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 HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 or 
 
 ANN PAMELA CUNNINGHAM 
 
 '*THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 FOUNDER OF 
 THE MOUNT VERNOK LADIES' ASSOCIATION' 
 
First Regent Mount Vernon Ladies' Association 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF 
 
 Ann Pamela Cunningham 
 
 '*THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 FOUNDER OF 
 '*THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES* ASSOCIATION*' 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE ASSOCIATION 
 
 AT THE MARION PRESS 
 
 JAMAICA QUEENSBOROUGH NEW YORK 
 
 191 I 
 
f 312 
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 O attempt, in a mere profile sketchy to do jus- 
 M tice to so remarkable a woman as Miss Cun- 
 ningham is not possible J only a full-length 
 portrait could offer an adequate conception of her 
 energy and her sacrifice — the obstacles surmoujited, 
 the years of discouragement and disappointment brave- 
 ly met J and the joy of the crowning success. 
 
 This little volume is the loving tribute to the mem- 
 ory of Miss Cunningham upon this the fiftieth a?i?ii- 
 versary of the initiation of her patriotic effort; an 
 offering from those who have humbly followed her 
 instrtictions and example, and who hope, in these few 
 pages, to impress the reader with some idea of the 
 priceless gifts bestowed upon the iiation by Miss Cun- 
 ningham in the preservation and protection of the 
 Home an/i Grave of Washington. 
 
 igoj. 
 

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 !3t9i^^ Cunningl^am 
 
 NN PAMELA CUNNINGHAM was a 
 daughter of South Carohna. Her home 
 "Rosemont" was the focus of elegance 
 and refinement, "where she reigned su- 
 preme, worshipped as a princess, dominating all by 
 her independence of thought and act — self-reHant 
 and talented," writes one who knew her in health and 
 youth and prosperity as well as in her days of illness 
 and misfortune. 
 
 It was upon a clear moonlit night in 1853 that the 
 mother of Miss Cunningham passed by Mount Ver- 
 non. The steamer's bell tolled out its requiem to the 
 dead hero, whose resting-place, even under the half- 
 tones of the moonhght, revealed only neglect and 
 desolation. Reflecting sadly in the night silence upon 
 this melancholy scene as it faded in the distance, 
 Mrs. Cunningham realized that unless some immediate 
 
6 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 effort were made for the preservation of this sacred 
 spot utter ruin would result. But where should the 
 effort begin ? Thinking intently — suddenly, like the 
 flash of the star which shot across the heavens, came 
 the inspiration, " Let the women of America own and 
 preserve Mount Vernon ! " 
 
 When Miss Cunningham read the letter from her 
 mother containing the proposition she said, "I will 
 do it." 
 
 At this time Miss Cunningham was confined to 
 her room a helpless invalid, whose lack of physical 
 strength was compensated by strength of mind and 
 great intellectual ability, accompanied by an enthu- 
 siastic, sympathetic natiure which accepted no dis- 
 couragement or rebuff. 
 
 When this dehcate, sensitive woman declared, "I 
 will do it ! " her friends sought, by reason and ridi- 
 cule, to dissuade her from so wild an undertaking. 
 
 Her answer was the letter addressed through our 
 journals to the "Women of America" — an earnest, 
 stirring appeal to their patriotism, urging them to 
 unite in an effort for the rescue and preservation of 
 this neglected Home, this forgotten Grave — to make 
 of Mount Vernon a shrine sacred to the memory of 
 the Father of his Country. 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 7 
 
 But so great was her shyness and timidity as to 
 lead her to insist upon conceaHng her identity during 
 the four years of her unceasing efforts under the 
 nom-de-plume of "The Southern Matron." 
 
 This initiatory letter was followed by others in 
 quick succession. A newspaper, The Mount Vernon 
 Record^ was published monthly, giving details of the 
 progress in collecting funds, of the public meetings, 
 private entertainments, and the general and increas- 
 ing interest shown. 
 
 It was in 1853 that Miss Cunningham founded 
 "The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association." She 
 writes: "When I started the Mount Vernon move- 
 ment it was a Southern affair altogether. My appeal 
 was to Southern ladies. The intention was simply to 
 raise $200,000; give it to Virginia, to hold title and 
 to purchase 200 acres of the Mount Vernon prop- 
 erty, including the Mansion and Tomb — Virginia to 
 keep it for a public resort. The ladies to have it in 
 charge and adorn it if they could have the means." 
 A charter was drawn up and presented to Mr. John 
 Augustine Washington, the owner of Mount Vernon. 
 He refused to agree to this charter. All efforts were 
 for the time paralyzed. 
 
 The Northern press now began to notice the move- 
 
8 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 ment, but condemned the sectional reserve, claiming 
 that the effort should be a National one, and offer- 
 ing the aid of the Northern States. So great was the 
 clamor that Miss Cunningham yielded, and at once 
 began to extend the powers of the Association by the 
 appointment of ladies as Vice-Regents from each 
 State in the Union, with full powers to appoint com- 
 mittees in their respective States for the purpose of 
 raising money. 
 
 " The Southern Matron," as Regent, was to be the 
 head of the Association. But so extensive a work 
 was necessarily slow in organizing. The difficulty of 
 interesting the people was most discouraging. But in 
 1855 Philadelphia awoke; great enthusiasm pre- 
 vailed; clubs were formed; boxes for contributions 
 were allowed in Independence Hall; hope revived; 
 — when suddenly the leading men in Philadelphia re- 
 fused any support to the movement, "because it was 
 a woman's effort, and they disapproved of women 
 mixing in public affairs " ! Again discouragement, — 
 but no halt in the onward course of these patriotic 
 women, who fought on against the tide, inspired by 
 their untiring leader. 
 
 On the 19th of March, 1856, when in Richmond 
 to deliver his great eulogy on Washington, Mr. 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 9 
 
 Everett first met Miss Cunningham. So powerful 
 and convincing was the spell of her eloquence, so 
 earnest her patriotism, that when she begged him to 
 aid her he responded by pledging to consecrate his 
 orations henceforth to the Mount Vernon cause. He 
 proved its Providence, giving his great talents, his 
 time, his influence to the scheme, until he placed in 
 the hands of Miss Cunningham, as the result of his 
 exertions, the sum of $69,064. 
 
 Mr. Washington had agreed to part with the 200 
 acres demanded for the sum of $200,000; but upon 
 the new charter being offered him, he refused posi- 
 tively to accept its provisions ! Thus once again fell 
 the dark cloud of disappointment upon the work. 
 
 With the refusal to sell came the refusal of the 
 public to give. Contributions ceased. Distrust and 
 suspicion of the integrity of the Association were 
 freely expressed by the press. Despair fell upon the 
 brave women who were engaged in the work. What 
 to do? where to turn for assistance in this emergency? 
 how to avoid complete failure? how to induce Mr. 
 Washington to part with his historic acres? were 
 questions asked, but unanswered. 
 
