d
''O ' G
c
DR
.
hi
f
h— a
T ' 'ER
o g h t t h e Fo
of t h e 'a tio n
Ja mes t o w
1 60 7
The S p ' t
ha t
.
Br
u
u n d e r'
n,
h
Pu b l is e d by
T
'E
C
DA M ES oj A M ER I
O 'O ' I A '
CA
h
in t e
ST A T E
f VI
o
R GI ' I A
' mi Ed i tio n O ct o be r
,
o nd
Se c
i io
Ed t
n
,
1 92 1
.
( re v ise d ) , 'o v e mb e r
,
1 92 1
.
V irg in ia F irs t
nam e F irs t given to th e t e rritory o c cupi e d
by th e pr e s en t United S tates was Virgin ia
It wa s bestow e d up o n th e Country by Eliza
beth gr e at e st o f English queens The United S tat e s
o f America ar e m e re words o f d es c ription They ar e
not a nam e Th e right ful and historic nam e o f this
gr e at R ep ubl i c is Virginia
W e must g e t back to
it i f the Country s n am e i s to hav e any real s ig n ifi
canc e
‘HE
I
.
.
,
.
.
'
'
.
'
,
.
Virginia was th e F irs t colony o f G reat Britain
an d her success ful settlement furnished th e inspira
tion to English colonization everywhere For it was
the wise Lord Bacon who sai d that As in th e arts
an d scien c es the fi rst invention is o f more co n s e
n
e
u
ce than all the improv e ments a fterwards
so in
q
kingdom s or plantations the first foundation or p lan
t at io n i s o f more d ignity than all that f olloweth
.
.
'
,
'
‘
,
,
.
O n May I 3 1 6 0 7 the pione e rs brought over by
th e S arah C o ns t an t th e Go o d Sp e e d and th e Dis c o v e ry
arrived at J amestown on J ames River an d F o un de d
,
,
,
,
,
the Re p ubl ic o f th e United States based on English
conce p tions o f Justic e and Liberty
The story o f
t his l ittl e settl ement i s the story o f a great nation
expanding f rom small beginnings into on e o f more
t han
peopl e inhabiting a land reaching
.
VIRGINIA
4
F I R S T
finally from oc e an to ocean an d abound ing in rich e s
and power till when the l iberties o f all mankind were
e n d a ng e r e d th e des ce ndants o f the old Jamestown set
t l e rs did in their t urn cros s th e oc e an an d help e d to
save th e land f rom which th e ir fathers came
,
.
B e for e any oth e r English s e ttlem e nt wa s made on
this continent democracy wa s b o rn at Jamestown by
the e stablishmen t o f England s fr e e institutions J ury
trial court s f or th e administration o f justice popular
e l e ctions in which all th e inhabitants took part an d
a repr e sent at ive A ss e mbly whi c h met at J amestow n
J uly 30 1 6 1 9 an d d igest e d th e fi rst laws for the new
c ommonwealth
,
'
—
,
,
'
.
.
,
,
.
There at Jam e stown an d on Jam e s River wa s th e
crad l e o f the Union
The fi rst ch urch the first b lock
house the first whar f the fi rst glass factory th e fi rst
th e fi rst iron works the fi rst silk worms
' indmill
r e ar e d the fi rst wheat and tobacco rais e d th e fi rst
p e a c hes grown the fi rst brick house the fi rst Stat e
hou se and the fi rst f ree school ( that o f B en jamin
Syms
—
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
In Virginia was th e F irs t assertion on this c onti
n e nt o f the indissolubl e connection o f representation
and taxation
.
In 1 6 2 4 a law was passed inhibiting the govern
ors f rom laying any taxes on the peo p l e without th e
consent o f the G eneral Assembly and this law was re
e nacted several times a fterwards
In 1 6 3 5 when
,
.
