The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832

by Taylor, Alan

  66 Sir Ralph Woodford to Lewis Johnston, Oct. 23, 1816 (“orderly”), and Woodford to Earl Bathurst, Nov. 10, 1816 (“far advanced”), CO 295 (Trinidad), vol. 40:169, 181, NAUK; Laurence, “Settlement of Free Negroes,” 27–30; Weiss, Merikens, 18; Weiss, “Corps of Colonial Marines,” 81, 85.

  67 Andrew Kinsman to the Colonial Marines, Aug. 15, 1816, Admiralty 1, vol. 3319:163, NAUK.

  68 Sir Ralph Woodford to Earl Bathurst, Aug. 28, 1816, CO 295 (Trinidad), vol. 40:103, NAUK; Lewis Johnston et al., “Petition of the White and Free Colored Inhabitants of the Quarters of North and South Naparima,” Oct. 7, 1816 (“the intercourse” and “impatience”), CO 295 (Trinidad), vol. 40:173, NAUK.

  69 Sir Ralph Woodford to Earl Bathurst, Nov. 10, 1816 (“Many”), Lewis Johnston et al. “Petition of the White and Free Colored Inhabitants of the Quarters of North and South Naparima,” Oct. 7, 1816, and Woodford to Johnston et al., Oct. 23, 1816 (“additional Security”), CO 295 (Trinidad), vol. 40:169, 173, 181, NAUK; Laurence, “Settlement of Free Negroes,” 27–30; Carmichael, “Some Notes on Sir Ralph James Woodford,” 29–31; D. Wood, Trinidad in Transition, 38; Horne, Negro Comrades, 72–73.

  70 Sir Ralph Woodford to Earl Bathurst, Nov. 10, 1816, and Lewis Johnston et al., “Petition of the White and Free Colored Inhabitants of the Quarters of North and South Naparima,” Oct. 7, 1816, CO 295 (Trinidad), vol. 40:173, NAUK; Laurence, “Settlement of Free Negroes,” 31–35 (Woodford quoted on 32); McDaniel, “Memory Spirituals of the Liberated American Soldiers,” 43.

  71 Weiss, “Corps of Colonial Marines,” 80, 85–86; Wood, Trinidad in Transition, 38–39; McDaniel, “Memory Spirituals of the Liberated American Soldiers,” 38–58 (missionaries quote on 44–45, and see 54 (“Ninevah”).

  72 Henry Howard Jr., deposition, June 21, 1814 (“most positively”), APA-GMR, entry 258, box 779, York County folder, LV; Lewis Neth Jr., deposition, July 31, 1821 (“expressing” and “that he had shipped”), RG 76, entry 190, box 8, case 764 (Lewis Neth), USNA-CP. For Jacob, see Jacob G. Parker, deposition, Nov. 10, 1823, RG 76, entry 190, box 4, case 258 (Jacob G. Parker), USNA-CP.

  73 Jacob G. Parker, deposition, Nov. 10, 1823 (“a bright mulatto”), RG 76, entry 190, box 4, case 258 (Jacob G. Parker), USNA-CP; Lewis Smith to Thomas Griffin, Oct. 11, 1827, RG 76, entry 190, box 8, case 734 (Thomas Griffin), USNA-CP.

  74 James McBride, deposition, Apr. 4, 1823, RG 76, entry 190, box 4, case 214 (John Patterson), USNA-CP; Joseph C. Cabell to Langdon Cheves, Henry Sewall, and James Pleasants, Dec. 4, 1827 (“The remaining slaves”), RG 76, entry 185, box 3, folder 6, USNA-CP; depositions of Fielder Cross, July 16, 1821, and Howard Duvall, Mar. 4, 1822, RG 76, entry 190, box 9, case 852 (Howard Duvall), USNA-CP; Edward Ringhold, deposition, Feb. 15, 1828, RG 76, entry 190, box 9, case 817 (Rebecca Beard), USNA-CP; John Massey, deposition, Feb. 9, 1824, RG 76, entry 190, box 9, case 930 (Benjamin Farrow), USNA-CP; Walter L. Dorrell, deposition, Jan. 21, 1824, RG 76, entry 190, box 8, case 796 (Samuel Collard), USNA-CP; John Hebb, deposition, Mar. 24, 1825, RG 76, entry 190, box 7, case 644 (Thomas Lynch Jr.), USNA-CP; Dennis Lewis, deposition, July 16, 1828, RG 76, entry 190, box 9, case 919 (Daniel McCarty), USNA-CP.

