Charles Simms (1755–1819) was a Virginia lawyer, Revolutionary War officer and politician. A friend of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, Simms thrice represented Fairfax County, Virginia in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

as well as at the Virginia Ratification Convention of 1788, and also served as mayor of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

(then in the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

) during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

Early and family life

He was born in 1755 in

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manass ...

, the son of Jane Glascock Purcell and her husband John Simms. Simms received a private education suitable to his class and was studying law as the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

began.

American Revolutionary War

On 12 November 1776, Simms became a major of the

12th Virginia Regiment The 12th Virginia Regiment was raised on September 16, 1776, at Williamsburg, Virginia, for service with the (U.S.) Continental Army. The regiment saw action in the Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of ...

. On 29 September 1777 he became a Lieutenant-Colonel of the

6th Virginia Regiment The 6th Virginia Regiment was raised on December 28, 1775, at Williamsburg, Virginia, for service with the Continental Army. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, ...

, and about a month later fought at the Battle of Red Bank. Simms transferred to the

2nd Virginia Regiment The 2d Virginia Regiment (the spelling most commonly used in period references) was authorized by the Virginia Convention, July 17, 1775, as a force of regular troops for the Commonwealth's defense. It consisted of seven companies, 476 privates ...

on September 14, 1778, and received a promotion to colonel before resigning on December 7, 1779. Following the conflict, Simms became an active member of the Society of the Cincinnati.

Career

After the war Simms practiced law in Alexandria, Virginia, and also collected taxes at the Port of Alexandria (Thompson Mason succeeding him in that office following Simms' death in 1819). Fairfax County voters elected Simms as one of their representatives in the

in 1785, 1786, 1792 and 1796. A staunch Federalist, Simms also represented Fairfax County in the

Virginia Ratifying Convention The Virginia Ratifying Convention (also historically referred to as the "Virginia Federal Convention") was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at ...

in 1788 that ratified the United States Constitution, voters electing him and David Stuart in a pointed rebuff the anti-ratification stance of

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...

. Reflecting his respect for Mason's insistence on a Bill of Rights similar to that Mason had drafted for Virginia, Simms served on the Virginia legislative committee that recommended amendments to the Constitution. In 1799, Simms successfully defended a land claim in the United States Supreme Court case '' Irvine v. Sims's Lessee'' (his surname was misspelled in the official court records). Simms was an active Mason as well as an acquaintance and associate of President

. He served as a pall bearer at Washington's funeral alongside fellow Masons and colonels who had served Washington: Dennis Ramsay, William Payne, George Gilpin, Philip Marsteller and Charles Little. Simms also served on the board of directors of the Bank of Alexandria, the Little River Turnpike Comp

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

in 1811. Still serving as such on August 29, 1814, Simms negotiated an arrangement with Captain James Gordon, whose frigate ''Seahorse'' led a British armada up the Potomac River, anchored off Alexandria's port, and demanded all ships and cargo awaiting export. Alexandria merchants knew that the nearest Virginia militia, though about 1400 men under Brig. General John P. Hungerford, were about 24 miles away. In return for their agreeing not to burn the town, the British were allowed to restock their ships. They took 21 vessels, as well as 13,786 barrels of flour, 757 hogsheads of tobacco, and tons of cotton, tar, beef, sugar and other merchandise valued at $100,000 without a shot being fired. Thus, unlike Washington, D.C., Alexandria was not burned by British troops. Although censured for his actions (which some characterized as surrendering without a fight), Simms was later exonerated.

Personal life

As the winter encampment at Valley Force began, on December 15, 1778 in Trenton, New Jersey, Col. Simms married Nancy Ann Douglass, daughter of Major William Douglass and Catherine Van Buskirk. The couple would have eight children, including William Douglas Simms (1783-1822),Catherine Simms Powell (1780-1872) and Ann Douglas Simms Wallach (1793-1832). In the 1787 Virginia Census, Simms owned two enslaved children and four adults in Alexandria, and property (including livestock) in Fairfax County, but no slaves. In the 1810 census, his seven member household included a boy and three girls under 10 years of age, as well as a teenage girl, but no slaves.

Death and legacy

Simms died on August 29, 1819 in Alexandria (then still part of the District of Columbia), and was buried with military and Masonic honors on August 31, 1819. He is interred at Christ Church Cemetery in Alexandria.National Cemetery Administration. Nationwide Gravesite Locator
/ref> Some of his papers are held by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. His descendants carried on the family's political involvement. His grandson

Richard Wallach Richard Wallach (April 3, 1816 – March 4, 1881) was an American politician who served as the nineteenth and first Republican Mayor of Washington, D.C. History Wallach was born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1816, when it was still part of the Di ...

served as mayor of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1861-1868, although his lawyer brother Charles Simms Wallach joined the Confederate Army and served as depot quartermaster at Petersburg. His son-in-law Cuthbert Powell served as Alexandria's mayor before moving to Loudoun County, which he represented in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly and for a single term in the U.S. Congress; two of his grandsons died fighting for the Confederacy, one at each of the Battles of Manassas.

Early and family life

American Revolutionary War

Career

Personal life

Death and legacy

References

See also