Ridge, . . . . 64

Church near Smith-field, Said to have

been Built in 1635, . . . .67

Cy-clo-pe-an Tow-ers, Au-gus-ta Coun-ty, 68

List of lLus.)\

View on the Shen-an-do-ah, . . . 70 A Home in Eastern Vir-gin-ia Be-fore

the War, 73

The Strode Rogue 74

Mr. Jack-son Brings An -drew Home, . 75 An-drew Jack-son, . . . . . 76

Nat-ur-al Bridge, Two Hun-dred and Fif-teen Feet High, 80

A Bor-der Fort, 82

Wash-ing-ton's Of-fice and Lodg-ings at " Sol-dier's Rest," in Clarke Coun-ty, Vir-gin-ia, ...... 83

Bat-tie of Great Meadows, . . .84 Ru-ins of Trin-i-ty Church. Date of E-rec-tion not Known, . . . .87

The War Dance, 88

" There's a Bite !" . . . . -92

Han-o-ver Court House, in which Pat-rick Hen-ry Made His First Great Speech, ....... 94

Pat-rick Hen-ry, . . . . -95

An Old-time Court House, . . . 100 Red Hill, the Home of Pat-rick Hen-ry,

Char-lotte Coun-ty, Vir-gin-ia, . . 101 The King's Men Row off with the Stores. 103 The Call to Arms! ..... 104

The Min-ute Men Fire on the.Brit-ish, . 106 The Wash-ing-ton Elm, .... 108

Mar-shall's Pil-lar, on New Riv-er, Fa-yette Coun-ty, Vir-gin-ia, . . .112 Au-to graph of Jef-fer-son, . . . 115 Wey-er's Cave, Au-gus-ta Coun-ty, . .118 Mon-ti cel-lo, the Home of Thom-as Jef-fer-son, . . . . . . .123

Cap ture of An-dre 125

Old Bland-ford Church, . . . .127

Build-ing Works 128

Gen-er-al An-tho-ny Wayne, . . .130 Lord Corn-vval-lis, . . . .132

Sur-ren-der of Corn-wal-lis's Men, . . 133 The Moore House, York-town, where Corn-wal-lis Signed Ar-ti-cles of Sur-ren-der to the A-mer-i-can Ar-my. . 136

Sir Hen-ry Clin-ton, 137

The Young Min-ute Man, . . . 138 Fac-sim-i-le of the Writ-ing of Washing-ton 143

PAGE

George Wash-ing-ton, . . . .145 Mount Ver-non in 1840, .... 148

John Ad-ams 151

Old Ru-in at Ware Creek. Hid-ing-place of the Pi-rate Black-beard and His Band in 1787, . . . . . -152

Thom-as Jef-fer-son, . . . . 153

U-ni-ver-si-tyof Vir-gin-ia, at Char-lotteville, . . . . . . .154

James Mad-i-son, . . . . . 155

Mont-pe-lier, the Home of Pres-i-dent

Mad-i-son, 156

Oak Hill, the Home of Pres-i-dent Mon-roe, 156

James Mon-roe, . . . . . 1 57

Birth-place of Pres-i-dent Har-ri-son, on the James Riv-er, 1773, . . . .158

Zach-a-ry Tay-lor, ..... 160

Tay-lor at Bue-na Vis-ta, .... 161

Jack-son at New Or-le-ans, . . .162 Hard Times with the Red Men, . . 163 Camp Meet ing Grounds in the For-ests, 168 Birth-place of Hen-ry Clay, Han-o-ver Coun-ty, Vir-gin-ia, . . . .170

Ro-a-noke, the Home of John Ran-dolph, 171 Au-to graph of John Ran-dolph, . . 172 A-py-lum for the In sane at Staun-ton, Vir-gin-ia, ...... 175

Seal of Vir-gin-ia, . . . . .176

Wash-ing-ton College, Lex-ing-ton, Virgin-ia, ....... 177

Con-fed-er-ate Chiefs— Rob-ert E. Lee, Thom-as }on-a-than Jack-son (" Stone-wall Jack-son"), J. E. B. Stu-art, James Long-street, Jo-seph John-ston, . . 182 Jack-son at Bull Run. .... 184

Gen-er-al Rob-eit E. Lee, . . . 185

Off for the War, ..... 190

The Mon-i-tor and the Mer-ri-mac. . 193

Con-fed-er-ate Chiefs — Jef-fer-son Da-vis, Al-ex-an-der H. Ste-phens, Rob-ert Toombs, Ju-dah P. Ben-ja-min, J. H. Rea-gan, . . . . . .198

Fitz-hugh Lee, ...... 200

Home for Deaf, Dumb, and Blind, Staun-ton, Yir-gin-ia, ..... 201

VIRGINIA.

