That Scoundrel Callender

Author(s): Charles A. Jellison

Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 67, No. 3 (Jul., 1959), pp. 295-
306
Published by: Virginia Historical Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4246554 .
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 THAT SCOUNDRELCALLENDER
by CHARLES A. JELLISON
PHILADELPHIAwasa bustlingtownduringthe finaldecadeof the eighteenth
century.Then, duringthoseearlyyearsof the Republic,the littlemetropolis
rejoicedin its very special statusas capitalof the new nation, and not even
the sporadicravagesof yellow fever could dull the vitality of the town.
Times were good. Fine carriageshurried fine people over the best paved
streetsin America,while on neatly laid bricksidewalksthe world'sbest-paid
laborersbrushedby one anotheron their way to and from their dollar-a-day
jobs. Busily importantpoliticianscrowded the new Congress Hall at the
cornerof Sixth and Chestnut Streetsto draw up laws for the infant nation.
And at night, when the soundsof frogscould be heardfrom the marsheson
the outskirtsof the city, men of high office and low gathered in taverns,
which resoundedwith laughterand song. Onto this scene there strodefrom
the old country in I793 JamesThomson Callender,a sometimesamusing,
sometimestragicfigure,who was destinedto play a strangebut not inconse-
quential role in the politics of the Republic before his drunken demise a
decade later.
Little is known of Callender'slife before he came to America. Born in
Scotlandin I758, he apparentlyspent the yearsof his youth and early man-
hood in driftingaimlesslyfromplace to place and fromone thing to another,
much as Thomas Paine had done in the environsof London twenty years
before. During this time Callender,like Paine, managedto pick up a spotty
education,a mediocreproficiencyin at leasta half-dozentrades,and a whop-
ping grudgeagainsthumanitywhich more often than not reflecteditself in
habitsof self-pityand drink. By the time he had reachedhis thirtiethyear,
however, his restlessnesshad channeled itself in the directionof political
protest,and it was as a writerof incendiaryarticlesand pamphletsagainst
the British Crown that Callender made his first real impressionupon his
highland neighborsin the late 1780's. His burgeoningfame in the area of
Edinburghwas cut suddenlyshort,however,for by I793 he had become so
outspokenlyoffensivein his diatribesagainstthe Britishgovernment,that he
was forcedto flee his homelandto avoid trial for sedition. Thus it was as a
politicalrefugee that Callendercrossedthe Atlantic during the final decade
of the centuryto seek asylum in America,where, he had heard, there were
no barriersto an honest expressionof opinion.
*Dr. Jellison is assistantprofessorof history at the University of New Hampshire.
296 The VirginiaMagazine

Soon after his arrivalin Philadelphia, Callender began to emerge as a

prominentfigure in the hurly-burlypartisanjournalismof that day, and in
November 1794 he was reportingCongressionalproceedingsfor Andrew
Brown'sPhiladelphiaGazette. This position would have tested the finesse
of the most polished diplomat, but for the tempestuousScot the job was
worse than unmanageable. By the springof 1796 his genius for stirringup
troublehad broughtoutragedlegislatorsto one another'sthroats- and not a
few to his. He had, in fact, with his loose tongue and looserpen succeeded
in making himself so generallyodious that even many of those Jeffersonian
membersof Congresswhom Callender so stoutly supportedbegan to pale
at his continued presence. It was largely at the instigationof William B.
Giles of Virginia, Jefferson'schampionin the lower house, that Callender
was finally eased out of his job. This was an unkindnesswhich the disap-
pointed Callender would not soon forget. "A man has no merit in telling
the truth,"he remarkedto Thomas Jeffersonlater in recallingthe incident,
"but he may claim the privilegeof not being the objectof persecutionfrom
the hero of his encomium."'
In the late springof 1796, not long after his dismissalfrom the Gazette,
Callenderleft Philadelphiafor Baltimore.Here he was employedfor a time
by the versatileMathew Carey, destinedto becomeat a later time the high
priest of American protectionists. In 1796, however, Carey was more
interestedin publishing than in tariffprotection,and Callenderwas put to
work writing additionsto Guthrie'sGeographyat the handsomerateof two
dollarsa page. Fromthe firstCallenderwas characteristically unhappywith
both his workand his employer. In May he wroteto JamesMadison,whom
he had met in Congress,confessing his general disgust and soliciting the
Virginian'sinfluence in finding him a positionteachingschool, "forI think
myselfcapableof teachingwhat is commonlyexpectedfroma countryschool-
master."2Fortunately,perhaps,for the youth of America,nothing came of
this ambition, and Callender grudginglycontinued his work on the Geo-
graphy.
Early in the following year Callenderreappearedin Philadelphiawhere
he soon struck up an acquaintancewith Thomas Leiper, wealthy tobacco
merchantof that city, and AlexanderDallas, avid Jeffersonianwho would
later serveas PresidentMadison'ssecretaryof the treasury. It was through
these men that Callender'speculiar talents as a political writer were first
ijames Thomson Callender to Thomas Jefferson,October 26, 1798, JeffersonPapers, Library
of Congress.
2Callenderto James Madison, May 28, 1796, in WorthingtonC. Ford, ed., Thomas Jefferson
and James Thomson Calender (Brooklyn, I897), p. 7.
 ThatScoundrel
Callender 297

