THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 COMMODORE BYRON MCCANDLESS
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY. 

 
 s. 
 
 \
 
 
 j 
 
 
 [WASHINGTON 
 

 
 THE 
 
 NATIONAL 
 
 PORTRAIT GALLERY 
 
 DISTINGUISHED AMERICANS. 
 
 CONDUCTED BY 
 
 JAMES B. LONG ACRE, PHILADELPHIA; AND JAMES HERRING, NEW YORK: 
 
 Under the Superintendence of the American Academy of the Fine Arts. 
 
 VOLUME IV. 
 
 1 These are deeds which should not pass away, 
 And names that must not wither, though the earth 
 Forgets her empires with a just decay, 
 The enslavers and the enslaved, their death and birth." 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, JAMES B. LONGACRE. 
 NEW YORK, JAMES HERRING. 
 
 1839.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, by JAKES B. LONG ACRE, in the Office of the Clerk 
 of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
 
 176 
 
 H43.n. 
 
 v.4 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 THE fourth volume of the National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans is 
 brought to a close, under circumstances materially different from those which pre- 
 ceded it. It might reasonably have been expected, that the concluding volume of 
 the series would have appeared much earlier after the publication of the third ; to 
 those, however, who are aware of the peculiar depression experienced by the pub- 
 lishing interest during the commercial embarrassments which have borne so heavily 
 on our country for the last two years, it cannot be matter of great surprise to learn 
 that the publishers of this work have shared in the general calamity, and that in 
 consequence two years have passed without presenting the date of either upon the 
 fourth volume. Without farther preface, it is sufficient to state, that the derange- 
 ment and uncertainty of the fiscal exchanges throughout the union, rendered the 
 postponement of the publication a measure not only of prudence but of necessity. 
 
 It is satisfactory, however, to know that the value of the materials contained in 
 the volume now presented to the patrons of the work, is in no respect diminished 
 by the delay. The interest that must attach to the subjects embraced in its pages 
 can hardly be affected by the lapse of time ; nor has the execution of the work 
 suffered by the length of time allowed for its completion : the greatest disadvan- 
 tage is that which the proprietors and conductors of the work have experienced, by 
 being prevented from realizing any advantage from the subscriptions while the 
 publication was retarded. 
 
 As this volume must close our labors for the present, some reference to the pro- 
 gress and purpose of the work seems to be required by the occasion. 
 
 The materials, both pictoral and literary, that have been collected and arranged 
 in the volumes now before the public, have been obtained at a cost of labor, time, 
 and money, very far surpassing any calculation that could have been made at the 
 inception of the work. Although it was obvious that resort must be had to remote 
 parts of the country for the pictures and essential documents required, yet the diffi- 
 culty of tracing and obtaining them has, in very many instances, greatly exceeded 
 the anticipations of the conductors. There being in our country no central reposi- 
 tory for the preservation of the Portraits, or the important papers relating to the 
 most distinguished individuals, these materials, so essential to our national history 
 and honor, have frequently fallen into the hands of persons but imperfectly aware 
 of their value, and consequently indifferent to their preservation. 
 
 To remedy as far as possible, the disadvantages of this peculiarity in the situa- 
 tion of our country and habits of our people, the National Portrait Gallery was 
 undertaken. To a very great extent the object has been accomplished. The in- 
 valuable relics of those whose lives have most eminently contributed to the forma- 
 
 1C2MS5
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 tion of our character, and proud distinction as a self-governed people, have in many 
 instances been saved from destruction or wrested from oblivion. 
 
 It cannot be expected that an equal degree of excellence should mark the pictures 
 in such a collection ; but whatever inferiority may attach to any of them as works 
 of art, their value, as the most, if not the only authentic portraits of persons whose 
 names are enrolled on the brightest pages of our national annals, demands their 
 preservation. By far the greater portion of the portraits require no apology for the 
 artists; the specimens here perpetuated by the graver, from the pencils of Stuart, 
 Copley, Trumbull, Sully, Leslie, Newton, Inman, Malbone, Ingham, Durand, &c., 
 are sufficient to justify the pride of every American in the genius and power of our 
 artists. 
 
 Of the accompanying memoirs it may be confidently asserted, that allowing for 
 the limited space necessarily assigned to each, a more interesting and authentic 
 collection of biographical and historical facts, in relation to the men of this union 
 and their times, has not before been presented to the people. Every exertion has 
 been used to secure the most perfect accuracy, and to enlist the services of the most 
 accomplished and eminent writers. 
 
 Nor has any expense been spared in any department of the undertaking, which 
 the subject and the circumstances would justify. We have, throughout, endeavored 
 to produce a work which all who are swayed by the impulses of patriotism, the 
 honor, or the arts of our land, may regard not merely with favor, but with exulta- 
 tion, as a monument of national gratitude and the evidence of a just appreciation 
 of the brave, the honorable, and virtuous achievements which indicate to the world 
 the high destiny of the republic. 
 
 JAMES B. LONGACRE, 
 JAMES HERRING. 
 1839.
 
 CONTENTS OF VOLUME IV. 
 
 Pages. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS, Second President of the United States, .... 26 
 
 Abigail Adams, Consort of John Adams, 10 
 
 Samuel Adams, Governor of Massachusetts, &c 10 
 
 Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut, 10 
 
 John Rutledge, Governor of South Carolina, 8 
 
 Henry Laurens, President of Congress, &c 6 
 
 Thomas Sumter, Brigadier General U. S. A 10 
 
 Richard Montgomery, Major General U. S. A 6 
 
 Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Major General U. S. A 12 
 
 Thomas Pinckney, Major General U. S. A 4 
 
 Oliver Ellsworth, Chief Justice U.S 8 
 
 Thomas Mifflin, Major General U. S. A., and Governor of Pennsylvania, . 6 
 
 Thomas McKean, Governor of Pennsylvania, &c 10 
 
 Robert Morris, . . .',/* . '. .'.'.'' . .". . 4 
 
 Joseph Habersham, Postmaster General, &c 4 
 
 Mordecai Gist, Brigadier General U. S. A 4 
 
 George Rogers Clarke, Brigadier General U. S. A 12 
 
 Simon Kenton, Brigadier General, &c 8 
 
 Joshua Barney, U. S. Navy, 8 
 
 Luther Martin, Attorney General of the State of Maryland, ... 8 
 
 Samuel Chase, Associate Justice U. S 4 
 
 Abraham Baldwin, Senator U. S. from Georgia, 6 
 
 Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of the State of New York, ... 8 
 
 John Quincy Adams, Sixth President of the United States, ... 10 
 
 Louisa Catherine Adams, Consort of John Quincy Adams, ... 10 
 
 William Harris Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury, .... 12 
 
 Hugh Lawson White, Senator U. S. from Tennessee, .... 8 
 
 John Randolph, 10 
 
 William Charles Cole Claiborne, Governor of Louisiana, .... 12 
 
 John McLean, Associate Justice U. S 8 
 
 Edward Everett, Governor of Massachusetts, 8 
 
 Thomas Say, Naturalist, 10 
 
 Nathaniel Bowditch, LL.D., F.R.S 8 
 
 Philip Syng Physick, M.D 8 
 
 John W. Francis, M.D 10 
 
 Lydia Huntley Sigourney, 8 
 
 -Winfield Scott, Major General U.S. A 14 
 
 Edmund Pendleton Gaines, Major General U. S. A 8 
 
 Nicholas Biddle, President of the Bank of the United States, ... 19

 
 JRO3B3SER.T
 
 ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. 
 
 ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON was descended from a family of historical 
 celebrity in the annals of Scotland. Kings, regents, and nobles appear 
 in the line of his ancestors, and probably no individual ever emigrated 
 to the new world who could boast more numerous or more distin- 
 guished evidences of rank and title. James Livingston, in the middle 
 of the fifteenth century, was appointed regent of Scotland during the 
 minority of James I ; his grand-daughter married Donald, king of the 
 Hebrides, one of whose descendants is celebrated by the immortal pen 
 of Sir Walter Scott, in his poem, the Lord of the Isles. 
 
 The titles of Earl of Newburgh, Earl of Linlithgow, Earl of Cal- 
 lander, and Earl Livingstone, given to several distinct members of this 
 family, attest its standing and importance in the state, and add lustre 
 to the honors of its name. Nor were they undistinguished in the early 
 literature of their native country ; and the name of Rollock, of kindred 
 origin, occurs at the close of the sixteenth century as first principal of 
 the celebrated University of Edinburgh. 
 
 Lord Livingstone was the common ancestor of that branch of the 
 Livingstons, which emigrated to this country in the middle of the 
 seventeenth century. He was hereditary governor of Linlithgow 
 castle, in which Mary Queen of Scots was born, and in which she 
 was placed for safety during the invasion of Scotland by the Duke of 
 Somerset. His daughter was one of the four ladies who attended this 
 princess to France as her companion. His great grandson, John 
 Livingston, an eminent, learned, and pious minister of the Gospel, 
 emigrated to Rotterdam in 1663, the victim of religious persecution, 
 and was one of the commissioners of Scotland in the negotiations 
 which eventuated in a general peace, and in the transfer of the colony 
 of New York from the states of Holland to England. 
 
 Robert Livingston, his son, about the period of his father's death, in 
 1678, emigrated to America; and in 1686, obtained a patent for the
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 manor of Livingston. The banks of the noble Hudson, on which it is 
 situate, attest in its ornaments their taste and opulence. He was a 
 member of the convention at Albany in 1689, which threw off, on the 
 part of New York, the oppressive government of James II. In a visit 
 to England, he held a conference with King William, Lord Chancellor 
 Somers, and others, and prompted the enterprise against the pirates 
 who then infested various parts of the American coast. The agent 
 employed to effect this purpose proved treacherous to the trust, and, 
 as is supposed, with the connivance of Robert Fletcher, the governor 
 of the state. This agent afterwards became chief among the pirates, 
 and is known in the popular traditions of the country by the name of 
 Captain Kidd. The grandsons of Robert were, Philip Livingston, 
 one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, on the part of 
 the state of New York ; William Livingston, governor of New Jersey, 
 known as a poet of high order, and still more estimable for his vigorous 
 defence of the civil and religious rights of the colonies in council and 
 by the pen. Robert Livingston's great-grandsons were, John H. 
 Livingston, the father of the Reformed Dutch Church in America, and 
 president of Queen's college, New Jersey ; Brockholst Livingston, late 
 one of the justices of the Supreme court of the United States; Edward 
 Livingston, formerly secretary of the department of state ; and ROBERT 
 R. LIVINGSTON, the subject of our present memoir. The talents of 
 this highly gifted family have had an ample field for their display and 
 exertion. The colonial history of the state of New York records their 
 elevated standing in its political affairs, and their noble resistance to 
 those measures of oppression which arrived at their height during the 
 early reign of George III, and which resulted in the independent 
 sovereignty of America. 
 
 Chancellor LIVINGSTON was boni in the city of New York, in 1747, 
 and was educated in King's, now Columbia college, where he was 
 graduated in 1764. He entered upon the study of the law in 1765, 
 under the direction of William Smith, the historian of New York, at 
 that time an eminent counsellor of law, and subsequently chief justice 
 of Canada. Shortly after having obtained his license in that pro- 
 fession, he was appointed recorder of his native city. The trying 
 question of the rights of the British parliament, in which we were 
 unrepresented, to impose exactions on our citizens, then first began to 
 be agitated ; and the subject of our memoir, as well as his illustrious 
 father, were both ejected from their official stations, the latter as one 
 of the justices of the court of Oyer and Terminer, for adherence to the 
 rights of their countrymen.
 
 ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. 
 
 In return for royal persecution, Chancellor LIVINGSTON was reward- 
 ed by popular favor and the confidence of his country. In the immor- 
 tal congress of 1776, Mr. LIVINGSTON represented the feelings and 
 interests of the people of the state of New York. In this consecrated 
 assembly, his zeal and patriotism were universally acknowledged. 
 
 When, at the recommendation of congress, each state proceeded to 
 frame a constitution of government, Mr. LIVINGSTON was elected a 
 member of the convention of New York, and was the chairman of the 
 committee who presented the draught of that instrument, which was 
 subsequently adopted. 
 
 On the formation of the department of foreign affairs, in 1781, under 
 the articles of confederation, he accepted the appointment of secretary, 
 and served in that capacity with great diligence, promptness, and 
 impartiality, until 1783, when, on retiring from office, he received the 
 thanks of congress, and an assurance of the high sense they entertained 
 of the ability, zeal, and fidelity with which he had discharged the 
 important trusts reposed in him. The diplomatic correspondence 
 of the revolutionary war, which has been published by Mr. Sparks, 
 may be here referred to as documentary testimony to his cabinet 
 services in our great contest. 
 
 Mr. LIVINGSTON was appointed chancellor of the state of New 
 York in 1783, being the first who held that office under the state 
 constitution ; and he continued in this highest legal station in the state 
 until his mission to France, in 1801. No published documents record 
 the evidences of his laborious research and accurate discrimination. 
 But we assert, on the testimony of a most distinguished successor to 
 his office (Chancellor Jones), that the august tribunal, whose justice 
 he dispensed, though since covered with a halo of glory, never boasted 
 a more prompt, more able, or more faithful officer. 
 
 When at length the valor of our ancestors had borne them success- 
 fully through the revolutionary contest, and redeemed those pledges 
 which had been offered on the altar of their country, another and a still 
 more arduous task remained. In va'in had our patriots moistened the 
 soil with their blood, had our countrymen been left the victims to their 
 own tormenting feuds and passions. The bond of union which united 
 us during the period that tried men's souls, was almost rent asunder 
 during the trials of peace. The legislature of Virginia, so early as in 
 1785, at the instance of Mr. Madison, who then first gave presages of 
 his future greatness, had appointed commissioners, with a view to form 
 commercial regulations for the general control of the states. Com- 
 missioners from several states met accordingly at Annapolis, the fol-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 lowing year. From the want of adequate powers, they separated 
 without effecting the object for which they were delegated. In 1787, 
 on the recommendation of the Massachusetts delegation, composed of 
 Francis Dana and Rufus King, was convened, at Philadelphia, that 
 memorable assemblage of heroes and statesmen, who met to devise a 
 plan of government which should convey the blessings of liberty to 
 the latest generations. Of the plan of that national compact which 
 now binds these states, Hamilton and Madison were the principal 
 authors. 
 
 Of the convention which assembled at Poughkeepsie in 1788, 
 Chancellor LIVINGSTON was one of the most efficient members, and 
 prevailed in effecting its ratification by his native state ; thus securing 
 its adoption by the United States. We are now in the full enjoyment 
 of its blessings. May no vaulting ambition on the part of our states- 
 men, or madness on the part of our people, ever put it in jeopardy for 
 a moment. May it never be rendered oppressive by too liberal a con- 
 struction of its powers : may it never be nullified by metaphysical 
 refinement. 
 
 In April, 1789, the city of New York was the scene of one of the 
 most solemn ceremonies recorded in the annals of America. The 
 great Washington having conducted, to a successful issue, the mo- 
 mentous contest for independence, and the sages of our nation having 
 elaborated a constitutional code of government, all eyes were directed 
 to the illustrious hero, whose wise and sagacious counsels, no less than 
 his valor, pointed him out as the most competent, under Providence, 
 to guide the vessel of state in safety. When that venerated patriot 
 was about to enter upon the duties of the highest office known to 
 freemen, Chancellor LIVINGSTON became the witness of his solemn 
 appeal to heaven, that the laws should be faithfully administered. 
 
 The appointment of Chancellor LIVINGSTON to the court of France, 
 was one of the first acts of the new administration of Jefferson. Na- 
 poleon Bonaparte, the youthful conqueror of Italy, was at this time 
 first consul of the French republic. At his court, which excelled in 
 magnificence and splendor the most august courts of Europe, the 
 chancellor at once conciliated the good feelings of that extraordinary 
 man by the amenity of his manners, and promoted the best interests 
 of his country by persevering and enlightened exertions. During the 
 short-lived peace of Amiens, Paris was visited by the refined and intel- 
 ligent from every part of the civilized world ; and here the chancellor 
 found leisure, amidst the duties of official station, to cultivate those 
 ornate studies, for which that capital furnishes every facility. On the
 
 ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. 
 
 day of a great levee, which assembled at the Tuilleries, says the 
 biographer of Fox, the numerous representatives of nations and 
 strangers from every country, to pay their respects to the first consul 
 of France, now established as the sole head of the government, the 
 American ambassador, Mr. LIVINGSTON, plain and simple in manners 
 and dress, represented his republic with propriety and dignity. 
 
 In that important negotiation with the government of France, which 
 resulted in the acquisition of Louisiana, Chancellor LIVINGSTON was 
 the prominent and efficient agen. Its transfer by the Spanish govern- 
 ment to France, in 1802, had excited the most lively feelings of the 
 American republic. By this unexpected measure, they were made 
 the neighbors to a power, which, under the giant energies of the first 
 consul, threatened, in case of rupture, the very existence of our repub- 
 lic. Immediately preceding the entrance into it of the French author- 
 ities, the Spanish powers prohibited the inhabitants of the western 
 country the use of New Orleans as a place of deposite for their pro- 
 ductions, contrary to the treaty with his Catholic Majesty. A uni- 
 versal spirit of indignation animated the American people ; and there 
 were not wanting those who recommended an immediate recourse to 
 arms. The discussions on this question in the congress of the United 
 States elicited debates, in which De Witt Clinton and Gouverneur 
 Morris, representatives of the state of New York in the American 
 senate, sustained the different views of the rival parties of this country. 
 In pursuance of the sound counsels of those who urged the propriety 
 of negotiation and peace, the executive of the United States deputed, 
 as minister to the court of France, the late President Monroe ; but 
 previous to his arrival, Mr. LIVINGSTON, in an elaborate and interesting 
 memoir, addressed to the French government, had prepared them for 
 the cession of the greater part of Louisiana. 
 
 The result of Chancellor LIVINGSTON'S efforts was prompt and suc- 
 cessful. On the 5th April, the first consul announced to his bureau 
 of state his determination to sell whatever of American territory he 
 had obtained from Spain. Seven days afterwards, Mr. Monroe arrived 
 in Paris, and gave the consent of the American government to this 
 negotiation. The menacing posture of affairs between France and 
 England facilitated the objects of these arrangements, and resulted in 
 the transfer of the entire country to the American republic, for a sum 
 less than was adequate for the preparation of a single campaign. 
 
 By this important treaty, contrary to the anticipations of the timid 
 or interested, the confederacy of our states was placed on an invulner- 
 able basis ; territory was added to our country, nearly equal in extent
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 to that of the original states of our union ; and the blessings of free 
 government secured to millions, who had otherwise groaned under the 
 vassalage of foreign dominion. The vast deserts of Louisiana are 
 daily becoming the cheerful residence of an intelligent and Christian 
 population, with American blood flowing in their veins, and beating 
 responsive to republican feelings ; and the field of New Orleans is now 
 added to those of Bunker Hill, Stillwater, and Chippeway, as trophies 
 of American valor and patriotism. 
 
 After the signing of this eventful treaty, the three ministers arose, 
 says one of them (the Count Marbois), when Mr. LIVINGSTON, express- 
 ing the general satisfaction, said, with prophetic sagacity, " We have 
 lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives. The treaty 
 which we have just signed has not been obtained by art, or dictated by 
 force ; equally advantageous to the two contracting parties, it will 
 change vast solitudes into flourishing districts. From this day, the 
 United States take their place among the powers of the first rank ; the 
 English lose all exclusive influence in the affairs of America. Thus 
 one of the principal causes of European rivalries and animosities is 
 about to cease. The United States will reestablish the maritime 
 rights of all the world, which are now usurped by a single nation. 
 These treaties will thus be a guarantee-of peace and concord among 
 commercial states. The instruments which we have just signed, will 
 cause no tears to be shed ; they prepare ages of happiness for innu- 
 merable generations of human creatures. The Mississippi and Mis- 
 souri will see them succeed one another, and multiply, truly worthy 
 of the regard of Providence, in the bosom of equality, under just laws, 
 freed from the errors of superstition and the scourges of bad govern- 
 ment." 
 
 The consequences of this act did not escape the penetration of the 
 first consul. " This accession of territory," said he, " strengthens 
 for ever the power of the United States, and I have just given to Eng- 
 land a maritime rival, that will sooner or later humble her pride." 
 
 The official duties of resident minister at Paris did not prevent 
 Chancellor LIVINGSTON from bestowing his attention to those objects 
 of taste congenial to his feelings, and beneficial to his country. To 
 the American Academy of Fine Arts, established in New York, in 
 1801, he added the excellent collection of busts and statues which are 
 now the boast of that institution, and was instrumental in procuring, 
 from the liberality of the first consul, its rich paintings and prints. 
 He continued through life devoted to its interests, and was for many 
 years its chief officer. To the Transactions of the Society for the
 
 ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. 
 
 Promotion of Useful Arts, established in 1793, chiefly through his 
 exertions, he contributed many appropriate papers, and, during his 
 residence abroad, enriched our agriculture with the improvements of 
 French husbandry. 
 
 The last effort of his pen was his paper on Agriculture, written but 
 a few days before his fatal illness. In this spirited essay, he vindicates 
 the climate, soil, and capabilities of his native country. He shows 
 the value of horticultural labor, and demonstrates the reciprocal con- 
 nections between agriculture and manufactures. The inherent fertility 
 and the indigenous resource of the country, are the themes of his admi- 
 ration and eulogy. He was among the earliest, with Judge Peters, to 
 employ gypsum as the means of fertilizing soils ; and the introduction 
 of clover, and a better breed of domestic cattle, attest his vigilant and 
 enlightened zeal. 
 
 One other benefit conferred on mankind, will, of itself, convey the 
 name of Chancellor LIVINGSTON to the remotest posterity ; his coope- 
 ration with Robert Fulton, in effecting the successful application of 
 steam navigation, the most important improvement since the invention 
 of printing. 
 
 " The connection between Livingston and Fulton," says the late 
 lamented Clinton, " realized, to a great degree, the vision of the poet. 
 All former experiments had failed, and the genius of Fulton, aided and 
 fostered by the public spirit and discernment of LIVINGSTON, created 
 one of the greatest accommodations for the benefit of mankind. These 
 illustrious men will be considered, through all time, as the benefactors 
 of the world."* 
 
 The leisure hours of Chancellor LIVINGSTON were devoted to every 
 variety of science, arts, and literature. The heroic authors of antiquity, 
 Homer and Virgil, Demosthenes and Cicero, were among those which 
 contributed to improve his taste and expand his thought and feeling. 
 His historical researches were various and extensive. All this was 
 not effected without unremitting industry. Every interval of time 
 afforded from the duties and cares of public life, was devoted, with 
 scrupulous fidelity, to add to his stores of knowledge. Like the 
 Chancellor D'Aguesseau, in variety of pursuit he found that relaxation 
 which others seek in pleasure and amusement. 
 
 The style of his oratory was chaste and classical, and of that per- 
 suasive kind which the father of poetry ascribes to Nestor. All who 
 were witnesses, testify to the mute attention with which he riveted his 
 
 * Clinton's Discourse before the American Academy of Fine Arts.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS 
 
 auditors. But he chiefly delighted in the pathetic, and often, by his 
 appeals to the sympathies 'of his hearers, counteracted the most pow- 
 erful prejudices. His acknowledged integrity and patriotism doubtless 
 added force to all he uttered. Franklin termed him the American 
 Cicero : in him were united all those qualities which, according to 
 that illustrious Roman, are necessary in the perfect orator. 
 
 After a life, every portion of which was devoted to the benefit of his 
 fellow-man, he paid the last debt to nature, at his seat, at Clermont, 
 on the 26th of February, 1813. 
 
 Thus it appears, from this imperfect tribute, that the late Chancellor 
 LIVINGSTON was an active agent in the most momentous events that 
 have influenced the destinies of mankind. Of the congress of 1776, 
 which resolved that these states were free and independent, he was a 
 distinguished member, and belonged to that committee which framed 
 the declaration of our grievances and rights, and which will transmit 
 their names to the latest posterity ; of the convention of New York 
 which formed the constitution of that state the best devised scheme 
 of polity then known to the world ; of a subsequent convention, which 
 ratified the constitution of the United States, devised by the wisdom 
 of Hamilton and Madison ; the important actor in a negotiation, 
 which doubled our country in extent, and rendered it for ever secure 
 from foreign intrusion ; the coadjutor in that noblest of all improve- 
 ments in mechanics, by which time and space are annihilated the 
 invention of steam navigation. 
 
 In Mr. LIVINGSTON, to the proud character of integrity, honor, and 
 disinterestedness, were added the mild, yet ennobling features of reli- 
 gion. An inquiring believer in its truth, an exemplar of its gentle 
 effects on the character, he daily sought its consolations, and strength- 
 ened his pious resolutions in the rich inheritance it promises. He was 
 devoted to the Protestant Episcopal Church, from an enlightened pre- 
 ference of its doctrines and discipline, without hostile feelings to those 
 who trust to other guides in religion than Chillingworth and Hooker. 
 
 Chancellor LIVINGSTON, at the time of his death, was in the 66th 
 year of his age. His person was tall and commanding, and of patri- 
 cian dignity. Gentle and courteous in his manners, pure and upright 
 in his morals. His benefactions to the poor were numerous and unos- 
 tentatious. In his life, without reproach ; victorious in death over its 
 terrors. J. W. F.
 
 ]Hffi
 
 JOHN RUTLEDGE. 
 
 "!N the friendly competitions of the states for the comparative 
 merits of their respective statesmen and orators," says Dr. Ramsay, 
 (to whose sketches we are indebted for this memoir,) " while Massa- 
 chusetts boasts of her John Adams Connecticut of her Ellsworth 
 New- York of her Jay Pennsylvania of her Wilson Delaware ot 
 her Bayard Virginia of her Henry South Carolina rests her claims 
 on the talents and eloquence of JOHN RUTLEDGE." 
 
 This eminent patriot of the Revolution was the son of Dr. John 
 Rutledge, who, with his brother Andrew, both natives of Ireland, 
 settled in Carolina about the year 1735. Dr. Rutledge married Miss 
 Hext, who became the mother of the subject of the present memoir 
 in 1739 in the 15th year of her age. This lady became a widow 
 at an early period, and adds another example to the number, already 
 noticed in this work, of illustrous matrons, who, by devotion to their 
 maternal duties, have been honored and rewarded in the virtues and 
 eminence of their offspring. 
 
 The early education of JOHN RUTLEDGE was conducted by David 
 Rhind, an excellent classical scholar, and one of the most successful 
 of the early instructors of youth in Carolina. After he had made con- 
 siderable progress in the Latin and Greek classics, he entered on the 
 study of law with James Parsons, and was afterwards entered a stu- 
 dent in the Temple, and proceeding barrister, came out to Charleston 
 and commenced the practice of law in 1761. One of the first causes 
 in which he engaged was an action for breach of a promise of mar- 
 riage. The subject was interesting, and gave an excellent oppor- 
 tunity for displaying his talents. It was improved, and his eloquence 
 astonished all who heard him. 
 
 Instead of rising by degrees to the head of his profession, he burst 
 forth at once the able lawyer and accomplished orator. Business 
 flowed in upon him. He was employed in the most difficult causes, 
 and retained with the largest fees that were usually given. The
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 client in whose service he engaged, was supposed to be in a fair way 
 of gaming his cause. He was but a short time in practice, when 
 that cloud began to lower, which, in the course of ten or twelve years, 
 burst forth in a revolutionary storm. In the year 1764 Governor 
 Boone refused to administer to Christopher Gadsden the oaths which 
 the law required every person returned as a member in the com- 
 mons house of assembly to take before he entered on his legislative 
 functions. This kindled the indignation of the house, as being an 
 interference with their constitutional privileges as the sole judges of 
 the qualifications of their own members. In rousing the assembly 
 and the people to resist all interferences of the royal governors in 
 deciding who should, or who should not be members of the commons 
 house of assembly, JOHN RUTLEDGE kindled a spark which has 
 never since been extinguished. 
 
 This controversy was scarcely ended when the memorable Stamp 
 Act was passed. The British Colonies were then detached from each 
 other, and had never acted in concert. A proposition was made by 
 the assembly of Massachusetts to the different provincial assemblies 
 for appointing committees from each to meet in congress as a rally- 
 ing point of union. To this novel project many objections were 
 made ; some doubted its legality, others its expedience, and most its 
 efficiency. To remove objections, to conciliate opposition, and to 
 gain the hearty concurrence of the assembly and the people, was no 
 easy matter. In accomplishing these objects, the abilities of JOHN 
 RUTLEDGE were successfully exerted. Objections vanished preju- 
 dices gave way before his eloquence. The public mind was illumi- 
 nated, and a more correct mode of thinking took place. A vote for 
 appointing deputies to a Continental congress was carried in South 
 Carolina at an early day, and before it had been agreed to by the 
 neighboring states. Christopher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch, and 
 JOHN RUTLEDGE, were appointed. The last was the youngest, and 
 had very lately began to tread the threshold of manhood. When 
 the first congress met in New- York in 1765, the members of the dis- 
 tant provinces were surprised at the eloquence of the young member 
 from Carolina. In the means of education that province was far 
 behind those to the northward. Of it little more was known or be- 
 lieved than that it produced rice and indigo, and contained a large 
 proportion of slaves and a handful of free men, and that most of the 
 latter were strangers to vigorous health, all self-indulgent, and none 
 accustomed to active exertions either of mind or body. From such 
 a province nothing great was expected. A respectable committee of
 
 JOHN RUTLEDGE. 
 
 its assembly, and the distinguished abilities of one of them who was 
 among the youngest members of the congress, produced at this first 
 general meeting of the Colonies more favorable ideas of South Caro- 
 lina than had hitherto prevailed. 
 
 After the repeal of the Stamp Act, JOHN RUTLEDGE was for some 
 years no further engaged in politics than as a lawyer and a member 
 of the provincial legislature. In both capacities he was admired as 
 a public speaker. His ideas were clear and strong his utterance 
 rapid but distinct his voice, action, and energetic manner of speak- 
 ing, forcibly impressed his sentiments on the minds and hearts of all 
 who heard him. At reply he was quick instantly comprehended 
 the force of an objection and saw at once the best mode of weaken- 
 ing or repelling it. He successfully used both argument and wit 
 for invalidating the observations of his adversary: by the former 
 he destroyed or weakened their force ; by the latter he placed them 
 in so ludicrous a point of light that it often convinced, and scarcely 
 ever failed of conciliating and pleasing his hearers. Many were the 
 triumphs of his eloquence at the bar and in the legislature ; and in, 
 the former case probably more than strict impartial justice would 
 sanction ; for judges and juries, counsel and audience, hung on his 
 accents. 
 
 In or after the year 1774 a new and more extensive field was opened 
 before him. When news of the Boston port-bill reached Charles- 
 ton, a general meeting of the inhabitants was called by expresses 
 sent over the state. After the proceedings of the British parliament 
 were stated to this convention of the province, sundry propositions 
 were offered for consideration. To the appointment of delegates for 
 a general congress no objection was made. But this was followed 
 by propositions for instructing them how far they might go in pledg- 
 ing the province to support the Bostonians. Such a discordance of 
 opinions was discovered as filled the minds of the friends of liberty 
 with apprehensions that the meeting would prove abortive. In this 
 crisis JOHN RUTLEDGE, in a most eloquent speech, advocated a motion 
 which he brought forward to give no instructions whatever; but to 
 invest the men of their choice with full authority to concur in any 
 measure they thought best; and to pledge the people of South Caro- 
 lina to abide by whatever they would agree to. He demonstrated 
 that any thing less than plenary discretion to this extent would be un- 
 equal to the crisis. To those who, after stating the dangers of such 
 extensive powers, begged to be informed what must be done in case 
 the delegates made a bad use of their unlimited authority to pledge
 
 OKHD.''
 
 JOHN RUTLEDGE. 
 
 "!N the friendly competitions of the states for the comparative 
 merits of their respective statesmen and orators," says Dr. Ramsay, 
 (to whose sketches we are indebted for this memoir,) " while Massa- 
 chusetts boasts of her John Adams Connecticut of her Ellsworth 
 New- York of her Jay Pennsylvania of her Wilson Delaware ot 
 her Bayard Virginia of her Henry South Carolina rests her claims 
 on the talents and eloquence of JOHN RUTLEDGE." 
 
 This eminent patriot of the Revolution was the son of Dr. John 
 Rutledge, who, with his brother Andrew, both natives of Ireland, 
 settled in Carolina about the year 1735. Dr. Rutledge married Miss 
 Hext, who became the mother of the subject of the present memoir 
 in 1739 in the 15th year of her age. This lady became a widow 
 at an early period, and adds another example to the number, already 
 noticed in this work, of illustrous matrons, who, by devotion to their 
 maternal duties, have been honored and rewarded in the virtues and 
 eminence of their offspring. 
 
 The early education of JOHN RUTLEDGE was conducted by David 
 Rhind, an excellent classical scholar, and one of the most successful 
 of the early instructors of youth in Carolina. After he had made con- 
 siderable progress in the Latin and Greek classics, he entered on the 
 study of law with James Parsons, and was afterwards entered a stu- 
 dent in the Temple, and proceeding barrister, came out to Charleston 
 and commenced the practice of law in 1761. One of the first causes 
 in which he engaged was an action for breach of a promise of mar- 
 riage. The subject was interesting, and gave an excellent oppor- 
 tunity for displaying his talents. It was improved, and his eloquence 
 astonished all who heard him. 
 
 Instead of rising by degrees to the head of his profession, he burst 
 forth at once the able lawyer and accomplished orator. Business 
 flowed in upon him. He was employed in the most difficult causes, 
 and retained with the largest fees that were usually given. The
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 client in whose service he engaged, was supposed to be in a fair way 
 of gaining his cause. He was but a short time in practice, when 
 that cloud began to lower, which, in the course of ten or twelve years, 
 burst forth in a revolutionary storm. In the year 1764 Governor 
 Boone refused to administer to Christopher Gadsden the oaths which 
 the law required every person returned as a member in the com- 
 mons house of assembly to take before he entered on his legislative 
 functions. This kindled the indignation of the house, as being an 
 interference with their constitutional privileges as the sole judges of 
 the qualifications of their own members. In rousing the assembly 
 and the people to resist all interferences of the royal governors in 
 deciding who should, or who should not be members of the commons 
 house of assembly, JOHN RUTLEDGE kindled a spark which has 
 never since been extinguished. 
 
 This controversy was scarcely ended when the memorable Stamp 
 Act was passed. The British Colonies were then detached from each 
 other, and had never acted in concert. A proposition was made by 
 the assembly of Massachusetts to the different provincial assemblies 
 for appointing committees from each to meet in congress as a rally- 
 ing point of union. To this novel project many objections were 
 made ; some doubted its legality, others its expedience, and most its 
 efficiency. To remove objections, to conciliate opposition, and to 
 gain the hearty concurrence of the assembly and the people, was no 
 easy matter. In accomplishing these objects, the abilities of JOHN 
 RUTLEDGE were successfully exerted. Objections vanished preju- 
 dices gave way before his eloquence. The public mind was illumi- 
 nated, and a more correct mode of thinking took place. A vote for 
 appointing deputies to a Continental congress was carried in South 
 Carolina at an early day, and before it had been agreed to by the 
 neighboring states. Christopher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch, and 
 JOHN RUTLEDGE, were appointed. The last was the youngest, and 
 had very lately began to tread the threshold of manhood. When 
 the first congress met in New- York in 1765, the members of the dis- 
 tant provinces were surprised at the eloquence of the young member 
 from Carolina. In the means of education that province was far 
 behind those to the northward. Of it little more was known or be- 
 lieved than that it produced rice and indigo, and contained a large 
 proportion of slaves and a handful of free men, and that most of the 
 latter were strangers to vigorous health, all self-indulgent, and none 
 accustomed to active exertions either of mind or body. From such 
 a province nothing great was expected. A respectable committee of
 
 JOHN RUTLEDGE. 
 
 its assembly, and the distinguished abilities of one of them who was 
 among the youngest members of the congress, produced at this first 
 general meeting of the Colonies more favorable ideas of South Caro- 
 lina than had hitherto prevailed. 
 
 After the repeal of the Stamp Act, JOHN RUTLEDGE was for some 
 years no further engaged in politics than as a lawyer and a member 
 of the provincial legislature. In both capacities he was admired as 
 a public speaker. His ideas were clear and strong his utterance 
 rapid but distinct his voice, action, and energetic manner of speak- 
 ing, forcibly impressed his sentiments on the minds and hearts of all 
 who heard him. At reply he was quick instantly comprehended 
 the force of an objection and saw at once the best mode of weaken- 
 ing or repelling it. He successfully used both argument and wit 
 for invalidating the observations of his adversary: by the former 
 he destroyed or weakened their force ; by the latter he placed them 
 in so ludicrous a point of light that it often convinced, and scarcely 
 ever failed of conciliating and pleasing his hearers. Many were the 
 triumphs of his eloquence at the bar and in the legislature ; and in 
 the former case probably more than strict impartial justice would 
 sanction ; for judges and juries, counsel and audience, hung on his 
 accents. 
 
 In or after the year 1774 a new and more extensive field was opened 
 before him. When news of the Boston port-bill reached Charles- 
 ton, a general meeting of the inhabitants was called by expresses 
 sent over the state. After the proceedings of the British parliament 
 were stated to this convention of the province, sundry propositions 
 were offered for consideration. To the appointment of delegates for 
 a general congress no objection was made. But this was followed 
 by propositions for instructing them how far they might go in pledg- 
 ing the province to support the Bostonians. Such a discordance of 
 opinions was discovered as filled the minds of the friends of liberty 
 with apprehensions that the meeting would prove abortive. In this 
 crisis JOHN RUTLEDGE, in a most eloquent speech, advocated a motion 
 which he brought forward to give no instructions whatever; but to 
 invest the men of their choice with full authority to concur in any 
 measure they thought best; and to pledge the people of South Caro- 
 lina to abide by whatever they would agree to. He demonstrated 
 that any thing less than plenary discretion to this extent would be un- 
 equal to the crisis. To those who, after stating the dangers of such 
 extensive powers, begged to be informed what must be done in case 
 the delegates made a bad use of their unlimited authority to pledge
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the state to any extent, a laconic answer was returned : " Hang them." 
 An impression was made on the multitude. Their minds were sub- 
 dued by the decision of the proposed measure, and the energy with 
 which it was supported. On that day and by this vote the Revolu- 
 tion was virtually accomplished. By it the people of Carolina deter- 
 mined to be free, deliberately invested five men of their choice as their 
 representatives with full powers to act for them and to take charge of 
 their political interests. Royal government received a mortal wound, 
 and the representative system was planted in its stead. The former 
 lingered for a few months and then expired. The latter instantly 
 took root, and has ever since continued to grow and flourish. An 
 election immediately followed. The mover of this spirited resolution, 
 his brother Edward Rutledge, Christopher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch, 
 and Henry Middleton, were elected. Furnished with such ample 
 powers, they took their seats in congress under great advantages, and 
 by their conduct justified the confidence reposed in them. JOHN 
 RUTLEDGE was continued by successive elections a member of con- 
 gress till the year 1776. He returned to Charleston in the beginning 
 of that year, and was elected president and commander-in-chief of 
 Carolina, in conformity to a constitution established by the people, on 
 the 26th of March 1776. His duties henceforward were executive. 
 He employed himself diligently in arranging the new government, 
 and particularly in preparing for the defence of the state against an 
 expected invasion by the British. Their attack on Sullivan's Island 
 has been already related.* On this occasion JOHN RUTLEDGE ren- 
 dered his country important service. General Lee, who commanded 
 the Continental troops, pronounced Sullivan's Island to be a " slaugh- 
 ter pen," and either gave orders or was disposed to give orders for its 
 evacuation. The zeal of the state, and the energy of its chief magis- 
 trate, prevented this measure. Carolina had raised troops before con- 
 gress had declared independence. These remained subject to the 
 authority of the state, and were at this early period not immediately 
 under the command of the officers of congress. To prevent the evacua- 
 tion of the fort on Sullivan's Island, JOHN RUTLEDGE, shortly before 
 the commencement of the action on the 28th of June, 1776, wrote the 
 following laconic note to General Moultrie, who commanded on the 
 island. " General Lee wishes you to evacuate the fort. You will 
 not without an order from me. I would sooner cut off my hand than 
 write one. J. RUTLEDGE." 
 
 * In the biography of General Moultrie, in the first volume of this work. 
 
 4
 
 JOHN RUTLEDGE. 
 
 The consequences which would probably have followed from the 
 evacuation of the fort, may in some measure be conjectured from the 
 events of 1780 ; when the British, grown wiser, passed the same fort 
 without engaging it. 
 
 JOHN RUTLEDGE continued in the office of president till March 
 1778, when he resigned. The occasion and reasons of his resigna- 
 tion are matters of general history. This did not diminish his popu- 
 larity. Of this the legislature gave the strongest proof; for the next 
 election he was reinstated in the executive authority of the state, 
 but under a new constitution, and with the name of Governor sub- 
 stituted in the place of President. He had scarcely entered on the 
 duties of this office, when the country was invaded by the British 
 General Prevost. Governor RUTLEDGE made great exertions to 
 repel this invasion to defend Charleston in the years 1779, 1780 
 to procure the aid of congress and of the adjacent states to drive 
 back the tide of British conquest to recover the state, and to revive 
 its suspended legislative and judicial powers. On the close of his 
 executive duties in 1782, he was elected and served as a member of 
 congress till L783. In this period he was called upon to perform an 
 extraordinary duty. The surrender of Lord Cornwallis in October, 
 1781, seemed to paralyze the exertions of the states. Thinking the 
 war and all danger to be over, they no longer acted with suitable 
 vigor. Congress, fearing that this languor would encourage Great 
 Britain to re-commence the war, sent deputations of their members 
 to rouse the states to a sense of their danger and duty. On the 22d 
 of May, 1782, JOHN RUTLEDGE and George Clymer were sent in 
 this character, and instructed " to make such representation to the 
 several states southward of Philadelphia as were best adapted to their 
 respective circumstances and the present situation of public affairs, 
 and as might induce them to carry the requisitions of congress into 
 effect with" the greatest dispatch." They were permitted to make a 
 personal address to the Virginia assembly. In the execution of this 
 duty, JOHN RUTLEDGE drew such a picture of the United States, and 
 of the danger to which they were exposed by the backwardness of 
 the particular states to comply with the requisitions of congress, as 
 produced a very happy effect. The addresser acquitted himself with 
 so much ability that the Virginians, who, not without reason, are 
 proud of their statesmen and orators, began to doubt whether their 
 Patrick Henry or the Carolina RUTLEDGE was the most accomplished 
 public speaker. Soon after the termination of Mr. RUTLEDGE'S con-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 gressional duties, he was appointed minister plenipotentiary from the 
 United States to Holland, but declined serving. 
 
 In the year 1784 he was elected a judge of the court of Chancery 
 in South Carolina. The events of the late war had greatly increased 
 the necessity for such a court. JOHN RUTLEDGE draughted the bill for 
 organizing it on a new plan, and in it introduced several provisions, 
 which have been very highly commended as improvements on the 
 English court of the same name. Mr. RUTLEDGE'S public duties 
 hitherto had been either legislative or executive. They were hence- 
 forward judicial. If comparisons were proper, it might be added that 
 he was most at home in the latter. His knowledge of the law was 
 profound ; but the talent which pre-eminently fitted him for dispens- 
 ing justice was a comprehensive mind, which could at once take into 
 view all the bearings and relations of a complicated case. "When the 
 facts were all fairly before him, he promptly knew what justice re- 
 quired. The pleadings of lawyers gratified their clients, but rarely 
 cast any light on the subject which had not already presented itself 
 to his own view. Their declamations and addresses to the passions 
 were lost on him. Truth and justice were the pole-stars by which 
 his decisions were regulated. He speedily resolved the most intri- 
 cate cases, pursued general principles through their various modifi- 
 cations till they led to the fountain of justice. His decrees were so 
 luminous, and the grounds of them so clearly expressed, that the de- 
 feated party was generally satisfied. 
 
 In the year 1787 he was called upon to assist in framing a national 
 constitution in lieu of the advisory system of the confederation. In 
 arranging the provisions of that bond of union, and in persuading 
 his countrymen to accept it, he was eminently useful. As soon as it 
 was in operation, he was designated by President Washington as an 
 associate justice of the Supreme court of the United States. In 
 this office he served till 1791, when he was elected chief^ustice of 
 South Carolina. He was afterwards appointed chief justice of the^ 
 United States. Thus for more than thirty years, with few and short 
 intervals, he served his country in one or other of the departments 
 of government ; and in all with fidelity and ability. This illustrious 
 man closed his variegated career in the year 1800. 

 
 LUTHER MARTIN. 
 
 LUTHER MARTIN, a lawyer, distinguished alike for his eccentric 
 habits, his powerful genius, and his vast legal acquirements, was 
 born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the year 1744. His ancestors 
 were natives of England. Two of their descendants, who were bro- 
 thers, removed from New England, and established their residence in 
 that section of the country adjoining the river Rariton, upon the east 
 of New Brunswick, calling the township in which they had located 
 Piscataqua, from the name of the town whence they emigrated. 
 They were by occupation farmers, and having obtained large grants 
 of land in New Jersey, removed their domestic establishment there 
 when a greater part of the Colonial domain was a dense wilderness. 
 
 LUTHER was the third of nine children, and his time was generally 
 divided, during his early boyhood, between the duties of his father's 
 family and the acquisition of knowledge. In 1757, in the month of 
 August, he was sent to a grammar school, where he learned the ru- 
 diments of the Latin language; and in September, five years after, he 
 was graduated at Nassau Hall, Princeton, in a class of thirty-five, 
 with the highest collegiate honors. At that institution he laid the 
 foundation of his subsequent greatness, and with his other classical 
 exercises pursued the study of the French and Hebrew languages. 
 
 Among his friends and associates in Princeton were J. Habersham, 
 Esq., the Right Rev. Bishop Clagget of Maryland, the celebrated 
 Pierpoint Edwards, and Oliver Ellsworth. His parents, however, 
 were indigent, and they were enabled, consequently, to bestow upon 
 this son a liberal education only ; " a patrimony," he remarks, " for 
 which my heart beats toward them a more grateful remembrance 
 than had they bestowed upon me the gold of Peru or the gems 
 of Golconda." * As an equivalent for the additional labor which 
 
 Modern Ingratitude, in five numbers, by Luther Martin, Esq. of Maryland, p. 134. 
 
 i
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 his two elder brothers had undergone for the support of his father's 
 family while he was receiving the benefits of a liberal education, he 
 conveyed to them, as soon as the laws permitted his disposition of the 
 estate, a small tract of land which had been granted him by his 
 grandfather for his own support. 
 
 Upon his graduation from college, having fixed upon the legal 
 profession as his choice, against which, however, his family enter- 
 tained the strongest prejudices, upon the second day after his com- 
 mencement, and when he was scarcely nineteen years of age, deter- 
 mining to be no longer a burden to his family, he departed, in com- 
 pany with two or three friends, on horseback, and with but a few- 
 dollars in his pocket, for Cecil county, near Octorara Creek in the 
 state of Maryland, in order to be employed as an assistant in a school, 
 which he had learned was just deprived of a teacher, and which was 
 under the management of the Rev. Mr. Hunt, to whom he carried 
 letters of recommendation. Before his arrival the place was occupied. 
 He was received with great hospitality by this gentleman however, 
 who, conjointly with his other friends, advised him to proceed im- 
 mediately to Queenstown, Queen Ann's county, where a vacancy had 
 just occurred in the common school of that place. Carrying to that 
 county letters of introduction to the board of trustees, among whom 
 was Edward Tighlman, (father of the distinguished Edward Tighl- 
 man, Esq. of Philadelphia,) as well as to many of the most distin- 
 guished gentlemen in the neighborhood, he was engaged, after the 
 ordinary examination, to take charge of the school. 
 
 His object in entering upon this employment was, to acquire a sup- 
 port while pursuing the study of the law. Here he remained in the 
 capacity of a preceptor until April, 1770. During this period he 
 made many valuable acquaintances, among whom was Solomon 
 Wright, Esq., the father of the Hon. Mr. Wright, late senator of the 
 United States, who gave him the advantage of his library, and re- 
 ceived him in all respects as a member of his family. For several 
 years he had little relaxation from the most vigorous industry. His 
 means were scanty, as the meagre profits of his school were his sole 
 support. His improvident habits of expenditure brought him eventu- 
 ally into debt; and upon his expressing his determination to relin- 
 quish the business of an instructor, and to devote one year exclusively 
 to the study of the law, he was arrested upon five different warrants 
 of attachment. In fact, a want of economy in his pecuniary affairs 
 was prominent through life, and frequently brought upon him the 
 most unpleasant consequences. On this subject he somewhat quaintly
 
 LUTHER MARTIN. 
 
 remarks respecting himself" I am not even yet, I was not then, nor 
 have I ever been, an economist of any thing but time."* 
 
 In 1771, through the kind agency of George Wythe, the former 
 chancellor of the state of Virginia, and the Hon. John Randolph, he 
 was admitted to the bar, continued his legal studies until 1772, and 
 then proceeded to Williamsburgh, where the general court was in 
 session, and remained in that place until it terminated. Here he 
 formed many valuable acquaintances, among whom may be men- 
 tioned Patrick Henry, the great orator of the Revolution. 
 
 He soon after commenced the practice of the law in Accomack 
 and Northampton, in Virginia, and was admitted as an attorney in 
 the courts of Somerset and Worcester, which held their sessions 
 four times a year. He made his residence in Somerset, where he 
 soon acquired a full and lucrative practice, amounting, as he informs 
 us, to about one thousand pounds per annum ; which, however, was 
 after a period diminished by the disturbances growing out of the 
 American Revolution. At this time he was occasionally employed 
 in causes of Admiralty jurisdiction, involving interests of great mag- 
 nitude, and also in some important appeals to the Congress of the 
 United States. A Criminal court had just been established at Wil- 
 liamsburgh, and Mr. MARTIN was employed as counsel for thirty 
 prisoners, twenty-nine of whom were acquitted. His talents were at 
 this time fully appreciated, and he was regarded as one of the most 
 able lawyers at the bar at which he practised. 
 
 In 1774, while attending the courts in Virginia, he was appointed 
 one of a committee for the county to oppose the claims of Great Bri- 
 tain, and also a member of the Convention which was called at An- 
 napolis to resist the usurpations of the British crown. He threw 
 the whole strength of his manly vigor, courage, and iron firmness 
 into the cause of American freedom, and opposed these claims with 
 extraordinary boldness at a period, to use his own words, " through- 
 out which not only myself, but many others, did not lie down one 
 night on their beds without the hazard of waking on board a British 
 armed ship or in the other world." When the Howes were on the 
 way to Chesapeak Bay, they published a manifesto, or proclamation, 
 addressed to the people of that part of the United States, against 
 which they were directing their military operations. This procla- 
 mation was answered in an address to the Howes by LUTHER MAR- 
 
 * Modem Ingratitude, p. 138. 
 
 3
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 TIN. He also, about the same time, published an address, directed 
 " to the inhabitants of the Peninsula between the Delaware river 
 and the Chesapeak to the southward of the British lines," which was 
 distributed among them in printed hand-bills. 
 
 Upon the llth of February, 1778, he was appointed, through the 
 advice of Judge Chace, Attorney General of the state of Maryland ; in 
 xvhich office his remarkable firmness, professional knowledge, and 
 uncompromising energy, were most strikingly exhibited in prosecuting 
 the Tories and the confiscation of their goods. No other man, in fact, 
 could be found at that time of sufficient hardihood and firmness to 
 fill this office. LUTHER MARTIN was called upon at this crisis, and 
 he met it with a manliness of decision and a determined power, which 
 left no room for fear ; coming down upon this class of men with an 
 iron hand, and bringing to bear upon them all the powers of the go- 
 vernment in order to effect their total defeat and overthrow. In per- 
 forming the duties of his office in other respects, he exhibited the 
 same vigorous and unquailing determination. On one occasion, for his 
 promptitude in prosecuting a man of great respect, ability, and influ- 
 ence, who was indicted for the murder of an Irishman, he was voted, 
 by the friends of the murdered man, a massive service of silver plate, 
 which, from official considerations, he refused to accept. 
 
 He continued in the office of Attorney-General during a long period, 
 constantly augmenting his reputation as an advocate and jurist. The 
 office was conferred on him originally without his solicitation, and 
 his commission found him at Accomack, giving directions to work- 
 men who were engaged in the manufacture of salt. 
 
 As a demonstration of his powers of mind, as well as his great legal 
 acquirements, it may be remarked, that he stood among the brightest 
 and strongest at a bar, which numbered among its members a bril- 
 liant constellation, composed of such men as Harper, Winder, Chase, 
 Wirt, and Pinkney. 
 
 In 1783 he was married to a Miss Cresap of Old Town in the 
 state of Maryland, who was the grand-daughter of Col. Cresap, against 
 whom the charge was brought by Mr. Jefferson of having murdered 
 the Indian family of Logan. This charge originated a long contro- 
 versy between the latter gentleman and Mr. MARTIN, which were 
 carried on through divers inflammatory pamphlets. 
 
 During the whole course of his practice at the bar he was a vio- 
 lent politician, and wrote for the press several pungent essays against 
 what was then denominated the Democratic party. 
 
 In 1804 he was engaged, conjointly with Mr. Harper, in the de-
 
 LUTHER MARTIN. 
 
 fence of Judge Chase, then one of the justices of the Superior Court 
 of the United States, who was impeached in the house of Represen- 
 tatives, upon eight articles, for malfeasance in office. After a power- 
 ful argument in his behalf, Judge Chase was acquitted ; a constitu- 
 tional majority not having been found against him upon a single 
 article. 
 
 Aaron Burr, that able though ill-fated man, was at this period the 
 personal and political friend of Mr. MARTIN. He had just broken 
 away from his brilliant career, and public opinion had branded him 
 as a traitor. In 1807, his trial for treason " in preparing the means 
 of a military expedition against Mexico, a territory of the king of 
 Spain, with whom the United States were at peace," occurred in the 
 Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Virginia. Messrs. 
 Wickham, Wirt, Randolph, and MARTIN, were engaged upon this 
 cause, which involved interests of vast importance, and principles of 
 constitutional law of great magnitude. Mr. MARTIN appeared in 
 defence of his friend, who, as every body knows, was acquitted. 
 During the whole course of the trial Mr. MARTIN demonstrated 
 himself to be the steadfast friend of Aaron Burr, and entered into a 
 recognisance for his appearance, from day to day, before the bar of 
 court. 
 
 In 1814 Mr. MARTIN was appointed chief judge of the Court of 
 Oyer and Terminer for the city and county of Baltimore, and ful- 
 filled its duties with considerable rigor, though with great success, 
 until a new state law made it necessary for him to relinquish his 
 seat upon the bench. In 1818 he was again qualified as attorney- 
 general of the state and district attorney for the city of Baltimore ; 
 but his declining health prevented him from attending in person to 
 his official duties. 
 
 From that period to the time of his death, his mind and body were 
 gradually impaired by disease, and a paralytic stroke, with which he 
 was soon after attacked, almost destroyed his physical and intellec- 
 tual powers. Suffering in his old age under the goadings of penury, 
 he removed to the city of New- York, to take advantage of the hos- 
 pitality of his old friend and client, Aaron Burr, who faithfully paid 
 him the last rites of kindness, in the imbecillity of his age, in return 
 for the valuable services which MARTIN had rendered him, both in 
 money and talent, when he was in the full vigor and glory of man- 
 hood. 
 
 LUTHER MARTIN died at New- York, from the mere decay of na- 
 ture, on the evening of the 10th of July, 1826, aged 82 years.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 The information of his death having reached Baltimore, the bench 
 and the bar immediately convened in the court house of that city ; 
 and on motion of the Honorable John Purviance, it was "Resolved, 
 that we hear with great sensibility of the death of our venerable 
 brother, the former attorney-general of Maryland, and the patri- 
 arch of the profession, LUTHER MARTIN ; and that, as a testimony 
 of just regard for his memory, and great respect for his exalted talents 
 and profound learning, we will wear mourning for the space of 
 thirty days." 
 
 As a lawyer, Mr. MARTIN was learned, clear, solid, and second to 
 no man among his competitors. In fact he shone far above his con- 
 temporaries in the accuracy of his knowledge and the clearness of 
 his forensic arguments. He had drawn his legal attainments, like 
 Pinkney, from the great fountains of jurisprudence ; and was content 
 to exhibit them only in the light of that reason, which, Sir Edward 
 Coke declares, " is the life of the law." Of his general powers at the 
 bar, his unbroken success and his exalted reputation abroad, are plain 
 demonstrations. His mind was so completely stored with the prin- 
 ciples of legal science, and his professional accuracy was so generally 
 acknowledged, that his mere opinion was considered law, and is 
 now deemed sound authority before any American tribunal. His 
 cast of mind was less brilliant than solid. He ordinarily commenced 
 his efforts at the bar with a long, desultory, tedious exordium. He 
 seemed to labor amid the vast mass of general matters at the com- 
 mencement of his speeches, sometimes continuing for an hour in a 
 confused essay, and then suddenly springing off upon his track with 
 a strong, cogent, and well-compacted argument. His address at the 
 bar was not good, nor was his voice agreeable ; consequently the 
 value of his forensic efforts is based more upon the fortiter in re, 
 than the suamter in modo ; more upon matter than manner. The 
 sensitiveness of his feelings frequently led him to acrimonious ex- 
 pressions against his antagonists. He was accustomed, from the 
 fashion of the age, to use a considerable quantity of the stimulus of 
 ardent spirit ; and we have been credibly informed that he has de- 
 livered some of his most powerful and splendid arguments under its 
 strongest excitement. 
 
 He was a man of warm heart and generous feelings, and to prove 
 this, numerous examples of his benevolence might be cited ; but in 
 the discharge of his official duties he was rigorous and unyielding. 
 
 Before closing this article, we must add that Mr. MARTIN was op- 
 posed to the adoption of the present constitution of the United States.
 
 LUTHER MARTIN. 
 
 As a member of the Convention by which that instrument was framed, 
 he combatted it in its earliest stages; and when it was committed to 
 the states for their approval, he addressed a long argument to the 
 legislature of Maryland, which was intended to dissuade the people 
 of that state from adopting it. This argument concluded with the 
 following words " Whether, Sir, in the variety of appointments, 
 and in the scramble for them, I might not have as good a prospect 
 to advantage myself as many others, it is not for me to say ; but 
 this, Sir. I can say with truth, that so far was I from being influ- 
 enced in my conduct by interest, or the consideration of office^ that 
 I would cheerfully resign the appointment I now hold ; I would 
 bind myself never to accept another, either under the general go- 
 vernment or that of my own state : I would do more, Sir, so des- 
 tructive do I consider the present system to the happiness of my 
 country. I would cheerfully sacrifice that share of property with 
 which heaven has blessed a life of industry. I would reduce my- 
 self to indigence and poverty ; and those who are dearer to me than 
 my own existence, I would entrust to the care and protection of that 
 providence who hath so kindly protected myself, if on those terms 
 only I could procure my country to reject those chains which are 
 forged for it."* Mr. MARTIN'S violent opposition to the proposed 
 frame of government was unsuccessful, but it most probably caused 
 a more deliberate examination and approval than might have been 
 deemed necessary had it not been so powerfully assailed. 
 
 Mr. MARTIN'S personal appearance, as well as his mind, were alike 
 extraordinary. He often appeared walking in the street with his 
 legal documents close to his eyes for perusal wholly abstracted 
 from the world and absorbed in his profession. He was little above 
 the ordinary size of men, but strong and muscular, although not very 
 broad, in form. He usually wore a brown or blue dress, with ruffles 
 around the wrists after the ancient fashion, and his hair tied behind 
 hanging below the collar of his coat. 
 
 LUTHER MARTIN was undoubtedly one of the ablest lawyers which 
 our country has produced, and his name will descend to posterity 
 among the brightest of those, who have gained their reputation strictly 
 at the bar, and in connection with causes which can never be detached 
 from our national annals ; but there are others of the same profession, 
 with natural and acquired talents certainly not superior to his, whose 
 
 * Secret Proceedings and Debates of the Federal Convention, pages 93, 94. 
 7
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 fame will probably occupy a broader space, merely from the fact, that 
 the stage on which they play their part is more conspicuous than 
 that on which he acted his. 
 
 8

 
 XiCA\^ SfiSIflF
 
 THOMAS MIFFLIN. 
 
 THOMAS MIFFLIN was born in the city of Philadelphia, in the year 
 1744. His ancestors were of the society of Friends^ and among the 
 earliest settlers of Pennsylvania, and of the most respectable class. 
 He was a graduate in the college of Philadelphia, and was distin- 
 guished for scholarship and genius. He ever afterwards retained a 
 fondness for classical literature, and was well acquainted with the 
 best writers. He was intended by his parents for a merchant, and, 
 after leaving college, was placed in one of the first counting houses 
 in the city. He subsequently made a voyage to Europe, and on his 
 return entered into business with one of his brothers. His gay and 
 generous temper, his extraordinary powers of conversation, with his 
 frank and popular manners, made him, at a very early age, a decided 
 favorite with his fellow-citizens. The city of Philadelphia was at 
 that time represented in the state legislature by two burgesses, annu- 
 ally elected by the people. As the difficulties with the mother country 
 were becoming serious and threatening, it was particularly important 
 to advance to places of high public trust, men whose patriotic prin- 
 ciples could be relied upon ; and whose knowledge, talents, and force 
 of character qualified them to serve the country faithfully and effi- 
 ciently in the impending danger. THOMAS MIFFLIN was elected in 
 1772, although but twenty-eight years of age, as one of the burgesses 
 to represent the city in the general assembly of the state. Two years 
 afterwards he was appointed one of the delegates from the state to 
 the first congress. 
 
 The occasion now occurred to call forth, and exhibit to advantage, 
 his peculiar talents. No man of our country has excelled him in the fire, 
 energy, arid effect of his addresses to an assembly of the people. There 
 was an earnest, a fascinating animation in his manner, which touched 
 every heart ; a perspicuity in his ideas which every man could under- 
 stand ; and a propriety, strength, and point in his language, which, alto- 
 gether, was irresistible upon his audience. He knew exactly how and
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 where to strike the public feeling. The news of the battle of Lexing- 
 ton presented a noble and interesting opportunity for the display of his 
 powers of eloquence. Many addresses were delivered, such as the 
 solemnity of the subject and patriotism of the orators dictated ; but 
 MIFFLIN, although the youngest of the speakers, took the bold and 
 decisive ground of a steady adherence to the resolutions which were 
 then offered and adopted. In a memoir of his life read to the His- 
 torical Society of Pennsylvania, the conclusion of his address is thus 
 quoted "Let us not be bold in declarations and afterwards cold in. 
 action. Let not the patriotic feeling of to-day be forgotten to-morrow; 
 nor have it said of Philadelphia, that she passed noble resolutions, 
 slept upon them, and afterwards neglected them." This was high 
 language for that day, although the men of the present time, when 
 " our country has become powerful and proud, can scarcely believe it. 
 But MIFFLIN did not preach a doctrine which he would not himself 
 follow ; he did not begin and end his fit of patriotism with brave words 
 and brilliant speeches, in which there might have been as much of 
 vanity as love of country. He did not go home to sleep upon and 
 forget the resolutions he so warmly recommended to others. He fol- 
 lowed them by corresponding actions, and entered at once into the 
 military service. Companies and regiments for the assertion and 
 defence of American liberties and rights were spontaneously formed, 
 and MIFFLIN was appointed the major of one of the regiments. To 
 wait until danger came upon him did not suit his ardent spirit ; be 
 determined to seek it, and accordingly joined the camp then formed 
 at Boston. He very soon distinguished himself there by opposing a 
 detachment of the British army sent to collect cattle from the neigh- 
 borhood. An officer of high rank, who was a witness of this pro- 
 ceeding, declared that he "never saw a greater display of personal 
 bravery than was exhibited on this occasion in the cool and intrepid 
 conduct of Colonel MIFFLIN." A short time after the withdrawal of the 
 British troops from Boston, Colonel MIFFLIN received from congress 
 the commission of brigadier-general; having previously performed, 
 in a most satisfactory manner, the arduous duties of quarter-master- 
 general. The high opinion which congress entertained of the talents, 
 judgment, and zeal in the great cause, of General MIFFLIN, was 
 manifested by a resolution of 25th of May, 1776, appointing a com- 
 mittee to confer with General Washington, General Gates, and Ge- 
 neral MIFFLIN, "touching the frontiers towards Canada." To be 
 associated with such men in such a service, at the age of thirty-two^ 
 was a most gratifying honor.
 
 THOMAS MIFFLIN. 
 
 In the fall of 1776 American affairs bore a most desponding aspect, 
 and American liberty was drooping, almost to despair. The people, 
 even many who set out bravely on the onset, were becoming weary, 
 discontented, and disheartened with a contest in which they no longer 
 saw any hope of success. The army was melting away, and the 
 shattered remnant which stood to their arms and flag had ceased to 
 look for victory in the battle field, and were satisfied to find refuge 
 from a conquering enemy in secure positions. In this gloomy state 
 of the country, her leading and undaunted patriots determined to 
 make an attempt to revive the spirit of the preceding year by per- 
 sonal appeals to the patriotism and honorable feelings of the people. 
 The peculiar eloquence of General MIFFLIN was exactly what was 
 wanted for this purpose, and he was directed to go into the counties 
 of Pennsylvania, " to exhort and rouse the militia to come forth in 
 defence of their country." His selection for this service is mentioned 
 by Marshall in his Life of Washington ; who says, that "the exertions 
 of General MIFFLIN, who had been commissioned to raise the militia 
 of Pennsylvania, though they made but little impression on the 
 state at large, were attended with some degree of success in Phila- 
 delphia. A large proportion of the inhabitants of that city had as- 
 sociated for the defence of their country; and on this occasion fifteen 
 hundred of them marched to Trenton." General Washington had 
 given up his design of marching to Princeton on receiving intelli- 
 gence that Lord Cornwallis was rapidly advancing from Brunswick, 
 and had passed the Delaware ; the British then occupying Trenton. 
 General MIFFLIN was again despatched to Philadelphia to take 
 charge of the numerous stores in that place. " The utmost exertions," 
 says Marshall, " were made by the civil authority to raise the militia." 
 General MIFFLIN was directed to "repair immediately to the 'neigh- 
 boring counties, and endeavor, by all the means in his power, to rouse 
 and bring in the militia to the defence of Philadelphia." Congress 
 also declared that they deemed it of great importance to the general 
 safety that " General MIFFLIN should make a progress through several 
 of the counties of the state of Pennsylvania, to rouse the freemen 
 thereof to the immediate defence of the city and country;" and they 
 resolved " that the assembly be requested to appoint a committee of 
 their body to make the tour with him, and assist in this good and 
 necessary work." General MIFFLIN cheerfully accepted this good 
 and necessary mission, and executed it with his usual ability and 
 zeal. He assembled the people at convenient places, and poured 
 forth his exciting eloquence in meeting-houses, churches, and court-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 houses ; from pulpits sacred to the offices of religion, and the judg- 
 ment seats of the law. The battle of Princeton, in January, 1777, im- 
 mediately followed these exertions ; and the victories of Trenton and 
 Princeton may be considered as having assured and sealed American 
 independence. General MIFFLIN was present at Princeton, and 
 makes a conspicuous figure in Col. Trumbull's painting of that me- 
 morable conflict. In the following February congress raised General 
 MIFFLIN to the rank of Major-General. 
 
 Although the health of General MIFFLIN was considerably im- 
 paired by his constant and various labors in the military service of 
 his country, he continued in it to the end of the war; and he enjoyed, 
 with his co-laborers in the great work, the unspeakable happiness of 
 seeing the independence and liberties of his country firmly and for ever 
 established. He had maintained and augmented the attachment of 
 his fellow-citizens to him, and in 1783 was appointed, by the legis- 
 lature of Pennsylvania, a member of congress. By that illustrious 
 oody of true American patriots, he was, in the fall of the same year, 
 elevated to the seat of their president. In this capacity he received 
 from General Washington the resignation of his commission of Com- 
 mander-in-chief of the American army. It was his duty to reply to 
 the address of Washington on this august occasion, which, in all 
 its interesting circumstances, has no parallel in the history of human 
 affairs. Both addresses were such as would be expected from the 
 respective officers. 
 
 In 1785 General MIFFLIN was chosen a member of the legislature 
 of Pennsylvania, and elected the speaker of that body. In 1788 he 
 became president of the supreme executive council of the state, under 
 the constitution of that day. In 1787 the great convention assembled 
 at Philadelphia to frame a government for the United States, (then 
 sinking into anarchy and ruin because they had no government,) 
 which should "form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure do- 
 mestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the 
 general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
 our posterity." A more dignified and solemn trust was never committed 
 to human agency. The destinies of a great empire, of innumerable 
 millions of men, were placed in their hands ; and never was a trust 
 more faithfully, more wisely, more successfully performed. In this 
 illustrious assembly General MIFFLIN was one of the representatives 
 of Pennsylvania. We cannot withstand the temptation to note the 
 names of his colleagues in this delegation, that it may be seen to what 
 sort of men the people of that day entrusted their high concerns.
 
 THOMAS MIFFLIN. 
 
 The Pennsylvania delegation consisted of Benjamin Franklin, 
 Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitz- 
 simmons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris ! 
 
 Soon after the adoption of the constitution of the United States, a 
 convention was called by the people of Pennsylvania to reform their 
 plan of government. Of this convention General MIFFLIN was a 
 member, and the president. He had, as he had shown when speaker 
 of the house of assembly, an unusual fitness for presiding over such : 
 assemblies. He was prompt and decisive, and exercised his authority 
 with dignity and impartiality. When the constitution, formed and 
 adopted by this convention, went into operation, General MIFFLIN 
 was elected the first governor, in whose hands the whole executive 
 power of the state was placed, and he continued to hold the office, by 
 reflections, for the whole constitutional term, to wit, nine years. 
 
 It will be remembered that it was during Governor MIFFLIN'S 
 administration of the state government, that the insolent conduct of 
 the ministers of revolutionary France disturbed the quiet of our 
 country, by endeavoring to organize a regular opposition to the federal 
 administration, then in the hands of President Washington. The 
 feelings of our people were highly excited in favor of what they 
 thought was republican France. The French ministers presuming 
 upon this feeling, and ignorant of the superior and steady attachment of 
 our citizens to their own country and government, assumed to exercise 
 sovereign powers within the territories of the United States. The 
 governor of Pennsylvania, in common with a great majority of our 
 citizens, entertained a strong predilection for the French people and 
 their cause. But this did not lead him to forget or neglect the duties 
 which, as the governor of Pennsylvania, he owed to the government 
 of the Union. When the president found it necessary to call upon 
 him for his aid in executing the laws, and maintaining the authority 
 of the United States, the requisition was promptly complied with. 
 
 In 1794, in the midst of the excitement about French affairs, and 
 not without some connexion with it, an insurrection broke out in 
 some of the western counties of Pennsylvania, immediately inflamed by 
 the imposition of certain internal taxes, particularly that on whiskey. 
 The government of the United States, whose laws were thus defied 
 and opposed by force, was obliged to take the field to quell the in- 
 surgents. On the call of the president, Governor MIFFLIN marched 
 at the head of the quota of militia demanded of Pennsylvania; and 
 putting aside all the pride of rank and etiquette, served under Ge- 
 neral Lee, the governor of Virginia, who had been inferior to Governor
 
 1XATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 MIFFLIN in rank in the army of the war of revolution ; and although 
 the service to be performed was in Governor MIFFLIN'S own state. 
 Speaking of this insurrection, Marshall says "By his personal 
 exertions the governor of Pennsylvania compensated for the defects 
 in the militia laws of that state. From some inadvertence, as was 
 said, on the part of the brigade inspectors, the militia could not be 
 drafted ; and, consequently, the quota of Pennsylvania could be com- 
 plied with only by volunteers. The governor, who was endowed 
 with a high degree of popular eloquence, made a circuit through the 
 lower counties of the state, and publicly addressed the militia at dif- 
 ferent places, where he had caused them to be assembled, on the crisis 
 in the affairs of their country. So successful were these animating 
 exhortations, that Pennsylvania was not behind her sister states in 
 furnishing the quota required from her." 
 
 Governor MIFFLIN took his leave of the legislature on the 7th of 
 December, 1799 ; and having been elected a member of the house of 
 representatives, he took his seat in that assembly. His health was 
 now exceedingly impaired; he had frequent attacks of^the gout, 
 which generally struck at his stomach. After a short confinement, 
 he died on the 20th of January 1800, at Lancaster, at that time the 
 seat of government. Resolutions were passed by the legislature ex- 
 pressive of the high sense entertained of his public services as a sol- 
 dier and a statesman ; his interment was provided for at the public 
 expense, and a monument erected to his memory. 
 
 Governor MIFFLIN, from his early youth to the hour of his death, 
 was in the service of his country, and always in a prominent position. 
 He maintained the confidence and favor of his fellow-citizens from 
 the first to the last, without a moment's interruption or abatement; 
 they, indeed, went on increasing. In his personal appearance he was 
 uncommonly handsome; rather below the ordinary height ; but his 
 form was in such good proportion, and so firmly set, that he was 
 admirably calculated for any exertion of activity or endurance of 
 fatigue. There was an extraordinary brilliancy in his eye; an ani- 
 mation and point in his conversation, which fastened upon all who 
 listened to him. He was an ardent and sincere friend, and nobody 
 sooner forgot an injury. His purse was too freely open to every call 
 upon it, and his habits of expense too improvident for his own in- 
 terest and comfort. A contemporary officer of the revolution, by no 
 means a personal friend, says that he was a man of " education, of 
 ready apprehension and brilliancy, and possessed fortitude equal to 
 any demands that might be made upon it."
 
 Engraved byEMa-kenzie, from the Painting by.CWTeale intheTMadelp'.
 
 RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 
 
 THE subject of the present memoir was born in the north of Ireland 
 in 1736 ; possessed of excellent talents, his parents were careful to 
 mature them by a superior education. He embraced the profession of 
 arms at an early age, and entering the army of Great Britain, com- 
 menced his military career in America. The regiment to which he 
 belonged made part of the army which, in 1757, was assembled at 
 Halifax, and intended for the reduction of Louisburg, a fortress of 
 great strength, which was believed to be the key to the French pos- 
 sessions in America. In the attack on that place, which commenced 
 on the 8th of June 1758, MONTGOMERY, who served in the dite of 
 the army, under the immediate command of General Wolfe, gave the 
 first decisive evidence of those high military qualities which marked 
 his subsequent conduct. After the capture of Louisburg he marched 
 with his regiment, under the orders of General Amherst, to the relief 
 of Abercrombie, who had been defeated at Ticonderoga. He re- 
 mained at that point on lake Champlain until 1760, when the con- 
 quest of Canada was completed 
 
 Large detachments of the British forces in America were then sent 
 to operate against the French and Spanish West India Islands. In 
 the two campaigns which were employed on that laborious and 
 perilous service, MONTGOMERY had a full share of toil and danger, 
 and his conduct was rewarded by promotion to the command of a 
 company. 
 
 Soon after the peace in 1763, his regiment returned to New- York, 
 and he obtained leave of absence and revisited Europe, where he re- 
 mained until 1772, when, having been twice circumvented in the pur- 
 chase of a majority, he sold his commission, and in January of the
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 following year he arrived in New- York. On his arrival he purchased 
 an estate on the Hudson, about one hundred miles from the city, 
 and married a daughter of Robert R. Livingston. Adopting, in their 
 fullest extent, the American feelings for liberty and hatred of op- 
 pression, he freely expressed his readiness to draw his sword on the 
 side of the Colonies; and on the commencement of the revolutionary 
 struggle, the command of the Continental forces was intrusted to him 
 m conjunction with General Schuyler, in the fall of 1775. In Octo- 
 ber, the indisposition of the latter preventing him from taking the 
 field, the chief command devolved upon General MONTGOMERY. 
 
 Leaving his peaceful retirement on the banks of the Hudson, where 
 he had acquired that station and authority among his fellow-citizens 
 which superior acquirements and inflexible integrity never fail to 
 secure, he felt himself called upon, like another Regulus, to bid fare- 
 well to those domestic endearments with which he was eminently 
 blessed, and to rush at once upon his short career, which, however 
 sudden its termination, was crowded with scenes of virtuous activity 
 sufficient to have dignified the longest life. 
 
 The Canada expedition of this year was one of those measures, 
 which the enemies of America having first rendered necessary, soon 
 strove to construe into an act of hostility and offence. It was evident 
 that preparations were in readiness to invade our frontiers by armed 
 bands of savages, supported by disciplined troops. General MONT- 
 GOMERY was therefore despatched to avert the stroke if possible, but 
 if that should prove impracticable, his instructions authorized him to 
 storm the intermediate posts and to attack Quebec. His movements 
 were characterised no less by their efficiency than their humanity. 
 He soon reduced Fort Chamblee, captured St. John's, and by the 12th 
 of November Montreal also surrendered. On the 1st of December 
 he joined Colonel Arnold at Point-aux-Trembles, and proceeded to 
 the siege of Quebec; but as his artillery was not of sufficient cali- 
 bre to make the requisite impression, he determined upon attempting 
 the capture of the place by storm. The several divisions were ac- 
 cordingly put in motion in the midst of a heavy snow storm, which 
 concealed them from the enemy. MONTGOMERY advanced at the head 
 of the New-York troops along the banks of the St. Lawrence, and 
 assisted, with his own hands, in pulling up the pickets which ob- 
 structed his approach to the second barrier, which he was resolved 
 to force. At this juncture the only gun that was fired from the bat- 
 tery of the enemy killed him and his two aid-de-camps. The three 
 fell at the same time, and rolled upon the ice formed upon the river.
 
 RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 
 
 The enemy had been struck with consternation, and all but one or 
 two had fled. The death of the general saved Quebec. 
 
 When he fell, he was in a narrow passage ; and when his body 
 was found the next morning among the slain, it was brought into the 
 city and buried by a few soldiers without any marks of distinction. 
 
 General MONTGOMERY'S military talents are admitted on all hands 
 to have been great; his measures were taken with judgment and 
 executed with vigor. With undisciplined and raw troops, illy sup- 
 plied with arms and ammunition, yet he inspired his men with his 
 own enthusiasm; he led them in the coldest season of the year to an 
 inclement country, shared with them in all their hardships, and to the 
 hour of his death was the conqueror of our foes. His industry could 
 not be wearied, nor his vigilance imposed upon. Above the pride of 
 opinion, when a measure was adopted by the majority contrary to 
 his judgment he gave it his full support. He was in every respect ad- 
 mirably calculated to fulfil his arduous enterprise; the command and 
 conduct of the army formed but a small part of his difficult under- 
 taking. The Indians were to be treated with, restrained, and kept 
 in good humor. The French Canadians were likewise to be soothed, 
 protected, and supported; his own army required to be formed, disci- 
 plined, animated, accustomed to marches, encampments, dangers and 
 fatigues ; and frequently the want of necessary supplies demanded in 
 the first officer the courage of a soldier united to the benevolence of 
 a man. When the men labored under fatigue and wanted bread, 
 had their beds to make in snow or in morasses, they disdained com- 
 plaint when they saw their commander share in every particular 
 but little better than themselves. On one occasion he says in a 
 letter : 
 
 "Our camp is so swampy I feel exceedingly for the troops; and 
 provisions so scarce, it will require not only dispatch, but good for- 
 tune, to keep us from distress. Should things go well, I tremble for 
 the fate of the poor Canadians who have ventured so much. What 
 shall I do with them should I be obliged to evacuate this country? 
 I have assured them that the United Colonies will as soon give up 
 Massachusetts to resentment as them." 
 
 Instead of making a merit of the difficulties of his campaign, he 
 sought, in his letters and despatches, to conceal them, ascribing the 
 faults of his "young troops" to their "want of experience," to their 
 hard duty, the constant succession of bad weather, &c., still en- 
 couraging them to nobler efforts in future ; and if any impatience of 
 discipline appeared, he attributed it to " that spirit of freedom which
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 men, accustomed to think for themselves, will bring even into camps 
 with them." 
 
 His perseverance and good conduct in gaining possession of St. 
 John's and Montreal were the theme of every tongue ; his abilities in 
 negotiation ; the precision with which the various articles of treaties 
 and capitulations were expressed; the generous applause he gave, 
 not only to every worthy effort of his own officers, but to the com- 
 manding officer and garrison of St. John's; his noble declaration to 
 the inhabitants of Montreal, that " the Continental armies despise every 
 act of oppression and violence, being come for the express purpose 
 of giving liberty and security ;" all these did honor to himself and 
 to congress, under whose authority he acted. 
 
 In a memoir of General MONTGOMERY it would be unjust wholly 
 to omit a tribute to his aids, who fell with him in Canada. They 
 were Captains Macpherson and Cheesman. The first, having finished 
 his education at Princeton, studied law with John Dickinson ; ani- 
 mated by his example and precepts, he had become eminent in his 
 profession at a period when many are deemed " under age." The 
 love of liberty being his ruling passion, he thought it his duty to 
 offer himself to the service of his country, and he had soon an op- 
 portunity of attaining the military rank of which he was laudably 
 ambitious. He soon became the bosom friend of General MONT- 
 GOMERY, was entrusted with a share of his most important negotia- 
 tions, and stood by his side in the attack upon Quebec; in death 
 they were not a moment divided. 
 
 Captain Cheesman, of the New- York forces, fell at the same time, 
 covered with honor, and lamented by all who knew him as an active 
 and gallant officer. Captain Hendricks also deserves mention ; he 
 commanded one of the Pennsylvania rifle companies, and was a gal- 
 lant soldier. The command of the guard belonged to him on 
 the morning of 'the attack; but he solicited and obtained leave to 
 take a more conspicuous post, and having led his men through the 
 barrier where his commanding officer, General Arnold, was wounded, 
 he long sustained the fire of the garrison with unshaken firmness, 
 till, at last, receiving a shot in his breast, he immediately expired. 
 
 The sorrow of the American people for the loss of MONTGOMERY 
 was heightened by the esteem which his amiable character had 
 gained him. The whole country mourned his death; and to ex- 
 press the high sense entertained of his services, congress directed a 
 monument of marble to be placed in front of St. Paul's church in the 
 city of New- York, with the following appropriate inscription:
 
 RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 
 
 THIS MONUMENT 
 
 Was erected by order of 
 
 Congress, 25th January, 1776, 
 
 To transmit to posterity 
 
 A grateful remembrance of the 
 
 Patriotism, conduct, enterprise, and 
 
 Perseverance 
 Of MAJOR-GENERAL RICHARD MONGOMERYJ 
 
 Who, after a series of success 
 
 Amidst the most discouraging difficulties, 
 
 Fell in the attack 
 
 On Quebec, 
 
 31st December, 1775. 
 
 Aged 37* years. 
 
 His remains, (after resting forty-two years at Quebec,) by a reso- 
 lution of the state of New- York, were brought to the city; and on the 
 8th of July, 18 18, they were deposited with grateful ceremonies be- 
 neath the aforesaid monument. 
 
 Such an example is worthy of the great state which conceived and 
 executed it. Many of our brave men and legislators of the era that 
 tried men's souls still slumber in ignoble scites ; it is time the nation 
 was awakened from its apathy on this subject. 
 
 As an appropriate conclusion, we may be permitted to quote the 
 following character of General MONTGOMERY from Ramsay's His- 
 tory of the American Revolution : 
 
 " Few men have ever fallen in battle so much regretted by both 
 sides as General MONTGOMERY. His many amiable qualities had 
 procured him an uncommon share of private affection, and his great 
 abilities an equal proportion of public esteem. Being a sincere lover 
 of liberty, he had engaged in the American cause from principle, and 
 quitted the enjoyment of an easy fortune and the highest domestic 
 felicity, to take an active share in the fatigues and dangers of a war 
 instituted for the defence of the community of which he was an 
 adopted member. His well-known character was almost equally 
 esteemed by the friends and foes of the side which he had espoused. 
 
 * The age on the monument is 37, as inserted in the text, hut it is evidently an error. 
 General Armstrong, in his Memoir of Montgomery, says, he fell "in the first month of his 
 fortieth year." ED.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 In America he was celebrated as a martyr to the liberties of mankind; 
 in Great Britain, as a misguided good man, sacrificing to what he sup- 
 posed to be the rights of his country. His name was mentioned in 
 parliament with singular respect. Some of the most powerful 
 speakers in that assembly displayed their eloquence in sounding his 
 praise and lamenting his fate. Those, in particular, who had been 
 his fellow soldiers in the late war, expatiated on his many virtues. 
 The minister himself acknowledged his worth while he reprobated 
 the cause in which he fell. He concluded an involuntary panegyric 
 by saying ' Curse on his virtues, they have undone his country.' " 
 
 Such was General RICHARD MONTGOMERY; a name that we have 
 cause to remember with pride, not unmingled with regret at his early 
 but honorable death.
 
 CGc (Do "
 
 
 WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE. 
 
 ON the 20th December, 1803, the beautiful, rich, and extensive region 
 of Louisiana, having been ceded to the United States by France, was 
 formally surrendered to the republic. The American commissioner on 
 this occasion was invested with the title and powers of intendant and 
 governor-general of the province, as exercised under the former French 
 and Spanish dominion. To him was conferred almost unbounded 
 authority; upon him rested the delicate task of reconciling to a new 
 dominion, and organizing into a new government, a people long inured 
 to forms and usages entirely different. Though yet but in the spring 
 of life, no man could have exercised the former with greater mildness 
 and moderation, none could have performed the latter with more judg- 
 ment and ability. When he came, followed by a gallant band of 
 Americans, to unfurl the banner of his country over its new territories, 
 all were pleased with the blandness of his manners and the beauty of 
 his person ; all were astonished to see so young a man invested with 
 so high a trust : but the subsequent virtue and wisdom of his measures 
 during a long and tempestuous administration of thirteen years, excited 
 the love and admiration of all, and have left in the memory of his coun- 
 trymen of Louisiana a monument more lasting than the marble which 
 they have consecrated to his virtues. The American who in this high 
 station thus did honor to himself, and to the judgment of the distin- 
 guished statesman who appointed him, was WILLIAM CHARLES COLE 
 CLAIBORNE, the subject of the present memoir. 
 
 Governor CLAIBORNE was born in Virginia, of a family who had 
 been settled in that state for nearly two hundred years. When the 
 revolution broke out, it is believed that without an exception his family 
 took the side of the people against arbitrary government, and continued 
 their efforts, in common with their countrymen, until the glorious result 
 of the contest. The subject of our sketch was at the close of the revo-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 lution a mere child, and hence could not have been an actor in it ; but 
 he soon learned to appreciate the magnitude of the task our fathers had 
 accomplished, and the perils through which it was achieved. His own 
 father had shared its toils, and it was the custom of the old gentleman, 
 in his retreat, to recount to his children the exploits of the American 
 soldiers, the hardships they had encountered, the battles they had 
 fought, and the victories won. All was painted in glowing colors, even 
 to the horrors of the prison-ships, and the brutality of the British sol- 
 diery, who were often guilty of horrible atrocities. Endowed with 
 some learning, a fine imagination, and an eloquence bold and express- 
 ive, he thus early impressed on the minds of his sons an invincible 
 attachment to free government; a determination, when necessary, to lift 
 their arms in its defence ; and an abhorrence for whoever would raise a 
 parricidal hand upon the fair fabric of American liberty. Mr. Clai- 
 borne, however, could leave no inheritance to his children, but educa- 
 tion and this warm patriotism which he so early inspired ; youthful 
 indiscretions in part, but principally an honorable zeal in the service 
 of his country, had dispersed the wealth which he had inherited from 
 his fathers. Thus the principles of WILLIAM, the second of his four 
 sons, may be said to have been fixed when he was yet only eight years 
 of age ; they were then, what they remained through life, eminently 
 republican. At that early age he excited the admiration of Mr. El- 
 dridge Harris, the worthy president of the Richmond academy, when 
 he saw this motto which his scholar WILLIAM had written in his Latin 
 grammar, " Cara patria, carior libertas ; ubi est libertas, ibi est mea 
 patria." 
 
 Young CLAIBORNE having spent a short time at the college of Wil- 
 liam and Mary, which he left on account of improper conduct of one 
 of the ushers towards him, returned to the Richmond academy, and 
 there acquired a thorough knowledge of his own, with the Latin and 
 Greek languages, and the most important branches of the mathematics. 
 While at school, he learned with great facility, and was universally 
 esteemed and beloved by his professors and fellow students. At the 
 age of fifteen, he was apprized that for his future establishment in life 
 he had to depend entirely upon his own exertions ; he determined, 
 therefore, on his course, and carried it into immediate execution. He 
 told his father he knew very well he could do nothing more for his 
 children than educate them ; that he had resolved on his course, and 
 with his permission would enter upon it forthwith. " I," said he, " have 
 some acquaintance with Mr. Beckley, clerk to congress ; I will go to 
 New York, and endeavor to get employment in his office : if I succeed,
 
 WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE. 
 
 my fortune is secured ; if I fail with him, my education will recom- 
 mend me elsewhere, and in as thriving a place as New York, I can 
 surely do something to support me. All I ask is a small addition to 
 my stock of clothes, and my passage paid to New York." The manly 
 firmness with which he addressed these words to his father, the confi- 
 dence which they implied in his abilities, virtue, and energy, excited 
 the old man's admiration ; he gazed with rapture on his enterprising 
 son, and the plan was acceded to. Being now fixed in his resolution, 
 Mr. CLAIBORNE left school, having first delivered a valedictory address 
 to the professors and students. Previous to the delivery of this ad- 
 dress, he had submitted it to the inspection of a learned judge, whose 
 corrections he solicited ; the next day it was returned with one or two 
 immaterial alterations, and a note from the judge, which told his young 
 friend " to continue moral and industrious, and he would become useful 
 and celebrated ; his path, with the blessings of Providence, would be 
 strewed with roses, and lighted by the sun of true glory." 
 
 Thus encouraged, and fortified by a moral and solid education, with 
 a mind embellished with stores of Grecian and Roman literature, with 
 manners urbane, a tall and manly form, and a face uncommonly beau- 
 tiful, Mr. CLAIBORNE, not yet sixteen years of age, bade farewell to his 
 family, and took his departure from Richmond in a sloop bound to 
 New York. He was kindly received by Mr. Beckley, who gave him 
 immediate employment in his office. The business which devolved 
 on him, consisted in copying bills and resolutions of congress, and 
 drawing original bills for members and committees of that body. 
 These duties giving occupation to only half of his time, a portion of 
 each day was devoted to reading political works of merit, attending to 
 the debates of congress, and learning the French language. His even- 
 ings were almost invariably consecrated to the ladies, to whose society 
 he was devoted through life. To Mr. Beckley he gave entire satis- 
 faction, and subsequently repaid all the favors he had received at his 
 hands. Congress soon removed to Philadelphia, and hither Mr. CLAI- 
 BORNE went. Soon after his arrival in that city, he became acquainted 
 with Vice President Adams, and Mr. Jefferson, then secretary of state. 
 By both these gentlemen, he was treated with great kindness: he 
 afterwards proved his gratitude to both. Hitherto, Mr. CLAIBORNE 
 had not fixed on any profession on which to depend for his future 
 establishment in life; he had thought of the navy, the army: his 
 dreams were sometimes golden, and he had even hoped to rise in the 
 ranks of diplomacy. The bar had not yet presented itself to his mind 
 in a tempting light ; inconsiderable circumstances, however, have some-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 times a decisive influence on the destiny of man ; Mr. C. had for some 
 time been a member of a polemic society, at which were discussed 
 such questions as from time to time agitated the public mind. At last 
 a question was proposed for discussion which Mr. C. had deeply re- 
 flected on ; he determined, therefore, to enter the lists, and try himself 
 at a public speech. He had now entered his eighteenth year ; we 
 have told the reader that his person was fine, his pronunciation was 
 also distinct, accurate, and well-disciplined, and his tones of voice 
 admirably adapted to public disputation : to these advantages he super- 
 added, without being himself conscious of it, that grace of gesture 
 which generally belongs to youth, beauty, and innocence. The suc- 
 cess of the effort he made on this occasion was surprising ; it elicited 
 from a crowded audience reiterated bursts of approbation, and an 
 enlightened member of congress who was present, declared " it shiv- 
 ered to atoms the arguments of his opponents, and bore off the uncon- 
 tested prize of superior eloquence." The success of this effort gave 
 an additional stimulus to his rising hopes, and he determined to enter 
 on the practice of the law. 
 
 It should have been mentioned that Mr. CLAIBORNE had become 
 intimately acquainted with General John Sevier, then a delegate in 
 congress from the territory, and afterwards governor of the state of 
 Tennessee. A friendship grew up between them which continued 
 unimpaired during their lives, and of all the benefactors Mr. CLAI- 
 BORNE met with in the beginning of his career, there was none like 
 this distinguished man, in the number and greatness of his favors. 
 General Sevier had frequently advised Mr. C. to settle in the territory 
 south-west of the Ohio ; he stated the opening then was there for a 
 lawyer, augured that his success would be great, and tendered his 
 assistance and friendship. These flattering assurances determined his 
 young friend. He accordingly gave Mr. Beckley notice that he in- 
 tended to leave him as soon as another clerk could be procured, and 
 in a short time took an affectionate leave of this good friend to repair 
 to Richmond, where he remained three months. " During this stay in 
 Richmond," says his brother, the Hon. Nathaniel Claiborne, " he was 
 devoted almost entirely to the society of the ladies, and I have heard 
 him repeatedly say, he had in that time been enabled to read only 
 through the revised code, and a few chapters in the first volume of 
 Blackstone's Commentaries. With this dispreparation, as he humor 
 ously called it, he was an applicant for a license, and, strange as it may 
 seem, he passed with great credit, as I have been assured by a gentle 
 man who was examined and licensed at the same time. This my
 
 WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE. 
 
 brother attributed to the polemic society in Philadelphia, which he 
 considered at the time one of the best law schools in the union. Here 
 he had acquired that general and . enlarged view of natural, national, 
 and municipal law, without labor and without expense, which years of 
 study could not have afforded." 
 
 The object in getting a license in Virginia, was to enable him the 
 more readily to obtain admittance to the territorial bar ; without license 
 in another state, a probationary residence was required. And now bid- 
 ding adieu to the scenes of his youth, and the charms of large cities, 
 he directed his steps to Sullivan county in the now state of Tennessee, 
 and entered on the practice of the law. He continued at the bar, 
 however, only two years, and his success in this short period was 
 equal to that of any lawyer who ever went before him. No cause of 
 moment and expectation occurred in a court where he practised, in 
 which he was not employed. He was frequently sent for to the neigh- 
 boring court in Virginia; and he commenced his career by receiving a 
 fee of five hundred dollars, with his expenses paid, for coming to Vir- 
 ginia to defend a man on a charge of murder. At another time, he 
 went two hundred miles to argue a case, in the decision of which was 
 involved property to an immense amount, on the promise of a fee so 
 large, that Mr. C. refused to receive it, although the cause was gained, 
 and took only an elegant horse in lieu thereof. Instead of devoting, 
 as heretofore, much of his time to gay amusements, he was now occu- 
 pied with his books, and had already raised himself to the first rank in 
 his profession ; as an advocate in a criminal case, it is said he stood 
 unrivalled. Juries have been often dissolved in tears, and enlightened 
 tribunals have been deeply moved by his touching eloquence. He 
 now determined to move back to Richmond, and enter on the practice 
 of the law there. " My brother," says Mr. Nathaniel Claiborne, " had 
 a quickness of comprehension, a goodness of heart, and a laudable 
 ambition to be distinguished, in a degree we rarely meet with ; but 
 unfortunately he was constitutionally lazy, and when we see him 
 marching with giant strides to eminence in his profession, we are con- 
 strained to acknowledge that he was urged on by the joint influence 
 of virtuous ambition and hard necessity. He was attached to Virginia, 
 and had left it with regret. The very trees that had shaded him from 
 the summer heat were to him objects of veneration ; these, were the 
 beautiful seats of his early ancestors : they have long since passed 
 into other hands, but the everlasting marble records the names of the 
 first proprietors. There he had received his earliest instruction, and 
 enjoyed the society of friends who loved him. The determination of
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS.' 
 
 ray brother to return was heard by the family with enthusiastic plea- 
 sure, and as the pressure on him for exertion would be greater, those 
 who knew the powers of his mind were convinced that he must 
 succeed." 
 
 An occurrence now took place which caused the resolution to 
 remove to Richmond to be abandoned. The population of the terri- 
 tory having been ascertained to amount to seventy-five thousand, they 
 demanded admission into the union, and a convention was called to 
 form a state constitution. Mr. CLAIBORNE was proposed and elected 
 one of the five members for Sullivan county. 
 
 In the convention which soon after assembled, he appeared to great 
 advantage. It was an enlightened body, and the constitution that 
 
 . issued from their hands is based upon the truest principles of liberty ; 
 in the formation of this constitution, WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE had a 
 principal agency. The education he had received, the books he had 
 read, the political circles he had frequented, all conspired to give him 
 an imposing stand. He now stood for the first time before a whole 
 state, and the goodness of his heart and the magnitude of the object, 
 united to bring into action all the powers of his mind. His merit was 
 universally acknowledged. Governor Blount declared, that making 
 the necessary allowance for his youth, he was the most extraordinary 
 man he had met with, and that if he lived to attain the age of fifty, 
 nothing but prejudice could prevent his becoming one of the most dis- 
 tinguished political characters in America. In the convention of Ten- 
 nessee, he began his political career, and without intermission he was 
 thereafter in public life. General Sevier was elected governor of the 
 new state of Tennessee, and among his first acts was the appointment 
 of Mr. CLAIBORNE as a judge of the supreme court of law and equity 
 of the state. Mr. CLAIBORNE was urged by his friends not to accept ; 
 but in vain. " My motto," said he, " is honor and not money ; Go- 
 vernor Sevier is my friend, and if I can, I am bound to aid his admin- 
 istration." At the time of his appointment to a judgeship, and that too 
 in the-highest tribunal in the state, he was not twenty-two years of age. 
 He continued but a short time in this office, when a vacancy occurring 
 in the house of representatives of the United States, at the solicitation 
 of several gentlemen who had served with him in the convention, he 
 
 ' resigned his seat on the bench and became a candidate for congress. 
 He was elected by an immense majority over his opponent, who was 
 a man of talent, of great wealth, and extensive connections. A few 
 days after his election to congress, Mr. CLAIBORNE entered his twenty- 
 third year. This astonishing and rapid promotion becomes still more
 
 WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE. 
 
 surprising, when we consider that he had but recently come into the 
 district, that he was poor, and had not the advantage of any kindred 
 blood, even in the most remote degree, in the state of Tennessee. 
 During the first congress that Mr. CLAIBORNE sat in, he participated 
 little in debate, but enough to show that he was an acquisition to the 
 republican party. On the bill providing for the military establishment, 
 however, the talents of the house were brought out, and the strength 
 of parties put to trial. On this occasion, Mr. CLAIBORNE delivered his 
 sentiments ; his speech was adorned with the choicest flowers of an- 
 cient and modern literature ; it showed a heart deeply convinced, and 
 earnestly engaged in convincing others ; and if it discovered on its face 
 less labor than other speeches bespoke, it was exempt from the venom 
 which conflicting political prejudices had on this occasion developed : 
 and the spirit of benevolence which it breathed, with the classic purity 
 of the style, recommended it to general attention. A listener thus 
 described it : " It seemed to be a spontaneous effort, the object was to 
 persuade and convince, not to surprise ; it had passion and feeling in 
 every sentence, but it was the passion of the heart ; satisfied he was 
 right, he was bent on the conviction of others. So earnest was Mr. 
 C., that he forced himself on the affection of the most indifferent, and 
 excited the enthusiastic admiration of his friends : though he was zeal- 
 ous, it was without bustle ; he was ardent, but not acrimonious ; and 
 if he fell short of some of the veterans who preceded him, you were 
 loath to make the admission, while you reflected that he was the 
 youngest man who had ever appeared on the floor of congress." 
 
