Myles Standish and the Mayflower
As a young soldier, Myles Standish was commissioned to fight in the Netherlands.
On his return to England, he was employed by Merchant Adventurers to act as the military
captain aboard the ‘Mayflower’ with the Pilgrim Fathers.
On the 11th of November 1620 he was amongst the first few people to land in America
on the shores of Cape Cod. He was appointed commander of the party which explored the
new lands and launched the first ‘white’ attack on native and hostile red Indians
on the 8th of December that year. Later that month a new colony was started up at
New Plymouth. The ensuing winter proved a terrible one and although over 100 people
landed in the new America, only a handful survived the savage weather. At this point Myles
lost his wife, Rose, but he went on to establish the first (with the exception
of Jamestown in Virginia) permanent settlement in the New World.
He died on the 3rd. of October 1659 at Duxbury, named after the village a
couple of miles from Standish, Lancashire. There has always been dispute over the
actual origins of Captain Myles Standish but he had obvious strong links with our
village and was of the Standish’s of Standish family.
Links
The following sites contain more information about Myles Standish and the Mayflower:
The Mayflower Web Pages
The Mayflower Society
Mayflower Families
Mayflower Compact 1620
Biography of Myles Standish
The Will of Myles Standish
Cut out and assemble the Mayflower
Books about the Mayflower
