top of page
Writer's picturePat Neleski

Book Review- Birthplace of the Nation: A Story Worth Telling; by Local Author, Reviewed by Local Reader

Rita Schepmoes, a Northern Neck resident and member of the Colonial Beach Cooper Branch Library book club, knew exactly what book she would read for the club's October theme: books by local authors. Unlike other book clubs, the Colonial Beach group does not tell the members what to read. Instead, the group selects a theme for each month, and then each member chooses books to share that fit the theme.


Earlier in the year, Schepmoes had visited the Westmoreland County Museum and then the Mercantile and Museum Gift Shop in Montross when her sister visited from out-of-town. While at the gift shop, Schepmoes bought a copy of the Birthplace of the Nation, by Carl F. Flemer, Jr. Below is her review of the book.



Birthplace of the Nation: A Story Worth Telling, By Carl F. Flemer, Jr.

2008. 96 pages. Illustrated.


Carl Flemer believed that the complete story of how many of our

country’s greatest patriots were descendants of British immigrants to

Westmoreland County had never been told, and that it was a story worth

telling. I came across this book when my sister was visiting this summer,

and we were touring some of the historical sites in the area. We came to

Montross to visit the Montross Museum and the Mercantile, where I

purchased the book.


In the Preface to the book, he speculates on the influences affecting the

young men of Westmoreland in those early years:

“Was it the tobacco plantation lifestyle, which emphasized self-

sufficiency? The river country environment, which required physical

courage? The hardship and struggle to establish a family in the isolated

wilderness, which forged determination? Tutors at home and formal

education in England, which afforded familiarity with classical

principles of democracy? Inspiration from church and clergy, which

made independence seem preordained?”


While he says there is no clear answer to these questions, the book is an

attempt to bring attention to this part of America’s history, as well as to

Westmoreland County’s history.


He starts off with John Smith’s exploration of the Chesapeake Bay area

during the summer of 1608. During his voyage, he visited the Indian

village of Passesseck, in the vicinity of Leedstown. He was greeted

hospitably by them and traded with them.


Leedstown became a commercial center for the entire Rappahannock

River valley. It had several taverns and its own racetrack. But its most

important contribution is that it provided the site, Bray’s Church, where

115 patriots signed the Leedstown Resolves on February 27, 1766. This

was the first written protest against England, making Westmoreland

County the real birthplace of our nation.

Among the individuals discussed in the book, Archibald Campbell is

described as the “Behind-the-Scenes Hero.” He was a prominent

member of the Westmoreland gentry, being a prosperous landowner and

planter and Rector of Washington Parish. He also operated a classical

boarding school at his home. James Monroe, James Madison, John

Marshall and Revolutionary War General George Weedon were among

his pupils. George Washington and Richard Henry Lee were members

of his parish. The author suggests that Campbell’s high educational

achievement, his oratory and his honesty and ambition inspired future

patriots James Monroe, Richard Henry Lee and George Washington.


Other individuals discussed in the book include Lord Thomas Fairfax,

proprietor of the 5,282,000-acre Northern Neck; Willaim Pitt, a member

of the British Parliament and a staunch supporter of the colonies;

Richard Henry Lee and Frances Lightfoot Lee, the only two brothers to

sign the Declaration of Independence; George Washington; James

Madison; James Monroe; Chief Justice John Marshall; General George

Weedon; and William Storke Jett.

William Storke Jett had a life-long dream to establish a school in

Westmoreland County. He was only able to realize this dream in the

“twilight of his life” and for a very short time. It was named

Washington Academy. School sessions began in 1835, but the school

was apparently closed after Jett’s death in 1844. The property was sold

and eventually became Ingleside Plantation, where the author lived his

entire life.


The last chapter of the book lists places to see in Westmoreland County

as well as a list with pictures of Virginia Historical Highway Markers

located within the boundaries of the original Washington Parish.

This short, well-illustrated book does indeed tell a story worth telling.


-Rita Schepmoes




bottom of page