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History Founding Fathers

If Walls Could Talk: Touring James Madison’s Virginia Family Home at Montpelier

Located on 2,650 acres in Orange County, Va., Montpelier was once the family home of James Madison. (Courtesy of Montpelier)

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives,” wrote President James Madison.

For six months, the “Father of the Constitution” sequestered himself in his upstairs study in the family’s Virginia home, Montpelier. There, he engaged in an intensive study of civilizations—both ancient and modern—in his quest for wisdom in shaping the Constitution of a young republic. Here, he synopsized his ideas into principles he felt essential for a representative democracy: what would be known as the “Virginia Plan,” which would become the basis for creating our Constitution.

James Madison would always remember the day, as a youth of 14, when his family moved into the fine brick Georgian house. In fact, he helped carry in the furniture. His father, James Madison Sr., built the symmetrical house in Flemish bond (patterned brick) in the 1760s. It had a center hall and four rooms on the first floor and five rooms on the second. Crowning the house was a low hipped shingle roof with chimneys on both ends. James Madison, “Father of the Constitution” and fourth president, would consider Montpelier his home for the duration of his life.

Miniature bust portrait of James Madison by Charles Willson Peale, 1783. (Courtesy of Montpelier)

Returning from Philadelphia, Madison brought his wife Dolley to his family’s Montpelier home in 1797. Seventeen years her senior, James Madison had married the recently widowed Dolley and adopted her son, John Payne Todd, three years prior. At Montpelier, the Madisons added a 30-foot addition to the house, creating a very fine multigenerational duplex, with separate living quarters for each generation. The older and younger Madisons would visit each other by way of the grand Tuscan portico that was added to the house at the time. It covered the two distinct entrance doors to each family’s part of the dwelling. There was no interior passage between them.

A careful examination of the facade reveals the place where the addition was joined to the original house, tying in the new brick to the original corner. Madison’s mother Nellie continued to live in the house following the death of James Sr. in 1801.

The younger James Madison had served in Congress, and he formerly “retired” from public service when he and Dolley moved to Montpelier. In 1801, Madison’s good friend Thomas Jefferson appointed him secretary of state. He served in that capacity until 1809, when he was elected president. During the next eight years, he and Dolley would serve as president and first lady, living in the President’s House until it was burned by the British in August 1814. After restoration, when the charred sandstone exterior was painted, the presidential mansion became the “White House.”

The classical temple at Montpelier, designed by James Madison, housed a 24-foot ice well. (Courtesy of Montpelier)

In 1809, Madison took some of his $25,000-a-year salary as president and began expanding Montpelier. He added one-story wings on either end of the house. On the south side, he created an apartment for his mother. On the north side, he built a library for his 4,000-volume collection. Thomas Jefferson designed a new grand entry door at the center of the mansion, which led into the Drawing Room, where the former president greeted visitors. Comparable to the hall of Jefferson’s Monticello, Madison’s Drawing Room became a showcase for his interests and ideals. It was designed to make a powerful impression.

According to historian Michael Quinn, Madison’s Drawing Room was intended to be a history lesson: “For Madison, the history of humanity was really his laboratory—and he had studied past attempts at self-government—so he knew that what America was today was founded on the past.” Prominently hung on the wall is a large painting featuring a Pan figure and a nymph, painted by Gerrit Van Honthorst around 1630. This 17th-century Dutch painting became a reference to the Greek and Roman world and the beginning of democracy. Next to it is a large painting of the “Supper at Emmaus,” a reference to the time when Biblical ideals informed the affairs of men.

According to Quinn, the final epoch of America’s foundation is represented by the series of presidential portraits arranged in a group. Washington’s portrait is alone at the top. Below are portraits of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe: the first president above the second, third, and fifth presidents. Quinn attributes Madison’s omission of his portrait in sequence, between Jefferson and Monroe, to two factors. First, Madison was an incredibly modest man, and second, where his portrait is placed in the room is next to that of his beloved Dolley. This, Quinn stated, shows you what was truly important to the man.

Overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains, James Madison’s desk is located in the middle of his second-floor library, where he wrote the foundations of the U.S. Constitution. Courtesy of Montpelier

There are busts of many of the nation’s Founding Fathers in the Drawing Room—all friends of the Madisons—including George Washington, John Adams, James Monroe, and Benjamin Franklin. They entertained an endless stream of visitors in the years following the Madison presidency. The Marquis de Lafayette was a guest, as well as Andrew Jackson. If you came as a friend, or with a letter of introduction, you would be welcomed to come further into the family home. If you simply came to the house unannounced, you might only come into the drawing room, which served as a sort of early American visitor’s center.

