[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 84 (Friday, May 2, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 18905-18906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-07834]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 90 , No. 84 / Friday, May 2, 2025 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 18905]]


                Proclamation 10926 of April 29, 2025

                
418th Anniversary of the First Landing and the 
                Raising of the Cape Henry Cross

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Four hundred and eighteen years ago, more than 100 men 
                completed a grueling 144-day voyage from the 
                countryside of England to the mouth of the Chesapeake 
                Bay in search of opportunity in the New World.

                Commissioned by King James I and the Virginia Company 
                of London, these intrepid settlers charted three small 
                ships--the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the 
                Discovery--to set sail on a perilous journey across the 
                Atlantic to expand the reach of the English Crown into 
                unknown lands, create a better future for their 
                families, and further the ``Glory of His Divine 
                Majesty.''

                Known as the ``First Landing,'' the seeds of America's 
                destiny were sown when this courageous band of 
                Christians erected a towering wooden cross at the crest 
                of Cape Henry, Virginia. Under the First Charter of 
                Virginia, which commissioned the voyage, they 
                consecrated the New World, gave thanks to God for their 
                safe passage, and dedicated the land to His glory. The 
                raising of the Cape Henry Cross was a visible symbol of 
                the covenant the settlers made on their first day in 
                the New World--for themselves and their posterity--to 
                obey God, seek His blessing, and place their trust in 
                Him.

                Within weeks, the men traveled inland to establish 
                Jamestown--the first permanent English settlement in 
                the New World. ``We hope to plant a nation where none 
                before hath stood,'' one early settler sang in a 
                ballad. In the months and years that followed, the 
                settlers at Jamestown would face grave dangers and 
                extraordinary challenges, including a severe drought, 
                starvation, and disease. By the first year's end, only 
                38 of the original 104 men had survived. Yet, by the 
                grace of God, Jamestown endured and the American spirit 
                of courage, strength, and determination was born.

                Today, a majestic granite cross stands on those same 
                hallowed shores as a testament to the steadfast 
                Christian belief of the Jamestown settlers that God's 
                grace abides, His mercy is abundant, and His glory is 
                everlasting. Our Nation honors the heroic souls whose 
                faithful devotion and uncommon courage more than 400 
                years ago foreshadowed the birth of the greatest 
                Republic in the history of the world--and it is in 
                their memory that we pledge to forge a future that 
                always celebrates our history, honors our heritage, and 
                glorifies our God Almighty.

                More than four centuries after the First Landing, we 
                prayerfully renew our covenant to always be one Nation 
                under God and to always seek His blessing and 
                protection.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim April 29, 2025, as a 
                day in celebration of the 418th anniversary of the 
                First Landing and the Raising of the Cross at Cape 
                Henry, Virginia, by the Jamestown settlers.

[[Page 18906]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                ninth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2025-07834
Filed 5-1-25; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P