 Again Miss Cunningham said, "I will do it!" 
 How she did it, how remarkable was her success, 
 
10 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 how great the difficulties presented, her eloquent pen 
 describes in the following letter: 
 
 "... Of course we could do nothing with 
 the public when they believed Mr. Washington would 
 not sell. I proposed to go to Mount Vernon and 
 charm the bear (as I thought him then). Mr. Everett 
 urged this. I had not for many years been on a 
 railroad — the motion made me ill. But I found I 
 could get to Baltimore by canal-boat, from whence 
 the railroad ride would be short. Arrived at Mount 
 Vernon, I was carried in a chair to the house on 
 an awfully hot day in June. I saw the family; was 
 received kindly, — but all my arguments failed, 
 though Mr. Washington promised to meet me in 
 Washington. 
 
 " When I got to the wharf the boat had gone and 
 left me ! We could just see it. I was put into a sail- 
 boat and towed into the stream, expecting to catch 
 the mail boat, but waited in vain. When I got back 
 to the bank I was nearly dead. But the moment I 
 saw I was left, I said, * Mount Vernon is saved ! ' 
 I was carried down to the parlor at night. I talked 
 pleasantly, telling of various incidents connected with 
 Mr. Everett and his Washington lecture, and enlight- 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 11 
 
 ened the family in a roundabout way as to our pro- 
 ceedings and the interest felt. I could see their 
 amazement. It was a side of the shield they had not 
 seen. I felt I had gained Mrs. Washington. 
 
 " I shook hands with Mr. Washington ; told him it 
 was leap-year, women were bound to have their way. 
 He might resist with all his might, but I knew I was 
 to be victor, and must counsel him to follow the ex- 
 ample of his illustrious ancestor, who never acted on 
 a grave affair without having slept on it. Next morn- 
 ing I had a regular talk. The spirit moved me as 
 never before. I never spoke to mortal as I spoke to 
 him. I told him the isles of the sea would send their 
 tributes for Mount Vernon ; that he would live to see 
 it, though I would not. (We both did, for Havana 
 and the Sandwich Islands both sent contributions.) 
 
 ''When I saw I could not shake his resolution 
 against allowing Virginia to buy Mount Vernon, for 
 he was very indignant at that, and considered it would 
 be mean for Virginia to accept the purchase money, 
 I went so far as to point to him the light in which 
 coming generations would view his conduct in pre- 
 venting our tribute to Washington. I told him his 
 descendants would mourn having descended from 
 him, and I dared say this because I felt that I, by 
 
12 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 Starting this movement, had been instrumental in 
 placing him in this unpleasant position. He thanked 
 me; said he knew it; but he was as firm as a rock, 
 though he was deeply moved. I could see that he 
 realized his real attitude, and felt it sorely. 
 
 "The carriage was waiting — I had to go — the 
 cause was gone! I turned to him, mournfully ex- 
 pressed my grief, but said that I could not leave him 
 without putting myself in proper position. I told him 
 I knew the public had behaved abominably toward 
 him; that the Virginia Legislature had done so also, 
 in framing a charter contrary to the terms he had ex- 
 pressed himself willing to accept; that, apprehensive 
 of this, I had tried to get the address of the Gover- 
 nor, to find in what way he intended to present the 
 subject to the Legislature. The Governor was trav- 
 eUing in West Virginia, and could not be communi- 
 cated with in time, — thus we had lost eighteen 
 months in inaction and delay. Could I have suc- 
 ceeded, matters would have taken a different form. 
 That as soon as I saw a draft of the charter I real- 
 ized that it was not what would be agreeable to Mr. 
 Washington. I assured him that I beheved all the 
 ladies concerned felt as I did. While we wished to 
 succeed in our beautiful tribute, we were grieved that 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 13 
 
 his feelings were hurt — insulted — so repeatedly be- 
 cause of it. I looked up to him as I said this. What 
 a change in his face! 
 
 " Unawares I had at last touched the 'sore spot' — 
 the obstacle no money could have removed. 
 
 " I now found that he beheved the whole thing 
 had been arranged between the Association and Vir- 
 ginia to put an indignity upon him! 
 
 "His feelings were wounded, goaded; and lo! in 
 explaining my feelings I had shown him his error. 
 
 " I then told him if he would consent to overcome 
 minor objections, that I would prove to the country 
 the position of the Association by going before the 
 next Legislature and asking it to make any change 
 he required; but he must let the Association pay the 
 money, and not feel that his State or himself were 
 lowered by the act. 
 
 "I held out my hand — he put his in mine; then, 
 with quivering lips, moist eyes, and a heart too full to 
 speak, our compact was closed in silence. 
 None but God can know the mental labor and phys- 
 ical sufferings Mount Vernon has cost me! 
 
 "It was all-important to get Mr. Washington's 
 consent. Many disappointments followed. It was 
 
 3 
 
14 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 January, 1857, before anything was done. By this 
 time the whole subject had passed from pubhc inter- 
 est, for he had extinguished fires it took hard work to 
 rekindle. 
 
 " Our position was painful : the public felt itself 
 deceived — was not willing to give without a surety. 
 Our first charter made payment to Mr. Washington 
 depend on the success of the Association ; he required 
 that Virginia should pay him. How were we to get 
 Virginia to do this for us, risk her chance of being 
 paid, unless we had money enough beforehand to 
 justify her confidence? 
 
 "Well, with stout hearts we set to work. I had 
 been moved from Philadelphia to Charleston, Octo- 
 ber, 1856, on an air-bed. 
 
 *'In March, 1857, we started interest again in Vir- 
 ginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, 
 and Alabama; but it took time. Old Charleston city 
 awoke. The Fourth of July was set apart for contri- 
 butions. Her noblest citizens formed a band to re- 
 main in the City Hall during the day to receive con- 
 tributions. I was proud. 
 
 "The ball was now rolling; the action of Charles- 
 ton had started the country, and we had high hopes 
 of going on swimmingly in the autumn. Mr. Wash- 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 15 
 
 ington had declared that the matter must be decided 
 at the meeting of the next Legislature, so we were 
 under whip and spur. 
 
 "In September came the money panic of 1857. 
 This was a blow. Failure stared us in the face. It 
 was our extremity, 
 
 " Mr. Everett came to the rescue. He spoke in all 
 the important towns in every State. I was in despe- 
 rate health, but to Richmond I must go. Our char- 
 ter required that the Association should prepare a 
 constitution. I had to go on to present this, but 
 there were doubts whether I should live to get there. 
 A clause was inserted in the constitution to empower 
 'The Southern Matron' to appoint her successor, 
 in case she died before the organization was com- 
 pleted. 
 
