In 1772, about the time of
Lewis Shapard’s birth, Cumberland County was further divided into two parishes
when Littleton Parish was created from the western portion of Southam Parish.
Cumberland County split along parish lines, in 1777, with the formation of
Powhatan County. Therefore, for the time period of 1772-1792, Southam Parish
looked like present-day Powhatan County (260 square miles) and Littleton Parish
looked like Cumberland County (300 square miles).
Present-day Cumberland County is rectangular
in shape, measuring about 30 miles long and ten miles wide. It is bounded on
the north by the James River, above which, are the counties of Goochland and
Fluvanna; bounded on the west by Buckingham County; bounded on the east by the
counties of Powhatan and Amelia; and bounded on the south by Prince Edward
County. The Appomattox River defines most of the eastern border and the entire
southern border of Cumberland County. The county also has four main creeks:
Bear Branch Creek which empties into the Willis River; Great Guinea Creek which
runs 20 miles and empties into the Appomattox River; Angola Creek which runs 12
miles and empties into the Appomattox River; and Green Creek which runs 3 miles
and empties into the Appomattox River.
The Shapard house would
have been located near the road, most likely of log or split-log construction
with a clay or brick chimney. A layering of wood shingles covered the roof, and
a porch served to decrease tracking dirt and mud inside the house, as well as,
offer relief from the sun. The interior of the house would have been one or two
rooms deep with walls finished in lathed board or plaster. It would not have
been painted, as this was a rare and expensive adornment. The windows were open
air, with wood shutters as the only barrier against the elements, since window
glass was found only in the finest homes during this era. The kitchen and an outhouse, being separate
buildings, were near the main house. The property had a slave quarter, of
similar wood construction, for their three slaves – Phil, Nancy and Esther. A
barn and fences were utilized to corral their livestock, as the family had
numerous horses and raised a large number of cattle and hogs. Around the
plantation house were fields for growing wheat, corn, oats and hay, as well as,
a fruit orchard and a vegetable garden.
Dense forest surrounded
the fields, leading into creeks and ravines teaming with wildlife. Hunting and
fishing were a vital part of life for the Shapard family, and Lewis and his
siblings would have found great enjoyment in exploring the surrounding
wilderness. Water from the creeks would not have been suitable for human
consumption, so a natural spring, either on, or close to, the property,
supplied the family with fresh water. The water was gathered daily in buckets
and brought back to the house by the slaves or children. Every member of the
Shapard family was essential in operating the plantation, tending to the crops,
managing the livestock, etc. The day started early and each child had chores suitable
for their age. Nightfall brought the
activities to a close, as the family would gather around the light and warmth
of the hearth in family communion.
The Shapard family’s religious
affiliation was with the Church of England (Anglican Church). When Lewis was
born, King George III was the ruler of Great Britain, Ireland and its colonies.
The colony of Virginia was under British rule, and, by law, the Church of
England was the established church of the colonies in America, of which, all
residents, including the Shapard family, were required to attend weekly
services, otherwise be subjected to fines. In addition, colonial law of
Virginia required all colonists to financially support the church through taxes,
called tithes, which funded the efforts of the church and paid the minister’s
salary. British authorities mostly tolerated other Christian denominations that
had established themselves in Virginia, such as the Presbyterians and Baptists,
deeming their membership too insignificant to be of concern. In addition,
regardless of a colonist’s religious preference, they were still required to
financially support the Church of England. While the Shapard family had an
affiliation with the Church of England, Lewis’ father professed his support for
religious freedom and the disestablishment of the Church of England by signing
the 10,000 Name Petition which was presented to the first General Assembly of
the Virginia Convention on October 16, 1776. It is believed that the Shapard
family ceased attending religious services at the Church of England circa 1775,
and eventually became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.
