Excerpt from History of Virginia, From Its Discovery and Settlement by Europeans to the Present Time, Vol. 2: Containing the History of the Colony and of the State From 1763 to the Retrocession of Alexandria in 1847, With a Review of the Present Condition of Virginia The volume now presented to the public concludes the history of Virginia from 1763 to the Vear 1847, and contains also a review of her present condition. The Author has found the task more interesting and more difficult than the composition of the first volume; and as no one can estimate its difficulty more fully, so it is probable that none can perceive its defects more clearly than himself. But he has persevered in the plan of stating facts upon none but the best authorities, of giving the names of his witnesses to his readers, and of laving open his inferences to full inspection. It will be at once remarked, that his plan has brought him in contact with many delicate subjects, and with individuals either now living themselves or having near relatives alive. He can hardly hope that he will give satisfaction to all. Were he to pretend that he has no preferences in politics, in religion, or in views of the social system, he would instantly forfeit all right to public confidence. But preferences may be well founded. He has eagerly striven to divest his mind of all prejudice and undue prepossession, and to reach the truth wherever it could be at tained. If, therefore, any reader shall find in this work any statement which does not please him, he is earnestly asked to pause, to reconsider his own opinion, to examine carefully the authorities cited for facts, and the deductions drawn from them. When he shall have bestowed as much labour in reviewing the statement as has been devoted to its original preparation, if his objections are not removed, the Author will be pleased to hear them from him. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.