 "Starting the last week in December, 1857, after 
 two hours of the journey I began to sink, and until 
 we reached Wilmington, North Carolina, I was held 
 by an open wiiidow to be able to breathe. Suffice it 
 to say, I reached Richmond alive, but I have never 
 been the same person since this journey and the wear 
 and tear of that winter's campaign. I was allowed 
 but Httle time to rest, for we had too little money 
 and must make it up by woman's influence. I was 
 
16 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 very low physically, but my spirit seemed to soar on 
 wings. 
 
 "The action of Charleston had aroused the nation, 
 and many people came to see me. The Secretary of 
 the Grand Lodge of Virginia was my first visitor; 
 then came different committees. Each one must hear 
 the tale of the Mount Vernon Association, its origin, 
 trials, and the scene with Mr. Washington; few un- 
 moist eyes left my room. 
 
 " Before a month had passed all Richmond was 
 excited as never before. We gained friends so fast, 
 it was said we 'bewitched the men.' This excited the 
 ire of Mr. Pryor, M.C., who with a most plausible 
 article in the paper warned the Legislature not to be 
 carried out of its propriety by sentiment and female 
 witchery — to look to the purse of the Association. 
 He stated, 'though the ladies acted in good faith, 
 they could not get money unless the people gave it; 
 and if Virginia paid Mr. Washington as he required, 
 the public would be very indifferent about bestowing 
 money to refund Virginia after they had got their 
 object, viz. : Mount Vernon.' 
 
 " There was truth in this, and it acted Hke magic. 
 I was called upon to answer this immediately. 
 
 " The reply I gave created intense excitement. 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 17 
 
 " In next day's paper Mr. Pryor replied, and yield- 
 ed in a gallant spirit, apparently ; but he was so en- 
 raged that he swore he would defeat the Association. 
 
 " Pryor did defeat us. 
 
 " We lost our bill! 
 
 "But I had a stronghold in the heart of John A. 
 Washington, and he had written me months before 
 that he was determined to show me how much he 
 appreciated my patriotism. I did not understand the 
 purport of these words then; but when defeat came 
 I sent to beg Mr. Washington to come to me, for I 
 hoped to prove to him that we should succeed if he 
 would trust us and give us time. 
 
 "He came at once to tell me that we should have 
 the title. He told me, too, that he knew when the 
 money crash came (1857) that we could not succeed. 
 He told me enough to let me see that what he did 
 was to gratify me. 
 
 " I suppose he felt that if we failed no harm was 
 done, as Mount Vernon would still be his. 
 
 "We soon entered another bill, and carried it by 
 acclamation March 19, 1858. 
 
 "But the wear and tear of the long struggle had 
 been too much for me, and on the day appointed by 
 Mr. Washington for the lawyers and the two Vice- 
 
18 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 Regents to meet and witness the signing of the 
 papers in my room, I awoke with a struggle for 
 breath and passed from one convulsion to another for 
 hours. 
 
 "The friends were horrified for fear that I should 
 die before all was signed. 
 
 "After the lawyers had waited a long time, and 
 even offered to postpone and leave, my system was 
 calmed. 
 
 " One of their number was sent to see if I was of 
 sound mind! 
 
 " All the papers were read in due form, and then a 
 gentleman knelt beside my couch and held the papers 
 for my signature; my lifeless fingers could hold a pen 
 but a few moments; could only make two or three 
 letters at a time. Finally all was gotten through with, 
 and the papers with my fearful scrawl carried to the 
 archives of the State. 
 
 " I was in a mental stupor for three weeks! 
 
 "Has not Mount Vernon been bought with a 
 price ? " 
 
 Miss Cunningham did not remain in a condition of 
 mental stupor longer than the period to which she 
 refers. No one realized so well as she that, with the 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 19 
 
 signing of the contract which gave the Association 
 the ownership, under the conditions of the charter, of 
 Mount Vernon, the larger work of restoration and re- 
 pair must begin. She soon roused herself from tem- 
 porary inaction, and early in 1858 issued an appeal 
 in which she announced that Mount Vernon had 
 now, through the women of America, become the 
 property of the Nation. She gave a brief history of 
 the efforts made to achieve this end, from which I 
 transcribe the following paragraphs: 
 
 "A call was made to the women of the South to 
 gather around Washington's grave, and like vestal 
 virgins to keep alive the fires of patriotism. The 
 motives were pure, the intentions generous, but it 
 failed! Ye who watch the signs of the times, know 
 ye not wherefore ? Washington belonged not alone to 
 the South / 
 
 "Again a call was made, and this time to the 
 women of the Nation. Again it failed, and where- 
 fore ? The title and all the power were to be given 
 to one State, and Washington belonged not to one 
 State alone! 
 
 "Devoted woman would be neither baffled nor 
 conquered ; but she only triumphs when the common 
 homestead can be procured as a common heritage 
 
20 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 for the estranged children of a common father, the 
 spell of whose memory will yet have the power to re- 
 unite them around his hallowed sepulchre." In con- 
 clusion, Miss Cunningham called upon the people of 
 the Nation "to vie one with another which will give 
 most and do most to enable us on the 2 2d of Febru- 
 ary, 1859, to take possession of the Home and the 
 Grave of him who loved the people of all the States 
 — and thus make his birthday the birthday also of 
 Republican gratitude, justice, and fraternal love." 
 
 This document was the first signed by her baptis- 
 mal name, all previous papers having been signed by 
 her pen-name, " The Southern Matron." On this oc- 
 casion she yielded to the soHcitation of Mr. Everett 
 and other friends. 
 
 The intervening two years from 1859 to 1861, be- 
 fore the breaking out of the Civil War, were devoted 
 by Miss Cunningham to the more thorough organiza- 
 tion of the Association, and to the appointment of 
 additional Vice- Regents to represent the different 
 States at the Council board. For the Vice-Regents 
 she formulated instructions, and drew up a certificate 
 of membership. She also appointed Mr. George W. 
 Riggs as Treasurer. In the selection of representa- 
 tive women for the Board of Regents Miss Cunning- 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 21 
 
 ham showed great discrimination, and a very able, 
 picturesque group of women, of strongly contrasting 
 personalities, met at the first councils. 
 
 Practically the Board of Regents, consisting of the 
 Regent and Vice- Regents representing all the States 
 of the Union, thereby verifying its charter as a Na- 
 tional society, is in point of fact the Association^ 
 which in its executive councils administers upon the 
 estate and represents Mount Vernon's interests in the 
 various States. 
 
 The purchase was not completed until February 
 2 2, 1859, and only two brief years intervened in 
 which to raise funds for the restorations and repairs 
 at Mount Vernon before the Civil War put an em- 
 phatic period to all such efforts. 
 
