Evening star., 1921-05-22

of1ice was in the row of low brick
ouild1nss, formerly known as the
city Lunch. on Charles street. in the
Among the other citizens of Frede-
rfcksburg of national note was Com
modore Matthew Fontaine Maury.
better known as the pathfinder of
the Seas" but distinguished in many
county. ten miles from Fredericks-
burg. his mother being Miss Minor.
and he married a Fredericksburg
lady, Miss Ann Herndon. If you want
the record of this man in the Navy
you have but to look it up. He be-
ing famed by an accident in 1899. he
was put in charge of the depot of
charts and instruments at Washing
ton. which he transformed into the
National Observatory. He is declared
to have been the founder of the ma
Won Humboldt said that he was the
founder of two sciences, hydrography
and meteorology. In the matter of
the great Atlantic cable venture
Cyrus Field said: "Maury furnished
the brains. England gave the money.
resigned from the Navy at the break
ing out of the civil war and stood
with Virginia and the Confederate
States in that great struggle. HIS
home in Fredericksburg, on Charlotte
between Princess Ann and Prince
Edward streets. was standing a few
years ago, and the man who writes
this believes it is there today.
Fredericksburg was not only fore
most in the revolution-she claims
to have been first. Chester B. Cool
rick has written:
Fredericksburg claims the honor Of present
ing the first declaration of independence
which took place twenty-one days before thu
famous Mecklenburg resolutions in North Car"
lima and more than year before the Decara
ton of independence Of the Continental Con
gress. In this declaration our citizens s0lemnlI
pledged themselves to each other to he iii
readiness at a moments warning to reassem
ble and by force Of arms to defend the laws
the liberties and the rights of this or any siste
colony from unjust and wicked invasions."
The resolutions and pledges were
read at the head of each company
of patriots encamped at Fredericks-
, burg, and unanimously adopted The
address concluded with God save the
liberties of the American people in
stead of the usual formula God save
the king" Mr.. Quinn has written
that among those in attendance at the
meeting at which the independence
resolutions were adopted were George
Weldon, later Gen. Weldon; DIR. Hugh
Mercer later Gen. Mercer. and Gus
tavus B. Wallace, later Gen. Wallace.
Perhaps when you old fellows who
are following this story see the word
Fredericksburg" you fancy that you
hear the guns of Lee and Burnside
and the roar of the leg!ons of the
south and north. You are thinking of
the little skirmish between Capt. Ul-
ric Da hlgren's cavalry and that of Col
John Critcher on Sunday morning. No
vember 10, 1862. Then you think of
the fast oncoming of the divisions Of
Gen. Lafayette McLaws and Gen. Rob
ert Ransom of Longstreets Corps, and
Fitzhugh Lees cavalry. You are
thinking that on Monday the 18th the
Southern Scouts were driven across
the Rappahannock and a Federal
corps appeared on Stafford Heights
opposite the old town. You know of
Gen. Summers demand on Mayor
Montgomery Slaughter for the sur
render of the town under threat of
shelling it. You are thinking of the
hurried march of Lee from Culpeper
and Orange counties. Then. on De-
cember II. Burnside opened fire and