He was Mayor of Staunton in the years 1816 and in 1817, but his
performance of the duties of that office was not, of course, any serious
interruption to the laborious work of his profession. From 1812 (when he
was appointed Attorney for the Commonwealth for the county of Augusta)
he filled that office continuously until 1844, serving in the mean time
for two terms in the Senate of Virginia from 1836 to 1844, when he
resigned from ill health. And now, because sirs, during that long
period he was one of the great men of this bar, because he was one of
the great citizens of Augusta and of Virginia, because it is of interest
and benefit to the Commonwealth, that the memory of her great and able
men be preserved and cherished, this picture was asked for, that its
presence on these walls might be a perpetual evidence of his ability and
virtues, and evidence of how the people of this county recognize,
reverence and honor those lofty attributes of mind and heart, which give
fame and distinction to the locality in which they are displayed. It is
now forty-seven years since Mr. Peyton passed away. Since his death
nearly two generations have been born and died. Of the men now living in
this county very few personally knew Mr. Peyton, or personally know the
position he occupied in the estimation of the bar, of the men, and of
the community of his day and time. That position is clearly shown by the
written expressions of many great men of his day, and as these
expressions will convey a clearer idea of Mr. Peyton's character than I
am able to give in any other way, I think it most proper on this
occasion to quote them.