 Writing at this time to a friend, Miss Cunning- 
 ham's private secretary pays a high tribute to Miss 
 Cunningham's ability, aims, and ideals. She says: 
 "I must be permitted to say, from the intimate re- 
 lation in which I stand as private secretary to Miss 
 Cunningham, that she is in a peculiar manner men- 
 tally constituted for a work novel in kind and holy in 
 purpose, and, as we all hope, destined to be produc- 
 tive of great good in its results. With this hope of 
 counteracting the growing evils of sordid materialism 
 
 4 
 
22 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 in our country, a feeble woman, shut out from the 
 world by suffering, caring nothing for the vanities and 
 pleasures that attract others, but with intellectual en- 
 dowments of a high order, conceives in the quiet of 
 her sick chamber the idea that the time has come for 
 a great moral and poHtical regeneration. The tomb 
 of Washington presents itself to her mind as a tahs- 
 man by which to aid in effecting this regeneration. 
 The idea may seem chimerical — the result only can 
 prove if it have vital force. With a clear, prophetic 
 spirit she looks far into the future, and she feels in- 
 stinctively the wisdom or folly of any measure pro- 
 posed and the precise manner in which the good 
 shall be appropriated or the evil repelled. With these 
 views, the Regent wishes to awaken the best senti- 
 ments in the hearts of the people — love, reverence, 
 gratitude; and through these she would have their 
 offerings made for Mount Vernon." 
 
 Miss Cunningham's own letters breathe the same 
 ideal patriotism, and after many years one is still 
 thrilled with the spirit that pulsates through the faded 
 ink. In one of her letters to the Vice-Regent for 
 New York, congratulating her upon the readiness 
 with which she understands the spirit of the Associa- 
 tion, Miss Cunningham says: "Its virtue lies not in 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 23 
 
 the simple fact of the purchase through it of Mount 
 Vernon by the Nation, but of its purchase as a heart- 
 offering of love, gratitude, and filial harmony." 
 
 High ideals are a people's best inheritance. The 
 ideal of veneration for Washington's Home and 
 Tomb was Miss Cunningham's legacy to the Nation. 
 Its vital power was felt even during the Civil War, 
 when the "Boys in Blue" and the "Boys in Gray" 
 met unarmed at the Tomb of Washington. 
 
 And now, as the interest in Mount Vernon grows 
 year by year, the love for Washington's home and 
 memory will always be an influence for union and for 
 strength. 
 
 The Regents upon whom Miss Cunningham's man- 
 tle has fallen have her broad, high aims before them 
 as an inspiration in their work. She did not limit her- 
 self to efforts for the restoration and maintenance of 
 Mount Vernon alone, but through the sentiments in- 
 spired by this work to the lifting up of her people to 
 a higher level of patriotism and reverence. No one 
 can limit the influence of the work done at Mount 
 Vernon, for every man, woman, and child who spends 
 an hour within its hallowed precincts goes away with 
 heart stirred by love of Washington, and love of 
 country, which love bears fruit. 
 
24 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 Formal possession of Mount Vemon was taken 
 February 22, i860, but prior to this date repairs had 
 been begun on the place. In May, 1859, the Vice- 
 Regents for New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware 
 met Miss Cunningham and advised with her concern- 
 ing the necessary repairs to be made, and the work 
 was shortly after begun. 
 
 Following the narrative of Miss Cunningham's life, 
 into which much that was National was interwoven, 
 we approach now one of the most momentous and 
 saddest chapters of our National history — the chap- 
 ter which contains the record of the Civil War. In- 
 tense feeling preceded the final rupture between the 
 North and the South. Not alone were passion and 
 prejudice at white-heat among the strong partizans 
 and political leaders, but the Union-loving patriots of 
 both sections were filled with forebodings and alarm. 
 Yet none could foresee the carnage and bitter strug- 
 gle that followed the firing of the first gun. Many 
 could not realize the possibility of civil war. Peace 
 had become the habit of the Nation, and the people 
 could not conceive of its being broken. 
 
 Miss Cunningham may have belonged to this san- 
 guine class, or her absorption in her own great work 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 25 
 
 of restoration perhaps made her oblivious of the mut- 
 terings of the distant thunder that presaged the com- 
 ing storm. At all events, as late as April 15, i860, 
 only a year before the fateful gun was fired from 
 Fort Sumter, whose echoes answered from plain and 
 hill-top, and forest and citadel, Miss Cunningham 
 was planning " a grand excursion to Mount Vernon," 
 and, what is equally remarkable, though the atmos- 
 phere was vibrating with tense, restrained excitement, 
 she carried out successfully her plans. 
 
 The picture she describes on that bright April day, 
 in a letter to a Vice-Regent, of a company of Wash- 
 ington's distinguished men and women. Cabinet 
 officers, and high officials, civic and military, assem- 
 bled on the green lawn at Mount Vernon to listen to 
 the ardent, patriotic words of fervent orators and to 
 the stirring music of a National band, seems a strange 
 prelude to the devastating war that soon followed. 
 After describing the scene, Miss Cunningham writes: 
 ''As all seemed to enjoy the excursion, I trust the 
 good effect of it will not be confined to Washington 
 city. Time will tell whether my hopes (which in- 
 duced all this daring on my part) are delusive." . . . 
 " I am so grieved to learn of the cause of your not 
 being with us. I can realize as well as sympathize 
 
26 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 with your anxiety. I am in daily dread of the same 
 result myself; but I shall have, if it does come, no 
 loving, anxious friend hourly soothing the horrors (I 
 can give no other term) inflicted by overtaxed nerves. 
 It would be a great reHef to me to be able to stop 
 work for a while, or to put some one at my post, 
 until my aching head had had a season of rest; but 
 no such prospect is before me." ..." My old 
 friend the Vice-Regent of Georgia was expected here 
 with Mr. Toombs at five o'clock this morning. Her 
 presence will enable me to leave Washington with 
 satisfaction as soon as some matters are settled." 
 
 Several months after this letter are without record ; 
 but we know, from the disturbed condition of the 
 country, and the excitement attending the secession 
 of each successive Southern State, in what an atmos- 
 phere of apprehension and dread Miss Cunningham 
 lived. November 28, i860, her secretary wrote to 
 the Vice- Regent for Delaware for Miss Cunningham, 
 who was ill in bed: "Miss Cunningham has been 
 reading the message of the Governor of South Caro- 
 lina, and while it verifies her expectations, it grieves 
 her deeply, by sweeping away the last faint hope of 
 some arrangement by which the catastrophe of war 
 might be averted." 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 27 
 
 Miss Cunningham went back to her Southern 
 home, Rosemont, South CaroHna, in December, i860, 
 and during the war administered the affairs of Mount 
 Vernon by letter to Miss Tracy and Mr. Herbert, the 
 resident secretary and superintendent. As the war 
 advanced, however, the difficulty of communicating 
 by letter increased, and there were long intervals 
 when no letters could be sent. 
 
