North Carolina booklet : great events in North Carolina history

              OCT. 1920, JAN.-APRIL. 1921 Vol. XX, Nos. 2, 3, 4
North Carolina Booklet
GREAT EVENTS
IN
NORTH CAROLINA
HISTORY
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY
BY
THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY
DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION
RALEIGH. N. C.
CONTENTS
Gen. William Ruffln Cox 159
By Hon. Frank S. Speuill.
Gen. James Johnson Pettigrew, O. S. A 171
By Chief JusTxcfE Walteb Clabk
The Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library 181
By Mrs. Charles P. Wales
j-^he Cupola House 185
Opposes Plan for Removing Dust of Davis' First Wife 187
By Maby E. Robinson
.Joel Lane . 191
By Mabshat. DeLancey Haywood
The Spirit of the Revolution'. 207
By Miss Maby Hillabd Hinton
In Memoriam 213
Review of the Conquest of the Old Southwest 215
TfflS NUMBER 75 CENTS $1.00 THE YEAR
Entered at the Postoffice at Raleigh, N. C, July 15. 1905. under the Act of
Congress of March 3, 1879
The North CaroHna Booklet
Great Events in North Carolina History
Volume XX of The Booklet will be issued quarterly by the
North Carolina Society, Daughters of the Revolution, beginning July,
1920. The Booklet will be published iu July, October, January, and
April. Price $1.00 per year, 35 cents for single copy.
Editob :
Miss Mary Hilliakd Hinton.
BlOGBAFHICAL EdITOE :
Mes. E. E. Moffitt.
VOLUME XX
Social Life in the Sixties.
William Boylan, Editor of The Minerva.
History of Transportation in North Carolina.
Services of the North Carolina Women in the World War.
Literature and Libraries in the Nineteenth Century in North
Carolina.
History of Some Famous Carolina Summer Resorts.
History of Agriculture in North Carolina—Major W. A. Graham.
The Old Borough Town of Salisbury—Dr. Archibald Henderson.
OTHER
Brief Historical Notes will appear from time to time in The
Booklet, information that is worthy of preservation, but which if not
preserved in a permanent form will be lost.
Historical Book Reviews will be contributed. These will be re-views
of the latest historical works written by North Carolinians.
The Genealogical Department will be continued with a page devoted
to Genealogical Queries and Answers as an aid to genealogical re-search
in the State.
The North Carolina Society Colonial Dames of America will fur-nish
copies of unpublished records for publication in The Booklet.
Biographical Sketches will be continued under Mrs. E. E. Moffitt.
Old Letters, heretofore unpublished, bearing on the Social Life of
the different periods of North Carolina History, will appear here-after
in The Booklet.
This list of subjects may be changed, as circumstances sometimes
prevent the writers from keeping their engagements.
The histories of the separate counties will in the future be a
special feature of The Booklet. When necessary, an entire issue
will be devoted to a paper on one county.
Parties who wish to renew their subscriptions to The Booklet
for Vol. XX are requested to give notice at once.
Many numbers of Volumes I to XX for sale.
For particulars address
Migs Maey Hilliaed Hinton,
Editor North Carolina Booklet,
"Midway Plantation," Raleigh, N. C
OCT. 1920, JAN.-APR. 1921 Vol. XX, Nos. 2, 3,
4
North Carolina Booklet
"Carolina! Carolina! Heaven's blessings attend her!
While we live we will cherish, protect and defend her"
Published by
THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY
DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION
The object of The Booklet is to aid in developing and preserving
North Carolina History. The proceeds arising from its publication
will be devoted to patriotic purposes. Editob.
BALEIGH
COMMERCIAL PBINTING COMPANY
PBINTEBS AND BINDERS
ADVISORY BOARD OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET
Mes. Hubert Haywood.
Mes. E. E. Moffitt.
Me. R. D. W. Connor.
Dr. D. H. Hill.
Dr. William K. Bovn.
Capt. S. a. Ashe.
Miss Adelaide L. Fries.
Miss Martha Helen Haywood.
Dr. Richard Dillard.
Mr. James Sprunt.
Mr. Marshall DeLancey Haywood,
Chief Justice Walter Clark.
Major W. A. Graham.
Dr. Charles Lee Smith.
EDITOR :
Miss Mary Hilliard Hinton.
biographical editor:
Mrs. E. E. Moffitt.
OFFICERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY
DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION
1920-1922
Miss Mary Hilliard Hinton,
Regent.
Mrs. E. E. Moffitt, Honorary
Regent, Richmond, Va.
Mrs. Thomas K. Beuneb,
Honorary Regent, Raleigh.
Mrs. Thomas W. Bickett,
1st Vice-Regent, Raleigh.
Mrs. Henry A. London, 2d Vice-
Regent, Pittsboro.
Mrs. Laurence E. Covington,
Recording Secretary, Raleigh.
Mrs. George Ramsey, Corre-sponding
Secretary, Raleigh.
Miss Georgia Hicks, Historian,
Faison.
Mrs. Charles Lee Smith,
Treasurer, Raleigh.
Mrs. Charles P. Wales,
Registrar, Edentou.
Mrs. John E. Ray, Custodian of
Relics, Raleigh.
Founder of the North Carolina Society and Regent 1896-1902
;
Mrs. SPIER WHITAKER.*
Regent 1902
:
Mrs. D. H. HILL, SR.f
Regent 1902-1906
:
Mrs. THOMAS K. BRUNER.
Regent 1906-1910:
Mrs. E. E. MOFFITT.
Regent 1910-1917:
Miss MARY HILLIARD HINTON.
Regent 1917-1919.
Mrs. MARSHALL WILLIAMS.
Died November 25. 1911.
tDied December 12, 1904.
The North Carolina Booklet
OCT. 1920, JAN.-/VPR. 1921 Vol. XX, Nos. 2, 3,
4
GEN. WILLIAM RUFFIN COX
Address of Hon. Frank S. Spruill, of Rocky Mount, in presenting
to the State the portrait of the distinguished Confederate oflBcer.
I am commissioned by Mrs. William Ruffin Cox to present
to tlie State this portrait of its distinguislied son, and to speak
briefly of bis illnstrioiis career and great acbievements.
I approach the performance of this pleasing task with
cheerful alacrity, for chronicler has rarely had a richer theme.
The records of history are more and more becoming pic-torial.
Posterity, reading of the high deeds of some dead
and gone soldier or statesman, naturally desires to know
what manner of man he was. In the absence of portrait or
likeness, imagination often supplies the details, and, if his
career has been one of great deeds and knightly prowess,
we think of him as one
" like old Goliath tall,
His spear an hundred weight."
It is meet that we should hang upon the walls of the State's
Hall of History portraits of the men who have made our
liistory glorious. They remind us of the illimitable vast-ness
of opportunity to him who is willing to serve; they
preserve in pictorial form the history and traditions of a
great though modest commonwealth ; they inspire us with
a laudable desire to live our lives that posterity may say
of us that we also "have done the State some service."
And so we come today to speak of one who writ his name
large in the annals of the State's history ; of one who in every
walk of life into which he directed his steps, made the
observer take note that a man had passed.
In our childhood days we used to stand against the wall
160 The JSTorth Carolina Booklet
to be measured of our stature, and in many an old home-stead
in the State upon the crumbling walls are marked the
records of the children's annual growth. It was before the
days of automatic devices that, for a penny in the slot, will
weigh and measure you, and prophesy your future fortune.
It is my purpose briefly to stand General William Ruffin
Cox against the wall of history, and measure, as best I may,
his stature as a soldier, as a statesman, and as a civilian.
It is not necessary or desirable to make this address a
mere biographical sketch of our distinguished subject; a
skillfuller and abler hr.nd than mine has done this. Captain
S. A. Ashe has penned the inspiring story and preserved it
in permanent form, in volume one of the "Biographical
History of ISTorth Carolina."
I have drawn largely upon this incomparable sketch for
my facts in the preparation of this paper, and here and ndw
wish to miake to him due acknowledgement.
Born of highly honorable parentage, on March 11, 1832,
General Cox was a descendant of the Cavalier rather than the
Puritan. He was orphaned by his father's death when only
four years old, and upon his cultured and gifted mother fell
the burden of his early training. There was something in the
serene and stately bearing of the man—in his perfect poise
—
in the careful modulation of his rich masculine voice—and
in his gTave and dignified courtesy, that, to the end, refleoted
the early impression of that magical mother love and, train-ing.
He came to the bar in Tennessee in 1852, and resided at
ISTashville until 1857, as the junior partner of John G. Fer-gaison,
a lawyer of distinotion and a kinsman of Hon. G. S.
Ferguson, some time judge of our Superior Court.
In 1857 he married Miss Penelope B. Battle, sister of the
wife of the late Dr. Kemp P. Battle, of Chapel Hill, and
came to ]!!^orth Carolina to live.
The mutterings of the coming storm were already audible.
The political atmosphere was becoming more and more tense
Gek. William Euffijst Cox 16,1
and surcharged witli feeling and, as the crisis approached,
the question of State's rights was being discussed, not al-ways
calmly, alike by the learned and the unlearned. Gen-eral
Cox, who had, in 1859, removed to Raleigh, was an
ardent believer in the doctrine of State's rights as expounded
by Mr. Jefferson Davis, and, believing that war was in-evitable,
in company with several others, he equiped a bat-tery.
So began his highly honorable military career.
Almost immediately upon the outbreak of hostilities, he
was appointed by Governor Ellis, major of the Second ISTorth
Carolina troops and entered upon actual service.
Time and space will permit us to do no more than touch
upon the "high lights" of one of the most unique military-careers
in the great War between the States. General Cox
and the Second ISTorth Carolina Troops were to win imperish-able
renown before the curtain fell upon the lurid drama. At
Mechanicsville, on June 26, 1862, and lasting through seven
days of shot and shell, he and his regiment received their
first baptism of fire, and helped to hurl back MoClellan's
incomparable army and "to drive it, defeated, disorganized,
and cowering, under the protection of the Federal gunboats
at Harrison's Landing." After that he was a veteran, cool
and intrepid.
At Malvern Hill, he was severly wounded and could not
rejoin his regiment until after the battle of South Mountain.
Followed in rapid sequence, Sharpsburg, bloody and desper-ate;
victory at Fredericksburg; and then Chancellorsville,
with its unutterable tragedy. Here we pause to quote from
Captain Ashe's spirited account:
"At Chancellorsville, on Friday evening, Colonel Cox
moved up and drove in Hooker's outposts, the regiment lying
that night so near to the enemy that all orders were given in
whispers; and the next morning Cox's regiment was one of
the sixteen l^orth Carolina regiments that Jackson led in
his memorable march across Hooker's front, reaching the
162 The IJ^Tokth Carolina Booklet
rear of Siegel's troops about sunset. The men were in line,
stooping like athletes, when Ramseur, their brigade com-mander,
ordered ^forward at once' and Cox, leading his regi-ment,
drove the enemy from their works ; but his troops were
subjected to a terrific enfilading artillary fire at only two
hundred yards distance, and in fifteen minutes he lost 300
of the 400 men he had carried in with him. The gallant
colonel himself received five wounds, but continued on the
field until exhausted. Of him the lamented Eamseur said in
his report: The manly and chivalrous Cox of the Second
i^orth Carolina, the accomplished gentleman, splendid soldier
and warm friend, who, though wounded five times, remained
with his regiment until exhausted. In common with the
entire command, I regret his temporary absence from the
field, where he loves to be.' The brigade received, through
General Lee, a message of praise from the dying lips of
General Jackson."
Spottsylvania, with its record of glorious achievement,
followed and the part played by the brigade, of which General
Cox's regiment was a part, evoked from General Lee words
of personal thanks for their gallant conduct, and brought to
General Cox his commission as Brigadier General. "After
that time," to quote again from Captain Ashe's inspiring
account, "General Cox led the brigade that, under Anderson
and Eamseur, had been so distinguished in all the fields of
blood and carnage, in which the Army of l!^orthern Virginia
had won such glory."
It was to fall to the lot of General Cox's brigade, under
his leadership, to further immortalize itself. He led the
brigade to Silver Springs within a few miles and in sight of
the White House at Washington. This was the nearest
point to the seat of the Federal Government which the Con-federate
troops at any time approached. Thence he was
recalled to General Lee's aid at Petersburg to share there-with
his brigade all the hardships and cruel privations of
Gen. William Euffin Cox 183
that memorable siege. I quote again from. Captain Ashe's
vivid account:
"Once more it was General Cox's fortune to draw from
General Lee an expression of liigh commendation. It was
during the retreat from Petersburg, at Salior's Creek, just
after Lee's retiring army had been overwhelmed, and the ut-most
confusion prevailed, the soldiers straggling along hope-lessly,
many leaving deliberately for their homes, and the
demoralization increasing every moment, while the enemy, in
overwhelming numbers, pressed on so closely that a stand had
to be made to save the trains, upon which all depended. Lee
sent his staff to rally the stragglers, but they met with in-different
success. All seemed mixed in hopeless, inextricable
confusion, and the gTcatest disorder prevailed, when presently
an orderly column approached—a small but entire brigade
—
its commander at its head, and colors flying, and it filed
promptly and with precision into its appointed position.