 The constitution had not required that the electors should designate 
 on their tickets the person they voted for as president, and the one 
 voted for as vice president, but simply that they should give their votes 
 for two persons ; that the one having the highest number of votes 
 should be president, and the one having the next highest should be 
 vice president. Now it so happened, that Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Burr 
 had an equal number of votes, and it devolved on the house of repre- 
 sentatives to decide which of them should be president, the choice to 
 be made by ballot, and each state in the union to have but one vote. 
 The contest was extremely animated, for on this occasion the great 
 federal and republican parties came into violent conflict. It was clear 
 that Jefferson had been voted for as president, and Burr, vice president; 
 they had been so nominated before the election, and in every vote 
 given for the two, Jefferson was first named ; when, therefore, it was 
 understood that they were returned with an equal number of votes to 
 the house of representatives, it was supposed of course that the public
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 voice would be obeyed, and Jefferson made president. The federal 
 party, however, determined to support Colonel Burr ; they knew very 
 well the political sentiments of every member of the house of repre- 
 sentatives, and they early ascertained that the election depended on the 
 vote of Mr. CLAIBORNE, the sole representative from the state of Ten- 
 nessee. Mr. C., who, on this occasion had been reflected to congress, 
 was young and aspiring ; the federal party knew, too, that he was poor. 
 They flattered themselves that his vote might be secured, and indi- 
 rectly proffered various temptations to obtain it. But Mr. CLAIBORNE 
 was too firm to be brought over : he knew the public voice, and thought 
 it honorable and proper to obey it. The day at last arrived, when this 
 great question of the presidency was to be decided, and the states 
 were equally divided on the first ballot ; several other ballots took 
 place, and the result was the same, when the house adjourned. The 
 news spread through the union like fire, and everywhere produced 
 the liveliest sensation. The importance of Mr. CLAIBORNE'S vote was 
 so well understood, that he went armed to the house ; for what might 
 occur from the extraordinary excitement that prevailed, no one could 
 foresee : rumors were even afloat that the parties in the country were 
 beginning to arm. 
 
 For several days, congress, and the country around, were a scene 
 of terrible confusion : thirty-six ballots had been had, and the result 
 was the same ; an equality of votes for Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Burr. 
 On every ballot, Mr. CLAIBORNE had voted for Jefferson, and declared 
 that as he felt satisfied that that gentleman was the choice of the people, 
 he was determined to adhere to him, let the consequences be what 
 they would. On the thirty-seventh ballot, the state of Vermont, that 
 had hitherto voted for Colonel Burr, threw in a blank ballot, and Jef- 
 ferson was elected. Mr. C. did what he considered his duty with a 
 determined mind, and to his vote was owing, in a great measure, the 
 result of this important contest. 
 
 Mr. CLAIBORNE remained but a short time after this in congress. A 
 serious misunderstanding having arisen between the people of the Mis- 
 sissippi territory and their then governor, many distinguished individ- 
 uals of that country signified a wish for the appointment of Mr. C. as 
 their governor, and, in conformity therewith, he received and accepted 
 an appointment to that office in 1801, from President Jefferson. 
 
 Mr. CLAIBORNE proceeded to his new government with all possible 
 despatch. He reached the beautiful hills of Natchez on the 23d of 
 November, where he was received with enthusiasm, and he imme- 
 diately entered with zeal upon the duties of his charge.
 
 WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE. 
 
 On his arrival, he had found the infant community over which he 
 was to preside torn by local dissensions and personal animosities ; by 
 these different factions he was hailed with gladness, each hoping to 
 make of him the instrument of separate views or private vengeance ; 
 but he repelled all such attempts with firmness, though mildly, and 
 taking sides with none, he made it his duty to hear all parties : to 
 sooth and conciliate all, but to act for himself, with independence, 
 impartiality, and justice. 
 
 Mr. CLAIBORNE had lately married Miss Eliza Lewis, of Nashville. 
 She was tall and graceful, with perfect symmetry of feature, and her 
 wealthy and indulgent parents had early procured for her those advan- 
 tages of education that add new charms to the female character. Thus 
 blessed with the affections of an amiable wife, in possession of an inde- 
 pendent fortune, and without an enemy on earth, Mr. C. spent two 
 years most happily as governor of the Mississippi territory ; and how 
 far he enjoyed the love and confidence of the people during this period, 
 may be seen by the following address, which he received after he 
 had repaired to New Orleans, on a mission of still higher importance. 
 
 " To His Excellency WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE, governor of the Mississippi territory, 
 exercising the powers of governor-general and intendant of the province of Louisiana : 
 
 " The exertions of a public officer to confer happiness on the community by dispensing 
 equal and impartial justice, and preserving unimpaired the constitutional liberties of the 
 people, deserve the return of grateful acknowledgments. The citizens of Washington and 
 its vicinity, therefore, pray your excellency to accept their undivided approbation of the firm 
 and dignified measures of your late administration in this territory. If integrity of conduct, 
 united to an enlightened mind filled with benevolence and universal philanthropy, are worthy 
 of eulogium, all that those virtues merit we offer you as a just tribute. 
 
 " We congratulate your excellency on the unanimity and harmony with which the Ameri- 
 can government is received by our new fellow-citizens of Louisiana ; this great and interest- 
 ing event cannot fail to exhibit ' the fairest page in the volume of faithful history ;' and the 
 high characters who so ably managed the negotiation, from its commencement to the ever 
 memorable surrender on the 20th day of December last, will share the warmest affection of 
 the American people. 
 
 " On this auspicious occasion, we reflect with honest pride and exultation, that in dis- 
 charging the highest trust and confidence reposed in your excellency by the president of the 
 United States, nothing has appeared repugnant to the principles of inflexible justice, mingled 
 with humanity. We earnestly desire the return of your excellency to the Mississippi terri- 
 tory. We anticipate no change by which we can gain either a better friend, or a more 
 patriotic governor ; but should the general government require your aid in another quarter, 
 we tender you this pledge of undissembled friendship, and a sincere wish that you may ever 
 continue to merit and obtain the confidence of your country." 
 
 In this conspicuous station, the highest in the gift of the general 
 government, and to discharge which required judgment, prudence, and 
 ability, far beyond the lot of ordinary men, Mr. CLAIBORNE had a diffi-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 cult and perplexing task to perform. He had found the province of 
 Louisiana in some parts almost fallen into anarchy, and throughout the 
 administration every thing to reform or reorganize. Gdvernment had 
 scarcely a nerve not wounded by corruption, and the business in every 
 department was wrapped in mystery and intrigue, and had been left in 
 confusion often inexplicable. Under the last Spanish governor, not 
 only many posts of honor and profit in his gift were sold, but even 
 when exercising the sacred character of a judge, he often vended his 
 decisions to the highest bidder. Such being the character of the head, 
 it is not surprising that the same depravities pervaded every branch of 
 the system. The Louisianians, however, were a well-disposed and 
 generous people ; the greater part gave a cheerful and sincere wel- 
 come to the American government and its new institutions ; but gener- 
 ally their defect of education, which had been the policy of their former 
 rulers, their ignorance of the English language, and especially of poli- 
 tical affairs, rendered them credulous, and often liable to become dupes 
 to the machinations of individuals, who for their own ends are ever 
 busy in exciting discontent in the public mind. 
 
 Thus Governor CLAIBORNE soon had to contend against the most 
 unprincipled intrigues and factions, directed principally by some of his 
 own ambitious countrymen, who had emigrated to the new territory, 
 and who, envious of his authority and high station, used every means 
 to thwart his administration, and to destroy him in the eyes of the 
 people and of his government. So violent were these attacks, that the 
 governor was brought to the field, to defend his character against the 
 calumnies of a Mr. Daniel Clarke, who, by his wealth, his ambition, 
 and his talent for intrigue, had acquired some influence in the country. 
 He was severely wounded on this occasion, and confined a long time 
 to' his bed ; but he sustained himself in his station, and persisted in his 
 honorable course. He made it his especial care to protect and encour- 
 age the people he had been sent to govern ; he used every means in 
 his power to conciliate them to their American countrymen, and to 
 spread among them the blessings of education, and of that political 
 information, which alone could enable them to govern themselves, and 
 to use and appreciate properly the great privileges of freemen, which 
 they were to enjoy. He became sincerely attached to these his adopt- 
 ed countrymen ; and from the purity of his character, the mildness of 
 his official and private conduct, and the benevolence that beamed from 
 his noble countenance, no man was better calculated to have reconciled 
 and attached this new and foreign people to the government he repre- 
 sented. The Louisianians often proved their attachment to him, and
 
 WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE. 
 
 when they were admitted into the union as an independent state in 
 1812, they sanctioned the choice of the general government, by elect- 
 ing him governor, by their own free, and almost unanimous voice. 
 
 Mr. CLAIBORNE, however, during this period had met with many 
 private misfortunes. During the first summer in which he had been 
 exposed to that climate so baneful to strangers, he had nearly suc- 
 cumbed himself to an attack of the yellow fever ; his lady fell a victim 
 to that fatal disease, his infant daughter accompanied her mother, and 
 his brother-in-law young Lewis, who had followed him to Louisiana, 
 fell in a duel. All three had expired on the same day, and were con- 
 signed to the same tomb. When time had allayed the grief of this 
 great calamity, Mr. C. subsequently married Miss Clarissa Duralde, a 
 young Creole lady of great beauty and mental qualities, whom he had 
 the misfortune to lose also, two years after marriage. His situation 
 rendering the position of a single life in some measure unbecoming, 
 he again married, in 1812, Miss Bosque, an accomplished lady of 
 Spanish extraction, by whom he is survived. 
 
 In 1814 and '15, during the memorable invasion of that state by the 
 English, Mr. CLAIBORNE was still in the executive chair of Louisiana, 
 and had been active and highly instrumental in preparing the military 
 defence of the country, and giving to General Jackson, previous to his 
 arrival on that station, all the necessary information relative thereto. 
 He, however, voluntarily surrendered to the general, when he arrived, 
 the command of the militia of his state, and consented himself to re- 
 ceive his orders ; a measure which he thought a just tribute to the 
 military experience of General Jackson, and which he adopted, also, to 
 avoid to his state all the expenses of the equipment and movements of 
 her militia, which would have fallen upon her alone had he kept the 
 command. Thus, to his great regret, it was not the fortune of Gov- 
 ernor CLAIBORNE to have participated personally in the glorious contest 
 of the 8th of January. He was marching rapidly, to join in the action 
 of the 23d of December, at the head of a select corps of Louisiana 
 militia, eager to meet the enemy, when he received orders from Gene- 
 ral Jackson to turn back immediately, and repair with his troops to 
 Gentilly, to occupy the important pass of Chef-Menteur, where it was 
 feared that the English had made a diversion ; he obeyed, and reluct- 
 antly directed his march to that station, which he fortified, and remain- 
 ed in that command during the whole contest, which terminated in the 
 memorable battle of New Orleans. Previous to this, an occurrence 
 had taken place, which may be worthy here of insertion. All have 
 heard of the adventurer Lafitte, whose piratical character was some-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 what extenuated by many traits of valor and generosity, and against 
 whose depredations in our southern seas, the efforts of Governor CLAI- 
 BORNE and of the general government had been long directed, with 
 but little success. The British commander of the naval expedition 
 against Louisiana, aware of the intrepidity of this buccaneer, and of 
 his perfect topographical knowledge of this region, when he approach- 
 ed the waters of the Mississippi, addressed a letter to Lafitte, offering 
 a large sum of money, and a captaincy in the British navy, for his aid 
 and counsel to the invading expedition. Lafitte rejected with contempt 
 these offers ; to prove his sincerity, he immediately sent the letter of 
 the British commander to Governor CLAIBORNE, by a confidential 
 agent, and tendered his services with those of his band to the Ameri- 
 can government, provided all criminal prosecutions against them by 
 the United States should be suspended. The governor immediately 
 accepted the proposal, upon consultation with the proper authorities. 
 Lafitte and his determined band were admitted into our ranks, and 
 subsequently rendered the most efficient services at the head of our 
 artillery ; we need not say that they obtained the pardon which their 
 conduct merited. 
 
 In 1817, on the expiration of his term as governor of the state, Mr. 
 CLAIBORNE was elected to represent Louisiana in the senate of the 
 United States ; but fate had here decreed a premature end to his 
 career : he died in New Orleans, of a liver complaint, on the 23d of 
 November, 1817, and in the forty-second year of his age. All ranks 
 attended his remains to the grave with undissembled grief. The 
 municipal authorities on the same day decreed a public mourning^and 
 appropriated a sum of money to erect a marble monument to his 
 memory. 
 
 Thus guided by the firm integrity, the virtue, and the sincere and 
 warm devotion to his country, which particularly distinguished him,, 
 Governor CLAIBORNE had sustained his character throughout his event 
 ful administration, as a pure and devoted, an able^dignified, and vir- 
 tuous chief magistrate. It was his lot to have been at the helm of the 
 important post of Louisiana during all the critical periods of our early 
 collisions with Spain upon our southern frontiers, of the Burr conspir 
 acy, and of the invasion of Louisiana by a British army. In all these 
 circumstances, he remained the able agent, and the faithful sentinel of 
 his country upon the outskirts of the union. No man had ever enjoyed 
 greater honors at so early an age : seldom has virtue been rewarded by 
 a more rapid and brilliant career. /C. . 
 
 12 

 
 
 
 &:. m 
 
 '* ' ;i 
 
 4* 

 
 
 
 A
 
 MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS. 
 
 Mrs. ABIGAIL ADAMS, wife of John Adams, second President of the 
 United States, was one of three daughters of William Smith, minister 
 of a Congregational church at Weymouth in the Colony of Massa- 
 chusetts Bay; and of Elizabeth Quincy, a daughter of Colonel John 
 Qnincy, the proprietor of Mount Wollaston. This spot, situated on 
 the sea-shore in the Bay of Boston, about seven miles south-east of 
 that city, was the seat of a settlement by Thomas Wollaston and 
 thirty of his associates in 1625, five years before that of the Massa- 
 chusetts Colony. Wollaston abandoned his settlement the next year, 
 and left part of his men under the command of Thomas Morton. 
 The settlement itself was broken up by Governor Winthrop in the 
 Summer of 1630, shortly after the landing of his Colony. Mount 
 Wollaston was in 1634 made part of Boston, and the land was 
 granted to William Coddington. He soon after sold it to William 
 Ting, one of the principal merchants of Boston, and one of the four 
 first representatives of the town in the General Court. Ting had 
 four daughters, between whom, after his decease, his inheritance was 
 divided. One of those daughters married Thomas Shepard, the cele- 
 brated minister of Charlestown ; and in the distribution of the estates, 
 the farm at Mount Wollaston was assigned to her. Her daughter, 
 Anna, married Daniel Quincy, son of the second Edmund Q,uincy, 
 and was the mother of Colonel John Q,uincy. Mrs. Anna Shepard 
 survived her son-in-law, and at her decease bequeathed the estate at 
 Mount Wollaston to his son John Q,uincy, then a student at Harvard 
 College. In 1716 he married Elizabeth Norton, daughter of John 
 Norton, minister of the first Congregational church at Hingham, a town 
 distant about six miles south-east of Mount Wollaston. Elizabeth 
 Quincy was the eldest daughter of this marriage, and in 1742 became 
 the wife of William Smith. 
 
 Abigail Smith, second daughter of William and Elizabeth Smith, 
 was born on the ii of November, the day dedicated in the Roman
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 calendar to Saint Cecilia, 1774. Her father, grandfather, and great 
 grandfather, had all been educated at Harvard College. The Shep- 
 ards and the Nortons are commemorated among the most learned and 
 talented of the clergymen who held so conspicuous a place in the 
 primitive settlement of New England. Thomas Shepard, the father 
 of him who married Anna Ting, is known from the Magnalia of 
 Cotton Mather as one of the shining lights of the Reformation. His 
 son was scarcely less distinguished, but died in the prime of life. 
 That they are yet held in affectionate remembrance, is in evidence 
 from the very recent fact, that a church adhering to the primitive 
 Puritan doctrines, at Cambridge, has assumed and bears their name. 
 John Norton, the minister of Hingham, was a nephew of his name- 
 sake, illustrious in the history of the Massachusetts Colony, and was 
 himself many years eminent among the pastoral teachers of his age 
 and country. The maternal grandfather of Abigail Smith, John 
 Q,uincy, had been graduated at Harvard College in 1708. Her father, 
 William Smith, in 1725. From this line of ancestry, it may justly 
 be inferred that the family associations of Abigail Smith were from 
 her infancy among those whose habits, feelings, and tastes are marked 
 by the love and cultivation of literature and learning. The only 
 learned profession in the first century of the settlement of New Eng- 
 land was that of the clergy. The law formed no distinct profession, 
 and the lawyers were little esteemed. Science was scarcely better 
 cultivated by the practitioners of the medical art ; but religion was 
 esteemed among the most important of worldly concerns, and the 
 controversial spirit with which it was taught, and which was at once 
 the cause and effect of the Protestant reformation, stimulated the thirst 
 for learning, and sharpened the appetite for the studies by which it 
 is acquired. 
 
 The importance of learning and of literature to the cause of reli- 
 gion, and the entire dependence of practical morals upon religions 
 principle, were so well understood by the first founders of New Eng- 
 land, that the settlers of the Massachusetts Colony had scarcely 
 thrown up sheds and piled log-houses to shelter their bodies from the 
 storm, before their thoughts turned to the erection of the edifice which 
 should serve them and their children for the habitation of the mind. 
 In 1634 they made an appropriation for a school at Newtown, and 
 in 1638 John Harvard, himself one of the most distinguished of their 
 ministers, bequeathed at his decease the sum of 779. 17s. 2d. for the 
 establishment of a college for the education of ministers of the Gospel. 
 The bequest was immediately carried into effect. In 1642 the first
 
 MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS. 
 
 class was graduated the town where the college was situated 
 received the name of Cambridge from that in England, where all the 
 religious teachers of the Colony had been educated ; and the College 
 of Harvard, made by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massa- 
 chusetts an university, bears the name of its founder in glory from 
 age to age down to the extinction of time. 
 
 But in providing for the education of learned ministers of the Gos- 
 pel, the Puritan fathers of New England were not equally solicitous 
 to cultivate and adorn the minds of their daughters. The education 
 of women was not neglected, but was generally confined to the 
 concerns of the household. The women, indeed, mingled in the 
 religious controversies of the first Colonial age, more perhaps than 
 was conducive to their own happiness or to the tranquillity of their 
 relatives ; but the example and the fate of Mrs. Hutchinson and of 
 her doctrines, appears to have operated rather as a warning than as 
 an example to the women of the succeeding age. For the practice 
 of the learned professions, women are by their sex as effectually un- 
 fitted as for fighting battles, holding the plough, felling the forest, or 
 navigating the ocean. 
 
 The education of the daughters of Mr. Smith was in their father's 
 house, with such advantages as a country clergyman in a village of 
 New England, towards the middle of the eighteenth century, could 
 afford. It was about that time that Goldsmith, in his Deserted Tillage, 
 and in his Vicar of Wakefield, painted to the life that condition in 
 human society, and that class of characters formed by it, of which 
 Mr. Smith and his family might have served as the originals. 
 
 On the 25th of October, 1764, in the twentieth year of her age, 
 Miss Abigail Smith was married to John Adams, then an attorney at 
 law residing in Braintree, the town adjoining to Weymouth, and 
 then rising to great eminence at the bar. He had until then devoted 
 himself, with the most indefatigable industry, to the studies and the 
 practice of his profession for about seven years, taking little part in 
 the politics of the time. The subject of politics, in its most compre- 
 hensive sense, had, however, furnished a source of profound medita- 
 tion to his mind for many years before that of his marriage. His 
 
 letter of September, 1755, from Worcester to Nathan Webb, has 
 
 been called a literary phenomenon. A shorter and far more care- 
 lessly written letter, in December 1761, is perhaps not less charac- 
 teristic. 
 
 In November 1762, Miss Smith's elder sister, Mary, had been mar- 
 ried to Richard Cranch, a native of Devonshire in England, who had
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 emigrated to this country in early youth, and was then settled at 
 German town, part of the town of Braintree. In December 1761, 
 Mr. Adams was upon a visit to Mr. Cranch at his house in German- 
 town ; Mr. Cranch having an opportunity to enclose a letter which 
 he had received the day before for Miss Mary Smith, put it under a 
 cover thus addressed : 
 
 "Miss Polly Smith, Weymouth. 
 
 " Germantown, Dec. 3Qth. 1761 
 " DEAR Miss POLLY, 
 
 " I was at Boston yesterday, and saw your brother, who was well. 
 I have but a moment's notice of an opportunity of sending to you the 
 enclosed, which I took at your uncle Edward's. 
 
 " I am, with compliments to your family, 
 " Your affectionate humble servant, 
 
 " R. CRANCH." 
 
 Under which Mr. Adams wrote as follows : 
 
 "DEAR DITTO, 
 
 " Here we are, Dick and Jack, as happy as the wickedness and 
 folly of this world will allow philosophers. Our good wishes are 
 poured forth for the felicity of you, your family, and neighbors. My 
 I don't know what to Miss Nabby ; tell her I hear she's about com- 
 mencing a most loyal subject to young George, and although my al- 
 legiance has been hitherto inviolate, I shall endeavor all in my 
 power to foment rebellion. 
 
 J. ADAMS." 
 
 To account for the preservation of this cover of a letter, not by the 
 lady to whom it was addressed, but by her younger sister, then the 
 loyal subject of young George, it may be necessary to remember that 
 she was then just turned of seventeen ; that it was shortly after the 
 accession of George the Third to the throne ; and that nearly three 
 years after, on the 25th of October, 1 764, she married the instigator 
 to rebellion. 
 
 The year 1765 is memorable in the history of the world, and es- 
 pecially in that of the United States and that of Great Britain, as the 
 year in which the British Parliament enacted the Stamp Act. Until 
 that time Mr. Adams had taken little part in political affairs : his 
 whole soul had been absorbed in the study and practice of his pro-
 
 MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS. 
 
 fession. But from the period of the Stamp Act he devoted himself to 
 the cause of his country. In August of that year, in the midst of the 
 violent fermentation occasioned by the resistance of the people to the 
 execution of the Stamp Act, he published, in a Boston newspaper, the 
 Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, in which the right of 
 popular resistance against oppression is laid down as distinctly as in 
 the Declaration of Independence, and almost in the same terms. 
 The right and the determination of resistance was formed in the mind 
 of John Adams from the first appearance of the Stamp Act, and his 
 partner imbibed his principles, arid prepared herself for all the trials 
 and sacrifices which it was apparent must in such a contest be re- 
 quired of her. For ten years after their marriage Mr. Adams con- 
 tinued with increasing reputation in the practice of the law, residing 
 alternately in the mansion descended to him from his father, and at 
 Boston. In September, 1774, Mr. Adams was called to attend the 
 meeting of the first Congress at Philadelphia, That session was 
 short ; but from the meeting of the second session in May, 1775, it was 
 not again discontinued till the close of the war of the Revolution, and 
 during the whole of that time she resided at Braintree, with a family 
 of infant children, far from the partner of her heart, and exposed with 
 her family, during a great part of the time, to continual dangers, 
 scarcely less formidable than those which her husband, far distant 
 from her, was on his part called to encounter. 
 
 The first deadly conflict of the war was in April 1775, at Lexing- 
 ton. The incident which gave occasion to it was the detachment of 
 a body of troops from the British army at Boston, sent out to inter- 
 cept John Hancock and Samuel Adams, then on their way to attend 
 the meeting of this second Congress. John Adams was not with 
 them, but had left his home for the same destination several days 
 before. But his dwelling-house, his wife, and children, were within 
 a shorter distance from Boston than Lexington or Concord ; and the 
 same spirit which had instigated the British commander to send a 
 body of men to seize the persons of two members of the Continental 
 Congress, might with a much smaller force have visited the dwelling- 
 house, and destroyed or made prisoners of the family of the third. 
 For several months this danger was so imminent, that the library, and 
 all the most valuable furniture of the house, were removed to a dis- 
 tant part of the town ; nor were they restored till after the British 
 army had, in April 1776, evacuated Boston. 
 
 Soon after the close of this trial, aggravated by an epidemic dysen- 
 tery, with which, in the Autumn of 1775, Mrs. ADAMS herself and
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 every member of her family were severely afflicted, and to which her 
 own mother, a brother of her husband, and a young woman living with 
 her, in the course of two or three weeks fell victims, it was succeeded 
 by another scarcely less distressing. After the removal of Congress 
 from Philadelphia to Yorktown, in November, 1777, Mr. Adams made 
 a short visit to his family, and, while absent, was appointed a joint 
 Commissioner at the Court of France, with Dr. Benjamin Franklin 
 and Arthur Lee, in the place of Silas Deane, who was recalled. In 
 February, 1778, he sailed from Nantasket Roads in the Boston 
 frigate, Captain Samuel Tucker ; taking with him his eldest son, then 
 a boy in the eleventh year of his age. It was the most, perilous pe- 
 riod of the war for a passage across the Atlantic. The Boston was 
 an old brigantine converted into a small frigate of 28 guns, far infe- 
 rior in force and weight of metal to the sloops of war of our present 
 navy. While she was preparing for sea in the harbor of Boston, 
 there was a British squadron anchored at no greater distance than 
 Newport, Rhode Island, watching her departure ; well informed of 
 her destination, advised of the fact that a member of Congress was 
 going out in her as a passenger, and eager in coveting possession 
 both of the passenger and the ship. France had not then acknow- 
 ledged the Independence of the United States, nor was it certain 
 what reception the ship or Commissioner would find in that country. 
 Mrs. ADAMS would for herself have been prepared to encounter 
 every hazard with the partner of her life ; but to expose her with three 
 infant children, the whole family at once, was too much to undertake. 
 She remained at Braintree, with three of the children. 
 
 In February, 1778, France acknowledged the Independence of the 
 United States, and the treaties of commerce and of eventual alliance 
 were concluded. Congress soon after determined to have, instead of 
 three Commissioners at the Court of France, only one Minister Pleni- 
 potentiary, and the choice fell upon Dr. Franklin. Mr. Lee had an- 
 other commission as Minister to Spain. Mr. Adams was left without 
 being recalled, but without appointment to any other mission. He 
 returned to the United States in August, 1779 ; but it had not been 
 the intention of Congress to dispense wiih his further services in 
 Europe. Soon after his return he received a commission to negotiate 
 a peace with Great Britain ; and in November, 1779, embarked again 
 for France, taking with him his two elder sons, John Quincy and 
 Charles Mrs. ADAMS again remained with the two other children, 
 a daughter and the youngest son, till after the conclusion of the 
 peace. This was followed by a joint commission to Mr. Adams, with
 
 MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS. 
 
 Dr. Franklin and Mr. Jefferson, to negotiate treaties of commerce 
 with any of the European or Barbary Powers ; and to this succeeded 
 the appointment of Mr. Adams as Minister Plenipotentiary to the 
 Court of Great Britain. 
 
 In May, 1784, Mrs. ADAMS embarked, with her only daughter, at 
 Boston, to join her husband ; she arrived at London in July. Mr. 
 Adams was then at the Hague, in the discharge of the office of Mi- 
 nister Plenipotentiary to the United Netherlands, to which he had been 
 appointed by Congress after the capture and imprisonment, in the 
 tower of London, of Henry Laurens. About the same time of Mrs. 
 ADAMS'S arrival in England, Mr. Jefferson arrived in France, on the 
 joint mission to negotiate commercial treaties, which negotiation was 
 to be conducted at Paris. Mr. Adams, therefore, repaired to London 
 to meet his family, and proceeded with them to Paris. They resided 
 nearly a year at Auteuil, a village adjoining that of Passi, the resi- 
 dence of Doctor Franklin, until his final return to the United States, 
 in 1785. He had, soon after the conclusion of the peace, requested 
 of Congress permission to return, and to retire from the service of the 
 Union. In the Spring of 1785 Mr. Jefferson was appointed his suc- 
 cessor at the Court of France, and Mr. Adams was commissioned as 
 Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain. He proceeded with his 
 family to London. There he resided three years, and in the Sum- 
 mer of 1788, at his own request, received permission to return home. 
 He arrived at Boston precisely at the time when, by the ratification 
 of nine States, the Constitution of the United States was received as 
 the Supreme law of the land. 
 
 During her absence in Europe, Mrs. ADAMS had resided one year 
 in France and three years in England. She had made several ex- 
 cursions of several days, to visit some of the beautiful scenes and 
 magnificent country-seats which abound in England ; and before her 
 return had, in company with her husband, visited the scarcely less 
 magnificent scenery of the Netherlands. In her own country she had, 
 from her childhood, been accustomed to view and to admire the 
 scenery between her native village and Boston, scarcely surpassed for 
 natural beauty by any object upon earth. In France, in England, 
 in Holland, she had seen the highest attainments of art and the 
 most unbounded profusion of wealth lavished to improve and adorn 
 the simple beauties of nature. In the inspection and enjoyment of 
 these beauties she had taken great delight ; and in familiar letters to 
 her friends in this country had given descriptions of them, exceed-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 ingly interesting to her correspondents, and which, even at this day, 
 might be read with pleasure by the public. 
 
 Her letters to her husband and children, and to friends of her own 
 sex, during the Revolutionary war, among which Mrs. Mercy War- 
 ren, sister of James Otis and wife of General James Warren of 
 Plymouth, deserves to be particularly remembered, have an interest 
 of a higher character. These ladies, familiar with the Roman histo- 
 ry, and living in times when the exercise of the virtues of lofty pa- 
 triotism were as necessary and as useful to the cause of liberty among 
 the daughters of the land, as among their husbands and their brothers, 
 corresponded with each other throughout the Revolutionary war 
 Mrs. ADAMS assuming -the signature of Pdrtio, and Mrs. Warren 
 that of Marcia ; and no correspondence of the Roman matrons bear- 
 ing those names ever breathed a purer or more vivid spirit of pa- 
 triotism. The letters of Mrs. ADAMS to her sons, while they were in 
 Europe, were read and admired ; and translations of more than one 
 of them were made and published in some of the periodical journals 
 of France. 
 
 The Government of the United States, under their present Consti- 
 tution, was organized in April, 1789, and Mr. Adams was elected the 
 first Vice President of the United States. He held that office during 
 the eight years of President Washington's administration, and was 
 elected his immediate successor. The sessions of the first Congress 
 were held at the city of New York. In 1790 the seat of govern- 
 ment was removed to Philadelphia, and continued there till Decem- 
 ber, 1800, when it was transferred to Washington, in the District of 
 Columbia. During the sessions of Congress Mr. Adams usually re- 
 sided with his family at New York, and afterwards at Philadelphia ; 
 and in the intervals between them, on his estate at Quincy, about 
 eight miles distant from Boston. Mrs. ADAMS'S health, as she ad- 
 vanced in years, became frequently infirm ; but, with the exception 
 of one or two sessions, when she was detained at home by indisposi- 
 tion, she resided with her husband at the seat of government. 
 
 In the administration of the first President of the United States 
 two parties immediately disclosed themselves. They were at first 
 merely the successors of those between which the struggle had been 
 maintained for and against the establishment of the Constitution of 
 the United States. The contest between persons and property, be- 
 tween the many and the few, inherent in the vitals of human society, 
 was always fermenting in the community. These elements of 
 contention, always acting and reacting upon the course of human
 
 MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS. 
 
 events, and always modified by them, gave rise to two systems of 
 administration, the leading minds of which were Alexander Hamilton 
 and Thomas Jefferson. Washington endeavored to hold the balance 
 between them ; and Mr. Adams, in his station of Vice-President, gave 
 his cordial and effective support to the general measures of his ad- 
 ministration. The French Revolution breaking forth in the same 
 year when the Constitution of the United States went into operation, 
 and involving in its progress all the elements of contention incident 
 to human society, produced a conflict of principles which not even 
 the moderation, the spotless integrity, and the enduring fortitude of 
 Washington himself could assuage. Jefferson and Hamilton both suc- 
 cessively retired from the administration, but neither of them to quiet 
 retirement. The spirit of party turned with a virulence, incredible ' 
 at this day, against Washington himself; and upon his retirement, Mr. 
 Adams was, by a bare majority of the electoral votes over Mr. Jefferson, 
 chosen the successor to the Presidency, Mr. Jefferson himself being 
 by the same election seated in the chair of the Vice-Presidency. 
 
 The party struggle continued during the administration of Mr. 
 Adams ; and the defection of Hamilton, with other leaders of the 
 Federal party, turned the scale of the election of 1800. Thomas 
 Jefferson and Aaron Burr were returned with an equal number and 
 a majority of votes in the electoral colleges, and after a severe con- 
 test between them in the House of Representatives, Mr. Jefferson was 
 elected President of the United States. Mr. Adams retired to private 
 life, and spent the last twenty-five years of his life at his residence 
 in Q,uincy, where, on the 4th of July 1826, he died. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, in his Inaugural Address, alluded to the political in- 
 tolerance which had marked the party conflicts of the preceding ad- 
 ministrations, and urged his countrymen to restore harmony and af- 
 fection to social intercourse. Of that intolerance, and of the bitter 
 and rancorous imputations which are its most effective weapons, no 
 man who had devoted his life to the service of his country ever en- 
 dured more than Mr. Adams. From the day when he took his seat 
 as President of the Senate, until that when his administration expired, 
 he was assailed with unappeasable virulence ; nor did it even cease 
 with his retirement to private life. The exemplary deportment of 
 Mrs. ADAMS towards persons of all parties during the twelve years 
 of her husband's connexion with the government of the United States, 
 disarmed even the demon of party spirit. She enjoyed universal 
 esteem, as well for the endowments of her mind, as for the correct- 
 ness of her deportment ; and the only form in which personal male-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 volence or party malignity could assume to turn her virtues into 
 weapons of annoyance to her husband, was that of occasional insinu- 
 ations that she exercised over him an uncontrolable influence, 
 extended even to measures of public concernment ; a slander not 
 less unjust than all the others with which Mr. Adams was inces- 
 santly pursued. 
 
 During the remainder of her life Mrs. ADAMS shared the retirement 
 of her husband, in the exercise of all the virtues that adorn and dig- 
 nify the female, and the Christian character. As the mistress of a 
 household, she united the prudence of a rigid economy with the gene- 
 rous spirit of a liberal hospitality ; faithful and affectionate in her 
 friendships, bountiful to the indigent, kind and courteous to her de- 
 pendents, cheerful, good-humoured and charitable in the intercourse 
 of social life with her neighbors and acquaintance. She lived in the 
 habitual practice of benevolence, and of sincere, unaffected piety. In 
 the year 1813 she was called to endure one of the severest afflictions 
 that can befall the lot of humanity, the death of her only daughter, 
 wife of Colonel William Stephens Smith of New York, after a long, 
 lingering, and painful disease. She had before, at earlier periods of 
 her life, lost one infant daughter and one son, Charles Adams, in the 
 prime of life and the thirtieth year of his age. 
 
 Mrs. ADAMS herself died of a typhus fever on the 28th of October, 
 1818, at the age of seventy-four ; leaving to the women of her country 
 an example which, could it be universally followed, would restore to 
 mankind the state of paradise before the fall. J. Q,. A.
 
 EC 

 
 THOMAS M C KEA1M. 
 
 THE facility with which the patriots of the American Revolution 
 passed from the excitement and turbulence of war to the cultivation 
 of the arts of peace, is one of the most remarkable of the numerous 
 excellencies for which they were conspicuous. They did not merely 
 convert weapons of warfare into implements of agriculture. They 
 displayed in civil occupations those exalted intellectual qualities which 
 are usually the growth of peaceful- nurture, but which in them 
 seemed to spring up spontaneously, in defiance of adverse circum- 
 stances and perilous commotions. Perhaps the very concussion of 
 society may have elicited the sparks of genius which otherwise would 
 have lain inert, and never have been brought into existence. 
 
 We have been led to these remarks by contemplating the character of 
 an eminent lawyer and statesman, the foundation of whose greatness 
 was laid amidst the perils of a revolution. The condition of Chief 
 Justice McKEAN was similar to that of a majority of our illustrious 
 countrymen, who acquired in war the qualities essential to distinc- 
 tion in peace. The subject of this memoir was a native of the county 
 of Chester, in the province of Pennsylvania, and was born on the 
 nineteenth day of March. A. D. 1734. 
 
 He received his academical education under the superintendence of 
 the Rev. Francis Allison, a scholar and divine, eminent for piety and 
 learning ; and after having acquired the customary branches of know- 
 ledge, he commenced the study of the law in the office of his relative, 
 David Finney, Esq. at New Castle in Delaware. During the continu- 
 ance of his studies, he performed the duties of Clerk of the Prothono- 
 tary of the Court of Common Pleas, and subsequently became deputy 
 Prothonotary. and Register for the probate of wills, &c. for the County 
 of Newcastle, the whole labor of which devolved upon him in conse- 
 quence of the absence of his principal. 
 
 His career at the bar, to which he was admitted to practice before 
 he had arrived at the age of twenty-one years, was rapid ; and
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 extended to his native county of Chester and to the city of Phila- 
 delphia. In 1756 he was appointed deputy of the Attorney- General 
 to prosecute in the County of Sussex, which appointment he re- 
 signed after having, in a creditable manner, fulfilled its duties for 
 two years. In 1757 he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme 
 Court of Pennsylvania, and was without solicitation elected clerk 
 of the Assembly, which appointment was renewed on the follow- 
 ing year, but was subsequently declined. Another evidence of 
 his merit and growing reputation was exhibited by his having been 
 selected by the Legislature, together with Caesar Rodney, Esq. in 
 1762, to print and revise the laws enacted since 1752 ; an important 
 and responsible duty, which was executed with promptness and suc- 
 cess. 
 
 The early part of his life having been thus devoted to the acquisi- 
 tion of practical knowledge, to the improvement of his abilities, and 
 to the establishment of a broad foundation for his reputation, he was 
 admirably well prepared, for a long and active career of public life. 
 His qualifications were extensive, and his habits of industry firmly 
 settled. The scene which was before him, was full of difficulty and 
 peril. He, however, advanced with resolution, and being thoroughly 
 prepared for every emergency, was enabled to sustain himself amidst 
 the most complicated and hazardous embarrassments which the con- 
 dition of public affairs produced. 
 
 In 1762. as a member of the Assembly from the County of New 
 Castle, he commenced that active participation in politics which he 
 continued for nearly half a century, during which time few great 
 events transpired with which he was not connected, and associated 
 his name with the momentous transactions of the Revolution. Du- 
 ring seventeen years he was annually re-elected in opposition to his 
 avowed inclination, and notwithstanding repeated communications 
 from him to his constituents, through the newspapers, declining a re- 
 election. This is the more remarkable from the circumstance, that 
 for the space of six years of that time he resided in the city of Phila- 
 delphia. It exhibits a singular proof of confidence on the part of the 
 constituents, and fidelity in the representative. 
 
 His repeated solicitations, to be relieved from his official burthen, 
 having been disregarded, he appeared on the 1st of October 1777, the 
 day of the general election, at New Castle ; and after delivering a long 
 and eloquent address to his constituents on the condition of public 
 affairs, succeeded in withdrawing his name as a candidate. But no 
 sooner had he accomplished this object, than the confidence of the
 
 THOMAS M C KEAN. 
 
 people placed him in a situation of singular delicacy and embarrass- 
 ment. 
 
 A committee, composed of six persons, called upon him in the name 
 of the electors, and after expressing the reluctance with which they 
 acquiesced in his determination no longer to be their representative, 
 desired that, in consequence of the critical posture of affairs and their 
 confidence in his judgment, he would recommend seven persons in 
 whom they might confide as representatives for that county. Mr. 
 McKEAN made his grateful acknowledgments for so distinguished a 
 compliment, but struggled to be excused from a duty calculated to 
 give offence to his friends ; and assured them that he knew not only 
 seven, but seventy of the gentlemen present at the election whom he 
 believed to be deserving of their suffrages. The electors, however, 
 persisted in their purpose, and the committee having returned to Mr. 
 McKKAN, and informed him that a compliance with the popular will 
 would not only not give offence to any individual, but would confer 
 a benefit on the country, he wrote the names of seven persons, who 
 were elected. Of the eighteen hundred electors present, the lowest 
 of the gentlemen named by Mr. McKEAN, on the ballot wanted less 
 than two hundred votes of that number. 
 
 So distinguished a proof of confidence made a deep impression on 
 his mind, and is of itself conclusive evidence of his devotion to the 
 public service, and the commanding integrity of his life. The ex- 
 perience of modern times, however, demonstrates that personal merit, 
 unaided by the peculiar condition of society, could not have been the 
 sole cause of the distinction. Merit in the constituents is essential to 
 such a result. The crowd of aspirants after official importance will 
 readily dispense with the services of an incumbent, however neces- 
 sary they may be to the country, and will supply vacancies without 
 requiring the prompting or advice of others. Mr. MCLEAN'S consti- 
 tuents were of a peculiar order. They conferred distinction on merit 
 without stint or envy ; and having once tested the fidelity of their re- 
 presentative, they 
 
 " Grappled him to their souls with hooks of steel ; 
 Jlnd did not dull their palms with entertainment 
 Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged candidate." 
 
 In 1764 the Legislature gave an additional proof of its confidence, by 
 appointing him to be one of the three trustees of the loan office for 
 New Castle County, which station he filled until the year 1772. 
 The controversy with Great Britain, which was fruitful of so many
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 thrilling incidents, and brought so many powerful minds into action, 
 displayed itself about this period like a speck on the horizon ; and to 
 any other than the sagacious patriots of America would hardly have 
 seemed to portend a storm. But the legislation of the British Parlia- 
 ment could not escape the vigilance of Colonial jurists. The arro- 
 gance of British statesmen might look with contempt, on the apparent 
 simplicity of a race of men whom they affected to believe had degene- 
 rated from the parent stock ; but the event proved that there were 
 veins of intellectual wealth pervading our country not surpassed in 
 extent and value by any in Europe ; and that it only required the im- 
 pulse of oppression to bring into active operation moral and mental 
 powers, which have commanded the admiration of mankind. 
 
 Mr. McKEAN represented the Counties of New Castle, Kent, and 
 Sussex, in the Congress which assembled at New- York in October, 
 1768. His intrepidity soon gained for him distinction. He actively 
 engaged in their proceedings, and vindicated a course of inflexible 
 firmness. The president and several members having refused, 
 through timidity, to sign the proceedings, Mr. McKEAN so warmly 
 displayed his indignation, that he became involved in a personal con- 
 troversy, but which resulted in an increase of his reputation, and in the 
 exposure of his antagonists to popular obloquy. On his return to 
 New Castle, he and his colleague Mr. Rodney received the unani- 
 mous thanks of the Legislature for the energy and abilities with 
 which they had performed their duties in Congress. 
 
 During this year he was appointed Notary Public for the lower 
 counties of Delaware, and was also raised to the Bench, having re- 
 ceived a commission as a justice of the Court of Common Pleas, quar- 
 ter Sessions, and Orphan's Court for the County of New Castle. His 
 energy was not out of place in the judicial station ; for the court dis- 
 played an act of intrepidity which closely resembles the daring spirit 
 by which he was actuated at every period of his life. The officers 
 of the court were ordered to perform their duties as usual on un- 
 stamped paper, and this promptly repudiated an unconstitutional act 
 of Parliament. 
 
 If we are to judge of the estimation in which he was held by the 
 number and variety of his public employments, a high rank must be 
 assigned to him, for his services seem constantly to have been in re- 
 quisition. In 1769 he was sent by the Assembly to New- York to ob- 
 tain copies of all documents relating to real estate in the lower coun- 
 ties of Delaware prior to 1700 ; in 1771 he was appointed by the 
 Commissioners of his Majesty's customs, collector of the port of New
 
 THOMAS M C KEAN. 
 
 Castle, and in October, 1772, he became the speaker of the House of 
 Representatives. 
 
 Notwithstanding he had fixed his residence permanently in Phila- 
 delphia, the affection of his old constituents followed him, and he was 
 appointed by the lower counties of Delaware a delegate to the Con- 
 gress of 1774. Their confidence continued with undeviating con- 
 stancy, and was exhibited by an annual re-election until the restora- 
 tion of peace in 1783, a distinction which was peculiar to himself, 
 there being no other example of an unbroken term of service during 
 that space of time. The convenience of his location at the place of 
 the meeting of Congress may have induced the Delawarians to have 
 selected him, and the absence of extensive pecuniary means of de- 
 fraying the expenses of a delegate, may have quieted the aspiring 
 spirits of rival candidates, and thus have thrown power into the hands 
 of a man who systematically disregarded selfish considerations. 
 
 The business of Congress was promptly and efficiently transacted 
 by the aid of his indefatigable and enlightened services. The extent 
 and variety of his labors could only be fully appreciated by his coad- 
 jutors in the many secret committees which were occupied in the 
 constant investigation of the affairs of a nation, and struggling to de- 
 vise the means of carrying it triumphantly through a long and deso- 
 lating conflict. In June, 1775, he was a member of the committee 
 which prepared and reported the articles of confederation, which how- 
 ever were not finally agreed to, until late in the following year, and 
 not ratified by all the States until March 1781, when the State of 
 Maryland authorised her delegates to concur. 
 
 In addition to his other public duties, he was President of the con- 
 vention of deputies from the committee of Pennsylvania, held at Car- 
 penters' Hall in Philadelphia, in June 1776, who recommended a 
 .Declaration of Independence by Congress ; a similar resolution having 
 been previously adopted in the month of May by the regiment of 
 Associators of which he was the colonel. In the same year he was 
 chairman of the Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania, of the Com- 
 mittee of observation and inspection for the city and liberties of Phila- 
 delphia, and of a conference of delegates in Congress from the States 
 of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania ; thus exhibiting him- 
 self as a prominent and untiring laborer in a glorious but most peril- 
 ous conflict. 
 
 A slight knowledge of the character of Mr. McKEAN will prepare 
 us to find him in that intrepid rank of patriotic men who projected 
 the independence of their country, and at the risk of their lives severed
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the tie which bound her to the British dominions. He was the ear- 
 nest advocate of the propriety of making a Declaration of Independ- 
 ence, and its undaunted supporter after the measure had been adopted. 
 Mr. Rodney, one of the three delegates from Delaware, being absent 
 on the first of July, when Independence was resolved on in Committee 
 of the whole, and Mr. Read and Mr. McKEAN differing in opinion, the 
 vote of Delaware would have been lost, had not the zeal of Mr. Mc- 
 KEAN induced him to send an express at his private expense for Mr. 
 Rodney. That gentleman arrived on the morning of the fourth, and 
 uniting with Mr. McKEAN, gave the vote of Delaware in favor of In- 
 dependence ; by which means that measure was adopted with the con- 
 currence of all the States. In consequence of his absence, performing 
 military services for several months immediately succeeding the fourth 
 of July, an opportunity did not occur until the month of October of 
 affixing his signature to the Declaration, engrossed on parchment. 
 
 But it was not merely in a civil capacity that Mr. McKEAN ac- 
 quired distinction. He performed the duties of a soldier with firm- 
 ness and activity. A pitched battle might have ranked him among 
 the military heroes of our country. Although he was never in a 
 regular engagement, his personal risk was great, and his exertions 
 ardent. The services of the militia of Pennsylvania having been re- 
 quired in New Jersey, Mr. McKEAN, as colonel of a regiment, marched 
 a few days after the Declaration of Independence to Perth Amboy, to 
 support General Washington, and continued in active service until 
 the occasion which called them to camp had ceased. In the perfor- 
 mance of military duty he faced the cannon's mouth, and had his 
 capacity as a soldier fully tested by his exposure to a heavy firing 
 from the enemy's batteries. 
 
 He had no sooner resumed his seat in Congress, than his attend- 
 ance at Dover, as a member of the convention for forming a Consti- 
 tution for Delaware, was required. On his arrival, after a fatiguing 
 ride, he was met by a committee, who requested him to write a con- 
 stitution for them. The labor occupied the night. The constitution 
 written by him was presented at 10 o'clock the next morning, and 
 unanimously adopted. 
 
 On the 28th of July, 1777, he was commissioned by the Supreme 
 Executive council of Pennsylvania as Chief Justice, a station which 
 he filled with distinguished ability for twenty-two years. As the 
 nation was just emerging from a Colonial condition, and as the dis- 
 turbed state of society unsettled the rights of property, great and novel 
 questions were constantly occurring, which required a court of more 
 
 6
 
 THOMAS M C KEAN. 
 
 than ordinary sagacity, firmness, and learning to determine. Chief 
 Justice McKEAN displayed qualifications equal to the emergen- 
 cies of the times ; and, independently of the high authority of his opi- 
 nions, his character as a great judge has descended, in prominent re- 
 lief, to posterity. 
 
 In the performance of his judicial functions he displayed a firm- 
 ness which no danger could affect ; at one time braving the power of 
 Great Britain by the punishment of treason against his country, and 
 at another stemming the torrent of popular excitement by shielding 
 the accused from illegal punishment. 
 
 When we reflect that at the time of his appointment to the office of 
 Chief Justice he was a member of Congress, speaker of the Assembly, 
 President of Delaware, and that in July, 1781, he occupied the station 
 of President of Congress, we can form an estimate of the vast labor 
 which he performed, and of the unwearied application requisite to 
 master the complicated details of litigated cases, essential to the faith- 
 ful fulfilment of his judicial duties. Yet amidst the violence of party 
 animosity in which he was extensively involved, his enemies do not 
 seem to have charged him with the neglect of any of his duties, 
 although his filling so many offices became the ground of complaint. 
 
 Mr. McKEAN struggled to obtain relief from the great burthen of 
 public affairs which was heaped upon him. His health and fortune 
 were impaired, by his attention to public business. As a delegate in 
 Congress, he had never received sufficient to defray his expenses ; and 
 for two years he had neither been offered nor received any compen- 
 sation. The Legislature of Delaware, however, declined accepting 
 his resignation ; and although Congress, on the twenty-third of Octo- 
 ber, 1781, accepted his resignation as president, on the next day they 
 requested him to resume that station until the fifth of the following 
 November, when, having elected an officer to supply his place, they 
 relieved him from the duties of the chair, and rewarded him by a vote 
 of thanks. 
 
 Chief Justice McKEAN was often exposed to party animosity. His 
 integrity and great public services carried him through the fiery or- 
 deal unscathed. The confidence of his countrymen sustained him in 
 every trial. His ardent temperament and energy of character, were 
 always accompanied by disinterested patriotism, and strength of in- 
 tellect. An unsuccessful attempt was made to impeach him when 
 performing the duties of Chief Justice. But his reputation remained 
 unsullied, and his career of usefulness was not yet terminated. 
 
 In 1787 Chief Justice McKEAN was a member of the Convention
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 of Pennsylvania which ratified the Constitution of the United States, 
 a measure which he advocated with all his zeal and ability. " I have 
 gone," said he, " through the circle of office, in the Legislature, Ex- 
 ecutive, and Judicial departments of government ; and from all my 
 study, observation, and experience, I must declare, that from a full 
 examination and due consideration of this system, it appears to me 
 the best the world has yet seen. I congratulate you on the fair pros- 
 pect of its being adopted, and am happy in the expectation of seeing 
 accomplished what has long been my ardent wish, that you will 
 hereafter have a salutary permanency in magistracy and stability in 
 the laws." 
 
 He was always the advocate of the rights of the smaller States, which 
 he struggled to protect from the encroachments of the larger members 
 of the confederacy. In the Congress of 1765, and in that of 1774, he 
 insisted that they should vote by States, which course was adopted. 
 Although he was not a member of the Convention which framed the 
 Constitution of the United States, he took a deep interest in their pro- 
 ceedings, and exer-ted his influence to secure the adoption of his fa- 
 vorite principle, of an equal vote in national proceedings by all the 
 States. He furnished the delegates from Delaware with notes of his 
 arguments on former occasions, when the question was discussed in 
 Congress, and urged upon the members from the larger, the pro- 
 priety of securing the rights of the smaller States. An equal repre- 
 sentation in the Senate of the United States, accomplished his object. 
 
 In 1789 Chief Justice McKEAN was elected a delegate, from the city 
 of Philadelphia to the Convention, to amend the Constitution of Penn- 
 sylvania. He engaged in the performance of his duties with his 
 usual earnestness ; but as he mostly occupied the chair when the Con- 
 vention was in Committee of the whole, he was precluded from a 
 very active participation in the debate. A proposition for the gratui- 
 tous education of the poor was suggested by him as an amendment 
 to Mr. Wilson's resolution for the establishment of schools, both of 
 which provisions were incorporated in the section of the Constitution, 
 which, on the motion of Mr. Pickering, was finally adopted. 
 
 After a warm party conflict, he was, in the year 1799, elected 
 Governor of Pennsylvania, which station he filled for nine years. 
 The extensive patronage of the Executive of Pennsylvania, renders 
 the possession of that office essential to party ascendency, and con- 
 sequently the acquisition agitates the commonwealth with the most 
 violent party commotions. In the conflict the public good is too often 
 overlooked ; and he who gains the victory, is too apt to consider the
 
 THOMAS M KEAN. 
 
 emoluments of public employment as the appropriate reward for ser- 
 vices rendered to a party. 
 
 Experience and skill are too often dispensed with, and the undisci- 
 plined incumbent naturally strives during the brief and uncertain space 
 of his official career, to reap as large a share as practicable of the pe- 
 cuniary benefits of his station. It is to be regretted that a man of 
 Governor MCLEAN'S high standing and independent spirit should 
 have yielded to the dominion of party feeling, and have sanctioned 
 by his high authority the practice of removing from office on mere 
 party grounds, which has so completely gained the ascendency in 
 the State, and been so prolific of mischief to the public service. He, 
 however, did not hesitate to remove his political antagonists, and 
 frankly avowed his motives. " It is at least imprudent," said he in a 
 letter to Mr. Jefferson, " to foster spies continually about one's self. 
 I am only sorry that I did not displace ten or eleven more : for it is 
 not right to put a dagger in the hands of an assassin." The violence 
 of his animosity did not, however, continue without intermission ; for 
 after his administration became firmly settled, he distinguished merit 
 in the ranks of his opponents, and elevated men to office who belonged 
 to the party opposed to him. 
 
 Swayed, as he occasionally was, by party feeling, the general tenor 
 of his administration was marked by his accustomed ability and devo- 
 tion to the public welfare. The extent of his knowledge, the 
 of his language, and the ardor of his patriotism, gave him a lofty 
 tion in the confidence of the people, and sustained the popularity of 
 his administration. In the years 1807 and 1808 another attempt was 
 made to impeach him, which drew from him a vigorous and success- 
 ful defence. 
 
 In the exercise of the important and delicate power of appointment, 
 he acted from the impulse of his own mind, and disdained to submit 
 to party dictation. With a strongly marked character, and feelings 
 inured to independence, his errors and his virtues emanated from his 
 own breast, and were not derived from an imitation of others or from 
 a compliance with their views of propriety. Lofty and inflexible, he 
 pursued that course which he believed to be right, and met the conse- 
 quences of public scrutiny, and the menace of popular condemnation, 
 with a fearless consciousness of rectitude. 
 
 In the year 1803 he declined an urgent solicitation to become a 
 candidate for the Vice- Presidency of the Union, and at the close of the 
 year 1808, having served as Governor during the constitutional pe- 
 riod of nine years, he finally retired from public life, and sought, in
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the endearments of domestic Hie, and in the cultivation of literature, 
 the enjoyments congenial to his age and inclination. He survived 
 his retirement about nine years, and, separated from all causes of ir- 
 ritation, enjoyed the unbounded respect and gratitude of the people 
 whom he had so efficiently served. 
 
 In the year 1814, when the rapid advances of the British awakened 
 apprehensions for the safety of Philadelphia, which was almost en- 
 tirely unprotected, a town meeting was convened in Independence 
 Square to devise measures for its security, The venerable patriot 
 attended, and his appearance was loudly greeted by the assembled 
 multitude, who unanimously called him to the chair. He briefly 
 addressed the meeting, aroused a spirit of devotion to their country, 
 and endeavored to soothe all dissentions by reminding them " that 
 there were then but two parties, our country and its invaders." His 
 speech was in the spirit of times which were past, and was recog- 
 nised as the voice of a patriot and a sage. Prompt and effective mea- 
 sures were the result of the meeting. 
 
 Governor MCKEAN'S deportment was dignified and impressive. 
 His fortitude, energy, and industry, were fully exhibited in his con- 
 duct throughout life, whilst his public integrity has often been the 
 theme of commendation ; his private character seems to have escaped 
 reproach. He was twice married ; once in 1762 to Miss Mary Borden 
 of Bordentown, and in 1 774 to Miss Sarah Armitage of New Castle, 
 Delaware. 
 
 He died on the twenty-fourth of June, 1817, aged eighty-three years 
 two months and sixteen days ; and was interred in the burial ground 
 of the first Presbyterian Church in Market Street, Philadelphia. 
 
 In reviewing the lives of patriotic men, who have devoted their abili- 
 ties to the service of the republic, it is gratifying to dwell on illus- 
 trious actions, upon which posterity pronounces an unanimous ver- 
 dict of approbation. Differences of opinion on abstract points, or on 
 temporary measures, are overlooked in contemplating a career dis- 
 tinguished for patriotic devotion to the public service. Party feeling 
 subsides, human infirmity is forgotten, and the reputation of the pa- 
 triot survives for ages. The fame of Governor McKEAN is identified 
 with some of the most important events of our country. History, in 
 recording them, will recount the virtues and the privations by which 
 they were accomplished. 
 
 T. A. B.
 
 THOMAS PINCKNEY. 
 
 THE early years of Major-general THOMAS PINCKNEY were passed 
 xvith his brother, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, the subject of the 
 preceding sketch ; and, in addition to the facts which we have im- 
 bodied in that memoir, it will be only necessary to say. that THOMAS 
 was born at Charleston, South Carolina, on the 23d of October, 
 1750 ; and consequently was only three years old when taken to 
 England by his father. Like his brother, he made good use of his 
 time and opportunities for improvement, and after nearly twenty years 
 of absence returned to his native land full of patriotic ardor. 
 
 He was still engaged in his professional studies in London, when 
 the first notes of hostile preparation against his country were 
 sounded; he immediately abandoned all other pursuits, and devoted 
 his whole attention to the acquisition of military knowledge, by which 
 he afterward distinguished himself in the Revolutionary army. His 
 military services were put in requisition very soon after his return to 
 Charleston ; and according to the statement of Major Garden, the 
 rudiments of discipline were first taught by him to the infantry of the 
 South Carolina line. On the formation of the two Provincial regi- 
 ments in 1775, he was appointed to the command of a company, and 
 soon after rose to the rank of Major. He had the reputation of an 
 able tactician and a rigid disciplinarian. Of his firmness and deci- 
 sion of character, he gave the following very unequivocal proof. At 
 an early period of the war, a mutiny having broken out in his regi- 
 ment, the officers attempted to suppress it by persuasion and remon- 
 strance, which were succeeded by upbraidings and menaces. Major 
 PINCKNEY walked deliberately into the midst of the mutineers, and 
 with his sabre cut down the ringleader. Order and subordination 
 were immediately restored. 
 
 When General Lincoln took command of the Southern army, 
 Major PINCKNEY was appointed one of his aids, and acted in that 
 capacity with the Count D'Estaing at the siege of Savannah. At the
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 attack on the enemy's works at Stono, in June, 1779, Major PINCK- 
 NEY gained great applause for his gallant conduct in the field, where 
 the battalion, to which he was attached, charged two companies of the 
 71st British regiment, and so completely routed them at the point of 
 the bayonet, that only nine men were able to take shelter within their 
 lines. At the siege of Savannah, while superintending the construc- 
 tion of a redoubt, a shell from the enemy fell into the ditch and burst. 
 Major PINCKNEY and Colonel D'Oyley were blinded with dust and 
 covered with dirt ; but the Major, without changing his position, or 
 being in the least discomposed, calmly observed, " I think, D'Oyley, 
 that must have been very near us," and then continued to press on 
 the work with great animation. When the assault on the town was 
 determined on, Major PINCKNEY led one of the assailing columns, 
 but was repulsed. Great confusion among the troops ensued, and all, 
 who could, pressed forward to avoid the destructive fire that poured 
 upon their rear. Major PINCKNEY hastened to the front of his sol- 
 diers, and commanded them to halt. " Success, my brave fellows," he 
 exclaimed, " though richly merited, has not crowned your exertions ; 
 yet do not disgrace yourselves by precipitate flight, and, though re- 
 pulsed, quit the field like soldiers." Order was restored, and the regi- 
 ment regained their encampment with deliberate steps. 
 
 At the disastrous battle of Camden on the 16th of August, 1780, 
 Major PINCKNEY, acting as Aid-de-camp to General Gates, had his 
 leg shattered by a musket ball, and fell into the hands of the enemy. 
 When sufficiently recovered to be removed, he was sent as a prisoner 
 of war to Philadelphia. 
 
 In 1787 he succeeded General Moultrie as Governor of South Ca- 
 rolina, and was eminently successful in re-establishing the authority 
 of the laws, which had been in a great measure dormant during the 
 war. 
 
 He received from President Washington, in 1792, the appointment 
 of Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James. The duties 
 which devolved upon him during his residence in London were at- 
 tended with circumstances which required the exercise of great deli- 
 cacy and prudence, with vigilance and firmness. It will be recol- 
 lected, that at that time some of the provisions of the treaty of peace 
 between Great Britain and the United States remained unfulfilled. 
 The war which arose out of the French Revolution, and very soon 
 involved nearly all the European powers, exposed the commerce of 
 the Union to many embarrassments from the belligerents, who strove 
 to injure and annoy each other without regard to the rights of neu-
 
 THOMAS PINCKNEY. 
 
 tral nations. The neutrality of the United States was regarded with 
 jealousy by each of the great contending powers. Neutrality, indeed, 
 was offensive to both, and each strove to involve our country in the 
 war. But it was the settled policy of Washington's administration to 
 preserve a strict neutrality, and to favor neither of the belligerents. 
 There was an undoubted inclination, however, on the part of a ma- 
 jority of the people of the United States, to arrange themselves on the 
 side of France ; and the British government soon became aware of 
 that fact, and adapted their measures to the expected result, which 
 their power on the ocean enabled them to render exceedingly vexa- 
 tious. France being unable any longer to import the productions of 
 her colonies in her own ships, the carrying trade on the Atlantic 
 chiefly fell into the hands of the American merchants ; but that was 
 very soon interfered with by the orders of the British government to 
 their cruisers. The practice of impressing men from American 
 ships for the British navy, began also, about this time, to be a cause 
 of serious complaint ; and a renewal of hostilities seemed inevitable. 
 But the conduct of Republican France was equally unfriendly and 
 offensive ; and, considering the probable tendency of her great adver- 
 sary's measures, far more impolitic. Still the President remained 
 firm in his purpose of maintaining the neutrality of the United States 
 until the aggressions of foreign powers should clearly render neu- 
 trality incompatible with honor. He therefore determined to make 
 one more effort with each of the great contending powers, that should 
 either remove all cause of quarrel or demonstrate the necessity of 
 war. He accordingly communicated to the Senate of the United 
 States the despatches, which, in the beginning of the year 1794, had 
 been received from Major PINCKNEY at London, and on the 16th of 
 April nominated Mr. Jay as Envoy Extraordinary to his Britannic 
 Majesty. 
 
 While Major PINCKNEY was Minister at London, he was instructed 
 to seize every proper occasion to express the interest taken by the 
 President in the fate of La Fayette, who was then a prisoner in Ger- 
 many ; but his unofficial communications to the Austrian Minister in 
 London, and his endeavors to obtain the mediation of the British 
 government, were alike unavailing. 
 
 In November of the same year, Major PINCKNEY was appointed 
 Envoy Extraordinary to his Catholic Majesty, and repaired, in the 
 Summer of 1795, to Madrid. On the 20th of October following, he 
 concluded a treaty, which settled the controversy with Spain respect- 
 ing boundary, and secured the free navigation of the Mississippi. In
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the following year his private affairs requiring his presence at home, 
 he was recalled at his own solicitation, and returned to Carolina ; 
 where he was received with the most grateful evidences of the regard 
 and affection of his fellow-citizens. He afterward served a few ses- 
 sions in Congress, as a representative from Charleston district, and 
 then retired to private life. 
 
 When the despatches from our envoys to France in 1798 reached 
 this country, detailing the hostility of the Directory, and the humili- 
 ating proposition of tribute, and the indignities which had been offered 
 to Generals C. C. Pinckney and Marshall, and Mr. Gerry ; President 
 Adams proposed to prevent their immediate publication, lest further 
 insults might follow, as those gentlemen were still in Paris. But on 
 consulting Major PINCKN Y, he gave a decided opinion that they 
 ought to be made public without delay, that the people might have a 
 perfect knowledge of the insulting conduct of the French Directory. 
 u And, Sir," he added, " if the situation of my brother causes you to 
 hesitate, I speak for him, as 1 know he would for me, were I similarly 
 circumstanced. The glory of our country is at stake. Individual 
 sufferings must not be regarded. Be the event what it may, life is 
 nothing compared with the honor of America." 
 
 After the lapse of several years, which had been devoted to the edu- 
 cation of his children and the improvement of his estate, the veteran 
 was once more called by his country to the field. At the commence- 
 ment of the war of 1812, President Madison appointed him to the 
 command of the- Southern army. It was under his command that 
 the Indian war, in which General Jackson distinguished himself, was 
 undertaken and successfully terminated. He very early discerned 
 the talents of General Jackson, and recommended him to the War de- 
 partment for the command of a separate district, to be formed out of 
 his own, which extended from North Carolina to the Mississippi, and 
 which he considered entirely too large for one command. By thus 
 opening a field for the free exercise of the skill and enterprise of Ge- 
 neral Jackson, he advanced the interest and honor of his country, and 
 the war was closed by one of the most brilliant victories that adorn 
 the annals of any nation. 
 
 On the return of peace he resigned his commission, and declined 
 all further public employment. From that period his attention was 
 given to various scientific improvements in agriculture, and to the 
 cultivation of social intercourse amongst a very extensive circle of 
 relatives and friends. He died on the 2d of November, 1828, after a 
 lingering and painful illness.
 
 I
 
 JOSHUA. BARNEY. 
 
 THE reputation of her citizens should be dear to every member of the 
 Union. The number and merit of their services is, indeed, often the 
 only patrimony of their children, but the effect of their example can- 
 not pass away, whilst Honor continues to point to their deeds, in the 
 pages of the history of their country. No state has produced more 
 or brighter examples of bravery and patriotism than the gallant state 
 of Maryland, where the subject of this notice was born, on the 6th 
 of July, 1759, at Baltimore. He discovered early an inclination for 
 the sea, and after making several voyages, was second mate at the 
 early age of fourteen years, and was, by the accidental death of his 
 captain, placed in command of a vessel when only sixteen. A series 
 of adventures, having the character more of romance than reality, 
 attended this sudden and early responsibility, not the least singular 
 of which was his detention at Alicant, and his compulsory service 
 in the ill-conducted and disastrous expedition fitted out against Al- 
 giers by the king of Spain, and entrusted to the unfortunate Count 
 O'Reilly. Released by the defeat of the Spaniards, he returned 
 home, arrived in the Chesapeake Bay on the 1st of October, 1775, and 
 learned from the officers of a British sloop of war, who boarded him, 
 that that Revolution which was to call forth in him a devotion to 
 native land that has never been surpassed, was already begun. His 
 services were quickly offered to his country ; he became master's 
 mate of the sloop Hornet, often guns, and was the first to unfurl, in 
 Maryland, the American flag, whose honor he afterwards so often 
 and so well sustained. This, his first service, was as a volunteer, 
 and he continued to act as such until his appointment as lieutenant 
 in the navy, which took place in June, 1 776. 
 
 On the 6th of July, 1776, Lieutenant BARNEY sailed from Phila- 
 delphia in the sloop Sachem, commanded by Captain Isaiah Robinson, 
 and very soon fell in with and captured a letter of marque brig, well
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 armed, after a very severe action of two hours. Transferred to the 
 Andrea Doria, of fourteen guns, in consequence of the shattered con- 
 dition of the Sachem, Captain Robinson and Lieutenant BARNEY 
 sailed again from the port of Philadelphia, into which they had been 
 so fortunate as to bring their prize, for St. Eustatia, took in a cargo 
 of small arms and ammunition for the army, engaged and captured 
 the Racehorse of twelve guns, fitted out expressly with a picked crew 
 to intercept and take the Andrea Doria, and commanded by a lieu- 
 tenant of the royal navy. It became his lot, however, to be taken 
 prisoner by the enemy in January, 1777 a prize, on board of 
 which he was prize-master, being retaken by the Perseus, of twenty 
 guns, then cruising off Cape Henry. He was carried into Charleston, 
 South Carolina, and there released on his parole. Upwards of eight 
 months passed before his exchange for Lieutenant Moriarty of the 
 Solebay was effected ; a period of time not unprofitably spent, for it 
 was devoted to study. 
 
 In December, 1777, Lieutenant BARNEY was appointed to the Vir- 
 ginia frigate, and remained in her till her capture, on the 1st of 
 April following, by the British squadron in the Chesapeake. Another 
 period of imprisonment an exchange and return to Baltimore, were 
 the precursors of new adventures, among which two engagements 
 the capture of a British letter of marque and a voyage to France 
 were the most important, particularly the last ; for that resulted in 
 pecuniary benefit, and probably led him to form the most important 
 connection of his life. He married the daughter of Gunning Bed- 
 ford, Esq., of Philadelphia, on the 16th of March, 1780. 
 
 After remaining some time ashore, Lieutenant BARNEY was or- 
 dered to the United States' ship Saratoga, of sixteen guns, Captain 
 Young, and sailed from Philadelphia on a cruise. Various prizes 
 were made, and, among others, an English ship of thirty-two guns 
 and ninety men, carried by Lieutenant BARNEY, who boarded her 
 with fifty men under the smoke of a broadside ; and after a severe con- 
 flict, hauled down her colors. Ordered to bring his prize in, he steered 
 for the Delaware ; but after stopping a formidable leak in her, he was 
 captured by a squadron of the enemy, landed at Plymouth in Eng- 
 land, after enduring treatment that was never forgotten, and con- 
 fined in Mill Prison. 
 
 Our limits do not permit us to relate the various adventures which 
 followed a well-laid and successfully conducted plan of escape. 
 After remaining some time at large in England, he reached Mar- 
 gate, took passage in a packet for Osterid, and finally reached the
 
 JOSHUA BARNEY. 
 
 Beverly, Massachusetts. He arrived in Philadelphia on the 21st of 
 March. 1782. 
 
 We approach the best known, if it be not at the same time the 
 most brilliant, exploit of his life. The tories, with numerous craft, 
 had a force sufficient, aided by the presence of several British men of 
 war, to cause the greatest annoyance, during the spring of 1782, to 
 the commerce of Philadelphia. The state of Pennsylvania under- 
 took to destroy these freebooters, and a force was organized under her 
 authority for that purpose. The offer of one of the vessels, a small ship 
 carrying sixteen six pounders and a hundred and ten men, equip- 
 ped principally through the liberality and enterprise of citizens of 
 Philadelphia, was made to Lieutenant BARNEY, who took command 
 of her a few days after his return home. This vessel was the " Hy- 
 der Ally." She sailed on the 8th of April, 1782, with a fleet of mer- 
 chantmen, under instructions to convoy them to the Capes, and then 
 to return for the protection of the Delaware. Upon reaching Cape May 
 road, the convoy were approached by two ships and a brig of the 
 enemy's forces, and immediately got under weigh in obedience to a 
 signal, and began to run up the bay. The brig first approached, 
 and gave the Hyder Ally a broadside, and passed on after the mer- 
 chantmen. The broadside was not returned, as one of the enemy's 
 ships was fast approaching into her, as soon as she came within 
 pistol shot, Captain BARNEY poured a tremendous fire ; and, as she 
 was ranging alongside, by a prompt manoeuvre, caught her jib-boom 
 in the Hyder Ally's fore rigging, thus obtaining a position which 
 enabled him to rake her with such effect, that in twenty-six minutes 
 her colors were struck. The enemy's other ship (the Quebec frigate) 
 was by this time very near, and the first lieutenant of the Hyder 
 Ally and thirty-five men were quickly put on board the prize, which 
 was despatched with all speed up the bay. Having outsailed the 
 frigate, the prize was hailed by Captain BARNEY, who found her to 
 be his Britannic Majesty's ship the " General Monk," mounting twenty 
 nine pounders, with a crew of one hundred arid thirty-six men, 
 commanded by Captain Josiah Rodgers of the royal navy. The 
 General Monk had twenty men killed, including the first lieutenant, 
 purser, surgeon, boatswain, and gunner ; and thirty-three wounded, 
 among whom were Captain Rodgers and all the officers of the ship, 
 with the exception of one midshipman. The loss on board the Hyder 
 Ally was four men killed, and eleven were wounded. Captain BAR- 
 NEY escaped unhurt, though a musket ball passed through his hat 
 and another tore his coat.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 sailed for France, to settle, if possible, some of the claims on the go- 
 vernment of that country arising out of his former St. Domingo 
 voyages. He was a fellow-passenger with Mr. Monroe, then minis- 
 ter to that country, who, on the 14th of September, 1794, selected 
 him as the bearer of the American flag presented to the National 
 Convention. This body decreed that he should be employed in 
 the navy of the Republic ; and, just before his return to the United 
 States, he was offered, by the minister of marine, the command of the 
 Alexander, a seventy-four gun ship, not long before taken from the 
 British a circumstance to him of no trifling import ; but his private 
 affairs prevented him from accepting the flattering offer, and until 
 they were arranged he declined an appointment. Subsequently he 
 received the appointments of Capitaine de Vaisseau, and Chef de 
 Division des Armies Navales, and before the end of May, 1795, he 
 sailed from Rochfort with two fine frigates, La Harmonie of forty- 
 four guns, on board of which he hoisted his flag, and La Railleuse 
 of thirty-six guns, bound for St. Domingo. He continued in the 
 French service, actively and efficiently engaged, and encountering 
 constant peril and adventure, until 1802, when he resigned ; and 
 after having received ample testimony of the merit of his services, 
 returned to the United States in October of that year. 
 
 To arrange affairs left during eight years' absence to the care of 
 others, and to establish himself at home for the rest of his days, be- 
 came the immediate object of Commodore BARNEY'S attention. In 
 the year 1804, the sentence of the court at Jamaica condemning the 
 Sampson and her cargo, was reversed, and their value ordered to be 
 restored ; and in the course of the following year he received a 
 handsome remittance from Paris on account of his claims upon the 
 French Government. 
 
 The attack upon the Chesapeake frigate excited in Commodore 
 BARNEY, in a high degree, the feelings which pervaded the nation 
 at the outrageous insult offered to it ; and on that occasion he wrote 
 to Mr. Jefferson, the president of the United States, to offer his ser- 
 vices, asking to be " employed in any manner which might be 
 thought conducive to the good of his country " an offer which he 
 repeated to Mr. Madison in 1809. 
 
 The declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812, found Com- 
 modore BARNEY on his farm, in Anne Arundel county (Md.) ; but he 
 remained there a very short time. Less than three weeks after its an- 
 nunciation, he was on board an armed vessel, the Rossie, of ten 
 guns, in which, during a short cruise, he did the enemy incredible
 
 JOSHUA BARNEY. 
 
 damage, and captured a letter of marque and a king's packet, the 
 latter after a severe action. 
 
 The command of the Flotilla, fitted out at Baltimore to protect the 
 Chesapeake Bay, was offered to him in 1813, but he was unable to 
 commence his operations till April 1814. He engaged the British 
 forces sent against him from the squadron on the 1st, 7th, 9th, and 
 10th of June following, with great gallantry and very decisive 
 effect. These engagements were but the prelude to more serious 
 operations. The British had determined to attack Baltimore and 
 Washington ; and with the view to be within reach of either place 
 on the occasion of an attempt upon it, Commodore BARNEY moved 
 his flotilla up the Patuxent as far as Nottingham, a village on that 
 river about forty miles from Washington, where he learned, on the 
 16th of August, that the enemy had entered and were ascending the 
 river. The orders of the secretary of the navy, to whom he commu- 
 nicated the intelligence by express, were, to run the flotilla as far 
 up the river as possible, and upon the enemy landing, to destroy it, 
 and march to join General Winder's army with the men. 
 
 The British landed on the 21st of August at Benedict, and di- 
 rected the march of their forces upon Washington. Upon receiving 
 intelligence of their approach, Commodore BARNEY landed with iip- 
 wards of four hundred men, leaving about a hundred men to blow 
 up the flotilla, then a short distance above Pig Point, if attacked, and 
 likely to fall into the hands of the enemy. On the 22d of August he 
 joined General Winder's army at the Woody ard, where he found 
 Captain Miller,* with eighty marines and five pieces of heavy artil- 
 lery, placed under his command by the secretary of the navy. On the 
 24th of August he marched to Bladensburg, and pressing on, he found 
 the American forces drawn up, and covering the road for some distance 
 west of the town, and shortly after they became engaged with the 
 British. He formed his own men, and arranged his artillery in battery, 
 and had scarcely so done before the enemy appeared in the road, and 
 advanced upon him. He opened his fire upon them with admirable 
 precision, and such destructive effect, as to drive them from the road 
 at the first discharge ; they rallied and returned, but it was to meet 
 the same result. They turned off to a field on their left, with the 
 view to avoid the battery and continue their advance ; but Commo- 
 dore BARNEY, observing the movement, directed the marines under 
 Captains Miller and Sevier, and the flotilla men acting as infantry, 
 
 * Now Colonel Miller 1837. 
 
 7
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 sailed for France, to settle, if possible, some of the claims on the go- 
 vernment of that country arising out of his former St. Domingo 
 voyages. He was a fellow-passenger with Mr. Monroe, then minis- 
 ter to that country, who, on the 14th of September, 1794, selected 
 him as the bearer of the American flag presented to the National 
 Convention. This body decreed that he should be employed in 
 the navy of the Republic ; and, just before his return to the United 
 States, he was offered, by the minister of marine, the command of the 
 Alexander, a seventy-four gun ship, not long before taken from the 
 British a circumstance to him of no trifling import ; but his private 
 affairs prevented him from accepting the flattering offer, and until 
 they were arranged he declined an appointment. Subsequently he 
 received the appointments of Capitaine de Vaisseau, and Chef de 
 Division des Armies Navales, and before the end of May, 1795, he 
 sailed from Rochfort with two fine frigates, La Harmonie of forty- 
 four guns, on board of which he hoisted his flag, and La Railleuse 
 of thirty-six guns, bound for St. Domingo. He continued in the 
 French service, actively and efficiently engaged, and encountering 
 constant peril and adventure, until 1802, when he resigned ; and 
 after having received ample testimony of the merit of his services, 
 returned to the United States in October of that year. 
 
 To arrange affairs left during eight years' absence to the care of 
 others, and to establish himself at home for the rest of his days, be- 
 came the immediate object of Commodore BARNEY'S attention. In 
 the year 1804, the sentence of the court at Jamaica condemning the 
 Sampson and her cargo, was reversed, and their value ordered to be 
 restored ; and in the course of the following year he received a 
 handsome remittance from Paris on account of his claims upon the 
 French Government. 
 
 The attack upon the Chesapeake frigate excited in Commodore 
 BARNEY, in a high degree, the feelings which pervaded the nation 
 at the outrageous insult offered to it ; and on that occasion he wrote 
 to Mr. Jefferson, the president of the United States, to offer his ser- 
 vices, asking to be " employed in any manner which might be 
 thought conducive to the good of his country " an offer which he 
 repeated to Mr. Madison in 1809. 
 
 The declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812, found Com- 
 modore BARNEY on his farm, in Anne Arundel county (Md.) ; but he 
 remained there a very short time. Less than three weeks after its an- 
 nunciation, he was on board an armed vessel, the Rossie, of ten 
 guns, in which, during a short cruise, he did the enemy incredible
 
 JOSHUA BARNEY. 
 
 damage, and captured a letter of marque and a king's packet, the 
 latter after a severe action. 
 
 The command of the Flotilla^ fitted out at Baltimore to protect the 
 Chesapeake Bay, was offered to him in 1813, but he was unable to 
 commence his operations till April 1814. He engaged the British 
 forces sent against him from the squadron on the 1st, 7th, 9th, and 
 10th of June following, with great gallantry and very decisive 
 effect. These engagements were but the prelude to more serious 
 operations. The British had determined to attack Baltimore and 
 Washington ; and with the view to be within reach of either place 
 on the occasion of an attempt upon it, Commodore BARNEY moved 
 his flotilla up the Patuxent as far as Nottingham, a village on that 
 river about forty miles from Washington, where he learned, on the 
 16th of August, that the enemy had entered and were ascending the 
 river. The orders of the secretary of the navy, to whom he commu- 
 nicated the intelligence by express, were, to run the flotilla as far 
 up the river as possible, and upon the enemy landing, to destroy it, 
 and march to join General Winder's army with the men. 
 
 The British landed on the 21st of August at Benedict, and di- 
 rected the march of their forces upon Washington. Upon receiving 
 intelligence of their approach, Commodore BARNEY landed with up- 
 wards of four hundred men, leaving about a hundred men to blow 
 up the flotilla, then a short distance above Pig Point, if attacked, and 
 likely to fall into the hands of the enemy. On the 22d of August he 
 joined General Winder's army at the Woodyard, where he found 
 Captain Miller,* with eighty marines and five pieces of heavy artil- 
 lery, placed under his command by the secretary of the navy. On the 
 24th of August he marched to Bladensburg, and pressing on, he found 
 the American forces drawn up, and covering the road for some distance 
 west of the town, arid shortly after they became engaged with the 
 British. He formed his own men, and arranged his artillery in battery, 
 and had scarcely so done before the enemy appeared in the road, and 
 advanced upon him. He opened his fire upon them with admirable 
 precision, and such destructive effect, as to drive them from the road 
 at the first discharge ; they rallied and returned, but it was to meet 
 the same result. They turned off to a field on their left, with the 
 view to avoid the battery and continue their advance ; but Commo- 
 dore BARNEY, observing the movement, directed the marines under 
 Captains Miller and Sevier, and the flotilla men acting as infantry, 
 
 * Now Colonel Miller 1837. 
 7
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 to charge them, whilst he poured a destructive fire upon their flank. 
 The charge was executed with great celerity and determination ; the 
 veterans of the 86th and 4th, or " King's Own," giving way before 
 it, and flying, pursued by their assailants the sailors crying out to 
 " board them," until they got into a ravine covered with woods, leav- 
 ing their wounded officers, among whom was Colonel Thornton, 
 who had led them on, in the possession of the Americans. It would 
 have been well for the honor of America, if all who were present on 
 that day had behaved with the same decision and effect as Com- 
 modore BARNEY and his command ; but whilst they were sus- 
 taining the credit of their country, the other troops had disappeared , 
 and in the confusion of their retreat, the wagon containing the ammu- 
 nition for his cannon and small arms had been carried off. The 
 British light troops acting en tirailleur, had, in consequence of the 
 total absence of any support, gained positions on his flanks near 
 enough to produce effect with their fire, and to wound and kill 
 several of his best officers Captains Miller and Sevier had both been 
 wounded in charging the enemy; and Commodore BARNEY him- 
 self, after having had his horse killed under him, received a musket 
 ball in the thigh. The force of the enemy was constantly increasing, 
 for the want of ammunition prevented the only effective resistance 
 they had met with from being continued ; and an order was given to 
 retreat, which the officers and men who were able to march effected 
 in excellent order ; but the Commodore's wound rendered him un- 
 able to move, and he was made prisoner. He was treated by Gene- 
 ral Ross with great attention and care, paroled upon the ground, and 
 conveyed to Bladensburg, where he remained until the 27th of 
 August, when he was conveyed to his farm at Elkridge. 
 
 On the 8th of October, 1814, Commodore BARNEY was exchanged, 
 and on the 10th resumed the command of the flotilla ; but the news 
 of peace, received in February, 1815, rendered his services no longer 
 necessary to his country. With the exception of a voyage to Eu- 
 rope as the bearer of despatches, selected by the president, to the 
 American plenipotentiaries, he returned no more to public life ; unless 
 the appointment of naval officer at Baltimore, which he received in 
 November, 1817, from President Monroe, can be so termed. His 
 latter years were occupied in the settlement of his claims to a body 
 of valuable lands in Kentucky, to which state he was preparing to 
 remove when he was seized with a bilious fever at Pittsburg in 
 Pennsylvania, where he died, on the 1st of December, 1818, at the 
 age of fifty-nine. I.
 
 Engraved by Hoppner Meyer fiom a Painting by J.Wood.
 
 THOMAS SAY. 
 
 SCIENCE, and particularly Natural Science, has fewer holds upon 
 the popular attention than the achievements of war or policy. La- 
 boring to render some small service to the whole human race, and 
 occupied in preparing the workmanship of their minds for the scru- 
 tiny of men in foreign countries and future ages, the votaries of 
 philosophy may perhaps feel their task even more dignified ; as its 
 field is more extensive and permanent than the changes of empires. 
 They lean, perhaps, habitually less to the applause of the age and 
 country in which they live, than to that gradually accumulating 
 sanction of mankind which begins in obscurity, and gradually dif- 
 fuses itself a scattered and posthumous fame. 
 
 " Not all at once, as thunder breaks the cloud : 
 
 The notes at first, were rather sweet than loud ; 
 fc By just degrees they ev'ry moment rise, 
 
 Fill the wide earth and gain upon the skies ! " 
 
 Yet as our countrymen have never shown themselves deaf to the 
 praise of honorable actions, though achieved in a field in which 
 the great mass takes but little interest, and as they pride themselves 
 in the reputation of the men who have done honor to America in 
 the closet, we do not fear to entrust the fame of a naturalist to those 
 who cherish with a just delight the memories of Godfrey and Rit- 
 tenhouse, or the scientific renown of a Franklin. The political 
 institutions of America, and the abstract researches of the intellect, 
 have at least this quality in common that they are applicable to a 
 wider field than a single age or nation, and that the lessons they 
 teach, however desirable for those who are engaged in them, derive 
 their principal value from their adaptation to the general service of 
 mankind. 
 
 The family of THOMAS SAY was settled in Pennsylvania from the 
 time of its first colonization. His ancestors by the father's side are 
 understood to have been Huguenots, who migrated to England in 
 pursuit of religious liberty : and his lineal predecessor, in the fourth 

 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 degree of proximity, came to America with William Penn, accom- 
 panied by others of his family. The integrity and activity of these 
 high principled and determined men were rewarded by a liberal 
 share of the Divine blessings upon the external circumstances which 
 surrounded them. They and their descendants generally lived to an 
 extreme age, surrounded by peace and abundance, and enjoying the 
 confidence and respect of their fellow-citizens within the colony. 
 His grandfather, Thomas Say, a very patriarchal man, was united, 
 early in the eighteenth century, to the religious society of Friends. 
 Dr. Benjamin Say was long known in Philadelphia as a skilful and 
 benevolent practitioner of medicine, and enjoyed in that capacity a 
 large share of public confidence and patronage. Having been con- 
 nected with military proceedings during the war of Independence, 
 he joined that seceding portion of the society of which he had been 
 a member, known by the name of Free Quakers. 
 
 The immediate subject of our memoir was born July 27th, 1787; 
 and was the eldest son of Dr. Benjamin Say. and Anna, his first 
 wife, a daughter of Benjamin Bonsall, Esq., of Kingsessing. In his 
 early youth he was brought up in rigid compliance with many of 
 the peculiar observances of his religious connexion. He received a 
 considerable part of his education at their school at Westtown in 
 Pennsylvania, and the remainder of it generally at their other in- 
 stitutions. He manifested at this period a remarkable docility of 
 temper, a profound and confiding respect for his parents and teachers, 
 and a great fondness for study. He pursued, in independence of any 
 one's advice or suggestion, a very extended course of reading among 
 the writers of his own language ; a pursuit, however, soon destined 
 to give way to the accumulation of fact or natural truth. 
 
 At an early period of his life, a near family connexion with the 
 celebrated naturalist, William Bartram, of Kingsessing, induced the 
 young SAY, together with several of his acquaintance, to devote a 
 considerable amount of time to collecting objects for their vene- 
 rable friend's museum. This occurrence seems to have fixed his 
 destiny. The student, young as he was, felt himself at once in his 
 proper sphere. He immediately commenced the study of natural 
 history ; a pursuit which, though occasionally suffering a temporary 
 interruption, was never wholly laid aside for the remainder of his 
 life. The natural gaiety of youth, the attractions of fashion, the 
 multiform allurements which surround a young man of easy fortune, 
 and even the serious claims of a commercial establishment, were all 
 capable of occupying his mind but for a short season, to be super-
 
 THOMAS SAY. 
 
 seded by those boundless cravings for knowledge which an Almighty 
 power had placed within his breast. When, in compliance with the 
 earnest wishes of his father, he entered into commercial engagements, 
 the future naturalist was found by his friends occupied with those 
 pursuits for which nature had designed him, and leaving the de- 
 tails of business to others. The commercial efforts proved unsuc- 
 cessful ; and Mr. SAY, deprived of his patrimony, instead of endea- 
 voring to repair the loss, resolved to devote himself exclusively to 
 Natural History. From this may be dated the commencement of 
 his purely scientific career ; he now began to consider science as a 
 profession, and the loss of worldly property seemed the road to higher 
 intellectual distinction and more enlarged usefulness. 
 
 The studies of the youthful naturalist, about this period, under- 
 went a temporary interruption from his service as a volunteer in 
 the last war between our country and England. In common with 
 several of his friends and relations, he became a member of the first 
 troop of city cavalry ; and in that capacity proceeded to Mount Bull, 
 where he remained for some time during the years 1812 and 1813. 
 
 On the breaking up of this military post at the conclusion of peace, he 
 had already devoted considerable labor to the study of natural history 
 and the collection of the natural productions of our country, when 
 he found the arena of his usefulness suddenly extended by the for- 
 mation of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. When, on 
 the 25th of January, 1812, a little association, which had previously 
 met in a more private manner, resolved to assume this style and cha- 
 racter, it was considered of importance that THOMAS SAY, though 
 absent from the meeting, should be assumed as an original member. 
 
 The compliment thus paid to a modest and retiring man, shows, 
 as was intended, the value which was then set upon his adhesion 
 by the six others who thus associated him to their number. How 
 amply his subsequent course justified their selection, the Academy 
 has gladly testified. Such was the effect of private study, that his 
 subsequent acquaintance had no opportunity of witnessing the in- 
 fancy of his scientific powers. His elementary knowledge was com- 
 plete, his acquaintance with classification adequate, and his power 
 of observing and discriminating, accurate and ready. He was at 
 once prepared for the difficult and laborious task of describing and 
 cataloguing American productions in natural history. From this 
 period, and for a considerable interval, his labors are almost exclu- 
 sively directed in co-operation with the institution which he had 
 assisted in founding.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 In the tasks undertaken by Mr. SAY, almost every thing was to be 
 done. The examination of the invertebral animals was to be intro- 
 duced to the notice of our citizens , the myriads of minute objects of 
 this class which attract the eye in our country, were to be investi- 
 gated and described ; the study was to be created, and the students 
 induced to prosecute it. 
 
 For these purposes his efforts were truly unremitting. He was 
 attentive and regular in his presence at the meetings of the Academy ; 
 and during the intervals, may be said to have been always at his 
 post. Those who were in the habit of visiting the building will 
 abundantly recollect the uniformity with which he was to be found 
 there. The value of such assiduous attendance, by such a man, 
 may be easily imagined. Those who were disposed to visit the es- 
 tablishment were at all times certain of agreeable society ; for Mr. 
 SAY was ever attentive to all reasonable calls for conversation, so 
 much as even to surprise his friends. The effect of his liberality of 
 disposition, with his amenity of manner, was peculiarly fascinating ; 
 and tended forcibly to produce in the same individuals a combined 
 feeling of love for the science, and for the naturalist who had thus 
 gained their affections. 
 
 This indefatigable and eminent man was at all times ready to be- 
 stow the fruits of his own researches upon those of his friends who 
 felt an interest in similar pursuits. In this manner he was incalcu- 
 lably serviceable to young students in natural history by his advice 
 and assistance ; feeling far more anxious to extend the sphere of sci- 
 ence in his country than to increase his own fame. This generosity 
 in bestowing upon others the results of his own industry, so highly 
 characteristic of true genius and real love for science, might be re- 
 ferred, in part, to a sense of his own strength. He had reputation to 
 spare, and could hardly avoid feeling aware that the inquirer who 
 grew in science must inevitably form a higher estimation of the 
 teacher of whose merits he thus became a better judge. 
 
 In May, 1817, the Journal of the Academy was commenced ; and 
 Mr. SAY continued, during the next ten years, to be one of its stea- 
 diest and most laborious contributors. 
 
 In the autumn of that year an expedition to Florida was organized, 
 for the purpose of procuring objects of natural history. The party 
 consisted of Messrs. Maclure, Ord, SAY, and Peale, who spent the 
 winter in that country, and collected a large number of specimens, 
 with descriptions of many of which they afterwards enriched the 
 Journal. In 1819 and 1820 the celebrated expedition to the Rocky
 
 THOMAS SAY. 
 
 Mountains took place, in which Mr. SAY took a part. His learning, 
 his patient industry, and the confidence reposed in him by the officers 
 of the detachment, are visible in every page of the narrative ; and 
 the very large portion which he contributed to the work is acknow- 
 ledged by the editor. This embraces the whole of his favorite de- 
 partment, the invertebral animals, together with a great variety of 
 additional subjects, to which, from circumstances of various kinds, it 
 was convenient that Mr. SAY should direct his attention. In the 
 expedition to the sources of St. Peter's River, &c., performed in 
 1823, at least equal labor, in proportion to the time employed, was 
 bestowed by him upon the collection of materials, although a portion 
 of the preparation for the press was saved him by his friend, W. H. 
 Keating, Esq., the editor. 
 
 During the period of our narrative, compliments from abroad came 
 thick upon him ; on these, however, he set but a limited value, ex- 
 cept where they were the means of extending or increasing a know- 
 ledge of natural history. His correspondence with distinguished 
 foreign naturalists occupied a large portion of his time, although 
 constantly confined to matters of science. 
 
 In the year 1825, on the foundation of the well-known settlement 
 made by the suggestion of Mr. Robert Owen at New Harmony, 
 Indiana, Mr. SAY removed to that place, at the request of his friend, 
 William Maclure, Esq., for the purpose of assisting with others in 
 the erection of a school of natural science. By the munificence of 
 the distinguished individual last named, he enjoyed, in the wilds of 
 the far west, all the advantages of a splendid library, abundant fa- 
 cilities for making collections, and a ready printing press. The 
 scientific world is in possession of two volumes, the second and 
 third of his splendid American Entomology, and six numbers of 
 his Conchology ; all which were among the fruits of his industry 
 while at New Harmony. The volumes of the Entomology were 
 published in Philadelphia, the others in Indiana. 
 
 It was while at New Harmony that Mr. SAY'S domestic happiness 
 was enhanced, by his union with Miss Lucy W. Sistare, of New- 
 York, a lady in every way qualified to add to the felicity of such a 
 man. In addition to many elegant accomplishments, Miss Sistare 
 possessed the advantage of a fondness for the same pursuits, and 
 great readiness and neatness with the pencil a talent which was 
 employed to the advantage of the beautiful works of which we have 
 just spoken. 
 
 Besides the elaborate description of a number of natural objects
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 collected at New Harmony, and also in Mexico during the tours in 
 that country made by Mr. Maclure, Mr. SAY found himself, at this 
 late period of life, again involved in the cares of business and the 
 superintendence of property. Amid the chaos of mind which the 
 settlement presented, Mr. Maclure felt the value and necessity of old 
 and tried friendship, tested honor, and untiring industry, in the care 
 of his vast estates. In none could he confide with more unhesitat- 
 ing- promptitude than in the subject of our memoir ; and he who 
 in early youth had sacrificed his own property to the pursuit of 
 science, was willing, in maturer age, to devote his talents to the care 
 of that of his friend ; thus proving, like the Ionian philosopher, that 
 his neglect of pecuniary affairs had not arisen from want of ability, 
 but from disinclination. 
 
 Amid these accumulating tasks and this honorable charge, the 
 termination of his labors was now gradually approaching. The 
 season was one of unusual mortality, and the ordinary and general 
 causes of disease could only cooperate with the severe and devoted 
 application of the naturalist. Mr. SAY'S habits of steady and pro- 
 tracted application, excessive abstinence and loss of sleep, had long 
 before this period exerted an injurious influence upon his health, ex- 
 hibiting their effects in repeated attacks of fever and dysentery ; and 
 when, in 1833, he paid a short visit to his friends in Philadelphia, 
 for the conjoined objects of health and science, the ravages of dis- 
 ease were but too visible. Still, those who knew him were not con- 
 scious that it was then for the last time that he visited his native 
 city or the walls of his beloved academy. After several renewals of 
 disease, the same maladies returned with a highly nervous character ; 
 and finally, on the 10th of September, he sunk into the arms of death 
 by an easy dissolution. 
 
 Thus perished, while yet in the vigor of his years, an individual on 
 whom creative wisdom appeared to have stamped in the strongest man- 
 ner the characters of a master mind in the study of the works of God. 
 
