Richmond or Bust

It was a long time coming. 78 Years, to be exact.

Brigadier General Andrew Lewis (1720-1781), a Virginian of French & Indian and Revolutionary War fame, had a bronze bust of his likeness installed in the Old Hall of the House of Delegates at the Virginia State Capitol on Monday, March 22, 2010. The ceremony was opened with the Color Guard of Fishburne Military School of Augusta County presenting the national and Commonwealth colors, along with the colors of the Sons of the Revolution in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Virginia 3rd Virginia Regiment, a standard honoring Gen. Lewis’ service during the Revolutionary War.

The setting is indeed a hallowed hall for generals: in April 1861, General Robert E. Lee accepted the command of the Army of Northern Virginia from the Virginia legislature — the oldest legislative body in the western hemisphere — just 20 feet away from where Lewis’ statue now stands.

The Lewis bust was supposed to join fellow Virginia heroes in the Old Hall many years ago. As a result of an act passed by the Virginia General Assembly on March 22, 1932, the Lewis bust was to stand alongside the busts of fellow Revolutionary War patriots Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee and George Mason, explorer Meriwether Lewis, Confederate General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and agriculturalist Cyrus McCormick.

Gen. Lewis was fashionably late to the party. However, that was just fine with the sponsors who organized the event over the past few years, including the Salem (Va) Educational Foundation & Alumni Association, the Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution and the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. Dignitaries including Lewis descendant, U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb, Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell and Virginia House of Delegates Majority Leader Morgan Griffith of Salem presided at the ceremony.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell noted during his official remarks that the last royal Virginia Governor, Lord Dunmore, was driven out of Virginia by Andrew Lewis at the outset of the American Revolution. “Therefore, in honor of Lewis once again being back inside the Capitol, Lord Dunmore’s portrait has been officially retired and will no longer hang in the Capitol,” quipped McDonnell.

The Lewis family established Augusta County, Va., when it was still a frontier wilderness that stretched west to the Mississippi and south to the Gulf of Mexico. The Andrew Lewis family later settled in the portion of Virginia which is now the town of Salem in Roanoke County. Direct descendants and Sons of the Revolution members Lewis A. Pitzer of Martinsville, Va., and Andrew C. Pitzer of Washington, D.C. officially represented the Lewis family during the bust dedication ceremony. The bust will permanently reside in the Old Hall, a few yards from the Capitol Rotunda’s centerpiece, Jean-Antoine Houdon’s life-size marble statue of George Washington, friend and compatriot of Andrew Lewis.

“We are delighted to finally see this great Virginian from the western part of the state honored at the State Capitol,” said Lewis Pitzer of his ancestor. “Many of us believe he is truly an unsung hero of the Revolution.”

The bust was sculpted by artist Anne Bell, a Roanoke, Va., native who has spent the last 19 years living and working in Florida. Since there is no known contemporary likeness of Lewis other than a crude silhouette done in his later years, Bell sculpted the bust primarily using four sources: a visual description by a captain who served under Lewis, the Capitol Square statue of Lewis done in the mid 1800s, a statue of Lewis done in West Virginia early 1900s and physical features of Lewis family descendants. .

The installation ceremony was hosted by the Office of the Clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates, the legislative body in which Lewis served  after his Revolutionary War service. Representatives from Salem, Va., Roanoke, Va., Augusta County, Va., the Office of the Governor of West Virginia, the Sons of the Revolution in the Commonwealth of Virginia and Fishburne Military School were among honored guests in attendance.

Carter V. Reid, Sons of the Revolution Membership Chairman, chats with Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell after the unveiling ceremony. McDonnell noted during his official remarks that the last royal Virginia Governor, Lord Dunmore, was driven out of Virginia by Andrew Lewis at the outset of the American Revolution. "Therefore, in honor of Lewis once again being back inside the Capitol, Lord Dunmore's portrait has been officially retired and will no longer hang in the Capitol," quipped McDonnell.

The color guard from Fishbure Military School in Augusta County, Va. (a county founded by the Lewis family), stand behind the posted national colors and the colors of the 3rd Regiment of Virginia, a flag presented to the Sons of the Revolution honoring Lewis' service.

Former U.S. Sen. and Lewis descendant Charles S. Robb, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Va. House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) during the dedication ceremony.

Bust of Gen. Andrew Lewis by Salem native Anne Bell.

The unveiling ceremony took place in the Old Hall of the Virginia House of Delegates, the oldest legislative body in the western hemisphere. Lewis served in the Va. House of Burgesses before the Revolution and the Va. House of Delegates afterward.

Andrew Lewis' direct descendant and Sons of the Revolution member Lewis A. Pitzer of Martinsville, Va., unveils the bust with the help of his daughter, Campbell Pitzer.

In April 1861, Virginia-born General Robert E. Lee accepted the command of the Army of Northern Virginia from the Virginia legislature after resigning his commission from the U.S. Army just days before.

Submitted by FMS Graduate, Doug Payne ’84