William Pannill (1794–1870), merchant, was born in North Carolina, entered the United States Army as an ensign in 1813, and was honorably discharged in 1815 with the rank of second lieutenant. He was living in Petersburg by 1820 and worked there in partnership and independently as a commission merchant, auctioneer, and real estate agent. Pannill was captain of the Petersburg Light Dragoons in 1832, mayor of Petersburg, 1841–42, a director of the Bank of Virginia in 1849, founding president of the Southside Railroad Company from 1850 until at least 1856, and a provost marshal in Petersburg during the Civil War. He owned three slaves in 1820, four in 1830, fourteen in 1840, twenty in 1850, and six in 1860, at which time his real estate was valued at $12,000 and his personal property at $12,500. Pannill died during a visit to Baltimore (Heitman, U.S. Army description begins Francis B. Heitman, comp., Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1903, repr. 1994, 2 vols. description ends , 1:768; DNA: RG 29, CS, Petersburg, 1820–70, 1850, 1860 slave schedules; Richmond Enquirer, 10 July 1832, 16 Jan. 1849; Edward Pollock, Historical and Industrial Guide to Petersburg, Virginia [(1884)], 67; Annual Report of the Board of Public Works to the General Assembly of Virginia 35 [1850]: 164–8; 39 [1855]: 1088, 1091; Richmond Daily Dispatch, 3 Mar. 1859, 23 Mar. 1860, 27 Sept. 1867, 1 June 1869; A. Wilson Greene, Civil War Petersburg: Confederate City in the Crucible of War [2006], 44, 71, 88–9; Petersburg Index, 18 Nov. 1870; gravestone inscription in Blandford Cemetery, Petersburg).

John McRae commanded the cavalry of the Petersburg militia in 1807 (DNA: RG 94, PRWP; Richmond Enquirer, 7 July 1807).

John Pollard (1785–1864), saddler, was born in Virginia. By 1806 he was living in Petersburg, where he was captain of the Republican Light Infantry Blues in 1823, mayor, 1843–44, and a member of the city council for at least one term beginning in 1853. A high-ranking Freemason, Pollard ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic Republican candidate for the Petersburg seat in the House of Delegates in 1829, supported Martin Van Buren in the 1836 presidential election, and was on the failed slate of presidential electors for Millard Fillmore in 1856. He owned four slaves in 1810, eight in 1820, five in 1830, seven in 1840, and two in 1860. One man who escaped from Pollard’s bondage described him as an especially harsh master. In 1860 his real estate was valued at $26,000 and his personal property at $3,500. At his death in Petersburg, Pollard’s personal property was appraised at $12,475 (Petersburg Intelligencer, 15 Apr. 1806; DNA: RG 29, CS, Petersburg, 1810–60, 1850, 1860 slave schedules; William Still, The Underground Railroad [1872], 233; Richmond Enquirer, 14 Mar. 1829, 20 Feb. 1836; Pollock, Guide to Petersburg, 67; Richmond Daily Dispatch, 4 May 1853; Alexandria Gazette, 1 Nov. 1856; Petersburg Hustings Court Will Book, 5:308–9, 315–7; gravestone inscription in Blandford Cemetery).

On this date the same committee addressed a similar invitation to James Madison, who declined it on 28 June 1823 (Madison, Papers description begins William T. Hutchinson, Robert A. Rutland, John C. A. Stagg, and others, eds., The Papers of James Madison, 1962– , 43 vols.: Congress. Ser., 17 vols.: Pres. Ser., 11 vols.: Retirement Ser., 3 vols.: Sec. of State Ser., 12 vols. description ends , Retirement Ser., 3:76, 86–7).

During the War of 1812 TJ had a personal encounter with a company of Petersburg volunteers. The unit was organized on 12 Sept. 1812 and enrolled in federal service on 16 Oct. During its march north, it passed through Charlottesville on 9 and 10 Nov. 1812. A veteran recalled many years later that “Monticello lay on our route, or rather we made it so lie, that we might have a sight of Virginia’s favorite sage. We drew up, in military array, at the base of the hill on which the great house was erected. About half way down the hill stood a very homely old man, dressed in plain Virginia cloth, his head uncovered, and his venerable locks flowing in the wind. Some of our quizzical clique at once marked him as a fit subject of fun. ‘I wonder,’ said one, ‘what old codger that is, with his hair blowing nine ways for Easter Monday.’ ‘Why, of course,’ said another, ‘it is the overseer, and he seems to be scared out of a year’s growth. I suspect he never saw gentlemen volunteers before.’ But how were we astonished when he advanced to our officers and introduced himself as Thomas Jefferson! The officers were invited in to a collation, while we were marched off to the town, where more abundant provisions had been made.” The Petersburg Volunteers were discharged on 17 Oct. 1813 and had returned home early in 1814 (Alfred M. Lorrain, The Helm, the Sword and the Cross: A Life Narrative [1862], 103–4; Richmond Enquirer, 20 Nov. 1812; Lee A. Wallace Jr., “The Petersburg Volunteers, 1812–1813,” VMHB description begins Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 1893–  description ends 82 [1974]: 458–85).