V I R G I ' I A
I
F I R S T
'
S ir J ohn Harvey re fused to send to England a petition
aga inst the ' ing s propos ed mono p oly o f toba c co
which would have im p osed an arbitrary tax the peo p le
deposed him from the government and sent him back
to Englan d an act without precedent in America In
1 6 5 2 when the p eople f eared that Parliament would
deprive them o f that l iberty they had en joyed un d er
' ing Charles I they resisted and would only submit
when the Parliamentary Commissioners signed a writ
ing guaranteeing to them all the rights o f a sel f g o v
erning dominion And when a fter the restoration o f
' ing Charles I I the country wa s outraged by exte n
sive grants o f land to certain court favorites th e
ag e nts o f Virginia in an e ffort to obtain a charter to
avoid thes e grants made the finest argument in 1 6 74
for the right o f sel f taxation to be found in the annals
o f the 1 7 th century Claiborne s Rebell ion and B a
con s Rebellion prove that Virgin ia was always a
Land o f Liberty
'
,
,
.
,
,
,
—
.
.
,
,
,
—
'
.
'
.
During
the 1 8 th century the royal governors o ften
r ep roached the peo p l e for their Re p ublican Spirit
until on May 2 9 1 76 5 the reproach received a dra
matic inter p retation by Patrick Hen ry arousing a
whole continent to resistance again st the Stamp Act
'
'
,
,
,
,
.
Virg in l a F o u n de d N ew England
In 1 6 1 3 a Vi r
ginia G overnor S i r Thomas G ates drove th e French
away from Maine and N ova S cotia and saved to Eng
l ish col onization the shores o f Mas sachusetts and
Connecticut In 1 6 2 0 the Pilgrim Fathers wer e in
spired to go to North America by t he success ful settl e
ment at Jam e stown They sailed unde r a patent given
th e m by the Virginia C ompany o f London and it wa s
only the accident o f a storm that caused them to s e t t l e
,
.
,
'
.
.
,
6
VIRGINIA
F
IR
ST
outsi d e o f the limits o f th e t e rrito ry o f th e Lon d on
Company though still in Virginia Th e May 'ow e r
c ompact under which th e 4 1 e migrants united them
selv e s at Cap e Cod follow e d pretty n e arly the t e rms
o f the original Virginia Company s patent
,
.
,
'
.
In 1 6 2 2 th e p e opl e at Plymouth w e re saved f rom
starvation by th e opportun e arrival o f two ships f rom
J amestown which divided their provision s with th e m
Without this help th e Plymouth s e ttl e men t woul d have
b ee n abandon ed
.
,
.
Th e 4 1 Pilgri m Fath e rs e stablish e d an arist o cracv
or ol igar chy at Plymouth for they con stitute d an e x
c l u s iv e body and only cautiously a d mitted any new
c omers to p artn e rship with them in authority
As
tim e went on the great body o f th e p e o p l e ha d nothing
to say a s t o t axes o r gov e rnm e nt
,
.
,
.
Citiz e n ship at Plymouth and in all New Englan d
was a matter o f special selection in the cas e o f e a c h
individu al The terms o f the magi strates w e r e mad e
permanent by a law a ffording them prec e dency o f all
oth e rs in nomination on th e election day
The t o wns
o f N e w England were little oligarchies not de mo c ra
ci e s It was d ifferent in Virginia Ther e th e Hous e
o f B urgess e s which was the great controlling body
rested f or mor e than a hun dred y e ars upon what was
prac t ically universal su ffrag e ( 1 6 1 9
an d even
a ft e r 1 736 many mo re peopl e vot e d in Virginia than in
Ma ssachusetts There was a spl e ndi d and s pec tacular
body o f aristocrats in Virginia but they had nothing
lik e th e power an d prestig e o f th e N e w England
preachers an d magistrates
By n o str e tch o f the imagination
says Dr
Charles M Andr e ws Pro fessor o f History in 'ale
University c an the political c onditi on in any o f th e
N e w England Coloni e s b e ca lled popular or d e mocra t i c
G overn men t was in th e hands o f a v e ry f e w m e n
.
