The Virginians

by William Makepeace Thackeray

  CHAPTER LXXXIX. A Colonel without a Regiment

  When my visit to my brother was concluded, and my wife and young childhad returned to our maternal house at Richmond, I made it my business togo over to our Governor, then at his country house, near Williamsburg,and confer with him regarding these open preparations for war, whichwere being made not only in our own province, but in every one of thecolonies as far as we could learn. Gentlemen, with whose names historyhas since made all the world familiar, were appointed from Virginia asDelegates to the General Congress about to be held in Philadelphia. InMassachusetts the people and the Royal troops were facing each otheralmost in open hostility: in Maryland and Pennsylvania we flatteredourselves that a much more loyal spirit was prevalent: in the Carolinasand Georgia the mother country could reckon upon staunch adherents, anda great majority of the inhabitants: and it never was to be supposedthat our own Virginia would forgo its ancient loyalty. We had but fewtroops in the province, but its gentry were proud of their descent fromthe Cavaliers of the old times: and round about our Governor were swarmsof loud and confident Loyalists who were only eager for the moment whenthey might draw the sword, and scatter the rascally rebels before them.Of course, in these meetings I was forced to hear many a hard wordagainst my poor Harry. His wife, all agreed (and not without goodreason, perhaps), had led him to adopt these extreme anti-Britishopinions which he had of late declared; and he was infatuated by hisattachment to the gentleman of Mount Vernon, it was farther said, whoseopinions my brother always followed, and who, day by day, was committinghimself farther in the dreadful and desperate course of resistance."This is your friend," the people about his Excellency said, "this isthe man you favoured, who has had your special confidence, and who hasrepeatedly shared your hospitality!" It could not but be owned much ofthis was true: though what some of our eager Loyalists called treacherywas indeed rather a proof of the longing desire Mr. Washington and othergentlemen had, not to withdraw from their allegiance to the Crown, butto remain faithful, and exhaust the very last chance of reconciliation,before they risked the other terrible alternative of revolt andseparation. Let traitors arm, and villains draw the parricidal sword! Weat least would remain faithful; the unconquerable power of England wouldbe exerted, and the misguided and ungrateful provinces punished andbrought back to their obedience. With what cheers we drank his Majesty'shealth after our banquets! We would die in defence of his rights; wewould have a Prince of his Royal house to come and govern his ancientdominions! In consideration of my own and my excellent mother's loyalty,my brother's benighted conduct should be forgiven. Was it yet too lateto secure him by offering him a good command? Would I not intercedewith him, who, it was known, had a great influence over him? In ourWilliamsburg councils we were alternately in every state of exaltationand triumph, of hope, of fury against the rebels, of anxious expectancyof home succour, of doubt, distrust, and gloom.

  I promised to intercede with my brother; and wrote to him, I own, withbut little hope of success, repeating, and trying to strengthen thearguments which I had many a time used in our conversations. My mother,too, used her authority; but from this, I own, I expected littleadvantage. She assailed him, as her habit was, with such texts ofScripture as she thought bore out her own opinion, and threatenedpunishment to him. She menaced him with the penalties which must fallupon those who were disobedient to the powers that be. She pointed tohis elder brother's example; and hinted, I fear, at his subjection tohis wife, the very worst argument she could use in such a controversy.She did not show me her own letter to him; possibly she knew I mightfind fault with the energy of some of the expressions she thought properto employ; but she showed me his answer, from which I gathered what thestyle and tenor of her argument had been. And if Madam Esmond broughtScripture to her aid, Mr. Hal, to my surprise, brought scores of textsto bear upon her in reply, and addressed her in a very neat, temperate,and even elegant composition, which I thought his wife herself wasscarcely capable of penning. Indeed, I found he had enlisted theservices of Mr. Belman, the New Richmond clergyman, who had taken upstrong opinions on the Whig side, and who preached and printed sermonsagainst Hagan (who, as I have said, was of our faction), in which I fearBelman had the best of the dispute.

  My exhortations to Hal had no more success than our mother's. He didnot answer my letters. Being still farther pressed by the friends of theGovernment, I wrote over most imprudently to say I would visit him atthe end of the week at Fanny's Mount; but on arriving, I only found mysister, who received me with perfect cordiality, but informed me thatHal was gone into the country, ever so far towards the Blue Mountainsto look at some horses, and was to be away--she did not know how long hewas to be away!

  I knew then there was no hope. "My dear," I said, "as far as I can judgefrom the signs of the times, the train that has been laid these yearsmust have a match put to it before long. Harry is riding away. God knowsto what end."

