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RICHMOND ON THE JAMES
By WILLIAM WIRT HENRY
"And in regions far
Such heroes bring ye forth
As those from whom we come,
And plant our name
Under that star
Not known to our North."
Drayton.
On the 11th of April, 1606, a patent was
issued by James I. of England to Sir
Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers and others
for the establishment of a colony in Virginia.
The charter prescribed that it was
to be managed by a council of thirteen persons,
under the direction of a council of thirteen
in England. On December the 19th of that
year, one hundred and nine years after the
discovery of North America by Cabot, three
small vessels, the Susan Constant, the God
Speed and the Discovery, sailed for the New
