Raid on Deerfield facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raid on Deerfield
Part of Queen Anne's War
Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville - French Commander
Date 29 February 1704 Location Deerfield, Province of Massachusetts Bay Result French and Native American victory
Belligerents
New England	French colonists  Abenaki  Iroquois (Mohawk)  Wyandot  Pocumtuc  Pennacook
Commanders and leaders
Jonathan Wells	Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville Wattanummon
Strength
20 outside militia 70 town militia	240 Indians 48 Marines and Canadian Militia
Casualties and losses
Raid: 56 killed, 112 captured Villagers: 44 killed (10 men, 9 women, 25 children), 109 captured Return trek: 20 captives killed or died of exposure	reports vary; 10–40 killed
The total number of people inside the palisade at the time of the attack was 291 people. In addition to the villagers, this included the 20 outside militia and 3 French traders.

The 1704 Raid on Deerfield was a major event during Queen Anne's War. On February 29, 1704, French and Native American forces attacked the English settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts. This happened just before dawn.

The attackers burned parts of the town and killed 47 villagers. They also took 112 settlers as captives. These captives were forced to march nearly 300 miles (480 km) to Montreal. Some captives died or were killed during the long journey because they could not keep up.

Later, about 60 people were freed after their families or communities paid a ransom. Others were adopted by Mohawk families in Kahnawake and became part of their tribe. During this time, English settlers and their Native American allies also carried out similar raids on French villages.

The raid was led by French soldiers and about 300 Native American warriors. These warriors came from different tribes, including Abenaki, Wyandot (Huron), Mohawk, and Pocomtuc. Some Pocumtuc people had once lived in the Deerfield area.

Even though the raid was expected due to ongoing tensions, it still shocked the English colonists in New England. This event led to more conflict with the French and their Native American allies. Frontier towns began to build stronger defenses and get ready for more fighting.

The raid became a famous part of early American history. This was mainly because of a book written by a captive named Reverend John Williams. He was a leader in the village. He and much of his family were taken on the long journey to Canada. His seven-year-old daughter, Eunice, was adopted by a Mohawk family. She grew up, married a Mohawk man, and had her own family with him. Williams' book, The Redeemed Captive, was published in 1707 and became very popular.

Why Did the Deerfield Raid Happen?

When European colonists started settling in the Connecticut River valley in the 1600s, the area was home to the Pocomtuc nation. In the early 1660s, the Pocumtuc people faced difficulties due to conflicts with the Mohawk tribe. The Mohawk were part of the Iroquois Confederacy and often raided into New England.

Native Americans also suffered greatly from new diseases brought by European traders and settlers. They had no natural protection against these illnesses, leading to many deaths.

In 1665, villagers from Dedham in eastern Massachusetts were given land in the Connecticut Valley. They bought land from some Pocumtuc individuals, though the legal details of these purchases are not fully clear. They started a village in the early 1670s, first called Pocumtuck, then later Deerfield.

Deerfield was quite isolated, located on the edge of English settlement. This made it an easy target during conflicts between the French and English and their Native American allies. The village was a typical New England farming community. Most settlers were young families looking for land. The work of women was very important for the survival of the settlement.

Previous Attacks on Deerfield

By 1675, Deerfield had about 200 people. That year, a war called King Philip's War broke out between English colonists and Native Americans in southern New England. This war involved all the New England colonies. Many Native American nations in the region were severely weakened or destroyed. Many English colonists also died.

Deerfield was evacuated in September 1675 after a series of Native American attacks. The Battle of Bloody Brook killed about half of the village's adult men. Deerfield was one of several villages abandoned by the English. It was briefly taken over by the warring Native Americans.

The colonists regrouped. In 1676, a force of mostly local colonists attacked a Native American camp. This happened at a place then called Peskeompscut, now known as Turners Falls.

This map shows where different Native American tribes lived in southern New England around 1600. It also shows later English settlements like Deerfield and important places from King Philip's War.

