cock, of Massachusetts, had likewise been nominated, Mr. Harrison, to avoid any sectional jealousy or unkindness of feeling between the northern and southern delegates at so momentous a crisis, with a noble self-denial and generosity relinquished his own claims, and insisted on the election of Mr. Hancock, who accordingly had the honor of being unanimously chosen to that high office. Mr. Harrison still, however, continued one of the most active and influential members of the Continental Congress. On the 10th of June, 1776, as chairman of the committee of the whole house, he introduced the resolution which declared the independence of the colonies; and on the ever-memorable fourth of July, he reported the more formal Declaration of Independence, to which celebrated document his signature is annexed. The legislature of Virginia returned Mr. Harrison four times as a delegate to Congress. On the expiration of his last term of congressional service, he was immediately elected to the House of Burgesses from his own county, and was at once chosen speaker of that body-an office he held uninterruptedly until the year 1782, when he was elected governor of Virginia, and became one of the most popular officers that ever filled the executive chair. This eminent patriot died in the year 1791."

William Henry Harrison was left under the guardianship of Robert Morris, the distinguished financier, and was educated at Hampden Sydney College, and turned his attention to the study of medicine. "The hostilities of the Indians on the northwestern frontier having begun to excite general attention, the young student resolved to relinquish his professional pursuits, and join the army destined to the defence of the Ohio frontier. In 1791, soon after the death of his father, who died in April of the same year, he received from President Washington, when only in his 19th year, the commission of ensign; in 1792 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and he fought under Gen. Wayne, who spoke of his gallant conduct in a very flattering manner. After the desperate battle of the Miami Rapids, he was promoted to the rank of captain, and was placed in the command of Fort Washington. In 1797 he resigned his commission in the army, and was immediately appointed secretary of the Nw. territory. In 1799, at the age of 26, he was elected a delegate from this territory to Congress, and in this office he performed very important services for his constituents. On the erection of Indiana into a territorial government, he was appointed its first governor, and he held this office by reappointment until 1813. In addition to the duties in the civil and military government of the territory, he was commissioner and superintendent of Indian Affairs; and in the course of his administration he concluded thirteen important treaties with the different tribes. On the 7th of Nov., 1811, he gained over the Indians the celebrated battle of Tippeca. noe, the news of which was received throughout the country with a burst of enthusiasm. During the last war with Great Britain, he was made commander of the northwestern army of the United States, and he bore a conspicuous part in the leading events of the campaign of 1812-13-the defence of Fort Meigs, and the victory of the Thames. In 1814 he was appointed, in conjunction with his companion in arms, Gov. Shelby, and Gen. Cass, to treat with the Indians in the northwest; and in the following year, he was placed at the head of a commission to treat with various other important tribes.

"In 1816, Gen. Harrison was elected a member of Congress from Ohio; and in 1828 he was sent minister plenipotentiary to the Republic of Columbia. On his return, he took up his residence at North Bend, on the Ohio, 16 m. below Cincinnati, where he lived upon his farm in comparative retirement until he was called by the people of the United States to preside over the country as its chief magistrate." Of 294 votes for president, he received 234. He died April 4th, 1841, just a month after his inauguration. His death caused a deep sensation throughout the country.

JOHN TYLER, the father of the late President of the United States, resided in this county. "He was one of the leading revolutionary characters of Virginia, was many years a member of the House of Delegates, and in 1781 succeeded Mr. Benjamin Harrison as speaker. After being governor of Virginia, to which office he was elected in 1808, he was judge of the District Court of the United States for Virginia, and died at his seat in Charles City co., Jan. 6th, 1813. He was simple in his manners, distinguished for the uprightness and fidelity with which he discharged his official duties, and enjoyed in an uncommon degree the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens."

JOHN TYLER, the 10th President of the United States, and the sixth from Virginia, was born on the James River in this co., in 1790, about 5 m. below Berkeley. Four miles lower down on the river is his present residence.

CHARLOTTE.

CHARLOTTE was formed in 1794, from Lunenburg. It is 22 miles long, with a mean breadth of 18 miles. The surface is diversified ; the soil on the river bottoms fertile, but on the ridges mostly barren; it is watered by numerous creeks and rivulets, all tributary to Staunton river, except the head branches of the Meherrin, on the E. and SE. Pop. 1830, 15,252; 1840, whites 5,130; slaves 9,260; free colored 307; total, 14,595.

