Jefferson in His Own Time: A Biographical Chronicle of His Life, Drawn from Recollections, Interviews, and Memoirs by Family, Friends, and Associates

From the University of Virginia to Monticello (1828)

[102] kkk [From the University of Virginia to Monticello] (1828) Bernhard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Born Prince Carl Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Duke Bernhard (1792– 1862) was the son of Duke Carl August of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. An influential figure in German politics, Carl August sought democratic rule, freedom of the press, and the unification of Germany. He also gave his son a liberal education, partly supplied by several prominent men of letters: Goethe, Herder, Schiller. Military studies formed a significant part of his education . Soon travel and the military became Duke Bernhard’s twin passions. He joined the army when he was fourteen and subsequently fought for and against Napoleon. After the Battle of Wagram in 1809, Napoleon decorated him. Once Napoleon returned to France after his exile, Bernhard served as a brigade commander in the Allied Army at the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo. Bernhard traveled to North America in 1825 and 1826, a journey that brought him to the University of Virginia and Monticello. He critiqued the irregular architecture of the University of Virginia. He did not realize that Jefferson’s mixture of styles was deliberate: the architecture was designed as a pedagogical tool to teach different kinds of classical architecture. From the university, Bernhard made his way to Monticello. He arrived just as dinner was being served. Jefferson rose from the table and came to greet him and his party. The duke was a big, strapping fellow. William Wirt, who had dined with him in Baltimore, described him in a 30 October 1825 letter to his wife, saying Duke Bernhard has “no redundant fat, but [is] brawny, muscular, and of herculean strength. He is about thirty-five years old, and looks like a Russian, or one of those gigantic Cossacks. I dare say he make a magnificant figure in uniform. He speaks English tolerably well; yet he has that apparent dullness of apprehension which always accompanies a defective knowledge of a language” (quoted in Kennedy, Memoirs of the Life of William Wirt, 2: 204). Describing the conversation at Monticello, Bernhard shows Jefferson’s passion for discussing his time in France but also reveals his ability to shape the conversa- [103] tion to suit his audience. Duke Bernhard wrote up the story of his American travels, which appeared in German in 1828 but was translated into English and published in Philadelphia before the year’s end. For the remainder of his life, he indulged his passion for military service and world travel, serving in the military during the Belgian Revolution and touring Europe and Russia extensively . He ultimately took a position as commander-in-chief of the Dutch East Indies Army. having crossed the blue ridge, we arrived at a good-looking country house, and a mill called Brown’s Farm, situated at the base of the mountains , and took our dinner there. This house is surrounded by fields belonging to it, and from its piazza there is a very fine view of the mountains. From this place we had yet twenty miles to Charlotteville. The road became less hilly, at least we had no more mountains to cross; however, the road continued very rough, and we were rudely jolted. About eight o’clock in the evening we reached Charlotteville, in which the houses appeared to be scattered. In its vicinity is a new establishment for education, called University of Virginia. The next morning we went to see the University, which is one mile distant from the town. This establishment has been open since March, 1824, and it is said to have already one hundred and thirty students; but a spirit of insubordination has caused many of the pupils to be sent away. The buildings are all new, and yet some of them seem to threaten to fall in, which may be the case with several others also, being chiefly built of wood. The interior of the library was not yet finished, but according to its plan it will be a beautiful one. The dome is made after the model of the Pantheon in Rome, reduced one half. This place is intended for public meetings of the academy: but it is said that an echo is heard in case of loud speaking, which renders the voice of the speaker unintelligible. Under the rotunda are three elliptical halls, the designation of which is not yet entirely determined. The set of columns on the outside of this building, I was told is...