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27 chapters
Fort Raleigh NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE North Carolina
Fort Raleigh NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE North Carolina
by Charles W. Porter, III RALEIGH NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES NO. 16 Washington, D. C., 1952 (Revised 1965) The National Park System, of which Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is a unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States for the benefit and inspiration of its people. Sir Walter Raleigh. This portrait was engraved shortly before his last voyage and is the only one published during his lifetime. The true and lively
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Gilbert and Raleigh
Gilbert and Raleigh
The statesmen, merchants, and ship captains of Elizabethan England shared the adventurous and speculative spirit of the Spaniards and Portuguese who had established empires in the West after 1492. Religious zeal and both personal and national interests impelled Englishmen to compete with Spain and Portugal for a share in the exploration and development of the New World. Englishmen wondered if they could not find a northwest passage through the American continent which would divert the wealth of
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Exploration of Roanoke Island, 1584
Exploration of Roanoke Island, 1584
On April 27, 1584, Captains Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe left the west of England in two barks “well furnished with men and victuals,” to explore the North American coast for Sir Walter Raleigh. Among the company of explorers was the enigmatical Simon Ferdinando, formerly the master of the ship Falcon under the captaincy of Raleigh, but also known as the “man” of the Queen’s Secretary of State, Sir Francis Walsingham. Ferdinando had sailed to the coast of America and back in 3 months’ time i
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THE VOYAGE.
THE VOYAGE.
The route chosen lay via the Canaries and the Spanish West Indies. They anchored at “Moskito Bay” in the Island of “St. Johns” (Puerto Rico), May 12, where they constructed a fort, set up a forge to make nails, and built a pinnace to replace one lost in a storm. They left Puerto Rico toward the end of May after burning the fort and surrounding woods and after seizing two Spanish frigates. Just before departing, Ralph Lane raided “Roxo bay” in one of the captured frigates, built a fort, and seize
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THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COLONY.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COLONY.
An island south of Cape Hatteras, now known as Ocracoke, was reached on June 26. The remainder of the month and most of July were spent in exploring the coastal islands and the adjacent mainland. During one of these expeditions, Grenville sought to strike terror into the hearts of the Indians by burning the Indian village of Aquascogok in retaliation for the theft of a silver cup stolen by one of the Indians. Not until July 27 did Grenville anchor at Hatoraske, off the barrier island, a short di
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LIFE IN THE COLONY.
LIFE IN THE COLONY.
At first, relations with the Indians continued friendly, though the Englishmen had their detractors in the Council of the Indian Chief. The aborigines planted crops and made fish traps for the Englishmen. With rare foresight, the colonists also induced Chief Wingina (who had changed his name to Pemisapan) to put into simultaneous cultivation his lands both on Roanoke Island and on the mainland at Dasamonquepeuc in order that the Indians might have no excuse for not being able to supply the colon
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ABANDONMENT OF THE COLONY.
ABANDONMENT OF THE COLONY.
Meanwhile, Grenville was delayed in leaving England for the supply of the Roanoke colony. This placed the colonists in a desperate predicament. Such was the state of affairs at Roanoke Island when, on June 9, 1586, Captain Stafford brought news of the fact that Sir Francis Drake was off the coast with a mighty fleet of 23 ships. Richly laden with booty from his attack on the Spanish West Indies and Florida, Drake’s fleet anchored next day partly in the port near Roanoke Island (probably Port Fer
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GRENVILLE’S FIFTEEN MEN.
GRENVILLE’S FIFTEEN MEN.
Shortly after Drake and the colonists had sailed, a supply ship sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh arrived at Hatoraske and after searching in vain for the colonists returned to England. About a fortnight after Raleigh’s ship had left, Grenville arrived with three ships and likewise searched in vain for the colonists. Grenville found the places of colonial settlement desolate, but being “unwilling to loose the possession of the country which Englishmen had so long held,” he left 15 men on Roanoke Is
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THE SECOND COLONY ESTABLISHED AT ROANOKE.