Charlotte C. H., or Marysville, 98 miles sw. of Richmond, and 30 SE. of Lynchburg, near the centre of the county, contains 1 Baptist, 1 Presbyterian, and 1 Methodist church, and about 50 dwellings. Keysville, and Rough Creek Church, are small places in the county.

Charlotte has been the residence of three distinguished Virginians, viz. Patrick Henry, John Randolph, and the late Judge Paul Carrington, senr.

The residence of the latter was near the junction of the L. Roancke, with the Staunton, on an elevated and beautiful site. He was a member of the bar of Charlotte, in 1765. After Lord Dunmore had abdicated the government of Virginia, a convention met in Richmond, in the year 1775, to organize a provincial form of government, and a plan of defence for the colony. Mr. Carrington was one of the committee of public safety to whom this plan was submitted. He subsequently became a judge of the court of appeals, in which office he remained until a few years before his death.

Red Hill is on the southwest angle of the county. There lived and died PATRICK HENRY; the man who, Jefferson said, "was the greatest orator that ever lived;" and to whom Randolph applied the words of sacred writ, as being one "who spake as never man spake."

Red Hill is now the seat of his son, John Henry, Esq. The larger part of the main building, shown on the left, has been added since the decease of its illustrious occupant.*

* Patrick Henry, when governor, resided at Williamsburg, Richmond; at Salisbury

It is beautifully situated on an elevated ridge, the dividing line of Campbell and Charlotte, within a quarter of a mile of the junction of Falling River with the Staunton. From it the valley of the Staunton stretches southward about three miles, varying from a quarter to nearly a mile in width, and of an oval-like form. Through most fertile meadows, waving in their golden luxuriance, slowly winds the river, overhung by mossy foliage, while on all sides gently sloping hills, rich in verdure, enclose the whole, and impart to it an air of seclusion and repose. From the brow of the hill, west of the house, is a scene of an entirely different character; the Blue Ridge, with the lofty Peaks of Otter, appear in the horizon at a distance of nearly sixty miles. At the foot of the garden, under a dense cluster of locust and other trees, enclosed by a wooden paling, are the graves of Patrick Henry and his wife, overrun with myrtle, and without any monuments over them.

Under the trees seen on the left of the picture, in full view of the beautiful valley beneath, the orator was accustomed in pleasant weather to sit mornings and evenings, with his chair leaning against one of their trunks, and a can of cool spring-water by his side, from which he took frequent draughts. Occasionally, he walked to and fro in the yard from one clump of trees to the other, buried in revery, at which times he was never interrupted. Among the relics in the house is the arm-chair in which he died, and a knife given to him when a boy by his uncle, Patrick Henry, which he carried through life, and had in his pocket at the moment of his death. In the parlor hangs his portrait, a masterly production, by Sully, representing him pleading in the British debt cause. The dress is black, cravat white, and a red velvet mantle is thrown over the shoulders.* He appears three-quarters face, leaning partly back, with, his spectacles thrown over his forehead; and the expression is one of deep solemnity and impressive

ness.

Under the description of Hanover county, the reader will find a succinct memoir of Henry; and in that of New London, Campbell county, and of the city of Richmond, are views of buildings memorable as the scenes of some of his celebrated oratorical efforts. We now give some reminiscences, collected by us from a reliable source while in this section of the state. They are mainly detached facts, without connection, and must necessarily be given in that manner.

When a mem

When fourteen years of age, Mr. Henry went with his mother in a carriage to the Fork church in Hanover, to hear preach the celebrated Samuel Davies, afterwards president of Princeton college. His eloquence made a deep impression on his youthful mind, and he always remarked, he was the greatest orator he ever heard. ber of the Continental Congress, he said the first men in that body were Washington, Richard Henry Lee, and Roger Sherman; and later in life, Roger Sherman and George Mason, the greatest statesmen he ever knew. When governor, he had printed and cir. culated in Richmond, at his own expense, Soame Jenyns' View of Christianity, and Butler's Analogy of Natural and Revealed Religion. Sherlock's sermons, he affirmed, was the work which removed all his doubts of the truth of Christianity; a copy of which, until a short time since, was in the possession of his children, filled with marginal notes. He read it every Sunday evening to his family, after which they all joined in sacred music, while he accompanied them on the violin. He never quoted poetry. His quotations were from the Bible, and his illustrations from the Bible, ancient and modern history. He was opposed to the adoption of the Federal constitution, because he thought gave too much power to the general government; and in conversation with the father' of a late venerable senator from Prince Edward, he remarked with emphasis: "The President of the United States will always come in at the head of a party. He will be supported in all his acts by a party. You do not now think much of the patronage of the President; but the day is coming when it will be tremendous, and from this power the country may sooner or later fall."