'
'
.
,
.
.
.
,
,
.
,
.
'
.
,
,
.
'
,
.
'
.
VIRGINIA
VIII
F
IR
7
ST
.
Virginia l ed in all th e m e asur e s that e stablished
th e in de p e n de n ce o f th e Unit e d Sta te s
B eginning
wit h t h e Fr e n c h an d Indian War out o f which sprang
t he taxation measures that subsequ e ntly provok ed t he
Am e ri c an R e volution Virginia und e r Washingt on
s t ru ck th e fi rs t blow against th e Fr e nch and Virginian
bloo d was th e first American blood to 'o w in that
wa r Th e n wh e n a ft e r th e war t he B ritish Parlia
ment pro p o sed to tax Am e ri c a by th e Stamp Act it
was th e Colony o f Virginia that rang th e alar m bell
and rall i e d all th e other colonies again st the measur e
by th e ce l e brat e d r e solution s o f Patrick H e nry May
29
1 76 5 which brought about i t s r e p e al
Later when th e B ritish Parliament r e viv e d its
p oli c y o f taxation in 1 76 7 by the R e v e nue A c t though
c ir c umstances made the o ccas io n f or t he fi rst move
men t s els e where it wa s always Virginia that by som e
r e sol ute an d de t e rmined action o f l e ad e rship solv e d
the c ri sis that aro se
Th e re were four o f these cris es '
1
( ) The fi rst occurred when M a ssachusetts by
h e r prot e st in 1 768 against the R e v e nu e Act s t irr e d
up Parl iam e nt to d e mand that her patriot l e aders b e
s e n t to Englan d for trial
Massachus e tts was l e f t
quite alone an d she remained qui e scent Virgin ia
st e p p ed to th e front an d by her ringing r e solu
t ion s o f May 1 6 1 769 aroused th e whol e c ontinent
t o r e sistanc e which forced Parlia men t to c o mpromis e
l eav e th e Ma ssachus e tts m e n alon e an d re p e al al l th e
taxes except a smal l on e on tea A fter t h e Ass e mbly
Th e B rav e Virginian s
wa s the c ommon toas t
throughout N e w England
In tha t
( 2 ) Th e n e xt crisis o cc urr e d in 1 772
y ea r th e o cc a sion f or a c tion o cc urr ed in th e small e st
o f t h e c olon ies Rho de I sl an d by an a tt ack o f som e
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
'
'
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
'
,
'
.
.
,
,
8
VIRGIN IA
F
IR
S T
unauthorized person s on the sloop G aspee which was
e ngaged in suppressing s muggling Th e ' ing imitate d
Parliament by trying to renew the pol icy o f transport
ing American s to England for trial but V irginia
caused th e ' ing and his Counsellors to d esist from
their purpose by her syst e m o f in t er co l o n ial c o mmit
t e es which brought about a real contin e ntal union o f
the colonies for the fi rst time
( 3 ) The third crisis occurred in 1 774 after a
mob o f disguised pe rsons thr e w the tea overboard in
B oston harbor Though Boston d id not authoriz e this
proceeding Parliament held her respons ible an d shut
up her p ort Virginia thought this un just an d was t he
fi rst colony to declare her sym p athy with Boston and
th e fi rst in any representative charact e r for an e ntire
c olony to cal l f or a Congress o f all th e col onies
And to that Congr e ss which m e t S e ptember 5
1 7 74
sh e furnished the first pr e s id e nt Pey t on Ran
dol p h and th e greatest orators Patrick H enry and
Ri c hard H enry L ee
The rem e dy proposed by this Congress was a plan
o f non intercourse already adop t ed in Virginia to b e
en forced by c ommitte e s ap p oint ed in e v e ry county
city and town in America
( 4 ) The f ourth crisi s began in 1 775 with the
law s p a ss ed by the B ritish Parl iament to cut o ff t h
trade o f th e c olon i e s intended a s r e taliatory to the
American non i n tercours e This l ed to hostilities an d
for a yea r during which time the war was wag e d in
New England the c olon ists hel d the attitude o f con
f essed rebel s fighting th e ir sovereign and y e t pro fes s
ing allegianc e to him When the war wa s trans ferred
to th e South w ith th e burning o f Nor folk and t he
battle o f M oore s Creek B ridge this attitude became
intolerabl e to the South e rn e rs and they sought for a
solution of the di fficulty in Indep e ndence
,
.
