Pocahontas

Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail

/ bigdiff / 1 Comment

John Smith was an explorer, adventurer and leader whose stories, maps and detailed descriptions of life in the ‘New World’ helped convince many early immigrants to cross the Atlantic to the colonies. As a young soldier John Smith was held captive by the Turks, as a leader of the first British colony he was captured by the Powhatan, and as an explorer in New England he was held hostage by French pirates. Respectively, he escaped, was saved by Pocahontas (more than once), and negotiated his own release. He learned the local native language, forced upper class colonists to labor for food, and didn’t return to England until after some gunpowder exploded in his canoe.

The affiliated “trail” covers the rivers that flow into the Chesapeake Bay, but to be clear, Captain Smith only explored the rivers as far as he could navigate in his exploratory small ship. His maps show the bays, not the lengths of non-navigable rivers shown as part of the trail. The trail extends far up various rivers, but neither Smith nor crew went to most of those places. I was confused on this point until the Susquehanna visitor center expert answered my questions.

The trail extends from Hampton Roads near Fort Monroe where the bay opens to the Atlantic, up the James River past Jamestowne, past places that would later be Grant’s HQ in Petersburg, the Confederate Capital of Richmond, and across the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway where the James becomes the Jackson River. The trail goes past Yorktown and up the two rivers that form West Point. And the trail goes up the Rappahannock River past Fredericksburg.

The trail goes up the Potomac, past where George Washington would be born, past Piscataway, Fort Washington and Kenilworth parks, and it continues up past the Jefferson, Lincoln, LBJ and MLK memorials, past Roosevelt Island, next to the GW Parkway, past Clara Barton’s house up to the Great Falls at the C&O Canal. The trail runs up the Patuxent River and up to Baltimore. The trail goes up the Susquehanna River (both branches) past Steamtown and into Central New York State north of the Upper Delaware River. And the trail also covers the Del-Mar-Va side of the bay, where Harriet Tubman was born. Again, Smith went as far as he could, but not past rocky shallow shoals or past any falls.

Smith also later explored and named much of New England, but this Chesapeake trail alone is certainly worthy of exploration. Someday, I’d like to return and see it by boat! And speaking of hopping around the country, Monday posts are going to cover National Parks on the West Coast, while Thursday posts will range more widely, covering more trails across the country. Enjoy!

Colonial National Historical Park

/ bigdiff / 11 Comments

This Virginia park spans the history of Colonial America, from the first settlement and seat of English government to Yorktown which marked the end of British military control. While in theory the park can be visited in a day, take two. The pretty town of Yorktown is nice with a little beach. Jamestown has several areas to see, and the park road connecting them runs through Colonial Williamsburg, which alone is worth time. This is my favorite colonial era park.

Yorktown has a very good visitor center, film and two auto tours. Even I was able to follow what happened, and long story short, the victory was as much or more French than American. Alexander Hamilton led the successful joint French & American assault on the last two key British defensive positions, one of which is eroding into the bay. The Rhode Island Light Infantry Regiment—largely African American—were critical in the assault, which employed bayonets on unloaded muskets to ensure both silence and an aggressive attack. Washington maneuvered his armies & Lafayette executed the siege in their most successful and determinative battle of the war with the assistance of the French fleet blocking the large mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. There are also remnants of the Confederate defense of Richmond on the same battlefield, although that is not the main focus of the park.

Jamestown needs explanation. Simply, there are three parts: 1) the park service Loop Road which is a swampy wooded drive or bike ride through the eastern end of the island, 2) the state’s very well funded living history settlement, and 3) the oldest Jamestowne part that has been run by a private group which predates the park service and is now an affiliated National Historic Site. All three are amazing. I saw a bald eagle, baby turtles, deer and more. At the settlement you can climb aboard recreations of all three ships, visit a Native American village, a reconstruction of the fort and an impressive museum, and there are many helpful staff throughout, some clothed in period garb, making the history extremely accessible. But don’t miss the third part, Olde Jamestowne.

This is the original remote outpost of the Elizabethan era that excited imaginations at the time, including Shakespeare whose Tempest is based on a shipwreck here. The most exciting work today is happening above in the oldest section of the park: an active archaeological dig with many world class discoveries. The fort there is built on the original fort site, and one of the archaeologists who began the dig in the 1990s gave a guided tour. There’s also a museum showcasing their discoveries.

Pocahontas married her husband John Rolfe in the church to her right, her husband witnessed the arrival of the first Africans at Fort Comfort (now Monroe), and the most recent excavation of a well is happening over her left shoulder. One of the gruesome discoveries was evidence of cannibalism among the settlers, but other discoveries speak to the diversity of the colony and its early peace with the natives, thanks mainly to the young woman above.