If you were an invited guest to Montpelier, however, you might dine with the Madisons in their elegant Dining Room. The walls are covered in wallpaper known as “Virchaux Drapery,” which is of French design and creates the effect of being in a pavilion. This stylized drapery pattern was designed by the architect Joseph Ramée in partnership with Henry Virchaux, a French émigré printer working in Philadelphia between 1814 and 1816.

James Madison would not sit at the head of the table, as was culturally expected. He preferred to sit along the side. The head of the table would be occupied by Dolley, who directed and coordinated the meals. This arrangement was startling at first to visitors, but soon they found it quite agreeable. James and Dolley gracefully shared the tasks of entertaining: He was more often involved in the weighty affairs of state being discussed, while she enjoyed the art of hospitality.

The dining room walls are covered in reproduction wallpaper known as “Virchaux Drapery,” which is of French design and dates back to 1815 in Philadelphia. (Courtesy of Montpelier)

Beyond the Dining Room is the wing containing Madison’s great library. It was built while he was away, serving as president, but clearly with a future purpose in mind. He had regular correspondence with his builder, James Dinsmore, who also worked for Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Dinsmore weighed in on the design of the library. A letter from Dinsmore reads:

I intended before you went from here to mention to you whether you would not think it advisable to put two windows in the end of the library room? But it escaped My Memory; I have been Reflecting on it Since and believe it will as without them the wall will have a very Dead appearance, and there will be no direct View towards the temple Should you ever build one. My reason for omitting them in the Drawing was that the Space might be occupyd (sic) for Book Shelves but I believe there will be sufficiency of room without as the piers between the windows will be large and the whole of the other end except the breadth of the door may be occupyd (sic) for that purpose.

The windows that Dinsmore suggested were put in, and the round classical temple was built. The library was planned as a space that was large enough for Madison to pursue his last great work: compiling, annotating, and expanding further upon the notes he had taken of the Constitutional Convention (May to September 1787) in order to complete a thorough record of the founding of America. The urgency he felt to perform this work was born in the months of research he had done prior to the convention. In the late 1780s, he carried out a great deal of research to study every historical attempt of mankind to form a democracy, confederation, or any method of representative government.

Visitors of the Madisons described the walls of the drawing room as being “entirely covered” with paintings. (Courtesy of Montpelier)
An architectural drawing of the evolution of Montpelier, by Bob Kirchman. (Courtesy of Montpelier)

Madison found little documentation to guide him and numerous accounts of failure. He set out to produce a guide that exemplified the decision and debates of the American founders. During his final years, he wrote a thousand pages that were later compiled into “The Papers of James Madison,” providing a record for future men who may also be striving for liberty. Even in his 80s, visitors report that his mind was bright as he discussed these ideals. He died at the age of 85, on June 28, 1836—the oldest surviving delegate to the Constitutional Convention.

Madison was always fearful that America’s own experiment in self governance might fail. After his death, a document he had written, “James Madison, Advice to My Country, December, 1830” was found among his papers. In it he wrote, with clear allusion to both classical and Biblical wisdom:

As this advice, if it ever see the light will not do it till I am no more, it may be considered as issuing from the tomb where truth alone can be respected, and the happiness of man alone consulted. … The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated. Let the open enemy to it be regarded as a Pandora with her box opened; and the disguised one, as the Serpent creeping with his deadly wiles into Paradise.

From Sept. Issue, Volume IV

Categories
History

Not Just Paul Revere: The Unknown Story of the Night Rider in Virginia Who Warned the British Were Coming

“View of the West Front of Monticello and Garden” by Jane Braddick, 1825. (Public domain)

It was the spring of 1781, and war had come to Virginia.

Many Virginians were fighting elsewhere with George Washington’s forces, weakening the ability of the state to resist British advances. King George’s troops, some of them commanded by defector Benedict Arnold, had earlier that winter conducted raids and fought skirmishes with Americans along the James River. In May, these soldiers hooked up with the forces of Lord Cornwallis, who had marched his men up from North Carolina. In less than six months, this army would surrender to the Americans and French at Yorktown, but for now, they faced only light resistance and moved handily throughout the eastern part of Virginia.

Driven that winter out of the state’s new capital, Richmond, the Virginia legislature had opted in the spring to meet in Charlottesville, believing themselves secure from the British in that western hamlet. Among these lawmakers were Gov. Thomas Jefferson, now in the last days of his term of office, as well as famous patriots like Patrick Henry and signers of the Declaration of Independence Richard Henry Lee and William Harrison. Among their number was also Daniel Boone of Kentucky, then considered a part of Virginia.

