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From: "John Wayland" <>
Subject: Spotswood, part 4 (final)
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 1999 01:42:50 -0400

Final part 4 of 4

John Wayland

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In 1723 the machinations of his enemies, and his own unyielding spirit, produced
the recall of this stout old Governor. Himself and family left Williamsburg,
the seat of his honours and his struggles, and Temple Farm, where, in festive
and social life, they had enjoyed their days of retirement, and settled in
Germanna, the active mind of the Governor busying itself with the routine of
mechanic arts. Here, and at Temple Farm and at Annapolis in Maryland, the next
twelve years were passed, where, under a new sovereign, the second George, the
old hero seems to have been restored to favour, being appointed Postmaster
General of all his Majesty's dominions in America. It was he who, in October,
1737, promoted Franklin to be Postmaster of Philadelphia, having two years
before given him permission to send his "Gazettes" free of post from New England
to Virginia. In the latter part of 1739, he was appointed commander of the
Virginia and Maryland troops, in the British Expedition against Carthagena, in
which Lawrence Washington was a naval captain under Admiral Vernon. Spotswood,
still full of the fire of youth, notwithstanding his advanced years, accepted
this appointment; but while making preparations for the sailing of the
expedition, he suddenly sickened and died, as bold and honest a man, as skilful
a soldier, and as far-seeing a statesman as ever represented Majesty in an
American colony. His name is perpetuated in that of the county of Spotsylvania,
originally including all the upland and mountain region he had visited, but
which has now shrunk into the moderate territory of which Fredericksburg is the
metropolis. He left a valuable manuscript, being a historical account of
Virginia during his administration, which remained in possession of his
descendants for many years, but is now in the London archives. Mr. Bancroft
quotes from this interesting document,

In the couse of time, as sometimes happens to widows of rank, or wealth, or
beauty, Lady Spotswood was courted, but she looked at first with scorn upon the
presumptuous man, who aimed to ally himself with a viceroy's wife. The suitor
was the Reverend John Thompson, the Rector of St. Mark's Parish, Culpeper
county. Mr. Thompson's character, personal experience, or importunities, were
such however, as to overcome lady Spotswood's scruples of rank, and the parties
became engaged. But the family pride of her children was so great that they
prevailed upon the flexible widow to request a release from the engagement.
This request brought from the reverend suitor a letter, still extant, a
master-piece of its kind, in which his logic and eloquence outweighed all the
objections, and Lady Spotswood merged her rank in the new duties of a Rector's
wife.

The descendents of Governor Spotswood, both of his own name and of that of
families into which they intermarried, are still numerous in Virginia, and many
a family in that State, full of ancestral pride, has far less to boast of than
the descendants of this fearless old cavelier. Although he died at Annapolis,
it is almost certain that he was buried at Temple Farm. Tradition, not an
improbable witness in such cases, testifies to the old soldier's remains
reposing in the Temple, which he built, and on, the estate where he loved to
dwell. That no vestige of his tomb remains, is no disproof of his burial here,
for, as already said, every memorial of the dead in this Temple cemetery has
disapeared, save, probably, the very oldest one. Let us cherish, then, the
tradition that the old hero sleeps on the lofty bluffs of the York, beside its
flowing waters, and amid the scenes of his ripened manhood. In this region it
was that he governed Virginia for thirteen years with firmness, vigour and
moderation, and on this estate, in the privacy of country life, he spent the
quiet hours of his release from public cares. What more fitting resting place
for the body of this soldier-hero, than the spot thus associated with this
career as Governor, and with his happiness in domestic life?

And here properly ends the task which I had assigned to myself in undertaking
this series of sketches. "The Historic Landmarkes in Lower Virginia" have now
nearly all been noticed. The famous spots on its seaboard, in its Eastern
necks, and on its noble rivers, have been passed over in detail, and their
traditions recalled. The traverse of this region, fraught with so many
memorials of the patriotic, the great and the heroic, and teeming with a rich
harvest, awaiting the garner of the antiquarian, has been to me a labour of
love. Though not a native of Virginia, its grand associations, and its
chivalrous history, its greatness and its glory, have long been with me themes
of admiration and delight. This "glorius Mother of States and Statesmen," the
first born of English blood on this continent, whose history is illustrated by
all that is great in public, and all that is refined in social life, has a hold
upon my affections as strong as though I was one of her children. And now, as I
gladly offer this humble tribute to her glories and her merits, and try to
awaken in other minds some of the enthusiasm I feel in the "Landmarks" that
everywhere illumine her soil, where can I better pause than on this sacred spot,
where Freedoms' "last battle," in our first Revolution, was won, and where the
shout of triumph went up from the allied hosts of Liberty? Here, then, let me
close this series of sketches, and as my readers and I part on these Heights of
Yorktown, let me suggest the reflection that within this narrow neck, bounded by
the waters of the York and the James, began and ended British dominion within
the American States. Yonder, on the isle of Jamestown, almost within our view,
was first planted the standard of British rule in this country, while here, on
the bluffs of the York, that standard was made to give place to the emblem of a
new sovereignty. In how close a juxtaposition were the beginning and the end of
foreign sway on the soil of Virginia!

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• Spotswood, part 4 (final) by "John Wayland" <>