 In the winter of 1861 Miss Cunningham, who was 
 suffering from some trouble with her eyes, dictated a 
 letter to a young friend and relative acting as her 
 temporary secretary, giving minute instructions to 
 Miss Tracy and Mr. Herbert concerning the affairs 
 of Mount Vernon and regarding the funds avail- 
 able for the running expenses of the place during 
 the continuance of the war. She directed, in case 
 of the occupation of the region around Mount 
 Vernon by troops of either or both the Union and 
 Confederate armies, that a request should be made 
 of the commanders of both forces to give a pledge 
 for the safety of Mount Vernon; not only as a re- 
 ward to the women of America for their labor of 
 love in rescuing Mount Vernon, but as a tribute 
 to the Father of his Country. It was undoubted- 
 ly in reponse to this appeal of Miss Cunning- 
 
28 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 ham's that Mount Vernon was held sacred by both 
 armies. 
 
 Miss Cunningham also advised Miss Tracy "to se- 
 cure a lady friend to stay with her at Mount Vernon, 
 but if it became unsafe for her, she must return to 
 her friends, leaving Mr. Herbert and the servants in 
 charge." Miss Cunningham added: *'If Washington 
 becomes the seat of the terrible conflict, I would ad- 
 vise Mr. Herbert to stop the running of the boat, as 
 the safety of Mount Vernon is of first importance." 
 Mr. Herbert was saved this trouble, as the Govern- 
 ment impressed the Mount Vernon boat into its ser- 
 vice, and used it as a transport for troops. 
 
 In the same letter Miss Cunningham wrote that she 
 would continue to write as long as she could send 
 letters through the Vice- Regent of North Carolina, 
 which State had not then seceded, and when she 
 could not write she would telegraph; but in her 
 isolated home telegraphic communication was not 
 nearer than Augusta, Georgia, sixty miles distant, or 
 Columbia, South Carolina, eighty miles distant. Miss 
 Cunningham could not realize how soon even this 
 method of communication would fail her. She direct- 
 ed that short articles be published in the Washington 
 papers, informing the public of the measures that 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 29 
 
 have been taken by the Association to secure the 
 sacredness of the only National spot left in the coun- 
 try. Her directions were faithfully observed, and, 
 while churches became military posts and altars were 
 rifled, the soldiers of both armies reverently stacked 
 their arms outside the gates, and met as brothers be- 
 fore the Tomb of Washington. 
 
 In a letter to a dear friend, written from Rose- 
 mont February 9, 1861, Miss Cunningham enclosed 
 a newspaper clipping in which her return to South 
 Carolina was heralded and her sympathy with Seces- 
 sion assumed. Her horror at the publicity given her 
 name illustrates the change in custom and feeling in 
 the past fifty years. Miss Cunningham wrote : '' Con- 
 ceive of my amazement and distress when the paper 
 was handed to me. You know my horror of pub- 
 licity for a lady — of her name appearing in the 
 newspapers! When I read the notice, I felt as if I 
 should faint. My friends tried to console me by say- 
 ing that the paper had no circulation beyond the 
 State, and that the political excitement would be so 
 absorbing that this item would probably be over- 
 looked. This seemed so reasonable that I took cour- 
 age. But it was, under any circumstances, most im- 
 proper and indelicate to draw a lady into the political 
 
 5 
 
30 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 arena; how much more to do it in connection with 
 her relation to an Association formed to have joint 
 ownership and guardianship of the grave of the 
 Father of all — no matter how our country is divid- 
 ed." This indicates the direction in which Miss Cun- 
 ningham's sympathies and influence lay; that they 
 were always for unity, and a broad, national patriot- 
 ism. 
 
 She continued : " For the South Carolina editor to 
 throw such a firebrand into our woman's camp was 
 worse than a blunder — it was a crime." In the same 
 letter she gave an account of being asked by an 
 elderly gentleman, *<What would become of Mount 
 Vernon, and the Association ? " and of replying, " We 
 need not have anything to do with politics — ought 
 not to have; that no sectional divisions should affect 
 our position ; that we must bide the storm, and then 
 the officers would meet and pledge themselves to con- 
 tinue in harmony to carry out the purposes for which 
 we were a chartered body, and show to the world 
 that we, at least, had profited by the warning councils 
 of Washington." 
 
 Little did Miss Cunningham think, when she left 
 Mount Vernon in response to her mother's urgent 
 appeal, that long years would intervene before she 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 3i 
 
 would see it again — years of waiting and watching; 
 years of heart-breaking sorrow, and anxiety, and pri- 
 vation; years when all communication was cut off, 
 and only a great faith that the end would come and 
 peace again reign in the land sustained her. She 
 wrote in 1861 that she was torn by opposing in- 
 fluences. Her mother, who was a violent Secessionist, 
 urged her resignation of the Regency of the Mount 
 Vernon Association, so that she might devote all of 
 her energies to the care of the plantation, which had 
 become too heavy a responsibility for a woman of 
 her mother's years, broken as she was by the strain of 
 the Civil War. But Miss Cunningham felt that if she 
 should resign, to use her own words, " the election of 
 another officer in the present distracted, embittered 
 state of pubHc feeling would be opening Pandora's 
 box, and perhaps lead in the end to the destruction 
 of the Association. It is not, therefore, to be thought 
 of; but how am I to bear the load that is almost 
 crushing me ? I expected to return to Mount Ver- 
 non by the third of March. I cannot say now when 
 I can go. I am greatly distressed at my mother's 
 situation, harassed with business cares of a nature en- 
 tirely new, her sons being away with the army; I fear 
 they will prove too much for her age and infirmities. 
 
32 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 She needs some one to lean upon, though it be but 
 such a frail prop as myself. She is bitterly opposed 
 to my going to Mount Vernon, or retaining my office, 
 as it would take me away from her, and be at the 
 utter sacrifice, as it has been and must be, of my own 
 personal interests." 
 
 This conflict of feeling between mother and daugh- 
 ter resulted in the compromise of Miss Cunningham's 
 remaining at Rosemont and assuming all the burdens 
 of the management of the plantation that had been 
 too great for the elder lady, and of her retaining 
 also the Regency of the Mount Vernon Association. 
 When we reflect upon what these scraps of letters re- 
 veal, — that she was much of the time bedridden, al- 
 most bhnd, and often debarred the use of her hands 
 from rheumatism, — we wonder that she was able to 
 take the double direction of the plantation and Mount 
 Vernon, and that she lived for the work that was yet 
 reserved for her to do. 
 
 After this letter of February 25, 1861, two more 
 scraps, undated and unsigned, found their way 
 through the lines. One of these gave directions to 
 Miss Tracy to draw on "the deposit" for the mainte- 
 nance of Mount Vernon, saying, " I will replace it as 
 soon as I sell my cotton ; at present what little money 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 33 
 
 I can command from any other source is more than 
 needed to buy mules." In the second fragment she 
 sent word to one of the tried friends, " We must abide 
 our time; we have, I trust, a good work yet to ac- 
 compHsh." Her high courage never failed her, and 
 she tried to inspire others with a like courage and 
 hope. In this last fragment of a letter she referred to 
 her brother's family, living only twelve miles distant, 
 and to some of her nieces being always with her, 
 which, she said, "is a great comfort, as now I am 
 half blind." 
 
