guished applause in that disastrous period, its difficulties, its dangers, and its glory. When afterwards the commander-in-chief struck at Colonel Ralle, stationed with a body of Hessians in Trenton, Capt. Washington was attached to the van of one of the assailing columns, and in that daring and well-executed enterprise, received a musket-ball through his hand, bravely leading on his company against the arraying enemy. The commander-in-chief having experienced the extreme difficulties to which he had been exposed during the preceding campaign, by his want of cavalry, was, shortly after this period, in consequence of his suggestion to Congress, authorized to raise three regiments of light dragoons. To the command of one of these he appointed Lieut.-Col. Baylor, one of his aid-de-camps. To this regiment Captain Washington was transferred, with the rank of major, and returned to Virginia for the purpose of assisting in recruiting the regiment. As soon as the corps was completed, Baylor joined the main army; his regiment was, in 1778, surprised by a detachment of the British, led by Major-Gen. Gray, and suffered extremely. Washington fortunately escaped; and in the course of the succeeding year, or early in 1780, he was detached, with the remains of Bland's, Baylor's, and Moylan's regiments of horse, to the army of Major-Gen. Lincoln, in South Carolina, where he was constantly employed with the light troops, and experienced, with some flashes of fortune, two severe blows; first at Monk's Corner, where he commanded our horse, and last at Leneau's ferry, when he was second to Lieut.-Col. White, of Moylan's regiment. These repeated disasters so reduced our cavalry, that White and Washington retired from the field, and repaired to the northern confines of North Carolina for the purpose of repairing their heavy losses. It was here that they applied to Gen. Gates for the aid of his name and authority to expedite the restoration and equipment of their regiments, that they might be ready to take the field under his orders. This salutary and proper request was, as has been mentioned, injudiciously disregarded; from which omission very injurious consequences seem to have resulted in the sequel. After the defeat of Gen. Gates on the 16th of the following August, it will be recollected that the American general retired to Hillsborough, from whence he returned to Salisbury. Lieut.-Col. Washington, with his cavalry, now accompanied him, and formed a part of the light corps placed by Gates under the direction of Brigadier Morgan. He resumed his accustomed active and vigorous service, and was highly useful in the execution of the trust confided to Morgan. One of his partisan exploits was the result of a well-conceived stratagem. Having learned, during a scouting excursion, that a large party of loyalists, commanded by Col. Rudgley, was posted at Rudgley's mill, 12 miles from Camden, he determined on attacking them. Approaching the enemy, he found them so secured in a large log-barn, surrounded by abattis, as to be perfectly safe from the operations of cavalry. Forbidden, thus, to attempt his object by direct attack, his usual and favorite mode of warfare, he determined, for once, to have recourse to policy. Shaping, therefore, a pine log in imitation of a field-piece, mounting it on wheels, and staining it with mud, to make it look like iron, he brought it up in military style, and affected to make arrangements to batter down the barn. To give to the stratagem solemnity and effect, he dispatched a flag, warning the garrison of the impending destruction, and to prevent bloodshed, summoned them to submission. Not prepared to resist artillery, Col. Rudgley obeyed the summons, and with a garrison of 103 rank and file, surrendered at discretion. Greene now succeeded Gates, when Brigadier Morgan, with the light corps, was detached to hang upon the enemy's left flank, and to threaten Ninety-Six. The battle of the Cowpens ensued, in which Washington, at the head of our horse, acquired fresh laurels. He continued with the light troops, performing with courage and precision the duties assigned him, until the junction of the two divisions of the American army at Guilford Court-House. Soon after this event a more powerful body of horse and foot was selected by Gen. Greene, and placed under Col. Williams, of which Washington and his cavalry were a constituent part. In the eventful and trying retreat which ensued, Lieut.