  "The Lord prosper the righteous cause, Sir George," says she.

  "Amen, with all my heart. You and he speak as Americans; I as anEnglishman. Tell him from me, that when anything in the course of natureshall happen to our mother, I have enough for me and mine in England,and shall resign all our land here in Virginia to him."

  "You don't mean that, George?" she cries, with brightening eyes. "Well,to be sure, it is but right and fair," she presently added. "Why shouldyou, who are the eldest but by an hour, have everything? a palace andlands in England--the plantation here--the title--and children--andmy poor Harry none? But 'tis generous of you all the same--leastwayshandsome and proper, and I didn't expect it of you; and you don't takeafter your mother in this, Sir George, that you don't, nohow. Give mylove to sister Theo!" And she offers me a cheek to kiss, ere I ride awayfrom her door. With such a woman as Fanny to guide him, how could I hopeto make a convert of my brother?

  Having met with this poor success in my enterprise, I rode back to ourGovernor, with whom I agreed that it was time to arm in earnest, andprepare ourselves against the shock that certainly was at hand. He andhis whole Court of Officials were not a little agitated and excited;needlessly savage, I thought, in their abuse of the wicked Whigs, andloud in their shouts of Old England for ever; but they were all eagerfor the day when the contending parties could meet hand to hand, andthey could have an opportunity of riding those wicked Whigs down. And Ileft my lord, having received the thanks of his Excellency in Council,and engaged to do my best endeavours to raise a body of men in defenceof the Crown. Hence the corps, called afterwards the WestmorelandDefenders, had its rise, of which I had the honour to be appointedColonel, and which I was to command when it appeared in the field. Andthat fortunate event must straightway take place, so soon as the countyknew that a gentleman of my station and name would take the command ofthe force. The announcement was duly made in the Government Gazette, andwe filled in our officers readily enough; but the recruits, it mustbe owned, were slow to come in, and quick to disappear. Nevertheless,friend Hagan eagerly came forward to offer himself as chaplain. MadamEsmond gave us our colours, and progressed about the country engagingvolunteers; but the most eager recruiter of all was my good old tutor,little Mr. Dempster, who had been out as a boy on the Jacobite side inScotland, and who went specially into the Carolinas, among the childrenof his banished old comrades, who had worn the white cockade of PrinceCharles, and who most of all showed themselves in this contest stillloyal to the Crown.

  Hal's expedition in search of horses led him not only so far as the BlueMountains in our colony, but thence on a long journey to Annapolisand Baltimore; and from Baltimore to Philadelphia, to be sure; wherea second General Congress was now sitting, attended by our Virginiangentlemen of the last year. Meanwhile, all the almanacs tell what hadhappened. Lexington had happened, and the first shots were fired in thewar which was to end in the independence of our native country. We stillprotested of our loyalty to his Majesty; but we stated our determinationto die or be free; and some twenty thousand of our loyal petitionersassembled round about
Boston with arms in their hands and cannon, towhich they had helped themselves out of the Government stores. Mr.Arnold had begun that career which was to end so brilliantly, by thedaring and burglarious capture of two forts, of which he forced thedoors. Three generals from Bond Street, with a large reinforcement,were on their way to help Mr. Gage out of his ugly position at Boston.Presently the armies were actually engaged; and our British generalscommenced their career of conquest and pacification in the colonies bythe glorious blunder of Breed's Hill. Here they fortified themselves,feeling themselves not strong enough for the moment to win any moreglorious victories over the rebels; and the two armies lay watchingeach other whilst Congress was deliberating at Philadelphia who shouldcommand the forces of the confederated colonies.

  We all know on whom the most fortunate choice of the nation fell. Of theVirginian regiment which marched to join the new General-in-Chief, onewas commanded by Henry Esmond Warrington, Esq., late a Captain inhis Majesty's service; and by his side rode his little wife, of whosebravery we often subsequently heard. I was glad, for one, that she hadquitted Virginia; for, had she remained after her husband's departure,our mother would infallibly have gone over to give her battle; and I wasthankful, at least, that that terrific incident of civil war was sparedto our family and history.

