The Clopton Chronicles
A Project of the Clopton Family Genealogical Society
An Army of Skeletons
Regarding
Private David Clopton
By Carole Elizabeth Scott,
Ph.D., [email protected] [1]
Dark Prospects
An Army of skeletons
appeared
before our eyes, naked,
starved, sick,
discouraged.
Eighteen year old Private
David Clopton[2] left the
comfort of his New Kent County, Virginia home and soon found himself embroiled
in a trial, not by fire, but by bitter cold and inadequate rations, for which
he received 6 2/3 dollars a month for pay and subsistence.. The Continental Army commanded by
General George Washington[3][ first arrived at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
on December 19, 1777. They stayed there until June 19 1778. Men from each
colony were at Valley Forge, and there were regiments from 11 of the 13
colonies. There soldiers lost their lives fighting the elements rather than the
enemy. Gouverneur Morris[4]
said of a visit to Valley Forge that "An Army of skeletons appeared before
our eyes, naked, starved, sick, discouraged." Seldom, if ever, had or would the prospects for America
gaining its independence seem darker.
The series of events that
led to the American Army spending the Winter at Valley Forge began in August
1777 when British forces under Sir William Howe[5]
landed at the upper end of Chesapeake Bay. Howe's goal was to take
Philadelphia, at that time the American capital. Philadelphia was taken after
the Americans were defeated at Brandywine Creek and Germantown. General
Washington chose Valley Forge, which was located 18 miles northwest of
Philadelphia, because it was defensible and put his troops in position to
protect Congress, which had fled to York, Pennsylvania. Many of his men died of cold and starvation. Never
were more than half of them fit for active service.
Valley Forge was named for
an iron furnace on Valley Creek and was easily defensible as a result of
the barriers formed by Mount Joy, Mount Misery, and the Schuylkill River.
Locating there also kept British raiding and forging parties out of central
Pennsylvania. Within days of arriving at Valley Forge the snow was six inches
deep. The men's first job was to build huts. The next was to build
fortifications. The huts were 14 by 16 feet on a side and housed and average of
12 men. Approximately 2,000 men were felled by such diseases as typhus,
typhoid, dysentery, and pneumonia. The encampment was designed by the Marquis
de Lafayette.[6] Another
Frenchman present at Valley Forge was Baron deKalb.
In April General Washington said that "To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lie upon, without shoes...without a house or hut to cover them until those could be built, and submitting without a murmur, is a proof of patience and obedience which, in my opinion, can scarcely be paralleled."
The Marquis de Lafayette noted "The patient endurance of both soldiers and officers was a miracle which each moment served to renew."
In his diary, Surgeon
Albigence Waldo[7] wrote
"With what cheerfulness he meets his foes and encounters every hardship --
if barefoot -- he labours through the mud and cold with a song in his mouth
extolling war and Washington -- if his food be bad--he eats it notwithstanding
with seeming content, blesses God for a good stomach, and whistles it into
indigestion."
A Prussian drillmaster, Baron Friedrich von Steuben,[8] tirelessly drilled the Americans, building the men's confidence in the process. Making life better for the men was the fact that some women came with their husbands, and they cooked, washed clothes, cleaned the huts, and nursed the sick. A few of the soldiers were black and Indians. They ranged in age from 11 to 60.
The troops at Valley Forge
largely subsisted on dried meat, salted meat, apples, pears, beans, peas, and
corn. They entertained themselves with games of bowls played with cannon balls,
cricket, and the ancestor of baseball, which was called base.
Long Live the King of France
It becomes us to set apart a day
for gratefully acknowledging
the Divine goodness,
and celebrating the important
event
which we owe to His Divine
interposition.
Things looked up when more
troops and an increased amount of supplies began arriving. Then in the Spring
the men learned that France had decided to come to the American's aid. The Army
paraded on May 6, 1778 to celebrate the alliance with France. The day's
activities organized by von Steuben included booming cannons and a running fire
of muskets that passed up and down the double ranks of infantrymen.