Ongoing raids by the Mohawk forced many Native Americans to move north to French-controlled Canada or west. During King William's War (1688–1697), Deerfield did not face major attacks. However, 12 residents were killed in smaller incidents. Some Pocumtuc people, who were thought to be friendly, passed through the area. Some claimed to have joined attacks on other frontier towns.

English attacks on communities in what is now southern Maine in 1703 made Deerfield residents worried. They feared the French and their Native American allies would strike back. In response to their own losses, the French planned an attack on Deerfield. They hoped to capture a high-ranking leader for a prisoner exchange.

The town's palisade (a strong fence of pointed logs) had been fixed and made larger. In August 1703, the local militia leader called out his men. He had heard that "a party of French & Indians from Canada" was expected to attack towns on the Connecticut River. Nothing happened until October, when two men were captured outside the palisade. Militia were sent to guard the town, but they went home when winter arrived, as warfare usually stopped then.

Smaller raids on other communities convinced Governor Joseph Dudley to send 20 men to guard Deerfield in February. These men, who were militia from nearby towns, arrived by February 24. This made the living spaces inside the palisade quite crowded on the night of February 28. In addition to these men, the town had about 70 local men ready to fight. All these forces were led by Captain Jonathan Wells.

Planning the Attack

French leaders in New France had thought about attacking the Connecticut River valley as early as 1702. The forces for the raid started gathering near Montreal in May 1703. English spies had reported this with good accuracy. However, two things delayed the raid. First, a rumor spread that English warships were on the Saint Lawrence River. The French sent many Native American forces to Quebec to defend it.

Second, some troops were sent to fight in Maine. This group included Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville, who was supposed to lead the Deerfield raid. His raid against Wells also made the Deerfield frontier more alert. Hertel de Rouville did not return to Montreal until the fall of 1703.

The attacking force gathered at Chambly, south of Montreal. It had about 250 men. There were 48 Frenchmen, including Canadien militia and soldiers from the troupes de la marine. Four of Hertel de Rouville's brothers were among them. Several French leaders had over 20 years of experience fighting in the wilderness.

The Native American group included 200 Abenaki, Iroquois (mostly Mohawk from Kahnawake), Wyandot (Huron from Lorette), and Pocomtuc. Some Pocumtuc sought revenge for past events involving white settlers. As the group moved south in January and February 1704, another 30 to 40 Pennacook warriors joined them. These were led by the sachem Wattanummon. This brought the total force to nearly 300 by the time they reached Deerfield in late February.

The expedition's departure was not a secret. In January 1704, Iroquois people warned New York's Indian agent Pieter Schuyler about a possible attack by the French and their allies. He told Governor Dudley and Connecticut's Governor Winthrop. They received more warnings in mid-February, but none of them mentioned Deerfield specifically as the target.

The Raid on Deerfield

The attackers left most of their gear and supplies about 25 to 30 miles (40 to 48 kilometers) north of Deerfield. On February 28, 1704, they set up a cold camp about 2 miles (3 km) from the village. From there, they watched the villagers getting ready for the night. Since the villagers knew a raid might happen, everyone stayed inside the palisade, and a guard was posted.

The attackers noticed that snowdrifts reached the top of the palisade. This made it easy for them to get into the fort just before dawn on February 29. They moved carefully towards the village, stopping often so the guard might mistake their noises for natural sounds. A few men climbed over the palisade using the snowdrifts and opened the north gate for the rest of the group.

Accounts differ on how alert the village guard was that night. One story says he fell asleep. Another says he fired his weapon to raise the alarm when the attack began, but not many people heard it. Reverend John Williams later described the attack as coming "like a flood upon us" with "horrid shouting and yelling."

The attack probably did not go exactly as planned. In earlier raids on Schenectady, New York and Durham, New Hampshire in the 1690s, attackers had hit all houses at once. They did not do this in Deerfield. Historians Haefeli and Sweeney believe this lack of coordination was due to the many different groups in the attacking force.

