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THE EXPEDITION Alexander Spotswood became acting Royal Governor of Virginia in 1710 , by which time pressure on the colony to expand had become more acute than ever. In 1716, Governor Spotswood, with 62 other men and 74 horses, led a real estate speculation expedition up the Rappahannock River valley during westward exploration of the interior of Virginia. They reached the base of the mountains west of today's Stanardsville on the eighth day. The men were impressed with the fact that they were surrounded on all sides by steep mountain terrain as their axemen cleared a way along the path of a creek named Swift Run along the eastern slope. The party reached a rock-covered place between several peaks along the top ridge of the ; this was probably today's High Top Mountain . Upon descending into a portion of the Shenandoah Valley on the east side of Massanutten Mountain , they reached a point near the current town of Elkton , where they celebrated their arrival on the banks of the Shenandoah River with more multiple toasts of wine, brandy, and claret. {Link without Title} On the banks of the river they buried a bottle, inside which they had put a paper declaring that the whole valley belonged to George I, King by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France, Ireland and Virginia. After the journey, Spotswood was believed to have given each member of the expedition a pin made of Gold and shaped like a Horseshoe on which he had inscribed the words in Latin "Sic jurat transcendere montes", which translates in English to "Thus he swears to cross the mountains." The members of Governor Spotswood's expedition soon became popularly known as the "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe." HERITAGE At a practical level, word of the expedition, and descriptions of the fertile valley land beyond the mountain range, apparently didn't do much in the short-term to open the Shenandoah Valley for development from the east. The mountain range was a formidable barrier. Instead, most of the early settlers came up the Valley from the north, many of German and Scottish decent. Groups of Mennonites migrated from Pennsylvania , and settled in the general area of present-day Rockingham County and Harrisonburg , where their descendants may still be found today. Spotswood's expedition, which from all reports, traveled at a leisurely pace, encountered little or no loss of life or conflict with Native American s, and included frequent stops for celebrations and libations, earned a somewhat legendary status. This was especially true after ''The Knights of the Golden Horse-Shoe'', an early historical romance, was authored by William Alexander Caruthers and first published in 1841 . (Caruthers is considered the first important Virginia novelist, and ''Knights'' is considered the best of his books. A historical plaque and pyramid-shaped stone at Swift Run Gap (at the south side of and the Appalachian Trail both pass nearby as well. Also at this location, a Virginia Historical Highway Marker, # D10 Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, is located. It reads: ::"On 5 Sept. 1716, in this region, it is believed Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood and his party of government officials, gentry, Native Americans, soldiers, and servants crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Shenandoah Valley. Their adventure into Virginia's western lands began at Germanna late in Aug. and ended when they returned there on 10 Sept. According to legend, Spotswood gave his companions small golden horseshoes on their return and the group became known as the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. The journey has been fictionalized and mythologized in literature since the 19th century." SOURCES Books
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