jected line of railway to connect the maritime provinces with Canada, and this he accomplished ; but the work of construction was not prosecuted to any great extent until the completion of the road had been rendered imperative in 18G7 by the conditions imposed upon the Dominion govern- ment by the articles of union with the maritime provinces. Under Mr. Fleming's supervision, as^ chief engineer, the Litercolonial railway was suc- cessfully completed, and was formally opened on 1 July, 1876. While this railway was under con- struction, Mr. Fleming was ordered in 1871 to sur- vey a line that would connect old Canada with the Pacific ocean. This work he had most successfully prosecuted, when political exigencies arose, and he resigned in 1880. Though he was not afterward connected with the Canada Pacific railway, the ultimate success of that great enterprise was owing largely to his skill. In recognition of his ability as an engineer, he was made in 1877 a companion of the order of St. Michael and St. George ; in 1880 he was elected chancellor of Queen's university, Kingston, Ontario ; in 1881 he represented the Ca- nadian institute and the American meteorological society at the International geographical congress at Venice ; and in 1884 the Dominion at the Inter- national prime-meridian conference at Washing- ton, D. C. The same year he received the degree of LL. D. from St. Andrew's university. He has published " England and Canada," besides re^^orts on his engineering enterprises.
FLEMING-, Thomas, soldier, b. in Botetourt
county, Va., in 1737 ; d. there in August, 1776.
He commanded 200 men at the battle of Point
Pleasant, with the Indians, in 1774. Point Pleasant
is at the jiaiction of the Great Kanawha and Ohio
rivers. The whites were commanded by Gen.
Andrew Lewis, of Augusta county, Va., and the
Indians by Cornstalk. The soldiers of Col. Flem-
ing's division concealed themselves behind trees
and held out their hats, which the Indians fired at.
The hats dropped, the Indians ran out to scalp
their victims, and were tomahawked by the settlers,
who were all backwoodsmen. The first division
was commanded by Col. Charles Lewis, kinsman
and neighbor of Col. Fleming. The Indians num-
bered about 1,000; the whites, 400. Col. Flem-
ing's division was attacked on the bank of the
river, a low bottom, hemmed in on both sides by
mountains. After leading his soldiers with great
bravery and discretion in two charges. Col. Flem-
ing was severely wounded, two balls passing through
his arm and one through his breast. After cheer-
ing on the officers and soldiers, he retired from the
field. In March, 1776, he was appointed colonel of
the 9th Virginia regiment in the Eevolutionary
army. He died of disease that had been contracted
by fatigue and exposure in camp.
FLEMING, William, statesman, b. in 1734; d.
2 Feb., 1824. He was graduated at William and
Mary college in 1763, was a member of the house
of burgesses and of the Virginia conventions in
1775-'6, member of the committee on independ-
ence in May, 1776, became judge of the general
court and presiding judge of the court of appeals,
and served as a delegate from Virginia to the
Continental congress in 1779-'81.
FLEMING, William Maybnry, actor, b. in Dan-
bury, Conn., 29 Sept., 1817 ; d. in New York, 7 May,
1866. He began his professional career at about
twenty years of age, and became known cliiefiy for
his personations of Romeo, Claude Melnotte, Edgar
in " King Lear," the Bastard in " King John,"
Hamlet, Richelieu, Sir Giles Overreach, Sir Edward
Mortimer, Mathias in " The Bells," Rolla, Jack
Cade, and a few special roles of poetic character.
In 1852 he assumed control of the National theatre,
Boston, which he directed for several years. After
visits to England and California, he became lessee
and manager of the Savannah athenfeum and the
Macon theatre simultaneously, acting occasionally
as a star on his own stage. At the beginning of
the civil war he relinquished his business interests
in the south at pecuniary loss, and soon afterward
entered the National service as a paymaster, rising
to the rank of colonel. His death resulted from
injuries received in Gen. Sherman's Georgia campaign in 1864-5.— His son, Maybury, is a dramatic critic, now (1887) on the editorial' staff of the
New York " Mail and Express."
FLETCHER, Asaph, physician, b. in Westford,
Mass., 28 June, 1746; d. in Cavendish, Vt., 5 Jan.,
1839. He was elected in 1780 to the convention
that formed the constitution of Massachusetts, and
labored earnestly to introduce into that instrument
the principle of absolute freedom of worship. In
1787 he removed to Cavendish, Vt., where he soon
became prominent. He was a member of the Vermont convention that applied to congress for admission of that state into the Union, and also of
a subsequent convention for revising the state
constitution. Here, as in Massachusetts, he ably
advocated the principles of religious liberty. He
was one of the presidential electors that made James
JMonroe president of the United States. — His son,
Richard, lawyer, b. in Cavendish, Vt., 8 Jan.,
1788; d. in Boston, Mass., 21 June, 1869, was
graduated from Dartmouth college in 1806, and,
having studied law with Daniel Webster, was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1809. He practised in Salis-
bury, N. H., till 1819, and then removed to Bos-
ton, Mass., where he spent the remainder of his
life. He was distinguished in commercial and
maritime law, and particularly in the law of marine
insurance. He was a member of the legislature,
and in 1836 was elected to congress as a Whig, de-
feating Charles Sumner, and serving one term. In
1848 he was appointed judge of the Massachusetts
supreme court, which office he held until his resig-
nation in 1853. He then resumed his practice, but
retired in 1858. He was a trustee of Brown in
1848-'57, and for a short time was an overseer of
Harvard. The degree of LL. D. was conferred on
him by Brown in 1839, by Dartmouth in 1846, and
by Harvard in 1849. Judge Fletcher was never
married. He was active in all benevolent enter-
prises, and bequeathed more than $100,000 to
Dartmouth. He published a speech to his con-
stituents, delivered in Faneuil Hall (Boston, 1837).
— Another son, Horace, clergyman, b. in Caven-
dish, Vt., 28 Oct., 1796; d. 27 Nov., 1871, studied
law, was admitted to the bar, and continued in the
practice of his profession for fifteen years. He
then abandoned it, and was ordained pastor of the
Baptist church in Townshend, Vt., where he re-
mained until his death. He was one of the most
useful and respected ministers in his native state.
He was chosen state senator in 1855. In 1860,
Madison university conferred upon him the degree of D. D. — Another son Ryland, governor of
Vermont, b. in Cavendish, Vt., 18 Feb., 1799 ; d.
in Proctorsville, Vt., 19 Dec, 1885, studied in the
Norwich military academy, and became a farmer.
He was active as an anti-slavery agitator, was
chosen to the state senate, and lieutenant-governor
of Vermont from 1854 till 1856, when he was elect-
ed governor of the state by the Free-soil party,
serving until 1858. From '1861 till 1864 he was a
representative in the legislature. In 1864 he was
a presidential elector on the Republican ticket.