 There was no other letter received until 1864, and 
 our imagination can hardly fill in the gap, or think of 
 it as being other than a dark chasm filled with the 
 ghosts of departed hopes and the shadows of a com- 
 ing despair. In 1 864 Miss Cunningham wrote to her 
 secretary: "This is the third letter I have written to 
 you in reply to yours of January, . . . the first 
 tidings received from you for more than two years. I 
 was dumb with surprise and joy; strange that the im- 
 portant letter, of all written, should have reached me, 
 and so quickly. I was rejoiced to hear of you, that 
 all were well and getting on well, and faithful through 
 all trials to the responsible and precious charge. My 
 faith in you, and Mary, and Mr. Herbert was so 
 
34 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 Strong that I had learned to be passive after the first 
 year. The rest of your letter pained me beyond ex- 
 pression. I had hoped that the boat would not be in- 
 terrupted, and that surrounding circumstances would 
 make the trips so profitable as to go far towards cov- 
 ering expenses. I tried to go to your relief by ar- 
 rangements to draw on parties in Liverpool for 
 $2000. Six months sooner it could have been done. 
 Thank you all for your assurances of faith- 
 fulness to me. I felt from the first that you three 
 were sent as special mercies to me from my Heavenly 
 Father. Were not my feehngs prophetic ? May the 
 All Powerful Father shorten these days of trial and 
 let us meet ere very long. I have been at death's 
 door many times since you have heard from me." 
 Under date of June 16, 1865, Miss Cunningham 
 wrote Mr. George W. Riggs, Treasurer of the Mount 
 Vernon Association: 
 
 "Dear Sir: Owing to extreme ill-health, and other 
 causes, I have been unable for several years to attend 
 in person to my official duties. Yet I have not for- 
 gotten nor neglected, so far as circumstances would 
 permit, my responsibilities as Regent of the Associa- 
 tion. It is much to be regretted that our Association 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 35 
 
 had not been successful in acquiring a larger fund for 
 the support of Mount Vernon ere our labors were in- 
 terrupted; but it is woman's pride and boast not to 
 be daunted by difficulties. We must not be dismayed 
 by our temporary embarrassments. I am rejoiced to 
 be able to inform you that our resources are not yet 
 exhausted. There are in this section funds at inter- 
 est, because I was unable to transfer them, amount- 
 ing to $4000. When apprised February last of the 
 condition of our funds, I endeavored to procure a 
 transfer through an order on a banking-house in 
 Liverpool, but failed. Under these circumstances, it 
 has occurred to me that you would be willing to ad- 
 vance a loan of this amount to the Association to 
 continue to carry out our pious purposes, and I ad- 
 dress you by flag of truce to ask this favor of yoiu* 
 patriotism, and to thank you for favors already ren- 
 dered. Time with me but deepens my reverence for 
 the character of Washington, my interest in his home 
 and grave, and my thankfulness that these are under 
 the guardianship of women; may she ever be proud 
 of, and faithful to, this sacred trust, regarding no 
 sacrifices too great to secure its continuance. With 
 me none shall ever be. Those made in the past were 
 very great; those in the future may be greater still; 
 
36 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 but I have the spirit and I shall have the strength to 
 meet them, and I hope and believe that my labors 
 will be actuated by the same grateful patriotism. 
 
 With my kind remembrances to Mrs. R and the 
 
 faithful officers who now keep watch and ward at 
 Mount Vernon, I am, 
 
 " Most respectfully yours, 
 
 ''Pamela Cunningham. 
 " Rosemont, S. C, Jan. 6, 1865." 
 
 Few of us, happily, can reahze how high-strung 
 and nervously sensitive was Miss Cunningham's phy- 
 sical organization, though her own vivid accounts 
 give some impression of it. Writing of her condition 
 of health at the close of the war, she deplores her 
 inability to join Miss Tracy at Mount Vernon, the 
 more as the disturbed state of the South immediately 
 after the Proclamation of Emancipation, as well as 
 the expense, would preclude Miss Tracy from coming 
 to her at Rosemont. She says : " Perhaps it is fortu- 
 nate that we cannot meet, for on Tuesday eve I had 
 to listen to the tale of a heart well-nigh broken, to a 
 strong man's agony as he spoke of his penniless chil- 
 dren, and of the failure of effort to support them. I 
 listened, spoke words of hope, and though not a 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 37 
 
 pulse moved quicker, and I even reproached myself 
 that my heart had grown hard under my own suffer- 
 ings, — so calm did I suppose myself to be, — in half 
 an hour I was in strong spasms, which were stopped 
 by an opiate for a few hours, only to begin again the 
 next day. What, then, do you think would be the 
 result if you and I were to meet now? Death, I fear. 
 I awoke a few mornings since to feel as if my head 
 was encased in ice. I could have screamed with 
 horror, for I knew too well what it meant. I have 
 not had that feeling since the first winter I went to 
 Philadelphia and was under Dr. H.'s care, some 
 fifteen years ago. Before that time I passed winter 
 after winter with my head wrapped in layers of flan- 
 nel; I would have to sleep with masks of canton 
 flannel over my face at night; often I would lie for 
 days with the pillow over my head in dumb torture. 
 If all this is to be encountered again, it will shorten 
 reason, or life. If I know my own self, I have no 
 desire to live. . . . Yet my work is not done, 
 and I want to finish it, and I trust strength may be 
 given me to do so." 
 
 While unable to go to Mount Vernon, Miss Cun- 
 ningham urged Miss Tracy to have appeals made 
 through the papers, and begged the Vice-Regents to 
 6 
 
38 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 get up entertainments to put money in the depleted 
 treasury. 
 
 In a letter to Miss Tracy, October, 1865, Miss 
 Cunningham wrote of the sudden death of a dear old 
 aunt, who occupied a room adjoining her own. Her 
 aunt's death was a great shock to her, and was felt 
 the more deeply because Miss Cunningham said she 
 had never been in the presence of death more than 
 three times in her life. Then, as she wrote, " My 
 aunt was the only one of my kindred left who pos- 
 sessed my bom taste for a life of repose absorbed in 
 mental pursuits, and in burying her, oh! I am so 
 much more lonely." We realize from this what a 
 sacrifice of her natural inclination Miss Cunningham 
 made in assuming the cares and responsibilities of an 
 official life that left her but httle time or opportunity 
 for the indulgence of her literary tastes. 
 