A smile of mo^mentary joy passed over the distressed features
of General Lee, as he called out to an aide, "What troops are
those?" "Cox's JSTorth Carolina Brigade," was the reply.
Taking off his hat and bowing his head, with courtesy and
kindly feeling. General Lee exclaimed, "God bless gallant
old ISTorth Carolina!" This occasion has been graphically
described in a public address made by Governor Yance after
the war.
Stand General Cox, therefore, against the wall of history
and measure his stature as a soldier. Assaying him by his
accomplishments and what he attained, we know it may be
said of him that no more gallant soldier than this distin-guished
ISTorth Carolinian went forth from the State to fight
its battles. In his body he bore the marks of eleven wounds
received during those four years.
Was his career as a statesman any less distinguished ? Let
us examine the record in this respect.
With the war ended and the return of the disbanded sol-
164 The JSToeth Caeolina Booklet
diers to civil life after four years of military duty, tie de-mand
for high, and disinterested service was tragically great.
War is the very culmination of lawlessness; it is the resort
of men to primitive and lawless methods of arbitrament,
and law ends where war begins. The lawlessness, which
is the culmination of and is typified in war, affects to the
very core, the citizenship that is engaged. In proof of this,
you have but to observe the wave of crime and rapine that
has swept over this country in the two years and a half
since the armistice was signed. We have stood amazed and
horrified at the recital of crimes perpetrated even in our very
midst, and no hamlet is so quiet or so well ordered that it
has not its chapter of bloodshed and outrage. Human life
becomes so cheap, and property rights of so small account,
when a million men are fighting breast to breast at each
other's throats, that the lust to kill cannot be soothed into
quiet by the mere signing of an armistice or treaty.
So, when General Cox, who at the time of the surrender
had become an unique and dominant figure in the Army of
^Northern Virginia, surrendered his sword and laid aside the
habiliments of war, he came home to take up' a task vaster
in its significance and ultimate fruitage than were his duties
as a soldier. He was to throw his great prestige and strong
personality into the labor of rebuilding a chaotic and bank-rupt
State. He was to co-operate with and aid other leaders
in directing the energies and passions, engendered by war,
into channels that would not only render them innocuous, but
positively helpful. Here was a mighty dynamic force that
was full of dangerous menace ; but, if it could be controlled
and directed, it would become potential for the accomplish-ment
of great good to the State.
Mr. President, as proud as we are and should ever be of
the glorious record of the ISTorth Carolina Troops in the Con-federate
service, I declare to you that, in my judgment, the
brightest page in our great State's great history is that writ-
Gen. William Ruffust Cox 165
ten by leaders and led in those years following hard upon
the war. Even with half a century between us and those fate-ful
years when our very civilization was gasping for its life,
and our social and political institutions were debauched and
chaotic, we are too close to the tragic events to understand
their significance, or to rightly appreciate the mighty part
played by those great souled men. More years yet are needed
to give us the proper perspective of the great and sublime
devotion of those men who took upon themselves the high and
holy duty of rebuilding the wearied, discouraged and broken
State.
Among those men there immediately moved out to the
front the martial figure of the man of whom we speak.
Coming back to Raleigh, he began the practise of lalw. A
solicitor of the metropolis district was to be elected, and
General Cox had the courage, although the district was over-whelmingly
Republican, to announce himself as a candidate
for the Democratic nomination. It was the first formal
notice given by the returning remnant of Lee's army that
it w'ould not suffer things in ISTorth Carolina to go by de-fault.
It rang out the brave challenge that "The old guard
can die, but it cannot surrender." The Republican organ-ization
in the district approached him with the proposition
that if he would run as an independent, the organization
would endorse him. He refused its blandishments and ran
on the ticket as a Democrat, and, when the election returns
were in, to the joy and surprise of his friends, he was found
to have been elected by a narrow margin.
This office, so full of possibilities for good when adminis-tered
by a high-minded, clean man, and so potent for evil
if maladministered, he filled with a high credit to himself
and with entire satisfaction to the district, for six years.
His capabilities being thus successfully subjected to the acid
test, his further promotion came rapidly, but brought with
it increased responsibility and gruelling labor ; for
166 The IsToeth Carolina Booklet
"The heights by great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight;
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night."
He had become Chairman of the State Democratic Ex-ecutive
Committee and, when his term as Solicitor ended,
he refused a renomination in order to devote all his powers
and energy to overthrowing the Republican machine in the
State. In 1874, while he was Chairman, the State was re-deemed
by a Democratic majority of about 13,000. In
1875, when the popular vote was being had upon the State
Constitutional Convention, there went out from his office,
as Chairman of the State Executive Committee, that trench-ant
and historic telegram to the Democratic Headquarters
in Robeson: "As you love your State, hold Robeson."
Doubtless as a result of this patriotic appeal, Robeson was
held and the State was saved. I count it one of my high
privileges to have heard General Cox, who was as modest
about his dwn exploits as a woman, personally relate the stir-ring
narrative.
In 1876, still retaining the chairmanship of the State Ex-ecutive
Committee, he conducted the great Vance-Settle
campaign, resulting in the election of Governor Vance, after
the most dramatic contest ever waged in the State.
In 1877, he was appointed Judge of the Superior Court
for the Sixth District, and discharged most acceptably and
ably the duties of this high office until he resigTied to seek and
to canvass for the nomination for Congress. Having won the
nomination, he was triumphantly elected, serving in the
United States Congress for six years.
In 1892, General Cox was elected Secretary of the Senate
of the United States, a position of great honor and trust.
To the discharge of the duties of this office, he brought all
his great natural ability and fine culture. After the expir-ation
of his term of office as Secretary of the Senate, he held
no other political office.
Gen. William Euffin Cox 167
If the measure of a man's powers be the success he attains
in all his undertaJvings, surely measuring General Cox's
civil life upon the wall of history, he was a statesman. In
his offiice as solicitor, he had been clean, strong, capable and
absolutely unafraid. He came to the office in troublous
times, and he met its duties in the calm, commanding way
that banishes difficulties almost without a conflict. His
administration of the usually thankless office of chairman
of the State Executive Committee was so brilliant and so
successful that it has passed into the party's most glorious
history. He came to the bench while the code system was
yet in its experimental stage in the State and his urbanity,
his dignity, his great common sense, his broad reading and
his innate courtesy made him an ideal nisi prius judge. He
went into the Congress of the United States and became the
friend and adviser of the President, and trusted councilor of
the great party leaders. He passed into the office of the
Secretary of the Senate, and was on terms of intimacy with
those great souls "who held manhood cheap that was not
bottomed fast on rock-ribbed honesty." He left that office,
where yet the older generation speak of him as the "Chivalric
Cox," and came to hisi home and farm on Tar River, in Edge-combe
County, to live the simple quiet life of the Southern
planter.
Great warrior, distinguished and successful statesman,
what will he do amid the homely surroundings of the ISTorth
Carolina cotton plantation with the proverbial "nigger and
his mule" ?
To the direction of his great farm he brought the order
and system of the soldier and the vision and courage of the
statesman. He introduced blooded stock and modern ma-chinery.
He raised the finest sheep and the best pigs in the
county. His yield per acre was a little better than any of
his neighbors. If rain or drought, flood or storm came, he
was always calm and imperturbable, and no man ever heard
168 The IToeth Carolina Booklet
him utter a word of complaint. In his well selected and
large library he read not only history and biography, but
chemistry and books on food plant and volumes on agricul-tural
science. Your speaker has more than once been down
to the country home at Penelo and found the general with
his books on the floors and tables all around him, running
dawn the subject of scientific fertilization.
He was a successful farmer. He entered no field of ac-tivity
in which he did not succeed, and it was difficult at the
end of his disting-uished life to say in which field were his
most successful achievements.
Three years after the death of his first wife, who died in
1880, General Cox married Miss Fannie Augusta Lyman,
daughter of the Rt. Rev. Theodore B. Lyman, Bishop of
I^forth Carolina. After two years of wedded life she died,
leaving her surviving two sons : Col. Albert L. Cox, distin-guished
soldier, judge and lawyer of this city, and Captain
Frances Cox, now a candidate for Holy Orders.
In June, 1905, General Cox was married to the charming
and gracious Mrs. Herbert A. Claiborne, daughter of Col.
Henry C. Cabell, of Richmond, Va., who graces this occasion
with her presence today.
I have tried more than once to summarize, or catalogue,
those particular or accentuated virtues or characteristics
which marked General Cox as truly great. He was a man
of singularly handsome person, tall, erect and soldierly in
bearing, with high-bred classical features. His manner was
one of utmost composure and quiet certitude. His imperturb-ability
could not be shaken, and he looked the part of a man,
to whom, in great crises, other men would naturally turn
for leadership. His dominant characteristics I would cata-logue
as follows
:
He was physically and morally as brave a man as I ever
knew, and this mental condition was that which made him
so singularly effective when emergency arose. His courage
was so unconscious and so ingrained that I have frequently
Gen. William Ruffin Cox 169
thouglit it was the cause, at least in larger part, of his serene
composure and quiet bearing.
He was inherently a just mian. Although by training and
habit of mind he was a rigid disciplinarian, yet there was
nothing about him of the martinet, and in determining, as he
was frequently called upon to do, the small controversies that
were inevitable in the conduct of a large farm, whether be-tween
landlord and tenant, or cropper and cropper, he was as
impersonal as he had been when presiding as a judge.
He was rigidly honest, and by that term I do not mean
simply that he discharged his legal obligations ; he did more
than that—^he dared to follow truth to its ultimate end, and
the popularity or unpopularity of the conclusions he reached
did not in the slightest way affect him.
He was a clean man. He thought and lived cleanly. His
mind was occupied with clean thoughts,, and he nourished
it upon good books and wholesome literature. He never told
an anecdote of questionable character, or uttered an obscene
or profane word.
He was an intensely patriotic man, and with a devotion as
ardent as a lover for his mistress, he loved ISTorth Carolina
—
her heritage and her history—her traditions and her customs
—her people and her institutions. In the evening of his long
and eventful life, as he sat in the shadow of the majestic oaks
that embowered his home, he thought much upon the prob-lems
that were arising and presenting themselves for solu-tion,
and he believed with all the strength of his soul in the
ability of the State to wisely solve them and to attain her
future great destiny.
He was one of the most evenly courteous men in his man-ner
and bearing that I ever saw. A patrician by birth and
association, he was yet as gravely courteous and as formally
polite to the humblest mule driver on his farm as he was to
the greatest of the historic figures amid whom he had lived
his eventful life. Calm, strong, urbane and dignified, he
170 The I^oeth Cakolhsta Booklet
went through life, and the world knew him as one bom to
command.
In a career crowned with high achievements, hoth in mili-tary
and civil life, there was nothing adventitious or acci-dental.
There was in him a definite nobility of soul and
mind and person which marked him as one of nature's noble-men.
His fearlessness and heroic courage; his perfect sense
of justice; his unblemished integrity; his intense and flam-ing
patriotism ; his fund of practical common sense ; his per-fect
poise and unruffled composure; his manly bearing and
unfailing courtesy, added to his singularly handsome face
and person and to his splendid physique—combined to make
him one of "The Choice and Master Spirits of this Age."
Mr. President, in behalf of his bereaved and gracious
widow, I have the honor to formally present to the l^^orth
Carolina Hall of History this excellent portrait of the man,
in honoring whom we honor ourselves. For her I request
that it may be hung on the walls of this building, to the end
that future generations, looking upon his strong, composed
and handsome features, may seek to emulate his high example
of service and devotion.
GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW, C. S. A.
A-ddress by Chief Justice Walter Clark, of North Carolina, at the
Unveiling of the Memorial Marble Pillar and Tablet to General
Pettigrew near Bunker Hill, W. Va., September 17, 1920.
l^ear this spot died James Johnston Pettigrew, a native of
l^orth Carolina and brigadier general in the armies of the
Confederate States, who commanded Heth's Division in the
memorable assault on Cemetery Eidge at Gettysburg, July
3, 1863. Wounded fatally on the retreat at Falling Waters,
Hd., on July 14, 1863, he died here on the morning of July
lY. His remains were removed to Raleigh, IST. C, where they
lay in the rotunda of the capitol, surrounded with due honor,
and were interred in the cemetery at the capital of his native
State. After the war they were removed to the spot where he
first saw the light in eastern Carolina, where the earliest rays
of the rising sun gild the summit of the shaft that marks his
grave.
One who was more than man said : "Greater love hath no
man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
(John XV. 13.)
It is for this reason that men visit with awe and venera-tion
the gTeat fields where men has died for men and with
T^ared heads stand at Bunker Hill, at Saratoga, at Yorktown,
and on the gTeat fields of the War between the States.
