Old Chain Bridge and Neartvy Virginia

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BY JOHN CLAGETT PROCTOR. ways around the District, as well as publie property within the city itself, before and after does not h.3ve to go far outside Hills and the arrival of outside assistance, and, althougn cf the District of Columbia to fee Beautiful Rolling Delightful this statement Is known to be true, yet the some very beautiful seem ry. And remarks on the rubject made by Col. Charles at no time during the year are the P. Stcne, U. S. Α., will add to its support and farms and the undeveloped c:untry Scenery Have Alzvays Aroused Admiration weight. He Sôid: ONEmore attractive or picture: que in "They guarded the public buildings and tfie vicinity of Wcshingtcn than right now. property. They, at the same time, guarded the Knowing this to be th* case, the writer de- Visi bridger and roads g.ving entrance to the city, cided a few days a?o to t3ke a short run into of tors—History of Clay- Randolph holding a line of about 18 miles in length when nearby Virginia ta feast his eyes once again Washington was cut off from communication and on the inviting snd alluring landscape for with the rest of the country. They seized which this dear eld State is so noted, and some guarded tbe supply cf flour which made bread Bloodless Duel Remembered. and for the of whi.h can be «asily reached from here in a for the people of the District earliest arrival of outside oc- very short while. troops. They vi of McLttn wa-i the cupied the B:himore & Ohio Railroad between The lage objective point, last a a modern struc- elevation and more room for the ice will long while, though affording Junction and thus the writer hes an old friend, whom Washington and Annapolis for here ture should be built somewhere along the river and driftwood. opened the way for the arrival of friendly he does net often see, and silected this par- in this vicinity. "In 1872 Congress appropriated $100,000 for troops. They were the advance guard in the ticular day because it was as near Ideal as it rebuilding the Chain Bridge, from which appro- first movement into Virginia when Alexandria could posfibly be. was the work has been done." in 1874, when the present bridge priation was The route cut of was pACK captured." Washington through ^ first The Star a long de- An old atlas of 1878 shows that there were Georgetown and along the Csnal road to the opened, printed which historically, the bridge pre- then living, near the approach to the Chain Chain Bridge, cn old historic spot. Per though scription of it, a portion of which said: PERHAPS,ceded tb» present cne, was the most' noted Bridge, on the District side. Joseph Paine. Levi the present iron structure dater only from 1874, for the new selected by Gen. "The plan bridge of all. since it was here during the Civil War, Barnes and Joseph Biunden. and close to the yet no cne seems to know just how long there as best for this *^te is what Babcock adapted for a brief while during the early days of that Virginia end of the bridge. Ed Woody. has been a bridge at this place. We do know Truss.' It is known as the 'Murphy-Whipple struggk·, it was the only thir.g in this vicinity Across the road from the entrance to the that a wooden roofed-in stiucture was there as is divided into spans, two of 160 feet and eight that separated Union and Confederate soldiers driveway leading up to the Doak residence is early as 1797; that from natural decay It col- six of 172 feet each. The entire length is 1.352 who guarded it from either end. Soon, how- a little stream called Plummett Run, and near- in seven years, and that a new one was feet. The are and independent lapsed spans separate ever. when nearby Virginia fell into the hands by a sign which reads: erected soon after, which in six months was other, on cast-iron bridge seats, of each resting of the Northern troops, both ends were care- "Near here and John Randolph a freshet. anchored to stone copings; one end of swept away by securely fully guarded by Union soldiers. Port Marcy of Roanoke fought a duel April 8. 1826. Ran- There seems to have been a biidge here even each is fixed, and the other rests upon span being erected on the Virginia side, a little way dolph had called C:ay a 'blackleg' in a speech. to 1797. In 1791 we And the friction rollers for the expansion and prier Legislature provided up cm the Leesburg and Georgetown Turnpike, Both were unhurt, but Randolph's coat was the contraction of the iron. The trusses are 28 feet of Maryland incTporating Georgetown and Fort Ethan Allen a little way oil to tbe pierced by a bullet." 