 The character of Mr. SAY was in every way singularly fitted for 
 the task which he thus made the business of his life. He was gifted 
 with a strong intellect, accurate powers of observation, vast assiduity, 
 a freedom from those unsettled wanderings of the mind which are 
 so frequently the bane of genius, and an enthusiastic attachment to 
 the subject of his studies. In philosophy, he was an advocate for 
 that doctrine which attached exclusive importance to the evidence 
 of the senses. Fact alone was the object which he thought worthy 
 of his researches. Such was the ardor of his perseverance, that for
 
 THOMAS SAY. 
 
 a long period he actually lived at the Academy, sleeping within the 
 walls, and only leaving the institution when necessary to obtain his 
 meals. The hours of refreshment were forgotten, and sleep unhesi- 
 tatingly sacrificed, not as an occasional exertion, but as a permanent 
 and persevering habit. His extraordinary power of concentrating 
 his industry had an effect in producing the peculiar style of his 
 pieces. The manner of writing in which he most delighted, was 
 that of the utmost abridgment of which the subject was capable, 
 cutting off every unnecessary word. It was not that he was incapa- 
 ble of a fluent style, for various parts of his writings demonstrate the 
 contrary, such as some of his contributions to the narrative of the 
 Expedition to the Rocky Mountains ; but he seemed to think it an 
 injustice to the reader and to science to detain them from knowledge 
 with the smallest redundancy of language. At the same time this 
 severe judge was far from criticising others with the same rigor 
 which he exercised towards himself, and readily forgave the luxu- 
 riance of style in their works. His own manner, when he indulged 
 in his beloved brevity, was certainly liable to the objection of diffi- 
 culty to untutored readers : but still more, perhaps, to the risk of 
 alarming students by its apparent obscurity, than to the reality, as 
 the knowledge which was requisite was always actually present, 
 though comprised in few words. It is unnecessary to add, that the 
 naturalists are not a few to whom this abridged style is a recommen- 
 dation. 
 
 The communications of Mr. SAY to natural science are numerous 
 and of considerable bulk ; and their number has probably surprised 
 even some of his acquaintance. They are scattered through a variety 
 of publications, not all devoted to natural history, and one of these even 
 a newspaper ; the student finds it impossible, without considerable 
 exertion, to avoid overlooking some of them, and it is too much to 
 be feared that individual memoirs are irrecoverably lost. No esti- 
 mate of their value, and the labor necessary to produce them, can, 
 however, be founded on their simple bulk ; nor can they be com- 
 pared to others upon such a principle. If we take into view the ex- 
 treme labor which he uniformly bestowed upon his productions, 
 first to insure their accuracy, and then to compress them within the 
 smallest possible space, the amount of work executed by this inde- 
 fatigable writer will appear enormously augmented. 
 
 But it is not by the rules of arithmetic that the labors of Mr. SAY 
 are to be judged in any respect. To form a just idea of the space in 
 public utility occupied by him, it would be desirable, if possible, to
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 make an estimate of the vacuities which existed in American science, 
 of the judgment which he formed of them, and of the success of his 
 endeavors to fill them. This task we shall not attempt to execute. 
 It was in the immense range of the invertebraJs that Mr. SAY ex- 
 hausted his labor. 
 
 Arid among these it may be said, as of a former writer, that he left 
 scarce any department untouched, and none that he touched unim- 
 proved. His descriptions of species are most numerous among the 
 annulose and the molluscous animals, although he also made investiga- 
 tions among the radiated, as appears from the list of his publications, 
 and among the entozoary. It is not to be supposed that he exhausted 
 any of these departments : the stores of nature within our country are 
 too extensive, and much, doubtless, remains for future observers. Yet 
 he described the large and laborious numbers which serve for the gene- 
 ral materials of classification ; he outlined the extended and accurate 
 map, to which the task of making local additions is easy, but which 
 forms the necessary and only guide to those who would make further 
 admeasurements. It is not that there is no more gold in the mine ; 
 but in raising his own ore, Mr. SAY has constructed the shafts and 
 galleries, pointed out the veins, and indicated by his example the 
 best manner of working them. He laid down the broad masses of 
 coloring, which, however they may be augmented and retouched 
 by the persevering pencil of the future artist, must still form the 
 basis, and in very numerous cases, the perfection of the picture. 
 Every familiar object in these departments, that frequently met the 
 eye, but produced a feeling of dissatisfaction because no description 
 or place for it was to be found in the writers on natural history, re- 
 ceived its character from his hands. His task was that of Adam, to 
 name the animals as they passed before him. 
 
 His modesty at first induced him to attempt few and isolated 
 species, and departments of small extent ; and as time gave him ex- 
 perience of his powers, he ventured farther. A few scattered insects 
 and shells, ascertained to be undescribed, with great labor and pre- 
 caution first received their characters and names from him. Next 
 he undertook the Crustacea of the United States, which he described 
 and classified. He then extended his labor to a larger number of 
 shells, selecting those of the land and of the fresh waters. Next, 
 after despatching several detached and limited groups, he entered 
 among the vast masses of the Insect Kingdom. In this immense 
 field he described a very large number of species, belonging to nearly 
 all its departments. Perhaps, even here we may discover a new
 
 THOMAS SAY. 
 
 illustration of the character of the man ; and a dislike of show may 
 not improbably have been among the reasons which induced him to 
 postpone his attention to the brilliant and popular department of 
 butterflies and moths. Our naturalist had now achieved so much 
 of his task that he could afford to be desultory ; and his pieces from 
 this period assume a more diversified character. His share in the 
 two expeditions by Major Long, is truly multifarious. Besides the 
 departments which he considered peculiarly his own, it embraces, as 
 we have already had occasion to observe, a very large amount of 
 matter foreign to his ordinary habits of study, and requiring a dif- 
 ferent manner of composition. Some of the most interesting portions 
 are those which describe the manners of the Indians. He is the his- 
 torian of all the facts that were collected in those districts which lie 
 traversed with a small detachment of troops under his separate com- 
 mand ; he obtained, although not professing philology, the vocabu- 
 lary of the Killisteno language ; and on the expedition to the sources 
 of St. Peter's River, he made the whole of the botanical collections, 
 which afterwards formed the basis of a memoir appended to the pub- 
 lished narrative by the late Mr. De Schweinitz. In fossil zoology, 
 his description of new species of the Crinoidea is considered highly 
 valuable. Several other memoirs in this department, in which Ame- 
 rica until lately presented such a mass of unknown objects, will be 
 found in the catalogue of his papers. Several of Mr. SAY'S papers 
 appear, however elaborate, to have been at first but little known to 
 naturalists ; it appearing to have been his first object in many in- 
 stances to procure a public record of his papers in print, so as to 
 establish his claims to the date of his discoveries, while at the same 
 time he obtained duplicates to transmit to his learned correspondents ; 
 leaving it to subsequent times to republish them, and thus secure 
 their wider diffusion and more easy access. 
 
 His natural temper was one of the most amiable ever met with. 
 The phrase was frequent in the mouths of his intimates, that, " it was 
 impossible to quarrel with him." His great respect for his parents, 
 and his compliance with their wishes, have been already mentioned. 
 He was repaid, notwithstanding his retired life and exclusive devo- 
 tion to science, by a singular strength of attachment on the part of 
 his friends ; and we have already spoken of the confidence of Mr. 
 Maclure. His modesty was so retiring, and the wish which he fre- 
 quently expressed " to save trouble " to others so great, that to men 
 in the habit of living much in the world they might perhaps appear 
 incredible. The contrast of these with surrounding manners, was
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 occasionally so remarkable as almost to amount to eccentricity and 
 a satire on the times. 
 
 It may be interesting to add, that he was tall and spare, but mus- 
 cular, and apparently endowed, before his health was injured by re- 
 peated illness, with considerable strength. This enabled him better 
 to struggle with the fatigues of toilsome journeys and the wasting 
 inactivity of study. His complexion was dark, with black hair. 
 
 Mr. SAY will always be remembered by those who pursue the 
 study of Zoology as one of the greatest American naturalists ; while, 
 at the same time, his fame will be cherished in his native city as one 
 of the most efficient founders and supporters of his favorite academy, 
 and one of the individuals who have contributed most to diffuse a 
 taste for these sciences among the American youth. 
 
 10 C.
 
 
 

 
 
 Kngravcd by E
 
 JONATHAN TRUMBULL. 
 
 JOSEPH TRUMBULL, the ancestor of the Trumbull family, came, as 
 is understood, from Cumberland County, England, to Ipswich, in 
 Massachusetts, in the year 1640. His son, John, removed to Sufneld, 
 Hartford County, Connecticut, which was then within the jurisdic- 
 tion of Massachusetts. He had three sons, John, Joseph, and 
 Benoni. Their descendants have been distinguished in the civil, po- 
 litical, and literary history of the State. John Trumbull, the cele- 
 brated author of McFingal and other poems, was the son of John, 
 who was a distinguished clergyman at Waterbury. The Reverend 
 Benjamin Trumbull, D. D., the historian, was the son of Benoni, 
 who was a clergyman at Hebron. JONATHAN TRUMBULL was the 
 son of Joseph, who settled at Lebanon as a merchant, where the sub- 
 ject of this memoir was born, on the 10th of June, (O. S.) 1710. 
 
 He entered Harvard College in 1724, and graduated with honor 
 in 1727. He immediately commenced the study of Theology with 
 the Rev. Solomon Williams of Lebanon. In due time he was li- 
 censed to preach, and soon after was invited to settle in the ministry 
 at Colchester, in his native State. While deliberating upon the sub- 
 ject, a family affliction turned the current of his life into another 
 channel. An elder brother, who was engaged in business with his 
 father, had sailed on a voyage to London, in June 1732, and was never 
 more heard of. For a long time a forlorn hope was entertained that 
 the vessel had been captured by the Algerines ; but, distressing as even 
 that hope was, time proved it to be fallacious. The loss of this son, 
 with the vessel and cargo, which wholly belonged to them, was se- 
 verely felt by the aged father, who found himself unfitted to settle up 
 his mercantile concerns without the assistance of his surviving son, 
 who, at the urgent request of his father, with great reluctance de- 
 clined the call of the church at Colchester. 
 
 In closing up the affairs of his brother, JONATHAN TRUMBULL
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 gradually commenced business for himself, and was, for many years, 
 a merchant in his native town. He imported his goods direct from 
 London, and by his fair and upright dealing secured the respect and 
 confidence of the public. 
 
 At the age of twenty-three he was elected a member of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly of the Colony. Here a new scene opened before him. 
 His talents for public business were soon perceived and acknow- 
 ledged, and he rose rapidly in the estimation of the freemen of the 
 Colony. He was soon chosen speaker of the House, and shortly af- 
 terward a member of the Council. In 1766 he was elected Lieute- 
 nant-Governor of the Colony, and, by virtue of that office, Chief 
 Judge of the Superior Court. He continued in that office until 1768. 
 Pitkin, the Governor of the Colony, being advanced in life, was cau- 
 tious in his proceedings upon the absorbing subjects which then agi- 
 tated the public mind. The right claimed by the British Parliament 
 of taxing the Colonies at their pleasure, and the passage of the Stamp 
 Act, caused great excitement. Governor Pitkin, and several of the 
 council, took the oath enjoined by the British Government on that 
 occasion ; but the Lieutenant-Governor absolutely refused to take it 
 himself, or to be present when it was administered to others. 
 
 In resistance to the arbitrary acts of Parliament, no person in the 
 Colony was more active, ardent, or energetic, than Lieutenant-Go- 
 vernor TRUMBULL. 
 
 In 1769 he was chosen by the people Governor of the Colony, as 
 one on whom, in times of danger and trouble, they could safely rely ; 
 and he fulfilled their expectations to the end of his career. He de- 
 cided in council, by his casting vote, to resist, by force of arms, the 
 encroachments of Great Britain against the liberties of the Colony. 
 This was an act of fearful responsibility, considering the power of 
 the nation to be resisted and the means of defence ; and it may here 
 be remarked, that he was \he only Colonial Governor, at the com- 
 mencement of the Revolution, who espoused the cause of the people. 
 During the whole controversy he remained steadfast in the cause ; 
 and he was the only Governor of a State who held his station through 
 the war. He was not only considered the leader of the Whigs in his 
 own State, but throughout New England. His firmness in danger ; 
 his persevering spirit in the most gloomy period ; his ardor, patriot- 
 ism, and zeal in his country's cause ; endeared him to all lovers of 
 their country. As a politician, his views were clear, correct, and 
 open ; and the soundness and sagacity of his opinions and judgment 
 were proved by the happy results which followed his undeviating
 
 -"^JONATHAN TEJJMBULL. 
 
 f... ^4^ 
 
 cmirse. As he never paused in the performance of his duty, so he 
 never despaired of the triumph of his countrymen. 
 
 The immense business he ^transacted, and the manner in which it 
 
 . "y\^ done, pYoved his diligece,*abil%, and fidelity. During the 
 whole war of the%tevolution a council of safety sat with him, except 
 
 ^ during % the sessions of the General Assembly : at all other times he 
 and his council were the Executive of the State. In addition to his 
 duties as Governor, and his attendance with the Legislature, (at least 
 three times a year,) he sat in council during the war more than one 
 thousand days. His correspondence with the Governors of the other 
 States, and with the Commander-in-chiei' and. other, officers of the 
 army, was very extensive. He promptly complied with the requisi- 
 tions of General Washington for supplies, to the extent of his ability, 
 or the power of the State : and it is a fact not generally known, that 
 Connecticut furnished the United States with more troops and sup- 
 plies than any other State in the Union, except Massachusetts. In 
 addition to the contributions of Connecticut to the forces of the Union, 
 her own sons defended their soil themselves. It is believed the 
 United States never furnished a regiment for her protection, or to 
 repel an invading enemy, and yet the enemy never rested a single 
 night in the State undisturbed. 
 
 The foreign correspondence of Governor TRUMBULL was not only 
 extensive, but of great importance to the country, and should be pub- 
 lished ; as we are confident, from what we have seen of it, that it 
 would not only be highly interesting, but that it would reflect a light 
 upon the history of the time, untinged by personal or partizan preju- 
 dices, and confirm the claims of the venerable Governor to a place in 
 the first rank of American patriots. A few extracts from his domestic 
 and foreign correspondence will illustrate its character. 
 
 Letter from Governor TRDMBULL to. Governor Gage. 
 
 11 Hartford, April 28th, 1775. 
 " SIR, 
 
 " The alarming situation of public affairs in this country, and the late unfortunate transac- 
 tions in the province of the Massachusetts Bay, have induced the General Assembly of this 
 Colony, now sitting in this place, to appoint a committee of their body to wait upon your 
 Excellency, and to desire me, in their name, to write to you relative to these very interesting 
 matters. 
 
 " The inhabitants of this Colony are intimately connected with the people of your province, 
 and esteem themselves bound, by the strongest ties of friendship as well as of common in- 
 terest, to regard with attention whatever concerns them. You will not therefore be surprised 
 that your first arrival at Boston with a body of his Majesty's troops, for the declared purpose 
 of carrying into execution certain acts of Parliament, which in their apprehension were un- 
 constitutional and oppressive, should have given the good people of this Colony a very just 
 and general alarm. Tour subsequent proceedings, in fortifying the town of Boston, and
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS.. 
 
 other military preparations, greatly increased their apprehensions for the safety of their friend! 
 and brethren ; they could not be unconcerned spectators of their sufferings, in that which is 
 esteemed the common cause of this country : but the late hostile and secret inroads of some 
 of the troops under your command into the heart q^thc country, and the violences they have 
 
 committed, have driven them almost into a state of desperation. They feel now, not only for 
 their friends, but for themselves, and for their dearest interests andjfonnexions. We wish 
 not to exaggerate, we are not sure of every part of our information ; but by the best intelli- 
 gence that -\ve have yet been able to obtain, the late transaction was a most unprovoked 
 attack upon the lives and property of his Majesty's subjects, and it is represented to us 
 that such outrages have been committed as would disgrace even barbarians, and much more 
 Britons, so highly famed for humanity as well as bravery. It is feared, therefore, that we 
 are devoted to destruction, and that you have it in command and intention to ravage and 
 desolate the country. If this is not the case, permit us to ask, why have these outrages been 
 committed ? Why is the town of Boston now shut up ? To what end are all the hostile 
 preparations that are daily making? And why do we continually hear of fresh destinations 
 of troops for this country ? The people of the Colony, you may rely upon it, abhor the idea 
 of taking arms against the troops of their sovereign, and dread nothing so much as the hor- 
 rors of civil war. But, at the same time, we beg leave to assure your Excellency, that as 
 they apprehend themselves justified by the principle of self-defence, so they are most firmly 
 resolved to defend their rights and privileges to the last extremity ; nor will they be restrained 
 from giving aid to their brethren if any unjustifiable attack is made upon them. Be so good, 
 therefore, as to explain yourself upon this most important subject, as far as is consistent with 
 your duty to our common sovereign. Is there no way to prevent this urfliappy dispute from 
 coming to extremities ? Is there no alternative but absolute submission, or the desolations 
 of war? By that humanity which constitutes so amiable a part of your character, for the 
 honor of our sovereign, and by the glory of the British empire, we entreat you to prevent it, 
 if it be possible. Surely it is to be hoped that the temperate wisdom of the empire might 
 even yet find expedients to restore peace, that so all parts of the empire may enjoy their par- 
 ticular rights, honors, and immunities. Certainly this is an event most devoutly to be wished 
 for. And will it not be consistent with your duty to suspend the operations of war on your 
 part, and enable us on ours to quiet the minds of the people, at least till the result of some 
 further deliberations may be known ? The importance of the occasion will, we doubt not, 
 sufficiently apologize for the earnestness with which we address you, and any seeming im- 
 propriety which may attend it, as well as induce you to give us the most explicit, and favor- 
 able answer in your power. 
 
 " I am, with great esteem and respect, 
 " in behalf of the General Assembly, 
 
 " Sir, Your most obedient, humble servant, 
 
 "JONATHAN TRCMBULL." 
 
 Letter from Governor TRCMBULL to the Baron Van De Capellan of Holland; 
 
 " Lebanon, 27th June, 1777. 
 
 " The cause of Liberty is not peculiar to one free State it is a common cause ; the de- 
 struction of one cannot be indifferent to the few other free States, which God, in his Pro- 
 vidence, hath preserved from being swallowed up by tyranny. It was with the greatest 
 pleasure we were informed that the States of Holland refused to lend their troops to Great 
 Britain, to be used in extending the dominion of tyranny over these States, and effacing al- 
 most the only traces of liberty which remain in one quarter of the globe ; I cannot suf- 
 ficiently express the gratitude we feel for the generous part, you, Sir, was pleased to take in 
 that matter, worthy of a senator of a free State, and a candid and impartial friend of li- 
 berty and humanity: 
 
 " In the United States of America you will be revered. We are now reduced to the ne-
 
 JONATHAN TRUMBULL. 
 
 cessity of defending, by force, against the power of a renowned and mighty empire, our 
 ancient and indubitable rights, immunities, and privileges, founded upon national liberty, 
 confirmed by Royal charters, of the predecessors of the (present) King of Great Britain ; 
 approved and recognized by successive Parliaments ; and enjoyed, from the first settlement 
 of these States, to the present day. The present reign opened with a deliberate system 
 and digested plan to reduce these States to the most abject dependence and vassalage. By 
 our ancient charters, by the most solemn contracts with our kings, we were to have, and en- 
 joy, all the liberties, privileges, and immunities of free and natural born subjects of the 
 realm of England ; of these privileges, that which fixes private property, and exempts the 
 subject from taxation but by his own consent, has been always justly reputed the chief, the 
 loss of which involves in it, or draws after it, the loss of all the rest; this v/as first attacked." 
 
 After giving a statement of the rise, origin, and cause of the con- 
 test between the Colonies and the Mother country, their petitions and 
 causes of complaints, &c. (which, from its length, cannot be inserted 
 in this article,) he says : 
 
 "To many, the views of the British cabinet had been long apparent ; most people, how- 
 ever, had flattered themselves the nation would not suffer the Court to take away their 
 privileges by force; and that at length they would be confirmed ; but now, it is become evi- 
 dent to all, that the design to strip them of their privileges, and lay their lives and property 
 at the mercy of a haughty and unfeeling ministry and a venal Parliament, was fixed and 
 determined ; and that no step tending to that end would be deemed inexpedient or unjust, if 
 practicable. On the 19th day of April, 1775, the scene of blood was opened by the British 
 troops, by the unprovoked slaughter of the Provincial troops at Lexington and Concord. 
 The adjacent Colonies took up arms in their own defence; the Congress again met, again 
 petitioned the Throne for peace and settlement ; and again their petitions were contemptu- 
 ously disregarded. When every glimpse of hope failed, not only of justice but of safety, 
 we were compelled, by the last necessity, to appeal to Heaven, and rest the defence of our 
 liberties and privileges upon the favor and protection of Divine Providence ; and the resist- 
 ance we could make by opposing force to force. Although the war was begun on our part, 
 under the greatest disadvantages, without any preparation of arms, artillery, military stores, 
 magazines of provisions, or other necessaries, which proves to demonstration that the war 
 did not proceed from any ambitious, premeditated plan on our part ; yet Heaven has so 
 smiled upon us hitherto, that we have been able to maintain ourselves and make head 
 against our enemies. And, although all Europe has resounded with ostentatious accounts of 
 their victories and success, it is nevertheless true that they have not yet been able to maintain 
 themselves in any post where they were not protected by their navy ; or where, if attacked, 
 they could not immediately retire on board their transports. And we have yet good hopes 
 and a fair prospect, with the smiles of Heaven, of making a good defence, and vindicating 
 our liberty against the unjust attempts of power to deprive us of it. From our brethren 
 in Great Britain we have not experienced their boasted candor, impartiality, and clemency. 
 We appeal from their injustice to the Supreme Governor and Judse, and to the candid 
 censure of the impartial world. In you, Sir, and in your wise and generous sentiments, we 
 find that justice, the sincerity of our intention and rectitude of our measures entitle us to 
 hope for. We may justly flatter ourselves that no free State will so far forget what is due to 
 their own glory and interest, as to lend their aid to exterminate liberty, (even) from the 
 wilds of America ; might they not rather be expected to assist in preserving what liberty 
 yet remains upon earth from falling a sacrifice to the encroachments and avidity of 
 Tyrants lest Liberty itself should be banished or forced from amongst men, and universal 
 tyranny, with its attendant calamities and miseries, overwhelm the whole human race? Bui 
 
 5
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 I desist ; it is not my intention to send you a history. I would only thank you for your fa- 
 vorable sentiments of us, and request a continuance of your good offices as far as we shall 
 appear to you to deserve them." 
 
 The Baron's answer was received, dated Zwoll, 7th Dec. 1779, 
 written in Dutch some few extracts are here inserted : 
 
 " To be the object of public esteem of a people, worthy and virtuous as the brave Ameri- 
 cans, is a thing so great, that all the credit of your name, (as also of Mr. Erkelaus,) could 
 not persuade me that I have merited the smallest part of the gratitude which you please to 
 testify (on their part) for the small services I have tried to render them. 
 
 "It is true, Sir, I have engaged, since the year 1775, in the good cause of your com- 
 patriots, with that zeal as the love of liberty inspired me, for such as dare to defend it, 
 against the horrors of all sorts of oppression ; but after all, what I have done, is nothing 
 but an act of pure justice. By my birth I am a member of the nobles of my Province, and 
 am called in the Assembly of the States, not States General, (as is believed in your coun- 
 try,) but of the Province of Overysell. I should have thought myself responsible for the 
 innocent blood which has been shed in your country, if I had permitted such things without 
 
 opposition, Sac. One other cause of the mistrust of the Americans' credit is, the false 
 
 news which the English continue to make concurrent, which the friends of America cannot 
 contradict, by want of information ; it would be of the last importance to enable them, by 
 authentic information, and which contains nothing that is not exact and true. If you would 
 choose, Sir, to honor me with such a correspondence, be persuaded I will make a very good 
 use of it Communicate news as in confidence, and it will have more effect Your letters, 
 which I have communicated to others in Amsterdam, (however, with discretion, and with- 
 out giving copies as yet,) have made a deep impression on all who have read them ; all 
 regretted that such a true and energetic defence of the cause of United America should be 
 buried in the portfolio of a private correspondence. A description of the present state of 
 United America, the forms of Governments in the different Republics, of the facilities 
 with which strangers can establish themselves there, and find subsistence, the price of 
 lands, &c., with a history of the present war and the cruelties committed by the English, 
 would do wonders in a land where we don't know America even by the newspapers ; and 
 
 where there is, in the mean time, a very great number of honest people, who but 
 
 I would here very near forget to be a Hollander. Continue to write me in English. Yes, 
 Sir, I long to make our epistolary correspondence to be a basis of friendship, which, founded 
 on our mutual attachment to the liberty of the human race, would become the most solid. 
 I'll try to merit the same so much, that I beg you to believe that I am, with all respect due 
 to your virtue, your talents, and your character, 
 
 " Sir, I am, 
 (Signed.) "JoHAN. THEODORE VAN DE CAPELLAN." 
 
 The correspondence continued till the Governor's death. 
 
 In 1780 the General Assembly of Connecticut passed an act to 
 authorize a loan abroad. The confidence which the firm and open 
 character of his correspondence had inspired now came into use for 
 the country. The Governor took great interest in effecting this loan, 
 that the finances of the State might be placed upon a sure footing. 
 The following letter to his son, Colonel John Trumbull, who was 
 then in Europe, will give his own views on the subject :
 
 JONATHAN TRUMBULL. 
 
 " Lebanon, 30/i Dec. 1780. 
 "DEAR SON, 
 
 "The General Assembly of this State have passed an act to obtain a loan from Holland 
 or elsewhere, to the amount of 200,000, on terms which the enclosed act will show you. 
 This will go under cover to Messrs. Neufville & Son, in Amsterdam, to whom I refer you, 
 among others, for their assistance and council. As our prospects principally centre in Holland, 
 I can wish this letter may find you there, and that you will pay your first and most assidu- 
 ous attention to that quarter. Give me the earliest information of the way and probable ex- 
 pense of getting the money in specie here, and of whatever else you may judge needful for me 
 to be advised. This (loan) is not sought on the principles of despair, but to put our finances 
 on a better footing ; the spirit of the country remains firm and steady ; men for three years, 
 or during the war, will fill and complete the army : I hope to get the finances (of our State) 
 upon a sure and good footing. 
 
 " I am, my dear Son, 
 
 "Your ever affectionate Father, 
 
 " JONATHAN TRUMBULL." 
 
 The services of Governor TRUMBULL, throughout the war, were 
 of very great importance, not merely to Connecticut, but to the United 
 States. " General Washington relied on him as one of his main pil- 
 lars of support," says Mr. Sparks, in a note to one of Washington's 
 letters ; and, indeed, the numerous letters of the General to the Go- 
 vernor, which have been published, are full of evidence of the cor- 
 rectness of the remark. 
 
 In October, 1783, Governor TRUMBULL declined any further 
 election to public office. " A few days," said he, in his address to the 
 General Assembly, "will bring me to the anniversary of my birth ; 
 seventy-three years of my life will then be completed ; and next 
 May, fifty-one years will have passed since I was first honored with 
 the confidence of the people in a public character. During this pe- 
 riod, in different capacities, it has been my lot to be called to public 
 service almost without interruption. Fourteen years I have had the 
 honor to fill the chief seat of Government. With what carefulness, 
 with what zeal and attention to your welfare, I have discharged the 
 duties of my several stations, some few of you, of equal age with 
 myself, can witness for me from the beginning. During the latter 
 period, none of you are ignorant of the manner in which my public 
 life has been occupied ! The watchful cares and solicitude of an 
 eight years' distressing and unusual war have also fallen to my 
 share, and have employed many anxious moments of my latest time ; 
 which have been cheerfully devoted to the welfare of my country. 
 Happy am I to find that all these cares, anxieties, and solicitudes are 
 amply compensated by the noble prospect which now opens to my 
 fellow-citizens, of a happy establishment (if we are but wise to im- 
 prove the precious opportunity) in peace, tranquillity, and national
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 independence. With sincere and lively gratitude to Almighty God, 
 our great protector and deliverer, and most hearty congratulations to 
 all our citizens, I felicitate you, Gentlemen, the other freemen, and all 
 the good people of the State, in this glorious prospect. 
 
 "Impressed with these sentiments of gratitude and felicitation, 
 reviewing the long course of years in which, through various events, 
 I have had the pleasure to serve the State ; contemplating, with 
 pleasing wonder and satisfaction, at the close of an arduous contest, the 
 noble and enlarged scenes which now present themselves to my coun- 
 try's view ; and reflecting, at the same time, on my advanced stage of 
 life a life worn out almost in the constant cares of office I think it 
 my duty to retire from the busy concerns of public affairs : that at 
 the evening of my days I may sweeten their decline by devoting 
 myself with less avocation and more attention to the duties of reli- 
 gion, the service of my God, and preparation for a future and hap- 
 pier state of existence ; in which pleasing employment I shall not 
 cease to remember my country, and to make it my ardent prayer that 
 Heaven will not fail to bless her with her choicest favors. 
 
 " At this conspicuous moment, therefore, of my country's happi 
 ness, when she has just reached the goal of her wishes, and obtained 
 the object for which she has so long contended, and so nobly strug- 
 gled, I have to request the favor from you, Gentlemen, and through 
 you, from all the freemen of the State, that, after May next. I may be 
 excused from any further service in public life ; and that from this 
 time I may be no longer considered as an object of your suffrages for 
 any public employment in the State." 
 
 After thanking the Assembly for the aid which they had always 
 afforded him in the discharge of his duties, the Governor availed 
 himself of his experience, and rendered his last address " an advisory 
 legacy " to his constituents. It is a patriarchal document, worthy of 
 the admiration of the lovers of their country ; and as such we com- 
 mend it to the sons of Connecticut, that it may be rescued from 
 oblivion, and have its place amongst the wise and patriotic counsel of 
 the Fathers of the Commonwealth. 
 
 Governor TRUMBULL did not long survive to enjoy the tranquillity 
 of private life. He was seized with a malignant fever, and, after a 
 few days' illness, died on the 17th of August. 1785. 
 
 The subject of this brief sketch was a remarkable man, even 
 amongst the prominent men of his time. Educated for the ministry, 
 and his career changed by unexpected events to the discharge of the 
 highest civil duties of the State, there was a combination of religion
 
 JONATHAN TRUMBULL. 
 
 and worldly wisdom in all his actions, and which may be traced in 
 his correspondence. Even his manners were characterized by the 
 same traits, and won the admiration and regard of those who were 
 familiar with Courts and courtiers, as well as of his own unsophisti- 
 cated countrymen. 
 
 He was an indefatigable student ; and notwithstanding his weighty 
 responsibilities and official cares, he found time to " search the 
 Scriptures " in the original languages ; kept up his acquaintance 
 with ancient and modern history; and did more than any other 
 person of his day to preserve the knowledge of the early history of 
 his own country. He retained the costume of the early part of the 
 eighteenth century, and the primitive habits of his fathers ; he was 
 grave, and serious, and mild in his discourse, but firm and resolute 
 in action. He took time to deliberate on all subjects, and expressed 
 his opinions forcibly and with decision. 
 
 The following letter, addresssed to the venerable Governor's son, 
 (who was afterward Governor,) will be read with attention and 
 respect ; and, in addition to what we have already stated, will, we 
 believe, furnish a sufficient answer to the numerous inquiries we 
 have received, why we have selected a subject about whom so little 
 is generally known : 
 
 " Mount Vernon, Oct. 1st, 1785. 
 "Mr DEAR SIR, 
 
 " It has so happened that your letter of the 1st of last month, did not reach me until Sa- 
 turday's post 
 
 " Vou know too well the sincere respect and regard I entertained for your venerable 
 father's public and private character, to require assurance of the concern I felt for his death ; 
 or of that sympathy in your feelings for the loss of him, which is prompted by friendship. 
 Under this loss, however, great as your pangs may have been at the first shock, you have 
 every thing to console you. 
 
 " A long and well-spent life in the service of his country, places GOVERNOR TRUMBULL 
 among the first of patriots. In the social duties he yielded to no one; and his lamp, from 
 the common course of nature being nearly extinguished, worn down with age and cares, 
 but retaining his mental faculties in perfection, are blessings which rarely attend advanced 
 life. All these combined, have secured to his memory unusual respect and love here, and, 
 no doubt, unmeasurable happiness hereafter. 
 
 " I am sensible that none of these observations can have escaped you, that I can offer 
 nothing which your own reason has not already suggested upon the occasion ; and being of 
 Sterne's opinion, that " before an affliction is digested, consolation comes too soon, and after 
 it is digested it comes too late, there is but a mark between these two, almost as fine as a 
 hair, for a comforter to take aim at," I rarely attempt it ; nor should I add more on this sub- 
 ject to you, as it will be a renewal of sorrow, by calling afresh to your remembrance things 
 that had better be forgotton. 
 
 "My principal pursuits are of a rural nature, in which I have great delight, especially as 
 I am blessed with the enjoyment of good health. Mrs. Washington, on the contrary, is
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 hardly erer well ; but, thankful for your kind remembrance of her, joins me in every good 
 wish for you, Mrs. Trumbull, and your family. 
 
 "Be assured, that with sentiments of the purest esteem and regard, I am, 
 " Dear Sir, your affectionate friend, 
 
 " And obedient servant, 
 
 "Gso. WASHINGTON." 
 10
 
 :
 
 JOHN M C LEAN. 
 
 THE subject of this notice is one of those remarkable men, who, 
 by the force of their own independent exertions, have risen from ob- 
 scurity into great reputation, and into the highest offices in the nation. 
 History has been said to be philosophy teaching by example ; and 
 this is more eminently true with regard to Biography, where every 
 lineament of the character is marked with more distinctness, and is 
 seen under a clearer light. 
 
 JOHN MCLEAN was born llth March, 1785, in Morris County. New 
 Jersey. When he was about four years of age his father removed to 
 the western country. He remained a year at Morgan town in Virgi- 
 nia, and then removed to that part of the State which has since been 
 erected into the State of Kentucky. He first settled on Jessamine, 
 near where the town of Nicholasville is now situated ; but in 1793 
 he removed to the neighborhood of Mayslick, where he continued to 
 reside until the year 1797, when he emigrated to the then north- 
 western territory (now Ohio), and settled on the farm on which the 
 son now lives. At an ealy age John was sent to school, and made 
 unusual proficiency for one whose general opportunities were so li- 
 mited. 
 
 The old gentleman being in narrow circumstances, and having a 
 pretty large family, was unable to send JOHN from home to be edu- 
 cated. He continued, therefore, to labor on the farm until he was 
 about sixteen years of age, when his father consented to his placing 
 himself successively under the instruction of the Reverend Matthew 
 E. Wallace and of Mr. Stubbs, by whose assistance he made great 
 advance in the study of the languages. During this period, his ex- 
 penses, both for board and tuition, were defrayed by himself; for so 
 limited were the circumstances of his father, that he generously re- 
 fused any assistance from him. 
 
 When about eighteen years of age young McLEAN went to write
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 in the clerk's office of Hamilton County. This employment, at the 
 same time that it would enable him to support himself, would also 
 initiate him into the practical part of the law, the profession on which 
 he had already fixed his ardent and aspiring mind. The arrange- 
 ment was. that he should write in the office for three years, but re- 
 serving a certain portion of each day for study ; and at the same 
 time he was to prosecute the study of law under the direction of Ar- 
 thur St. Glair, an eminent counsellor, and son of the illustrious Ge- 
 neral of that name. It is in this way that a mind animated by a 
 genuine ambition, and firm and determined in its purposes, is fre- 
 quently able to overcome the greatest difficulties, and to show with 
 how much ease industry and virtue can triumph over all the disad- 
 vantages of obscurity and poverty. 
 
 During his continuance in the office, young McLEAN was indefati- 
 gable in the prosecution of his double duties. He also became a 
 member of a debating society, the first which was formed in Cincin- 
 nati ; and it is a fact entitled to notice, that most of the young men 
 who contributed to its formation have since distinguished themselves 
 in the public service of their country. Young MCLEAN took an ac- 
 tive part in the discussions which were held in this society. The no- 
 tice which his efforts attracted still further confirmed him in the de- 
 termination which he had already taken not to aim at any ordinary 
 mark, but to make the highest intellectual distinction the prize of his 
 ambition. 
 
 In the Spring of 1807 MR. McLEAN was married to Miss Rebecca 
 Edwards, daughter of Dr. Edwards, formerly of South Carolina ; a 
 lady who, to the most amiable manners, unites the utmost benevolence 
 of character, and who has presided over the cares of a large family 
 with the greatest judgment and discretion. 
 
 In the fall of the same year MR. McLEAN was admitted to the 
 practice of the law, and settled at Lebanon. Here he immediately at- 
 tracted notice, and soon rose into a lucrative practice at the bar. In 
 October, 1812, he was elected to congress in the district in which he 
 resided, by a very large majority over both his competitors. 
 
 From his first entrance upon public life MR. MCLEAN was identi- 
 fied with the democratic party. He was an ardent supporter of the war 
 and of the administration of Mr. Madison ; not that he was the blind 
 and undistinguishing advocate of every measure which was proposed 
 by his party ; for he who will take the trouble to turn over the pub- 
 lic journals of that period, will find that his votes were mainly given in 
 reference to principle, and that the idea of supporting a dominant
 
 JOHN McLEAN. 
 
 party, merely because it was dominant, did not influence his judg- 
 ment, or withdraw him from the high path of duty which he had 
 marked out for himself. He was well aware that the association of 
 individuals into parties was sometimes absolutely necessary to the 
 prosecution and accomplishment of any great public measure. This 
 he supposed was sufficient to induce the members composing them, on 
 any little difference with the majority, to sacrifice their own judg- 
 ment to that of the greater number, and to distrust their own opinions 
 when they were in contradiction to the general views of the party. 
 But as party was thus to be regarded as itself only an instrument for 
 the attainment of some great public good, the instrument should not 
 be raised into greater importance than the end, nor any clear and un- 
 doubted principle of morality be violated for the sake of adhering to 
 party. MR. McLEAN often voted against his political friends ; and so 
 highly were both his integrity and judgment estimated, that no one 
 of the democratic party separated himself from him on that account, 
 nor did this independent course in the smallest degree diminish the 
 weight which he had acquired among his own constituents. 
 
 The first session which he attended was the extra session in the 
 summer after the declaration of war. At this session, the tax bills 
 were passed to sustain the war. The law which was passed to in- 
 demnify individuals for property lost in the public service was origi- 
 nated by MR. McLEAN, and very naturally contributed to add to the 
 reputation with which he had set out in public life. At the ensuing 
 session he introduced a resolution, instructing 'the proper committee 
 to inquire into the expediency of giving pensions to the widows of 
 the officers and soldiers who had fallen in the military service, which 
 was afterwards sanctioned by law. At this session he also delivered 
 a very able and effective speech in defence of the administration in 
 the prosecution of the war. This was published in the leading jour- 
 nals of that day, and gave an earnest of the future eminence which 
 our subject was destined to attain. 
 
 MR. McLEAN was a member of the committees of foreign relations 
 and on the public lands. 
 
 In the fall of 1815 he was re-elected to Congress with the same 
 unanimity as before. During the same year he was solicited to be- 
 come a candidate for the senate, which he declined, inasmuch as the 
 House seemed at that time to present the widest arena for the display 
 of talents and for the acquisition of public fame. MR. McLEAN was 
 at this period barely eligible to a seat in the senate, having just at- 
 tained his thirtieth year.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 Finding that the expenses of a family were greater than the com- 
 pensation he received as a member of Congress, and having no other 
 resources than were derived from his personal exertions, he consented 
 to become a candidate for the bench of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and 
 was elected to that office in 1816, unanimously. The duties of this 
 station he discharged with great ability. His mind seemed to combine 
 all the leading qualities which are requisite in a Judge, and his ad- 
 vancement to the office was felt to be a public advantage to the whole 
 State. Meanwhile his reputation abroad was increasing in propor- 
 tion ; and in the summer of 1822 Mr. Monroe appointed him Com- 
 missioner of the General Land Office. The emoluments of this office 
 were larger than the salary of Judge. This was a consideration which 
 was entitled to great weight. Judge MCLEAN had a growing family, 
 whom he was anxious to educate ; and at the same time that he would 
 now be better able to accomplish this darling object, the schools in the 
 district would present a better opportunity for attaining the higher 
 branches of education. He remained in this station, however, only 
 until the first of July, 1823, when he was appointed Postmaster- 
 General. 
 
 Many of his friends endeavored to dissuade him from accepting this 
 office. They urged that the former incumbents had found its duties 
 exceedingly arduous, while at the same time they were not exempted 
 from a large share of that abuse and calumny which is so often wan- 
 tonly and indiscriminrtely heaped upon the public servants. It was 
 agreed by many that no one could acquire reputation in the office. 
 But Judge McLean determined to repose upon the virtue and intelli- 
 gence of the people, and he went into the office with the determina- 
 tion of devoting his days and nights to the discharge of its duties. 
 
 The finances of the department were in a low condition, and it did 
 not possess the public confidence. But immediately order was res- 
 tored, and the public confidence revived. And it soon became evi- 
 dent how easy it is to manage the most complicated business when 
 the requisite ability and industry are put in requisition for the task. 
 In a short time the finances of the department were in a most flourish- 
 ing condition ; despatch and regularity were given to the mails, and 
 the commercial intercourse of the whole country was prosecuted with 
 the utmost celerity and ease. 
 
 Inefficient contractors were dismissed, and the same course was 
 adopted with regard to the postmasters and other agents of the depart- 
 ment. Judge MCLEAN controlled the entire action of the department. 
 The whole correspondence was superintended and directed by him.
 
 JOHN McLEAN. 
 
 He gave his undivided and personal attention to every contract which 
 was made or altered. All appointments, all charges against postmas- 
 ters, were acted on by him. In short, there was nothing done, involv- 
 ing the efficiency or character of the department, which was not done 
 under his immediate sanction. 
 
 When he accepted the office, the salary of the Postmaster-General 
 was four thousand dollars. A proposition was made to increase it to 
 six thousand, and was sanctioned by the House of Representatives, by 
 an almost unanimous vote, in 1827. There were, indeed, very few 
 votes against it ; and some of the members who were opposed to it, re- 
 gretted that they were compelled to pursue that course. In the senate, 
 the bill passed also, almost unanimously. Mr. Randolph voted against 
 it, and said the salary was for the officer and not for the office ; and he 
 proposed to vote for the bill if the law should be made to expire when 
 Judge McLEAN left the department. 
 
 During the whole period that the affairs of the department were ad- 
 ministered by Judge McLEAN, he had, necessarily, a most difficult 
 part to act. The country was divided into two great parties, animated 
 by the most determined spirit of rivalry, and each bent upon advanc- 
 ing itself to the lead of public affairs. A question of great import was 
 now started, whether it was proper to make political opinions the test 
 of qualification for office. Such a principle had been occasionally 
 acted upon during preceding periods of our history, but so rarely, as 
 to constitute the exception rather than the rule. It had never become 
 the settled and systematic course of conduct of any public officer. 
 Doubtless every one is bound to concede something to the temper and 
 opinions of the party to which he belongs, otherwise party would be 
 an association without any connecting bond of alliance : but no man 
 is permitted to infringe any one of the great rules of morality and jus- 
 tice for the sake of subserving the interests of his party. It cannot be 
 too often repeated, nor too strongly impressed upon the public men of 
 America, that nothing is easier than to reconcile these two apparently 
 conflicting views. The meaning of party is that it is an association of 
 men for the purpose of advancing the public interests. Men flung 
 together, indiscriminately, without any common bond of alliance, 
 would be able to achieve nothing great and valuable ; while, united 
 together, to lend each other mutual support and assistance, they are 
 able to surmount the greatest obstacles, and to accomplish the most 
 important ends. This is the true notion of party. It imports com- 
 bined action, but does not imply any departure from the great princi- 
 ples of truth and morality. So long as the structure of the human
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 mind is so different in different individuals, there will always be a 
 wide scope for diversity of opinion as to public measures ; but no 
 foundation is yet laid in the human mind for any material difference 
 of opinion as to what constitutes the great rule of justice. 
 
 The course which was pursued by Judge MCLEAN was marked by 
 the greatest wisdom and moderation. Believing that every public offi- 
 cer held his office in trust for the people, he determined to be influ- 
 enced by no other principles, in the discharge of his public duties, than 
 a faithful performance of the trust committed to him. No individual 
 was removed from office by him on account of his political opinions. 
 In making appointments, where the claims and qualifications of indi- 
 viduals were equal, and at the same time one was known to be friendly 
 to the administration, he felt himself bound to appoint the one who was 
 friendly. But when persons were recommended for office, it was not 
 the practice to name, as a recommendation, that they were friendly to 
 the administration. In all such cases the man who was believed to 
 be the best qualified was selected by the department. 
 
 On the arrival of General Jackson at Washington, after his elec- 
 tion, and when he was about selecting the members of his cabinet, 
 Judge MCLEAN was sent for to ascertain whether he was willing to 
 remain at Washington. Gen. Jackson having stated the object he 
 had in view in requesting an interview, the Judge remarked to him, 
 before he submitted any proposition on the subject, that he was desi- 
 rous to explain to him the line of conduct which he had hitherto pur- 
 sued. He observed, that the General might have received the im- 
 pression from some of the public prints that the Postmaster-General 
 had wielded the patronage of his office for the purpose of advancing 
 the General's election to the Presidency : that he wished it distinctly 
 to be understood that he had done no such thing, and that if 
 he had pursued such a course, he would deem himself unworthy 
 of the confidence of the President elect, or of any honorable man. 
 The General replied with warm expressions of regard and con- 
 fidence, that he approved of his course, and wished him to re- 
 main in the post-office department. He at the same time expressed 
 regret that circumstances did not enable him to offer the Judge 
 the Treasury department. The War and the Navy departments were 
 subsequently tendered to him, but he declined them both. After- 
 wards Gen. Jackson sent for him, expressed great regret at his 
 leaving Washington, and made unbounded professions of friendship it 
 he would consent to remain. But the Judge's resolution had been 
 taken, and he was determined to adhere to it. The spirit of party
 
 JOHN McLEAN. 
 
 had become unusually bitter and acrimonious, and threatened to over- 
 leap all the fences with which it had been hitherto confined. He be- 
 lieved that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to pursue the 
 even and measured course which he had hitherto followed with so 
 much credit to himself and advantage to the nation. Retirement from 
 political life seemed, under such circumstances, most desirable. The 
 President, however, wishing to avail himself of abilities which had 
 been exerted so long in behalf of the public welfare, offered him the 
 place of Judge of the Supreme Court, the highest judicial station in 
 the country ; and on his signifying that he would accept, he was im- 
 mediately nominated, and the nomination ratified by the senate. 
 
 Soon after this appointment many of the public journals in the 
 northern, middle, and western states introduced his name to the pub- 
 lic as a candidate for the presidency at the succeeding election. Many 
 of the opposition papers adhered to Mr. Clay, and the name of Mr. 
 Calhoun was brought out in some parts of the South. The An ti- Ma- 
 sonic party showed a strong disposition to rally upon Judge McLEAN, 
 and it was clear that that party could not elect, unless the other ele- 
 ments of opposition should unite with them. 
 
 The Anti-Masons met in convention in the fall of the year 1831, 
 and Judge McLEAN addressed a letter to the members of the conven- 
 tion, declining a nomination. In this letter he declared, that " If by 
 a multiplicity of candidates, an election by the people should be prevent- 
 ed, he should consider it a national misfortune. In the present agitated 
 state of the public mind, an individual who should be elected to the 
 chief magistracy by less than a majority of the votes of the people, 
 could scarcely hope to conduct successfully the business of the nation. 
 He should possess in advance . the public confidence, and a majority 
 of the suffrages of the people is the only satisfactory evidence of that 
 confidence." 
 
 Shortly after the re-election of Gen. Jackson, his name was again 
 brought forward, in the first instance by a nomination of the people in 
 Baltimore, which was followed by similar nominations in Pennsylva- 
 nia, Ohio, New Jersey, and several other States. A majority of the 
 members of the Ohio legislature also nominated him for the same 
 place. At length, in August, 1835, he addressed a letter to the chair- 
 man of one of the principal committees, in which he expressed the 
 same sentiments he had declared on the preceding occasion. He was 
 aware that this course would discourage his friends, but he was not 
 desirous to attain the office, except on such terms as would enable
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 him to carry out those principles which would elevate and tranquil- 
 lize the political action of the country. 
 
 Judge McLEAN has been a member of the Supreme Court for more 
 than seven years, during the whole of which he has been eminently 
 distinguished for his learning, ability, and eloquence. If there is any 
 one field of jurisprudence in which he is more distinguished than 
 another, it may be said to be constitutional law. in which, though there 
 is less opportunity for the display of mere learning, there is at any rate 
 wider scope for the exercise of the power of reasoning and investiga- 
 tion. There is no human reputation more enviable than that which 
 is acquired in this office. Independently of the peimanent tenure of 
 the station, the opportunities are so frequent for the exertion of the 
 highest intellectual ability, that it would seem to offer greater temp- 
 tations to ambition than even the office of chief magistrate. 
 
 Judge McLEAN is still in the vigor of life, and unless withdrawn 
 from this high station by the solicitations of his countrymen, may 
 continue for many years to discharge its duties with the same ability 
 and wisdom which have uniformly distinguished him.
 
 
 
 <^UHAJU$
 
 LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS. 
 
 IN our Republic, where the principle of distribution is perpetually at 
 work against the long continuance of property in the hands of any race 
 of individuals, the duties of the female sex may be generally expected 
 to prove too burdensome to admit of great devotion to pursuits exclu- 
 sively literary or political, or even to that species of social influence 
 which, in other countries, has not unfrequently made women the ar- 
 biters of weal or woe to a nation. The position in life of the greater 
 number, is determined by the accident of marriage, and depends upon 
 the success of exertions more often made by their partners after than 
 before that event. Mere wealth is rather an obstacle than an aid to 
 the acquirement of the distinction most coveted in America, while po- 
 litical success often attends him in advanced age, who has, in early 
 days, struggled hard with poverty, and devolved upon a wife, selected 
 perhaps with sole reference to the most ordinary duties of life, all the 
 drudgery of domestic cares. The duties of a housekeeper, a wife, and 
 a mother, while they make every woman who faithfully executes them 
 respectable in the eyes of the world, do not, when exclusively pur- 
 sued, so well fit her to shine upon that brilliant theatre of politics and 
 fashion to which she may yet be called. This may in part account 
 for the somewhat remarkable absence of female biography in the an- 
 nals of our nation, and for the little power which appears hitherto to 
 have been exerted by individuals of that sex in the circles of Ameri- 
 can society. At the same time it ought never to be forgotten that the 
 greatest praise is due to those, who have been by circumstances dis- 
 tinguished above the rest, for having, as well by example as by pre- 
 cept, so rigidly preserved the standard of our morality pure ; in this 
 manner earning for themselves a far more substantial claim to the pub- 
 lic gratitude, than all the fame which ever grew out of the brilliant 
 salons of the corrupt society in the French metropolis. 
 
 Mrs. LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS in early life enjoyed advantages 
 not usual at that period to American ladies. The daughter of Joshua
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 Johnson, a citizen of the colony of Maryland, engaged in commercial 
 pursuits in London, she was born in that city on the 12th of Fe- 
 bruary, 1775. Mr. Johnson, although established in the mother coun- 
 try when the Revolution commmenced, was not one of those who took 
 sides with her, and settled into the character of refugees and exiles 
 from their native land. While his brother, Thomas Johnson, took a 
 leading part at home, both in the Colony and as a delegate to the first 
 Congress, and the remaining members of a numerous family were ac- 
 tively engaged in the war which ensued ; he, himself, retired from 
 Great Britain to Nantes in France. There he received, from the federal 
 congress, an appointment as commissioner to examine the accounts of 
 all the American functionaries then entrusted with the public money of 
 the United States in Europe ; in the exercise of the duties of which 
 he continued until the peace of 1782. Our National Independence 
 having then been recognised, he returned to London, where he conti- 
 nued to reside, and where he acted as consular agent for the United 
 States, until his final return, in 1797, to his native soil. 
 
 It thus happened that the early years of Mrs. ADAMS were passed 
 partly in Great Britain and partly in France, from each of which 
 she derived advantages of observation, and opportunities for accom- 
 plishment in mind and manners, not very common with her country- 
 women of that day. These eminently fitted her for the part she was 
 in after-life called to perform. In the house of her father in London, 
 then a general resort for all Americans, who, whether for business or 
 pleasure, frequented that metropolis, she was introduced into society ; 
 and it was here that Mr. John duincy Adams, when commissioned by 
 President Washington to exchange the ratifications of the Treaty of 
 19th November, 1794, and to agree upon arrangements for carrying 
 some of its provisions into execution, found her. The dry details of 
 diplomatic conference were relieved by evenings of social intercourse, 
 and the formalities of British negotiation made less tedious by the 
 awakening of the most agreeable sympathies. Mr. Pinkney arrived, 
 and Mr. Adams became released from his official duties ; but in the 
 mean time a matrimonial engagement had been contracted, which, on 
 the 26th day of July, 1797, that is, the year following these events, ter- 
 minated in a marriage, at the church of All-Hallows, where Miss John- 
 son became Mrs. ADAMS. 
 
 The discriminating eye of President Washington marked out Mr. 
 Adams, while a young lawyer, in Boston, writing political essays 
 upon the leading topics of that day, as fit for the public service. For 
 some years prior to this marriage, he had been occupying the station
 
 LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS. 
 
 of minister resident at the Hague, and the eminent ability of his offi- 
 cial despatches confirmed the impression he had previously made. It 
 procured for him the very honorable and confidential trust which car- 
 ried him to London, as well as a subsequent promotion to be Minister 
 Plenipotentiary to Lisbon. He was upon the eve of departure at the 
 period of his marriage, when the accession of his father, John Adams, 
 to the Presidency, occurred. This was productive of no advancement, 
 but simply of a transfer from Lisbon in Portugal, to a position in the 
 same capacity at Berlin in Prussia. 
 
 Perhaps it is not easy at this time to form a just estimate of the po- 
 sition occupied by representatives of the United States at the Courts 
 of the sovereigns of Europe at the period now referred to. We were 
 regarded as hardly more than successful rebels, whose example was 
 not entirely of good omen, and as yet manifesting in our local discord 
 and disorganization, rather an incapacity for regulating a well-ordered 
 State, than any prospect of arriving at a station of much political 
 weight. Under such circumstances, the appearance of representatives 
 at courts, to which none had before been sent, was an event not merely 
 to excite curiosity. It was known that a new government, having 
 some appearance of stability, had been organised, at the head of which 
 had been placed General Washington ; and the first impressions ob- 
 tained from his administration were to be strengthened or not, accord- 
 ing to the efficiency of the agents he might think proper to employ 
 To Berlin, where no minister had before been acknowledged, Mr. 
 Adams repaired, conducting his wife, as a bride, at once to play her 
 part in the higher circles of social and political life. It need scarcely 
 be added, that she proved perfectly competent to this ; and that during 
 four years, which comprised the period of her stay at that court, not- 
 withstanding almost continual ill-health, she succeeded in making 
 friends and conciliating a degree of good will, the recollection of which 
 is, even at this distance of time, believed to be among the most agree- 
 able of the associations with her varied life. 
 
 In 1801, after the birth of her eldest child, she embarked with Mr. 
 Adams on his return to the United States. The revolution which had 
 taken place in the political affairs of the country, determined him to 
 resume the practice of the law in Boston, to which place she came, a 
 stranger to the habits and manners, though not to the feelings, of the 
 people about her. Scarcely had sufficient time elapsed to become at 
 home, before she was called upon to follow the wandering fortunes of 
 the wife of a United States' senator. Very fortunately for her, a sister 
 had become established at Washington, in whose house she again met
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the members of her own family, and thus found an agreeable home for 
 those winter months, which other ladies, similarly situated, are rarely so 
 happy as to enjoy. Almost always accompanying Mr. Adams, the al- 
 ternative of Boston in summer and Washington in winter, continued 
 with little intermission until the year 1808, when he resigned his seat 
 in the senate of the United States. But in the ensuing year, 1809, a 
 new revolution in her prospects and another scene awaited her. Mr. 
 Adams was appointed by President Madison the first accredited minis- 
 ter to the empire of Russia ; and as he was required to embark forth- 
 with, she decided upon going with him, even at the cost of leaving 
 with their grand-parents two of her children, to pursue their education 
 at home, and taking only the third and youngest, then an infant of 
 about two years old. They sailed from Boston early in August, and 
 after a long and somewhat hazardous passage, arrived in St. Petersburg 
 towards the close of October. 
 
 Here, again, Mrs. ADAMS was destined to be the -first lady presented 
 to the notice of the Russian court as a representative of American 
 female manners and character, and here again she succeeded in making 
 a favorable impression. But there were circumstances which rendered 
 her abode at St. Petersburg much less agreeable to herself than it had 
 been at Berlin. The great distance from America was not the only 
 obstacle to communication. The extraordinary events which occurred 
 in Europe at this period, rendered the difficulties much greater than 
 usual in obtaining that information respecting those whom she had 
 left behind, which was essentially necessary to cheerfulness ; and the 
 severity of the winter climate, together with the more formal and less 
 friendly character of Russian society, did not contribute to its acqui- 
 sition. Domestic sorrow, too, in the loss of an infant daughter, born du- 
 ring her stay there, threw its shadow over the scene. What universal 
 anxiety marked the era, it is difficult in these quiet times to realise ! 
 For the civilized world was in arms ; and while at one moment the 
 desolating progress of Napoleon had almost touched the city in which 
 she was then dwelling, and from which its own sovereign, the Empe- 
 ror Alexander, was meditating a retreat ; at another, the thunders of 
 the British cannon were resounding from the walls of the American 
 capital, within which her friends resided. Here were lessons of human 
 vicissitude, in different quarters of the globe, which might well fix the 
 mind in the contemplation of dark views of fortune, as well as the in- 
 security even of existence. 
 
 In this connection it is not unworthy of remark, that of all those 
 persons sent from the United States as envoys to the court of St. Pe-
 
 LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS. 
 
 tersburg since Mr. Adams, whose stay was of nearly six years, but one 
 (Mr. Middleton) has been content to remain for any period of consi- 
 derable duration. The reason may probably be traced to the diametri- 
 cal opposition of the Russian habits to those of our own country, the 
 harshness of the climate, and to the exclusion, for so many of the win- 
 ter months, from any thing approaching to social communication with 
 home. Hence, high as this mission is held in the rank of political 
 distinctions, it comes in no very long time to be felt by the incumbent 
 as an expulsion from American society little short of an honorable exile. 
 Mr. and Mrs. ADAMS were themselves anxious to return home long 
 before they did, but were prevented by circumstances, which made their 
 stay even more disagreeable. The principal of these was the general 
 war. The offer made, by Alexander, of mediation between Great 
 Britain and the United States, promised at one moment to make St. Pe- 
 tersburg the seat of negotiation, but it was subsequently transferred to 
 Ghent ; and thither Mr. Adams was directed to proceed, to take his 
 part as one of the commissioners. This was in April, 1814, and the 
 fate of the attempt at reconciliation appeared so doubtful, and the state 
 of Europe so unsettled, that it was deemed best he should go alone. 
 Thus, in addition to all the causes of a general or temporary character, 
 which make a Russian winter, in ordinary cases, something of a trial, 
 Mrs. ADAMS was destined to pass her sixth season alone separated 
 from her husband, and from all the other relatives or friends who had 
 accompanied her out, but who had one by one dropped off to find their 
 way home. This was not agreeable, but there was no alternative. 
 
 Spring, however, brought with it cheerful tidings of the probability 
 of peace and of departure. The general pacification preceded the par- 
 ticular treaty between Great Britain and the United States concluded 
 at Ghent but a short time ; and upon this Mrs. ADAMS received a pro- 
 position to proceed at once by a land journey to Paris there to rejoin 
 her husband. To accept it, notwithstanding the difficulties which 
 might be in the way of execution, was the work but of a moment. For 
 to her mind, what could be the terror of a solitary journey through the 
 late theatre of a furious and bloody war, the plains and villages still 
 bearing palpable evidence of its horrors, compared with that charming 
 prospect of a return to more genial climes, to the company of an af- 
 fectionate husband, and an approximation towards her long-absent 
 children. 
 
 Those who have known Mrs. ADAMS in her later days, will not be 
 likely to imagine her as by nature robust, or by education bold. And 
 yet few women of the age have undergone more extraordinary fatigue
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 in her various journeys, or displayed more energy in the accomplish- 
 ment of her undertakings. None, however, was so well calculated to 
 test the strength of her nerves as that now in question. The pass- 
 ports of the Russian Government, however strong, and the reflection 
 upon herself of the diplomatic character of her husband, however 
 sacred, would, even in the most quiet times, have scarcely overcome, 
 with many of the delicately nurtured female sex, the apprehensions of 
 a departure in a carriage, alone, at a season still early for travelling, 
 with a son eight years of age to take care of, and only menial servants 
 of untried, and, as it turned out, of suspicious fidelity for her guard. 
 In such circumstances, to be fastened in a snow-drift with night com 
 ing on, and to be forced to rouse the peasants of the surrounding coun- 
 try to dig them out, which happened in Courland, was no slight mat 
 ter. But it was of little significance compared to the complicated 
 anxieties incident to the listening, at every stopping place, to the tales 
 of robbery and murder just committed on the proposed route, so perpe- 
 tually repeated at that time to the traveller ; and to the warnings given 
 by apparently friendly persons of the character of her own servants, 
 corroborated by the loss of several articles of value ; and, most of all, 
 to the observation of the restless contention between jarring political 
 passions, under which the whole continent of Europe was heaving until 
 it burst forth at the return of Napoleon from Elba. Hardly a day 
 passed that did not require of Mrs. ADAMS some presence of mind to 
 avoid becoming implicated in the consequences of party fury. For 
 even the slight symbol of a Polish cap on the head of her servant came 
 near making food for popular quarrel. Such was the sensibility of 
 the public mind at the time. 
 
 A less determined woman, upon hearing of the condition into which 
 France was thrown by Napoleon's return, would have stopped short at 
 some intermediate point, without venturing to complete her undertak- 
 ing. Not so with Mrs. ADAMS. She dismissed her servants, both of 
 whom professed to be themselves afraid of going further, procured 
 others, and went on. But she had not gone very far before she un- 
 luckily found herself entangled with a considerable detachment of the 
 wild soldiery, elated to excess by the arrival of their great chief, and 
 then on its way to Paris to prepare, under his inspection, for that last 
 scene of slaughter, the field of Waterloo. This was a very awkward 
 position, as the troops seemed disposed to require from all around 
 them the most unequivocal declaration of political faith. Mrs. ADAMS 
 at once appealed to the commander of the detachment, and by his advice 
 she was enabled to fall back, although not without the exercise of con-
 
 LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS. 
 
 siderable prudence, until the last of the men had passed, when she 
 diverged into another road, and by making a considerable circuit, 
 avoided any further meeting. Having proved in this manner that 
 calmness and presence of mind render many things perfectly practica 
 ble which imagination at first invests with insuperable difficulties, she 
 arrived in Paris safe and well, there to be greeted by her husband, on 
 the evening of the 21st of March, 1815, immediately after that of the 
 memorable arrival of Napoleon and the flight of the Bourbons. 
 
 The beginning of the celebrated hundred days ! What an exciting 
 moment to reach the French capital ! crowded as it was with troops, 
 collecting for the impending trial at arms, and its streets alive with 
 that enthusiasm which, in its highest degree, it appears to be only within 
 the scope of military heroism to excite. Whatever may have been the 
 feeling elsewhere than in Paris, there could not be a shadow of doubt 
 in the mind of any spectator, that in the affections of the populace of 
 Paris, as well as of the army, Napoleon was an idol. While, on the one 
 hand, his appearance but for a few instants upon one of the balconies of 
 the palace of the Tuilleries, was a signal for acclamation from the 
 thousands who frequented its gardens to gain a glimpse of him ; on the 
 other, curses loud and deep, not unmingled with ridicule and con 
 tempt, were every where to be heard uttered against Louis and the 
 allies. Here was room for observation to last a lifetime ! Here was 
 room for testing even the contrasts of this world ; for at one and the 
 same moment the splendid reviews of a cavalry force rarely surpassed, 
 were filling the square of the Place Carousel with its loudest and most 
 spirit-stirring notes, and the yet unremoved collections of what the ge- 
 nius of centuries had hallowed, were spreading around them in the halls 
 of the Louvre a sense of the solemn stillness and repose of the highest 
 walk of art. Mrs. ADAMS was capable of appreciating the advantages 
 thus thrown in her way ; and to her, whose European life had carried 
 her very little to the great French metropolis, this opportunity of seeing 
 it at such a period, well rewarded her effort to reach it, and was ever 
 considered among the most fortunate events in her existence. 
 
 But, however interesting Paris might be, there were ties in Great 
 Britain to Mrs. ADAMS, where her husband's new duty as the Minister 
 from the United States called him, which made her leave France with 
 little regret. These ties were her children, who had come out from 
 America to join her, and whose arrival afforded her a joy, for the ab- 
 sence of which no brilliant scenes could compensate. In itself, a resi- 
 dence in England so immediately after a war between the two coun- 
 tries, which had terminated not quite to the satisfaction of her pride,
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 was not calculated to be productive of much pleasure ; yet it may 
 fairly be questioned whether, in the bosom of her reunited family, and 
 in the sweet but modest country-seat in the vicinity of London selected 
 for their habitation, Mrs. ADAMS did not draw as much enjoyment 
 from her domestic feelings, as she ever did from witnessing any of the 
 more busy and exciting scenes in which she has been called to parti- 
 cipate. 
 
 Two years thus elapsed, when the election of Mr. Monroe to the 
 Presidency became the precursor of another change. One of his first 
 official acts was the appointment of Mr. Adams to the responsible sta- 
 tion of Secretary of State in his administration, and this, of course, re- 
 quired his immediate return to the United States. Upon receiving the 
 intelligence, he took passage with his family in a vessel bound from 
 London to New- York, where he arrived on the 6th of August, 1817, 
 after just eight years of absence from his native country. Mrs. ADAMS 
 thus took leave of Europe, after having passed in it the greater portion 
 of her life, and that during a period, perhaps, as remarkable for a 
 crowded succession of astonishing events as any in the history of man. 
 To have lived in such times, so distinguished for the presence of all 
 that exalts, adorns, or merely gives lustre to human action, was some- 
 thing of a privilege ; but to have moved in scenes so various and so 
 distant from each other, among the principal agents in all the great 
 events at different points, was the lot among American ladies of scarcely 
 any, excepting Mrs. ADAMS. Nevertheless she returned to our repub- 
 lican circles unwedded to the habits of a court, her mind unawed by 
 the splendor either of civil or military monarchy. 
 
 The performance of the duties of the State department necessarily 
 required a residence at Washington, and the manner in which Mr. 
 Adams thought proper to devote himself to them, devolved upon his 
 lady the entire task of making his house an agreeable resort to the 
 multitudes of visitors who crowd to the capital on errands of business, 
 or curiosity, or pleasure, from the various sections of the United States, 
 during the winter season. A large diplomatic corps from foreign 
 countries, who feel themselves in more immediate relations with the 
 Secretary of State, and a distinguished set of public men, not then di- 
 vided by party lines in the manner which usually prevails, rendered the 
 society of that time, and Mrs. Adams's house, where it most often con- 
 centrated, among the most agreeable recorded in our annals. Much as it 
 has been ridiculed since, the " era of good feelings " had some charac- 
 teristics peculiar to itself. For an instant, sectional animosities relented, 
 the tone of personal denunciation and angry crimination, too gene-
 
 LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS. 
 
 rally prevailing in extremes, yielded ; and even where the jealous rival- 
 ry for political honors still predominated in the hearts of men, the easy 
 polish of general society removed from casual spectators any sense of 
 its roughness, or inconvenience from its impetuosity. Washington may 
 have presented more brilliant spectacles since, but the rancor of party 
 spirit has ever mingled its baleful force too strongly, not to be percepti- 
 ble in the personal relations which have existed between the most dis- 
 tinguished of our political men. 
 
 During the eight years in which Mrs. ADAMS presided in the house 
 of the Secretary of State, no exclusions were made in her invitations, 
 merely on account of any real or imagined political hostility ; nor, 
 though keenly alive to the reputation of her husband, was any dispo- 
 sition manifested to do more than to amuse and enliven society. In 
 this, the success was admitted to be complete, as all will remember who 
 were then in the habit of frequenting her dwelling. But in proportion 
 as the great contest for the Presidency, in which Mr. Adams was in- 
 volved, approached, the violence of partisan warfare began to manifest 
 its usual bad effects, and Mrs. ADAMS became inclined to adopt habits 
 of greater seclusion. When, at last, the result had placed her in the 
 President's mansion, her health began to fail her so much, that though 
 she continued to preside upon occasions of public reception, she ceased 
 to appear at any other times, and she began to seek the retirement, 
 which ever since her return to private life she has preferred. Mr. 
 Adams has been, it is true, and still continues, a representative in Con- 
 gress from the State of Massachusetts, and this renders necessary an 
 annual migration from that State to Washington, and back again, as 
 well as a winter residence within the sound of the gaieties of that place ; 
 but while her age and health dispense her from the necessities of at- 
 tending them, severe domestic afflictions have contributed to remove 
 the disposition. Thus the attractions of great European capitals, and 
 the dissipation consequent upon high official station at home, though 
 continued through that part of life when habits become most fixed, 
 have done nothing to change the natural elegance of her manners nor 
 the simplicity of her tastes. In the society of a few friends and near 
 relatives, and in the cultivation of the religious affections without dis- 
 play, she draws all the consolation that can in this world be afforded 
 for her privations. To the world Mrs. ADAMS presents a fine exam- 
 ple of the possibility of retiring from the circles of fashion, and the ex- 
 ternal fascinations of life, in time still to retain a taste for the more 
 quiet, though less showy attractions of the domestic fireside. A strong 
 literary taste, which has led her to read much, and a capacity for com-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 position in prose and verse, have been resources for her leisure moments, 
 not with a view to that exhibition which renders such accomplish- 
 ments too often fatal to the more delicate shades of feminine character, 
 but for her own gratification, and that of a few relations and friends. 
 The late President Adams used to draw much amusement in his latest 
 years at Quincy, from the accurate delineation of Washington man- 
 ners and character, which was regularly transmitted, for a considerable 
 period, in letters from her pen. And if, as time advances, she becomes 
 gradually less able to devote her sense of sight to reading and writing, 
 her practice of the more homely female virtues of manual industry, so 
 highly commended in the final chapter of the book of Solomon, still 
 amuses the declining days of her varied career.
 

 
 HENRY LAURENS. 
 
 HENRY LAURENS was born at Charleston, South Carolina, in the year 
 1724. His ancestors were French protestants, who sought in the 
 American wilderness a refuge from persecution, shortly after the revo- 
 cation of the edict of Nantes. We have already traced the genealogy 
 of several of our Revolutionary patriots to the same period. 
 
 After receiving the best education which the most competent 
 teachers in Carolina could impart, HENRY LAURENS was put under 
 the care of Thomas Smith, a merchant of Charleston, and afterwards 
 of Mr. Crockatt of London, and acquired those habits of order and 
 method in business for which he was remarkable. On his return to 
 Charleston he entered into partnership with Mr. Austin, a merchant 
 already engaged in an extensive trade. He devoted himself to busi- 
 ness with a zeal and industry which far surpassed his contemporaries ; 
 and he established a character for himself worthy the emulation of all 
 young merchants. He was scrupulously punctual in the discharge of 
 all pecuniary engagements, and in being where, and doing what, he 
 had promised. He was an early riser, and frequently had the business 
 of the day arranged when others were beginning to think of leaving 
 their beds. His letters were generally written in the retired hours of 
 the night or morning ; and whether on subjects of business, friendship, 
 or amusement, were considered models of forcible expression and 
 perspicuity of language. 
 
 He studied human nature in all the various specimens which it was 
 his interest to know thoroughly, with the earnestness of Lavater ; and 
 his judgment enabled him very soon to ascertain the true value of 
 every man with whom he had to transact business. His diligence, 
 prudence, and knowledge of men and business, could not fail of suc- 
 cess ; and in winding up the concerns of the partnership, in 1770, 
 twenty- three years after its commencement, and which had embraced 
 transactions to the amount of many millions, such was their confidence 
 in the safety of their business, that he offered to his partner to take all
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 outstanding debts as cash at a discount of only five per cent, on the 
 aggregate amount. 
 
 One of the strong traits of his character, was his love of justice. 
 He would never draw a bill of exchange until he had a written ac- 
 knowledgment of indebtedness to the amount drawn for. He once had 
 a lawsuit with the Vice- Admiralty Judge, in which he resisted the 
 claims of the royal government, which by some recent regulations 
 were hostile to American rights. Mr. LAURENS being cast, he ten- 
 dered to the Judge his legal fees to a considerable sum. The Judge 
 declined receiving them, and Mr. LAURENS conceiving he had no 
 right to retain what was legally due from him, gave the amount to the 
 South Carolina Society, to be expended in charity. He pursued the 
 same course on other occasions, when money was left unclaimed in 
 his hands, which he was unwilling to keep. 
 
 He once persuaded a favorite slave to receive the small pox by in- 
 oculation, which terminated fatally. To comfort the dying man for 
 the unfortunate issue of the experiment, assurances were given to him 
 that his children should be emancipated which was accordingly 
 done. 
 
 Having amassed a fortune far exceeding wnat was men common in 
 America, and being a widower, he went to Europe in 1771, to superin- 
 tend the education of his sons. During his residence in England, the 
 disputes between the Colonies and the parent state continued to approach 
 the point where an amicable adjustment was hopeless. Mr. LAURENS 
 saw the approaching crisis, and endeavored to arrest it. True to his 
 country, and fully assured of the firm determinations of his country- 
 men to resist oppression, he was anxious to avert the stroke which he 
 foresaw would rouse them to arms in self-defence. He united with 
 thirty-eight other Americans in a petition to the British Parliament 
 against the passage of the bill to shut up the port of Boston, and so 
 soon as he found the die was cast against his country, he hastened 
 his departure to Carolina, determined to take his share in the struggle 
 for freedom. Great efforts were made to induce him to remain in 
 England, but he would not listen to the persuasions of friends nor the 
 allurements of interest. When about to embark from Falmouth, he 
 wrote to Mr. Oswald, who was subsequently one of the negotiators for 
 peace, " Your ministers are deaf to information, and seem bent on pro- 
 voking unnecessary contest. I think I have acted the part of a faith- 
 ful subject. I now go resolved still to labor for peace ; at the same 
 time determined, in the last event, to stand or fall with my country." 
 To numerous friends in England he freely gave the assurance that
 
 HENRY LAURENS. 
 
 America would not submit to the claims of the British Parliament , 
 and on his landing at Charleston, in December 1774, he declared with 
 equal confidence that Britain would not recede, and that war was 
 inevitable. Much reliance was placed upon his opinion, and vigorous 
 preparations for defence were immediately commenced by the Caroli- 
 nians. 
 
 Mr. LAURENS was a member of the first Provincial Congress, held 
 at Charleston on the llth of January, 1775, and was elected president 
 of the Council of Safety, appointed by that body, with powers to carry 
 on the business of the Colony during the recess of the Congress. This 
 committee, or Council of Safety, were invested with full executive 
 powers ; they stamped money, raised troops, issued commissions to 
 officers, authorised an attempt on the Island of Providence for the ac- 
 quisition of military stores ; sent a talk to the Catawba Indians ; and 
 performed, indeed, all the functions of a regular government with ad- 
 mirable firmness, although they were well aware that their lives and 
 fortunes were at stake. 
 
 The well-known activity and promptness which had distinguished 
 Mr. LAURENS as a merchant, were equally valuable in him as a states- 
 man ; and the public business was despatched with vigor and sound 
 judgment until the establishment of a regular constitution in the State 
 of South Carolina, in March 1776. He was soon afterward elected a 
 member of Congress, of which he was appointed president on the 1st of 
 November, 1777. The station to which he was now elevated brought 
 him into intimate correspondence with Washington, and it may be re- 
 marked as one of the events of this period of his life, of equal import- 
 ance to his country and his own fame, that when the Commander-in- 
 chief was assailed by a malignant faction, which sought, by false and 
 anonymous suggestions, to obtain his removal, Mr. LAURENS remained 
 firm and steadfast in his attachment to Washington, and was the first 
 to expose the artifices of his opponents. The alliance with France, 
 and the efforts of the British ministry to neutralize its effects by send- 
 ing out commissioners to treat with the constituted authorities in 
 America, or with individuals, were also important events of the same 
 period. 
 
 In December, 1778, Mr. LAURENS resigned the chair of Congress. 
 In the following year he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to 
 Holland, for the purpose of forming a commercial treaty, and to obtain 
 loans. Some unofficial overtures had been previously received, and 
 even the plan of a treaty between the States general of Holland and 
 the United States had been communicated to Congress, which Mr.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 LAURENS was authorised to carry into effect. He sailed for Europe 
 in the summer of 1780, and was captured on his passage out by a 
 British frigate. He threw his papers overboard, but as they did not 
 immediately sink, they were recovered by the activity of a British 
 sailor, and disclosed the situation of affairs between the two countries, 
 and led to the declaration of war against Holland when the demand 
 of the English minister for speedy satisfaction was not complied with. 
 
 Mr. LAURENS was carried to London, where he was examined be- 
 fore the Privy Council, and committed a close prisoner to the Tower 
 on the charge of high treason. There he was confined more than a 
 year, and was treated with great severity. No person was permitted 
 to speak to him, nor was he permitted to speak to any one ; he was 
 deprived of the use of pen and ink, and all intercourse by letters was 
 strictly prohibited. These strict orders were, however, relaxed after 
 a few weeks ; for the King's ministers were desirous of turning his in- 
 fluence to advantage, and they dared not to punish him capitally for 
 fear of retaliation. 
 
 One of his friends in London applied to the Secretary of State for 
 Mr. LAURENS'S liberation on parole, and offered his whole fortune as 
 security for his good conduct ; he was authorised to say to Mr. LAU- 
 RENS, that " if he would point out any thing for the benefit of Great 
 Britain in the present dispute with the Colonies, he should be en- 
 larged." This proposition was indignantly rejected. The same 
 friend soon after was permitted to visit him with another proposition, 
 the amount of which was, that he should remain in London, as the 
 ministers would have frequent occasion to consult him ; and that he 
 should write two or three lines to them, merely to say that he was 
 sorry for what had passed. " A pardon will be granted," said his 
 friend. " Every man has been wrong at some time or other of his 
 life, and should not be ashamed to acknowledge it." Mr. LAURENS 
 replied, " I will never subscribe to my own infamy, and to the dishonor 
 of my children." 
 
 Cut off from all social intercourse, he was only permitted to learn 
 the progress of events during his confinement from such newspapers 
 as announced the successes of the British arms, particularly in South 
 Carolina, after the surrender of Charleston ; or his own misfortune 
 in the sequestration of his estate by the conquerors. Still he remained 
 steadfast and unmoved. 
 
 In the course of the year 1781, it was intimated to Mr. LAURENS 
 that it would be advantageous to him if he would write to his son, Co- 
 lonel Laurens. then on a mission to the Court of France, and request
 
 HENRY LAURENS. 
 
 him to withdraw from that country. But he replied, " My son is of 
 age, and has a will of his own ; if I should write to him in the terms 
 you request, it would have no effect, he would only conclude that 
 confinement and persuasion had softened me. I know him to be a 
 man of honor. He loves me dearly, and would lay down his life to 
 save mine ; but I am sure lie would not sacrifice his honor to save my 
 life, and I applaud him." 
 
 Mr. LAURENS wrote with a pencil a request to the Secretary of 
 State for permission to use pen and ink, for the purpose of drawing a 
 bill of exchange on a merchant in London, who was in his debt, as he 
 was in want of means for his immediate support. To this application 
 no answer was returned. As soon as he had completed a year in the 
 Tower, he was called on to pay ninety-four pounds ten shillings ster- 
 ling to the two warders who had attended him ; but he replied, " I 
 will not pay the warders whom I never employed, and whose atten- 
 dance I shall be glad to dispense with." Three weeks afterward, ma- 
 terials were brought to him to write a bill of exchange, but they were 
 removed the moment that business was done. 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1781, the sufferings which Mr. LAU- 
 RENS had been compelled to endure in the Tower began to be gene- 
 rally known ; and elicited strong expressions of compassion in his fa- 
 vor, and censure against the authors of his confinement. But there 
 were difficulties in the way of his release not easy to be overcome. 
 He would make no concessions, nor consent to any act which implied 
 that he was a British subject ; as such he had been committed, on 
 a charge of high treason, but he regarded himself as a citizen of the 
 United States, a prisoner of war. To extricate themselves from this 
 difficulty, Ministers proposed to take bail for his appearance at the 
 court of King's Bench. When the words of the recognizance, 
 " Our sovereign lord the King," were read to Mr. LAURENS, he replied 
 in open court, " Not my sovereign ! !" Notwithstanding that, he, with 
 Mr. Oswald and Mr. Anderson as his securities, was bound for his ap- 
 pearance at the next court of King's Bench for Easter term, and for not 
 departing without leave of the Court, on which he was immediately 
 released. When the time drew near for his appearance at court, he 
 was not only discharged from all obligations to attend, but was solicit- 
 ed by Lord Shelbourne to assist, by his presence on the continent, at 
 the negotiations for peace which were then in progress. He proceeded 
 to Paris, and there signed the preliminaries of peace on the 30th of 
 November, 1782, in conjunction with Dr. Franklin, John Adams, and 
 John Jay.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 Mr. LAURENS soon after returned to Carolina, with a constitution 
 broken by the rigorous confinement of more than fourteen months in 
 the Tower, and he never afterwards enjoyed good health. His coun- 
 trymen rejoiced at his return, and proffered every mark of honor in 
 their power to bestow ; but he declined all solicitations to suffer them 
 to elect him governor, a member of congress, or of the legislature of the 
 state. He was, without his consent, elected a member of the conven- 
 tion for the revision of the federal constitution, but declined serving. 
 He retired from all public business, and interested himself only in 
 promoting the welfare and happiness of his family and dependents, 
 by various agricultural experiments, and the improvement of the so- 
 ciety of his friends and neighbors. 
 
 His health gradually declined, and on the 8th of December, 1792, 
 near the close of his 69th year, he expired. His will concluded with 
 the following remarkable request, which was literally complied with : 
 " I solemnly enjoin it on my son, as an indispensable duty, that as 
 soon as he conveniently can after my decease, he cause my body to be 
 wrapped in twelve yards of tow-cloth, and burnt until it be entirely 
 consumed, and then, collecting my bones, deposite them wherever he 
 may think proper." 
 
 6
 
 MAJOR GKNKKA1.
 
 CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY. 
 
 " For these are the men, that when they have played their parts and had their exits, must 
 step out, and give the moral of their scenes : and deliver unto posterity an inventory of their 
 virtues and vices." SIR THOMAS BROWNE. 
 
 GENERAL CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY was one of that race, 
 or order of men, who are now nearly, if not quite, extinct in South 
 Carolina. He lived at that fortunate period when a classical and 
 highly-finished education was deemed indispensable, not only for him 
 who had his own fortune to build up, but also for him who had a 
 fortune to spend. The direct trade between the Mother country and 
 the Province, created by the valuable staple products of Rice and 
 Indigo, put it in the power of the planters of South Carolina to send 
 their sons to England with remarkable facility. In proportion, there- 
 fore, to population and extent of territory, the number of her young 
 men educated in the English universities far exceeded that of any 
 other of the Colonies. Thus, at the very commencement of our dis- 
 putes with the Mother country she possessed a band of learned, 
 intelligent, and accomplished gentlemen, fit either for the council or 
 the field ; and whose knowledge of the true principles of constitu- 
 tional liberty gave that high tone to public sentiment, which mainly 
 contributed to bear the people triumphant through that terrible period, 
 which was truly and emphatically said to have " tried men's souls." 
 Among those patriotic men, the subject of this memoir stood in the 
 very first rank ; and we shall now attempt to give a brief sketch of his 
 life, which was long, useful, and honorable to his country. 
 
 The ancestor of General PINCKNEY came over to South Caro- 
 lina in the year 1692. From him descended CHARLES, commonly 
 known by the name of Chief Justice Pinckney, a man of great 
 integrity, and of considerable eminence under the Provincial govern- 
 ment. The Chief Justice was twice married. His second wife was 
 Eliza Lucas, daughter of George Lucas, a Colonel in the British
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 army and Governor of Antigua ; and on the 25th day of February, 
 1746, she gave birth to General PINCKNEY at Charleston. In the year 
 1753, being then seven years old, he was taken over to England by 
 his father, with his brother, the late Major-general Thomas Pinclmey. 
 The Chief Justice was one of those sensible men who valued educa- 
 tion and moral discipline as far beyond the mere advantages of 
 wealth, and he resolved, even though it might impair the patrimony 
 of his sons, to buy it for them at the highest cost. Accordingly, in 
 his will he enjoins that they shall be thoroughly educated before re- 
 turning to America ; and that in case the income of his estate proved 
 inadequate, a portion of the estate itself must be sold to accomplish 
 this great object of his parental solicitude. 
 
 After five years of private tuition, General PINCKNEY was consi- 
 dered as well fitted for Westminster, and in 1758 he was placed by his 
 father at that celebrated school, then under the care of a very distin- 
 guished scholar, Doctor Markham, who was afterwards advanced to 
 the See of York. There his industry and good conduct won the es- 
 teem of the master ; while he there, too, imbibed that classical taste 
 and love of study, which, during an unusually long and eventful life, 
 constituted both its ornament and its solace. That he stood high in 
 the estimation of the master, may be inferred from the following fact. 
 An occurrence in the school having, on investigation, produced much 
 contradictory evidence, Doctor Markham. addressing young PINCK- 
 NEY, said, " I know the strictness of your principles and your at- 
 tachment to truth : speak, PINCKNEY ! my decision shall be guided 
 by your sentiment." From Westminster he was removed, in due 
 course, to Christ Church, Oxford, where he had the acute Doctor 
 Cyril Jackson as his private tutor. Judge Blackstone was then the 
 Law lecturer ; and as the best evidence of General PINCKNEY'S at- 
 tention and assiduity to that branch of his studies, he has left behind 
 him four large volumes of manuscript, containing those celebrated 
 lectures, which, with a diligence extraordinary in so young a man, he 
 had written down at the time. With so much application and perse- 
 verance, knowledge could not be wooed in vain ; and he consequently 
 left Oxford with the reputation of being a fine scholar at the early 
 age of eighteen. From that ancient university he entered as a law 
 student at the Temple, where, having done something more than eat 
 the usual number of dinners, he returned to South Carolina in 1769, 
 having, during the last year, visited France and Germany, and devot- 
 ing nine months to military studies at the Royal Academy of Caen 
 in Normandy.
 
 CHARLES C. PINCKNEY. 
 
 Sixteen years of absence had not impaired, or in the slightest 
 degree weakened, his affection for his native soil. While in Eng- 
 land he had keenly participated in the indignation felt at the passage of 
 the Stamp Act ; and a portrait taken of him at that time for his friend 
 Sir Matthew Ridley, represents him in the act of arguing vehemently 
 against that arbitrary measure. It has been declared by his contem- 
 poraries, that on his return from England he appeared before them 
 at once as a remarkable young man. His elegant literary attain- 
 ment his sound legal knowledge his high sense of all that was 
 held honorable in the eyes of men, united to the most distinguished 
 manners, impressed on those who knew him the certainty of his future 
 success and elevation. 
 
 His commission to practise in the Provincial Courts is dated 
 January 19th, 1770, and he very soon began to acquire business and 
 reputation. It is worthy of notice, as showing the estimation in which 
 he was held by his legal brethren, that he was appointed by Sir 
 Egerton Lee, (his Majesty's Attorney General of the Province,) under 
 a full and formal commission, to act as his substitute on Circuit in the 
 District and Precinct courts of Camden, Georgetown, and Cheraws. 
 This was in 1773, when General PINCKNEY was still a young man : 
 and when we consider the high estimate of their profession by the 
 English lawyers of that day, most of them being not only men of 
 learning and accomplishments, but likewise of high birth and descent, 
 this appointment may be taken as evidence of extraordinary merit. 
 His professional pursuits, with all its emoluments and the expectation 
 of its high reward, was, however, doomed to a sudden blight. The 
 gathering storm of the Revolutionary war burst on the plains of 
 Lexington. It struck on the ear of the patriots of South Carolina, and 
 they at once resolved to prepare for that bloody and unnatural con- 
 flict with England, which was now seen to be inevitable. 
 
 Accordingly a meeting of the Provincial Congress was summoned 
 by the Committee of Safety to be held in the city of Charleston. It 
 assembled on the first day of June, 1 775, and it was almost instantly 
 decided to raise two regiments of infantry, of five hundred men each. 
 The military ardor at this moment was so great, that the first fami- 
 lies of the Province eagerly contended for appointments, and the num- 
 ber of cadidates far exceeded the demand. In the midst of this band 
 of gallant spirits, the abilities of General PINCKNEY were seen and 
 acknowledged, and he was elected captain in the first regiment, ap- 
 pearing highest on the list. His Colonel was that firm republican, 
 old Christopher Gadsden. He immediately proceeded on the re-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 eruiting service, and fixed his quarters at Newbern in North Caro- 
 lina. Whilst there, he proved his discernment and intrepidity of 
 purpose, by advising the arrest of two suspicious persons, who came 
 under the assumed garb of settlers. Their personal appearance and 
 easy address convinced him that they were not what they would 
 seem to be. He waited on the Committee of Public Safety, and hav- 
 ing declared his reasons for believing that the strangers were hostile 
 to the interests of the country, recommended their instant arrest. 
 Unfortunately, the members of the Committee were timid, and refused 
 to follow his advice. The event proved the soundness of his judg- 
 ment. The strangers left Newbern for Cross Creek, and almost im- 
 mediately excited the Scotch settlers, their countrymen, to arm in sup- 
 port of the Royal Government. General Moore was sent against 
 them, and they were defeated. The younger of the strangers escaped ; 
 his name was McDonald. The other, who proved to be a veteran 
 officer, of the name of McLeod, was killed. Having completed 
 the recruiting service, he joined his regiment in Charleston, which 
 was soon after placed on the Continental establishment by a resolu- 
 tion of Congress. In a short time General PINCKNEY obtained the 
 command of the first regiment its Colonel, Christopher Gadsden, be 
 ing made a Brigadier, and its Lieutenant-Colonel and Major having 
 been transferred to the command of other regiments. 
 
 The glorious defence of Fort Moultrie, and the signal defeat of the 
 British fleet in its attack on that post, gave a calm, and long respite to 
 the people of South Carolina from the horrors of war. The power 
 of England then bore heavily on the States of New- York and Penn- 
 sylvania. Burning with ardor to distinguish himself in the field, 
 General PINCKNEY hastened to join the Northern army. He was 
 cordially received by General Washington, who appointed him an 
 aid-de-camp ; and in this capacity he was present at the battle of 
 Brandy wine, and the bloody affair at Germantown. The impression 
 then made by him on the mind of the Commander-in-chief was of 
 the most durable kind. It was exhibited throughout many years of 
 friendship and of confidence, and on many interesting occasions, and 
 only ceased with life itself. To one of his quick and energetic spirit, 
 the opportunity which he now possessed of increasing his military 
 knowledge, both as to science and discipline, it is reasonable to sup- 
 pose was not allowed to escape unimproved. 
 
 On the first intimation of danger to the South, General PINCKNEY 
 returned to take the command of his regiment. The State of Geor- 
 gia about this period was greatly harassed by Tories, and repeated
 
 CHARLES C. PINCKNEY. 
 
 inroads of vagabonds from Florida. It was indispensable to make an 
 effort to save her from total ruin. Major-general Howe, of North 
 Carolina, who commanded the Southern Division, required the aid of 
 the South Carolina forces, and General PINCKNEY was ordered on to 
 join Howe in Georgia. This service was short, but severe. The 
 army had to move about, and drive the enemy at a season of the year 
 when exposure to the climate was sure to produce sickness, if not 
 death. The soldiers were wretchedly provided, not only as to camp 
 equipage, but even as to food. In a letter written at Fort Howe on 
 the Altamaha, addressed to General Moultrie at Charleston, General 
 PINCKNEY describes the sufferings of the men as almost intolerable. 
 Ten and twelve were crowded into one small tent, and many were 
 left uncovered, to sleep under the heavy and deadly dews of the Geor- 
 gia skies. The Continental troops, which, at the beginning, counted 
 eleven hundred strong, were in the course of two months reduced to 
 only three hundred and fifty men fit for duty. About midsummer 
 General PINCKNEY got back to Charleston, after three months of 
 the hardest service, rendered more acute by the reflection, that 
 disease, and not the weapons of their enemies, had destroyed his 
 soldiers. The sudden dash of Provost at Charleston, the subsequent 
 invasion of Georgia, and the assault on the lines of Savannah, all 
 contributed to bring out into bold relief General PINCKNEY'S fine 
 qualities as a soldier. In the language of a brother officer, " his pa- 
 tient submission to the severities of service, his determined resolution 
 and calm intrepidity, gave decided increase to his military reputation." 
 The campaigns of 1778 and 79, in the North, having reflected but 
 little lustre on the British arms, Sir Henry Clinton consoled himself 
 with the idea of making easy and brilliant conquests in the Southern 
 and weaker States. Accordingly he prepared and fitted out a very 
 powerful land and naval force for the capture of Charleston. The 
 Royal army, in great strength, on the llth of February, 1780, landed 
 about thirty miles from the city. So feeble was the garrison at that 
 moment, that, had the British army pushed on immediately to the city, 
 it must have fallen almost without a blow ; but Sir Henry Clinton 
 preferred the slow method of a siege. The six Continental regiments 
 in the Carolina establishment were at this time reduced to eight hun- 
 dred men. The North Carolina and Virginia Continentals, about fif- 
 teen hundred strong, were ordered on by Congress : but of this number 
 not more than seven hundred entered the city. Nevertheless, with 
 this feeble garrison, and besieged both by land and water, it was
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 unanimously determined, in a full house of assembly, to defend the 
 town to the last extremity. 
 
 General PINCKNEY at this critical period, with three hundred men, 
 was stationed in command at Fort Moultrie. It was a post of honor, 
 and his heart must have throbbed with exultation as he thought of 
 Moultrie's victory in June, '76 ; and that now fortune had brought him 
 his turn, either to show the flag of his country waving in triumph, 
 or to make it his winding-sheet. But his eager anticipations were 
 disappointed. The British admiral Arbuthnot, taking advantage of 
 a strong southerly wind and flood tide, swept rapidly by Fort Moultrie 
 without stopping to engage it. 
 
 General PINCKNEY, however, opened a heavy and brisk fire on the 
 ships as they passed under full sail, by which they received consider- 
 able damage, and twenty seamen were killed and wounded. Deter- 
 mined to share the fate of Charleston, he soon afterwards withdrew 
 with a part of his garrison, and entered the city. A council of war 
 was assembled for the purpose of deliberating on a capitulation, 
 and it was then that General PINCKNEY displayed that boldness and 
 decision of mind which belongs only to a man of great character. 
 Rising with great composure and dignity of manner, he exclaimed, 
 " I will not say, if the enemy attempt to carry our lines by storm, that 
 we shall be able to resist them successfully : but am convinced we 
 shall so cripple the army before us, that although we may not live to 
 enjoy the benefits ourselves, yet to the United States they will prove 
 incalculably great. Considerations of self are out of the question. 
 They cannot influence any member of this council. My voice is for 
 rejecting all terms of capitulation, and for continuing hostilities to the 
 last extremity." This magnanimous proposition, although supported 
 by Lieut. Colonel Laurens, was not adopted. 
 
 Charleston finally capitulated in May 1780, after a close investiture 
 both by land and water of three months. General PINCKNEY was 
 then removed to Haddrel's Point, about two miles from the city, with 
 a large number of other prisoners. At this post they bore incredible 
 privations. Without clothing, credit, or money, their sufferings be- 
 came so extreme, that the Continental officers of the South Carolina 
 and Georgia lines appointed General PINCKNEY to draw a memorial 
 to Congress describing their condition. It is stated in this paper, that 
 during their long captivity they had never received more than nine 
 days' pay from their country. 
 
 The well-known influence of General PINCKNEY his abilities 
 his zeal in the cause of liberty, and the boldness displayed in main-
 
 CHARLES C. PINCKNEY. 
 
 taining his principles, made him in a peculiar degree the object of 
 British severity. After enduring an obstinate intermittent fever for 
 several months, he was at last allowed by the Commandant of Charles- 
 ton, to come over to the city, on the declaration of the British physi- 
 cian, Doctor McNamara Hayes, that it was indispensable for the 
 restoration of his health. Yet, four days after the permission had 
 been granted, the same officer suddenly ordered him to return to 
 Haddrel's Point, although his only son was at that instant lying dead 
 in the house ; and he was forced to compliance. 
 
 Nothing, however, could shake the firmness of his soul oppression 
 might drive the iron into it, but could not weaken its integrity. 
 Threats and temptations were alternately used, but in vain. To 
 Major Money of the British army, he wrote in the following bold and 
 eloquent strain. "I entered into this cause after reflection, and 
 through principle. My heart is altogether American, and neither 
 severity, nor favor, nor poverty, nor affluence, can ever induce me to 
 swerve from it." To Captain McMahon, another British officer, he 
 emphatically says, " The freedom and independence of my country 
 are the Gods of my idolatry." 
 
 It was during this period that the discussion between Major Barry, 
 of the British army, and himself occurred on some points relating to 
 the exchange of prisoners. Barry having quoted Grotius in support 
 of his side of the question, General PINCKNEY promptly declared, that 
 the opinions of that great jurist were in direct opposition to what had 
 been stated. Reference was made to the author, when Major Barry 
 was obliged to confess his error, lamenting " that he had not 
 studied the passage with his usual accuracy." 
 
 At length he received the intelligence of his exchange, when it was 
 too late to be of much value to him, in a letter from General Mclntosh, 
 dated at Philadelphia, 19th February, 1782. The war was then 
 really at an end by the capture of Lord Cornwallis. Soon after he 
 was raised to brevet rank as Brigadier ; his commission is dated at 
 Princeton, 1783, General Lincoln then acting as Secretary at War. 
 On the return of peace, General PINCKNEY resumed the practice of law, 
 his fortune having been much impaired. Time and casualties had 
 swept away most of the old and learned members of the bar. He 
 found in their place a new set of young men, clever, but of imper- 
 fect education the war having broken the regular course of study. 
 He, with a few more, might have ruled as monarchs of the bar; but 
 his generous spirit disdained to profit by the weakness of others. He 
 preferred to introduce a simple, liberal, and intelligible mode of prac-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 tice, stripping off all useless subtleties and technical rules, and endea- 
 voured to make the profession what it should be, enlightened and 
 honorable in the eyes of the community. His business was large, 
 and its profits commensurate, reaching in one year the amount of 
 four thousand guineas, a considerable sum for that day. A nice 
 sense of honor made him discriminate in his cases, and it was not 
 every one that offered, that he would take. He never forgot the in- 
 junction of his venerable father, to which his own generous heart 
 involuntarily responded, to be the friend of the widow and the father- 
 less. From these he never would take compensation ; and he carried 
 into his profession the spirit of chivalry itself, which he exhibited on 
 one remarkable occasion, and to which the writer of this sketch is not 
 at liberty to do more than to allude. During this period he was 
 more than once solicited by General Washington to enter into his 
 cabinet. He was offered a place on the Supreme Bench ; then the 
 post of Secretary at War, as the successor of General Knox ; after- 
 wards that of Secretary of State, on the removal of Mr. Randolph. 
 He steadily and consistently, for reasons satisfactory to his own mind, 
 declined these honors, and stated finally in reply, " That whenever 
 the President should call him to the performance of any public duty, 
 to which private considerations ought to yield, and should say to him 
 'that he must accept,' all private obligations should cease." 
 