In the British debt cause, of which Wirt gives a full account, Mr. Henry made great preparation. He shut himself up in his office for three days, during which he did not see his family; his food was handed by a servant through the office-door. The Countess of Huntington, then in this country, was among the auditors, and remarked, after hearing the arguments of the several speakers,† “that if every one of them had spoken in Chesterfield county, and at Leatherwood, Henry co. Afterwards, he dwelt on the Appomattox, in Prince Edward; at Long Island, Campbell co., and removed to Red Hill in 1795, four years previous to his death.

* His usual dress while in the legislature.

They were, on the part of plaintiff, Messrs. Ronald, Baker, Wickham, and Starke: and on that of the defendant, Messrs. Henry, Marshall, Innis, and Alex. Campbell, a

Westminster Hall, they would have been honored with a peerage." Mr. Henry had a diamond ring on his finger, and, while he was speaking, the Countess exclaimed to the Judge, Iredell-who had never before heard him-"The diamond is blazing!" "Gracious God!" replied he, "he is an orator indeed." In this cause he injured his voice so that it never recovered its original power.

The following anecdote was related by President Madison, at the conclusion of the late war, to a party of gentlemen assembled at his residence in Washington. In the revolutionary war, certificates were given by the legislature to the Virginia line on continental establishment, stating the amount due to them, which was to be paid at a future time. The necessities of the soldiers, in many instances, compelled them to part with the certificates to speculators for a trivial sum. Madison brought a bill before the legislature to put a stop to it. He had previously asked Mr. Henry if he was willing to support it. The reply was "yes;" but having no further communication with him on the subject, Mr. Madison feared he had forgotten the circumstance. After the bill was read, he turned to where Mr. Henry sat, with an anxious eye, upon which the latter immediately arose and addressed the house. Mr. Madison said that upon that occasion he was particularly eloquent. His voice reminded him of a trumpeter on the field of battle, calling the troops to a charge. He looked alternately to the house and the audi. ence, and saw they were with the orator; and, at the conclusion, one of the chief speculators in tickets, then in the galleries, exclaimed in an audible voice-"That bill ought to pass!"—it did pass, and unanimously.

We conclude this article by the subjoined extract from "the Mountaineer," a series of Essays, originally published in 1813 in the Republican Farmer, at Staunton, and written by Conrad Speece, D.D., pastor of the Augusta church:

The

Many years ago, I was at the trial, in one of our district courts, of a man charged with murder. case was briefly this: the prisoner had gone, in execution of his office as a constable, to arrest a slave who had been guilty of some misconduct, and bring him to justice. Expecting opposition in the business, the constable took several men with him, some of them armed. They found the slave on the plantation of his master, within view of the house, and proceeded to seize and bind him. His mistress, seeing the arrest, came down and remonstrated vehemently against it. Finding her efforts unavailing, she went off to a barn where her husband was, who was presently perceived running briskly to the house. It was known he always kept a loaded rifle over his door. The constable now desired his company to remain where they were, taking care to keep the slave in custody, while he himself would go to the house to prevent mischief. He accordingly ran towards the house. When he arrived within a short distance of it, the master appeared coming out of the door with his rifle in his hand. Some witnesses said that as he came to the door he drew the cock of the piece, and was seen in the act of raising it to the position of firing. But upon these points, there was not an entire agreement in the evidence. The constable, standing near a small building in the yard, at this instant fired, and the fire had a fatal effect. No previous malice was proved against him; and his plea upon the trial was, that he had taken the life of his assailant in necessary self-defence.

A great mass of testimony was delivered. This was commented upon with considerable ability by the lawyer for the commonwealth, and by another lawyer engaged by the friends of the deceased for the prosecution. The prisoner was also defended, in elaborate speeches, by two respectable advocates. These proceedings brought the day to a close. The general whisper through a crowded house was, that the man was guilty and could not be saved.

About dusk, candles were brought, and Henry arose. His manner was exactly that which the British Spy describes with so much felicity; plain, simple, and entirely unassuming. "Gentlemen of the jury," said he, "I dare say we are all very much fatigued with this tedious trial. The prisoner at the bar has been well defended already; but it is my duty to offer you some further observations in behalf of this unfortunate man. I shall aim at brevity. But should I take up more of your time than you expect, I hope you will hear me with patience, when you consider that BLOOD is concerned."

