Rita Schepmoes, a Northern Neck resident and member of the Colonial Beach Cooper Branch Library book club, knew exactly what book she would read for the club's October theme: books by local authors. Unlike other book clubs, the Colonial Beach group does not tell the members what to read. Instead, the group selects a theme for each month, and then each member chooses books to share that fit the theme.
Earlier in the year, Schepmoes had visited the Westmoreland County Museum and then the Mercantile and Museum Gift Shop in Montross when her sister visited from out-of-town. While at the gift shop, Schepmoes bought a copy of the Birthplace of the Nation, by Carl F. Flemer, Jr. Below is her review of the book.
Birthplace of the Nation: A Story Worth Telling, By Carl F. Flemer, Jr.
2008. 96 pages. Illustrated.
Carl Flemer believed that the complete story of how many of our
country’s greatest patriots were descendants of British immigrants to
Westmoreland County had never been told, and that it was a story worth
telling. I came across this book when my sister was visiting this summer,
and we were touring some of the historical sites in the area. We came to
Montross to visit the Montross Museum and the Mercantile, where I
purchased the book.
In the Preface to the book, he speculates on the influences affecting the
young men of Westmoreland in those early years:
“Was it the tobacco plantation lifestyle, which emphasized self-
sufficiency? The river country environment, which required physical
courage? The hardship and struggle to establish a family in the isolated
wilderness, which forged determination? Tutors at home and formal
education in England, which afforded familiarity with classical
principles of democracy? Inspiration from church and clergy, which
made independence seem preordained?”
While he says there is no clear answer to these questions, the book is an
attempt to bring attention to this part of America’s history, as well as to
Westmoreland County’s history.
He starts off with John Smith’s exploration of the Chesapeake Bay area
during the summer of 1608. During his voyage, he visited the Indian
village of Passesseck, in the vicinity of Leedstown. He was greeted
hospitably by them and traded with them.
Leedstown became a commercial center for the entire Rappahannock
River valley. It had several taverns and its own racetrack. But its most
important contribution is that it provided the site, Bray’s Church, where
115 patriots signed the Leedstown Resolves on February 27, 1766. This
was the first written protest against England, making Westmoreland
County the real birthplace of our nation.
Among the individuals discussed in the book, Archibald Campbell is
described as the “Behind-the-Scenes Hero.” He was a prominent
member of the Westmoreland gentry, being a prosperous landowner and
planter and Rector of Washington Parish. He also operated a classical
boarding school at his home. James Monroe, James Madison, John
Marshall and Revolutionary War General George Weedon were among
his pupils. George Washington and Richard Henry Lee were members
of his parish. The author suggests that Campbell’s high educational
achievement, his oratory and his honesty and ambition inspired future
patriots James Monroe, Richard Henry Lee and George Washington.
Other individuals discussed in the book include Lord Thomas Fairfax,
proprietor of the 5,282,000-acre Northern Neck; Willaim Pitt, a member
of the British Parliament and a staunch supporter of the colonies;
Richard Henry Lee and Frances Lightfoot Lee, the only two brothers to
sign the Declaration of Independence; George Washington; James
Madison; James Monroe; Chief Justice John Marshall; General George
Weedon; and William Storke Jett.
William Storke Jett had a life-long dream to establish a school in
Westmoreland County. He was only able to realize this dream in the
“twilight of his life” and for a very short time. It was named
Washington Academy. School sessions began in 1835, but the school
was apparently closed after Jett’s death in 1844. The property was sold
and eventually became Ingleside Plantation, where the author lived his
entire life.
The last chapter of the book lists places to see in Westmoreland County
as well as a list with pictures of Virginia Historical Highway Markers
located within the boundaries of the original Washington Parish.
This short, well-illustrated book does indeed tell a story worth telling.
-Rita Schepmoes