-Col. Washington contributed his full share to the maintenance of the measures of Williams, which terminated so propitiously to our arms, and so honorably to the light troops and their commander. After our repassage of the Dan, Washington and his horse were again placed in the van, and with Howard and Lee, led by Williams, played that arduous game of marches, countermarches, and manœuvres, which greatly contributed to baffle the skilful display of talents and enterprise exhibited by Lord Cornwallis, in his persevering attempt to force Greene, at the head of an inferior army, to battle, or to cut him off from his approach. ing reinforcements and supplies. We have seen the distinguished part this officer successively bore in the battles of Guilford, Hobkick's Hill, and Eutaw; and we have found him, throughout the arduous campaign of 1781, always at his post, decided, firm, and brave, courting danger, and contemning difficulty. His eminent services were lost to the army from the battle of Eutaw; where, to its great regret, he was made prisoner; nor did he afterwards take any part in the war, as from the period of his exchange nothing material occurred, the respective armies being confined to minor operations, produced by the prospect of peace. While a prisoner in Charleston, Washington became acquainted with Miss Elliot, a young lady in whom concentred the united attractions of respectable descent, opulence, polish, and beauty. The gallant soldier soon became enamored with his amiable acquaintance, and afterwards married her. This happened in the spring of 1782; and he established himself in South Carolina, at Sandy Hill, the ancestral seat of his wife. Washington seems to have devoted his subsequent years to domestic duties, rarely breaking in upon them by attention to public affairs; and then only as a member of the state legislature. He possessed a stout frame, being six feet in height, broad, strong, and corpulent. His occupations and his amusements applied to the body, rather than to the mind; to the cultivation of which he did not bestow much time or application, nor was his education of the sort to excite such habits, being only calculated to fit a man for the common business of life. In temper he was good-humored, in disposition amiable, in heart upright, generous, and friendly, in manners lively, innocent, and agreeable. His military exploits announce his grade and character in arms. Bold, collected, and persevering, he preferred the heat of action to the collection and sifting of intelligence, to the calculations and combinations of means and measures, and was better fitted for the field of battle, than for the drudgery of camp and the watchfulness of preparation. Kind to his soldiers, his system of discipline was rather lax, and sometimes subjected him to injurious consequences, when close to a sagacious and vigilant adversary. The Washington family emigrated from England, and settled in Virginia, always respectable and respected. The consanguinity of its numerous ramifications is involved in doubt; but it is generally believed that they sprung from the same source. Lieut.-Col. Washington was selected by his illustrious relation when he accepted the command of the army, during the presidency of Mr. Adams, as one of his staff, with the rank of brigadier-general, a decided proof of the high value attached by the best judge in America to his military talents. Leading a life of honor, of benevolence, and hospitality, in the bosom of his family and friends, during which, until its last two years, he enjoyed high health, this gallant soldier died, after a tedious indisposition, leaving a widow, and a son and a daughter, the only issue of his marriage. SURRY. SURRY was formed in 1652: it measures each way about 18 miles. The James runs on its northern, and the Blackwater River on a portion of its southern line. Pop. in 1840, whites 2,557, slaves 2,853, free colored 1,070; total, 6,480. The C. H. is situated 5 miles s. of James River, and 55 southeasterly from Richmond. There is in this county, on or near the James, an antique mansion, called "BACON's CASTLE," supposed by some to have been once fortified by Nathaniel Bacon, the leader of "the Rebellion" in 1676. On what ground this supposition rests, we have been unable to ascertain. SUSSEX. SUSSEX was formed in 1754, from Surry: it is about 32 miles long, and 18 wide. The rail-road from Petersburg to Weldon, N. C., runs through a portion of it on the west. The Nottoway runs centrally through it, and the Blackwater forms a part of its NE. boundary. About 500,000 pounds of cotton are annually produced in the county. Pop. in 1840, whites 3,584, slaves 6,384, free colored 811; total, 11,229. The C. H. is situated near the centre of the county, 48 miles SSE. of Richmond. TAYLOR. TAYLOR was formed Jan. 19th, 1844, from Harrison, Barbour, and Marion, and named from John Taylor of Caroline. Williamsport, sometimes called Prunty Town, is the county-seat. It is situated near the ferry across Tygart's Valley River, 209 miles northwesterly from Richmond, and 18 NE. by E. from Clarksburg. It contains 3 stores, 1 Methodist and 1 Baptist church, and about 30 dwellings. Rector College, an institution founded in 1839, is located here; it had, by the census of 1840, 110 students. As this county has been so recently formed, we are unable to give its statistics or geographical boundaries, and the counties from which it has been formed have, in those particulars, been described in this volume as though it had no existence. TAZEWELL. TAZEWELL was formed in 1799, from Russell and Wythe, and named from Henry Tazewell, a member of the U. S. Senate, from 1794 to 1799. It is 60 miles long, with a mean width of 25 miles. The Tug Fork of Big Sandy runs on part of the northern border; the Clinch River rises near Jeffersonville, and the Great Kanawha receives many branches from the eastern section of the county. It is traversed by mountains, some of which rise to an immense height; the chief are, Clinch, Rich, East