22 feet from center Bridge Co. for the purpose of erecting a toll in depth and placed apart south. Both forts being most naturally erected At the time this duel took place. Mr. Clay center. Each truss of 172 feet span is divided bridge at the Little Palls of the Potomac River to at strategic points, and for this same reason, was Secretary of State in the cabinet of John into 12 r.nd each truss of 160 feet into and four years later the same body gave this panels, it is quite probable that lookouts were placed Quincy Adams, in which also were serving 11 of feet each. The upper cords, company authority to construct a road frcm panels MVj on the high hill upon which stands the resi- such stalwarts as William Wirt and Richard main and intermediate posts, are formed of the bridge to Georgetown, which was to become dence of Secretary Doek. who has at the en- Rush, John C. Calhoun being the Vice Presi- Phoenix column iron, and the lower cords, main "a public highway forever and kept in repair trance of bis carriage-way a sign which reads: dent. It was right in the middle of the days intermediate ties of the the forged links, by :«id company." and "Doak when the code duello was the most popular without welds. The posts are fitted to cast- Because of the narrowness of the river at this Notre way of settling one's differences—quite fre- iron cape and seats, the bottoms of the former point, under n: rmal conditions, this has always Nid." quently bloodlesslj : occasionally, fatally. and the tops of the latter being truly turned been a favored pUce for a bridge, but, as demon- This, the writer at first thought, meant "no for that purpose. Turned wrought iron pins, for strated many times in the early days, not the vlsitorr," but later was told it was Spanish 3 Inches in diameter, lock in one connec- most The volume of water here is "our nest." which brings to mind the story of undoubtedly m man of rare logical. of columns and the tion the caps the diagonal at a quite deceptive because of the unusual depth of the Irishman who, after intently gazing RANDOLPH,talents, claimed he was a descendant of ties, also the bottom cords, the seats of the the the river, which is over 80 feet Immediately side-show picture of a mermaid, bearing Pocahontas, End was glad of it; and he evi- columns, the diagonal ties, and the floor beam "That's below the Little Falls and the current always name "Psyche," was heard to exclaim: dently was. for he seems to have Inherited the suspenders. The floor beams are 15-inch a devil of a way to spell fish!" warlike of some of the swift and treacherous. and the floor and spirit Virginia Indians. Phoenix rolled beams, joists within the the water often covers Not far from the bridge, District, Of him. his friend. Thomas H. writes: During heavy floods, are best Benton, flooring of the pine, Kemble and Ver- one end of the were Batteries Martin Scott, "He was noted for his keen retorts, reckless the flats from the bridge to 3 inches thick and not over 6 inches wide, mont, with Port Gains a little to the rear, wit and skill in debate. His other, and during the Winter fleshets, when with edges sawed straight, laid close, and tall, slender, while on the Maryland side, not far from the cadaverous form; his shrill, piping voice; and the situation is aggrevated with enormous quan- securely spiked. There are no sidewalks, but an river, were Batteries Bailey and Alexander, and his- long, skinny at the tities of ics, the condition is all the more crit- iron railing 4 feet high is placed on either fingers pointing object Ports Mansfield, Davis, Cross, Kirby and Sum- of his invective—made him a ical. Many of us do not have to look back very side of the carriageway. The width of the conspicuous ner. speaker. For 30 years he was the far to recall occasions when at points of van- roadway is 20 feet, and the bridge is propor- 'political Gen. John G Barnard, in his report on the meteor of CongTesr.' " tage we watched the Ice In the river break up, tioned so as to safely carry, in addition to the defenses of Washington during the Civil War, At the time of the duel. was serv- expecting almost at any moment not only to weight of the structure, 100 pounds for each Randolph made in 1871, refers to the means taken to ing in the Senate, having been appointed there see this bridge go down stream, but the old square foot of roadway, and the maximum protect the -bridge during the early months of in 1825. Previous to this, however, he had Aqueduct and Long Bridge as well, and they strain produced by this load is 10,000 pounds the conflict. He says: served in inch of or about 1 inch the House of Representatives from were much stronger structures, too, in our days, per square section, had "At an early date, defensive measures 1815 to 1825. the 1817 to than those erected during the days of our of its ultimate strength. The contract price for except during years been taken at the Chain Bridge, consisting of when he had failed of election. fathers and grandfathers. the entire work was $94,000, which was paid by 1819, « barricade immediately over tbe first pier from installments, as each span was completed. It is said Randolph did not like Clay, nor the Virginia side, with a movable staircase, by "Mr. Theodore B. Samo was the engineer in any other Kentuckian. for that matter. In- which the defenders could retreat over the IT was due to the accumulation of ice charge of the work, and the contractors for deed. it might be truthfully said that there huge flat the open to the fire were Messrs. Reeves below, leaving bridge ■ building the bridge Clark, were many people whom he did not like, and at this point, that nearly all of the earlier of two mountain howitzers, placed immediately & Co., Phoenixville Works, nftr Philadelphia. one very bad habit he had was in expressing Back in ac- at its Maryland end, of a battery on the bluff bridges here were destroyed. 