May 27, 1862 - Hanover Tavern

May 27, 1862

Hanover Tavern 

Hanover, Virginia

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=170041

Hanover Tavern
"This Most Unhappy Contest"

During the Civil War, Cleavers and Amanda Chisholm's Hanover Tavern "hosted" both armies and refugees who fled the depredations of war. Hard fighting just outside of town on May 27, 1862 resulted in several hundred casualties. Two weeks later, gunshots again rent the air as Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's troopers ran into Union pickets here during their now-famous ride around the Union army.

Later that summer, "Nearly 8,000 men, with their grazing horses, white tents, and waving battle-flags" engulfed this tiny village as Confederates recovered from intense fighting around Richmond. Cleavers Chisholm, "a very small and nervous man," was a Unionist. He refused Stuart's request to take charge of Union prisoners and cared for a wounded Union soldier here. After the war, he petitioned the U.S. government for reimbursement for his loyalty. His wife, who was more pragmatic, was described as "a large, good-natured lady, and had plenty of good sense besides." Despite their father's politics, two Chisholm's sons fought with many other Hanoverians in the 15th Virginia Infantry (CSA).

The war often intruded without any warning as the diary of Margaret Wight, a Tavern refugee, reveals: "26th [June 1863] We were all sitting quietly at our work when about two thousand Yankee Cavalry came upon us like a perfect hurricane. The whole household were in commotion hiding all the silver and valuables." The next summer the armies sparred and maneuvered around Richmond, stripping the county of its resources. Wight described the tavern as "sad and lonely."

[Captions:]

Mrs. Margaret Wight described in her diary, 1863-1865, the events of the war she called "this most unhappy contest." Margaret's children, clockwise from top: Charles Wight, 58th Virginia Infantry; Ann, died in 1890; Emily, living at the Tavern in 1863; William, 1st Virginia Infantry; killed at the Second Battle of Manassas in 1862; Jennie, died in 1862; Mary, died in 1861; and John (center), 1st Infantry and 3rd Local Defense Troops. Courtesy Robert E. Haines

Stuart's Ride

J.E.B. Stuart led 1,200 men in a daring 100-mile reconnaissance ride around McClellan's army June 12-15, 1862.

 

Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails; Hanover Tavern Foundation.

And now, for a whole lot more about Hanover Tavern/Courthouse. Warning: Colonial stuff ahead. And a monument to dead traitors. 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=32693

Hanover Tavern
“Give me liberty or give me death!”
— Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775 —

Hanover Tavern was an essential part of the county courthouse complex during the 18th and 19th centuries, serving as the center of social life....Young lawyers like Patrick Henry would discuss, argue, and sell their expertise in law.

Patrick Henry had very strong ties to Hanover Tavern because of his interest in the courthouse, and his marriage to Sarah Shelton. After failing at tobacco farming, Patrick and Sarah moved in with the Shelton’s at Hanover Tavern. John Shelton was the keeper of Hanover Tavern at the time and called it the Shelton Inn. Patrick helped John care for guests of the Tavern, many of them lawyers and clients doing business across the street. Patrick’s great interest in Colonial law led him through successful examinations by prominent lawyers in Williamsburg and to a license to practice law in Virginia. By April of 1760 he opened a small law office out of Hanover Tavern and in his first year he represented 60 clients in 176 cases.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=62525

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https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=32692

Hanover Courthouse
“Give me liberty or give me death!”
— Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775 —

In December 1763, the Historic Hanover Courthouse was the site of the famous Parsons’ Cause, an opening salvo of the American Revolution. During the Parsons’ Cause trial, Patrick Henry voiced one of the first American objections to denial of the colonials’ right to legislate in local matters and to arbitrary rule: could British officials overrule local laws passed by the General Assembly of Virginia and signed by the royal governor? Colonial Virginians routinely paid Anglican clergyman in pounds of tobacco. When drought tripled the market price of tobacco in the 1750s, Virginia’s legislature passed short-term laws allowing vestries and county courts to pay salaries in money, rather than tobacco, which was worth much more at prevailing market prices. Virginia clergymen protested these laws to royal officials, and they were declared void.

