The Real first Thanksgiving

[general hoke]

Thanksgiving and Hatteras Island

Most people are unaware of the real origins of Thanksgiving in this country. Thanksgiving did not become a national holiday in the US until the Civil War, at which time the mythology of the origins of the celebration was created. The real first Thanksgiving was celebrated in this country on July 4th, 1584 on Hatteras Island. Captains Phillip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe were the very first Englishmen to set foot in what is now the United States and they made landfall on Hatteras Island. To celebrate the safe crossing the English gave praise and thanksgiving to God by fasting. That's right Thanksgiving has gone from a day of fasting to a feast! The first ever feast between the English and Native Americans also took place on Hatteras Island when chief Granganimeo provided the English with six freshly cooked bucks, many different fowl, vegetables and corn called pagitowr by the Hatteras/Croatoan Indians. The English traded iron tools and metal plates for pearls, uppowoc (tobacco) and deer skins. The relationship with the Croatoan was positive and three of the Indians even departed for England with Barlowe and Amadas. The purpose of this first English voyage to the New World was to find a good place to set up a privateer base to rob the Spanish ships on their return voyages to Spain from the Caribbean. The Gulf Stream was the ocean current used by all to get back to Europe from the New World and Hatteras Island or Croatoan as it was called then is the closest land to the Gulf Stream and has been used as a base for privateering or attack on merchant shipping in every American war from 1584 to WW2.

The following year in 1585, the English returned to Croatoan and 105 Englishmen spread out exploring the mainland and rivers. Thirty-five of the men lived on Hatteras/Croatoan under the direction of Edward Stafford and continued the positive trade relationship with the Indians begun by Barlowe the year before. Only two of the three Indians that went to England returned as one died in England. One of these Indians, Manteo of Croatoan, helped the English as an interpreter and the bond between the Croatoan and the English continued to grow.

However, a group of about 40 Englishmen under the direction of Ralph Lane who went to visit towns on the North bank of the Pamlico River savagely burned down the village of Aguscogoc over a missing cup despite the fact that the village had just showered he and his men with gifts. After this, Lane took his crew up the Roanoke River and attacked the village of Chowanook near modern day Edenton. Ralph Lane kidnapped the son of Cheif Menatonan and held him for ransom. In response the Indians quit feeding the English and stopped building them wier nets to catch fish. An effort was made to free Menatonan's son by two men named Andacon and Osocan but Lane caught them and beheaded them. Next , Lane tricked Wingina, the chief of the men who tried to free Lane's prisoner, and under a flag of truce murdered the chief by setting up an ambush. Wingina was shot in the back twice and then had his head cut off. Shortly after this an English fleet arrived off Croatoan and Stafford informed Lane and his thugs who were now on Roanoke Island. All this time Stafford and his men enjoyed a peaceful stay on Croatoan.

The English went home as Lane's actions had ruined the entire mission and the men on Roanoke were starving, they had even eaten their own hunting dogs. The next colony to come to the New Worls was the one referred to as 'lost' in 1587. Once again Edward Stafford returned to the Outer Banks. This time the idea was to go to Chesapeake but the ships stopped off Hatorask (Rodanthe) to pick up 15 soldiers who had been left on Roanoke Island. They saw no sign of the soldiers aside from two skeletons. Not a week after arrival on Roanoke one of the colonists, George Howe, was murdered by Indians from the mainland where Lane had unleashed so much terror. All this time Manteo was with the colonists. It was decided that Edward Stafford, Manteo and 20 other colonists go to Croatoan to find out who had killed George Howe and what had happened to the other 15 Englishmen.

The Croatoan hosted the English to a feast and told them how the mainland Indians had attacked the 15 Englishmen and also killed George Howe while he was alone crabbing. The English asked the Croatoan to speak to the mainlanders for them and explain that they were not Ralph Lane's group and only wanted to renew the friendship and love that they had in the days of Barlowe. The Croatoan agreed to do this. Unfortunately, the written record stops shortly after this when Governor John White left the colony to get supplies in England and did not return for 3 years. He told the colonists to write down where they were going on a tree should they leave Roanoke Island and mark the tree with a cross if they left for reasons of danger.

In 1590, White returned and saw the word CROATOAN carved on a tree in all capital letters and no cross. The houses had been taken down and the small boats were gone. John White immediatley set sail for Croatoan/Hatteras but never made it due to a storm. No Englishmen ever made it to Croatoan to check for the colony until John Laswon many decades later. (The colony was then considered abandoned not lost) Lawson found blue eyed Croatoan who said their ancestors were white people who could speak out of a book. Some of these Indians even wore English clothes and mentioned Sir Walter Raleigh's ship by name!

In 1998 many 16th century English items were found on Hatteras by archeologist Dr. David Phelps including a coppersmith shop, nails, leadshot, tools, a gunlock and gold ring that belonged to Master Kendall of Edward Stafford's crew. Logic dictates that the 'lost' colony probably went to Croatoan as they indicated on the tree carving and eventually assimilated with the Indians there. We now know from archeology that the only year round Indian town on the Outer Banks was Croatoan and that it has been inhabited since around 400AD and was home to thousands of Croatoan at the time of the 'lost' colony. The Croatoan were the only allies the English had and the colony did write Croatoan on the tree and it was Manteo's hometown and a place the English had lived before in both 1584 and 1585. Archeology or not, it would appear from the primary sources that the colony going to Croatoan be at least considered very probable based on common sense alone. The idea that the colony was lost and that we have no clues where they went is absurd but makes a great mystery and sells tickets. Happy Thanksgiving from Americas birthplace...Hatteras.

Scott Dawson

[general hoke]

http://obsentinel.womacknewspapers.com/ ... 43daws.txt

[Revolution]

interesting

[general hoke]

After selling 1,500 copies of my book Croatoan:Birthplace of America, I have now sent it off to publishers for the first time to see if the pros want to distribute it. I changed the cover and added more, took out some, changed photos etc

[Raider]

Congrats. try to get the publishers to pay you in gold.

[Ry]

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[Ry]

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