Religious freedom was just
one of the many grievances dividing the colonists against the British
authorities, and a conflict seemed inevitable. Lewis Shapard was born amid this
volatility on the eve of the American Revolution. After the Boston Massacre of
March 5, 1770, there was relative calm in the colonies, despite a simmering
tension between colonists and the British authorities. However, the Tea Act of
May 10, 1773, became the lightning rod upon which the colonies would move
toward open rebellion. Outraged over the taxes imposed on tea, as well as,
their non representation in the British Parliament, the colonists boycotted the
import of tea, preventing British tea ships from unloading their cargo, which,
inevitably, led to the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. In response, the
British authorities passed a series of “Intolerable Acts,” throughout 1774,
which attempted to bring the colonists back into submission. These acts only
added more kindling to the colonist’s revolutionary fire, bringing about the
assembly of the first Continental Congress in September of 1774, the first
shots fired of the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts,
on April 19, 1775, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4,
1776.
Although Cumberland
County, Virginia, where the Shapard family resided, was far from the revolutionary
firestorm occurring in Massachusetts, the colony of Virginia was a fount for
revolutionary ardor, being the birthplace of patriots, such as, George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Patrick Henry. In the spring of 1775, when Lewis Shapard was
about two years of age, Virginia committed herself to the cause of American
independence, by raising the first troops in defense of the Virginia
revolutionary government. In June of 1775, Lord Dunmore the Tory Governor of
Virginia fled, with the colony’s stockpile of gunpowder, to a British war
vessel in the Chesapeake where he, by the protection of water, used the ship’s
cannons to destroy plantation houses and bombard the town of Norfolk. In
January of 1776, Lord Dunmore sailed back to England after being driven away by
Virginia forces. For the next three years, the British had no foothold on
Virginia soil which allowed an opportunity for revolutionary enthusiasm to
pervade over loyalist sentiment within the colony. The vacancy for Governor of
Virginia, left by Lord Dunmore, was initially filled by the great orator and
patriot Patrick Henry from 1776 – 1779, followed by the election of Thomas Jefferson
from 1779 – 1781.
It is important to realize
that Lewis Shapard spent the first ten years of his childhood witnessing the
effects of the Revolutionary War as a normal daily event, a war that gradually made
its way to his doorstep and affected every member of his family and society. After the expulsion of Lord Dunmore, Cumberland
County had remained relatively quiet and life and business seemed to proceed
with its usual tempo, apart from the occasional Continental or militia troop
that would march through the county and the ever rising inflation. However, in
the summer of 1780, everything changed as Virginia was fully thrust back into
the war when British General Charles Cornwallis overran South Carolina and
began a push into North Carolina. With Georgia and South Carolina under British
control and North Carolina under invasion, Virginia prepared for the defense of
her boarders.
In response, in the fall
of 1780, there was a great call among the Commonwealth of Virginia to rally
3,000 able-bodied militiamen as a defense against the British advance. At that
time, Lewis’ father, William Shapard, was a volunteer in the Cumberland County
Virginia Militia and was called into active service. Apparently, due to his
older age (approximately 40 years old) or his commitments to his domestic and
business obligations, Mr. Shapard desired a substitute in his stead and called
upon his eldest son, seventeen year-old Samuel Booker Shapard, to fill the
position. When propositioned by his father, Samuel was engaged in higher
education as a student. Later in life Samuel became a lawyer, and it is
presumed that he had just begun his schooling at this time. Between 1780 and
1781, Samuel B. Shapard represented our family by serving two tours of duty in
the Cumberland County Virginia Militia against the British advance. Seven year-old
Lewis Shapard would have witnessed his older brother heading off to war, no
doubt sending him off with affection and well wishes, and giving him a hero’s
welcome upon his safe return.
Interestingly, numerous
other members of Lewis Shapard’s extended family also took up arms against the
British during the rebellion. Perhaps the most distinguished was his maternal
uncle Lewis Booker (1754-1814) - of whom Lewis Shapard was named in honor.
Lewis Booker was the only son of James (c.1720-1793) and Elizabeth Booker
(1726-1760), and he received his name from his grandmother Amy Lewis
(1700-1751) who married James Booker (1695-1751). Militarily, Lewis Booker
served honorably in the Continental Army from 1775 until 1783, reaching the
rank of Captain-Lieutenant. He was on the muster rolls at Valley Forge, Camp
White Plains, Camp Fredericksburg, Pluckemin, Middlebrook, Smiths Cove, New
Windsor, and Morristown. After the war, he resided in Gloucester County,
Virginia, and was awarded land grants for his military service totaling 5,521acres.
