The History of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia Part 22

After the address had been voted down as not reflecting the sentiments of a majority of the citizens of the town, not to be foiled in their desire to let the President know that they approved his policy, the friends of the administration determined to make three copies of the address and leave it at three places in town for the signatures of those who approved it. The three places named were Wm. Taylor's, George W. B. Spooner's and the Herald office. The following gentlemen signed the address:

George W. B. Spooner, Wm. Drummond, Elisha Hall, Wm. Jones, Anthony Buck, Richard Richards, Robert Patton, Wm. Gla.s.sell, Tho. Southcomb, Andrew Parks, Tho. Rootes, Peter Gordon, Wm. Taylor, George Murray, James Pettigrew, Timothy Green, Wm. Payne, James Carmichael, Law. Bowes, Thos.

Hodge, George French, Richard Johnston, Jr., John Anderson, John Coakley, Wm. Fitzhugh, of Chatham, Charles Croughton, David Henderson, Roger Coltart, David Blair, Jeff. Wright, Charles Yates, Wm. Lovell, Alexander Duncan, Wm. Wilson, Rob. Lilly, Thos. Cochran, James Stevenson, John Brownlow, Jos. Thornton, Benj. Day, Wm. Wiatt, Zack. Mayfield, John Newton, David Simons, Philip Lips...o...b.. Daniel Grinnan, James Vansh.e.l.l, Daniel Stark, Samuel Stevens, G.o.dlove Heiskell, Thos. P. Basye, John Harris, Thomas Seddon, Jr., Robert Wellford, Philip Glover, John Legg, Edward McDermot, John Alc.o.c.k, Jacob Grotz, John Moore, Adam Darby, Tho.

Miller, James Blair, Wm. Hamilton, R. d.y.k.es, David Williamson, Wm. Acres, Wm. Talbot, James Ross, John Bogan, Robert Walker, John Kirck, Sam. M.

Douglas, Wm. Welsh, Alexander S. Roe, John Dare, James Slater, Charles Stewart, Christian Helmstetter, Wm. Smith, Benj. Sabastian, James Adams.

CHAPTER XVI

_Some Distinguished Men Buried in Fredericksburg--A Remarkable Grave Stone--Three Heroic Fredericksburgers, Wellford, Herndon, Willis--The Old Liberty Bell Pa.s.ses Through Town--Great Demonstrations in its Honor--What a Chinaman Thought of it._

A town is not less renowned for the n.o.ble, heroic dead who sleep within its borders than it is for its gallant soldiers, Statesmen and others who are yet on the stage of action. Indeed its renown may be more enduring because of its dead than of its living. The deeds of the dead are embalmed in our hearts and in history and cannot be tarnished, obscured or obliterated. The greatest deeds of the living may be obscured and even almost blotted from the approving mind by some adverse, evil cloud--by some act of folly or perfidy.

If Judas Iscariot had died before he betrayed his Master his good deeds would have lived forever. If a Britton's bullet had taken off Benedict Arnold before his treasonable thoughts had resolved into action he would have been written down in history as one of the heroes of America. We, therefore, with pride refer to some distinguished men who peacefully sleep within our corporate limits.

ARCHIBALD M'PHERSON.

Archibald McPherson was born in 1715 in the northern part of England. He came to this country in early manhood and settled in Spotsylvania county.

He is represented as being a gentleman of education, refinement and wealth, and a friend to the poor and needy. He died in the prime of manhood, leaving to the world an unsullied name and to the poor of the town a legacy to be expended in the education of their children, which is elsewhere mentioned in these pages.

Mr. McPherson was interred in the burial ground of St. George's church and a marble slab erected over his grave, which is now secured to the wall of the Mission House, at the west end of the lot on Princess Ann street. On that slab is the following inscription:

"Here lies the body of Archibald McPherson, born in the county of Murray, in North Britain, who died August 17, 1754, aged 49 years. He was judicious, a lover of learning, open hearted, generous and sincere. Devout, without ostentation; disdaining to cringe to vice in any station. Friend to good men, an affectionate husband.

A heap of dust alone remains of thee, 'Tis all thou art, and all the proud shall be.

