History and Comprehensive Description of Loudoun County, Virginia Part 16

"_Resolved_, That the enforcing the execution of the said Act of Parliament by a military power, must have a necessary tendency to raise a civil war, and that we will, with our lives and fortunes, a.s.sist and support our suffering brethren, of Boston, and every part of North America that may fall under the immediate hand of oppression, until a redress of all our grievances shall be procured, and our common liberties established on a permanent foundation.

"_Resolved_, That the East India Company, by exporting their tea from England to America, whilst subject to a tax imposed thereon by the British Parliament, have evidently designed to fix on the Americans those chains forged for them by a venal ministry, and have thereby rendered themselves odious and detestable throughout all America. It is, therefore, the unanimous opinion of this meeting not to purchase any tea or other East India commodity whatever, imported after the first of this Month.

"_Resolved_, That we will have no commercial intercourse with Great Britain until the above mentioned act of Parliament shall be totally repealed, and the right of regulating the internal policy of North America by a British Parliament shall be absolutely and positively given up.

"Resolved, That Thompson Mason and Francis Peyton, Esqs., be appointed to represent the County at a general meeting to be held at Williamsburg on the 1st day of August next, to take the sense of this Colony at large on the subject of the preceding resolves, and that they, together with Leven Powell, William Ellzey, John Thornton, George Johnston, and Samuel Levi, or any three of them, be a committee to correspond with the several committees appointed for this purpose.

"Signed by--

"John Morton, Thomas Ray, Thomas Drake, William Booram, Benj. Isaac Humphrey, Samuel Mills, Joshua Singleton, Jonathan Drake, Matthew Rust, Barney Sims, John Sims, Samuel Butler, Thomas Chinn, Appollos Cooper, Lina Hanconk, John McVicker, Simon Triplett, John Wildey, Joseph Bayley, Isaac Sanders, Thos. Williams, John Williams, William Finnekin, Richard Hanson, John Dunker, Thomas Williams, James Nolan, Samuel Peugh, William Nornail, Thomas Luttrell, James Brair, Poins Awsley, John Kendrick, Edward O'Neal, Francis Triplett, Joseph Combs, John Peyton Harrison, Robert Combs, Stephen Combs, Samuel Henderson, Benjamin Overfield, Adam Sangster, Bazzell Roads, James Graydey, Thomas Awsley, John Reardon, Henry Awsley, Edward Miller, Richard Hirst, James Davis, Jasper Grant."

_Revolutionary Committees._

The County Committee of Loudoun for 1774-'75 was composed of the following members:

Francis Peyton, Josias Clapham, Thomas Lewis, Anthony Russell, John Thomas, George Johnston, Thomas Sh.o.r.e, Jacob Reed, Leven Powell, William Smith, Robert Jamison, Hardage Lane, John Lewis, James Lane, George Johnston, Clerk.

The appended findings of this as well as a later committee exemplify the work of these Revolutionary bodies.

"At a meeting of the Committee of Loudoun County, held at Leesburg on Friday, May 26, 1775....

"The Committee, taking into consideration the conduct of the Governour relative to the powder which was, by his express orders, taken secretly out of the publick Magazine belonging to this Colony, in the night of the twentieth ult., and carried on board the Magdaline schooner.

"_Resolved, nemine contra dicente_, That his Lordship, by this and other parts of his conduct which have lately transpired, has not only forfeited the confidence of the good people of this Colony, but that he may be justly esteemed an enemy to America; and that as well his excuse published in his Proclamation of the fourth instant, as his verbal answer to the address presented him on that occasion by the city of Williamsburgh, are unsatisfactory and evasive, and reflect, in our opinion, great dishonour on the General a.s.sembly and inhabitants of this Colony, as from the latter a suspicion may be easily deduced, that the Representatives of the people are not competent judges of the place wherein arms and ammunition, intended for the defense of the Colony, may be safely lodged, and that the inhabitants (unlike other subjects) can not, in prudence, be trusted with the means necessary for their protection from insurrection, or even evasion; so in the former a very heavy charge is exhibited against the best men among us, of seducing their fellow-subjects from their duty and allegiance; a charge, we are confident, not founded in reality, and which, we believe, is construed out of the discharge of that duty which every good man is under, to point out to his weaker countrymen, in the day of publick trial, the part they should act, and explain, on const.i.tutional principles, the nature of their allegiance, the ground of which we fervently pray may never be removed, whose force we desire may never with reason be relaxed, but yet may be subservient to considerations of superior regard.

"The Committee being informed by some of the officers who commanded the Troops of this County that marched on the above occasion, that the reason of their marching no farther than Fredericksburgh was, their having received repeated requests from the Honourable Peyton Randolph, Esq., to return home, a.s.suring them that the peaceable citizens of Williamsburgh were under no apprehensions of danger, either in their persons or properties; that the publick treasury and records were perfectly safe, and that there was no necessity for their proceeding any further; three of the other Delegates appointed to the Continental Congress, the only civil power we know of in this great struggle for liberty, being of the same opinion.

"_Resolved, nemine contra dicente_, That under such circ.u.mstances we approve the conduct of the said Officers and Troops.