 When the war was over and Miss Cunningham 
 and the Vice-Regents met again in council at Mount 
 Vernon, they were moved to tears at the scene of 
 desolation around them. The Regents were forced 
 to donate and to advance money to maintain the 
 place, and again they set to work to raise funds in 
 their respective States. In this emergency they were 
 deeply indebted to Mr. George W. Riggs, of Wash- 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 39 
 
 ington city, for advancing funds to aid them in con- 
 tinuing their work. The council determined to try 
 and obtain an indemnity from the United States Gov- 
 ernment for the use of the Mount Vernon boat dur- 
 ing the four years of the war; for, as before stated, 
 during the Civil War the steamboat, which was the 
 chief source of revenue, had been impressed by the 
 United States Government and used as a transport 
 for troops. 
 
 The history of the bill for indemnity furnishes an- 
 other interesting chapter in the hfe of this indom- 
 itable woman. In a letter to the Vice-Regent for 
 Rhode Island, dated July 15, 1868, Miss Cunning- 
 ham wrote: "As you perceive, I am in Washington; 
 I came here to save our 'claims,' and I think I have 
 succeeded. How little we can foresee what is in 
 store for us! Laboring under a heart disease par- 
 ticularly severe last autumn, I felt I must put aside 
 all private interests and come to Mount Vernon dur- 
 ing the winter months, and set to work to arouse in- 
 terest in Congress and to get all the Vice-Regents to 
 bring all their influence to bear upon their Represen- 
 tatives to carry our ' bill for indemnity ' for loss of our 
 boat. All seemed encouraging enough, when 'im- 
 peachment ' sprang a march upon the whole country. 
 
40 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 After that was all over, I realized only too plainly 
 that our poor isolated bill stood but little chance in 
 the midst of embittered parties and the pell-mell 
 method of rushing business. But on the success of 
 our claim depended our only chance of soon arrest- 
 ing the rapid decay of mansion and buildings at 
 Mount Vernon; so, though I had not for twenty 
 years dared to walk up such a long flight of steps as 
 those at the Capitol, I ventured. 
 
 " After they had received me and I had been taken 
 to the Speaker's chamber, to which I had been espe- 
 cially invited, I sought an interview with the Speaker, 
 and then with our able friend General Schenck. The 
 Speaker promised all his aid, as did General Schenck, 
 though he privately told me that our bill was lost, 
 though it had a decided majority in the ' House.' 
 (The bill was strongly opposed by Mr. Washbume 
 and others.) He said there was but one hope left for 
 us, — to get it entered in the Senate and passed. 
 That done, it returned to the House to be put on the 
 Speaker's table, from whence it would come before 
 the House — and he would pledge himself to carry it 
 through. 
 
 "You can imagine what I felt at this revelation — 
 I, who had been frightened at the flight of steps. 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 41 
 
 After a few moments of utter dismay I saw my duty, 
 and said to Mr. Phelps (Congressman from Mary- 
 land), If you will assist me to reach the Senate side, 
 and will remain with me and see and bring them to 
 me, I will go now. I made a vow that I would suc- 
 ceed, and I have, but at a cost to myself that I did 
 not anticipate. I saw several Senators, finally Reverdy 
 Johnson of Maryland. A few moments* conversation 
 alone were needed with him. He offered to take 
 charge of our claim and see it through the Senate. 
 The bill was sent to the Committee on Claims, and 
 Thursday, July 2d, appointed for its consideration. I 
 promised Mr. Johnson to be present, and on the 
 morning of the 2d I was at my post and sent my 
 card to Mr. Howe, Senator for Wisconsin, chairman 
 of the committee. My secretary and I went into the 
 gallery. I saw Mr. Johnson, paper in hand, standing 
 to catch the eye of the President. 
 
 "Next morning I returned full of hope that the 
 Senate would be courteous, but Mr. Howe's face, 
 when he appeared, told me a far different tale. His 
 salutation was, 'The bill is lost.' I exclaimed, ' How 
 is that possible ? You promised me the courtesy of 
 the Senate ! Have they refused it to the memory of 
 Washington ? ' He repHed, ' No ' ; that it was requi- 
 
42 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 site that some members of his committee should ask 
 him to introduce the bill without further reconsidera- 
 tion. To aid me as he had promised, he had actually- 
 asked certain gentlemen to do this and they had re- 
 fused him. He could do nothing more. As he said 
 this he looked in my face and remarked, 'But you 
 can do it.' I said, 'You think I can succeed? Tell 
 me what; I am ready.' He explained that he need- 
 ed three members of the committee to put the ques- 
 tion named to him, or to empower him to act. I 
 chose three — Mr. Willey, Mr. Garrett Davis, and 
 Mr. Frelinghuysen, at a venture. One by one I car- 
 ried up my captives, each gentleman giving his assent 
 immediately and courteously. 
 
 "The early hour of Saturday was selected to intro- 
 duce the bill. I was requested to apprise Mr. John- 
 son to be there to respond. On second thought, feel- 
 ing that I must not rely on Mr. Johnson alone, who, 
 as he was preparing to go to England, was not much 
 in the Senate, I sent for Mr. Sherman. He was out. 
 I then had an interview with Mr. Sumner. I writhed 
 under the necessity of sending for Sumner, but I did 
 it, and did not hold back my hand when he held out 
 his. Whether the touch of a South Carolinian had 
 some charm in the triumph of the thing to him, I 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 43 
 
 know not, but he was charming. He told me he felt 
 the greatest interest in the success of the effort, that 
 he was always in his seat, and should stand ready to 
 respond and speak and do his utmost. 
 
 "On Monday the bill came up; opposition was 
 bitter, abusive, on sectional grounds, and on Friday 
 the vote had not been taken. On Saturday I was so 
 prostrated that I could not raise my head. Sunday I 
 had fever. Still I went to the Senate on Monday, 
 was late, but heard the remarks of Senators Sumner 
 and Frelinghuysen, but I did not know until I saw 
 the evening paper of the controversy and opposition 
 of General Morrill and others. Tuesday I was ill, 
 but I felt I must meet Mr. Howe to give him the 
 necessary information to enable him to reply to Mr. 
 Morrill; so, with fever on me, I went to the Capitol. 
 It was well I did; our bill would have been lost but 
 for this. 
 