  75 John Massey, deposition, Sep. 13, 1827, RG 76, entry 190, box 3, case 177 (Abraham B. Hooe), USNA-CP.

  76 Jacob G. Parker, deposition, Nov. 10, 1823 (“a letter”), and John K. Floyd, deposition, Oct. 8, 1827, RG 76, entry 190, box 4, case 258 (Jacob G. Parker), USNA-CP. For the compensation paid for Peter Parker, see Jacob G. Parker claim, in ASP-FR, vol. 5:815.

  77 Archibald Clark to his mother, July 6, 1816, RG 76, entry 190, box 9, case 883 (James Pumphrey), USNA-CP.

  78 James Gross to Chany Gross, Nov. 7, 1825, RG 76, entry 190, box 7, case 700 (Jane Parran), USNA-CP; Archibald Clark to his mother, July 6, 1816, RG 76, entry 190, box 9, case 883 (James Pumphrey), USNA-CP.

  79 Toby Forester to his parents, Jan. 5, 1819, and depositions of Charles and Ursula Bowie, Sep. 6, 1821, and Ned Wheeler, Dec. 4, 1827, RG 76, entry 190, box 8, case 752 (Charles and Ursula Bowie), USNA-CP.

  80 William Whiddington to Judy Hoxton, Dec. 9, 1816, RG 76, entry 190, box 7, case 609 (William Whittington), USNA-CP; Jeremiah West to David F. Davenport, Nov. 13, 1818, RG 76, entry 190, box 5, case 368 (David F. Davenport), USNA-CP.

  81 Archibald Clark to his mother, July 6, 1816, RG 76, entry 190, box 9, case 883 (James Pumphrey), USNA-CP; William Whiddington to Judy Hoxton, Dec. 9, 1816, RG 76, entry 190, box 7, case 609 (William Whiddington), USNA-CP; Jeremiah West to David F. Davenport, Nov. 13, 1818, RG 76, entry 190, box 5, case 368 (David F. Davenport), USNA-CP; Toby Forester to his parents, Jan. 5, 1819, RG 76, entry 190, box 8, case 752 (Charles and Ursula Bowie), USNA-CP.

  82 Bartlet Shanklyn to Abraham B. Hooe, May 21, 1820, RG 76, entry 190, box 3, case 177 (Abraham B. Hooe), USNA-CP.

  83 Jeremiah West to David F. Davenport, Nov. 13, 1818, RG 76, entry 190, box 5, case 368 (David F. Davenport), USNA-CP.

  84 William Whiddington to Judy Hoxton, Dec. 9, 1816, RG 76, entry 190, box 7, case 609 (William Whiddington), USNA-CP.

  85 Thomas Archer, deposition, Apr. 1, 1815 (“They were then asked”), and Lewis Smith to Thomas Griffin, Oct. 11, 1827, RG 76, entry 190, box 8, case 734 (Thomas Griffin), USNA-CP.

  86 Lewis Smith to Thomas Griffin, Oct. 11, 1827, RG 76, entry 190, box 8, case 734 (Thomas Griffin), USNA-CP.

  87 Thomas Griffin undated superscription on Lewis Smith to Thomas Griffin, Oct. 11, 1827, RG 76, entry 190, box 8, case 734 (Thomas Griffin), USNA-CP.

  88 Lewis Smith to Thomas Griffin, Oct. 11, 1827, RG 76, entry 190, box 8, case 734 (Thomas Griffin), USNA-CP.

  89 Late in the twentieth century, a distinguished American historian, Robin Winks, declared that “the Refugee Negroes were a disorganized, pathetic, and intimidated body who seemed unable to recover from their previous condition of servitude.” Favoring the harsh views of Lord Dalhousie, Winks added, “So recently escaped from slavery, they at first assumed that freedom involved no responsibilities.” See Winks, Blacks in Canada, 114 (“Refugee Negroes”), 126 (“So recently escaped”). For a better grounded and more nuanced interpretation of the refugees (with apt attention to success stories), see Whitfield, From American Slaves, 28, 59–74.