 This pledge he redeemed by accepting the mission to France, 
 which General Washington, in a letter from Mount Yernon, July 8th, 
 1796, pressed on him in language that did honor to both. On this 
 occasion his characteristic energy and decision was manifested. In 
 a very few days after having notified his acceptance of the appoint- 
 ment, he embarked for Philadelphia and thence for Bordeaux. He 
 arrived in Paris the 5th day of December ; but on the way had to 
 submit to the national welcome of the Poissardes, who, a post and a 
 half from the city, stopped his carriage, arid opening the door, insisted 
 on the American ambassador's giving them the fraternal embrace. 
 
 On the next day he transmitted, by his Secretary of Legation, 
 Major Henry Rutledge, to Mr. Monroe, his letters of recal ; and a few 
 days afterwards made his first and only visit to the Secretary of 
 Foreign Affairs, Monsieur De La Croix, whose reception of him was 
 cold and inauspicious. 
 
 The Directory had already determined not to receive him as mi- 
 nister of the United States, and accordingly Monsieur De La Croix 
 addressed a note to Mr. Monroe, with whom the French government 
 was still in correspondence, in these terms : " The Directory has
 
 CHARLES C. PINCKNEY. 
 
 charged me to notify you, that it will not acknowledge nor receive 
 another Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States until after 
 the redress of the grievances demanded of the American government." 
 This official insult, which must have been galling in the extreme, was 
 borne with a serenity and dignity of mind that proved him fit to be 
 an ambassador. 
 
 General PINCKNEY'S sound judgment warned him, that on the 
 very threshold of his embassy, prudence and duty both required that 
 he should show the temper of forbearance. The interests of his 
 country, her attachment, and proper feeling of gratitude towards an 
 ancient ally, whose powerful arm had stretched across the Atlantic, 
 and supported her in the dark hour of trial all united to impress 
 upon him the strongest disposition for peace. The moment had not 
 yet arrived for him to vindicate his own high courage and the Ame- 
 rican people, in that noble sentiment which afterwards burst from his 
 lips, and has become familiar as our household words. 
 
 " MILLIONS FOR DEFENCE, NOT A CENT FOR TRIBUTE." 
 
 The position of General PINCKNEY in the French capital was criti- 
 cal, and was well calculated to fill him with anxiety. He thus speaks 
 of it in a letter to Colonel Pickering " My situation, as you may easily 
 conceive, is unpleasant ; but if I can ultimately render any services to 
 my country, I shall be fully compensated : at all events it shall be 
 my study to avoid increasing the discontent of this government, 
 without committing the honor, dignity, and respect, due to my own." 
 
 On the 5th of February, after being two months in Paris, he left it 
 by an order from the Directory, having, by his patience and firmness, 
 finally compelled them to address a note to himself, of which the fol- 
 lowing is an extract : " Le Directoire executif Monsieur m'a charge 
 de vous faire savoir que n'ayant point obtenu de permission particu- 
 lier, pour resider a Paris vous etes soumis a la loi qui oblige les 
 etrangers a quitter le territoire de la Republique." 
 
 DE LA CROIX. 
 
 General PINCKNEY having obtained what he desired in this pe- 
 remptory mandate, immediately left the territory of France, and re- 
 tired to Holland to await the instructions of the American government. 
 President Washington empowered Judge Marshall and Elbridge 
 Gerry to join General PINCKNEY in Holland, and forthwith proceed 
 with him to Paris ; and there, as Envoys Extraordinary, endeavor to 
 settle all existing difficulties. Success did not follow this new and 
 sincere effort towards reconciliation. Our limits forbid enlarging on
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 this portion of General PINCKNEY'S diplomatic career. It is suffi- 
 cient to remark, that it was satisfactory to the government and the 
 country. His colleague, General Marshall, and himself, returned to 
 the United States, leaving Mr. Gerry in France, who, as it appears 
 from the correspondence of the day, was persuaded to this step by 
 citizen Talleyrand, for the purpose of conducting a separate negoti- 
 ation between the two nations. President Adams, however, did not 
 sanction this conduct on the part of Gerry, and he received a positive 
 letter of recal from the Secretary of State, dated Jan. 25, 1798. 
 
 The spirit of the nation was now justly excited, and when General 
 PINCKNEY arrived in America, he found the tone of public sentiment 
 strong .for hostilities. On the 12th of October, 1798, he landed at 
 Paulus Hook, where he was received by a large concourse of citizens, 
 who greeted him with enthusiastic cheers. The yellow fever was 
 then raging in New- York, and he was compelled to proceed to the 
 town of Newark with his family. He there received a letter from 
 James McHenry, dated October 17th, 1798, enclosing his commission 
 as a Major-general in the army of the United States, which was being 
 put on the war establishment. It contained the following well-me- 
 rited and just compliment to his patriotism : " The readiness you have 
 expressed to accept of your appointment, after so long an absence 
 from home and your private affairs, is extremely satisfactory ; and 
 will, I am sure, be fully estimated by the President and your country." 
 
 When President Adams appointed Washington to the command of 
 the army, he also left to his judgment the selection of the other supe- 
 rior officers. The appointment, therefore, of General PINCKNEY is 
 another strong proof of the continued friendship and confidence of 
 Washington in his patriotism and abilities. The relative rank of the 
 Major-generals stood thus : Washington Alexander Hamilton 
 CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY Henry Knox. Hamilton, du- 
 ring the war of the Revolution, was the junior of General PINCKNEY. 
 This circumstance being pointed out to him by a gentleman of his 
 acquaintance, who laid much stress on the injustice and partiality of 
 this preference, General PINCKNEY gave this memorable reply, 
 worthy of a Themistocles or a Scipio : " I am confident that Gene- 
 ral Washington had sufficient reasons for this preference. Let us 
 first dispose of our enemies, we shall then have leisure to settle the 
 question of rank." 
 
 Hostilities did not break out, and he once more retired to the calm 
 and elegant enjoyments of a home, of which his social powers and 
 polished manners formed one of the most graceful ornaments.
 
 CHARLES C. PINCKNEY. 
 
 It is fact well understood, that if General PINCKNEY, in the year 
 1800, when the great struggle of parties happened, could have con- 
 sented to unite his name with that of Mr. Jefferson, he would have 
 been either President or Vice President of the United States. But, 
 true to himself, true to his principles, consistent in all things, he 
 would not, even to win the first office in the gift of the people, and 
 gratify the inclination of his native State, agree to a measure that 
 might seem to compromise his integrity. General PINCKNEY was a 
 member of the enlightened assembly that formed the Constitution of 
 the United States. Again his was one of the leading minds in the 
 State Convention that framed the Constitution of 1790. 
 
 In the South Carolina State Convention of 1778 he exhibited not only 
 very vigorous, but likewise liberal powers of mind. He forcibly and 
 successfully sustained, in that convention, a proposition of the Rev. 
 William Tennant to secure liberty and equality to all Protestant 
 sects ; and as he was a strict Episcopalian, it is but just to infer that 
 he acted or argued from conviction, and not indifference. The uni- 
 form respect with which he treated the clergy of all denominations 
 endeared him to them ; and is evinced in the fact, that Christians of 
 every sect united in choosing him the first President of the Bible 
 Society of Charleston, and they continued him in that honorable sta- 
 tion for fifteen years, to the period of his death. 
 
 General PINCKNEY .was a considerable landholder in the city of 
 Charleston. He had numerous tenants living on his property, and to 
 all of them he was forbearing and compassionate ; often submitting 
 to the loss of his just dues rather than resort to the rigors of the law. 
 Indeed, his benevolence was of the most enlarged character, and was 
 experienced not only by the poor, and such as were dependent on 
 him, but in his liberal support of churches, seminaries of learning, 
 and every object of public utility. His hospitality was unbounded, 
 and was of that princely sort, that it did honor to South Carolina. 
 How many foreigners, how many Americans, are now living to whom 
 such a reminiscence ought to be familiar? His conversation was 
 singularly instructive and amusing, for he had both seen and thought 
 much ; and the ease and frankness of his manners invited the approach 
 of all who chose to participate in its pleasures. His own library was 
 extensive ; but the valuable collection of his father, together with 
 many manuscripts and interesting family documents, were burnt by 
 the army of General Provost at a country-seat near Charleston, at the 
 time of his forced march on the city a loss which General PINCK- 
 NEY oftentimes lamented. His appetite for reading was great. No-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 thing in the shape of a book escaped his attention. He read from 
 the moment he arose in the morning ; that is, a page or a few sen- 
 tences at a time, while he walked about his chamber and dressed ; 
 his intellect was constantly exercised. 
 
 General PINCKNEY, as he advanced in life, applied himself to the 
 sciences Chemistry and Botany became his favorite pursuits ; and 
 such was his thirst for knowledge, that, while on his embassy to 
 France, he seized that opportunity of listening to the lectures of the 
 celebrated Fourcroy. At his country residence (Pinckney Island, a 
 most enchanting spot) he had an apartment fitted up as a laboratory, 
 containing an excellent Philosophical apparatus ; and there he amused 
 himself during several hours of every morning in winter. 
 
 In person General PINCKNEY did not exceed the ordinary stature. 
 His form was round, muscular, and closely knit ; and admirably con- 
 structed for exercise and durability. His countenance was mark- 
 ed, and highly expressive of almost every variety of emotion ; 
 but in repose, particularly towards the close of his life, it wore the 
 character of majesty ; and no one could look upon it without feeling 
 the inspiration of the profoundest veneration. 
 
 If the eye, as has been beautifully said, be the mirror of the soul, in 
 his might have been clearly read courage benevolence honor 
 truth ; and, indeed, all these were the predominant qualities illustrated 
 in his life. No man ever enjoyed in a higher degree the confidence 
 of his fellow-citizens. His acknowledged gallantry of spirit his dis- 
 dain of all selfish, narrow, and dishonorable conduct his public 
 and private munificence his readiness at all times to maintain the 
 common- weal, and those great principles of constitutional liberty for 
 which he had fought and suffered so much, endeared him to all men ; 
 and during the bitter conflicts of party, like the bright and impenetra- 
 ble helmet of Minerva, preserved his head from every hostile touch. 
 
 Such is the brief and imperfect narrative of the career of this wise 
 and virtuous man, who was honored in his generation, and is now 
 gratefully remembered by posterity. General PINCKNEY was twice 
 married. His first wife was Sarah, daughter of Henry Middleton, 
 second President of Congress. Of this marriage three daughters sur- 
 vived him. The second wife was a descendant of Sir Nathaniel 
 Johnson, one of the Proprietory Governors of South Carolina. She 
 died without children. General PINCKNEY expired in Charleston on 
 the 16th August 1825, with the fortitude of a Christian philosopher, 
 in his eightieth year. J. L-
 
 Engnwei bj i Gross from a fisi-. - 
 
 (T(0)S.--
 
 JOSEPH HABERSHAM. 
 
 COLONEL JOSEPH HABERSHAM was born at Savannah, in Georgia, on 
 the 28th of July, 1751. His father, James Habersham, was a native 
 of Yorkshire, England, and accompanied his friend, the Rev. George 
 Whitefield, to Georgia in the year 1738. There he soon became the 
 President of the Orphan House, or Bethesda College, established by 
 the exertions of Mr. Whitefield ; for which charge he was well quali- 
 fied, by his literary, as well as moral and religious character and 
 habits. He was afterwards appointed one of the King's Council in 
 the Colony, and subsequently its President and acting Governor, in 
 the absence of Sir James Wright, in which situation he remained 
 until his death, a few months before the expulsion of the Royal au- 
 thority from Georgia, in the year 1776. Although foreign to our 
 subject, it is but justice to the memory of President Habersham to re- 
 mark, that, while in office, his letters pointed out to the ministry the 
 grievances under which the Colony was laboring from the pernicious 
 and oppressive acts of the British Parliament, the growing spirit of 
 liberty among the people, and warned them of the consequences of 
 perseverance in oppression. Faithful to his duties, but independent 
 in their exercise, after a life devoted to the service and improvement 
 of his adopted country, he was saved, by death, from seeing that 
 country "made a desolation," his fair possessions wasted, and his 
 sons denounced as traitors. Of these sons there were three, James, 
 JOSEPH, and John, who all engaged with zeal in the Revolution ; and, 
 regardless of consequences, rejecting and despising all offers of Royal 
 clemency, continued to the end the unflinching friends and active 
 supporters of the republican cause. 
 
 JOSEPH, the second son, and subject of this notice, was educated at 
 Princeton College, in New Jersey. Of quick and ardent temper, brave 
 and chivalrous almost to excess, a pupil of Witherspoon, and with the 
 independent spirit which he had inherited from his father, it seems to
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 have been almost a matter of course that he should have taken an 
 early, active, and decided part in the excited feelings and deeply in- 
 teresting movements of the times. Accordingly, on the 27th July, 1774, 
 at the age of twenty-three, we find him a member of the first commit- 
 tee appointed by the friends of liberty in Georgia ; which, in defiance 
 of the proclamation of Governor Wright, continued to co-operate with 
 similar committees in the northern Provinces, and to excite the people to 
 resistance. When we recollect, in connexion with this fact, that his father 
 was, at that moment, the second officer of the King in the Province, and 
 high in favor, the prominent part which Colonel HABERSHAM took in 
 these proceedings exhibits a deep devotion to the cause of his country, 
 which no influence of others, or considerations of a personal nature, 
 could restrain. In the following year, and while his father was still 
 alive and in office, we again find his name recorded among those of a 
 small party of the Republicans, who broke open the magazine, took 
 out the powder, and sent a large portion of it to Beaufort, in South 
 Carolina, for the use of the patriots. In the month of June of the 
 same year he was appointed one of the council of safety ; and in July, 
 commanded a party of volunteers which went down the river in 
 boats, captured a government ship which had just arrived with mu- 
 nitions of war for the royal troops, and took out the cargo, includ- 
 ing 15,000 pounds of powder, a portion of which was afterwards 
 sent to the north and used by the American army before Boston. 
 On the 18th day of January of the ever-memorable year 1776, Colo- 
 nel HABERSHAM, who was at that time a member of the assembly, 
 raised a party of volunteers, took Governor Wright prisoner, and con- 
 fined him to his house under a guard. The Governor effected his 
 escape, however, from this prison in a few weeks, took refuge on 
 board of a British vessel of war then in the river, and never after- 
 wards landed in Georgia. 
 
 Active hostilities were now fairly commenced in the province. By 
 a resolution of the General Assembly the first battalion of Georgia 
 Continental troops was raised ; and on the 4th of February, 1776, 
 Colonel, then Mr. HABERSHAM, was appointed Major of that battalion. 
 In this command he did not remain idle ; for, early in March, the 
 British armed squadron came up the river Savannah to recover pos- 
 session of the town, which attempt failed. In the defence, Colonel HA- 
 BERSHAM, at the head of a company of riflemen, bore a distinguished 
 part. In fact, he appears at this time to have been prominently en- 
 gaged on every occasion in which danger was to be encountered, or 
 the royal authority resisted.
 
 JOSEPH HABERSHAM. 
 
 After the expulsion of Governor Wright, and of the British forces 
 from Georgia, that Province enjoyed a few months of comparative 
 quiet ; during which, on the 19th of May, 1776, Colonel HABERSHAM 
 married Isabella Rae, the daughter of Robert Rae, and sister-in-law of 
 General Samuel Elbert. Upon the taking of Savannah, in the winter of 
 1778, and the re-establishment of the Royal Government in Georgia, 
 Colonel HABERSHAM removed his family to Virginia for safety ; but 
 his zeal in the cause of his country did not permit him to retire from 
 its service, and accordingly, upon the landing of Count De Estaing 
 in Georgia, to co-operate with General Lincoln in the reduction of 
 Savannah, he was selected as the officer to guide the French army 
 from the sea-board, and was engaged in the combined attack upon 
 his native city, so disastrous in its results. After the failure of this 
 attack, and the retreat of the American and French armies from the 
 State, Savannah, and nearly the whole of Georgia, remained in pos- 
 session of the British, and so continued to the end of the war. 
 
 At the close of the Revolution, Colonel HABERSHAM returned to 
 private life with a broken fortune, but rich in the respect and affection of 
 a free and independent people. In the ever-memorable contest which 
 had just closed, it would be invidious to claim for Colonel HABER- 
 SHAM either a peculiar strength of patriotism or of devotion to the 
 cause of the Revolution ; thousands, like him, had perilled life and 
 fortune in that Revolution ; but when we reflect that his father was 
 high in office, and in the confidence of the King ; that he himself, 
 if the Royal authority was preserved, had every prospect of enjoying 
 like confidence and distinction ; that the very weakness of the Pro- 
 vince gave, in the beginning, but little hope of effectual resistance; 
 and that, in the event of failure, he would, from these very circum- 
 stances, become a marked object of Royal vengeance; surely we may 
 be entitled to claim for him more than a common share of devoted 
 patriotism and such was the portion awarded to him by his native 
 State. In the year 1785 he was elected Speaker of the General As 
 sembly ; and in 1790 was again honored with the same distinction. 
 
 In the year 1795 Colonel HABERSHAM was called, by Washington, 
 to the distinguished station of Post-Master-General of the United 
 States ; and we require no better proof of the able and faithful manner 
 in which he discharged his duties, than the fact that he retained that 
 office, not only to the close of the administration of Washington, but 
 throughout that of the elder Adams. At a period when so many, 
 from great and devoted service to the country, had claims to office ; 
 and these claims, well-known and appreciated ; and when the selec-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 tion was made by Washington, this appointment was the best evidence 
 of his great merit, and the general estimation in which he was held. 
 In this office, as has been already stated, he continued until the ac- 
 cession of Mr. Jefferson to the presidency ; but he retained the office 
 so long, by no cringing or truckling to the higher authorities ; for the 
 president, Mr. Adams, having told him that the post-office department 
 was an Augean stable, and must be cleansed meaning that the post- 
 masters who were of the opposite party must be removed ; Colonel 
 HABERSHAM replied, that these officers had discharged their duty 
 faithfully, and that, therefore, he would not remove them, but that 
 the president could remove the post-master-general. This, however, 
 Mr. Adams, it seems, did not think proper to do. 
 
 The principle, however, which Colonel HABERSHAM refused to 
 act upon was soon after made to act upon him. When Mr. Jefferson 
 became the president, a polite note was addressed to Colonel HABER- 
 SHAM, tendering to him the office of Treasurer of the United States. 
 This offer was received as, no doubt, it was intended to be, an inti- 
 mation to him to resign the office of post-master-general, which he 
 immediately did, and returned to Georgia. 
 
 Upon the establishment of a branch of the old Bank of the United 
 States in Savannah, Colonel HABERSHAM was appointed the President, 
 which office he continued to hold until the expiration of the charter. 
 The few remaining years of his life were devoted to honorable efforts 
 to repair the ruins of that fortune which had been broken by the 
 Revolution, and in preparation for the close of that life, the greater 
 portion of which had been devoted to the service of his country. His 
 death occurred in his native city, on the 17th day of November in 
 the year 1815, and in the sixty-fifth year of his age. 
 
 We have said that Colonel HABERSHAM was quick and ardent in 
 temper ; but, although quick to take offence, he was ready and anxious 
 to make atonement for the slightest wrong kind and indulgent to 
 his slaves, humane and liberal to the poor, strict in the performance 
 of all his contracts ; tenacious of his own, as he had been of the rights 
 of his country. Allowing to others the same independent and frank 
 expression of opinion which he always exercised for himself, he may 
 with truth be pronounced to have been a fair specimen of that noble, 
 generous, and chivalric race who achieved the liberty and indepen- 
 dence of our happy country.
 
 aved by 7. ? '.','._ . .: irorr, a Porirajitr;/ J 3. Longacre after an ori^rul painnng by J W J
 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE. 
 
 To form a correct estimate of the services of GEORGE ROGERS 
 CLARKE, we must examine the extensive outline of the British pos- 
 sessions in North America at the commencement of the Revolution- 
 ary war ; we must turn our attention from the broad field of contest, 
 stretching along the Atlantic, where the sovereignty of the elder States 
 was lost and won, and trace the links of that chain which galled the 
 Northern and Western frontiers of the United States during the war 
 for Independence, but which were broken in succession by a series of 
 gallant exploits, that ultimately secured the extensive western domain 
 of the republic, and gave existence to the new States on the Ohio 
 and Mississippi. We must become acquainted with the horrors of 
 Indian warfare as it was waged upon those, who at that time were 
 the pioneers of the far West. We must seek the origin, and no- 
 tice, at least in part, the execution of the savage policy of the British 
 ministry, which drew from the venerable Earl of Chatham those 
 bursts of indignant eloquence, which have rendered his name fami- 
 liar to every schoolboy in America. Then it will be seen, that the 
 object of that barbarous and cruel policy, or whatever else it might 
 have been, which let loose the tomahawk and scalping knife upon the 
 frontier settlers of the States, which. the immortal senator denounced, 
 was severely chastised and checked, if not defeated, by the energy and 
 prowess of CLARKE, at the head of a mere handful of brave back- 
 woodsmen. 
 
 From the first settlement of the Colonies in America, whether by 
 the Spaniards, French, or English, all had availed themselves of the 
 divisions amongst the aboriginal tribes, their thirst for revenge, their 
 love of the fierce, .excitements of war, and their credulity ; and sought, 
 first, to attach those tribes nearest to their settlements to themselves, 
 and then set them on to destroy their enemies. The wars and na- 
 tional animosities of Europe were transferred with the Colonists to 
 the American wilderness. All the barbarities of Indian warfare
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 were tolerated and frequently rewarded.* The red men were stimu- 
 lated to destroy each other, and to shed the blood of white men, and 
 to spare not ; and when even the Europeans were at peace among 
 themselves, base and mercenary individuals of their race availed them- 
 selves of their intercourse with the Indian tribes to rouse them to 
 deeds of violence. We do not say that contention could have been 
 always avoided, had the short-sighted policy of the whites been of a 
 more humane and consistent character. The very growth and ex- 
 tension of the Colonies would have created jealousy in the hunters of 
 the forest, and a consequent effort to check the intrusion. The 
 interests and habits of civilized and savage life, when they interfere 
 with each other, must lead sooner or later to collision arid strife ; and 
 to terminate the consequent evils once for all, extermination or sepa- 
 ration are the alternatives. The former has been extensively prac- 
 tised upon, but the latter has been for many years the grand scheme 
 of the republic. 
 
 At the termination of the French war, in 1763, Great Britain held 
 the vast tract of country which extends north and east of the Gulf of 
 Mexico and the Mississippi from the Atlantic Ocean to the unex- 
 plored regions of the Frozen Sea. The wars between the French and 
 English for the possession of Canada, and for the territory between 
 the lakes and the Ohio, had brought into the field, on both sides, aux- 
 iliary Indian forces. The treaty of peace negotiated at Paris did not 
 secure tranquillity to the inhabitants of the borders. The Indian 
 tribes on the North-western territory only paused to form new plans, 
 and then went on to harass the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylva- 
 nia as they had done before. Their scalping parties advanced into 
 the settlements, and marked their way with the most horrid cruelties. 
 Large bodies of the confederated tribes attacked all the distant forti- 
 fied posts, and in fifteen days captured ten of them and massacred the 
 garrisons. Forts Pitt, Niagara, and Detroit held out, and were relieved 
 and saved. 
 
 Although a peace with the Indians was formally concluded by 
 Colonel Bouquet in 1764, their fixed hostility to the whites displayed 
 itself whenever an opportunity presented of taking a prisoner or a scalp. 
 
 * There were exceptions, but they were few. When the Indians were employed by the 
 Europeans in their wars, attempts to control them gave offence : the following extract from 
 Williams's History of Florida is to the point: "A Cherokee encountering a Spaniard, cut 
 off his head and brought it to Oglethorpe, but he spurned the savage with abhorrence, and, 
 calling him a barbarous dog, bid him begone. The Cherokee said that the French would 
 have treated them very differently. They soon after drew off, and left the place."
 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE. 
 
 Retaliation followed of course. Thus the backwoodsmen became fa- 
 miliar with all the subleties and craft of Indian warfare ; and such in 
 general was their love of adventure and disdain of danger, that they 
 frequently undertook hazardous enterprises from mere curiosity, or 
 the pleasure of traversing a country where no white man had ever 
 trod before. 
 
 About the year 1770, the unoccupied domain of Virginia, west of 
 the Cumberland mountains, began to attract the attention of the ad- 
 venturous inhabitants of the borders. Individuals and small parties 
 successively ventured to explore the unknown region. Many of them 
 never returned ; but those who did, gave the most favorable reports of 
 the richness of the soil and the abundance of game. The settlement 
 of the present State of Kentucky immediately followed ; and about a 
 year afterward the Revolutionary war commenced. 
 
 Amongst those who visited Kentucky at, or soon after, the period 
 that the earliest emigrants had there set up their cabins, was GEORGE 
 ROGERS CLARKE. He was a Virginian ; born in Albemarle, on the 
 19th of Nove. 1752, but is spoken of as a resident in one of the 
 Western counties in 1776, when he went on a tour of observation 
 amongst the new settlements. He visited the forts, the camps, the 
 cabins ; he spent much of his time in the woods, made himself ac- 
 quainted with every subject of interest in the country, and gained the 
 friendship and confidence of the people by the manliness of his de- 
 portment, his intelligence and vivacity, and above all, by the boldness 
 of his spirit for enterprise, and the determination he expressed of be- 
 coming a resident of the country. This visit of Mr. CLARKE was 
 productive of very important events. He ascertained that the whole 
 frontier was vexed by Indian atrocities, through the influence of 
 British agents. The savages were instigated to deeds of cruelty by 
 the promises of reward for scalps, but not for prisoners ; and they were 
 supplied with rum, arms, ammunition and clothing at the British 
 posts, which were established from the Mississippi to the St. Law- 
 rence. Mr. CLARKE was deeply affected by the scenes of hostility 
 by which he found himself surrounded. He therefore devised a plan 
 to capture the Western posts, a work which was well adapted to em- 
 ploy his genius, and, if attended with success, to gratify his military 
 propensities and ardent love of adventure. 
 
 The reader will remember that the British posts on the Wabash 
 and the Mississippi were within the bounds of the Virginia charter ; 
 that at the time of which we are now writing, a strong current of 
 emigration had begun to set towards the West ; and that in 1777,
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 Kentucky was admitted to the privileges of a County of Virginia. 
 The possibility and importance of capturing those posts, and securing 
 thereby the tranquillity of the frontier, was suggested by Mr. CLARKE 
 to the governor and legislature of Virginia, and his project met with 
 a favorable reception. In the beginning of 1778 a regiment of State 
 troops was raised for the service of the Western frontier, and placed 
 under his command. With a force of between two and three hun- 
 dred men, Colonel CLARKE crossed the mountains to the Mononga- 
 hela, and descended by water to the falls of the Ohio. There he left 
 thirteen families of emigrants, who had ventured so far under his 
 escort ; and being there joined by a party of volunteers from Ken- 
 tucky, he proceeded with his regiment in boats down the Ohio, to a 
 point about sixty miles from its mouth and one hundred and thirty 
 from Kaskaskia, which was the secret object of the expedition. The 
 route lay through a low country, intersected by numerous streams and 
 ponds of various dimensions, and covered with a luxuriant vegeta- 
 tion. With his rifle in his hand and his provisions on his back, 
 Colonel CLARKE marched at the head of his men, and encountered 
 every difficulty and shared every privation with them. Their pro- 
 visions were exhausted two days before they reached the town ; and 
 although game might have been shot in abundance, the report of a 
 rifle might have warned some solitary hunter or roving Indian of 
 their approach, and secrecy was essential to success. They arrived 
 by night before the town of Kaskaskia, and found the inhabitants 
 and the garrison lulled in the supposed security of their remote posi- 
 tion, and so unconscious of danger, that they were completely taken 
 by surprise, and surrendered without resistance. No one was allowed 
 to escape to carry the news to the villages higher up the Mississippi, 
 and in a few days all the settlements were taken. The inhabitants 
 took the oath of allegiance to the United States, the fort at Kaskaskia 
 became the head-quarters of Colonel CLARKE, and at the next session 
 of the Virginia legislature the district was created into a county, aiid 
 called Illinois. 
 
 His next exploit was the capture of Vincennes. That post had 
 been considered within reach of an attack from the American settle- 
 ments, and was strongly fortified, and well garrisoned with British 
 troops, commanded by Governor Hamilton, and supported by an 
 auxiliary Indian force of about six hundred warriors. Governor 
 Hamilton was very soon informed of CLARKE'S success, and deter- 
 mined to attack him ; but, confident in the superiority of his force, he 
 deferred his operations until the rivers and smaller streams, which
 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE. 
 
 then overflowed their banks, should become passable. Colonel 
 CLARKK, in the mean time, prepared to attack Vincennes, and des- 
 patched a party to reconnoitre, while he strengthened the defences of 
 Kaskaskia, which he determined to hold at all hazards. While he 
 was arranging his plans for future operations, an itinerant Spanish 
 merchant, who had recently visited Yincennes, arrived, and informed 
 him that Governor Hamilton had detached his Indians to the Ohio 
 and the frontiers of Kentucky ; that he proposed to retake Kaskaskia 
 in the Spring, to cut off the inhabitants on the Ohio as far as Fort 
 Pitt, and then operate on the frontiers of Virginia. Colonel CLARKE 
 determined upon instant operations. He made the best preparations 
 he could for a march of one hundred and sixty miles across a coun- 
 try abounding in embarrassments. Several large rivers and their 
 tributary streams, with broad belts of inundated land on each side, 
 were to be crossed without boats or bridges ; and the whole route lay 
 over a soil which afforded no firm footing, and through rough and 
 pathless woods. Without wagons and without tents, their ammu- 
 nition and provisions on their backs and on the backs of a few pack- 
 horses, one hundred and thirty men toiled for sixteen days through 
 mud and water. The last five days were occupied in crossing the 
 swamps and drowned lands within about six miles of the fort, wading 
 sometimes breast deep in water, and then forcing their way through 
 tangled thickets and over floating timber. It was mid winter ; and 
 had not the weather been unusually mild, all these brave men must 
 have perished. On the evening of the 23d of February, 1779, they 
 reached dry land within view of the fort. The town immediately 
 surrendered. The attack on the fort commenced, and there was a 
 continual fire on both sides for eighteen hours. The next night, 
 after the setting of the moon, the assailants threw up an entrench- 
 ment within rifle shot of the strongest battery, and poured such 
 showers of well-directed balls into the ports, that in fifteen minutes two 
 pieces of cannon were silenced. The next evening Governor Hamil- 
 ton surrendered the garrison prisoners of war, and Colonel CLARKE 
 took possession of the fort and a large quantity of stores. In the 
 height of the action an Indian war party approached with two French 
 prisoners. Colonel CLARKE detached a part of his men to give them 
 battle on the commons. Nine Indians were taken, and the French- 
 men released. Hearing, soon after, of a convoy of goods from Detroit, 
 lie sent sixty men in armed boats, well mounted with swivels, to in- 
 tercept it. They met the convoy forty leagues up the river, and 
 made prize of the whole, taking forty prisoners and about ten thou-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 sand pounds worth of goods and provisions, and the mail from Canada. 
 Having- more prisoners than he knew what to do with, he was obliged 
 to discharge a great part of them on parole. Governor Hamilton and 
 his principal officers were sent to Virginia, and Colonel CLARKE re- 
 turned to Kaskaskia, leaving a sufficient garrison at Vincennes. Up 
 to this time he had been left to the resources of his own judgment, 
 and had accomplished a great work with very small means. He had 
 received neither letters nor assistance from Virginia in upwards of a 
 year. Could he have mustered three hundred men at Vincennes, he 
 would have marched to Detroit ; and such was the effect on his little 
 band, of a vote of thanks by the Legislature of Virginia for the cap- 
 ture of the posts on the Mississippi, that they would have attempted 
 the reduction of that important post had the commander requested it. 
 But prudence forbade the attempt, though from subsequent informa- 
 tion there was a strong probability it would have been successful. 
 The alliance with France had been effected, the inhabitants were 
 principally descendants of French settlers, the haughty and tyrannical 
 conduct of Governor Hamilton had offended them, they rejoiced at his 
 captivity, and had prepared for a welcome reception of the Americans. 
 But before CLARKE heard of all this, Detroit had been reinforced, and 
 the favorable opportunity was lost. The brilliant exploits of Colonel 
 CLARKE had, however, deranged the extensive plans of the enemy, 
 and some of the western tribes were detached from the British inte- 
 rest ; the limits of the United States were extended to the Mississippi, 
 where they remained fixed : and the current of population rolled 
 steadily onward to the West without impediment. The families be- 
 fore mentioned as having been left at the falls of Ohio, had taken up 
 their abode upon an island for more easy defence ; they now removed 
 to the Kentucky shore, and founded Louisville, which soon became a 
 place of importance, and Colonel CLARKE made it his head-quarters. 
 The alliance with France and the mediation of Spain excited san- 
 guine hopes in the country that peace would soon follow, and the 
 question of boundaries began to present itself in all its important 
 bearings upon the future interests of the United States. It had been 
 suggested that possession by either party might be the principle 
 adopted in the final adjustment. If that principle had been contem- 
 plated by Great Britain, it might have been one of the motives which 
 led to the subornation of Indian hostilities on the borders ; but we 
 can hardly believe that to have been the case, for Great Britain had 
 not yet begun to view the question as one which could possibly arise. 
 On the contrary, the Americans had no doubt that at some period not
 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE. 
 
 remote, the boundaries must be defined, and as the principle of occu- 
 pation might be adopted, Virginia determined to make the earliest and 
 best use of her means in anticipation. Colonel CLARKE was, there- 
 fore, directed to select a commanding position on the Mississippi, near 
 the southern boundary claimed by the State, and there establish a 
 fort and garrison, and to advance his posts towards the lakes, that they 
 might be in actual possession of, and give protection to, the State. In 
 compliance with these orders, he built Fort Jefferson on the Missis- 
 sippi. This gave umbrage to the Chickasaws, as it was erected on 
 their hunting-ground ; but full explanations being given of the object 
 of the measure, and of its importance for their own security, as well 
 as for that of Virginia, they became satisfied ; and when the fort and 
 garrison were afterwards attacked by hostile Indians, the Chickasaws 
 came to their relief, and drove off the besieging force. The place 
 was subsequently restored to the Chickasaws. In the northern 
 quarter Colonel CLARKE proceeded with his usual judgment, com- 
 bining policy with enterprise, encouraging peace among the friendly 
 tribes, and directing against the hostile the force of those who could 
 not be persuaded to remain inactive. His influence with the Indians 
 was very great. He assembled four or five thousand at Vincennes to 
 carry out his favorite project the capture of Detroit; but, disap- 
 pointed in the number of whites he had expected, and not choosing to 
 rely almost entirely upon Indians, he was obliged to abandon the ex- 
 pedition. Meanwhile the British commander at Detroit was not idle. 
 On the 1st of June, 1780, he assembled six hundred Canadians and 
 Indians, for a secret expedition under Colonel Byrd. On the 22d, 
 this force presented itself with two field-pieces before Ruddle's station 
 in Kentucky, which was obliged to capitulate : Martin's station was 
 captured immediately afterward, and the inhabitants of both were 
 loaded with the spoil of their own dwellings, and hurried off towards 
 Canada. A prompt retaliation was required; and when Colonel 
 CLARKE called on the militia of Kentucky for volunteers to accom- 
 pany his regiment against the Indians, there was no delay on their 
 part. Having collected a respectable portion of the force of the coun- 
 try, he led it against the Shawanees on the Great Miami. A fierce 
 conflict at Pickawa, one of their principal towns, terminated in the 
 flight of the Indians. The town was burnt, and all the means of 
 subsistence of the inhabitants was destroyed. Colonel CLARKE re- 
 turned to the Ohio, and discharged the militia ; and the Indians, 
 being reduced to the necessity of hunting for the support of their fa- 
 milies, gave Kentucky no further trouble that season. In December
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 of the same year he was in Richmond, urging the government for 
 means to execute his favorite enterprise the reduction of Detroit 
 the grand focus of Indian hostilities from the Mohawk to the Missis- 
 sippi. His views were approved ; but before the necessary arrange- 
 ments could be completed, a British force from New- York, under Ar- 
 nold, carried hostilities into the heart of the State. Colonel CLARKE 
 took a temporary command under Baron Steuben, and participated in 
 the active measures of that officer against the marauding traitor. 
 
 After several months had been spent in indefatigable efforts to 
 obtain a force of two thousand men for the enterprise against Detroit, 
 the several corps destined for the service were designated, and ordered 
 to rendezvous on the 15th of March, 1781, at the falls of Ohio, and 
 CLARK was raised to the rank of a Brigadier General : but unexpected 
 and insuperable difficulties arose, and the ardent genius of the com- 
 mander was confined to defensive operations. This appears to us to 
 have been the turning point in the fortunes of the hardy warrior. 
 
 It has been our object, in the conduct of this work, to state only well- 
 attested facts ; to award merited praise-; to cultivate a proper respect 
 for the institutions, and the men of genius, and every variety of talent 
 in our own country ; and to cherish every patriotic sentiment by the 
 influence of example. It frequently has been our pleasing study to 
 exhibit the impulsion of individual character upon the destinies of 
 the nation to connect biography with history, and thus far we have 
 so traced- the career of the subject of this sketch. We have followed 
 him over a broad field, have marked the energy, perseverance, and 
 determination of his character ; we have shown the daring bravery, 
 the fertile genius, and the correct judgment of the individual, uniting 
 in the achievement of exploits of permanent and national interest and 
 honor, and impelling him onward to the accomplishment of others ol 
 still greater benefit to his country. We must now reverse the order 
 of our reflections, and note the effect of disappointment upon the in- 
 dividual, who, having done much, is conscious he can do more, but 
 finds his future prospects blighted at the moment of their brightest 
 promise. He had set his heart upon destroying the British influence 
 throughout the whole north-western territory. Could he have had 
 the means which he required, his advancement in rank would, no 
 doubt, have been gratifying ; but without a General's command, a 
 General's commission was of no value. Dangers and hardships he 
 would have disregarded ; but with his small force, to be stationed on 
 the frontier to repel the inroads of a few predatory bands of Indians 
 when he was eager to carry the war to the lakes, was more than he
 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE. 
 
 could bear, and it preyed upon his spirit. He was a lion chained, 
 but he was still a lion, and so the enemy found him in 1782. 
 When the news of the disastrous battle of the Blue Licks reached 
 General CLARKE, he took immediate measures to rouse the country 
 from its anguish and despondency, and to carry the war once more 
 into the enemy's territory. 
 
 In September of that year a thousand mounted riflemen assembled 
 on the banks of the Ohio, and were put in motion by the General 
 for the Indian towns on the Miami and Scioto. The expedition was 
 conducted with the celerity to be expected from the quality and tem- 
 per of the troops. The Indians fled before them, and not more than 
 twelve were killed or taken. Five of their towns were reduced to 
 ashes, and all their provisions were destroyed ; the effect of which 
 was, that no formidable party of Indians ever afterward invaded Ken- 
 tucky. 
 
 In the course of the ensuing two years, the Kentuckians found 
 themselves in circumstances of restraint. Peace had taken place, but 
 they were threatened with Indian hostilities : these, if brought into 
 their own district, they could repel ; but experience had often proved 
 that the best defence against Indians was to anticipate their attacks, 
 and this they had not now the right to do, as the territory north-west 
 of the Ohio had been ceeded to the United States, and Kentucky was 
 still a part of Virginia. The remedy proposed at this time was a 
 separation from Virginia, the formation of an independent State, and 
 admission to the Union. Conventions were called, delegates appointed 
 to consult on, and take measures for, the future safety of the district, 
 and for the redress of real and imaginary grievances. This was a 
 period of agitation in Kentucky, and agitators were there who knew, 
 or thought they knew, how to take advantage of the popular feelings. 
 James Wilkinson, whose name, both before and since, has been united 
 with the most remarkable intrigues and plots in the history of our 
 country, was then a settler at Lexington, and had gained an ascen- 
 dency ; and the name of the hitherto most popular man west of the 
 mountains is not to be found among the delegates on any occasion 
 during this period. Congress, however, had not forgotten him ; and 
 he was appointed, in March, 1784, with four other gentlemen, to ne- 
 gotiate friendly treaties with the Indians. Several treaties were made, 
 but the only remarkable incident which we have seen recorded is 
 described in the Notes of an Old Officer. The Indians came in to 
 the treaty at Fort Washington (January, 1786,) in the most friendly 
 manner, except the Shawanees, the most conceited and warlike of the
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 aborigines ; the first in at a battle, the last at a treaty. Three hun- 
 dred of their finest warriors, set off in all their paint and feathers, filed 
 into the council-house. Their number and demeanor, so unusual at 
 an occasion of this sort, was altogether unexpected and suspicious. 
 The United States' stockade mustered 70 men. In the centre of the 
 hall, at a little table, sat General CLARKE the indefatigable scourge 
 of these marauders General Butler, and Mr. Parsons. On the part 
 of the Indians, an old council-sachem and a war-chief took the lead. 
 The latter, a tall, raw-boned fellow, with an impudent and villain- 
 ous look, made a threatening speech, which operated effectually on 
 the Indians, who set up a whoop at every pause. He concluded 
 by presenting a black and white wampum, to signify their readiness 
 for peace or war. General CLARKE retained an unaltered and care- 
 less countenance throughout, and with his cane pushed the wampum 
 off the table. Every Indian started from his seat with one of those 
 sudden, startling sounds which express their indignation. General 
 CLARKE also arose, and casting upon the savage group a scornful 
 glance, put his foot upon the insulted symbol, and ordered them to 
 leave the hall. They did so, and all night they were heard debating 
 near the fort. In the morning they came back, and sued for peace. 
 
 In the same year, and but a few months after the ratification of the 
 treaties, a new army was raised, to march against the Indians on the 
 Wabash. The nations had made peace, but the individuals would 
 wage war, and the governments on either side of the Ohio could not 
 control their subjects. General CLARKE, at the head of a thousand 
 men, again entered the Indian country. Having reached the vicinity 
 of Vincennes the troops were halted nine days, to give time for the 
 provisions and ammunition and provisions to come up, which had 
 been sent by water. The boats had been delayed upon the river, and 
 when they arrived half the provision they brought was spoiled. A 
 spirit of discontent had already manifested itself in camp, and now 
 became more apparent. The troops were, however, put in motion, 
 and advanced ; but a rumor was circulated that the General had de- 
 spatched a messenger with the offer of peace or war ; this converted 
 restlessness into disaffection among the troops, which was fomented 
 by some of their officers into mutiny ; and when within two days' 
 march of the Indian town, three hundred men turned their backs upon 
 the camp. The General, who saw the ruinous consequences of this 
 revolt, addressed them in the most conciliating terms, but in vain. 
 The expedition was abandoned; and "General Wilkinson, who 
 was at the falls of Ohio, wrote to a friend in Fayette, ' that the sun of
 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE. 
 
 General CLARKE'S military glory had set, never more to rise.' " The 
 author of the history of Kentucky says, " There was much meaning in 
 this sentence, which those who had fathomed Wilkinson knew how- 
 to interpret and appreciate. Rumors were, indeed, unfavorable to 
 General CLARKE ; but those rumors had been set afloat by his ene- 
 mies, who wanted an apology for their own conduct ; and who, in turn, 
 were accused of fomenting the insubordination and mutiny, of which 
 they availed themselves to terminate the campaign dishonorably. Can- 
 dor, however, extorts a confession, that is made with regret, that 
 General CLARKE, at this time, ' was not the man he had been.' A 
 high sense of injustice and neglect had been left to corrode his mind, 
 by the government whose territory he had enlarged, and whose repu- 
 tation he had raised to renown. This had produced a chagrin, which, 
 in the mortification and ennui incident to the want of employment, 
 had sought extinguishment in the free use of ardent spirits." 
 
 Several years elapsed before the name of General CLARKE again 
 appeared in connexion with public affairs. Meanwhile, Kentucky 
 had become one of the States of the Union. The insolent conduct ot 
 the French minister, Genet, is known to every reader of American 
 history. He had been in the country but a few months, when he set 
 on foot a clandestine expedition from Kentucky against the Spanish 
 possessions on the Mississippi, and GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE was 
 furnished with a commission, as a Major-General in the armies ol 
 France, to organise and conduct it ; but before the project was put in 
 execution, a counter revolution occurred in France, Genet was recalled, 
 his doings disavowed, and CLARKE'S commission annulled. Thus 
 terminated his public career. In place of the observations to which 
 we should be led by the varied incidents of the previous narrative, we 
 subjoin the following extract from Judge Hall's Sketches of the West, 
 as furnishing an appropriate commentary on the instability of fortune 
 and the vanity of ambition. 
 
 " When General GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE, the Hannioal of the 
 west, captured Kaskaskia, he made his head-quarters at the house of 
 
 a Mr. Michel A- , one of the wealthiest inhabitants. Michel lived 
 
 in a capital French house, enveloped with piazzas and surrounded by 
 gardens all in the most approved style. He was a merry, contented, 
 happy man ; abounding in good living and good stories, and as hos- 
 pitable as any gentleman whatever. The General remained his 
 guest some time, treated with the greatest kindness and attention, 
 
 and took leave of Mr. A with a high respect for his character 
 
 and a grateful sense of his warm-hearted hospitality. Years rolled
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 away ; the General had retired from public life, and was dwelling in 
 a humble log-house in Indiana, a disappointed man. His brilliant 
 services had not been appreciated by his country ; his political pros- 
 pects had been blighted ; he was unemployed and unhappy a proud 
 man, conscious of merit, pining away his life in obscurity. One day, 
 as he strolled along the banks of the Ohio, he espied a circle of 
 French boatmen, the crew of a barge, who were seated round a fire 
 on the beach, smoking their pipes and singing their merry French 
 songs. One voice arrested his ear it was that of his old friend 
 Michel ; he could not mistake the blithe tones, and ever buoyant hu- 
 mor, of his former host. He approached, and there sat Michel in 
 the garb of a boatman, with a red cap on his head, the merriest of 
 the circle. They recognised each other instantly. Michel was glad 
 to see the General, and invited him to take a seat on the log beside 
 him with as much unembarrassed hospitality as if he had still been 
 in his spacious house, surrounded by his train of servants. He had 
 suddenly been reduced from affluence to poverty from a prosperous 
 gentleman, who lived comfortably on his estate, to a boatman the 
 cook, if we mistake not, of a barge. Although a man of vivacity 
 and strong mind, he was illiterate and unsuspecting. The change 
 of government had brought in new laws, new customs, and keener 
 speculators than the honest French had been accustomed to deal with, 
 and Michel was ruined. But he was as happy as ever ; while his 
 friend, the General, whose change of circumstances had not been so 
 sudden or complete, was a moody, discontented man. Such is the 
 diversity of national character." 
 
 General CLARKE never was married. He was long in infirm health, 
 and was severely afflicted with a rheumatic affection, which terminat- 
 ed in paralysis, and deprived him of the use of one limb. After suf- 
 fering under this disease for several years, it finally caused his death 
 in February 1818. He died and was buried at Locust Grove, near 
 Louisville, Kentucky. J. H.
 
 (-3ESniIEJ\jL
 
 THOMAS SUMTER. 
 
 THE name of General SUMTER, of South Carolina, is conspicuous in 
 the story of our revolutionary struggle, but the details of his actions 
 are scattered through many books, and have never, we believe, been 
 arranged in the form of a personal memoir. After many efforts to ob- 
 tain new matter, and to render this sketch more perfect than we could 
 otherwise hope to make it from the materials within our reach, we 
 have to confess our utter failure. The indifference or procrastination of 
 the present representative of the family, to whom we have applied, has 
 left us, up to the last moment, without a line of information ; and the 
 unhappy fate of the Steamer Home deprived us of Professor Nott, who 
 had engaged to furnish a biography of General SUMTER from such ma- 
 terials as he could obtain in South Carolina. We are therefore thrown 
 upon our own resources, and can only promise a careful collection of 
 all the material facts in relation to the public life of the distinguished 
 soldier, who, as a partisan officer, scarcely ranked below even Marion 
 himself. 
 
 It is probable that the military talents of General SUMTER had been 
 exhibited in the militia service of Carolina long before the commence- 
 ment of the revolution ; as we find that so early as March, 1776, he 
 was appointed by the provincial congress lieutenant-colonel of the 
 second regiment of riflemen ; but he does not appear to have particu- 
 larly distinguished himself until after the fall of Charleston, in May, 
 1780. His peculiar genius had then free scope, and led him on to a 
 series of actions of importance to his country, and the more remarkable 
 from the circumstances under which he organized his force, and the 
 sudden and unexpected check given to the rapid career of the con- 
 querors of General Lincoln's army. 
 
 In a few weeks after the capitulation of Charleston, the enemy held 
 complete possession of the state, and on the 4th of June Sir Henry 
 Clinton wrote to his government, " I may venture to assert that there 
 are few men in South Carolina, who are not cither our prisoners or
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 in arms with us." The few brave spirits who had not bowed to the 
 storm, sought shelter and the means of renewing the contest in North 
 Carolina. Among these was Colonel SUMTER ; but despondency and 
 inactivity formed no part of his character. At the head of a body of 
 republicans like himself, driven from their native states, who had cho- 
 sen him to their command ; few in number, imperfectly armed, and al- 
 most destitute of ammunition, he returned to South Carolina, to op- 
 pose himself to a veteran and victorious army. 
 
 On the 12th of July he surprised and cut to pieces a superior party 
 of the enemy, composed of thirty-five dragoons of the legion, twenty 
 mounted infantry, and a large body of loyalists. The commander of the 
 party, Captain Huck, a miscreant noted for his cruelty and profanity, 
 was killed ; and of his whole party but about twenty made their escape. 
 
 Among those who served under Col. SUMTER, was Colonel Neale. 
 This gentleman, an ardent Whig, had commanded a regiment of mili- 
 tia in S. Carolina, and had fled from the state after the fall of Charles- 
 ton. When Lord Cornwallis, contrary alike to policy and justice, de- 
 termined to admit no neutrality in the contest, but that all who did 
 not unite themselves to the British force should be proceeded against 
 as enemies, Col. Neale's regiment was enrolled in the royal service. 
 Hearing of the approach of SUMTER, together with their old command- 
 er, they hastened to join him. His force was still farther increased by 
 the junction of small parties of Whigs from the Waxsaw settlement, who 
 had been exasperated by the treatment of the British authorities. Col. 
 SUMTER, now promoted by Governor Rutledge to the rank of briga- 
 dier-general in the state militia, found himself in a situation to under- 
 take some more considerable enterprise. 
 
 On the 30th of July he passed Broad river at Blair's ford, with about 
 six hundred men, and advanced upon Rocky Mount. The defences 
 of the post consisted of two log-houses and a loop-holed building, sur- 
 rounded by a ditch and an abattis the whole placed upon a command- 
 ing eminence, and encircled by an open wood. The garrison was 
 composed of the New- York volunteers and a party of royalist militia, 
 and was commanded by Col. Turnbull. Having no artillery, Gen. 
 SUMTER sheltered the greater part of his men among the trees and 
 rocks, with directions to keep up a heavy fire upon the garrison ; while 
 at the head of a picked party, he himself proceeded to the assault. 
 After being twice repulsed, he still persevered, and succeeded in pene- 
 trating within the abattis ; but the strength of the post was too great to 
 admit of its being taken without artillery, and he was finally compelled 
 to retire.
 
 THOMAS SUMTER. 
 
 Not discouraged by his want of success, after an interval of eight 
 days SUMTER fell upon Hanging Rock, another of the chain of posts 
 by which the British kept up their commuuication with the lower 
 country. Hanging Rock was garrisoned by five hundred men, con- 
 sisting of one hundred and sixty infantry of Tarleton's legion, a part 
 of Col. Brown's regiment, and Bryan's North Carolina corps. Through 
 an error of the guides, the attack was first directed against Bryan's roy- 
 alists, who, being surprised, gave way in all directions. Tarleton's 
 infantry were next forced to fall back on Brown's detachment; this, 
 though fighting with great bravery, was in its turn compelled to give 
 ground. The British troops retreating, formed themselves into a hol- 
 low square in the centre of their position. In the mean time the ranks 
 of the militia had become disordered ; many had been attracted by the 
 plunder of the camp, and others had indulged too freely in the liquor 
 which had been found in it. SUMTER, with the few troops that he 
 could bring into array, made a determined advance upon the new po- 
 sition of the enemy ; but the disorder had spread too deeply, and a suf- 
 ficient number of men could not be assembled to make an impression 
 on it. A retreat, therefore, was determined on. This was accomplished 
 leisurely, and in the face of the enemy, who had suffered too severely 
 to offer any interruption. When Gen. SUMTER began the action, his 
 men had but ten rounds of ball each, and before its termination they 
 were amply supplied from the stores of the British and Tories. 
 
 From the inattention of the militia to regular returns of the killed 
 and wounded, the loss on the part of the Americans could not be 
 ascertained ; many of the wounded being carried home immediately 
 from the field of battle. The loss of the enemy considerably exceeded 
 our own. Of one hundred and sixty men of Tarleton's legion, they 
 acknowledge sixty-two to have been killed and wounded ; and their 
 other corps suffered severely. Immediately after the action Gen. SUM- 
 TER crossed the Catawba. His reputation for enterprise and ability 
 was now established. His success in the two latter instances would 
 have been more decided, had it not been for his want of artillery, 
 and the undisciplined nature of his troops. As it was, it raised the 
 drooping spirits of the Whigs, and gave his men confidence in the skill 
 and courage of their leader. 
 
 In the mean time Gen. Gates had entered South Carolina, and 
 shortly afterwards his army took up a position at Rugely's Mills, not 
 far from Gen. SUMTER'S encampment. Receiving information that a 
 detachment of the enemy was on its march from Ninety-six to Camden, 
 with stores for the main army, SUMTER requested a reinforcement
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 from Gen. Gates to enable him to intercept it. Col. Woolford, of the 
 Maryland line, with one hundred continentals, two pieces of camion, 
 and three hundred militia, were despatched to his assistance. Thus 
 reinforced, on the morning of the 15th of August SUMTER appeared 
 on the. west bank of the Wateree, fell upon the convoy which was 
 the object of the expedition, and succeeded in taking forty-four 
 wagon loads of stores and clothing, together with a number of prison- 
 ers. On the evening of the 17th, SUMTER, who was on his retreat up 
 the river, received intelligence of the unfortunate battle of Camden, 
 and of the total dispersion of the American army. Unhappily, his 
 movement up the country had brought him into the immediate neigh- 
 borhood of the British army. Encumbered as he was with prisoners 
 and baggage, he immediately continued his retreat, and by the celerity 
 of his movement, avoided a corps under the command of Col. Turnbull, 
 which Lord Cornwallis had despatched against him. At noon on the 
 18th of August, he encamped his men on the north side of Fishing Creek, 
 a small stream that falls into the Catawba about forty miles above 
 Camden. Here the arms were stacked, videttes were posted ; and the 
 wearied troops, overcome by fatigue, enjoyed an interval of repose, 
 rendered more agreeable by their previous exertions. 
 
 The day after the battle of Camden, Lord Cornwallis, fearing lest 
 SUMTER might escape Col. Turnbull, had directed Col. Tarleton, with 
 his legion and some light infantry, to move likewise in pursuit. After 
 a rapid march, on the 17th, Col. Tarleton finding many of his men too 
 fatigued to continue the pursuit, selected one hundred of the dra- 
 goons, together with about sixty of the light infantry, and pressed 
 forward without intermission. Passing the Catawba at Rocky-Ford, 
 he got into the rear of SUMTER, who was utterly unapprized of his ap- 
 proach. Two videttes, who fired upon his advance, being killed 
 without the alarm being taken, Tarleton fell upon the camp, seized 
 the arms of the Americans, and instantly charged them while confus- 
 ed, unprepared, and unarmed. A fearful slaughter followed. A few 
 of the regulars taking post behind the wagons, offered some resistance ; 
 but it was soon suppressed, and the rout was universal. One hundred 
 and fifty were killed and wounded, and over three hundred were made 
 prisoners ; while the stores and clothing previously captured, again 
 fell into the hands of the enemy. SUMTER himself fortunately es- 
 caped unhurt. By this terrible blow, South Carolina was again left 
 at the mercy of the conqueror ; the few men under Marion constitut- 
 ing the sole force embodied for her protection. 
 
 Immediately on his defeat, SUMTER retired to the upper country,
 
 THOMAS SUMTER. 
 
 where he was soon joined by a few of his men who had escaped the 
 slaughter of the 18th. Volunteers nocked to his standard, and he was 
 again in a condition to harass the enemy. 
 
 He ranged the district about the Enoree, Broad, and Tiger Rivers. 
 His men being all mounted, were enabled to move about the country 
 with speed and facility. When they approached an enemy, the horses 
 were tied and left in charge of a few of the party ; so that in defeat 
 they afforded a safe retreat, in victory the means of pursuit. 
 
 In the early part of the fall, SUMTER was at the head of such a force 
 as to attract towards him the attention of Lord Cornwallis ; and Major 
 Wemyss, with the sixty-third regiment and about forty of the legion 
 cavalry, was despatched in pursuit of him. The former success of 
 Tarleton inspired Wemyss with the hope of likewise surprising his ene- 
 my. Pushing forward with great celerity on the night of the 8th No- 
 vember,he reached the encampmentof SUMTER on the bankof the Broad 
 River. Fearing if he delayed till morning, SUMTER might be advised of 
 his proximity, he determined upon an immediate attack. At one o'clock 
 in the morning his troops advanced to the assault. Col. Wemyss, who 
 was at the head of his men, fell by the fire of the picket, which was 
 immediately driven in. The British troops pushed forward ; but they 
 found the Americans in arms, and ready to receive them. Unprepared 
 to meet so firm a resistance, and discouraged by the fall of their leader, 
 the British forces soon retreated with precipitation, leaving their com- 
 mander and twenty men upon the ground. In the morning Col. We- 
 myss was discovered, badly wounded. He had been active in prosecut- 
 ing the severe measures of Lord Cornwallis against those Whigs, who, 
 contrary to a solemn compact, being called upon to join the British 
 forces, had preferred the service of their countrymen. Some of the 
 Whigs had been hanged by his orders, and he in person had attended 
 their execution. In his pocket was found a list of the houses which 
 he had burned. The paper being handed to General SUMTER, he im- 
 mediately threw it into the fire, and ordered every attention to be paid 
 to the prisoner. Col. Wemyss was shortly after permitted to go to 
 Charleston on parole. 
 
 After the action, Gen. SUMTER crossed the Broad River, and effect- 
 ing a junction with Cols. Clarke and Banner, who commanded parties 
 of militia from the mountains, concerted with them measures for the 
 surprise of Ninety-six. Lord Cornwallis, suspecting the designs of the 
 American commander, hastily recalled Col. Tarleton, who at that time 
 was absent on an expedition against Marion, directing him to join his 
 forces to the sixty-third regiment, which had not yet returned from its
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 fruitless attack, and bring SUMTER to action. Col. Tarleton pursued 
 his foe with the impetuosity by which he was characterized. SUM- 
 TER, receiving timely information of his approach, and not being strong 
 enough to risk an engagement, retreated. On the afternoon of the 
 20th of Nov. he reached Blackstock's Hill, an eminence on the east 
 bank of the Tiger River. Here he received information of the rapid 
 approach of Col. Tarleton, who, apprehensive lest his prey should es- 
 cape, had left behind him a majority of his troops, and was advancing 
 at the head only of the legion cavalry and some mounted infantry of the 
 sixty-third regiment ; the whole amounting to about four hundred men. 
 Confiding in the strength of his ground, Gen. SUMTER determined to 
 await the approach of the enemy, and offer him battle. His centre 
 was posted in some log buildings occupying the middle of the hill ; 
 his right was placed behind some rails, which were flanked by an in- 
 accessible mountain ; and his left was distributed in a piece of rugged 
 ground covered by a bend of the river. A small brook ran in front of 
 the whole, and the road to the ford passed directly through the centre 
 of the position. On coming in view of the American position. Col. 
 Tarleton was struck with its strength, and halting his men on an op- 
 posite eminence, determined to await the approach of the remainder of 
 his force. A portion of his men were accordingly dismounted, until the 
 arrival of his infantry should enable him to commence the battle. 
 Observing the movement, SUMTER determined to bring on an imme- 
 diate action. Accordingly a number of his militia were ordered to ad- 
 vance upon the British. A sharp conflict ensued ; but the sixty-third 
 charging with fixed bayonets, the militia were driven back. Pursuing 
 their advantage too far, the sixty-third received a murderous fire from 
 the buildings in which the American centre was posted, and were 
 thrown into confusion. Col. Tarleton, seeing the dangerous situation 
 in which the regiment was placed, attempted, by a vigorous charge up 
 hill with his cavalry, to relieve them ; but his men, thinned by the fire of 
 the Americans, were forced to retire in disorder. A second attempt 
 on the American left was attended with no better success. All his ef- 
 forts proving ineffectual, Tarleton was forced to retreat with precipita- 
 tion, leaving his wounded upon the field. 
 
 On this occasion the American loss amounted to but three men 
 killed and four wounded. The British, according to their own accounts, 
 lost more than fifty men ; while the Americans, who from remaining 
 masters of the field, had every opportunity of information, make it 
 amount to ninety-two men killed and one hundred wounded. Un- 
 fortunately, among the small number wounded on the American side,
 
 THOMAS SUMTER. 
 
 was General SUMTER, who received a musket ball in his breast near 
 the right shoulder. 
 
 After burying the dead, and supplying the wounded of the enemy with 
 every comfort in his power, Gen. SUMTER continued his retreat. Having 
 reached a place of safety, the greater part of his followers dispersed, and 
 he himself, guarded by a few of his faithful soldiers, was borne into 
 North Carolina, there to wait till the healing of his wound should enable 
 him to resume his active duties in the field. Shortly after this, Congress 
 passed a vote directing their thanks to be presented to Gen. SUMTER 
 and the troops under his command for their patriotism, bravery, and 
 military conduct ; at the same time particularizing the affair at Hanging 
 Rock, the defeat of Major Wemyss, and the repulse of Col. Tarleton 
 at Blackstocks. 
 
 When Col. Tarleton wrote to Cornwallis his version of the affair, 
 Corn \vallis in his answer said, " I shall be very glad to hear that SUM- 
 TER is in a condition to give us no further trouble ; he certainly has 
 been our greatest plague in this country." SUMTER was confined by 
 his wound for several months, but in the early part of Feb. 1781, 
 though still feeble, he was sufficiently recovered again to take the field. 
 
 General Greene was at that time retreating before Lord Cornwallis, 
 while South Carolina was again left without a continental army. 
 Under these circumstances, it was an important object to alarm the 
 enemy for the safety of the posts which he had left behind him in the 
 rapid pursuit of Greene. Assembling about two hundred and fifty 
 North Carolina militia, and being joined by Col. Wade Hampton with 
 a small reinforcement, SUMTER made a rapid movement upon Fort 
 Granby, a post of the enemy situated on the south banks of the Conga- 
 ree. Piles of rails were constructed so as to enable the marksmen to 
 fire down upon the enemy, who were destitute of artillery. The at- 
 tack was pressed so vigorously, that the British were on the point of 
 yielding, when the appearance of Lord Rawdon on the opposite bank 
 of the river, at the head of a superior force, compelled SUMTER to re- 
 treat. Retiring southward on the second day after the affair at Gran- 
 by, he surprised and captured a detachment of fifty British troops, and 
 a convoy of provisions and clothing which they were escorting. Un- 
 fortunately, the convoy, which was of the highest importance to the 
 American army, being placed in boats and sent down the river, was re- 
 taken by the British posted at Fort Watson. Swimming his horses across 
 the Santee, and transporting his men in canoes, SUMTER attempted to 
 carry the post and recover the lost booty ; but being unprovided with 
 artillery, the attempt proved vain, and the Americans were repulsed.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 After sheltering his men a few days in the swamps on the north side 
 of the Santee, he moved towards the north-eastern part of the state, 
 and encamped in the friendly neighborhood of Charlotte. 
 
 This expedition annoyed and distressed the enemy, by breaking up 
 the communications between his posts, kept up the spirits of the Ameri- 
 cans, and furnished Gen. SUMTER with a mass of information concern- 
 ing the force and movements of the enemy. This last was imme- 
 diately dispatched to Gen. Greene through Col. Hampton. 
 
 Gen. SUMTER'S services had hitherto been performed altogether by 
 means of militia, a species of force, in the then state of the country, 
 constantly fluctuating in numbers, joining and leaving the camp with 
 almost equal facility, and little to be depended on in expeditions which 
 required time. He now attempted to enlist a body of men in the 
 service of the state for ten months. While thus engaged, he received 
 a letter from Gen. Greene, announcing the intention of the latter to 
 permit Lord Cornwallis to pursue his march north without interrup- 
 tion from him, while he himself should again enter South Carolina, 
 and attempt to drive the enemy from the southern states. In accord- 
 ance with this plan, Gen. SUMTER was directed to procure provisions for 
 the main army, to obtain all the information in his power, and to break 
 up, as much as possible, the communications between the enemy's 
 posts. SUMTER, in pursuance of these instructions, took the field on 
 the 20th of April, with the men he had been able to raise. Several 
 parties of the royalist militia were dispersed, and the country between 
 the Broad, Saluda, and Wateree rivers completely swept. The im- 
 portance of SUMTER'S services at this period is shown by the frequen- 
 cy of his communications with Gen. Greene. Besides furnishing him 
 with all the provisions he could collect, sometimes in the course of a 
 day several letters containing information would be sent to the main 
 army. On the llth of May he made a sudden attack on the post 
 at Orangeburg. and took near one hundred prisoners with a large 
 supply of stores and provisions. About this time some difficulty oc- 
 curring between Col. Lee and himself, SUMTER sent a remonstrance 
 to Gen. Greene, enclosing his commission ; the next day it was returned 
 with many expressions of esteem, and SUMTER sacrificed his private 
 discontent to the service of his country. 
 
 In July, when General Greene, on account of the ill-health prevalent 
 in the army, retired to the high hills of Santee for the benefit of re- 
 pose and purer atmosphere, he despatched Gen. SUMTER, having 
 under him the corps of Marion and Lee, to break up the enemy's posts 
 in the vicinity of Charleston, and to dislodge the nineteenth regiment
 
 THOMAS SUMTER. 
 
 stationed at Monk's Corner. The country was swept to the gates of 
 Charleston, the fort at Dorchester broken up, and a large party of 
 mounted refugees were dispersed by Col. Wade Hampton, who com- 
 manded SUMTER'S cavalry. The main object of the expedition, which 
 was the nineteenth regiment, then posted at Monk's Corner, failed ; 
 Col. Coates retreating during the night over a bridge which had been 
 deserted by the militia placed to guard it. On the following day SUM- 
 TER came up with the enemy, who had taken post in the house and 
 the out-houses of Captain Shubrick ; but being unprovided with artil- 
 lery, after an ineffectual effort to dislodge them, he was obliged to give 
 up the attempt. 
 
 After the expedition to Dorchester, SUMTER was compelled to retire 
 to the upper country from indisposition ; nor was he enabled again to 
 take the field before the enemy were confined to the walls of Charles- 
 ton. After the peace, he was for a long time a member of the Ameri- 
 can congress first as a representative and afterwards as a senator. He 
 lived respected alike for his talents and services, and died on the 1st 
 of June, 1832, at his residence near the Bradford Springs, South Ca- 
 rolina, in the 98th year of his age. 
 
 SUMTER was tall and robust, with a bold and open countenance, ex- 
 pressive at once of energy and decision. As a partisan officer, his cha- 
 racter was marked by courage, enterprize, and determination. " Great- 
 ly superior to General Marion in personal strength, and trusting less 
 to stratagem and skill, he placed his fortune much more exclusively 
 on his daring resolution and the execution of his sword. Warm in 
 temperament and devoted to his country, whatever could contribute to 
 rescue her from the invader and establish her independence, became an 
 object of his ardent affection. He was also enamoured of brilliant 
 achievement for its own sake. To victory, and the glory attending it, 
 he would cut his way through every danger, regardless alike of his 
 own blood and that of the enemy." At the head of a force inferior 
 in equipment and discipline, and attached to their commander only 
 by their confidence in his prowess and ability, he constantly kept 
 the field against a veteran and superior enemy, commonly suc- 
 cessful, and in defeat ever able to rally his men and renew the con- 
 test. On one unfortunate occasion he is perhaps justly chargeable 
 with a negligence which led to the destruction of his party ; but, in- 
 structed by experience, he was never again surprised, and both We- 
 myss and Tarleton felt the effect of his vigilance. In addition to 
 his other qualities, SUMTER was invariably humane in a contest where 
 the conduct of both parties had afforded a good excuse for retaliatory
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 cruelty. His conduct toward Wemyss and the wounded of Tarleton's 
 legion will long remain evidence of a kindliness of nature not 
 always to be found in the excited breast of the partisan. 
 
 B. W. M'C.
 
 MORDECAI GIST. 
 
 IT is difficult, perhaps impossible, for us now to appreciate the hazards, 
 privations, and sacrifices personal and pecuniary which were en- 
 countered by the patriots who achieved our national independence ; 
 nor can we adequately express the gratitude we owe them, for the 
 great and various privileges secured to us by their exertions. Al- 
 though the honors and distinctions which crown a glorious enterprise, 
 successfully conducted, were theirs, it is, nevertheless, our duty, and 
 should be our pride, to reverence and honor the memory of even the 
 humblest of them. Among the number who are thus entitled to 
 claim our respect and gratitude, was Brigadier General MORDECAI 
 GIST, a native of Baltimore county, Maryland. 
 
 He was born in 1743, and was of English descent. His father was 
 Captain Thomas Gist ; his mother was Susan, daughter of John 
 Cockey, Esq. The ancestors of both families were among the earliest 
 and most respectable emigrants from England, who established them- 
 selves in Maryland. He obtained a sound and useful education at the 
 private seminary of an Episcopal clergyman, who had charge of a 
 parish in his father's neighborhood. After attaining the necessary age, 
 he was placed in Baltimore, to prepare him for commercial pursuits, 
 in which he afterward embarked ; and in which he continued, till the 
 increasing difficulties with the mother country gave a new direction 
 to his ambition. 
 
 Foreseeing the crisis that was approaching, the young men of Bal- 
 timore were not tardy in preparing to meet it. In January, 1775, they 
 formed themselves into a volunteer association, under the name of the 
 " Baltimore Independent Company," and elected GIST their captain : 
 who, animated by the same spirit of patriotism that governed him 
 throughout the ensuing contest, was, even then, conspicuous for his 
 zeal and activity. This company, the first ever raised in Maryland 
 for the defence of our violated rights, was composed of young men of
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the very first respectability, and is still remembered by a few for its 
 fine military appearance, and splendid uniform of scarlet and buff. 
 
 In January, 1776, GIST was appointed Major of a battalion of regu- 
 lar troops raised in Maryland. Having joined the army with his 
 corps, he was present at the battle of Long Island, and, in consequence 
 of the absence of the colonel and lieutenant-colonel, commanded the 
 regiment to which he belonged. In 1777 he was advanced to the 
 rank of colonel ; and, with Smallwood, was ordered by Washington 
 to take command of the militia which Congress called on the State of 
 Maryland to furnish, to assist in repelling the invasion of the enemy 
 by the way of the Chesapeake. In obedience to orders, he repaired to 
 the eastern shore of Maryland, to execute the duty assigned him of 
 organizing this force, and of harassing the enemy's right flank in any 
 march they might attempt towards Philadelphia, or into the country. 
 After complying with these orders, he joined the main army near the 
 Brandywine, with his troops, in effecting which, he narrowly escaped 
 being made a prisoner, his horse having received two bullets in forc- 
 ing his way through a detachment of the enemy. At Germantown, 
 and in the various operations that followed, as well as throughout the 
 two succeeding campaigns, he bore his part with zeal and fidelity ; 
 having been, in the language of a venerable and distinguished com- 
 patriot* who yet survives him, " one of those officers who were always 
 at their posts." 
 
 In January, 1779, Congress raised him to the rank of Brigadier 
 General, and conferred on him the command of the second brigade of 
 the Maryland line. In the following year he was transferred with his 
 brigade to the south, which became the field of his subsequent career, 
 and where he participated in all the vicissitudes of defeat and victory 
 retreat and pursuit which characterised the eventful campaigns 
 that followed. 
 
 In the sanguinary and disastrous battle of Camden, General GIST 
 behaved with distinguished gallantry. Having been posted with his 
 brigade on the right, he, in conjunction with the other Maryland bri- 
 gade, the Delaware regiment, and Dixon's regiment of North Caro- 
 linians, gloriously maintained the unequal conflict, after the left wing 
 and centre had been entirely broken and dispersed ; thus, even in 
 defeat, nobly aiding in sustaining the honor of his country's arms. 
 " De Kalb and GIST," says the gallant Lee, in his Memoirs of the 
 
 General Samuel Smith. 
 
 *
 
 MORDECAI GIST. 
 
 Wax in the Southern Department of the United States, yet held the 
 enemy on our right in suspense. Lieutenant Colonel Howard, at the 
 head of Williams' regiment, drove the corps in front out of line. 
 Rawdon could not bring the brigade of GIST to recede ; bold was the 
 pressure of the foe firm as a rock the resistance of GIST." In this 
 engagement the heroic Baron De Kalb fell mortally wounded, and the 
 last act of his life was to dictate to his aid-de-camp the expression of 
 his thanks to Generals GIST and Smallwood, and the troops under 
 their command, for the valor displayed by them in this battle. Con- 
 gress also testified their approbation, by passing a vote of thanks to 
 GIST and Smallwood, and their respective corps, " for their bravery 
 arid good conduct" at Camden. As GIST was retiring from the field, 
 being among the last to do so, in superintending the retreat of his 
 corps, a British dragoon, rushing on in pursuit, galloped up to him 
 with uplifted sword to cut him down ; his approach, however, having 
 been perceived, GIST wheeled round to meet the assault and defend 
 himself, when, at the moment, a sergeant of his brigade, who was near, 
 levelled his musket, fired and killed the dragoon, then seized his 
 horse, mounted, and made good his retreat. 
 
 General Greene was soon afterward ordered to the South, and sig- 
 nalised his command by a series of masterly movements, and by va- 
 rious engagements, in which the subject of this memoir shared, but 
 which have been detailed in preceding memoirs, and need not now 
 be recapitulated, as they are familiar to every reader. At the surren- 
 der of Cornwallis General GIST was present, and is introduced by 
 Colonel Trumbull in his painting representing that memorable event, 
 now in the Rotunda of the Capitol, between Generals Clinton and 
 Wayne. 
 
 In 1782 General Greene remodelled the " Light Corps" of the 
 Southern army, and selected General GIST to command it. Colonel 
 Baylor was placed under him in command of the cavalry, and Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Laurens, of- the infantry. The British general having 
 sent out a detachment of light infantry, attended by armed vessels 
 along the interior navigation near Charleston, General Greene de- 
 spatched General GIST with his corps in pursuit. After a long and 
 rapid march, he reached the enemy on the Combabee, and after an 
 engagement, in which the gallant Laurens was killed, succeeded in 
 driving back the enemy, and in capturing one of their vessels. This 
 we believe was the last conflict that occurred in that long but glorious 
 struggle ; hostilities having soon afterward ceased. 
 
 Peace having been proclaimed, and with it the possession of all
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 those rights for which he had so long contended, General GIST was 
 allowed at last to seek that repose which services so arduous and pro- 
 tracted must have rendered peculiarly grateful. He, accordingly, re- 
 tired to his plantation near Charleston, South Carolina, where, in the 
 possession of all the enjoyments that opulence and the respect of his 
 fellow-citizens could confer, he resided till the period of his death, 
 which occurred in 1792, in the city of Charleston. 
 
 General GIST was thrice married ; first to Miss Carnan of Balti- 
 more county, who died soon afterward ; next to Miss Sterett of Balti- 
 more, who only lived long enough to give birth to a son ; and lastly 
 to Mrs. Cattell of South Carolina, who also bore him a son. In as- 
 signing names to his two sons, he gave a curious and unique, but 
 emphatic evidence of his attachment to the cause in which he had 
 embarked, by calling the first, who was born during the gloomiest 
 period of the Revolution, Independent, and the other, States. 
 
 The personal appearance of General GIST was particularly striking, 
 having been six feet in height, and finely proportioned, with a muscular 
 developement indicative of strength and activity. His features and 
 countenance were, at the same time, eminently handsome, with eyes, 
 especially, of singular brilliancy and expression ; to which were 
 united, manners and a deportment, frank, graceful and polished. 
 
 J. P. C.
 

 
 AXWCSdTiW "NWT^'' 
 A,\A/ bDvllvIsj
 
 HUGH L. WHITE. 
 
 HUGH L. WHITE was born in Iredell county, North Carolina, in 
 the year 1773. He was the son of respectable and influential parent- 
 age, of Irish descent. His father, James White, was a soldier in our 
 memorable struggle for independence ; afterwards a general of Ten- 
 nessee militia, and served with high honor and distinction in the late 
 Creek war. At the close of the Revolution he removed first to Vir- 
 ginia, and then emigrated to Knox county, Tennessee, when Hugh 
 was thirteen years of age. At the time of which we speak, Tennes- 
 see was a wilderness ; and into this wild abode was the family of Mr. 
 White ushered, with no defence but personal prowess, and no means 
 of subsistence but what were seized in the face of danger and death. 
 But the hardships and perils which the early pioneer had to encoun- 
 ter from the natural obstacles of the unsubdued forest and its terrific 
 inhabitants, have been too often and glowingly described, and are too 
 well known, even to infancy, to need relation here. But in these dan- 
 gers and perils the family of Mr. White bore no ordinary share. At 
 the age of nineteen Hugh volunteered as a private soldier in the In- 
 dian campaigns. In these he was soon distinguished as a brave, vi- 
 gilant, and untiring soldier. He possessed a constitution peculiarly 
 fitted for rugged duties a constitution which has preserved its elas- 
 ticity and firmness, almost in primitive vigor, beyond the boundary of 
 three-score years. These scenes of his early life are interesting only 
 as they were the rough school of discipline in which he acquired and 
 strengthened those hardy Roman virtues which have distinguished 
 his character throughout his whole public career. 
 
 The early education of HUGH L. WHITE, was not as thorough and 
 extensive as he could have wished it, and as it would have been un- 
 der more favorable circumstances. The refinements of polished scho- 
 larship had hardly been introduced into Tennessee at that early day. 
 But of the more practical and useful branches of education, such as
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 j> 
 
 qualified him for the discharge of the immediate duties of life, he ac- 
 quired the -utmost that the schools of that day afforded. He was in- 
 structed in the ancient languages by the Rev. Samuel Carrick, and 
 Mr. (afterwards Judge) Roane, gentlemen of no mean proficiency in 
 scholarship. To these attainments he afterwards added a course of 
 mathematics, under Professor Patterson of Philadelphia. In 1795 he 
 left Philadelphia for Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he entered the 
 office of James Hopkins, an eminent lawyer, under whose superin- 
 tendence he devoted himself with great ardor to the study of the law. 
 Having completed the usual preparatory course, he returned, in 1796, 
 to Knoxville, where he commenced the practice of his profession. 
 
 For the five succeeding years Judge WHITE devoted himself unre- 
 mittingly to the duties of his profession, and rose to high and honorable 
 distinction at the bar. The science of jurisprudence was his especial 
 study ; and with such zeal and ability did he enter into the investiga- 
 tion, that he was selected at the early age of twenty-eight, from a body 
 of able and experienced lawyers, to fill the office of Judge of the Su- 
 perior Court ; at that time the highest judicial tribunal in the State. 
 This seat he held till 1807, when he resigned. 
 
 As a lawyer, Judge WHITE was one of the most distinguished in 
 the early history of Tennessee. Nor was the bar of Tennessee at that 
 time wanting in men of the first order in legal attainments. Jackson, 
 Whiteside, Overton, and G. W. Campbell were then in the prime of 
 their legal celebrity, and with such men was he associated upon the 
 bench. In legal argumentation, Judge WHITE had but few superiors ; 
 yet he was always as fair and honest in debate as he was cogent. He 
 never turned aside to take advantage of quibbles, and quirks, and 
 senseless technicalities ; but built his premises upon the plain and ob- 
 vious meaning of the law, and with abstract truth as his guide, he seldom 
 failed to carry his point. He viewed every thing like cunning and 
 subtlety in the pleadings of the bar with detestation, as he always has 
 the tricks and manoeuvres, and intrigues of party politicians. There 
 need be no better evidence that Judge WHITE possessed every quali- 
 fication of the able, profound, and enlightened jurist, than that he was 
 afterwards appointed, (or would have been appointed on condition of his 
 accepting,) a seat upon the Supreme Bench of the United States, which 
 distinguished post of honor he declined. When he was elevated from 
 the bar to the bench, he brought to the discharge of its difficult func- 
 tions all the qualities already enumerated, and superadded to the es- 
 sential attributes of judicial authority, great mildness and suavity of 
 manners ; yet was he always firm, and dignified, and uncompromis-
 
 HUGH L. WHITE. 
 
 ing when duty demanded. To maintain such an office with popu- 
 larity and respect, both from the people and the bar, is the surest test 
 of merit. Spurious talents or superficial learning cannot be played off 
 undetected upon the bench. The strict integrity of Judge WHITE 
 was proverbial. His opinions were generally remarkable for perspi- 
 cuity and strength, and many of them able specimens of judicial acu- 
 men and research. His long services in his judicial capacity acquired 
 for him the greatest respect and esteem from the gentlemen of the pro- 
 fession, and conferred lasting honor on the bar of Tennessee. Such 
 ample opportunities as were presented during twelve years' experience 
 on the bench, and especially, when afterwards practised upon and en- 
 larged in the course of his political experience, have rendered Judge 
 WHITE thoroughly acquainted with the spirit and character of the 
 laws of his country. 
 
 An interesting anecdote is told of this period of his life, quite cha- 
 racteristic of his republican simplicity. A student of law came a con- 
 siderable distance to be examined by him, in order to obtain license. 
 The young man had heard much of his ability and learning as a ju- 
 rist, and expected to be much embarrassed in his presence ; but he 
 mustered courage, visited his residence, and on being informed that 
 the Judge was on his farm, went out, and intercepted a man ploughing, 
 and asked for Judge WHITE. " I am the man," was the reply. "I 
 wish to get license to practise law, and have come to be examined." 
 " Well, sir, if you will be good enough to come down into the shade, 
 I will attend to it with a great deal of pleasure." He secured his plough- 
 horse, got over into the cool shade, and took the young man through 
 a most learned and rigid examination found that he was well 
 qualified, and, after inviting him to his bouse, and showing him every 
 mark of hospitality and politeness, gave him a license. 
 
 In the year 1807 he resigned his judgeship, and retired, in a great 
 measure, to his farm. Agricultural pursuits had always been a favo- 
 rite occupation, even in the midst of laborious studies ; and he would 
 be frequently found in the intervals of his engagements, ploughing in 
 his fields. There appears always to have been a congeniality between 
 great and good minds in the pursuits of agriculture. We pretend not 
 to divine the philosophy of it, or to determine, as has often been con- 
 tended, why it is that patriotism exists in so much more elevated and 
 fervent devotion in the retirement of the farm than in the busy throng of 
 crowded cities. Whether the fact be so or not, certain it is that many 
 of the noblest instances of sterling patriotism and high-souled principle 
 that have ever figured in the drama of human actions, have been found
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 among those most devoted to agricultural pursuits. Hypocrisy and 
 intrigue, which are the elements of contracted minds, have nought to 
 do in the retirement of the farm ; but far removed from the long cata- 
 logue of human frailties and vices with which they are so painfully 
 conversant in public life, the good and the great are gratified with the 
 view of the brighter side of humanity, and have there to deal with 
 characters and actions more congenial with the simplicity and great- 
 ness of their own natures. Like Jefferson, and Washington, and Ma- 
 dison, Judge WHITE could be induced to leave his farm only when 
 duty, which was the supreme law of his nature, demanded ; and when 
 that was performed, he left the rivalries and commotions of public life 
 without a regret, to those whose business it was to foster them. 
 
 About this time Judge WHITE was appointed District Attorney for 
 the United States, which station he soon resigned. In 1807 he was 
 elected a senator to the State legislature. While a member of this 
 body he performed many important services to Tennessee, and was 
 the author of a system of land law ; for which Tennesseans, who re- 
 collect the frauds and controversies of the old system, will ever be 
 grateful. The speech in which he advocated the measure was one of 
 the first which he made as a politician, and was said to have been one 
 of unusual power. In 1809 the judiciary of Tennessee was re-organ- 
 ized, and a Supreme Court instituted. In this high tribunal he was 
 appointed to preside, although he was not a candidate, and was absent 
 from the seat of government two hundred miles when the legislature 
 conferred the appointment. He held this office for six years, and from 
 his faithfulness and ability acquired the utmost respect and popularity 
 from the people, by whose delegated authority he had been appointed. 
 Previous to his resignation in 1815 he was elected President of the 
 State bank. Under his auspices the institution flourished in a high 
 degree, and acquired much character for the prudence and ability of its 
 administration, and the stability of its operations. It obtained a stand- 
 ing in the west equally honorable to the State and beneficial to its finan- 
 cial concerns. He continued twelve years at the head of this institu- 
 tion, including the period of the late war a period which will be long 
 remembered in the political history of the United States for fiscal dis- 
 trust, confusion, and difficulty ; and which, but for the energies of one 
 man, would have rendered bankrupt the credit of the whole nation. 
 
 But while engaged in the double duties of Judge and President of 
 the Bank, he did not forget his country. During the darkest period 
 of the Creek campaign, when General Jackson was surrounded with 
 difficulties such as would have crushed any other man, his brave men
 
 HUGH L WHITE 
 
 contending not only with savages, but with famine and want, and sus- 
 taining life on roots and acorns, HUGH L. WHITE left the bench, and 
 with a single companion, the Hon. Luke Lea, started for the wilder- 
 ness, hired an Indian guide, and after several days and nights of peril- 
 ous adventure, found the general's encampment. He told the vete- 
 ran, that having heard of his difficulties, he had left his business, and 
 come to share his toils and dangers. It was determined, after some 
 consultation, that the Judge should return through the wilderness to 
 Tennessee, and exert his influence in raising volunteers and procur 
 ing provisions for the distressed and famishing army. While absent 
 on this expedition, he missed several terms of his court, and by the laws 
 of Tennessee the judges were paid only in proportion to duty per- 
 formed. The legislature, in consideration of the great services he had 
 rendered General Jackson, passed an order that there should be no de- 
 duction of his salary. But with characteristic magnanimity he de- 
 clined the offer, and would receive no more than that for which he 
 rendered actual service. He said that his country was in distress, that 
 the aid he had rendered was without the hope of reward, and that he 
 would receive none. 
 
 In 1817 HUGH L. WHITE was again elected senator by a major- 
 ity approaching unanimity ; and served with distinction the period 
 for which he had been elected. 
 
 But the abilities of HUGH L. WHITE were too distinguished, and 
 too well appreciated by his countrymen, to be confined within the 
 limits of a single State. He was appointed, in 1820, by President Mon- 
 roe, one of the commissioners under the Spanish treaty, in conjunction 
 with Littleton W. Tazewell and Gov. King. Previous to this time 
 his attention had been confined chiefly to the laws affecting individual 
 rights and private property. The rights and laws of nations had little 
 connexion with the administration of justice in an interior State ; but 
 as the sphere of his operations was widened, he was found to possess 
 mental resources corresponding to the increased demand. With such 
 success did he apply himself to the details of commercial, maritime, and 
 international law, that he won the esteem and confidence of his able 
 colleagues men who had been experienced, and profoundly versed in 
 the science of public law. He held this appointment until 1824, at 
 which time the commission expired. In the same year he was again 
 unanimously appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeals, but he declin- 
 ed the appointment. In 1825 General Jackson resigned his seat in 
 the United States senate, and HUGH L. WHITE was unanimously 
 elected to fill out the term. In 1827 he was again unanimously elect-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 ed to serve the next six years. And yet again, amidst the hottest party 
 rancor, the legislature bestowed their undivided suffrage upon him 
 for another term of six years, in 1835. 
 
 We are now to review the life of HUGH L. WHITE in the most im- 
 portant and interesting scenes of the many in which he has taken 
 part. Hitherto we have viewed him chiefly as a jurist and a local 
 politician. But his life and acts become now identified with national 
 history and national interests. And from the character which he has 
 acquired in this political capacity, from the ability and faithfulness 
 with which he has discharged the functions of the high stations which 
 he has occupied, must he stand or fall to the people of this nation. 
 Twelve years ago HUGH L. WHITE brought into our national coun- 
 cils great weight of character. At that time he had the unlimited con- 
 fidence of every party in the government. During this era of great 
 achievements in our political history memorable for the revolution- 
 izing of our national policy, for the demolishing of long-established 
 institutions, and the building up new ; for bold and untried adventure 
 in the theory and practice of government which will distinguish this 
 era of our political history for ages to come during all this mighty 
 conflict of principle, HUGH L. WHITE has been constantly upon the 
 ground. He bore his part in them all, as friend or foe. This period 
 is too fresh in the memory of all, and the measures too notorious to be 
 detailed in this place. But during this comparatively short period of 
 his public career, more weighty subjects have been discussed, more 
 doubtful points of national policy settled, more difficulties removed 
 from the free administration of government, more political heresies 
 broached aud exterminated, than in any other period of American his- 
 tory of the same length. The whole theory of government has been 
 subjected to an inquisition, which spared neither the ancient, nor the 
 venerable, nor the strong, nor the weak. In the scales of justice or ho- 
 esty they have all been weighed, and have found the level, or the sup- 
 posed level, of their merits. Its maritime and commercial policy has been 
 revolutionised. Its banking establishments upturned. The powers 
 of the general government, in internal improvements and executive 
 patronage, have been scrutinised. The origin and nature of the fede- 
 ral compact have been discussed with earnestness and ability ; and its 
 value has been calculated, and its fundamental principles bandied 
 about with the familiarity of toys. With what character Judge WHITE 
 has passed through these scenes, is known to every man in the nation. 
 
 In 1832 John C. Calhoun resigned the Vice-Presidency of the Uni- 
 ted States, and the senate was left without a presiding officer. It was
 
 HUGH L. WHITE. 
 
 on the eve of that memorable session, when the debate upon the tariff 
 had well-nigh severed the Union. The first talent of the nation was 
 there congregated, and every man had arrayed himself upon one side 
 or the other. The prize at issue was the CONSTITUTION. And the 
 leaders of the respective divisions came armed with the resolution to 
 carry their measures, though disunion on one side and civil war on the 
 other were the consequence. Proud in the strength of conscious 
 greatness, irritated by supposed aggressions or tyranny, and discord- 
 ant to a degree that almost banished deliberation, they foresaw that 
 troublous times were not far distant. It was seen that no ordinary 
 mind could be able to curb the outbreakings of passion, and to main- 
 tain its equipoise through so doubtful a contest. In full view of all 
 these difficulties, Judge WHITE was elected president of the senate ; 
 and how he sustained the exalted expectations of that body and the 
 nation is now a matter of history. The firmness, impartiality, deci- 
 sion, and dignity with which he presided over the stormy debate, proved 
 that no false estimate had been placed upon his character. 
 
 The intellectual character of Judge WHITE would bear a fair and 
 honorable comparison with the first talent in the senate. As an orator, 
 in the popular acceptation of the term, he is not so distinguished as 
 many members in the house of Congress. He possesses little of that 
 rich profusion of imagination which throws such a charm over the 
 oratory of a Clay, or a Pinckney, or a Wirt. But as a reasoner and 
 debater, he has shown strength and cogency of argument on more than 
 one occasion, which would rank him as one of the able logicians on 
 the floor of Congress. In the discussion upon the Panama Mission 
 he was particularly distinguished ; and the combatants in that debate 
 were no striplings in mind and attainments. The profoundest talent 
 in the nation, and the deepest constitutional learning, were brought to 
 bear upon it. 
 
 One of the most powerful efforts he ever made in the senate was 
 on the morning after he received the tidings that the hand of death 
 had torn asunder the tenderesl fibres of human affection. It was his 
 speech on the Indian bill. This question had occasioned great em- 
 barrassment and concern to President Jackson. HUGH L. WHITE was 
 chairman of the committee ; the weight of the measure devolved upon 
 him, and procrastination was certain defeat. But he appeared in his 
 seat, asked no indulgence, made no apology ; and, showing a fortitude 
 worthy of his character, made one of the ablest and most successful 
 efforts ever witnessed in that body, and carried the measure. Such 
 lofty and honorable views of the nature and obligation of a trust, such
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 intense devotion to its fulfilment, have distinguished him in every sta- 
 tion of life. This honorable and enviable fact in his history will be 
 remembered when this generation shall have passed away. 
 
 One historical fact must not be omitted, although it is of too recent 
 occurrence to require more than merely to be mentioned : Judge 
 WHITE was held up with General Harrison and Mr. Yan Buren as a 
 candidate at the last presidential election. Defeat in such a contest, 
 to one of his cast of mind, is better than victory. 
 
 Such is a brief, and, as we believe, impartial sketch of the life and 
 services of HUGH L. WHITE.

 
 EDWAED EVERETT. 
 
 THE incidents in the life of EDWARD EVERETT, and his public 
 labors, have been so various and numerous, that the most concise re- 
 cord of them will crowd upon the limits within which it is necessary 
 to confine our biographical notices. 
 
 He was born in Dorchester, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. His 
 father, Oliver Everett, was the son of a farmer in the town of Ded 
 ham, of the same county, and descended from one of the original 
 planters of that place, where the family still remains, like their predeces- 
 sors for five generations, respectable cultivators of the soil. Deprived, 
 by the narrow circumstances of his family, of early opportunities of 
 education, he succeeded in preparing himself for College after he be- 
 came of age ; and was graduated at Cambridge in 1779, when twen- 
 ty-eight years old. 
 
 In 1782 he was ordained over the New South Church in Boston, 
 from which he obtained a dismission in 1792. President Allen, in his 
 biographical dictionary, speaks of his "high reputation," and of 
 " the very extraordinary powers of his mind." On leaving the minis- 
 try, he retired to a small farm in Dorchester ; and among other marks 
 of the estimation in which he was held, was made a Judge of the Court 
 of Common Pleas for Norfolk County. He died at the age of 51, on 
 the 19th of December, 1802. 
 
 The subject of this memoir, who was the fourth in a family of 
 eight children, was born on the llth of April, 1794. His education, 
 till he was thirteen years of age, was obtained almost exclusively at 
 the public schools in Dorchester and Boston, to which latter place the 
 family removed after his father's dece.ase. In 1807 he was sent to the 
 Academy at Exeter, N. H. Here, under the tuition of Dr. Abbott, he 
 completed his preparation for College. He entered Havard Univer- 
 sity at Cambridge, in August, 1807, and graduated in 1811 with the
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 highest honors of his class, and with a reputation which has seldom 
 been attained at so early an age. 
 
 Under the influence of the late Rev. J. S. Buckminster, who was the 
 minister of his family in Boston, he was induced to select the profes- 
 sion of Theology. His studies were pursued with the benefit of the 
 direction and advice of President Kirkland, of whose family he was a 
 member. In 1812 he was appointed Latin tutor in the University. In 
 the autumn of 1813, being then less than nineteen and a half years of 
 age, he was settled as the successor of Buckminster over the Brattle 
 Street Church in Boston. In addition to the ordinary duties of his 
 ministry, which he performed with a fidelity and success of which all 
 who heard him are the witnesses, he wrote and published a Defence 
 of Christianity, against a peculiar form of infidelity then broached by 
 some persons of considerable pretensions to learning. This is an 
 elaborate and ;inost able work, and displays resources of erudition 
 which would be thought worthy of admiration in a scholar of ad- 
 vanced age. 
 
 Having been appointed by the Corporation and Overseers of Har- 
 vard University Professor of Greek Literature, he obtained a dismission 
 from his congregation, and was inducted into office at Cambridge 
 when under twenty-one years of age. For the improvement of his 
 health, and in order to perfect his preparation for the duties to which 
 he was called as connected with the college, he was permitted and 
 enabled, by the corporation, to travel in Europe, and to reside for a 
 season at some of the principal foreign universities. 
 
 He embarked from Boston in the spring of 1815, in one of the first 
 ships that sailed after the conclusion of the treaty of peace with Great 
 Britain. On arriving at Liverpool he heard of the escape of Napoleon 
 from Elba, and was in London when the battle of Waterloo was 
 fought. From London he proceeded towards Germany, accompanied 
 by his distinguished friend and countryman, Mr. George Ticknor. 
 They passed a few days at Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Leyden, and the 
 other Dutch cities ; and proceeded through Westphalia to Gottingen 
 in the kingdom of Hanover. Here, at this most celebrated German 
 University he spent more than two years of assiduous application to 
 study. The vacations were employed in excursions to the principal 
 cities and universities of North Germany. During one of these vaca- 
 tions he visited the Hague, where his brother was residing in a diplo- 
 matic capacity. On another occasion he made a journey on foot 
 through the Hartz Mountains. 
 
 The winter of 1817 he spent in Paris, acquiring, among other
 
 EDWARD EVERETT. 
 
 branches of knowledge, an acquaintance with the Italian and modem 
 Greek languages. Here he enjoyed the society of such men as Vis- 
 conti, Humboldt, the Abb6 de Pradt, Benjamin Constant, Sismondi, 
 Koray, and General Lafayette. In the spring of 1818 he went over 
 to England, spent some time at the universities of Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge, visited Wales and the Lakes, made an excursion to Edinburgh 
 and the Highlands of Scotland, passed a few days with Sir Walter 
 Scott at Abbotsford, and became acquainted with Dugald Stewart, and 
 many of the other leading characters of Scotland and England. 
 
 In the fall of 1818 he returned to France, and proceeded to Swit- 
 zerland and Italy, accompanied by General Lyman, late mayor of Bos- 
 ton. They took the road to Lyons, passed a few days at Geneva, 
 visited Chamouni and the glaciers of Mont Blanc, made a circuit 
 through Lausanne, Bern, Lucerne, Schweitz, Altdorf, and the Valais ; 
 crossed the Simplon to Milan ; went through Lombardy to Venice, 
 and then back over the Appenines to Florence. The winter was 
 spent at Rome, in laborious study. While there, he saw Canova, and 
 had frequent opportunities of meeting, among other distinguished per- 
 sons, the members of the Bonaparte family, the mother of Napoleon, 
 the princess Borghese his sister, Louis the ex-King of Holland, and 
 Lucien. 
 
