ticularly at that house,* a measure which, considering the sickness of General Phillips, would hardly have been justifiable, but for the horrid series of devastations in which he had just been engaged, in company with that odious traitor Arnold. This officer, in the early part of the cannonade, was walking across the yard, until a ball having passed very near him, he hastened into the house, and directed all the inmates to go down into the cellar for shelter.† General Phillips was removed down there. Mrs. Bolling also took refuge there, with one or two ladies who were with her. Anburey! (if memory serves) mentions that during the firing of the American artillery, Phillips, being then at the point of death, exclaimed-"Wont they let me die in peace?"

Gen. Phillips died on the 13th of May, and was buried in the grave-yard adjoining Blandford church. There reposes one, of whom Mr. Jefferson said-"he is the proudest man, of the proudest nation on earth."

On the 20th of May, 1781, just one week after the death of Phillips, Lord Cornwallis entered Petersburg on his route from Wilmington, North Carolina. He remained in Petersburg only three or four days, and, as is understood, made his head-quarters at Bollingbrook. General O'Hara, it appears, was quartered at what is commonly styled the "Long Ornary,”—about a mile to the west of Petersburg, on the main road. Mrs. Bolling found it necessary to visit this officer at that place, for the purpose of recovering certain negroes and horses, which had been taken from her, and were then there. The general consented to restore the slaves, but with respect to the horses proved quite inexorable. He is described as a harsh, uncouth person. He was wounded at the battle of Guilford, and surrendered Lord Cornwallis' sword at Yorktown.

At the siege of Toulon, in a sortie made by the youthful Napoleon, a grenadier in the darkness of the night drew a wounded prisoner down into a ditch; that prisoner was Major-General O'Hara, of "Long Ornary" memory, commander-in-chief of the British forces.

On the 21st of October, 1812, 103 young men from this place and vicinity embarked in the service of their country, and consecrated their valor at the battle of Fort Meigs, on the 5th of May, 1813. They were extensively known as the "Petersburg Volunteers." They remained in service one year, and on their discharge received the following highly commendatory testimonial of their gallant and soldier-like conduct.

GENERAL ORDERS.

Head-Quarters, Detroit, 17th October, 1813. The term of service for which the Petersburg Volunteers were engaged having expired, they are permitted to commence their march to Virginia, as soon as they can be transported to the south side of the lake.

IN granting a discharge to this patriotic and gallant corps, the General feels at a loss for words adequate to convey his sense of their exalted merits; almost exclusively composed of individuals who had been nursed in the lap of ease, they have, for twelve months, borne the hardships and privations of military life in the midst of an inhospitable wilderness, with a cheerfulness and alacrity which has never been surpassed. Their conduct in the field has been excelled by no other corps; and while in camp, they have set an example of subordination and respect for military authority to the whole army. The General requests Capt. M'RAE, his subalterns, non-commissioned officers, and privates, to accept his warmest thanks, and bids them an affectionate farewell.

By command, ROBERT BUTLER,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. Herewith is a list of this corps: the italicised letters attached to their names signify * Two balls struck the house, one of which being spent, lodged in the front wall of the house; the other passed through the house, and killed a negro woman (old Molly) who was standing by the kitchen door, in the act of reviling the American troops.

+ On the approach of the enemy, Old Tom, a house servant, was provident enough to bury certain silver plate, money, &c., in the cellar; there is also a vague rumor of an earthenware tea-pot, full of gold. While Arnold was down in the cellar, he was not aware that he was in such desirable company. There is still in preservation in the town, a set of China-ware, which was interred at this time.

In his travels in the interior of North America.

as follows: k. killed at Fort Meigs; w. wounded at Fort Meigs; d. died; p. promoted; and p. a. promoted in the army.

A pleasant anecdote is related of the volunteers in a late number of the Pioneer,* as having occurred at Point Pleasant, while they were passing through that place to the frontier. The author of the story was then on his way from western New York, with his family, bound for Cincinnati. After he had been there about a week, the volunteers arrived. The anecdote we give in his own words:

Being unable to pass the Ohio on account of the running of the ice, they encamped near the village, and remained about two weeks, during which time the writer had an opportunity of learning their character, which soon became of great service to him. Soon as the ice permitted, they struck their tents and began to cross the river, rejoicing in the prospect of soon reaching the post of danger. Some five or six of these soldiers, impatient of delay, were about to take a skiff which belonged to the writer, who was then young, inexperienced, and of such very fiery temperament as not to be very passive when his rights were invaded, and therefore began rather abruptly, perhaps, to remonstrate with them; and on their persisting in taking the skiff, high words ensued, in which he called them a set of scoundrels. The words were scarcely uttered, when he was surrounded by half the company, all of whom seemed to feel that the indignity was offered to the whole company. As more and more still gathered around him, they said: 'We have a right to use any means in our power to get on where our country calls us. We bear the character of gentlemen at home: you have called us scoundrels; this you must retract, and make us an apology, or we will tear you in pieces.' Thinking I knew their character, I instantly resolved on the course to be pursued, as the only means of saving myself from the threatened vengeance of men exasperated to the highest pitch of excitement. Assuming an apparent courage, which I confess I did not feel as strongly as I strove to evince, I turned slowly round upon my heels, looking them