Dr. Johnson said : "That man is little to be envied whose
patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon
or whose piety would not grow warmer amid the ruins of
lona."
Whether the existence of those who have passed beyond the
veil is but a fond dream of hope, as some say, or whether
they live again, as we believe, "far advanced in state in the
Note.—Chief Justice Clark was attached as Cadet drill-master
to the 22d North Carolina regiment when commanded by Pettigrew.
172 The ISTorth Caeolina Booklet
lives of just men made perfect," it is certain that what they
have been here, what they have done here, what they have
said abides with us and is a living influence moving upon our
lives to-day. In a recent speech by D^Annunzio at Rome he
moved his audience by asking: "Do you not hear the tramp
of the army of the dead on the march ? All along their route
they find the footprints of the marching legions of Csesar
and hear the distant tread of those who went before."
It is said that in the most desperate hour of Verdun a
wounded Frenchman called out madly: "Arise, ye dead."
His appeal galvanized into supreme resistance the wounded
and shattered columns of France. The message spread
throughout the French army, and the German advance was
stayed at the very moment when it seemed about to become
victorious.
The same thought was with the prophet Ezekiel (xxxvii. 9")
'when he said : "Come from the four winds, O Breath, and
breathe upon these slain, that they may live, * * * and
they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great
army." There was no actual physical resurrection, but the
prophet was calling upon the influence of their deeds upon
the living.
The example of those who have sacrificed life for their
country and liberty is an appeal which never dies and rings
down the ages whenever a column has faltered or a loved
leader has fallen. The memory of such sacrifices moves the
hearts of men.
'"Mid Jersey snows, the march it led,
The moor at Marston felt its tread."
'No Confederate soldier ever failed to be impressed with
the cordial hospitality and loyalty of Virginia. Time has
not obliterated this recollection nor dulled these qualities
in the people of this great State to this day.
We are here to-day to bear tribute to the memory of a
Gen. James Johnston Pettigkew 173
brave officer, a leader among the gallant men of the South in
one of the greatest struggles of all time. It is fit and proper
that we should make some brief note upon the career of the
gallant, talented, and disting-uished young officer to whom
we place this tablet in perpetual memorial.
James Johnston Pettigrew was born at Bonarva, on his
family estate at Lake Scuppernong, in Tyrrell County, in
Eastern J^orth Carolina, on July 4, 1828. His family was
of French origin, but in the fifteenth century removed to
Scotland, where they held an estate near Glasglow in 1492,
the year Columbus discovered America. A branch of the
family later removed to I^orth Ireland, whence the great-grandfather
of General Pettigrew in 1Y32, the year of Wash-ington's
nativity, came to Pennsylvania and twenty years
later to North Carolina. His son, the gTandfather of Gen-eral
Pettigrew, was the first bishop elect of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in ITorth Carolina. Bishop Pettigrew's
r!on, the General's father, was elected to Congress in 1835,
receiving the rare compliment of every vote in his county
except three out of seven hundred cast.
General Pettigrew had the misfortune to lose his mother
when he was two years of age. Educated at Hillsboro uridcn^
the well-known instructor, Mr. Bingham, he entered the Uni-versity
of l!Torth Carolina in 1843 and graduated at the head
of his class in June, 1847, achieving the reputation of being
the most talented youth who ever graduated at that his-toric
institution. His class, of which he was easily the leader,
was one of the most distinguished that the University has
ever graduated, and it was a singular coincidence that side
by side at recitation there sat in alphabetical order four
men who later attained the highest honors: Brig. Gen. James
Johnston Pettigrew; John Pool, who became United States
Senator; Matthew W. Ransom, brigadier general in the
(Confederate army and later for twenty-three years a Senator
of the United States ; and Alfred M. Scales, also a brigadier
2
174 The ISTorth Caeolina Booklet
general in the army of the Confederacy, a member of the
United States Congress, and for four years Governor of his
native State. Of such men the University can say, like the
mother of the Gracchi : "These are my jewels."
At the commencement at which he graduated there was in
attendance President Polk, who was himself a graduate of
that institution; United States Secretary of State John Y.
Mason; and Lieut. Matthew Fontaine Maury, of the ISTa-tional
Observatory, who, impressed by the homage univer-ally
paid to the talents of the young student, offered him a
position in the observatory, which he accepted.
Later he obtained license for the practice of law and lo-cated
in Charleston, S. C. On the advice of friends he soon
after proceeded to Berlin and other universities in Germany
to perfect himself in the study of the Eoman civil law. He
remained three years in Europe where he traveled exten-sively
and acquired the faculty of being able to speak at ease
German, French, Italian, and Spanish. For a while he then
became secretary of legation to Hon. D. M. Barringer, of
ISTorth Carolina, who was then our Minister to the Spanish
Court, and wrote a delightful volume, "Spain and the Span-iards."
Eeturning to Charleston, his success at the bar was bril-liant.
He was elected to the legislature in 1855 and achieved
distinction.
In 1859 he went to Europe to offer his services to Count
Cavour to serve in the Italian army in the war with Austria,
but the battle of Solferino put an end to that struggle before
his services could be accepted.
Pettigrew was colonel of a South Carolina rifle regi-ment
when Fort Sumter was fired on, April 12, 1861. As
such he received the surrender of Castle Pinckney. Failing
later to have his regiment promptly sent to the army in Vir-ginia,
in his impatience he resigned and enlisted as a private
in Hampton's Legion, iwhich he accompanied to Virginia.
GE]sr. James JonisrsTOisr Pettigkew 175
Passing through Raleigh, he was recognized by friends, and
a few days later was surprised by a telegram announcing his
unsolicited election as colonel of the 22d Regiment of North
Carolina Troops, which was being organized at Camp Ellis,
near Raleigh.
I was at that time attached to the regiment and saw Col-onel
Pettigrew for the first time on his arrival in Raleigh.
Some description of his appearance may not be without in-terest.
He was slendor of build, swarthy of complexion,
dark hair and mustache, and with dark eyes the most bril-liant
and piercing. He was quick in his movements and
quick in perception and in his decision. For several months,
and until I was transfered to another command, I occupied
a tent near to his and saw him daily. His habit was to pace
restlessly up and down in front of his tent with a cigar in
his mouth which was never lighted.
Later I served on the staff of Gen. Matthew W. Ransom,
who had been his competitor for honors at the University,
and thus had the good fortune of knowing them both.
As gentle and modest as a woman, there was an undoubted
capacity to command, which obtained for Pettigrew instant
obedience, but a kindness and bearing which won affection,
and chivalry and courtesy which marked him as every inch a
gentleman.
Ordered to Virginia in July, 1861, our regiment vwas en-camped
at Rocketts, just below Richmond, whence in the fall
of 1861 the regiment was ordered to Acquia Creek; thence
we were sent up to Quantico and stationed near Dumfries in
the rear of the batteries at Evansport, which were erected to
impede the navigation of the Potomac by the Federals.
In the spring of 1862 he was tendered the appointment of
brigadier general in another brigade, but he declined to ac-cept
the promotion because it would separate him from his
regiment. A little later, being offered the command of brig-adier
general of the brigade to which his regiment belonged.
176 The ISTokth Carolina Booklet
lie accepted. He was on tlie Peninsula nnder Gen. Joseph E.
Johnston and shared in the retreat to Richmond in May,
1862.
On June 1, 1862, in the battle of Seven Pines, he was se-verely
wounded in a charge which he led with great gal-lantry,
and left for dead upon the field, he fell into the hands
of the enemy. It is not generally known that after he was
shot down and left unconscious on the field General Petti-grew
was bayoneted by the enemy. This must have been one
of the very few occasions on which this occurred in our war.
Yet it is attested by a letter from General Pettigrew to his
adjutant general, Capt. John W. Hinsdale, a gallant Confed-edate
soldier, who had his horse killed under him and who
was later colonel of the Y2d North Carolina Regiment and
is one of the most distinguished lawyers in IsTorth Carolina
and now living in Raleigh. The following is a verbatim ex-tract
from the original, which Colonel Hinsdale has in his
possession: "Major Lacy told me you were all disturbed at
not bringing me off the field. You could not possibly have
changed it. At the time I entered the wood none of the staff
were with me, all having been sent off. I did not expect to
be in the woods more than ten minutes, but I was unfortu-nately
shot while attempting to ascertain the position of the
enemy. The ball entered the lower part of the throat, strik-ing
the windpipe, glanced to the right, passed under the col-lar
bone, struck the head of the shoulder, and glanced again
upward, tearing the bones. It unfortunately cut an artery,
and I would have bled to death had it not been for Colonel
Bull. I became entirely unconscious. I subsequently re-ceived
another shot in the left arm and a bayonet in the right
leg, spent the night on the battle field, and a little before day
was carried to a Yankee camp. My right leg is still partially
paralyzed, but I am recovering the use of it."
On his exchange, his brigade having been placed under the
command of the lamented General Pender, he was given the
Gen. James Johnston Pettigkew 177
command of another brigade, witk which he repelled the
Federal raid into Martin County in the fall of 1862 and par-ticipated
in the defeat of Foster's expedition in December,
1862, against Goldsboro. In the folloiwing spring he was un-der
Gen. D. H. Hill in his attack upon Washing-ton, IST. C.
When Stoneman made his raid on Richmond, General
Pettigrew was sent with his brigade to the protection of that
city and was stationed at Hanover Junction. Later his bri-gade
was assigned to Heth's Division, A. P. Hill's Corps, in
the Army of ISTorthem Virginia, and was in the advance to
Gettysburg. His brigade, one of the largest and best in the
army, at that time consisted of the 11th IsTorth Carolina
commanded by Col. (later Gen.) Collett Leventhorpe; the
26th ITorth Carolina, commanded by Col. H. K, Burgwyn,
the gallant young soldier who laid down his life at Gettys-bui'g
in a most gallant charge when only twenty-one years
of age; the 44th ]^orth Carolina, Col. Thomas C. Singletary
;
the 47th N'orth Carolina, Col. G. H. Faribault; and the 52d
l^orth Carolina, Col. J. K. Marshall. This brigade had
originally contained the 17th l^orth Carolina, commanded by
Col. W. F. Martin ; but when, after the battles around Rich-mond
in 1862, Gen. James G. Martin returned to l^orth
Carolina, he took with him his brother's regiment, and it was
replaced by the transfer to Pettigrew's of the 26th ISTorth
Carolina, then commanded by Col. (later Gov.) Z. B. Vance,
from Ransom's Brigade. This was later commanded, after
Vance's election as Governor, by that gallant young soldier.
Col. Harry K. Burgwyn.
On the advance into Maryland the 44th Regiment was
left to assist in guarding Richmond; but the ranks of the
other four regiments were full, and the brigade presented a
superb appearance with the distinguished commander at its
head. The loss of the brigade in the battle of Gettysburg was
the heaviest of any in the army, and one regiment, the 26th,
suffered the heaviest loss of any regiment on either side in
any one battle during the entire war.
1Y8 The I^oeth Cakolina Booklet
On the third day at Gettysburg, General Hetk having been
wounded, the division of four brigades was commanded by
General Pettigrew, who went forward on horseback, riding
close up behind his men. His horse was killed under him,
and the General himself was wounded near the stone iwall,
which was the Ultima Thule of the Confederate advance.
This wound in his hand and his death not long after pre-vented
his writing his report of the charge, which would have
prevented the subsequent controversy.
The gallantry of Pettigrew's Brigade is most eloquently
told by the official returns, which show that on the opening
of the battle on July 1 its four regiments reported present for
duty three thousand men, of whom on the morning of the
4th only nine hundred and thirty-five were left. General
Pettigrew himself iwas wounded, and all of his field officers
were killed or wounded except one, who was captured, and
the brigade was commanded by Major Jones, of the 26th,
who had been wounded. Two of General Pettigrew's staff
were killed. In the battle on July 1 Captain Tuttle's com-pany,
of the 26th ISTorth Carolina Eegiment, of three officers
and eighty-four men were all killed and wounded except one.
On the same date Company C, of the 11th ISTorth Carolina,
lost two officers killed and thirty-four out of thirty-eight men
killed and 'wounded. Its captain, Byrd, brought off the regi-mental
flag, the flag bearer being shot.
The official reports of the battle of Gettysburg show that
2,592 Confederates were killed and 12,707 wounded. Of
the killed. 700 were from !N"orth Carolina, 435 Georgians,
399 Virginians, 258 Mississippians, 217 South Carolinians,
and 204 Alabamians. The three brigades that lost the most
men were Pettigrew's North Carolina (190 killed), Davis's
Mississippi, in which there was one North Carolina regiment,
the 55th (180 killed), and Daniel's North Carolina (165
killed). Pickett's Division of three brigades had 214 killed.
The historic charge made on the 3d of July was composed
of Pickett's Division on the right, of three brigades, Gar-
Gen. James Johnson Pettigrew 179
nett's and Kemper's, with Armistead's in the second line.
