William Cabell Rives: A Country to Serve

On September 3, 2015, Barclay Rives delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “William Cabell Rives: A Country to Serve.” Defying the president and Democratic Party leaders in an 1838 Senate speech, William Cabell Rives declared, “I can never forget that I have a country to serve as well as a party to obey.” His career of public service began under the tutelage of his neighbors, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and extended beyond the Civil War he struggled to prevent. Rives was the third president of the Virginia Historical Society (1847–68), biographer of Madison, and editor of a four volume edition of Madison’s papers. Barclay Rives will discuss highlights of the life of this Virginia statesman, historian, and agriculturalist. Barclay Rives has published articles and stories in Virginia Sportsman, In & Around Horse Country, Albemarle Magazine, and other periodicals. He is the author of A History of Grace Church, The 100 Year History of the Keswick Hunt Club, William Cabell Rives: A Country to Serve, and See You at Second Horses. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.