Weekly national intelligencer., 1854-11-11
LETTER FROM LIEUT., MAuRY TO Hs soN


FREDxRIcKsBURo (vA.) SEpr. %, 1854
Ny DEAR SoN In my last letter pointed you to the
perior natural advantages which Norfolk combines for
great commercial town. 1t was desgned by Providencs
that the emporium Of trade this continent should be
either upon the shores OF New York harbor
the Chesapeake Bay Nature, you have seen, did
much the scale in favor Of the Bay for she threw
its side Of the balance many broad river valley with
long threads Of navigabe streams piles Of mountains
filed with valuable minerals and healing waters, and at
the end Of the lever reaching far out to the West she
placed an empire.
That such is the fact that Norfolk or New York. one
of the wo destined to be that great seaport town Of
this country has been patent to the thinking minds Of
Virginia for the last hundred years at least.
have now before me letter, written by your great
grandfather from his parsonage under the Blue Ridge of
Virginia. to friend in England, in 1856.
France and England then at about their North
American possessions and the old gentleman ventured
the prediction, and offered proof amounting to more
than probability that he of the contending monarohs
who at the end of the dispute should remain master Of
the Ohio and the Lakes would become lord of North
America The acquisition of this territory would also,
he added, his own private opinion, make either
Hudsons river at New York Potomac in Virginia the
grand emporium of this country and Of Europe.
At that time Missouri river myth Cox who had
assembled the Mississippi to the Falls of st. Anthony had
reported to his Corolnna the existence of such river
This Cox had become the proprietor Of charter granted
by Charles to Sir Robert Heath constituting him lord
proprietor Of all the lands and of the Mississippi
party was organized in Virginia to explore the Mis-
souri, and friend and neighbor Of ancestor was ap
odinted to conduct it.
The far-seeing old gentleman then goes in this
markabe letter advocate the advantages of thorough
fare this continent to the South Seas, the Pa
cifc Ocean was then called He points out two routes
from the waters of the Chesapeake to those OF the
Ohio the other from the Hudson the Lakes and thence
the Ohio and down into the Mississippi and mp the
Missouri And then, by process Of reasoning that is
perfectly philosophical and most logical he points out
theoretically the existence Of the Columbia river clear
LIE Verrier did that of the planet Neptune before
the telescope discovered In this reasoning 1t was held
that the tributaries of the Mississippi the right bank
extended probably far to the west those this side
do the east that the headwaters Of the Missouri were
probably separated from the Pacific by chain OF noun
tains answering to that which separates the Ohio from
the waters Of the Atlantic that the west Of this heo
retcnl chain of mountains-now known as the Rocky
river would be found taking its rise
and pouring its waters into that boundess sea, as he
styled the Pacific Ocean, our cs-Acghany rivers do
into the Aantic that the head streams Of this river
oculate with those Of the Missouri to leave but short
portage between them and thus great thoroughare to
the Indies and this continent might be established
The old philosopher then into most glowing de-
scrpon Of the destnes Of this country He shows her
future be the most dazzling but stops with the picture
because he cannot find coors glowing and bright enough
for the finishing touches Whether Norfolk New York
should bear off the palm and become the great CONNER
cal emporium of the country to depend upon which
of the two should be the first to establish commercial
thoroughfare with the Mississippi Valley.
advise you to read this letter 1t svery interesting.
1t is from the Rev James Maury to friend in England,
and you will find at page 386 of the little work called
Memoirs Of Huguenot Family, written by your cousin,
Ann Maury Hasbrouck has il in his library Mr.. JEFF
ferson went to school to him. and believe Mr. Madison
also, though of this am not 1t may be that we
have here discovered the fountain where young Jefferson
first imbibed the ideas which finally expanded into the
expedition Of Lewis 4 Clarke.
The prediction Of farseeing ancestor is in the
cant of the day. ga fixed fact" New York opened the
he wpat ha tn aefa
highway the Lake country This induced other States
put in other thoroughfares between the Mississippi
Valley and the Lakes and thus New York got hold Of the
sceptre.
Now, understand what the advantages Of New York
sre and how gained let dispense with the globe and
turn to the map The best for this purpose is the rail-
road map Of the United States by Poor the editor Of the
Railroad Journal take him to be very clever man,
FOR both his Journal and Map are excellent.
As soon as the Erie canal went into operation its
merca influences felt for good throughout oil the
States Of the Mississippi Valley They began forthwith
dig canals to push slack navigation up the
Lakes which operated feeders to the New York i'm
and served to mpel that city upward and
ward in her dazzling The State of Ohio con-
structed less than i've such feeders leading from the
Ohio river up into the Lakes Indiana followed suit
and even Illinois, though scarcely out Of her swaddling
clothes attempted thoroughcut ship canal between the
and the Lakes 1t too much for her. and
broke her down for awhile for she had to abandon the
design.
Pennsylvania followed the example Of New York, and
made haste at great cost to connect Philadelphia with
the Ohio Maryland too, was early in the field with the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal for railroads in those days
were not in vogue. As soon, however, as it
tanned that railroads might PAY that gallant little State
was quick to perceive and prompt to act Among the
first in the field her planned the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad and procured charter for it early 1927
In the meanwhile Virginia and North Carolina-for
North Carolina is dependant as Vrgnias upon Nor
folk for an outlet to the seapreferred, in mercantile
phrase, to "look on"
About this time Gen. Jackson wisely put stop to the
construction Of turnpikes and canals by the General
Government.
South Carolina and Georgia could build canals but
soon the problem Of railroads solved they both
took the railway MANIA the gentlemen Of the stand
still policy termed it, and begon with the most indomta-
BILE enterprise push from Charleston and Savannah iron
course did Of the railways enter that val
ley than multitude Of others sprang up there to feed
and cooperate with it.
Now, take Poors railroad map and glance your eyes
over it. Ohio and Indiana exhibit perfect network Of
railways and canals. See how they all up the
northward and eastward to meet the New York, Penn
sylvania, and Maryland Improvement Even in Ken
ucky the railroads turned the north and where
they fnd improvements in other States leading the
sea- Though the daughter Of Virginia. Kentucky has not
single railway leading to Virginia, even pointing to-
wards IT,
Now cast your eyes upon Virginia and her neighbcr,
Rip Van Wnkle," az the ssOld North State" used
single railway or canal in operation completed from
their frontier borders any seaport town. gulf blight
bay in either Of them
Continue the examination little further by casting
your eye upon South Carolina and Georgia There again
you hnd on the map network Of railways, reaching
with their main stems also back to the Mississippi Valley
and stretching OF far into Tennessee their way to
Kentucky and Ohio emitting off trade