Name Ark Tons burthen 400 Beam 9.754 m | Launched c. 1630 Draft 14-15 feet | |
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Owner Hired by Cecilius Calvert, second Baron or Lord Baltimore, (1605-1675) Length Approximately 132 feet on deck | ||
Ark was a 400-ton English merchant ship hired by Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605–1675), to bring roughly 140 English colonists and their equipment and supplies to the new colony and Province of Maryland, one of the original thirteen colonies of British North America on the Atlantic Ocean eastern seaboard. On the historic trans-oceanic voyage from England in late 1633 and early 1634, Ark was accompanied by the smaller 40-ton pinnace Dove.
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Maryland expedition
After several delays, the two ships sailed from the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England on the 22nd November 1633. Three days later a storm in the English Channel separated 'Ark from Dove. When Dove disappeared from view, she was flying distress lanterns, and those aboard Ark assumed she had sunk in the storm. A second more violent storm hit Ark on 29 November and lasted three days, finally subsiding on 1 December. In the midst of the storm the mainsail was split in half and the crew was forced to tie down the tiller and whipstaff so the ship lay ahull', keeping her bow to the wind and waves as she drifted. This was the last bad weather Ark encountered on the trans-Atlantic voyage.
On the 25th December, wine was passed out to celebrate Christmas. The following day, 30 colonists fell ill with a fever brought on by excessive drinking and 12 died, including two of the Roman Catholic colonists. These were the only losses suffered on the voyage. On 3 January 1633/34, Ark arrived at the island of Barbados in the West Indies after a voyage of 42 days from England. About two weeks later, Dove arrived. As it later developed, Dove had been able to reach the shelter of Plymouth harbour where she rode out the storm.
On 24 January 1633/34, the ships departed Barbados. An earlier departure was intended, but was delayed because Richard Orchard, master (captain) the Dove had departed inland to collect some debts and could not be found on the intended sailing date. After making a few other stops in the Caribbean Sea, on 24 February 1633/34, the ships arrived at Point Comfort (now called Old Point Comfort) at the mouths of the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth rivers, which formed the great harbor of Hampton Roads in Virginia. This ended their ocean voyage which had lasted slightly over three months, of which 66 days were actually spent at sea. The two ships briefly stopped in Jamestown, Virginia up the James River.
After a week's stay, the Calvert colonists then sailed northward up the large expanse of the Bay, landing on St. Clement's Island (also known as Blakistone Island) on the north shore of the Potomac River, across from Virginia's northern border, on March 25, 1634, thereafter celebrated annually in the colony and free State as "Maryland Day"), planting a large cross, claiming the land in the name of Charles I), King of England, and holding their first communal Mass led by the accompanying Jesuit chaplain, Father Andrew White. 25th March has been traditionally taken to mark the end of the voyage, although in fact, the voyage had actually ended earlier on the 24th February, when the Ark and the Dove arrived at Point Comfort entering the North American continental waters. 25th March is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a major festival day in the liturgical calendar. Until 1752, when England finally adopted the Gregorian Calendar as opposed to the older, now inaccurate Julian Calendar, 25 March was the start of the civil new year(hence the practice of writing dates from the 1st January to 25 March as 1633/34).
Although too small for the intended settlement, St. Clement's provided a relatively secure base from which Leonard Calvert, (1606-1647), new first Governor of Maryland and younger brother of Cecilius, could explore the area and negotiate the purchase of land for the new colony. After a brief three-week stay on the island, the new Marylanders occupied a nearby Piscataway Indian village they had purchased on the St. George's (later the St. Mary's) River, several miles southeast from St. Clement's and about 12 miles northwest from Point Lookout where the Potomac River enters the Chesapeake Bay]. The new English settlement was named "St. Mary's City" in honor of The Virgin, which later became the provincial capital, and later the county seat/courthouse in the first county to be "erected" (established), St. Mary's County.
In the early summer of 1634, the Ark returned to England. The Dove, which had been also purchased by Calvert and the gentry investors in the new colony, remained for the settlers' use in and around the Bay and coasts of Maryland.
In August 1635, the Dove sailed for England carrying timber and beaver pelts, but she never arrived home and was presumed lost in a storm. Maryland Dove is a modern replica of the vessel.
Passengers
Among the passengers on board the Ark and the Dove were Leonard Calvert and Thomas Greene, (1610-1651), of Bobbing, Kent, the first two governors of Maryland. Leonard Calvert was the second son of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, the first proprietor of the Province of Maryland. His elder brother Cecilius, who inherited the colony and the title, appointed Leonard governor in his absence.