,
—
'
,
.
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
'
,
,
.
'
,
—
.
.
,
,
,
.
'
,
,
.
VIRGINIA
IR
F
ST
9
While Boston was pro fessing through h e r town
me e ting her willingness to wait most patiently to
wai t f or Congres s to act an d the Assembly o f the
Province de ferred action till th e towns were heard
from it was North Carolina largely settled by Vir
i
i
n
2
n
that
on
April
1
1 77 6 instructed her del e gates
a
s
g
in Congres s to concur with the delegates from the
other Colonies in declaring indepen d ence and it wa s
Virginia that on May 1 5 1 776 co mman d ed h e r del e
gates to propose indepen dence The fi rst expl icit and
d irect instruction s f or ind e pen d enc e anywher e in th e
United S tates were given by Cumberland County in
Virginia April 2 2 1 776 Unlik e the tumultuary u n
authorized and accidental nature o f th e leading revo
l u t io n ary i n cidents in N ew England such as th e B oston
T e a Party and th e Battl e o f Lexington the proc e ed
ings in Virginia were always the authoritativ e an d
o fficial a c ts o f the Colony
'
,
'
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
All the worl d should know that it was Ri c har d
Henry Le e a Virginian who dr e w the resolution s for
independence adopted by Congress J uly 2 1 776 and
that it wa s Thoma s J e fferson a Virginian who wrote
the Declaration o f Indep e ndence adopted July 4
1 77 6
a paper styl ed by a well known N ew England
writer as the mos t commanding and most pathetic
utterance in any age o f national grievances and na
t io n al p urposes
.
,
,
,
,
,
'
'
,
,
'
.
During
the wa r that e nsue d Virginia contributed
to the war what all must allow was the soul o f th e
war the immortal G eorge Washingt on whose im
men s e moral personality accompl ished more in bring
ing su cc ess than all th e money e mpl oyed and all the
armies pla ce d in th e fi e ld 'and the war ha d its en d ing
—
,
V I R G I ' I A
I O
F I R ST
at 'orktown only a few mil e s from th e original s et tle
m e nt at J a m e s t own Th e F at her o f this gr e at Repub
li c wa s a Virginian
,
.
.
Virginia led in th e work o f organizing th e Gov
e rn me n t o f th e Unite d Stat e s
She c alled t h e An
napolis Convention in 1 786 and fur nish ed to th e
F e d e ral Con v en t ion at Philad e lphia which m e t as t h e
result o f this action its chie f con structor — J ames
Madison who ha s been aptly de scrib ed as F a ther o f
th e Con sti t ut ion She furnished t he two gr e atest rival
interpr e ters o f its pow e rs Thomas J e ffe rson an d J ohn
Marshall an d gav e th e Union its first Pr e si d ent
Ge org e Wa shington
.
'
,
,
,
—
.
,
,
,
.
Virginia through h e r e xplor e rs gen e rals and
pres id e nts made th e Union a continental pow e r
,
,
.
,
It wa s Patrick H e nry and G eorge Rogers Clark
who e ffect e d th e conqu e s t o f the N orthw e s t T e rri
tory which e ventually a d d ed fiv e gr e at S tat es to the
Union Meriweth e r Lewi s and William Clark ma d e
th e fi rst thorough exploration o f the W e st An d Lou
is ian a Fl orida and T e xas were added to th e Union
by Virginia Presidents Je ff e rson M onroe and Tyler
Nor can it be forgotten that all the far W e st wa s the
r e sult o f the annexation o f T e xas by Tyl er in
d irectly l e a ding to th e Mexican War whos e suc ce ss
was a ssured by two Virgin ia gen e ral s 'a c hary Tay
l o and Winfi e l d S c ott
,
.