The raiders rushed into the village and began attacking individual houses. Reverend Williams' house was one of the first. Williams' life was spared when his gun misfired, and he was taken prisoner. Two of his children and a servant were killed. The rest of his family and another servant were also captured. Similar events happened in many other houses.

The residents of Benoni Stebbins' house, which was not attacked early, fought back against the raiders. Their resistance lasted until well after daylight. Another house, near the northwest corner of the palisade, was also successfully defended. The raiders moved through the village, gathering their prisoners north of town. They searched houses for valuable items and set many homes on fire.

As morning went on, some raiders began moving north with their prisoners. They stopped about a mile north of town to wait for those still in the village. The men in the Stebbins house fought for two hours. They were about to give up when help arrived from the south.

Early in the raid, young John Sheldon managed to escape over the palisade. He went to nearby Hadley to get help. The fires from the burning houses had already been seen. "Thirty men from Hadley and Hatfield" rushed to Deerfield. Their arrival made the remaining raiders flee. Some left their weapons and supplies behind in their hurry.

The sudden departure of the raiders and the arrival of help cheered up the survivors. About 20 Deerfield men joined the Hadley men in chasing the fleeing raiders. The English and the raiders fought in the meadows north of the village. The English reported "killing and wounding many of them."

However, the English soon ran into an ambush set by the raiders who had left earlier. Of the 50 or so men who chased them, nine were killed and several more were wounded. After the ambush, they went back to the village. The raiders continued north with their prisoners.

As the alarm spread south, more help kept arriving in the village. By midnight, 80 men from Northampton and Springfield had arrived. Men from Connecticut increased the force to 250 by the end of the next day. After discussing what to do, they decided that chasing the raiders was too risky. Most of the militia returned home, leaving a strong guard in the village.

The raiders destroyed 17 of the village's 41 homes and looted many others. Of the 291 people in Deerfield on the night of the attack, only 126 remained the next day. Forty-four Deerfield residents were killed: 10 men, 9 women, and 25 children. Five garrison soldiers and seven Hadley men also died. The raiders' goals were to scare the village and take valuable captives to French Canada. Many of those killed were infants, who likely would not have survived the trip to Canada. The raiders took 109 villagers captive, which was 40% of the village population. They also captured three Frenchmen who had been living in the village.

The raiders also had losses, though reports vary. New France's Governor-General Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil reported only 11 men lost and 22 wounded, including Hertel de Rouville and one of his brothers. John Williams heard from French soldiers during his captivity that over 40 French and Native American soldiers were lost. Historians Haefeli and Sweeney believe the lower French numbers are more likely. Most of the captives were women and children. The French and Native American captors thought they would be more likely to adapt to new lives in Native communities and French Canada than adult men.

Life as a Captive

For the 109 English captives, the raid was just the start of their difficulties. The raiders planned to take them to Canada, a 300-mile (480 km) journey in the middle of winter. Many captives were not ready for this, and the raiders had little food. So, the raiders did something common at the time: they killed captives who could not keep up.

Williams wrote about the harshness of the Native American raiders. He noted that while most killings were not random, none of those killed would have died if they hadn't been captured. Most of those killed were the slow and weak who could not keep up with the group. Only 89 of the captives survived the journey. Survival depended on age and gender: babies and young children had the lowest chance. Older children and teenagers (all 21 of them) had the best chance. Adult men survived better than adult women, especially pregnant women or those with small children.

In the first few days, several captives escaped. Hertel de Rouville told Reverend Williams to warn the others that recaptured escapees would be tortured. After this, no one else tried to escape. (This threat was serious; it was known to have happened in other raids.) The French leader also had problems with his Native American allies. They disagreed about what to do with the captives, and sometimes these arguments almost turned into fights. A meeting on the third day helped resolve these disagreements enough for the journey to continue.

This portrait is believed to be of John Williams, painted around 1707.