 " Our Senators were as ignorant of an Association 
 whose work had filled the newspapers but a few 
 years before as if America had not been the scene of 
 action. They were ferreting out among our archives 
 information of our charter, and had gotten hold of 
 the wrong document. I narrated all our history, ex- 
 plained our organization, and showed him the right 
 
44 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 charter. I explained our constitution, drawn up by 
 the lamented James L. Pettigrew, and informed him 
 of the amount of money raised, and how disbursed. 
 I left the Senate reception-room in a high fever, and 
 was violently ill till midnight. About lo p. m. Mr. 
 Johnson left word that our bill was fixed to come up 
 Thursday, his last day in the Senate, and would pass. 
 " I had had dumb chills and fever up to Thursday; 
 but that day, aggravated by the excitement, I went 
 to the Capitol with a shaking chill, I reclined on a 
 sofa, but in such a manner as not to attract atten- 
 tion, and, after the chill passed off, I sent for Mr. 
 Sumner (not finding Mr. Johnson), placed my paper 
 (written when ill in bed Wednesday), as a basis of re- 
 ply in defence of the Association, in his hands, and 
 received his promise to use it if debate permitted. 
 He seemed so surprised to find that I had come to 
 attend to the interests of the Association with a fever 
 on me. No marvel, therefore, that he who was con- 
 sidered so brusque and rough to his opponents should 
 have been so exceedingly gentle and coiu"teous. The 
 bill came up at the last moment, and as Mr. Johnson 
 intimated that it was his last effort, on consideration 
 of there being no debate, the bill was passed without 
 dissent. Think of it! We had no friends and no 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 45 
 
 party to back us, and business was being pressed for- 
 ward fearfully; yet, in spite of all, it took only four 
 days from the time it was taken up till the final vote ! 
 I felt very proud that there was yet enough power in 
 Washington's memory to enable this feat to be ac- 
 complished in a time of intense political excitement." 
 
 On Tuesday, the 21st, Miss Cunningham wrote: 
 "We have now to wait on the House. We have 
 warm friends there, and, in pity to me, there have 
 been several efforts made to get the bill up before its 
 turn. General Schenck tried yesterday to get the 
 rules suspended, but he told me it was hopeless unless 
 the 'irrepressible Washburne' could be absent long 
 enough to give him a chance. So our bill may not 
 be reached until Friday, and then I shall leave with 
 no wish ever to have any Congressional business to 
 look after any more. In the meantime I called on 
 President Johnson, to make sure he would not veto 
 the bill." 
 
 It appears, however, that Miss Cunningham's 
 hopes of having the bill passed by the House at this 
 time were doomed to disappointment, for we find her 
 writing from Washington in February, 1869, to the 
 Vice-Regent for New Jersey: "Here I am again 
 leading a 'forlorn hope,' but perseverance may give 
 
 7 
 
46 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 US success yet. Our friend Mr. Phelps is so enthu- 
 siastic; and, failing in the committee, he is deter- 
 mined upon the bold experiment of bringing our 
 claim before the House by getting it attached to 
 some important bill in the Senate, and it would come 
 to the House at the last moment and be passed, be- 
 cause they would not defeat the whole bill on ac- 
 count of one item." At last her perseverance was 
 crowned with success, and she writes March 8, 1869, 
 to the Vice-Regent for New Jersey: "Congress has 
 granted our claim, and the $7000 is to be used in re- 
 pairing the desolation at Mount Vernon. The Vice- 
 Regent for New York and I requested that it be dis- 
 bursed by General Michler." 
 
 This was Miss Cunningham's last victory. With 
 this last supreme effort her work was done, and her 
 mantle fell upon other shoulders. Her delicate phy- 
 sique had been strained to the utmost before her 
 guiding hand let go the helm, and she retired from 
 the Regency in 1874 and left Mount Vernon with just 
 strength enough to reach Rosemont. And there, 
 ministered unto by her mother's old friends and neigh- 
 bors, she laid her down to rest. 
 
 Her farewell address to the Board of Regents at 
 Mount Vernon is in the following memorable words: 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 47 
 
 ** To the Council of the Ladies' Mount Vernon Asso- 
 ciation of June y 1874. Ladies: It was my intention, 
 as well as my duty, to have met you at this time and 
 conformed in person to the legal requisition accom- 
 panying a resignation so important as mine; but 
 Providence does not permit, 
 
 *' But, in parting, I feel it due to you as to me, to 
 the responsibihties I solemnly assumed, which were 
 so important in their results, to those you have taken 
 upon yourselves, to say a few words as to those re- 
 sponsibilities, or duties, laid down in the beginning of 
 our work, not to be lightly regarded, for they were 
 pledges to future generations as well as to ours. The 
 minds and hearts which conceived the rescue of the 
 home of Washington, of the completion of a worthy 
 * tribute ' to pubHc integrity and private virtue, an ex- 
 pression of the gratitude due and felt by a country 
 destined to act such an important part in the drama 
 of the world — conceived it with all the reverence 
 felt in older regions for the resting-places of their 
 honored dead, where only pious hands are permitted 
 to be in * charge,' so as to have them carried down to 
 admiring ages in the same condition as when left. 
 
 " Such was the pledge made to the American heart 
 when an appeal was made to it to save the Home 
 
48 "THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 
 
 and Tomb of Washington, of the Father of his Coun- 
 try, from all change, whether by law or desecration. 
 Such to the last owner of Mount Vernon, ere he was 
 willing to permit it to pass from his hands. Such to 
 the Legislature of his mother State, ere she gave us 
 legal rights over it. Such we are bound to keep. 
 Our honor is concerned, as well as our intelligence 
 and legal obligations. The mansion and grounds 
 around it should be religiously guarded from changes 
 — should be kept as Washington left them. 
 ^ " Ladies, the Home of Washington is in your 
 charge; see to it that you keep it the Home of Wash- 
 ington. Let no irreverent hand change it; no vandal 
 hands desecrate it with the fingers of progress ! Those 
 who go to the Home in which he lived and died, 
 wish to see in what he lived and died ! Let one spot 
 in this grand country of ours be saved from change ! 
 Upon you rests this duty. 
 
 "When the Centennial comes, bringing with it 
 thousands from the ends of the earth, to whom the 
 Home of Washington will be the place of places in 
 our country, let them see that, though we slay our 
 forests, remove our dead, pull down our churches, re- 
 move from home to home, till the hearthstone seems 
 to have no resting-place in America, — let them see 
 
"THE SOUTHERN MATRON" 49 
 
 that we do know how to care for the Home of our 
 Hero ! Farewell ! 
 
 " Ladies, I return to your hands the office so long 
 held — since December 2d, 1853. 
 *' Respectfully, 
 
 "Ann Pamela Cunningham. 
 "June ist, 1874." 
 
 Not alone is this farewell address touching in its 
 dignity and simpHcity, and admirable in its far-seeing 
 wisdom, giving as it does the key-note for the guid- 
 ance of the Association in the future, but it is re- 
 markable for its lack of self -consciousness. Heart- 
 broken as Miss Cunningham was in bidding a last 
 farewell to Mount Vernon and her old tried friends, 
 no word of this escapes her; no lamentation; but, 
 self-forgetting, she is concerned only with the welfare 
 of the Association she founded for the preservation 
 of Washington's Mount Vernon, which she redeemed 
 from desolation. 
 
 And herein is that saying true, "One soweth, and 
 another reapeth." Led by a holy inspiration to save 
 the Home of Washington, Miss Cunningham sowed 
 in faith, and toil, and hope deferred, and the people 
 reap the fruit of her labor in the restored Home and 
 Grave of their Great Father. 
 
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