The lost colony of Roanoke Island was the first attempt that England made to settle on united states soil. Between 1585 and 1586 a group of one hundred men (craftsmen, soldiers and scholars) lived on Roanoke island, a place that had been discovered and scouted a year prior. Unfortunately for them, sailing the seas was not quite so exact a science and they arrived too late for the planting season. Quickly supplies dwindled, and they could not trade with nearby Native Americans due to their dislike of soldiers (which a lot of the group was comprised of) and the stupidity of their leader Ralph Lane who murdered their chief over the issue of a stolen cup. Needless to say, as soon as the next ship came ‘round, those men abandoned their fort and left as quickly as possible.

Roanoke Island

But they had requested supplies, and that ship came not even a week after they abandoned the colony. So along with the supplies, the captain left fifteen men behind to guard them; under the assumption that the 100 men would return. In the meantime back in England, another one hundred and seventeen people (comprised of men, women and children, not soldiers) were recruited to go back and try to colonize again. But this time, they intended to go to the Chesapeake bay area and stay there, permanently. Unfortunately for those 117 people, the ship captain that was hired to take them to their destination was very involved in the war between Spain and England and had a lot of trading to do, so he ordered everyone off the ship as soon as they neared land. Which was, Roanoke island, the exact same place.

Although they didn’t want to stay (especially after learning that the Native Americans had killed the fifteen men left behind there) they didn’t really have a choice in the matter. So they set up their town and attempted to live their lives in this new and unfamiliar place. Due to the war, it was another three years before anyone came from England to check up on them, and when they did; they found that everyone had disappeared. To this day we have little idea as to what happened. The colonists seem to have simply disappeared into the forest, never to be heard from again.

May we reconvene under the blood red moon,
-Black Widow