 In February, 1819, still accompanied by Mr. Lyman, he went to 
 Naples ; and after visiting the places of interest in the neighborhood of 
 that city, crossed over to Bari on the Adriatic ; and thence travelled on 
 horseback, through a country where there were no carriage roads nor 
 public conveyances, and much infested with brigands, by the way of 
 Lecce to Otranto. From Otranto they took passage to Corfu, and 
 from thence in a row-boat they proceeded to the coast of Albania. At 
 Yanina, its capital, they were received with great kindness by Ali Pa- 
 cha, and his sons Muctar and Veli Pacha. They bore letters to this fa- 
 mous chieftain from Lord Byron. Crossing Mount Pindus, and going 
 north as far as the Vale of Tempe, they returned through Thessaly 
 to Thermopylae, passing by Pharsalia, and taking the road over 
 Mount Parnassus to Delphi, Thebes, and Athens. They then made 
 an excursion over the Isthmus of Corinth to Sparta, and returning 
 to the north, embarked in the Gulf of Volo for the Dardanelles. After 
 visiting the site of Troy, they reached Constantinople. This tour over 
 Greece took place about ten months before the breaking out of the 
 war with Ali Pacha, which brought on the Greek revolution. 
 
 Towards the end of June, 1819, they passed the Balkan Mountains, 
 not far from the route taken afterwards by the Russian army. Crossing
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the Danube at Nicopol, they went through Wallachia to Bucharest, and 
 entered Austria at the pass of Rotenthurm, in the Carpathian Moun- 
 tains. After a week's quarantine in the secluded vale of the Aluda, 
 they proceeded to Hermanstadt, the capital of Transylvania, and 
 thence through the Bannat of Temeswar across Hungary to Yien- 
 na. After leaving this beautiful metropolis, they traversed Austria, 
 the Tyrol, and Bavaria ; and returning by the way of Paris and Lon- 
 don, took passage for America, September, 1819. The whole time 
 spent by Mr. EVERETT in his travels and studies in Europe and Asia, 
 was nearly four years and seven months. 
 
 Shortly after his arrival in Boston, he was solicited to assume the 
 editorial charge of the North American Review. Its number of sub- 
 scribers, at that time, was inconsiderable. The effect produced by him 
 upon its circulation was instantaneous, and great beyond parallel in 
 our literary history. Many of its numbers passed into a second and 
 even a third edition. He gave it an American character and spirit ; 
 and such was the tone he imparted to it, that it commanded, not only 
 the admiration and applause of his own countrymen, but the respect 
 and acknowledgments of foreign critics and scholars. He defended 
 our institutions and character with so much spirit and power, that the 
 voice of transatlantic detraction was silenced ; and in one memorable 
 instance, an apology to the people of the United States was drawn 
 from the editor of a British periodical. His editorial connexion with 
 the North American Review lasted four years, from 1819 to the close 
 of 1823 ; but he has continued to contribute to its pages to this day. 
 It has been enriched by the contributions of many of our ablest 
 scholars, but no single writer has done so much to secure and maintain 
 its high stand and wide-spread influence as EDWARD EVERETT ; and 
 if he had written nothing else, his articles in that journal would con- 
 stitute a monument of genius, eloquence, erudition, and patriotism, 
 which would secure to him an enviable reputation. His lectures on 
 Greek literature, delivered to the students of Harvard University, are 
 remembered with respectful gratitude by all whose privilege it was to 
 be connected with the college during his continuance in office there. 
 At the same time he delivered two courses of lectures in Boston on 
 Ancient Art, which, as well as his collegiate lectures, remain still 
 unpublished. When, after having received such corrections and ad- 
 ditions as his mature experience and leisure may enable him to bestow 
 upon them, they shall be given to the world, those who heard them 
 are confident that they will be regarded as one of the noblest con- 
 tributions ever made to our literature.
 
 EDWARD EVERETT. 
 
 While residing at Cambridge, he kept up a correspondence with his 
 learned friends abroad, particularly with the scholars and patriots of 
 Greece ; and by his zealous exertions did much to awaken the inter- 
 est which, throughout the country and in the halls of Congress, was 
 expressed in behalf of that renowned people in their long and glo- 
 rious struggle for liberty and independence. 
 
 In the discharge of his duties as Professor at Cambridge he was 
 faithful, constant, and eminently successful. He did not confine him- 
 self to what was absolutely required of him ; but by voluntary and 
 gratuitous labors and offices of kindness, conferred benefits upon the 
 students, which are not forgotten by them, however widely they may 
 have been dispersed in the course of their subsequent lives. He pre- 
 pared, while professor, a Greek grammar and a Greek class-book for 
 the use of the students. 
 
 In 1824 he delivered the oration before the Phi Beta Kappa Society 
 at Cambridge. General Lafayette was among his auditors. This per- 
 formance established his fame as an orator. About this time a vacan- 
 cy occurred in the Congressional District to which Cambridge belongs ; 
 the gentleman who for many years had occupied the seat, having de- 
 clined a re-election. The most popular political character in the dis- 
 trict was put in nomination by one of the largest conventions ever as- 
 sembled within it. A few young men made a volunteer nomination 
 of EDWARD EVERETT. His talents and qualifications were not un- 
 known to the intelligent people of Middlesex, and, to the astonish- 
 ment of all, he was elected by a decisive majority. 
 
 Contrary to his expectation at the time of accepting a nomination, 
 his connexion with the University, as an instructor, ceased on his elec- 
 tion to Congress ; but he was immediately chosen by the overseers to 
 fill a vacancy at their board. 
 
 In December, 1825, he took his seat in Congress, to which he was 
 re-elected for five successive Congresses by overwhelming majorities. 
 His legislative labors were very great. For the whole period often years 
 he was always on the Committee of Foreign Affairs, a part of the time 
 its chairman. He drew up many of its reports, particularly that on 
 the Panama Mission. After having reported to the House on our claims 
 upon foreign powers for spoliation, he continued to discuss the sub- 
 ject in the North American Review, and finally collected all the facts 
 and arguments, in reference to the question, as it stood with each fo- 
 reign power concerned in it, into a volume. 
 
 Much of the credit for having finally procured the adjustment of these 
 claims is due to him.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 He was chairman of the Select Committee, during Mr. Adams's 
 Presidency, on the Georgia controversy ; and always took a leading 
 part, while in Congress, in the efforts that were made to protect the In- 
 dians from injustice. In the spring of 1827 he addressed a series of 
 letters to Mr. Canning on the subject of the colonial trade, which were 
 extensively re-published. He always served on the Library Committee, 
 and generally on that for the Public Buildings ; together with John 
 Sergeant, he constituted the minority on the famous Retrenchment 
 Committee. He drew the report for the Committee in favor of the 
 heirs of Fulton. Together with the present Governor of Connecticut, 
 Mr. Ellsworth, he constituted the minority of the Bank investigating 
 Committee, which was despatched to Philadelphia, and wrote the mi- 
 nority report. He wrote the minority report of the Committee of 
 Foreign Relations in reference to the controversy with France, in the 
 spring of 1835 ; distinguished himself by the high ground he took 
 on the subject in debate, and supplied, in the last clause of his report, 
 the words of the resolution unanimously passed, in reference to it, by 
 the House of Representatives. He also, at the same session, prepared a 
 statement on French spoliations prior to 1800, which was printed by 
 order of the House. 
 
 Such were some of his Congressional labors. He was emphatically, 
 there as everywhere, a working man. He made himself perfectly ac- 
 quainted with every subject that came before the House. His Speeches 
 and Reports exhaust all the facts and arguments that belong to their 
 topics. His manner of speaking was simple, elegant, and persuasive ; 
 and always secured attention. He was firm and steadfast in his poli- 
 tical course ; but urbane, respectful, and just toward his opponents. 
 He disarmed his enemies, and was faithful to his friends ; and his whole 
 deportment was consistent with the history of his life, and will be 
 readily acknowledged by his associates, of every party, to have been 
 every way becoming the gentleman, the scholar, and the patriot. 
 
 In the interim of Congress, during the summer of 1829, he made 
 an extensive tour through the south-western and western states, and 
 was every where received with marked attentions, having been honored 
 by public dinners in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio, without distinc- 
 tion of party. When, in 1833, General Jackson visited New England, 
 Mr. Everett was selected by his constituents in Charlestown to address 
 him on Bunker Hill. The reply of the President was expressive of 
 marked respect for his character and talents. 
 
 During the whole of his political career, up to this time, he has been 
 mindful of the duty he owes to our literature. His pen has been ac-
 
 EDWARD EVERETT. 
 
 live in innumerable ways ; and each year he has been, without cessa- 
 tion, pouring forth a series of orations, lectures, and addresses of an 
 historical, patriotic, philanthropic, and classical character ; a large num- 
 ber of which have been collected in a volume, which is extensively 
 circulated throughout the country. As a writer and speaker, he is 
 surpassed by no one in grace, purity, and richness of style. His voice 
 and manner of delivery are in harmony with the character of his 
 sentiments. He never wearies, cannot be exhausted, and invariably 
 causes delight to the hearts of his hearers. Whether with or without 
 preparation, in the chair of State, from the academical stage, or in the 
 unforeseen and ever-varying conjunctures of the literary or political 
 festival, he is never taken by surprise, but adorns all that he touches. 
 
 In the spring of 1835, he took his leave of the House of Representa- 
 tives, having declined a re-election. 
 
 On the election of Governor Davis to the Senate of the United 
 States, in Feburary, 1835 he was nominated as his successor ; and in 
 the ensuing November was elected by a large majority. In 1836 he 
 was re-elected to the same office, and in 1837 he received the largest 
 majority ever given in Massachusetts in a contested election. 
 
 Excellent and distinguished as the Governors of Massachusetts have 
 ever been, it is quite certain that no chief magistrate ever enjoyed a 
 higher degree of the confidence of the people of that State than ED- 
 WARD EVERETT. His administration is a model of republican simpli- 
 city, fidelity, industry, and usefulness. He neglects no duty, and aims 
 at no display. While in the discharge of his public office, he is digni- 
 fied, firm, and regardful of the trust committed to him. When not en- 
 gaged in official duty, he is undistinguishable from the body of his fel- 
 low-citizens ; attracting attention only by the conscientious carefulness 
 with which he fulfils every obligation as a citizen, a head of a family, 
 and a man. 
 
 His administration has already begun to show the fruits of his in- 
 dustry and wisdom in the various ways in which it has advanced the 
 public welfare. He is steadily and efficiently promoting a reform in 
 the law, encouraging internal improvement, and the development of 
 the physical and mechanical energies of the State ; elevating the stand- 
 ard and diffusing the blessings of education ; increasing the usefulness, 
 and preventing abuses of the banking system ; revising the militia, ar- 
 resting the progress of disorder, and providing the means of its sup- 
 pression ; securing the public archives from destruction and loss, and 
 unfolding all the capacities of the State, particularly its great resources, 
 agriculture and the arts. Resolves, laws, and commissions, for these
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 and other important objects, have been suggested or favored by his 
 influence. When it is considered that he is yet in the prime of life, 
 and that, blessed with a good constitution, sound and pure health, 
 and the most temperate, and perfectly disciplined habits of mind and 
 body, it is not too much to indulge the hope that for many years to 
 come his benignant and invaluable influence will be felt upon the 
 refinement, the literature, and the government of Massachusetts and 
 of the Union. 
 
 In this sketch but a small proportion of Governor EVERETT'S writ- 
 ings have been enumerated. Many of the incidents in his life, and of 
 his public services, which would claim a place in a full and complete 
 biography, are necessarily omitted. The circumstances of his early edu- 
 cation, and the course of his travels and studies when abroad, have 
 been detailed with some minuteness, from a belief that every intelligent 
 and reflecting reader will be curious to trace the progress, and ascer- 
 tain the means by which such a character has been formed. 
 
 Besides the professional and political honors to which he has attain- 
 ed, Governor EVERETT is a member of various scientific and literary 
 institutions at home and abroad. He is familiarly acquainted, not only 
 with the ancient monuments of learning, but with the languages and 
 literature of the principal modern nations ; and is understood, amidst 
 the cares of office, to keep fresh and bright all his acquirements of 
 erudition and taste. As a politician, he may, perhaps, encounter the 
 prejudices of some ; but as a man of genius and learning, a finished 
 scholar and accomplished gentleman, an ardent republican, a promoter 
 of his country's welfare, and a defender of its honor, he is undoubtedly 
 regarded with liberal and just pride, and a sincere good-will, by all 
 his countrymen, of every party, and in every part of the land. 
 
 c. w. u.
 

 
 -awing by .1 K LonC^oc after as>. cngnal ftrfrsut by J
 
 SAMUEL CHASE. 
 
 THE REV. THOMAS CHASE, the father of the subject of these pages, 
 was the only son of Samuel Chase, of a highly respectable family in 
 Great Britain. At the age of eighteen Thomas was sent to Eaton Col- 
 lege, where, by his close application and untiring zeal, he became a 
 proficient in the Latin and Hebrew languages, and soon after he receiv- 
 ed the honors of the College. The professorship of those languages 
 was tendered to him, which he gladly accepted, as his father had lately 
 suffered some loss in his pecuniary affairs. 
 
 In 1738 he fled from the persecution of Cromwell to the Island of 
 Jamaica, where he practised physic, which science he had studied dur- 
 ing his leisure hours at Eaton. He remained in Jamaica but a few 
 months, whence he sailed to the American Colonies ; and Somerset 
 County, Maryland, was the place he chose for his residence. 
 
 In January, 1740, he was married to Matilda Walker, the daughter 
 of a respectable farmer. The fruit of this union was one son ; and 
 the day that presented Mr. CHASE an heir deprived him of his amiable 
 helpmate. 
 
 In 1743 Mr. T. Chase was honored with' the appointment of rec- 
 tor of St. Paul's parish in Baltimore, whither he removed with his in- 
 fant son, who had received the name of SAMUEL. 
 
 Deprived of the tender care of a mother, SAMUEL was the sole ob- 
 ject of his father's love, and under the direction of this kind parent he 
 received his education. 
 
 At the age of eighteen he went to Annapolis, where he studied law 
 under the direction of John Hammond and John Hall ; and in 1761 he 
 was admitted to the Provincial Courts. 
 
 The year following he was united to Miss Anne Baldwin of An- 
 napolis, a lady of distinguished merit, pious, amiable, affable and 
 courteous. This union was blessed with six children, two only of 
 whom are now living SAMUEL CHASE, his second son, at present
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 holding an office of judge in the District of Columbia, and Miss Anne 
 Chase. 
 
 Mr. CHASE soon became distinguished as a lawyer, and engaged 
 with great zeal in opposing the odious and oppressive measures of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 In 1764 he commenced his public life in the General Assembly 
 of Maryland, and was an active member of that body for upwards of 
 twenty years. 
 
 He was among the first opposers of the Stamp Act, and engaged, 
 in the most decisive manner, to frustrate its malignant effects. He 
 was one of the framers of the famous Declaration of Rights of Mary- 
 land," and its firm supporter. 
 
 His leisure hours were also devoted to his country, in arousing the 
 people to a sense of their wrongs by essays and pamphlets. 
 
 In 1774 he was chosen a delegate to the first Congress. 
 
 In 1776 he was again chosen to represent Maryland in the gene- 
 ral Congress ; and it may be said that Maryland, who had refused 
 her consent, was induced by his entreaties to unite in declaring the 
 United States free and independent. 
 
 : His whole conduct in this Assembly was marked by activity and 
 zeal, and a firm adherence to the principles of liberty breathed forth 
 in the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 The name of CHASE is found on many of the most important com- 
 mittees, and he was ever at his post. 
 
 In 1782 he was appointed by the Governor of Maryland, Agent and 
 Trustee of the State of Maryland to recover the stock in the Bank of 
 England owned by the State ; and for this purpose he proceeded to 
 England, where he remained one year, enjoying the intimacy of Fox, 
 Pitt, Burke, and other great luminaries of the day. It would not be 
 amiss here to state that the late William Pinckney was a student in his 
 office at this time. Young Pinckney styled Mr. CHASE his " Patron 
 and his Friend." 
 
 In March, 1783, Mr. CHASE was married to Miss Hannah Kilty 
 Giles of London, by whom he had two daughters; the eldest, Eliza, 
 the widow of Dr. Skip with Coale, now residing in Baltimore ; and Mary, 
 his second daughter, who was married to the eldest son of Commodore 
 Barney, and who has proved herself an American matron, worthy to be 
 the daughter of Judge CHASE and daughter-in-law of a hero. 
 
 In 1786 the liberality of the late Col. John Eager Howard induced 
 him to remove to Baltimore. 
 
 In 1791 he was appointed Judge of the General Court of Maryland,
 
 SAMUEL CHASE. 
 
 and in 1793 he received the appointment of Judge of the Criminal Court 
 for Baltimore County ; but it being thought unconstitutional to hold 
 these two offices, he resigned his seat in the General Court. 
 
 In 1796 General Washington offered him a seat on the Bench of the 
 Supreme Court of the United States. It was in the discharge of his 
 duties in this Court that faction armed his opponents, and he was 
 arraigned at the bar of his country to defend his slandered character. 
 His defence on this occasion has been pronounced the most able pro- 
 duction of the bar of this country ; Aaron Burr, then Vice-President of 
 the United States, presided at this trial ; and the even-handed justice he 
 dealt out was ever a subject of praise by Mr. CHASE. 
 
 The late Chief Justice Marshall, in a letter dated May 6th, 1834, to 
 one of Judge CHASE'S descendants, writes of Judge CHASE : 
 
 " He possessed a strong mind, great legal knowledge, and was a valu- 
 able judge, whose loss was seriously felt by his survivors. 
 
 " He was remarkable also for his vivacity and companionable quali- 
 ties. He said [many things which were much admired at the time, 
 but I have not treasured them in my memory so as to be able to com- 
 municate them." 
 
 Judge Duvall, in a letter of the same date, writes : 
 
 " I knew Judge CHASE intimately, from the year 1775 until the time 
 of his decease. At the commencement of the revolution, Mr. CHASE, 
 as an advocate at the bar, was at least on a level with the ablest law- 
 yers in Maryland, and in my judgment he never had a superior. 
 
 " He was constantly engaged in public life, and in legislative as- 
 semblies he was more able and powerful than at the bar. 
 
 " The late Chancellor Hanson always said that Mr. CHASE was the 
 ablest speaker he ever heard in a legislative assembly ; and Mr. Han- 
 son was capable of forming a correct opinion. 
 
 His knowledge increased with his years. During the Revolutionary 
 contest it may be said with truth, that in Maryland he was the fore- 
 most in supporting American rights. Always at his post in the 
 legislature, he took the lead : and his talents enabled him to be for- 
 midable and influential. His zeal and patriotism led him into many 
 political controversies, all of which he maintained with ability. 
 
 " Mr. CHASE'S opinions as a Judge of the Supreme Court are held in 
 high estimation. Whilst on the bench of the General Court of Mary- 
 land, his opinions were applauded. He was an able civilian and 
 jurist. 
 
 " The truth of these general remarks, as to Mr. CHASE'S character
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 is known to every man who lived in his time and during the revo- 
 lution." 
 
 In his private life he was a kind husband, a fond parent, and a le- 
 nient master. For many months he had suffered under a severe dis- 
 ease, ossification of the heart, and had purposed a journey to the 
 North for the benefit of his health ; but on the day previous he was 
 taken suddenly ill, he called for writing materials, but it was too late ; 
 and he died without making a will, on the 19th of June, 1811, at the 
 mature age of seventy years, a great and good man.
 
 SIMON KENTON. 
 
 To many of our readers the name of General SIMON KENTON is now 
 probably presented for the first time: he belonged to a class of 
 hardy pioneers, to whose exertions and privations the present race of 
 civilized man in the west is greatly indebted. He was one of the 
 first white men who planted com in the now great and wealthy state 
 of Kentucky; as such, we have in his biography to deal with "hair 
 breadth 'scapes," and the usual amount of deadly warfare, which 
 characterized the period of the early settlement of the banks of the 
 Ohio. To preserve from oblivion the characters of men who were 
 the instruments to prepare the way for peopling the western states, 
 is the duty of the biographer. SIMON KENTON'S memory and brave 
 conduct should be cherished, and his name should descend to pos- 
 terity with those of Boon, Clark, and others. 
 
 Our hero was born in the month of March, 1755, in Fauquier 
 county, Virginia. His father emigrated from Ireland, and his 
 mother was of Scottish descent, her ancestors having been among 
 the first settlers of Virginia. His parents being in middling circum- 
 stances, he was employed till the age of sixteen in the cultivation 
 of corn and tobacco. At that period an incident occurred which 
 changed the destiny of his future life. 
 
 One of his father's neighbors, named Veach, had a son who mar- 
 ried a lady to whom young KENTON was attached ; some circum- 
 stances occurred at the wedding, which Simon attended without 
 inv/ation, that were construed by him into an affront; he was 
 struck during the evening by William Veach, while in the act of 
 drinking ; and not content with this indignity, while prostrate from 
 the blow, William gave him a severe beating, which sent him home 
 with black eyes and sore bruises. He felt himself disgraced, and 
 in silence determined to be revenged. Watching his opportunity, 
 he soon after found himself alone with Veach, and challenged him 
 to the combat. He would accept of no apology. Being victorious 
 over his fallen adversary, KENTON, roused by the remembrance of
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the insult to double fury, exhibited so little mercy to his foe, that 
 when his anger was expended he was greatly alarmed at the ap- 
 pearance of Veach, whom he thought, from his inanimate features, 
 must be dead. Perceiving no signs of returning life, and greatly 
 alarmed at the consequences of his blind fury, he started for home. 
 By the way, reflection on the consequences of his conduct filled him 
 with alarm; the horrors of punishment, and probably of the gibbet, 
 overcame his resolution of returning, and he resolved on instant 
 flight. Without waiting to see and consult his parents or friends, 
 he struck off in a northwestern direction, and crossed the Alleghany 
 mountains on the 6th of April, 1771. At Ise's ford he changed his 
 name to that of Simon Butler. A prey to remorse at having committed 
 a crime so contrary to his natural disposition, he fell in with three 
 men who were preparing to descend the Ohio river ; and having 
 previously by his labor procured a good rifle, he joined the party, 
 and proceeded to Fort Pitt, (now Pittsburg.) Here he formed a 
 friendship with the notorious Simon Girty, who was the means, at 
 a future period, of his rescue from the Indians when doomed to the 
 stake. The party he had joined being given up, KENTON associated 
 himself with another, and descended the river, occasionally stopping 
 at any point where pleasure or the prospect of game tempted them 
 to halt, hunting, trapping, or dancing with the Indian girls, until 
 they arrived at the mouth of the Great Kenawha, and thence up 
 Elk river, where they built a camp and employed the winter in 
 trapping. In the spring of 1772, they descended the river to the 
 Ohio, where they sold their peltry to a French trader, and procured 
 ammunition and clothing. 
 
 Left now for a year in doubt as to the fact of his being a mur- 
 derer, he appears to have conceived that, as he intended no such 
 act, he was in reality not guilty ; his anxiety was all turned upon 
 those whom he had left in ignorance of his own fate. The summer 
 of 1772 was passed in hunting, and the winter in the old camp, 
 where in March the party was surprised by Indians, and one of 
 their number killed; the others escaped with their lives, leaving 
 every thing else to their enemy. With legs and bodies lacerated 
 and inflamed, KENTON and a companion, on the sixth day, met an- 
 other party near the mouth of the Kenawha, by whom they were 
 received with kindness. Their wounds being dressed, they entered 
 the employment of Mr. Briscoe, then endeavouring to form a set- 
 tlement on the Great Kenawha, contemporaneously with the found- 
 ing of Wheeling, Grave Creek, and Long Reach. KENTON again
 
 SIMON KENTON. 
 
 employed his first earnings in procuring a good rifle, and imme- 
 diately joined a trapping party and proceeded to the Ohio. After 
 various adventures, we find him, in 1774, when an Indian Avar be- 
 came inevitable, with the other strollers on the river retreating to 
 Fort Pitt. Lord Dunmore, governor of Virginia, having raised an 
 army to chastise the aggressors, KENTON was employed as a spy to 
 precede the troops and report the condition of the country. The 
 army crossed the Ohio at the mouth of the Hockhocking, and 
 cautiously proceeded to the Pickaway towns, on the Scioto, where 
 the natives sued for peace. No sooner was this granted and the 
 troops safely ensconced in Fort Pitt, than the treaty was broken, 
 and Colonel Lewis was sent to enforce the articles or chastise the 
 enemy, and KENTON'S services were again in requisition. On his 
 discharge he turned to his old pursuit of trapping, in the course of 
 which, finding a fine cane-growing tract of land back of Limestone, 
 now Maysville, in Kentucky, the party formed a camp, and with 
 their tomahawks commenced clearing a small piece of ground: from 
 the remains of some corn, procured from a French trader for the 
 purpose of parching, they selected a small quantity, and planted, it 
 is believed, the first corn on the north side of Kentucky river. 
 Tending their crop with no other implement than their tomahawks, 
 they remained undisputed masters of the soil until they had the 
 pleasure of eating roasting ears and of seeing their infant plantation 
 produce the ripened fruit. This spot, called Kenton's station, was 
 about one mile from the present town of Washington, in Mason 
 county. 
 
 On making an excursion in search of buffalo, then roving in vast 
 herds in Kentucky, he met another settler, named Stoner, who 
 advised him to try a spot further south, and he passed the winter 
 forty-five miles from his late residence. In the spring, the American 
 revolution being in progress, and the natives stimulated by the 
 British to destroy the infant settlements, the white men were 
 obliged to flee. KENTON joined Major (afterwards General) George 
 Rogers Clark, sent out by Virginia to protect the settlers. On their 
 return with a party from an excursion, made to bring in a supply 
 of ammunition that had been deposited on an island in the Ohio by 
 Major Clark, they found the people at their fort in such a state of 
 alarm, from a recent attack of the savages, that it was resolved to 
 abandon it and join the station called Harrod's, where a terrible 
 siege was sustained with unflinching courage, in the midst of alarms 
 and carnage. KENTON again accepted the office of spy, or scout,
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 and by his faithful discharge of his arduous duties, proved himself 
 worthy of the confidence reposed in him ; he was always successful 
 in giving the fort timely notice of a meditated attack, and to assist 
 in preparing for defence. If we had space to describe the perilous 
 encounters between KENTON and the Indians at this period, our 
 narrative would present a series of daring deeds and courageous 
 effort quite equal to the most renowned in western annals. The 
 sufferings of the garrison were extreme ; their cattle were carried 
 off or destroyed, and neither corn nor other vegetables could be 
 cultivated. 
 
 KENTON now accompanied Major Clark on an expedition to 
 Okaw, or Kaskaskia, where they surprised the French commander, 
 and took possession of the fort. He was then despatched to ascer- 
 tain the strength of the fort at Vincennes, which having accom- 
 plished after three days' lurking in the neighbourhood, he sent one 
 of his companions with the intelligence to Clark, while he and an- 
 other prosecuted their journey to Harrodsburgh. He then joined 
 several expeditions under Daniel Boon, and signalized his courage 
 to the entire satisfaction of that celebrated pioneer. 
 
 Ease becoming irksome to our hero, in 1778, he joined Alexander 
 Montgomery and George Clark in an expedition to Ohio, with the 
 avowed purpose of obtaining horses from the Indians ; proceeding 
 cautiously to Chillicothe, they fell in with a drove of horses that 
 were feeding in the rich prairies, and capturing seven, travelled at 
 full speed for the river. On reaching the Ohio, the horses refused 
 to breast the surge raised by a high wind. Satisfied that they were 
 pursued, they were about to cross and leave their prizes, but un- 
 willing to abandon their valuable capture, they were endeavouring 
 to collect them for another attempt, when KENTON heard a whoop 
 which alarmed him for the safety of the party. Tying his horse, he 
 crept with stealthy tread to observe his enemy. Just as he reached 
 the high bank he met the Indians on horseback ; raising his trusty 
 rifle, he took aim at the foremost rider; his gun flashed, and he 
 was obliged to retreat. Amidst fallen trees, he was in a fair way 
 to elude his pursuers, when a warrior pounced upon him, and a 
 second slipping behind him, clasped him in his arms. Overpowered 
 by numbers, he surrendered after a desperate resistance. Montgo- 
 mery boldly attempted his rescue, but was shot, and his bloody 
 scalp exhibited in triumph to the prisoner. Clark made his escape. 
 The captive was treated in the usual brutal manner, tied to an 
 unruly horse, and marched back towards the village. At night he
 
 SIMON KENTON. 
 
 was laid on his back, his legs extended, drawn apart, and fastened 
 to two saplings or stakes, while his arms were extended and made 
 fast to a pole. A rope was fastened round his neck and tied to 
 another stake. In this miserable state he passed three wretched 
 nights, a prey to gnats, mosquetoes, and the cold. On arriving at Old 
 Town, or Chillicothe, he was beaten in the most cruel manner, and 
 doomed to run the gauntlet. Breaking through the lines of warriors, 
 each armed with a hickory whip, he was about to escape to the town 
 for refuge, when an idle Indian fresh for the chase, whom he met, 
 soon overtook and threw him. In a moment the whole party in 
 pursuit came up, and fell to cuffing and kicking him with all their 
 fury ; his clothes were all stripped from him, and he was left naked 
 and exhausted. Some humane squaws revived him with food, and 
 he was taken to the council house to be tried for his life. 
 
 Sentence of death was formally passed upon the prisoner, and his 
 place of execution it was resolved should be Wepatomika, (now 
 Zanesville.) Next morning he was hurried away to the place of 
 execution, and on the road was severely whipped and maltreated. 
 Attempting to escape, he was caught and more closely pinioned ; 
 the young men rolled him in the mud, and brought him to the brink 
 of the grave. At Wapatomika, among others who came to see him 
 was his quondam acquaintance Simon Girty, who recognised KEN- 
 TON, and by his influence and eloquence in the council, persuaded 
 the Indians to give him into his charge. With him he lived a wild, 
 Indian-like life for some time, but the savages having returned from 
 an unsuccessful foray, sent for KENTON, and at a grand council he 
 was again sentenced to die, all the efforts of Girty proving on this 
 occasion unavailing ; he, however, finally persuaded them to con- 
 vey their prisoner to Sandusky, where vast numbers would be col- 
 lected to receive their presents from the British government ; to this 
 place he was conducted by five Indians ; on the route, the compas- 
 sion of the celebrated chief, Logan, was excited in his behalf, and 
 at Logan's instigation, a Canadian Frenchman appeared at the 
 council of Upper Sandusky, who succeeded in having him taken to 
 Detroit and delivered up as a prisoner of war to the British. 
 
 At Detroit, KENTON was handed over to the commanding officer, 
 and lodged in the fort as a prisoner of war. The British officer 
 gave the Indians some remuneration for his life, and they left him 
 free from apprehensions of the faggot and the tomahawk. His 
 health was soon restored. Drawing half rations from the British, 
 he earned some money by dint of hard work. Leisure from scenes
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 of active life was, however, not consonant with his feelings or 
 habits, and the winter of 1778-79 passed heavily. Among the 
 prisoners were some of his old associates, with two of whom KEN- 
 TON concerted, in the spring, a plan of escape. In this they were 
 aided by a lady of the place, the wife of an Indian trader, named 
 Harvey, who had formed a friendship for one of them. By her 
 assistance, guns, ammunition, and food, were procured and secreted 
 in a hollow tree near the town. Early one morning they left De- 
 troit. Steering their course by the stars, they eluded pursuit and 
 gained the prairie, where they depended for sustenance on their 
 rifles. In thirty-three days they reached the falls of the Ohio, in 
 July, 1779. 
 
 KENTON thence proceeded to Vincennes to join his old companion 
 in arms, General Clark: alone he traversed the whole distance 
 without any serious adventure; but finding the fort in a state of 
 inglorious quiet, he returned. He distinguished himself during the 
 invasion of Kentucky by the British and Indians in 1779, having 
 been appointed a captain, and commanding an active and numerous 
 company of volunteers, principally from Harrod's station, who 
 traversed the untrodden wilderness and drove all opposition before 
 them. 
 
 After the disbanding of his company, KENTON remained in the 
 employ of the several stations till 1782. At this period he heard, 
 for the first time, from his long-abandoned parents, and learned 
 that William Veach had recovered and was still living. He now 
 assumed his own name, and after commanding another successful 
 expedition against the marauding Indians on the Great Miami, he 
 returned to Harrod's, and having acquired some valuable lands, 
 concluded to make a settlement on a fertile spot on Salt river. A 
 few families joined him, reared block-houses, cleared some ground, 
 and planted com; which being gathered, he concluded to visit his 
 parents. After thirteen years absence, passed amidst scenes of great 
 privation and suffering, he had the satisfaction of finding his father 
 and all his family living. He visited Veach, and their old quarrel 
 was mutually forgiven. His glowing descriptions of the fertility of 
 Kentucky induced his parents to accompany him on his return, and 
 the family set out for the promised land, but his father died ere their 
 journey was accomplished. KENTON remained at Salt river till 
 July, 1784, and had the pleasure of witnessing the growth of his 
 settlement, to which numerous emigrants now flocked. He thence 
 removed to near Maysville, where he formed the first permanent
 
 SIMON KENTON. 
 
 station on the northeast side of Licking river. Throngs of emi- 
 grants were attracted to the spot: the Indians were successfully 
 kept at bay by the activity and intelligence of the master spirit oif 
 KENTON, who was ever foremost when danger threatened, and who 
 was looked up to as the main dependence in case of difficulty or 
 discouragement. His opponent was sometimes the celebrated chief 
 Tecumseh, whose tact and intrepidity it was not always in the 
 power of our veteran to conquer. 
 
 In 1793, General Wayne came down the Ohio with the regular 
 army, and formed an encampment below Cincinnati, called Hob- 
 son's choice. Making a requisition for men on Kentucky, KENTON 
 was, among the number, placed as a major at the head of as choice 
 spirits as ever guarded a frontier, and was employed in various 
 services. As little was effected by this party, our narrative need not 
 be detained in relating the particular events of the campaign. The 
 Indian war was now happily terminated, and an unprecedented 
 number of emigrants were attracted to the shores of the Ohio. Land 
 became valuable ; and as there was great irregularity and want of 
 precision in the first entries and surveys, the foundation was laid 
 for those subsequent disputes which have given occasion to a series 
 of litigation, involving the hard-earned estates of the original set- 
 tlers too frequently in ruin. Although KENTON was considered one 
 of the wealthiest inhabitants in real estate, yet one of his land claims 
 failed after another, till he was completely involved in a labyrinth 
 of lawsuits. Every advantage was taken of his want of education 
 and ignorance of the law, which in a few years stripped this honest 
 man of his hardly-earned wealth, and sent him, in the evening of 
 his days, penniless and dejected, to spend his few remaining years 
 in comparative poverty arid want. 
 
 About the year 1800, he abandoned the soil which he had ren- 
 dered tenantable by his courage and endurance, and settled on the 
 waters of the Mad river, in the state of Ohio. In 1805, he was 
 made a brigadier-general of militia. In 1810, he joined the Metho- 
 dist church, and experienced that consolation which religion alone 
 can impart. 
 
 In 1812, when more than sixty years of age, some of his youthful 
 fire still remained, and he was wont to converse with spirit of his 
 former deeds of arms. In 1813, when his old companion, Governor 
 Shelby, came to Urbana at the head of the Kentucky troops, KEN- 
 TON could remain no longer inactive. He mounted his horse and 
 joined the venerable governor, who gladly received him as a privi-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 leged member of his military family. He crossed the lake, and 
 accompanied General Harrison and Governor Shelby to Maiden, 
 and thence to the Thames ; was present in the battle, and played 
 his part with his usual intrepidity. Here ended the military career 
 of SIMON KENTON, a man who has probably passed through as 
 great a variety of border adventures as any of our most renowned 
 western pioneers. 
 
 About ten years since, the American government awarded KEN- 
 TON a meager pension, which secured him from absolute want in 
 his declining years. His narrative, had it been prepared at length 
 with suitable care, would have formed a volume not less inte- 
 resting than the most marvellous fiction. Enough has been here 
 related to exhibit the outlines of a character remarkable for its 
 power of endurance and its intrepidity. Like all the hardy sons of 
 the west, KENTON'S hospitality was always commensurate with his 
 means : during his prosperity his house was open to the wealthy 
 emigrant and the benighted traveller. Many of the descendants of 
 the earlier settlers still cherish the memory of his virtues. 
 
 The portrait from which our engraving has been made, and 
 which is certified by the immediate friends and neighbours of Gene- 
 ral KENTON to be a most accurate likeness, was taken at his resi- 
 dence expressly for this work, and but about three months before 
 his death. 
 
 This stanch pioneer, the companion of Boon, whose adventures 
 he emulated and equalled, died in Logan, county, Ohio, on the 3d 
 day of April, 1836, aged about eighty-two. How astonishing is it, 
 when we look over Kentucky, Ohio, and the surrounding states, 
 now teeming with millions of civilized inhabitants, to reflect that 
 one who wandered through them when beasts of prey and the 
 more savage Indian were their sole occupants, has but just fallen 
 into the grave !
 
 ABRAHAM BALDWIN. 
 
 IT was justly remarked, by one* well qualified to form a correct 
 estimate of the character he described, when speaking of the subject 
 of this notice, that " the annals of our country have rarely been 
 adorned with a character more venerable, or a life more useful than 
 that of ABRAHAM BALDWIN. War brings its animation, and creates 
 its own heroes ; it often rears them up to fame with as little assist- 
 ance from native genius as from study, or from moral and political 
 virtue. It is in times of peace that an illustrious name is hardest 
 earned, and most difficult to be secured, especially among enlight- 
 ened republicans, where an equality of right and rank leaves nothing 
 to the caprice of chance ; where every action is weighed in its 
 proper balance, and every man compared not only with his neigh- 
 bor, but with himself; his motives being tested by the uniform 
 tendency of his measures." 
 
 ABRAHAM BALDWIN was born in Connecticut, in November, 
 1754, and received his education, very early, at the university at 
 New Haven. He was one of the best classical and mathematical 
 scholars of the age in which he lived. He was employed as one 
 of the professors in this college during the. greater part of the Ame- 
 rican war ; at the close of which he began the practice of law, and 
 went to establish himself in the state of Georgia. He arrived at 
 Savannah in the beginning of 1784 ; he was immediately admitted 
 a counsellor at the Georgia bar, and in three months after he was 
 elected a member of the state legislature. During the first session 
 of that body after his election, he performed a service for the people 
 of that state, for which their posterity will bless his memory. In- 
 deed, if he had done nothing for them since, this action alone would 
 have immortalized him there. He originated the plan of the Uni- 
 versity of Georgia, drew up the charter, and with infinite labor and 
 
 Joel Barlow.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 patience, in vanquishing all sorts of prejudices and removing every 
 obstruction, he persuaded the assembly to adopt it. This instrument 
 endowed the university with forty thousand acres of excellent land, 
 required it to establish one central seat for the higher branches of 
 education, and a secondary college in every county in the state ; 
 all dependant on the principal seminary. 
 
 These lands were then uncultivated ; the state itself was new. 
 Within a few years, however, the rents of the university lands ena- 
 bled the trustees to erect the buildings and organize the institution. 
 Its principal seat was established at Athens, on the Oconee river, 
 and its first president was Josiah Meigs, a man equally eminent for 
 mathematical and chemical science, and legal and classical erudition. 
 
 John Milledge, governor of the state, and afterward the colleague 
 of Mr. BALDWIN in the senate of the United States, was associated 
 with him in the labor of bringing forward this establishment : and 
 the trustees caused to be erected and placed within the walls of the 
 first college, a marble monument to Baldwin as founder of the insti- 
 tution, and to Milledge, his associate. Nor is this the only instance 
 in which we find their names connected by monumental acts of 
 public authority. Milledgeville is the shire town of Baldwin 
 county, and the seat of the state government. 
 
 Mr. BALDWIN had not been two years in Georgia when he was 
 elected member of congress. This was in 1785, to take his seat in 
 1786 ; from that time till the day of his death, he was, without a 
 moment's intermission, a member of congress from that state, either 
 as delegate under the old constitution, until the year 1 789 ; repre- 
 sentative under the new, until the year 1799; and senator from that 
 time till his death. And the term for which he was last elected had 
 still four years to run from the 4th of March, 1807, the day of his 
 decease. 
 
 There had probably been no other instance of such a long and 
 uninterrupted series of confidence and service among the members 
 of the American congress. And what is more remarkable, on the 
 first day that he was confined to his house in his last illness, only 
 eight days before his death, he told his friends that during his 
 twenty-two years of public service, that day, according to his best 
 recollection, was the first that he had been absent from his public 
 duties. 
 
 Mr. BALDWIN was a member of the convention that framed the 
 present constitution of the United States. This he always considered 
 as the greatest service that he ever performed for his country ; and
 
 ABRAHAM BALDWIN. 
 
 his estimate is doubtless just. He was an active member of that 
 most illustrious and meritorious body. Their deliberations were in 
 secret ; but we have good authority for saying, that some of the 
 essential clauses of the invaluable, and we hope everlasting, com- 
 pact, which they presented to their country, owe their origin and 
 insertion to ABRAHAM BALDWIN. 
 
 His manner of conducting public business was worthy of the 
 highest commendation; he may have wanted ambition to make 
 himself brilliant, but he never wanted industry to render himself 
 useful. His oratory was simple, forcible, convincing. His maxim 
 of never asserting any thing but what he believed to be true, could 
 not fail to be useful in carrying conviction to others. Patient of 
 contradiction, and tolerant to the wildest opinions, he could be as 
 indulgent to the errors of judgment in other men, as if he had stood 
 the most in need of such indulgence for himself. 
 
 During the violent agitation of parties, he was always moderate, 
 but firm; relaxing nothing in his republican principles, but retaining 
 all possible charity for his former friends, who might be supposed 
 to have abandoned theirs. He lived without reproach, and proba- 
 bly died without an enemy. 
 
 The state of society would be rendered much better than it is, if 
 the private lives of virtuous men could be as well known as their 
 public lives ; that they might be kept clearly in view as objects of 
 imitation. We are creatures of habit, and our habits are formed as 
 much by repeating after others as after ourselves. Men, therefore, 
 mistake a plain moral principle when they suppose it meritorious 
 to conceal their good actions from the eye of the world. On the 
 contrary, it is a part of their duty to let such actions be known ; 
 that they may extend their benefits by a sort of reproduction, and 
 be multiplied by imitation. 
 
 Mr. BALDWIN'S private life was full of beneficent and charitable 
 deeds, which he was too studious to conceal from public notice. 
 Having never been married, he had no family of his own ; and his 
 constant habits of economy and temperance, left him the means of 
 assisting many young men in their education and their establishment 
 in business. Besides which, his father's family presented an ample 
 field for his benevolence. Six orphans, his half-brothers and sisters, 
 were left to his care by the father's death in the year 1787; and 
 the estate that was to support them proved insolvent. He paid the 
 debts of the estate, quit-claimed his proportion to these children, 
 and educated them all in a great measure at his own expense.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 Mr. BALDWIN was less distinguished by the brilliancy of his 
 talents, or acuteness of reasoning, than by his strength of mind and 
 soundness of judgment ; slow and deliberate in making up his 
 conclusions, he examined thoroughly every subject on which he 
 acted, but when he became satisfied as to the correct course, no 
 one followed it in a more undeviating line. He measured every 
 question, whether of principle or policy, by what he deemed to be 
 established rules in the organization and administration of govern- 
 ment, as developed in the political history of the mother country, 
 the colonies, and states, and embodied in their several constitutions. 
 
 Having served in the revolutionary war as a chaplain in the 
 Connecticut brigade, he acquired a practical knowledge of the 
 radical defects of the old confederation, in the conduct of our mili- 
 tary operations : his subsequent experience in civil life, convinced 
 him of the imperious necessity of avoiding the imminent danger ot 
 a dissolution of the confederacy, by the establishment of a new 
 system of government on the authority of the people of the states, 
 instead of that of state legislatures. Hence, he was the zealous 
 advocate in congress for a National Convention to frame the con- 
 stitution of a federal government, and as a member of that conven- 
 tion, active in its deliberations, laborious in effecting that important 
 result, and afterwards in procuring its adoption by the people. 
 Fully satisfied that in the institution of "one new government out 
 of thirteen old ones," with such powers over each, and all, as were 
 indispensable for federal purposes, enabling it not only to make, but 
 execute its own laws on the enumerated subjects which had been 
 confided to its jurisdiction, the greatest possible good had been 
 effected for the country. Mr. BALDWIN constantly acted on this 
 conviction. Looking to the constitution as the bond of union, 
 which united the states by a law which the people of each had 
 declared to be supreme throughout the land, he was in the constitu- 
 tional sense of the term, a federalist ; as one of its framers, he ap- 
 proved of the federative principles of the constitution, whereby a 
 government was instituted neither consolidated nor popular, but 
 federal in its origin, organization, administration, and action. After 
 its adoption by the people, he took it as a fundamental law, the 
 written text, declaring the will of the supreme power, which was 
 competent and had ordained it as the standard rule of action by 
 which to measure the powers of the federal government, and its 
 respective departments, as well as those reserved to the several 
 states. Whatever may have been his individual opinion as to any
 
 ABRAHAM BALDWIN. 
 
 detailed provisions, while the convention were deliberating upon 
 them, he never suffered them to bias his construction ; nor with all 
 his veneration of his illustrious associates, did he regard the sense 
 of that body "as the oracular guide in expounding the constitution." 
 He followed a safer guide, he saw and read what the convention 
 proposed,. and the people adopted ; regarding as of little importance 
 the discussions which led to the great results, whether in the 
 meetings of the people, in party writings, or the reasoning of the 
 members of the general or state conventions. A constitution was 
 adopted, a constitution was to be construed, as a written declaration 
 of the will of sovereign power. Mr. BALDWIN took it as he found 
 it, made it his rule of action; following and obeying it as a disciple, 
 he neither sought to enlarge or narrow its provisions by any theory 
 or doctrine not declared in terms, or by necessary consequence 
 therefrom. 
 
 Acting under the influence of these principles throughout a long 
 course of public service, he never lost sight of the " balance of the 
 federal constitution;" he found this balance by viewing all its parts, 
 reconciling each with the others, with a steady determination " to 
 give the greatest effect to them all," according to the plain import 
 and knowledge of the words and terms. 
 
 But although Mr. BALDWIN was in these respects a federalist, he 
 was in the political sense of the term a democrat; his principles of 
 government and policy, were those which had denoted the line 
 between the two great parties into which the country was divided 
 as they were developed at the organization of the government, 
 whether on questions of power or policy. Considering the constitu- 
 tion as a direct grant by the people of the several states, in their 
 sovereign capacity as each an independent state, he gave it full effect 
 in all things to which its provisions extended, according to their 
 received acceptation. In assigning a meaning to any word or 
 phrase of doubtful import, he took it in connexion with the whole 
 instrument, its bearing on other parts, considering words and 
 phrases as borrowed from former use, and used in the same sense 
 in which they had always been taken. Though he was from his 
 youth devoted to the principles of the revolution, yet his patriotism 
 was not of that morbid and sensitive nature, as to prevent him from 
 resorting to English books and laws to ascertain the definition of 
 terms which were found in the constitution, as the understood sense 
 in which they had been adopted and used by those who framed 
 and ratified that instrument; justly thinking that it could not have
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 been intended to give to old words or terms a new meaning, with- 
 out some declaration to that effect. But while he conceded to the 
 federal government the exercise of its enumerated powers to the full 
 extent of the grant, by a liberal rather than a contracted construction 
 of its provisions, he steadily refused his assent to any measures, 
 which, in principle or operation, tended to impair the reserved 
 powers or rights of the states or people, by any train of refined or 
 ingenious reasoning, or reference to doubtful authority. Whenever 
 a question arose, involving any collision between the relative powers 
 of the executive and legislative departments of the government, he 
 uniformly asserted the rights of the latter, adopting this as a political 
 maxim, that " every particle of law-making power in the constitu- 
 tion granted, was vested in congress ;" he opposed its exercise by 
 any other department, in any mode which partook of the character, 
 or by any act which could have the effect of legislation. Fully 
 convinced that the "balance of the constitution" consisted in the 
 steadfast adherence to these principles, they were his guide amidst 
 all the conflicts of party, and the exciting questions which continued 
 from the organization of the government to agitate the country. In 
 following them he acquired and retained till his death, the confi- 
 dence of the party to which he was attached, the respect of that 
 which he opposed, the approbation of the people and state he repre- 
 sented, and died with the consciousness of having faithfully and 
 fearlessly filled the measure of his public duties.. 
 
 His last illness was so short, and his death so unexpected, that 
 none of his relatives, except his brother-in-law, were able to be 
 present at his funeral. But it seemed as if the public in general 
 were his near relatives. There have been rarely witnessed more 
 general and genuine marks of regret, at the loss of any of the great 
 benefactors of our country, particularly among the members of 
 congress from Georgia. In that state his loss was most deeply felt, 
 though very sensibly perceived in the councils of the union. 
 Though his funeral was two days after congress dissolved, many 
 members stayed expressly to attend it. His remains were deposited 
 by the side of his old friend, General James Jackson, his former 
 colleague, whom he had followed to the grave just one year before.

 

 
 JOHN RANDOLPH. 
 
 THE interest excited by the first appearance in public life of JOHN 
 RANDOLPH continued until he had passed away from among the 
 living, and did not die with him. His aboriginal descent, extraordi- 
 nary eloquence, and independent but eccentric course through life, 
 seemed to unite in securing to every thing he said or did, an atten- 
 tion on the part of his countrymen, which has been given to but 
 few of the great American family. He was born on the 2d of June, 
 1773, at Matoax, the seat of his father, three miles above Peters- 
 burg, in the state of Virginia. His English ancestors were from 
 Yorkshire, and he was descended, through his paternal grandmother 
 Jane Boiling, in a direct line from the celebrated Pocahontas. Like 
 Sir Walter Scott, and other celebrated men, he appears, from his own 
 account, prepared in 1813 for a nephew who was desirous to "know 
 something of his life," to have received a very irregular education. 
 He was sent to a country school at an early age, where he learned 
 the rudiments of the Latin language, and had mastered the Greek 
 grammar perfectly, when the state of his health induced his mother to 
 send him to Bermuda, where he remained more than a year, losing 
 all his Greek, but reading with great avidity many of the best Eng- 
 lish authors. After his return to the United States, he was sent, with 
 his brother Theodorick, to Princeton college, where they entered 
 the grammar school in March, 17S7. He there attracted the atten- 
 tion of Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith, the president of the college, 
 who thought that he found, in the Indian descent of his pupil, some 
 support to a theory, which he gave to the world in an Essay more 
 remarkable for its ingenuity than its accurate statement of facts. In 
 the year 1788, after the death of his mother, he was sent to college 
 in New York, but returned to Virginia in the summer of 1790 ; and 
 in the autumn of that year came to Philadelphia, with the view of 
 studying law under the direction of Edmund Randolph, then re- 
 cently appointed attorney-general of the United States. Beyond 
 almost the first book of Blackstone, he seems to have done nothing
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 towards being admitted to the bar ; and from that time till June, 
 1794, when he became of age, he appears to have led an irregular, 
 desultory life, with scarcely a fixed residence, and no decided object 
 of pursuit. 
 
 His reading, according to his own account given to a relative at 
 a later period of his life, is so indicative of the man that any attempt 
 to portray him would be defective without it. " I think you have 
 never read Chaucer. Indeed, I have sometimes blamed myself for 
 not cultivating your imagination when you were young. It is a 
 dangerous quality, however, for the possessor. But if from my life 
 were to be taken the pleasure derived from that faculty, very little 
 would remain. Shakspeare and Milton, and Chaucer and Spencer, 
 and Plutarch, and the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, and Don 
 Quixote, and Gil Bias, and Tom Jones, and Gulliver, and Robinson 
 Crusoe, ' and the tale of Troy divine,' have made up more than half 
 my worldly enjoyment. To these ought to be added Ovid's Meta- 
 morphoses, Ariosto, Dry den, Beaumont and Fletcher, Southern, 
 Otway, Pope's Rape and Eloisa, Addison, Young, Thomson, Gay, 
 Goldsmith, Gray, Collins, Sheridan, Cowper, Byron, Msop, La 
 Fontaine, Voltaire's Charles XII, Mahomet and Zaire, Rousseau's 
 Julie, Schiller, Madame de Stael but above all, Burke. One of 
 the first books I ever read was Voltaire's Charles XII; about the 
 same time, 1780 1, Tread the Spectator, and used to steal away 
 to the closet containing them. The letters from his correspondents 
 were my favorites. I read Humphry Clinker also, that is Win's 
 and Tabby's letters, with great delight ; for I could spell at that age 
 pretty correctly. Reynard the Fox, came next, I think ; then Tales 
 of the Genii and Arabian Nights. This last, and Shakspeare, were 
 my idols. I had read them, with Don Quixote, Gil Bias, Quintus 
 Curtius, Plutarch, Pope's Homer, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver, Tom, 
 Jones, Orlando Furioso, and Thomson's Seasons, before I was eleven 
 years of age ; also Goldsmith's Roman History, 2 vols. 8vo., and an 
 old history of Braddock's War. At about eleven, (1784 5,) Percy's 
 Reliques and Chaucer became great favorites, and Chatterton and 
 Rowley. I then read Young and Gay, &c. Goldsmith I never saw 
 till 1787."* 
 
 In 1799, he made his first appearance in public life as a candi- 
 date for a seat in congress, and was elected. He owed his success 
 
 * Letters to Dudley, p. 190. 
 2
 
 JOHN RANDOLPH. 
 
 to his eloquence alone ; for he possessed neither family influence 
 nor connexion in the district, and was a mere boy in appear- 
 ance. The all-absorbing political questions arising out of Mr. 
 Madison's celebrated Virginia Resolutions of 1798, of which Mr. 
 RANDOLPH was a strenuous supporter, were then deeply agitating 
 the country. Patrick Henry, accused of having abandoned his 
 early principles, appeared at the same time, and for the last time in 
 his life, as a candidate for the assembly, avowedly in opposition to 
 the resolutions ; for he approved of the alien and sedition laws as 
 good measures. This state of affairs brought these two remarkable 
 men before the people in mutual opposition; and tradition has 
 handed down to us an anecdote characteristic of both. Mr. RAN- 
 DOLPH was addressing the people inUnswer to Colonel Henry, when 
 a countryman said to the latter, "Come, colonel, let us go it is not 
 worth while to listen to that boy." " Stay, my friend," replied the 
 veteran statesman, " there is an old man's head on that boy's 
 shoulders." 
 
 Mr. RANDOLPH found the party whose measures he supported in 
 the minority when he entered congress. His fearless course, ready, 
 sarcastic wit, and general power as a public speaker, soon placed 
 him among the most distinguished of the opponents of the adminis- 
 tration then in power, and attracted the attention and admiration 
 of the party against which they were exerted, as well as of that of 
 which he soon became the leader. The records of his exertions are 
 widely spread and scanty, and he pronounced most of the sketches 
 of his speeches to be inaccurate.* No collection of American 
 speeches, however, has been deemed complete without some of 
 them ; and, imperfectly as they have come to us, the impress of 
 genius is upon them all. 
 
 With the party which supported the administration of Mr. Jeffer- 
 son, Mr. RANDOLPH, after a time, found himself in the majority, and 
 he was for several sessions chairman of the committee of ways and 
 means. It has been suggested, that with the majority his efforts 
 were less propitious to his reputation than those which arose from 
 the excitement of opposition; that business habits and discipline of 
 mind were wanting; and that the position of assailant best suited 
 his peculiar disposition, and was his true element. In 1806, he 
 
 * " The least inaccurate sketches of my speeches will be found in the ' Spirit of '76,' but 
 they are extremely imperfect." Letters to Dudley, p. 116.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 joined the opposition, and is said to have declared that his own 
 opposition to the then administration would be " perpetual." The 
 journals indeed, of the house, from the period we have mentioned, 
 exhibit him in the character of its industrious assailant ; and the 
 warfare which he carried on against it, in the shape of calls for in- 
 formation, in relation to the well known allegations against General 
 Wilkinson, will be long remembered. 
 
 About this period of his life a change came over him, the cause 
 of which even his friends could riot understand ; he became moody, 
 morose, capricious, suspicious of his friends, sarcastic and bitter 
 towards those he loved best, and a riddle to all around him. This 
 state of things was explained at last, in 1811, by a paroxysm of 
 insanity, attributable to the ill health to which he had been subject 
 almost from the time he arrived at manhood, and of which he seems 
 to have had some lurking consciousness himself.* Of this malady 
 he had frequent returns during his lifetime ;t but upon political sub- 
 jects his mind was clear; and many of his constituents seemed to 
 think of him as the Mohammedans do of madmen, that on such sub- 
 jects, at least, he was inspired, and they might commit their interests 
 to his charge with safety. It will not be difficult to account, after 
 what has been just stated, for the numerous instances of eccentricity 
 which were made known to the world through every medium, and 
 were used as materials for every sort of attack upon his principles 
 and person. 
 
 On the 27th of February, 1808, Mr. RANDOLPH united with his 
 friend Joseph Clay, and fifteen other members of congress, in a pro- 
 test against the nomination of Mr. Madison for the presidency. 
 This proceeding, which may be considered as a declaration of war 
 upon the administration which was to follow the nomination, gave 
 an earnest of what his course would be ; and he was true to the 
 declaration. His speech on the 10th of December, 1811, was di- 
 rected against the raising of an addition to the army, and against 
 the war against Great Britain, which he saw approaching; and 
 was strongly marked by the Jlnglo-mania which seems afterwards 
 to have attended him to his last hour. He followed up his speech 
 of the 10th of December, 1811, by moving a resolution, "that the 
 
 * Speech of the 10th of December, 1811, in the house of representatives, on the second 
 resolution of the committee of foreign relations, " that an additional force of ten thousand 
 men ought to be raised," &c. 
 
 f Letters to Dudley, p. 203, August, 1818. 
 
 4
 
 JOHN RANDOLPH. 
 
 president of the United States be authorized to employ the regular 
 army of the United States when not engaged in actual service, and 
 when in his judgment the public interest will not be thereby injured, 
 in the construction of roads, canals, or other works of public utility." 
 This resolution he supported in a few but very pungent remarks, 
 which, however, brought to his aid but fourteen votes; the resolu- 
 tion, on the question being taken on its passage, being negatived by 
 one hundred and two members voting against, and fifteen for it. 
 
 To the declaration of war itself he opposed all possible resistance. 
 On the 29th of May, 1812, he offered a resolution, "That under 
 existing circumstances it is inexpedient to resort to war against 
 Great Britain." The remarks with which Mr. RANDOLPH prefaced 
 the introduction of this resolution led to an angry debate, principally 
 upon the various questions of order which arose out of the subject 
 matter of the remarks, produced difficulty between him and the 
 speaker, Mr. Clay, whose decision against him on the points of 
 order was sustained by the house. The prefatory remarks to which 
 we have alluded, involved the then existing state of the public rela- 
 tions of the United States with France and Great Britain, exhibiting 
 a strong leaning against the former, and which, after he had spoken 
 about an hour and a half, were decided to be out of order, because 
 a member was bound to submit his motion to the house previously 
 to debating so much at large. Mr. RANDOLPH chose to consider the 
 decision as an " invention for stifling debate ;" and he addressed,<on 
 the 30th of May 1812, an appeal to his constituents, the freeholders 
 of Charlotte, Prince Edward, Buckingham, and Cumberland, which 
 we give as affording the best specimen of his peculiar views and 
 mode of reasoning, at the period of its publication. 
 
 To the Freeholders of Charlotte, Prince Edward, Buckingham, and Cumberland. 
 
 FELLOW CITIZEJTS. I dedicate to you the following fragment. That it appears in its 
 present mutilated shape, is to be ascribed to the successful usurpation which has reduced 
 the freedom of speech, in one branch of the American congress, to an empty name. It is 
 now established for the first time, and in the person of your representative, that the house 
 may, and will refuse to hear a member in his place, or even to receive a motion from him 
 upon the most momentous subject that can be presented for legislative decision. A similar 
 motion was brought forward by the republican minority in the year 1798,* before these 
 modern inventions for stifling freedom of debate were discovered. It was discussed as a 
 matter of right, until it was abandoned by the mover in consequence of additional informa- 
 
 * This motion was drawn, it is believed, by Mr. Gallatin, but moved by Mr. Sprigg, de- 
 claring it to be inexpedient at that time to resort to war against the French republic.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 tion (the correspondence of our envoy at Paris) laid before congress by the president. In the 
 " reign of terror," the father of the sedition law had not the hardihood to proscribe the 
 liberty of speech, much less the right of free debate on the floor of congress. This invasion 
 of the public liberties was reserved for self-styled republicans, who hold your understandings 
 in such contempt, as to flatter themselves that you will overlook their every outrage upon 
 the great first principles of free government, in consideration of their professions of tender 
 regard for the privileges of the people. 
 
 It is for you to decide whether they have formed a just estimate of your character. You 
 do not require to be told that the violation of the rights of him whom you have deputed to 
 represent you is an invasion of the rights of every man of you, of every individual in society. 
 If this abuse be suffered to pass unredressed and the people alone are competent to apply 
 the remedy we must bid adieu to a free form of government for ever ! 
 
 Having learned from various sources that a declaration of war would be attempted on 
 Monday next, with closed doors, I deemed it my duty to endeavor, by an exercise of my 
 constitutional functions, to arrest this heaviest of all possible calamities and avert it from 
 our happy country. I accordingly made the effort of which I now give you the result, and 
 of the success of which you will already have been informed before these pages can reach 
 you. I pretend only to give you the substance of my unfinished argument. 
 
 The glowing words the language of the heart have passed away with the occasion 
 that called them forth. They are no longer under my control. My design is simply to 
 submit to you the views which have induced me to consider a war with England, under 
 existing circumstances, as comporting neither with the INTEREST nor the HONOR of the 
 American people, but as an idolatrous sacrifice of both, on the altar of FRENCH RAPACITT, 
 
 France has for years past offered us terms of undefined commercial arrangement, as the 
 price of a war with England, which hitherto we have not wanted firmness and virtue to 
 reject That price is now to be paid. We are tired of holding out, and following the ex- 
 ample of the nations of continental Europe ; entangled in the artifices, or awed by the 
 power of the destroyer of mankind, we are prepared to become instrumental to his projects 
 of universal dominion. Before these pages meet your eye, the last republic of the earth 
 will have enlisted under the banners of the tyrant, and become a party to his cause. The 
 blood of the American freemen must flow to cement his power, to aid in stifling the last 
 struggles of afflicted and persecuted man ; to deliver up into his hands the patriots of Spain 
 and Portugal, to establish his empire over the ocean and over the land that gave our fore- 
 fathers birth ; to forge our own chains ! And yet, my friends, we are told, as we were told 
 in the days of Mr. Adams, " the finger of Heaven points to war." Yes the finger of Heaven 
 DOES point to war. It points to war, as it points to the mansions of eternal misery and 
 torture ; as a flaming beacon warning us of that vortex which we may not approach but 
 with certain destruction. It points to desolated Europe, and warns us of the chastisement 
 of those nations who have offended against the justice and almost beyond the mercy of 
 Heaven. It announces the wrath to come upon those, who, ungrateful for the bounty of 
 Providence, not satisfied with the peace, liberty, security, and plenty at home, fly, as it 
 were, into the face of the Most High, and tempt his forbearance. 
 
 To you, in this place, I can speak with freedom, and it becomes me to do so: nor shall I 
 be deterred by the cavils and the sneers of those who hold as " foolishness" all that savors 
 not of worldly wisdom, from expressing fully and freely those sentiments which it has 
 pleased God, in his mercy, to engrave upon my heart. 
 
 These are no ordinary times. The state of the world is unexampled ; the war of the 
 present day is not like that of our Revolution, or any which preceded it, at least in modern 
 times. It is a war against the liberty and happiness of mankind. It is a war in which the
 
 JOHN RANDOLPH. 
 
 whole human race are the victims, to gratify the pride and lust of power of a single indi- 
 vidual. I beseech you, put it to your own bosoms, how far it becomes you as freemen, as 
 Christians, to give your aid and sanction to this impious and bloody warfare against your 
 brethren of the human family. To such among you, if any such there be, who are insen- 
 sible to motives not more dignified and manly than they are intrinsically wise, I would 
 make a different appeal. I adjure you by the regard you have for your own security and 
 property, for the liberty and inheritance of your children, by all that you hold dear and 
 sacred, to interpose your constitutional powers to save your country and yourselves from 
 the calamity, the issue of which it is not given to human foresight to divine. 
 
 Ask yourselves if you are willing to become the virtual allies of Bonaparte 1 Are you 
 willing for the sake of annexing Canada to the northern states, to submit to that overgrow- 
 ing system of taxation, which sends the European labourer supperless to bed ] To main- 
 tain by the sweat of your brow, armies at whose hands you are to receive a future master 1 
 Suppose Canada ours ; is there any one among you who would ever be, in any respect, 
 the better for it 1 the richer the freer the happier the more secure 1 And is it for a boon 
 like this, that you would join in the warfare against the liberties of man in the other hemi- 
 sphere, and put your own in jeopardy 1 Or is it for the nominal privilege of a licensed 
 trade with France, that you would abandon your lucrative commerce with Great Britain, 
 Spain, and Portugal, and their Asiatic, African, and American dependencies 1 In a word, 
 with every region of those vast continents. That commerce which gives vent to your 
 tobacco, grain, flour, cotton, in short, to all your native products, which are denied a mar- 
 ket in France ! 
 
 There are not wanting men so weak as to suppose that their approbation of warlike 
 measures is a proof of personal gallantry, and that opposition to them indicates a want of 
 that spirit which becomes a friend to his country ; as if it required more courage and pa- 
 triotism to join in the acclamation of the day, than steadily to oppose one's eel! to the mad 
 infatuation to which every people and all governments have, at some time or other, given 
 way. Let the history of Phocion, of Agis, and of the De Witts, answer this question. 
 My friends, do you expect to find those who are now loudest in the clamor for war, fore- 
 most in the ranks of battle 1 Or is the honor of this nation indissolubly connected with 
 the political reputation of a few individuals who tell you they have gone too far to recede, 
 and that you must pay, with your ruin, the price of their consistency ? My friends, I 
 have discharged my duty towards you ; lamely and inadequate I know, but to the best of 
 my poor ability. The destiny of the American people is in their own hands. The net 
 is spread for their destruction. You are enveloped in the toils of French duplicity ; and 
 if, which may Heaven in its mercy forbid, you and your posterity are to become hewers of 
 wood and drawers of water, to the modern Pharaoh, it shall not be for the want of my 
 best exertions to rescue you from the cruel and abject bondage. This sin, at least, shall 
 not rest upon my soul. 
 
 JOHN RANDOLPH of Roanoke. 
 
 May Wth, 1812. 
 
 This appeal drew, on the 17th of June, 1812, from Mr. Clay, then 
 speaker of the house of representatives, an answer addressed to the 
 editor of the National Intelligencer,* the insertion of which is not 
 
 Niks' Weekly Register, vol. ii, p. 266.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 within the views or limits of this sketch, but which, though nearly 
 twenty years have diminished the interest of the occurrence to which 
 it relates, may still be read with pleasure and advantage. 
 
 The health of Mr. RANDOLPH was seriously affected in the year 
 1811; and he seems never to have recovered entirely from the effects 
 of the attack which he then experienced; his life, subsequently, 
 seems to have been " one long disease."* The idea of a restoration 
 from change of air and scene, induced him to visit England in 1822. 
 Of England, Ireland, and Scotland, he possessed, previously to having 
 been there, the most minute and accurate local knowledge, derived, 
 as he himself asserted, from books and conversation aided by a very 
 retentive memory, and he sometimes amused himself not a little at 
 the surprise it created. The attention he attracted upon his first 
 appearance in London was very great, and many characteristic 
 anecdotes of him reached this country. He went again to England 
 in the spring of 1824, with the same hope of improving his health 
 which led to his former voyage, and returned to the United States 
 in the autumn of the same year. Disease, however, had taken such 
 firm hold of him, that his subsequent public life received constant 
 interruptions from its visitations. 
 
 In June, 1830, Mr. RANDOLPH was appointed, by president Jack- 
 son, minister to Russia upon the recall of Mr. Middleton. He sailed 
 shortly after his appointment, and arrived in London in July, from 
 whence he reached St. Petersburg in September following. His 
 stay in Russia was very short ; the severity of the climate was ill. 
 adapted to the state of extreme infirmity under which he was suf- 
 fering, and he returned to London, where, on the 26th of December, 
 1830, he delivered a speech at the lord mayor's dinner. Many 
 rumors of the extraordinary conduct and behavior of the minister 
 of the United States at the court of St. Petersburg reached this 
 country soon after Mr. RANDOLPH'S arrival in Russia, were made 
 public, and were seized upon with that avidity which affords such 
 stringent proof of the predominance in human nature to enjoy 
 whatever renders our neighbor less in general estimation. Mr. John 
 Randolph Clay, the son of his old friend, who accompanied him as 
 secretary of legation, deemed it right to repel the attacks which 
 were made upon the strength of these rumors, by the publication 
 of a letter, dated at St. Petersburg on the 17th of January, 1831, in 
 
 * Letters to Dudley, passim. 
 
 8
 
 JOHN RANDOLPH. 
 
 which he asserted, distinctly, that the statements which had been 
 given to the public on the subject of Mr. RANDOLPH'S behavior and 
 conduct, had no foundation in truth. The appointment of Mr. 
 RANDOLPH called forth innumerable attacks upon the president, and 
 upon himself; the most vehement of which were founded upon the 
 allegation that he received the outfit, when he knew he could not 
 discharge the duty of a minister; and an imposing parade of figures 
 was made* upon the subject of the cost to the country of his mis- 
 sion. He returned to America in October, 1831, in a state of extreme 
 exhaustion and weakness. 
 
 The tariff or "American system," as it has been sometimes 
 termed, met with the most distinct opposition from Mr. RANDOLPH. 
 He seems to have held the doctrine, that the manufacturing interests 
 were never, in any country, satisfied with the extent of the legisla- 
 tive protection granted to them; and he insisted that the tariff system 
 was one which must end in the utter subversion of the rights of the 
 states generally, and that it would be impossible for the slave-hold- 
 ing states to submit long to its oppression. His views are set forth 
 in a letter dated November 22d, 1832, which he addressed to a 
 writer in the Richmond Enquirer under the signature of a " Friend 
 to Truth." 
 
 On the 20th of May, 1833, Mr. RANDOLPH arrived in Philadelphia, 
 on his way to New York, where he intended to embark for Europe, 
 again to try the effect of a voyage. He was in the last stage of a 
 pulmonary disease; and, after lingering three days, he died at the 
 City Hotel in Third street. 
 
 Few individuals of modern times have attracted more notice in 
 their own country than JOHN RANDOLPH; but it may be long before 
 his true history and character will be portrayed; before the division 
 of his life into periods shall furnish the materials even for a proper 
 estimate of his views, feelings, and powers. It is conceded that 
 among the orators of his own land, he was a star of the first magni- 
 tude, but that his aberrations rendered his lustre worse than useless. 
 He drew an attentive audience together in congress more certainly 
 than any other speaker ; his sayings, in which the manner and oc- 
 casion was often more than the matter, were in every man's mouth, 
 and his fame extended throughout the union. But it has been said, 
 
 * Niles' Weekly Register, September 24th, 1831, p. 69, where the amount is stated at 
 107,000 dollars.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 that, while this was the case, he was brilliant, and nothing more ; 
 that he wanted sound, efficient sense, and useful knowledge, and 
 was thus deficient in the most essential qualifications for the station 
 he held in the councils of his country; that, like Cassandra, he was 
 listened to, but never heeded; and was a living example that talent 
 without wisdom leads to nothing. That with all the fame acquired 
 by his eloquence, he was without any real influence, and that while 
 assemblages were gathered together whenever he delivered one of 
 his brilliant harangues, no man set the smallest value upon his 
 opinion. It has been peremptorily denied that he was a statesman; 
 though his career has exhibited him always in the front rank of 
 whatever party he chose to ally himself to, his efforts have been 
 deemed as injurious to his political friends as to their adversaries; 
 and that his whole life was an exhibition of the futility of a mere 
 man of genius, whose career was signalized by words, but left no 
 deeds or great public acts to perpetuate his memory. Let us hope, 
 however, that one day some one from among those who knew him 
 best, may give us the truth in regard to one of the most remarkable 
 of men, whose race was run, and whose voice was loudest in the 
 council of the nation during some of the most difficult periods of 
 existence ; it seems almost impossible that such great and general 
 interest and curiosity should have been excited by a mere talker, 
 and that after a long and active life devoted almost exclusively to 
 public affairs, he should have been gathered to his fathers having 
 achieved nothing.
 
 Kugraved by J. R Longacre from a Fainting by J. 
 
 MAJOR GENERAL 
 
 \^^y^v^^&C */&i*d& : Hs <JO
 
 EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES. 
 
 EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES, the third son of James Gaines, was 
 born on the 20th of March, 1777, near the eastern base of the blue 
 ridge, in the county of Culpepper, Virginia. His father was married 
 while very young to Miss White, who died a year after the mar- 
 riage, leaving one daughter. He afterwards married Elizabeth 
 Strother, by whom he had four daughters and two sons elder, and 
 three daughters and one son younger than EDMUND. His father 
 served in the latter part of the revolutionary war at the head of a 
 company of volunteers ; and was soon after chosen a member of 
 the legislature of North Carolina, to the northwest border of which 
 state he had moved with his family at the close of the war. He 
 was afterwards elected a member of the convention of that state to 
 which the federal constitution was submitted, and by which it was 
 rejected. If upon the final vote of rejection the name of James 
 Gaines stands recorded in favor of that measure, his objections were 
 entirely removed by the adoption of the " Bill of Rights;" and he 
 lived to see its excellence demonstrated by a trial of forty-two years 
 duration. He witnessed the progress and issue of this trial with a 
 steadfast belief that the federal constitution, so amended, and taken 
 in connexion with the constitution of the several states of the union, 
 embraced the most perfect, as well as the most powerful, system of 
 government known to man. James Gaines was the nephew of 
 Edmund Pendleton, a profound lawyer, and for many years the 
 presiding judge of the court of appeals of the state of Virginia, and 
 a statesman whose services were most prominent in the cause 
 which produced a Washington, and has enrolled the names of 
 Henry, Jefferson, Madison, Randolph, Lee, and Mason, among the 
 most distinguished in the annals of American history. 
 
 To an early association with such an individual, and to the affec- 
 tionate solicitude and guardian care of a highly gifted mother, are 
 to be imputed the stern integrity and devoted sense of duty which
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 have always distinguished the subject of this memoir. Upon the 
 memory of his mother his heart still rests with an abiding love, and 
 to her care and prudence he yet delights to acknowledge himself 
 mainly indebted for the principles which have sustained and 
 strengthened him amid the trying and perilous scenes of his event- 
 ful life. 
 
 Born in a frontier settlement, and during a state of civil war, his 
 earliest recollections are painfully connected with deeds of blood 
 and rapine. A main object of maternal care was manifested in an 
 anxious zeal to merge the baleful influences in a recital of the 
 triumphs of her countrymen in the great cause of civil liberty, and 
 of the brilliant consequences that were to flow to her children and 
 posterity from such pressing and impending calamities. It is not, 
 therefore, to be wondered at that the subsequent career of her 
 favorite son should be devoted to the profession of arms ; and less, 
 that that career should be distinguished not more on the field of 
 battle, than by a loyal devotioii to the constitution and the laws of 
 his country, both as a soldier and a private citizen. 
 
 At the close of the war of independence, his father's estate con- 
 sisted of a plantation of a few hundred acres, and that but indiffer- 
 ently stocked : of money, like the rest of his neighbors, he had 
 none, except in the form of the old valueless continental bills. 
 
 Under these circumstances of poverty, in which all classes were 
 at the time more or less involved, it will not be matter of surprise 
 that the early education of our hero should be limited to the acquire- 
 ment of such attainments as he could occasionally find time to re- 
 ceive at the neighboring county school. 
 
 The greater portion of his youth was necessarily devoted to labor. 
 His daily toils were, however, amply compensated by the reflection 
 that the burden of the farm was lessened to the advancing years of 
 his father, and that the declining days of his mother were comforted 
 and consoled by every act of filial duty. 
 
 In the subsequent toils of his professional career, he has more 
 than "once had reason to congratulate himself on the habits acquired 
 in following the plough and in wielding the axe. His heart was 
 early imbued with the pleasures which result from the performance 
 of duties, and his body hardened by healthful and vigorous exercise. 
 To an early friend, whom he often delights to name, one Ralph 
 Mitchell, he was indebted for the attainment of so much of the ele- 
 ments of the mathematics as to become an accurate surveyor.
 
 EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES. 
 
 He had now attained his thirteenth year. 
 
 About this time his father removed his family to Sullivan county, 
 which afterwards became the eastern county of Tennessee. His 
 new residence brought him into the immediate vicinity of the de- 
 predations so frequently committed at that time by the Cherokee 
 and Creek Indians, with whom we were at war, and so continued 
 to be for several years after his father's removal to Tennessee. 
 
 Our hero's thoughts became now actually turned to the profession 
 of arms, and he employed all his leisure hours in the perusal of 
 books of history and such military works as chance or his father's 
 early associates afforded him. At the age of fourteen his rifle be- 
 came his constant companion, and in his wilderness or mountain 
 excursions, he soon acquired such skill in the management of this 
 formidable arm, as to excel most of his young associates who vied 
 with him in the use of it. 
 
 When about eighteen years of age, he was elected lieutenant of a 
 rifle company of volunteers, commanded by captain J. Cloud. In 
 the twenty-first year of his age, he commenced, as far as the most 
 limited means would permit him, the study of the law. About this 
 time he was recommended by his distinguished friend, the Honor- 
 able W. C. C. Claiborne, then in congress, for an appointment in 
 the army, and on the 10th of January, 1799, he was appointed an 
 ensign. 
 
 In the fall of 1799, he received notice that he was attached to the 
 sixth United States regiment, and was ordered on duty in the re- 
 cruiting service, having been, in the interim, promoted to a second 
 lieutenancy. In the following year the sixth regiment was dis- 
 banded. Lieutenant Gaines was soon after attached to the fourth, 
 then commanded by Colonel Thomas Butler. 
 
 In the summer of 1801, the colonel was instructed to select the 
 subaltern of his regiment best qualified for making a topographical 
 survey from Nashville to Natchez, for the location of a military 
 road. He appointed Lieutenant GAINES. In the performance of 
 this duty, and in the survey of some Indian boundary lines near the 
 Choctaw nation, he was engaged until the winter of 1803 4. 
 
 In the year 1804, when it was found that Spain had refused to 
 withdraw her troops from the military posts of Mobile and Baton 
 Rouge, and to deliver up the country lying between the island of 
 Orleans, the Iberville, the river Mississippi, and the Perdido, as a 
 part of Louisiana, the president of the United States, not considering
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the country prepared for war, determined to appoint a military col- 
 lector of the customs for the district of Mobile. For this office, 
 GAINES, who had in 1802 been promoted to a first lieutenancy, was 
 selected. He accepted the office in the confident expectation that 
 m's position at Fort Stoddert, thirty-six miles north of the town of 
 Mobile, where he was stationed, would insure to him, sooner or 
 later, the honor of taking possession of the disputed territory. 
 
 In the year 1806, our military collector of the customs, in addition 
 to the duties hitherto assigned to him, was honored with the ap- 
 pointment of postmaster, and that of agent to the postmaster-general, 
 with authority to suspend certain postmasters and mail contractors, 
 whose delinquencies were in anywise attributable to the influence 
 of persons then known to be engaged in what was termed the Burr 
 war. As commandant of Fort Stoddert, GAINES was authorized to 
 employ such of the United States troops as he should deem neces- 
 sary and proper to afford protection to the persons employed as 
 inspectors of the revenue, as well as those employed in carrying 
 the mail between the city of New Orleans and Athens, Georgia ; 
 the principal part of the intervening country, near six hundred 
 miles, being at that time a wilderness. 
 
 While in the discharge of the various and complicated duties of 
 the civil and military trusts confided to him, it became his duty, in 
 obedience to the proclamation of the president, to arrest Colonel 
 Burr, and to send him under a mounted guard, in charge of Major 
 Nicholas Perkins, who volunteered his services for that purpose, to 
 Virginia for trial. Of the propriety of this act Captain GAINES 
 never for a moment entertained a doubt. 
 
 It is a fact, however, not to be concealed, that, notwithstanding 
 the arrest and confinement of Colonel Burr was a duty, and a duty 
 performed in a spirit of as great delicacy and forbearance as was 
 consistent with the perfect security of his person; and notwithstand- 
 ing he was confided to the care of Major Perkins, than whom a more 
 humane, honorable man could not have been found ; yet from the 
 time of his arrival in Richmond to the present year, GAINES has 
 found arrayed against him an influence which he has in vain en- 
 deavoured to account for. 
 
 The president, on being advised through the department of war 
 that Burr had been arrested by Captain GAINES, authorized the ap- 
 pointment of marshal to be added to his various other civil appoint- 
 ments, with authority to notify his veteran commander, General
 
 EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES. 
 
 Wilkinson, with such other public officers and others at New Or- 
 leans acquainted with the projects of Burr, to attend his trial. With 
 these officers the acting marshal embarked in a United States vessel 
 of war in May, 1807, at New Orleans, and arrived at Old Point 
 Comfort early in June, a few days previous to the attack on the 
 frigate Chesapeake. 
 
 In the course of this trial, which immediately followed, Captain 
 GAINES had reason to put in practice the principles of forbearance 
 which he had early prescribed to himself. The counsel of Burr 
 deemed it expedient to animadvert with much harshness, not only 
 on the arrest of his client, but likewise on the conduct of the officer 
 who made the arrest. The captain, satisfied with the good and 
 faithful service he had rendered his country, was neither moved by 
 these animadversions, nor for a moment thrown off the manly pro- 
 priety of his deportment. 
 
 History will not hesitate to say, that whatever may have been 
 the designs of Colonel Burr, they were at once frustrated by his 
 prompt arrest and speedy conveyance to a proper place of trial. To 
 Captain GAINES she will award the full merit of this act. 
 
 Our hero had now attained the thirtieth year of his age ; he had 
 thus far laboured through what may be considered the apprentice- 
 ship of his profession ; he had acquired full confidence in his capa- 
 bility to serve his country in either a civil or a military capacity, and 
 believed himself equal to any command in the army the government 
 might see fit to confide to him. 
 
 Shortly after the trial of Colonel Burr, he determined to retire 
 from the army, and engage in the profession of the law. The exe- 
 cution of this resolution was, however, for a while suspended, in 
 consequence of the increased probability of a war with England. 
 The chances of this event were soon, however, rendered nearly 
 hopeless by the turn of public affairs. In this state of suspense, 
 GAINES at length decided upon asking for a leave of absence. 
 
 This was promptly granted to him by his commanding general, 
 Wade Hampton, with the understanding that if the prospect of war 
 should subside within a year, he should be permitted to resign ; 
 otherwise, that he would remain in service. In this interval he 
 commenced the practice of the law in the counties of Washington 
 and Baldwin, Mississippi territory. 
 
 Scarcely had he completed his second circuit, under auspices of 
 the most flattering character, when the alternative under which he
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 stood pledged to his general, occurred. The nation determined to 
 maintain her rights. War was declared against Great Britain, and 
 Captain GAINES joyfully resumed his sword, with a firm determina- 
 tion never again to abandon it so long as his country should need 
 his services. 
 
 In the war which followed, he soon became distinguished among 
 the most steadfast in the faithful performance of every arduous duty. 
 The post of greatest danger was to him the post of honor. There 
 he was always to be found, distinguished alike by the fertility of 
 his resources, the imperturbable coolness of his courage, and the 
 amiable simplicity of his manners. The details of his services are 
 too voluminous for the limited space allowed in this memoir. 
 
 It must suffice to state, that after being on duty in the north- 
 western division of the army, he was, subsequently to the battle of 
 the Thames in Upper Canada, engaged in the operations on the 
 northern frontier; where on various occasions his conduct as an 
 officer received the highest commendation. In the action at Chryst- 
 ler's Field, he was particularly distinguished; and at the memorable 
 and brilliant defence of Fort Erie, in August, 1814, (at which post 
 he commanded in chief, and was severely wounded by the bursting 
 of a shell,) his bravery and skill were most conspicuous ; nor was 
 he ever wanting in magnanimity or humanity. 
 
 In the midst of the sanguinary conflicts in which he was then 
 engaged, his conduct as a soldier won the admiration even of the 
 enemy to whom he was opposed, and against whom he was then 
 in arms on the field of battle. And it is so seldom the horrors of 
 war are relieved by incidents which indicate the triumph of civili- 
 zation and refinement in the character of the warrior, amidst the 
 iron storm where courage is too often almost the only virtue recog- 
 nised, that an occurrence so honorable to both the belligerent parties 
 as the following, ought not to be forgotten. 
 
 At the battle of Chrystler's Field, before mentioned, which took 
 place on the llth of November, 1813, Colonel GAINES, but just re- 
 covered from the tedious illness which had deprived him of the 
 honor of a participation in the glory of Harrison's victory on the 
 Thames, commanded the twenty-fifth regiment of United States 
 infantry. 
 
 That regiment was one of the most effective in the service. The 
 important duty was that day assigned to it of covering the retreat 
 of our several corps after the check which the enemy had received, 
 to the place of reembarcation on the St. Lawrence.
 
 EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES. 
 
 The duty was a most important and arduous one. The officer 
 who commanded the British force was Colonel Morrison, of the 
 eighty-ninth, than whom His Majesty had not a more distinguished 
 soldier or accomplished gentleman in his service. 
 
 Flushed with the advantages he had gained in the capture of a 
 piece of our artillery, and in the death of General Covington, who 
 had fallen at the head of his regiment, in a charge against the British 
 line, Morrison pushed his regiment hard upon his retiring foe, until 
 he encountered the gallant twenty-fifth. Here all his efforts failed. 
 The twenty-fifth held firm foot in spite of repeated assaults, and 
 manifested a degree of fortitude and discipline which astonished the 
 veterans who had followed Wellington over so many fields of 
 triumph. Under its gallant commander, GAINES, it remained as 
 immovable as a rock. 
 
 The enemy finally repulsed, and our own corps again on their 
 line of march to join the advance, the twenty -fifth slowly retired from 
 the field, having by its brilliant deportment gained for us all the 
 advantages which could have sprung from the most decided victory. 
 Colonel Morrison himself was so much pleased with the conduct of 
 the regiment, that after the battle he sent his card, with his compli- 
 ments, to the officer who commanded it, expressing the warmest 
 admiration of his courage and conduct, and desiring to be made 
 acquainted with his name, that in case it should be hereafter his 
 good fortune to meet the gentleman under more peaceful circum- 
 stances, he might at once claim the privileges of an old soldier and 
 friend. It is needless to say, that a message so chivalric and mag- 
 nanimous could not have been addressed to a heart more ready to 
 respond, or prompt to reciprocate the exalted courtesy it evinced, 
 than that of Colonel GAINES. 
 
 In the course of the war, GAINES received the several successive, 
 rapid promotions, of lieutenant-colonel, colonel, adjutant-general, 
 brigadier-general, and major-general ; the last being the highest 
 rank authorized by law, and conferred in a form the most accept- 
 able to the soldier, inasmuch as it was " a war brevet" expressly 
 stating the fact that it was conferred on him in consequence of his 
 gallant and meritorious conduct in battle. The federal govern- 
 ment also honored him and the officers and men of his command, 
 with a unanimous vote of thanks, and authorized the president to 
 provide and present to him a gold medal, whilst the three great and 
 patriotic states of New York, Virginia, and Tennessee, awarded to
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 him unanimous resolutions of thanks, with a fine gold-hilted sword 
 which he received from each of these states. 
 
 With the more recent actions and public services of General 
 GAINES, we deem it unnecessary to dilate this sketch ; he is still 
 (1838) actively employed in the honorable and important trust 
 which his country has confided to his hands ; and his latest official 
 communications to the government, display a highly intelligent and 
 unremitted zeal for her welfare.
 
 Engraroi by J.VCFaradisc fiom a Paino,^ bj A.B. DmroJ.
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 IN giving a sketch of the career of JOHN QJJINCY ADAMS, the limits 
 of this work require us to confine the narrative to a bare recital of the 
 successive leading events of his life. It is difficult to contemplate his 
 history, without yielding to the impulses of the feelings and the ima- 
 gination, and expatiating on the interesting reflections and meditations 
 which, at every stage of his course, crowd into the mind, and demand 
 expression. So protracted, however, has been his public life, so full is it 
 of important services, and so various are the stations in which his great 
 talents have been displayed, that the concisest narration of them will be 
 kept, with difficulty, from overrunning our pages. His illustrious parents 
 have been duly commemorated in this work ; and it will therefore be un- 
 necessary to dwell upon their merits, or even to mention their names. 
 He was born in Braintree, in Massachusetts, in that part of the town 
 since incorporated by the name of Quincy, on Saturday, July 1 1, 1767, 
 and was baptised the next day, in the congregational church of the 
 first Parish of Braintree. He was named John Quincy, in conse- 
 quence of the interesting circumstance that his maternal great-grand- 
 father of that name, who was the owner of Mount Wollaston, and a 
 leading civil and military character of his times, in honor of whom the 
 town of Q,uincy received its name, was actually dying at the time of 
 his birth. 
 
 In the eleventh year of his age he accompanied his father to France, 
 who was sent by Congress, as joint commissioner, with Benjamin Frank- 
 lin and Arthur Lee, to the court of Versailles. They sailed from 
 Boston in February, 1778, and arrived at Bourdeaux early in April 
 While in France, he was, of course, put to school, and instructed in the 
 language of the country as well as in the Latin. After about eighteen 
 months, they returned to America in the French frigate La Sensible, in 
 company with the Chevalier de la Luzerne, who came out as the minis- 
 ter of France to the United States. They arrived in Boston on the first 
 of August, 1779. In November of the same year his father was again
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 despatched to Europe, for the discharge of the diplomatic services, 
 which he rendered to the cause of America with such signal and me- 
 morable ability and success. He took his son out with him. It seemed to 
 be the determination of that great patriot, not only to do and to dare 
 every thing himself for his struggling country, but to keep his son con- 
 tinually at his side ; so that, by sharing his perils and witnessing his 
 toils, he might become imbued with his own exalted enthusiasm in the 
 cause of liberty, and be prepared to promote and vindicate it with all 
 the energies of his genius and all the sensibility of his soul. It is 
 easy to imagine the exciting influences which must have operated 
 upon the character of a youth at that susceptible and impressible age, 
 accompanying such a father through the scenes in which he acted 
 while in Europe, and the dangers he encountered in his voyages across 
 the Atlantic. In one of these voyages, the ship in which they were 
 embarked was under the command of the famous naval hero Commo- 
 dore Tucker, and the whole passage was a succession of hazardous expo- 
 sures and hair-breadth escapes from hostile squadrons and tempes- 
 tuous gales. 
 
 While the younger Adams was receiving the impressions made 
 upon him by a participation in the patriotic adventures and exer- 
 tions of his father, and imbibing the wisdom and intrepid energy of 
 spirit for which he was so distinguished, the same effect was still more 
 heightened and deepened by the influence exerted upon him by the 
 inculcations and exhortations to every public and private virtue con- 
 tained in the letters of his mother. When he was thirteen years of 
 age, while in France with his father, she addressed him in the follow- 
 ing noble strains : " It is your lot, my son, to owe your existence 
 among a people who have made a glorious defence of their invaded 
 liberties, and who, aided by a generous and powerful ally, with the 
 blessing of heaven, will transmit this inheritance to ages yet unborn : 
 nor ought it to be one of the least of your excitements towards exert- 
 ing every power and faculty of your mind, that you have a parent 
 who has taken so large a share in this contest, and discharged the 
 trust reposed in him with so much satisfaction as to be honored 
 with the important embassy that at present calls him abroad. The 
 strict and inviolate regard you have ever paid to truth, gives me pleas- 
 ing hopes that you will not swerve from her dictates ; but add justice, 
 fortitude, and every manly virtue which can adorn a good citizen, do 
 honor to your country, and render your parents supremely happy, 
 particularly your ever affectionate mother." 
 
 The opportunities and privileges of an education, under such au-
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 spices, were not thrown away upon him, as the incidents of his subse- 
 quent career most amply prove. 
 
 In going to Europe this second time, he embarked with his father 
 at Boston, in the same French frigate, La Sensible, bound tp Brest ; but 
 as the ship sprung a leak in a gale of wind, it was necessary to make 
 the first port they could, which was Ferrol in Spain. They travelled 
 from that place to Paris by land, and arrived there in January, 1780. 
 The son, of course, was immediately put to school. In July of that 
 year, Mr. Adams removed to Holland. There his son was first placed 
 in the public city school at Amsterdam, and afterwards at the Univer- 
 sity at Leyden. In July, 1781, Mr. Francis Dane, who had accompanied 
 John Adams as Secretary of the embassy with which he was charged, 
 Deceived the commission of minister plenipotentiary to the Empress of 
 Russia, and took JOHN Q.UINCY ADAMS, then fourteen years of age, 
 with him as his private Secretary. Here the younger Adams remained 
 until October 1782, when he left Mr. Dane at St. Petersburg, and 
 returned through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg, and Bremen, to Hol- 
 land. Upon this journey he employed the whole winter, spending 
 considerable time by the way, in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Ham- 
 burg. He reached the Hague in April, 1783, and continued several 
 months in Holland, until his father took him to Paris, where he was 
 at the signing of the treaty of peace, which took place in September 
 of that year, and from that time to May, 1785, he was, for the most 
 part, with his father in England, Holland, and France. 
 
 At his own solicitations, his father permitted him, when eighteen 
 years of age, to return to his native country. Soon after reaching 
 America, he entered Harvard University, at an advanced standing, and 
 was graduated with distingiushed honor, as Bachelor of Arts, in 1787. 
 He then entered the office of the celebrated Theophilus Parsons, at New 
 bury Port, afterwards chief justice of Massachusetts ; and after the 
 usual period of three years spent in the study of the law, he entered 
 the profession, and established himself in Boston. 
 
 He remained in that situation four years, occupying himself indus- 
 triously in his office, extending his acquaintance with the great princi- 
 ples of law, and also taking part in the public questions which then 
 occupied the attention of his countrymen. In the summer of 1791 
 he published a series of papers in the Boston Centinel, under the signa- 
 ture of Publicola, containing remarks upon the first part of Paine's 
 Rights of Man. They suggested doubts in reference to the favorable 
 issue of the French Revolution, at a time when most other men saw 
 nothing but good in that awakening event. The issue proved the sa- 
 
 3
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 gacity of Publicola. These pieces were at first ascribed to his father. 
 They were reprinted in England. 
 
 In April, 1793, on the first information of war between Great 
 Britain and France, and before Washington had published his procla- 
 mation of neutrality, or it was known that such a step was contemplat- 
 ed by him, Mr. ADAMS published in the Boston Centinel three articles 
 signed Marcel 1 us, the object of which was to prove that the duty and 
 interest of the United States required them to remain neutral in that 
 war% In these papers he developed the two principles, which have 
 ever been the basis of his creed as a statesman ; the one is UNION at 
 home, the other INDEPENDENCE of all entangling alliances with any 
 foreign states whatever. 
 
 In the winter of 1793-4 he published another series of political es- 
 says, confirming, and more fully developing these views, and vindicat- 
 ing the course of President Washington in reference to the proceed- 
 ings of the French minister, Genet. 
 
 In May, 1794, he was appointed by Washington, without any inti- 
 mation of such a design, made either to him or to his father, minister 
 resident to the United Netherlands. It was supposed at the tinie that 
 he was selected in consequence of his having been commended to 
 the favorable notice of Washington, as a suitable person for such an 
 employment, by Mr. Jefferson. 
 
 From 1794 to 1801 he was in Europe, employed in diplomatic 
 business, and as a public minister, in Holland, England, and Prussia. 
 Just as President Washington was retiring from office, he appointed 
 him minister plenipotentiary to the court of Portugal. While on his 
 way to Lisbon, he received a new commission, changing his des- 
 tination to Berlin. He resided in Berlin from November 1797 to April 
 1801, and while there concluded a highly important treaty of com- 
 merce with Prussia, thus accomplishing the object of his mission. He 
 was then recalled, just before the close of his father's administration, 
 and arrived in Philadelphia in September, 1801. 
 
 In 1802 he was elected, from the Boston district, a member of the 
 Massachusetts Senate, and was soon after appointed, by the legislature 
 of that state, a senator in the Congress of the United States for six 
 years, from the 4th of March, 1803. As his views of public duty led 
 him to adopt a course which he had reason to believe was disagreeable 
 to the legislature of the State he represented, he resigned his seat in 
 March, 1808. In March, 1809, President Madison nominated him 
 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of 
 Russia.
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 Some time previous to this, however, in 1806. he had been appointed 
 Professor of Rhetoric in Harvard University, at Cambridge in Massa- 
 chusetts. So extraordinary were his powers of elocution, so fervid his 
 imaginative faculties, and so rich his resources of literature and lan- 
 guage, that his lectures, which were afterwards published in two oc- 
 tavo volumes, were thronged not only by the students of the univer 
 sity. but by large numbers of the admirers of eloquence and genius, 
 who came from Boston and the neighboring towns to listen to them. 
 During his whole life Mr. ADAMS has cultivated the graces of elocu- 
 tion, and, in addition to his profound and varied knowledge of the 
 sciences, of the ancient and modern languages, and of the literature and 
 history of all nations, is an eminent Orator as well as Poet. 
 
 While in Russia, he furnished to the Port Folio, printed in Phila- 
 delphia, and to which, from the beginning to the end, he was an 
 industrious anonymous contributor, a series of letters, entitled a 
 " Journal of a Tour through Silesia." These letters were republished 
 in London, without the permission of the proprietor of the Port Folio, 
 in one volume octavo. They were reviewed in the journals of the 
 day, and translated into French and German. 
 
 Mr. ADAMS signalized himself while in Russia by an energetic, 
 faithful, and wise discharge of the trust committed to him. He sue 
 ceeded in making such an impression upon that government, by his 
 reasonings and influence, that it has ever since been actuated by a feel 
 ing of kindness towards the United States, which has been of incalcula- 
 ble benefit to this country. It was through his instrumentality that the 
 Russian Court was induced to take active measures to promote a paci 
 fication between England and the United States during the last war. 
 When the proper time came, he was named at the head of the five 
 commissioners who were appointed by President Madison to negotiate 
 a treaty of peace with Great Britain. This celebrated diplomatic trans 
 action took place at Ghent, in December, 1814. Mr. Adams then 
 proceeded, in conjunction with Henry Clay and Albert Gallatin, who 
 had also been associated with him in concluding the treaty of peace, 
 to negotiate a convention of commerce with Great Britain ; and he was 
 forthwith appointed by President Madison minister plenipotentiary at 
 the Court of St. James. 
 