THE SECOND COLONY ESTABLISHED AT ROANOKE.
The two leading ships of the expedition reached Hatoraske on July 22, 1587, and the third ship on July 25. Meanwhile, on the 22d, Governor White and a small group of planters had gone to Roanoke Island with the intention of conferring with the 15 men left there by Grenville the preceding year. On reaching the place where the men had been left, they found only the bones of one of them who had been killed by the Indians. There was no sign of the others. The next day Governor White and his party “w
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GOVERNOR WHITE’S RETURN TO ENGLAND.
GOVERNOR WHITE’S RETURN TO ENGLAND.
With Governor White’s departure on the 27th, the history of events in the colony becomes a tragic mystery which one can only seek to explain. There had been talk of moving the colony 50 miles inland, and White had arranged for appropriate indications of their whereabouts if they removed from Roanoke Island before his return. However, White could not return as soon as expected because of the outbreak of war with Spain. The year 1588 was the Armada year. Sir Richard Grenville, who was preparing a
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ATTEMPTS TO FIND THE LOST COLONY.
ATTEMPTS TO FIND THE LOST COLONY.
As the ships anchored at Hatoraske, smoke was seen rising on Roanoke Island, giving hope that the colonists were still alive. On the morning of the 16th, Governor White, Captain Cooke, Captain Spicer, and a small company set forth in two boats for Roanoke Island. En route they saw another column of smoke rising southwest of “Kindrikers mountes.” There are no mountains on this coast, except the great sand dunes. Perhaps the smoke was coming from the general area occupied today by the Nags Head du
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Connecting Links with Jamestown and New England
Connecting Links with Jamestown and New England
Following his marriage to Elizabeth Throckmorton, which displeased the Queen, Raleigh remained out of favor until after the capture of Cadiz, in 1596, in which he had participated. Upon the accession of King James I, in 1603, he again lost favor at Court and on July 16, 1603, was imprisoned in the Tower of London on the charge of having conspired to place Arabella Stuart on the throne instead of James. At the trial in November, Raleigh, along with Lords Cobham and Grey, was convicted and condemn
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Later Historical Information on Fort Raleigh
Later Historical Information on Fort Raleigh
According to a letter, dated May 8, 1654, from Francis Yeardley, of Virginia, to John Farrar, a young trader and three companions went to Roanoke Island in September 1653. An Indian Chieftain “received them civilly and showed them the ruins of Sir Walter Raleigh’s fort.” They brought back a sure token of their having been there, which they gave to Yeardley. John Lawson wrote that the ruins of the fort could be seen in 1709 and that old English coins, a brass gun, a powder horn and a small quarte
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Recent History of Fort Raleigh
Recent History of Fort Raleigh
On April 30, 1894, the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association purchased the fort and 10 acres of surrounding land for memorial purposes. In 1896, the memorial area was extended to 16.45 acres, and the Virginia Dare monument was erected. In order to promote a more active program of interpretation at Fort Raleigh, the Roanoke Island Historical Association was organized in 1932. With Federal aid a series of buildings, constituting a symbolical restoration and an open-air theater, were constructed. In
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THE BOUNDARY STOCKADE.
THE BOUNDARY STOCKADE.
You enter Fort Raleigh National Historic Site between two small block houses built of logs, constituting a part of the boundary stockade. This stockade is of modern construction, and originally it marked the boundary of the 16.45 acre tract of the Roanoke Island Historical Association which was administered as a North Carolina State historical park between 1935-41. In 1951, one side of the stockade was relocated and the area of the national historic site was increased to 18.50 acres. Although qu
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SYMBOLIC LOG HOUSES.
SYMBOLIC LOG HOUSES.
Inside the boundary stockade you will pass a number of log houses, all of modern construction, serving various utilitarian purposes. As the true location and physical appearances of the settlers’ houses of 1585-87 are unknown, the National Park Service plans to remove these log structures when their present uses have been served....
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RESTORED FORT.
RESTORED FORT.