  The rush of our farmers and country-folk was almost all directed towardsthe new northern army; and our people were not a little flattered atthe selection of a Virginian gentleman for the principal command. Witha thrill of wrath and fury the provinces heard of the blood drawnat Lexington; and men yelled denunciations against the cruelty andwantonness of the bloody British invader. The invader was but doing hisduty, and was met and resisted by men in arms, who wished to prevent himfrom helping himself to his own; but people do not stay to weigh theirwords when they mean to be angry; the colonists had taken their side;and, with what I own to be a natural spirit and ardour, were determinedto have a trial of strength with the braggart domineering mothercountry. Breed's Hill became a mountain, as it were, which all men ofthe American Continent might behold, with Liberty, Victory, Glory, onits flaming summit. These dreaded troops could be withstood, then, byfarmers and ploughmen. These famous officers could be outgeneralled bydoctors, lawyers, and civilians! Granted that Britons could conquerall the world;--here were their children who could match and conquerBritons! Indeed, I don't know which of the two deserves the palm, eitherfor bravery or vainglory. We are in the habit of laughing at our Frenchneighbours for boasting, gasconading, and so forth; but for a steadyself-esteem and indomitable confidence in our own courage, greatness,magnanimity;--who can compare with Britons, except their children acrossthe Atlantic?

  The people round about us took the people's side for the most partin the struggle, and, truth to say, Sir George Warrington found hisregiment of Westmoreland Defenders but very thinly manned at thecommencement, and woefully diminished in numbers presently, not onlyafter the news of battle from the north, but in consequence of thebehaviour of my Lord our Governor, whose conduct enraged no one morethan his own immediate partisans, and the loyal adherents of the Crownthroughout the colony. That he would plant the King's standard, andsummon all loyal gentlemen to rally round it, had been a measure agreedin countless meetings, and applauded over thousands of bumpers. I have apretty good memory, and could mention the name of many a gentleman, nowa smug officer of the United States Government, whom I have heard hiccupout a prayer that he might be allowed to perish under the folds of hiscountry's flag; or roar a challenge to the bloody traitors absent withthe rebel army. But let bygones be bygones. This, however, is matter ofpublic history, that his lordship, our Governor, a peer of Scotland, theSovereign's representative in his Old Dominion, who so loudly invitedall the lieges to join the King's standard, was the first to put it inhis pocket, and fly to his ships out of reach of danger. He would notleave them, save as a pirate at midnight to burn and destroy. Meanwhile,we loyal gentry remained on shore, committed to our cause, and onlysubject to greater danger in consequence of the weakness and cruelty ofhim who ought to have been our leader. It was the beginning of June, ourorchards and gardens were all blooming with plenty and summer; a weekbefore I had been over at Williamsburg, exchanging compliments with hisExcellency, devising plans for future movements by which we should beable to make good head against rebellion, shaking hands heartily atparting, and vincere aut mori the very last words upon all our lips. Ourlittle family was gathered at Richmond, talking over, as we did daily,the prospect of affairs in the north, the quarrels between our ownAssembly and his Excellency, by whom they had been afresh convened, whenour ghostly Hagan rushes into our parlour, and asks, "Have we heard thenews of the Governor?"

  "Has he dissolved the Assembly again, and put that scoundrel PatrickHenry in irons?" asks Madam Esmond.

  "No such thing! His lordship with his lady and family have left theirpalace privately at night. They are on board a man-of-war off York,whence my lord has sent a despatch to the Assembly, begging them tocontinue their sitting, and announcing that he himself had only quittedhis Government House out of fear of the fury of the people."

  What was to become of the sheep, now the shepherd had run away? Noentreaties could be more pathetic than those of the gentlemen of theHouse of Assembly, who guaranteed their Governor security if he wouldbut land, and implored him to appear amongst them, if but to pass billsand transact the necessary business. No: the man-of-war was his seat ofgovernment, and my lord desired his House of Commons to wait upon himthere. This was erecting the King's standard with a vengeance. OurGovernor had left us; our Assembly perforce ruled in his stead; a rabbleof people followed the fugitive Viceroy on board his ships. A mob ofnegroes deserted out of the plantations to join this other deserter. Heand his black allies landed here and there in darkness, and emulated themost lawless of our opponents in their alacrity at seizing and burning.He not only invited runaway negroes, but he sent an ambassador toIndians with entreaties to join his standard. When he came on shore itwas to burn and destroy: when the people resisted, as at Norfolk andHampton, he retreated and betook himself to his ships again.

