Saving Jamestown

The name “John Smith” has come to convey anonymity, but one holder of that moniker stands out. Early American colonist John Smith may have made his name in America, but by the time the 27-year-old arrived at Jamestown, in Virginia, he had experienced a lifetime’s worth of experiences. As a youth, he ran away to be a mercenary, survived single combat, was captured and enslaved, escaping his Turkish captors in a harrowing bolt across eastern Europe. Sailing to Virginia, he so provoked compatriots that they nearly hanged him, but again Smith prevailed and brought to bear his talents, saving Jamestown from disaster and establishing the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Born in Lincolnshire in 1580, Smith hankered from boyhood for what he called “brave adventures.” His father, a prosperous farmer, died when his red-haired oldest son was 13, leaving young John seven acres of land. Apprenticed by guardians to a wealthy merchant, the boy ran away at 16 to join a company of English mercenaries in France, selling his satchel and schoolbooks to pay for his passage. He first went to war in the service of King Henry IV of France, then hired on in Holland to fight for the Dutch against their Spanish overlords.

Smith returned briefly to Lincolnshire and his inherited acres, but by 1600 was back on the continent, spending two