Lab Museum Design & Interpretation

Germanna within the Frontier Myth: A Tale of Myth versus Reality

By Kati Singel, Nathan Smith, Betsy Flaig and Trillian Hosticka

“Undubbed by king, yet knights are we,

To sacred trust beholden;

And our insignia shall be,

A tiny horseshoe golden.

‘May those who climb,

To heights sublime,

In Honor’s arms be folden.” [1]

Once upon a Saturday afternoon, three knights traveled miles to the hidden site of the Germanna Memorial Foundation in search of adventure. They discovered a world in which reality became myth and myth becomes reality. Their challenge would be to unravel the history to discover the truth of the history of Germanna. (to be continued…)

Through consultation of the diaries of John Fontaine (1715), Hugh Jones (1724) and William Byrd (1737), we hope to find where secondary sources have romanticized these accounts in the making of myth. William Caruthers’s interpretation of the myth in The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe: A Traditional Tale of the Cocked Hat Gentry in the Old Dominion (1882) reveals this trend toward romanticizing history because the primary sources make it appear too flowery to be considered to be true. Historians have failed to distill reality from the primary sources, instead they have created myth.

In the final assessment, we will interweave the three predominant myths associated with Germanna: “The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe,” and the “Enchanted Castle” within the framework of the frontier myth. J.W. Wyland’s Germanna: Outpost of Adventure (1956) provides a general assessment of how Germanna fit into the frontier. Each of these myths will have to be addressed separately within the context of the frontier.

There is much to be uncovered in the absence of reality. For example, in The History of Orange County (1907), W.W. Scott assumes that the Civil War soldiers who talked about organizing a military hospital in the “Enchanted Castle,” were talking about the original structure built by Alexander Spotswood one hundred years earlier.[2] The chances that this structure still stood in 1864 are miniscule, yet Scott does not question their beliefs. Why? Because it is in the myth, he made an assumption based on myth. There are other secondary sources that discuss a fire that destroyed the original structure shortly after Spotswood’s death.[3] The point is that we are going to have to make assumptions to destroy the myth and uncover the reality. That is the nature of myth.

Germanna will be used as a reference point in the general area history. For example, Richard L. Morton’s Colonial Virginia (1960) provides a view on the role of Germanna as an outpost of adventure in Virginia.[4] Scott’s History of Orange County (1907) will provide more specific information about the figures and events in the immediate vicinity. Finally, the study by Elizabeth C.D. Vann, and Margaret C.D. Vann entitled Virginia’s First German Colony (1961) represents the settlement of German immigrants that will serve a foundation in the search for the reality. Overall, these secondary sources can be used to assess the trends in area history that may affect how Germanna has been interpreted.

Lastly, Alexander Spotswood is the primary figure in both the myth and reality of Germanna, so we have tried to uncover the man behind the myth. As researcher Trillian Hosticka said, “He is like Captain Kirk, boldly going where no man has gone before.” The point is that he is just a man; we must prove that he is human, therefore inherently flawed. Although none of the primary sources evaluate the character of Spotswood, much secondary research has been completed given his political status. Janet Harris Gaines, author of Governor Spotswood and His Times: The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe (1907) directly reviews the myth of the knights and the role of Spotswood in the journey.[5] There are several biographies of Alexander Spotswood, governor of colonial Virginia.[6] The trick is going to be finding the man amidst all the discussion of his image as a politician.

Overall, the research that has been completed gives us a framework for explaining the myth, the reality of Germanna is going to be more difficult to interpret. Through assumptions about the nature of myth, we can distinguish what elements of each myth have the grain of truth that we need to discover the reality. However, we are going to need to consider oral interviews with those who have studied the archaeological site, and the importance of what remains to be seen at the site.

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

The Journal of John Fontaine, 1715

The Journal of Hugh Jones, 1724

The Journal of William Byrd, 1737

Secondary Sources:

• J.W. Wyland Germanna: Outpost of Adventure (1956)

• Walter Havighurst Alexander Spotswood: Portrait of a Governor (1967)

• Leonidas Dodson Alexander Spotswood: Governor of Colonial Virginia (1932)

• Janet Harris Gaines Governor Spotswood and His Times: The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe (1907)

• Robert Amistead Stewart Knights of the Golden Horseshoe and Other Lays (1909)

• Ann L. Miller References to the Germanna Site in the Records of Essex, Spotsylvania, and Orange Counties, Virginia (1985)

• Richard L. Morton Colonial Virginia (1960)

• W.W. Scott History of Orange County (1907)

• Thomas E. MacMasters Early Life of Gov. Alexander Spotswood (1985)

• Elizabeth C.D. Vann, & Margaret C.D. Vann Virginia’s First German Colony (1961)

Further Research:

• William Caruthers The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe: A Traditional Tale of the Cocked Hat Gentry in the Old Dominion (1882)

• Archaeological Data

• Oral histories of site research