Misplaced Pages

#527472

50-592: U.S. attorney-general William Wirt and U.S. Army Major John Clarke established the Bellona Foundry on the south shore of the James River, 14 miles west of Richmond, Virginia , in 1810. The Foundry manufactured weaponry for the War Department . The name "Bellona" comes from the name of an ancient Roman goddess of war . Maj. Clarke arranged for the location of a federal arsenal immediately to

100-526: A United States Attorney in 1816. The following year, President James Monroe appointed him to the position of United States Attorney General. Wirt remained in that office for the next twelve years, serving under Monroe and John Quincy Adams . He continued his law career after leaving office, representing the Cherokee in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia . Though Wirt was himself a former Freemason ,

150-743: A German immigrant colony in Florida on lands that he bought but never inspected personally; this business venture failed. Wirt practiced law until his death. He fell sick on February 8, 1834, in Washington, D.C., where he attended the proceedings of the Supreme Court. His biographer John P. Kennedy wrote that the early diagnosis of a cold was followed by identifying the symptoms of erysipelas or St. Anthony's fire. He died on February 18, 1834. Wirt's last rites were attended by President Jackson and members of his cabinet; John Quincy Adams read

200-970: A eulogy address in the House of Representatives. William Wirt was buried in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. The house he occupied in Richmond from 1816 to 1818, known as the Hancock-Wirt-Caskie House , was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Wirt's earliest work was Letters of the British Spy , which he first contributed to the Richmond Argus in 1803, and which won immediate popularity. The letters are chiefly studies of eloquence and eloquent men, are written in

250-503: A five-bay facade. The low rectangular powder magazine with walls five and a half feet thick stood to the west of the quadrangle buildings. A stone wall surrounding the magazine protected the quadrangle buildings against possible explosion. The powder magazine has survived to the present but has no roof. The arsenal and foundry are the namesake of "Old Gun Road" in the Robious area of Chesterfield County. On 6 May, 1971, Bellona Arsenal

300-558: A former Freemason . He had taken the first two degrees of Freemasonry in Jerusalem Lodge #54 Richmond, Virginia becoming a fellow craft , or second degree, mason. Wirt wrote in his acceptance letter to the nominating convention that he found Freemasonry unobjectionable and that in his experience many Masons were "intelligent men of high and honourable character" who would never choose Freemasonry above "their duties to their God and country". Historian William Vaughn wrote, "Wirt

350-643: A newly-established 16-member panel composed of eight lawmakers and eight non-lawmaker citizens. The maps created by this commission are subject to the approval of the General Assembly, but lawmakers cannot change the commission's lines. On November 7, 2023, the Democrats regained control of the House of Delegates after securing a 51-seat majority. The annual salary for delegates is $ 17,640 per year. Each delegate represents roughly 84,702 people. Candidates for office must be at least 21 years of age at

400-554: A position he held for over 11 years, through the administration of John Quincy Adams, until 1829. William Wirt has the record for the longest tenure in history of any U.S. attorney general. In 1824, Attorney General Wirt argued for the United States against Daniel Webster in Gibbons v. Ogden that the federal patent laws preempted New York State's patent grant to steamboat inventor Robert Fulton 's successor, Aaron Ogden, of

450-486: A series of didactic and ethical essays, entitled The Old Bachelor , which, collected, passed through several editions (2 vols., 1812). These papers treat of female education, Virginian manners, the fine arts, and especially oratory. An essay from this collection, "Eloquence of the Pulpit", a vigorous and passionate protest against coldness in this genre, has been singled out for praise. In October 1826, Wirt delivered before

500-660: A single ordnance sergeant as a caretaker. In 1837 the War Department declared disused Bellona Arsenal surplus. Thomas Randolph and a partner leased several buildings for a silkworm farm. Maj. Clarke died in 1844, and supervision of Bellona Foundry passed to Dr. Junius L. Archer, who leased a residence from the Arsenal complex. In 1856 Dr. Archer purchased Bellona Arsenal from the federal government for $ 2650. Bellona Arsenal, nearby Tredegar Iron Works , and three facilities in other states cast heavy cannon immediately before

550-533: A vivid and luxuriant style, and may be regarded, in spite of the exceptional excellence of "The Blind Preacher", as rather a prophecy of literary skill than its fulfilment. They were soon afterward issued in book form (Richmond, 1803; 10th ed., with a biographical sketch of the author by Peter H. Cruse, New York, 1832). In 1808 Wirt wrote for the Richmond Enquirer essays entitled The Rainbow , and in 1810, with Dabney Carr , George Tucker , and others,