  90 Augustine Neale to James Monroe, Sep. 5, 1815, RG 76, entry 185, box 4, folder 13, USNA-CP. James Pumphrey marked with an X the memorial written for him. See James Pumphrey to the commissioners, Apr. 20, 1824, RG 76, entry 190, box 9, case 883 (James Pumphrey), USNA-CP.

  CHAPTER TWELVE: FIRE BELL

  1 Alexander Dick, travel journal, p. 182 (May 21, 1808), SSCL-UVA.

  2 Thomas Jefferson to John Holmes, Apr. 22, 1820, in P.L. Ford, Works of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 12:158–59.

  3 Cleves, “Hurtful to the State,” 216–18; M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 42–50, 66–74.

  4 Josiah Quincy quoted in M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 46 (“destined”), 56–58 (“My heart”); S. Potter to James Madison, Feb. 7, 1813 (“[You] daily complain”), in Stagg, PJM-PS, vol. 5:650–51; Bickham, Weight of Vengeance, 184–85; Eustace, 1812, 190–200.

  5 Connecticut Courant, July 28, 1812, quoted in M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 70 (“We do not know”), see also 116; Rev. Elijah Parish quoted in Cleves, “Hurtful to the State,” 217–18 (“Let the southern Heroes”); Rev. Samuel Spring to James Madison, Aug. 26, 1812, in Stagg, PJM-PS, vol. 5:208–9.

  6 M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 125–26; [Thomas Ritchie], “Franklin,” Richmond Enquirer, Aug. 3, 1813.

  7 “Southern Population” and “An Extra Sheet,” National Intelligencer, Apr. 30 (“The slaves”) and May 1, 1813 (“Several negroes”). During the war, the National Intelligencer usually promoted the views of James Monroe, who, indeed, wrote some of their anonymous pieces. At the very least, “Southern Population” had to be compatible with his views to appear in that newspaper.

  8 John M. Garnett to Archibald R.S. Hunter, Nov. 29, 1813 (“prove”), War of 1812 Collection, box 3, WLCL-UM; “Ends
and Means,” Richmond Enquirer, Mar. 2, 1813; John Coalter to St. George Tucker, Jan. 5, 1813, and Wilson Cary Nicholas to Tucker, Sep. 22, 1814, TCP, box 33, SCSL-CWM; James Barbour to the State Senate and House of Delegates, May 19, 1813, Executive Letter Book, p. 261, RG 3 (Office of the Governor), reel 3010, LV; John C. Cabell to John Hartwell Cocke, Feb. 1, 1814, JCCFP (38-111-c), box 10, SSCL-UVA; “Virginia and Massachusetts Compared,” Richmond Enquirer, Oct. 28, 1814; James Madison to Nicholas, Nov. 6, 1814, in Hunt, Writings of James Madison, vol. 8:319–20; Thomas Jefferson to David Bailie Warden, Dec. 29, 1813, and Walter Jones to Jefferson, Feb. 16, 1814, in Looney, PTJ-RS, vol. 7:91, 201; St. George Tucker to Frances Coalter, July 27, 1812, Brown, Coalter, Tucker Papers, box 3, SCSL-CWM. For a similar story told of the Deep South, see Schoen, Fragile Fabric of Union, 84–92.

  9 Philip Barraud to St. George Tucker, Aug. 23, 1813, and Feb. 18, 1814, TCP, box 33, SCSL-CWM; Tucker to Joseph C. Cabell, July 9, 1812, BFP, box 2, SSCL-UVA; John Minor to James Monroe, Oct. 11, 1812, JMP, ser. 1, reel 5, LC.