"Elizabeth, his disconsolate widow, as a testimony of their mutual affection, erected this monument to his memory."

COL. JOHN DANDRIDGE.

In the burial ground of St. George's church, near the northeast corner of the building, lies buried the father of Martha Was.h.i.+ngton, which fact has only some years since been brought to light, or if it had been before known, it was by the citizens of the past generation of the town. The reason it was unknown to the present generation is accounted for from the fact that the slab over the grave has been covered with dirt for more than half a century, most likely from the erection of the present church building, and was discovered only a few years ago. When the grave was discovered the slab covering it was cleaned off, and the inscription on it was found to read as follows:

"Here lies the body of Col. John Dandridge, of New Kent county, who departed this life the 31st day of August, 1756, aged 56 years."

How he came to be buried in Fredericksburg is not positively known. It has been claimed by some persons that he was here on a visit to his daughter Martha, who married Gen. Was.h.i.+ngton, and the weather was so hot that his body could not be taken back to New Kent county, but that cannot be true because he was buried here more than two years before his daughter married Was.h.i.+ngton.

The most satisfactory explanation of Col. Dandridge's presence in Fredericksburg, that we have heard given, is that he was attending the celebrated races at Chatham, held by Wm. Fitzhugh, which drew to the town people from all sections of the country. But be that as it may, this Col.

Dandridge is beyond doubt the father of Martha Was.h.i.+ngton, unless there were two gentlemen by that name and bearing the same appellation residing in New Kent county at that time, which is not probable. Haydon's "Virginia Families" says of Was.h.i.+ngton:

"Married at White House, New Kent county, Va., Jan. 6, 1759, Martha Dandridge, daughter of Col. John Dandridge, of New Kent county, and widow of Daniel Parke Custis."

WM. PAUL--JOHN PAUL JONES.

There also lie interred in the burial ground of St. George's church, with an unpretentious stone marking the place, the remains of William Paul, a merchant of the town and a native of Scotland, who died here in 1773. In 1770 he purchased from Thomas and Jane Blanton, "for one hundred and twenty pounds, an acre or one-half of the lot or land lying and being in the town of Fredericksburg, and designated in the plot of said town by the number or figures 258, the same being one-half, or south end of said lot, and purchased by the said Thomas Blanton of Roger Dixon, Gent, and bound on the main street, called Caroline street, and the cross street, called Prussia, together with all houses, buildings, gardens, ways, profits, hereditaments and appurtenances whatever." This lot is designated on the map of the town to-day as 258, and the house in which Wm. Paul conducted his mercantile business is the one occupied and owned at present by Matthew J. Gately.

Notwithstanding his biographers to the contrary, Wm. Paul made a will in 1772, in which he appointed his friends, Wm. Templeman and Isaac Heslop, his executors, which was witnessed by John Atkinson, Thomas Holmes and B.

Johnston. The executors declined to serve and the estate remained until late in the next year without any one being legally authorized to take charge of it. In November, 1774, John Atkinson qualified, it is supposed at the instance of John Paul, who had arrived here to wind up the estate, with John Waller, Jr., as surety, who was afterwards released and Charles Yates became his surety.

This Wm. Paul was the brother of John Paul, who afterwards became the famous John Paul Jones. It has been a.s.serted that Wm. Paul changed his name to Jones to inherit a plantation from Wm. Jones, either in Virginia or North Carolina. But this is shown to be a mistake from the fact that Wm. Paul, in 1770, bought property here as Wm. Paul, made his will in 1772 and signed it Wm. Paul, and died in 1773 and his tomb stone now bears on it the name of Wm. Paul. It was further a.s.serted that in the agreement by which the plantation was to become the property of Wm. Paul, if Wm. Paul died without issue, the property was to go to John Paul on the condition that he would add Jones to his name, and that William did die without issue and the estate of William went to John. This is also a mistake.

William did not die intestate, but made a will and gave his entire estate to his sister, Mary Young, and her two oldest children.