In his first prominent case as an attorney, Patrick Henry defended Sheriff Thomas Johnson of Louisa County who was responsible for the collection of tax levies, against a lawsuit for back pay brought by the Reverend James Maury in the name of the vestry of Fredericksville Parish. In November 1763, the justices had already ruled in Maury’s favor. The December hearing was held only to determine the amount of back pay the vestry owed him. Patrick Henry argued that by interfering with laws passed by the elected representatives of the people of Virginia, a king behaved as a tyrant and sacrificed his claim of obedience from his subjects. Swayed by Henry’s eloquence, the jury awarded damages of one penny. The case established Henry’s reputation and he was soon elected to his first term in the House of Burgesses.

(sidebar)

Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 – June 6, 1799) was the leading Virginia statesman in defending the rights of Colonial America.

Following Henry's death, John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson singing his praises: “In the Congress of 1774 there was not one member, except Patrick Henry, who appeared to me sensible of the Precipice or rather the Pinnacle on which he stood, and had the candour and courage enough to acknowledge it.”

Henry was the first elected governor of Virginia, a devoted father of 17 children, and the most famous orator of his day. Born in Hanover County, Henry  made a name for himself as a young lawyer in the Parsons’ Cause at Hanover Courthouse in 1763. His 1765 resolutions against the Stamp Act articulated the basic principles of the American Revolution. Henry is perhaps best known for his immortal words “Give me liberty or give me death,” which he delivered during the Second Virginia Convention in a speech to fellow delegates George Washington and Thomas Jefferson at St. John’s Church in 1775. His impassioned words helped move colonists toward American independence and they continue to inspire the cause of freedom around the world.

Known as the “Voice of the Revolution,” Henry’s political career included 26 years of service in the Virginia legislature and five terms as governor. He helped draft the Virginia Constitution of 1776 and its Declaration of Rights. A leading critic of the U.S. Constitution, Henry also strongly influenced the creation of the Bill of Rights. Following his death, Henry was buried at Red Hill Plantation, now the site of the Patrick Henry National Memorial.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=32691

Hanover Courthouse
“Give me liberty or give me death!”
— Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775 —

Hanover County was organized in 1720 and named for George I, King of England and former elector of Hanover in Germany. Seventeen years later (between 1737 and 1738), construction of the courthouse structure began and was completed in 1743. The design of its slate roof, flemish-bond brickwork, and arched porch, or loggia, echoed the Capitol and public buildings at Williamsburg. James Skelton, Hanover County sheriff in 1738, may have been the builder of the courthouse. He later served as contractor for the rebuilding of the Capitol in Williamsburg which had burned.

On July 20, 1774, the freeholders of Hanover County met at Hanover Courthouse and passed the Hanover Resolves, which were directed to Patrick Henry and John Syme, the county’s representatives to Virginia’s first revolutionary convention.

The Hanover Resolves declared: “We are Freemen. We have a Right to be so, and to enjoy all the privileges and Immunities of our Fellow Subjects in England; and while we retain a just sense of that freedom, and those rights and privileges necessary for its safety and security, we shall never give up the right of Taxation. Let it suffice to say, once for all, we will never be taxed but by our own Representatives.”

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=152223

The Fields Family

Martha Ann Fields and most of her 11 children were enslaved laborers on the Nutshell plantation, just northeast of here. In 1863, she led her family across the Pamunkey River to Union lines and freedom. The family settled in Hampton, pursued education, and became leading citizens after the war. James A. Fields (1844-1903), a member of Hampton Institute's first graduating class, was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1889. George Washington Fields (1854-1932), the first African American to earn a law degree from Cornell University, was a prominent attorney. His daughter, Inez Fields Scott (1895-1978), was the third African American woman admitted to practice law in Virginia.

 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=16228

Hanover Confederate Soldiers Monument

Hanover

to her

Confederate Soldiers

and to her

Noble Women

who loved them

1861-1865

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=22269

Hanover County

Area 512 Square Miles. Formed in 1720 from New Kent, and named for the Electorate of Hanover. Patrick Henry and Henry Clay were born in this county. In it were fought the battles of Gaines's Mill, 1862, and Cold Harbor, 1864.