Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Written By: Gail Clifford | Published By: Weekend Notes | June 28, 2022
https://www.weekendnotes.com/fort-raleigh-national-historic-site/
During our first visit to the Outer Banks, North Carolina, we split our itinerary into location days, maximizing our time in the Kitty Hawk area, Roanoke Island, and Hatteras Island. It’s easy to see why so many people return year after year, there’s much to do. One of the highlights of Roanoke Island was our visit to the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, part of the National Park Service. Native Algonquians, European colonists, Civil War soldiers, and African Americans have each made their mark on these Outer Banks. More modern day, in 1902, Reginald Fessenden, a radio pioneer, invented the first wireless technology for transmitting the human voice on Roanoke Island.
Enter through the one-way loop, and park near the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Visitor Center. Stop to see when the next Park Ranger tour takes place. They usually have a sign outside the door announcing the time and topic. I’ve learned the tours are great for me since I always learn something and even better when I travel with kids or grandkids. We all get to learn at the same time, and I don’t have to do the research.
Sir Walter Raleigh, one of Queen Elizabeth I’s most famous explorers, never set foot in Virginia but was one of its greatest proponents. He held the charter for “sustained exploration and settlement of the coast of North America” to find a suitable place for an English colony and to detract from Spanish domination in the new world. In July 1584, Raleigh’s two vessels arrived off the North Carolina Coast and Captain Philip Amadas and Captain Arthur Barlowe established friendly relations with Roanoke Island’s Algonquian population. Raleigh is remembered for introducing both potatoes and tobacco from the New World to England, though both were known by Spanish explorers. When Amadas and Barlowe returned to England, they took with them two Algonquians, Manteo and Wanchese.
Watch the introductory movie in the Visitor Center for an introduction to this era. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Visit the Freedmen’s Colony monument and consider the experience of the African American population that traversed the area. Taken by Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside in February 1862, Roanoke Island became a safe haven, providing refuge for families of ex-slaves during the Civil War and part of the Underground Railroad. Many of these men joined the U.S. Army and continued on the Island for a few years after the completion of the Civil War. This Freedmen’s Colony, headed by Army Chaplain Horace James, prepared liberated slaves for life in post-Civil War America. By 1865, nearly 3500 people lived in 560 log dwellings on the site. The Colony was decommissioned by the Army in 1867.
To the right of the Freedmen’s Colony monument, take the path and stop to read the 1896 monument. I started a list of questions for the Park Rangers when Google wasn’t available. Turns out O.S. stands for “Old Style” which refers to the Julian Calendar which was in effect in England until September 1752 when the Gregorian calendar was adopted, and eleven days were “lost.”
Gail Clifford
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