When Lord Cornwallis learned that the legislature had gathered in Charlottesville, he dispatched Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton and 200 mounted troopers to ride west and capture these lawmakers. Though despised by colonial patriots for his harsh treatment of militia and civilians in the Carolinas—he was nicknamed “Bloody Ban”—Tarleton was a fine horseman and an aggressive commander. He pushed his men toward Charlottesville, riding much of the time at night to conceal their objective. On June 3, he paused for a few hours at the Louisa County Courthouse to give his men and horses a well-earned rest before advancing into Charlottesville the following day.

And it was on this night that one American would upend this British raid.

“Thomas Jefferson” by Mather Brown, 1786. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. (Public domain)

Virginia’s Paul Revere

Born in 1754 to John and Mourning Harris Jouett, Jack Jouett had grown up in Charlottesville, where his father operated the Swan Tavern. On this evening of June 3, he was almost 40 miles away in Louisa County at the Cuckoo Tavern, so named because of the clock in that establishment. Jouett had seen the arrival of the British dragoons, overheard talk in the tavern of their plans to proceed to Charlottesville, and decided on his own initiative to race through the hills to that town and alert the threatened legislators.

Mounted on his bay mare Sally, Jouett set out through the dark countryside. Fearing British troops, he took the back roads and trails with which he was well familiar. Just around dawn, his fast-paced horse brought him to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s estate. There, he roused the household and explained the dire situation to Jefferson, who, as legend has it, offered Jouett a glass of Madeira to help revive the weary rider before he set out for nearby Charlottesville.

In Charlottesville, Jouett spread the word, which included a visit to his father’s popular tavern. The legislators agreed to move south to Staunton, about 40 miles away. Though Daniel Boone and several other members of this body were captured by the British, most of the representatives packed in haste, fled the town, and escaped safely to Staunton.

A Near-Run Disaster

Jefferson himself came close to being taken prisoner as well.

Aided by his body servant, Jefferson slowly packed up important papers and personal items, reluctant to leave the home he’d designed and built for fear the British would burn it. Only when a neighbor who was an officer in the Virginia militia, Christopher Hudson, found him still on the premises and urged him to flee did Jefferson mount his horse, Caractacus, and ride into the forest. Like Tarleton, he was an excellent horseman, knew the terrain, and was confident of his ability to escape Tarleton’s raiders.

The British arrived at Monticello within minutes of his departure, with Jefferson still close enough to hear them and to observe through his telescope. He rode away, but his fears regarding the destruction of his home proved unjustified. Perhaps the British remembered the story of Jefferson’s kind treatment of several captured officers earlier in the war. The troops did threaten to shoot a slave, Martin Hemmings, unless he informed them of his master’s whereabouts, at which point the servant demonstrated his loyalty to Jefferson by replying, “Fire away, then.” Hemmings was left unharmed, and after a thorough search of the house and grounds, the British headed to Charlottesville.

Lt. Col. Tarleton was determined to capture colonial lawmakers. “Portrait of Sir Banastre Tarleton” by Joshua Reynolds, 1782. National Gallery, London. (Public domain)

As for Jack Jouett, he moved to Kentucky the year after his ride, where he married Sallie Robards, became a father to 12 children, established himself as a successful farmer, and served in the Kentucky legislature. He was a stout advocate for statehood and was undoubtedly pleased when in 1792 Kentucky became the second state to join the newly formed United States of America.

Though honors for his heroism on that night-long ride were belated, Jouett eventually received official recognition from the Virginia government for his exploit and was awarded a brace of fine pistols and a sword for his service.

The Power of One

Jack Jouett isn’t as famous as Paul Revere, in large part because of Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” with its well-known opening lines “Listen, my children, and you shall hear / Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.” Yet Jouett’s bravery and boldness that June night and the following day may have helped save the American Revolution. At the time, the Americans had no sure hope of victory—far from it—and the capture of patriots like Jefferson and Richard Henry Lee might have brought disastrous consequences. At the least, such a triumph would have severely damaged American morale.

Jouett also deserves our esteem for demonstrating a particularly American trait: individual initiative. Unlike Paul Revere, who worked with a committee of others discerning and attempting to thwart British intentions, Jouett acted alone and spontaneously. No one commanded him to deliver his warning; he asked no one for advice as to what he should do. At great risk to himself, he saddled up that bay mare and set out on his self-imposed mission.

To put aside our fears, doubts, and self-interests in the pursuit of liberty and a righteous cause: That is Jack Jouett’s greatest lesson for us all.

This article was originally published in American Essence magazine. 