On the left of Pickett's was iHeth's Division, composed of
Archer's, Pettigrew's, Davis's, and Brockenbrough's brig-ades.
This division was led by Pettigrew, General Heth
having been wounded. In the rear of this division marched
Lane's and Scale's brigades, both from J^Torth Carolina.
The stone wall which Pickett and Pettigrew were sent for-ward
to take had a re-entrant angle in front of Pettigrew's
part of the line. Owing to this, some of Pickett's men, strik-ing
the wall first, passed over it at the angle, and General
Armistead was killed forty yards on the other side, but too
few got over to hold the ground beyond the wall. The wall
in front of Pettigrew being eighty yards farther on, Capt.
E. F. Satterfield, of the 55th North Carolina Regiment, was
killed, and others were killed or wounded at the wall in their
front and thus fell farthest to the front, though on this side
of the wall. While General Armistead and others of Pick-ett's
men twere killed or wounded on the other side of the
wall, they fell not quite so far to the front.
This states fairly the evidence in the generons controversy
between the two States as to whose troops went farthest to
the front at Gettysburg. There was glory enough for all
where all did their duty. General Pettigrew himself had his
horse killed under him, but continued to advance on foot
and was wounded near the wall in his front.
In this historic charge there were ''eighteen regiments and
one battalion from Virginia, fifteen regiments from North
Carolina, three from Mississippi, three from Tennessee, and
one regiment and one battalion from Alabama." (Judge
Charles M. Cooke, in "Clark's North Carolina Regimental
Histories," Vol. Ill, page 300.)
On the retreat from Gettysburg, when A. P. Hill's Corps
crossed the Potomac at Falling Waters, General Pettigrew
hvas placed in charge of the rear guard. A small squad of
the enemy's cavalry made a reckless and unexpected charge.
180 The ISToeth Carolina Booklet
One of the enemy's troopers fired at the General, who fell
mortally wounded. The trooper was killed, but the loss
which he had caused to the Confederacy was irreparable.
General Pettigrew was conveyed to this spot, where, linger-ing,
he died in the early morning on 17 July, 1863.
When he awakened out of his sleep that morning he said
:
"It is time to be going." He heard the roll call of the Great
Commansder and answered, "Adsum."
Such is the frief summary of the career of one of the most
talented men, one of the bravest spirits that this country has
produced.
On the death of Pettigrew it might well have been said in
the language of Milton: "Young Lycidas is dead and hath
not left his peer."
On the soil of Virginia, which State bore the severest
strain of four years of a great war and which saw the fall
of so many who died for their duty and their country, there
passed away no braver, purer, or more patriotic spirit.
"On Fame's eternal camping ground
His silent tent is spread,
And glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead."
Note.—Pettigrew commanded a front of four brigades, with two bri-gades
in the second line. Pickett cammanded a front of two brigades,
with one in the second line—just half as many. Pickett personally
(not as a reflection on him, but as a historical fact) stopped at the
Cadori House, six hundred yards from the stone wall, and did
not cross the Emmettsburg Pike. Pettigrew went forward in per-son
with his command and was wounded near the stone wall. It
was, in fact, "Lougstreet's assault," being under his command ; and
the phrase, "Pickett's charge," is a misnomer, due to the fact that
the Richmond papers were boosting Pickett for promotion to
lieutenant general.—W. C.
THE SHEPARD-PRUDEN MEMORIAL
LIBRARY OF EDENTON
By Mb.s. Ohables P. Wales
On February 2d, 1921, the Shepard-Pniden Memorial
Library was thrown open and formally presented to the white
people of Edenton and Chowan County. This splendid and
fitting memorial is the gift of Mrs. Anne Shepard Graham,
daughter of Mr. William Blount Shepard, and the widow
and children of Hon. W. D. Pruden, both citizens who held
a high place in the affectionate regard of the people, and
whose lofty ideals of Christian culture as exemplified in
their lives, and now given concrete form and expression in
this appropriate tribute to their memory, will not cease to be
an inspiration and an infiuence for good from one generation
to another.
Prior to this time a few patriotic citizens of Edenton,
realizing that the Cupola House was destined to yield to the
commercialism of the times, organized a stock company and
purchased the building, and the large banquet hall was
assigned to the use of the Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library.
Senator C. S. Vann, on behalf of the donors, fittingly and
gracefully presented the library as follohvs :-
"This library is presented to the white citizens of Edenton
and Chowan county by Mrs. Anne Shepard Graham, and
widow and children of Mr. W. D. Pruden as a memorial to
Mr. William Blount Shepard and Mr. William Dossey
Pruden. The sum of ten thoaisand dollars was given to
this memorial. The use of the room is given by the stock-holders
of the Cupola House. After restoring and furnish-ing
the room, paying one-third of the cost of putting the heat-ing
plant in the building, buying the books and supplies for
the library, and having the library organized by a trained
librarian, $7,500 is left to be invested as a perpetual endow-ment
to buy new books and for other needs of the library.
"It is proposed to have the library directed by a board of
182 The Nokth Carolina Booklet
five trustees, one to be selected from the town council, one by
the board of county commissioners, and three by the stock-holders
of the Cupola House.
"]!^ow what shall we say about this library ? Mr. Carnegie
gave many libraries to many cities and towns, but these
libraries were so cumbered with cares, and circumscribed by
conditions and entangling demands that in many cases,' es-pecially
in the smaller tov^ms to iwhich these libraries were
given, they were liabilities rather than assets. These gifts
were in answer to Mr. Carnegie's spirit of philanthropy, and
were given without discriminating consideration. !Not so
with this library, for the distinguished gentlemen who made
possible this library grew up with these people, they knew
them, knew their tastes and needs, they loved them and this
is a gift to the people with whom they moved and whom they
loved.
"The gift itself is the best possible that could have been
chosen by those 'who make it. They might have made a
gift to the poor and so provided a daily bread line, they might
have endowed a hospital where the unfortunate might have
had consideration, or they might have given to some other
charity, but these are incomparable to the gift of this library.
Those would have administered to the needs of a class ; this
supplies the needs of the whole people ; it is free, and those
who desire the use of the books of this library can come and
get them without money and without price. It is the biggest
and best gift that Edenton has yet received. I do not wish
to be considered as speaking treason, but it is the truth to say
that Edenton has not held its place for culture that our an-cestors
deeply established and surely maintained. The
spirit of commercialism which has played so large a part
among the people everywhere of late, has had its effect upon
the people of Edenton and so we lost something of our
former position as a place of culture. We hope and believe
that this gift will have the effect of bringing us back to our
former distinction.
SnEPARD-MEMOEIAL LiBKAEY 183
"The value of this library upon the tastes and hahits of the
people cannot be measured if it is received in the spirit in
which it is given. We go to the great capital of our great
country and stand in the statuary hall and look with admira-tion
upon the figures in stone and bronze of the great men
Who played their part in our history, but these are but the
forms of those who passed away, 'but storied urn, nor ani-mated
bust, cannot call back the fleeting breath.' and we feel
that we are standing among the things that were and are to
be no more. We cross over to the Congressional Library and
as we enter we feel a different atmosphere. We are with the
things that are and shall be forevermore. It is not necessary
that we should be told that we are not to speak above a
whisper, the very atmosphere forbids it. We feel now that
we are among the living. The ideas and ideals of all the
great of all times of every nation are with us. All the stops
of onr better selves are pulled out and the music of our souls
flows out in full volume to mingle with that of our silent and
invisible companions. Such is the influence of books, the
storehouses of the ideas and ideals of the gTeat of all times,
leading us to the best thoughts and to the highest ideals. God
Be thanked that the distinguished gentlemen of blessed mem-ory
have made possible this day, and God be praised that
their inheritors have made this possibility a reality. And,
now, Mr. Mayor, as the accredited representative of the
county of Chowan and town of Edenton, in behalf of those
who make this gift, I formally turn it over to you."
For the town and county Mayor E. I. Warren made the
speech of acceptance, and said
:
"I wish to express my appreciation at being asked to
accept such a gracious gift to our town, but I feel lost in find-ing
words to express my real feeling and gratitude for myself
and our people. We all feel that this is one of the greatest
blessings that will mark the pleasant memories of two of our
most distinguished Christian gentlemen. This library will
184 The I^oeth Cakolina Booklet
bring to our minds many pleasant recollections of our be-loved
and honored friends, wbose ideas and opinions are still
being cherished by our people.
"I desire to express in behalf of our town and community
our sincere and grateful appreciation of this admirable gift;
it will be the means of a stepping stone to our people for
higher and better things. We feel that iwe owe the relatives
of our deceased friends a debt of gratitude for their liberal
and generous thought in furnishing this library in memory
of William Dossey Pruden and William Blount Shepard,
whose pictures we have before us now and whose throbbing
hearts would be in love and sympathy with this gathering.
Their ideas were strong and uplifting to man, and will be
long remembered by those who knew them.
"This will enable every person in our community to enjoy
the privilege of a well selected public library that will
strengthen and enlighten us to better citizenship; it will
teach us to love home and be in sympathy with one another.
This would, within itself, be worth more than our banks filled
with gold and our bodies bedecked with jewels. I cannot
help but feel that in throwing open the doors of such a build-ing
as this, which /was constructed by our forefathers with
such diligence and care and at such great sacrifice, would of
itself interest our good people in rallying to its preservation
and upkeep ; and that the use of this library and the things
which may be connected with it, such as local museum, and
ladies' tea room, will be to the credit and interest of our
town.
"Again I thank the relatives of our beloved friends for
their generous gift^ and also their friends in helping to secure
the building, and their loyal interest in our behalf ; and with
the love of God I hope and pray that there will be others in-spired
to such lofty ideas that will pave the way for our
people for higher and better ideals.
THE CUPOLA HOUSE AND ITS ASSOCIATIONS
A large portion of the territory of eastern ISTortli Carolina
was granted by the Crown to the Earl of Granville. The
mildness of the climate and fertility of the soil attracted
settlers eager to purchase or rent land. It became necessary
for Lord Cranville to have agents in iTorth Carolina to col-lect
rents and fees and confirm titles, and Francis Corbin
and Thomas Child were dispatched to the colony vested with
full rights and commissioned as his attorneys. In a few
years Child returned to England and left Corbin in full
charge. The temptation for self emolument was so great
that Corbin set about to extort and impose in every way upon
the people. Excessive fees were charged, and surveys and
grants to those who had previously purchased land were
declared void in order that more fees might be extorted from
them. Indignation was aroused all over this section, the
courts were appealed to without avail, and Govenor Dobbs
was invoked in vain. The citizens became desperate, threat-ening,
even riotous. Corbin had an office in Enfield also,
and the people of Halifax and Edgecombe had suffered as
!well at his hands. They determined to regulate matters by
force, and, as the Colonial records recite, the people, "receiv-ing
neither redress nor the money unjustly taken from them,"
early in January, 1759, twenty well armed men set out for
Edenton to seek Corbin and compel him to go with them to
Enfield. When they reached their destination they obliged
Corbin to give security to return at the next term of Court
and to return the fees unjustly taken from them. After
this the Governor and his Council suspended Corbin and
brought the matter to the attention of the Earl of Granville.
The action of the Governor was approved and Joshua Bod-ley
was appointed in Corbin's stead. Corbin was dismissed
as one of the assistant judges and his commission as colonel
of the Chowan regiment was taken from him.
He soon regTetted the policy he had pursued and being
186 The JN'okth Carolina Booklet
a man of great shrewdness and ability he seemed afterwards
to have gained the respect and confidence of the people who
for several terms elected him as a member of the Assembly.
He also took a great interest in St. Paul's Church, then
nearing completion, declaring that it should be finished.
The Cupola House was built by him for his betrothed,
Jean Innes, the widow of Col. James Innes, of the Cape
Fear section, the escheator general of ISTorth Carolina, and
the initials "F. C." and the date "1758" are still plainly
visible upon the gable post of this old house.
The house was then very much as it is to-day, iwith its
great outside chimneys, curious old windows, the project-ing
second story, the beautiful panelled wainscoting; its
spacious hall, its quaint winding stairs leading up to the
cupola, which was originally surrounded by a delightful
balcony overlooking the town and the beautiful waters of
Edenton Bay. These old cupolas, or lanterns, as they were
originally called, were designed by Sir Christopher Wren
and were always lighted up on the King's birthday and
public holidays and other festive occasions.
Corbin occupied this residence with his beautiful bride
but a short while. She became ill and died. Broken-hearted
and crushed, he survived his lovely wife but a fefw
years, and leaving no children, this house descended to his
brother and only heir, Edmund Corbin, who sold it to Dr.
Samuel Dickinson in 1777^ and his great-great-granddaugh-ter
in turn sold it in 1918 to the Cupola House Association.
Any one wishing to read further the story of the Cupola House
can find it in Dr. Dillard's article in the News and Observer of
May 31, 1908.