  10 James Barbour to militia colonels, Mar. 31, 1812, Executive Letter Book, p. 230, RG 3 (Office of the Governor), reel 3009, LV; John Campbell to David Campbell, July 12, 1812, CFP, box 2, SC-DUL; “Federal Notions Examined,” National Intelligencer, May 7, 1813; Thomas Jefferson to William Short, Nov. 28, 1814, in Looney, PTJ-RS, vol. 8:110.

  11 S. B. Archer to John Hartwell Cocke, July 9, 1814, JHCFP, box 16, SSCL-UVA; Isaac A. Coles to Joseph C. Cabell, Jan. 25, 1813, JCCFP (38-111-c), box 9, SSCL-UVA; Nathaniel B. Tucker to St. George Tucker, Dec. 18, 1814, TCP, box 33, SCSL-CWM.

  12 J. U. Upshaw to Joseph C. Cabell, Sep. 16, 1812, JCCFP (38-111-c), box 9, SSCL-UVA; Thomas Parker to David Campbell, Apr. 16 and Apr. 22, 1813, D. Campbell to John Campbell, Feb. 12, 1814, and J. Campbell to D. Campbell, Apr. 17, 1814, Parker to D. Campbell, July 15, 1814 (“an unfeeling”), CFP, box 3, SC-DUL; “Brigadier General Parker,” Norfolk Herald, Feb. 18, 1814; Parker to William H. Winder, Feb. 4, 1814 (“Submit to”), WHWP, box 2, MdHS.

  13 James Barbour to John Armstrong, May 7 and Oct. 4, 1813, Executive Letter Book, 195, 371, RG 3 (Office of the Governor), reel 3010, LV; John Swift to Armstrong, Oct. 20, 1813, in “Fort Powhatan,” Richmond Enquirer, Mar. 5, 1814.

  14 Richmond Committee of Vigilance to James Barbour, Feb. 3, 1814, JBEP, reel 5518, LV.

  15 Report of the House of Delegates committee in “Fort Powhatan,” Richmond Enquirer, Mar. 5, 1814 (“has never found”); Joseph C. Cabell to John Hartwell Cocke, Feb. 17, 1814 (“The style” and “treated”), JCC&CFP (38-111), box 10, SSLC-UVA; [Cabell], “For the Enquirer,” Richmond Enquirer, Mar. 5, 1814.

  16 “To the Freemen of Virginia!” and “To Arms!” Richmond Enquirer, June 18, and Aug. 31, 1814 (“Virginians! Brave Virginians!”).

  17 David Campbell to Edward Campbell, Jan. 30, 1814, CFP, box 3, SC-DUL; Schoen, “Calculating the Price,” 177, 184, 194–200.

  18 Haynes, Unfinished Revolution, 6–7; Borneman, 1812: The War That Forged a Nation, 294–304; Hickey, War of 1812, 308–9. I was also guilty of generalizing from the Middle Atlantic states. See A. Taylor, Civil War of 1812, 438.

  19 Philip Barraud to St. George Tucker, Feb. 14, 1815 (“established”), and Feb. 22, 1815 (“the never-to-be-forgotten”), TCP, box 34, SCSL-CWM; Barraud to John Hartwell Cocke, Feb. 15, 1815, and Tucker to Cocke, Mar. 21, 1815, JHCFP, box 19, SSCL-UVA; William Fitzhugh Gordon to his wife, Feb. 10, 1815, in Gordon, William Fitzhugh Gordon, 84.

  20 “The Grand Illumination,” Richmond Enquirer, Mar. 4, 1815.

  21 P. Hamilton, Making and Unmaking, 134, 156, 161–63; St. George Tucker to John Coalter, Mar. 8, 1815, Grinnan Family Papers, box 3, SSCL-UVA. During the war, Tucker wrote savage anti–New England satires, but they were never published. See William Wirt to Tucker, Dec. 27, 1814, and Jan. 19, 1815, TCP, box 34, SCSL-CWM.

  22 Thomas, “Poor Deluded Wretches!” 57–58; Schwarz, “George Boxley,” 164–65; “Fredericksburg, March 9,” Richmond Enquirer, Mar. 13, 1816 (“with the holy” and “The negroes”); Waller Holladay and James M. Bell to Wilson Cary Nicholas, Mar. 1, 1816, in Flournoy, CVSP, vol. 10:433.

