John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes
Note 1776
We left the Germans working hard at building homes, clearing the forest, and erecting the palisade and the blockhouse. Probably, Spotswood's supervisors had to explain what was wanted and how to do it. From the excavations of Prof. Sanford, of Mary and Washington College, at the site of the fort, they dug a narrow trench where the palisade (a wall of posts that could repel rifle fire) was to be located. The posts of the wall were made from tree trunks, either whole or split. These were stood on end in the trench, one next to another, and the dirt was thrown back in and tamped down. This was a major job.
Since the women would have helped with the work, they may have concentrated on working up some ground for a late season garden.
When all of these things were done, what did the Germans do? Most of the time they were at Fort Germanna, they were farmers, especially in the first two years. Hunger pangs have a way of directing one's activities. Land had to be cleared. Whether they were supplied with plows is not clear, but it would have been desirable. If they weren't, they could have fashioned some from wood, with perhaps iron points on them.
We know that in 1716 they seemed to have a blacksmith's forge, since John Fontaine mentions the shoeing of horses. They certainly knew how to use a forge, for Jacob Rector was a toolmaker. These tools are not easily transported as personal property, so we would have to assume that the colony provided one. A certain amount of hardware had to be made while they were building the fort and the homes.
Life was very hard. Starting from scratch, with very little support, they had to build homes, clear ground, and raise food. John Fontaine, on his first visit, observed, "The Germans live very miserably." Graffenried, in his memoirs, written back in Switzerland, seems to have had word about how they were doing, for he wrote that life was very hard for them. In no way should this be considered as a negative reflection on them. Like everyone, they would have preferred an easier life. But what is life going to be like when you are on the frontier struggling to provide your own support?
About two years after they had arrived, Spotswood wrote that they had done nothing to reimburse him and his partners for their transportation costs and expenses. About this time, it appears he set them to work on the purported silver mine. By August of 1716, the Germans had not found silver. Fontaine doubted there was any silver and it seems the project was abandoned.
(10 Oct 03)