Gravesend was granted, allowing the men of the town to operate boats between London and the town; these became known as the "Long Ferry". It became the preferred form of passage, because of the perils of road travel (see below). On Gravesend's river front are the remains of a Tudor fort built by command of King Henry VIII in 1543. On 21 March 1617, John Rolfe and Rebecca (aka Princess Pocahontas) with their two-year-old son, Thomas, boarded a ship in London bound for the Commonwealth of Virginia; the ship had only sailed as far as Gravesend before Rebecca fell fatally ill,
B. A. Rolfe Ripley tale of wonder. With the onset of World War II, Rolfe organized an all-female orchestra to perform patriotic songs. At the age of 76, he died of cancer in Walpole, Massachusetts. B. A. Rolfe Benjamin Albert Rolfe (October 24, 1879 – April 23, 1956) was an American musician known as "The Boy Trumpet Wonder" who went on to be a bandleader, recording artist, radio personality, and film producer. He was born on October 24, 1879 in Brasher Falls, New York, the son of a music director. At a young age he played the piccolo and cornet in his father's