OPPOSES PLAN FOR REMOVING DUST OF
DAVIS' FIRST WIFE*
MISS NANCY DAVIS SMITH RECALLS STAND OF CONFEDER-ATE
LEADER AGAINST DISINTERMENT AND WRITES
LOUISIANA DIVISION COMMANDER, U. C. V., ON
VETERANS' PROPOSAL
By May E. Robinson (Correspondent)
Shall the handful of dust, which is surely all that re-mains
of the body of Sarah Knox Taylor, first wife of Jef-ferson
Davis, be removed to a new resting place ?
The United Confederate Veterans have raised this ques-tion,
since at the reunion at Houston, Tex., in October, a
resolution was passed by that body, and order given to a com-mittee
to make this removal from the grave in West Felici-ana
Parish, La., to one beside her distingaiished husband at
Richmond, Va.
The proposal is received with mixed feelings by those
relatives of the great Confederate leader now resident in
West Feliciana Parish and by the people of the parish in gen-eral.
The proposal, as it reveals a desire to remove from ob-scurity
and to do honor to the dead, is deeply appreciated, but
other considerations make it at least debatable. These are
Lest expressed in a letter which Miss ISTancy Davis Smith
Jecently wrote to the local paper in West Feliciana, saying:
Opposes Disinterment
"I, as Jefferson Davis' oldest surviving relative and closely
associated with him during his declining years, submit the
following facts for consideration. Proposing to remove the
body of Mr. Davis' first wife from its obscure resting place
is, as a tribute to both him and her, /worthy of the men who
wore the gray, but whether advisable or not becomes a de-batable
question. Would he whose lips are now sealed have
approved ?
From The Times Picayune. Published by request.
188 The ISTorth Carolina Booklet
"I recall and occasion when, discussing, disinterments, lie
added ©mphatically, "Where the tree falleth, there shall it
lie." A wish that was apparently expressed by the tomb
marking his wife's grave. Moreover, four sons buried in
different states where they died, were not exhumed while
their father lived.
"Another reason for leaving his wife's remains undis-turbed
is that after 85 years there would seem little prob-ability
of identifying a handful of dust.
"To our gTanduncle, Jefferson Davis we, the descendants
of his sister, Mrs. Luther L. Smith, are indebted for fore-sight
in reserving God's acre. The portion enclosed and
taken charge of by me, I shall guard during my lifetime,
but beyond that, there being no guarantee against desecrar
tion, the vision of the grave on a lonely plantation presents
a forcible argument for removal. Still there is a solitary
argument opposed to the objections I have specified."
(Signed) "]^ancy Davis Smith.^^
Writes General Brooks
Miss Smith has written in similar vein to General O. D.
Brooks, Commander Louisiana Division, U. C. V., conclud-ing
with this strong paragraph
:
"Thus the Veterans' proposed tribute to their revered
chief and the wife who was laid to rest eighty-five years ago,
would, in fact, though worthily planned, be ignoring his
convictions, whose memory they desire to honor."
Miss Smith was a favorite niece of Jefferson Davis and
served for years as his amanuensis, and therefore had ex-ceptional
opportunities for knowing his opinion on this as
well as other subjects. The evidence all points to its being
his wish that the gTave of the bride of his youth shall remain
undisturbed.
The grave of the first Mrs. Jefferson Davis is in the pri-vate
cemetery of the Luther Smith family. Locust Grove
Opposes Removal Mrs. Davis's Body 189
plantation, about six miles from St. Francisville, and is tlie
usual low brick tomb covered with marble slab with an appro-priate
inscription. This burial plat is reserved for the fam-ily
and not affected by any subsequent sales.
Was Taylor's Daughter
Mrs. Davis was the daughter of President, at that time
Colonel, Zachary Taylor. She married the gallant young
Mississippian, then an officer in the United States army,
in opposition to the wishes of her father, as he was averse
to his daughter's marrying a soldier and being exposed to
the discomforts and changes incident to life in army posts.
There seems to have been no other objection, and the young
couple were determined.
Shortly after their marriage they came to Locust Grove
plantation, West Feliciana, to visit his sister, Mrs. Luther
Smith. Both developed malarial fever, and as they were
dangerously ill, Kvere cared for in seperate rooms.
Jefferson Davis heard his bride singing "Fairy Bells"
in her delirium, and stiTiggled to her bedside to find her dy-ing.
She died September 15, 1836, and was buried in the
little cemetary at Locust Grove, as young and fair as the
flowers that bloomed in profusion there, and for eighty-five
years her gi-ave has been lovingly tended by successive gen-erations
of the Smith family, and there seems no probability
of its being neglected. Mrs. Davis had the distinction of
being the daughter of one President and the wife of another,
but as she passed away before either father or husband had
achieved fame and exalted position, her life-story seems
like a separate volume in their respective lives. An exquisite
though tragic episode in the life of the great Confederate,
closed when the gi-ave opened to receive her eighty-five
years ago.
Dear to West Feliciana
It might be fairly inferred that there is where Jefferson
3
190 The I!^orth Caeolina Booklet
Davis himself would prefer that the beloved wife of his
youth should rest until the resurrection morn ; it is there
that the surviving relatives would wish her to remain, if
assured that the gi-ave would be sacred from neglect or
desecration ; and it is certain that West Feliciana, as a whole,
is loath to lose a spot distinguished by such romantic and
historic associations.
General A. B. Booth, former commander of Louisiana
Division, United Confederate Veterans, has made the sug-gestion
to the U. C. V. committee that instead of removing
the remains of Mrs. Davis, that the IT. C. V. "might consider
buying one hundred square feet (ten feet square) at the
grave site, cover the plot with granite, with marble slab in
center, with appropriate legend on it." "The parish would,"
General Booth thinks, "gladly receive it."
This plan is entirely feasible and would, no doubt, satisfy
everyone concerned, meeting all requirements of sentiment
and common sense, without depriving West Feliciana of
a cherished shrine.
JOEL LANE*
A PIONEER AND PATRIOT OF WAKE COUNTY,
NORTH CAROLINA.
By Mabshatt. DeLancy Haywood
Though comparatively few of the name now remain in the
State, the family of Lane was one of the most numerous, as
well as influential, in the province of J^orth Carolina. It is
said to be collaterally descended from Sir Ralph Lane, who,
with Sir Richard Grenville and other bold adventurers, sailed
from Plymouth, England, in 1585, and founded (in what
is now ]^orth Carolina) the Colony of Roanoke, of which
Lane became Governor—the first English Governor in
America. This colony, as is well known, had no permanent
existence, and Governor Lane returned to Great Britian
where he died—in Ireland—in 1604, three years prior to the
first permanent American settlement, at Jamestown, Vir-ginia,
in 1607. The father of this Sir Ralph was Sir Ralph
Lane of Orlingbury, whose wife, nee Parr, was a first cousin
of Katherine Parr, the sixth Queen of that exemplary old
Mormon, King Henry VIII.
l^ot many years after Jamestown was founded, several
other members of the Lane family came to Virginia, and
their descendants aided in the permanent settlement of ISTorth
Carolina.
This alleged connection between Sir Ralph and the Lanes
of Colonial Virginia, from whom spring the Lanes of North
Carolina, is vouched for only by tradition, but this tradition
exists in many separate and divergent branches of the family.
Whether it should be taken cum grano salts, let the reader
judge.
"I cannot tell how the truth may be;
I say the tale as 'twas said to me."
After removing to North Carolina, the Lanes lived prin-cipally
in the eastern section of the State. They were useful
Reprinted from pamphlet published in 1900.
192 The Nokth Cakolina Booklet
members of society and adherents to the Churcli of Eng-land.
In Halifax County quite a number of the family
settled, and there was born Joel Lane^ the subject of this
sketch. His father, Joseph Lane, of Halifax, married
Patience MacKinne, a daughter of Colonel Barnabas
MacKinne.
The above mentioned Joseph Lane, of Halifax (who died
about 1776), had five sons, all of whom left issue. They
were : Joel, of whom this sketch will treat at length ; J oseph,*
who married Ferebee Hunter, and died in Wake County in
1798 ; James, f who married Lydia Speight, and died in Wake
County on January 6, 1805 ; Jesse,:}: who married Winifred
Aycock, and died in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1804; and Barn;
abas, who died about 1775. Barnabas, had three children:
Martin, Barnabas (Jr.) and a daughter, Jean. His son Mar-tin—
born 1755, died 1825—served in the Revolutionary
War, was one of the earliest land-owners in Raleigh, and died
in Giles County, Tennessee, leaving descendants.
General Joseph Lane, the "Marion of the Mexican War,"
who was Governor of Oregon and United States Senator,
*Joseph left a son and grand son, both named Joseph. They
should not be confused with General Joseph Lane, of Oregon, who,
as hereinafter mentioned, was a grandson of Jesse Lane.
tThere seems to have been a superfluity of James Lanes: (1)
James Sr., above mentioned—Col. Joel's brother; (2) James, son
of Col. Joel; (3) James, son of another Joel, and granlson of James,
Sr. I think there were some Lanes in other parts of the State, who
also bore this given name.
|In the State Records, Vol. XVI., p. 1101, it appears that a Jesse
Lane enlisted for a three years term of service on March 1, 1777, in
Captain Jacob Turner's Company, Third North Carolina Continent-als.
Captain Turner was killed at the battle of Germantown in
the following October. After Jesse's enlistment had expired, he
again entered the service ; for by reference to the manuscript books,
entitled "Army Accounts," in the rooms of the North Carolina
Historical Commission at Raleigh, Vol. 13, Section A. A., p. 50,
will be found the entry : "Allowed Jesse Lane for pay to the
first of January, 1782, including interest, the first day of August,
1783 175. 11. 6." Governor Swain in the letter presently given,
says that Jesse moved to Georgia before this (in 1779).
Quere : Were there two Jesses, or did Jesse of Wake send his
family to georgia, and follow them later?
Joel Lane 193
as well as a distingnislied soldier, was the son of John Lane
and his wife Betsy Street. This John was a son of Jesse and
a nephew of Joel.
When General Lane was a candidate for Vice President
of the United States in 1860, he visited Raleigh in July of
that year and was entertained at the country seat of his kins-man,
the late Henry Mordecai, just north of the city. To
this entertainment every member of the Lane connection, who
could be found, was invited. Mr. Mordecai's residence was
originally built by his grandfather, Henry Lane, eldest son
of Joel; but afterwards, in 1824, was added to and remod-eled
under the supervision of William ISTichols, who also
altered the architecture of the old capitol, which was de-stroyed
by fire on the 21st of June, 1831.
It has sometimes been stated that the late Governor Henry
Smith Lane, of Indiana, was descended from the Lanes of
Wake County. This, as the writer learns from a member of
the family in Indiana, is a mistake; though the Governor
was probably of the same stock, for his ancestors were of
Virginia origin, as were also the Lanes of l!^orth Carolina.
After General Joseph Lane, of Oregon, had won a great
reputation in the War with Mexico and was gaining distinc-tion
in national politics, a gentleman in Tennessee, desiring
to know something of the history of the Lane family, wrote
in 1859 to ex-Governor Swain (then President of the Univers-ity
of ISTorth Carolina, and a first cousin of the General),
for the information desired. Governor Swain's reply was
published in the Memphis Avalanche, and was afterwards
copied in the North Carolina Semi-WeeMy Standard, a
paper published at Raleigh, in its issue of July 21, 1860,
when Lane was a candidate for Vice President. Comment-ing
upon it, the editor of the Standard observed that in Bun-combe
County where General Lane was born, there was a
"Lane's Pinnacle," a "Lane's Mine Hole Gap," and "Lane's
Iron Works," named for his family.
194 The JSTorth Caeolina Booklet
The letter of Governor S/wain is so replete with informa-tion
concerning the whole connection that we give it in full
:
Chapel Hill, October 23rd, 1859.
Dear Sir:—Your letter of the 14th, owing to my absence in the
discharge of official duties, did not reach me until a day or two
since, and I avail myself of the earliest practicable opportunity
to reply.
There is probably no family whose authentic history can be more
clearly traced through every period of the annals of North Caro-lina
than that of General Lane's. In proportion to numbers, com-paratively
few of its members have aspired to or obtained political
distinction, or indeed distinction of any kind. On the other hand
there are probably few that have enjoyed greater average respect-ability.
General Lane's great-grandfather, Joseph (who signed his name
Joseph Lane, Jr., in 1727), died at his residence , near Halifax, on
the Roanoke, in 1776. His three sons—Joel, Joseph, and Jesse
—
were pioneer settlers in the neighborhood of Raleigh, in 1741. Of
these, Colonel Joel was the wealthiest and most conspicuous. He
conveyed to the State 640* acres of land ; the site of the phesent
City of Raleigh. His dwelling-house, at the period of its erection
the best within a hundred miles, is the present residence of William
Boylan, Esq. All three were Whigs during the Revolution, and
Colonel Joel and Jesse did service in the army, the latter as a pri-vatef.
