Last Updated on October 18, 2013 by Dennis To the Honorable the Commission appointed by his Excellency, Gov. Robert E. Pattison, under Act of Assembly, approved the 28d day of May, A. D. 1893, to examine and report to the next session of the Legislature upon the advisability of marking by suitable tablets the various […]
Last Updated on December 9, 2012 by Dennis When the Scottish, Ulster Scots and English settlers first arrived in eastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia, they discovered a continuous chain composed of hundreds of fieldstone structures on the mountain and hill tops between Manchester, TN and Stone Mountain, GA. Some were merely piles of stones that
An AccessGenealogy Exclusive: Richard Thornton’s study of the Sixteenth Century French Exploration of North America – replete with maps and images – Much of the research in this report was drawn from two books by former Congressman Charles Bennett of Florida, which were interpolated with the author’s personal knowledge of Georgia coast – while fishing, canoeing, sailing and camping in the region between Darien, GA and Jacksonville, FL. The author was born in Waycross, GA, is a Creek Indian and is an expert on Muskogean culture. The first book by Bennett, Three Voyages, translated the memoirs of Captain René Goulaine de Laudonniére. The second book by Bennett, De Laudonniére and Fort Caroline, translated the memoirs and letters by other members of the French colonizing expeditions. These books are supplemented by the English translation of Jacques Le Moyne’s illustrated book, Brevis narratio eorum quae in Florida Americai provincia Gallis acciderunt,” Le Moyne was the official artist of the Fort Caroline Colony, and one of the few who survived its massacre by the Spanish.
16th Century French Exploration of North America Read More »
Last Updated on August 26, 2012 by Dennis Fort Hartsuff near Ord, Nebraska, was built in 1874 to protect settlers of the Loup Valley from Indians and outlaws, but it was too far away to afford any protection to the country along the Niobrara. Congress decided to locate the Sioux on reservations where they could
Last Updated on August 26, 2012 by Dennis In 1879 General Crook of the United States army, commanding the department of the Platte was ordered to select a suitable place for a new fort. He made a visit to the region, and recommended a point on the Niobrara River south of the Rosebud agency. The
Last Updated on August 20, 2012 by Dennis Most history books and online encyclopedia sources state unequivocally that Fort Caroline was built on the St. Johns River in present day Jacksonville. They state that the May River named by de Laudonniére, was the same as the San Juan (St. Johns) River named by the Spanish.
The Non-Search for Fort Caroline and a Great Lake Read More »
Last Updated on October 1, 2013 by Dennis An incredible series of “things gone bad” turned the 16th century colonization efforts of the French government into a tragic disaster. French efforts were far better planned than their Spanish or English counterparts in the 16th century. At the start, France seem destined to be the dominant
Last Updated on September 26, 2016 by Dennis Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés simultaneously built fortifications in Saint Augustine Bay and at La Florida’s planned capital of St. Elena on Parris Island, SC. Next he repaired and strengthened Fort Caroline, renaming it Fort San Mateo. Efforts were made by the Spanish in 1566 to bribe
Last Updated on August 20, 2012 by Dennis Survivors of Jean Ribault’s fleet staggered onto the beach south of St. Augustine with nothing but their torn clothes. Eventually, the castaways clustered into two groups. One, numbering about a hundred were under the command of Ribault. A smaller group came together on a beach farther south.
Last Updated on August 20, 2012 by Dennis One September 2, 1565, just after Ribault had sailed in three of his small ships to Fort Caroline, six large Spanish ships appeared at the entrance to the May River. It was the force commanded by Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés that the king of Spain had
Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Arrives at Fort Caroline Read More »
Last Updated on August 20, 2012 by Dennis On August 28, 1565 the two ships at Fort Caroline’s dock prepared to hoist anchors and sail for France. Then sails were seen on the horizon. It was Jean Ribault’s large fleet of at least seven ships, carrying 800 colonists. Ribault had finally returned to France from
Last Updated on October 13, 2012 by Dennis 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
Geography Around the Coastal Region of Fort Caroline Read More »
Last Updated on August 20, 2012 by Dennis 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
Last Updated on August 20, 2012 by Dennis 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
Second Voyage Commanded by René Goulaine de Laudonniére Read More »
Last Updated on July 11, 2023 by Dennis 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
Last Updated on September 29, 2016 by Dennis 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
Last Updated on September 26, 2016 by Dennis 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
Last Updated on August 20, 2012 by Dennis 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
Last Updated on August 4, 2012 by Dennis The tourist on the coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia- for in summer hundreds of people seek out this pleasant land for its cheerful climate – may come upon a little bay on the easternmost verge of the land where is a deep landlocked inlet protected
