Ribault Monument - Jacksonville, Florida, USA - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

This postage stamp was part of a series of three stamps issued to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of the settling of Walloons in New Netherlands, now the State of New York, in 1624. The Huguenots and the Walloons were early French and Flemish settlers of America, sharing a bond of Protestant heritage, both adhering to the strict Calvinist philosophy.

These 5-cent stamps, designed by C. Aubrey Huston, were first placed on sale May 1, 1924, at Washington, D.C., Jacksonville, and Mayport. The stamp has for its central design the Ribault Monument in Mayport, Florida commemorating the landing of the Huguenots on May 1, 1562.

Led by French naval officer Jean Ribault, the French Huguenot exploratory group came ashore near the mouth of the River of May (now the St. Johns River), and they were greeted by Native Americans called the Timucuans. Ribault, along with his lieutenant René Goulaine de Laudonnière, erected a stone column bearing the coats of arms of his French King.

Ribault and Laudonnière soon returned to Europe to arrange supplies for the new colony. In June 1564, Laudonnière sailed again to the mouth of the St. Johns River, and was once more welcomed by the Timucuans. Laudonnière led the colonists inland, where they founded Fort Caroline at St. Johns Bluff. The fort was named for the reigning French king Charles IX.

In August 1565, Ribault returned to Ft. Caroline to resupply the settlement. Upon learning of the Spanish fortifying the colony of St. Augustine just 35 miles to the south, Ribault set out with several ships carrying 200 sailors and 400 soldiers to dislodge the Spanish, but he was surprised at sea by a violent storm lasting several days.

Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the governor of Florida for Spain, took advantage of this. Marching his troops overland, he surprised the Fort Caroline garrison at dawn on September 20, which then numbered about 200 to 250 people. The Spaniards attacked them and killed most of the defenders, except for about 50 women and children who were taken prisoner and 26 defenders who managed to escape, including de Laudonnière.

Meanwhile Ribault's fleet of ships was wrecked on the coast south of St. Augustine. The Spanish picked up many of the survivors and killed them, including Ribault. This massacre put an end to France's attempts at colonization in Florida.

During the early 1920s a movement began in the Florida Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution to mark the location of Ribault’s first arrival in the New World. In 1924 a piece of land was donated near present-day Mayport for a new column designed by Florida sculptor Adrian Pillars (who also designed the famous winged sculpture in Memorial Park). At this time the U.S. Post Office released this commemorative stamp of Ribault’s column, and the U.S. Mint released a coin.

When U.S. Naval Station Mayport was established in 1941, the monument became inaccessible to the public and was moved. Three moves later, in 1958, the monument found its permanent home on St. Johns Bluff, and became part of the new National Park site, Fort Caroline National Memorial. Now situated atop St. Johns Bluff, the monument provides a commanding view of the St. Johns River.

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Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 5/1/1924 Denomination: 5-cent Color: blue/green Stamp Type: Multiple (blocks, etc.) Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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