Name "Maryland Dove" Ordered 1975 Tons burthen 40 Launched 14 August 1978 Operator St. Mary's City | Owner State of Maryland Laid down 1975 Construction started 1975 Commissioned 8 October 1978 | |
 | ||
Length 76 feet (23 meters) overall, and 56 ft (17 m) on deck. Builders James B Richardson Foundation, Cambridge Similar St Clement's Island Sta, St Clement's Island Mu, Blakistone Island Light, Point Lookout Light, Sotterley | ||
The maryland dove at historic st mary s city
Maryland Dove is a re-creation/replica of the Dove, a late 17th century English trading ship, one of two ships which made up the first expedition from England to the Province of Maryland. The modern Dove was designed by the naval architect and naval historian William A. Baker.
Contents
- The maryland dove at historic st mary s city
- The maryland dove cannon firing demonstration
- Maryland Dove
- The original Ark and Dove
- References
The maryland dove cannon firing demonstration
Maryland Dove
Launched in 1978, Maryland Dove is 56 feet in length on deck, and 76 feet overall with a displacement of 42 tons. She was built by James B. Richardson in a shipyard near Cambridge, Maryland in Dorchester County. Her home port is St. Mary's City, Maryland. The ship is owned by the State of Maryland and operated/maintained by the Historic St. Mary's City Commission. She was commissioned October 8, 1978 with Captain Thomas Doyle of Valley Lee, Maryland as her first licensed Master.
The original Ark and Dove
The first expedition from England to the planned colony of Maryland was undertaken by Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, (1605-1675), and consisted of two ships that had formerly belonged to his father, George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, (1579-1632): the Ark and the Dove. The two ships departed Gravesend, in Kent off the English Channel, with 128 settlers on board and, after being chased down and brought back by the British Royal Navy so that the departing settlers could take an oath of allegiance to the King of England as required by law, sailed in October 1633 for the Isle of Wight (between England and France) to pick up more settlers.
At the Isle of Wight the Dove and her larger sister ship the Ark embarked again with two Jesuit (Society of Jesus) priests/chaplains and nearly two hundred more settlers before setting out across the Atlantic. Since he could not lead the expedition himself, Baltimore sent detailed instructions for the governance of the Colony, including commands that his brothers seek any information about those who had earlier tried to thwart the granting of the colony and make contact with William Claiborne (previously settled from Province of Virginia on Kent Island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay) to determine his intentions for the trading station on Kent Island. The instructions also emphasized the importance of religious toleration among the colonists, who were nearly equal parts Catholic and Protestant. With these last instructions, the expedition sailed for the Americas.
The two ships arrived at Point Comfort at the mouths of the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth Rivers, in Virginia, February 24, 1634. On March 25, they landed at what is now St. Mary's, then the site of a Native American village, and they began the work of establishing a settlement there. The settlement of St. Mary's was built on land purchased from the native Yaocomico.
Back in England, Baltimore could do little to help the young colony through its tribulations, which included an ongoing feud with Claiborne that led to a series of naval skirmishes.
Lord Baltimore continued as Maryland's first Proprietary Governor (1632–1675), and attempted to maintain an active involvement in the governance of the colony, though he never visited it. During this long tenure, he governed through deputies, the last being his only son Charles.