I cannot admit the possibility that any one who never heard Henry speak should be made fully to conceive the force of impression which he gave to these few words, "blood is concerned." I had been on my feet through the day, pushed about in the crowd, and was excessively weary. I was strongly of opinion, too, notwithstanding all the previous defensive pleadings, that the prisoner was guilty of murder; and I felt anxious to know how the matter would terminate, Yet when Henry had uttered these words, my feelings underwent an instantaneous change; I found every thing within me answering at once, yes, since blood is concerned, in the name of all that is righteous, go on; we will hear you with patience until the rising of to-morrow's sun. This bowing of the soul must have been universal; for the profoundest silence reigned, as if our very breath had been suspended. The spell of the magician was upon us, and we stood like statues around him. Under the touch of his genius, every particular of the story assumed a new aspect, and his cause became continually more bright and promising. At length he arrived at the fatal act itself. "You have been told, gentlemen, that the prisoner was bound by every obligation to avoid the supposed necessity of firing, by leaping behind a house near which he stood at that moment. Had he been attacked with a club, or with stones, the argument would have been unanswerable, and I should feel myself compelled to give up the detence in despair. But surely I need not tell you, gentlemen, how wide is the difference between sticks or stones, and double-triggered loaded rifles cocked at your breast." The effect of this terrific image, exhibited in this great orator's peerless manner, cannot be described. I dare not attempt to delineate the paroxysm of emotion which it excited in every heart. The result of the whole was, that the prisoner was acquitted; with the perfect approba

cousin of the poet. This case "was discussed with so much learning, argument, and eloquence, as to have placed the bar of Virginia, in the estimation of the federal judges (if the reports of the day may be accredited,) above all others in the United States

tion, I believe, of the numerous assembly who attended the trial. What was it that gave such transcendent force to the eloquence of Henry? His reasoning powers were good: but they have been equalled, and more than equalled, by those of many other men. His imagination was exceedingly quick, and commanded all the stores of nature as materials for illustrating his subject. His voice and delivery were inexpressibly happy. But his most irresistible charm was the vivid feeling of his cause with which he spoke. Such feeling infallibly communicates itself to the breast of the hearer.

The residence of the late John Randolph is near the Staunton, in the southern part of the county, several miles above its junction with the Dan, and about thirteen below Charlotte court-house.

The name, Roanoke, is derived from a small creek running through the plantation. The buildings are in a dense forest, which has scarce ever echoed to the woodman's axe. On leaving the main road, the traveller threads his way through the woods by a narrow path, for about half a mile, when, a few rods distant, the dwellings and outhouses suddenly appear through the foliage, without any cultivated land or clearing in view, seeming, from the wild seclusion and primitive aspect of the spot, to have been the abode of a recluse, rather than of a statesman, whose fame extended beyond the limits of his native land.

The two buildings in front were occupied by Mr. Randolph, and those in the rear by his domestics. That on the right is clapboarded, and is much the most commodious; it was the one in which he dwelt in summer. On the ground-floor are two rooms, one containing his books, the other is the drawing-room, adorned with convenient and neat furniture. The library is large, well selected, and contains many rare works. Most of the books bear evidence of careful perusal, and the striking passages are marked with the pencil. Among the many pictures and portraits in these rooms is one of Pocahontas. The arms are bare to the elbow, displaying an arm and a hand of exquisite beauty. The hair and eye are a raven black,-the latter remarkably expressive, and the whole countenance surpassing lovely, and beaming with intelligence and benignity.

The dwelling on the left was his winter residence, and the one in which he usually partook of his meals. It is a log structure, which is entered through a shed, paved with water-worn pebbles and supported by unhewn posts. Notwithstanding its extreme simplicity, it is richly furnished. These rooms are also hung with portraits. One of them is a fine drawing of his servant Jupiter-or, as he is commonly called, Juba-dressed as a sportsman, with a double-barrelled gun on his shoulder. Over the fireplace in the bedroom is a portrait of Mr. Randolph, when twelve years of age. It is a fine oil painting, from the easel of the celebrated Gilbert Stuart. In the fresh rosy complexion, and round chubby face of this beautiful little boy, it would be difficult to trace any resemblance to the thin, cadaverous lineaments of the original in his latter years. John and Juba, the favorite servants of Randolph, yet reside in the small huts shown in the background.