 It is a most remarkable coincidence that, as his father took the lead- 
 ing part in negotiating the treaty that terminated the Revolutionary 
 war with Great Britain, and first discharged the office of American 
 ambassador to London, so he was at the head of the commission that 
 negotiated the treaty that brought the second war with Great Britain
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 to a close, and sustained the first mission to that country upon the 
 return of peace. After having occupied that post until the close of 
 President Madison's administration, he was at length called home, in 
 1817, to the head of the department of State, at the formation of the 
 cabinet of President Monroe. 
 
 Mr. ADAMS'S career as a foreign minister terminated at this point. 
 It has never been paralleled, or at all approached, either in the length 
 of time it covered, the number of courts at which he represented his 
 country, or the variety and importance of the services he rendered. 
 His first appointment to the office of a minister plenipotentiary was 
 received at the hands of George Washington, who, in nominating him, 
 acted in accordance with the suggestion of Thomas Jefferson. James 
 Madison employed him in the weightiest and most responsible trusts 
 during his whole administration, selected him to represent the United 
 States at the two most powerful courts in the world, St. Petersburg 
 and London, and committed to his leading agency the momentous duty 
 of arranging a treaty of peace with Great Britain. It is enough to say, 
 that throughout this long and brilliant career of foreign public service, 
 he deserved, and received from his country, the encomium which 
 Washington pronounced upon him, when, in 1797, he declared him 
 " the most valuable public character we have abroad, and the ablest 
 of all our diplomatic corps." 
 
 The public approbation of Mr. Monroe's act in placing him at the 
 head of his cabinet, was well expressed by General Jackson, at the 
 time, when he said that he was " the fittest person for the office ; a 
 man who would stand by the country in the hour of danger." While 
 Secretary of State, an office which he held during the eight years of 
 President Monroe's administration, he discharged his duties in such a 
 manner as to increase the confidence of his countrymen in his ability 
 and patriotism. Under his influence, the claims on Spain were ad- 
 justed, Florida ceded to the Union, and the republics of South Ameri- 
 ca recognised. It will be the more appropriate duty of his future biogra- 
 pher to present a full view of the vast amount of labor which he ex- 
 pended, in the public service, while managing the department of state. 
 
 In the Presidential election, which took place in the fall of 1 824, 
 Mr. ADAMS was one of the candidates. No candidate received a ma- 
 jority of electoral votes. When, on the 9th of February, 1825, the 
 two houses of Congress met in convention, in the hall of the House 
 of Representatives, to open, and count, and declare the electoral votes, 
 it was found that Andrew Jackson had 99 votes, JOHN Q.UINCY 
 ADAMS, 84 votes, William H. Crawford, 41 votes, and Henry Clay
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 37 votes. According to the requirements of the constitution, the 
 Senate then withdrew, and the House remained to hallot for a Presi- 
 dent until a choice should be effected. They were to vote by States ; 
 the election was limited to the three candidates who had the highest 
 electoral votes, and the ballotting was to continue without adjournment 
 until some one of the three had received the votes of a majority of the 
 States. As Mr. ADAMS had received as many popular votes as Gene- 
 ral Jackson, the circumstance that the latter had obtained a large elec- 
 toral vote had not so much weight as it otherwise might have had ; and 
 when the ballotting was about to begin, it was wholly uncertain which 
 would be the successful candidate. The whole number of States was 
 twenty-four. The votes of thirteen States were necessary for a choice. 
 At the first ballot, it was found that Maine, New Hampshire, Massa- 
 chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New- York, Maryland, 
 Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Louisiana, thirteen states, 
 had voted for " JOHN Q,UINCY ADAMS, OF MASSACHUSETTS ;" and 
 he was accordingly elected PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES 
 for four years from the 4th of March, 1825. A committee was ap- 
 pointed forthwith to inform him of his election, who. the next day, 
 reported the following letter in reply to the communication : 
 
 " GENTLEMEN, 
 
 " In receiving this testimonial from the Representatives of the people, 
 and states of this Union, I am deeply sensible to the circumstances un- 
 der which it has been given. All my predecessors in the high station, 
 to which the favor of the House now calls me, have been honored with 
 majorities of the electoral voices in their primary colleges. It has 
 been my fortune to be placed, by the divisions of sentiment prevailing 
 among our countrymen on this occasion, in competition, friendly and 
 honorable, with three of my fellow-citizens, all justly enjoying, in emi- 
 nent decrees, the public favor : and of whose worth, talents, and ser- 
 vices, no one entertains a higher and more respectful sense than my- 
 self. The names of two of them were, in the fulfilment of the provi- 
 sions of the constitution, presented to the selection of the House in 
 concurrence with my own ; names closely associated with the glory 
 of the nation, and one of them further recommended by a larger mi- 
 nority of the primary electoral suffrages than mine. In this state of 
 things, could my refusal to accept the trust, thus delegated to me, give 
 an immediate opportunity to the people to form and to express, with 
 a nearer approach to unanimity, the object of their preference, I should 
 not hesitate to decline the acceptance of this eminent charge, and to
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 submit the decision of this momentous question again to their determi- 
 nation. But the constitution itself has not so disposed of the contin- 
 gency which would arise in the event of my refusal ; I shall therefore 
 repair to the post assigned me by the call of my country, signified 
 through her constitutional organs ; oppressed with the magnitude of 
 the task before me, but cheered with the hope of that generous support 
 from my fellow-citizens, which, in the vicissitudes of a life devoted to 
 their service, has never failed to sustain me confident in the trust, 
 that the wisdom of the Legislative Councils will guide and direct me 
 in the path of my official duty, and relying, above all, upon the super- 
 intending Providence of that Being ' in whose hand our breath is, and 
 whose are all our ways.' 
 
 " Gentlemen : I pray you to make acceptable to the House, the as- 
 surance of my profound gratitude for their confidence, and to accept 
 yourselves my thanks for the friendly terms in which you have com- 
 municated their decision. 
 
 " JOHN GiuiNCY ADAMS." 
 
 " Washing-ton, Wth Feb. 1825." 
 
 The time is approaching when justice will be done to the adminis- 
 tration of JOHN QJJINCY ADAMS. The passions of that day are al- 
 ready fast subsiding, and the parties and combinations that arose under 
 the exciting influences of the times, have long since been dissolved 
 and scattered. The clear verdict of posterity may almost be heard, 
 even now, in the general acknowledgment of its merits by the people 
 of the country, in all its various sections. In the relations he sustained 
 to the members of his cabinet, in his communications to the two houses, 
 and in all his proceedings, there is a uniform manifestation of wisdom, 
 industry, moderation, and devoted patriotism. Of course we do not 
 speak of party questions, or refer to the operations or bearings of the 
 parties of that period ; but say only what we conscientiously believe 
 will be assented to heartily by candid and honorable men of all par- 
 ties. The great effort of his administration was to mature, into a per- 
 manent system, the application of all the superfluous revenue of the 
 Union to internal improvement. This policy was first suggested in 
 a resolution introduced by him, and adopted by the Senate of the 
 United States in 1806 ; and was fully unfolded in his first message 
 to Congress in 1825. It, will be the duty of the philosophical his- 
 torian of the country, a half century hence, to contrast the proba- 
 ble effects upon the general prosperity, which would have been produc- 
 ed by such a system of administration, regularly and comprehensively
 
 JOHN aUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 carried out, during the intermediate time, by the government of the 
 Union, with what will then be seen to be the results of the policy which 
 has prevailed over it. 
 
 In retiring from the Presidency in 1 829, Mr. ADAMS returned to his 
 family mansion in Quincy, where he remained, in quiet retirement, until 
 he was called into public life, once more, by the people of the congres- 
 sional district to which he belonged. He took his seat in the House of 
 Representatives of the United States in 1831, where he continues to this 
 day in the most indefatigable discharge of the duties of his station. 
 Mr. Adams is now in his seventy-first year. However much some of 
 his opinions may be disliked by large numbers of his countrymen ; 
 however strenuous the collision into which he is, from time to time, 
 brought with those whose policy or views he may oppose ; there is but 
 one sentiment of admiration, throughout the entire Union, of the vigor, 
 the activity, the intrepidity, the patience and perseverance of labor, 
 the talent, the learning, and the eloquence which he continually ex- 
 hibits. He knows neither fear nor fatigue ; prompt, full, and fervid 
 in debate, he is ever at his post ; no subject arises upon which he does 
 not throw light, and few discussions occur which are not enli- 
 vened by the flashings of his genius and invigorated by the energy of 
 his spirit. While he belongs to no party, all parties in turn feel the 
 power of his talents ; and all, it is probable, recognize him as an ex- 
 tremely useful as well as interesting member of the great legislative 
 assembly of the nation. 
 
 He has now reached the period of life when most men begin, if 
 riot to lose their power to engage in the arduous struggles of life, at 
 least to lose their interest in them. But it is not so with him. Neither 
 his natural force nor his natural fervor has abated. His speeches and 
 writings are still as full of fancy and of feeling as they were in his 
 early manhood. As a scholar, his attainments are various, we might 
 almost say universal, and profound. As a political controversial wri- 
 ter, he never yet has found his equal ; and his services as a public 
 orator are still called for on great occasions, when he comes forward in 
 all the strength of his intellectual energy, and with the imperishable 
 richness and inexhaustible abundance of his rhetorical stores. When 
 Congress were apprized of the death of General Lafayette, the unani- 
 mous voice of both Houses summoned him to the high and memorable 
 duty of pronouncing their grateful eulogium upon that friend of America 
 and champion of mankind. And at the call of the municipal authori- 
 ties of the city of Boston, he has pronounced funeral orations in com- 
 memoration of the departed worth of Presidents Monroe and Madison.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 All his other attainments and merits are crowned by a Christian faith 
 and profession. 
 
 In addition to his services in her legislative halls, his country still 
 expects other invaluable benefactions from the genius and learning of 
 this remarkable man ; and is strong in the hope that, in obedience to 
 that profound and reverential regard which he has ever shown to the 
 calls of patriotic, philanthropic, and filial duty, he will not close his 
 long line of illustrious services, without making a noble contribution 
 to the History of United America, and of the great men who achieved 
 her independence. C. W. U.

 
 JOHN W, F HANG IS, M.D. 
 
 PROFESSIONAL life, especially in young republican America, is often 
 diversified ; but the physician's is, perhaps, less frequently so than that 
 of any of the members of the three liberal pursuits to which academic 
 honors are awarded. Medical men, from the very nature of their stu- 
 dies, and the active cares in which they are involved in the subsequent 
 discharge of their responsible trusts, necessarily pass their existence 
 rather within the secluded chambers of the sick and afflicted, than be- 
 fore the gaze and immediate observation of the multitude. But, in de- 
 fiance of this restriction, the cultivators of the venerable art of healing 
 have been justly accounted among that class of individuals whose 
 daily vocations lead to a substantial acquaintance with human nature, 
 and the principles of human action ; while their peculiar energies are 
 ever directed to investigations, embracing a multitudinous variety of 
 circumstances by which sound science is increased, and the lasting in- 
 terests of society better secured. Knowledge, therefore, in the medical 
 profession, serves not only to dignify its rank, but in the exercise of its 
 powers becomes the agent of innumerable blessings to society ; and is 
 elevated equally by the importance of its ultimate object, and by those 
 qualifying attainments which render their possessor the efficient instru- 
 ment of its philanthropic designs. 
 
 There is, besides, in the history of physic, abundant evidence to show 
 how much the advancement of man has been furthered by the profess- 
 ors of the healing art ; how greatly the interests of humanity have 
 been promoted by their efforts ; how largely the charities of life, an 
 elevated literature and exalted science have been aided by the broad 
 foundations of public institutions, in which physicians have borne a pro- 
 minent part. The annals of Continental and of British medicine de- 
 monstrate this truth ; nor are examples wanting in our own country 
 of similar establishments, generously cherished by this order of men. 
 Hence, though the transactions of one day in the physician's career
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 seldom differ from those of another, the lives of eminent professors in 
 the medical faculty become worthy of notice ; they are the guardians 
 of the public health, and they deserve to rank among public charac- 
 ters ; and he, who possesses a deep and enthusiastic veneration for the 
 art, and while, in the daily exercise of its salutary precepts fosters, the 
 cause of learning and the general welfare of his species, merits, at our 
 hands, some recorded testimonial of his actions. 
 
 Among the many living examples in the United States of those in 
 that profession, who by their acquisitions adorn the science of physic ; 
 who, by the faithful and conscientious performance of its arduous du- 
 ties, have conferred benefits of acknowledged importance upon hu- 
 manity ; and by the publication of the results of experience have added 
 to the medical literature of their country, the respectable individual, 
 whose name is at the head of this biographical sketch, occupies a con- 
 spicuous place. 
 
 JOHN W. FRANCIS, M. D. was born in the city of New- York on the 
 17th of November, 1789. His father, Melchior Francis, who came to 
 this country shortly after the peace of 1783, was a German from Nu- 
 remberg, well known in New- York as an enterprizing, upright grocer, 
 of an enthusiastic temperament, and of a liberal and charitable spirit, 
 whose career of usefulness was suddenly arrested by death from yellow 
 fever in 1795, in the 35th year of his age. His mother was a native 
 of Pennsylvania ; her family, of the name of Somer, were originally 
 from Bern, in Switzerland from whom there are numerous descendants 
 in this country, now residing in the above-named State. Her children 
 were mere infants when her husband died ; but she was left in cir- 
 cumstances sufficiently easy to give them a good education. JOHN, 
 the eldest, after receiving the common early instruction, was sent to a 
 school of no little reputation under the charge of the Reverend George 
 Strebeck, with whom he commenced the study of mathematics and 
 the Latin language, and afterward continued his classical pursuits 
 under the direction of the Reverend John Conroy, a profound scholar, 
 and a distinguished graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. By the aid 
 of this excellent teacher he was enabled to enter an advanced class in 
 Columbia College, where, in 1809, he received the degree of Bachelor, 
 and in 1812 that of Master of Arts. 
 
 While an under-graduate, the subject of this memoir, having resolved 
 to adopt the medical profession, devoted a portion of his time to its 
 studies ; he was enabled to accomplish this by a strong natural capa- 
 city, and by an ardor and perseverance which have marked his whole 
 course of life ; he had not only mental energy, but a vigorous con-
 
 JOHN W. FRANCIS. 
 
 stitution, which sustained his intense application in the acquisition of 
 knowledge. 
 
 In 1807, then still an under-graduate as above-mentioned, he com- 
 menced his professional studies with the late Dr. David Hosack, the 
 able and eloquent teacher, at that time professor of Materia Medica and 
 Botany in Columbia College, and among those most entensively engag- 
 ed in the practice of physic in New- York. Under this eminent pre- 
 ceptor MR. FRANCIS had ample opportunities of witnessing the princi- 
 ples of the art illustrated by their practical application. During the 
 period of his professional studies for four collegiate years, he never ab- 
 sented himself from a single lecture, nor attended one without making 
 notes or abstracts on the subject taught by the lecturer. His clinical 
 knowledge was also much increased by a constant attendance at the 
 New- York Hospital, then enjoying the rich experience of Drs. Post, 
 Kissam, Stringham, and others ; and at the City Almshouse, an exten- 
 sive charity, the medical department of which was under the manage- 
 ment of Drs. Hosack and Macneven, the clinical instructors. 
 
 Several laws for the greater improvement of medical science were 
 enacted about this period by the Legislature of the State of New- York. 
 County Medical Societies had been formed the year before, and pro- 
 mised much advantage to the cause of professional learning. The Col- 
 lege of Physicians and Surgeons, under the authority of the Regents of 
 the University, was organized in 1807. From this institution, in 1811, 
 MR. FRANCIS received the degree of M. D. This was at the first com- 
 mencement of that school under the Presidency of Dr. Samuel Bard, 
 and the subject of this memoir was the first graduate who recorded 
 his name in the College Album. DR. FRANCIS'S inaugural thesis was 
 a dissertation on mercury, embracing its medical history, curative ac- 
 tion, and abuse in disease. His researches were extensive, while many 
 of his views were novel and profound, and have since been confirmed 
 by the philosophical inquiries of British and other foreign practitioners. 
 This production acquired for him great credit at once among his fel- 
 low graduates and the faculty generally ; it has been repeatedly noticed 
 by different writers in various languages, and maintains its reputation 
 at the present day. 
 
 DR. FRANCIS had been in practice a few months only, when his late 
 preceptor proposed to him a co-partnership in business. This propo- 
 sition, from the high standing of Dr. Hosack, was too flattering to be 
 declined. This connection lasted till 1820, since which time DR. 
 FRANCIS has continued in practice by himself. 
 
 From the first organization of the College of Physicians and Sur-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 geons, the professorial chairs were filled by men of acknowledged 
 learning and ability most of whom were much distinguised as teachers. 
 
 In the spring of 1813 DR. FRANCIS received from the trustees of 
 the institution the appointment of lecturer on the Institutes of Medi- 
 cine and Materia Medica. Shortly after this period, an union being 
 effected between the rival institutions, the medical faculty of Columbia 
 College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, he received from 
 the regents the professorship of Materia Medica. He delivered his first 
 public course of instruction to a class of one hundred and twenty stu- 
 dents, declining all compensation for his services, that the consolidation 
 of two schools of medicine, which had brought together so numerous a 
 body of professors, might not too much enhance the price of education 
 to those who wished to attend a full course of lectures. About this 
 time he published a historical account of the College, with a syllabus 
 or outline of the several courses of lectures. The students of this new 
 school, upon its chartered establishment, had formed themselves into a 
 medical society, similar to that at the University of Edinburgh, to im- 
 prove their minds by weekly discussions on medical and surgical sub- 
 jects. The President of the Society, which was termed the Medico- 
 Chirurgical Society, was chosen from the professors of the College ; 
 and for many years DR. FRANCIS was elected to preside over it, suc- 
 ceeding in this appointment the learned Dr. Mitchill. 
 
 Strongly impressed with the conviction that the city of New- York 
 possessed all the requisites for a great medical school, alive to the 
 importance of tin extended system of medical education, and cheered 
 by the rising prospects of the institution to which he was attached, 
 DR. FRANCIS resolved to visit Europe, having in view, as well to 
 profit by the lessons of instruction afforded by the old world, as to 
 transfer, as far as lay within his power, what was valuable and prac- 
 ticable to the new. While in London he became a pupil of the illus- 
 trious Abernethy, and witnessed the practice of St. Bartholomew's 
 hospital ; attended the lectures of Brande at the Royal Institution, those 
 of Pearson at St. George's hospital, &c. Between Abernethy and 
 FRANCIS there sprung up so strong an attachment, that the former of- 
 fered the latter a share of his business, which at that time was oppres- 
 sively extensive. 
 
 According to a memoir to which this biographical sketch is much 
 indebted,* besides England, DR. FRANCIS visited Scotland, Ireland, 
 Holland, and France. 
 
 With eager curiosity he examined most that was rare and promi- 
 
 * New England Magazine, vol. 7th. 
 
 4
 
 JOHN W. FRANCIS. 
 
 nent in these countries. His letters gave him access to scholars and 
 men of science wherever he travelled. In Edinburgh he shared the 
 hospitality of the great professors, and visited their schools so re- 
 nowned for practical wisdom. Here he listened to the eloquent and 
 classical lectures on medicine of Dr. James Gregory, and the able ex- 
 positions of Professor Jamieson on the Wernerian formations; and wit- 
 nessed the early experiments of the philosophic Brewster, in his private 
 study, on the polarization of light. In Dublin he was received with 
 true Irish cordiality ; and found in the anatomical preparations of Mc- 
 Cartney, specimens which rival even those of John Hunter. Regard- 
 ing his professional object as the most important one of his mission, he 
 was obliged to resist the strong impulse which prompted him to pass 
 beyond the Rhine ; and most reluctantly turned his back upon the 
 country, toward which, as the land of his fathers, he felt the dutiful 
 yearnings of a son; and for which, as the birth-place of Herder, 
 Schiller, and Goethe, he entertained the reverence of a scholar. In 
 Holland, the anatomical theatre where Ruysch once taught, and the 
 garden where Boerhaave once displayed the harmonies of the vege- 
 table kingdom, awakened to recollection the glories which have long 
 since departed. In France, with Denon, he viewed in his cabinet, and 
 in those institutions under his care, all that was magnificent in the 
 arts. Gall displayed to him the rich materials of his collections, on 
 which he founded his system of craniology ; while the " Jardin des 
 Plantes," under the direction of M. Thouin, gave him new ardor for 
 a knowledge of the wonders of creation. With Cuvier he examined 
 the objects more intimately connected with his own profession. 
 
 We are not wanting in proofs of the enthusiasm and success with 
 which the subject of this article prosecuted his European tour. It 
 was such as to excite the notice of many of his most enlightened fo- 
 reign acquaintances. One thus speaks : " I feel much gratified by the 
 opportunity you afforded me of making the acquaintance of DR. FRAN- 
 CIS. A mind more ardent in the pursuit of useful knowledge perhaps 
 never existed ; and I have no doubt he will, in a few years, stand at 
 the head of his profession. I introduced him to my son-in-law, Dr. 
 Yeates, who is an able and learned physician ; he entertains a high 
 opinion of your friend's talents, and I am sure will at all times be 
 happy in the opportunity of being useful to him."* DR. FRANCIS is 
 warm in his admiration of those lights of knowledge he everywhere 
 encountered in his travels ; but though enamoured with the learned 
 
 Letter of the late Patrick Colquhoun, author of the Police of London, &c. Life of Eddy, 
 byS. L.Knapp.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 men he met in different countries, his political affections were wedded 
 to his own ; and in the midst of his European attachments, he was still 
 a republican in his principles. 
 
 On his return to New- York he found that some changes had been 
 made in the disposition of the professorships in the College ; the duties 
 of the chair of JVTateria Medica had been added to that of Chemis- 
 try. He was at once appointed by the Regents of the University pro- 
 fessor of the Institutes of Medicine. On the death of Dr. Stringham, 
 in 1817. the department of Medical Jurisprudence, heretofore taught 
 with applause by that gentleman, was assigned to DR. FRANCIS. 
 Another change took place in 1819, by resignation, by which DR. 
 FRANCIS became Professor of Obstetrics and Medical Jurisprudence. 
 This appointment he held until 1826, when he resigned, at the same 
 time with his colleagues, Drs. Hosack, Mott, Mcneven, and Mitchill ; 
 Dr. Post had given up the professorship of Anatomy a short time pre- 
 viously. The board of regents accepted the resignation of the faculty, 
 and presented them their thanks " for the faithful and able manner in 
 "which they had filled their respective chairs as instructors and lectur- 
 ers in said College." 
 
 During the same year in which the resignation of the professors of 
 the College of Physicians and Surgeons occurred, a majority of them 
 founded and organized a new institution at their individual expense, 
 under the name of Rutgers' Medical College. In the place of Professor 
 Post, Anatomy and Physiology was assigned to the late distinguished 
 Dr. Godman, who, at the instance of Professor FRANCIS, left Philadel- 
 phia for a larger sphere of usefulness and profit. The success of this 
 new school for four terms was triumphant, at the end of which period 
 the legislative wisdom of the State thought proper to close the doors of 
 the College. It is believed that every friend and patron of sound prac- 
 tical medicine now admits that the interests of medical learning sus- 
 tained a severe loss by this measure. 
 
 In the Rutgers' Medical College DR. FRANCIS was chosen Profess- 
 or of Obstetrics and Forensic Medicine. In the number of pupils, his 
 classes were second only to those of Anatomy, which are always most 
 fully attended in every well-arranged medical institution. The close 
 relationship between many parts of the physiological portion of a 
 course of instruction on Obstetrics, with numerous topics discussed in 
 legal medicine, justified, on the part of the professor, repeated disquisi- 
 tions of the most interesting nature; and these, by an ample museum, 
 were made the more clear and satisfactory. In his third edition of the 
 work of Dr. Denman, a large amount of medico-legal facts and opi-
 
 JOHN W. FRANCIS. 
 
 nions is introduced ; and in the same volume is embraced his history 
 of the Obstetric art, from the time of the ancients to that of the latest 
 writers on the subject, which has received the approbation both of the 
 erudite and the practical. The number of students under his care 
 while he was connected with the institutions above-named, was proba- 
 bly greater than that of any other professor in the city. He devoted 
 from four to six hours a day to public and private instruction in the 
 several departments of the science ; other portions of time were devot- 
 ed to the labor of practice. With the termination of all collegiate du- 
 ties, he resolved to confine his attention to the practice of physic ex- 
 clusively. In his parting address to his public class, he stated the 
 causes which would thereafter dissolve the relationship of pupil and 
 preceptor, paid the tribute of grateful respect to the magnanimous pa- 
 trons by whom the College had been countenanced, and held up to ad- 
 miration and example that guardian genius of all establishments for 
 the diffusion of useful knowledge, Dewitt Clinton. 
 
 DR. FRANCIS'S early introduction to practice and teaching, however 
 laborious and anxious the task, led not to the neglect of those inter- 
 vals of leisure which occur in the lives of all. Convinced that the 
 charms of medical reading, and the diffusion of medical and scientific 
 knowledge, would both be promoted by the establishment of a new 
 periodical journal in New- York, he, while a student, united with his 
 preceptor, Dr. Hosack. and issued, in 1810, a prospectus for the Ame- 
 rican Medical and Philosophical Register. This work was published 
 quarterly, and continued for four years. It was filled almost entirely 
 with original materials. After the completion of the fourth volume, 
 the editors assumed the responsibility of the work, and announced 
 their names. In conjunction with the late Dr. Dyckman and Dr. 
 Beck, he was for some time editor of the New- York Medical and 
 Physical Journal, which was projected in 1822. He continued as one 
 of the editors until the termination of the third volume. This work 
 contains a number of his medical observations and records. 
 
 DR. FRANCIS has written papers, in many different medical and 
 scientific journals in the United States, on subjects connected with 
 his profession : among the most prominent of these, and of a practical 
 nature, are his observations on the use of vitriolic emetics in croup, 
 with details of cases in which this remedy was effective after the 
 formation of the adventitious membrane lining the trachea. This novel 
 method of cure has since often proved successful in other hands in 
 this country, and has recently been adopted abroad : remarks on the 
 goitre as it prevails in the western parts of New- York and Canada :
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 cases of ovarian disease ; on the medicinal properties of the sangui- 
 naria Canadensis : history of a remarkable case of a diverticulum 
 of the ilium : cases in morbid anatomy : facts and inferences in medi- 
 cal jurisprudence : on phlegmasia dolens occurring in the male sub- 
 ject ; on caries of the lower jaw in children : on elaterium and cro- 
 tonoil : cases of icthyosis : observations on the mineral waters of Avon 
 in Livingston County, New- York, deduced from chemical experiments 
 and medicinal trials. His letter on febrile contagion, dated in Lon- 
 don, 1816, and addressed to Dr. Hosack, contains an exposition of cer- 
 tain British writers, on the insusceptibility of the human constitution 
 to a second attack of the yellow fever. This curious fact concerning 
 the nature of this disease in certain latitudes, which was strongly 
 maintained by various authors of Great Britain and the West Indies, 
 received additional support, in many striking cases, from the observa- 
 tions which this letter brought to light, that had been made by many 
 American physicians upon the pestilence in different seaports of the 
 United States. Other papers might be referred to containing his cli- 
 nical opinions ; his reflections upon the nature and treatment of scarlet 
 fever and other disorders may be found in the improved edition of 
 Good's Study of Medicine edited by Dr. Doane. 
 
 State medicine, or that division of science which comprehends the 
 principles of evidence afforded by the different branches of medicine, 
 in elucidating and determining questions in courts of law, had been 
 long and advantageously taught in German and other continental 
 universities, when, in 1807, the chair of Medical Jurisprudence was 
 founded at the University of Edinburgh, and Dr. Duncan, Jun., 
 appointed Professor. The following year Dr. Stringham, who had 
 graduated at that school, gave a course of lectures, the first delivered 
 in the United States, on the same subject, in the college at New- York. 
 As his successor, DR. FRANCIS was among the earliest, teachers in the 
 United States of this important and now generally cultivated depart- 
 ment of knowledge. But it was not merely as a teacher that he ex- 
 hibited the extent of his inquiries and practical researches in forensic 
 medicine, and enlisted the enthusiasm of the student. During the 
 greater part of his professional career, in almost every case of criminal 
 prosecution in our judicial courts, his opinions have been solicited, and 
 have seldom or ever been the subject of doubt or controversy. DR. 
 FRANCIS invariably availed himself of the deductions which ana- 
 tomy and pathology afford. 
 
 Nor have either his studies or his writings been confined to subjects 
 strictly professional. Several of his biographical notices are valuable
 
 JOHN W. FRANCIS. 
 
 contributions to the stock of elegant and general literature : these 
 sketches are drawn with a free and manly hand, with faithfulness and 
 discrimination. Among the most valuable of them may be mentioned 
 his account of Cadwallader Golden, one of the earliest practitioners 
 of physic in New- York ; those of Edward Miller, Benjamin Rush, 
 Archibald Bruce ; James S. Stringham, Thomas Eddy. His record of 
 Samuel L. Mitchill, in the first volume of the National Portrait Gal- 
 lery, is an honorable testimony to the memory of that remarkable 
 man, whose genius and character will be more highly valued the 
 longer his merits are contemplated. The occasional addresses of DR. 
 FRANCIS are written with taste and spirit united with candor and good 
 feeling. His address to the New- York Horticultural Society, in elegant 
 language, portrays the beauties of nature adorned by art. The ora- 
 tion before the literary societies of Columbia College, in May, 1831, 
 exhibits an important outline of the life and services of that distin- 
 guished patriot, the late Chancellor Livingston. The venerable 
 President Madison transmitted a letter of approbation to the author, 
 for the service he had rendered to American Biography, by his inter- 
 esting account of the revolutionary patriot.* His discourse at the 
 opening of the new hall of the Lyceum of Natural History, as yet 
 but partially in print, is perhaps his most extensive production. It 
 was delivered in December, 1836 : its object is to recommend the cul- 
 tivation of the natural sciences, and to bring together the most striking 
 and important facts yet made known, concerning the natural history 
 and physical resources of the new world. 
 
 The humane physician is perhaps more exposed than any other 
 member of society to taxes on his time and benevolence : in seasons 
 of pestilence and calamity, the claims of charity are not to be slighted 
 or avoided. The later visitations of the yellow fever, and of the malig- 
 nant cholera, bear witness to his sensibility to the cause of humanity, 
 and to his intrepid discharge of his duties. His clinical views of the 
 new Asiatic plague, as it prevailed in New- York in 1832, in which 
 city it entombed upwards of four thousand inhabitants, are published in 
 a letter to Dr. Reed of Savannah. This letter was so favorably received 
 at that anxious period, that more than one hundred thousand copies, 
 in various forms, were circulated in different sections of the Union. In 
 France it excited the attention of professional men ; and the authorities 
 at Havanna, when the cholera appeared there, had the pamphlet trans- 
 lated into the Spanish language, and widely diffused through the 
 island of Cuba. 
 
 * This biography is re-published in the 3d volume of this work. 
 
 9
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 DR. FRANCIS has been honored with membership in many humane, 
 literary, and scientific societies at home a" I abroad, and is in corres- 
 pondence with several of their associates. 
 
 The foregoing sketch of DR. FRANCIS exhibits a life more active 
 than eventful, but evidently one that would have been far more event- 
 ful had it been less active. Engaged in the duties of a laborious pro- 
 fession, ina great city, at the early age of twenty, and soon after called 
 upon to apply all his unexpended energies to sustain and advance the 
 reputation of a newly-established medical school, and to assist in edit- 
 ing a medical journal, he could have found but little leisure for un- 
 broken study, or the preparation of elaborate treatises on the art to 
 which he is devoted. Untiring activity in his proper vocation, and 
 scrupulous devotion to its claims, have characterized his whole pro- 
 fessional career. The hope of being able to relieve his suffering 
 fellow-beings has ever been sufficient to call forth every exertion, 
 and every sacrifice in his power to make. The call of poverty 
 has always been as loud in his ear, and has been answered with as 
 much alacrity, as that of wealth. It is well known that his services 
 and his contributions to the relief of distress, would together amount 
 to sums surpassing the charities of many men of the largest means. 
 There are many extraordinary traits in the character of the subject of 
 this memoir, which have scarcely been touched upon from its neces- 
 sary brevity ; among them none more remarkable than the facility 
 and fidelity with which he goes through his duties ; the every-day 
 demands constantly develope in him an energy, a power of endurance, 
 and a disregard to personal comfort, that are called forth in others only 
 by great emergencies and trying occasions. The amount of labor 
 performed by him is almost unexampled ; he accomplishes more of 
 every thing, and besides has more of social enjoyment, than most 
 others. It is the same with his mind as with his body : no drafts upon 
 it exhaust its power, its stock is always at command. The possessor of 
 such a mind must naturally sigh for a release from the thraldom of pro- 
 fessional toil, and the liberty to expatiate freely and widely in the regions 
 of thought. If such a boon is ever earned by years of faithful ser- 
 vice, and benevolent exertion in the cause of humanity, DR. FRANCIS 
 will not fail of obtaining it ; and we know that he would ask for him- 
 self no higher reward, nor would we ask for him greater glory, or for 
 science more honor, than he would confer upon her, could he be al- 
 lowed to enjoy it.
 
 Engraved by J. Gross from a drawing by J. B. Longicre after the Bust by Fraaee. 
 
 L. L. D. F. R. S
 
 NATHANIEL BOWDITCH, 
 LL.D. F.R.S. 
 
 OP all the various branches of intellectual pursuit, that science 
 which explains the system of the universe, and reveals the mechanism 
 of the heavens, must always take the lead as the most sublime and 
 marvellous ; and the foremost and most successful cultivators of this 
 science will always be classed among the greatest of men. What, 
 indeed, can be more astonishing than that a being like one of us, en- 
 dowed, apparently, with no higher or different powers, should be able 
 to obtain so minute and accurate knowledge of those distant planets, 
 and be as well acquainted with their constitution, elements, and laws, 
 as the geologist, the chemist, the botanist, with the appropriate objects 
 of their sciences ? Nothing gives so exalted an idea of the power of 
 man, and the extent and reach of his capacities, as his ability to cal- 
 culate with unerring precision the distances of those twinkling orbs ; 
 to determine their figures, magnitudes, and velocities ; to measure their 
 weight, estimate their relative attractions and disturbing forces ; deli- 
 neate their orbits, register their laws of motion, fix the times of their 
 revolution, and predict the periods of their return. To a common 
 mind, uninstructed in the science, there is nothing that appears so much 
 like divine wisdom. A Galileo, a Kepler, a Newton, seem to him to 
 belong to another race, a higher order of beings. They appear to 
 possess some additional faculties. 
 
 Nothing can be more certain than the doctrines of Astronomy. 
 They rest on impregnable foundations, on the demonstrations of mathe- 
 matical evidence, than which nothing, except the evidence of con- 
 sciousness, can be more satisfactory and conclusive. It was a science 
 that early engaged the notice of men, and it has always exercised a 
 purifying and elevating influence on its votaries. Indeed, how could 
 it be otherwise ? Who can look upon those brilliant points, and not 
 fancy them the spangled pavement of a divine abode ? There is virtue, 
 as well as poetry and philosophy in them. They shed down a heal-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 ing and restorative influence upon their worshippers. They are the 
 symbols of endurance and perpetuity. 
 
 Death has recently deprived the scientific world of one of its no- 
 blest ornaments one, who confessedly occupied the most prominent 
 place among the scientific men of this country. His position as a 
 public man, the various posts and offices he filled, and especially the 
 value of his works to the advancement of science, the improvement 
 of navigation, and the security of commercial enterprizes, justify the 
 notice which we now propose to take of his life and character. There 
 was much of that life instructive and encouraging, particularly to the 
 young, the friendless, and the poor : there was much in that character 
 worthy of eulogy and imitation. 
 
 NATHANIEL BOWDITCH was born at Salem, Massachusetts, on the 
 26th day of March, 1773. He was the fourth child of Habakkuk and 
 Mary Ingersoll Bowditch. His ancestors, for three generations, had 
 been shipmasters ; and his father, after retiring from that employment, 
 carried on the trade of a cooper, by which he gained a scanty and 
 precarious subsistence for a family of seven children. He enjoyed no 
 other advantages of early instruction than such as could be obtained 
 at the common public schools of his native town, which were at that 
 time very inferior to what they have since become, being wholly in- 
 adequate to furnish even the ground-work of a respectable education. 
 It was highly honorable to him that, although he had not himself the 
 benefits of a liberal education, he felt the importance and acknow- 
 ledged the value of it ; and accordingly gave to his children the best 
 which the country afforded, and took a deep interest, and, for many 
 years, an efficient agency in the University at Cambridge. The ad- 
 vantages of school, such as they were, he. was obliged to forego at the 
 early age often years, that he might go into his father's shop and help 
 to support the family. He was, however, soon transferred as an ap- 
 prentice to a ship-chandler, in whose shop he continued until he went 
 to sea, first as clerk, afterwards as supercargo, and finally as master 
 and supercargo jointly. It was whilst he was in the ship-chandler's 
 shop that his characteristic attachment to mathematical pursuits 
 first developed itself. Every moment of leisure was given to the 
 slate. 
 
 From his earliest years he was a diligent reader ; and he has been 
 heard to say that, when quite young, he read through a whole Ency- 
 clopedia without omitting a single article. 
 
 He sailed on his first voyage on the llth of January, 1795, at the 
 age of twenty-two, as clerk to Captain Henry Prince on board the
 
 NATHANIEL BOWDITCH. 
 
 ship Henry, of Salem. The ship sailed for the Isle of Bourbon, and 
 returned home after an absence of exactly a year. 
 
 His second voyage was made as supercargo on board the ship 
 Astraea, of Salem. The vessel sailed to Lisbon, touched at Madeira, and 
 then proceeded to Manilla, and arrived at Salem in May, 1797. He made 
 his third voyage the following year, to Cadiz and the Mediterranean. 
 He continued in the same ship, and sailed on his fourth voyage in 
 1799, to Batavia and Manilla, and returned in 1800. He continued 
 in the East India trade until 1804, when he quitted the sen, and be- 
 came President of a Marine Insurance Company in Salem. 
 
 In the course of these voyages Mr. BOWDITCH took great interest 
 in the instruction of the sailors, who could read and write, in the prin- 
 ciples of navigation ; and he never appeared so happy as when he 
 could inspire a sailor with a proper sense of his individual importance, 
 and of the talents he possessed, and might call into action. In this he 
 was remarkably successful ; and at Salem it was considered a high 
 recommendation of a seaman that he had sailed with Mr. BOW- 
 DITCH, and it was often sufficient to procure for him an officer's 
 berth. 
 
 His attention was directed, at an early age, to the Principia of New- 
 ton ; but as that work was published in Latin, a language which he 
 had not learned, he was obliged to obtain assistance in translating 
 it ; but he soon discovered that his own knowledge of the subject, 
 with the aid of the mathematical processes and diagrams on the 
 pages of the work, enabled him to comprehend the reasoning of the 
 author ; and by dint of perseverance he acquired a sufficient know- 
 ledge of Latin to enable him to read any work of science in it. He 
 afterwards learned French, for the purpose of having access to the trea- 
 sures of mathematical science in that language ; and to indulge his 
 taste for general literature, he studied Spanish, German, and Italian. 
 
 It has been stated, in relation to the origin of one of Mr. BOW- 
 DITCH'S principal works, that on the day previous to his sailing on 
 his last voyage he was called on by Mr. Edmund M. Blunt, then a 
 noted publisher of charts and nautical books at Newburyport, and 
 requested to continue the corrections which he had previously com- 
 menced on John Hamilton Moore's book on navigation, then in com- 
 mon use on board our vessels. This he consented to do ; and in per- 
 formance of his promise he detected such a multitude of errors, that 
 it led to the construction of his " New American Practical Naviga- 
 tor," the first edition of which was published in 1800, and has been 
 of immense service to the nautical and commercial interests of this
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 country. It is a work abounding with the actual results of his own 
 experiencej and containing simple and expeditious formulas for work- 
 ing nautical problems. Had he never done any thing else, he would, 
 by this single act, have conferred a lasting obligation to his native 
 land. Every vessel that sails from the ports of the United States, 
 from Eastport to New Orleans, is navigated by the rules and tables of 
 his book. It is also extensively used in the British and French 
 navies. 
 
 In 1802, at the age of twenty-nine, his ship lying wind-bound at 
 Boston, he went out to Cambridge to attend the exercises on com- 
 mencement day ; and whilst standing in one of the aisles of the 
 church, the President announced his name amongst those on whom 
 had been conferred the degree of Master of Arts. The annunciation 
 came upon him wholly by surprise. It was the proudest day of his 
 life ; and of all the distinctions which he subsequently received from 
 numerous learned and scientific bodies at home and abroad, there was 
 not one which afforded him half the pleasure, or which he prized so 
 highly, as this degree from Harvard. 
 
 In 1806 Mr. BOWDITCH published his admirable chart of the har- 
 bors of Salem, Beverly, Marblehead, and Manchester, the survey of 
 which had occupied him during three summers. This was a work 
 of great exactness and beauty. 
 
 On the establishment of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance 
 Company, at Boston, in 1823, he was invited to take charge of it, 
 with the title of Actuary. He accepted of the appointment, and ac- 
 cordingly removed to that city, where he continued to reside till the 
 time of his decease. He discharged the duties of his trust with skill 
 and fidelity, and to the entire satisfaction of the company. 
 
 While he resided at Salem, he undertook his translation and com- 
 mentary on the great work of the French astronomer, La Place, enti- 
 tled Mccanique Ctleste. This was the great work of his life. The 
 illustrious author of that work undertakes to explain the whole me- 
 chanism of our solar system, to account for all its phenomena, and to 
 reduce all the anomalies in the apparent motions and figures of the 
 planetary bodies to certain definite laws. It is a work of great ge- 
 nius and immense depth, and exceedingly difficult to be comprehend- 
 ed. This arises not merely from the intrinsic difficulty of the subject, 
 and the medium of proof being the higher branches of the mathema- 
 tics, but chiefly from the circumstance that the author, taking it for 
 granted that the subject would be as plain and easy to others as to him- 
 self, very often omits the intermediate steps and connecting links in his
 
 NATHANIEL BOWDITCH. 
 
 demonstrations. He grasps tne conclusion without showing the pro- 
 cess. Dr. BOWDITCH used to say, " I never come across one of La 
 Place's ' Thus it plainly appears] without feeling sure that I have 
 got hours of hard study before me to fill up the chasm, and find out 
 and show how it plainly appears." This gigantic task was begun in 
 the year 1815, and was the regular occupation of his leisure hours to 
 the time of his death. His elucidation and commentaries, while they 
 show him to have been as thoroughly master of the mighty subject as 
 La Place himself, will make that great work the most profound ot 
 modern times accessible to innumerable students, who, without such 
 aid, would be compelled to forego the use of it. Let it not be said, 
 in disparagement of the labors of Dr. BOWDITCH, that this was not 
 an original work, but merely a translation. Suppose it had been so. 
 What then 1 Was it not still a benefaction to those who are ac- 
 quainted only with the English language to bring this great work 
 within their reach ? But he did more. It is more than half an origi- 
 nal commentary and exposition, simplifying and elucidating what was 
 before complex and obscure ; supplying omissions and deficiencies, for- 
 tifying the positions with new proofs, and giving additional weight 
 and efficacy to the old ones ; and, above all, recording the subsequent 
 discoveries, and bringing down the science to the present time. It 
 has been asserted that La Place, to whom Dr. BOWDITCH sent a list 
 of errors, (which, however, he never had the grace to acknowledge in 
 any way,) once remarked, " I am sure that Dr. BOWDITCH compre- 
 hends my work, for he has not only detected my errors, but has 
 shown me how I came to fall into them." 
 
 The first volume of the work was published in the year 1829, the 
 second in 1832, and the third in 1834 ; each volume containing about 
 a thousand quarto pages. The fourth and last volume was nearly 
 completed at the time of his decease. He persevered to the last in his 
 labors upon it ; preparing the copy, and reading the proof-sheets in 
 the intervals when he was free from pain. Though the work, on its 
 appearance, met with more purchasers than he expected, yet its cost 
 was a heavy draft on his income, and an encroachment on his little 
 property. Yet it was cheerfully paid ; and besides that, he gladly 
 devoted his time, his talents, his health, and his life, to the cause of 
 science and the honor of his native land. That work is his monu- 
 ment. He needs no other. 
 
 The progress of Dr. BOWDITCH'S last illness was so unremitting, 
 that he was not able to complete the final revision of the whole of his 
 great work. The fifth and only remaining volume is, comparatively,
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 of little importance, and it probably would have had but little revision 
 if he had survived. 
 
 Dr. BOWDITCH was eminently a self-taught and a self-made man. 
 Whatever knowledge he possessed, and it was great, was of his 
 own acquiring, the fruit of his solitary studies, with but little assist- 
 ance from abroad. From his youth up, he was a pattern of industry, 
 enterprise, and perseverance ; suffering no difficulties to discourage, 
 no disappointments to dishearten him. He combined qualities and 
 habits which are usually considered incompatible. He was a con- 
 templative, recluse student ; and at the same time an active public 
 man. He lived habitually among the stars, and yet he was a shrewd, 
 practical man, and one of the most skilful of financiers. Judging 
 from his published works, it might be supposed he had neither taste 
 nor time for business, or the ordinary affairs of life ; and judging from 
 the large concerns which he managed, and the vast funds of which he 
 had the supervision, it would seem impossible he could have had any 
 time for study. He accomplished all by an economy of time, and the 
 regularity of his habits. He was a remarkably domestic man. His af- 
 fections clustered around his own fireside. His attachment to the calm 
 and simple pleasures of his home was one of the most beautiful traits of 
 his character. His time was divided between his office and his house ; 
 he was seldom drawn into company. When at home, he spent his 
 time in his library, which he loved to have considered the family par- 
 lor. By very early rising, in winter two hours before light, he was 
 enabled to accomplish much before others were stirring. After taking 
 his evening walk he was again always to be found in the library, 
 pursuing the same attractive studies, but ready and glad, at the en- 
 trance of a visiter, to throw aside his book, unbend his mind, and in- 
 dulge in all the gaieties of a light-hearted conversation. There was 
 nothing that he seemed to enjoy more than the free interchange of 
 thought on all subjects of common interest. At such times the mathe- 
 matician, the astronomer, the man of science disappeared ; and he pre- 
 sented himself as the frank, easy, familiar friend. It was hardly cre- 
 dible that the agreeable, fascinating companion, who talked so affably 
 and pleasantly on all the topics of the day, and joined so heartily in the 
 quiet mirth or the loud laugh, could really be the great mathemati- 
 cian who had expounded the mechanism of the heavens, and taken 
 his place with Newton, and Leibnitz, and La Place, amongst the great 
 proficients in exact science. 
 
 Although mathematics was his chief and favorite pursuit, Dr. BOW- 
 DITCH still had a taste for general literature. He was fond of Shak-
 
 NATHANIEL BOWDITCH. 
 
 speare, and Burns, and Bryant, and Sprague ; and remembered and 
 could repeat whole passages from their works. 
 
 He was a man of unsullied purity and most rigid integrity ; and 
 was always true to his moral as well as intellectual convictions. 
 
 From his boyhood, his mind had been religiously impressed. He 
 had read the Bible under the eye of a pious mother, and he loved to 
 repeat the sublime and touching language of Holy Writ. 
 
 His last days were marked by the same cheerfulness and serenity 
 of mind that we naturally look for on the death-bed of the pure and 
 good. The disease of which he died was a schirrus in the stomach. 
 For four weeks previous to his death, he could take no solid food, 
 and hardly swallowed any liquid. He suffered, however, but little 
 from hunger, but constantly from thirst ; and the only relief and re- 
 freshment he could find was, in frequently moistening his lips and 
 mouth with cold water. His frame was consequently exceedingly 
 attenuated, and his flesh wasted away. At intervals his sufferings 
 were intense, and the body at times triumphed over the spirit ; but it 
 was only for a moment, and the spirit again resumed its legitimate 
 sovereignty. On the morning of his death, when his sight was dim 
 and his voice almost gone, he called his children around his bed-side, 
 and, like the patriarch Jacob, addressed each by name. " You see," 
 said he, " I can distinguish you all, and I now give you my parting 
 blessing. The time is come ; Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart 
 in peace according to thy word." These were his last words. He 
 died on Friday, the 16th day of March, 1838 ; and was buried pri- 
 vately, on the morning of the following Sabbath, under Trinity Church, 
 in Summer Street, Boston. 
 
 Dr. BOWDITCH twice held a seat in the Executive Council of 
 Massachusetts, under the administration of Governors Strong and 
 Brooks ; but he had no taste for public life, no ambition for political 
 honors. 
 
 He was admitted a member of the American Academy of Arts and 
 Sciences in 1799, and was its President from 1829 to the time of his 
 decease. He received his degree of LL. D. from Harvard University 
 in 1816, and was elected a member of the Royal Society of Lon- 
 don in 1818. He contributed a great number of valuable papers to 
 the Memoirs of the American Academy, and was the author of the 
 article on Modern Astronomy, in Vol. XX. of the North American 
 Review. There is also a brief account of the comet of 1806 fur- 
 nished by him, and published in the Monthly Anthology, Vol. IV. 
 He was an active and efficient member of the Boston Atheneum, the
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 East India Marine Society of Salem, and of several other societies of a 
 literary or benevolent character. 
 
 This brief account of the life and character of " the Great Pilot ' 
 has been condensed from the Rev. Alexander Young's funeral dis- 
 course and notes.
 
 
 
 /uk^L 
 
 f
 
 PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK. 
 
 Dr. PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK was born on the 7th of July, 1768, in 
 Third, near Arch street, Philadelphia. His father, Mr. Edmund 
 Physick, was a native of England ; and his mother, Miss Syng, the 
 daughter of a highly respectable citizen of Philadelphia, who was 
 one of the early friends and companions of Franklin ; and whose 
 name appears on the register of the American Philosophical Society as 
 one of its founders, and also connected with other undertakings of pub- 
 lic utility at that period. 
 
 The celebrity of Doctor PHYSICK has been so general, that to the 
 American reader it is almost superfluous to state that he was distin- 
 guished by a long and brilliant course in Surgery and Medicine ; by 
 a deep and universal conviction on the medical and public mind of 
 this country in favor of his skill ; and by traits of character so promi- 
 nent and so peculiar, that the chances are very improbable of their 
 being repeated in any other individual. Even if Nature should renew 
 her production, the difference of circumstances in which it will be 
 placed, from the immense changes constantly and rapidly occurring 
 in our social state, will prevent the same mode and degree of develop- 
 ment. 
 
 The subject of our memoir received his academic education from 
 Robert Proud, in " Friends' Academy," and during the time lived in 
 the family of Mr. John Tod, the father-in-law of the present Mrs. Ma- 
 dison. He then entered the classical department of the University of 
 Pennsylvania, and obtained his knowledge of the languages from Mr. 
 James Davidson, one of the best scholars of his day, No small fond- 
 ness for these his earlier studies remained with him to the end of his 
 life. 
 
 Having passed honorably through his college studies, he received 
 the degree of Bachelor of Arts. His father now considered him ready 
 to engage in the study of medicine, and placed him under the charge
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 of the late Dr. Adam Kuhn one of the most learned and successful 
 physicians of that day. 
 
 His first introduction to anatomy excited strongly his aversion and 
 disgust to the profession of medicine it was the boiling of a skeleton 
 in the Medical College in Fifth street, now the Health Office. He re- 
 turned home, and implored his father to change his destination ; it was 
 all in vain. Finding his father thus inexorable, he began his medical 
 studies in earnest. 
 
 When twenty years of age, in 1788, his father took him to London, 
 and succeeded in fixing him under the direction of Mr. John Hunter, 
 the great surgeon of the day ; and now looked upon as the first medi- 
 cal man that the British empire has produced, his posthumous reputa- 
 tion having gone vastly beyond any that he ever had, when alive. 
 
 Being placed in a dissecting-room, he distinguished himself in a 
 short time by his assiduity, and by the neatness and success of his dis- 
 sections ; he became a favorite with Mr. Home, the assistant in the 
 rooms, and also with Mr. Hunter. The confidence and partiality of 
 the latter were exhibited in the year 1790, while he was still a student 
 under him, by Mr. Hunter using great exertions, and successfully, to 
 get him elected House Surgeon to St. George's Hospital. 
 
 In the year 1791 he received his diploma from the Royal College 
 of Surgeons in London. After which he visited Edinburgh, and hav- 
 ing spent a winter there, took out the degree of Doctor of Medicine 
 in the University, in 1792. In the latter part of the same year he re- 
 turned home, highly instructed in his profession ; after having declin- 
 ed offers by his preceptor Mr. Hunter, of a promising and advantage- 
 ous kind, for him to settle in London, this course was probably influ- 
 enced in some degree by his health, which the climate and atmosphere 
 of that metropolis did not suit. 
 
 The year 1793 brought him distinctly and prominently into pub- 
 lic notice. The premonitory indications of a fatal epidemic being 
 on the approach, were but too faithfully verified, when, on the 19th of 
 August, the celebrated Rush announced to his fellow-citizens that a 
 malignant and mortal fever had broken out among them. This start- 
 ling intelligence, whereby the repose of the public mind was disturbed, 
 was received with the agitation and surprise created by some unex- 
 pected convulsion of nature ; by some it was discredited, and strong 
 indignation expressed against its author. The celerity, however, with 
 which the disease invaded the several walks of life, left no room for 
 disputation, and all that remained to be done, was to make the best 
 possible arrangements for its visitation. Among the measures of the
 
 PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK. 
 
 day, recommended by the College of Physicians on the 27th of Au- 
 gust, and carried into immediate effect, was the providing a large and 
 airy hospital in the neighborhood of the city, for the reception of such 
 poor persons as could not be accommodated with suitable advanta- 
 ges in private houses. The erection of the Bush Hill Hospital was 
 the result of this recommendation ; and Dr. PHYSICK having offered 
 his services, was chosen physician of the same. He left his lodgings 
 in town, entered immediately upon his new duties, and continued in 
 the exercise of them till the disease had passed away. 
 
 In the year 1794 he was appointed a prescribing physician in the 
 Philadelphia Dispensary, and a surgeon to the Pennsylvania Hospital ; 
 the public confidence was also exhibited by his practice increasing with 
 no ordinary rapidity. 
 
 A recurrence of the yellow fever as an epidemic, in 1798, led again 
 to a performance of similar duties in the Bush Hill Hospital. The 
 zeal and fidelity with which he went through these, were recognised 
 in the presentation of some elegant pieces of silver plate. Their cost 
 was upwards of one thousand dollars, and they bore the following in- 
 scription : 
 
 " From the Board of Managers of the Marine and City Hospitals, to 
 
 PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK, M. D. 
 
 As a mark of their respectful approbation of his voluntary and ines- 
 timable services, as Resident Physician at the City Hospital 
 in the calamity of 1798." 
 
 On Sept. 18th, 1800, he married Miss Emlen, the daughter of a 
 gentleman of learning, distinction, and wealth, and who belonged 
 to the very respectable Society of Friends. She died in 1820, leaving 
 four chidren now alive two sons and two daughters. 
 
 In 1805, the chair of Surgery in the University of Pennsylvania 
 having been made a distinct one, he was elected to it ; the success of 
 his operations and lectures in the Pennsylvania Hospital, is considered 
 to have created and established this change. 
 
 In July, 1819, he resigned his chair of Surgery in the University of 
 Pennsylvania, and was appointed to that of Anatomy, vacated, the pre- 
 ceding November, by the death of his nephew, Dr. Dorsey. 
 
 The latest of his appointments was in 1836, when he was elected an 
 honorary fellow of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of Lon- 
 don, and soon after -received his diploma; he is said to have been 
 very much pleased with this mark of respect from a city where his 
 early studies had been conducted.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 The earliest commendatory notice of him is found in the Treatise 
 on the Blood by his preceptor, John Hunter. The latter wishing to 
 arrive at some general conclusions on certain phenomena of the blood, 
 as to its coagulability and putrescence under several conditions named, 
 performed experiments on the subject, which were rather incomplete 
 and unsatisfactory to himself ; to verify, however, what he had done, 
 he says, " Many of these experiments were repeated by my desire by 
 Dr. PHYSICK, now of Philadelphia, when he acted as house-surgeon 
 to St. George's hospital, whose accuracy I could depend upon." 
 
 In 1793 he, in conjunction with Dr. Cathrall, made several dissec- 
 tions of persons dead of yellow fever, which proved its inflammatory 
 character, and, that its principal violence fell on the stomach. These 
 observations were not absolutely new, because they had been preceded 
 by similar ones by Dr. Mitchill, in his account of the yellow fever of 
 Virginia in 1737 and 1741, and by corresponding ones in the West 
 Indies. They had, however, an important local influence in correct- 
 ing the prevailing notions of the disease, by proving, that so far from 
 being one of debility, it presented the highest possible grade of inflam- 
 mation. one exactly similar to what is produced by acrid poisons, as 
 arsenic, introduced into the stomach. The principle was thus esta- 
 blished, that the reputed putrid phenomena were merely the expression 
 of the gastric inflammation, and that the proper treatment was precise- 
 ly the reverse of what had obtained. 
 
 To this advance in the therapeutic indications of a disease so fatal 
 and so terrifying, was added one of a most important prophylactic or 
 preventive kind. At a time when it was perilous to the practice, as 
 well as to the reputation for sanity of any physician, to assert that the 
 yellow fever was generated among us and not imported, he had the 
 manliness and dignity to declare openly this obnoxious truth. He 
 also admonished the people, that the true protection from such visita- 
 tions, was not in establishing an empty system of quarantine laws, and 
 thereby interrupting foreign commerce, but in cleanliness at their own 
 doors and along their own wharves. These were the views taken and 
 enforced at the same time, by the eloquence and fervor of a Rush. 
 To this idea, constantly urged upon public attention, are to be traced 
 the very complete and effective arrangements for supplying the city 
 of Philadelphia with water, by applying, if required, the whole cur- 
 rent of the Schuylkill to the purpose. 
 
 To the walks of Surgery, however, we must look for the genius of 
 PHYSICK in its most decided and extensive application. It is there 
 that we find it exhibiting a series of triumphs over cases of dis-
 
 PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK. 
 
 ease which had baffled the skill of men only inferior to himself and 
 it is there that it was most active in inventions to improve and to 
 palliate established modes of treatment. His management of diseased 
 joints by perfect rest, elevation, and diet, is a happy substitute for the 
 errors generated under the use of the term scrofula or white swelling, 
 and ending either by amputation or in death sometimes in both. 
 His treatment of the inflammation of the hip-joint in children (coxalgia), 
 by a splint, low diet, and frequent purging, exhibits another of those 
 successful innovations upon ordinary practice. His invention of an ap- 
 propriate treatment and cure for that loathsome disease, artificial anus, 
 which invention has been so unceremoniously modified and claimed 
 by a distinguished French surgeon, the late Baron Dupuytren, is a 
 proof of the activity and resources of his professional mind. Another 
 invention, still more frequent in its employment, from the greater num- 
 ber of such cases, is the application of the seton to the cure of fractures 
 of bones refusing to unite. Other inventions are found in the treat- 
 ment of mortification by blisters ; of anthrax by caustic alkali ; the 
 ligature of kid skin for arteries in excisions of the female breast. To 
 him, also, we owe the original act, if not invention, of pumping out the 
 stomach in cases of poisoning ; also an improvement in the treatment 
 of fractures of the condyles of the os humeri, so as to render the resto- 
 ration perfect. We might in this way go on to enumerate many other 
 points of excellence about him ; but, however appropriate it might be 
 to offer a complete exposition of them, the space allotted to a memoir 
 of this kind must prohibit a more extensive and complete annun- 
 ciation. Those who have had an opportunity of witnessing his prac- 
 tice extensively, will at least conclude with us in saying, Nihil te~ 
 tigit, quod non ornavit. 
 
 With this great fertility in invention and ardor in the prosecution of 
 his profession, his original papers, as published, are few, and they are 
 also very short. 
 
 Lecturing for many years on Surgery, his chief organ of publicity 
 was his class of students. The Elements of Surgery, published by his 
 nephew, Dr. Dorsey, contain the most perfect account of his opinions 
 and practice up to that period. 
 
 To the preceding claims to professional veneration, were united 
 physical qualifications of the most perfect kind. He had a correct, 
 sharp, and discriminating eye ; a hand delicate in its touch and move- 
 ment, and which never trembled or faltered ; an entire composure and 
 self-possession, the energy of which increased upon an unexpected 
 emergency. He had a forethought of all possible contingencies and
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 demands during a great operation, and therefore had every thing pre- 
 pared for it ; when performed, he entered upon a most conscientious 
 discharge of his duty to the patient, and watched him with a vigilance 
 and anxiety which never remitted till his fate was ascertained. 
 
 If to the foregoing brilliant qualities as an operator, and the loud plau- 
 dits which attended their exercise, we add a chastening of feeling which 
 subdued every sentiment of vanity and regulated entirely his judg- 
 ment ; and that he had an invincible repugnance, a horror at engaging 
 in dangerous operations through ostentation, and where the probabili- 
 ties of cure were not largely in favor of the patient ; we have in this 
 summary the most perfect example of a surgeon which this country 
 has ever seen. But as these great points and striking professional 
 landmarks seldom come in clusters, it will probably be long in the 
 course of Providence before there will be a re-union of all the same 
 excellent qualities. 
 
 His operation for the stone on Chief Justice Marshall, in 1831, was 
 the last of his great efforts. He anticipated it with much anxiety, but 
 when brought to the point, he rallied finely every thing was, as usual, 
 in readiness. The unexpected turn given to the operation by the al- 
 most incredible number, probably a thousand, of small calculi which 
 he met with, and their adhesion to the internal coat of the bladder, 
 did not disconcert him in the slightest degree. He in a little time de- 
 tected the existing state of things, and they were brought to a success- 
 ful conclusion, being followed by a complete cure. This operation 
 was the more interesting from the distinction of its two principal per- 
 sonages ; the one, the acknowledged head of the legal profession, and 
 the other of the medical ; and both sustaining themselves, though in 
 advanced life, by that tone of moral firmness and dignity which had 
 advanced them from inconsiderable beginnings to the stations which 
 they then occupied. 
 
 Dr. PHYSICK was of middling stature, and not inclined to corpu- 
 lence even at his best periods of health. His bust was a remarkably 
 fine one ; he had a well-formed head and face, the expression of the lat- 
 ter being thoughtful and pensive, sometimes enlivened in conversation 
 by a smile, but very seldom so spontaneously. His nose was aquiline 
 and thin ; and his eye hazel, well-formed, vivid, and searching his 
 gaze seemed sometimes to penetrate into the very interior of the body. 
 His eye acquired additional effect from his pallid, fixed, and statue-like 
 face. His hands were small, delicate, and flexible. He dressed with 
 great neatness : his clothes being put on with an exact attention to the 
 process, and being from year to year of a uniform cut. Many, no
 
 PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK. 
 
 doubt, remember the very admirable and characteristic appearance 
 imparted to his physiognomy and head by the use of hair powder, and 
 how this almost solitary remnant among the gentlemen of Philadelphia, 
 of an ancient fashion, seemed to be in entire harmony with his own 
 individuality of mind and of reputation. 
 
 Dr. PHYSICK'S traits as a teacher corresponded with other points 
 in his character. His course of Surgery, upon which his reputation 
 was founded in an especial manner, was eminently practical and in- 
 structive. He did not pretend to range over the whole field of this 
 science, but limited himself to topics of daily occurrence, or at least 
 such as might be expected in the practice of any medical man. Re- 
 lying upon his own experience and habits of observation, he had but 
 little to do with the opinions of others ; he quoted them rarely, and 
 never in such a way as to leave the point unsettled by an array of op- 
 posite authorities. His opinions were for the most part founded upon 
 deep reflection, and were decided in one way or another ; he never 
 leaned to one side and inclined to another, so as to neutralise his 
 weight ; he either admitted entire want of information, or considered 
 himself in possession of the requisite degree of it. This tone of senti- 
 ment pervading his lectures, they were most eminently didactic, and 
 were listened to with a thorough conviction of their correctness ; indeed, 
 such was his authority, that it was held almost indisputable to oppose 
 it, was to brand one's self with folly. 
 
 He decidedly preferred studying every thing for himself in the la- 
 boratory of Nature, beginning his analysis of the human machine in a 
 dissecting-room, and solving the problem of its disorders and their cure 
 in a hospital. The proposition in every disease he considered as 
 limiting itself to the positive experience of what had done good and 
 what had done harm. His consultations always assumed this character. 
 
 As his opinions were, for the most part, formed with deliberation, so 
 they were retained with firmness ; and they, like his habits, v/ere du- 
 rable to an extreme. This we may account for, inasmuch as they 
 were never taken up on capricious grounds, but always upon the most 
 scrupulous examination of proof. He required, too, personal proof, 
 such as would satisfy his understanding, through his eyes, his ears, 
 and his touch. Naturally exact, systematic, and persevering, these 
 traits were fully developed by his education and training. 
 
 Not being given to expressions of sentimentalities, his cold and steady 
 manner was mistaken by some for apathy : he felt, however, acute- 
 ly, when not the slightest external indication of it appeared. He was 
 always anxious andf excited when preparing for a great operation, and 

 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 when it was finished, spent sometimes the remainder of the day in bed, 
 in order to recover and tranquilize himself. The death of patients not 
 unfrequently laid him up, from the excess of his sensibilities. 
 
 Having undergone a protracted illness, which reduced him to a 
 most suffering and debilitated state, he died on the 13th of December, 
 1837, being in his seventieth year. He was interred in Christ Church 
 burying-ground, corner of Fifth and Arch streets, Philadelphia, with 
 the strongest expressions of public respect.
 
 l by G. F. Storm fo>m a Drawing by I R Lang!i<-w aftrr *P PorlrBh >iy .T. S. Copley 
 
 Sit,
 
 SAMUEL ADAMS. 
 
 SAMUEL ADAMS was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in September, 
 1722: His ancestors were amongst the early settlers of New England. 
 The family has already been traced through its various branches, in the 
 biographical sketch of President John Adams in this volume, and requires 
 no further notice in this place. SAMUEL ADAMS was remarkable for 
 steady application to his studies at the celebrated Latin school of Master 
 Lovell. He entered Harvard university at an early age. and graduated in 
 1740, when he discussed the folio wing question, " Whether it be lawful 
 to resist the supreme magistrate, if the commonwealth cannot otherwise 
 be preserved." He maintained the affirmative in the presence of the king's 
 governor and council ; and thus evinced, at that early period, his attach- 
 ment to the liberties of the people. About the same time he published 
 a pamphlet, called " Englishmen's Rights," the expense of which he 
 paid out of the small stipend allowed him by his father while he 
 was a student. 
 
 It has been stated that he intended to have devoted himself to the 
 gospel ministry, but that his father designed him for the bar ; the inten- 
 tions of both were overruled by his mother, and the course of life adopt- 
 ed was that of commerce, to which he was neither inclined nor fitted ; 
 and although he was placed under the charge of an eminent merchant, 
 Mr. Thomas Gushing, he acquired little knowledge of business, nor 
 was he able to support himself when he commenced business on his 
 own account. The capital given to him by his father, by imprudent 
 credits and other losses was soon consumed. His father died soon 
 after, and as he was the eldest son, the care of the family and the 
 management of the estate devolved upon him. 
 
 It may be seen that MR. ADAMS took an interest in political sub- 
 jects at an early period of life, both from the choice of his subject when 
 he took his degree at Cambridge, and of his first pamphlet. Similar 
 subjects occupied his attention afterwards. While yet a clerk to Mr.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 Gushing, he formed a club, each member of which agreed to furnish a 
 political essay for a newspaper called the Independent Advertiser. 
 These essays brought the writers into notice, and they were dubbed, 
 in derision, the " Whipping-post Club." During the administration ot 
 Governor Shirley, he was known as a political writer in opposition 
 to the dangerous union of too much civil and military power in the 
 hands of one man. His ingenuity, wit, and clear and cogent argu- 
 ments, gained public confidence, and laid the foundation for that influ- 
 ence over his fellow-citizens, which made him afterwards a mark for 
 the especial dislike of the royalists. 
 
 In 1763 the agent of Massachusetts in London transmitted intelli- 
 gence that it was contemplated, by the ministry, to tax the colonies. 
 This soon produced a great excitement. It was expected that Gover- 
 nor Bernard would immediately call the Massachusetts house of as- 
 sembly together, and that such instructions would be sent to the agent 
 as might have a tendency to prevent the contemplated proceedings ; 
 but to the surprise of the public, the governor took no notice of the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 In May, 1764. a new election was held of members of the assembly, 
 and according to custom, written instructions were prepared by the 
 people for their representatives. MR. ADAMS was one of the five who 
 were selected by the people of Boston on this occasion. The instruc- 
 tions were written by him, and were approved by the town. The do- 
 cument was published at the time in the Boston Gazette, and is said 
 to be the first public document that denied the " supremacy of the Bri- 
 tish parliament, and their right to tax the colonies without their own 
 consent." 
 
 It is well known that at this time a private club was formed in Bos- 
 ton for the purpose of deciding on the most proper measures to be ta- 
 ken at this important crisis. It was composed of the leading patriots 
 of the day. It was the secret spring which set in motion the public 
 body. MR. ADAMS was one of that patriotic conclave, and went 
 with all his heart into the measures determined on, to resist every in- 
 fringement of the rights of the colonies. The Stamp Act was a fla- 
 grant violation of them ; and to suffer it to be quitely carried into ef- 
 fect, would establish a precedent and encourage further proceedings. 
 MR. ADAMS was not averse to the manner in which the people evinc- 
 ed their determined opposition by destroying the stamp papers and 
 office in Boston ; but he highly disapproved the riots and disorders 
 which followed, and personally aided the civil power in the suppres- 
 sion of them. 
 
 - '< 2
 
 SAMUEL ADAMS. 
 
 He was elected a member of the general assembly of Massachusetts 
 in 1765, in the place of Oxenbridge Thatcher, deceased. He was 
 soon after chosen clerk to the House, and acquired influence in the Le- 
 gislature, in which he continued nearly ten years. He was frequently 
 upon important committees, and was the soul that animated their most 
 decisive resolutions. In 1767 he suggested a plan to counteract the 
 operation of the act imposing duties. It was agreed to by the mer- 
 chants, and nearly all of them in the province bound themselves, if 
 the duties were not repealed, not to import any but certain enumerated 
 articles after the 1st of January, 1769. 
 
 He was chairman of the committee appointed by the people of Bos 
 ton to wait upon Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson, and urge the 
 withdrawal of the British troops from the town, after the fatal affray of 
 the 5th of March, 1770. MR. ADAMS, in a speech of some length, 
 pressed the subject with great ability, and enumerated the fatal conse- 
 quences which would ensue if the vote of the town was not immedi- 
 ately complied with. Hutchinson prevaricated, and denied that the 
 troops were subject to his authority ; but promised to direct the remo- 
 val of the 29th regiment. MR. ADAMS again rose. Filled with the 
 magnitude of the subject, and irritated by the manner in which it had 
 been treated by the Lieutenant-governor, he replied with indignation 
 and boldness, {; That it was well known that, acting as governor of the 
 province, he was by its charter commander- in-chief of his Majesty's 
 military and naval forces, and, as such, the troops were subject to his 
 orders ; and if he had the power to remove one regiment, he had the 
 power to remove both ; and nothing short of that would satisfy the 
 people ; and it was at his peril if the vote of the town was not imme- 
 diately complied with ; and if it be longer delayed, he alone must be an- 
 swerable for the fatal consequences that would ensue." This produced 
 a momentary silence. It was now dark, and the people were waiting 
 for the report of their committee. After a short conference with Colo- 
 nel Dalrymple, Hutchinson gave his consent to the removal of both 
 regiments, which was accordingly effected the following day. 
 
 As early as 1766 MR. ADAMS had been impressed with the impor- 
 tance of establishing committees of correspondence throughout the co- 
 lonies ; but the plan was not carried into operation until 1772, when it 
 was first adopted by Massachusetts on his motion, at a public town 
 meeting in Boston, and was soon after followed by all the provinces. 
 
 Every method had been tried to induce MR. ADAMS to abandon the 
 cause of his country, which he had supported with so much zeal, 
 courage, and ability. Threats and caresses had proved equally un-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 availing:. Prior to this time there is no certain proof that any direct 
 attempt was made upon his virtue and integrity, although a report had 
 been publicly and freely circulated that it had been unsuccessfully 
 tried by Governor Bernard. Hutchinson knew him too well to make 
 the attempt. But Governor Gage was empowered to try the experi- 
 ment. He sent to him a confidential and verbal message by Colonel 
 Fenton, who waited upon MR. ADAMS, and after the customary salu- 
 tations, he stated the object of his visit. He said, that an adjustment 
 of the disputes which existed between England and the colonies, and 
 a reconciliation, was very desirable as well as important to the interest 
 of both. That he was authorized from Governor Gage to assure him, 
 that he had been empowered to confer upon him such benefits as 
 would be satisfactory, upon the condition that he would engage to 
 cease in his opposition to the measures of government. He also ob- 
 served, that it was the advice of Governor Gage to him, not to incur 
 the further displeasure of his Majesty ; that his conduct had been such 
 as made him liable to the penalties of an act of Henry VIII. by which 
 persons could be sent to England for trial of treason or misprision ot 
 treason, at the discretion of a governor of a province ; but by changing 
 his political course, he would not only receive great personal advanta- 
 ges, but would thereby make his peace with the king. MR. ADAMS 
 listened with apparent interest to this recital. He asked Colonel Fen- 
 ton if he would truly deliver his reply as it should be given. After 
 some hesitation, he assented. MR. ADAMS required his word of honor, 
 which he pledged. 
 
 Then rising from his chair, and assuming a determined manner, he 
 replied, "I trust I have long since made MY PEACE WITH THE KING 
 OF KINGS. No personal consideration shall induce me to abandon the 
 righteous cause of my country. Tell Governor Gage, IT is THE AD- 
 VICE OF SAMUEL ADAMS TO HIM no longer to insult the feelings of 
 an exasperated people." 
 
 With a full sense of his own perilous situation, marked as an object 
 of ministerial vengeance, laboring under pecuniary embarrassment, but 
 fearless of personal consequences, he steadily pursued the great object 
 of his soul, the liberty of the people. 
 
 The time required bold and inflexible measures. Common distress 
 required common counsel. The aspect was appalling to some of the 
 most decided patriots of the day. The severity of punishment, which 
 was inflicted on the people of Boston by the power of England, pro- 
 duced a melancholy sadness on the friends of American freedom. 
 The Massachusetts house of assembly was then in session at Salem
 
 SAMUEL ADAMS. 
 
 A committee of that body was chosen to consider and report the state 
 of the province. MR. ADAMS, it is said, observed that some of the 
 committee were for mild measures, which he judged no way suited to 
 the present emergency. He conferred with Mr. Warren of Plymouth 
 upon the necessity of sprited measures, and then said, " Do you keep 
 the committee in play, and I will go and make a caucus by the time 
 the evening arrives, and do you meet me." MR. ADAMS secured a 
 meeting of about five principal members of the house at the time spe- 
 cified, and repeated his endeavors for the second and third nights, 
 when the number amounted to more than thirty. The friends of the 
 administration knew nothing of the matter. The popular leaders took 
 the sense of the members in a private way, and found that they would 
 be able to carry their scheme by a sufficient majority. They had their 
 whole plan completed, prepared their resolutions, and then determined 
 to bring the business forward ; but before they commenced, the door- 
 keeper was ordered to let no person in, nor suffer any one to depart. 
 The subjects for discussion were then introduced by MR. ADAMS with 
 his usual eloquence on such great occasions. He was chairman of the 
 committee, and reported the resolutions for the appointment of dele- 
 gates to a general congress to be convened at Philadelphia, to consult 
 on the general safety of America. This report was received with sur- 
 prise and astonishment by the administration party. Such was the 
 apprehension of some, that they were apparently desirous to desert the 
 question. The door-keeper seemed uneasy at his charge, and waver- 
 ing with regard to the performance of the duty assigned to him. At 
 this critical juncture, MR. ADAMS relieved him by taking the key 
 and keeping it himself. The resolutions were passed ; five delegates, 
 consisting of SAMUEL ADAMS, Thomas Cashing, Robert Treat Paine, 
 John Adams, and James Bowdoin, were appointed, the expense was 
 estimated, and funds were voted for the payment. Before the business 
 was finally closed, a member made a plea of indisposition, and was al- 
 lowed to leave the house. This person went directly to the Governor, 
 and informed him of their high-handed proceedings. The Governor 
 immediately sent his secretary to dissolve the assembly, who found the 
 door locked. He demanded entrance ; but was answered, that his de- 
 sire could not be complied with until some important business, then 
 before the house, was concluded. Finding every method to gain ad- 
 mission ineffectual, he read the order on the stairs for an immediate 
 dissolution of the assembly. The order, however, was disregarded by 
 the house. They continued their deliberations, passed all their in- 
 tended measures, and then obeyed the mandate for dissolution.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 After many unavailing efforts, both by threats and promises, to al- 
 lure this inflexible patriot from his devotion to the sacred cause of in- 
 dependence, Governor Gage at length, on the 12th of June, 1775, is- 
 sued that memorable proclamation, of which the following is an ex- 
 tract : " In this exigency of complicated calamities, I avail myself of 
 the last efforts within the bounds of my duty to spare the further effu- 
 sion of blood, to offer, and I do hereby in his Majesty's name offer and 
 promise, his most gracious pardon to all persons who shall forthwith 
 lay down their arms, and return to the duties of peaceable subjects, 
 excepting only from the benefit of such pardon, SAMUEL ADAMS and 
 John Hancock, whose offences are of too flagitious a nature to admit of 
 any other consideration than that of condign punishment." This was 
 a diploma, conferring greater honors on the individuals than any 
 other which was within the power of his Britannic majesty to bestow. 
 
 In a letter, dated April, 1776, at Philadelphia, while he was in con- 
 gress, to Major Hawley of Massachusetts, he said, " I am perfectly satis- 
 fied of the necessity of a public and explicit declaration of indepen- 
 dence. 1 cannot conceive what good reason can be assigned against 
 it. Will it widen the breach ? This would be a strange question 
 after we have raised armies and fought battles with the British troops ; 
 set up an American navy, permitted the inhabitants of these colonies 
 to fit out armed vessels to capture the ships, &c. belonging to any of 
 the inhabitants of Great Britain ; declaring them the enemies of the 
 United Colonies, and torn into shivers their acts of trade, by allowing 
 commerce, subject to regulations to be made by ourselves, with the 
 people of all countries, except such as are subject to the British king. 
 It cannot, surely, after all this, be imagined that we consider ourselves, 
 or mean to be considered by others, in any other state than that of in- 
 dependence." 
 
 In another letter to James Warren, Esq. dated Baltimore, December 
 31, 1776, he said, " I assure you business has been done since we came 
 to this place, more to my satisfaction than any or every thing done be- 
 fore, excepting the ' Declaration of Independence,' which should have 
 been made immediately after the 19th of April, 1775." 
 
 Notwithstanding we had raised armies, built navies, fought battles, 
 and had seen the public grievances still unredressed, yet the minds of 
 many of the leading Whigs were not prepared for the great question of 
 a final separation of the two countries till July 4, 1776. 
 
 The character of MR. ADAMS had become celebrated in foreign 
 countries. In 1773 he had been chosen a member of the society of
 
 SAMUEL ADAMS. 
 
 the bill of rights in London ; and in 1774 John Adams and Doctor 
 Joseph Warren were elected on his nomination. 
 
 Our patriots, in their progress to independence, had successfully en- 
 countered many formidable obstacles ; but in the year 1777 still great- 
 er difficulties arose, at the prospect of which some of the stoutest 
 hearts began to falter. It was at this critical juncture, after Congress 
 hud resolved to adjourn from Philadelphia to Lancaster, that some of 
 the leading members accidentally met in company with each other. A 
 conversation in mutual confidence ensued. MR. ADAMS, who was one 
 of the number, was cheerful and undismayed at the aspect of affairs ; 
 while the countenances of his friends were, strongly marked with the 
 desponding feelings of their hearts. The con versation naturally turned 
 upon the subject which most engaged their feelings. Each took occa- 
 sion to express his opinions on the situation of the public cause, and 
 all were gloomy and sad. MR. ADAMS listened in silence till they had 
 finished. He then said, " Gentlemen, your spirits appear to be heavily 
 oppressed with our public calamities. I hope you do not despair of 
 our final success ?" It was answered, " That the chance was desperate." 
 MR. ADAMS replied, " If this be our language, it is so, indeed. If we 
 wear long faces, they will become fashionable. The people take their 
 tone from ours ; and if we despair, can it be expected that they will con- 
 tinue their efforts in what we conceive to be a hopeless cause ? Let 
 us banish such feelings, and show a spirit that will keep alive the con- 
 fidence of the people rather than damp their courage. Better tidings 
 will soon arrive. Our cause is just and righteous, and we shall never 
 be abandoned by Heaven while we show ourselves worthy of its aid 
 and protection." 
 
 At this time there were but twenty-eight of the members of Con- 
 gress present at Philadelphia. MR. ADAMS said, " That this was the 
 smallest, but the truest Congress they ever had." 
 
 But a few days had elapsed when the news arrived of the glorious 
 success at Saratoga, which gave a new complexion to our affairs and 
 confidence to our hopes. 
 
 Soon after this, Lord Howe, the Earl of Carlisle, and Mr. Eden, ar- 
 rived as commissioners to treat for peace under Lord North's concilia- 
 tory proposition. MR. ADAMS was one of the committee chosen by 
 Congress to draught an answer to their letter. In this it is stated, 
 " That Congress will readily attend to such terms of peace as may con- 
 sist with the honor of an independent nation." 
 
 At this time the enemies of our freedom were busily employed to 
 create disunion among its friends. Reports were circulated of attempts
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 to deprive General Washington of his command, in which, it was said, 
 MR. ADAMS was a principal leader. This was not true. It is pos- 
 sible that some warm expressions may have fallen from him when he 
 spoke of the multiplied disasters which attended our military opera 
 tions, and of the effects they produced on the public mind ; and for po- 
 litical purposes, our opponents gave to them, probably, a different and 
 distorted sense. 
 
 In a letter to his friend, Richard Henry Lee, Esq. dated in 1789, in 
 speaking of executive appointments as provided for in the constitution 
 of the United States, he thus notices the subject : " I need not tell you, 
 who have known so thoroughly the sentiments of my heart, that I have 
 always had a very high esteem for the late commander-in-chief of our 
 armies ; and I now most sincerely believe, that while President Wash- 
 ington continues in the chair, he will be able to give, to all good men, 
 a satisfactory reason for every instance of his public conduct. I feel 
 myself constrained, contrary to my usual manner, to make professions 
 of sincerity on this occasion ; because Doctor Gordon, in his History of 
 the Revolution, has gravely said that I was concerned in an attempt 
 to remove General Washington from command ; and mentions an ano- 
 nymous letter to your late Governor Henry, which I affirm I never 
 saw, nor heard of, till I lately met with it in reading the history." 
 
 In 1779 SAMUEL ADAMS was placed by the state convention on a 
 committee to prepare and report a form of government for Massachu- 
 setts. By this committee he and John Adams were appointed a sub- 
 committee to furnish a draught of the constitution. The draught pro- 
 duced by them was reported to the convention, and, after some amend- 
 ments, accepted. The address of the convention to the people was 
 jointly written by them. 
 
 In 1781 he was elected a member of the Senate of Massachusetts, 
 and was shortly afterwards elevated to the presidency of that body. 
 
 In 1787 he was chosen a member of the Massachusetts convention 
 for the ratification of the constitution of the United States. He had 
 some objections to it in its reported form ; the principal of which was 
 to that article which rendered the several States amenable to the Courts 
 of the nation. He thought that this would reduce them to mere cor- 
 porations. There was a very powerful opposition to it. and some of 
 its most zealous friends and supporters were fearful that it would not 
 be accepted. 
 
 MR. ADAMS had not then given his sentiments upon it in the con- 
 vention ; but regularly attended the debates. 
 
 Some of the leading advocates waited upon MR. ADAMS and Mr.
 
 SAMUEL ADAMS. 
 
 Hancock, to ascertain their opinions and wishes, in a private manner. 
 MR. ADAMS stated his objections, and said that he should not give it 
 his support unless certain amendments were recommended to be adopt- 
 ed. These he enumerated. Mr. Hancock was president of the con- 
 vention, and at that time confined to his house by indisposition. His 
 opinion coincided with that of MR. ADAMS ; and he observed, that he 
 would attend and give it his support upon the same condition express- 
 ed by MR. ADAMS. This was mutually agreed to. MR. ADAMS pre- 
 pared his amendments, which were brought before the convention, and 
 referred to a committee, who made some inconsiderable alterations, 
 with which the constitution was accepted. Some of these were after- 
 wards agreed to as amendments, and form, at present, a part of that 
 instrument. 
 
 In 1789 he was elected Lieutenant-governor of the State of Massa- 
 chusetts, and continued to fill that office till 1794, when he was chosen 
 governor of that state. He was annually re-elected till 1797, when, 
 oppressed with years and bodily affirmities, he declined being again a 
 candidate, and retired to private life. 
 
 After many years of incessant exertions, employed in the establish- 
 ment of the independence of America, he died on the 3d October, 1803, 
 in the eighty-second year of his age, in indigent circumstances. 
 
 The person of SAMUEL ADAMS was of middle size. His countenance 
 was a true index of his mind, and possessed those lofty and elevated 
 characteristics which are always found to accompany true greatness. 
 
 He was a steady professor of the Christian religion, and uniformly 
 attended public worship. His family devotions were regularly per- 
 formed, and his morality was never impeached. 
 
 In his manners and deportment he was sincere and unaffected ; in 
 conversation, pleasing and instructive ; and in his friendships, stead- 
 fast and affectionate. 
 
 His revolutionary labors were not surpassed by those of any indi- 
 vidual. From the commencement of the dispute with Great Britain 
 he was incessantly employed in public service ; opposing, at one time, 
 the doctrine of the supremacy of" parliament in all cases," taking the 
 lead in questions of controverted policy with the royal governors, writ- 
 ing state papers from 1765 to 1774 ; in planning and organizing 
 clubs and committees, haranguing in town meetings, or filling the 
 columns of public prints with essays adapted to the spirit and temper 
 of the times. In addition to these occupations, he maintained an exten 
 sive and laborious correspondence with the friends of American free 
 dom in Great Britain and in the provinces.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 No man was more intrepid and dauntless when encompassed by 
 dangers, or more calm and unmoved amid public disasters and adverse 
 fortune. His bold and daring conduct and language subjected him to 
 great personal hazards. Had any fatal event occurred to our country, 
 by which she had fallen in her struggle for liberty. SAMUEL ADAMS 
 would have been the first victim of ministerial vengeance. His blood 
 would have been first shed as a sacrifice on the altar of tyranny, for 
 the noble magnanimity and independence with which he defended 
 the cause of freedom. But such was his firmness, that he probably 
 would have met death with as much composure as he regarded it 
 with unconcern. 
 
 His writings were numerous, and much distinguished for their ele- 
 gance and fervor ; but, unfortunately, the greater part of them have 
 been lost, or so distributed as to render their collection impossible. 
 
 He was the author of a letter to the Earl of Hillsborough ; of many 
 political essays directed against the administration of Governor Shirley; 
 of a letter in answer to Thomas Paine in defence of Christianity, 
 and of an oration published in the year 1776. 
 
 Four letters of his correspondence on government are extant, and 
 were published in a pamphlet form in 1800. 
 
 MR. ADAMS'S eloquence was of a peculiar character. His language 
 was pure, concise, and impressive. He was more logical than figura- 
 tive. His arguments were addressed rather to the understanding than 
 to the feelings ; yet he always engaged the deepest attention of his au- 
 dience. On ordinary occasions there was nothing remarkable in his 
 speeches ; but on great questions, when his own feelings were interest- 
 ed, he would combine every thing great in oratory. In the language 
 of an elegant writer, the great qualities of his mind were fully display- 
 ed in proportion as the field for their exertion was extended ; and the 
 energy of his language was not inferior to the depth of his mind. It 
 was an eloquence admirably adapted to the age in which he flourished, 
 and exactly calculated to attain the object of his pursuit. It may well 
 be described in the language of the poet, " thoughts which breathe, 
 and words which burn." An eloquence, not consisting of theatrical 
 gesture or the pomp of words ; but that which was a true picture of 
 a heart glowing with the sublime enthusiasm and ardor of patriotism ; 
 an eloquence, to which his fellow-citizens listened with applause and 
 rapture ; and little inferior to the best models of antiquity, for simplicity, 
 majesty, and persuasion.
 
 MA.KiK f.KXEHA
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT was born, on the 13th of June, 1785, in the coun- 
 ty of Dinwiddie, near Petersburgh, Virginia. Being intended for the 
 law, he received a liberal education, and was graduated at Williams 
 and Mary College. In 1806, having completed his studies, he com- 
 menced practice at the bar ; and his talents and acquirements bid fair 
 to introduce him in a short time to a lucrative business. In 1807, the 
 outrage upon the frigate Chesapeake roused the indignant feelings of 
 the nation ; redress was loudly called for, and the more ardent of our 
 countrymen anticipated an immediate war. The measures of Congress 
 at their next session rendering a rupture probable, young SCOTT for- 
 sook the law, and accepted a commission as the captain in a regiment of 
 light artillery, which was raised upon the enlargement of the army. 
 In this capacity he remained prosecuting his military studies, until the 
 declaration of war opened a more arduous field for the exercise of his 
 talents. 
 
 During the early part of his military career, Capt. SCOTT con- 
 ceiving himself injured by his commanding officer, Gen. Wilkin- 
 son, expressed himself very freely regarding that gentleman. For this 
 offence having been brought before a court-martial, and not being al- 
 lowed to adduce in his defence the provocation received, he was found 
 guilty, and sentenced to be suspended for twelve months from his com- 
 mand. 
 
 In the spring of 1812 he acted as Judge Advocate on the trial of 
 Col. Gushing. His speech on this occasion affords honorable testirno- 
 my both of his legal attainments and rhetorical ability. 
 
 On the 6th of July, 1812, SCOTT was promoted to the rank of Lieut. 
 Col. in the 2nd regiment of artillery ; and early in the autumn of the 
 same year he was posted with his regiment at Black Rock, to protect 
 the navy yard at that place.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 On the 9th of October Lieut. Elliot of the navy, at the head of a 
 small party of seamen and a few troops, whom Col. SCOTT had des- 
 patched to his assistance, succeeded in cutting out two small brigs, the 
 Detroit and Caledonia, from under the guns of fort Erie. In dropping 
 down the river, the Detroit became unmanageable, and taking a wrong 
 channel, grounded under the guns of the enemy's battery. Here she 
 was abandoned by her crew, and immediately afterwards taken pos- 
 session of by the British. By the well-directed fire of a few light guns 
 stationed opposite, Col. SCOTT again obtained possession of the brig, 
 and held it until the vessel was burnt. This was the first time he was 
 actually engaged with an enemy. 
 
 On the 13th of October the attack upon Queenslon under Col. So- 
 lomon Yan Rensselaer took place. On the day previous, Lieut. Col. 
 SCOTT had arrived with his regiment at Schlosser, twelve miles from 
 Lewiston. Obtaining here some information of the anticipated move- 
 ment, he rode immediately to Lewiston, and earnestly entreated Gen. 
 Yan Rensselaer that he might accompany the expedition. The 
 General, however, informed him that his arrangements had already 
 been perfected, and that, consequently, his request could not be acceded 
 to. Anxious at all events to be near the scene of action, SCOTT obtained 
 permission to march his regiment to Lewiston, and to use his artillery 
 as circumstances might direct. In the early part of the action which fol- 
 lowed, he bore no part ; but it soon being announced that both Col. 
 Fenwick and Col. Yan Rensselaer had fallen severely wounded, Col. 
 SCOTT'S renewed request to be sent across the river was finally acced- 
 ed to. The Americans were already in possession of the heights ; 
 having driven the enemy before them, and repulsed an attack under 
 Gen. Brock, who had come up with reinforcements, Gen. Brock being 
 himself killed in the engagement. 
 
 On his arrival Col. SCOTT found the troops in considerable disorder. 
 Announcing his name and rank, he immediately formed them into 
 line. On counting, they amounted to three hundred and fifty regulars-, 
 rank and file, and two hundred and fifty-seven volunteers, under Gen. 
 Wadsworth and Col. Stranahan. Col. SCOTT'S attention was now di- 
 rected to an eighteen-pounder, which the enemy in his retreat had left in 
 the hands of the Americans after having hastily spiked it, and he pro- 
 ceeded in person to direct the measures for rendering the piece again 
 Tiseful. Returning in a short time, he was surprised to find a large 
 body of Indians in the act of attacking the American lines, while the 
 troops, already in some confusion, were on the point of giving way. 
 His presence quickly changed the state of affairs. The troops reco-
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 vered their firmness, and the Indians were compelled to make a speedy 
 retreat. 
 
 For several hours the Americans maintained their position unmo- 
 lested by the regular troops of the enemy, who were waiting to be re- 
 inforced from Fort George. During this time the Indians repeatedly at- 
 tacked the American line ; two of them in particular appeared to single 
 out Gen. SCOTT, who was conspicuous by his commanding stature and 
 the brilliancy of his uniform, as the special object of their attack. To 
 such a marked degree was this the case, that Major Towson sent a 
 message to SCOTT upon the subject, accompanied by his own overcoat, 
 and a request for him to put it on. But SCOTT declined to take ad- 
 vantage of this considerate kindness ; and the Indians were finally 
 driven from a wood, to which they had retreated, t$r a charge which he 
 gallantly led in person. 
 
 While these transactions were taking place upon the Canadian shore, 
 every effort was made by the commanding officers to induce the Ame- 
 rican militia on the opposite side of the river to cross over to the as- 
 sistance of their countrymen, but in vain : entreaty was wasted upon 
 them ; and as all the boats were upon the American side, the little band 
 under SCOTT was left to await a fate from which there was no retreat. 
 The enemy having been reinforced by the garrison from Fort George, 
 under Gen. Sheaffe, now numbered in regulars, Indians, and militia, 
 over one thousand men. At the head of this superior force Gen. 
 Sheaffe advanced steadily, but slowly and cautiously, upon an 
 enemy whose valor had already been felt. At length they closed. 
 For a short time the Americans maintained their position ; but, press- 
 ed upon by a greatly superior force, and nearly surrounded, they at 
 length gave way, and retreated to the bank of the river. All had now 
 been done that was required by honor, and longer resistance would 
 only have sacrificed in vain the lives of brave men. Terms of capitu- 
 lation were accordingly agreed upon, and Col. SCOTT surrendered into 
 the hands of the enemy his whole force, now reduced to one hun- 
 dred and thirty-nine regulars and one hundred and fifty-four militia ; 
 in all two hundred and ninety-three men. To SCOTT'S mortification, 
 the number of prisoners was afterwards swelled by several hundreds 
 of militia, who, having crossed over to the Canadian shore, had con- 
 cealed themselves among the rocks, and had never taken the slightest 
 share in the action. After the surrender, two of the Indian chiefs 
 came up to SCOTT, and could not be persuaded that he had escaped, 
 unwounded, the numerous balls they had levelled at him. 
 
 From Q,ueenston SCOTT was sent to Quebec ; and thence, having
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 been parolled, he embarked for Boston. Soon afterwards, in January, 
 1813, he was exchanged. 
 
 In the spring, Col. SCOTT joined the army at Fort Niagara, under 
 the command of Maj. Gen. Dearborn, in the capacity of Adjutant-ge- 
 neral. This office was then new in our service, but SCOTT succeeded 
 in regulating its details, and discharging its duties in a manner alike 
 satisfactory to the commanding officer and beneficial to the service. 
 
 By the latter part of May, Gen. Dearborn had assembled in the neigh- 
 borhood of Niagara a force of near five thousand men ; and arrange- 
 ments were consequently entered upon, by him and Commodore Chaun- 
 cey, for the attack on Fort George. On the 26th of May, at one o'clock 
 in the morning, the army embarked in boats, under the immediate com- 
 mand of Major-general Lewis. It was formed in six divisions ; of these 
 SCOTT was selected to lead the first, numbering about five hundred men. 
 At nine in the morning Col. S. effected a landing under a heavy fire of 
 musketry arid cannon, about a mile and a quarter from Newark, and 
 the same distance west of the mouth of the Niagara. Forming his men 
 under the shelter of a bank which partially protected them from the 
 fire of the enemy, he immediately led them to the assault. The enemy, 
 about fifteen hundred strong, were formed immediately upon the brow 
 of a hill. A vigorous charge up hill soon drove them from their ad- 
 vantageous position at the point of the bayonet. Retreating, they ral- 
 lied, and took up a new position behind a ravine at a little distance. 
 Here the action was renewed, and for about twenty minutes was se- 
 vere and well-contested. The division under Gen. Boyd had now 
 landed, and rapidly advanced to the support of Col. SCOTT ; the enemy 
 was again compelled to retreat, closely followed by the 1st division un- 
 til it was recalled from the pursuit. On approaching Fort George, it 
 was perceived that the enemy was about abandoning the works. Two 
 companies were detached from the head of the pursuing column to 
 prevent this movement, and a few prisoners were made. While the 
 American troops were about eighty paces distant, one of the magazines 
 blew up with a tremendous explosion. The gates were immediately 
 forced, and Col. SCOTT being the first to enter, removed, with his own 
 hands, the British flag, which was still flying on the works ; while 
 Captains Hindman and Stockton extinguished the matches by which 
 it was intended to fire the other magazines. In his despatches, Gen. 
 Dearborn, after praising the universal good conduct of those engaged, 
 mentions Col. SCOTT among those who had pre-eminently distinguish- 
 ed themselves by their bravery and conduct. 
 
 During the summer of 1813, though engaged in several skirmishes
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 in which he displayed his usual gallantry, Col. SCOTT had no oppor- 
 tunity of particularly distinguishing himself. The army under its 
 successive commanders, Gen. Dearborn, Lewis, Boyd, and Wilkinson, 
 remained quietly in the neighborhood of Fort George ; and the subor- 
 dinate officers necessarily partook of its inactivity. 
 