The historic object of chief interest at Fort Raleigh is the fort built by Ralph Lane during 1585-86 and called by him “the new Fort in Virginia.” As the settlers of the Lost Colony of 1587 are known to have rebuilt for their own use the houses which Lane’s men constructed about the fort, it may be safely assumed that this same fort served them also for a time, at least until they found it necessary to erect the great stockade made of tree trunks that Governor White found enclosing their settlem
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PRESUMED LOCATION OF THE SETTLEMENT.
PRESUMED LOCATION OF THE SETTLEMENT.
As has been indicated, the house sites of the colonists have never been found. They are described as having been decent dwelling houses near the fort and “about” the fort. They were probably built on the ground without basements or firm footings. This would explain the difficulty of finding traces of them. The location of the fort entrance on the west side would suggest that the main settlement lay west of that point, toward the upper end of the island. A more precise statement than this cannot
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THE TEMPORARY MUSEUM.
THE TEMPORARY MUSEUM.
Not far from the fort is a modern log structure used as a temporary museum. Besides housing such objects of historical interest as documents relating to Raleigh’s family, pieces of armor, and the rare facsimile reproductions in color of the remarkable water-color drawings made in America by John White during 1585-86, the museum contains objects which were recovered at the fort site and elsewhere on the grounds of the national historic site during the archeological excavations of 1947, 1948, and
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THE WATERSIDE THEATER.
THE WATERSIDE THEATER.
At the water’s edge is the theater of the Roanoke Island Historical Association, in which Paul Green’s Lost Colony symphonic drama is given annually during the summer season through the cooperation of the State of North Carolina and the National Park Service. Three clay pots restored from fragments found in the remains of Indian campfires at various levels in the fort ditch....
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The National Historic Site
The National Historic Site
Fort Raleigh was transferred to the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior in 1940. On April 5, 1941, it was designated Fort Raleigh National Historic Site under provision of the act of Congress commonly referred to as the Historic Sites Act, approved August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666), to commemorate Sir Walter Raleigh’s colonies and the birthplace of Virginia Dare, first child of English parentage to be born in the New World. The area of the site in Federal ownership
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How to Reach the Site
How to Reach the Site
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is 3 miles north of Manteo, N. C. on State Route 345. It is 92 miles southeast of Norfolk, Va., and 67 miles southeast of Elizabeth City, N. C. From Norfolk, Va., take Virginia and North Carolina Routes 170 and 34 to junction of U. S. 158, then over U. S. 158 to Manteo. Manteo may be reached also from Elizabeth City, N. C., over U. S. 158. Traffic from the south and west can reach the site by the route from Elizabeth City, or from Washington, N. C., over U. S.
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Administration
Administration
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is administered by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior. Communications and inquiries should be addressed to the Superintendent, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Manteo, N. C....
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Related Areas
Related Areas
Other historical areas in the East associated with early colonization of America, which are administered by the National Park Service, are Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Fla.; De Soto National Memorial, Fla.; Fort Matanzas National Monument, Fla.; San Juan National Historic Site, Puerto Rico; Ackia Battleground National Monument, Miss.; Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown, Yorktown, and Cape Henry Memorial), Va.; Fort Frederica National Monument, Ga.; and Fort Caroline Nation
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About Your Visit
About Your Visit
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is open the entire year. Information and literature may be obtained in the museum. Organizations and groups are given special service if arrangements are made in advance with the superintendent. The Lost Colony , pageant-drama, is produced in the Waterside Theater between June and September at night according to hours and dates fixed by the sponsoring Roanoke Island Historical Association....
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Suggested Readings
Suggested Readings
Hakluyt, Richard. The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation. Vol. VIII. Glasgow, Scotland. 1904. Hariot, Thomas. A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia. (A reproduction of the edition printed at Frankfort, in 1590, by Theodore de Bry, edited by W. H. Rylands for the Holbein Society) Manchester, England. 1888. Harrington, J. C. Archeological Explorations at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, in North Carolina Historical Review , Vol
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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES
(Price lists of National Park Service publications may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D.C.)...
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