General Washington's Order for the Celebration of the French Alliance
"It having pleased the Almighty Ruler of the universe to defend the course of the United States, and finally raise up a powerful friend among the princes of the earth, to establish our Liberty and Independence upon a lasting foundation, it becomes us to set apart a day for gratefully acknowledging the Divine goodness, and celebrating the important event which we owe to His Divine interposition. The several brigades are to assemble for this purpose at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, when their chaplains will communicate the information contained in the postscript of the Pennsylvania Gazette of the 2nd instant, and offer up a thanksgiving and deliver a discourse suitable to the event. At half past ten o'clock a cannon will be fired which is to be a signal for the men to be under arms. The Brigade Inspectors will then inspect their dress and arms, and form the battalions according to the instructions given them, and announce to the commanding officers of the brigade that the battalions are formed. The commanders of brigades will then appoint the field officers to the battalions, after which each battalion will be ordered to load and ground their arms. At half past seven o'clock a second cannon will be fired as a signal for the march; upon which the several brigades will begin their march by wheeling to the right by platoons, and proceed by the nearest way to the left of their ground by the new position. This will be pointed out by the Brigade Inspectors. A third signal will then be given, on which there will be a discharge of thirteen cannon; after which a running fire of the infantry will begin on the left of the second line and continue to the right. Upon a signal given, the whole army will huzza, 'Long Live the King of France.' The artillery then begins again and fires thirteen rounds; this will be succeeded by a second general discharge of musketry, in running fire, and a huzza, 'Long Live the Friendly European Powers.' The last discharge of thirteen pieces of artillery will be given, followed by a general running and huzza, 'The American States.'"
1. David19 Clopton, Sr., of
St. Peter's Parish (Waldegrave18,
William17, William16, William15, Walter14,
William13, Richard12, William11, John10,
William9, Thomas8, Walter7, William6,
Walter5, William4, Walter3, William2,
Guillaume1 Peche, Lord Of Cloptunna and Dalham)1,2
was born 1760 in New Kent County, Virginia, and died Bef. July 3, 1823 in
probably Henrico County, Virginia3. He married Mary Ann Vanderwall December 29, 1783 in
Henrico County, Virginia4, daughter of Nathaniel Vanderwall
and Ann Gunn. She was born Abt.
1760.
His
Revolutionary War Records show that David Clopton served as a private in the 6th
Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel John Gibson. He enlisted February 13, 1778 to serve one year, and his
name appears on the rolls for the period from April, 1778, to September,
1778. His name again appears on
the pay rolls for the period from October 1778 to February 1779 when he is
reported as discharged February 17, 1779.
He served as a private in Captain Benjamin Taliaferro’s Company, 2nd
Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel Christian Febiger. There is a typed message in his file
dated October 6, 1915 to a Mr. David Clopton, % Army Medical Museum, 7th
& B Streets, S.W., Washington, D.C. outlining Private David Clopton’s
service. Serving in the Virginia
Militia were David’s brothers, Thomas and Waldegrave. Waldegrave managed to get himself into hot water several
times and wound up arrested, tried and convicted for disobeying orders. See “Trials and Tribulations.”
Children of David Clopton and Mary Vanderwall are:
2 i. Nathaniel Vanderwall20
Clopton, M.D.5, born May 2, 1786 in New Kent County, Virginia6;
died October 6, 1855 in "Grassdale," Fauquier County, Virginia of
gout at the age of 707.
He married Sarah Susan Grant Skinker, of "Spring Farm"8
October 17, 1821 in "Spring Farm", Fauquier County, Virginia9;
born May 7, 1798 in "Spring Farm", Fauquier County, Virginia10;
died January 30, 1881 in "Grassdale," Fauquier County, Virginia.
Nathaniel Vanderwall Clopton
loved nothing better than a fine horse and a good joke. In fact, he pretty much dedicated his
life to the pursuit of both. He
was a hard working man, a successful Fauquier County, Virginia, physician. A veteran of the War of 1812, his reputation as a
jokester was known far and wide, and it became something of a challenge to see
who could pull a fast one on the good doctor and turn the tables on him. See Fun and Games in Old
Fauquier
3 ii. Alford Clopton, MD, C.S.A.11,
born January 25, 1787 in Henrico County, Virginia12; died
December 1870 in Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama and buried Tuskegee Cemetery,
Macon County13.
He married Sarah "Sallie" Kendrick14 June
25, 1812 in Monticello, Jasper County, Georgia15; born
December 13, 1794 in Washington County, Georgia16; died
September 15, 1851 in Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama and buried Tuskegee Cemetery.
4 iii. Ann Gunn Clopton, of
"Clopton House"17, born April 9, 1789 in New Kent
County, Virginia; died May 16, 1869 in "Woodside," Chesterfield,
Virginia. She married Robert Mosby
Pulliam, of "Clopton House" December 30, 1813 in Henrico County, Virginia18;
born August 14, 1786; died July 3, 1843 in "Clopton House,"
Manchester, Virginia.