PART I. The Colonists

CHAPTER L

When my wee boy or girl friends read this tale, they must use all four eyes. You know that you have two pairs of eyes, do you not ? One pair will gaze at the page while you read, and one pair, — which are set in the face of your mind, — can see sights that took place 304 years since.

I think I can see your thoughts dwell on the dad face of Sir Wal-ter Ra-leigh when he felt the first soft south wind borne to him from the shores of what was to be the Land of Vir-gin-ia.

To sail for weeks and months on the cold sea, with the same bleak scenes day by day, must have been hard at best ; but to Sir Ra-leigh and his men it must have been quite a sad time, for they were in search of a shore to which they had no guide.

IO

Virginia.

Men from the old land had found New Eng-land, with its chill winds and harsh clime ; but Sir Ra-leigh was the first to dare the seas not known, to find the South Land.

SIR RA-LEIGH S SHIP.

With bloom and warmth I oreet thee ! friend white man first to seek me, must have been the words of the soil, had earth the gift of tongue. " For we were still far out at sea," said Sir Ra-leigh, "when

FIRST TALK WITH THE RED .MAN.

the wind bore to us "so sweet and strong a scent," that he knew he was near the spot he sought.

When he went back to Ene-land to tell Oueen Bess of the land he had found for her, she said, " Pure, sweet, and warm ! Our claim must have a name to suit all that you say it is. We will call it the Vir-gin land, the sweet land of Vir-gin-ia."

When men heard of this grand place, rich in soil, that hid gold and ore, on which grew wild fruits fit to pluck ; on which ran free the best of game, — why, all Eng-land went near mad with joy.

The Red man, what of him ? Sir Ra-leigh said he met him in the best of moods. It is odd how the Red man got the name of In-dian. It came in this way.

When Co-lum-bus first set foot on the new world he thought he was in In-dia, and, of course, the " na-tives" must then be In-dians. The name has clung to them. It should not be so. The land was theirs, and they should be known by the name of their land ; do you not think so ?

Well, Sir Ra-leigh soon had a lot of men, who, with bold hearts set sail for Vir-gin-ia. Sev-en ships were sent out with Ralph Lane as chief.

To some of these men are due thanks, in all time, for what we know of those first years in the South Land.

THE IN-DIAN.

Most of these men came here with but one aim and end in view — to pick up chunks of gold, get as rich as kings, and go back home and have a fine time.

The Red men had no more chance, than the beasts of the woods, to keep out the white man. They saw he was sly, hard of heart. But soon the Red men were up to their tricks, and their hearts were in a flame of rage. We will play tricks too, said they ; then let us see, who is the fool !

They saw the white man's greed for gold, and made it a means to get square for mean things done to them.

When the whites would fawn and give them gifts, so that they would tell them where gold was to be found, — for they were sure the Red men must know where it lay, in heaps, — the Red men at last said they would tell them, and sent them miles out in the woods, to hunt for what was not there, and laugh at their rage, when the foot-sore men came back.

" We told you at the first, that gold must be dug for, but you think we do not tell you true. You do us harm, to make us tell. You try to buy us, but you still think we have hills of gold when we tell you, not so. Now we laugh at you, and play you tricks, as you do to us."

So bad blood was made 'twixt them. But the search for gold went on, all the same.

On one of these trips the men came to a large, strange tract of wa-ter. The Red men said it was "Ches-a-peake." The word means " great wa-ters," so it got the name of Ches-a-peake Bay.

As time went on, and no gold was to be found, like clods of earth on the way-side, and food got low, for the white men did not till or sow, they got sick of their life, and hearts were sore for the old home.

Things were in a sad plight, when Sir Fran-cis Drake came from Eng-land with ship-loads of new stores. But the men would not stay. So Ro-anoke Is-land, the name by which the spot was known, was once more left free to the Red men. It was by these men that the weed, we call to-bac-co, was brought to Eng-land.

The Red men taught them the use of it. They did not call the plant to-bac-co, but the reed or pipelike stem, in which they put the leaf to smoke, is the Red man's "To-ba-co." When the Span-ish first saw it in use, they gave the name of the tube or reed to the plant, and that is how it came to be known as To-bac-co. In the meantime Sir Rich-ard Gran-vil-le set out from Eng-land with three ships and stores to join the Vir-gin-ians. But not one sign of the small band of white men could be found.

