'Honest John' Letcher, War Governor

From Tailor's Bench to Old Dominion's Executive Mansion
Is Romance of Little Known, Much Loved Virginian

By Vera Palmer

All Virginians are so familiar with the great deeds and illustrious names of those who played the leading roles in the tragic drama of the War Between the States that a number of the participators are today as truly living personalities as they were when here in the flesh. But there is one who served his State faithfully and well, yet toward whom the historians have been somewhat stingy in the space they have allotted to him. That man is John Letcher, who was Governor of Virginia from 1860 to 1864. What we are told about him is very much in his favor, but the pages given over to his story are all too few.

John Letcher was a product of the Shenandoan Valley, having been born in Lexington on March 29, 1813. He came of a sturdy heritage, for on one side he was of Welsh descent and on the other Scotch-Irish. The frugality and industry of his Welsh and Scotch ancestors, together with the Irishman's humor, enabled him to face and fight the world almost unaided. It was as a son of toil that he began life, and at 15 he was busily working at the trade of a tailor, yet he used every spare moment to read some worthwhile book and saved his pennies for the furtherance of his education. Thus, he seems almost the storybook ideal of what a poor youth should be.

Reward came to him soon after he was 21, for by that time "honest John" had acquired enough preparatory knowledge and sufficient cash to enter Washington College, there in his native town, now Washington and Lee University. He took the law course and in 1839, hung out his shingle not a stone's throw from his alma mater. The "Fourth Estate" had the same allure for this young man that it has held for countless others, both before his time and since, for he was barely established as a lawyer before he founded The Valley Star, and so became also an editor and general newspaperman. The purpose of the sheet, apparently, was to give voice to Democratic principles and to advance the cause of education for all the people of his section. It was probably about this time that he took himself a wife. She was Mary Holt of Augusta County and except that she survived him, with seven children, we are told very little about her by the recorders of the time, although, of course, a number of people clearly remember her.

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This man was not the type to stand still, and the steady rise of John Letcher from step to step, ever realizing one ambition after another, even against tremendous obstacles, is astonishing. It soon became evident that such a personality at such a period would inevitably get into politics. So before he had been out of college a decade we find him serving as presidential elector on the Democratic ticket. That was in 1848, and when the convention was called two years later to remodel the State Constitution, Mr. Letcher was returned to that body by a large majority, although his district was strictly Whig.

Then, in 1851, came election to the Congress, where he served four consecutive terms. Adherence to the best interests of the people and prudent expenditure of public funds won for this Virginia representative the title of "Honest John Letcher, the watchdog of the Treasury." Although he had traveled no easy path since the day he left his tailor's bench, he did not know what a really difficult position was until beginning his term as Governor of Virginia on January 1, 1860, not on account of the post itself, but owing to the troublous times. Now he was to be called on to lead his State through the darkest period of her history.

Governor Letcher advocated moderation, conciliation and peace so long as he saw any possibility of achieving them, for he loved the Union deeply. But when it was evident that peace could not triumph, then he stood loyally by his native Commonwealth. Happenings both personal and political caused anguish to his soul, for he not only suffered the mental agony necessary to so great a responsibility as helping to control the war policy of Virginia, but also the deep sorrow of knowing that his home had been burned by the enemy.

In the closing months of the war came his incarceration in a Federal prison in Washington where, it is said, that his shoes and outer clothing were taken from him to prevent his escape.

Following his liberation after the war, the former Governor returned to Lexington to spend another long period under restriction. He was told not to leave the town without permission from the President, according to the statement of his daughter, Margaret Letcher Showell, published in the summer of 1890. As this applied even to the carrying out of his duties as an attorney, it is easy to understand how his practice was ruined. The distinguished lawyer had the good fortune to be offered lucrative cases in other counties and States, for his reputation at the bar was widespread. But when the requisite permission to leave Lexington was sought, he invariably encountered so much red-tape that by the time consent was given it was too late to undertake the cases in question.

His imprisonment, followed by the nerve-wracking restrictions, greatly impaired the health of John Letcher, but in time he rebuilt, to a certain degree, his shattered fortunes. In 1875, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, and the following year, while in attendance on its session he was stricken with paralysis, from which he was a sufferer for eight long years. He passed away quietly and peacefully in Lexington on January 26, 1884, and is buried in that historic town.

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The two outstandingly dramatic events of Governor Letcher's administration were the acceptance by General Robert E. Lee of the command of the Virginia forces, and the entry into Richmond of President Jefferson Davis.