 In the commencement of October, the army under Gen. Wilkinson 
 was embarked, and proceeded down the lake on the fruitless expedi- 
 tion against Montreal. Col. SCOTT was left in command of the garri- 
 son of Fort George, consisting of between seven and eight thousand 
 men, regulars and militia. For a few days the movements of the Bri- 
 tish General rendered it a matter of doubt whether or not he was 
 about to attack the garrison; during this time SCOTT was assiduously 
 employed in strengthening his defences. On the 9th of October De 
 Rottenburg suddenly broke up his encampment, and retreated to Bur- 
 lington Heights, fifty-three miles distant ; according to the instructions 
 of the commanding officer, Col. SCOTT was now relieved of the com- 
 mand of the fort, and he immediately marched his regiment to Sackett's 
 Harbor, there to join the expedition under Gen. Wilkinson. It is well 
 known that the expedition, after exciting much expectation, finally re- 
 sulted in utter failure. The troops endured great fatigue, and en- 
 countered considerable danger in the difficult and perilous navigation 
 of the St. Lawrence, without obtaining an opportunity of distinguish- 
 ing themselves or benefitting their country. 
 
 Col. SCOTT spent part of the winter of 1813-14 in Albany. On the 
 9th of March he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-general, and he 
 joined Gen. Brown on his route to Niagara, in the commencement of 
 the next month. Soon after Gen. Brown was called to Sackett's Harbor, 
 and the command, in consequence, devolved upon Gen. SCOTT, who im- 
 mediately assembled the army and established a camp of instruction. 
 His whole attention was now given to perfecting the discipline of the 
 troops, to give them that celerity and combination of movement, which 
 in modern times has made war a science, and rendered individual 
 prowess of so little avail. For two months and a half the troops were 
 drilled daily from seven to nine hours each day, until finally they ex- 
 hibited a perfection of discipline, never before attained in our army. 
 They were now prepared to meet on terms of equality the veteran 
 troops of the enemy, and they soon had an opportunity of showing the 
 advantages they had derived from their instruction. In June, Major 
 Gen. Brown reached Buffalo with reinforcements, and in the com- 
 mencement of the next month the campaign was opened. The Nia- 
 gara was passed on the 3d of July, and Fort Erie was taken on the
 
 NATIONAL 
 
 same day by a portion of SCOTT'S brigade under Major Jessop. Oft 
 the morning of the 4th the army moved towards Cbippewa, Gen. 
 SCOTT'S brigade being in advance ; and on the evening of the mne 
 day took up a position on the bank of Street's Cieek ; about twomfles 
 d isfn t from the British encampment. The stream was in Irani of the 
 American position, having beyond it an extensive plain ; its right rest- 
 ed upon the Niagara, and its left upon a wood. On the following 
 day the British militia and the Indians having occupied the wood, 
 commenced annoying the American piquets from it until Brig. Gen. 
 Porter at the head of his brigade of militia and friendly Indians, drove 
 the enemy from the wood back upon the Cbippewa, Here the British 
 irregulars being supported by their whole army drawn oat in line and 
 advancing to the attack, Gen. Porter in his turn was compelled to 
 give way. 
 
 The heaviness of the firing informed Gen. Brown of the advance of 
 the main body of the enemy. It was now about five o'clock in the 
 afternoon. Gen. SCOTT was at this moment advancing with his 
 brigade to drill upon the plain on which the battle was afterwards 
 fought. On the march he met Gen. Brown, who said to him, " The 
 enemy is advancing you will have a fight." Beyond this brief re- 
 murk Gen. SCOTT received no orders from the commanding General, 
 who passed on to put the reserve in motion. When Gen. SCOTT 
 reached the stream fronting the American camp, the enemy was drawn 
 up iu order of battle. Crossing the bridge under a heavy fire of artillery, 
 Gen. SCOTT formed his line. The battalions of Majors Leavenworth 
 and M'Neil were opposed respectively to the left and centre of the ene- 
 mies, while the battalion of Major Jessup formed upon the left, and 
 was ordered to advance upon the British right wing which rested upon 
 a wood; and the artillery was posted on the right resting upon the 
 river. The British line outflanking ours upon the right from the su- 
 perior number of the enemy, Gen. SCOTT was compelled to increase 
 the interval between the battalions of Leavenworth and M'Neil. These 
 movements were executed steadily and with precision. The action 
 becoming general, Major Jessup having engaged, and broken off the 
 right wing of the enemy while their main body continued to advance, 
 gave their army a new flank. Taking advantage of this circumstance, 
 and assisted by the enlarged interval between the battalions of Leaven- 
 worth and M'Neil, Gen. SCOTT threw the battalion of the latter for- 
 ward upon its right flank so as to stand obliquely to the charge of the 
 enemy, outflanking them upon the right. This movement, executed 
 with precision, together with the steadiness of our troops and the heavy
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 fire from the artillery, decided the fate of the day. The British army 
 retreated a short distance in good order, then broke, and fled in confu- 
 sion to their intrenchrnents beyond the Chippewa. 
 
 This action was fought by SCOTT alone against superior numbers. 
 Gen. Porter's irregular troops had given way in the commencement 
 of the engagement, and were not again brought into the field ; while 
 the reserve did not come up in time to take any part in the battle. It 
 at once gave the troops confidence in themselves and their leaders ; 
 they had beaten the enemy in a fair field, and with inferior numbers ; 
 and their success could only be attributed to superior skill and disci- 
 pline. 
 
 On the third day after the action the American army crossed the 
 Chippewa, the enemy retreating upon its advance. After remaining a 
 fortnight at Q,ueenston, Gen. Brown recrossed the Chippewa and en- 
 camped at its mouth. On the afternoon of the next day, July 25th, 
 SCOTT was ordered again to advance upon Q,ueenston. At the time 
 the order was received the troops were drawn up for drill, and in con- 
 sequence the march was entered upon immediately. The forces under 
 SCOTT consisted of four small battalions, commanded by Col. Brady and 
 Majors Jessup, Leaven worth, and M'Neil ; a troop of light dragoons, and 
 some mounted volunteers ; the whole amounting to one thousand and 
 fifty men. When about three miles from the camp, and in the neigh- 
 borhood of the falls of Niagara, SCOTT received information that the 
 enemy was directly in his front, concealed from view by a narrow 
 strip of woodland which intervened. This proved to be the advanced 
 corps of the British army, which, under Lieutenant Gen. Drummorid, 
 was advancing to attack the Americans at Chippewa. The enemy was 
 posted on a ridge running as right angles to the Niagara, his left resting 
 on the road, between which and the river there was an interval of 
 about two hundred paces covered with wood ; and his position was still 
 further strengthened by a formidable battery of artillery. He had al- 
 ready fifteen hundred men in line, and his force was constantly in- 
 creasing by the junction of fresh troops on their march from Fort 
 George. 
 
 Notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, after despatching a mes- 
 senger to Gen. Brown, SCOTT resolved on an immediate attack. Ma- 
 jor Jessup, supported by Col. Brady, was ordered to penetrate the wood 
 and turn the enemy's left wing, while the two remaining battalions and 
 Towson's artillery commenced the action in front. Perceiving that 
 his right wing extended far beyond that of our little army, the enemy 
 endeavored to take advantage of this circumstance, and threw forward
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 two battalions to take our army on the left. These were promptly 
 beaten back. Major Jessup in the mean time succeeded in turning 
 the left wing of the British army, and gaining the rear, took Maj. Gen. 
 Riall and several other officers prisoners ; then charging through their 
 line, and cutting off a portion of their wing, he discovered himself to 
 our troops by a heavy fire upon the enemy. The action, which had 
 commenced a little before sunset, had now continued above an hour 
 and a half. The enemy, though his line had been forced in several 
 places, was constantly receiving fresh reinforcements, and SCOTT'S 
 men suffered dreadfully, from the fire of their artillery. At this time 
 the reserve under Maj. Gen. Brown came up, and the remainder of the 
 action was fought under his orders. The remains of SCOTT'S batta- 
 lions were consolidated into one ; and at the head of this SCOTT twice 
 charged the enemy, exposing his person in the most dauntless man- 
 ner, until, having had two horses killed under him, he himself being 
 already wounded, and after his aids, Lieut. North and Brigade Major 
 Smith, had both been wounded by his side, he received a musket ball 
 in the shoulder, which compelled him to retire from the field. 
 
 In proportion to the numbers engaged, this was the most sanguinary 
 battle fought during the war. For more than two hours the hostile 
 lines were within twenty paces of each other, and charges with the 
 bayonet were frequent and resolute. Of the nine hundred and twen- 
 ty men, who constituted the small brigade of SCOTT, four hundred and 
 ninety were killed or wounded. Nor was the determined courage 
 shown in the battle the only circumstance which rendered it remark- 
 able. It commenced a little before sunset, and continued till eleven at 
 night by the light of the moon ; while the roar of Niagara, but a short 
 distance from the field, could be heard amid the din and tumult of 
 the battle. 
 
 On the very day on which was fought the battle of Bridgewater 
 SCOTT was appointed a Major-general by brevet. His wounds, which 
 were severe, confined him for a long time ; nor had he again an oppor- 
 nity of distinguishing himself before the conclusion of peace put an end 
 to all active service in the field. In the mean time his sufferings were 
 alleviated by the testimonials of the approbation and gratitude of his 
 countrymen. Congress ordered him a vote of thanks and a medal ; 
 the legislature of his native state presented him with a similar vote, to- 
 gether with a sword ; the citizens of Petersburgh likewise presented 
 him with a sword, and his name was given to a new county in Vir- 
 ginia.
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 When, in 1815, the army was reduced to the peace establishment, the 
 Secretary of War required the services of Gen. SCOTT, in conjunction 
 with those of Gen. Brown, Ripley, and Macomb, to assist in the deli- 
 cate task of re-organizing the army, and selecting the officers who were 
 still to remain attached to the service. 
 
 In 1817 Gen. SCOTT was drawn into a correspondence with Gen. 
 Jackson, which occasioned much discussion at the time, and which 
 subsequently found its way into the public papers. In the spring of 
 1817 Gen. Jackson had issued an order directing that no commands 
 issued by the war department should be obeyed unless they came 
 through him. This order became the subject of public animadver- 
 sion, and very different views were taken of it by different parties. 
 The conversation turning upon it in a society in which SCOTT was 
 present, he expressed an opinion unfavorable to the propriety of the 
 order. His remarks, colored and distorted, having been conveyed to 
 Gen. Jackson by an anonymous correspondent, that gentleman address- 
 ed a letter to Gen. SCOTT upon the subject. In reply, Gen. SCOTT 
 candidly stated his remarks, and detailed the evils that would result 
 were the conduct of Gen. Jackson generally imitated. The reply, 
 though respectful and manly, was not satisfactory ; and in a second let- 
 ter, after having employed language both harsh and vio'ent, Gen. Jack- 
 son offered a meeting to SCOTT if he felt himself aggrieved by his 
 language. SCOTT'S remarks upon this were both moderate and manly. 
 He says " He thought of New Orleans, and some other affairs, in which 
 both parties had been engaged ; and it appeared to him that a brace of 
 pistols could add nothing to the character of either. He conceived 
 that at the age he had then attained, some little reputation for modera- 
 tion and temper began to "be an object worthy of consideration. In 
 fact, it did not once seriously occur to him that the courage of either 
 could be put in question, and therefore he found himself perfectly at 
 liberty to consult his sense of justice and propriety, rather than his pas- 
 sions." A moderate reply was returned, and the correspondence drop- 
 ped. 
 
 In February, 1.828, the death of Maj. Gen. Brown, who had for a long 
 time been the undisputed head of the army, left it without an imme- 
 diate commander-in-chief. In the following May, Maj. Gen. Macomb 
 was appointed to the vacant office by the President, by and with the 
 advice of the Senate. Gen. SCOTT, who by brevet rank was the senior 
 officer, refused to obey the orders of the new commander-in-chief. The 
 subject was frequently brought before the National Legislature. Atone 
 time Gen. SCOTT was suspended from his command, and after
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 memorializing Congress on the subject, he finally considered himself 
 bound in honor to tender his commission to the President. Congress, 
 however, supported the views of the Executive, and Gen. SCOTT, though 
 still maintaining the justice of his position, at the instance of his friends 
 withdrew his resignation, and continued to be attached to a service of 
 which he had long been an ornament. Without wishing to revive a 
 discussion which will soon be forgotten, it is but right to give so much 
 of SCOTT'S views upon the subject as will serve to justify his course. 
 In his memorial to Congress he says, The rank of commander-in- 
 chief, or the Major-general, is at this time unknown to the laws ; that of 
 Major-general is, in fact, the highest grade in the army. In all servi- 
 ces, military command is determined, first, by difference of grade ; 
 second, by priority in the same grade. Brevet rank has uniformly 
 been held to give command with ordinary rank, except for obvious 
 reasons in the body of an unmixed regiment. Gen. Macomb 
 was Major-general by brevet from the 1st of September, 1814; Gen. 
 SCOTT from the 25th of July of the same year. Of course, brevet rank 
 being the same as ordinary rank, Gen. SCOTT could not be command- 
 ed by his junior officer of the same grade." The President, however, 
 decided differently ; and the National Legislature concurring with 
 him, Gen. SCOTT, as we have before stated, yielded to his decision. 
 
 Upon the breaking out of the disturbances, in May, 1832, on the 
 north-western frontier, caused by the Sac and Fox tribes of Indians 
 under Black Hawk, Gen. SCOTT was ordered to proceed to the scene 
 of action, and take command of the forces destined to subdue the sava- 
 ges. He embarked at Buffalo for Chicago early in July, four small 
 steamboats having been engaged to transport the troops and supplies. 
 Every one remembers, that in the summer of 1832, that dreadful 
 scourge, the cholera, whose progress had been traced at first with cu- 
 riosity, at length with awe and terror, from Asia throughout Europe, 
 first made its appearance upon our shores. " On the eighth of July," 
 writes Gen. SCOTT, " all on board were in high health and spirits, the 
 next morning six undoubted cases of cholera had presented them- 
 selves." The first cases of the disease were fearfully fatal. In the 
 course of a few hours, men previously in the enjoyment of full health 
 were lifeless corpses. The men being crowded together in a confined 
 space, the disease spread rapidly ; in the course of a few days one hun- 
 dred and twenty had been attacked. On arriving at Chicago every 
 member of the General's staff was ill. Gen. SCOTT continued in good 
 health, though "he exposed himself," writes Capt. Monroe, who form- 
 ed one of the expedition, " by attending every officer and soldier taken
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 sick." Of the eight hundred and fifty men who left Buffalo, the num- 
 ber was so reduced by death and desertion, caused by fear of the pes- 
 tilence, that in a short time no more than two hundred were left. 
 The occurrence of the epidemic detained Gen. SCOTT some time at Chi- 
 cago. Independently of the condition of the troops, to have joined the 
 volunteers of Gen. Atkinson's army with them, while the cholera was 
 still raging, would have caused at once the almost total dispersion of 
 that necessary corps. 
 
 We have not space to detail the events by which the war was speedi- 
 ly brought to a close. The Indians, dispirited and outnumbered, were, 
 by a series of well -combined movements, speedily killed, dispersed, or 
 taken ; and their chiefs, conducted by the policy of the general govern- 
 ment throughout a greater portion of the Union, learned too well the 
 power and numbers of the white men again to venture upon a contest 
 with them. 
 
 In the latter part of the year 1835, the discontents, which had long exist- 
 ed among a portion of the Seminole Indians, caused by their approaching 
 removal, broke out into open hostilities ; and on the 28th of December, 
 the melancholy massacre of Major Dade's detachment showed at once 
 the determination and force of the hostile party. Gen. SCOTT saw the 
 Secretary of War at four o'clock on the afternoon of the 20th. Being 
 asked " When he could set out for Florida T he replied, " that night." 
 His instructions, however, could not be drawn up till the following day. 
 On the 21st of January of the following year, it having become probable 
 that many of the Creeks would join the Seminoles, Maj. Gen. SCOTT 
 received orders to march immediately to the theatre of hostilities, and 
 assume the command. Having reached Picolata, on the St. John's ri- 
 ver, SCOTT issued his general orderson the 22d of February. The troops 
 on the west of the St. John's, under Brig. Gen. Clinch, were to consti- 
 tute the right wing of the army ; those on the east of the same river, 
 under Brig. Gen. Eustis, the left ; while those at Tampa Bay, under the 
 command of Col. Lindsay, were to form the centre. The wings were 
 to be further strengthened by large reinforcements of volunteers from 
 the neighboring States. 
 
 The Indians were believed at this time to be concentrated in -the 
 neighborhood of the Withlacoochee. Upon this point the three divi- 
 sions of the army were to march by different routes, and to reach, at a 
 specified time, their indicated stations. The Indians were now to be 
 attacked in front by Gen. SCOTT, while the commands under Eustis 
 and Lindsay were not only to assist in the engagement, but to close in 
 the rear, and prevent the escape of the Indians to the south-east. Had
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the combined movements been effected in proper time and with ade- 
 quate means, the war would, in all probability, have been speedily end- 
 ed ; but the lateness of the season, the insufficiency of the supplies ne- 
 cessary for the existence of the army, the want of adequate means of 
 transportation, the unknown and impracticable nature of the country, 
 together with the precipitate movement of Gen. Gaines from Tampa 
 Bay, all contributed to the failure which ensued. On the 5th of April 
 the three columns met at Tampa Bay, forced to come in by the want 
 of provisions. 
 
 After the failure of the great plan of the campaign, some minor ope- 
 rations were undertaken for the double purpose of exploring the coun- 
 try and encountering the hostile Indians ; but the approach of the sick- 
 ly season soon compelled the troops to go into quarters for the sum- 
 mer. 
 
 Though the campaign had failed, it was owing to causes over which 
 SCOTT had no control. The plan was not only feasible, but, in the 
 opinion of a competent judge, the only one which afforded a prospect 
 of success. " The only true plan of operations against them (the In- 
 dians) " writes Gen. Clinch on the 27th of April, after having forced 
 his way through the heart of the Indian country, " will be that first 
 assigned by you ; that is, a force from Peklekaha. a force ascending by 
 my route, and a corresponding one on the north side." But SCOTT 
 was convinced, from an examination of the country, that the war would 
 require a larger force, more extensive preparations, and a greater length 
 of time, than had hitherto been deemed necessary. " To end this war," 
 writes he to the Secretary on the 30th of April, " I am now persuaded 
 that not less than three thousand good troops are indispensable ; two 
 thousand four hundred infantry, and six hundred horse ; the country to 
 be scoured arid occupied requiring that number ;" together with these, 
 i: two or three steamers, with a light draft of water, and fifty or sixty 
 barges capable of carrying from ten to fifteen men each. I have 
 no desire," continued he, " to conduct the operations of the new forces ; 
 that is an honor which I shall neither solicit nor decline." These esti- 
 mates were at the time the subject of much invidious remark ; but experi- 
 ence has proved the justice of the calculations and observations on 
 which they are founded. 
 
 Upon the army's retiring into summer quarters, the hostile Indians 
 again renewed their predatory excursions ; and the inhabitants of Flo- 
 rida, who had suddenly passed from too great a contempt for the 
 enemy to a terror as groundless, loudly complained of the defenceless 
 condition of the frontier ; and the public papers of that section of the
 
 WINFJELD SCOTT. 
 
 country animadverted in the severest terms upon the measures of the 
 commanding General. But just recovering from an illness, induced 
 by his exertions and by the unhealthiness of the climate, and with 
 evidence before him of the extent to which the panic had spread among 
 the Floridians, SCOTT, in his general orders of May 17th, spoke of it 
 openly and severely ; and this, of course, did not tend to allay the dis- 
 content. 
 
 In the beginning of the summer the disturbances among the Creek 
 Indians called SCOTT to Georgia to direct in person the operations ne- 
 cessary for their subjugation. The Indians here were not favored to 
 the same extent as the Seminoles by the nature of the country ; in a 
 short time they were compelled to submit, and the war was terminat- 
 ed. Unfortunately, however, a misunderstanding had occurred be- 
 tween Gen. SCOTT and Gen. Jessup, who had served under him with 
 so much distinction at Chippewa and Bridgewater. SCOTT having 
 complained of Gen. Jessup's disobedience of orders, that gentleman, in- 
 stead of openly demanding an investigation, in a private letter to Mr. 
 Blair, the editor of the Globe newspaper, attacked the plans and con- 
 duct of Gen. SCOTT, requesting, at the same time, that the letter should 
 be shown to the President. In consequence, on the 9th of July, SCOTT 
 was recalled. The General proceeded immediately to Washington to 
 demand a court of inquiry upon his conduct during the war ; and on 
 the 3d of October, a court, composed of Maj. Gen. Macomb and Brig. 
 Generals Atkinson and Brady, were directed to assemble at Frederick, 
 in Maryland. After a long delay, occasioned, in a great measure, by 
 the difficuly of procuring the attendance of witnesses, many of whom 
 were engaged at the seat of war, and after a speech by Gen. SCOTT, re- 
 markable alike for its clear arrangement, its close reasoning, and trium- 
 phant vindication of his course, the court unanimously agreed in ap- 
 proving of his plan of the Seminole campaign as well "devised, and pro- 
 secuted with energy, steadiness, and ability ;" while, with regard to 
 the Creek war, they state "the plan of campaign, as adopted by Maj. 
 Gen. SCOTT, was well calculated to lead to successful results ; and that 
 it was prosecuted by him, as far as practicable, with zeal and ability 
 until he was recalled from the command. 
 
 Upon the breaking out of the disturbances upon the Canadian fron- 
 tier duringthe winter of 1837-8, the services Gen. SCOTT were again put 
 in requisition. We all remember that the excitement and ill-feeling, 
 growing out of the rebellion in Canada, had nearly produced open hos- 
 tilities, at a time when the United States had not a soldier upon the 
 lines to cause their neutrality to be respected. The circumstances de-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 manded a rare union of firmness and moderation, of courage and of 
 coolness, of vigorous decision, and of a spirit of conciliation. These 
 qualities were found united in Gen. SCOTT. In the course of a short 
 time the excitement was allayed, and all danger of serious collision re- 
 moved. 
 
 At present Gen. SCOTT is engaged in enforcing and superintending 
 the removal of the Cherokees. In this unpleasant office, the same 
 union of energy, courage, and moderation, by which his character is 
 marked, has enabled him thus far to command the respect, at the same 
 time that he has won the good-will, of the Indians. He has at once en- 
 forced the command of his country, and obtained the removal of an an- 
 cient people from the lands long inhabited by themselves and their an- 
 cestors, without violence, and, we believe, without irritation. 
 
 O*n the llth of March, 1817, Gen. SCOTT was married to Miss Ma- 
 ria Mayo, daughter of Col. Mayo. 
 
 After the preceding narrative, we need not enter upon any detailed 
 account of the character of Gen. SCOTT. Its prominent traits are sucli 
 as must always mark the eminent commander a union of strong in- 
 tellect with energy, resolution, and determined courage. On the field 
 of battle, his indifference to danger has amounted to rashness ; but his 
 bravery was ever untinged by ferocity. Independently of the actions 
 in which he has been engaged, his scientific knowledge of his profes- 
 sion is manifested by the Manual of Infantry Tactics ; which, in con- 
 formity with a resolution of the House of Representatives, he prepared 
 for the information and government of the army, a work alike remark- 
 able for the minuteness of its details, and for the clear and simple man- 
 ner in which they are conveyed. The numerous and complicated 
 evolutions of the modern art of war, detailed in language so perspicu- 
 ous as to be comprehensible by the unprofessional reader, while the pro- 
 fessional merits of the book have been pronounced by competent 
 judges to be of the highest order. Gen. SCOTT is intimately and cri- 
 tically acquainted with the literature of his own language ; and his of- 
 ficial letters, and the pamphlets of which he is the author, show him 
 to be possessed of a style, flowing, correct arid elegant. Though now 
 in the fifty- fourth year of his age, he retains, to a remarkable degree, 
 the vigor and buoyancy of youth ; and should our country again be 
 unfortunately involved in a general war, all eyes would be directed to 
 SCOTT as the first of that gallant band upon whom would depend the 
 honor and success of our arms.

 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE. 
 
 THERE is one species of ancestral pride which the sternest republi- 
 canism, in its most jealous mood, regards with favor. We refer to 
 that spirit which, in Rome, devoted particular families, through 
 many generations, to the republic, and which impelled the second 
 Brutus, after the lapse of centuries, to emulate the glory of the first. 
 The heritage which consists in hoarded examples of lofty patriotism 
 inspires every motive to excellence. Its only privilege is the ne- 
 cessity of extraordinary exertion and superior worth ; and, while it 
 borrows from affection, emulation, and pride, the strongest stimu- 
 lants to virtuous action, it surrounds those who are subject to it by 
 all the influences which enlarge and fortify the moral and intellec- 
 tual character. Few men, in any country, have been, from birth, 
 association, and education, more exposed to these kindling and 
 patriotic influences than the subject of this brief memoir. His an- 
 cestors came to the country with William Penn, and participated in 
 all the privations of the early settlers. Through the long series of 
 contentions between the people of the province and the proprietary 
 government, they were ranged on the side of the people; and 
 when the war of the Revolution broke out, the whole family was 
 distinguished in its zealous and heroic espousal of the cause of in- 
 dependence. Then, as in the late war, the entire family was given 
 to the country, and its members were signalized by their services 
 in the council, in the field, and on the wave. Charles Biddle, the 
 father of NICHOLAS BIDDLE, was^throughout the contest, eminent 
 for his active services and firm devotion to the cause , and, at the 
 time of the birth of the latter, was vice-president of the com- 
 monwealth, of which Benjamin Franklin was president, and, we 
 believe, John Armstrong, late minister to France, secretary ; a fact 
 which sufficiently indicates the high place which he had secured 
 in the confidence and respect of his country. The following pas- 
 sage of a familiar and private letter from Charles Biddle, to bo
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 found in the second volume of Davis' Life of Burr, gives an inter- 
 esting anecdote of the times, and exhibits the heroism and patriotic 
 devotion which inspired even the females of the family. " I remem- 
 ber," says Charles Biddle, "just before the commencement of the 
 revolutionary war, my mother was disputing with an English officer. 
 He said the Americans, of right, should not go to war ; they could 
 do nothing ; they could get no person to head them. She replied 
 that the Americans would have no difficulty in finding some person 
 to command their army; that she had seven sons, and, if necessary, 
 would lead them herself to oppose the enemy. Two of her sons 
 fell during the war in the service of the country. I, too, have seven 
 sons whom I would much sooner lead to the field than suffer our 
 country to be insulted." The patriotic aspirations of the father 
 were not disappointed, for he did live to see that when their insulted 
 country called upon his sons, every one of the seven was found at 
 his post. 
 
 Edward Biddle, uncle of the subject of this notice, served as a 
 captain in the sanguinary war of 1756. He, too, was among the 
 foremost advocates of independence, and was elected a representa- 
 tive from Pennsylvania to the congress of 1774. He was afterwards 
 speaker of the house of representatives of Pennsylvania ; but the 
 decline of his health rendered a residence in the South necessary, 
 and on his way thither, death closed a career honorable to himself 
 and to his country. Nicholas Biddle, another uncle, was a midship- 
 man in the British navy, and accompanied Lord Mulgrave in his 
 expedition to the North Pole. But, with the characteristic spirit 
 of the family, when the revolutionary struggle commenced, he 
 broke through the influence of professional association, and aban- 
 doned the brilliant promises of the British service to share the 
 doubtful fortunes of his country. He entered the American navy, 
 and the government, discerning his merit, gave him all that he re- 
 quired the opportunity to win distinction. His brief career is in- 
 terwoven with one of the proudest incidents of our history, and 
 while the American navy floats upon the wave will be remembered 
 by the nation with wonder and exultation. While commanding the 
 American frigate Randolph of thirty-two guns, he attacked, in the 
 night, the Yarmouth, a British sixty-four gun ship. He was wound- 
 ed early in the action, but refusing to go below had a chair placed 
 on the quarter deck, from which, with undaunted spirit, he directed 
 the engagement ; when, in the midst of it, from some accident in the 
 magazine of the Randolph herself, she blew up, and all the officers
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE. 
 
 and crew, except three men, perished. Nothing could be more 
 glorious than such a life but such a death. 
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE, was bora at Philadelphia, on the 8th day of 
 January, 1786. He began his education at the academy, whence 
 he was introduced to the University of Pennsylvania, and passing 
 through its successive probations, was about to take his degree in 
 1799, when his extreme youth, being then only thirteen years of age, 
 occasioned his being sent to Princeton, in New Jersey. He is de- 
 scribed by those who knew him at this period, as a thoughtful and 
 severe student and a youth of dauntless and indomitable spirit. A 
 classmate and companion, since a distinguished citizen, says of Mr. 
 B., "I enjoyed an intimacy with him at that time, which gave 
 me full opportunity of forming a judgment of his abilities, and I 
 have a distinct recollection of having made up my mind that he 
 was destined to be a great man." 
 
 Young BIDDLE remained at Princeton two years and a half, and 
 graduated in September, 1801. His collegiate course was brilliant 
 almost beyond parallel, and prepared those who witnessed it, com- 
 prising several who have since become ornaments of the republic, 
 for the subsequent and loftier triumphs of his intellect. His stand- 
 ing and scholarship are shown by the fact that, though the youngest 
 person, it is understood, that ever graduated before or since that 
 time in the college, he and Mr. Edward Watts of Virginia, a gen- 
 tleman very much his senior, divided the first honor of the class, the 
 valedictory being assigned to Mr. BIDDLE. 
 
 On leaving college, he commenced the study of the law in Phila- 
 delphia. About this time his abilities attracted the attention and 
 excited the admiration of one of the most remarkable judges of 
 human nature which our country has afforded, Colonel Burr, who 
 predicted for him a career of eminent usefulness and honor. In a 
 letter written, on the eve of his meeting with Hamilton, to his son- 
 in-law, Governor Alston, and containing what were supposed to be 
 his last injunctions, the following singular and prophetic passage 
 occurs : " My worthy friend, Charles Biddle of Philadelphia, has six 
 or seven sons three of them grown up. With different characters 
 and various degrees of intelligence, they will all be men of eminence 
 and of influence." 
 
 When the three years of Mr. BIDDLE'S term of study were about 
 to expire, General Armstrong was appointed minister of the United 
 States to France, and offered to take the son of his old friend with 
 him as secretary. He accordingly embarked in the year 1804, and
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 spent the three succeeding years in Europe. The period of his re- 
 sidence in France was one of extraordinary interest, not merely from 
 its embracing the career of Napoleon from his coronation, but from 
 the complicated relations between the United States and France, 
 and especially from the examination and payment in detail of the 
 claims of this country on France, which were paid out of the pur- 
 chase money for Louisiana. This duty devolved almost exclusively 
 upon the young secretary. The payments were made at the French 
 bureau, and Mr. BIDDLE, with untiring assiduity, attended to the 
 disbursement. The officers of the French government are mostly 
 gentlemen of ripe years ; Mr. BIDDLE, then about eighteen, was 
 even more juvenile in appearance than years, and the advent among 
 these grave dignitaries of this youthful depository of so important 
 a trust was viewed with a wonder that was increased when they 
 found him performing his arduous duties with the ability, firmness, 
 and perseverance of a veteran statesman. Notwithstanding the 
 severe labors of his office, Mr. BIDDLE found time to indulge a 
 liberal curiosity in regard to all the great objects before him, and 
 also to attend the scientific lectures so frequent and accessible in 
 Paris. After leaving the legation he travelled through the greater 
 part of France, through Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Germany, Bel- 
 gium, and Holland. He then went to England, where he joined 
 the late president Monroe, then American minister in London, with 
 whom he served as secretary, Mr. Monroe's own secretary being 
 absent. During his residence in England, an incident occurred 
 which Mr. Monroe took great pleasure in relating, as an illustration 
 of the ripe scholarship of his youthful secretary and friend. Mr. 
 BIDDLE accompanied him to Cambridge, where, in a company at 
 which the most learned gentlemen connected with the university were 
 present, a discussion took place on some philological point arising 
 from the difference between the Greek of Homer and the idiom of 
 the modern Hellenes. Though familiar with the language of Homer, 
 the literati present knew but little of the modern Greek, and the 
 difficulty remained unsolved; when Mr. BIDDLE, who united to 
 his classic accomplishments a knowledge of the tongue of modern 
 Greece acquired when in that country, joined the conversation and 
 explained the point, exhibiting a knowledge of the subject so pro- 
 found and critical, that the learned gentlemen present listened in 
 silent amazement, while Monroe, overjoyed at what he considered 
 a kind of American triumph, with difficulty repressed his exultation 
 and delight.
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE. 
 
 Mr. BIDDLE returned home in the autumn of 1807. During his 
 long absence, he had seen much of men and things, and seen them 
 in a way the most profitable. The ordinary routine of what is called 
 travelling, the indiscriminate hurrying after objects of mere curiosity, 
 though pleasant while it lasts, is not often productive of good to 
 young persons. Mr. BIDDLE had a point of support, an object, an 
 employment, and that employment was in the service of his country. 
 Nothing so effectually subdues the spirit of party and removes the 
 prejudice which confines the anxieties of patriotism to one-half the 
 country, as a residence abroad in a public character; a position that 
 identifies the individual with the whole nation. It is, perhaps, this 
 experience that has given to Mr. BIDDLE'S mind a character so 
 wholly national, for few men have brought into the public councils 
 a spirit more expanded, a patriotism more comprehensive or more 
 free from all tincture of local or sectional feeling. 
 
 On his return he commenced the practice of the law. In the 
 fragments of time saved from more severe pursuits, he occasionally 
 relaxed his mind in contributions to the scientific and literary period- 
 icals of the day. His efforts were as diversified as literature itself, 
 and exhibit that elasticity of mind and versatility of genius which 
 have rendered his various subsequent productions so successful. 
 His disquisitions on the Fine Arts, published about this time, dis- 
 played a profound knowledge of the subject, and acquired a repu- 
 tation which no one who now peruses them will consider unmerited. 
 His writings at this period are graceful and polished. Indeed, seve- 
 ral of these early efforts have been, and are even now. ascribed to 
 the elegant Dennie; but his articles manifest an originality and vigor, 
 a reach of thought and a variety of acquirement which Dennie did 
 not possess. Their mutual friendship induced them to form a 
 literary partnership for conducting the Port Folio. The death, 
 however, of Mr. Dennie, which occurred soon after the association 
 was formed, removed its principal attraction ; but Mr. BIDDLE con- 
 tinued to conduct it alone for some time, until another editor was 
 procured. Of the merits of the Port Folio, it is unnecessary to 
 speak ; it now constitutes a part of the literature of the country 
 a part that will not be discredited by a comparison with any thing 
 that has since been given to the public. About this period, Lewis 
 and Clarke were preparing for publication the history of their expe- 
 dition across the continent of America; but the premature death 
 of Lewis induced his companion, Clarke, to solicit Mr. BIDDLE to 
 edit the work. He accordingly went carefully over the materials
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 afforded by the notes of the expedition, and received from Mr. Clarke 
 a large mass of additional information, which he worked up, with 
 great skill and ability, furnishing one of the most valuable and 
 pleasant productions of that character which has fallen from the 
 press. He also induced Mr. Jefferson to prepare the memoir of 
 Captain Lewis prefixed to the work. The whole was ready for 
 publication, when Mr. BIDDLE'S public engagements rendered it 
 impossible to attend to its passage through the press, and he there- 
 fore transferred the work, with all the compensation stipulated for 
 it, to Mr. Paul Allen. Mr. Allen piloted it through the press, and 
 his name is naturally affixed to it; but as a matter of literary history, 
 it is a subject of curiosity to know that these two octavo volumes, 
 " The Travels of Lewis and Clarke," were written by Mr. BIDDLE. 
 The engagements referred to were political. He was chosen one 
 of the representatives of the city of Philadelphia in the state legis- 
 lature, in which capacity he passed, at Lancaster, the winter of 
 1810 11. In this new sphere he at once assumed a commanding 
 position, and proved himself a statesman of enlarged views and lofty 
 principles. He manifested, from the start, that which peculiarly 
 distinguishes the patriot statesman from the mere politician the 
 genius to originate great measures for the advancement of the public 
 interests. The measures brought before the legislature by Mr. 
 BIDDLE have since been made familiar to the public, but they were 
 then new and startling innovations. The statesman who projected 
 them did not light his torch at the blaze of public opinion, but relied 
 upon his own intellect and the hope of illuminating the community. 
 The enterprise demanded a quarter of a century for its consumma- 
 tion ; but not the less praise is due to him who, unaided and un- 
 cheered, ventured upon the sea. The first measure of this character 
 undertaken by Mr. BIDDLE was the establishment of a system of 
 popular education. From conviction and feeling an ardent repub- 
 lican, he sought, by the diffusion of popular intelligence, to expand 
 and vindicate the democratic principle. He, therefore, brought the 
 project before the legislature, and labored energetically in its sup- 
 port. He made an elaborate and eloquent report, and introduced 
 a school bill, the basis of which was, not a gratuitous but a very 
 cheap system of public instruction. He urged the scheme with zeal 
 and power ; but he was before the age. The state was not pre- 
 pared for such novelties. The glory of carrying out these princi- 
 ples belongs to the present generation; the school law of 1836 
 being only the ripe fruit of Mr. BIDDLE'S bill of 1811. But those
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE. 
 
 who rejoice most in their triumph will accord to NICHOLAS BIDDLE 
 the credit of being the father of the system of popular instruction 
 in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Mr. BIDDLE'S attention was also directed to the commencement 
 of a vigorous system of internal improvement. 
 
 But a measure of more general interest, and which occupied the 
 attention of the union at large, drew upon the youthful statesman 
 the eyes of the whole nation. The charter of the bank of the 
 United States expired in 1811 ; and the question of its recharter was 
 then agitated with as much violence as the same subject has, in 
 later days, excited. Among the modes of opposition practised by 
 the enemies of the bank, one was to procure instructions from the 
 legislature to the members of congress from Pennsylvania to vote 
 against the recharter. A resolution of this character was introduced, 
 and it was in opposition to that resolution that Mr. BIDDLE made 
 his first speech. The speech produced a great sensation at the time, 
 and established the reputation of its author. It is remarkable not 
 only for its power and the soundness of its general principles, but 
 from the strange coincidence that he should begin his career by a 
 prophetic warning of the evil consequences of the destruction of the 
 bank ; that those evils should have actually occurred ; that the list- 
 eners to that warning, convinced by melancholy experience of their 
 error, should, when afterwards transferred to Washington, have 
 been the chief promoters of the charter of a new bank ; and, finally, 
 that this very youth should become the head of that bank, and in 
 that capacity, vindicating his early positions, should acquire for 
 himself and the institution a credit throughout the commercial 
 world, of which the history of the country furnishes no parallel. It 
 is no less remarkable that although the question was then wholly 
 new, not having yet been discussed in congress or elsewhere, the 
 speech of Mr. BIDDLE embodies, in a condensed form, almost every 
 thing the leading principles and general facts which has been since 
 developed in the multitudinous discussions that have succeeded. 
 The speech itself elicited universal applause, and received, what is 
 more valuable than any general praise, the most decided eulogium 
 from the late Chief Justice Marshall. It was circulated generally, 
 and eagerly read, and did much to extend and establish the reputa- 
 tion of its author in all sections of the union. 
 
 At the close of the session he declined a reelection, and retired 
 from public life, dividing his time between his studies, which were 
 always pursued with the most vigorous diligence, and agriculture,
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 for which he has manifested, throughout life, a decided predilection. 
 These pursuits were, however, soon interrupted by the events of 
 the war, which summoned into action the best spirits of the nation. 
 In the year 1814, the situation of the country was extremely critical. 
 The capitol had been destroyed, the whole south was menaced by 
 a flushed and insolent foe, the finances were in extreme disorder, 
 and every thing indicated despondency and distress. These were 
 not times when a Biddle could enjoy retirement and inaction. He 
 was elected to represent the city and county of Philadelphia in the 
 senate of Pennsylvania, by a vote considerably beyond that of any 
 party for the legislature or congress. Of the spirit which he carried 
 into the public councils, some idea may be formed from the fact, 
 that of the seven brothers composing his family, one was an officer 
 in the navy, (Commodore James Biddle,) two were in the regular 
 army, and three were volunteers in active service in the militia, 
 while he, the seventh, was in the senate. As soon as it was appa- 
 rent that no reliance could be placed on congress, he came forward 
 in the senate with his own plans of defence. " It is now," said he, 
 " nearly four months since the eyes of this nation have anxiously 
 watched the movements of congress. They found the capitol in 
 ruins the finances prostrate the army, in every thing but its 
 honor, a shadow the whole coast menaced with invasion no 
 hopes of peace but by the sword. These things might have kindled 
 into energy the dullest statesman ; yet day after day has been wasted 
 in frivolous debate or bitter controversies and now neither men 
 nor money, nor preparations for defence, nor means of carrying on 
 the war, seem to be expected from that congress which was con- 
 vened for the express purpose of providing them. It is time, there- 
 fore, for Pennsylvania to defend herself, to indulge no longer in this 
 fatal confidence, but at once look all our dangers in the face and 
 prepare to repel them." 
 
 He then presented a system which consisted of a bounty for sailors 
 to man the floating batteries for the defence of Philadelphia, the 
 purchase of arms, the levy of a permanent military force of eight 
 thousand men, and a loan on the credit of the state to defray the 
 expense of these measures. All these provisions were adopted by 
 the senate ; but, in the house of representatives, the army bill was 
 lost from a difference of opinion as to the mode of raising the neces- 
 sary force. It was immediately revived in the senate, and that body 
 was actually engaged in discussing it, when the debate was sud- 
 denly terminated by the arrival of the glad tidings that the war was
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE. 
 
 at an end. All the measures for the defence of Pennsylvania were 
 proposed by Mr. BIDDLE ; and those who witnessed the crisis will 
 not forget the patriotic energy with which he met the emergency. 
 
 The return of peace left to the legislature only one duty to the 
 other states, that of quieting the political distractions which had 
 grown out of the war. In the midst of that conflict, the New Eng- 
 land states, chafed by what they deemed wrongs to their peculiar 
 interests, met in convention at Hartford and proposed to all the 
 other states radical changes in the constitution of the union. This 
 abandonment of their own work, this declaration of the weakness 
 and insufficiency of that constitution which these New England 
 states had been the foremost to adopt, was of such evil example, 
 that it was justly deemed of great importance to counteract its in- 
 fluence. The other states had given cold or contumelious negatives 
 to this proposal, calculated only to harden the prejudices they could 
 not subdue. It was thought far better to address the reason of the 
 country, to interpose between the combatants the quiet energy of 
 Pennsylvania, which had no object to gain but the general good of 
 the union, and endeavor to satisfy the country that the constitution 
 was not the weak and impotent federation which these reformers 
 pronounced it, but that it was a just and generous compact which 
 could be only injured by the proposed attempts to improve it. For 
 this purpose Mr. BIDDLE prepared, and the legislature adopted, a 
 report which was considered as the answer of Pennsylvania to the 
 Hartford convention. This production was worthy the occasion and 
 the exalted purpose for which it was intended. It bears the impress 
 of genius, and stamps its author as a statesman. The report did 
 not fail to produce a deep impression not only in this country but 
 abroad, as being not merely a refutation of the proposed amend- 
 ments, but a thorough and masterly vindication of the institutions 
 of the United States. One of the most distinguished political writers 
 of England said of it on its first appearance : " With the exception 
 of the poems of Pope, I never read any thing of which I should so 
 much like to have been the author as this answer of the state of 
 Pennsylvania. Let any man read this paper penned in one of the 
 state legislatures of America, and when he has compared it with the 
 state papers of our ambassadors and ministers, let him say whether 
 aristocracy has reserved itself a monopoly of talent." Mr. BIDDLE'S 
 report unquestionably does honor to his native state, and may be 
 regarded as one of the very best state papers which the political 
 controversies of our country have elicited. Even at this day, it may
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 be read with profit and interest, as presenting views of public policy 
 applicable to many of the political questions now agitating us. 
 
 In the year 1817, Mr. BIDDLE, after a legislative career which 
 exhibited a brilliant genius joined with an ardent devotion to the 
 public good, and which secured him the confidence of all parties, 
 voluntarily retired from the senate before the expiration of his term 
 of service, and resumed his private pursuits. He now devoted 
 himself with uninterrupted ardor to the studies from which his pub- 
 lic duties had partially alienated him. Despising the arts by which 
 demagogues urge themselves upon a reluctant people, he rather 
 shunned than courted political distinction. His distinguished merit, 
 however, could not be overlooked, and at the succeeding election, 
 1818, he was nominated to represent the city and county of Phila- 
 delphia in congress ; but the democratic party, of which he was a 
 candidate, was then in a minority, and although he received a larger 
 number of votes than any other candidate on the same ticket, the 
 adverse party prevailed. At the next congressional election in 
 1820, he was again nominated, by the same political party, but with 
 the same result, Mr. B. again receiving a larger vote than any of 
 his colleagues on the same ticket. 
 
 In the year 1819, he first became connected with the bank of the 
 United States, an incident which contributed to give a direction to 
 his subsequent career, and secured to the country the aid of his ex- 
 traordinary abilities in the important field of finance. The institu- 
 tion was at that time justly considered in great jeopardy. Its affairs 
 had been investigated by a committee of congress, and the report 
 of that committee tended to inspire distrust and apprehension. To 
 add to these difficulties, its president had resigned; and the position 
 and prospects of the bank became so critical, that the most vigorous 
 exertions were deemed necessary to revive the public confide'nce. 
 For this purpose, president Monroe, without the knowledge of Mr. 
 BIDDLE, nominated him as a director of the bank on the part of the 
 United States. This mark of confidence was not only unexpected, 
 but unwelcome to Mr. B., for he had previously declined being a 
 director on the part of the stockholders ; but thus summoned, by the 
 national executive, to what had become a serious and important 
 trust, he did not feel himself at liberty to decline the task. He ac- 
 cordingly took his place in the bank at the same time that Mr. 
 Langdon Cheves, who had been previously elected president, as- 
 sumed the duties of his station. In conjunction with that gentleman 
 he labored with great industry in arranging the affairs and esta-
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE. " 
 
 blishing the character of the institution, and, having no special em- 
 ployment at the time, was enabled to turn into that channel the 
 almost undivided energies of his mind. 
 
 An active intellect, however, has, even amid the most engrossing 
 labors, leisure for incidental duties. Mr. BIDDLE'S energetic habits 
 enabled him, at the request of Mr. Monroe, to undertake and ac- 
 complish a work for which his varied acquirements peculiarly qua- 
 lified him. By a resolution of congress, the department of state was 
 authorized to collect the laws and regulations of all foreign countries 
 relative to commerce, moneys, weights, and measures, and the 
 various objects connected with trade. The duty was committed 
 by the president to Mr. BIDDLE, who analyzed and digested, with 
 great ability, a large mass of crude materials in various languages, 
 into an octavo volume entitled " Commercial Digest." 
 
 In the year 1821, he removed permanently to his farm in Bucks 
 county. While residing there, the resignation of Mr. Cheves as 
 president of the United States Bank occasioned a general convention 
 at Philadelphia of all the stockholders of the bank throughout the 
 United States. The selection of a successor was regarded as a 
 matter of great delicacy and importance, not merely in relation to 
 the interests of the institution itself, but from its influence upon the 
 credit and commercial prosperity of the country at large. The sub- 
 ject was, therefore, anxiously canvassed as well in the public prints 
 as among the stockholders. The station called for commanding 
 abilities, a genius practical, fertile in resources, profoundly skilled 
 in finance, and versed in all the comprehensive and diversified inte- 
 rests connected with trade. Public opinion pointed to Mr. BIDDLE 
 as preeminently fitted for the arduous and momentous trust, and he 
 was accordingly invited to accept the presidency. The result elicited 
 general applause, and the government manifested its approbation 
 of the choice by appointing Mr. B. a director on the part of the 
 United States. He entered upon the duties of the office in January, 
 1823. His previous service of three years in the bank had made 
 him familiar with its concerns, and had given him some peculiar 
 views of its administration, which he now proceeded gradually and 
 cautiously to develope. The details of this subject belong to his- 
 tory, and cannot, of course, be given in the present brief and hur- 
 ried notice ; but the general purpose of the change of system may 
 be made intelligible in a few words. By the charter of the bank, 
 all its notes were made receivable in all payments to the govern- 
 ment. It was objected that as these notes were payable in so many
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 places, provision must be made to pay them in those places, so that 
 a greater amount of specie must be kept in reserve than the amount 
 of notes in circulation. Application was made to congress to alter 
 the charter so as to make the notes payable only where they were 
 issued, and it was declared by the bank to congress, that unless the 
 change were made, the bank would be not only useless but injurious. 
 With this view of the subject, there could, of course, be no general 
 circulation of its notes, no regulation of the domestic exchanges 
 the whole amount of notes on the first of January, 1823, being 
 about three and a half millions of dollars, and the amount of do- 
 mestic bills on hand less than two millions of dollars. 
 
 With these opinions Mr. BJDDLE did not at all concur. He thought 
 that the universal receivability of the notes, so far from being inju- 
 rious, was highly beneficial to the bank and to the country ; and that 
 there was no danger of issuing the notes, if the branches issuing 
 them were careful to provide funds for their redemption at the points 
 to which the well known course of trade would necessarily carry 
 them. He considered this very provision beneficial in another point 
 of view ; he believed that it would enable the bank, by the policy 
 just mentioned, to regulate the domestic exchanges and effect the 
 great object of its creation. Having matured the project in his own 
 mind, he proceeded to carry it out. Years of patient and anxious 
 labor, directed by the most vigilant sagacity, were necessary to bring 
 all the parts of this original and admirable system into full action. 
 That consummation was, however, at last attained, when, as in 
 1835, there had been established nine new branches, making the 
 whole consist of the bank at Philadelphia and twenty-five branches; 
 sustaining a wholesome circulation of twenty-four millions, based 
 on twenty-four millions of current bills of exchange, with fifteen or 
 sixteen millions of specie. 
 
 The change thus gradually and quietly effected, was regarded 
 throughout the world as one of the miracles of genius. It bright- 
 ened the aspect of the whole country, and inspired health and ani- 
 mation in all the various pursuits of trade and industry. The effect 
 of Mr. BIDDLE'S system is thus explained by the report of the com- 
 mittee of ways and means of the house of representatives : "It may 
 be confidently asserted that no country in the world has a currency 
 of greater uniformity than the United States, and that no country 
 of any thing like the same geographical extent, has a currency at all 
 comparable to that of the United States on the score of uniformity ;" 
 and again : " It has actually furnished a circulating medium more
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE. 
 
 uniform than specie." The committee of finance of the senate 
 characterized with equal force the success of Mr. BIDDLE'S admi- 
 nistration. " This seems to present a state of currency approaching 
 as near to perfection as could be desired ;" and again ; " It is not 
 easy to imagine, it is scarcely necessary to desire, any currency 
 better than this." 
 
 During the whole of this period, the bank was an object of uni- 
 versal and deserved popularity. Applications were constantly made 
 for the establishment of its branches in every section of the country. 
 The institution was in perfect harmony with the administrations of 
 Mr. Monroe and Mr. Adams, and pursued its noiseless career of 
 usefulness, praised and cherished by all classes and parties. Per- 
 haps not an individual in the country dreamed that it would or 
 could be made the subject of opposition. 
 
 It was during this career that General Jackson came into power. 
 One of the first measures of his administration was believed to be 
 an effort to connect the bank with his political support. The 
 attempt was full of danger to the country, and had the administra- 
 tion of the bank been in feeble or corrupt hands would doubtless 
 have succeeded. It was, however, immediately and decisively 
 repelled: but from that moment a war was waged against the 
 institution, which in intense exasperation can scarcely find a par- 
 allel in the history of civil dissension. Our limits will not permit us 
 even to refer to the details of that interesting struggle ; our present 
 purpose is to exhibit its effect upon the character of the president 
 of the bank. The position and popularity of the high functionary 
 who decreed the downfall of the institution were certainly formida- 
 ble ; but it was in the hands of one adequate to any emergency. 
 Mr. BIDDLE owed it to his country and to the institution over which 
 he presided to uphold it, and he did so ; not passively or with in- 
 decision, but with determined and active vigor. He manifested 
 throughout the series of extraordinary events which succeeded, a 
 firmness that never was shaken and a calmness that nothing could 
 ruffle. His skilful pilotage of the institution through that storm 
 displayed a mind rich in all that the crisis demanded ; composed, 
 but ardent ; prompt, but profound ; a genius so bold and compre- 
 hensive, a knowledge so vast, an experience so complete, a fertility 
 of resources so ready and inexhaustible, that we cannot be surprised 
 at the admiration which it everywhere inspired. The odds were 
 all against him in the contest, yet he was never found wanting, and 
 never placed in the wrong. His course won the applause of the
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 first spirits of the age in this country and Europe, and secured him 
 the confidence and gratitude not only of his constituents of the bank, 
 but of the business community at large. Mr. John Q. Adams, in 
 his report of 1832, speaks thus of the administration of Mr. BIDDLE. 
 "Ten years long has this confidence been enjoyed and justified by 
 that distinguished citizen and honorable man. No scruple has ever 
 crossed the mind of any president of the United States to deter him 
 from nominating him year after year as a government director. 
 Not a voice had ever been raised in the senate to cause their hesi- 
 tation to confirm his appointment ; and so perfectly in harmony 
 with this confidence was that of the public, that not a rumor has 
 ever been raised of the prospect or even of the project of the election 
 of any other person as president in his place." 
 
 The general results of the contest are well known. Mr. BIDDLE, 
 notwithstanding General Jackson's opposition, procured from con- 
 gress, by large majorities in both houses, a recharter of the bank in 
 1832. This act the president vetoed. From that time no further 
 application was made to congress ; but, at the expiration of the charter 
 granted by the United States, a new charter was obtained from the 
 state of Pennsylvania for the same capital. The whole history of 
 these events is condensed in a few words in the address of Mr. BID- 
 DLE, in presenting this charter to the stockholders. 
 
 " I was about to ask leave to retire from your service, when an 
 unhappy controversy arose between the bank and one of its part- 
 ners, the government ; and I felt bound to stand by the bank while 
 its interests seemed in jeopardy. It was an original misfortune in 
 the structure of the bank, that it was in any way connected with 
 persons in office. The instincts of all political power make that as- 
 sociation dangerous useful to neither party, injurious to both. 
 Accordingly I saw, or thought I saw, in our official associate a 
 design to subject to personal and political influences the movements 
 of the bank. I knew that such a purpose, if defeated, might destroy 
 the bank, but, if successful, would make it not worth preserving ; 
 and that it was better for the bank, and far better for the free insti- 
 tutions of the country, that the bank should perish in that struggle, 
 rather than prolong its existence by surviving its independence. 
 My effort then, was, at all times, and at all hazards, to maintain the 
 rights of the institution, respectfully, fearlessly, calmly ; yielding 
 nothing to the madness of popular delusion, compromising nothing 
 with official power. How that strife was conducted you all know 
 how it has ended is proved by the events of this day, which ren-
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE. 
 
 der the banic safer, stronger, and more prosperous than it ever was. 
 Of that unfortunate associate I desire to speak with all gentleness 
 and forbearance, nor will I mar the pleasures of this meeting by any 
 recurrence to the past. He will soon leave us. He will carry away 
 not only a just, but a generous portion of our earnings ; but then he 
 will depart in peace forgiven and forgotten." 
 
 These more important and engrossing avocations did not prevent 
 him from engaging in other duties, which he found, we can scarcely 
 imagine how, time to fulfil. No measure for the advancement of 
 learning and the arts, no scheme for the public good, no effort of 
 patriotism or humanity has wanted his generous and hearty support. 
 He is an active member of a great number of societies for benevolent 
 and useful purposes. As president of the Agricultural Society of 
 Philadelphia he has, by his zeal, practical knowledge, and high ex- 
 ample, done much to promote the farming interests of the state. He 
 is himself a successful agriculturist ; and the products of his farm 
 have, in market, as well as the horticultural exhibitions at the city, 
 been, for years, objects of curiosity and commendation. As presi- 
 dent of the Girard College, his exertions have manifested an intense 
 interest in the cause of popular instruction, and have contributed 
 mainly to the organization of that noble institution upon safe and 
 expanded principles. To his exertions alone the country owes one 
 of the most beautiful structures of modern times the Girard College. 
 Mr. BIDDLE, in the spirit of Pericles, determined that the structure 
 should be built for posterity. He proposed the present plan, and, in 
 the midst of wild political excitement and opposition, persisted firmly, 
 and secured a building which every citizen now not only approves 
 but applauds, and which will, hereafter, be the architectural boast of 
 the country. While on this subject we may add, that the building 
 which next to the Girard College is perhaps the noblest triumph of 
 architecture in the land, the United States Bank, was also erected 
 under the superintendence of Mr. BIDDLE, as chairman of the build- 
 ing committee of that institution. This interest in all the arts which 
 adorn and dignify social existence, united, as it is, with a stern de- 
 votion to the harsher philosophy of practical life, is a peculiarity of 
 Mr. BIDDLE'S character. 
 
 We shall here close what concerns the public career of Mr. BID- 
 DLE, of which we purposed to give only a general outline, and, 
 having already transcended our limits, will add only a few words 
 touching those miscellaneous particulars which may interest our 
 readers.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 In the course of his career, he has, on various occasions, appeared 
 before the public as a writer. Though these effusions, with the 
 exception of his juvenile efforts, have been extorted from him amid 
 the clash and bustle of laborious and often momentous duties, yet 
 he who peruses them cannot repress a sentiment of regret that Mr. 
 BIDDLE had not been devoted to literature alone. His speeches in 
 the legislature were reprinted and praised in all parts of the union. 
 His eulogium on Thomas Jefferson, delivered before the Philoso- 
 phical Society, of which he is a member, is considered the best pro- 
 nounced on that occasion, though the subject engaged the first 
 intellects of the country. The oration on agriculture, delivered by 
 him before the Agricultural Society, unites practical instruction with 
 classic learning and eloquence. The closing passage, especially, is 
 of surpassing excellence. His address before the Alumni Association 
 of Nassau Hall is of a still higher order of merit. It points out the 
 public duties of an American, and never were the high privileges 
 and responsibilities of a freeman so well portrayed. His own lofty 
 and unshackled spirit breathes and burns in every period. He en- 
 joins with earnest and kindling eloquence the learning, labor, and 
 elevation of spirit which honest public life requires, and holds up to 
 scorn the unworthy parasites of the populace. After referring to 
 the patriots of other ages and countries, he says: "Trained by these 
 studies and animated by the habitual contemplation of those who 
 have gone before you, as a true American statesman, you may lay 
 your hand on your country's altar. From that hour, swerved by 
 no sinister purpose, swayed by no selfish motive, your whole heart 
 must be devoted to her happiness and her glory. No country could 
 be worthier a statesman's care. On none has nature lavished more 
 of the materials of happiness and of greatness ; as fatal if they are 
 misdirected, as they must be glorious when rightly used. On the 
 American statesman, then, devolves the solemn charge of sustaining 
 its institutions against temporary excesses, either of the people or 
 their rulers ; and protecting them from their greatest foes, which 
 will always lie in their own bosom. You can accomplish this only 
 by persevering in your own independence by doing your duty 
 fearlessly to the country. If you fail to please her, do not the less 
 serve her, for she is not the less your country" Were the states- 
 men of our country guided by the following high and heroic prin- 
 ciples, our republic would be immortal : " Never let any action of 
 your life be influenced by the desire of obtaining popular applause 
 at the expense of your own sincere and manly convictions. No
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE. 
 
 favor from any sovereign, a single individual, or thirteen millions, 
 can console you for the loss of your own esteem. If they are of- 
 fended, trust to their returning reason to do you justice, and should 
 that hope fail, where you cannot serve with honor you can retire 
 with dignity. You did not seek power, and you can readily leave 
 it, since you are qualified for retirement, and since you carry into it 
 the proud consolation of having done your duty." Mr. BIDDLE'S 
 style is formed on the purest models. He has cultivated with great 
 success the power of saying the most things in the fewest words. 
 Condensation, point, and originality, are his peculiarities. His 
 thoughts do not struggle in a deluge of words, and are not expressed 
 in the swollen diction which he has felicitously characterized as " our 
 western orientalism" His manner, however, is not only classic in 
 its simplicity ; it is breathing and quick with life ; his sentences are 
 exquisitely turned, and modulated with a delicate perception of 
 melody. 
 
 Though Mr. BIDDLE, when in public life, won distinction as a 
 speaker, his pursuits have for many years withdrawn him from the 
 forum. He has, however, been called upon, on various occasions, 
 to address large and enlightened audiences, and always with signal 
 success. His elocution is exceedingly graceful and polished. He 
 is free from the extravagances of American oratory, and furnishes a 
 model of strength without violence, and grace devoid of affectation. 
 His diction is fluent, choice, and fervid, and his general style bold 
 and effective. He is fortunate in possessing a voice singularly deep 
 and clear, and which enables him, without apparent effort, to give 
 the greatest effect to all that he utters. 
 
 The present is not the period when Mr. BIDDLE'S character can 
 be faithfully and aptly drawn ; there are, however, prominent fea- 
 tures in his moral portrait recognised by all, and in which it is im- 
 possible to be mistaken. The first of these is that high order of 
 courage, which, after having marked out a course, never refers to con- 
 sequences. The second is perhaps that elastic activity which is never 
 for a moment sluggish or depressed an activity not variable, fitful, 
 or feverish, but which is the result of inborn strength, and is steady 
 and unflagging. Let us add to these moral traits a composure and 
 self-possession, which, under all circumstances, enable him to exert 
 every faculty and direct every resource, at the right time and in the 
 right way. We have been assured that, throughout his long con- 
 nexion with the bank, the exciting occurrences which transpired 
 never betrayed him into an exhibition of weakness or irritation.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 Yet no one deems him passionless ; excitement, with him, instead 
 of exhausting itself in feeble outbursts, is turned into action and gives 
 energy and power to the machinery of the mind. These moral 
 qualities, united to an intellect of the highest order, impart a force 
 of character that has never failed in the attainment of its results. 
 His character is formed for great trusts and great emergencies. 
 Like Napoleon, he borrows no resources ; he makes systems for him- 
 self, and finds for the greatest difficulty a greater energy to overcome 
 it. The ruling feature of his intellect is pervading, comprehensive, 
 vigorous common sense ; a sagacity, that while it expands to the 
 grandest outlines, is not too ponderous to grasp the smallest details; 
 a power that disenchants and simplifies the most abstruse science, 
 and throws the glare of day upon the recesses of a subject, where 
 others grope and stagger, as if stricken with mental blindness. It 
 is this faculty that has enabled him, for so many years, to control 
 with salutary sway the "vasty deep" of finance. In every depart- 
 ment of intellectual exertion he has the advantage of rare and ac- 
 complished scholarship. He has been, throughout his career, even 
 when most burthened with business, a close student, and has pre- 
 served, amid all the trials of a working-day life, his early fondness 
 for literature and the fine arts. His manners are kind and polished, 
 and his conversation unaffected and eloquent. His elegant taste and 
 accomplished scholarship have made him the centre and ornament 
 of the literary circles of the city of his birth; and the fervid kindness 
 of his nature has secured the sincere and affectionate friendship of 
 those whose admiration was first excited by the elegance of his wit 
 and the charms of his social intercourse. Mr. BIDDLE is somewhat 
 above the middle stature; his forehead is remarkably high and 
 ample, and his eyes are blue and piercing. His countenance does 
 not wear the ascetic cast generally contracted by long-continued and 
 severe mental exertion, but is frank and cheerful, expressive of 
 amiable and generous feeling. Many busts and paintings of Mr. 
 BIDDLE have been taken of various degrees of merit. The portrait 
 of Rembrandt Peale, from which is taken the engraving prefixed to 
 this notice, is preferred: we would consider ourselves fortunate 
 could we portray with equal fidelity the features of his mind. 
 
 Are utinam mores animumque effingere posset; 
 Pulchrior in terris nulla tabella foret. 
 
 Mr. BIDDLE was married in 1811, and has six children. In the 
 domestic and social relations of life he is highly felicitous. No one
 
 NICHOLAS BIDDLE. 
 
 has more friends, or friends more devoted to him. We may add 
 that no one has encountered more enmity. There are times when 
 even the virtues of a man provoke hostility, as Tacitus has expressed 
 it, nee minus periculum ex magnet fama, quam ex mala : few 
 have realized this danger more than he, none have more calmly dis- 
 regarded it. Though bitterly assailed, he has left his conduct to 
 vindicate itself. He has never stooped to conciliate power or 
 soften opposition. His rectitude is based upon principle not opinion, 
 and seeks his own praise careless of that of others ; his patriotism 
 does not throb only in the sunshine of the hour its aspirations are 
 for posterity, not party; for ages, not years. 
 
 " Stand free and fast, 
 
 And judge him by no more than what you know 
 Ingenuously, and by the right laid line 
 Of truth, he truly will all styles deserve 
 Of wise, just, good; a man botfy soul and nerve" 
 
 R. T. C.

 
 
 .
 
 WILLIAM H. CKAWFORD. 
 
 WILLIAM HARRIS CRAWFORD was born in Nelson County, Vir- 
 ginia, 24th February, 1772. In 1779, his father, Joel Crawford, re- 
 moved with his family to Stevens' Creek, Edgefield District, South 
 Carolina, about thirty miles above Augusta. The next winter, the 
 British troops having taken Savannah and Augusta, Mr. Crawford 
 returned north over Broad River, into Chester District. Soon after 
 South Carolina was overrun by the British, he was seized and thrown 
 into Camden jail as a rebel. Here he remained the greater part of the 
 summer, and was released on some of his neighbors becoming his se- 
 curity. In 1783 he removed into Georgia, and settled on Kiokee 
 Creek, Columbia County. 
 
 The disturbances of the country had an unfavorable influence upon 
 its schools. The advantages for educating its youth were at best 
 very meagre. Young CRAWFORD went to school a few months while 
 his parents resided in South Carolina, and discovered such capacity 
 for receiving instruction, as determined his father, when permanently 
 settled in Georgia, to send him to Scotland, and give him a thorough 
 education. He made arrangements with a Scotch merchant in Au- 
 gusta, for supplying his son with funds during his residence at the 
 University ; but the merchant, in a fit of derangement, having at- 
 tempted to cut his own throat, Mr. Crawford thought it unsafe to en- 
 trust him with funds and with the superintendence of his son. Hav- 
 ing abandoned the idea of sending him abroad, he put him to school 
 in the country, and gave him the best English education he could, and 
 in 1788 set him to teaching school. Before this year expired, his 
 father died, and the disease then prevalent in the country (probably 
 small-pox) swept away most of the valuable servants of the family, 
 and reduced them to very narrow circumstances. To aid his mother 
 in supporting a large and almost helpless family, young CRAWFORD 
 taught school, more or less, for three or four years. In 1794 the Re-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 verend Dr. Waddel opened a Latin school in Columbia, called Car- 
 mel Academy- The desire of obtaining a classical education, which 
 had been lost sight of since his father's death, now revived, and Mr. 
 CRAWFORD entered the Academy, and remained in it two years, study- 
 ing the usual Latin and Greek authors, philosophy, and the French 
 language. The last year he was usher in the school, and received 
 for his services one third of the tuition money. In this situation he 
 remained until April 1796, and made the best possible use of his op- 
 portunities. In that month, this obscure usher, not dreaming of poli- 
 tics, but still anxious to increase his stock of useful learning, with a 
 hope finally to obtain a profession, bent his way to Augusta, there to 
 fling himself in the way of fortune's gambols, and to receive whatever 
 the sportings of her fancy might turn up to an unknown but bold 
 adventurer. His means were, however, perfectly inadequate to the 
 objects he had in view. He obtained a situation in the Richmond 
 Academy, where he remained in the double character of student and 
 instructor until the year 1798, when he was appointed Rector of that 
 institution. During his residence in Augusta he studied law, to the 
 practice of which he was admitted in the course of that year. He 
 was a self-taught law scholar. It may be remarked, that while he was 
 engaged in his scholastic and professional studies, he supported a cha- 
 racter for the most exemplary morality and prudence, and was a most 
 indefatigable, close, and laborious student. 
 
 Mr. CRAWFORD was a man considerably above ordinary height, 
 large, muscular, and well-proportioned. His head and face were re- 
 markably striking, and impressed the beholder at once with the belief 
 that he must possess more than ordinary powers of intellect. His 
 complexion was fair, and, until late in life, ruddy. His features were 
 strong and regular. When at rest, they indicated great firmness and 
 perseverance of character. When he smiled, an engaging benignity 
 overspread his whole countenance. His eyes, before they were af- 
 fected by his protracted illness at Washington, were clear blue, mild ; 
 though radiant. Those who never made his acquaintance until his 
 return to Georgia, will be apt to consider this description of his per- 
 son overwrought, while those who knew him in the prime of life will 
 hardly think it does him justice. His deportment was affable, his step 
 firm, his gait erect and manly, but not ostentatious, indicating courage 
 and independence. 
 
 His manners, though free from stiffness and hauteur, were never 
 very graceful. They were such, however, as to make all about him 
 feel easy. There was in him a certain consciousness of superior mind.
 
 WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 
 
 as has been said of another, which could not always be repressed nor 
 withdrawn from observation. He was at all times a man of decided 
 feelings warm in his attachments, and vehement in his resentments. 
 He was prompt to repel insults, and equally prompt to forgive when- 
 ever an appeal was made to his clemency. No personal labor was 
 too great to be endured, if by it he could elevate modest merit from 
 poverty to comfort, or advance the interests and honor of his friends. 
 No child of distress ever made an unsuccessful appeal to his charity. 
 His rule was to give something in every case, but to regulate the 
 amount by the necessities which urged the call. 
 
 Few men have felt such perfect contempt for show and display 
 as Mr. CRAWFORD. His dress was always plain, and never at all in 
 his way. Indeed, he gave himself no care whatever about what he 
 should wear. At the age of thirty-two, after a seven years' engage- 
 ment, which had been suspended by his poverty, he married Susannah 
 Girardin, of Augusta, who still survives, and who resides at Woodlawn. 
 his country-seat, where he settled in 1804, and where he resided from 
 that period to the day of his death, except when engaged in the public 
 service. After marriage, he referred the subject of dress to Mrs. Craw- 
 ford, who was as plain and unaffected in her taste as himself. Though 
 his situation in public life often required him, out of respect to the cus- 
 toms of the country, and to avoid the charge of eccentricity, to keep up 
 a style and equipage of unwonted splendor, it was manifest that his heart 
 was not in it ; nor does any one, at all acquainted with the man, believe 
 for a moment, that his opposition to these things proceeded from penu- 
 riousness, or any kindred sentiment. He was a man of unquestioned 
 liberality. He was seldom known to ask the price of any thing, and 
 never considered any thing dear that added to the pleasure and com- 
 fort of himself or family. At an early age he imbibed the sentiment, 
 that dandyism and intellectuality were antagonistic traits of character ; 
 and he was heard to say, a short time before his death, that amidst an 
 extensive acquaintance with men of distinction in this country and in 
 Europe, he had seen but two dandies who were men of genius. Mo- 
 dest virtue, sound sense, and stern integrity were the surest passports 
 to his esteem. With these, a poor man was a prince in his affections ; 
 without them, a prince was the poorest of all beings. 
 
 Mr. CRAWFORD'S house has often been styled "Liberty Hall" by 
 those familiar with the unrestrained mirthfulness, hilarity, and social 
 glee which marked his fireside ; and the perfect freedom with which 
 every child, from the eldest to the youngest, expressed his or her 
 opinion upon the topics suggested by the moment, whether those to
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 pics referred to men or measures. His children were always encou- 
 raged to act out their respective characters precisely as they were, and 
 the actions and sentiments of each were always a fair subject ot 
 commendation, or good-humored ridicule by the rest. They criticised 
 the opinions and conduct of the father, with the same freedom as those 
 of each other, and he acknowledged his errors or argued his defence 
 with the same kind spirit and good temper as distinguished his course 
 towards them in every other case. The family government was one 
 of the best specimens of democracy the world has ever seen. There 
 was nothing like faction in the establishment. According to the 
 last census, before marriage and emigration commenced, the po- 
 pulation was ten, consisting of father and mother and eight children, 
 of whom five are sons and three daughters. Suffrage on all ques- 
 tions was universal, extending to male and female. Freedom of 
 speech and equal rights were felt and acknowledged to be the birth- 
 right of each. Knowledge was a common stock, to which each felt 
 a peculiar pleasure in contributing according as opportunity enabled 
 him. When afflictions or misfortunes came, each bore a share in the 
 common burden. When health and prosperity returned, each became 
 emulous of heightening the common joy. Chess, drafts, and other 
 games, involving calculation and judgment, and plays which called for 
 rapid thought, quick perception, and ready answers, formed sources of 
 in-door amusements. Those requiring vigor of nerve and agility 
 of muscle were performed upon the green. In all these sports upon 
 the green and in the house, Mr. CRAWFORD was, even down to his 
 last days, the companion of his children ; delighting them often by 
 taking part himself. Though the disease of which he suffered so 
 much while at Washington deprived him of his activity, his zeal for 
 the gratification of his children, and his delight in contributing all 
 he could to their happiness, knew no abatement. As a husband, he 
 was kind, affectionate, and devoted. He was never ostentatious in his 
 attachments to any one, always evincing his regard more by substan- 
 tial beneficence than by words. No parent was ever better beloved 
 of his children than he. His home instructions were of incalculable 
 advantage to them. He never contented himself with merely sending 
 them to schools of highest and best repute, but made a personal ex- 
 amination of them almost every day, that he might see and know 
 for himself how they progressed and how they were taught. He was 
 in the habit of drawing them around him in a class, and requiring 
 them to read with him. On these occasions, the Bible was his chief 
 class-book, and Job and Psalms his favorite portions. The attention
 
 WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 
 
 and instructions here mentioned were faithfully accorded during the 
 whole time of his cabinet service at Washington, except during his 
 extreme illness. After his return from Georgia, and his partial reco- 
 very from his disease, he still kept up an intimate acquaintance with 
 the progress of his younger children, and the manner of their instruc- 
 tion at school ; though his general debility prevented his being so 
 indefatigable as he had been. At no time of his life did he ever lose 
 sight of the importance of storing the minds of his children with vir- 
 tuous principles. The strict observance of truth, the maintenance of 
 honor, generosity, and integrity of character, he never ceased to enjoin 
 upon them as indispensable to respectability and happiness. 
 
 It is not within the knowledge of any of his children that he was 
 ever guilty of profane swearing. He never made a profession of re- 
 ligion, but was a decided believer in Christianity, a. life member of the 
 American Bible Society, a Vice-President of the American Coloniza- 
 tion Society, and a regular contributor to the support of the gospel. 
 
 Though Mr. CRAWFORD'S strides to political preferment were long 
 and unusually rapid, as will be seen in the course of this sketch, they 
 were not free from those difficulties and embarrassments which 
 have often beset the way of those who have aspired to places of 
 high honor and distinction. In all ages of the world, men of low- 
 minds and corrupt hearts have so far controlled popular sentiment, as 
 to infuse into it principles, which, when subjected to the tests of en- 
 lightened wisdom, sound ethics, and the highest and best dictates of 
 refined humanity, must, without hesitation, be pronounced erroneous. 
 The history of man evinces that no order of intelligence on earth 
 has, at all times hitherto, been sufficiently strong, successfully to op- 
 pose those practices which have been the legitimate result of such 
 principles. Thus much must be conceded of those mortal conflicts 
 which spring from the law of honor, as exhibited in the opinions, and 
 enforced by the examples, of some of the most illustrious statesmen 
 and patriots of this country and Europe. That the subject of this 
 notice was. in the commencement of his career, himself imbued 
 with this- philosophy, (this false philosophy,) and that he gave a prac- 
 tical illustration of his faith upon two occasions, it were useless to 
 deny or conceal. It is believed, however, that he ever afterwards 
 looked upon this part of his history with deep and poignant regret. 
 The only affair* of this kind, with which he was afterwards connect- 
 ed, was one not of his own, and in which he consented to act as se- 
 
 * Eppcs and Randolph.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 cond, only that he might restore peace between the parties. This he 
 did most effectually, and by his course in the matter secured the 
 abiding confidence of all concerned. 
 
 In the spring of 1799, Mr. CRAWFORD removed into Oglethorpe 
 County ; and without money or patron commenced the practice of law, 
 in what was then called the Western, now the Northern Circuit of 
 Georgia. Such were his perseverance, industry, and talents, that he 
 soon attracted the notice of that distinguished statesman and sound 
 jurist, Peter Early, then at the head of his profession in the Up Coun- 
 try, and to whom he became warm and ardently attached. His great 
 professional zeal, that always made his client's cause his own, his un- 
 remitted attention to business, his punctuality and promptness in its 
 despatch, his undisguised frankness and official sincerity, disdaining the 
 little artifices arid over-reaching craft of the profession, combined with 
 a dignity which, springing from self-respect alone, was entirely un- 
 mingled with affectation, his honesty and irreproachable moral charac- 
 ter, accompanied with manners the most plain, simple, and accessible, 
 secured for him a public and private reputation seldom equalled, and 
 never surpassed in any country. His most prominent virtue was a 
 bold and lofty ingenuousness of mind ; in any intercourse whatever 
 with him it was his most striking trait, and yet it was far from being 
 studied. He never engaged, by a smooth and flexible manner, either 
 in the utterance of his sentiments or the tendency of his address : in 
 the first he was polite and unassuming, though confident and decided ; 
 in the latter he was easy without ostentation, and commanding with- 
 out arrogance. In the court-house, as well as at home, the blind ve- 
 neration and respectful awe, by no means inconsiderable, which were 
 usually paid to the graces and proud carriage of person, the fascinat- 
 ing richness and gaiety of apparel, and the splendor of equipage, he 
 neither claimed nor desired ; brought up and educated altogether free 
 from such vain allurements, he never suffered his native strength of 
 mind and unaffected manly simplicity to yield in the slightest degree 
 to their influence. After Mr. Early went to Congress in 1802, Mr. 
 CRAWFORD might fairly be said to stand at the head of the bar in his 
 circuit. 
 
 As a lawyer, he was courteous and liberal. As a speaker, not so 
 much distinguished for fluency or elegance of style, as clearness of 
 illustration and cogency of argument. In a conversation with the 
 writer during his judicial service, he said he did not remember to have 
 lost a case at the bar in which he had had the concluding speech. As a 
 pleader, he was exceedingly neat and accurate. His hand-writing
 
 WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 
 
 was large, plain, elegant, and free. He left nothing to be supplied by 
 the clerk ; and his opposing counsel might see at the first glance the 
 complaint or defence of his client set forth with a convincing clear- 
 ness that created a feeling in advance that it must be just. His 
 speeches were always short, rarely exceeding half an hour in any case. 
 He had the faculty of seizing at once upon all the strong points of a 
 case, and presenting each in its natural order with a simplicity, brevi- 
 ty, perspicuity and force, which told with unfailing effect upon the 
 minds of the court and jury. He was always armed with such discrimi- 
 nation as enabled him to detect the least flaw in the argument of his 
 adversary, and no fallacy was allowed to pass unexposed. No inci- 
 dent connected with the testimony, which could be wielded to the ad- 
 vantage of his client or against his opponent, ever escaped the tena- 
 city of his memory. His social intercourse with the members of the 
 profession, whom he considered worthy of his respect, was unre- 
 strained ; and many and loud were the roars of laughter that suc- 
 ceeded his well-told anecdotes. His presence was an effectual anti- 
 dote to dulness ; his mirth was irresistible. Stupid, indeed, was the 
 man who could not yield some sparks of intellect when brought into 
 social intercourse with him. Although he left, society largely in 
 arrears to him on the score of contribution to social enjoyment, no 
 man was easier pleased, none felt a livelier sympathy in the interests 
 and feelings of others. 
 
 Oglethorpe called him four years to represent her in the Legisla- 
 ture, and during that period she found in him a faithful respresenta- 
 tive. Many laws, now of force in the State, bear the impress of his 
 wisdom as a legislator. It was as a member of the Legislature of 
 Georgia that he laid the foundation for that extensive and permanent 
 popularity as a politician which he ever afterwards enjoyed. In 1807 
 he was elected to the Senate of the United States, to supply the va- 
 cancy occasioned by the death of the great, and good, and highly- 
 gifted Abraham Baldwin ; and re-elected in 1811 without opposition. 
 On entering the Senate of the United States, Mr. CRAWFORD came 
 in immediate collision with that veteran debater, the Honorable William 
 B. Giles of Virginia. The very creditable manner in which he sustain- 
 ed himself in that contest, won for him, in the outset, a high reputa- 
 tion for talents, which he retained as long as he continued to be a 
 member of that body. Most of those who were numbered in the re- 
 publican ranks in 1810 and later, even up to 1812, were somewhat 
 distrustful of the navy as a means of national defence, and opposed 
 its considerable enlargement. A very current sentiment of those
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 days was, that the navy was but loo well calculated to embroil us with 
 other nations. It will be remembered that the reduction of the navy 
 was a prominent feature in Mr. Jefferson's administration. It must be 
 confessed that Mr. CRAWFORD participated in this opinion to a consi- 
 derable extent. But, in common with most of his political friends and 
 associates, its brilliant achievements during the last war, won him over 
 to a more favorable opinion of that department of the public service. 
 In fact, he became a strong advocate of the navy. After the peace, 
 in 1815, one of the first measures adopted, was an act of Congress 
 for the increase of the navy, and an annual appropriation of $1,000,000 
 to that object. In this measure nine tenths of both houses concurred, 
 and the wisdom and propriety of it received Mr. CRAWFORD'S hearty 
 acquiescence. Shortly after, in one of his reports, he styles the navy 
 "an essential means of national defence." In all questions of appro- 
 priation he was the uncompromising advocate of the rule, that the 
 objects and places of expenditure should be distinct and specific, so 
 as to leave as little as possible to executive discretion. He was a 
 warm and decided advocate for an early resort to arms, to redress the 
 injuries and indignities heaped upon this country by Great Britain, 
 and which laid the foundation for the last war. This is manifest 
 from his votes in the Senate upon every question leading to a decla- 
 ration of war throughout the years 1811 and 1812. 
 
 He voted for the bill authorizing fifty thousand volunteers to be re- 
 ceived by the President for increasing the army twenty-five thousand 
 for an act concerning the navy, fitting out certain frigates : and was 
 friendly to the passage of an act for increasing the navy, passed 2d 
 January 1813, by which the building of four seventy-fours and six 
 forty-four gun frigates was authorized. His vote is to be found re- 
 corded for the passage of the law by which war was declared, and 
 uniformly against every proposition for its modification. He was then 
 President, pro tempore, of the Senate ; and had been elevated to that 
 distinguished station during the session of Congress in which the war 
 was declared, and at a time when no man of equivocal political 
 opinions, or doubtful sentiments, on the question of peace or war, 
 would have been, by a decidedly republican Senate, placed in that dig- 
 nified office. This will readily account for Mr. CRAWFORD'S not 
 having made a speech in favor of a declaration of war ; he was the 
 presiding officer of the Senate, and had been so more than four 
 months ; and by the peculiar rule of that body could not, without leav- 
 ing the station to which he had been called, participate in debate. 
 
 The embargo, and the bank, formed two other questions of grave
 
 WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 
 
 import and high national excitement during his senatorial career. 
 His course upon both was prompt, fearless, and independent. The 
 former he opposed in the teeth of a popular and powerful administra- 
 tion ; to the latter he gave a vigorous support, though unqualified 
 opposition to it upon constitutional grounds was at that day, as it still 
 is, one of the tests of republican discipleship. It is known, however, 
 to his intimate friends, that the careful perusal of the secret debates of 
 the convention which framed the constitution, and the debates upon 
 the adoption of that instrument by the States, produced a change in 
 his opinion upon the constitutionality of the bank. 
 
 In 1813, after declining the office of Secretary of War, tendered 
 him by President Madison, he was sent minister to the Court of St. 
 Cloud. 
 
 The Argus, in which he sailed, under the command of Captain Allen, 
 entered the port of L'Orient the llth of July, 1813, being twenty-one 
 days from New- York. 
 
 What he did during his two years' residence at Paris, is already a 
 matter of recorded history. It is enough to say, in this place, that his 
 official notes evinced the clearest understanding of the questions pend- 
 ing between the two governments, and in them the rights of this 
 country are set forth in the strongest and most imposing light, and 
 pressed upon the empire, and afterwards upon the crown, with a force 
 of logic, a confident boldness, and ceaseless vigilance, worthy of such a 
 cause. During his stay at Paris he was the confidential friend and 
 correspondent of our eminently distinguished negotiators for peace at 
 Ghent. 
 
 Among the most pleasing incidents connected with his residence in 
 Paris, was the acquaintance he formed with the hero of two hemi- 
 spheres, the illustrious La Fayette. It would seem from the letters 
 of this great and good man, which Mr. CRAWFROD has preserved with 
 more than his usual care, that their acquaintance ripened into the 
 strongest personal friendship ; and that their intercourse was of the 
 most confidential character. In these letters the politics of France are 
 discussed with an unsuspecting freedom on the part of the General, 
 and often with an unsparing severity, rarely surpassed in the inter- 
 change of opinions between sworn friends in the freest government on 
 earth. To Mr. CRAWFORD'S auspices he principally confided the di- 
 rection and management of his patents to the land granted him by 
 Congress, in Louisiana, as a small return for his unparalleled sacri- 
 fices in the cause of freedom, his timely and efficient aid, and his bril- 
 liant achievements in our revolutionary struggle. This correspond-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 ence was sustained on both sides with imdiminished confidence and 
 cordiality so long as the General Jived. 
 
 On his return from France in 1815, he found that he had been ap- 
 pointed Secretary of War, in which department he served but a few 
 months. In October following he was made Secretary of the Treasu- 
 ry by Mr. Madison, and was that winter strongly solicited to allow his 
 name to be put in nomination for the Presidency. But he promptly 
 declined, saying that he was young enough to wait, and advised his 
 friends to nominate and support Mr. Monroe. A caucus was held, in 
 which Mr. Monroe received but a small majority of votes as the nomi- 
 nee over Mr. CRAWFORD, though he had so positively declined to al- 
 low his name to be run. A number of his strongest and most in- 
 timate friends refused to attend the caucus, resolving, as he would not 
 allow them to vote for him, they would vote for no one else. It has 
 often been confidently asserted by a great number of experienced politi- 
 cians of that day, that if he had permitted his name to be put in nomina- 
 tion at that time, he might, have been elected with perfect ease. This, of 
 course, was a calculation founded on the signs of the times, a conclusion 
 which may have been brought about as much by the propulsive power 
 of strong political attachments, as by calm and dispassionate reasoning 
 upon the course of events and the aspect of affairs. They knew that 
 Mr. CRAWFORD could have been nominated without difficulty. The 
 event showed the influence of such a nomination, as it resulted in the 
 election of Mr. Monroe. 
 
 In 1817 Mr. CRAWFORD was re-appointed to the office of Se- 
 cretary of the Treasury by Mr. Monroe, and continued in that office 
 till 1825, when he declined its acceptance under Mr. Adams's admi- 
 nistration. Much of the period during which Mr. CRAWFORD acted 
 as Secretary of the Treasury, times were very doubtful our domestic 
 relations embarrassed pecuniary difficulties pressing upon the peo- 
 ple home and foreign commerce fluctuating commercial capital 
 deranged a public debt to be managed, and, above all, a miserably de- 
 preciated and ruined currency had to be dealt with. The political es- 
 sayists of those days agreed that it required ceaseless vigilance and 
 profound ability to preserve the national estate from bankruptcy. But 
 the public credit was never better at any period of the republic than 
 during his administration of the affairs of the Treasury. The national 
 debt was faithfully discharged, and the burdens of government upon 
 the people were for the most part light and inconsiderable. At the 
 time of greatest difficulty the estimated and actual receipts of the 
 Treasury only varied ten per cent., while the estimates of his distin-
 
 WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 
 
 guished predecessors had varied from seventeen to twenty-one per 
 cent. But perhaps the best evidence of his fidelity, zeal, and ability as 
 cabinet officer in this department, was the length of time he served, 
 the unbounded confidence reposed in him by Mr. Madison and Mr. 
 Monroe during the whole period of his service ; the great interest 
 manifested for his retention in that office by Mr. Gal latin ; and Mr. J. 
 Q. Adams's opinion of his merit, as evinced in his tendering him that 
 office during his- administration. Such men are rarely deceived in 
 their estimate of character and qualifications. 
 
 Many believe that Mr. CRAWFORD would have been chosen Presi- 
 dent in 1825, instead of Mr. Adams, if at the time of his election his 
 health had not been so bad as to induce the belief that he could not 
 survive his disease. He received an honorable vote from the electoral 
 colleges. Whether his defeat were the result of illness or other cause, 
 those who know his family, know that the prospect of retreating into 
 private life, and of enjoying without interruption the society of the fa- 
 ther, was hailed as a joyous era in the family history. If it were assert- 
 ed that Mr. CRAWFORD himself experienced a secret gratification at the 
 result, so far as he was concerned, and so far as his happiness was in- 
 volved, few would credit the declaration. And yet none would doubt 
 its truth who knew the facts. All believed that the atmosphere of 
 Washington nourished the disease which was wasting his remaining 
 strength and threatening his life ; and under such circumstances, the 
 honors of the presidency were as the small dust of the balance com- 
 pared with the prospect of his restoration of health. 
 
 In 1827, after the death of Judge Dooly, Mr. CRAWFORD was ap- 
 pointed by Governor Troup, without solicitation, Judge of the North- 
 ern Circuit of Georgia. In 1828 the Legislature elected him to the 
 same office without opposition. Three years after he was a candidate 
 for re-election ; and though he had an opponent whose plans for his de- 
 feat were well concocted, he obtained his election on the first balloting. 
 
 One effect of Mr. CRAWFORD'S long and distressing illness, to which 
 allusion has been so often made, was, that it entailed upon him consider- 
 ably more excitability of temper than he had ever before manifested. He 
 used occasionally to exhibit this new trait of character, which was the 
 offspring of disease, while upon the bench. His greatest annoyance was, 
 what he called a silly speech ;" and though such speeches were of rare 
 occurrence at the bar in his circuit, yet they did sometimes come out, 
 and when they did, the Judge's patience was sure to suffer. Neverthe- 
 less he was considered able, upright, and impartial. His distinguishing 
 trait, as a Judge, was, that he would not be tied down to the strict
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 technicalities of law when they would work a manifest injustice to 
 either of the parties litigant. In such a case he would say, " Summum 
 jus is sometimes summa injuria. and I must so construe the rule as 
 to do the parti* substantial justice." Those of his decisions which 
 were made with deliberation, are considered as high authority as those 
 of any Judge the State has ever had. The case of the State vs. Tassels 
 may be mentioned as one of the most important which came before 
 him while upon the bench. It did not originate in his circuit ; but hav- 
 ing been referred to all the Judges, he was appointed by the rest to 
 write out the opinion. If any should still believe the slander that his 
 mind was made imbecile by his illness at Washington, let him read its 
 refutation in that decision. 
 
 He was in the active discharge of the duties of Judge of the North- 
 ern Circuit when he died. He set out on his way to Court on Satur- 
 day, and was taken sick that night at the house of a friend, and died 
 at 2 o'clock the succeeding Monday morning, being the 15th Septem- 
 ber, 1834. His physicians were of the opinion that his disease was an 
 affection of the heart. He died apparently without pain or fever. He 
 sleeps at Woodlawn, under a plain mound of earth, without tomb- 
 stone, or inscription ; and no one near him but a little grandson of two 
 years old, who had preceded him by about fifteen mouths.
 
 (****
 
 LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURIME Y. 
 
 MRS. SIGOURNEY was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Her father, 
 Mr. Ezekiel Huntley, was the owner of a small property, which he 
 cultivated in that happy spirit of contentment with his lot, which in 
 ancient times would have entitled him to the appellation of a philoso- 
 pher. In truth he was something better a Christian, humble in his 
 wishes, and devoted to his duties. The mother of Mrs. SIGODRNEY 
 was a woman of strong powers of mind, and possessed of a warm and 
 vivid fancy ; but the secluded situation in which she lived, and the 
 few opportunities for intellectual improvement which she had enjoyed, 
 made her very diffident of her own abilities. However, superior talents 
 will in some way be manifested. Mrs. Huntley evinced hers by the 
 sedulous attention and care which she bestowed on her daughter. 
 Lydia was the only child of her parents ; it is not strange, therefore, 
 that she should have been nurtured with exceeding care and tender- 
 ness ; but the superiority of her mother was shown in inculcating early 
 and constantly, habits of order and diligence in the pursuitsof the young 
 mind she was forming ; and which habits the distinguished poetess 
 has since found of inestimable advantage. 
 
 We think the worldly condition in which the early life of Mrs. SI- 
 GOURNEY was passed, exceedingly favorable to the development of 
 her peculiar faculties. Placed in that safe mediocrity of fortune which 
 the wisest of men invoked as a choice blessing, a state which re- 
 quires industry yet admits of hope, she was naturally inclined to pre- 
 pare for the future, rather than to seek enjoyment in the present. 
 Even the lonelinesss of her brotherless and sisterless lot probably in- 
 duced the substitution of intellectual pursuits for the common sports 
 of childhood. These influences, though they chastened and elevat- 
 ed her mind, may have somewhat saddened her fancy ; and hence 
 the musings of her genius almost always appear in the pensive or mo- 
 ralizing form. 
 
 We feel, while reading her sweet effusions, as though the beauty of
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 holiness could not rest so purely on the bright living; brow, crowned 
 with flowers, as on the pale cheek of the dead. This predominance 
 of the grave and solemn, as regards the influence of her poetry on the 
 world of active life, is undoubtedly a defect ; yet these sad and serious 
 strains are most congenial and comforting to those hearts which mis- 
 fortune has touched and softened. And such will deeply appreciate 
 the genius of the poetess, for truly sings a sister spirit 
 
 "Oh ! prophet heart! fhy grief, thy power, 
 
 To all deep souls belong ; 
 The shadow in the sunny hour, 
 
 The wail in mirthful song: 
 Their sight is all too sadly clear 
 
 For them a veil is riven : 
 Their piercing thoughts repose not here, 
 Their home is but in heaven." 
 
 We are by no means in favor of establishing precocity of intellect 
 as the standard of real genius, yet it is certain that many distinguish- 
 ed persons have been marked in childhood as extraordinary ; the blos- 
 som has given forth the sweet odor which the rich fruit, like that of 
 the Mangostan, embodies in its delicious perfection. 
 
 Mrs. SIGOURNEY showed in childhood the promise of superior in- 
 tellect, and that thirst for information, which marks the great activity 
 of the mental faculties. She could read the Scriptures intelligibly at 
 three years old ; and some of her simple rhymes, written at eight, give 
 evidence that her poetic powers were even then developing. Emula- 
 tion was in those days appealed to in school, and the head of the class 
 and the highest premiums were almost always awarded her ; and ge- 
 nerally obtained from older competitors. In short, childhood and 
 youth were to her, periods of unbroken happiness ; and a strictly reli- 
 gious education had an influence, no doubt, in producing early the 
 trust and profession of piety. 
 
 At that time there were few attempts at authorship among Ameri- 
 cans ; the great fountains of periodical literature, which now threaten 
 to deluge the age, had not then been broken up ; and rarely had a female 
 writer trusted any evidence of her literary taste to the press. But Miss 
 Huntley ventured to send a few articles which she had written with a 
 view to her own private improvement, to the public journals. These 
 attracted the attention of Daniel Wadsworth, Esq., whose name de- 
 serves to be honorably recorded in this sketch of the gifted mind which 
 he assisted to draw from the obscurity, where, but for his noble bene- 
 volence, it might long have remained " afar from the untasted sun-
 
 LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY. 
 
 beam." Mr. Wadsworth, who resided in Hartford, was a gentleman 
 of large fortune, and eminently fitted by his refined taste, elevated 
 character, and station in society, to become the Meecenas of a young 
 and sensitive writer. Mrs. Wadsworth lent her aid in the most deli- 
 cate and kind manner to encourage and sustain the youthful poetess. 
 Miss Huntley was received at the splendid mansion of her good pa- 
 trons, and treated with the confidence and affection of a favored 
 daughter. They have their reward, those generous friends ; for they 
 are now living to enjoy the fame and success of their protege. 
 
 By the persuasions and exertions of Mr. Wadsworth, a volume, 
 called " Moral Pieces by Miss Huntley," was published in 1815. 
 Though the " Pieces," generally, are not of a high order of literary 
 composition, and cannot in this respect be compared with the later 
 publications of the authoress, yet the pure spirit of piety and virtue is 
 impressed on every page ; and thus the individuality of the character 
 of her mind is preserved, and a beautiful example of consistency dis- 
 played to the youthful and gifted of her own sex. We see that 
 the desire to do good, was the prevailing motive to that cultivation 
 of talent which has made her distinguished. The fame of a woman 
 is glorious only as it induces the imitation of a pure and useful stand- 
 ard of excellence. 
 
 One great advantage of the patronage of Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth, 
 besides giving the most liberal opportunities for intellectual cuHure and 
 embellishment, was obtaining for Miss Huntley a select school of 
 young ladies, which she instructed for several years, to the mutual 
 satisfaction of herself and pupils. Like Mrs. Barbauld, she enjoyed 
 the affectionate society of children ; like Hannah More, she made 
 the science of education a conscientious study ; and thus improved 
 herself, as well as those under her care. A little poem, which she 
 wrote in her school, entitled Excuse for not fulfilling an engage- 
 ment," is a beautiful illustration of her moral sensibility and self- 
 discipline, which had converted what many young ladies would doubt- 
 less consider an irksome task, into a sweet and pleasant duty. 
 
 In 1819 Miss Huntley was married to Mr. Charles Sigourney of 
 Hartford. This gentleman is descended from an eminent and respect- 
 able Huguenot family, who emigrated to the wilderness of America 
 in consequence of the revocation of the edict of Nantes. He is a mer- 
 chant of highly respectable standing, a leading character in the Episco- 
 pal church, and a zealous patron of the Episcopal College at Hartford. 
 He possesses a mind of great power and firmness, and a refined and 
 cultivated taste.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 In an elegant mansion, erected by him, whose romantic grounds, 
 combining, " hill, water-fall, and wood," were laid out and embellish- 
 ed by his fine taste Mrs. SIGOURNEY indited those tender, touching, 
 and fervent strains of sorrow and piety which will cause her name 
 to be held in affectionate remembrance, while the human heart can 
 be bowed by bereavement, or elevated by its trust in heaven. The 
 works which she has published since her marriage, are various in 
 number and in style. In 1822 appeared " Traits of the Aborigines 
 of America, a Poem," written in blank verse ; and though not of 
 equal interest to the general reader with her shorter poems, ne- 
 vertheless possesses much merit for its historical information and its 
 accurate details of Indian life and habits. It is also impressed, like all 
 her other works, with the seal of philanthropy and Christian feeling. 
 Her next volume was " Connecticut, Forty Years Since ;" a prose 
 sketch, chiefly traditional, and intended to illustrate the character and 
 manners of the good old puritan settlers of the land of steady habits. 
 It is not a connected story, but contains some spirited descriptions, and 
 a vein of sweet affections and humble devotion, which will well repay 
 the search of those readers who are seeking rather for the gold of 
 healthy sentiment than the tinsel of false refinement and affected sen- 
 sibility. Soon after the appearance of this " Sketch," she published her 
 first volume of fugitive poems, which at once established her reputa- 
 tion as a lyrist of no common powers. She has since published three 
 volumes of " Poems" and one of " Prose Sketches," all of which have 
 been kindly reviewed by the public, and are highly esteemed among the 
 popular works of the day. She has also, in the mean time, written 
 largely for the young. Entering into this department of literature with 
 all the zeal of her warm heart and fertile mind, she has furnished 
 the juvenile library with many choice gems. The largest of this 
 series, " Letters to Young Ladies," is a work which deserves its 
 place in the family library, as well as on the toilet of the youthful fe- 
 male of every class. It is a familiar exposition of the common duties 
 of woman's life ; and illustrates, in simple details but with great force 
 of moral reasoning, the necessity of instructing our daughters in every 
 household art and accomplishment ; while at the same time the au- 
 thoress has shown how much of all that is noblest and loveliest, in the 
 works of benevolence and the progressof improvement, may be wrought 
 out by the sex, strictly within their own sphere. 
 