recommended to Vice-President
Jefferson,
andit wasnotlongafterthis,in
Juneor July,thatthe Vice-President
paida personalvisitto Callenderin
the downtown printingofficeof Snowdenand McCorkle.3 Thus,in the
summerof 1797 therebeganthatstrangerelationship betweenCallender
and Jefferson
whichwas laterto proveso painfullyembarrassing to the
greatVirginian
andhisprogeny.4
Whilein Baltimore, Callender hadput his earlierexperienceas Con-
gressional
reporter
togoodusebyauthoring TheAmerican AnnualRegister,
a highlyseasoned,anti-Federalist
accountof nationalpoliticsduringthe year
I 796. Published
in thefollowing
summer,
at aboutthetimeof Callender's
meetingwithJefferson, the Registerwasalmostcertainlysubsidized to a
greaterorlesserdegreebyJefferson's Republican friends(if notactuallyby
Jefferson himself).ButfortheJeffersonians thebookwasto provean un-
profitableinvestment,fordespiteits manytellingblowsof a personal and
abusivenatureagainstPresident JohnAdams,Alexander Hamilton,and
otherFederalistluminaries,
theRegister generally failedto causemuchof a
stir. Confused,oftenincoherent, andsteepedin trivia,it wasperhaps best
described Gazetteof theUnitedStates(Philadelphia)
by thepro-Federalist
as "theveriestcatch-penny thatwaseverpublished,the meretittle-tattle
of Jacobinism."Even Vice-President Jeffersonhimselfconfesseddis-
appointment.5
Butif theAnnualRegister fell shortof expectations,Callender'sHistory
of theYear1796,published soonafterasa supplement to theRegister,drove
its shaftintotheveryheartof Federalism by involvingthe greatHamilton
in oneof the juiciestscandalsof the decade.Makingcleveruse of docu-
mentedevidencesecretlysuppliedhim by a Jeffersonian friend,probably
Senator JamesMonroeor JamesBeckley,Callender charged in his History
thatColonelHamilton, whilesecretary of the treasury a few yearsbefore,
hadengagedin a seriesof late-evening financial dealingsof a highlymys-
teriousnature. The implicationwas that the Secretaryhad more than once
dippedintothepublictill forhisownpersonal needs,andCallender's
evi-
denceattestingto Hamilton's behaviorwas impressive
strange,back-alley
to
enough place theColonel in a somewhatcompromising
position.
Confrontedby this threatof stainuponhis publichonor,Hamiltonsaw
no choicebutto barehis soul. Thishe dida fewweekslaterin hisObser-
3RichmondRecorder,November 3, o802.
4Written correspondencebetween the two men apparentlybegan in the autumn of I 797. The
earliestCallenderletter in the JeffersonPapers, Libraryof Congress,is dated September28, 1797.
5WorthingtonC. Ford, "Jeffersonand the Newspapers,"Records of the Columbia Historical
Society,VIII (1905), 90.
298 The VirginiaMagazine