Lewis married Judith Dudley of Gloucester on February 7, 1788, and they had
numerous children. Lewis’ father, James Booker, died in 1793 and bequeathed his
only son his plantation in Essex County, Virginia, known as “Laurel Grove” near
the present-day town of Millers Tavern. Lewis became an active church member
and attended Howerton’s Baptist Church near his plantation. Lewis Booker died
of diphtheria on December 23, 1814, at 61 years old, and was buried on the
grounds of Laurel Grove. His grave now resides in the cemetery of Saint Paul’s
Episcopal Church (built 1838) at Millers Tavern, Essex County, Virginia.
Other members of the family
who served in the war were Lewis Shapard’s cousins, Samuel Shepard and William
Blackstone Shapard, sons of Robert Shapard (c. 1732–1796) of Goochland County,
Virginia. Samuel Shepard (1762–1846) enlisted on January 16, 1778, as a private
in the Continental Army of Goochland County, Virginia, under Capt. Nathaniel
Morris and served for one year, taking part in the Battle of Monmouth. Between
1779 and 1781, Samuel Shepard was drafted back into service as a militiaman
five times, serving tours of duty from one month up to three months in
duration. As the war came to a close, Samuel was guarding British prisoners at
Yorktown, when General Cornwallis surrendered. His brother, William Blackstone Shapard
(b. circa 1760 – d. 1778) enlisted with him in the Continental service at the
Goochland County Courthouse in 1778; however, William died later that year
while in the army. On a side note, Samuel was illiterate, resulting in his
family adapting the more common “Shepard” spelling for their surname in
subsequent generations.
Records show that Lewis
Shapard had at least two other cousins that fought in the war: George and Peter
Shapard, sons of John Shapard (c. 1738–1806) of Granville County, North Carolina.
On February 12, 1780, George (1760-1836) and Peter (1762-1825) enlisted in the
Continental Army as privates in Captain John Bailey’s Company under General
George Roger Clark’s Virginia Regiment. Interestingly, General Clark was the
brother of William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In 1780, George
and Peter descended the Ohio River and helped construct Fort Jefferson
(Wickliffe, Kentucky). During the course of the war they marched to St. Louis
then up the Illinois River to Fort Vincennes (Indiana). They were discharged
from service at Fort Nelson (Louisville, Kentucky) on February 11, 1783. After
the war, the State of Virginia granted 150,000 acres of land in Indiana as a
reward to the men of General Clark’s Regiment for outstanding service. In 1784,
the land was allotted to the individuals and George and Peter received 108
acres each as privates. George resided in Lexington, Kentucky for ten years
after the war and then lived out the remainder of his life in Mason County,
Kentucky. In 1804, Peter sold his interests in his land bounties in Indiana and
appears to have resided in Georgia for the remainder of his life, dying in
Fayette County in 1825.
While the war ebbed and
flowed around Cumberland County, Virginia, life for the Shapard family carried
on. About the year 1780, Lewis Shapard’s aunt, Joanna (Booker) Woodson, wife of
John Woodson, Jr., died. The Woodsons lived on a neighboring property to the
southeast of the Shapard plantation, and would have had close ties with each
other. The news of her sister’s death would have been particularly hard for
Lewis’ mother. In October or November of 1781, Lewis’ grandmother, Mildred
(Crockford) (Shapard) Townley died near the town of Cologne in southern King
and Queen County, Virginia. She was about 70 years old and attended Ware’s
Baptist Church near her home. About that same timeframe, Lewis’ uncle, Samuel
Shapard of Henrico County, Virginia, also died. He was about 52 years old and
was survived by his wife, Elizabeth (Price), and eight children.