One clause of the will reads as follows: "It is my will and desire that my lots and houses in this town shall be sold and converted into money for as much as they will bring, that with all my other estate being sold, and what of my outstanding debts that can be collected, I give and bequeath to my beloved sister, Mary Young, and her two oldest children in Abigland, in the parish of Kirkbean, in Stewarty of Galloway, North Briton, and their heirs forever." It is not believed that Wm. Paul owned any property out of town from the fact that the bond of his administrator was only five hundred pounds, which was generally double the amount of the estate. His estate in town consisted of his houses and lots, his merchandise and accounts due him, which must have been worth twelve or fifteen hundred dollars. Therefore the bond of $2,500 was sufficient only for his possessions in town, and no other is alluded to or mentioned in his will.

It has been held that he owned property in the county of Spotsylvania, but that arises from the fact there were others by the name of Paul in the county who had property. But this William Paul is traced by the reference in his will to the parish of Kirkbean, Galloway, where his sister, Mary Young, and brother John lived.

Why John Paul changed his name to Jones was probably known only to himself. Many writers have undertaken to explain it, but without success, and the mystery is yet unsolved. In 1775 John Paul Jones's name heads a list of naval lieutenants, and, because of his meritorious services, he was soon appointed a captain, and finally rose to the rank of commodore.

His daring exploits and unequal, but successful, contests soon won for him the thanks of the American Congress, as well as the grat.i.tude of the American people, while it carried terror and dismay to the enemies of his country. He greatly humiliated England by landing his fleet on her sh.o.r.es during the Revolutionary war, a thing that had not been done before for centuries, if ever, since it was a nation.

At the close of the war, in which he had covered himself with glory, he was offered an important command by the Empress of Russia against the Turks in the Black sea, which he accepted with the stipulation "that he was never to renounce the t.i.tle of an American citizen." He died in Paris in 1792, and was buried in that city, aged forty-five years. General Was.h.i.+ngton, then President of the United States, had just commissioned him for an important duty, but he died before the commission reached him. As the many years rolled on, rounding up a century, his body laid in an unknown grave, notwithstanding many efforts were made to locate it. In 1900 a body was found believed to be his, and there was great rejoicing in this country over the announcement, but, when carefully examined, it was found to be the remains of another and not those of the great American commodore. But this did not discourage those who had the matter in hand, and the search continued under the direction of Gen. Horace Porter, the American Amba.s.sador to the Court of France, under great difficulties. On the 7th of April, 1905, the body was found in a cemetery known as Saint Louis, which was laid out in 1720 for a burial place for Protestants, but which had been closed more than half a century, and buildings were constructed upon it at the time of the discovery of the body. The remains were declared to be those of John Paul Jones, after every test had been applied that could be, and they were accepted by our government as those of the great naval hero. Some time was spent in preparing to remove the remains to this country, but early in 1906 they were placed upon a United States man of war, escorted by vessels from England and France, and were landed at Annapolis, where they were reinterred in the presence of thousands of people from all parts of the country, with booming of cannon and every honor a grateful people could bestow upon him.

GEN. LEWIS LITTLEPAGE.

Gen. Lewis Littlepage, who died and was buried here in the burying ground of Masonic Lodge No. 4, was born in Hanover county, Virginia, and was one of the most brilliant men the State ever produced. His career was short, but in that short life he greatly distinguished himself as a scholar, soldier and diplomat. He was the protege of John Jay at the Court of France in 1782, was wounded at the siege of Gibraltar, was a member of the cabinet of the king of Poland, and the King's chamberlain, with the rank of major-general; negotiated a treaty with the Empress of Russia, was a secret and special envoy to the Court of France to form the Grand Quadruple Alliance; was with Prince Potempkin in his march through Tartary des Negais; commanded a flotilla under Prince Na.s.sau at his victory over the fleet of Turkey; was sent on an important mission to Madrid, in which he was successful; resisted the Russian invaders of Poland as aide-de-camp to the King; signed the Confederation of Fargowitz; envoy to St.

Petersburg to prevent the division of Poland, but was stopped by the Russian government; was with Kosciusko in his attempt to free Poland; was at the storming of Prague, and was with King Stanislaus when he was captured by the Russians.