 It is the popular belief that an author paints himself in his works ; 
 Byron's Manfred was considered by Goethe as the impersonation oi 
 that poet's own feelings and even actions. There is no doubt that the
 
 LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY. 
 
 bias of the writer's character materially impresses itself on the ethical 
 or domestic views which he advances, because these subjects are al- 
 ways connected with human agents, and the standard of comparison 
 must be found in the author's experience or sentiments. From va- 
 rious reasons we are inclined to think that Mrs. SIGOURNEY has, in 
 these unpretending " Letters," &c. sketched her own manner of being. 
 No one could describe so happily the many ready ways of doing good, 
 who had not practised them ; or paint so gracefully those little feminine 
 employments which help to make home the abode of contentment and 
 comfort, if she did not excel in their performance. The following 
 description of knitting^ which occurs in the chapter on "Domestic 
 Employments," will explain what we mean : 
 
 " Knitting is a quiet employment, favorable to reflection, and, though 
 somewhat obsolete, not unallied to economy. It furnishes a ready ve- 
 hicle of charity to the poor, and most appropriate during the season of 
 winter. The timely gift of a pair of coarse stockings has often relieved 
 the sufferings and protected the health of many an ill-clad and shi- 
 vering child. It seems to be well adapted to save those fragments of 
 time which might otherwise be lost. Mrs. Hannah More, whose ex- 
 ample imparts dignity and even sacredness to common things, was 
 partial throughout her whole life to this simple employment." 
 
 Thus writes Mrs. SIGOURNEY ; and we fancy, that were her enthu- 
 siastic admirers to make a pilgrimage to visit the accomplished poetess, 
 they would be far more likely to find her with knitting needles in 
 hand than with pen or pencil ; and that, instead of being seated at her 
 writing-desk, she would be found " on hospitable thoughts intent," su- 
 perintending the affairs of her household ; or in that dearest of all em- 
 ployments to a good mother's heart, instructing and tending her young 
 children. She has two, a daughter and son, to whom she performs 
 the part of instructress as well as mother ; exhibiting in her maternal 
 example those virtues which would have raised a Roman matron to 
 distinguished honor in the State. We dwell on these private excel- 
 lences of our gifted countrywoman with peculiar pleasure, because 
 they prove that the display of genius is not incompatible with the con- 
 stant exercise of those household duties, which no woman can neglect 
 without injuring her own reputation, and the happiness of those with 
 whom she is connected. There are two poems in her works, " Birth- 
 day verses to a Little Girl," addressed to her daughter on her sixth 
 birth-day, and " The Second Birth-day" of her son, which are elo- 
 quent of the heart's best feelings ; and so also is that sweet poem, 
 " The Ark and Dove."
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 We come now to speak of the characteristics of her writings. In 
 prose, as in poetry, she is distinguished for the earnestness and deli- 
 cacy with which she urges moral and religious truths constantly on 
 her readers. In prose, she manifests little warmth or sprightliness of 
 imagination, but the zeal of doing good is always apparent. Judging 
 from what she has written, we do not think she will ever be a popular 
 writer of fictitious works. She cannot vary her style of expression 
 sufficiently to hit off the easy dialogue or the animated description, 
 like Miss Sedgwick : but as a didactic writer, Mrs. SIGOURNEY 
 displays strength of reasoning, a nice perception of moral fitness, and 
 the ready command of choice and expressive words, which will 
 al ways make her prose essays popular. She describes nature with a 
 lover's feeling of its beauties, and with much delicacy and taste. 
 Some of her sketches of beautiful scenery are very happy, though we 
 think her talent for description is much more graceful, and, as it were, 
 at home in the measured lines of her poetry, than in the polished 
 periods of her best prose. Her genius brightens in the muses' smile, 
 and she can command by that spell, as Prospero could by his staff, the 
 attendance of the " delicate spirit " of fancy, which, like Ariel, brings 
 
 " Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not ;" 
 
 and those " solemn breathing strains " which rouse conscience to 
 its repentant work, or lift the trusting and contrite soul to heaven. 
 
 Though her own heart seems imbued with tendeness and love, yet 
 she almost invariably succeeds best in descriptions of sublime and soli- 
 tary scenery. How full of beauty is her poem of the " Alpine Flow- 
 ers ;"* and yet, like the " Spirit of the Frozen Ocean," described by M. 
 G. Lewis, it has a loveliness that chills and awes : 
 
 " Meek dwellers mid yon terror-stricken cliffs! 
 With brows so pure and incense breathing lips, 
 Whence are ye ? Did some white-winged messenger, 
 On Mercy's mission, trust your timid gems 
 To the cold cradle of eternal snows ? 
 Or, breathing on the callous icicles, 
 Bid them with tear-drops nurse ye? 
 
 Tree nor shrub, 
 
 Dare that drear atmosphere no polar pine 
 Uprears a veteran front ; yet there ye stand, 
 Leaning your cheeks against the thick-ribb'd ice, 
 And looking up with brilliant eyes to Him 
 Who bids you bloom unblanched amid the waste 
 Of desolation." 
 
 * See Volume of Poems published in 1828. 
 e
 
 LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY. 
 
 Imbued with similar touches of solitary beauty with the foregoing, 
 but conceived in a bolder and more exalted strain, is " Niagara " 
 a poem which, for grandeur and beauty of imagery united, has seldom 
 been surpassed by any writer. The opening is a most sublime adju- 
 ration to that wonder of nature, and thrills the soul like the voice of 
 the cataract : 
 
 " Flow on forever, in thy glorious robe 
 Of terror and of beauty. Yea, flow on 
 Unfathomed and resistless ! God hath set 
 His rainbow on thy forehead : and the cloud 
 Mantled around thy feet. And he doth give 
 Thy voice of thunder power to speak of Him 
 Eternally bidding the lip of man 
 Keep silence ; and upon thy rocky altar pour 
 Incense of awe-struck praise. 
 
 " Oh God ! who can describe Niagara ! " exclaimed Mrs. Butler, 
 in the agony of her admiration. We reply, that Mrs. SIGOURNEY 
 has done this, and worthily too ; and that production is sufficient to 
 establish her fame as a poetess of the first rank. It does more and bet- 
 ter for her than this it stamps her as the devoted Christian ; for, except 
 faith in the " dread Invisible " had sustained her genius, and trust in 
 the Saviour had kept warm the fount of love and sensibility in her 
 heart, she could not have surrounded a theme so awful, strange, and 
 lonely, with such images of beauty and hope. True it is, that female 
 writers owe their happiest efforts to religious feeling. Devotion 
 seems to endow them with the martyr's glowing fervency of spirit. 
 In the actual world, the path of woman is very circumscribed ; but 
 in that " better land," where pure beings dwell, her imagination may 
 roam with the freedom of an angel's wing : 
 
 It has been objected to Mrs. SIGOURNEY'S writings that they con- 
 tain too many elegiac poems ; and these, being generally written in 
 blank verse, impart a monotonous character to her works. In the 
 preface to her last volume, " Zinzendorf," &c., she adverts to this 
 subject, and shields herself under the authority of the wise Lord 
 Bacon, that " we shall find as many hearse-like harmonies as carols 
 if we listen to the harp of David." She might have urged a better 
 reason, namely, the promptings of her own genius. To her tender 
 feelings and contemplative mind, every knell that summons the 
 mourner to weep, awakens her sympathy ; and the dirge flows, as 
 would her tears, to comfort the bereaved were she beside them. Nor 
 is the death-song of necessity gloomy. Many of hers sound the notes 
 of holy triumph, and awake the brightest anticipations of felicity aye,
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 " Teach us of the melody of heaven." 
 
 She leaves not the " trophy of death at the tomb ;" but shows us the 
 "Resurrection and the life." Thus she elevates the hope of the 
 Christian, and chastens the thoughts of the worldly-minded. This is 
 her mission, the true purpose of her heaven-endowed mind ; for 
 the inspirations of genius are from heaven, and, when not perverted 
 by a corrupted will, rise as naturally upward as the morning dew on 
 the flower is exhaled to the skies. 
 
 It is this solemn-breathing muse which renders the stately blank 
 verse measure the readiest vehicle of her fancies. She has a wonder- 
 ful command of words, and the fetters of rhyme check the free ex- 
 pression of her thoughts. She is also endowed with a fine conception 
 of the harmonious and appropriate ; and hence the smooth flow of her 
 lines, and the perfect adaptation of the language to the subject she is 
 describing. These qualities eminently fit her to be the eulogist of 
 departed worth ; and it is truly wonderful to observe, that, though 
 she has written so large a number of elegiac poems, yet she has, with 
 delicate taste and nice judgment, preserved the distinctive lineaments 
 of each character she has immortalized. Compare her funeral song 
 with the celebrated epitaphs of Pope, and then the wide and diversi- 
 fied range of her muse, when treating of that one theme, " death and 
 the grave," will be acknowledged. 
 
 Mrs. SIGOURNEY has often been styled " the American Hemans." 
 This comparison is neither correct nor just to the former, because it 
 conveys an idea of imitation, and leads those who have not read her 
 works to expect a greater similarity between these two popular poets 
 than will, on examination, be found. True, there is a resemblance ; 
 for both have poured out " the fervor, and the trust, and the tender- 
 ness " of a woman's heart ; and in the volume of " Mrs. Hemans' 
 poetical works," published by Mr. Ashe, is one gem from the mine 
 of our countrywoman.* But, though beautiful, it is not of the same 
 type and " speaking picture of beauty " with those of the English 
 poetess ; yet is it worthy its shrine among her glowing and glorious 
 productions. But there need be no comparison instituted between 
 these sisters of the lyre, both have excelled in their own peculiar 
 manner ; and the beautiful tribute rendered by Mrs. SIGOURNEY to 
 the memory of Felicia Hemans," has entwined their names in a 
 wreath which will never fade. Thus ought the good and gifted of 
 the sex to appreciate each other. H. 
 
 * See " Death of an Infant," page 344. 
 
 8
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 AMONG the earliest settlers of the English colonies in New England 
 was a family by the name of Adams. One of the grantees of the char- 
 ter of Charles the First to the London Company was named Thomas 
 Adams, though it does not appear that he was of those who emigrated 
 with Governor Winthrop, in 1630. 
 
 It appears by the Governor's journal, that in 1634 there came a con- 
 siderable number of colonists, under the pastoral superintendence of 
 the Rev. Thomas Parker, in a vessel from Ipswich, in the county of 
 Essex, in the neighborhood of which is the small town of Braintree. 
 
 There was, it seems, after their arrival, some difficulty in deciding 
 where they should be located. It was finally determined that Mount 
 Wollaston, situated within the harbor, and distant about nine miles 
 from the three mountains, and whence the intrusive merry mountain- 
 eer Morton had been expelled, should, with an enlarged boundary, be 
 annexed to Boston ; and the lands within that boundary were granted 
 in various proportions to individuals, chiefly, if not entirely, of the new 
 company from Ipswich. 
 
 The settlement soon increased ; and feeling, like all the original set- 
 tlements in New England, the want of religions instruction and social 
 worship, found it a great inconvenience to travel nine or ten miles 
 every Sunday to reach the place of their devotions. In 1636 they be- 
 gan to hold meetings, and to hear occasional preachers, at Mount Wol- 
 laston itself. Three years afterwards they associated themselves under 
 a covenant as a Christian Church ; and in 1640 were incorporated as 
 a separate town, by the name of Braintree. 
 
 Of this town Henry Adams, junior, was the first town-clerk ; and the 
 first pages of the original town records, still extant, are in his hand- 
 writing. He was the oldest of eight sons, with whom his father, 
 Henry Adams, had emigrated, probably from Braintree in England, and 
 who had arrived in the vessel from Ipswich in 1634. Henry Adams the
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 elder, died in 1646, leaving a widow, and a daughter named Ursula, 
 besides the eight sons above-mentioned. He had been a brewer in En- 
 gland, and had set up a brewery in his new habitation. This esta- 
 blishment was continued by the youngest but one of his sons, named 
 Joseph. The other sons sought their fortunes in other towns, and 
 chiefly among their first settlers. Henry, who had been the first town 
 clerk of Braintree, removed, at the time of the incorporation of Med- 
 field in 1652, to that place, and was again the first town-clerk there. 
 
 Joseph, the son who remained at Braintree, was born in 1626 ; was 
 at the time of the emigration of the family from England, a boy of 
 eight years old, and died at the age of sixty-eight in 1694, leaving ten 
 children, five sons and five daughters. 
 
 One of these sons, named John, settled in Boston, and was father of 
 Samuel Adams, and grandfather of the revolutionary patriot of that 
 name. 
 
 Another son, named also Joseph, was born in 1654 ; married Han- 
 nah Bass, a daughter of Ruth Alden, and grand-daughter of John Al- 
 den of the May Flower, and died in 1736 at the age of eighty-two. 
 
 His second son named John, born in 1689, was the father of JOHN 
 ADAMS, the subject of the present memoir. His mother was Susanna, 
 daughter of Peter Boylston, and niece of Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, re- 
 nowned as the first introducer of inoculation for the small-pox in the 
 British dominions. 
 
 This JOHN ADAMS was born on the 30th October, 1735, at Brain- 
 tree. His father's elder brother, Joseph, had been educated at Harvard 
 College ; and was for upwards of sixty years minister of a Congrega- 
 tional church at Newington, New Hampshire. 
 
 John Adams, the father, was a farmer of small estate and a com- 
 mon school education. He lived and died, as his father and grand- 
 father had done before him, in that mediocrity of condition between 
 affluence and poverty, most propitious to the exercise of the ordinary 
 duties of life, and to the enjoyment of individual happiness. He was 
 for many years a deacon of the church, and a select man of the 
 town, without enjoying or aspiring to any higher dignity. He was in 
 his religious opinions, like most of the inhabitants of New England at 
 that time, a rigid Calvinist, and was desirous of bestowing upon his eld- 
 est son the benefit of a classical education, to prepare him for the same 
 profession with that of his elder brother, the minister of the gospel at 
 Newington. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS, the son, had at that early age no vocation for the 
 Church, nor even for a college education. Upon his father's asking
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 him to what occupation in life he would prefer to be raised, he an- 
 swered that he wished to be a farmer. His father, without attempt- 
 ing directly to control his inclination, replied that it should be as he 
 desired. He accordingly took him out with himself the next day upon 
 the farm, and gave him practical experience of the labors of the plough, 
 the spade, and the scythe. At the close of the day the young farmer 
 told his father that he would go to school. He retained, however, his 
 fondness for farming to the last years of his life. 
 
 He was accordingly placed under the tuition of Mr. Marsh, the keep- 
 er of a school then residing at Braintree, and who, ten years afterwards, 
 was also the instructor of Josiah Q,uincy, the celebrated patriot, who 
 lived but to share the first trials and to face the impending terrors of 
 the revolution. 
 
 In 1751, at the age of sixteen, JOHN ADAMS was admitted as a stu- 
 dent at Harvard College, and in 1755 was graduated as Bachelor of 
 Arts. The class to which he belonged stands eminent on the College 
 catalogue, for the unusual number of men distinguished in after-life. 
 Among them were Samuel Locke, some time President of the College ; 
 Moses Hernmenway, subsequently a divine of high reputation ; Sir John 
 Wentworth, Governor of the province of New Hampshire ; William 
 Browne, a judge of the Superior Court of the Province of Massa- 
 chusetts Bay, and afterwards Governor of the island of Bermuda; David 
 Sewall, many years judge of the District Court of the United States in 
 the district, and afterwards State of Maine ; and Tristram Dalton, a 
 Senator of the United States. Three of these had so far distinguished 
 themselves while under-graduates, that, in the traditions of the College, 
 it was for many years afterwards known by the sons of Harvard as the 
 class of Adams, Hernmenway, and Locke. 
 
 John Adams, the father, had thus given to his eldest son a liberal 
 education to fit him for the gospel ministry. He had two other sons, 
 Peter Boylston and Elihu, whom he was educating to the profession 
 which JOHN had at first preferred, of farmers. In this profession Peter 
 Boylston continued to the end of a long life, holding for many years a 
 commission as a justice of the peace, and serving for some time the 
 town of Q,uincy as their representative in the legislature of the Com- 
 monwealth. He died in 1822 at the age of eighty-four, leaving nu- 
 merous descendants among the respectable inhabitants of Quincy and of 
 Boston. Elihu, at the commencement of the Revolution, entered the 
 army as a captain, and with multitudes of others fell a victim to the 
 epidemic dysentery of 1775. He left two sons and one daughter, 
 whose posterity reside in the towns of Randolph, (originally a part of
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 Braintree,) Abington, and Bridgewater. The daughter was the mother 
 of Aaron Hobart, several years a member of the House of Representa- 
 tives of the United States, and afterwards of the Council of the Com- 
 monwealth. 
 
 Among the usages of the primitive inhabitants of the villages of 
 New England, a liberal, that is, a college education, was considered as 
 an outfit for life, and equivalent to the double portion of an eldest son. 
 Upon being graduated at the College in 1755, JOHN ADAMS, at the age 
 of twenty, had received this double portion, and was thenceforth to pro- 
 vide for himself. 
 
 " The world was all before him, and Providence his guide." 
 
 At the commencement, when he was graduated, there were present 
 one or more of the select-men of the town of Worcester, which was 
 then in want of a teacher for the town school. They proposed to Mr. 
 Adams to undertake this service, and he accepted the invitation. He 
 repaired immediately to Worcester, and took upon him the arduous 
 duties of his office; pursuing at the same time the studies which were 
 to prepare him for the ministry. 
 
 His entrance thus upon the theatre of active life was at a period 
 of great political excitement. Precisely at the time when he went to 
 reside at Worcester, occurred the first incidents of the seven years' war, 
 waged between France and Britain for the mastery of the North Ame- 
 rican continent. The disaster of Braddock's defeat and death hap- 
 pened precisely at that time, like the shock of an earthquake through- 
 out the British colonies. Politics were the speculation of every mind 
 the prevailing topic of every conversation. It was then that he 
 wrote to his kinsman, Nathaniel Webb, that prophetic letter which has 
 been justly called a literary phenomenon, and which shadowed forth 
 the future revolution of Independence, and the naval glories of this 
 Union. 
 
 His father had fondly cherished the hope that he was raising, by the 
 education of his son, a monumental pillar of the Calvinistic church ; 
 and he himself, reluctant at the thought of disappointing the hopes of 
 his father, and unwilling to embrace a profession laboring then under 
 strong prejudices unfavorable to it among the people of New England, 
 had acquiesced in the purpose which had devoted him to the gospel 
 ministry. But the progress of his theological studies soon gave him 
 an irresistible distaste for the Calvinistic doctrines. The writings of 
 Archbishop Tillotson, then at the summit of their reputation ; the pro-
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 found analysis of Bishop Butler, with his sermons upon human na- 
 ture and upon the character of Balaam, took such hold upon his 
 memory, his imagination, and his judgment, that they extirpated from 
 his mind every root of Calvinism that had been implanted in it ; and 
 the philosophical works of Bolingbroke, then a dazzling novelty in the 
 literary world, although wholly successless in their tendency to shake 
 his faith in the sublime and eternal truths of the gospel, contributed ef- 
 fectively to wean him from the creed of the Genevan Reformer. 
 
 About one year after his first arrival at Worcester, after much anx- 
 ious deliberation and consultation with confidential friends, he resolv- 
 ed to relinquish the study of divinity, and to undertake that of the law. 
 He accordingly entered the office of Col. James Putnam, then a lawyer 
 of reputation at Worcester, and became at the same time an "inmate 
 of his house. With him he lived in perfect harmony for the space of 
 two years, pursuing, with indefatigable diligence, the study of the law, 
 and keeping at the same time the town school. In 1758 he completed his 
 preparatory professional studies ; relinquished his school, and returned 
 to his paternal mansion at Braintree. He applied, though a total stran- 
 ger, to Jeremy Gridley, then the most eminent lawyer in New England, 
 and Attorney-general of the Province, to present him to the judges of the 
 Superior Court for admission to the Bar. Mr. Gridley examined him 
 with regard to his proficiency in the studies appropriate to his profes- 
 sion, and warmly recommended him to the Court, securing thereby his 
 admission. 
 
 He opened an office, and commenced the practice in his native 
 town. Two years after, in 1760, he lost his father ; but continued to 
 reside with his mother and brother till 1764. His attendance upon 
 the Courts in the counties of Suffolk, and of the old colony, was as- 
 siduous ; but an accidental engagement in a private cause, before the 
 Court at Plymouth, gave him the opportunity to display talents, which 
 brought him immediately into large and profitable practice. In 1762 
 the seven years' war was concluded by the cession to Great Britain 
 and Spain of all the possessions of France on the continent of North 
 America ; and at the same time commenced in England the system of 
 policy, which terminated in the Revolution of Independence. It com- 
 menced by an increased rigor of exaction and of restriction in the ex- 
 ecution of the laws of trade. For this purpose the officers of the cus- 
 toms were instructed by an order of the royal council, to apply, in cases 
 when they suspected articles of merchandize upon which the duties had 
 not been paid, were concealed, to the justices of the Superior Courts, 
 for writs of assistance, such as were sometimes issued from the Court
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS 
 
 of Exchequer in England, authorizing them to enter the houses and 
 warehouses of the merchants, to detect the unlawfully imported goods. 
 This was a new and odious process, to which the merchants in the co- 
 lonies had never before been subjected ; and its legality was immediate- 
 ly contested before the Superior Court. It was substantially the same 
 case as that of the general search warrants, which some years after kin- 
 dled so fierce and inextinguishable a flame upon the prosecution of John 
 Wilkes in London. The spirit of English liberty was as sensitive and 
 as intractable in the colonies, as it ever had been in the mother coun- 
 try. The remark of Junius, that the dogs and horses of England lost 
 their metal by removing to another hemisphere, but that patriotism 
 was improved by transportation, meant by him for a sarcasm, was 
 a truth too serious for the derision of a British statesman. The 
 trial of John Peter Zenger, at New- York, had vindicated the freedom of 
 the press, and the rights of juries, twenty years before they issued 
 victorious from the re-considered opinions of Camden, and the preva- 
 ricating wisdom of Mansfield. And in the trial of the writs of as- 
 sistance, at Boston, James Otis had 
 
 "taught the age to quit their clogs 
 
 "By the known rules of ancient Liberty ;" 
 
 while the search warrants for the Essay on Woman, and the 45th num- 
 ber of the North Briton, and the Letter of Junius to the King, were 
 slumbering in the womb of futurity. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS, at the age of twenty-seven, attended as a member of 
 the bar, the trial upon the writs of assistance, and witnessed the 
 splendid exhibitions of genius and learning exerted in the cause 
 of freedom by the pioneer of American Independence, James Otis. 
 Small is the portion of mankind to whom it is given to discern the 
 great events which control the destinies of nations in their seminal 
 principles. The origin of the American Revolution has been usually 
 ascribed to the Stamp Act ; JOHN ADAMS had seen it in the first cam- 
 paign of the seven years' war in 1755. He saw and marked its pro- 
 gress on the argument of James Otis upon writs of assistance in 
 1762 ; a cause which, although it produced great excitement at the 
 time, would scarcely have been noticed among the historical incidents 
 of the term, but for the minutes, which his curiosity induced him to 
 take of the trial as it proceeded, and from an imperfect copy of which, 
 taken afterwards by one of the law students in his office, the account 
 of it in the subsequent histories of that period has been published. 
 
 On the 25th of October, 1764, he was married to Abigail Smith,
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 second daughter of William Smith, minister of a congregational 
 church at Weymouth, then in her twentieth year. 
 
 This was the memorable year of the Stamp Act. and from this year 
 may be dated his first entrance upon political life. His friend and pa- 
 tron, Gridley, had just before that formed, with some other members of 
 the bar and men of literary taste, a small social circle, who met once 
 a week at each other's houses for the discussion of topics of literature 
 and law, oral or in writing. Before this society MR. ADAMS one eve- 
 ning read a short paper of Observations on the Feudal and Canon Law, 
 which he afterwards published in the Patriotic newspaper. The sen- 
 sation which it produced on the public mind was so great, that in the 
 following year it was re-published in London, and there attributed to 
 the pen of Gridley. It has been frequently since re-published, and 
 even now may be considered as a worthy precursor to the declaration 
 of Independence. 
 
 Popular commotions prevented the landing of the Stamp Act papers, 
 which had been sent from England to be used in all processes before 
 the judicial courts. 
 
 Thomas Hutchinson, at once the Lieut. Governor and Chief Jus- 
 tice of the Superior Court of the Province, had closed the sessions of 
 the Court, on the pretence that they could not be lawfully held but 
 by using the stamps. 
 
 The suspension of the Courts was severely felt throughout the Pro- 
 vince ; but especially in the town of Boston, where, after sometime, a 
 town meeting was held, at which it was determined to present a peti- 
 tion to the Governor and Council, that the Courts of justice might be 
 forthwith re-opened ; and they prayed to be heard by counsel in sup- 
 port of the petition. This was accorded, and the counsel appointed 
 by the town were Jeremy Gridley, then Attorney-general, James Otis, 
 and JOHN ADAMS, then a young man of thirty, and not even an inha- 
 bitant of the town. The Governor and Council had not ventured to 
 refuse hearing counsel in support of the town petition ; but, perhaps, 
 from the same timid policy, would hear them only with closed doors, 
 and without admitting any supernumerary hearers. They suggested 
 to the three gentlemen, who represented the town, the expediency of 
 deciding between themselves the points upon which they proposed to 
 support the petition. Mr. Gridley, the officer of the crown, without 
 entering upon the question of right, represented only the general 
 and severe distress suffered by all classes of the people, not only 
 of the town, but of the whole province, by the suspension of all pro- 
 ceedings in the Judicial Courts. Mr. Otis argued, that from this unfore-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 seen and unexampled state of things, the nature of the case gave a right 
 of necessity, authorizing the Governor and Council to command the 
 re-opening of the Court until the pleasure of the authority beyond the 
 sea could be known. MR. ADAMS assumed, as the basis of his argu- 
 ment, that the British Parliament had no right of taxation over the 
 colonies. That the Stamp Act was an assumption of power, unwarrant- 
 ed by, and inconsistent with, the principles of the English constitution, 
 and with the charter of the Province. That it was null and void ; 
 binding neither upon the people, nor upon the courts of justice in the 
 colony ; and that it was the duty of the Governor and Council to re- 
 quire of the judges of the Courts, that they should resume their judi- 
 cial Courts, and proceed without exacting from suitors, or applying to 
 their own records, the use of any stamps whatever. This, and a co- 
 temporaneous resolution of the same import, introduced into the-House 
 of Representatives of the Province by Samuel Adams, are believed to 
 have been the first direct denial of the unlimited right of legislation of 
 Parliament over the colonies in the progress of that controversy. In 
 the argument before the Governor and Council, it could be assumed 
 only by MR. ADAMS. Mr. Gridley being at that time the king's At- 
 torney-general, and Mr. Otis having, in a celebrated pamphlet on the 
 rights of the colonies, shortly before published, admitted the right of 
 taxation to be among the lawful authorities of Parliament. 
 
 The Governor and Council deferred their decision l^xm the petition 
 of the town, and before the period arrived for the next regular session 
 of the Superior Court, the intelligence came of the repeal of the Stamp 
 Act, and relieved them from the necessity of any decision upon it. 
 
 The selection of MR. ADAMS as one of the law council of the town 
 of Boston upon this memorable occasion, was at once an introduction to 
 a career of political eminence, and a signal advancement of his profes- 
 sional reputation as a lawyer. He had already, as chairman of a 
 committee of the town of Braintree, draughted instructions, on the sub- 
 ject of the Stamp Act, to the Representative of the town in the general 
 court, which had been published, and attracted much notice ; and he 
 was shortly after elected one of the select-men of the town. 
 
 He had formed an intimate acquaintance and warm friendship with 
 Jonathan Sewall. who had married a Miss duincy, a relation of MR. 
 ADAMS. Sewall, a man of fine talents, distinguished as an orator and a 
 writer, had commenced his career as a patriot ; but had been drawn 
 over by the artifices of Bernard and Hutchinson. and by lucrative and 
 honorable offices, to the royal cause. Through him the office of advo- 
 cate-general was offered to MR. ADAMS, which he declined, though
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 tendered with an assurance that no sacrifice of his political sentiments 
 would be expected from him by his acceptance of the office. He was 
 already known in that Court by the defence of Ansell Nickerson, an 
 American seaman, who, in self-defence against a press-gang from a king's 
 ship in the harbor of Boston, had killed, with the stroke of a harpoon, 
 their commander, Lieut. Panton. MR. ADAMS'S defence was, that the 
 usage of impressment had never extended to the colonies ; that the 
 attempt to impress Nickerson was, on the part of Lieutenant Panton, 
 unlawful ; and that the act of Nickerson in killing him was justifiable 
 homicide. Although the commander of the naval force on the Ame- 
 rican station, Captain Hood, afterwards Lord Hood, a name illustrious 
 in the naval annals of Britain, was a member of the Court which 
 decided the fate of Nickerson, he was acquitted and discharged ; and 
 thus, even before the question of Parliamentary taxation had been 
 brought to its issue in blood, it was solemnly settled that the royal 
 prerogative of impressment did not extend to the colonies. That pre- 
 rogative, so utterly irreconcileable with the fundamental principle of 
 the great charter, " nullus homo capietur" that dark spot on the 
 snow-white standard of English freedom, that brand of servitude 
 which Foster, from the judicial bench, stamped on the forehead of the 
 British seaman ; that shame to the legislation of the mother country, 
 was, by the exertions of JOHN ADAMS, banished from the code of co- 
 lonial law. 
 
 In the inimitable portrait of the just man drawn by the great Roman 
 Lyric Poet, he is said to be equally immovable from his purpose by the 
 flashing eye of the tyrant, and by the burning fury of a multitude com- 
 manding him to do wrong. Of all revolutions, ancient or modern, 
 that of American Independence was pre-eminently popular. It was 
 emphatically the revolution of the people. Not one noble name of the 
 parent realm is found recorded upon its annals, as armed in the defence 
 of the cause of freedom, or assisting in the councils of the confederacy ; 
 a few foreign nobles, La Fayette, De Kalb, Pulaski, Steuben, Du Por- 
 tail, Du Coudray, and a single claimant of a British peerage, Lord 
 Stirling, warmed by the spirit of freedom, and stimulated by the elec- 
 tric spark of military adventure, joined the standard of our country; 
 and more than one of them laid down their lives in her cause. Of the 
 natives of the land, not one not Washington himself could be justly 
 styled the founder of Independence. The title of Liberator, since ap- 
 plied to an immeasurably inferior man in another continent of this he- 
 misphere, could not be, and never was, applied to Washington. Of 
 the nation, formed after the revolution was accomplished, he was by
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the one people placed at the head ; of the revolution itself, he was but 
 the arm. 
 
 North American Independence was achieved by a new phenomenon 
 in the history of mankind, by a self-formed, self-constituted, and self- 
 governed Democracy. There were leaders of the people in the seve- 
 ral colonies ; there were representatives of the colonies, and after- 
 wards of the States in the continental Congress ; there was a conti- 
 nental army, a continental navy, and a continental currency ; agents, 
 factors, and soldiers ; but the living soul, the vivifying spirit of the 
 whole, was a steady, firm, resolute, inflexible will of the people, march- 
 ing through fire and sword, and pestilence and famine, and bent to 
 march, were it through the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds 
 to INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 The objections urged from time immemorial against the democra- 
 cies of former ages were, the instability of the popular will the im- 
 petuosity of their passions the fluctuation of their counsels, and 
 the impossibility of resisting their occasional and transitory animosities 
 and resentments. Little of al this was seen in the course of the North 
 American revolution. Even before its outset the people were trained to a 
 spirit of self-control, well suited to prepare them for the trials that await- 
 ed them, and to carry them triumphantly through the fiery ordeal. No 
 event contributed more to the formation of this spirit than the tragedy 
 of the 5th of March, 1770, and its consequences. To suppress the 
 popular commotions which the system of Parliamentary taxation had 
 excited and could not fail to provoke, two regiments of soldiers were 
 stationed at Boston ; and becoming daily more odious to the inhabitants, 
 were exposed to continual insults from the unguarded and indiscreet 
 among them. On the 5th of March, a small party of the soldiers, under 
 command of Lieut. Preston, were thus assailed and insulted by a 
 crowd of people gathering round them, until they fired upon them, and 
 killed and wounded several persons. The passions of the people were 
 roused to the highest pitch of indignation, but manifested themselves 
 by no violence or excess. Lieutenant Preston and six of the soldiers 
 were arrested by the civil authority, and tried before the Superior 
 Court for murder. They were so well advised as to apply to JOHN 
 ADAMS and Josiah Quincy, known as among the most ardent among 
 the patriots, to defend them ; and they hesitated not to undertake the 
 task. The momentary passions of the people identified the suffer- 
 ings of the victims of that night with the cause of the country, and 
 JOHN ADAMS and Josiah Q,uincy were signalized as deserters from the 
 standard of freedom. How great was the load of public obloquy under
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 which they labored, lives yet in the memory of surviving witnesses ; 
 and is recorded in the memoir of the life of Josiah Quincy, which the 
 filial veneration of a son, worthy of such a father, has given to the world. 
 Among the most affecting incidents related in that volume, and the 
 most deeply interesting documents appended to it, are the recital of 
 this event, and the correspondence between Josiah Quincy the defend- 
 er of the soldiers and his father on that occasion. The fortitude of 
 JOHN ADAMS was brought to a test equally severe ; as the elder council 
 for the prisoners on trial, it was his duty to close the argument in their 
 defence. The writer of this article has often heard from indivi- 
 duals, who had been present among the crowd of spectators at the 
 trial, the electrical effect produced upon the jury, and upon the im- 
 mense and excited auditory, by the first sentence with which he opened 
 his defence ; which was the following citation from the then recent- 
 ly published work of Beccaria. 
 
 " May it please your Honors, and you, Gentlemen of the Jury. 
 
 " I am for the prisoners at the bar, and shall apologize for it only 
 in the words of the Marquis Beccaria. ' If I can but be the instrument 
 of preserving one life, his blessing and tears of transport shall be a suf- 
 ficient consolation to me for the contempt of all mankind.' " 
 
 Captain Preston and the soldiers were acquitted, excepting two, 
 who were found guilty of manslaughter, an offence which, being at 
 that time entitled to the benefit of clergy, was subject to no sharp- 
 er penalty than the gentle application of a cold iron to the hand, and, 
 except as a warning for the future, was equivalent to an acquittal. 
 
 The town of Boston instituted an annual commemoration of the 
 massacre of the 5th of March, by the delivery of an oration to the 
 inhabitants assembled in town meeting. This anniversary was 
 thus celebrated for a succession of thirteen years, until the close of 
 the Revolutionary War, when that of the 4th of July, the day of na- 
 tional Independence, was substituted in its place. The Boston mas- 
 sacre is, however, memorable as the first example of those annual com- 
 memorations by public discourses ever since so acceptable to the peo- 
 pie. 
 
 Within two months after the trial of the soldiers, MR. ADAMS re- 
 ceived a new testimonial of the favor and confidence of his townsmen, 
 by their election of him as one of their Representatives in the General 
 Court or Colonial Legislature. In this body the conflict of principles 
 between metropolitan authority and British colonial liberty was perti- 
 naciously maintained. Sir Francis Bernard had just before closed his 
 inglorious career, by seeking refuge in his own country from the in-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 dignation of the people over whom he had been sent to rule. He was 
 succeeded by Thomas Hutchinson, a native of the province, a man 
 of considerable talent, great industry, and of grasping ambition ; who, 
 in evil hour for himself, preferred the path of royal favor to that of pa- 
 triotism for the ascent to power and fortune. 
 
 In times of civil commotion, the immediate subject of contention be- 
 tween the parties scarcely ever discloses to the superficial observer the 
 great questions at issue between them. The first collision between 
 Hutchinson and the two branches of the General Court was about the 
 place where they were to hold their sessions. 
 
 Hutchinson, by instructions, secretly suggested by himself, convened 
 the General Court at Cambridge, instead of Boston. They claimed it 
 as a chartered right to meet at the town-house in Boston ; and hence 
 a long controversy between the Governor and the two houses, which, 
 after three years of obstinate discussion, terminated by the restoration 
 of the Legislature to their accustomed place of meeting. 
 
 By the charter of the colony, the members of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives were annually elected by the people of the towns, and twenty- 
 eight counsellors by the House of Representatives and council, with 
 the approbation of the Governor. The judges of the Superior Court 
 were appointed by the Governor and Council ; and the Governor, 
 Lieutenant-governor, and Judges were paid by annual grants from the 
 General Court. In ordinary times the Council had always been more 
 friendly to the Executive administration, and less disposed to resist the 
 transatlantic authority than the House ; but as the contest with the 
 mother country grew warmer, and the country party in the House 
 stronger, they dropped in their elections to the Council all the partizans 
 of the Court, and elected none but the most determined patriots to the 
 council board. The only resource of the Governor was to disapprove 
 the most obnoxious of the persons elected, and thus to exclude a 
 few of the most prominent leaders ; but in their places the House 
 always elected others of the same principles. 
 
 Among the devices to which, at the instigation of Hutchinson him- 
 self, the British Government resorted to remedy these disorders, was 
 that of vacating the charter of the colony ; of reserving to the King 
 in council the appointment of the councillors, and of paying by Par- 
 liamentary authority the Governor and Judges, himself. The drift of 
 these changes could not be mistaken. Hutchinson, who affected the 
 character of a profound constitutional lawyer, entered into long and 
 elaborate discussion of the rights and authority of Parliament in mes- 
 sages to the General Court, which were answered separately by re-
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 ports of committees in both Houses. In the composition of these 
 papers MR. ADAMS was frequently employed, together with his dis- 
 tinguished relative, Samuel Adams. For the discussion of profound 
 constitutional questions, the education of JOHN ADAMS as a lawyer, 
 had pre-eminently qualified him to cope with Hutchinson in his black 
 letter messages ; and for the arguments on chartered rights and statutory 
 law, he was relied upon beyond all others. 
 
 In 1772, having removed to his primitive residence at Braintree, he 
 ceased to represent the town of Boston in the Legislature ; but he was 
 soon after elected to the council, and negatived by the Governor. In 
 1774 he was elected one of the members from the colony of Massachu- 
 setts Bay to the Continental Congress ; and on the first meeting of that 
 body, on the 5th of September of that year, took his seat among the 
 founders of the North American Union. His service in Congress con- 
 tinued until November, 1777, when he was chosen by that body, in 
 the place of Silas Deane, a joint commissioner at the Court of France, 
 with Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee. 
 
 He embarked for France on the 13th of February, 1778, in the Bos- 
 ton frigate, commanded by Samuel Tucker ; and, after a most tempes- 
 tuous passage of forty-five days, landed at Bordeaux in France. The 
 recognition by France of the Independence of the United States, and 
 the conclusion of the treaties of commerce and of alliance between the 
 two nations, had taken place between the appointment of MR. ADAMS 
 and his arrival at Paris. 
 
 After the ratification of those treaties, Congress thought proper to 
 substitute a single minister plenipotentiary at the court of France. 
 
 Dr. Benjamin Franklin was appointed the minister. Arthur Lee 
 had previously received a separate commission as minister to the Court 
 of Spain. MR. ADAMS, without waiting for a letter of recall, returned 
 in the summer of 1779. in the French frigate La Sensible, to the 
 United States. The French minister to the United States, the Chevalier 
 de la Luzerne, together with his secretary of legation, since highly dis- 
 tinguished through all the scenes of the French Revolution, Barbede 
 Marbois, were passengers in the same frigate. They arrived at Boston 
 on the 2d of August, 1779. Precisely at that time the convention 
 which formed the constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
 setts was about to assemble, and MR. ADAMS was returned to it as a 
 member from the town of Braintree. 
 
 The convention assembled at Cambridge on the 1st of September, 
 1779, and, after appointing a committee of thirty-one members to pre- 
 pare a declaration of rights, and a constitution for the Commonwealth,
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 adjourned over, on the 7th of that month, to the 28th of October en- 
 suing, to receive the report of the committee. MR. ADAMS was a 
 member of this committee, and made the first draught of the declara- 
 tion of rights and of the constitution reported to the convention. 
 
 But, in the interval of the adjournment, MR. ADAMS had received 
 from Congress a new commission for the negotiation of peace with 
 Great Britain ; in pursuance of which he embarked on the 14th of 
 November, at Boston, in the same French frigate in which he had re- 
 turned to the United States. Her destination was Brest ; but having 
 sprung a leak on her passage, and being in danger of foundering, she 
 was obliged to make the first European port, which was that of Ferrol 
 in Spain. There she arrived on the 7th of December, and thence MR. 
 ADAMS travelled, in mid-winter, by land to Paris. 
 
 The events of the Revolutionary war were not yet sufficiently ma- 
 tured for the negotiation of peace. Soon after the appointment of MR. 
 ADAMS to this service, Henry Laurens of South Carolina, then Presi- 
 dent of Congress, was appointed minister plenipotentiary to negotiate a 
 treaty of amity and commerce with the United Netherlands, with a se- 
 parate commission to negotiate a loan of money in that country. On his 
 passage to Europe, Mr. Laurens was captured by a British cruizer, and 
 was lodged in the tower of London as a prisoner of state. MR. ADAMS 
 then received a commission for the same service, and a new appoint- 
 ment was made of five commissioners for the negotiation of peace. 
 These were JOHN ADAMS, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Lau- 
 rens, and Thomas Jefferson ; the last of whom was, however, prevent- 
 ed by the circumstances of his family from proceeding to Europe until 
 after the conclusion of the peace. In July, 1780, MR. ADAMS left 
 Paris and went to Holland, where, as a preliminary to the negotiation 
 of a treaty of amity and commerce, it was necessary to procure the re- 
 cognition of the United States as an independent power. The nego- 
 tiation for a loan was a separate power to contract with individuals. 
 In both these negotiations MR. ADAMS was eminently successful. The 
 condition of the United Netherlands at that time required a different 
 mode of negotiation from that which was suitable with the other na- 
 tions of Continental Europe. They constituted a free, confederated 
 republic ; with a prince allied to many of the European sovereigns, 
 and especially to the Kings of Great Britain and of Prussia, at their 
 head. The politics of the country were discussed in the Legislative 
 Assemblies of the several provinces, and the freedom of the press 
 opened avenues to the hearts of the people. In point of form, MR. 
 ADAMS, as the representative of the United States claiming to be a sove-
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 reign .and independent power, was to address the President of the States 
 General, which he did in a memorial claiming to be received as a 
 public minister ; but setting forth all the arguments suited to produce 
 an impression upon the minds of the people favorable to the objects of 
 his mission. The President of the States General received the memo- 
 rial, and laid it before the Assembly, who referred it to the Legislative 
 Assemblies of the several provinces for consideration ; MR. ADAMS 
 caused it forthwith to be published in the English, French, and Dutch 
 languages in pamphlets ; and it was re-published in many of the news- 
 papers and other periodical journals of the country. No public docu- 
 ment of the revolution was ever so widely circulated ; for, as an extra- 
 ordinary state paper, it was re-published in every country and every 
 language of Europe. Its success was not less remarkable than the 
 extent of its circulation. It set in motion the whole population of the 
 Netherlands. Popular petitions, numerously signed, poured in upon 
 the States of the provinces, praying for the recognition of the Inde- 
 pendence of the United States, and the reception of MR. ADAMS as 
 their minister. The similarity of the condition of the United States 
 to that of the Netherlands in Iheir struggle for Independence against 
 Spain, strongly urged in the memorial, became a favorite topic for po- 
 pular feeling in all the provincial Assemblies. The Leyden Gazette, 
 edited by John Luzac, one of the most accomplished scholars of the 
 age, and one of the purest republican spirits of any age or clime, was 
 engaged with deep and fervid interest in the cause of America, stimu- 
 lated, even to enthusiasm, by the personal friendship formed with the 
 kindred spirit of JOHN ADAMS. Another Frenchman of great ability, 
 and highly distinguished as the author of the best history extant, in 
 the French language, of the United Provinces, A. M. Cerisier, at the 
 instance of MR. ADAMS, commenced a weekly journal under the title 
 of" the Politique Hollandais," devoted exclusively to the communication 
 of correct intelligence from America, and to set forth the community 
 of principles and of interests between the new and the old republic. 
 Having formed an intimate acquaintance with an eminent lawyer at 
 Amsterdam, named Calkoen, that gentleman, who was a member of a 
 political and literary society which held private weekly meetings, ad- 
 dressed sundry queries to MR. ADAMS respecting the state of the war, 
 the condition of the people in the United States, and their dispositions 
 with regard to the cause of Independence ; which he answered in twen- 
 ty-six letters, since frequently published. They were read and dis- 
 cussed at the meetings of the society, and furnished facts and argument 
 for the friends of America and of freedom to counteract the influence
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 and the misrepresentations of the English party or Anglomanes, always 
 numerous and powerful in the United Netherlands. The armed neu- 
 trality of the north, and the insolent, domineering tone of Sir Joseph 
 York, the British minister at the Hague, contributed to the excitement 
 of the people in favor of the American cause ; and after patiently wait- 
 ing till the state of public opinion was sufficiently matured, MR. 
 ADAMS ventured upon a step, the boldness of which could only be jus- 
 tified by success. He addressed a note to the States General, which 
 he delivered in person to their President, referring to the memorial 
 which he had twelve months before presented ; proposing a treaty of 
 amity and commerce between the two nations, and demanding a 
 categorical answer which he might transmit to his sovereign. 
 
 With this demand the States General ot the United Netherlands 
 promptly complied. The Independence of the United States was for- 
 mally recognized by the reception of MR. ADAMS as their minister. 
 A commission, consisting of one member from each of the Provinces, 
 was appointed to treat with him ; and with them he concluded the treaty 
 of amity, navigation, and commerce of 8th October, 1782 ; still recog- 
 nized at this day by the United States, and by the present king of Hol- 
 land, as the law of commercial intercourse between the two nations. 
 
 While conducting this political negotiation, MR. ADAMS had also 
 contracted with three banking houses at Amsterdam, a loan of five mil- 
 lions of florins, at a yearly interest of five per cent. ; furnishing, at a 
 critical period of the war, a most seasonable supply to the exhausted 
 treasury of the United States. 
 
 The day after the conclusion of the commercial treaty, and of a con- 
 vention concerning maritime prizes of the same date, MR. ADAMS pro- 
 ceeded to Paris, where the negotiation for peace with Great Britain had 
 already been commenced between his colleagues, Dr. Franklin and 
 Mr. Jay ; first with certain informal agents appointed by the British 
 Government, and afterwards with Richard Oswald, formerly commis- 
 sioned by George the Third to treat for peace with the commissioners 
 of the United States of America. This negotiation terminated in the 
 preliminary articles of peace of 30th November, 1782 ; succeeded by 
 the definitive treaty also concluded at Paris on the 3rd of September, 
 1783. 
 
 The responsibilities of public men in stations of high dignity and 
 trust in ordinary and prosperous times, are sufficiently arduous for the 
 trial of the tempers of men ; but the labors, the anxieties, the perturba- 
 tions of mind incident to the condition of a man charged with the duty 
 of maintaining, in a desperate conflict with oppressive power, not only
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 his own character and honor, but the existence of his country, can 
 scarcely be conceivable to an American of the present age. They stag- 
 ger the firmness of the most intrepid soul. They prey upon a bodily 
 frame hardy as the Nemaean lion's nerve. Blessed with an excellent na- 
 tural constitution, MR. ADAMS had in early youth ever plied it with 
 intense study and indefatigable professional labor ; from the time that 
 he had become engaged in the service of his country, his days and 
 nights had been devoted to the performance of his duties. In the 
 midst of his negotiations in Holland he was brought within a hair's 
 breadth of the grave by a typhus fever, in the summer of 1781, at Am- 
 sterdam ; and a few days after the signature of the definitive treaty of 
 peace, he was taken with a slow nervous fever, which again brought 
 him to death's door. To promote his recovery, he was advised by his 
 physician to indulge himself in a temporary relaxation from public 
 business ; and in October, 1783, he made his first visit to England, 
 where, though in a private capacity, upon the meeting of Parliament, 
 he heard the lips of George the Third on his throne, announce to his 
 people, that he had concluded a definitive treaty of peace with the 
 United States of America. 
 
 In January, 1784. he was suddenly called back to his post, in Hol- 
 land, to negotiate a new loan of two millions of florins, which had be- 
 come necessary for the punctual payment of the interest upon that 
 which had been previously contracted, and which he effected upon 
 terms equally advantageous. On his return to the Hague, he held 
 conferences with the Baron de Thulemeyer, the minister of the great 
 Frederic of Prussia, commissioned by him to conclude a treaty of 
 amity and commerce with the United States. While engaged in this 
 discussion, Congress had appointed JOHN ADAMS, Benjamin Franklin, 
 and Thomas Jefferson, commissioners to negotiate treaties of commerce 
 with any of the European powers, or of the Barbary States, which 
 might be inclined to form such engagements. 
 
 The commission met at Paris, in August, 1794, and communicated, 
 through the ministers of the several powers of Europe, their powers to 
 negotiate treaties of amity and commerce. But under this commission, 
 the treaty which had been already nearly concluded by MR. ADAMS 
 and the Baron de Thulemeyer was the only one accomplished in Eu- 
 rope. In the spring of 1785, Doctor Franklin, at the age of nearly 
 four-score, and laboring under the painful disease which finally closed 
 his illustrious life, returned to the United States. Mr. Jefferson was 
 appointed his successor at the Court of France, and MR. ADAMS re- 
 ceived a commission as the first minister plenipotentiary of the United
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 States at the Court of the British king. They still remained jointly 
 charged with the commission for negotiating treaties of commerce, 
 under which was concluded a treaty with the Emperor of Morocco, 
 and a commercial treaty with Portugal ; the ratification of which by the 
 Portuguese Government was withheld, under the controling influence 
 of Great Britain at that Court. 
 
 In May, 1785, MR. ADAMS proceeded to London, where he was re- 
 ceived by George the Third as the minister of the Independent States 
 of North America. He was authorized to form a commercial treaty 
 with Great Britain of the most liberal character ; but a proud and mor- 
 tified spirit had succeeded in the breast of the monarch, and a resent- 
 ful and jealous rivalry in the temper of the nation, to the cruel and de- 
 solating war, which for seven years had been waged to subdue the 
 North American people. In that people, too, an irritated and resentful 
 temper still rankled long after the conflict for independence had closed. 
 Mutual charges of bad faith in failing to execute the articles of the 
 treaty of peace, but two well founded on both sides, continued the 
 alienation of heart between the nations, which the contest and the se- 
 paration had caused. The British Government had, indeed, more 
 than plausible reasons for declining to conclude a commercial treaty 
 with a Congress, which had not even authority to carry into execution 
 the stipulations of the treaty of peace. After a residence in England 
 of three years, in June, 1778, MR. ADAMS returned to the United 
 States, precisely at the moment when the ratification, by nine States, of 
 the constitution, had established the form of government for the Union, 
 under which we yet live. 
 
 During his residence in England he had composed and published, 
 in three volumes, his Defence of the Constitutions of the United States, 
 a treatise upon Goverment, afterwards called the History of the 
 principal Republics of the World ; a work which has contributed more 
 than any other ever written, to settle the opinions of mankind upon 
 the great question, whether the legislative power of a free state should 
 be vested in a single assembly, or in two separate co-ordinate branches ; 
 incidental to which is the question, not less important, of a single or a 
 plural executive. Upon these points there is now scarcely any diversi- 
 ty of opinion among the enlightened theorists of Government. 
 
 Just before his return to'the United States, MR. ADAMS had been 
 elected, by the Legislature of Massachusetts, a member of Congress, 
 under the articles of Confederation ; but that body was in a virtual 
 state of dissolution. The constitution of the United States had receiv- 
 ed the sanction of the people. The times and places for holding the
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 elections to organize the new government, had been fixed and the 
 semblance of authority, which was all that the Confederation Congress 
 had ever possessed, was vanishing even before the fabric of its more 
 efficient substitute was completed. 
 
 In December,. 1788, the first elections were held for carrying into 
 execution the Constitution of the United States ; at which George 
 Washington was unanimously chosen President, and JOHN ADAMS 
 was elected Vice-President of the Union ; and four years afterwards 
 they were both, in like manner, re-elected to the same offices. At the 
 close of the second term, Washington declined a second re-election, 
 and MR. ADAMS was chosen President of the United States. 
 
 During the eight years of Washington's administration, MR. ADAMS 
 presided in the Senate. Throughout the whole of both those terms he 
 gave to the administration a firm and efficient support. 
 
 Whenever there is Government, there must be councils of adminis- 
 tration and collisions of opinion, concerning its mode and its measures. 
 In all governments, therefore, there are parties which necessarily become 
 braided, and, too often, entangled with the personal characters, princi- 
 ples, passions, and fortunes of individual men. No sooner had the 
 founder of the Christian faith laid the corner-stone, for the establish- 
 ment of the purest and most self-sacrificing of all religions, by the se- 
 lection of the twelve apostles, than ambition and avarice, the thirst of 
 place and treachery, were disclosed among them. 
 
 The Constitution of the United States was the result of a compro- 
 mise between parties, which had existed from the first formation of 
 the American Union. It drew together, by closer ties, the inhabitants of 
 an extensive country, chiefly descended from one common stock, but 
 greatly diversified by the varieties of climates, and of soils on which 
 they had settled, and the oppositions of religious and political opinions 
 in which they had originated. It made them permanently, and by 
 political organization, what the enthusiasm of a common struggle for 
 freedom, common sufferings and common dangers had made them for 
 a time, in the war of Independence, but which the imbecility of the 
 Articles of Confederation had failed to sustain, it made them One 
 People, This stupendous monument of wisdom and virtue was ac- 
 complished by a party then known by the denomination of Federa- 
 lists ; a name which, from various causes, has since become a term of 
 reproach, but which, at that time, Washington and Madison were alike 
 proud of bearing. In the disjointed condition of the confederacy, there 
 was but one man whose talents and services had rivetted him in the 
 gratitude and affections of all his countrymen, and that was, the 
 
 19
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 leader of the armies of the Revolution. He presided in the convention 
 which formed the Constitution ; and no one can analyse that instrument 
 without perceiving that much of its character, and expecially the con- 
 struction of its executive power, was adapted to him, and fashioned 
 upon the preconception that the office would be occupied by him. 
 
 Nor was this anticipation disappointed. He was twice elected by 
 the unanimous suffrages of the electoral colleges President of the 
 United States. But he was scarcely installed in office, and the wheels 
 of the new machine of government had scarcely began to move, when 
 the spirit of party, transferred from the confederacy to the constitution, 
 sought, in the principal subordinate officers of the government, leaders 
 for the succession, to be thereafter seated in the chair of Washington. 
 These leaders immediately presented themselves in the persons of 
 Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton, Secreta- 
 ry of the Treasury. In the diversity of the principles of these two men, 
 conflict immediately sprung up, as to those which should govern the ad- 
 ministration. Those of Hamilton were more congenial to the mind of 
 Washington, and became the ruling principles of the administration ; 
 upon which Jefferson retired from public office, and was thencefor- 
 ward looked up to as the head of the opposition to Washington's ad- 
 ministration. Before the close of Washington's second term, Hamilton 
 had also retired, but continued to support his administration. 
 
 At the time when MR. ADAMS was chosen President of the United 
 States, he was supported by the party which had sustained the adminis- 
 tration. Jefferson was his competitor, as the leader of the opposition. 
 The contest was close. MR. ADAMS was elected by a bare majority 
 of the electoral votes ; and by the provision of the constitution then 
 existing, that both candidates should be voted for as President, and 
 that the person having the highest number of votes short of a ma- 
 jority should be Yice-President, Mr. Jefferson was elected to that 
 office; and thus the head of the opposition became the presiding officer 
 in the Senate of the United States, and at the next election, in Decem- 
 ber, 1800, was chosen President of the United States. 
 
 On the 3d of March, 1801, the official term of MR. ADAMS expir- 
 ed, and he retired to his residence at duincy, where he passed the 
 remainder of his days. 
 
 The administration of MR. ADAMS was but a continuation of that 
 of his predecessor. It was the practical execution of the constitution, 
 by the party which had formed and fashioned it, and had succeeded 
 against a determined and persevering opposition in procuring its ac- 
 ceptance by the people. Mr. Jefferson had availed himself of the
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 passions and prejudices of the people to obtain the possession of power, 
 constantly modifying his opposition according to the fluctuations of 
 public opinion, and taking advantage of every error, in the policy ol 
 the federal party, to which an odious imputation could be applied. In 
 the course of their common service in Congress during the War of 
 Independence, and in that of the joint commission in Europe after the 
 peace, the most cordial harmony had subsisted between him and MR. 
 ADAMS. Their views of the French Revolution first divided them ; 
 and upon a re-publication in this country of one of Thomas Paine's 
 revolutionary pamphlets, Mr. Jefferson, in a note to the printer, recom- 
 mended it as a corrective to the political heresies then in circulation. 
 The allusion was universally understood as intended to apply to the 
 publication of certain essays, under the title of Discourses on Davila, 
 and known to be written by MR. ADAMS. Mr. Jefferson, in a letter to 
 MR. ADAMS, disclaimed all such intention ; but his subsequent deport- 
 ment, and the essential diversity of their opinions, gradually alienated 
 them from each other, and dissolved the personal friendship which 
 had subsisted between them. During the administration of Mr. Jef- 
 ferson there was no personal intercourse between them ; but when the 
 great questions of the rights of neutral commerce, and the outrageous 
 impressment of American seamen by the naval officers of Great Bri- 
 tain, brought the Government of the United States into imminent 
 danger, MR. ADAMS, though remaining in private life, sacrificed all 
 his resentments and by numerous writings in the public journals, 
 gave the most efficient support to the administration of his successor. 
 
 In 1809 Mr. Jefferson himself was succeeded by his friend and 
 most faithful counsellor, James Madison. During his administration, 
 the controversies with Great Britain, in the midst of which Mr. Jef- 
 ferson had retired, rankled into a war, precisely at the time when the 
 tide of victory and of triumph was turning in favor of Britain, against 
 Napoleon, at the closing stage of that revolution by which France 
 had passed from an absolute monarchy, through a brutal and sangui- 
 nary mock-democracy, to a military despotism, and thence to the tran- 
 sient resurrection of the dry bones of the Bourbons. 
 
 In the contests with Great Britain concerning neutral rights and im- 
 pressment, which had preceded and led to the war, the interests of the 
 commercial portion of the community were most immediately and 
 deeply involved. But Mr. Jefferson's system of defence consisted in 
 commercial restrictions, non-intercourse and embargoes, destructive to 
 the very interest which it was the duty of the Government to main- 
 tain. The Caesarian ambition of Napoleon, and his unparalleled sue-
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 cession of military triumphs, had alarmed the American politicians of 
 the federal school, till they had frightened themselves into the belief 
 that Napoleon Bonaparte was affecting universal empire, and about to 
 become master of the world. They believed also, that Great Britain 
 presented the only obstacle to the accomplishment of this design ; and 
 in this panic-terror, they lost all sense of the injustice and insolence ot 
 Great Britain exercised upon themselves. The restrictive system bore 
 most impressively upon New England, to whose people, commerce, 
 navigation, and the fisheries, were necessaries of life ; and they felt the 
 restrictive system as aggravation rather than relief. When the war 
 came, it was a total annihilation of all their modes of industry, and 
 of their principal resources of subsistence. They transferred their 
 resentments from the foreign aggressor to their own Government, and 
 became disaffected to the Union itself. The party in opposition to Mr. 
 Madison's Administration prevailed throughout all the New England 
 States ; and had the war continued one year longer, there is little 
 doubt that the floating projects of a separation, and of a northern con- 
 federacy, would have ripened into* decisive action. Throughout the 
 whole of this ordeal. MR. ADAMS constantly supported the Adminis- 
 tration of Mr. Madison, till the conclusion of the peace at Ghent, in 
 December, 1814, scattered the projects of the northern confederacy to the 
 winds, and restored, for a short and happy interval, the era of good 
 feelings. 
 
 In December, 1820, MR. ADAMS was chosen one of the electors of 
 President and Vice-President of the United States ; and, together with 
 all his colleagues of the electoral College of Massachusetts, voted for 
 the re-election of James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins to those 
 offices. 
 
 The last public service in which MR. ADAMS was engaged, was as a 
 member of the convention to revise the Constitution of the Common- 
 wealth of Massachusetts, of which body he was unanimously chosen 
 President. Then in the 86th year of his age, he declined to assume 
 the arduous duties of that station, but gave his attendance as a mem- 
 ber throughout the sessions of the convention, and occasionally took 
 part in their debates. 
 
 This election was communicated to MR. ADAMS by a Committee of 
 the Convention, with the following resolutions : 
 
 " In Convention, November 15, 1820. 
 
 " Whereas, the Honorable JOHN ADAMS, a member of this Conven- 
 tion, and elected the President thereof, has, for more than half a
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 century, devoted the great powers of his mind, and his profound wis- 
 dom and learning, to the service of his country and mankind : 
 
 In fearlessly vindicating the rights of the North American provinces 
 against the usurpations and encroachments of the superintendant go- 
 vernment : 
 
 In diffusing a knowledge of the principles of civil liberty among 
 nis fellow subjects, and exciting them to a firm and resolute defence of 
 the privileges of freemen : 
 
 In early conceiving, asserting, and maintaining the justice and 
 practicability of establishing the independence of the United States of 
 America : 
 
 In giving the powerful aid of his political knowledge in the forma- 
 tion of the Constitution of his native State, which constitution be- 
 came in a great measure the model of those which were subsequently 
 formed : 
 
 In conciliating the favor of foreign powers, and obtaining their 
 countenance and support in the arduous struggle for independence : 
 
 In negotiating the treaty of peace, which secured forever the so- 
 vereignty of the United States, and in defeating all attempts to prevent 
 it ; and especially in preserving in that treaty the vital interest of the 
 New England States : 
 
 In demonstrating to the world, in his defence of the Constitutions 
 of the several united States, the contested principle, since admitted as 
 an axiom, that checks arid balances in legislative power, are essential 
 to true liberty : 
 
 In devoting his time and talents to the service of the nation, in the 
 high and important trusts of Vice-President and President of the 
 United States : 
 
 And lastly, in passing an honorable old age in dignified retirement, 
 in the practice of all the domestic virtues, thus exhibiting to his coun- 
 trymen and to posterity, an example of true greatness of mind and of 
 genuine patriotism : 
 
 Therefore, Resolved. That the members of this convention, repre- 
 senting the people of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, do joyfully 
 avail themselves of this opportunity to testify their respect and grati- 
 tude to this eminent patriot and statesman, for the great services render- 
 ed by him to his country, and their high gratification that, at this late 
 period of life, he is permitted by Divine Providence to assist them with 
 his counsel in revising the constitution which, forty years ago. his wis- 
 dom and prudence assisted to form. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of twelve be appointed by the chair, to
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 communicate this proceeding to the honorable JOHN ADAMS, to inform 
 him of his election to preside in this body, and to introduce him to the 
 chair of this convention. 
 
 In this resolution, honorable alike to the people of the Common- 
 wealth of Massachusetts, to their representatives by whom it was adopt- 
 ed, and to him whom it intended to honor, is contained a concentrated 
 summary of the life, character, and services of JOHN ADAMS. It 
 closes with appropriate dignity his career as a public man. 
 
 Nor was he less exemplary in all the relations of private and domes- 
 tic life. As a son, a husband, a brother, a father, and a friend, his affec- 
 tions were ardent, disinterested and faithful. His filial piety not exclu- 
 sively confined to his immediate parents, carefully preserved the me- 
 morials of their ancestors, for three preceding generations, to the pa- 
 triarch, first settler of Braintree, Henry Adams, and he caused, to be 
 erected in the cemetery, where 
 
 " Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, 
 The rude fore-fathers of the hamlet sleep," 
 
 monuments of the solid and simple granite from the soil on which they 
 had settled, recording their names and years, spelt by no unlettered 
 muse, but embracing in the inscription of little more than those dates, 
 all that remains of their short and simple annals. 
 
 In the common experience of mankind, friendship, the pleasures of 
 which are among the choicest enjoyments of life, is yet a sentiment of 
 so delicate a texture, that it almost invariably sinks under the collision 
 of adverse interests and conflicting opinions. With contests of opinion 
 untainted with opposing interests, friendship may indeed subsist unim- 
 paired ; but in the discussion of religious or political opinions, which 
 divide the minds of men, interest and opinion act and re-act upon each 
 other, till the tender bloom of friendship withers and dies under their 
 chilling frost. So fared it with the friendship formed by MR. ADAMS 
 in early life with Jonathan Sewall. So fared it with the friendship 
 formed in a common service, in the trying scenes of the war of Indepen- 
 dence, with Thomas Jefferson. An affecting passage in his diary in 
 1774, records the pang with which he had parted from the friend of 
 his youth, and an intercourse of mutual respect ,and good-will was 
 restored between them after the close of the revolutionary war. A 
 reconciliation with Mr. Jefferson was, by the interposition of a common 
 friend, effected, after all collisions of interests had subsided ; and for the 
 last ten years of their lives a friendly and frequent correspondence was 
 maintained, with mutual satisfaction, between them. Many of those
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 letters have been published, equally creditable to both ; and that of Mr. 
 Jefferson upon the decease of Mrs. Adams, in October, 1818, as an effu- 
 sion of sympathy with the severest of earthly afflictions, in the admi- 
 nistration of tender and delicate condolence, has never been surpassed. 
 
 They died on one and the same day, the jubilee of the day of Inde- 
 pendence a coincidence so remarkable, that men of a religious turn 
 of mind, in days of more devoted faith, would have regarded it as a 
 special interposition of Providence, to stamp on the hearts of their coun- 
 try, and of unnumbered future ages, a more indelible remembrance of 
 that memorable event, and of the share which they had jointly taken in 
 its imperishable deed. 
 
 The death of JOHN ADAMS occurred on the 4th of July, 1826, at the 
 moment when his fellow-citizens, of his native town of Q,uincy, were 
 celebrating in a social banquet, to which he had been invited, the an- 
 niversary of the Nation's Independence. His physical faculties had 
 gradually declined in the lapse of years, leaving his intellect clear 
 and bright to the last hour of his life. 
 
 Some years before his decease he had, by two several deeds of gift, 
 conveyed to the inhabitants of the town of duincy, his library and seve- 
 ral valuable lots of land, the proceeds of the income of which were to 
 be devoted to the erection of a stone temple for the worship of God, 
 and of a school-house for a classical school. 
 
 Shortly after his death, the worshippers at the first Congregational 
 church in duincy, of which he had been a member, determined, with 
 the aid of his donation to erect the temple, which was done in the 
 year 1828 ; and after it was completed, his mortal remains, with those 
 of the partner of his life, were deposited side by side in a vault beneath 
 its walls. 
 
 Within the same house, a plain, white marble slab, on the right 
 hand of the pulpit, surmounted by his bust, (the work of Horatio 
 Greenough,) bears the following inscription, written by his eldest 
 son. 
 
 Libertatem, Amicitiam, Fidem, Retinebis. 
 
 D. O. M. 
 
 Beneath these walls 
 
 Are deposited the mortal remains of 
 
 JOHN ADAMS, 
 
 Son of John and Susanna (Boylston) Adams, 
 
 Second President of the United States. 
 
 Born H October, 1735.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 On the fourth of July, 1776, 
 He pledged his Life, Fortune, and sacred Honour 
 . To the INDEPENDENCE OF HIS COUNTRY. 
 
 On the third of September, 1783, 
 He affixed his seal to the definitive treaty with Great Britain, 
 
 Which acknowledged that independence, 
 
 And consummated the redemption of his pledge. 
 
 On the fourth of July, 1826, 
 
 He was summoned 
 
 To the Independence of Immortality 
 
 And to the JUDGMENT OF HIS GOD. 
 
 This House will bear witness to his piety ; 
 
 This Town, his birth-place, to his munificence ; 
 
 History to his patriotism ; 
 Posterity to the depth and compass of his mind. 
 
 At his side 
 Sleeps, till the trump shall sound, 
 
 ABIGAIL, 
 
 His beloved and only wife, 
 
 Daughter of William and Elizabeth (Q,uincy) Smith. 
 
 In every relation of life a pattern 
 
 Of filial, conjugal, maternal, and social virtue. 
 
 Born November 11, 1744, 
 
 Deceased 28 October, 1818, 
 
 Aged 74. 
 
 Married 25 October, 1764. 
 
 During an union of more than half a century 
 
 They survived, in harmony of sentiment, principle and affection, 
 
 The tempests of civil commotion : 
 
 Meeting undaunted and surmounting 
 
 The terrors and trials of that revolution, 
 
 Which secured the freedom of their country ; 
 
 Improved the condition of their times ; 
 
 And brightened the prospects of futurity 
 
 To the race of man upon earth. 
 
 PILGRIM, 
 
 From lives thus spent thy earthly duties learn ; 
 
 From fancy's dreams to active virtue turn : 
 
 Let freedom, friendship, faith, thy soub engage, 
 
 And serve, like them, thy country and thy age. J. Q,. A.
 
 

 
 OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 
 
 No country has been so distinguished as our own by the number 
 and prominence of its self-made men. In science, they have been 
 her pioneers, disarming even the lightning of its terror; in prosperity, 
 they have been the guardians of her dearest treasures ; in the hour 
 of danger they have gathered, as the Macedonian phalanx, to her 
 side. 
 
 The subject of this memoir was not born in obscurity, or compelled 
 to struggle with poverty and ignorance on his passage to renown. 
 Yet he was strictly of that number who, in the " baptism of fame, 
 have given themselves their own name ;" and for whom industry and 
 internal resource have stood in the place of parentage and of patri- 
 mony. 
 
 He sprang, as have many of our mightiest and noblest, from the 
 hardy yeomanry of New England. If he was indebted to education 
 for his greatness, he was still more indebted to patient labor ; as the 
 firmly-rooted oak owes less to culture, than to its power of enduring 
 those changes of climate which roughen its trunk but reveal its energy. 
 
 OLIVER ELLSWORTH was born in Windsor, one of the most ancient- 
 ly settled towns in Connecticut, on the 29th of April, 1745, of respect- 
 able parents, inured to the pursuits of agriculture. From them he deri v- 
 ed the virtues of industry, economy, and integrity, which were incorpo- 
 rated with the elements of his character. He derived also physical bene- 
 fits from a system of nurture which rejected all luxurious indulgence. 
 Of him it might be said, as it was of Chief Justice Marshall, that " his 
 health was invigorated by the athletic exercises to which his father 
 inured him." Perhaps, also, from some sternness of parental disci- 
 pline, which was often a feature of these early times, his mind drew a 
 portion of its Spartan firmness. His boyhood was so divided between 
 agricultural toils and classical studies, as to impress the invaluable les- 
 sons of the worth of time and the necessity of application.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 At the age of seventeen he entered Yale College, whence he after- 
 wards removed to Princeton, and received there his honorary degree 
 at the completion of his twenty-first year, it is not known that his 
 academic course exhibited any remarkable superiority. Precocity was 
 not a feature of his mind. The slow ripening of its powers betokened 
 a deep root and long-continued harvest. 
 
 After terminating his collegiate studies, he engaged in the instruc- 
 tion of youth, that most honorable employment to which so many of 
 our greatest men have for a time devoted themselves. Though sur- 
 rounded by gay companions, he was enabled to resist their influence, 
 and make choice of that piety which was to be his guide on the slip- 
 pery heights of honor, and his strength amid the feebleness of hoary 
 hairs. It laid its strong foundation at that momentous period when 
 youth is most tempted to contend with the restrictions of morality and 
 to forget God. His clear-sighted and majestic mind acknowledged 
 the truth of revelation, and humbled itself at the foot of the cross with 
 child-like simplicity. His public profession of a Christian's faith, 
 made when religion was less fashionable than it is at present, gave 
 proof of that fearless integrity in duty which is an element of true 
 greatness. He had a predilection for Theology, and made respectable 
 progress in its preparatory studies ; but ultimately decided on the pro- 
 fession of law. 
 
 His marriage was early in life, and the result of mutual attachment. 
 The lady, who was of the highly-respected family of the "V\ olcotts, 
 by her unwearied and judicious attention to domestic care, left his 
 mind at liberty for higher departments. They became the parents of 
 nine children, six of whom still survive, connected with the aristocra- 
 cy of their native State. 
 
 At the commencement of his household establishment, he found him- 
 self thrown upon his own resources. A farm of wild land in the pa- 
 rish of Wintonbury, and an axe, were the gifts of his father, with the 
 understanding that they completed his full moiety of the paternal es- 
 tate. But as the shield given by the Spartan mothers to their sons, 
 with the charge, " return with it or return upon it," enkindled an in- 
 domitable courage ; so the consciousness of entire self-dependence 
 awoke a spirit which was to conquer all obstacles. In those rough 
 preliminary toils, by which land is cleared and subjected to cultiva- 
 tion, he performed the service of a day-laborer, and at night pursued 
 those studies by which his future eminence was to be attained. The 
 materials with which the fences of his farm were to be constructed he 
 wrought with his own hands from the trees that grew upon it, nor re-
 
 OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 
 
 mitted this branch of labor until it was completely enclosed. With 
 hands swollen by unaccustomed effort, and painful from the wounds 
 of thorns with which he contended, he came every morning during 
 the session of the courts, to Hartford, returning at night to take charge 
 of his cattle, and to sustain the imperative duties of an agriculturist. 
 In this union of differing and difficult professions he evinced great 
 mental vigor and physical endurance. It is impossible to view the 
 future Chief Justice of the United States at this period of his existence 
 without peculiar and touching interest. At dawn, like Cincinnatus, 
 at his plough, and at eve laying his hand on the mighty fabric of ju- 
 risprudence, as if, like the chosen people, he followed the " pillar of 
 cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night." 
 
 It would seem that no ambition of distinction had at this time sti- 
 mulated his career. Perhaps his mind was not fully aware of its own 
 Herculean powers. Its moving principle had been the simple con- 
 sciousness of duty, a desire to provide for a growing family, and to 
 be found faithful in the stewardship of entrusted time and talents. 
 
 During a period of extreme exertion, while sustaining a difficult 
 cause at the bar in Hartford, he received a new incentive the voice of 
 praise. " Who is that young man? He speaks well." These were 
 the words of a stranger. They sank into his heart. As he went 
 homeward, he ruminated upon them. " He speaks well? It was a 
 new idea to him. Vanity was not inherent to an intellect of his order, 
 but the sweetness of merited praise came when it began to be needed 
 as an encouragement on its arduous course. Of this incident he spoke, 
 even in his latest years, to his children. It would be interesting, were 
 it possible to discover who thus touched with electric spark that mighty 
 mind, and aided in developing its latent force. 
 
 The increase of his business imposed the necessity of a removal to 
 Hartford. There he received the lucrative office of States' attorney, and 
 was yearly elected representative to the general assembly. At the com- 
 mencement of the war of the Revolution he took firm ground in favor 
 of the independence of the country. He even went out with the mili- 
 tia of the county when incursions were made by the enemy into his 
 native State. This he did, not from any complacency in military 
 life but to show his approbation of the cause for which resistance was 
 hazarded. In 1777 he was chosen a delegate to Congress ; in 1784 
 a Judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut ; and in 1789 a senator 
 of the\Jnited States, under their new confederation. His talents as a 
 man, and his learning as a jurist, were now put in strict requisition 
 for the public good. The system of policy which he advocated was
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 dignified and consistent. Avoidance of useless expenditure, prompt 
 execution of the laws, an open and severe simplicity, were its distin- 
 guishing features. The regimen that promotes the health of repub- 
 lics was well understood by him. It was the same which, as an indi- 
 vidual, he had pursued with safety and success. 
 
 His mind had the capacity of intense and stern application. Never 
 was this more fully tested than during those seven years when he filled 
 a seat in the senate of the United States. So deep was his love of 
 country, that when any important point, involving her interests, was 
 in discussion, he has been known to pass the whole night traversing 
 his chamber, and repelling sleep, until he had possessed himself of the 
 subject in all its bearings. With such forgetful ness of self did he tax 
 his energies, that after the termination of such questions he would be 
 left exhausted, as after some extreme physical exertion. 
 
 It was remarked, that from these labors in the senate his mind evi- 
 dently gained breadth and expansion. As the period of his continu- 
 ance there extended beyond his fiftieth year, an argument is thus ob- 
 tained to disprove the theory that rigidity settles upon intellect as upon 
 the muscles, and that age may limit its improvement as easily as to 
 chain the limbs from their elastic play. 
 
 In the spring of 1796 he received the appointment of Chief Justice 
 of the United States. It was the universal suffrage of the nation that 
 there was in him a fitness for the high honor of a place in that body, 
 which, like the ancient Ephori, lifted the supremacy of the law above 
 all other symbols of earthly majesty. In the discharge of the duties of 
 this elevated station he displayed an immoveable patience, and a judg- 
 ment of men and things matured by long experience. His clear con- 
 ceptions of right and wrong were never confused by a heated imagi- 
 nation or morbid feelings. He was slow in arriving at the truth, but 
 in his decisions inflexible. His impartiality won the confidence of all ; 
 and throughout his whole judicial career, his integrity remained un- 
 tarnished and above suspicion. 
 
 It was with reluctance that the nation saw him about to be with- 
 drawn from a post where she was hourly deriving benefits from his 
 wisdom, to assume the office of ambassador to France. But a crisis 
 in our political intercourse with that kingdom, involving danger of 
 hostilities, required peculiar skill in negotiation, and he was appointed, 
 in conjunction with Governor Davie of North Carolina, and the Hon. 
 William V. Murray, then resident minister at the Hague. This was 
 a nomination which he would not have desired ; and though his pa- 
 triotism induced him to acquiesce, it was at an expense of health from
 
 OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 
 
 which he never folly recovered. Physical infirmities, which before his 
 departure had revealed themselves, became confirmed by the hardships 
 of a protracted voyage and the fatigues of foreign travel, into incura- 
 ble diseases. 
 
 It was at the close of the year 1799 that he took passage to Europe. 
 He found the government of France, then under the consulship of 
 Bonaparte, unsettled and fluctuating. Duplicity and intrigue gave 
 coloring to its diplomacy. His upright mind, severe in rectitude, 
 found there little congeniality. Its earnestness for the right, and its 
 strict morality, were even marked as traits of imbecility, by a cabinet 
 whose pole-star was expediency. 
 
 After concluding the business entrusted to him, he passed over into 
 England, and experienced high gratification from a view of that glo- 
 rious island, and an acquaintance with its illustrious men. He was 
 accompanied on his travels in Europe by his eldest son, a promising 
 youth, whose unremitting devotion to his collegiate studies had se- 
 riously impaired his health. It was diflicult, even by the excitement 
 and novelty of foreign cities, to divert his attention from books. He 
 received, therefore, but slight benefit from change of scene ; and his 
 death, which took place soon after his return, while making trial of 
 the more genial climate of the West Indies, was a deep affliction to the 
 affectionate father. 
 
 An incident connected with his return from Europe, shows the place 
 that religion habitually held in his soul. He had resigned the office 
 of Chief Justice of the United States, that he might devote the remain- 
 der of his life to that retirement and domestic tranquillity from which 
 he had been so long an exile. His arrival at his home was therefore 
 anticipated with an eagerness proportioned to his long absence, and to 
 the cheering hope of retaining him there. At his beautiful mansion in 
 Windsor all was joyful expectancy. His children listened to the echo 
 of every approaching wheel, and saddened at perceiving that it had 
 not brought their father. At length his own carriage was -indeed des- 
 cried. The whole family group hastened forth to welcome him. 
 Wife, and son, and daughter, and servant born in his house, were 
 there. It was a thrilling moment The profound statesman, whose 
 wealth and fame had been purchased by no sacrifice of virtue, wea- 
 ried with those services which had rendered his name illustrious, 
 was coming to share the repose of his native shades, and to be parted 
 from them no more. He alighted from his carriage. But he spoko 
 not to his wife. H? returned not the embrace of his children. He 
 glanced not even at his twin boys, the youngest of that beloved circle.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 Leaning over his gate, and covering his face, he first silently breathed 
 a prayer of gratitude to that Being who gave him once more to see his 
 habitation in safety and in peace. He took not the full cup of joy that 
 was pressed to his lips until it had been hallowed by devotion, until 
 he had humbly, yet openly, acknowledged the God who had " led him 
 all his life long, to that day. 
 
 His resolution to abstain from all public service in future, he found 
 it impossible perfectly to preserve. The urgent solicitations of the 
 people, combining with a patriotism which never slumbered, induced 
 him, in 1802, to accept the office of member of the Council of Con- 
 necticut, in which he continued till his death. In 1807 he received 
 the appointment of Chief Justice of his native State ; but his increas- 
 ing infirmities led him to decline the offered honor. 
 
 The leisure to which he had been for many years a stranger, ena- 
 bled him to cultivate domestic enjoyment, and to recur, as an occasion- 
 al amusement, to agricultural occupation. His ardent affections found 
 delight in the society of his children. The love of children had al- 
 ways been one of his prominent traits of character. From the chi- 
 canery and selfishness of mankind, he turned with renewed pleasure 
 to their simplicity. It was remarked of him in early life, that when 
 deeply engaged in those absorbing studies which afterwards won for 
 him fortune and renown, he daily spent some time in caressing his 
 neighbor's children. He even seemed disappointed when any circum- 
 stance prevented this accustomed intercourse. Though there were 
 long periods in which he was compelled to seclude himself from the 
 pleasures of the domestic circle, yet he would sometimes permit his 
 own little ones to enter his study when occupied in the severest toils 
 of thought, and draw pictures for their amusement. " I like to indulge 
 them in this way," he observed ; " and when it is necessary to deny 
 them, I send them to their mother." 
 
 As they advanced in age, their improvement, and the formation of 
 their habits, were felt by him in their full importance. The incalcu- 
 lable worth of time, the duty of industry, the folly of extravagance, the 
 necessity of rectitude and piety, were impressed both by precept and 
 example. In his letters, when absent from them, his rules for conduct 
 and principle were expressed with striking adaptation to their differ- 
 ence of age or character. His family letters, notwithstanding the mag- 
 nitude and pressure of public business, were exhibitions of correct and 
 beautiful chirography. In one of these, addressed to his wife, while 
 a senator in the first Congress convened at New- York, in 1789, he 
 says :
 
 OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 
 
 " The family in which I live have no white children. But I often 
 amuse myself with a colored one about the size of our little daughter, 
 who peeps into my door now and then, with a long story, which I 
 cannot more than half understand. Our two sons I sometimes fancy 
 that I pick out among the little boys playing at marbles in the street. 
 Our eldest daughter is, I trust, alternately employed, between her book 
 and her wheel. You must teach her what is useful, the world will 
 teach her enough of what is not. The nameless little one I am hardly 
 enough acquainted with to have much idea of; yet I think she oc- 
 cupies a corner of my heart, especially when I consider her at your 
 breast." 
 
 Alluding to the death of an infant, several years after the event had 
 taken place, he says, in a letter to his wife : " He who bore your 
 countenance andmy name the world has never been the same to 
 me since his death." 
 
 These traits of household tenderness are peculiarly delightful in 
 great men. Perhaps we unconsciously associate with them some idea 
 of sternness, and are cheered when we find them linked to our common 
 nature by its gentler sympathies. In tracing to their familiar sources 
 the warm current of his affections, we find that neither the toils of an 
 absorbing profession, the tumults of political life, nor the cares of 
 greatness, made him insensible to the enjoyments of the fireside, in- 
 different to the innocent sports of infancy, or regardless of the humble 
 happiness of childhood. 
 
 His long intercourse with men of education and rank created no 
 contempt for the rustic society and conversation of a retired country 
 village. He knew how to demean himself to men of low degree. His 
 was that simple moral greatness, which never fears to demean itself by 
 association with inferiors. He especially pitied those in a state of ser- 
 vitude. He treated them with a kindness and sympathy that won 
 their confidence without diminishing their respect. He felt that in a 
 republic the grades of distinction ought not to be jealously defined. 
 His dignity had no need of the petty props of haughtiness and reserve. 
 
 Mingled with his high intellectual endowments, was a clear and 
 direct common sense. This kept him from mistake in the every-day 
 affairs of life, where sometimes the greatest men have been so much 
 at a loss, as to subject themselves to the scoffs of the vulgar, and even 
 to bring greatness into disrepute among the multitude. He was tho- 
 roughly and practically acquainted with many of those details which 
 wealth seldom understands and often despises. This was remarked 
 with wonder during his tour through the southern States. There, in
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the court-yard of a public house, when the stage-coach had sustained 
 same injury, the inquiry was once made, " Who is that gentleman 
 who understands every thing, and is eloquent about a coach-wheel ? " 
 " The Chief Justice of the United States," was the reply. 
 
 His example before his household was calculated to impress the im- 
 portance of that religion which he revered and loved. Guests occa- 
 sionally present at their morning and evening devotions, were solem- 
 nized by the fervor and sublimity of his prayers. He inculcated on 
 all under his roof a reverence for the sabbath ; and was in the habit 
 of gathering them around him, and reading them a sermon, in addition 
 to the public worship of the day. During the changes of an eventful 
 life, the fluctuations of revolution, the interruptions incidental to high 
 office, the gaiety of the court of France, and the desultory habits im- 
 posed by foreign travel, he never overlooked the sacred obligation of 
 the sabbath, or shunned to give infidelity a " reason for the hope that 
 was in him." 
 
 As he approached the close of life, the Inspired Volume, which had 
 from youth been his guide and counsellor, became more and more 
 dear. Like a new book, it revealed to him unknown treasures. It 
 was both affecting and sublime, to see one who had attained such emi- 
 nence in the knowledge of human laws, sitting at the feet of the Su- 
 preme Lawgiver with the docility of a child. Day and night, while 
 he stood on the verge of a higher existence, did his soul, disengaging 
 itself from earthly things, search the scriptures of truth with solemnity 
 and delight. His last illness was sustained with the fortitude of a 
 Christian ; and his death took place on the 26th of November, 1807, 
 in the sixty-third year of his age. 
 
 In contemplating his elevated character, we are struck with the 
 prominence of high and inflexible rectitude, and of that patriotism 
 which, forgetful of self, firmly endured toil and sustained privation. 
 What was said of his excellent friend, Roger Sherman, might with 
 equal propriety be affirmed of him that his " actions, whether public 
 or private, were attended by the secret interrogatory, what course is 
 right ? and that he never once propounded to himself the question, 
 will it be popular ? " He has also been heard to assert, that in youth 
 he took Sherman for his model ; and the elder President Adams re- 
 marked, in his sententious manner, that " this was praise enough for 
 both" Let it also be added, as a part of the fame of Judge ELLS- 
 WORTH, that his pure principles, and the wisdom which regulated his 
 political course, won for him both the praise and friendship of Wash- 
 ington.
 
 OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 
 
 The structure of his mind was lofty and well-balanced. His elo- 
 quence rested on the basis of the reasoning powers. It aimed not to 
 dazzle, but to convince. It has been pronounced deficient in the graces 
 of imagination. But the devotion with which he embraced that ma- 
 jestic and severe science, which takes cognizance of man in his capa- 
 city of impeding or being impeded ; " which demands dexterity to un- 
 twist thespider-web of invention, strength to strike and wisdom to arrest 
 those ideas of justice which come " only as the lightning flash amid 
 the storm of human passions," scarcely comports with the play of fan- 
 cy or the luxury of leisure. The department of imagination was 
 therefore in him uncultivated. Thought, accustomed, like the laborer, 
 to split the " unwedgeable and knotty oak." could not stoop to trim 
 the vine or to train the flower. In his mind the sentiment of the beau- 
 tiful was overpowered by combinations derived from the useful and 
 the just. But the truth that philosophy seeks, and the faith that Chris- 
 tianity imposes, held ever their high places in his soul. 
 
 We perceive in him a predominance of those virtues which give 
 permanence to republics indefatigable industry, opposition to luxury 
 and extravagance, contempt of show and pretension, inflexible inte- 
 grity, respect for men of low degree, love of country, and fear of God. 
 His was the intellectual and moral power that would have arrested 
 heterogeneous and fluctuating particles, and settled them into order 
 and durability. 
 
 Educate a race with his principles and habits, and let them de- 
 termine the question, whether a republic is a form of government in- 
 trinsically and necessarily perishable. 
 
 The name of OLIVER ELLSWORTH, by every succeeding genera- 
 tion in this land of freedom, should be held venerable and dear ; cou- 
 pled with the memory of our early liberties, and with the virtues that 
 preserve them. 
 
 It will not be inapposite to close this brief sketch with the inscrip 
 tion on his monument, from the pen of his valued friend, the late 
 Chauncey Goodrich, Governor of the State of Connecticut 
 
 To the Memory of 
 
 OLTVER ELLSWORTH, LL.D. 
 
 An assistant in the Council, and 
 
 a Judge of the Superior Court 
 
 of the State of Connecticut ; 
 
 A member of the Convention which formed, 
 
 and of the State Convention of Connecticut which adopted
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 the Constitution of the United States : 
 
 Senator, and Chief Justice of the United States 
 
 One of the Envoys Extraordinary, and 
 
 Ministers Plenipotentiary, 
 
 who made the Convention of 1801, 
 
 between the United States and the French Republic. 
 
 Amiable and exemplary 
 in all the relations of the domestic, social, and Christian character. 
 
 Pre-eminently useful 
 in all the elevated offices he sustained ; 
 
 Whose great talents, 
 
 under the guidance of inflexible integrity, 
 consummate wisdom, 
 and enlightened zeal, 
 
 employed in his country's cause and service, 
 placed him among the first of the illustrious statesmen 
 
 who achieved the Independence, 
 and established the Government of the American Republic ; 
 
 reflecting lustre 
 on the character of his native State, 
 
 and of the United States. 
 Born at Windsor, on the 29th of April, 1745 : 
 
 and there died. 
 
 on the 26th of November, 1807. 
 
 Conjugal affection and filial piety 
 
 have erected this monument.

 
 EGBERT MORRIS, 
 
 FEW names are to be found in the annals of the Revolution more 
 worthy of grateful remembrance than that of the Great Financier. 
 The zeal, and skill, and sleepless vigilance of Washington would have 
 been exerted in vain ; the flame of patriotism, which glowed far and 
 wide in the bosoms of thousands who where panting for freedom, would 
 have been kindled in vain, had it not been for the financial ability and 
 extensive credit of ROBERT MORRIS. The sword of -a nation must 
 soon rest idly in the scabbard when the national purse is empty. 
 
 Some have even gone so far as to say, that his extraordinary 
 powers in the department of finance, the extent of his influence in 
 the commercial relations of this nation in its earliest time of trial, and 
 his unremitted devotion to the duties entrusted to him, entitle him to 
 honors second only to Washington himself. We are, however, not 
 required to fix the precise degree of merit attached to the various in- 
 dividuals who lent their powerful aid in various ways to the general 
 cause. Skill and valor in the field and on the ocean, eloquence in the 
 legislative hall or the popular assembly, the influence of the pen and 
 of the press, and the creation and management of funds or credit, are 
 all essential to success in a contest of nations. To the warriors, the 
 orators, and the writers of the revolutionary period, we have devoted 
 a large portion of our work ; we should still consider it imperfect with- 
 out a respectful notice of the man, whose skilful efibrts supplied the 
 funds necessary to give effect to the exertions of his contemporaries. 
 
 ROBERT MORRIS was born at Liverpool, England, on the 20th of 
 January, (O. S.) 1733, and was brought into this country by his fa- 
 ther when about thirteen years of age. His education was continued 
 under the instruction of the Rev. Mr. Gordon, of Maryland, for about 
 two years, when the accidental discharge of a gun from a ship in the 
 Delaware deprived his father of life, and left him an orphan in a 
 strange land. His education, therefore, went no farther than to qualify
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 him for business. Nature had endowed him liberally with powers of 
 mind, and his disposition and manners had endeared him to those 
 who knew him. He was not, therefore, without friends to aid him in 
 his youthful career. Soon after the death of his father he was re- 
 ceived into the counting-house of Mr. Charles Willing, the most dis- 
 tinguished merchant at that time in Philadelphia. When he became 
 of age he was established in business with his partner's son, Thomas 
 Willing, and embarked in an extensive and profitable West India 
 trade. Mr. MORRIS made several voyages as supercargo in the ships 
 belonging to the company, in one of which he was made a prisoner 
 by the French, and for some time was kept in close confinement. He 
 was, however, liberated ; and by exercising his ingenuity in repairing 
 a watch, obtained means to return to Philadelphia, where he resumed 
 his station. Under his active superintendance, the firm of Willing 
 and Morris rapidly attained the summit of commercial reputation. 
 Their foreign business was very extensive, and their punctuality and 
 integrity established them in the confidence and credit of the world. 
 To Mr. MORRIS business was a pleasure, yet the regulations and or- 
 der of his counting-house enabled him to enjoy the society of his 
 friends, to whom he attached himself with all the ardor of a generous- 
 and ingenuous mind. 
 
 Mr. MORRIS, about the age of thirty-six, married the sister of the 
 the late Bishop White. A lady who has been described as " elegant, 
 accomplished, and rich, and well qualified to carry the felicity of con- 
 nubial life to its highest perfection." 
 
 At the close of the year 1775 his public life commenced. He was 
 then sent to Congress as a member from Pennsylvania, and was im- 
 mediately engaged on financial arrangements of the greatest im- 
 portance. When Congress removed to Baltimore in 1776, Mr. MOR- 
 RIS was left at Philadelphia with Messrs. Clymer and Walton, to re- 
 main as long as circumstances would permit, and transact such bu- 
 siness as required attention in that city. 
 
 At this crisis General Washington was surrounded by secret foes, 
 and destitute of the means of detecting them, or of getting possession of 
 the enemy's designs, from the want of hard money ; nor could he keep 
 the troops which formed a considerable part of his army, and whose 
 time of service had expired, without the promise of a bounty, which 
 he had not the means to advance. Mr. MORRIS borrowed the neces- 
 sary amount on his own note, and the receipt of it was acknowledged 
 by the General on the 1st of January, 1777. 
 
 The situation of General Greene, in South Carolina, was equally
 
 ROBERT MORRIS. 
 
 critical, his distresses rendering it scarcely possible to keep the troops 
 together, when a gentleman of that State advanced the necessary 
 sums, and enabled him to avert the danger. When General Greene re- 
 turned to Philadelphia, and repaired to the office of finance to settle his 
 accounts after the war had terminated, he found that he had been re- 
 lieved under the direction of Mr. MORRIS. He felt hurt, at first, at 
 the apparent want of confidence in him ; but on reflection, he told Mr. 
 MORRIS he had never done a wiser thing ; " For," said he, " on other 
 occasions I was sufficiently distressed to have warranted my drawing 
 on you, had I known that 1 might have done so, and I should have 
 availed myself of the privilege." Mr. MORRIS informed him, that 
 even as matters had been conducted, the southern expedition had 
 gone nearer than the operations in any other quarter, to the arrest of 
 his commercial business. 
 
 When Washington suddenly abandoned the banks of the Hudson 
 to co-operate with Count de Grasse in Virginia, from seventy to eighty 
 pieces of battering cannon, and one hundred of field artillery, were 
 completely fitted and furnished with attirail and ammunition, and for- 
 warded in three or four weeks, to the great honor of the officers and 
 men employed in the service. All this, together with the expense of 
 provisions and pay for the troops, was accomplished on the personal 
 credit of ROBERT MORRIS, who issued his notes to the amount of one 
 million four hundred thousand dollars, which were finally all paid. 
 There was no money in the chest of the war office nor in the Trea- 
 sury ; and the expedition which brought the war to a close by the cap- 
 ture of Corn wall is, never could have been effected had not Mr. MOR- 
 RIS'S credit and management supplied the funds necessary to give ef- 
 fect to exertion. 
 
 In 1781 the office of Financier was established by resolution of 
 Congress, and Mr. MORRIS was unanimously elected Superintendant. 
 One of the first acts of his financial government was, the proposition to 
 Congress of his plan for the establishment of the Bank of North 
 America, which was forthwith chartered, and opened in January, 1782. 
 At that time the States were half a million of dollars in debt on the 
 taxes of the year, which had been raised by anticipation on that sys- 
 tem of credit which Mr. MORRIS had created: and but for this esta- 
 blishment, his plans must have been entirely frustrated. 
 
 On his retirement from office, it was affirmed that it cost Congress 
 at the rate of eighteen millions of dollars a year to carry on the war 
 till he was chosen financier, and then it cost them only about five 
 millions.
 
 NATIONAL PORTRAITS. 
 
 He continued to superintend the department of finance until the 
 30th of September, 1784, when he resigned, and immediately issued 
 an advertisement, pledging himself to the payment of all his outstand- 
 ing notes as they should arrive at maturity. 
 
 Fatigued with the cares of public service, which, from his first 
 election to Congress, had engrossed a large proportion of his time, he 
 was now anxious to return to the relaxation of private life. He de- 
 clined the office of Secretary of the Treasury, offered to him by 
 President Washington on the organization of the federal government 
 under the present Constitution, and recommended Colonel Hamilton, 
 who was accordingly appointed. 
 
 At the conclusion of the war, the propitious fortunes which attended 
 his official career seemed entirely to have forsaken him. His unre- 
 mitted attention to the business of the country had necessarily been at 
 the expense of his private affairs, an/l \c&s productive of great embar- 
 rassments of mind and circumstances. His latter years where over- 
 shadowed by poverty. He had sacrificed himself for the safety of the 
 commonwealth. 
 
 After a life of inestimable value to the country, Mr. MORRIS died at 
 Philadelphia, on the 8th of May, 1806, in the 73d year of his age.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 MAR 1'987 
 
 FEB20 
 
 Form L9-30m-ll,'58 (,8268s4)444 
 >
 
 000517677 
 
 i: 
 
 t 
 
 PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE 
 THIS BOOK CARDzi 
 
 ^HIBRARY-0/- 
 
 : 
 
 University Research Library 
 
 '