  23 Waller Holladay and James M. Bell to Wilson Cary Nicholas, Feb. 25, 1816, WCNEP, box 4, LV; Holladay and Bell to Wilson Cary Nicholas, Mar. 1, 1816, in Flournoy, CVSP, vol. 10:433; Nicholas, proclamation, May 18, 1814, WCNEP, box 4, LV; Stapleton Crutchfield to Bell, May 14, 1816, Holladay Family Papers, sec. 237, VHS; “Fredericksburg, May 18,” Richmond Enquirer, May 22, 1816; Thomas, “Poor Deluded Wretches!” 62; Schwarz, Migrants against Slavery, 86–89.

  24 Isle of Wight County petition, quoted in M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 112; L. K. Ford, Deliver Us from Evil, 70.

  25 Wolf, Race and Liberty, 135–36; Johnston, Race Relations, 48–50. For the population growth rates in Virginia, see Haulman, Virginia and the Panic of 1819, 23.

  26 L. K. Ford, Deliver Us from Evil, 70–72; Egerton, Charles Fenton Mercer, 105.

  27 Charles Fenton Mercer quoted in Egerton, Charles Fenton Mercer, 106; McCoy, Last of the Fathers, 281–82, 285 (Madison quote); M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 112–13; William Branch Giles quoted in Johnston, Race Relations in Virginia, 125.

  28 John Randolph quoted in W. C. Bruce, John Randolph, vol. 2:249.

  29 Jesse Kersey to St. George Tucker, July 5, 1814, TCP, box 33, SCSL-CWM.

  30 Egerton, Charles Fenton Mercer, 167–70; McCoy, Last of the Fathers, 281–82; W. D. Jordan, White over Black, 566; W. C. Bruce, John Randolph, vol. 2:247–48; Gudmestad, Troublesome Commerce, 6–8.

  31 Onuf, “Domesticating the Captive Nation,” 45–51; Shade, Democratizing the Old Dominion, 194–95.

  32 Gaines, Thomas Mann Randolph, 124–28; Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Humphreys, Feb. 8, 1817, and Jefferson to Albert Gallatin, Dec. 26, 1820, P. L. Ford, Works of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 12:53, 189; Onuf, Mind of Thomas Jefferson, 221–26.

  33 R. S. Newman, Transformation of American Abolitionism, 96–118; Freehling, Road to Disunion, 157–58; James Madison quoted in S. Dunn, Dominion of Memories, 50.

  34 Jesse Kersey to St. George Tucker, Aug. 1, 1824, TCP, box 41, SCSL-CWM; Egerton, Charles Fenton Mercer, 168; John Randolph to John Brockenbrough, Jan. 26, 1826, quoted in Kirk, John Randolph, 186; Iaccarino, “Virginia and the National Contest,” 165–66; McCoy, Last of the Fathers, 299–303; Freehling, Road to Disunion, 159–61; L. K. Ford, Deliver Us from Evil, 304–19.

  35 Spencer Roane to James Monroe, Feb. 16, 1820, in [Anonymous], “Letters of Spencer Roane,” 174; James Madison to Monroe, Feb. 23, 1820, in Hunt, Writings of James Madison, vol. 9:25; Iaccarino, “Virginia and the National Contest,” 161–64; McCoy, Last of the Fathers, 267–74; L. K. Ford, Deliver Us from Evil, 73–74; Forbes, Missouri Compromise, 5–6.

  36 Gudmestad, Troublesome Commerce, 35–36; John Randolph to Harmanus Bleecker, Oct. 10, 1818, quoted in Van Cleve, Slaveholders Union, 228.

  37 Robert J. Evans to St. George Tucker, Dec. 13, 1819, TCP, reel M-29, SCSL-CWM; M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 177; Hammond, Slavery, Freedom, and Expansion, 154–63; Van Cleve, Slaveholders’ Union, 10–11, 231–33; Jonathan Roberts, speech in the U.S. Senate, Jan. 17, 1820, AC, 16th Congress, 127. For the early promotion of diffusion, see Deyle, Carry Me Back, 26; L. K. Ford, Deliver Us from Evil, 73–74.