* The American Pioneer is a monthly periodical, now published at Cincinnati, by John S. Williams. It is devoted to collecting and publishing incidents relative to the early settlement and successive improvement of the country. Its materiel is furnished by numerous correspondents, interested in historical researches. We take pleasure in directing public attention to this excellent work.

full in the face, with all the composure I could command, without uttering a word. By this time several of the citizens were standing on the outside of the crowd that surrounded me. The volunteers, not knowing I was a stranger there, thought I had turned round in search of succor from the citizens, and with a view of making my escape-said to me, 'You need not look for a place of escape; if all the people of the county were your friends, they could not liberate you-nothing but an apology can save you.' The citizens were silent witnesses of the dilemma in which the Yankee, as they called me, was involved. I replied, I am not looking for a place of escape-I am looking on men who say they have volunteered to fight their country's battles-who say they are gen

tlemen at home--who doubtless left Petersburg, resolved, if they ever returned, to do so with laurels of victory round their brows. And now, I suppose, their first great victory is to be achieved before they leave the shores of their native state, by sixty or seventy of them tearing one man to pieces. Think, gentlemen, if indeed you are gentlemen, how your fame will be blazoned in the public prints-think of the immortality of such a victory! You can tear me in pieces; and, like cannibals, eat me, when you have done. I am entirely in your power; but there is one thing I cannot do. You are soldiers, so am I a soldier; you ask terms of me no soldier can accept; you cannot, with a threat over my head, extort an apology from me; therefore, I have only to say, the greatest scoundrel among you, strike the first blow! I make no concession.' The result was more favorable than I had anticipated. I had expected to have a contest with some one of them, for I believed the course I had taken would procure me friends enough from among themselves, to see me have, what is called fair play' in a fisticuff battle. But I had effected more. I had made an appeal to the pride, the bravery, and the noble generosity of Virginians too brave to triumph over an enemy in their power-too generous to permit it to be done by any of their number. A simultaneous exclamation was heard all around me,' He is a soldier; let him alone'-and in a moment they dispersed."

Blandford is said to be older than Petersburg. It was formerly superior in architecture and fashion, and might properly have been called "the court end" of the town; but her glory has departed, and her sister settlement, Petersburg, has absorbed her vitality. Its old church,

"Lone relic of the past! old mouldering pile,
Where twines the ivy round its ruins gray,"

is one of the most interesting and picturesque ruins in the country. Its form is similar to that of the letter T with a short column.

Its

site is elevated, overlooking the adjacent town, the river, and a landscape of beauty.

Within the limits of Petersburg, " on the north bank of the Appomattox, within a few feet of the margin of the river, is a large, dark-gray stone, of a conical form, about five feet in height, and somewhat more in diameter. On the side which looks to the east, three feet above the ground, there is an oval excavation about twelve inches across, and half as many in depth. The stone is solitary, and lifts itself conspicuously above the level of the earth. It is called the BASIN OF POCAHONTAS, and except in very dry weather, is seldom without water."

JOHN BURK, a lawyer, was a native of Ireland, and settled in Petersburg, where he wrote and published, in 1804, three volumes on the history of Virginia, bringing it down to the commencement of the American revolution. While here, he wrote plays for an histrionic society in the town, and on the boards of its amateur theatre, acted parts in them. His work on the state he did not live to complete. At a public table Burk used some expressions derogatory to the French nation. A French gentleman accidentally present, named Coburg, a stranger in the country, offended by the remarks, challenged him. They fought at Fleet's Hill, on the opposite bank of the Appomattox, and Burk was killed. The 4th and remaining volume, published in 1816, was written by Skelton Jones and Louis Hue Girardin, the latter of whom was a Frenchman, and, it is stated, wrote under the supervision of Jefferson at Monticello, who, familiar with the era to which it related, imparted valuable information.

GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT, the present commander-in-chief of the U. S. Army, was born near Petersburg, June 13th, 1785. As an officer and a soldier his name stands conspicuous in the annals of our country.

ELIZABETH CITY.

ELIZABETH CITY was one of the eight original shires into which Virginia was divided in 1634. Its form is nearly a square of 18 miles on a side. The land is generally fertile; and that portion known as "the back river district," comprising about one-third of its area, is remarkably rich. There were in 1840, whites 1,954, slaves 1,708, free colored 44; total 3,706.

Hampton, the county-seat, is 96 miles SE. of Richmond. It is on Hampton Roads, 18 miles from Norfolk, 24 from Yorktown, 36 from Williamsburg. Hampton is the residence of many of the pilots of James River. It contains 2 Methodist, 1 Baptist church, and one Episcopalian church. The Methodist society was established in 1789, and the Baptist in 1791. It has 18 stores and shops, and a population of about 1200.

Hampton is an old town, and one of historic interest. Its site was visited by Capt. John Smith in 1607, on his first exploratory voyage up the Potomac, previous to the settlement of Jamestown. Burk says, "While engaged in seeking a fit place for the first settlement, they met five of the natives, who invited them to their town, Kecoughtan or Kichotan, where Hampton now stands. Here they were feasted with cakes made of Indian corn, and 'regaled with tobacco and a dance.' In return, they presented the natives beads and other trinkets." Hampton was established a town by law in 1705, the same year with Norfolk. The locality was settled in 1610, from Jamestown.* The Episcopal church is the old

* Jones' "Present State of Virginia."