Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-04-09
FINE OLD CULPEPER.
AVIvio HIST oRIcAl peN-Plcru OF
THE TOWN BY A NATIVE.
a March Court-Day Fifty Years Ago-Ths
People of the Coupty-Is Noble
Women aud Gallant scldierA
fMrItinr for the Dlspatch.l

Writer for the Dlspatch.l
What pleasant emotions, what agreeable
ideas and thoughts would have peryaded
the minds and hearts Of the present gen.
GRAFTON if they had been present at March
court in the little village of Culpeper Fifty
years ago! | cannot now be present IN
fact, but through the aid of that subtitle,
pleasure-giving faculty of the mind, the
imagination. l can view the scenes that
then appeared when they are portrayed to
me by one who was there and who will
describe them as they actually occurred,
If perchance he DO able TO do so.
The little village OF Culpeper existed
long before the Revolution. IL was named
for Lord Culpeper. Governor OF tue
colony under the crown Of Great Britain,
10 whom Charles III. made grant OF all
Virginia in 1880. The people of tins old
county were among the first 10 rally tothe
support of the cause of the colonies against
the tyranny of the mother country.
When Lord Dunmore. the last colonial
Governor of Virginia. despairing of re-
conciling the quarrel between the colony
and Great Britain. betook himself and his
family on board of the ship Fowey at
Yorktown on the 9Th day Of June. 1775.
never TO return. the people OF Culpeper
had already organized their militia. and IN
the first battle of that year, on the 9th OF
Decent Der. at Great Bridge, about twenty
miles above Norfolk. the minute-men OF
Culpeper. commanded by Captain Ste
phens and Lieutenant John Marshall, after.
wards the great Chief Justice of the United
States. assisted 70 drive the enemy into
their works.
THE MOTTO.
The flag Of the minute-men had on il
coiled rattlesnake. with the motto Don't
tread on me, aud IN the war OF the Revo-
luton this company gained great .distlnc-
ton for its daring, bravery, and Valor.
The people Of Culpeper never forgot the
record of their Revolutionary fathers, and
all along TO this day they have exhibited
evidences of the fact that they. were
worthy sons of noble slres." Culpeper
has been the residence of families, some
of whose descendants are identified
with the growth and prosperity of
the United States. and as Governors
of States, as congressman and sena-
tors Of the nited States. as for
eign ministers, as preachers. LAWYERS,
and statesmen some of them have ranked
among the first men IN the Union. Here
have resided in the past tie families Of the
Stephenses, Longs. Slaughters, Thomp-
sons. Barbours, Pendletons, Smiths,
Greens. Broaduses. Shackelfords, Bells,
Glbsons, Spotswoods, Mortons. Hills,
Marshalls, HansbOroughs, Carriers. Sto-
nows. Fishbacks. Wards. Mauzys, Rosses,
Lathams, Wiliiamses, Beckhams, Hern
dons, Georges, Stringfellows, Rxeys,
Stanards, Talaferros. Pattons Turner'S,
Lewises. Bottses, and others. whose de-
scendants are TO be found in every state
IN the Union. and wherever they nave
gone they have competed successfully IN
the battle of life with the brayest and the
best
NATIONAL ORATORS.
In 1874 had the pleasure of listening to
speeches from Pat. w. Tompklns, OF Mis-
sissippi: Richard w. Thompson. of In
diana; Robert 1oombs. Of Georgia, and
John s. Pcndleton. of Culpeper all OF
them sons of the old county and all OF
them political orators and stump speak
ers-equal If not superior, TO the best OF
the eloquent men who have gained for the
United States the distinction OF beng
nation OF orators
Now let INV readers exercise their ina
ginations little. Look There before you
Is little Virginia village of about one
thousand inhabitants. IL has one long,
main street. on which are residences, en-
powered IN the shade Of trees, some de
lance back from the street; stores and
places of merchandise interspersed be-
tween them all along the way a hotel or
two, a courthouse and jail. with several
side streets which cross the main street.
The COURTHOUSE.
Let US first go TO the courthouse, where
can he seen many of the people. IL is an
old building built more than one hundred
years ago. 1t is located IN a large yard
covered with green sward and shaded by
large trees. At one corner OF the yard IS
the old Jail where, IN the last century, old
Parson Ireland was imprisoned for preach
ing the Gospel contrary 20 the wishes OF
the Church OF England, which was the re-
hgion of the colony established by law.
and from the windows OF which the old
dlssenter boldly preached TO the people
who assembled on the outside. his OLD
court house and old jail have both been
destroyed and not brick remains of them
now. All that is left to remind one that
they ever existed is the key OF the old lall,
which If now preserved as relic IN Rich
mond College.
The old-time justices of the peace are
seated upon their high seats as a county
court dispensing the law and dealing ont
Justice TO all. They we're fne-lookine
body Of gentlemen, in whose fairness ana
capacity everybody had confidence. AT
the bar il may be there were seated law
yers who afterwards became well known
and dIstingushed-R. c. l.. Moncure OF
Fredericks burg (for thirty years president
of our Court Of Appeals; John Murray
Forbes. OF Falmouth Robert f. Scott, Sam
uel Chiffon, Howard Shackelford, and Ed
ward W. Spilman, of Warrenton Shelton
T. Leake, of Charlottesville; James l..
Kemper. of Madison (since Governor Of
Virginia.: John s. Barbour. our late
United States senator, and his brother
James Barbour: Colonel j. Catlett
Gibson William Justice Gibson.
brilliant Young orator who afterwards
went West and became a distinguished
editor in Memphis and there fought
bloody duel with the late Colonel Charles
Irving. another Vireinan who had settled
there and who was well-knowD in Rich
mond during the war John W. Bell, and
Others of the county.
on THE COURT GREEN.
On the outside. in the yard. there Were
John :. Barbour, Sr. (the father OF our
late SENATOR. a distinguished representa-
tive IN Congress, and one ofthe handsomest
men | ever knew: William Smith (twlce
Governor Of Virginia. john 5. Pendleton
(memOer of Congress and Minister TO
Chile; James French StrOther (member
of Congress-, ell of whom were LAWYERS as
well as politicians. and Edmund Broadus
(the father of the distinguished DIR. John
A. Broadus, of Louisville, and Daniel +.
Slaughter. All of these gentlemen are
talking TO the groups of people who sur
round them, and are urging them to vote
either for the Wing or the Democratic par
ties ss their own views may incline them
70 support the one or the other. All OF
them were men of great talent.
"They could distinguish and divide
hair twixt south and southwest side,
m. 4, IA Lab, nav a