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 …
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 »
A very important historical fact should be considered with evaluating alternative locations for Fort Caroline. The cities of Darien, Brunswick and St. Marys on the Georgia coast were booming ports for many decades before Jacksonville, FL even existed. Their harbors were naturally deep enough to handle sea going vessels. At that time the St. Johns …
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 »
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
My reasons in favor of the mouth of the Salmon River as the point of departure for the interior are as follows: First. It is the southernmost and last point on the lake in the direct line of travel between Stony Point and the foot of Oneida Lake. The mouth of Salmon Creek lies west …
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 »
I suggested in my article that the expedition probably landed in the secluded cove now known as Henderson Bay, sheltered by Stony Point. Not that the text or map of Champlain indicates that, or any other particular place with any certainty, but First. Because it appeared a convenient and appropriate locality. It did not seem …
I (Stephen Morse) left New Haven on the 10th of May 1820, with my youngest son and traveled to the northwest, a distance of 1500 miles.
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.
If I am right in fixing the starting point opposite Point Pleasant, it would follow, both from the text and the map, that the route extended southerly, between that point and Amherst Island, to the False Ducks, and along the Main Duck, Gallo, and Stony Islands, which stretch across the lake in the direction of …
The first number of this magazine (Jan., 1877) contains an article on the Expedition of Champlain against the Onondagas, in 1615. It was founded on a communication read before the New York Historical Society in March 1849, in which I had discussed the evidences, which exist as to the route of the expedition, and the …
It is utterly impossible, from the Champlain text and map, aided by the best modern charts, and an accurate knowledge of the country, to establish, with any certainty, the exact position of the Iroquois fort. The location which I suggested was on or near Onondaga Lake, 4 leagues or 10 miles from the great Iroquois …
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 …
Champlain says: ” Les sauvages cachèrent tous leurs canaux dans les bois, proche du rivage. Nous fimes par terre quelques quatre lieuës sur une plage de sable, ou je remarquai un pays fort agreable et beau, traversé de plusieurs petits ruisseaux, et deux petites rivières, qui se dechargent au susdit lac, et force etangs et …