.
,
—
.
,
,
,
,
—
r
.
Had th e N e w Englan d in 'uences whi c h w e r e o p
pos ed to th e Ann e xation poli c y dominat e d the Unit ed
Stat e s to day i f it e xis ted at all would be co n fined
to a narrow Slip along th e Atlanti c shor e
,
,
,
—
,
,
.
VI R G I ' I A
'I I
F I R S T
I I
.
A Virgin ia Pr e sident Jam e s M onroe gav e to the
world ov e r his nam e the l V
I o nro e D o c trin e whi c h has
r egulat e d to th e present day the relations o f Ameri c a
t o th e nation s o f Europ e an d t h e rest o f mankin d
Am e ri c a fo r Am e rican s h e said in substanc e
,
,
,
,
,
.
'
'
,
.
'I I I
.
Virginians c rea t ed thos e i d eal s for which th e Re
publ i c o f th e Un ited S tates stands to day d emocracy
r e ligious f reedom an d e ducation
-
—
,
.
,
D e mo cracy '
Not only d id Virginia have the fi rst
l egislative Ass e mbly which r e sted for mor e than a
hundred years on un iv e rsal su ffrage she was th e
headquarters a fter the American Revolution o f the
gr e a t Democrati c R e publican party un d er the l e a d er
ship o f Thomas J e fferson This party was th e cham
p ion o f th e popular idea against the aristocrati c no
tions o f the Federal is t s who had th e i r headquarters in
N e w Eng land By complet e ly d estroying the Feder
alist party Virginia sowed th e se e ds o f d e mocracy
throughout the Unit ed S tates an d th e w orl d
All
political parties in th e United S tates since that time
h ave the same c reed as to the equal ity o f th e citiz e n
Thomas J e fferson is incom p arably the greatest l iving
in 'uence in Am e rica H e is in fa c t th e F o u n d er o f
Americanism a s w e understand it
,
.
,
,
,
-
,
.
,
.
.
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
Through an act o f which the same great man wa s
the author Virginia wa s the fi rst Stat e in th e world
to impos e a pe nalty for engaging in th e slav e trad e
and in th e F e deral Convention in 1 78 7 her
de legates bitterly o p pos e d th e p rovi sion in th e Consti
t u t io n support e d by the Puritan de legates from New
England pe rmitting the slav e t ra de for twenty years
New England men w e r e gr e a t Shippers o f slav e s
,
,
.
,
.
V I R G I ' I A
12
F I R S T
F re e d o m ' A fter the same mann er Vir
gin ia sowed the seeds o f religious freedom Al l New
England ex c ept Rhode Island in Colonial days was
principled again st religious l iberty
Ev e n a fter the
Ameri c an Revolution the p reachers and a group o f
laym e n in each commun ity graspe d all power and th e
people wer e for c ed into submission
In 1 79 3 only
on e in tw e nty o f th e p e opl e in Connec t icut exercis e d
the right o f su ffrage Ev e n in Rhode I slan d th e re
w e r e till a lat e date laws against Roman Catholi c s
voting or holding o ffice and it took Dorr s Rebellion
in 1 8 42 to break u p th e r e stri c tion s on the ballot
hand e d d own from Col on ial days
R e lig io u s
.
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
,
'
,
.
