The Surratt Courier

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As always, I enjoy reading the Surratt Courier, but the recent edition (November) rings a personal tone.

First, as a lineal Mayflower descendant, I heartily agree with Louise Oertly in her “President’s Message” that “the first Thanksgiving in North America may not have been celebrated by the Pilgrims in Plymouth Massachusetts.” But also as a French Huguenot, I must disagree with the “documented evidence” about the first celebratory feast on September 8, 1565. The Huguenots bested that date by about one year.

In 1564, a group of French Huguenots, who sought haven from being persecuted in France, landed near Jacksonville, Florida. According to Kenneth C. Davis in his NYT column, “A French Connection,” these devout Christians promptly held a “service of ‘Thanksgiving.’” Then, after they had begun to settle in the area, King Philip II, ordered their execution. Spanish forces killed the several hundred Protestant settlers. And with this, continues Davis, “America’s first pilgrims disappeared from the pages of history.”

See: “A French Connection,” New York Times, November 25, 2008

See: https://www.history.com/news/did-florida...anksgiving

See: https://www.huguenotsociety.org/heritage/history/


Second, my third great uncle, the Reverend Dr. Charles Henry Augustus Bulkeley, was the Chaplain in Sickles’s brigade. Family lore holds that he remained a devoted friend to Sickles and stood by his defense in Key’s shooting. Too bad he didn’t read “ Big, Bad, Dan Sickles.” Terrific piece!