Jesse was the grandfather of General Joseph Lane and of my-self.
He was born in Halifax, July 4, 1733, and married Winifred
Aycock. They had sixteen children-eight sons and eight daughters-all
of whom lived to rear families. In 1779 my grandfather
emigrated to Wilkes, now Oglethorpe County, Ga., where he re-sided
until 1800 ; then he removed to St. Louis, where he died in 1804.
General Lane is the son of Joel Lane, the eighth child and
fourth son of our grandfather Jesse. At the time of the removal
of the family to Georgia (1779), Wilkes was a frontier county,
and, during a series of years was subject to frequent incursions
from the Creeks and Cherokees. There were no members of the
family able to bear arms, whose services were not put into requisi-tion,
and no one male, or female who were not familiar with the
horror of savage warfare. My mother beguiled many an hour
during my infancy, in the recital of hairbreadth escapes, which,
delicate woman as she was, rendered her personal history one of
remarkable suffering and adventure.
I have no recollection of my grandfather or uncle John. The
former visited my father on his way to Missouri, and the latter was
an inmate of our family for some time previous to and subsequent to
my birth. I heard much about him in my boyhood, and suppose that
*At a later date, 1867, Governor Swain makes a more accurate
statement (in his Tucker Hall Address) of the amount of land
sold by Lane, to-wit : 1,000 acres, 400 acres of which were laid
ofC into lots and the remainder held, for the time being, by the
State.—M. Del. H.
tSee last note on p. 36, ante.—M. DeL. H.
Joel Lane 195
in all respects the son is the counterpart of the father, brave enter-prising,
and generous. He was a universal favorite in the midst of
the men who fought at the Cowpens and King's Mountain, and who
considered a foray among the Indians as little less than a pastime.
General Lane's mother was Betsy, daughter of James Street,
the first sheriff of my native county (Buncombe). The descend-ants
of the sixteen children of Jesse are dispersed through all of
the Western and Southern States.
I enter into these particulars simply to satisfy you that whilst
the family of General Lane have no just pretentions to the pride of
heraldry, there is no cause, on the other hand, why they should
blush for his ancestry or his connections.
I write in unavoidable haste, but will be ready at any time to
communicate more special information if it is called for.
Yours very respectfully,
D. L. Swain.
Many years before Wake County was formed, Joel Lane
had settled at the point which afterwards became its county-seat,
and was later the capital of the State. His place of
residence was at a cross-roads hamlet called Bloomsbury, and
was then within the territory of Johnston County. Land
was taken from Orange and Cumberland, as well as John-ston,
for the formation of Wake, and Mr, Lane was one of
the commissioners who laid out its boundaries. The new
county.'was established by the colonial assembly in December,
17Y0, with a proviso that the act of creation should not take
effect until March 12, 1771. Governor Tryon, for whose
wife, nee Wake—and not "Esther Wake"—it was named,
formally signed the charter on May 22, in the latter year.*
The first court was held on the 4th of June, 1771. Theo-philus
Hunter was chairman, and Joel Lane and his brother
Joseph were among the members of this tribunal, f The other
justices were: Benjamin Hardy, James Martin, Hardy
Sanders, Abraham Hill, Thomas Wootten, James Jones,
Ting-nail Jones and Thomas Crawford.
In the early spring of 1771, when Governor Tryon raised
an army to suppress the insurrection of the Regulators, the
principal place of rendezvous for his forces was Bloomsbury
Colonial Records, Vol. VIII., pp. 299, 333, 334. Copy of charter
in court-house of Wake County. Chapter 22, Laws of 1770.
fCourt Records of Wake County.
196 The IToeth CAEOiyiNA Booklet
or Wake Court House, where Raleigli now stands. Colonel
John Hinton, Lane's father-in-lalw, then commanded the
county militia and marched under Tryon to the scene of ac-tion,
in which he bore a conspicuous part.* Of Colonel Hin-ton's
conduct on this occasion, and after^vards at the battle of
Moore's Creek Bridge, during the Revolution, Governor
Caswell says: "In both instances I was an eye-witness and
can venture to assert he behaved with becoming bravery and
resolution. "f At Alamance the Regulators were routed in
the battle fought on May 16, 1771. While waiting for re-enforcements
during that campaign, Governor Tryon located
his headquarters near the present Fayetteville road at Hun-ter's
Lodge, the residence of Theophilus Hunter. This, was
some distance southeast of Spring Hill, later the home of
Theophilus Hunter, Jr. For three days, from the 5th to the
8th of May, the army remained there. As the old road was
too rough to carry artillery over, Tryon had a new one cut in
the direction of the Regulators' country. After a town in
Kent, England, he called it "Ramsgate Road." That classic
locality near Raleigh, now known as Rdmcat, derives its
name from this circumstance. When the army marched back
from Alamance, Colonel Hinton's detachment was disbanded
at Wake Court-House on the 22nd of June. On the day
before this. Governor Tryon bade his army farewell, and
left for N^ew York, having been appointed Governor of that
Province. f He was succeeded, as Governor of North Caro-lina,
by Josiah Martin, who remained in office until driven
out during the Revolution. Whether Joel Lane served in the
Alamance campaign is not known, but he probably did, for
his name appears as Lieutenant-Colonel of Colonel Hinton's
Regiment on a roster made out in 1772. ||
For many years Colonel Lane was a Justice of the County
Court of Wake ; and during the war for Independence, he was
* Colonial Records, Vol. VIII., pp. 576, 704.
fState Records, Vol. XII., p. 707.
^Colonial Records, Vol. VIII., pp. 675, 676.
II Colonial Records, Vol. IX., p. 344.
Joel Lane 197
at one time its Presiding Justice.* TliroTigliout the entire
conflict •with Great Britian, he served with fidelity in many
important civil stations. Together with John Hinton, Mich-ael
Rogers, Theophilus Hunter, Tingnall Jonesf, John Rand,
and Thomas Hines, he represented Wake County in the
Provincial Congress at Hillsborough in August, 1775, and
that body, on September 9th elected him a member of the
Committee of Safety for the Hillsborough District.:}: John
Hinton and Michael Rogers were likewise elected members
of this committee. On September 9, 1775, the above named
CongTess also elected militia officers for Wake County as fol-lows
: John Hinton, Colonel ; Theophilus Hunter, Lieu-tenant-
Colonel ; John Hinton, Jr., First Major; and Thomas
Hines, Second Major. When the militia was reorganized, on
April 22, 1776, these officers were continued in the same
rank. II
Michael Rogers succeeded Hunter in 1778 ; for, by the
minute docket of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions
in that year, it appears that on the 19th of February, "Mich-ael
Rogers, Esq., produced into Court a commission from His
Excellency Richard Caswell, Esq., Governor, constituting him
Lieutenant Colonel for the County of Wake; came into
Court and qualifyed agreeable to law." Hardy Sanders
likewise held that rank at a later period, and James Hinton
was either a Colonel or a Lieutenant Colonel.
In the Provincial Congress which assembled at Halifax
in April, 1776, Colonel Lane again represented Wake
County. § His colleagues in this body wei'e John Hinton,
John Rand, Tingnall Jones, and William Hooper. The
last named, though put down as a delegate from Wake, was
not a resident of the county, but came from the eastern part
of the state. He was one of those who, a few months later,
Court Records of Wake.
II This gentleman (whose signature I have seen) wrote his first
name as here given, but I think his son and namesake signed
himself as Tignall or Tignal.
tColonial Records, Vol. X., pp. 166, 215.
II Colonial Records, Vol. X., pp. 207, 532.
fColonial Records, Vol. X., p. 501.
198 The ISToeth Caeolina Booklet
made their names immortal by signing the Declaration of
Independence at Philidelphia. While a member of this Pro-vincial
Congress, Mr. Hooper was also a member of the
Continental Congress.
Colonel Lane did not serve in the Provincial Congress
which met at Halifax in November, 1776. The delegates
from Wake County were Tingnall Jones, Michael Rogers,
James Jones, Britain Fuller, and John Rice.*
From February, 1778, to September, 1778, Joel Lane was
Entry Takerf, and frequently represented Wake County in
the State Senate. At that time the Legislature met annually,
and sometimes oftener. During the Revolution, James
Jones was the first to hold the office of Senator, in 1777.
At the second session of 1777, in 1778, and in 1781 Michael
Rogers was Senator. John Rand was Senator in 1779, and
John Hinton in 1780. During and after the war, Colonel
Lane was eleven times Senator—in 1782, 1783, two sessions
in 1784, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, and 1794.
Those who represented Wake County in the House of
Commons during the Revolution were: John Rand, Ting-nall
Jones, Lodowick Alford, John Rice, Thomas Wootten,
Thomas Hines, John Hinton, Jr., IsTathaniel Jones,:}: (of
White Plains), John Humphries, Burwell Pope, James Hin-ton,
Theophilus Hunter, and Hardy Sanders.
On June 23, 1781, 'while the war was raging with its great-est
fury, the Legislature met at Wake Court House. || For
want of more commodious edifice, Colonel Lane's residence
was used as the place for assembling. At this session,
Thomas Burke was elected to succeed Abner Nash as Gover-nor.
Colonial Records, Vol. X., p. 915.
tCoui-t Records of Wake.
JTtiere were three gentlemen in Wake County bearing the name
of Nathaniel Jones: (1) Nathaniel Jones of Crabtree; (2) his
father, Nathaniel Jones, Sr., mentioned above; (3) Nathaniel Jones
of White Plains. The last named was not connected with the Jones
family of Crabtree except by marriage. In old county records they
were usually distinguished by placing the letters C. T. for Crabtree,
and W. P. for White Plains, after their names.
II State Records, Vol. XVII., pp. 794, 87 V.
Joel Lane 199
A ludricrous reminder of the depreciation in paper cur-rency
caused by the gloomy prospects for the success of the
2.Lane was paid for the house-rent, pasturage for horses, etc.,
/^ American cause, is the official record* that when Colonel
3^used by the above Legislature during this session of less than
one month's duration, the amount voted him was fifteen
thousand pounds! or about thirty thousand dollars (a
pound was then only two dollars). This was many times as
great as the sum paid by the State for the Lane plantation
(where Raleigh is built) after the war, when money was
worth more than the paper it Kvas printed on.
During the Revolution those who occupied the office of
High Sheriff of Wake (then a station of great importance)
were: Thomas Hines, from June, 1775, till June, 1777;
Thomas Wootten, from June, 1777, till September, 1780
;
Hardy Sanders, from September, 1780, till September,
1782 ; Britain Sanders, from September, 1782, until after
peace was declared, f
After the end of hostilities. Colonel Lane exerted every
effort to allay the bitterness which had arisen while the war
was in progress, and befriended many Loyalists who were
objects of hatred to a less generous element of the Whigs
than that to which he belonged. Among other Tories, who
had reason to be thankful for his good offices, was Colonel
John Hamilton, whom he probably knew before the »war, as
both were from Halifax County. Hamilton was one of the
bravest and most active officers siding with the King, and a
man of character who had treated American prisoners with
imore than ordinary kindness, though even this did not save
his estates from confiscation. For some years after the
Revolution, he was British consul at Il^orfolk, Virginia, and
finally went to England, where he died. Serving on Hamil-ton's
staff was a young ensign, Dugald McKethen, who be-came
a useful and respected citizen of Raleigh after the re-
*State Records, Vol. XVII., pp! 876, 977
tCourt E«cords of Wake.
200 The ISToeth Caeoliwa Booklet
turn of peace, and married one of Colonel Lane's daughters.
In the time treated hj this sketch, Wake County aboun-ded
in large game, and hunting was a favorite pastime. Just
inside, and westward of the southern entrance, of Capitol
Square in Raleigh, there is still living a large sassafras tree,
which was a famous deer-stand. The writer learned this
from his father, the late Dr. Richard B. Hayiwood, who per-sonally
remembered one of Colonel Lane's relatives, Edmund
Lane, who himself claimed to have killed nearly forty deer
there.
Bfefore the Revolutionary War, and during that struggle,
the capital of ISTorth Carolina was somewhat migratory.
It was, as a rule, located where the Governor happened to
reside, for that functionary usually summoned the Legisla-ture
to meet at the, place which best suited his convenience.
