After the First Colony arrived in Virginia, it probably took a while for Spotswood to get things arranged. He had to transport the Germans, a supervisory crew, and some tools to the site of Fort Germanna. He would have procured the services of a ship to sail up the Rappahannock River to the Falls at present day Frederickburg. Few of the larger ocean going ships could go all the way to the Falls and there were smaller ships that plied the rivers of Virginia.
This was the easy part of the trip. From the Falls to the site chosen for Fort Germanna (which might not have been specified yet) was harder, though it was by far the shorter part of the trip. A few wagons would have been very helpful, but they would have required some clearing of trees to get through. Surely the Germans pitched in here to help clear a way through the forest. They would have been amazed at so many trees, as trees had grown scarce around Siegen. Also, they were probably amazed at the callous regard the Virginians had for the felled trees.
Once the party was on the site where Fort Germanna was to be built, the first task was to build fires and put up very temporary shelters which might have consisted of the boughs of trees piled on a temporary framework. You might think of yourself as a Boy Scout on a camping trip. (The noises in the night might have alarmed some of the people.) Next, an area large enough to hold Fort Germanna was cleared and some of the wood was saved for houses, the palisades, and the blockhouses.
Probably, members of the supervisory party would have taken some of the Germans on hunting trips to find meat to eat. With the ground cleared, and the fort sketched in, homes were probably the next thing to be constructed. The supervisors would have explained, probably by example and not by speech, how to construct a house. Then the Germans built their homes with all of them pitching in build one for Rev. Haeger's family.
At this point, there were two priorities. One was to construct the fort's palisade and blockhouse. Another, and very important one, would be to clear more ground for gardens. Already, the growing season was advanced and it was necessary to take quick action for getting a few things planted that might produce something this season.
Typically, Spotswood supplied cattle to his tenants or servants. The rule was that at the end of the period an equal number of cattle were to be returned to Spotswood plus one half of the increase. Finding these cattle and driving them to Germanna would have been a significant task. This would have given some milk, butter, and cheese, and, occasionally, some meat.
(09 Oct 03)
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.