vations. .,6 a detailedpamphletwhich providedspice for the nation'sread-

ing diet by following the formerSecretary(a devotedhusbandand father)
through the variousstagesof a most sordidlove affair. The upshot of this
unfortunateamour had been blackmail,explained Hamilton, which had
forced him to pay large sums to keep the matter hushed. The nocturnal
dealingsthat Callenderhad referredto, had been dealingsof a personalna-
ture, Hamilton declared,involvingonly personalfunds.
Callenderwas overjoyed. He had scoreda directhit. To defendhis public
recordHamilton had been forcedto paradehis immoralitybeforethe entire
nation. In a letter to Jefferson,Callendergloated: "If you have not seen it
[Hamilton'spamphlet], no anticipationcan equal the infamy of the piece.
It is worth all that fifty of the best pens in Americacould have said against
him."7 And doubtlessJeffersonagreed.8Callenderhad indeed made a rare
contributionto the Republicancause. He had accomplishedsomethingthat
greatermen had consistentlyfailed to do. He had unhorsed the mighty
Federalist. He had reducedAlexanderHamilton to the level of a common
adulterer.
But Callender'sjoy was short-lived.The meagreincomeaffordedhim by
his book had soon dried up, and he again found himself without funds.
Furthermore,the city itself was rapidlylosing its attractionfor him. Phila-
delphia worriedhim. The yellow fever had returnedand was once again
taking its fearsometoll. And then too, Callenderhad madeenemiesof men
in high places,and among them there was now talk of new laws and harsh
punishmentsfor troublesomealiens, particularlyalien writers. Visions of
jail, or worse, began to loom increasinglylarge and ominouson Callender's
horizon- so much so, that early on a warm summer'smormingin 1798
James Thomson Callender, Jeffersonianpamphleteer,stole quietly out of
the pestilence-riddencity past the sleeping frogpondson the western out-
skirts,and beganafoot his long hegirato LoudounCounty, Virginia.
But if Callenderexpectedto find peace and contentmentin the northern
Piedmont, he was doomed to disappointment. He was as satisfiedas his
grumblingand mercurialnaturecould allow him to be with Jefferson'sgood
friend and political booster,SenatorStevens T. Mason, who had taken the
indigent writer into his home; but he loathed the aristocraticatmosphereof
LoudounCounty, "whichis one of the vilest in America."9Hinting broadly
6Alexander Hamilton, Observationson Certain Documents Contained in Nos. V and VI of
'The History of the United States for the Year 1796" . . . (Philadelphia, 1797).
7Callenderto Jefferson,September28, I797, Jefferso Papers.
8Jeffersonpurchased several copies of Callender's History. See Ford, Jefferson and Callen-
der, p. 6.
9Ca11enderto Jefferson,September 22, 1798, JeffersonPapers.
 ThatScoundrel
Callender 299

thatMonticello wouldbemoretohisliking,hewrotetoJeffersonin Septem-

berof his longingfora goodRepublican roomsomewhere. "I carelittle
whereit is, provided
thatI amin a Republicanpartof thecountry."10
Jef-
ferson,however, appearednotanxioustohaveCallender ashishouseguest.
Instead,he sentthewriterfiftydollars
andimpliedthatCallender
wouldbe
wise to returnto Philadelphia.ButCallenderthoughtotherwise.He paled
at thethoughtof livingagainin thatbedlamof Federalism.In fact,as far
as he wasconcerned, plaguetakethecityandeveryone in it, Federalistor
Republican."Iamentirelysickevenof theRepublicans," he wroteto the
"forsomeof themhaveusedmesodishonestly,
Vice-President, in a word,I
havebeenso severelycheated,andso often,thatI havethe strongest in-
clination,as well as the best reason,for wishing to shift the scene."11
Bythesummer of thefollowing year( 1799) Callender hadfounda place
forhis talentson the newly-established Richmond Examiner, Meriwether
Jones'semi-weekly forerunner of ThomasRitchie's Enquirer.Herehe beat
the drumloudlyforRepublicanism, whileat the sametimehe continued
workonhisnewanti-Federalist tract,The Prospect BeforeUs. Occasionally
despairengulfedhimandhe soughtcomfort in drinkandbitterness. "Ihad
onceentertained the romantic hopeof beingableto overtake the Federal
Government in its careerof iniquity,"he wrotemorosely to Jefferson
in the
springof thefollowing year."ButI amnowsatisfied thattheycanactmuch
fasterthanI canwriteafterthem."'2Nevertheless, in his moresobermo-
mentshe wasdetermined to keeppluggingalong,andif bychancehisnew
volumeshouldprovesuccessful, he hopedto "comeup theJamesRiver.
andtryto find50 acresof clearland,anda heartyVirginianfemalethat
knowshowto fattenpigs,boilhommony, andholdhertongue;andthen
Adieuto theRascally Societyof mankind forwhomI feelan indifference
whichincreases perdiem."13
In theautumnof thatyearJefferson examined the proofsheetsof Cal-
lender'snewvolume.Whathe sawapparently impressedhimfavorably, for
to
he wroteto theauthorsoonafter assurehimthat:"Suchpaperscannot
failtoproduce thebesteffects."'4 Callender wasvisiblypleased."Theycan
notblameme,"he repliedproudly,"ifthemostenlightened peoplein the
worldareas ignorant as dirt."'5As matters turnedout,however, The Pros-
Us
pectBefore produced neither those "besteffects"predictedby Jefferson,
lOCallenderto Jefferson,September22, I798, JeffersonPapers.
lIlbid.
12Callenderto Jefferson,March io, I8oo, JeffersonsPapers.
13Ca.lender to Jefferson,September29, 1799, JeffersonPapers.
14Jefferson to Callender, October6, 1799, JeffersonPapers.
15Callender to Jefferson,March 14, 1800, JeffersonPapers.
300 The VirginiaMagazine