1832, At the point where this bridge is built the his dislikes in and then in above (Martin Scott) of raie 8-inch seacoast personal public, cording to the chronicles of Richard P. Jack- channel is deep, the bottom rocky and uneven, terms, which he did in the speech he howitzer and two 35-pounders. As even this scathing the current and running close to the Vir- made in the Senate which on the duel. son, there was so much ice banked up against syift last battery was commanded by heights on the brought ginia shore. There have been several bridges the Chain that it was taken down side, it was deemed proper to erect , the reader will probably Bridge by on this site, and on each successive one being Virginia caiied at a recall, was elected President by the House of the bridge company to permit the ice and built, the defects in the plans and construction another Vermont higher point, which should command the heights, Representatives, particularly to the dislike of water to flow off gradually and not sud- of the former ones have been avoided. The Virginia and at the same time sweep the approaches of thoee favoring , who had re- enly, as it was likely to do when the Spring first bridge erected on this site was constructed the the shore of the ceived 99 electoral votes to 84 received by Mr. thaw set in. Thus, much damage to George- about 40 years ago, which was an iron suspen- enemy along Maryland Potomac. Adams. Incidentally, the election of 1824 seems town property, along the river front, was pre- sion bridge, supported by inynense cable chains shore at to have been a beside these vented and thousands of dollars were saved stretching from pier to pier, from which the "But the occupation of the Virginia free-for-all, since, the Chain was essential to the two candidates, there were also in the running to the West End merchants. term 'chain bridge' was derived. Bridge future of our in Virginia, to for the Henry Clay and William H. It was at this time that Mr. Jackson re- "This bridge was destroyed by ice and drift- operations Army presidency. the of our and incidentally im- and for Vice President, John C. called seeing the flats lying between the tow wood, which lodged against the chains and prestige arms, Crawford, to the defense of Washington. It was Nathan path of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and piers. The bridge has been continually repaired portant Calhoun, Sanford, only delayed until our force was sufficient to and . Henry Clay and An- the river banked up with ice, mountains high, up to the time of the construction of the authorize its accomplishment. Gen. W. P. drew Jackson also received votes for Vice Presi- and so covered with debris and drift wood present one. The long stretch of rocky flats, Smith's division crossed the bridge on the night dent. that persons who went fishing at the Little nearly 500 yards in width, between this channel of 24, and Forts Ethan Allen and Mr. did not like the Falls in the month of May or June, could and the canaî, on the District side, is seldom September Evidently, Randolph Marcy were immediately begun and speedily selection made the House, and he did not always find a lump of ice to put into the* covered with water, except In times of freshets. by finished." like the President's and he did bucket of water. Immediately below the Little Falls the depth of foreign policy, not like Mr. Clay for accepting the office of The Chain Bridge, as we see it today, was water is over 80 feet, and continues very deep does not say so, It of State, and, maybe, he had dis- opened to the public 58 years ago, and, since until the Aqueduct Bridge Is reached. So dis- this report yet Secretary likes for a few other things, besides. At any its erection, has upon a number of occasions astrous hitherto have the floods been to the THOUGHis a fact that it was our own 3,500 three- first to rate, this is the he his respects In undergone repairs. A few years ago it was bridges here that Gen. Babcock has taken the month District volunteers—the troops way paid the Senate to the President and Mr. Clay: dosed to traffic until It could be put in a safe precaution in this instance of having all the old be mustered into the Federal service—who early "The letter from Oen. Salaxar, Mexican condition, and no doubt, as it now stands. piers raised 2 feet additional, thus giving more guarded this bridge and other Important high-