SECTION 10

#1732772511528

600-779: Is known as today the Old Hall of the House of Delegates or commonly referred to as the Old House Chamber. The Old House Chamber is part of the original Capitol building structure. It measures 76 feet in width and is filled today with furnishings that resemble what the room would have looked like during its time of use. There are many bronze and marble busts of historic Virginians on display in the Old House Chamber, including: George Mason , George Wythe , Patrick Henry , Richard Henry Lee , and Meriwether Lewis . From 1904 to 1906, University of Virginia graduate and architect John K. Peeples designed and built compatible classical wings to

650-689: Is named in Wirt's honor. William Wirt was born in Bladensburg, Maryland , to a German mother, Henrietta, and a Swiss German father, Jacob Wirt. Both of his parents died before he was eight years old and Jasper Wirt, his uncle, became his guardian. Between his seventh and his eleventh year Wirt was sent to several classical schools and finally to one kept by the Reverend James Hunt in Montgomery County , where he received over

700-523: Is reelected every two years, with intervening vacancies filled by special election . The list below contains the House delegates that are currently serving in the 163rd Virginia General Assembly , which convened on January 10, 2024. Marking the 400th anniversary of the House of Burgesses, the House Clerk's Office announced a new Database of House Members called "DOME" that chronicles the "9,700-plus men and women who served as burgesses or delegates in

750-653: The American Civil War . Bellona Arsenal and the somewhat larger Tredegar Iron Works manufactured cannons and similar armaments for the Confederate military. Dr. Archer leased both Arsenal and Foundry to the Confederate States and retained a job as superintendent of the complex. Bellona ranked second as a producer of Confederate armaments. The owners tore down the barracks, quarters for officers, and one workshop in 1872; only three workshops of

800-651: The Delphian Club . After leaving his position as attorney general, Wirt settled in Baltimore , Maryland . He became a candidate for president in 1832, nominated by the Anti-Masonic Party. This party held the first ever national nominating convention in U.S. history on September 11, 1830, in Philadelphia establishing the tradition. The date was chosen to commemorate the fourth anniversary of

850-674: The Jacksonian Democrats . When his expectations did not materialize, he wrote in frustration about his presidential aspirations: "What the use ... it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket." In the election, Wirt carried Vermont with seven electoral votes, becoming the first candidate of an organized third party to carry a state, and he remains the only presidential candidate so successful who came from Maryland. When The Providence American newspaper suggested that Wirt could run again in 1836, he quickly declined. In 1833, Wirt became involved with his son-in-law in establishing

900-528: The Morgan Affair . However, no candidate was agreed upon. The actual nomination occurred a year later during the second convention in Baltimore. On September 28, 1831, Wirt became a presidential candidate after the fifth ballot. Amos Ellmaker became his running mate . Wirt is the only person from Maryland to ever become a presidential candidate who won any electoral votes . Wirt was, in fact,

950-594: The Senate of Virginia . It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House , who is elected from among the House membership by the Delegates. The Speaker is usually a member of the majority party and, as Speaker, becomes the most powerful member of the House. The House shares legislative power with

1000-562: The 1970s someone had broken into the Wirt Tomb at Washington, D.C.'s Congressional Cemetery and had stolen Wirt's skull. After the skull was recovered from the house of a historical memorabilia collector, Robert L. White , it spent time in D.C. Council member Jim Graham 's office while he tried to get it returned to its rightful crypt. Finally in 2005 investigators from the Smithsonian Institution were able to determine

1050-407: The Anti-Masonic Party nominated him for president in 1832. Wirt did not actively campaign for office and refused to publicly speak against Masonry. Nonetheless, the ticket of Wirt and Amos Ellmaker carried the state of Vermont , becoming the first third party presidential ticket to win a state. After the election, Wirt continued to practice law until his death in 1834. Wirt County, West Virginia ,

SECTION 20

#1732772511528

1100-615: The House of Delegates met in the Colonial Capital of Williamsburg. In 1999, Republicans took control of the House of Delegates for the first time since Reconstruction (with the exception of a brief 2-year period in which the Readjuster Party was in the majority in the 1880s). The Republican Party held the majority until 2019, when the Democratic Party won a majority of the seats, thus regaining control of

1150-480: The House of Delegates. The majority was sworn in on January 8, 2020, after which Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) was elected as the first female and Jewish Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. On November 4, 2020, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment that removed the authority to redistrict congressional and state legislative districts from the General Assembly, and gave that power to

1200-516: The Senate, the upper house of the General Assembly. The House of Delegates is the modern-day successor to the colonial House of Burgesses , which first met at Jamestown in 1619. The House is divided into Democratic and Republican caucuses . In addition to the Speaker, there is a majority leader , majority whip, majority caucus chair, minority leader , minority whip, minority caucus chair, and