Categories
Founding Fathers History

Washington’s Resounding Prayer at Valley Forge

George Washington praying at Valley Forge. Engraving by John C. McRae, 1866, based on a painting by Henry Brueckner. (Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

It was December 1777, one of the bleakest times during the Revolutionary War. The Continental Army had won a few battles; however, morale suffered as they had also lost a few crucial battles, such as the Battle of Long Island, the Battle for New York, the Battle of White Plains, and the Battle of Bennington. As it was common for armies to take up quarters during the winter, General George Washington chose his army’s quarters to be constructed 25 miles north of Philadelphia, near Valley Forge. The location was strategic—the British Army had captured Philadelphia that fall and the land area had small creeks that would impede attacks due to its uphill location.

The prospects looked dire for the 12,000 men encamped at Valley Forge. The roads were impassable due to snow. The Continental Army was undersupplied and underfed. The men were neglected, with tattered clothing, worn-out shoes, and disheveled hair. Their constructed shelters were dark, cold log huts with dirt floors, a pit, and a sheet for the door, and there were 12 men per hut, leading to rampant disease.

Historians estimate somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 men died in that bitter cold winter. In Philadelphia, the Red Coats were well taken care of, quartering themselves in American homes and availing themselves of their supplies while guarding the city to prevent supplies from being directed to the Valley Forge camp.

As the story is told by Reverend Snowden in his “Diary and Remembrances,” Isaac Potts, a Quaker, a Tory, and a pacifist, was strolling through the woods in Valley Forge during the winter.

“I heard a plaintive sound as, of a man at prayer,” Potts said. “I tied my horse to a sapling and went quietly into the woods and to my astonishment I saw the great George Washington on his knees alone, with his sword on one side and his cocked hat on the other. He was at Prayer to the God of the Armies, beseeching to interpose with his Divine aid, as it was His crisis, and the cause of the country, of humanity, and of the world. Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone praying. I went home and told my wife, ‘I saw a sight and heard today what I never saw or heard before,’ and just related to her what I had seen and heard and observed. We never thought a man could be a soldier and a Christian, but if there is one in the world, it is Washington. She also was astonished. We thought it was the cause of God, and America could prevail.”

A Pivotal Moment

Not only was this a pivotal moment for Isaac Potts—he switched to the Whig party and was now a supporter of the war—it also appeared to be a pivotal moment for the Continental Army. Baron von Steuben took command; utilizing his manual “Regulation for the Order of Discipline of the Troops of the United States.” He created a schedule, conducted drills, and instructed on the use of bayonets and battlefield formations and maneuvers. The spring of 1778 brought the French to the side of the Americans. France and America replenished food and supplies and built new roads and bridges. In June 1778, the British abandoned Philadelphia and retreated to New York. At the end of that same month, the British withdrew at the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey. As more dominoes fell, eventually the British surrendered in Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781.

The prayer of Washington is seen by many as the pivotal moment that changed the trajectory of the Revolutionary War. This one pivotal moment is depicted in various works of art, including Arnold Friberg’s painting, “The Prayer at Valley Forge.” George Washington was a deeply religious man. He held a deep and abiding faith that God had put him in his position and that victory would come for the Americans. He encouraged days of prayer and fasting to seek God’s divine assistance in times of peril. Washington’s belief in freedom of religion and conscience was exemplified in his support of the Bill of Rights, his respect for the conscientious scruples of the Quakers, and his assurance to the Hebrew Congregations of Newport, Rhode Island, that they would be able to enjoy “the exercise of their inherent natural rights” and that the government would protect their religious freedoms.

This country has had other archetypal leaders who answered their calling and displayed their devotion to God and the higher law principles that it was founded upon. And their prayers seem to have been answered, as time and again the trajectory of this nation has changed. Think of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and John F. Kennedy. These leaders emerged with spoken and written words humbly acknowledging that our rights come from God, not the state, and that there are self-evident, objective truths. Their leadership changed the trajectory of this country, adversity was overcome, and this nation eventually healed.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan, another iconic leader, stated: “I said before that the most sublime picture in American history is of George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge. That image personifies a people who know that it’s not enough to depend on our own courage and goodness. We must also seek help from God our father and preserver.” Reagan had Arnold Friberg’s painting on display in the White House all eight years of his presidency.

Historically as a nation, during disunity, Americans have grasped the gravity of the moment and, like their preceding iconic leaders and contemporary Americans, have returned to God and the founding principles that were embedded in the founding documents. Over the past year, it appears as though the earth has once again shifted. Not unexpectedly, Bible sales are soaring and there is an increased interest in understanding our country’s heritage. The American spirit is yet again awakening and renewing its religious and cultural allegiances.

Deborah Hommer is a history and philosophy enthusiast who gravitates toward natural law and natural rights. She founded the nonprofit ConstitutionalReflections (website under construction) with the purpose of educating others in the rich history of Western Civilization.