Although Cumberland County
was spared the physical destruction of being in the theater of the war, it
fully suffered the societal strain of immorality, lawlessness and depravity,
which increased during the war and for a few years after. Cumberland County experienced
a tremendous rise in whiskey production and consumption, exacerbated by a
diminished church attendance. In addition, schools, apprenticeships and
education fell by the wayside due to inflation, poor attendance and lack of
tutors. As a boy of educational age during the war, Lewis Shapard would have
likely been educated by his parents at home with his other siblings. Lewis’
parents were both literate and saw great benefit in education. They ensured
that all their children, even their daughters, received scholastic training to
enhance their quality of life and future potential.
The Public Service Claims
of Virginia offer us a glimpse of what soldiery Lewis Shapard encountered at
his home during the Revolutionary War:
On February 28, 1781, a
Continental unit from Pennsylvania stopped at the Shapard plantation and Mr.
John Stewart, W.C., commandeered two bushels of corn to feed their teams of
horses.
On March 6, 1781, General
Lawson’s Brigade (General Robert Lawson) of the Continental Army passed through
Cumberland County resting at the Shapard Plantation, whereupon, Quarter Master,
Stephen Cook commandeered a bushel of corn for army use. Interestingly, in
October of that same year, Lawson’s Brigade would take part in the famous
Battle of Yorktown, during which British General Cornwallis surrendered.
On June 1, 1781, Captain
Lee’s Troop, belonging to General Lawson’s Brigade of the Continental Army,
rested at the Shapard plantation, whereby, the Quarter Master, Samuel Luck,
commandeered four bushels of corn and oats to feed their horses.
On September 18, 1781, Ben
Wilson, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Cumberland County Militia and Commissary,
commandeered two cows from the Shapard plantation to supply meat for the
soldiers.
On September 20, 1781, the
First and Second Regiments from Maryland camped for a night at the Shapard
plantation, and pastured fourteen of their horses. Earlier that year in March,
the First and Second Maryland Regiments had engaged British General Cornwallis
at the Battle of Guilford’s Court House in North Carolina. Although they had
lost the battle, the British had sustained significant losses, which long term
proved to be a tactical victory for the Americans. After resting overnight at
the Shapard Plantation, the First and Second Maryland Regiments packed up their
camp and ventured beyond Cumberland County to assist General Greene and the
Southern Continental Army.
On November 7, 1781,
General Steven’s Brigade of the Continental Army camped at the Shapard
plantation. Thomas Davenport, S.M.V.M, issued Lewis Shapard’s father a receipt
for supplying provisions for 17 men, forage for a horse and lodging of three
soldiers in his house. General Edward Stevens was a talented officer and a
future Senator for the State of Virginia. His brigade saw action at the Battle
of Guilford’s Court House where he had ordered his own marksmen to shoot any of
his men that attempted to retreat. Later, he commanded his brigade of 750
soldiers at the Siege of Yorktown. The Shapard family would have heard amazing
stories from the soldiers whom they lodged in their home.
On November 18, 1781, a
detachment of Colonel Lee’s Legion of the Continental Army halted at the
Shapard plantation, upon which Mr. George Guthrey [Guthrie], D.P.L.,
commandeered 82 bushels of fodder and temporarily stabled seven heifers in the
Shapard’s barn. Col. Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee was a future Governor of
Virginia and the father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Colonel Lee’s
Legion, comprised of approximately 100 cavalry and 180 infantry, was assigned
to assist General Greene in the Southern theater of the war. Lee’s Legion was
highly regarded as one of the best clothed and well-equipped units of the
Continental Army. They had engaged the British at the battles of Guilford Court
House, Eutaw Springs and Yorktown.
On December 7, 1781, Ben Wilson,
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Cumberland County Militia and Commissary, commandeered
twenty-nine bushels of wheat from the Shapard plantation to feed the Militia.