Th e pers e cuting Spirit wa s not abs e nt in Virginia
but it wa s n ever s o severe or relentless as in N e w
England And for many years be fore th e American
Revolution ther e were no r eligious qual ifi c ations f or
voting or hol d ing o ffi c e
The Declaration o f Rights o f Virginia drawn
by G eorge Mason in 1 7 7 6 an d imitated by all th e
other S tates plac ed the principl e o f religious f re e dom
for the fi rst time upon a truly p hiI O SO p hic basis Vir
ginia wa s then the F irs t Stat e in the worl d to pro claim
absolut e equality an d freedom o f rel igion to the p e opl e
o f all faiths Christian s J ews M oh amm edan s e tc
The p rinci p l e e nunciated by Mason was e nacted in to
law by Thomas J e fferson whos e b ill f or Religious
Fr e edom in 1 78 5 invested conscienc e with the wings
o f heaven
E du cat io n ' Final ly it was a Virginian Thoma s
J e fferson that furnished the id e al s o f po p ular educa
tion The system o f schools a s they e xisted in Massa
chu s e t t s in Colonial days d id not remotely r e semble th e
pres e nt ideal A S a system they were under no central
authority were n o t fre e to th e scholar who had to pay
for tuition and wer e primarily direct ed to th e mainte
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
—
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
.
VI R GI ' I A
IR
F
13
ST
nance and upholding o f the Congregational Church
Non e but members o f that Church could be teachers
in Massachusetts
In practice the towns neglected
their res p on sibilities shamelessly and a la rge p e r
centag e o f the peopl e could n e ith e r rea d nor write
.
.
,
'
,
.
Virginia did not go far in her educational system
but in her ancient laws for educating poor children
an d establishing an d financing William and Mary Col
lege th e colony c l early recognized education a s a pub
lic function As to th e g e neral supply o f education
however the Colony had by far the best libraries and
t e achers and according to M r J e fferson the mass o f
education accomplished through tutors and privat e
schools placed her among the foremost o f her Sister
States at th e tim e o f the Revolution B ut it was the
great bill o f Thomas Je fferson in 1 779 correlating t he
d i ffer e nt gradation s o f school s
beginning with the
primary schools and ending with the University that
f urn ishe d the real ideal on which the public school
syst e m o f th e Unit e d S tates rests to day
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
'
,
'
.
,
,
—
,
-
.
'I V
.
B e fore 1 86 1 the Union con sisted practically o f two
nation s s ep arated by Mason and D ixon s lin e d i ffer
ing in habit s o f thought customs and largely in insti
t u t io n s
It was only the p ressure o f B ritish taxation
t hat brought th e se two nation s together and imme di
ately a fter the peace in 1 78 3 the separative forces b e
gan to exert themselves
They were first Shar p ly
mani fested in N e w England wher e plan s o f secession
were discussed as early as 1 8 0 0 So far did this spirit
proceed that in 1 8 1 2 1 8 1 4 th e New England Stat e s
pro fessed the extrem e doctrine o f States rights and
did all they could to paralyze the arm o f the Fed e ral
G overnment during the course o f a wa r with t he
'
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
-
,
I
VIRGINIA
4
F
IR
ST
greates t p ower in Europ e A s lat e as 1 8 44 t h e Massa
aft e r de c laring t hat uniting an
c hu s e t t s L e gislature
indep e n de nt for e ign stat e ( l ik e Texas ) with t he
Unit e d S tat e s was n o t among th e powers d elega t ed to
t h e G en e ral G overnment stat e d i t s r e solv e to b e to
submit to undelegat ed powers in no bo d y o f m e n on
earth an d in 1 8 45 it announce d th e doctrin e o f nulli
fi c at io n by declaring that th e a d m is sion o f Texa
would hav e n o binding for ce what e ver on the peopl e
o f Mas sachus e tts
'
.
'
,
'
'
,
'
,
s
'
.