At the death of Stanislaus, Gen. Littlepage, becoming sick of European politics and broils, and, with his health shattered and gone, returned to America, settled in Fredericksburg and died before he had reached the age of forty years. His grave, in the western corner of the Masonic cemetery, is marked by a marble slab, which has on it this inscription:

"Here lies the body of Lewis Littlepage, who was born in the county of Hanover, in the State of Virginia, on the 19th day of December, 1762, and departed this life in Fredericksburg, on the 19th of July, 1802, aged 39 years and 7 months. Honored for many years with the esteem and confidence of the unfortunate Stanislaus Augustus, King of Poland, he held under that monarch, until he lost his throne, the most distinguished offices, among which was that of Amba.s.sador to Russia.

He was by him created the Knight of St. Stanislaus, chamberlain and confidential secretary in his cabinet, and acted as his special envoy in the most important occasions of talents, of military as well as civil, he served with credit as an officer of high rank in different arms. In private life he was charitable, generous and just, and in the various public offices which he filled he acted with uniform magnanimity, fidelity and honor."

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Christian Church. (See page 213)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Trinity Episcopal Church. (See page 206)]

CAPT. WM. LEWIS HERNDON.

Another hero, a native of Fredericksburg, whose remains found sepulture in a watery grave far out in the ocean's depths, is worthy of mention in these pages. "Wm. Lewis Herndon, an American naval officer, born October 25, 1813, drowned by the sinking of the steamer Central America, September 12, 1857. He entered the navy at the age of fifteen, served in the Mexican war, and was engaged three years with his brother-in-law, Lieutenant Maury, in the National Observatory, at Was.h.i.+ngton. In 1851-52 he explored the Amazon river under the direction of the United States government. * *

* In 1857 he was the commander of the steamer Central America, which left Havana for New York on September 8th, having on board 474 pa.s.sengers, a crew of 105 men and about $2,000,000 of gold. On September the 11th, during a violent gale from the northeast and a heavy sea, the vessel sprung a leak and sunk on the evening of September 12th near the outer edge of the Gulf stream, in lat.i.tude 31 degrees 44 minutes north. Only 152 of the persons on board were saved, including the women and children; the gallant commander of the steamer was seen standing upon the wheel house at the time of her sinking."[82] Capt. Herndon was an uncle of Dr. Herndon, who sacrificed his life at Fernandina, Florida, elsewhere mentioned.

JACOB FRIEZE.

Another man of note, remarkable for his physical endurance and strength of const.i.tution, who lived in Fredericksburg and whose remains lie buried in the City cemetery, just to the left of the old gate on Commerce street, was Jacob Frieze. He died in 1869, just after having pa.s.sed the ninety-first anniversary of his birth. He was born in France, and was one of Napoleon's soldiers from the time his remarkable career commenced in Paris until it ended so disastrously at Waterloo.

Much of the soldier life of Mr. Frieze was spent as a member of Napoleon's "Old Guard," that "could die, but could never surrender," and he was never so happy as when telling of his thrilling war experiences and narrow escapes. He was in the famous retreat from Moscow and could tell the most thrilling stories of the hards.h.i.+ps and sufferings of the French army. The weather was intensely cold, sometimes reaching twenty-six degrees below zero, and, having to fight cold, hunger and the Russians, it is not strange that Napoleon left behind him over 330,000 French or allies, dead or prisoners. This marching, fighting, suffering and dying were all fresh in the mind of Mr. Frieze, who was a partic.i.p.ant and eye witness, and he would entertain crowds who would gather around him for hours.

Prior to the Civil war there also lived in Fredericksburg Mr. John Eubank, who was a soldier under the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo and who stood guard over Napoleon on the Island of St. Helena.

Notwithstanding the many years that had pa.s.sed from their parting at Waterloo to their meeting again in Fredericksburg, Mr. Frieze and Mr.

Eubank had not forgotten the sword and the spear and had not forgotten to dislike each other.

It was amusing to the bystanders to see these old soldiers meet on the streets, as they would invariably shake their fists at each other and grind their teeth and pa.s.s on without uttering a word.