William Lynch
Encyclopedia
Captain William Lynch was a man from Pittsylvania County, Virginia
, who claimed to be the source of the terms "lynch law" and "lynching
". He is not the William Lynch who allegedly made the William Lynch speech
in 1712, as the date on this apocryphal speech precedes Lynch's birth by thirty years.
uprising in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War
. The suspects were given a summary trial at an informal court; sentences handed down included whipping, property seizure, coerced pledges of allegiance, and conscription into the military. Charles Lynch's extralegal actions were retroactively legitimized by the Virginia General Assembly in 1782.
In 1811, Captain William Lynch claimed that the phrase "Lynch's Law", by then famous, actually came from a 1780 compact signed by him and his neighbours in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, to uphold their own brand of law independent of legal authority. The obscurity of the Pittsylvania County compact compared to the well-known actions of Charles Lynch casts doubt on it being the source of the phrase. According to the American National Biography
:
The compact published in the Southern Literary Messenger that proposed William Lynch as the originator of "lynch law" may have been a hoax perpetrated by Edgar Allan Poe
.
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, who claimed to be the source of the terms "lynch law" and "lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
". He is not the William Lynch who allegedly made the William Lynch speech
William Lynch Speech
The William Lynch speech is an address purportedly delivered by William Lynch to an audience on the bank of the James River in Virginia in 1712 regarding control of slaves within the colony...
in 1712, as the date on this apocryphal speech precedes Lynch's birth by thirty years.
Lynch's Law
The term "Lynch's Law" was used as early as 1782 by a prominent Virginian named Charles Lynch to describe his actions in suppressing a suspected LoyalistLoyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
uprising in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. The suspects were given a summary trial at an informal court; sentences handed down included whipping, property seizure, coerced pledges of allegiance, and conscription into the military. Charles Lynch's extralegal actions were retroactively legitimized by the Virginia General Assembly in 1782.
In 1811, Captain William Lynch claimed that the phrase "Lynch's Law", by then famous, actually came from a 1780 compact signed by him and his neighbours in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, to uphold their own brand of law independent of legal authority. The obscurity of the Pittsylvania County compact compared to the well-known actions of Charles Lynch casts doubt on it being the source of the phrase. According to the American National Biography
American National Biography
The American National Biography is a 24 volume biographical encyclopedia set containing approximately 17,400 entries and 20 million words, first published in 1999 by Oxford University Press under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. A 400-entry supplement appeared in 2002...
:
What was purported to be the text of the Pittsylvania agreement was later printed in the Southern Literary MessengerSouthern Literary MessengerThe Southern Literary Messenger was a periodical published in Richmond, Virginia, from 1834 until June 1864. Each issue carried a subtitle of "Devoted to Every Department of Literature and the Fine Arts" or some variation and included poetry, fiction, non-fiction, reviews, and historical notes...
(2 [May 1836]: 389). However, the Pittsylvania County alliance, if it was formed at all, was so obscure compared to the well-known suppression of the uprising in southwestern Virginia that Charles Lynch's use of the phrase makes it seem most probable that it was derived from his actions, not from William Lynch's.
The compact published in the Southern Literary Messenger that proposed William Lynch as the originator of "lynch law" may have been a hoax perpetrated by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
.