America's First Thanksgiving

[Music] [Music] it the date is December 4th 1619 the place is Virginia at Berkeley Plantation on the shore of the James River the scene America's first [Music] Thanksgiving ours is a ftle beautiful land brimming with Nature's Bounty upon it we have erected a vast industrial country complex which provides the almost unbelievable assortment of goods and merchandise which give us the highest standard of living in the world this rich land nurtured an extraordinary breed men whose vision and courage endowed us with the greatest blessing of all [Music] freedom in all the world no people have more for which to be thankful than we here in America and we are thankful Americans are unique in the world because we celebrate a national holiday each November to give thanks we call it Thanksgiving day it is a day for us to be grateful a day to enjoy the Bounty of our golden land [Music] the idea of offering Thanksgiving is not a new one to Americans when the first permanent English colonists reached the new world in April 1607 one of their first acts was to erect a cross at Cape Henry then kneel to thank God for their safe [Music] arrival several days later these courageous men mored their tiny vessels the Susan Constant godspeed and Discovery to trees on the shore of what was then Jamestown Peninsula from Virgin Forest they carved a tiny foothold the first of the frail outposts from which grew englishspeaking [Music] America [Music] one of the first buildings the men of Jamestown erected and by far their largest construction effort was a [Music] church [Music] alone in a vast frightening Wilderness surrounded by strange Savages and somber forests the colonists turned to prayer for the courage and strength they needed to meet the hardships of This Strange New [Music] World by the end of the summer of 1609 their settlement at Jamestown had grown to a population of 490 it seemed to be flourishing [Music] then winter came cold and bitter Food Supplies evaporated disease struck the weakened colonists they called it the starving time almost nine out of every 10 died [Music] when spring finally arrived only 60 of the 40090 were still alive without hope or strength to continue the weakened survivors were ready to abandoned jamest town and returned to [Music] England the colony was saved by the miraculous nick of time arrival of ships from England with food and [Music] supplies in deep and humble gratitude the survivors held a service of Thanksgiving the date was June 1610 after 1610 the Virginia colony grew steadily ship after ship arrived with new settlers and fresh supplies among the new colonists was Captain John woodliff who left England in the summer of 1619 in command of 38 men his mission was to establish a settlement on the shore of the James River or one of its tributaries he chose a track at what is now Berkeley Plantation he had been given detailed written instructions in England we ordain that the day of our ship's arrival at the place assigned for Plantation in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy day of Thanksgiving to allmighty God oh almighty God which art a strong power of Defense unto thy servants against the face of our enemies we yield thee praise and thanksgiving for our deliverance from these great and apparent dangers wherewith we were compassed we acknowledge in thy goodness that we were not delivered over as a prey unto them beseeching the still to continue such thy mercies toward us that all the world may know that thou art Our Savior and mighty deliverer this was America's first official annual Thanksgiving amen December 4th 1619 at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia 27 months later March 22nd 1622 the Indians attacked without warning along the James River they butchered 350 men women and children Berkeley Plantation was wiped out but the Virginia colony survived and flourished more people arrived from England and other European nations the pillaged settlements were [Music] rebuilt Berkeley Plantation scene of the first official Thanksgiving was resettled and in the 1700s this brick mansion rose on the site of the Indian Massacre it eventually became the birthplace of William Henry Harrison the ninth president of the United States and stands today as it did during the turbulent colonial era from this stately Survivor of those early years it is only a short walk down an historic old Lane to the spot where captain woodliff and his men knelt in prayer in memory of that day hundreds of people gather here every year to celebrate a Virginia Thanksgiving Festival this annual observance serves as both a continuation of the original Thanksgiving tradition and as a reminder that much of what we enjoy today is due to the way in which those early settlers turned to God in gratitude we here today should not forget to continue thanking him [Music]