  Even my mother, after that miserable flight of our chief, was scaredat the aspect of affairs, and doubted of the speedy putting down ofthe rebellion. The arming of the negroes was, in her opinion, the mostcowardly blow of all. The loyal gentry were ruined, and robbed, many ofthem, of their only property. A score of our worst hands deserted fromRichmond and Castlewood, and fled to our courageous Governor's fleet;not all of them, though some of them, were slain, and a couple hung bythe enemy for plunder and robbery perpetrated whilst with his lordship'sprecious army. Because her property was wantonly injured, and hisMajesty's chief officer an imbecile, would Madam Esmond desert thecause of Royalty and Honour? My good mother was never so prodigiouslydignified, and loudly and enthusiastically loyal, as after she heard ofour Governor's lamentable defection. The people round about her, thoughmost of them of quite a different way of thinking, listened to herspeeches without unkindness. Her oddities were known far and widethrough our province; where, I am afraid, many of the wags amongst ouryoung men were accustomed to smoke her, as the phrase then was, and drawout her stories about the Marquis her father, about the splendour ofher family, and so forth. But along with her oddities, her charities andkindness were remembered, and many a rebel, as she called them, had asneaking regard for the pompous little Tory lady.

  As for the Colonel of the Westmoreland Defenders, though thatgentleman's command dwindled utterly away after the outrageous conductof his chief, yet I escaped from some very serious danger which mighthave befallen me and mine in consequence of some disputes which I wasknown to have had with my Lord Dunmore. Going on board his ship afterhe had burned the stores at Hampton, and issued the proclamation callingthe negroes to his standard, I made so free as to remonstrate with himin regard to both measures; I implored him to return to Williamsburg,where hundreds of us, thousands, I hoped, would be ready to defend himto the last extremity; and in my remonstrance used
terms so free, orrather, as I suspect, indicated my contempt for his conduct so clearlyby my behaviour, that his lordship flew into a rage, said I was a rebellike all the rest of them, and ordered me under arrest there on boardhis own ship. In my quality of militia officer (since the breaking outof the troubles I commonly used a red coat, to show that I wore theKing's colour) I begged for a court-martial immediately; and turninground to two officers who had been present during our altercation,desired them to remember all that had passed between his lordshipand me. These gentlemen were no doubt of my way of thinking as tothe chief's behaviour, and our interview ended in my going ashoreunaccompanied by a guard. The story got wind amongst the Whig gentry,and was improved in the telling. I had spoken out my mind manfully tothe Governor; no Whig could have uttered sentiments more liberal. Whenriots took place in Richmond, and of the Loyalists remaining there, manywere in peril of life and betook themselves to the ships, my mother'sproperty and house were never endangered, nor her family insulted.We were still at the stage when a reconciliation was fondly thoughtpossible. "Ah! if all the Tories were like you," a distinguished Whighas said to me, "we and the people at home should soon come togetheragain." This, of course, was before the famous Fourth of July, and thatDeclaration which rendered reconcilement impossible. Afterwards, whenparties grew more rancorous, motives much less creditable were assignedfor my conduct, and it was said I chose to be a Liberal Tory becauseI was a cunning fox, and wished to keep my estate whatever way thingswent. And this, I am bound to say, is the opinion regarding my humbleself which has obtained in very high quarters at home, where a profoundregard for my own interest has been supposed not uncommonly to haveoccasioned my conduct during the late unhappy troubles.

  There were two or three persons in the world (for I had not told mymother how I was resolved to cede to my brother all my life-interestin our American property) who knew that I had no mercenary motives inregard to the conduct I pursued. It was not worth while to undeceiveothers; what were life worth, if a man were forced to feel himself a lapiste of all the calumnies uttered against him? And I do not quite knowto this present day, how it happened that my mother, that notoriousLoyalist, was left for several years quite undisturbed in her house atCastlewood, a stray troop or company of Continentals being occasionallyquartered upon her. I do not know for certain, I say, how this piece ofgood fortune happened, though I can give a pretty shrewd guess as to thecause of it. Madam Fanny, after a campaign before Boston, came back toFanny's Mount, leaving her Colonel. My modest Hal, until the conclusionof the war, would accept no higher rank, believing that in command ofa regiment he could be more useful than in charge of a division. MadamFanny, I say, came back, and it was remarkable after her return howher old asperity towards my mother seemed to be removed, and what anaffection she showed for her and all the property. She was great friendswith the Governor and some of the most influential gentlemen of the newAssembly:--Madam Esmond was harmless, and for her son's sake, whowas bravely battling for his country, her errors should be lightlyvisited:--I know not how it was, but for years she remained unharmed,except in respect of heavy Government requisitions, which of course shehad to pay, and it was not until the redcoats appeared about our house,that much serious evil came to it.