"_Resolved, nemine contra dicente_, That we cordially approve the conduct of our countrymen, Captain Patrick Henry, and the other volunteers of Hanover County, who marched under him, in making reprisals on the King's property for the trespa.s.s committed as aforesaid, and that we are determined to hazard all the blessings of this life rather than suffer the smallest injury offered to their persons or estates, on this account, to pa.s.s unrewarded with its equal punishment.

"_Resolved, nemine contra dicente_, That it be recommended to the Representatives of this County, as the opinion of this Committee, that they by no means agree to the reprisals, taken as aforesaid, being returned.

"_Ordered_, That the clerk transmit immediately a copy of the preceding resolves to the Printers of the Virginia and Pennsylvania gazettes, to be published.

"By order of the Committee.

"GEORGE JOHNSTON, _Clerk._"

In session in Loudoun, May 14, 1776:

"Richard Morlan being summoned to appear before this Committee, for speaking words inimical to the liberties of America, and tending to discourage a Minute-man from returning to his duty; and also publickly declaring he would not muster, and if fined would oppose the collection of the fine with his gun: The charge being proved against him, and he heard in his defense, the Committee think proper to hold the said Morlan up to the publick as an enemy to their rights and liberties; and have ordered that this resolution be published in the Virginia _Gazette_.

"CHRISTOPHER GREENUP, _Clerk._"

_Soldiery._

Loudoun, at the time of the Revolution, was one of the most densely populated counties in the State. Her militia, according to the returns of 1780 and 1781, numbered 1,746, which number was far in excess of that reported by any other Virginia county.

It is probable that a few Loudoun patriots served in Captain Daniel Morgan's celebrated "Company of Virgina Riflemen," thus described by a line officer of the Continental Army: "They are remarkably stout and hardy men; many of them exceeding six feet in height. They are dressed in white frocks, or rifle shirts, and round hats. These men are remarkable for the accuracy of their aim; striking a mark with great certainty at two hundred yards distance. At a review, a company of them, while on a quick advance, fired their b.a.l.l.s into objects of seven inches diameter at the distance of two hundred and fifty yards.

They are now stationed on our lines, and their shot have frequently proved fatal to British officers and soldiers, who expose themselves to view even at more than double the distance of common musket shot."

The Germans of Loudoun were intensely loyal to the cause of freedom, many serving in Armand's Legion, recruited by authority of Congress during the summer of 1777, and composed of men who could not speak English.

_Quaker Non-Partic.i.p.ation._

During the period preceding the Revolution, important offices had been bestowed on the Friends or Quakers of Loudoun and they exercised a decided influence in the government of the County. They, however, withdrew partic.i.p.ation in public affairs on the approach of war; and, to the determination of the American patriots to throw off the yoke of British tyranny, they opposed their principles of non-resistance, not only refusing to perform military duty, but also to pay the taxes levied on them, as on all other citizens, for the prosecution of the War of Independence.

This non-conformity to the military laws of the State from conscientious motives, brought them into difficulty, as will be seen in the annexed extract from Kercheval's _History of the Shenandoah Valley_:

"At the beginning of the war, attempts were made to compel them to bear arms and serve in the militia; but it was soon found unavailing. They would not perform any military duty required of them, not even the scourge would compel them to submit to discipline. The practice of coercion was therefore abandoned, and the legislature enacted a law to levy a tax upon their property, to hire subst.i.tutes to perform militia duty in their stead. This, with other taxes, bore peculiarly heavy upon them. Their personal property was sold under the hammer to raise the public demands; and before the war was over, many of them were reduced to great distress in their pecuniary circ.u.mstances.

"This selling of Quakers' property afforded great opportunity for designing individuals to make profitable speculations. They continued to refuse to pay taxes for several years after the war, holding it unlawful to contribute their money towards discharging the war debt.

This being at length adjusted, no part of our citizens pay their public demands with more punctuality (except their muster fines, which they still refuse to pay)."

_Loudoun's Revolutionary Hero._

John Champe, the tall and saturnine sergeant-major of Lee's celebrated partisan legion, was a resident of Loudoun County. Readers of Lee's "Memoirs of the War" will recall the account of Champe's pretended desertion from the Continental armies. This perilous adventure was undertaken for the threefold purpose of capturing the traitor Arnold, saving the life of the unfortunate Andre, and establishing the innocence of General Gates, who had been charged with complicity in Arnold's nefarious intrigue. His investigations secured the complete vindication of Gates; but, failing in his other attempts, he drifted with the Red Coats to North Carolina, where he deserted their ranks and rejoined the American forces under General Greene.

That officer provided him with a good horse and money for his journey, and sent him to General Washington. The commander-in-chief "munificently antic.i.p.ated every desire of the sergeant, and presented him with a discharge from further service, lest he might, in the vicissitudes of war, fall into the enemy's hands; when, if recognized, he was sure to die on a gibbet." His connection with the army thus abruptly, though honorably, severed, with no little regret we are to suppose, he straightway repaired to his home near Leesburg.