nor Callender'shoped-forfarmand femaleup the James. Insteadit brought

the federalmarshalto Callender'sdoorwith a grandjury indictmentagainst
the writerunder the SeditionAct of 1798.
Few moreunsavoryand generallyobnoxiousfiguresthan JamesThomson
Callenderhave ever set foot on Americansoil, but even he deservedsome-
thing better than he receivedfrom Americanjustice. His trial, held in the
federalcourt at Richmondand presidedover by the rabidanti-Jeffersonian
Samuel Chase, was from beginning to end little more than a mockery. De-
spite a high-calibredefense counsel, providedfor Callenderby Vice-Presi-
dent Jeffersonand friends, the outcome of the proceedingswas never in
doubt. Justice Chase personally saw to that. At the outset Chase had
made it known privatelythat Callenderwould receivehis comeuppancefor
authoring "that vile pamphlet,"and Chase proved himself as good as his
word by his shamefully partisantyrannyin conducting the trial. On the
evening of June 6, i 8oo, to the surpriseof nobody, Justice Chase pro-
nounced Callenderguilty of "falselyand maliciouslydesigningand intend-
ing to defame the Presidentof the United States, and to bring him into
contemptand disrepute,and to excite the hatredof the good people of the
United Statesagainsthim."16ForCallenderconvictionmeanta two hundred
dollarfine and nine monthsin the Richmondjail. For Chase, impeachment
by Jefferson'sfriendsat a later time."7
Callender'sdisposition,which had never been notablysunny, did not im-
proveduringhis stay in the Richmondjail. But despitehis unhappinessand
"the stink of the place,"his enthusiasmfor his work continued. He filled
the long hourswith preparationof additionalchaptersfor The Prospect,"for
the amusementof reading,writing, and printing is the only thing that has
kept me from going out of my senses in this den of wretchednessand
horror."'8Nor did his unfortunatelot fail to cause a swell of martyredno-
bility within him. "I shall let the whole world see," he wrote to his friend
Jefferson,"thatif I were to stay here for thirty years,I shall not be moved
by one hair'sbreadthfromthe prosecutionof my purpose."'9 As it happened,
however,it was not to be Callender'sfate to wither away for thirtyyearsin
the Richmondjail. In early March of i 8o i, newly inauguratedPresident
l6Daniel Robertson,reporter,Tril of James Thomson CalLenderfor Sedition... (Richmond,
I800), p. Io.
l7Chase'srecord of misconductin the Callender trial was given a prominentplace in the later
impeachmentproceedingsagainst him. See: Andrew Stevenson, recorder,Trial of Samuel Chase,
an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, Impeachedby the House of Rep-
resentatives... (Washington, 1805), pp. 4-6.
18Callenderto Jefferson,October i I, I 8oo, JeffersonPapers.
19Callenderto Jefferson,January5, I8o i, JeffersonPapers.
 ThatScoundrelCallender 301