One historian gives an impressive account of the former, declaring that it was on April 22, 1861, that Colonel Lee, as he was then, arrived here after having declined the command of the active Army of the United States, tendered him by President Lincoln. Two days after his refusal to lead the Federal forces against his own State, Lee was on his way to Richmond on the invitation of Governor Letcher.

With the laurels he had won in the Mexican War still fresh upon him, the future chieftain was cheered by the people all along the route and when he reached Richmond the welcome accorded him was wildly enthusiastic. Judge John Robertson and Adjutant-General Richardson met the gallant young officer at the station and escorted him to the Spotswood Hotel, where the applause was deafening. The people felt that they had drawn the prize of the entire United States Army.

That very day, Governor Letcher sent a message to the convention that he had nominated, and with its consent, would appoint Colonel Lee commander of the military and naval forces of Virginia. The convention unanimously indorsed his action and set the next day to receive Colonel Lee. The ceremony, which took place at noon, must have been one of the most impressive ever witnessed in the historic hall of the House of Delegates where so many momentous events have taken place.

Lee entered on the arm of Major Marmaduke Johnson, we are told, and the convention arose to receive him. "When halfway up the aisle Major Johnson stopped and in measured tones said: 'Mr. President, I have the honor to present to you and to the convention, Major-General Lee.' Mr. Janney, the president, replied: 'Major-General Lee, in the name of the people of our native State here represented, I bid you a cordial and heartfelt welcome to this hall, in which we may yet almost hear the echo of the voices of the statesmen and soldiers and sages of bygone days, who have borne your name, whose blood now flows in your veins.' "

General Lee is declared to have been visably affected by the words of confidence then spoken by the presiding officer, and his acceptance was brief. This was Lee's first and last speech, says the historian in question, but the scene was one never to be forgotten.

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Only a few weeks later, May 29, 1861, to be exact, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, arrived in Richmond, and the city became the capital of the new nation. Although it was early in the morning, a large crowd gathered at the station to greet him. Mr. Davis arrived from Petersburg, accompanied by Governor Letcher and his advisory council, Mayor Mayo, the City Council and T. K . Wynne, a member of the House of Delegates. When the President entered his carriage a salute of 15 guns was fired, one for each State. He, too, was conducted to the Spotswood, and throngs cheered all along the way, many people pressing to the sides of the carriage to shake the hand of the Chief Executive.

Arrangements had been made for President and Mrs. Davis to occupy the large mansion at the corner of Twelfth and Clay Streets, which had been built by Dr. Brockenbrough, then owned by J. A. Seddon. The City Council had bought the house and completely furnished it. The members then asked the privilege of presenting it to the President as the City's testimony of respect for him, officially and personally. The committee appointed by the provisional Congress refused, however, to accept it, saying that the whole Confederacy and not only one city, should bear the expense. So an offer was made either to buy the mansion or to rent it. The Davis family occupied the house, known as the White House, during its stay in Richmond, and today it is the much-visited Confederate Museum.

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One of Governor Letcher's first official acts was the disposition of Henry Clay, not "in person," merely his statue. While the "Mill Boy of the Slashes" was yet living, the Whig ladies of Virginia raised money to erect a statue to him. They gave the contract to Hart, an eminent sculptor of the day, who went to Florence to execute it. After many years of delay the marble Clay arrived in Richmond, bringing forward the momentous question of what to do with it.

Possibly the delay had caused the ladies to forget that raising the money and placing the contract were only the first steps, as indespensable as they were. Some people suggested Church Hill as a permanent dwelling place for the Virginia-born Kentuckian, while others preferred that he keep a watchful eye on Main Street. The Legislature took a hand in the matter and decided that Clay should help General Washington and his colleagues guard the lawmakers in Capitol Square, and at such a spot as Governor Letcher should designate. The Governor selected the place near Ninth and Franklin Streets, and there Clay stood in a kind of summer house until a few years ago when a later and, seemingly, kindlier generation took him in out of the rain as he was becoming a bit weather-beaten. He stands now with many of his great fellow Virginians in the old hall of the House of Delegates.

As soon as the spot for the statue was chosen by the Governor, the foundation was laid and preparations were made for the unveiling, which took place on the birthday of the original, April 12, 1860. The city was filled with visitors, including Ex-President John Tyler. The Rev. Joshua Peterkin of St. James's Episcopal Church gave the invocation and Benjamin Johnson Barbour was the orator. At the close of his speech, cannon boomed and bands played as the veil fell from the pedestrian Clay. The ceremonies concluded with a sumptuous banquet at the Exchange Hotel.