Gov. Spotswood submitted expense reports to London. He was asked for an explanation of these reports and he responded with a statement which has been printed in " The William and Mary Quarterly " for January 1923. The period of time is from 1711 to 1717. Two of his trips merit a mention at this time.
"Upon projecting to lessen the great charge of Rangers & to settle a more lasting Guard for the Frontiers, Measures were concerted in Sundry Councils, & the Gov'r in order to put the same in Execution did undertake [17 May 1714] a Fortnights expedition to Reconnoitre the Norward Frontiers & to fortify a place for Settling a Body of Germans above the Falls of the Rappahannock [322 miles]."
This establishes that Spotswood did go to the Germanna site and help in choosing a place to situate Fort Germanna. But, this seems to establish that the action was an official one of the colony, not a private enterprise of his. Therefore, one might be surprised to hear him at other times to speak of this as a private action.
With respect to the trip over the Blue Ridge Mountains, the governor wrote:
"Upon Notice of a Passage being discovered through the great Western Mountains, the Governor advising with the Council, judg'd it might be for the Safety & benefit of this Colony if the Pass could be secured by a Fort, & a Trade opened that way with remote Indians, & therefore Resolving to view it himself, he undertook [20 Aug 1716] a Monts Expedition w'th 63 Men & 74 Horses marching beyond the high Ridge of Mountains, until he arriv'd at a large River on the other side."
Again, the trip is cast with an official objective, though the objective of Spotswood and many of the 63 men was to look for land, especially just beyond Germanna. This is another example of Spotswood interpreting a situation in two different ways. In both of these cases, Spotswood was attempting to obtain expense money from the crown so it was necessary to cast his expense reports as the result of an official action which had been discussed and approved by the Council in Virginia.
As Spotswood went back to Williamsburg in 1716, he pondered over a big question. Where was he going to get the settlers for the large tract or tracts of land that he planned on taking up? Robert Beverley, the historian, had been stymied with his 13,000 acres. No one wanted to live alone in such an isolated situation which was perceived as too dangerous. The massacre in North Carolina just a few years back was fresh in the minds of the Virginians.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.