Jefferson,after less than a week in office,orderedthe impoverishedwriterset

free and promisedCallendera total remissionof his fine.20
During the spring days following his release from jail, pleasant visions
must have passed through the mind of James Thomson Callender as he
waitedabout Richmondfor the Presidentto refund his two hundreddollars.
Clearly,it seemed,his momenthad arrived. For the betterpartof a decade,
ever since his arrivalin America,he had fought unflagginglyfor his Jeffer-
sonian friends. He had given them unsparinglyof his energiesand talents,
and had played a not inconsequentialrole in discreditingthe Federalists.
Furthermore,he had been forcedto bear greatpersonalsufferingand priva-
tion for the sake of Republicanism. Certainly,now that victoryhad finally
come, it was not expecting too much to be rememberedin some fitting
manner for his devotion to the cause.
As the weeks passed,however,and the promisedrefund was not received,
Callender'svisionsbegan to fade. He grew anxious. Did his greatfriendin-
tend to abandonhim now that the battle was won? Surely in such a small
matteras the fine he would not be denied. He wrote to Jefferson,but re-
ceived no answer. Impatiencebegan to turn to anger. In late April, seven
weeks after his releasefrom jail, he complainedbitterlyin a letter to Secre-
taryof State Madisonthat: "Mr.Jeffersonhas not returneda shilling of my
fine. I now begin to know what Ingratitudeis."'21Madisonwas franklydis-
turbedby the "strangehumor"of Callender'sletter. "How has the delay in
giving effect to the remissionof the fine happened?"he askedhis friendGov-
ernorJames Monroe of Virginia. "It ought to be known and explained to
him."22
Meanwhile, Callender'seye had fallen upon the Richmondpost officeand
its$1,500 a year stipend. Postmasterof Richmond- here indeed was the
prizehe must have as a rewardfor his past services. Again he wroteto Madi-
son, this time in behalf of his post-officeaspirations,and again he received
no satisfaction. And so, in mid-May of i 8o i a disappointedand angry
JamesThomson Callenderbetook himself to the new Capital City on the
Potomacto argue his case in person.
Callender'svisit to Washingtonmarkedthe final breakwith his Republi-
can friends. Although part of his fine was refundedto him at this time out
of Jefferson'sown purse, this gesture failed to mollify Callender. De-
terminedto pocketthe Richmondpostmastership,or some comparableposi-
20F.B. Sawvel, ed., The Complete Anas of Thomas Jefferson(New York, 1903), p. 212.
21Callenderto JamesMadison,April 7, i 8ox, in Ford,Jeffersonand Callender,p. 35.
22Madisonto James Monroe, May 6, iSo i, Letters and Other Writings of James Madison...
Published by Orderof Congress (Philadelphia, i865), II, I72.
302 The VirginiaMagazine

tion, he attemptedfirst to take his argumentdirectly to PresidentJefferson

himself, but failing in this he soon set out in high temperto the State De-
partmentto try his persuasionon SecretaryMadison. "Callendermade his
appearancehere," Madisonwrote to Monroe not long after the visit. "He
seems implacabletowardsthe principalobject of his complaints,and not to
be satisfiedin any respectwithout an office."23Madison, gentle and cour-
teous, listened patiently to the distraughtCallender,but gave him so little
encouragementthat the writerwas left with no choice but to face the un-
pleasanttruth. There would obviouslybe no postmastership,nor any other
position. There would be nothing. This was to be his rewardfor his years
of serviceand suffering. "He is sent back in despair,"noted Madison.24
But Callenderwas not the sortof personto takea rebuffmeekly. Letting
it be known that he was in possessionof certain informationwhich could
provemostdamagingto the new President,the writershowedominoussigns
of causing trouble. Jeffersonappearedundisturbed,however. "He knows
nothing of me," he assuredGovernorMonroe, "whichI am not willing to
declareto the worldmyself."25
The Presidentthen told Monroe the story of his relationshipwith Cal-
lender. He had readCallender'searlierwritingslong beforehe had met the
man, Jeffersondeclared,and had been favorablyimpressed.When he later
learned that Callender had come to this countryas a political refugee, he
naturallylooked with sympathyupon the writer,and "gavehim from time
to time such aids as I could afford,merelyas a man of genius sufferingfrom
persecutionand not as a writerin our politics."2 True, he had visited with
Callenderon two or three occasions. He had also written him, but very
rarely. And he had been a regular purchaserof Callender'sbooks and
pamphlets,sometimesin large number, but his interest in the writer had
never been anything other than a charitableone. And now the President
had learnedfrom Madisonthat this wretchhas viciouslythreatenedto turn
againsthim:
He [Callender]intimatedthat he was in possessionof thingswhich he could and
would make use of in a certain case; that he received [the money] . . . not as a charity
but as due, in fact hush money;thatI knewwhathe expected,viz. a certainoffice,and
of my charitiesputs an end to them for-
moreto this effect. Such a misconstruction
ever.27
23Madisonto Monroe, June I, i8oi, Lettersand Other Writings of JamesMadison, IIL173.
241bi4.
25Jeffersonto Monroe, May 29, I8oo, Paul Ford, ed., Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Newv
York, x892-i899), VIII, 6X.
261bid.
271bid.
 That ScoundrelCallender 303

