INTRODUCTION. PRELIMINARY to this work, it may be proper to give some history of the original manuscripts froin which these papers have been selected, and some particulars connected with their publication. To this is added a succinct chronological detail of some incidents in the life of Col. Theodorick Bland, such as are to be found scattered through the pages of this compilation. Several years since, perhaps in 1833, I chanced to hear, (from the landlord and a gentleman of the neighborhood chatting together in a tavern porch,) at City Point, mention made of the existence of certain old manuscripts of Colonel Bland. Learning on inquiry that Cawson's, the former seat of Colonel Bland, where these papers were said to be, was distant only a moderate walk from the Point, and being directed the way, I soon struck a footpath, winding along the verge of that elevated plateau which overlooks the fine wide sheet of water, where the "pleasant river of Apamatuck" empties into the James, and in a few minutes reached the house. The lady there, (with whom I had not then the pleasure of an acquaintance,) on coming to the door and learning the antiquarian purport of my visit, very obligingly reached down a bundle of letters of divers revolutionary worthies, from the interstices of the eaves of the porch, where they were nicely pigeon-holed. The shortness of my time allowed me merely to glance at this parcel, when a little mulatto boy, with a key in his hand, conducted me to a small new-built out-house in one corner of the yard, wherein, on opening the door, was found a capacious wooden chest, full to the brim of manuscripts, lying topsy-turvy, "rudis indigestaque moles." One of the first my eye lit upon was a letter, on an ample sheet, from General Washington, dated at Cambridge, Mass. The manuscripts were (many of them) mouse-nibbled, rat-eaten, stained, torn and faded; and they certainly breathed any thing but "Sabean odors from the spicy shore of Araby the blest." All this, however, only served to enhance their value, in an antiquarian point of view. I had barely time to thrust my hand among them, turn over a few, and sigh that I could not then explore their merits to the bottom. But "time and tide wait for no man," not even for an antiquary: the sound of the stage-horn suddenly interrupted my revolutionary reflections, and rendered it necessary for me to bid an abrupt adieu to the enchanted chest. It was my wish to revisit the place, and by the courtesy of the proprietor there, inspect these literary relics more at my leisure; but having left Virginia, shortly afterwards, for an absence of several years, I was deprived of that satisfaction. However, the sight of the chest had left so lively an impression on my memory, that from Alabama I wrote on the subject of the Cawson papers, to Edmund Ruffin, Esq., of Petersburg, and to the secretary of the Virginian Historical Society. Some time after the letter to Mr. Ruffin, a considerable number of the manuscripts, at his request, were sent to him. His numerous avocations, however, left him time to make but a slight examination of them, after which they continued for some time to repose quietly in the wicker-basket, in which they were brought to town. Having returned from the west with the leisure of indifferent health, I undertook the examination, and succeeded after a good deal of pains in educing something like order, out of the chaos. In 1837, at my solicitation, Mr. Ruffin consented to issue, on the cover of the Farmers' Register, a prospectus, proposing to publish a periodical work, to be entitled “The Repository of Historical Materials,” in which it was intended to bring out a selection from the Cawson papers. This prospectus, however, happened to attract no attention whatever, except that, (in accordance with a suggestion it contained,) one gentleman was so obliging as to transmit for publication, a number of General Washington's letters in his own hand-writing. The old papers were now consigned to the drawer of an antiquated bureau, up three pairs of stairs, and there allowed to repose. Some time after, however, they were again opened to the daylight, and a part of them I took the trouble to transcribe. Upon inquiry, it turned out, that there was a still larger number of these manuscripts yet in preservation at Cawson's. I found there a mass of musty documents, old accounts, ship letters, and the rubbish of a clerk's office,* mixed up with papers of interest and value. I winnowed the wheat from the chaff as well as I was able. Those thus selected I transcribed, at broken intervals, in a desultory way, according to my humor. At length, when I had completed the transcripts, part of which are now published, they were submitted to the perusal of several gentlemen fully competent to judge of their merits; in a highly favorable estimate of which they were unanimous. By the liberality of some half a dozen of these gentlemen, (whose names I should be pleased to feel at liberty to mention,) a sufficient sum of money was advanced to ensure their publication. To them, therefore, the production of this work is in a great measure to be accredited; and to them I return my acknowledgments for their patronage of this enterprise. Having thus given some account of the particular circumstances which led to this publication, it remains on this head to present some history of the manuscripts themselves. Colonel Theodorick Bland was (as is well known,) a man of eminence in a military, as well as in a civil capacity. Accordingly, for many years, he held a correspondence with a circle of the prominent * Col. Bland's father was clerk of the county of Prince George. men of his day, and at his death left a large accumulation of of which the following, found among them, is a general index. papers, List of the manuscript papers of Colonel Bland, from the original found among them. Congress papers, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Letters to and from Theodorick Bland, Sen., and Lady, No. 1. Letters to and from Theodorick Bland, Sen., and Col. Banister, No. 1. Letters to and from Colonel Tucker, No. 1. Letters to and from Major General Phillips, No. 1, 2, 3. Letters on civil affairs, No. 1. Letters, friendly, No. 1. Letters to and from correspondents on civil and military affairs, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Accounts with the United States and state of Virginia, No. 1, 2. Accounts, bills of exchange, &c., No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Domestic affairs, No. 1, 2. Military papers, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. War office, No. 1. Miscellanies, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Medical receipts and memoranda, No. 1. Essays, enigmas, &c. No. 1. Receipts for troops, dragoons, expenses, No. 1. Receipts on civil and military affairs, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Capt. Theo. Munford's papers and accounts, No. 1. Obsolete regimental papers, No. 1. Cards, No. 1. Receipts for taxes, levies, &c., No. 1. [84 bundles.] From this index it appears, that his manuscripts (in the care of which he seems to have been very exact) consisted at the time it was made of eighty-four bundles; the contents of which could not fail to be of interest and consequence, as being written by eminent_hands,* The following memorandum list of letters, written by Colonel Bland during the interim between the 17th of April and the 29th of October, 1782, may serve to afford some idea of his correspondence: the greater part of them during the revolution, and many of them on topics of the utmost dignity and moment. Unfortunately a large portion of them, no doubt including a number most worthy of preservation, have perished. Time however in some degree alleviates her spoliations by proportionably enhancing the value of that remainder which she leaves untouched. Colonel Bland died in 1790, without issue; his widow married twice after his death, and finally ended her days (it is said) in a foreign country, probably France. Upon her death the books and papers of the estate came into possession of a nephew of her second husband. While in his care they seem to have suffered utter neglect. The celebrated John Randolph of Roanoke is said to to have made From the above (if it is to be considered as a complete list of all the letters written during the time mentioned) it would appear that Colonel Bland, in the interval of about six months, wrote forty-six letters to fifteen several individuals, or at the rate of about ninety letters a year. Of what proportion of these he retained duplicate copies, it is impossible to form any estimate, nor is it of any consequence, since it is certain that a large part of his correspondence has perished by neglect and lapse of time. |