5 iv. John K. Clopton, of New Kent
County, Virginia, born 1790 in New Kent County, Virginia; died Bef. July 182319.
6 v. David Clopton, Jr., of New
Kent County, Virginia20, born 1797 in New Kent County,
Virginia; died in Paulding County, possibly, Georgia21.
While much has been made of the sacrifices
and hardships of white women in protecting the plantations, far too little
attention has been paid to the sometimes courageous roles played by loyal
slaves who risked life and limb for their masters. Several letters written by David Clopton to a friend
brilliantly illustrates a complex and trusting relationship between himself and
a slave named Edy. As Sherman's
troops pushed into Georgia, David, entrusting his plantation to his loyal
slave, Edy, went into hiding. With
the Yankees breathing down her neck and her master gone, Edy displayed
remarkable calm and forethought as she went about attempting to hide valuables.
See The Degrees of
Providence
7 vi. Sarah E. Clopton, of New Kent
County, Virginia22, born Abt. 1800 in New Kent County,
Virginia. She married Edward Curd,
M.D. June 9, 1819 in Henrico County, Virginia by the Rev. John D. Blair23.
8 vii. Albert Gallatin Clopton, Esq.24,
born 1802 in New Kent or Henrico County, Virginia; died September 24, 1830 in
Macon, Bibb County, Georgia25.
In 1824 Albert formed a law partnership
with Charles J. McDonald, Esquire,
who would later become the Governor of Georgia. At the time of his death, he was the
law partner of Robert Sampson Lanier, Esquire. One of Mr. Lanier's sons, Sidney Clopton Lanier, the beloved
Georgia Poet, was born in 1842 and possibly named in honor of Albert. Another son, Clifford Lanier, would
marry in 1868, Wilhelmina Clopton,
the daughter of The Honorable David Clopton and his first wife, Martha Ligon.
Albert was one of the founders of Christ Church, in
Macon, Georgia, a fact that is noted on this historical marker in front of the
church which is located at 538 Walnut Street. Christ Church was the first congregation in Macon. The first organ was brought to Macon, a
tracker organ, and installed in Christ Church in 1834. Its use produced a sensation in
religious communities throughout Macon and Middle Georgia. The present church building was
consecrated on Sunday, May 2, 1852.
Although Albert was not to live to see this lovely structure, he would
most certainly applaud the words of Bishop Elliott, who commented: "This very chaste and capacious
church, having nearly doubled the seating of the former church, reflects great
credit on the congregation who have built it entirely out of their own
resources."
Endnotes
1. The Clopton
Family Archives contains a copy of an indenture (GS Film 7566 pt. 21 (031811)
Book 41, page 319) dated August 29, 1838 between Nathaniel G. Clopton and Sarah
S. G. Clopton, his wife, of the County of Fauquier in the State of Virginia,
and Allford Clopton of the County of Putnam, State of Georgia. Refers to the deceased Albert G.
Clopton who had sold "Allford" lands derived from his father, David
Clopton, deceased. Refers to David
Clopton's will dividing certain land among his "five children," "Nathaniel, Allford, David, Albert
and Sarah now Sarah Curd.
2.
"New Kent Military Classes in 1782", Tyler's Quarterly
Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Volume X, p. 184, He is in Class
Number 22.
3. Henrico
County Will Book, (Courtesy of
Bert Hampton Blanton, Jr.), GS7565 Pt. 3 (031984).
4.
Lindsay, Marriages of Henrico County, Virginia 1680-1808, (Courtesy of Leonard Alton Wood).
5. Named
in his father's will.
6.
Skinker, Samuel Skinker and His Descendants, (Courtesy of Annie Chilton (Ott) Wood),
p. 66, States he was "born near Richmond."
7. Fauquier
County Virginia Death Records,
(Located Fauquier County Courthouse, Warrenton, Virginia. Abstracts and microfilm located
Fauquier County Library, Warrenton.
Courtesy of Bert Hampton Blanton, Jr.), Page 19, Line 16, States he was
born in Fauquier County, Virginia, which is incorrect. He is a farmer and the husband of Sally
Clopton. His death was reported by
his son, N.A. Clopton.
8. GS Film
031828 (7566 pt. 38) Book 75, p. 349, The Clopton Family Archives contains a
copy of this deed dated November 27, 1860 between S.S.G. Clopton (a widow), Wm.