1250-617: The Virginia House of Delegates, then chancellor of the Eastern District of Virginia, resigning after six months. In 1802, he married Elizabeth Washington Gamble , the daughter of Colonel Robert Gamble of Richmond. In the winter of 1803/04, Wirt moved to Norfolk , but in 1806, wishing for a wider field of practice, returned to Richmond. In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson asked him to be the prosecutor in Aaron Burr 's trial for treason. His principal speech, four hours in length,

1300-443: The acquaintance of many persons of eminence, including Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. For a time, Wirt took advantage of the hospitality of the country gentlemen and the convivial habits of the members of the bar so that he was regarded by other attorneys as a bon vivant, a fascinating, cheerful, and lively companion, rather than as an ambitious lawyer. In 1799 his wife died, and he moved to Richmond , where he became clerk of

1350-652: The acts of Congress". During the 1820s, Wirt was a member of the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences , which included as members former presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions. Wirt was also an honorary member of the American Whig–Cliosophic Society and associated with

1400-600: The chairs of the several committees of the House. Only Maryland , Virginia and West Virginia refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. The House of Burgesses was the first elected legislative body in the New World . Originally having 22 members, the House of Burgesses met from 1619 through 1632 in the choir of the church at Jamestown. From 1632 to 1699 the legislative body met at four different state houses in Jamestown. The first state house convened at

1450-399: The citizens of Washington a discourse on the lives and characters of the ex-presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson , who had died on 4 July of the same year (Washington, 1826). The London Quarterly Review , in a paper on American oratory several years afterward, pronounced this discourse "the best which this remarkable coincidence has called forth". In 1830 Wirt delivered an address to

1500-632: The course of four years the chief part of his education. For two years he boarded with Hunt, in whose library he spent much of his time, reading with a keen and indiscriminate appetite. In his 15th year the school was disbanded, and his inheritance nearly exhausted. Ninian Edwards (later governor of Illinois) had been Wirt's schoolmate, and Edwards's father, Benjamin Edwards (later a member of Congress from Maryland), thought Wirt had more than ordinary natural ability and invited him to reside with his family as tutor to Ninian and two nephews, offering him also

1550-581: The exclusive right to operate a steamboat between New York and New Jersey in the Hudson River. Wirt argued "that a power in the States to grant exclusive patents, is utterly inconsistent with the power given to the national government to grant such exclusive patents: and hence, that the power given to Congress is one which is exclusive from its nature." Although the Gibbons Court declined to decide

Bellona Arsenal - Misplaced Pages Continue

1600-667: The home of Colonial Governor Sir John Harvey from 1632 to 1656. The burgesses convened at the second state house from 1656 until it was destroyed in 1660 . Historians have yet to precisely identify its location. The House of Burgesses had its final meeting in May 1776, and the House of Delegates took its place in October of that year. The House has met in the Virginia State Capitol , designed by Thomas Jefferson , since 1788. The legislative body met from 1788 to 1904 in what

1650-526: The literary societies of Rutgers College , which, after its publication by the students (New Brunswick, 1830), was republished in England, and translated into French and German. His other publications are: Wirt had the distinction of being regarded for many years as the chief man of letters in the South. In the early 2000s, after a series of mysterious phone calls to the cemetery, it was discovered that in

1700-704: The longest-serving attorney general in U.S. history. He was also the Anti-Masonic nominee for president in the 1832 election . Wirt grew up in Maryland but pursued a legal career in Virginia , passing the Virginia bar in 1792. After holding various positions, he served as the prosecutor in Aaron Burr 's trial for treason. He won election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1808 and was appointed as

1750-611: The new law. On March 3, 1832, the decision in Worcester v. Georgia , authored by Chief Justice John Marshall , held that the Cherokee Nation was "a distinct community, occupying its own territory, with boundaries accurately described, in which the laws of Georgia can have no force, and which the citizens of Georgia have no right to enter but with the assent of the Cherokees themselves or in conformity with treaties and with

1800-452: The number of districts and only speaks of "several house districts". While there used to be multi-member districts, since 1982, there have been 100 districts electing one member each. (The party control table shows the balance of power after each recent general election. The preceding Makeup table includes results of special elections since the last general election.) The House has 14 standing committees. The Virginia House of Delegates

1850-469: The original eight quadrangle buildings (and the powder magazine) survived at the old Bellona Arsenal. They sold the arsenal property in 1877. The property changed hands several times; in 1942, Mr. Merle C. Luck purchased the surviving buildings and began to renovate them. He later converted them into residences. Bellona Foundry and Bellona Arsenal consisted of several buildings built over a short time span. Stone walls enclosed eight buildings surrounding

1900-514: The possibility that it yet might rule in favor of the Cherokee. Wirt therefore waited for a test case to again resolve the constitutionality of the laws of Georgia. On March 1, 1831, Georgia passed a law aimed at evicting missionaries, who were perceived as encouraging the Cherokee resistance to removal from Cherokee lands. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions , an interdenominational missionary organization, hired Wirt to challenge

