Forgotten companions
When the attention of Alexander Spotswood, the governor of the colony of Virginia, was drawn to the Rappahannock area in 1713 by the possibilities for mining iron ore, a fascinating chapter began in the history of Virginia's first frontier. This book is the actual story of our colonial predecessors, drawn from their court and church records and other contemporary documents. It tells of their leaders, their life styles, and the problems they faced as their land grew from a wilderness on the frontier to a rural society typical of the colony. Typical, that is, except for having a powerful ex-governor in residence, and except for the little river port of Fredericksburg which the Crown nurtured and which became the source of both prosperity and urban problems.