He left fif-teen men to hold the claim in the name of the Queen, and went back to Eng-land.

i6

Virginia.

The fate of these fif-teen men is not known to this

day.

Were they slain by the Red men ? did they starve ? Who can tell ?

When the next ships, (sent by Sir Ra-leigh,) came to their aid, not a trace of them was left, but bare bones lay in the sand, and their huts were haunts for wild beasts.

The new col-o-nists, with John White as their gov-er-nor, had brought their wives with them. They came to make homes, to stay and build up the land. It seems they did not make the Red man their friend, or the Red man had grown wise and did not want the white man to come and live on his land.

There was war from the first, and the red foe was wild for blood, and shed it, when and where the white man could not strike back. Fear of this foe of life. They must have help.

IPES.

was now the bane

The Colonists. iy

They had but one ship left. The Gov-er-nor was sent to Eng-land in it. A child, the first white babe on Vir-gin-ia soil, was born at this time. They gave it the name of Vir-gin-ia Dare.

It was the Gov-er-nor s child, and they would not let him take wife or child with him, but kept them as a pledge that he would come back with help right soon, for their sakes, at least.

He saw them no more. Some marks cut in the bark of a tree told that they had fled to Cro-a-ton. But the Gov-er-nor could find no trace of them. He gave up hope and went back to Eng-land.

Thus, twice the reel man made way with the whites, and was left king of the soil.

Chapter II

When James I. was king, Eng-land was not so rich and fine a land, as it is in these davs. Queen Bess's reign was all life for the men of her time. They grew rich on the spoils of war. The Queen found use for them, and gave them, in this way, means to live, and care for wife and child.

As rash deeds were things of the past, how then should men live in good old Eng-land when there were more hands than there was work for? Once more men thought of the Vir-mn land and laid plans to come to the New World.

On A-pril 26, 1606, three ships came to land in the Ches-a-peake Bay. Cap-tain John Smith, a

SMITH S SHIPS.

brave man, was chief of the col-o-nists who were come with tools and store to found homes. Smith must have had a hard time of it, for the men did not know how to work. They were knights of the sword who could fight, but toil was not to their taste. Smith had so much good sense and pluck that they at last set to work with him to build huts and clear land for their towns. They gave the name of James Riv-er to the great stream, and James-town to the chief place. He made them till the earth and plant corn. But they were not in love with such toil, so most of their grain was bought of the Red men.

Were they glad they had so good and wise a friend to think and do for them ? Not at all. They said he did it for his own sake, to rule and play lord and head man. As soon as he left them to seek new fields and streams, they would not sow nor reap. But they knew how to growl at poor Smith when they had naught to eat.

Once when their stores were quite low, Smith set sail with some of the men to find the head of the Chick-a-hom-i-ny stream. He thought they could live on game and such things, and so leave more food for those left at James-town.

On his way he came to an In-dian camp where he heard that there was corn to be bought. He thought of the scant food and at once went back to town with a large load of grain. Right glad they were to see it, but for thanks they told him he might have found the source of the stream first, and then brought the corn.

IV, irgima.

The next time he went in search of new streams and lands he met some Red men of a tribe that were strange to him. They took the scalps of the men with him, and would have put him to the stake but he caught their eyes with a sight of his corn-pass.

v

m

V

POW-HA-TAN S CAMP.

To kill him would not do. He must first tell them what it was for and how to use it. They were in high glee with their toy, and led Smith from place to place and at last brought him to the great chief Pow-ha-tan.

The Colonists.

This King of all the Red men was just as wild as the rest of them to see how the thine would work. When Smith had taught them all he could, with the hope that his life was safe, the fine old Pow-hatan gave a loud grunt and said: "White man, you must die !"

John Smith made his best bow, and laid his head on the stone, as the King bade him. Fierce Red men stood with clubs high in the air to crush him to death. Would the blows fall ?

Ah ! see that fair maid rush to John Smith's side. It is Po-ca-hon-tas.

" Spare him, or kill me first/' were the words she said.

She laid her head on that of the brave Smith and would not move. The old King held a pow-wow with his chiefs. They were all so fond of the pet of their tribe that they gave Smith his life for her sake.

" But you must give me some guns, and a round stone, such .as white men use to grind knives on," said Pow-ha-tan.