So, after independence had been achieved, the State Conven-tion,
which met in Fayetteville in 1Y88, gave the General
Assembly instructions to fix permanently the capital, pro-vided
it should be within ten miles of Isaac Hunter's planta-tion
in Wake County, which radius was chosen on account of
its central location. IsTine commissioners were appointed to
purchase a site, but only six attended a meeting held for that
purpose. Those present were: Frederick Hargett, Chair-man,
AVilliam Johnston Daiwson, Joseph McDowell, James
Martin, Thomas Blount, and Willie Jones. The members
of this board were from different parts of the State. They
had to choose from seventeen tracts which were offered. In
reference to their decision, the Honorable Kemp P. Battle,
in his 1892 Centennial Address on Raleigh, says that the
Hinton tract on l^euse river received, on the first ballot,
three of the six votes cast; the tract offered by Joel Lane
received two ; and the other vote was cast for land owned by
ISTathaniel Jones, of White Plains, near the present village of
Cary. As a majority was not received by either tract on
this ballot, the board adjourned until next day. Continuing
his address Dr. Battle says:
Joel Lane 201
''Willie Jones was a master of the art of persuasion and
was an intimate friend of Joel Lane. Lane himself was a
man of influence, who had served the State in the Colonial
Congress and as Senator for ten years in succession. Very
probably he offered new inducements as to price. At any
rate, on Friday, the 30th of March, a second ballot was
taken, with the result that Wake Court House received five
votes, and the Hinton land received only one vote. Possibly
Lane was adversely criticised for his tactics in winning the
contest. There was abundant room for unpleasant talk on
account of his entertaining the Commissioners at his house.
They were acting as judges, and were certainly, notwithstand-ing
their high character, liable to the criticism that they ate
the bread of one of the litigants. I cannot find their ac-counts
of expenses, but it is altogether probable that they paid
for their entertainment. I notice that Lane was Senator
from 1782 to 1792, both inclusive, but that in the next year
James Hinton had his place. This is some evidence that the
Hinton family resented his success in the negotiation and
that the people took their side. If so, the displeasure was
evanescent, for he was Senator again in 1794 and 1795."
James Iredell (afterwards a Judge of the United States
Supreme Court) introduced the Convention ordinance re-quiring
the capital to be located in Wake County, and the
name "Raleigh"' is said to have been first suggested for the
new city by Governor Alexander Martin.
As Colonel Lane's residence was the most important house
at Bloomsbury, or Wake Cross Roads, before Raleigh was
laid out, he 'was often inconvenienced by the number of
travellers who claimed his hospitality. To get rid of those
who were not his personal friends, he caused to be erected a
small ordinary—or or nary as it was called by the natives.
This old inn was afterwards turned into a school-house,
and later used as an out-building to a residence on the
north side of Hillsborough street, between McDowell and
Dawson. It was about three-quarters of a mile in an east-
202 The Korth Caeolina Booklet
erly direction from the old Lane homestead, and somewhat
resembled the architecture of that building. It was finally
torn down.
Two blocks north of Capitol Square, in Raleigh, one
of the city's thoroughfares, running east and west, is called
Lane street in honor of the former owner of the soil.
Colonel Lane was one of the first trustees of the Univer-sity
of North Carolina, and (on November 5, 1792) offered
that institution a gift of six hundred and forty acres of land,
near the plantation of ISTathaniel Jones, of White Plains, on
condition that it should be located there, but the offer was
declined.
Hinton James, the first graduate of the University, was
a nephew of Mrs. Lane, whose father, Colonel John Hinton,
had two daughters who married members of the James
family. Hinton James was the son of Captain John James,
of the Revolution, and his wife, Alice Hinton. Alice's sister,
Elizabeth, married Thomas James.
Colonel Lane was twice married. Both of his wives
were daughters of the well known Revolutionary soldier and
statesman. Colonel John Hinton, of Wake County, and his
wife, Grizelle Kimbrough.
To his first wife, Martha Hinton, Colonel Lane was
married on the 9th of December, 1762. She died on Sep-tember
9, 1771, leaving three sons. They were:
I. Henry Lane, bom March 6, 1764, who married his
first cousin, Mary Hinton (daughter of Major John Hinton,
Jr., of Wake County), and left descendants. He died in
Wake County in 1797.
II. James Lane, who was born October 7, 1766.*
III. William Lane, who was born October 15, 1768.*
Maey Hinton, the second -wife of Joel Lane, to whom
Where the marriages of Colonel Lane's children are not given,
it is because I have been unable to ascertain whom they married.
Some of his children may have died young. James and William
were living in 1794 when their father made his will. As to other
James Lanes, see second note, page 36, ante.
Joel Lane 203
lie was married in 1772, bore him nine children as follows:
I. Nancj Lane, born July 22, 1773.
II. John Lane, born March 6, 1775, who married Sarah
Elizabeth Jones, daughter of ISTathaniel Jones, of White
Plains, Wake County, and left descendants. He removed to
Marshall County, Tennessee, and died there in 1864.
III. Martha Lane, bom February 19, 1778, who was twice
'married: (first), to Dugald McKethen, heretofore men-tioned;
(second), to Jonathan Brickell, She was Mr. Brick-ell's
second wife. Her death occured in Raleigh, May 20,
1852. She had children, but no descendants are now living.
IV. Elizabeth Lane, born August 6, 1780, who was the
first wife of Stephen HayWood, of Raleigh, where she died
March 7, 1805. She has descendants, but none are now
living who bear the name of Haywood.
V. Mary Lane, bom January 1, 1783.
VI. Thomas Lane, born September 12, 1785, who mar-ried
I^ancy Lane, daughter of his cousin and guardian, Mar-tin
Lane, heretofore mentioned. Thomas removed to Giles
County, Tennessee, and died there March 29, 1832, leaving
issue.
VII. Dorothy Lane, born December 13, 1787, who was the
second wife of Dr. AUen W. Gilchrist, and left descend-ants.
Her marriage took place on May 29, 1806. Dr.
Gilchrist was from Halifax County, North Carolina, but
afterwards removed from the State.
VIII. Joel Hinton Lane, born October 11, 1790, who mar-ried
Mary Freeman, and died without issue, in Giles County,
Tennessee, June 22, 1832. He was a volunteer from Wake
County, l!^orth Carolina, in the War of 1812.
IX. Grizelle Lane, born June 13, 1793, who married
George Lillington Ryan, and died without issue, in Raleigh,
March 4, 1868.
Joel Lane's second wife Mary survived him less than a
week, and died on the 3d of April, 1795,
In things spiritual, Colonel Lane was most exemplary, and
204 The North Cakolina Booklet
enforcd strict religious observance upon all within his house-hold.
It has been noted that his ancestors were adherents of
the Church of England ; so, when this sturdy pioneer came to
the wilds of Wake County, the Book of Common Prayer
came also. Under the English Church Establishment at that
time, the territory embraced in Wake was known as the
"Parish of St. Margaret." Though the adjacent country was
too thinly settled for the Church to thrive, the Lane residence
always remained the home of religion as well as of hospital-ity.
Not only was the family called daily to prayer, but
Colonel Lane himself observed each fast and other devotional
exercise prescribed by the Church, in which he remained a
communicant up to the time of his death. At intervals,
some regularly ordained clergyman would pass through ; and
on these occasions, younger members of the family were
baptized. Among other clerical visitors, was Parson
Meikeljohn, of Hillsborough, whom "Shocco" Jones describes
as "a high Church-man in religion and a high Tory in poli-tics."
When, some years after the Revolution, Bishop
Ravenscroft came to Wake County to revive, under its new
name, the Church of England, the Lanes could boast that in
one quarter, at least, it had never been dormant.
The death of Joel Lane occured on the 29th day of March,
1Y95. In an address delivered in Raleigh, on August 24,
1867, Ex-Grovernor Swain (Colonel Lane's great-nephew)
refers to the last resting place of the old patriot, saying that
his remains "moulder in the midst of other unrecorded dead
beneath the shade of a mulberry on his ancient domain."
There, indeed, is his gi-ave, of which no vestige now appears.
The spot has a cottage built over it, and lies a few feet east
of Boylan Avenue, about thirty-five yards south of Morgan
street.
After the death of Joel Lane, his son Thomas, to whom he
bequeathed his residence, sold it on December 31, 1808, to
Dr. Allen W. Gilchrist who married Colonel Lane's daughter.
It was afterwards bought by Peter Browne, a native of Scot-
Joel Lane 205
land, who was an able latwyer, but witbal a miser and utili-tarian,
respecting nothing above its value in dollars and cents.
Finding that the burying ground (where, also, many other
early citizens, besides the Lanes, were interred) was an un-profitable
piece of property, he had it plowed up and planted
in cabbages ! If one leaves this spot, and walks about a
mile and a half eastward along Morgan Street to what Raleigh
people now call the Old Graveyard, there he will find the
slab which marks the grave of Browne himself. It states
that he died October 26, 1833, "aged 6711 years." Verily,
one may think, Methuselah would turn green with envy, and
feel youthful, could he read this. What means it, may be
asked by another, less credulous. The solution is this:
Originally the inscription read, "67" years ; and some van-dal,
with a good knowledge of stone-cutting, did the rest by
adding the two other figures. Thus the grave of this desecra-tor
has not itself escaped desecration.
Before concluding our sketch, further mention should be
made of the house in which Colonel Lane lived, and which
was built by him. It still stands, and is the oldest house in
Raleigh—much older than the city itself. William Boylan,
editor of the Minerva, bought it from the aforementioned
Peter Browne, in 1818, and it has been in possession of
the Boylans ever since. It faced east on the avenue named
for that family, but was later moved westward a few hundred
yards and is now on Hargett Street, facing south. To one of
the present generation, it is an unimposing structure; but
when built, was considered quite palatial. Two stories, low
in pitch, with a steep double-slanting roof, is the house as it
stands. But it seldom fails to attract attention. Its quaint-ness
of architecture speaks of a generation now passed into
history—of Tryon, marching with his army against the
Regulators; of Burke, Spaight, Lenoir, and their compat-
206 The Nobth Carolina Booklet
riots in the Revolutionary assembly whicli met beneath its
roof; of the Hintons, Hunters^ and Jones's, of early Wake.
"A kind of old Hobgoblin Hall,
Now somewhat fallen to decay,
With weather-stains upon the wall,
And stairways worn and crazy doors.
And creaking and uneven floors,
And chimneys huge, and tiled and tall
—
A region of repose it seems,
A place of slumber and of dreams!"
THE SPIRIT OF THE REVOLUTION
By Mary HiiiLiAUD Hintoist
The American Revolution may easily be classed as one
of the most remarkable events of modem history, the fruits
of which have so affected the world.
As late as 1774 America found the melting pot had per-formed
its task well. The conglomeration of nationalities
had become consolidated as one, the Anglo-Saxon predom-inating.
To the wealthy American families of English descent
the ties with the mother-country were as close as geographi-cal
conditions could permit. The life they led in the Colo-nies
was influenced by the English mode of living. Their
children, trained in the schools and colleges of Britain,
returned to the 'New World to cherish the same manners
and customs. This made severance of the bonds that bound
them to home all the more difficult.
The masses, struggling for existence, were less controlled
by such influences, and furnished more fertile soil for the
germination of democracy. Strange to say, the masses of the
Revolutionary period were better informed than are the
masses of the Union to-day with all its boasted progress and
culture. With no magazines, traveling or public libraries,
no public schools, passable roads, or railroads, no telegraph
or telephone, no movies, no innumerable daily papers, with
weekly mail in summer and fortnightly in winter, all of
which bring the world to our very doors, it is astounding
that the people of that day were so conversant with current
events and knew the needs of the hour. They did their own
thinking—a habit that is in danger of becoming obsolete.
With the classes the Anglo-Saxon thirst for justice, the
inherent demand for freedom and the call of liberty, which
have ever characterized the race, were just as pronounced
then as at Runnymede.
208 The E"orth Caeolina Booklet
The most vital issue that can touch the human side of man
is taxation, and when representation is denied, another al-most
equally vital question is involved. Taxation and the
electorate are the strongest of the threo pillars of democracy.
Hence, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney's declaration "Millions
for defence, hut not one cent tribute," was an echo of the
feelings of the Colonists.
These sentiments they were fully prepared to support with
arms. Men who owned their own land, raised all supplies,
all material for the clothing, which was made in the homes,
feared neither government nor ruler. They were not con-cerned
with high nor low tariff, and could subsist were all
ports closed. They were absolutely independent and paid
court to no one, but were governed by the lofty motive of
principle only, instead of such a fleeting fancy as "political
expediency." The fight was against an imbecile German
king and not against the English people.
Scattered along a distance of 1,500 miles, 3,000,000 souls,
with a small minority of Tories in their niidst, murmured
against the injustice of the wrongs imposed by the Crown,
and asserted their rights.
The selection of Washington as Commander-in-Chief of
the Army was the highest tribute, for even at that time
there was a feeling existing between the North and the
South. It was a proof that he was worthy of the trust and
showed the keen insight of those leaders by whom he was
chosen. Time has revealed the truth that he was born for
the service of his country. The wealthiest man of America
of his day, he risked all and obeyed solely the voice of duty,
actuated by principle, even though before him loomed up
the sad fate of that other rebel, the unfortunate ISTathaniel
Bacon who, striking too soon, failed. Thru victory and de-feat
Washington was ever the calm leader with the resolve
to fight to a brilliant triumph, or a glorious death. His
words, "I have put my hand to the plow and cannot turn
The Spikit of the Revolution 209
back," were characteristic of the man who, although he
regarded the result as uncertain, would be faithful to the
end, Charles Carroll on entering the strife realized ulti-mate
failure possible and signed his full name, Charles
Carroll of CarroUton, to the Declaration of Independence in
order that another Charles Carroll might not be accorded a
rebel's fate.