The last service claim
regarding the Shapard plantation during the war was dated February 21, 1783;
whereby, Lieutenant Jonah Hallet of the Fourth Regiment Light Dragoons of the
Continental Army commandeered one and a-half bushels of corn and 92 pounds of
fodder to feed their horses while they rested. The Fourth Regiment was
organized in Pennsylvania in 1777. They had spent the harsh winter at Valley
Forge camped with the Continental Army and had engaged the enemy at Guildford
Court House and Yorktown. In January of 1782, The Light Dragoons were sent to
Savannah, Georgia, to break the British stronghold of that city. There they
endured extreme combat with the British and their Indian allies; the most notable
battle occurred on June 23, 1782 when three hundred Creek Indian warriors
unsuccessfully attempted a surprise attack on the Fourth Regiment. After
regaining control of Savannah, the Fourth Regiment was reassigned to
Charleston, South Carolina, to assist General Greene. Charleston was finally
liberated from the British on December 14, 1782, after which, the Fourth
Regiment Light Dragoons began their march back north, resting at the Shapard
plantation in Cumberland County, Virginia, before reaching Pennsylvania in May
of 1783. Only a few months later, on September 3, 1783, representatives of the
United States of America met with representatives of King George III and signed
of the Treaty of Paris, which recognized America as an independent nation from
Brittan, gave all lands east of the Mississippi River to the Americans, and
officially concluded the Revolutionary War.
It is hard to imagine the
emotional, physical and financial toll of eight years of revolution and war,
followed by the instability of a newly formed nation. Everything that the
Shapard family knew of government, society and religion had been cast away and
were in the process of being transformed and shaped into new institutions. The
new government, set forth by the Articles of Confederation in 1777, tried to
operate under a loose union (confederation) of sovereign States each with their
own constitutions. There was no president, as the governing body only consisted
of representatives from each state, forming a Congress.
Inflation remained high after
the war which resulted in an economic depression from 1784 through 1785.
Lawlessness was rampant due to the instability of the times. The moral
volatility of the times fluctuated for many years until new churches were
established, filling the void left from the disestablishment of the Church of
England. The Presbyterians were the first to take hold in Cumberland County and
elsewhere, followed by the Baptists, and then the Methodists. All and all, for
the citizens of the newly formed United States, stability in government,
economics and religion would be elusive throughout the 1780s and 1790s.
Despite the financial,
emotional and physical struggles affecting society, the Shapard family remained
steadfast through their own struggles and persevered. Not only did they survive
this volatile time during and after the war, in many ways they prospered. Four
children were born to William and Mary Shapard family during the Revolutionary
War: Booker was born circa 1775; Thomas was born on August 6, 1778; Mary “Polly”
was born circa 1780 and John S. was born circa 1782. Lewis’ older brother,
Samuel Booker Shapard, persevered through his two tours in the Virginia
militia, and returned home to a hero’s welcome. In 1773, prior to the
revolution the Shapard family owned three slaves (Phill, Nancy and Esther),
yet, near the end of the war in 1782, they had amassed 10 slaves and built
three slave quarters on their land. The Cumberland County Personal Property Tax
List for 1783 lists the names and ages of their slaves as: Phill, Peter, Pegg
whom were all older than 16 years of age; and Aham, James, Harry, Ishmael,
Hannah, Jack, Nancy whom were all younger than 16 years of age. In 1784, Mr.
Shapard sold two of his younger slaves, Aham and James, to acquire a stronger
more skilled male slave named “Old Ishmael.” In addition to their slaveholdings,
the Shapard family owned eight horses and twenty head of cattle.
In retrospect, it truly is
stunning to consider that Lewis Shapard had such a visual experience of the
Revolutionary War and the birth of our nation. He would have seen and
interacted with the troops and witnessed the earliest versions of what would
become our revered American flag. During most of his youth and early manhood,
Lewis would have experienced little in the form of stable government. In fact,
during his first fifteen years of life, he transitioned through three forms of
government: British rule, then Articles of Confederation, then the Constitution.
Lewis Shapard’s youth and adolescence coincided perfectly with our nation’s
first steps into freedom and democracy. The world was truly new again and Lewis
was now an American. As a result of our new nation acquiring all the
formerly-owned British land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River,
much of which was still wild and unexplored, there were limitless opportunities
for those who had a spirit of adventure and a willingness to pursue it. Two
years after the war, the Shapard family sought that opportunity, by bravely
leaving their home in Cumberland County Virginia, in 1785, for prosperity in
the vast fertile and inexpensive lands of Granville County, North Carolina.
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