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R ES S
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It s e em s t o m e that wh at i s s ai d on this sp o t on thi s o cc a
s i on sho ul d re lat e to th e sp iritual s i d e of th e w ork an d th e
fruits o f th e Jame stown settl ement who s e T hre e Hundre dth
Annivers ary w e are h ere t o day t o c el eb rate rather th an t o th e
material or p hysi c al si de An d it i s i n this spirit th at I w i s h
t o de al with it in this p res en c e
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An d first on this sp o t on this o c c asi on I w i sh t o m enti on
with reve ren c e th e n am e of Sir W alter Ral ei gh : L o r d an d
Chi ef Govern or o f Virgi ni a
t o who m un der Go d s Provi
den c e m o re than any other human b ein g is du e th e fa ct th at
thi s C ountry b el on gs t o th e En glish Sp e ak i n g Ra c e an d th e
C i viliz ati on whi ch i t r ep res ents
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T hre e hun dre d ye ars a g o on this Isl an d— whi ch until then
thr ough all th e a ges sin c e th e b irth of thin gs h a d l ain des e r t
and untro dden b y any feet s ave th o s e o f th e wild b e ast an d th e
yet wil der s ava ge — t o whi ch Sp ain ha d simply ass erte d a
tr a d iti on ary ri ght a s a p art o f the v ast unkn own r e gi on of
th e Am e ri c an C ontin ent—lan de d a l ittl e b an d o f s ea w orn
En glishmen an d to o k p os essi o n i n the n ame of Go d an d o f th e
Crown of En gl an d Si n ce th e 20 t h day of D e c emb er p re c e din g
when th ey wei ghe d an cho r in th e Riv er Tham e s an d d r opp e d
down th e stre am w ith th e re c e d i n g ti de they h ad in th ei r thre e
littl e ship s b e en m akin g th eir w ay sl owly an d p a i nfully a c ro s s
the wintry Atl anti c Thes e small v ess els : The S ar ah C o n
stant
( of o n e hun dre d t on s ) wit h C ap t ain Christ op he r New
p ort th e A dmiral in c omm an d
Th e Go o dsp e e d
( of forty
tons ) with C aptain B arth ol o mew G osn old th e V i c e Admiral
an d Th e D is c overy
a p inn a ce ( o f twenty to ns ) with C a p
t ain Jo hn R at cliff e h ad r e ck onin g all th e time s in c e they
w e i ghe d an ch o r in th e Thame s until they dropp e d an ch o r i n
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Powhatan ma de only ab out one kn ot p er h our Time
m oves sl owly wh en w ei ghte d with the burden o f F ate Tho s e
frail b o ats in which men mi ght hes i tate n o w t o c ruis e al on g the
m argin of th e c o ast b ore in thei r w o mb s t he destin i e s o f
Nat i ons When on May 13 1 6 0 7 they mo ore d t o the tree s of
this Islan d in six fath o m w at er th ey m o o re d Europ e t o Amer
i c a They m o o re d th e Ol d t o th e New Th ey m o ore d the
En glish C iviliz atio n with all its p o ssib iliti es t o th e New Worl d
with all its p ossib ilit ies T here were time s when it app e are d
that their c able s were in d an ger of p artin g B ut th ou gh fraye d
t oth e sl endere st they n ever wh olly gav e way
th e
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L e t us p aus e for a m om ent t o get a ( iew if w e c an o f the
c on d i ti ons environin g an d envelop in g the ir gr e at enter p ris e
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When th at b an d o f four s c ore s ouls b o arde d th os e little
ship s in the River Th ame s an d w ei ghe d an ch or En gl and was
j us t p rep arin g t o c el ebrat e the gre at annual h olid ay of the
En glish P e opl e : Christmas It wa s th e En gl an d o f th e
sp acious time s of Gre at E liz ab e th ; for th e after gl ow o f h er
mi ghty re i gn h ad n o t yet fade d o ut R al ei gh an d Ba c on an d
C o ke an d S outham p t on an d Burlei gh an d Walsin gham were
amon g th e state smen o f En gl and and B en Johnst on an d
Mi cha el D rayton w er e amon g her p o ets
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Christ opher M arl ow e an d E d mun d Sp ens e r ha d but n ow
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lai d by their lyres ; an d in L ondon Marl ow e s fell ow c o unty
man wh o gave a new r ealm t o En gl an d—a re alm out o f the
i ma ginatio n a s Ral ei gh gav e a n ew p hysi c al re alm w as writin g
th o se i mmo rtal dram as which are t o day th e herita ge of Americ a
n o l ess than of En glan d With the b ell s of L o ndon almo st
b e ginnin g t o p e al o ut th eir Christmas chime s the s e m en b ound
fo r th e Virgi n l an d aft er m any prayers an d s erm ons in sun dry
c hurch es b o ar de d the i r littl e v ess els an d dropp e d down the
river he a de d for Virgini a
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F or six l o n g we eks they l ay an ch ore d in th e D own s thump
in g up an d d own within b ut a few mile s of th e En gl i sh sh ore ;
where their c oura ge w as susta i n e d s ays the chr oni cl e by
W orthy Master Hun t
th e simpl e p arish pri est wh o though
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s o ill that his b o dily si ckn es s i s n ote d i n th e r ep ort st o o d forth
at n e ed t h e first of th at co ura ge ous b an d of S ol di ers of Chr i st
wh o s e hi ghest amb iti on h as ev er b e en to s erv e their Ma ster
faithfully b y s ea o r l an d ; re ck onin g l ik e th e g r e at Ap ostl e t o
th e Gentil es th at th e su fferin gs of this p r es ent time ar e n ot
w orthy t o b e c o mp are d wit h the gl ory whi ch shall b e r eveal e d
here after
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It was n ot unt i l th e 1 8 th day o f Feb ruary two m onths
after st artin g th at they lo st si ght of th e En glish c o ast an d
found th ems elves up o n the sh orel ess se a with n aught visibl e
b ut th e he avin g waste of wat ers an d th e h e ave ns ab ov e
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W e kn ow fr om th e r ep o r t s that they t ou che d an d r este d
a few days at th e Az o r es an d foun d fo r a brief p er i o d a sum
m er lan d in the Isl ands of D omini c a an d of Nevis wh ere t h e
wo n ders of th e Trop i c s first dawn e d on th eir ast onish e d vi s i on
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At N evis s em e t roubl e o c curre d takin g sh ap e as i s kn o wn
in s om ethin g lik e mutiny an d b e c ause th ereo f on e of th e ch i ef
of th e v oya gers fell un der such susp i ci on that h e was p ut under
arrest o r t o us e his own t erm
was unj ustly r estraine d of
(
his lib erty , i n whi ch c on d i tio n h e r em aine d until the 26 t h
day of Jun e foll ow i n g when h e wa s sworn of th e C oun c i l of
Virginia an d emerge s fro m o b s cur i ty int o th e roman c e whi ch
has fo r thre e hundre d ye ars envel op e d the fame o f C ap t ain
John Smith : S ometime
Gov erno r of Virgini a an d Adm i ral
of New En gl an d
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It was th e 26 t h of April wh en
ab out four o cl o ck i n th e
m ornin g
st orm to s t an d travel wo rn th ey enter e d th e C ap e s
of th e C hes ap eak e an d dropp e d an ch or fo r th e first tim e i n
th e w aters of Virginia
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Th ey an ch ore d En gl an d t o Amer i c a
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Th e day that a b es e i ge d city c ap itulates i s n ot s o truly
th e day of its captur e as the day o n whi ch the b e se i ge rs plant
the ir stan dar d up on th e walls n ever again t o b e tak en d own
S o mu ch m o re h ere Th e app r o a ch had b e en l on g an d ardu
ous E ffo rt after e ffort attemp t aft er att empt ha d b een ma de
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thro ugh mo re th an h alf a c entury t o m ak e a bre ach in Sp ain s
extens i v e defens e s A bre ak ha d a ctually b e en made twenty
o dd years b efore by a gallant an d devot e d b an d o n R o an oke
Isl and s om e s c ore s of l ea gu e s t o the s outhw ard But the as
s ault ha d finally fail e d : the littl e b an d on R o an ok e Isl an d h ad
disapp e are d into th e mysteri ou s limb o o f Cro at an th e va gue
l an d of Ro man c e I t w as this n ew b an d of s ettlers wh o o n
this M ay day 16 0 7 fin ally se iz e d an d p ermanently hel d th e
outp o st whi ch w as th e k ey t o th e C ontin ent and l e d t o th e
suprema cy of th e S axon Ra c e with it s L aws its R el igi on an d
i ts Civiliz ati on in No rth Am eri c a
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Th e a c c ount of th e l an din g giv en a t t h e tim e t ells h ow
After mu ch an d w e ary s e arch with their b arg e c o astin g still
b efo re ( as Virgil writeth Aen e as did arrivin g in th e re gi on
of I taly call e d L atium up on the b ank es o f th e River Ty b er ) i n
th e c ountry o f a W arrow an ce call e d W ow i n ch ap u n ch a ( a
di t i on ary to Powhatan ) within this fair e River of P asp i h e i gh
whi ch we h ave c all e d the Kin g s River they sel e cte d an d ex
t en de d plain e an d sp o t of e arth which thrus t out int o th e depth
an d mi ddest of the ch ann el m akin g a kin d e of C h e son e su s o r
P enin sul a Th e Trump ets s oun din g th e A dm i rall stro oke sail e
an d b efor e t h e sam e th e re st of the Fle et e c ame t o an an co r
an d h ere t o l o o se n o furth er tim e the C ol ony di si m b ark e d and
every man b rou ght hi s p arti cul ar stor e an d furniture t o gether
3“
3“
An d th ere
with th e gen eral p r ovisio n ash o re
up on
a c ertain c anto n an d qu antity of t hat l ittl e h alf Isl and
of groun d w as m e asure d whi ch they b e gan t o f ort i fi e an d
th ere on in th e n ame of Go d t o raise a F ort re sse with th e abl est
an d sp e edi est m e anes they c oul d
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Exc ept th e hist o ri cal stud ent n o on e kn ows wh at th e
e arlie st settlers an d the ir immedi ate su c ce sso rs h ad t o fac e
D e ath w as n o thin g t o th os e m en It w as a m ere in ci dent of
the life a s i t i s t o day of th e s oldi er s i n t h e fiel d It w as the
t orture of the s ava ge ; th e stak e an d th e r ack of th e Sp ani ard ;
the arrow that fl y e t h by day an d th e p e stilen c e that walketh
in darkn e ss — all th es e they found Of th e on e hundre d an d
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four m en l eft by Newp o rt when h e s ail e d fro m Virgini a in
Jun e 16 0 7 h e foun d on his re turn in January with the firs t
supply b ut thir t y fo ur alive : Of the four hundre d or th ere
ab o uts l eft in 16 0 9 L or d D el aware foun d but sixty tw o or
s ixty thre e survivin g in 1 6 1 0 In th e n ext twenty ye ars o f
the s ev en or ei ght th ous an d wh o c ame t o Virgin ia t o s eiz e an d
s ettl e her fo r E n glan d o v er six th ousan d die d on the w ay o r
in th e first ye ar of th eir se as onin g
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As w e stan d her e to day it is alm ost imp o ssibl e fo r the
min d t o c on c e ive what the s e m en un derwent Th e wh ol e w orl d
h as b e en n o t only expl ore d but b e c om e well ni gh a s famili ar
to us as our own h o m e c ounty o r t own We re ad in th e m orn
in g press ac c ounts o f th e o rdin ary happ enin gs in every qu arter
of th e gl ob e Every se a has b e en ch art e d an d almo st every
lan d h as b e c o me the pl aygr oun d of th e t ourist The fabl e d
l ab ors of Hercul es
an d th e far fam e d travel s of ( lyss e s are
surp ass e d b y a th ous an d c a p tains wh o sail the Ar cti c an d th e
Trop i c Se as But i n th o s e days th os e m en fa ce d ev ery dan ger
whi ch th e hum an ima ginati on c o ul d c onj ure up an d fac e d it
with a c onstant mind If they turn e d b a ck t o En gl an d m onths
an d m onths aw ay of t o ils om e te di ous an d p eril ou s trav el th ey
foun d the Sp ani ard with sw or d an d r ack an d stake o n the
h oriz on If they fa c e d the new C ontinent they l o ok e d int o
th e v ast imp en etrabl e an d illimit abl e forest b ehin d every tre e
o f which an d in every p at ch o f we e ds in whi ch ther e lurke d a
murderous fo e Th ey ha d re a che d a charme d but an unkn own
l an d with a chan ge abl e an d untri e d climate ; their pr ovisi ons
ori ginally intende d t o l ast o nly until they c oul d s e e d an d har
vest a n ew cr op h a d b e en waste d durin g the i r lo n g v oya ge
an d woul d n o t l ast the m out T heir form o f go vernment was
on e ill c al cul ate d a s it prov e d t o me et the n e e ds of their situ
at ion
But th eir direst enemy wa s on e m ore lurkin g th an th e
s av age In dian an d m ore fell than th e cruel Sp aniard They
had p it che d up on a l andin g pl a c e s imply b e c aus e of the se curity
whi ch it o ff ere d a gain st their enemi es with out kn owin g au ght
o f th e clim at e an d its p erils an d it p rove d t o b e a sp o t s o
malari al t hat b efore th e first summer wa s out sixty men o f
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th e on e hun dre d an d twenty w er e de a d of wo un ds an d dis ease
The s ounds o f the ir su ffer i n gs s o impress e d itself on that
s ch olarly histo ri an Ge orge Percy th i rd Pre sident o f th e
Col ony tha t h e p i cture d it in on e of his rep orts wh os e virility
i s t o d ay th e w on der of th e En glish writ ers
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Burnin g fevers destroye d them s om e dep arte d suddenly
but fo r th e m ost p art they die d o f m ere famine T here w ere
n ever En glishmen l eft in a forei gn c ountry i n such mis ery as
w e w ere i n this n ew dis c ov ere d V i r gini a
Th ere
was gro anin g in every c orn er of th e F ort m ost p itiful t o he ar
If th ere wa s any c ons ci en c e in m en
says the h i st orian
it
w oul d mak e th eir he arts to bl ee d t o he ar th e p itiful murmurin gs
and o utcr i e s
s o m e departin g ou t of th e w orld s ome
tim e s thre e an d fo ur i n a n i ght ; in the m ornin g th eir b o di es
tra i l e d out o f th e c abins lik e do gs t o b e buri ed
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It c ame t o th e p o int
stan d
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when ten m en c oul d n either go n or
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This wa s th e si ckly s e as on wh en w i th out kn owl e dge of
m al arial dis e as e th ey w ere in their half starve d co ndition at
th e m ercy of th e ague s an d fev ers But h appily the chan ge
o f th e se as on c am e at l ast ; the winter a b itter on e on b o th
sh ores of th e Atlanti c drov e aw ay th e p estilen c e
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Th en c am e the p i ctur es qu e in cident over whi ch histo rians
of l ate h ave quarrel e d s o much wh en a c c ordin g t o Smith s
ac c ount his life w as save d by th e youn g In d i an Prin cess
T im e fails t o r ep e at th e ar guments in this pla c e
P o c ah ont as
T o m e they app e ar to establish the fact b eyon d re as onabl e
qu es ti o n H owever th at m ay b e th at winter t h e small rem
nant of m en expl o re d an d chart e d the wat ers of the Chesap e ak e
with its n obl e tributaries t o the Falls of the Poto m ac wh ere the
C ap it al o f the Nati on n ow stands as within a short p er i o d
afterwards th ey expl ore d the n orthern Ches ap e ake an d th e
Susqueh anna m appin g t heir disc ov erie s with an a ccura cy whi ch
is th e w on der of th e pre sent time
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A c onspiracy pl otte d by Ken dall in the ab sen c e of the
expl orati on p arty t o s eiz e th e p inna c e an d sail n o rthward t o
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the sho res o f New F ou n dlan d where the fishin g fl e et f r om
Eur op e mi g h t always b e found w as defe at e d p o ssibly by the
return of Ca p tain Smith ; — at l east h e h as th e cre dit o f it
Th e guns of the F ort w er e traine d o n the mutin e ers and Ken
dall th e rin g l e a der was p r omp tly tri e d an d shot Curi ously
t h e dis c overy of th e pl o t w as due t o a p rivat e wh o was under
senten c e o f de ath fo r h av i n g s tru ck the Pres i dent when the
latt e r was b e atin g him an d wh o wh en h e was m ountin g the
gallows divulg e d th e c o nsp ira cy
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Smith hims elf came n ear fall i n g the vi ct im t o a p artis an
fa ct i on h e was tri e d fo r havin g l ost his m en dur i n g h i s expl ora
ti on b ut his life w as save d b y the un exp e ct e d return of Newp ort
with p rovis ions an d r einfor c ements for th e C ol ony Am on g
thes e w as an el em ent whi ch p o ssibly d id mo re t o est ablish th e
n ew pl antati on than ev en t h e p ro visi ons for am on g the n ew
i mmi grants were a numb er of w om en
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Onc e m ore c ame the s tarvin g tim e ; b ut youn g P o c ah onta s
app ears t o h ave b e en the guardi an an gel of her n ew found
fr i en ds
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Th e time
i s fille d with expl orat i on w it h att acks o n t he i r
In dian en emi es an d c ounter atta cks with char ge s an d c o un ter
char ges ; but all th e time th e l i ttl e C ol ony w as est ablishin g
its elf fo r En gl an d an d for h er F aith at th e c os t of as brav e
an d dev ote d lives as wer e ever lai d d own for th e caus e o f
R eli gi o n an d of Fre e dom
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In t h e N ova Britann i a date d F ebru ary 1 609 are given the
pl ans obj e ct s an d h op es of th e Virgini a C o mp any Th e chi ef
o b j e cts are sta t e d
First t o a dv anc e th e Kin gd om of Go d
S e c ond t o a dvan c e th e Kin gdo m of E n gl an d An d third t o
reli ev e an d p res erv e th o s e alre ady of th e C olony an d l ay a
s ol i d foun datio n for th e future go o d of this C omm o nw e alth
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Tim e fails o n this o c c asi on t o ment i o n th e n ame s of even
th e l ea ders o f t ho s e w on derful men , an d ye t m o re w on derful
women wh o l ai d the foun dati on for th e future go o d n ot only
o f this C o mm onwe alth of Virginia b u t o f this gre at C omm on
we alth of th e ( n i t e d State s ( nname d as they are and u n
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h on ore d as th ey h av e l on g b een they s ave d thi s C ontinent for
Pro test antism an d th e En glish Civilizat i on
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We hav e n ot time here t o d o h on or even t o th at valiant
gentl em an
E dward M aria W i n gfi eld first succ es so r t o Sir
Walter Ralei gh as G overn o r of Vir gini a ; o r t o th os e brav e
m emb ers o f t h e First C o unsell wh o w ere in front in mayn
o n th at fi erc e atta ck by th e Indians while
t ay n i n g the Fo rte
Newp o rt was expl orin g th e Kin g s Riv er an d pl antin g a
cross e on Whit Sun d ay 1 60 7 at th e Falls where n ow stands
the C ap ital of Vir gini a
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I c an o nly t ak e tim e t o m ention an ep is o de whi ch must
h av e br ou ght happ i n ess int o at l east tw o he arts an d m ore
ch e er p ossibly into th e l i ttl e feve r stri cken s ettlement whi ch
r os e where w e stand to day
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S o on after Newp o rt s dep arture for En glan d in D e c emb er
1 6 0 8 ther e was a m arria ge b etwixt John L a dron c arp ente r
an d Ann e Burrus the mai d of Mrs F orre st ; h e a ge d 26 she
but fourte en Mrs F o rrest wa s th e first g entlewo m an an d
h er m ai d th e first w oman s erv an t th at arrive d in our C ol ony
(
whi ch w as th e first marria ge w e ha d in V i rgini a
an d w as
the first marri a ge a cc o rdin g t o th e Pro te stan t rit e of matri
m ony whi ch o c curre d on this C o ntin ent
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,
.
Tim e fails m e t o g o into the story o f th e sufferin gs an d
stru ggl es th e her oi c d e e ds an d yet m o re h ero i c s acrific es that
th es e settl ers en dure d Of all that b rav e an d gallant c o mp any
n ot on e foun d that fo r wh i ch h e s et forth s av e h aply W orthy
Master Hunt wh o c ounte d n ou ght s o that h e mi ght win s oul s
t o Christ and Capt ain John Smith wh o owe s his ab idin g fame
ev en m ore t o his p en than t o his swo rd
,
,
.
“
,
,
(
,
,
,
.
Christoph er N ewp ort wh o wa s th e Gu ardian An gel of the
C ol on y an d preserve d it fro m extirp ati on o n m ore th an o n e
o c c asi on h as n o m onumen t in all this State o f Virginia It i s
questi on able if ev en th e n ame with whi ch he is supp os e d t o b e
asso ciated a ctually was derive d fro m him He expl ore d th e
S ea s o f b o th the E ast an d We st ; and h avin g had s ol e c omm an d
of the first fiv e v oyage s which brou ght th e first C ol onists here
,
,
,
.
.
,
IO
an d subs equ ently reli ev e d their n e c essitie s when they were
ab out t o p erish ; h i s shotte d hamm o ck w a s swun g at th e las t i n
th e l on g sur ges of th e In d i an S e as
.
B arth ol omew G osn old that w orthy an d reli gious gentl e
man
b ol d d i s c ov erer and explo rer of b ot h c o asts of Virginia
was l a i d in an unmark e d grav e s o mewh ere there wh ere th e
waters h av e cut i nto th e sh ore an d h i s h eroi c dust h as l on g
sinc e b e en swe p t aw ay by the w aters o f the James l ik e th at
of s o many an other brav e an d d ev ot e d s oldi er an d m arin er
Ye ars afterwar ds C ap tain John Smit h d e cl are d that h e h ad
n ot on e fo ot o f groun d in Virginia n o t th e v ery h ous e h e h a d
builded ; n or the l an d h e ha d di g ge d with his own han ds
“
,
“
,
,
,
,
.
,
“
,
(
.
But th ou gh thes e m en an d th eir follo wers are n ot kno wn
s av e t o a few histo ri cal s tudents t h eir w ork is writt en l arge
up o n t he History o f th e Wo rl d They l a i d the foun dat i on fo r
what we c all No rth Am eri ca T o us e thei r own t erm
th ey
b roke t h e i c e an d b e at th e p aths
an d th e re st was c omp ara
t i v ely e asy
,
.
“
.
,
(
,
.
From the i r wo rk an d out o f thei r c ont enti ons for there
w as c ont enti on en ough c am e the enl arge d Charters o f 1 60 9
1 6 1 2 an d 1 6 18 whi ch gave an d guarante e d t o all Vir gini ans an d
th eir p o ste rity th e ri ghts pr i vil e ges an d immunit i es of En glish
b orn citiz ens forever
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
Previ ous to th i s time C ol onists wh o l eft their c ountry di d
n o t t ak e with th em a cr os s s ea s even th o se ri ghts an d p rivil e ges
th at t h ey ha d at h om e ; th e n ew c ountry w as un der Marti al
L aw with all wh o wer e therein But when thes e En glish
s ettl ers c am e they insiste d on br i n gin g with them an d they
b rou ght with them th e ri ghts o f fre e b orn En glishm en An d
th i s was th e firs t gre at servi c e whi ch this first C olony of
En gl and r en der e d t o mankin d
,
.
,
-
,
.
.
If o n e w er e summ on e d t o make go o d the claim th at G o d
h a d s e t His s t amp here he mi ght p o i nt t o the c ours e of histo ry
whi ch in its w on derful d evel op m ent l e d up throu gh th e stran ge
chanc es an d chan ge s of th e Sixte enth C entury t o the final an d
ab i din g s ettl ement of the C ont in ent by the S axon Ra c e with its
,
II
Civilizati on He mi ght sh ow how Sp ain grew so gre at an d
p owerful that sh e s urp as se d Ro me in the days o f h er gre ate st
mi ght an d ext en de d he r rul e ove r many times th e territ o ry
R ome rule d H e mi ght sh ow h ow i gnorin g the exampl e of
An cient R om e sh e ende av ore d t o rule th e minds as w ell a s th e
a cti ons of men ; h ow a b igo te d an d min d cramp in g e c cl esiasti
ci sm fa sten e d its tyrann i cal shac k l e s o n the asp irin g thou ght
o f th e tim e an d thre aten e d to destroy Civilizati on in its stron g
h olds
.
,
.
-
.
T hen h e mi ght p i ctur e the gre at awakenin g throu gh out
E urop e ; the app arent w orkin gs of Pr oviden c e t hrou gh the gen
e rat i on s—
t
i ch p ro du ce d the Marin er s C o m
p as s ; Gunp owder
—an d n obl es t of all inventi ons : the Art of Printin g You
sh ould se e the li ght o f th e New D awn extend as far a s En glan d
an d there thr ou gh th e p ious z e al of th e S ch olar Pri est John
Wy ckli fi e suddenly r ea ch th e p e opl e an d as with th e e n
ch ant er s w an d qui ck en t hem t o l ife Then you s h o ul d s e e
this awak en e d an d qui ckene d p e opl e d e clare a gainst F orei gn
E c cl esiasti cism an d fo r En gl an d— an d from this time y ou
sh oul d s e e th e fierc e stru ggl e b et w e en En gl and an d Sp ain ; th e
Sa xon an d th e L atin— the New an d th e Ol d— the ri ghts of the
En glishm en and the p retensions o f Prer o gative : Civil Mili
t ary an d E c cl esiasti c al
’
‘
.
,
,
,
’
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
All th e middl e of th e Sixt eenth C entury w as a l on g stru g
gl e b etwe en S p ain an d En gland—or mor e ri ghtly b etween th e
Ol d an d th e New An d Sp a i n h ad all i e d hers elf with th e
form er an d En glan d with the latter
,
,
.
.
Happ ily for th e w orl d then cam e i n the Pr ovi den c e of
Go d t o the throne o f En glan d a w oman with the b ra i n n o t onl y
of a m an but of a man far b eyon d th o s e wh o usually w e ar
crowns An d yet m o re h appily sh e foun d h ers elf at the he a d
of an arous e d an d q u i ckene d p e opl e at the flo o d ti de o f th ei r
forc e an d gen iu s—m o st of all arouse d t o th e p erils of Sp ani sh
d ominati on ; fro m whi ch En gl an d h ad es cap e d by a hair s
b rea dth Sh e ha d th e bl o o d o f th e En glish Gentry a s well as
of R oyalty i n h er veins an d sh e h ate d Sp ain with all her s oul
an d ha d go o d ri ght t o h at e her (
,
(
,
.
,
-
’
.
,
12
B url ei gh an d W alsin gh am an d E ss ex w ere h er C ounsell ors ;
Drak e an d H awkins ; th e Gilb e rts an d H ow ards w ere am on g
her s eamen ; S idney an d Ral ei gh w ere amon g h e r c o u rt i ers ; an d
Ral ei gh gre at est o f all he r St atesm en w as b ut a Kn i ght
kn i ghte d fo r V i r gin i a
,
,
,
.
Whil e th e state smen h elp ed her t o play h er gre at gam e i n
E ur op e ; h er s e a c apt a i ns help e d her t o brin g i t t o suc c e ss in
th o se s eas wh ere Sp ain s overre achin g p ower h a d de cre e d it t o
b e de ath t o fly any fl a g b u t h er own
’
.
T he w e alth the p o wer an d the arro gan c e of Sp ain w i th
h er b i go try arouse d the p e opl e of En glan d t o a p i t ch wh i ch
ha d p o ssibly n o t b e en kn own sin c e th e N orm an c onqu es t
,
,
,
.
,
,
Alth ou gh E n gl an d cl aime d the mi ddl e p art o f North
Amer i c a by virtu e of th e dis c overy ma de i n 1 496 b y J ohn
C ab ot un der Pat ent o f Henry VII th e C ontinent was w on a
hun dre d ye ars l ate r in th e War with S p ain w hi c h l aste d sub
st an t i ally throu gh th e last half o f th e Sixt e enth C entury
,
.
,
,
,
.
F or a generati on th e gre at s e a cap ta i ns of En gl an d h ad
b e en trainin g in w estern w aters an d garn erin g up impl a cable
h ate against Sp ain Sir Philip S idn ey ha d wri tten vi go r ously
of En glan d s opp o rtunity and duty ; H awkins Dr ak e the G i l
b erts Grenv i ll e an d o thers ha d fl ou t e d Sp ain an d fou ght h er
from C a diz t o Peru An d t hen i n G o d s Prov i den c e c am e
Walter Ral ei gh O f all th e gre at men of th e tim e as has b e en
s ai d t o him m o r e than t o any oth er w as d u e th e c apture o f
this New W orl d for En glan d an d h e r P e opl e It w as his far
re a chin g p revi s i o n that fo res aw her w o rth—h i s l ofty ambit i on
th at des i re d an d his all m aster i n g geniu s th at c on c eive d an d
c arrie d thr ou gh the mi ghty pl ans whi ch ma de her an En gl i sh
p osses si on H e wa s th e first an d Chi ef Govern or o f Virg i n i a
T o him m o re than t o any oth er on e man this Nati on owes a
m onument ; an d stan ds as on e
,
.
’
,
,
,
,
’
.
.
,
,
.
-
(
.
.
.
We m ay n o t go into th e l on g stru g gl e h e m ade t o pl ant
h ere th e B ann er o f En gl an d an d o f Protestantism He d i e d
after l on g i mp r i s onment a ( i ct i m t o t h e hate of th e n ati on he
ha d s o l on g an d impl a cably fou ght—th e most fo ol ish an d
.
,
13
c o wardly o f all th e s acrific es that unb r i dle d p ow er has ev er
m ade
But he ha d plante d here a c ol o ny whi ch c ontaine d th e
s e e d of a mi ghty n atio n whi ch has ma de go o d his wil de st i m ag
inin g an d thank Go d that h e l ive d as h e wrot e Sidn ey h e
h op e d t o l ive
t o s e e i t a Mi ghty Nati on
.
,
,
,
,
“
(
,
.
Th e cruc i al b attl e was fou ght in the En glish Channel in
tho s e s ummer d ays when the Sp anish Armada su c cumb e d to th e
aro use d S axo n Sp i ri t when suffi ciently ar ous e d h as always
swep t everythin g b efor e i t Had the Sp anish Arm ada b een
v i cto ri ous th e s ettl ement of Am eri c a by the An gl o S ax o n w oul d
have en de d th ere forever an d with it d oub tle ss w oul d h av e
g on e t o d e clin e th e An glo S ax on civiliz ati on
,
.
-
,
,
-
.
Th e vi cto ry whi ch En glan d W 633 that d ay an d in the suc
ce e di n g days when th e S e a D o gs o f D ev on hunt e d d own th e
bro ken s e ctions of th e fle et which attemp te d t o s ail ar oun d the
Brit is h Isl es b ut t o strew t h eir wre cks t o the Hebri des t o th e
S outh an d of Irelan d w as th e insp irati on t o th e En glish p e opl e
t o s eiz e the American C ontin ent for th e Ki n gd om of Go d ao
c o rd i n g t o the Protes t ant R eli gio n an d fo r the Ki n gd om of
En gl and An d th e v i ct ory whi ch Raleigh an d o thers w on in
C a diz in 1 6 96 c ompl et e d th e overthrow o f th e Sp anish se a
p ow er an d j ustifi e d R al ei gh s titl e of Sh ep h erd of th e S e as
,
,
.
,
’
“
(
.
,
It h as b e en charge d by th o s e i gn orant of th e fa cts or i n
cap able of c omp rehen din g th em th at Virgini a was pl ant e d only
fo r gain T h e fa ct i s far o therw i s e
,
.
.
T h e plant i n g of V i rgini a h ad i ts ori g i n i n the reli gi ous z e al
o f the p e opl e o f En gl an d ; th e prime o bj e cts of th e m ovement
w ere ever ex p ress e d t o b e th e wel fare of th e Ki n gd om of G o d
an d th e final i nstru cti ons t o
a n d th e Kin gdo m o f E n gl an d
th e first C ol ony that s ettl e d at Jamest own w ere cl os e d with an
t o s erve an d fe ar G o d th e Giver of all Go o dness
e xh ortat i on
fo r ev ery p lantati on whi ch our He avenly F ather h ath no t
p l ante d sh all b e ro ote d o ut
This exh ortati on th e n ew settlers
e ve r obs e rv e d an d th ou gh th e forms o f w orship di fi ere d on
their p art an d on th e p art o f th e Puritans n o Puritans were
ever m ore z e al o us than th os e Church of En gl an d c ol onists of
“
(
,
“
,
,
(
.
’
,
,
,
14
V i rg i ni a R el i gi ous fervo r was th e chara cteristi c of the time
Th e annals an d re c ords sh ow that reli gio n was a pr o min ent
p art o f th eir life an d fr om that day t o this th e p e opl e of Vir
g i ni a hav e b e en amon g the m ost r eli gi ous p e opl e i n th e w orl d
.
.
,
.
On that first Sun day wh en th e In di ans atta ck e d t h e F ort ,
“
a s s o o n as th e att ack h ad b e en repuls e d
W orthy M ast er
(
aske d th e Presi dent if i t were his p l e asur e t o h av e a
Hunt
sermon an d W i n gfl e ld r epli e d that the m en w ere w e ary an d
hun gry an d i f i t pl e as e d h i m w e woul d wai t until s om e oth er
time
An d even th i s failur e w as m ade th e subj e ct of a ch ar ge
a gainst him b y his en emie s
,
“
,
,
,
(
.
.
Th e r e c ords are full of th e p i ety of the tim e an d th e
mini strati on s of t hos e faithful S ol diers of Christ wh o c am e in
th e tru e missi onary sp i rit p rep are d t o l ay d own th ei r l i v es
even with j o y in th eir M aster s s ervi c e
,
,
,
’
.
Th e first stru cture ere cte d o n this Isl an d w as a s ail sp re ad
b etw e en th e t re es un der wh i ch t o c on du ct the s ervi c e of Go d
.
Po ssibly th e first e dific e ere cte d after th e c onstru cti on of
th e fortifi c ati ons was h ow ev er rude built for a Chur ch an d
on its site fou r s a cr e d e d i fi c es aro s e b efor e Jame stown c eas e d
t o b e t h e C ap it al of Virgini a An d n ow th e fifth h as ar i s en
thro u gh th e p ious z eal of th os e w orthy w om en suc c e ss ors of
th e p i ous w o men wh o first co ntribut e d t o m ak e th at sp o t h oly
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
The first act of L or d B altimo re on hi s arriv al wh en h e ha d
m et an d t urn e d b a ck th e famishin g remn ant of th e C ol ony w as
t o fall on hi s kne e s b efor e h e enter e d th e S outh Gate o f th e
F ort wh ere Sir Tho mas Gates wa s drawn up w i th hi s fifty so l
di ers t o r e c eive him
,
,
-
.
Th e first laws p o ste d in Vir gini a c ontain e d th e l aws p ro
m u lgat e d b y Ar gall an d his C oun cil enj o inin g at t en dan c e o n
D ivin e W orship un der p enalty of lyin g n e ck an d h eel s on the
c o rp s du gu arde fo r a day an d ni ght for t h e first o ffens e an d
slav e ri e t o th e C ol ony fo r a w e ek ; for th e s e co n d and slav e ri e
for a month fo r th e th i rd slav e ri e t o th e C ol ony fo r a ye ar
“
,
,
(
,
.
,
I
S
A l aw wa s s o on p ass e d enj o inin g up on every p lantati o n
t o h ave a ro om s et ap art fo r the s ervic e of Go d w hi ch sh ould
b e use d for n o s e cular purp o s e In de e d whateve r the sho rt
c omin gs of the Virginian s were th e l ack of p i e ty was n o t amon g
th em I ventur e t o mak e the assertion that their att en dan c e
up on D iv i n e W o r ship fr om th e tim e o f Ar gall s Laws down
t o the l ast ringin g of th e Church b ells h as n ot b e en exc e e de d by
th e p eo pl e o f any other C ol ony o r St at e in this C o untry I t
gave th e c omplexi on t o their l ife an d with chiv alry an d l ove
o f the ri ghts of fre em en g ave its fibre
,
.
,
,
.
’
,
.
,
.
It is true that the s e ekin g of we alth b ore its p art in the
ent erpris e as i t has ever b o rn e its p art a s on e o f th e obj e cts of
human en de avor Sir Walter R al ei gh s ou ght El D orado ; but
wh o will b e s o stup i d as t o charg e that this w as his chi ef a i m (
S o n on e can rea d th e true st ory o f t he foun din g of Virgini a
with out dis c ov erin g on h ow mu ch bro a der a foundati on i t w as
lai d T he asp irati on w as for t h e establishment o f a gre at
Pro test ant St at e : a bulwark fo r En glan d acro ss se as T he
foun dation was c em ent e d b y th e dust of th ous ands of b ol d
S ol di ers of Christ wh o l eft c o mfort an d eas e b ehin d them t o
fa c e de ath h ere in i t s m ost terribl e fo rm
,
,
.
,
.
.
,
.
But th ere i s n ot tim e even s o mu ch as t o m ent i o n t o day th e
h i st ory o f th e i r s elf sacri fi ce an d l ofty en de avo r All that may
b e don e here is t o p o i nt t o th eir true s to ry and g i ve assuran c e
that you will b e well rep ai d for whateve r t roubl e yo u m ay t ake
t o burrow o ut f r o m the musty r e c ords of the tim e th eir history ;
for you will fin d it th e s tory o f as h i gh an d a s n obl e fortitude a s
ever illumine d th e p ages of human ende avo r N o emb ellish
m ent i s re quire d Truly it m ay b e sai d as wa s s ai d at the
t i me
That n oth i n g c an purge that fam ous a cti on fro m th e
i nfam ous s candal s ome i gn orantly h ave c on c e de d as the p l ain e
(
s impl e an d n ake d truth
-
.
,
.
,
.
“
,
,
,
.
W e m ay n ot h ere even s o much as t ou ch on a cti ons whi ch
w ere ep o ch makin g i n the i r r esults ; fo r ther e i s s carc ely t i m e
t o mentio n the n ames o f S i r T h omas Gate s S i r Th omas D al e
S ir S amuel Argall Si r Ge org e Year d ley S i r Fran c i s Wyatt
-
,
,
,
I6
,
,
’
su ch p ass age That h e c arrie d out with supre me suc cess D al e s
pl an of drivin g th e Fren ch s ettl ers from th e c o as t of No rth
V i rginia and m ade that c o ast s e cure for th o s e En glishme n wh o
cam e seven years l ater t o foun d there on th e Plym outh an d
Mass a chusetts B ay C ol on i es ; th ereby insurin g forever th e
An glo S ax on civiliz ati on on th at sh ore
.
,
-
.
In ci dent ally i t m ay b e s ai d th at S amuel Ar gall al s o firs t
brou ght Ne gr o slave s t o Virginia in his ship
Th e Trea sure
so metim es call e d A Dutch Man of War
th at b ein g t h e te ch
n i cal titl e for a Pr i vate er
S o his n am e i s wr i tten l ar ge on th e
Hi st ory o f b o th Vir gini a an d New En gl an d
,
“
(
,
,
,
“
(
-
-
,
.
.
“
Of S i r Ge orge Ye ardl ey
Th e Mil d Yeardley
it must b e
sai d that un der him r ep resent at iv e Government whi ch was a
growth o f th e Virginia C ol ony first cam e into a ctu al b ein g
(
,
,
.
,
Th e M a gn a Ch arta o f Am eric a was issue d on N ovemb er
28 16 1 8 :
The Gre at Chart er of Privil e ge s Orders an d L aws
pr ovi din g fo r p opular el e ctive gov ernm ent in th e C ol ony It
i s re c orde d th at t hat ni ght A Bl azin g S tar app eare d in th e
sky It w as a bl azin g st ar i nde ed which app eare d in th e
fi rm am en t that d ay
(
“
,
,
.
“
.
(
,
,
.
Her e i s th e a c c ount of Ye ardle y s pr o clamati on :
An d
th at they ( the Pe opl e of Virgini a ) here h ave a h an d in the
gov ernin g of th ems elves it w as grant e d th at a General Assem
bly mi ght b e h el d ye arly on c e ; where at were t o b e p resent th e
G o vern or an d C oun cil with tw o Burgess es from e a ch Planta
ti on fre el y t o b e el e cte d by th e i nh abitants there of : T his
Ass embly t o hav e p ower t o m ake an d ordain wh ats o eve r l aws
an d ord ers sh oul d by them b e th ou ght go o d an d pr ofitabl e fo r
our subsisten c e
“
’
,
,
,
,
,
(
.
In pursu an c e o f thi s Pro clamati o n th e First Hous e o f Bur
g es s e s o f Virgini a—the first r epresentative ass embly th at ever
s at on t h e Am eri c an C ontin ent assembl ed with the Governo r
an d C oun cil an d on this sp ot o n Frid ay the 3 0 t h d ay of July
T his was th e b e ginnin g of p op u
1 6 1 9 h el d their first s essi on
l ar governm ent in Am eri ca T hat day they c onse crate d this
sp ot t o Li b erty That day th e fountain spran g whi ch w as th e
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
18
,
ourc e of th e gre at current which to day repres ents Amer i c an
c onst i tution al i de as
s
.
Other fount ains h av e sprun g sin c e then an d hav e swelle d
this mi ghty current Fro m th e littl e Mayflo wer an d fro m h er
su c cess ors and fro m that stern c o ast on c e the c o ast o f Northern
V i rginia where th ey l ande d th eir b rave c omp anies c am e vital
stre ams to whi ch I b e ar my willin g tribute this day as fro m
o t h er dire ction s S outh an d We st hav e p oure d in o ther stre ams
all t en din g t o s well the mi ghty w aters whi ch m ak e the vast
main of Ameri can life wh o s e temp erate w aters t emp er ever y
climate an d cre at e on every sh ore th e atm o sphere in whi ch
Fre e d om sprin gs But this fount ain o n this sp o t was the
s our ce an d h er e wh o ever c omes wh ether fro m New E n gl and ;
fro m the far S outh ; fro m the middle W est ; o r fro m th at v ast
re gi on o n th e sh ore s of th e farth est s e a ; c ome n ot as visitors
b ut as t h os e t o wh om this h all o we d sp ot b el on gs of ri ght
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Outsi de o f th e small cl as s o f stu dents o f the hist ory o f
th at tim e little i s known of th e w ork a c c ompl ishe d by this
C ol ony of Vir ginia an d the p e opl e wh o founde d it Hi sto ri ans
thems elv es h av e t aken l ittl e a c c ount of the influen c e that this
pl antati on an d t h e w o rk of its foun d ers exerte d in m ol din g
an ew the thou ght o f th e En glish Pe opl e in th e dire cti on o f
L ib erty Ye t i t w as the n e c essity fo r a n ew form of gov ern
ment a dap t e d t o th e n e e ds o f a wh olly n ew system of c olon i al
existen c e whi ch b rou ght th e chan ge s in th e ch arters grant e d
by the Crown t o th e p e opl e wh o un dert o ok thi s s ettlement It
w as the pro t ests o f Gab ri el Arch er o f E dwar d M ari a Win g
fi eld of John Mart i n Ge o rge Per cy Christ ophe r Newp ort an d
others th at influen ce d Sir E dwin S andys an d th e E arl of S outh
ampt on th e F e rrars an d their fell ow a dventurers an d co
w orkers to stand fo r greater fre e do m in the government unt i l
th e Spirit o f Fre e do m h ad s o p erme ate d the En glish H ous e of
C omm ons that n ew ch arters were grante d an d s elf go vernment
aros e t o tak e th e pl a c e of royal prero gative T he Vir gini a
c ourts b e cam e th e t alk o f the En glish p e opl e an d every s es si on
was thron ge d with intereste d onl o okers stu dyin g th e n ew sys
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t em of government until th ey c am e to b e kn own as the Vir
gini a Parl i am ents
The Sp anish Amb assa dor w arn e d Kin g
James I th at hi s V i r gini a C ourts w ere but a S emina r y fo r a
S e d i ti ous Parli ament ; an d Jame s wh o wa s desirous t o s e cu r e
an allian c e by m arria ge with Sp ain set t o w ork t o su pp res s the
lib erti es grant e d un der th e Virgini a Ch arter
(
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In 1 6 1 8 as alre a d y stated th e Patri ot P arty s e cure d th e
ri ght fo r t h e s ettl e r s of Virginia t o ele ct a Rep re s ent at i ve
Assembly an d this Assembly c omp os e d o f two m emb ers fr om
e a ch of th e el even B or ou ghs in Vir gini a sat in th e cho ir of th at
Chur ch an d thus that sa cre d sp o t is doubl y h oly groun d : c on
s e crat e d t o Reli gi on and t o Lib erty
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From th e first th e rep res entat i ves b e gan t o assert th eir
ri ghts Th ey cl aime d th e p rivil e ge o f th e Co mm on s of En g
l an d of sittin g with th eir h ats on T hey app o int e d a c ommitte e
t o tak e un der co nsi deration the Charter : an d asc ertain if i t
c ontaine d anythin g n ot p erfe ctly squarin g with th e stat e of th e
C ol o ny
B e cause
s ai d they
this Charter i s t o b in d u s
an d our p os terity forev er
T hey further p res ente d a p etiti on
t o th e Virgin i a C o mp any in L ondon urgin g th at as un d er their
Ch art er n o l aws c oul d b e c ome fin al with out the app roval of the
C omp any i n L on don s o n o orders issue d by the C omp any i n
L on d on shoul d b e c om e e ffe ctiv e unl ess approv e d by them a s
th e Repre sentat i v e s o f th e p e opl e in Vir gini a
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Th e ri ght thus cl aime d w as ac c orde d them b y the V i r
gini a C omp any i n L ondo n th e foll owin g ye ar And this wa s
th e first v i ctory of th e Ameri can p e opl e over th e Crown
.
.
M e antim e th e c ontest went o n b etwe en th e Crown and
the C ourt P arty on on e side an d th e Patri o t Party on the
o ther T he latter r ep res ente d by Sir E dwin S andys th e E arl
of S ou th amp t on th e F e rrars and o ther p atr i ots wh o b y th i s
tim e were i dentifyin g th e ri ghts of th e p e opl e of Virg i ni a w i th
the r i ghts of th e p e ople o f En gl an d as a ga i nst th e cl aims of
hi gh p rero gativ e asserted b y Kin g Jam es and th e Span i sh
Party
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20
T he p e opl e were n ow al i ve t o th e i r ri ghts Jam e s awo k e
t o the dan ger of s o mu ch lib erty in his fifth kin gdo m but it
w as t o o l at e T he Vir gin i an s h ad taste d the swe ets of p opular
go vernm ent an d sto o d o n th eir ri ghts
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Everythin g app e are d p rosp er ous in Virgini a when w i th o ut
w arnin g o n the m ornin g o f Ap ril 1 st 1 6 22 th e Indi ans fell on
the unsusp e ctin g C ol oni sts an d massa cre d ove r four hundre d
of th em
Jamest own t he s e at of G ov ernm ent w as s ave d
throu gh a w arnin g given the ni ght b efor e by an In di an n am e d
Ch an c o ; b ut fro m th e F alls of th e Jam es t o th e C hes ap e ak e th e
p lantati ons w er e devastat e d The fl ourishin g t own of Henr i c o
was dest roye d an d with it w ent th e H o sp ital an d the end ow e d
C oll e ge Thus th e li ght whi ch h a d b een li ghte d with s o mu ch
z e al w as qu en che d in bl o o d S ix memb ers of th e C oun cil fell
( ictims i n cludin g Mr Th o rp e th e D eputy fo r th e C olle g e
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Ha d Virgini a n o t alre ady b e en establishe d on a firm foun
dati on this bl o w must h ave d estr oye d her As it was i t only
s erve d t o ex cit e b oth th e C omp any an d th e C ol ony t o ren ewe d
But the ( nive rsity starte d with su ch hi gh h op e s w as
e fi ort s
de a d The s ettlers from thi s tim e appli e d thems elve s t o th e
w ork o f cl e arin g all th at re gio n of a p e o pl e wh o had p r ove d s o
sub til e
and th e l e a der of th e m ov em ent up o n sam e w as th e
M i l d Ye ardl ey
Fro m n ow on we find th e s ettl ers g oin g on
March es thre e tim e s every ye ar t o harry an d d o the m all
th e d ama g e in their p ower
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Happ ily fo r Vir ginia an d h app ily fo r th e w orld by th e
time th at Kin g Jam es felt hims elf stro n g en ou gh t o attemp t t o
supp re ss our lib erti es they h ad b e c om e to o firmly establishe d
for hi s plan t o b e carri e d out Sir W alter R al ei gh fell a
vi ctim ; but th e gre at C ountry wh i ch he h a d don e s o much t o
foun d an d of which h e ha d b e en th e first an d Ch i ef G ov
erno r
surv i v e d an d surviv e d als o th e sp ir i t whi ch h e ha d
don e s o mu ch t o cre at e
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Any m an but Sir E dwin S andys
rather the D evil th an
Sir E dwin San dys
s ai d th e Kin g sp e akin g of th e el e ct i on o f
th e Virgin i a Tre asurer an d Chief Mana ger But S i r E dw i n
,
(
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2E
S andys w as ele cte d Treasurer for all that An d thou gh lat er
Kin g James n o minate d a numb er of men for Treasurer at an
o ther el e cti on the E arl of S outhampt on of S ir E dwin S an dys
Party an d fri en ds w as ch os en by t h e C o mp any An d wh en
thes e m en with o thers were arre ste d by Kin g James b y re ason
o f their outsp okenn es s in the caus e of Lib erty th e En gli sh
H ous e of C omm ons entere d a p ro te st on i ts re c ords a gainst
this exercis e of tyrann ous p ow er and s ent a C omm itte e d own
t o Kent t o inquire aft er Sir E dwin S an dys Kin g James it is
tru e was enable d fo r a time t o a ss er t his p ower H e w ent t o
Westminst er go t p oss ess i on o f th e minut es of th e H ouse of
C omm ons an d in the presenc e o f his Privy C o uncil with his
own han ds t ore from th e re c ords the p a ges on which they ha d
sprea d the ir p ro te st He se iz e d th e re c ords o f the Virgini a
C omp any an d revok e d th eir Ch art ers app ointin g R oyal C om
mis si oners t o mak e inquisitio n i n Virginia But Kin g Jam e s s
s on wa s trie d at th e Bar of the En glish Parliament : th at sam e
b o dy wh os e pro test his father t or e fr om the ir re c ord b o ok an d
by l aw di e d on t h e s c a ffold An d in th at Parli ament s at many
o f the m en wh o h ad h elp e d t o m ak e Virgini a
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V i rginia was R olay i st but she was R oyalist as Ralei gh
an d S outhamp ton an d S an dys were R oyalist An d n o Repub
l ican or Roundhe a d w as ever m ore j eal ou s fo r his r i ghts than
w er e h er R o yalist p e opl e When Kin g Jame s s ent his C om
missi oners h ere t o mak e their inquisiti on an d th ey deman de d
the Virg i ni a r e c ords t h e Virgini a Ass embly refus e d to give
them up an d when their Cl erk E dwar d Sharpl es s gave t o the
C ommis sion ers a c opy of the re c o rds the Assembly sto o d him
in the Pill ory an d cut off his e ar
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It i s a c omm entary on th e way in which hist ory is wr i tten
that this p unishm ent of E dward Sh arpl e ss is foun d in the m o st
re c ent hist ory of th e s ettl ement of this c ountry an d d oubtl ess
on e o f the m o st c ompl et e s et down a s an illustrati on o f th e
form of puni shment at that tim e in v o gu e in V i rgini a ; but n o
m ent i on is ma de of th e si gnifi cant fac t that the p un ishm ent was
i nflicte d fo r th e crim e of o b eyin g the order of th e Cr own rath er
than th e o rder of the G en eral Assembly of V i rgini a
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,
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James I att emp te d t o suppress their Ch art ers by s eizin g
th em but th e re c ords sh ow that l aws c ontinu e d t o b e p asse d
by th e Gov ern or an d C oun cil an d th e p e opl e of Vir g i ni a in
Ass embly An d in 1 6 28 th ey extorte d th e i r Ch art ers a gain
fro m th e relu ctant han d of Charl e s I
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,
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Th e o ri gin of th e R epubl i can i de a in Vir gini a h as b e en
date d by th o s e i gn oran t of Virgini a s hist ory fro m th e S t am p
A ct in 1 7 6 5; by others n ot quite s o i gn orant from B a c on s R e
b elli on in 1 6 7 6 ; whil e yet others h av e date d it fro m the Sessi on
of the First Ass embly in 1 6 1 9 But the s ee d ha d b e en s o wn
an d th e p l an h a d b e en gr owin g th ou gh wi th m any a le t an d
hin dran c e sin c e th e first exp eri en c e o f th e Co l onists an d of th e
m ana gers of th e ent erpris e in En gl an d under
the Kin g s
facti on pr o du cin g form of Government
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Th e p opul ar Charters of 1 6 09 an d 1 6 1 2 whi ch spran g fr om
th e s entiment for a fre e r Government th emselve s o p ene d th e
w ay for th e devel opm ent of l ib eral i de as of g ov ernment in th e
New C ountry Fr om the time th at the R epr esentative s o f the
p e opl e first s at on Vir gini a s oil there w as n eve r as we l o ok
b a ck on it n ow ; any re al d an ger th at th e p e opl e w oul d n o t
a chiev e their lib erti es Th e obj e ct of Sir E dwin S an dys when
draftin g th e p op ular Charters was t o foun d a fre e p opul ar
Stat e h er e It was this ide a an d the kn own re al iz ation of it
whi ch b rou ght the Mayflow er an d h er ship s c omp any o f
Lib erty s eekers t o th e sh o re s o f N orthern Virgini a i n 1 6 20 as
i t had br ou ght s o m any ship l o a ds t o Virgini a
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In 1 6 24 th e Vir gini a Ass embly p asse d a l aw p ro vidin g that
n o tax es sho ul d b e l evi e d in Vir gini a but by an d with t h e c on
s ent of th e Virgini a Ass embly An d t his w as th e very groun d
on whi ch on e hun dre d and fifty ye ars l ate r th e Ameri can R ev o
lu t i on was b as e d
Fro m thi s time durin g this on e hundre d
an d fifty ye ars the c ontinu al asse rti o n of thi s ri ght wa s th e
p ro duct o f th e Vir ginia C o l ony an d its civilizati on ; for whethe r
i t w as ass erte d in Virgini a o r in New En gl an d it was b ase d o n
th e prin c i pl e thus firs t enun ci at e d an d ass erte d b y th e Virgini a
C ol ony
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23
From t his ti me the p e opl e were arouse d an d n ot m any
years l ater w hen on e of their G ov ern o rs Sir John Harv ey
fail e d t o e sp o us e as warmly as th ey thought p rop er th e c aus e
o f Willi am Cl aib orn e
Th e Reb el
in his war with the Lo r d
Propri etor o f th e n ew c ol ony of Maryl an d th ey T hrust him
out of t h e Government
This was th e first revoluti on th at
actually t o ok pl a c e on Am erican so i l
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T h ey withsto o d Cromwell t o the p oint of ex a ctin g wh at
w as a tre aty with his C ommis sio ners ; but t hey readily assimi
l ate d th e defe ate d R oyalists w h o cam e over after E d ge Hill an d
Naseby an d W or c ester an d the exile d R epubli cans who s ou ght
h om es amon g the pl anters aft er the Rest or ation Th e dep os e d
G overn or app eale d t o Charl es I wh o reinstate d him as Go v
e rn or but the Virgini ans th ou gh they r e ceive d him loyally as
they l ater did his su c c es s or Sir Willi am B erkel ey were n ow
w ell aware of th e stren gth of th e ir p o siti on They were l oyal
subj e cts of th e S tuarts as th ey we re a hun dre d ye ars l at er
l oyal subj e cts o f Ge or ge
but th ey w ere m ore l oyal yet
t o their i de a of p opul ar Government
Their p et i ti ons w ere
fille d with expre ssi ons o f l oyalty Th ey vi ewe d th e death of
C harl es I with h orro r an d o ff ere d a re alm t o hi s s o n wh en in
exil e But with i t all w ent enthusi asti c d ev oti on t o the c aus e
of s elf government an d when eve r it wa s assaile d th ey flame d
i nt o revoluti on
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(
T he R eb elli on l e d b y Nathaniel B a c on in 1 6 7 6 w as at
b ottom fo r th e sam e c aus e with th at whi ch a hundre d ye ars
l at er w as l e d by Ge orge Washin gton Th e imme diate o c casi on
was different but the b asi c c aus e w as the s ame in b oth The
inalien abl e ri ght o f B ritish subj e cts t o hav e s elf government
B o th of the m w ere b ase d on the o riginal Charters un der whi ch
Virgini a was pl ante d
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As th e ye ars pro gre sse d an d th e s ettlements extende d
further t o the We st ward o ther el em ents c am e in S tout
S c o tch Iris h s ettl ers p oure d into the W estern D istr i cts from
No rth Irel and p articul arly after the v ar i ous revoluti ons A
stron g i nfusi on of Hu guen o t blo o d foll o we d an d gave the Old
D omini on s om e of her m o s t n ote d s ons
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24
Th e he a d o f this Isl and s eiz e d
s ettl ers wh os e de e ds and en duran c e
b ears the indelibl e tra c e s of a l at er
fi e rce n e ss an d bl o o dshe d m any of us
,
and fortifie d by thes e
we are c omm emoratin g
an d gre ate r w ar wh ose
h ere rememb er
.
