
audiobook
DISCOURSE - ON THE - Life and Character - OF THE - HON. LITTLETON WALLER TAZEWELL, - DELIVERED IN THE - FREEMASON STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, - BEFORE THE - BAR OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, AND THE CITIZENS GENERALLY, - ON THE 29th DAY OF JUNE, 1860, - BY - HUGH BLAIR GRIGSBY, LL.D., - MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETIES OF VIRGINIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ETC., ETC. - NORFOLK: - PUBLISHED BY J.D. GHISELIN, JUN., - No. 6 WEST MAIN STREET. - 1860.
DISCOURSE.
APPENDIX.
No. I. - PROCEEDINGS OF THE BAR OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, ON THE DEATH OF MR. TAZEWELL. - MEETING OF THE NORFOLK BAR.
No. II. - CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THE PUBLICATION OF MR. GRIGSBY'S DISCOURSE.
No. III. - CHARACTERS OF MR. TAZEWELL, BY THE HON. GEORGE LOYALL; BY WILLIAM W. SHARP, ESQ., A PUPIL OF MR. TAZEWELL; BY THE LATE WILLIAM WIRT, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES; AND BY THE LATE FRANCIS WALKER GILMER, ESQ., PROFESSOR OF LAW IN THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.
No. IV. - EXTRACTS FROM THE LETTERS OF MR. TAZEWELL RESPECTING PUBLIC OFFICE.
No. V. - THE FUNERAL OF MR. TAZEWELL.
No. VI. - PORTRAITS OF GOVERNOR TAZEWELL.
JOHN D. GHISELIN, JR., - AGENT, - BOOKSELLER, PUBLISHER, & IMPORTER, - No. 6 WEST MAIN STREET, - (UNDER ATLANTIC HOTEL,) - NORFOLK, VA., - HAS FOR SALE A VERY COMPLETE AND EXTENSIVE STOCK OF - ENGLISH AND AMERICAN - BOOKS, - IN THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS OF LITERATURE, INCLUDING - STANDARD EDITIONS - OF THE BEST AUTHORS IN - HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, BELLES-LETTRES, Etc., - WITH - SCHOOL, LAW, MEDICAL, CLASSICAL, THEOLOGICAL, RELIGIOUS, AND MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS. - IN PLAIN AND FINE BINDINGS.
In a hushed Norfolk hall on a June evening of 1860, the city’s lawyers and civic leaders gathered to honor a beloved statesman. The speaker, a learned member of several scholarly societies, opens with vivid images of the funeral procession that carried the honoree’s body over the bay to its final resting place. Candlelight flickers against the mournful faces of children, elders, and even the enslaved, underscoring the breadth of his influence. The oration frames the ceremony as both a personal farewell and a public call to remember a life steeped in duty.
The discourse then surveys Tazewell’s three‑decade career, noting his triumphs in the Virginia House of Delegates, the United States Senate, and the federal courts. It recalls two daring diplomatic missions abroad that protected Norfolk’s commerce, and a bold stand against a foreign fleet that threatened the Chesapeake, each undertaken without regard for personal gain. By recounting these episodes, the orator seeks to hand down practical wisdom and civic pride to the next generation of lawyers and scholars.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (294K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Mark C. Orton, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2005-10-19
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1806–1881
A gifted Virginian historian and public speaker, he became known for bringing the state’s early political world vividly to life. His books and memorial addresses helped preserve the stories of leading figures from Virginia’s past.
View all books
by John Gibson Paton

by S. O. Susag

by Robert Lewis Dabney

by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jr. Joseph Smith

by Patrick MacGill

by Ralph Werther

by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur