Exploration

Agriculture of the Coastal Native Americans

Anthropological literature from Florida is awash with statements that presume the coastal peoples of Georgia and South Carolina were primarily fishermen, hunters and gatherers.  This may have been the case for many ethnic groups in the coastal regions of the Florida Peninsula, but was not true for many areas of the Georgia and South Carolina […]

Agriculture of the Coastal Native Americans Read More »

Geography Around the Coastal Region of Fort Caroline

To understand why Captain René de Laudonniére would be drawn to either the Satilla, St. Marys or Altamaha Rivers as the location of France’s first permanent colony in North America, one has to first look at the “ground level” geography, i.e. what the officers would have seen from a mile or so out to sea.

Geography Around the Coastal Region of Fort Caroline Read More »

Second Voyage Commanded by René Goulaine de Laudonniére

In early 1562 the government of France dispatched Captain Jean Ribault with a small fleet to explore the South Atlantic Coast; claim it for the King of France; and identify potential locations for colonies. Ribault brought along with him three stone columns displaying the coat of arms of the King of France.  He placed one

Second Voyage Commanded by René Goulaine de Laudonniére Read More »

History of Charlesfort

René Goulaine de Laudonniére described Charlesfort as a simple, triangular earthen fort, reinforced with vertical timbers and bales of faggots (small limbs.)   It contained a fairly large timber-framed warehouse in the center, plus a small house for the commander, a somewhat larger house for the officers and a barracks for the enlisted men.  Much of

History of Charlesfort Read More »

Unanswered Questions Concerning Charlesfort

Late 16th and 17th century maps published in France, the Netherlands and Germany stated that Captain René Goulaine de Laudonniére journeyed up what appears to be the Savannah River to the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1562 and claimed the gold-bearing lands for the King of France.  De Laudonniére was only at Charlesfort for less than

Unanswered Questions Concerning Charlesfort Read More »

The French Colony of Charlesfort

South Carolina archaeologists currently believe that they have found the location of Charlesfort on Parris Island, SC, within the U.S. Marine Reservation. The location matches the description of Charlesfort’s landscape, provided by de Laudonniére.  French-made artifacts were found in the lower levels of a fort constructed by the Spanish. The Spanish burned the French fort

The French Colony of Charlesfort Read More »

Where were Cape François and the May River?

Scholars have long assumed that Cape François was either present day Cape Canaveral They have also assumed that the May River was the St. Johns River.  However, the distances between these points and Beaufort, SC (Port Royal Sound) don’t seem to correlate with the time that French fleet spent to travel. De Laudonniére’s memoirs state

Where were Cape François and the May River? Read More »

First Voyage Commanded by Jean Ribault – 1562

On February 15, 1562 the government of France dispatched Captain Jean Ribault with a small fleet to explore the South Atlantic Coast, claim it for the King of France, and identify potential locations for colonies. Unlike colonial expeditions sponsored by Spain and England in that century, the French expedition was extremely well planned, at least

First Voyage Commanded by Jean Ribault – 1562 Read More »

The Starting Point of the Expedition on Lake Ontario

The narrative states that the expedition descended what is now known as Trent River, which empties into Lake Ontario, and after short days’ journeys, reached the border of Lake Ontario. It then proceeds. I give the original French, as Champlain’s works are quite rare, and copy from the edition of 1619, modernizing the old French

The Starting Point of the Expedition on Lake Ontario Read More »

1822 Congressional Report on Indian Affairs

Jedediah Morse’s 1822 report to Congress of his travels through Indian Territory on behalf of the office of Secretary of War – Jedediah was tasked by a resolution of Congress to report of his travels amongst the tribes throughout the United States. Acknowledging that he did not visit all of the tribes, and that he relied on known facts and materials for the body of text he provided, Jedediah presented a large collection of tabular data and descriptive content. This data was then used by Congress to shape it’s policies as it dealt with expansion further west, and specifically tribal relations.

1822 Congressional Report on Indian Affairs Read More »

Jesuit Doblon’s traveled the Route Twice

It may be interesting, in this connection, to compare Champlain’s statements with those of the Jesuit Dablon, who traveled twice over the same route in 1655 and 1656, under much more favorable circumstances for correctly estimating the distances. He informs us that, in company with Father Chaumonot, he left Montreal on the 7th day of

Jesuit Doblon’s traveled the Route Twice Read More »

Pin It on Pinterest

Scroll to Top