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Blacksburg in Montgomery County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

William Ballard Preston

The Preston Resolution

 
 
William Ballard Preston Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 27, 2015
1. William Ballard Preston Marker
Inscription. This is Smithfield, the birthplace of William Ballard Preston (1805-1862). On April 16, 1861, in the Virginia Convention, he reluctantly introduced the formal resolution to secede from the Union.

Preston served in the Virginia House of Delegates (1830-1832; 1844-1845). In 1832, after Nat Turner’s Insurrection, he supported an unsuccessful effort for gradual slave emancipation. He served in the Virginia Senate (1840-1844) and then in the U.S. Congress (1847-1849) with a fellow Whig who became a friend—Abraham Lincoln. Preston was Secretary of the Navy under Presidents Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore (1849-1850).

As a delegate to the Virginia Convention, in April 1861, Preston proposed that a committee call on President Lincoln to ascertain his policy toward the Confederate States (seven had seceded by then). The Convention appointed a member from each of its factions, including Preston (a conditional unionist), to the committee. It met with Lincoln in Washington on April 12, the day the bombardment of Fort Sumter began, to present the Convention’s official communication. The next day, the committee and Lincoln debated the constitutional limits of his authority to repossess Federal forts and repel force with force.

The committee reported to the Convention that Lincoln’s approach was hostile. After
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Fort Sumter fell and Lincoln called on April 15 for 75,000 troops from the states, delegates regarded his proclamation as an excessive response to the situation. The next day, Preston introduced the Ordinance of Secession, which passed on the 17th, 88-55. Preston served in the Provisional Confederate Congress and then in the Confederate Senate until his death.

(sidebar)
Col. William Preston, William Ballard Preston’s grandfather and Revolutionary War officer, built Smithfield in 1774. James P. Preston, the father of Ballard (as his family called him), an uncle, and two first cousins were Virginia governors.

(captions)
(top left) William Ballard Preston, ca. 1845-1849 — Library of Congress
(bottom center) Ordinance of Secession Courtesy Library of Virginia
(top right) President Zachary Taylor’s cabinet, 1849. Left to right: William Ballard Preston, Secretary of the Navy; Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Interior; John Middleton Clayton, Secretary of State: Zachary Taylor (standing), Twelfth President of the United States; William Morris Meredith, Secretary of the Treasury; George Washington Crawford, Secretary of War; Jacob Collamer, Postmaster General; Reverdy Johnson, Attorney General. Courtesy Library of Congress
 
Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails
William Ballard Preston Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 27, 2015
2. William Ballard Preston Marker
.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Government & PoliticsWar, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #12 Zachary Taylor, the Former U.S. Presidents: #13 Millard Fillmore, the Former U.S. Presidents: #16 Abraham Lincoln, and the Virginia Civil War Trails series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1942.
 
Location. 37° 13.08′ N, 80° 25.892′ W. Marker is in Blacksburg, Virginia, in Montgomery County. Marker can be reached from Smithfield Plantation Road, 0.1 miles south of Smithfield Road. Located in the parking lot of Historic Smithfield Plantation. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1000 Smithfield Plantation Road, Blacksburg VA 24060, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Liberty and Justice for All (here, next to this marker); Revolutionary War Patriots (here, next to this marker); 1820 Slave Cabin (a few steps from this marker); Slaves' Garden (a few steps from this marker); Site Of The Law Offices Of Wm. Ballard Preston (a few steps from this marker); Smithfield Plantation (within shouting distance of this marker); Smithfield Blacksmith Shop (within shouting distance of this marker); Preston Cemetery (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Blacksburg.
Smithfield Plantation image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 27, 2015
3. Smithfield Plantation
 
William Ballard Preston image. Click for full size.
Library of Congress
4. William Ballard Preston
Daguerreotype by Mathew Brady, between 1844 and 1849.
President Taylor and his cabinet image. Click for full size.
Library of Congress
5. President Taylor and his cabinet
From left: Reverdy Johnson, Attorney General, William M. Meredith, Secretary of the Treasury, William B. Preston, Secretary of the Navy, George W. Crawford, Secretary of War, Jacob Collamer, Postmaster General, Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Interior, and John M. Clayton, Secretary of State.
Lithograph by Francis D'Avignon, Published by M.B. Brady daguerrian artist, c1849.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 23, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 27, 2015, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 731 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on June 27, 2015, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.   4, 5. submitted on January 19, 2021, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.

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Mar. 29, 2024