Editing Roanoke Colony (section)

===1590 relief mission===
{{further|Watts' West Indies and Virginia expedition}}
[[File:Ruins of the English Settlement at Roanoke.jpg|thumb|John White at the ruins of the Roanoke colony, 1590]]

Eventually, Raleigh arranged passage for White on a privateering expedition organized by [[John Watts (merchant)|John Watts]]. The fleet of six ships would spend the summer of 1590 raiding Spanish outposts in the Caribbean, but the flagship ''Hopewell'' and the ''Moonlight'' would split off to take White to his colony.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|p=97}} At the same time, however, Raleigh was in the process of turning the venture over to new investors.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|p=98}}

''Hopewell'' and ''Moonlight'' anchored at Croatoan Island on August&nbsp;12, but there is no indication that White used the time to contact the Croatan for information. On the evening of August 15, while anchored at the north end of Croatoan Island, the crews sighted plumes of smoke on Roanoke Island; the following morning, they investigated another column of smoke on the southern end of Croatoan, but found nothing.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|p=98}} White's landing party spent the next two days attempting to cross Pamlico Sound with considerable difficulty and loss of life. On August&nbsp;17 they sighted a fire on the north end of Roanoke and rowed towards it, but they reached the island after nightfall and decided not to risk coming ashore. The men spent the night in their anchored boats, singing English songs in hopes that the colonists would hear.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|pp={{mvar|xvii–xix}} }}

White and the others made landfall on the morning of August&nbsp;18 (his granddaughter's third birthday). The party found fresh tracks in the sand, but were not contacted by anyone. They also discovered the letters "CRO" carved into a tree. Upon reaching the site of the colony, White noted the area had been fortified with a [[palisade]]. Near the entrance of the fencing, the word "CROATOAN" was carved in one of the posts.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|pp={{mvar|xix}} }} White was certain these two inscriptions meant that the colonists had peacefully relocated to Croatoan Island, since they had agreed in 1587 that the colonists would leave a "secret token" indicating their destination, or a [[cross pattée]] as a [[duress code]].{{Sfn|Hakluyt|1889|p= 384}}{{Sfn|Kupperman|2007|pp= 126–127}}

Within the palisade, the search party found that houses had been dismantled, and anything that could be carried had been removed. Several large trunks (including three belonging to White, containing the belongings he left behind in 1587) had been dug up and looted. None of the colony's boats could be found along the shore.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|p=101}} The party returned to ''Hopewell'' that evening, and plans were made to return to Croatoan the following day. However, ''Hopewell''{{'}}s anchor cable snapped, leaving the ship with only one working cable and anchor. The search mission could not continue given the considerable risk of shipwreck. ''Moonlight'' set off for England, but the crew of ''Hopewell'' offered a compromise with White, in which they would spend winter in the Caribbean and return to the Outer Banks in the spring of 1591. This plan fell through, though, when ''Hopewell'' was blown off course, forcing them to stop for supplies in the [[Azores Islands|Azores]]. When the winds prevented landfall there, the ship was again forced to change course for England, arriving on October 24, 1590.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|pp=102–103}}