Smith gave his word that he should have a grind-stone and the arms. The King sent In-dians with him to James-town to fetch the things. On the way back with the stone and guns, the Red men, who did not like to bear such a load, let the stone drop. As it fell it struck the guns so that some of them went off. The noise gave them such a fright that they ran for dear life as fast as they could lift their heels, and left stone and arms on the ground.

But Smith had made friends with Pow-ha-tan, and could trade with his tribe and so keep the colonists in corn in times of need.

Cap-tains New-port and Fran-cis N el-son now came with fresh stores and things to trade with the In-clians. When New-port heard that the great chief Pow-ha-tan was friends with John Smith he thought he too would call on the Red King.

With great pomp and pride New-port then went to him as if he were the great white chief come to talk with a Red chief. But Pow-ha-tan would not smile on him, and then New-port had to ask Smith to come and make the King move his tongue.

When he saw the fine blue beads and bright gems — of no real worth — old Pow-ha-tan lost all his grand airs, and, like a child, took them and gave in trade all the grain he could spare.

Then they went to O-pec-han-ka-nough, the chief of the Pa-mun-kees, and made just such a good trade with him.

The col-o-nists thought they could now have a nice time and no work. They built thatch roofs to keep all this great store dry. What must have been

The Colonists.

their grief when, just as this was done, to see flames break out and burn all that they had.

BcGfi*

SMITH TRADES WITH THE RED CHIEF.

But fate did not mean them to die of want. The ship " Phoe-nix" came from Eng-land just in the time

24 J irginia.

of sore need. Their joy was so great that they made up their minds to set to work with a will like true men, to build and dig, to plant and reap, and send to the old land some signs of their toil.

It must be a ship load. Some gold dust had gone from Vir-gin-ia with Cap-tain New-port, but they could not fill a ship with ore in such haste. What could they send of what they had to spare ?

With axe and brave hearts they set to work and soon had a load of which they were proud.

What do you think it was ? Why, great sticks of sweet Vir-gin-ia red wood.* And that was the first A-mer-i-can car-go.

Chapter III

Cap-tain Smith now made his way to the Chesa-peake. From there he sought new fields and streams, and made a map of the whole land so true that the men to whom he sent it in Eng-lancl had a £ood view of it from this chart.

But while he made such good use of his time, the folks left at James-town all these months laid down their tools of toil. They ate up most of what

* Cedar.

they had in store, and took no pains to raise fresh stuff while the time was good for it.

A nice lot of men they were, do you not think, to take no care for the time when their food should be gone ? Why, some of the beasts of the field had more sense.

This was the fault of their Pres-i-dent, who should, as their head, have made them work. They saw when too late the harm of it, so they chose Smith once more for their Pres-i-dent, who soon had the best done that could be so late in the year.

Cap-tain New-port now got back from Eng-land Avith a ship full of good things and some Dutch and Poles to do hard work, such as make pitch, tar-glass, and so on ; but the col-o-nists were not in a state of thrift at this time and had lost heart ; though the fault was their own. They did not like to see more men join them, as they thought the more mouths there were to feed the less they would get to put in their own.

Some fine gifts were brought to that proud chief Pow-ha-tan with the hope that it would please him and make him more of a friend. But bless you, the old rogue took them as if it were no more than he ought to have, and held his head high in grand style with an "Ugh" like a grunt, and would not be friends at all.

Virginia.

Cap-tain New-port said he would not go back to Eng-land till he had found three things to take with him : a big lump of gold, a clear way to the South Sea, and one of the lost men sent out by Sir Wal-ter

Ra-leigh

Pow-ha-tan had told him there was no way to the

NEW-PORT S SHIP.

South Sea, or great tract of sea, or route to a lake on that side of the James Riv-er Falls, where New-port said he was sure there was. But he did not heed what Smith or the Red chief told him, and had a nice hard time of it in the search, to come back sick of the time spent in vain.

The C Won ists. 2 7

The hunt for a lost man and a big lump of gold met with the same bad luck.

Smith then said they should make up a ship-load of tar pitch and wood and go back with it and tell them that gold was not to be had in lumps. He then wrote word that they should not send such a class of men so ill fit to build up a new land, who could do no real good with hands or head. To lodge, feed, and care for such, was not a way to wealth, but kept clown the few who did the toil for all. If they had hopes of a real home for men here they must send those who would share the work as well as the stores. They must not hope to get rich but by great toil. There was, no doubt, gold in the soil, but it did not lay on the grass in lumps or heaps for these men to pick up and reek in wealth. For those who would work and live like brave, true men, Vir-gin-ia was the place.

