­The Richmond Enquirer,

September 12, 1831

MERIT REWARDED

Extract of a letter from Washington, 8 September.

        Com. Elliot who has just left my room, informs me of a little incident at which I was much gratified. He went to see the president this morning and gave him a minute account of the incidents connected with the heart-rending scenes in Southampton; and among others of the conduct of the aged Dr. Blunt and his little party, on hearing of the approach of the inhuman monsters who were coming to destroy them. The President was so much pleased with this account the Commander gave him of the gallant conduct of the boy (the son of the Doctor) [p. 78] that he ordered a midshipman’s warrant to be made out for him forthwith and that he should be placed under the Commander’s command! Under whose attentions and care I have no doubt he will be made worthy of the country that gave him birth & of the parents he so bravely defended. Such incidents have a fine effect upon the youth of our country; and, when properly noticed, they will make a nation of heroes. Elliot is a fine fellow: the good feeling he manifested by his prompt movement in defense of Southampton has endeared him still more to me, as I am sure it will to every true-hearted Virginian.

Henry Irving Tragle, The Southampton Slave Revolt of 1831: A Compilation of Source Material (Amherst, MA: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1971), 77-78.