GovernorMonroe remainedapprehensive,however, despite the President's

attemptsto explain away his past associationwith Callender. "It will be
well," Monroe warned the President,"to get all letters, however unimpor-
tant, from him."'"2
Callenderhad no difficultyin finding new friends. Returning to Rich-
mond, the apostatewas soon at work for the Recorder,a four-pageFederalist
weekly published by Henry Pace. Now the darlingof his formerpolitical
enemies, Callender was given almost free play in hurling his journalistic
wrath against the Jeffersonians.That he performedhis work effectively is
indicatedby the fact that within the space of a few months the Recorder
metamorphosedfrom an insignificantlocal sheet into a journal of national
circulation. By the summerof I802 Callender'sname had joined that of
Pace on the mastheadof the paper.
Jeffersonmight well have wished by this time that he had given Callender
his post office, for certain it was that the writer was carryingthrough his
threatsto makethe Presidentpay for his infamousbehavior. Never had Cal-
lender been more superblyvicious in his attacks. Jeffersonwas denounced
as an evil, corruptbetrayerof all who had trustedand befriendedhim; a de-
faulteron debts; the defiler of public office who had profanedhis oath by
acting as "the aider, abettor,and encouragerof flagrantand unheard-ofop-
positionto laws which he was sworn to support."-" As Monroe had feared,
Jefferson'sletters to Callender were published to reveal the part that had
been played by the then Vice-Presidentin supportingthe writer'sattacks
against the Adams administration.The Presidentwinced audibly. "I am
reallymortifiedat the base ingratitudeof Callender,"he wroteto Monroein
the summerof 1802. "It presentshuman naturein a hideousform. It gives
me concernbecauseI perceivethat relief, which was affordedhim on mere
motivesof charity,may be viewed under the aspect of employinghim as a
writer."30
But the reply of his loyal friend and lieutenant, James Monroe, must
have proved even more unsettling to the President. It would be wise to
abandonthe "charity"argumententirely, Monroewarnedbluntly:
To contend that it was simply charity to a man in distress, would put them [the
Federalists] on the proof that it was more, or was given on stronger motives, and
would admit by implication that if it had any other object, such object was an im-
proper one.31
28Monroeto Jefferson,June I, i8oI, S. M. Hamilton, ed., Writings of James Monroe (New
York,I900), III, 289.
29RichmondRecorder,November 3, I802.
30Jeffersonto Monroe, July I5, 1802, Paul Ford, Writings, VIII, I64.
3IMonroeto Jefferson,July 26, 1802, Hamilton, Writings of JamesMonroe, III, 356.
304 The VirginiaMagazine

Callenderhad scarcelybegun to fight, however. In the shorttime that re-

mainedto him beforehis death,he would succeedin makinghis own unique
and everlastingcontributionto the Jeffersonlegend. So effective, in fact,
was his pen in besmirchinghis formerpatron,that historianshave tended to
agree with the late James Truslow Adams that to Callender belongs the
ultimate creditor blame for "almostevery scandalousstoryabout Jefferson
which is still whisperedor believed."3 Appearingfirst in the pages of the
Recorder,and later in pamphlet form, Callender's charges bespoke the
talents of a master craftsman. They were, indeed, so cleverly fabricated
aboutnuclei of known truthsthat they could be gobbledup withoutqualms
by even the most high-mindedreader.
There was, for example,the storyof the Walker affair,which many years
before had involved Jeffersonin an indiscretionwith his neighbor'swife.
Informationconcerningthis long-forgottenincident from PresidentJeffer-
son'syouth came somehowinto Callender'spossessionin late I 802 and was
immediatelyembellishedby the writerinto a savageindictmentof Jefferson's
moralcharacter.At Callender'sfacile hands the Presidentbecamea carnal
beast, a base betrayerof his neighbor'strust. Jeffersonwas understandably
hurt and angry. And yet, what could he do? In this and Callender'sother
accusationsthere was a sufficientbasis of fact to make outright denial im-
possible, and any attempt to explain away these chargesmight cause the
Presidentto appearin an even worse light. It was true, granted,that Jef-
ferson had at one time paid off a privatedebt in depreciatedmoney. It was
also true that he had from time to time advancedCallender"aids"on his
anti-Federalistwritings. But these acts were not at all as Callenderwas now
picturingthem. And neither was the Walkeraffair. Once, just once, many
years ago he had tried to kiss his neighbor'swife while her husband was
awayon a trip. He had been repulsed,and there the affairhad ended. "You
will perceive,"the Presidentdeclaredin a letterwhich he saw fit to circulate
among his closest friends, "thatI plead guilty to one of their charges,that
when young and single I offered love to a handsomelady. I acknolegeits
incorrectness.It is the only one founded in truth among all their allega-
tions against me."
But it was for the notorioustale of "BlackSal"that Callenderreservedhis
most polished talents. This story by no means originatedwith Callender.
For some time, in fact, reportshad been circulatedamong the President's
enemies of strangedoings on the hill at Monticello. But without question
32JamesTruslow Adams, The Living Jefferson(New York, 1936), P. 315.
33Dumas Malone, Jeffersonand His Time (Boston, 1948), I, 448.
 That ScoundrelCallender 305

