“I might admit also that the fates of the Don and of myself have been somewhat similar in at least one respect. If I am not mistaken he encountered a windmill or two. I am not sure but I have done the same.”

William Swan Plumer

“… at the close of the summer of 1837; a new religious paper made its appearance in Richmond, bearing the name of The Watchman of the South. Plumer was proprietor and editor. With a strong pen he upheld the views of the Old School Presbyterians, and in the following year (1838) he was chosen moderator of their assembly.

In the year 1846, a petition was presented to the legislature of Virginia asking the passage of a general law authorizing the incorporation of each congregation and religious society in the state. Dr. Plumer appeared before a committee of the legislature and spoke at length against the proposed law. Two of the most prominent lawyers of Richmond were his opponents, but Dr. Plumer showed himself so well equipped with arguments drawn from the history of the church, from the laws passed by various legislatures, and from the legal opinions expressed by eminent lawyers and judges, that he won his cause with ease. Dr. Plumer’s breadth of liberality in sentiment and his genial, good humor won the favor of all who heard him engaged in this debate.

One of the lawyers who was somewhat pompous in manner charged Dr. Plumer with “imitating Don Quixote.” To this charge Dr. Plumer replied as follows: “Concerning this Don, I am not very bright in my memory. But, if I remember rightly, the Don rode a sorrel horse. In this I do sometimes imitate him; but my horse is not, I think, so lean as Rosinante. I think, too, the Don was far from being a malignant man. If the gentleman intended to say the same of me, I thank him for his good opinion. I might admit also that the fates of the Don and of myself have been somewhat similar in at least one respect. If I am not mistaken he encountered a windmill or two. I am not sure but I have done the same.”

In 1844 Moses D. Hoge was called to Richmond as Dr. Plumer’s assistant. Three years later (1847) Dr. Plumer became pastor of the Franklin Street Church, Baltimore. There the pulpit was still his throne. With great power he continued to preach and to lead large numbers into the Kingdom.

The year 1854 marked Dr. Plumer’s acceptance of the chair of theology in Alleghany Seminary, Pennsylvania. Afterwards, from 1862 to 1867, he was engaged in the work of preaching in Philadelphia and Pottsville, Pennsylvania. In 1867 he was made professor of theology in Columbia Seminary, in South Carolina. In that position he continued to labor with success until 1880. In the autumn of that year (October 22, 1880) he passed away.

Throughout his mature life Dr. Plumer was ever at work with his pen. Many books were written showing sound scholarship; among these were commentaries on the Psalms, the Epistle to the Romans and the Epistle to the Hebrews. A large number of tracts, practical and helpful, were prepared by him and sent out among all of the churches.

The touch of time changed Dr. Plumer’s hair to the color of silver and then to the whiteness of the snow. It fell back in heavy masses from his forehead. His beard was also white during his later years, and fell down upon his breast like a beautiful vestment. To all who looked upon his tall, majestic figure, Dr. Plumer seemed like some ancient Hebrew prophet.

A selection from Southern Presbyterian Leaders By Henry Alexander White, p290-291 found here