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About the Author |
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He was a soldier, probably from an early age, and sworn to the service of King Charles II, the uncrowned ruler exiled during England's Civil War. He followed the young king to France and, carrying letters for the king, embarked on a ship to Jamestown in the young colony of Virginia. He was an obvious choice for leader when he was among the half-starved and frozen group of 19 people shipwrecked in the midst of a bitter winter. He held the group together in their search for food and shelter and spoke for them when they were rescued by the local natives. Through his eyes we see a wild country populated by a kindly people and his words express the respect and honor by which he held them. Norwood eventually returned to Europe and his duties for his monarch having many adventures along the way. He was regarded as an energetic and sometimes troublesome epitome of the 'Cavalier' of his times. He never married and lived into his 70s Quest
for the Cavalier Norwood is often mentioned in books on the history of the Chesapeake Bay Region, I noticed. He is widely quoted in historical journals where A Voyage to Virginia is often listed in the footnotes or bibliography. Just who was this Colonel? Why was he going to Virginia and what was his story, I wondered. Kathy Fisher, Director of Furnace Town near Snow Hill knew of Norwood and at her advice I looked in the Worcester Room of the Snow Hill Library. There, on a bottom shelf among other books about the area in colonial times, was a small brown book with an amazing tale. I sat in the quiet room and struggled to read the tiny typed pages. Not only was the type small and faint on the reprinted copy from the 1800s but also the language was from another era. Henry Norwood was an educated man and he wrote of his adventure in the flowery prose and long sentences popular in the seventeenth century. The antiquated wording could not disguise a fascinating adventure, however, and I was immediately absorbed. I was surprised to discover that much of Henry Norwood's story took place in what is now a very different Ocean City and Worcester County, Maryland. Over three years of research and hundreds of hours of poring over antique and modern maps of the area have lead to A Cavalier's Adventure, The Story of Henry Norwood. This true story is an important part of the heritage of the region and this regional hero deserves to be remembered. - Sharon Himes |
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Henry
Norwood is a real historical character mentioned in numerous
sources including Pepys' Diaries. He was a second son of an English
land owner and related to the Berkeley family and Governor of
Virginia.