  38 John Sergeant quoted in M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 180; Robert J. Evans to St. George Tucker, Dec. 13, 1819, TCP, reel M-29, SCSL-CWM; Iaccarino, “Virginia and the National Contest,” 161–65; Van Cleve, Slaveholders’ Union, 235.

  39 Ammon, James Monroe, 449–51; Ammon, “Richmond Junto,” 411–12; Freehling, Road to Disunion, 145–46; M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 195; Van Cleve, Slaveholders’ Union, 229, 241; Nathaniel Beverley Tucker quoted in P. Hamilton, “Revolutionary Principles and Family Loyalties,” 554; Spencer Roane to James Monroe, Feb. 16, 1820 (“their lust” and “forced upon”), in [Anonymous], “Letters of Spencer Roane,” 174–75; Roane to James Barbour, Dec. 29, 1819, and John W. Eppes to Barbour, May
3, 1820, in [Anonymous], “Missouri Compromise,” 7, 23; M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 193, 199; Thomas Jefferson to Joseph C. Cabell, Jan. 22, 1820, and Jefferson to Charles Pinckney, Sep. 30, 1820, in P. L. Ford, Works of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 12:155, 165; Onuf, Mind of Thomas Jefferson, 214; Lowrey, James Barbour, 118; Wolf, Race and Liberty, 175–78.

  40 Henry St. George Tucker to James Barbour, Feb. 11, 1820, in [Anonymous], “Missouri Compromise,” 11; St. George Tucker to Joseph C. Cabell, Feb. 16, 1820, Cabell File, SCSL-CWM; H. S. G. Tucker to S. G. Tucker, Mar. 8, 1820, TCP, reel M-29, SCSL-CWM; Isaac A. Coles to Cabell, Dec. 20, 1820, Wickham Family Papers, box 1, VHS; Dabney Carr to John Coalter, Feb. 18, 1820, Grinnan Family Papers, sec. 4, VHS; Van Cleve, Slaveholders’ Union, 232–34.

  41 Joseph C. Cabell to St. George Tucker, Apr. 30, 1819, TCP, reel M-29, SCSL-CWM; Haulman, Virginia and the Panic of 1819, 3–4, 8–11, 18–19, 51, 57–61; Francis Walker Gilmer to Peachy R. Gilmer, Jan. 16, 1820, quoted in Gutzman, Virginia’s American Revolution, 178; S. Dunn, Dominion of Memories, 7–10. Ammon, “Richmond Junto,” 410; D. P. Jordan, Political Leadership, 32 205–7, 224.

  42 Joseph C. Cabell to St. George Tucker, June 29, 1819, TCP, reel M-29, SCSL-CWM; Isaac A. Coles to Cabell, Aug. 8, 1819, JCCFP (38-111-c), SSCL-UVA; Hammond, “‘Uncontrollable Necessity,’” 153–54; Branch Giles quoted in S. Dunn, Dominion of Memories, 45.

  43 Spencer Roane to James Monroe, Feb. 16, 1820, in [Anonymous], “Letters of Spencer Roane,” 174–75; John Tyler quoted in Freehling, Road to Disunion, 151; Onuf, “Domesticating the Captive Nation,” 37–38; S. Dunn, Dominion of Memories, 48; Thomas Jefferson to John Holmes, Apr. 22, 1820 (“like a fire bell”), and Jefferson to Albert Gallatin, Dec. 26, 1820 in P. L. Ford, Works of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 12:158, 187–88; M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 203; Bailor, “John Taylor of Caroline,” 303; Kirk, John Randolph, 185–86; Ammon, James Monroe, 451–52.

  44 [Thomas Ritchie], “Missouri Question—Settled!” Richmond Enquirer, Mar. 7, 1820; Ammon, James Monroe, 450–54; M. Mason, Slavery and Politics, 177; Freehling, Road to Disunion, 152–53; John Randolph quoted in Lowrey, James Barbour, 115–16; Forbes, Missouri Compromise, 6, 94–96.