1950-581: The quadrangle at the Arsenal. These included a three-story main arsenal building at the north end with a projecting pavilion and circular third-story windows, two quarters for officers flanking the arsenal, four workshops on the east and west sides of the quadrangle, and a three-story barracks building on the south end. The similar brick workshop buildings lack foundations, and each have two stories with hipped roofs and interior end chimneys. Two smaller workshops contain three bays each with central entrances and segmental arched openings. The larger workshop building has

2000-464: The question, 140 years later the Supreme Court confirmed Wirt's view in Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Stiffel Co. In June 1830, a delegation of Cherokee led by Chief John Ross selected Wirt on the urging of Senators Webster and Frelinghuysen to defend Cherokee rights before the U.S. Supreme Court . Wirt argued, in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia , that the Cherokee Nation was "a foreign nation in

2050-469: The sense of our constitution and law" and was therefore not subject to Georgia's jurisdiction. Wirt asked the Supreme Court to void all Georgia laws extended over Cherokee territory on the grounds that they violated the U.S. Constitution , United States–Cherokee treaties, and United States intercourse laws. Although the Court determined that it did not have original jurisdiction in this case, the Court held open

Bellona Arsenal - Misplaced Pages Continue

2100-479: The skull, which had gold block letters saying "Hon. Wm. Wirt" painted on the tin box containing it, was indeed his and had it returned. Virginia House of Delegates 37°32′19″N 77°26′00″W  /  37.53865°N 77.43331°W  / 37.53865; -77.43331 The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly , the other being

2150-555: The time of the election, residents of the districts they seek to represent, and qualified to vote for General Assembly legislators. The regular session of the General Assembly is 60 days long during even numbered years and 30 days long during odd numbered years, unless extended by a two-thirds vote of both houses. Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution of Virginia stipulates that the House of Delegates shall consist of between 90 and 100 members. It does not put any condition on

2200-605: The use of his library for his own studies. Wirt accepted the offer and stayed twenty months, teaching, pursuing his own classical and historical studies, writing, and preparing for the bar. Wirt was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1792, and he began practice at Culpeper Courthouse. Wirt had the advantages of a vigorous constitution and a good carriage, but the drawbacks of meager legal equipment, constitutional shyness, and brusque and indistinct speech. In 1795, he married Mildred, daughter of Dr. George Gilmer, and moved to Pen Park, where Gilmer lived, near Charlottesville . There he made

2250-680: The west and east side of the Capitol building. The new wings added to provide more space and serve as the legislative chambers in the Virginia General Assembly, the Senate of Virginia resides in the west chamber and the House of Delegates resides in the east chamber. The General Assembly members and staff operate from offices in the General Assembly Building, located in Capitol Square. Prior to 1788

2300-536: The west of Bellona Foundry. The Army erected Bellona Arsenal in 1816. It began storing cannon from the Foundry in 1817. Bellona Foundry supplied much ordnance to the Army and Navy of the United States throughout the antebellum period. The Arsenal repaired small arms and engaged in a few other functions until 1832; thereafter, it only received and stored cannon. The Army removed the garrison to Fort Monroe in 1833 but left

2350-402: Was added to the National Register of Historic Places . It is located near Midlothian, Virginia , off State Route 673 northwest of its junction with VA 147. William Wirt (Attorney General) William Wirt (November 8, 1772 – February 18, 1834) was an American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence. He was

2400-470: Was characterized by eloquent appeal, polished wit, and logical reasoning. It greatly extended his fame. The passage in which he depicted in glowing colors the home of Harman Blennerhassett and "the wife of his bosom, whom he lately permitted not the winds of summer 'to visit too roughly'", as "shivering at midnight on the wintry banks of the Ohio, and mingling her tears with the torrents that froze as they fell",

2450-463: Was for many years a favorite piece for academic declamation. Wirt was nicknamed the "Whip Syllabub Genius" by his enemies for the frothy, over-the-top nature of his oratory. In 1808, Wirt was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. In 1816, he was appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Virginia , and in 1817 President James Monroe named him the ninth Attorney General of the United States,

2500-748: Was possibly the most reluctant and most unwilling presidential candidate ever nominated by an American party.' After being selected Wirt started to regret his nomination and distanced himself from actual campaigning. He admitted later, "In the canvass I took no part, not even by writing private letters, which, on the contrary, I refused to answer whenever such answers could be interpreted into canvassing for office." In private conversations Wirt criticized Masonry for alleged intent to create international order ruled from Europe, but refused all Antimasonic attempts to make his sentiments public. He hoped for enthusiastic national support to an electoral alliance between Anti-Masons and National Republicans that would overpower

#527472