Rensselaer Gazette, Volume 3, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 November 1859 — VIRGINIA CHIVALRY. [ARTICLE]

VIRGINIA CHIVALRY.

We hear a great deal about the “chivalry” of the Ojd DbSninion. Virginia Governors eulogize it, Virginia editors “puff” it, Virginia orators declaim about it, Virginia braggarts! boast of it, and Virginia pot-house politicians grow patriotic over it. The F. F. V.’s keep up such an endless clatter respecting this cheap commodity, that we, who resile at a distance from the favored | haunts of “chivalry,” have become accustomed to look upon all F. F. V.’s as being the impensonfication of that olden chivalry of the dayb.of knight-errantry, when honor, virtue and bravery went hand in hand. But we must Confess that we have been mistaken. Tjie “chivalry” of the present day, as manifested in Virginia, is as different from'olden chivalry as white is from black. Witness tfie murder of Thompson at Harper’s Ferrji, a full account of which will be found on tie first page of this paper. He had been taken alive before Old Brown bad Burrendereh, and was carried into the parloof the Wilder House, where the brave sons of the Old Dominion, “the mother of statesmen',” gathjered about him thirsting for his blood,; while their impotent rage was lashed to frenzy at the sight of a live and unarmed Abolitionist. (We say “impotent rage,” because, up to this time, the Virginians had not yet made an attack on Old Brown.) At this juncture Miss Fouke, a young woman, (whose name should be emblazoned in letters of gold on the page of history along side that of Pocahontas,) rushed in and threw hersefff on the lap of Thompson, covering his fajea with her fair white arms, and shielding his breast with her heart, exclaiming: ‘ For God’s sake! wait, and let the law take its course.” She asked not for mercy—but for justice. The representatives of Virginia “chivalry” rudely pushed that weeping, pleading woman aside, and bore their victim to the railroad bridge, where he wjas butchered without even giving him time toj commend his soul to his Creator. It wab .horrible.' It almost congeals the blood td think of it.

Tliiis Virginia “chivalry"’ of the nineteenth centtiry. Let us turn back the pages of history ts couple of centuries, and referto another manifestation of chivalry not far from Harper’s Ferry. Captain John Smith, while on an expedition against the aboriginal inhabitants of Virginia, was taken prisoner by the dusky sons of the forest, and, as \Va6 tire usual custom of the savages, they condemned him t-o suffer death.' Smithls head was placed on the stone, and the club was raised to dash out his brains, when a young Indian maiden, (Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief,) rushed to his rescue, placed her arms around his neck, and begged for mercy on the enemy of her race. What did these savages do! Did they roughly hustle aside the young maiden pleading for; mercy, and bruin their victim before her efyes, as did the “sohs of chivalry” at Harper’s Ferry! No! but, like brave men, listened to the pleadings for mercy issuing from the lips of an innocent woman, and sent their prisoner on his way rejoicing. The “sons of chivalry” at Harper’s Ferry not only did not listen to u woman pleading for mercy, but they immolated their victim without the shadow of a trial. Look on that picture; and then on this. Judge ye between savage clemency and civilized cruelty. Here is another case in point. It is well known that Drown and his followers kept the peqple of Harper’s Ferry at a safe distance from Sunday morning to Tuesday morning. Although soma fifteen hundred or two thousand men, mostly armed, had gathered in, in addition to the population of the place, noi attempt was made to capture

the rebels. They said that they hesitated through fear of injuring the prisoners. Perhaps this was so, and perhaps not. We incline to the latter opinion, for when the Mayor of Harper’s Ferry, while standing on the railroad track on Monday noon, was shot down, and lay weltering in his gore, it could not have endangered the lives of the prisoners in tne engine house, yet not a soul went to his rescue. The spot where he fell was two or three hundred yards from the engine house, and he was allowed to remain there during the whole of that terrible afternoon, until the shadow of night enveloped the bloody scene Men imbued with true courage, on witnessing such a scene, would have rushed forward like an avalanche and annihilated the little band of seventeen men in the twinkling of an eye. But what did the Virginians do] At the same time that their 31ayor lay wounded on the railroad track, gasping in mortal agony in the full rays bf the sun, with no one near to whisper words of kindness or of love in his ear, that other tragedy was being enacted on the railroad bridge. The Virginians, in their impotent rage, being unwilling to revenge their Mayor at the bayonet’s point, appeased their fury by slaughtering Thompson. Women could act more brave than they on that occasion—but devils not more cruel and remorseless. After this the Virginians remained contented with surrounding the engine house—“holing” the game—and waited until the United States marines came up from Washington, twelve of whom battered down the door and took all who remained alive of Brown and his gang. We have no account that any Virginian took any active part in suppressing the insurrection, except occasionally chasing a fugitive and shooting him down in his tracks. The ma- j rines did all the fighting. And yet the Virginians, from their Governor down, are con- j tinually harping on their display of “chival- ; ry” at Harper’s Ferry. Bosh! Let us hear ; no more of Southern Chivalry, as in contra- j distinction to Northern Manhood. We almost sicken at the word.