N. Bispham and Mary Ann [Clopton], his wife; J. S. Clopton and his wife and N.
A. Clopton, the widow and heirs of N. V. Clopton of the first part and Henry D
Taylor of the second. Refers to
land in the division of the estate of David Clopton. It is signed, Sarah S. G. Clopton, W N Bispham, Mary Ann
Bispham, J. S. Clopton, Susan G. Clopton, and N. A. Clopton.
9. Fauquier
County, Virginia, Marriage Book,
(Courtesy of Bert Hampton Blanton, Jr.), Date of bon was October 15,
1821; bondsman named William.
10.
Skinker, Samuel Skinker and His Descendants, (Courtesy of Annie Chilton (Ott) Wood),
p. 66.
11. He is
named in his father's will.
12. Marianne
Clopton & Andrew Reid Holy Bible,
(Courtesy Eatonton-Putnam County Historical Society).
13. Two
Alford Cloptons are listed in the Georgia Tax Digests for the year 1815, page
50 and 51, paying tax on two properties in the John H. "Brodnax"
District. An Alford was granted
202 1/2, acres, 2,970 feet square,
in Monroe County, Georgia, Lot 15, Section 2, in the Forth Georgia Land
Lottery of 1821. It is believed
this refers to two different Alfords.
At the time of the drawing, about September 1821, an Alford was living
in Putnam County, Leggetts Military District. An indenture dated August 29, 1838, GS Film 7566 pt. 21
(031811) Book 41, page 319, between Nathaniel G. Clopton and Sarah S. G.
Clopton, his wife, of the County of Fauquier in the State of Virginia, and
"Allford" Clopton of the County of Putnam, State of Georgia. (Copy located Clopton Family
Archives). An Alford Clopton is
listed as living in Putnam County in the 1820 and 1830 Georgia Census.
14.
Milledgeville, Georgia, Georgia Journal, (Courtesy of Leia Katherine Eubanks),
Wednesday, November 30, 1814 Issue, A notice appeared in this issue stating
that on the first Tuesday in March 1815, will be sold at the Courthouse at
Dublin, Laurens County, Georgia, 475
acres of swamp land of the first quality, lying on the Oconee River in Laurens
and belonging to the estate of Martin Kendrick, deceased, and signed by Alford
Clopton, Administrator, and Jane Kendrick, Administrator. She is named Sarah Clopton, in her mother's
will which was probated August 1, 1830.
15.
Marriage license, Putnam County, Georgia
16.
Washington County, Georgia, 1794 Census.
17. The
Clopton Family Archives contains a copy of a codicil (GS 7565 Pt. 3 (031984)
dated July 3, 1823, which refers to "my old friend and neighbor,"
Mosby Pulliam and his son Samuel T. Pulliam, his daughter Ann G. Pulliam and
Robert Pulliam, her husband.
Mentions but does not name her children. Codicil appoints son, Nathaniel Clopton, and Hugh Davis as
Executors.
18.
Virginia Marriage Index, 1740-1850, courtesy of Leonard Alton Wood
19. He is
not mentioned in his father's will.
20. He is
named in his father's will.
Special thanks to Carole Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D., who provided the
information regarding David Clopton and his possible connection with Georgia. She cites as her sources "Mary
Talley Anderson, "The History of Villa Rica (City of Gold,)" Villa
Rica, Georgia Bicentennial Committee, 1976; S. P. Jones "Gold Deposits of
Georgia," 1909 Geological Survey of Georgia.; and, Mary Bondurant Warren,
"Alphabetical Index to Georgia's 1832 Gold Lottery," Heritage Papers,
Danielsville, Georgia, 1981.
21.
Although no David Clopton was listed as living in Carroll County
(Georgia) in the Census, a David Clopton, 53, who was born in Virginia, appears
in the 1840 and as David C., in
the 1850 census of Paulding County, Georgia.
22. She is
named in her father's will.
23. Richmond
(Virginia) Compiler (In some years called Richmond Courier & Compiler), (Microfilm located Virginia State
Library and Archives. Courtesy of
Suellen (Clopton) DeLoach Blanton), June 15, 1819, States she is the daughter
of David Clopton, Sr., of Henrico.
Edward Curd is identified as a doctor.
24. He is
named in his father's will.
25. Richmond
(Virginia) Compiler (In some years called Richmond Courier & Compiler), (Microfilm located Virginia State
Library and Archives. Courtesy of
Suellen (Clopton) DeLoach Blanton), October 12, 1830, p. 3, States he was a
native of Henrico County, Virginia and died in Macon, Georgia at the age of 32.
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