In after years, when General Washington was called by President Adams to the command of the army organized to defend the country from French hostility, he inquired for Champe, with the avowed purpose of placing him at the head of a company of infantry. Lieutenant-Colonel Lee, through whom the inquiry had been made, dispatched a courier to Loudoun County in search of Champe. There he learned that the intrepid soldier and daring adventurer had removed to Kentucky, where he soon afterward died.

Some interesting anecdotes concerning Champe are related in a portion of Captain Cameron's private journal, published in the British United Service Journal. Champe was a.s.signed to his company, a part of Arnold's British legion, upon his arrival in New York.

_Army Recommendations._

The following list of militia officers were "recommended by the gentlemen justices of the county Court for Loudoun County, Virginia, to the Governor for appointments from March, 1778, to December, 1782:"

[22]"March, 1778: James Whaley, Jr., second lieutenant; William Carnan, ensign; Daniel Lewis, second lieutenant; Josias Miles and Thomas King, lieutenants; Hugh Dougla.s.s, ensign; Isaac Vandevanter, lieutenant; John Dodd, ensign.

May, 1778: George Summers and Charles G. Eskridge, colonels; William McClellan, Robert McClain and John Henry, captains; Samuel c.o.x, major; Frans Russell, James Beavers, Scarlet Burkley, Moses Thomas, Henry Farnsworth, John Russell, Gustavus Elgin, John Miller, Samuel Butcher, Joshua Botts, John Williams, George Tyler, Nathaniel Adams and George Mason, lieutenants; Isaac Grant, John Thatcher, William Elliott, Richard Sh.o.r.e and Peter Benham, ensigns. 1778, August: Thomas Marks, William Robison, Joseph Butler and John Linton, lieutenants; Joseph Wildman and George Asbury, ensigns. 1778, September: Francis Russell, lieutenant, and George Shrieve, ensign. 1779, May: Joseph Wildman, lieutenant, and Francis Elgin, Jr., ensign. 1779, June 14: George Kilgour, lieutenant, and Jacob Caton, ensign. 1779, July 12: John Debell, lieutenant, and William Hutchison, ensign. 1779, October 11: Francis Russell, captain. 1779, November 8: James Cleveland, captain; Thomas Millan, ensign.

1780, February 14: Thomas Williams, ensign. 1780, March: John Benham, ensign. 1780, June: Wethers Smith and William Debell, second lieutenants; Francis Adams and Joel White, ensigns. 1780, August: Robert Russell, ensign. 1780, October: John Spitzfathem, first lieutenant; Thomas Thomas and Matthew Rust, second lieutenants; Nicholas Minor, Jr., David Hopkins, William McGeath and Samuel Oliphant, ensigns; Charles Bennett, captain. 1780, November: James Coleman, Esq., colonel; George West, lieutenant-colonel; James McLlhaney, major. 1781, February: Simon Triplett, colonel; John Alexander, lieutenant-colonel; Jacob Reed, major; John Linton, captain; William Debell and Joel White, lieutenants; Thomas Minor, ensign; Thomas Sh.o.r.es, captain; John Tayler and Thomas Beaty, lieutenants; John McClain, ensign. 1781, March: John McGeath, captain; Ignatius Burnes, captain; Hugh Dougla.s.s, first lieutenant; John Cornelison, second lieutenant; Joseph Butler and Conn Oneale, lieutenants; John Jones, Jr., ensign; William Taylor, major first battalion; James Coleman, colonel; George West, lieutenant-colonel; Josiah Maffett, captain; John Binns, first lieutenant; Charles Binns, Jr., second lieutenant, and Joseph Hough, ensign. 1781, April: Samson Trammell, captain; Spence Wiggington and Smith King, lieutenants. 1781, May: Thomas Respa.s.s, Esq., major; Hugh Dougla.s.s, Gent, captain; Thomas King, lieutenant; William T. Mason, ensign; Samuel Noland, captain; Abraham Dehaven and Enoch Thomas, lieutenants; Isaac Dehaven and Thomas Vince, ensigns; James McLlhaney, captain; Thomas Kennan, captain; John Bagley, first lieutenant. 1781, June: Enoch Furr and George Rust, lieutenants; Withers Berry and William Hutchison (son of Benjamin), ensign. 1781, September: Gustavus Elgin, captain; John Littleton, ensign. 1782, January: William McClellan, captain. February, 1782: William George, Timothy Hixon, and Joseph Butler, captains. 1782, March: James McLlhaney, captain; George West, colonel; Thomas Respa.s.s, lieutenant-colonel. 1782, July: Samuel Noland, major; James Lewin Gibbs, second lieutenant, and Giles Turley, ensign.

1782, August: Enoch Thomas, captain; Samuel Smith, lieutenant; Matthias Smitley, first lieutenant; Charles Tyler and David Beaty, ensigns. 1782, December: Thomas King, captain; William Mason, first lieutenant, and Silas Gilbert, ensign."

[Footnote 22: Abstract from Court Order Book G., pages 517-522.]

_Court Orders and Reimburs.e.m.e.nts._

Needy families of the Revolutionary soldiers of Loudoun were supplied with the necessaries of life as per the following orders:

"1778, November 9th: John Alexander to furnish Elizabeth Welch, her husband being in the army.