B ut by this time th e gr e at increas e in th e w
e alth
and populatio n o f the North chie 'y d ue to th e f or e ign
immigration cause d N e w England to aban don th e
s e parative pol icy and substitute that o f na t ionali t y to
b e p reserved by force
The S outh now being th e
w eaker se c tion wa s comp e ll e d into the opposit e pol i c y
and fi nally obeying the d i c tat e s o f its economic and
so c ial forces s e cede d from th e Union an d organiz ed a
s e parate governm e nt
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
Virginia who had a sentim e ntal atta c hment to
th e Union attempted to pr e serv e it by the P e ace Con
f e r e nc e but fin ding that im p o ssibl e and place d in a
dil e mma o f fighti n the north e rn Union or fighting
t he S outhern Con f ede racy she allie d h e rs e l f with th e
latter o f which sh e was r e ally an in t egral part In
th e light o f th e d octrin e o f sel f det e rmina t ion now
so g e n e rally admitted it app e ars on e o f th e most
as t onishing things in history that e igh t mill ion s o f
p eopl e occupying a territory hal f th e siz e o f Europ e
with a thoroughly organ ized gov e rnm e n t and c apabl e
o f fighting one o f the great e st wars on r e cor d wer e
no t p e rmitt e d to set up for th e m s e lves
B y the results o f the war on e o f the two nation s
o f the old Union was wiped out and in c orporate d
into the other But Virginia was th e capital o f the
S outh e rn Con f e dera c y and the battl efi eld o f th e war
‘
,
,
,
,
g
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
V I R G I NI A
F
IR
15
S T
an d the v e teran s o f Virginia an d the South have liv e d
t o see th e prin c ipl e o f sel f gov e rnm e n t an d sel f de
t ermination for which t hey fough t acc e p te d by the
world at larg e
.
In the war for S outhern Inde p endence as in th e
Am e rican R e volution Virginia furnish e d the I de al
Man In on e war it wa s Ge org e Washington and in
th e other it was Rob e rt E L e e B oth these gr e at m e n
w e r e d istinguished by t he union o f a handsome p e rson
w ith a su p r e mely ma jestic soul brav e r e fined dig n i
fi e d and cl e an
They were in d eed kingly men
,
,
.
,
.
.
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
Th e c ontribution s o f Virginia to scienc e should
not be pass e d by in this s u mmary o f her p rioriti e s
Among the cr e ators o f an epoch th e fol lowing may
b e mention e d particularly James Rums e y fi rst d e m
1 78 6 the possibilities o f
o n s t rat e d in h e r waters in
steam as appli e d t o a river boat Cyrus Hall Mc C o r
mick re v olutionized agriculture throughout the world
by his invention o f the rea p er
Matthew Fonta in e
Maury about th e same tim e did th e same thing for
ocean navigation H e furnishe d the plan s for the lay
ing o f the Atlantic Cable and wa s the father o f t he
modern science o f torpedo and mine laying In recent
days Walt e r R e ed o f G loucest e r County was f or e
most in discovering the caus e o f yellow f ever and
rendering that dread d isease innocuous
.
.
.
.
.
,
.
,
,
.
During
the war for S outhern Inde p endence it
was th e ironclad Virg in ia ( or M e rrini ac ) con structed
by two master e ngineers J ohn L Porter o f Ports
mouth Va and J ohn M ercer B rooke o f Lexin g ton
Va that showed in an e p och making battl e fought in
Hampton Road s March 8 1 86 2 with the Fed e ral
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
_
VIRGINIA
_
TJ BRQRT OF C O'GRES
I
'
0 0 14 444 9 0 3
F I R S
wooden b at t leships th e su p eriority o f iron ship s over
woo d en ones no matter how gallantly mann e d and
bravely fought
,
,
.
Then and th e re Virgin ia genius and invention
F o u n d e d t he pr e sent navies o f the worl d
.
The M o n it o r which e ngaged the Virgin ia the next
day ( March 9 1 8 6 2 ) had no share in this glory Naval
wa r fare would have been revolutioniz ed i f it had
never showed up The battle o f the n inth i s only in
t e re s t in g as it a ffords a test o f the prowes s o f the two
vessel s The M o n it o r was driven f rom the fi eld and
e ver a ft e r avoided conflict with the Virg in ia though
r e peatedly chall e n ged in Hampton Roads to a n e w
trial o f strength
,
.
,
.
.
,
,
.