John Randolph of Roanoke

This 1811 portrait of John Randolph by John Wesley Jarvis hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

"Against the wave of War Hawks who swept into Congress in 1811, Virginian John Randolph of Roanoke stood opposed. Randolph saw war with Britain as foolhardy, driven by land hunger rather than as a defense of American sovereignty. 'We have heard but one word,' Randolph accused his fellow congressmen, 'like the whip-poor-will ... Canada! Canada! Canada!' An aristocratic and eccentric man who brought his hunting dogs into the House chamber, Randolph's colleagues feared his sharp tongue; his biting speeches proved in some ways prophetic. "Gentlemen, you have made war. You have finished the ruin of our country. And before you conquer Canada ... the Capitol will be a ruin.' With a brief interruption, he continued to serve in Congress until 1829. He was a financially successful slaveholder who defended the necessity of slavery but freed his slaves in his will." -- National Portrait Gallery

Powhatan Bouldin

This engraving by Sartain follows an 1831 photograph by George Catlin.

John Randolph

Of Roanoke

Engraved on steel by John Sartain after the Original from Life by Catlin

taken during the sitting of the Virginia State Convention in 1831.

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1876 by Mrs. N. S. Eldridge in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington DC.

For more on John Randolph of Roanoke see: Landmarks: John Randolph of Roanoke