Although the infidel principles of France permeated that
period, a deep religious faith pervaded the Revolution. In
Virginia the patriots severed connection with the mother-country
with the most solemn forms of religion. When the
Assembly met at Williamsburg May 24, 1774, the members
"resolved to set apart a day for fasting, humiliation and
prayer."
The letter of George Mason of "Gunston Hall," the friend
of Washington, who was present at that Assembly but not a
delegate, in which he alludes to that resolution, shows the
deep religious sentiment of the patriot. Col. Mason wrote:
"Enclosed you have the Boston Trade Act and a resolve
of our House of Burgesses. You will observe that it is con-fined
to the members of their own House; but they would
wish to see the example followed through the country; for
which purpose the members, at their own private expense,
are sending expresses with the resolve to their respective
counties. Mr. Massie (the minister of Fairfax) will re-ceive
a copy of the resolve from Colonel Washington; and
should a day of prayer and fasting be appointed in our
county, please to tell my dear little family that I charge
them to pay a strict attention to it, and that I desire my three
eldest sons and my two oldest daughters may attend church
in mourning, if they have it, as I believe they have."
Several years later in 1778, the American Congress went
further than appointing a day of fasting and prayer and
passed the following resolution regulating morals:
"Whereas, true religion and good morals are the only
solid foundation of public liberty and happiness : Resolved,
210 The I^orth Carolina Booklet
that it be, hereby, earnestly recommended to the several
States, to take the most effectual measures for the encourage-ment
thereof, and for the suppressing of theatrical entertain-ments,
horse-racing, and gaming, and such other diversions as
are productive of idleness, dissipation, and a general de-pravity
of manners."
In Pennsylvania Washington's faith in and dependence
on prayer is emphasized. During the darkest hour of that
trying winter at Valley Forge he was seen kneeling alone
in prayer in a secluded wood. From that day the fortunes
of the Patriot Army grew brighter. The beautiful Memo-rial
Chapel erected on the spot where our Chieftain knelt
has been remembered by our leading patriotic organizations
with handsome gifts.
Ai notable example of piety was Mrs. Van Cortlandt,
of Van Cortlandt Manor on the Hudson, who knelt in prayer
by a bed in her room the entire day the Battle of White
Plains was fought, from the first booming of the cannon at
sunrise, till the sun sank below the horizon, praying for the
victory of the American arms and the safety of her sons en-gaged
in the battle.
The record of the Red Cross, thoroughly organized dur-ing
the World War, has been a marvel and leaves nothing
to be desired. What did our foremothers accomplish in this
line during the Revolution? In Townsend, Massachusetts,
a mother and her daughters during a day and a night
sheared a black and a white sheep, carded from the fleece a
gray wool, which they spun, wove, and cut and made into a
suit of clothes for a boy to wear off to fight for liberty. In
the summer of 1775 when the preparations for the war were
in a most unsettled and depressing condition, particularly the
supplies for the Continental Army, the Provincial Congress
called upon the people to supply thirteen thousand warm
coats by cold weather. 'No contractors existed then to meet
this demand, but by hundreds and hundreds of firesides
The Spirit of the Revolution 211
througliout the country wool-wheels and hand-looms were
set to work and the patriotic women of America gave their
handiwork eagerly. To-day the record books of some I^ew
England towns preserve the names of these coat-makers. To
each soldier volunteering for eight months service one of
these home-spun, home-made, all-wool coats was presented
"a;S a bounty," which was highly prized ; so much so that the
heirs of the heroes who fell at Bunker Hill before receiving
their coats were paid a sum of money instead. A list of
the names of the soldiers who were given a bounty was known
as the "Coat Roll." By the English Washington's troops
were sneeringly nicknamed "Homes spuns."
The patriots of '76 took no account of consequences but
risked all, and in some instances contributed so freely as to
leave their families impoverished. Such was the case of
General Thomas Nelson, who gave his entire fortune—hun-dreds
of thousands—for the Patriot cause, leaving his widow
and children almost destitute. As I stood by his grave in
the churchyard at Yorktown, which had remained unmarked
for more than a century, naturally thoughts dwelt upon the
ingratitude of the country for patriotic sacrifice. He pro-cured
on his own credit for the use of his State when Virginia
could procure none on her own. He entered the conflict
very rich, but at his death, "save the old home in deserted
York and some poor, broom-straw fields in Hanover," his
property was sold at public sale to pay debts assumed for
his country. Even the old family Bible with the records of
the ^Nelsons, with the little table that held it, was sold at that
time.
Governor John Page furnished another example of un-selfish
devotion when he stripped the heavy lead covering
from the shingled roof of his home, "Rosewell," considered
the stateliest mansion in Virginia, "when Colonial Virginia
was baronial Virginia," to be moulded into bullets for the
Army. Robert Morris of Pennsylvania was the acknowl-
212 The North Caeolina Booklet
edged financier of the Revolution. The gift of Elizabeth
Maxwell Steele of Salisbury to General Greene, the gold
saved from years of toil^ aifords another illustration of
patriotic sacrifice.
Lastly our patriots of '76 possessed vision, safeguarded
by v^isdom and judgment. That period produced a very
rare type—constitution builders, statesmen—who have
handed down to us the most priceless heritage, a document
of such worth that it has been most conscientiously protected
against the 2,203 propositions for amendment introduced in
Congress, nineteen winning, and then only during times of
great public disaster.
A devoted son of Britain once remarked that he was
thankful the ties were severed so early, for then the loss
was less. By adhering strictly to the dictates of principles
the offspring has later saved the mother country, as well as
the world.
IN MEMORIAM
Mrs. Ellen Tyson Lee
Again the summons to lay aside the duties earth and ascend
to the glory of a higher sphere has come to one of our faithful
officers, leaving a shadow that cannot be lifted, for in this loss
we have sustained a very heavy blow. In all the varied services
Ellen Tyson Lee rendered the Daughters of the Revolution, there
was displayed a marked degree of efficiency that performed each
task with entire satisfaction, a high sense of loyalty and patriotism
that could not be surpassed, and poise that bespoke the inherited
Spartan spirit of Revolutionary ancestors. The worthy sister of
a distinguished general, the mother of a soldier, she was a true
patriot indeed. Of her it can be said she was absolutely dependable,
praise that can be accorded few. To the Regent she was ever a
staunch supporter, a tower of strength, who never failed to respond
to every call. Words cannot convey the extent of our loss, which
wUl extend through coming years. May others emulate her noble
example. Faithful to every trust, duty was her watchword.
To the bereaved family we extend our warmest sympathy.
That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the Society
and a copy sent to the family,
Maey Hilllaed Hinton,
Mrs. Geobge Ramsey,
Geace Haeding Bates,
Cormndttee.
RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT TO THE MEMORY OF
MRS. ELLEN TYSON LEE, WHO DIED
NOVEMBER, 1920
Whereas, God in his tender, divine love and wisdom has seen
it was well to call from our midst to the Spirit World our beloved
Chapter Regent, Mrs. Ellen Tyson Lee, therefore, be it
Resolved, that the Bloomsbury Chapter, Daughters of the Revolu-tion,
deplores this inexpressible loss.
That her zeal, generosity, never-tiring energy for our interests,
even when fettered by physical disability, trustworthiness, reserve
—
never seeking but always sought—and keen appreciation of the
fundamental principles that made our country great, made serving
with and under her leadership a joyous privilege.
That we shall miss her inspirational influence, but bow In humble
submission to the decree of a Higher Power.
To her loved ones we tender our sincere sympathy.
That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the Society
and a copy sent to the family.
Mrs. L. E. Covington
Mrs. E. C. Hillyeb
Mrs. Chas. Lee Smith
Cormnittee.
REVIEW OF THE CONQUEST OF THE
OLD SOUTHWEST
By ifyTiNA Holland Covington
(Mrs. Laurence Covington)
The history of I^orth Carolina, tinged throughout with
the glamour o£ romance, has no more thrilling chapter
than the story of the adventures of the daring and dauntless
pioneers who left the State to establish settlements beyond
the mountains in Kentucky and Tennessee. This story is
most graphically told in "The Conquest of the Old South-west,"
by Dr. Archibald Henderson, of the University of
!N^orth Carolina. Dr. Henderson is well known as an accu-rate,
clear-visioned historian; moreover, being a member of
the family who sent out these early settlers under Daniel
Boone, he had the added advantage of unlimited access to
family documents and records which throw light upon this
important period of American history.
"It is," one critic says, "a notable, authoritative contribu-tion
to the history of the Old Southwest, written in a lively,
vivid style, with a wealth of romantic incidents, absolutely
authentic and based upon documentary evidence, and replete
with extracts from original letters, journals, and diaries
hitherto unpublished or inaccessible."
The choice of title of the book indicates the exact section
of the country with which it deals. "By West nowadays
we mean the regions on the western side of the Mississippi,
but at this early date when most of settled America was along
the fringe of the Atlantic, the Carolinas, Kentucky and
Tennessee, were called the Southwest. The fearless, resource-ful,
devoted men and women who first went West not only
led the way for those who later crossed the Mississippi, but
they struck the keynote of that pioneer civilization which
has so profoundly influenced the character of the American
people by shaping our Democracy, the democracy which
produced an Andrew Jackson and an Abraham Lincoln."
216 The ISTokth Carolina Booklet
Bj means of the story of the settlers of this old Southwest,
with all the attendant hardships and dangers, the historian
develops and describes the great and powerful idea of West-ward
Expansion, the idea which drove men from their
peaceful homes in the thickly settled portion of the country
to dare unknown dangers, to withstand savage enemies and
finally to make settlements in a strange and rough and rug-ged
country.
"Some to endure and many to fail,
Some to conquer and many to quail,
Toiling over the Wilderness Trail."
With painstaking, yet interesting detail. Dr. Henderson
tells the story of the German settlements in Pennsylvania,
of the early trading paths established by these settlers with
their Southern neighbors, with, finally, the migration of
many of these to Virginia and Carolina ; of the early history
of the Boone family and other early settlers.
Governors who helped in pioneer settlement, governors
how retarded westward expansion, treaties of peace with
Indian nations, the romantic hunting stories of the hunters
in the Cumberland and elsewhere, all is told with skill and
accuracy. Especially well does he tell of these early hunters,
who, though not as serious-minded as the home-makers,
nevertheless, opened the way, explored the forest and made
the men who followed them feel that what other men had
dared they, too, could and would dare. Thus, the wedge
of pioneer settlement pushed on and on into the obscurity
of the dense forests. In the midst of struggles with the
Indians (fighting as they twere against the encroachment of
the white man), in the midst of revolts against tyrannical
oppression of governors and kings, the ax of the early settler
cut down the trees of the dense forest, until immense tracts
of land were opened up, settlements became permanent, men
of broad vision established companies for systematic settle-ment.
Finally, the "Old Southwest" became an important
section of the young American nation.
Review of the Old Southwest 217
Such is the main theme of the book by Dr. Henderson.
It is perhaps one of the most important contributions to
American history of the last decade. It is a matter of
great pride to ISTorth Carolinians that the book has been
enthusiastically praised by some of the greatest historians
and critics of the country. It is a matter of distinct con-gratulation
that Dr. Henderson's loyalty to his state makes
him satisfied to remain in his "ain countree" in spite of
^flattering inducements offered elsewhere, and above lall,
we are intensely indebted to him that he has so often directed
his genius upon subjects relating to his own State. Thus
N^orth Carolina history is most wonderfully enriched and
our State has gained added attention and prestige in the eyes
of the world.
(The Conquest of the Old Southwest, by Dr. Archibald
iHenderson, of the University of North Carolina. The
Century Co.)
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ANNOUNCEMENT
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GENEALOGICAL DEPARTMENT
NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY, DAUGHTERS OF THE
REVOLUTION
HAS BEEN REVIVED
Your Ancestry Can Be Carefully Traced
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World War.
WANTED
Printed matter, manuscripts, photographs and souvenirs of
all sorts showing the activities of soldiers, sailors, airmen,
welfare workers, war workers, communities and individuals.
YOUR CO-OPERATION SOLICITED
You have the materials. The Commission has the only
organized agency for collecting, and the only modern fire-proof
depository for historical records in North Carolina.
MEMBERS
J. BRYAN GRIMES Raleigh, N. C.
T. M. PITTMAN Henderson, N. C.
FRANK WOOD Edenton, N. C.
M. C. S. NOBLE Chapel Hill, N. C.
D. H. HILL Raleigh, N. C.
SECRETARY
R. D. W. CONNOR Raleigh, N. C.
COLLECTOR OF WAR RECORDS
R. B. HOUSE Raleigh, N. C.
Address all communications referring to War Records to
The North Carolina Historical Commission, Department of
War Records, Raleigh, N. C.
,S,orthCarc!ma
state Library.
Raleigh
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