the legend of "BlackSal" owes its tenacitylargely to the diligence and em-
bellishments given it by the embitteredwriter. According to Callender's
charges,Jeffersonhad chosen one of his slave girls,a comelymulattonamed
Sally, to serve as his mistressnot long after the death of his wife. "By this
wench Sally,"Callenderwrote in the Recorder,"ourPresidenthas had sev-
eral children. There is not an individualin the neighborhoodof Charlottes-
ville who does not believe the story,and not a few who know it."'4 Jeffer-
son'sdaughterswere graphicallydescribedby the writeras overcomeby tears
at the sight of a Negress reigning in their mother'splace. The President,
however,lustful and hard of heart, remainedimperviousto their grief, for:
Of all thedamselson thegreen,
Onmountain orin valley,
A lasssolusciousne'rewasseen
AsMonticello Sally.35

Jeffersonwas beside himself with anger and disgust. "Everydecent man

among them [the Federalists]revoltsat his filth,"36the Presidentexclaimed.
But therewere those, decent and otherwise,who did not revolt,and by many
of them Callender'slurid storyof Black Sal was receivedas the unvarnished
truth. Passed down throughgenerationsthe tale has acquiredthe garnish-
ings of tongue and time, until today it boastsa gospel-likeauthorityamong
many Negro families who proudly claim the blood of the great Virginian
in their veins.
Callender'slife continued to be a tempestuousone until the end. His
naturallyunlovely dispositionwas worsenedby frequentresortto drink,and
he fell into unhappy squabbleswith his Federalistfriends, including his
partneron the Recorder. But throughthe final monthsof his life, drunkor
sober, Callender maintained for Thomas Jeffersonan unflinching hatred
which no wordswere too strongto express. And then suddenly,in I803, on
a warm July night on the outskirtsof Richmond, all hatred ceased. The
writer'sbody was found the next morning near the bank of the James
River. A coroner'sjury found that James Thomson Callender had been
drunk and had drownedwhile bathing in three feet of water.3"
It is hardlysurprisingthat the United StatesGovernmentdid not issue a
commemorativepostage stamp last year to honor the two-hundredthanni-
34As quoted in: "Thomas Jefferson'sGreat Grandchildren,"in Ebony, November, 1954, P. 78.
35Dixon Wecter, The Hero in America (New York, i94I), p. i66.
36Jeffersonto Robert Livingston, October io, 1802, in Paul Ford, Writings, VIII, 173.
37RichmondExaminer, July 20, 1803. Callender was buried the same day, July 17, "in the
Richmond Church yard" (now St. John's Church yard). Ibid., July 27, 1803.
306 The VirginiaMagazine

versaryof Callender'sbirth. But to deny that Callenderduring his brief

moment on the Americanscene figured significantlyin the affairsof the
early Republicwould be to deprivehim of his just due. Liarand scoundrel
he may have been, but he should be rememberedas much for the hidden
truths he uncoveredand the responsesthey evoked, as for the malicious
falsehoodshe circulated. As bad as Callender was (and he was at times
viciously bad), in his role of professionaltroublemakerhe performedwith
a stubborndevotionthat was worthyof a finer cause. And it is throughthe
unique contributionsof this embattled,self-tormentingScot that the great
men and events of the period have come down to us today in a somewhat
sharperfocus than they might otherwisehave assumed.