Construction of the fort
The first daily task of the Virginia settlers was the construction of the fort. Of the company of 105 settlers and about three dozen crewmen (all of whom were male) about thirty men claimed the rank of Captain, either from service in England or Ireland. Captains were supervisory leaders. The remaining men and boys took on the task of felling more than 500 trees of thirty feet or more in height. The trees were then trimmed of branches, cut in half, and erected perpendicular to the ground with one end in a hole excavated for the purpose. At the same time rationing of supplies began, although fish and game supplemented the settler’s diet.
Under the leadership of Wingfield and the captains, one of whom was John Smith, the fort was completed in just one day over one month. Once the palisade was completed and artillery from the ships installed in each of its three corners, work began on the church/meeting house, and a communal storeroom. The labor was completed without the assistance of livestock for hauling, in the heat and humidity of a Virginia spring and summer, with short supplies of drinking water and inadequate supplies of food. The men received a half pint of wheat and the same of barley per day, which was reduced if game or fish was available.