John Smith was the best friend the col-o-nists had. He was their brains, their hands, their hope when dark days were near. Yet they gave him no thanks, but much hate. When their times were good they would have some one else to rule and guide them. The In-dians would not deal in faith with the best of them, for they did not trust their words. They knew that Smith was true in word and deed.

While the Colony had but one fund and share to each man, things did not get on well at all. But in due time, when Eng-land had sent a Gov-er-nor

who could act as he fit, and saw nt, ana each man got a tract of land to till — to work or starve — a sense of thrift grew in their hearts. Those who to that time had to share what came of their toil with those who would not do their part, now felt it worth while to do ^1 their best, as it was for their own use.

Ship loads of m e n with their house-holds came to grow rich — so they thought, for some

Ing-

CAP-TAIN JOHN SMITH, IN THE COS-TUME OF THE -"~— £,

TIMES - mean souls in

land had told such wild tales of the gold to be had here, that no one could get them to hear the true side.

The Colonists.

•9

Five hun-clred white men made up the Col-o-ny now. If they had gone to work right all would have been well. But they went to hunt for gold — the gold they could not see and did not dig for. To

EN-TRANCE TO NAT-UR-AL TUN-NEL.

feed such a lot of folks took all there was in store in a short while. Then came strife and rage and hard times.

Virginia.

John Smith was gone to make maps of the land he had found. One day his pow-der bag

NAT-UR-AL TUN-NEL, IN SOUTH-WEST-ERN VIR-GIN-IA.

burst and tore the flesh from his limbs in such a way that he was near death by the time he got to James-town, where help could be found to ease the great pain of his burns. In this sad state he could not aid the col-o-nists in their need. His own plight was most hard. The wounds did not heal and his burns most drove him mad ; so he made up his mind to go to Eng-land, to find there the aid he could not o*et in Vir-ein-ia.

So the Col-o-ny lost its best friend. When he left it he could count four hun-dred and nine-tv whites. The . Red man was at peace with them and sold them corn. When the In-dians found Smith was gone, they set fire to the huts, and made w ar on all the white men at Pow-ha-tan and Nanse-mond, and drove those they did not kill to James-town, where the good maid Po-ca-hon-tas brought them food that they might not starve as time went on.

Things were so bad soon that they had to kill one by one all their live stock — hogs, sheep, goats, old and young, and at last they ate horse-flesh, skin and all. Such a time had these first Vir-gin-ians, some books say they got so like wild beasts that they dug up the dead and ate of the flesh.

Had they but gone to work in the first place, and by man-like acts made friends of the Red men, such things would not have come to pass. Is it not proof that the In-dian would have been less bad had the whites been just with him as John Smith was?

But they most all paid dear for their want of sense. So few could stand such a life that death came, and six months from the time John Smith left more than five hun-dred men, well and strong, but six-ty souls, re-mained to tell of their fate when Sir Thom-as Gates and Sir George So-mers and their crew came from Ber-mu-da, where their ships had run on the rocks on the way from Eng-land. But their lives were all saved. From the wreck they made two barks, or rafts, and on these they set sail for Vir-gin-ia.

It was a sore blow for them to find just a few sick men, and no cheer or warm hand grasp to greet them. Here was lack of food, of health, of all that makes a place fit to name it home.

They took the few men on board the crafts and with sad hearts set out for the first port. They had but to trust that they could reach New-found-land and get aid from Brit-ish ships that might be there for fish.

Once more Vir-mn-ia was left to the Red man. Was all the toil of the past in vain ?

No. Be-fore Sir Gates and his crafts got to the mouth of the James Riv-er they met Lord de la Ware with three ships and a large stock of food of all kinds.

Those bound for home, whose lot had been so hard, had no taste to try it once more. But the fine hopes Lord de la Ware held out to them gave them new heart. So they came back to James-town.

For two years the Col-o-ny got on, while Lord de la Ware was at the head, and with stern rule made the men work so that they would not fall back in the old way, not to care for the next day so long as that day had its food. Then Lord de la Ware got sick and had to go back to Eng-land, and things were soon in the old state.

It was not till 1612 that a strong form of gov-ern-ment brought the col-o-nists to a true sense of the fact that they were come to build a world to which men might turn and share of the grand gifts God had left here for them. And soon there came great big ships with freight of souls who spread from place to place. Those who came with so much of means of their own that they could pay their way on the ship had great tracts of land to call their own. This was a "grant" by the King to make men wish to risk so long a trip at sea, if when they got to the end they could be rich with such gift on which to build homes.