No t l on g sin c e it w as my fortun e t o walk ove r this ground
an d vi ew thes e imp erishabl e r eli cs of this dreadful strife ;
wh ere th e r edouts o f the C ivil W ar ro se up o n the very ground
wh ere th e first s ettl ers pl ante d their first fortress Within
fifty p a ces ro s e th e only survivin g remnant o f the t own whi ch
gave its n ame to this Island T he ivy cla d ruin o f a Church
T ow er h a d survive d all els e s av e th e foundati on an d the mem
ori es o f this fat eful s ettlement
B eyo nd it ro se the r eb uilt
b o dy of a Church—rebuil t through th e p i o us an d p atri o ti c
d ev o ti on of Am eri can w omen wh o b e arin g the p atri o ti c n am e
o f th e C olonial D ames of Ameri c a r ep re s entin g m ore than even
th at distin guish e d cl ass who s e n ame they b e ar fo r they rep re
s ent whatever is b est in Am eri can wom anh o o d An d b e arin g
the chie f p art of this w o rk are tho s e wh o c o me fr om th e r e gi on
on c e kn own a s North Virgini a I cann o t but think it the w ork
of Go d th at thes e p i ous wo men shoul d pl ac e here as the i r
m emori al of th e gre at de e d h ere wr ou ght th e rest ore d e dific e
of th e First Christi an T empl e An d that Go d w i ll bl ess the
w ork
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That night I sto o d on the de ck of a b o at an ch ore d on the
b o s o m o f th e rive r an d gaz e d o n this I slan d as it l ay und er
the m o onli ght an d h alf v e ile d by the s o ft an d mysteri ous haz e
It w as ab out m idni ght an d all n ature app eare d as thou gh
a sl e ep : th e ve il e d sky and l on g lin e o f th e sho r e with its clump
o f tre e s m arkin g this sp ot th e pl ac id rive r th e d eep unb roken
sil en c e of th e ni ght transformin g it int o a s c en e o f p e ace
T h e re douts h a d disapp e are d ; even th e s acre d e dific e itself was
v eil e d fro m s ight ; only G o d s sky l o oke d d own up on Go d s
And it s e em e d t o m e as thou gh wars and strife were
e arth
b ut a dream as t hou gh th e di fferen c es an d c ontenti ons an d
strifes were all p etty an d tran si ent an d th e only thin g that
w as ab idin g and e tern al w as Nature an d Go d wh o has p romise d
P eac e t o th em wh o l ove Him
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26
Jamestown to ok on for m e that ni ght a n ew si gnific an c e
It b e c am e th e emblem o f that e arn est dev o te d an d p atri oti c
z e al whi ch insp ires th e h e art of ev ery true Fre em an In th at
mys teri ous h az e all p aro chi al lin e s an d insul ar c onfin e s dis
app e are d an d it b e c ame the re al Cra dle o f th e Ameri c an
P e opl e wh erever they m ay b e an d of that for whi ch they stan d
fundament ally h ow ev er th ey may expre ss it By h er sh ore s
glided th e James b e arin g its flo o d o f t emp ere d w aters t o th e
great o c e an who s e currents help to cre ate or temp er th e clim ate s
of th e W orl d
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Th e Av o n to the S ev ern runs
An d the S ev ern t o the S e a
An d Wy ck li ffe s dust is sp re a d abr o ad
Wi de as th e w aters b e
,
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Thus the James cuttin g away throu gh th e l on g gen erati ons
th e ed ge of this Isl an d in whi ch l ay interr e d th e m ortal rem a i n s
of m o st o f th o se wh o first c am e t o s eiz e this l an d for En gl an d
an d h er civiliz ati on has b orne that dust t o all sh ores an d thus
th e w o rk they p erfo rme d has b e en b o rn e on the tide of tim e
t o l e aven an d a dv an c e all th e in stituti ons of m ankin d
,
,
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This is n o o c c as i on fo r s e cti onal o r p erso n al s elf grat u lat i on
On this sp ot at this time su ch c on gratulat i on as w e may
ventur e t o fe el if p rop erly informe d must b e N ati onal an d
R a cial Th e w ork th e d e e ds th e a cts p erform e d h ere b el on g
n o t t o us al on e ; but t o every p art o f thi s c o untry an d in a
l arger s ens e t o ev ery p art of th e w orl d wh ere m en striv e
an d aspire Fr om this sp o t w ent forth the str eams whi ch
h av e m ade th e gre at m ain o f Am eri c an life an d in a way o f
all life whi ch h as b e en affe cte d by th e Ameri can life Ha d
this C olony n ot ha d b ein g it is p ossibl e that n o oth er En glish
C ol o ny mi ght h av e taken ro o t on thes e shores Ha d thi s
C ol ony n ot h a d b ein g it is almo st c ertain that th e life pl ante d
h ere w oul d n o t h ave t ak en th e form whi ch it did take Ha d
thi s C ol o ny n o t h ad b ein g it is p oss ibl e that this republi c
mi ght n eve r hav e b e en an d th at all th e bl essin gs that h av e
fl owe d th erefrom in cludin g th e blessin g of human lib erty
mi ght n ev er hav e b e en
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T o this sa cre d sp ot then w e h ave c o m e this day t o rende r
duly our reverent exp ression of p rais e an d thanks givin g
.
It h as b e en well s ai d that Go d a cts throu gh His p repare d
a gen cies an d that H e p rep are d Vir gini a t o pl ac e th e s eal o f
His fav or on an d th e Vir gini a c ol o nists an d their suc c esso rs a s
His instruments t o a c c omplish His mi ghty w ork
,
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On this s acre d sp o t chasten e d by th e s ol emn ass o ciati ons
whi ch this h oly groun d evo k es w e c ann ot b ut e ch o this th ought
an d wh en I sp e ak o f Virgini a it i s n ot s o mu ch th e present
(
Virginia that I b ea r in mind as th at Old Virg i nia
wh os e
e ast ern s hores exten de d fr om her Fl ori di an c onfin e s on the
s outh t o th e fo rty fi ft h de gre e o f n orth latitud e on th e n orth
an d wh o s e b or der t o the westward re ache d t o th e furthe st
sea
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Fro m her n o rthe astern t err i tory of
North V i rginia
charte d by an d cl e are d of inv ad ers b y h er Gov ern ors came
New Engl an d ; an d from her s outhern h er w estern an d her
n o rthwest ern t erritory expl o re d an d c onquere d b y her s ons
h av e c o m e all th e St at es fr om th e C ar olin as t o the Furth est
Sea
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In fa ct this o c cas i on b el on gs t o all Americ a This sp o t
b el on gs t o th e c ontin ent Th e h eart of i t i s Ol d Virginia ; th e
c ore of th e h e art i s this sp ot But th e b o dy t o whi ch this
h e art an d th i s he art s c ore b el on g is this L an d—t his Pe opl e
wh os e repres ent atives fro m all o v er the ( nio n are ass embl e d
h ere t o day Vir gini an as I am in ev ery fibre of my b ein g I
de cl are my b elief b efor e the H i gh Go d that this sp ot b el on gs
b y in defe asible titl e t o all th e p e opl e o f this c ountry an d th at
there is n o p ower un der he aven t o defe at their cl aim T o
M ass a chus etts an d Main e and N ew Yo rk an d M ichi gan as t o
Kentu cky an d West Vir gini a I s ay it is yo urs —here our
forefathers first pl ante d the tre e wh os e fruit was t o b e for th e
s alvati on of the n ati ons W e h ol d it but as a sa cre d trust
fo r all F o r here w as th e cradl e n ot only of th e C omm on
w e alth o f Vir gini a but o f the Republi c
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