River, and Paint Lick. Between some of them are beautiful valleys, of a black, deep soil, very fertile. Abb's Valley, a delightful tract, 10 miles long, and about 40 rods wide, with no stream running through it, and bounded by lofty mountains, possesses a soil of extraordinary fertility. It derives its name from Absalom Looney, a hunter, who is supposed to have been the first white person ever in it. Inexhaustible quarries of limestone exist in the county, and extensive beds of excellent coal. The principal staples are cattle, horses, hogs, feathers, tow and flax linen, beeswax, ginseng, seneca snakeroot, &c., &c. The mean height of the arable soil is about 2,200 feet above the level of the ocean. Pop. in 1840, whites 5,466, slaves 786. colored 38; total, 6,290. Jeffersonville, the county-seat, is 284 miles southwesterly from Richmond, and 30 west of Wythe C. H. It is situated on the south side of Clinch River, one mile from its bank, and contains 1 church, 3 stores, and about 25 dwellings. Burke's Garden, 10 miles E. of Jeffersonville, is a remarkable spot. It is completely surrounded by Clinch mountain, except a narrow pass, through which flows Wolf creek. It is 11 miles long, and 5 wide, and is a beautiful and perfect level; the soil is naturally fertile. A post-office is in it, and the settlement contains a church and about 500 inhabitants. It was late in a November evening that we ascended the lofty Clinch mountain, after leaving Tazewell C. H. for Abingdon, and put up for the night at a miserable hut on its summit. The next morning the sun shone bright and clear as we buckled on our knapsack and resumed our journey through a light snow which covered the mountain-road that winds with great steepness down the declivity. In about half a mile was presented a scene of which none but a painting in the highest style of art can convey an adequate impression. The whole of a vast landscape was filled with a sea of mountains beyond mountains, in an apparently interminable continuity. Near, were huge mountains, dark and frowning, in the desolation of winter. Beyond, they assumed a deep blue color, and then grew fainter and fainter, until far away in the horizonfifty or sixty miles-their jagged outlines were softened by distance, and sky and mountain met and mingled in the same light cerulean hue. Not a clearing was to be seen-not even a solitary smoke from some cabin curled up the intervening valleys to indicate the presence of man. It was "A wild and lonely region, where, retired From a worthy pastor of a church in the Shenandoah valley, we have received the following account of the captivity and destruction of the Moore family, by the Indians, a few years after the close of the revolution : JAMES MOORE, Jr., was a lineal descendant of the Rev. Samuel Rutherford, of Scotland; the latter being a descendant of the Rev. Joseph Allein, the author of the "Alarm to the Unconverted." Mr. Moore's parents were among those who, during the persecutions under Charles I., emigrated from Scotland to the north of Ireland, the descendants of whom, in this country, come under the general name of "Scotch Irish." From Ireland he emigrated to Virginia, and settled in what is now Rockbridge county, on Walker's creek. There he married Jane Walker, and there James Moore, the subject of this sketch, was born. When the latter grew up he married Martha Podge, of the same county, and settled near the Natural Bridge, at a place long known as "Newel's Tavern." There his three oldest children, John, James, and Joseph, were born. About the year 1775, he removed to what is now Tazewell county, and settled in Abb's valley, on the waters of Blue Stone, a branch of New River. He was induced to emigrate to that country on account of the fertility of the soil, and its adaptedness to raising stock. There, with the aid of an old Englishman whose name was John Simpson, he erected his cabin; and with his pious wife, both being members of the Presbyterian church, he erected his altar to God, cleared a piece of ground, and there resided with his family until they were destroyed; frequently going into a fort, which was almost every summer. The first of his family who was captured was James, his second son, a lad in the 14th year of his age. This occurred September 7th, 1784. Mr. Moore, the captive, who is still living, gives this account of that event: My father had sent me to a waste plantation, about 24 miles distant, to catch a horse on which I might go to mill. As we lived about 12 miles from the mill, and the road for the whole distance thither leading through a dreary wilderness, I had frequently to come home a considerable part of the way after night, when it was very dark. Being accustomed to this, I set out for the horse without the least intimidation, or apprehension of danger. But notwithstanding this, I had not proceeded more than half the distance to the field, before a sudden dread, or panic, came on me. The appearance of the Indian who took me was presented to my mind, although at the time I did not think of an Indian, but rather that some wild animal in human shape would devour me. Such was my alarm that I went on trembling, frequently looking back, expecting to see it. Indeed |