On Sunday, March 5, five days after the raid, the captors and their prisoners reached what is now Rockingham, Vermont. The captives asked for and were allowed to hold a worship service that Sunday. This happened near the mouth of a river later named the Williams River in honor of that service. A historical marker was placed there in 1912.

According to John Williams' story, most of the group traveled up the frozen Connecticut River. Then they went up the Wells River and down the Winooski River to Lake Champlain. From there, they went to Chambly, where most of the force split up. The captives went with their captors to their different villages. Williams' wife, Eunice, was weak after giving birth just six weeks earlier. She was one of the first to be killed during the march. Her body was later found and reburied in the Deerfield cemetery.

Governors of the northern colonies called for action against the French colonies. Governor Dudley wrote that destroying Quebec and Port Royal would give England control of naval supplies and end the Native American war forever. The border between Deerfield and Wells was strengthened with over 2,000 men. The reward for capturing or defeating Native American warriors was more than doubled, from £40 to £100.

Dudley quickly planned a counter-attack against Acadia (now Nova Scotia). In the summer of 1704, New Englanders led by Benjamin Church attacked Acadian villages. These included places like Castine, Maine, St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Grand Pré, Pisiquid, and Beaubassin (all in present-day Nova Scotia). Church was told to take prisoners to exchange for those taken at Deerfield. He was specifically forbidden from attacking the fortified capital, Port Royal.

Deerfield and other communities raised money to pay for the captives' release. French authorities and colonists also worked to get the captives from their Native American captors. Within a year, most captives were in French hands. This exchange of people was common on both sides at the time. The French and converted Native Americans tried to convert their captives to Roman Catholicism, with some success. Adult captives were usually hard to convert, but children were more open or likely to convert under pressure.

Some younger captives were not ransomed. They were adopted into the tribes. This happened to Williams' daughter, Eunice, who was eight when captured. She became fully part of her Mohawk family. She married a Mohawk man when she was 16. She did not see her birth family again until much later and always returned to Kahnawake. Other captives also chose to stay in Canadian and Native communities like Kahnawake for the rest of their lives.

Negotiations for the release and exchange of captives began in late 1704 and continued until late 1706. They became complicated by other issues, like the English capture of French privateer Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste. They also involved bigger concerns, such as a possible peace treaty between the French and English colonies. With help from Deerfield residents John Sheldon and John Wells, some captives were returned to Boston in August 1706. Governor Dudley, who might have needed the captives returned for political reasons, then released the French captives, including Baptiste. The remaining captives who chose to return were back in Boston by November 1706.

Many younger captives were adopted into Native American tribes or French Canadian society. Thirty-six Deerfield captives, mostly children and teenagers at the time of the raid, stayed permanently. Those who stayed were not forced. Instead, they formed new religious and family ties. A captive's experience might have depended on their gender and age. Young women may have adapted more easily to Native American and French Canadian societies. Nine girls stayed, compared to only five boys. This might show a pattern of young women being included in Native American and Canadian society.

It is thought that some young women stayed not because they were forced, or because they found adventure, but because they built new lives in these communities. They formed bonds of family, religion, and language. In fact, more than half of the young female captives who stayed settled in Montreal. Their lives there were very similar to those of their former neighbors. Whether in New France or Deerfield, these women generally lived in farming communities. They tended to marry in their early twenties and have six or seven children. Other female captives stayed in Native communities like Kahnawake because of religious and family connections. While European men criticized the capture of English women, some captive women from this time chose to remain in Native society rather than return to English settlements.

John Williams wrote a captivity narrative called The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion about his experience. It was published in 1707. Williams' book was published during ongoing ransom talks. It pushed for more effort to get the Deerfield captives back. Written with help from Reverend Cotton Mather, a famous Boston Puritan minister, the book presented the raid, captivity, and border relations with the French and Native Americans as part of God's plan for Puritans. The book was widely read in the 1700s and 1800s and is still published today. Williams' work is one reason this raid, unlike others, was remembered and became part of the American frontier story. Williams' book turned the captivity narrative into a story of individual bravery and the triumph of Protestant values against enemies. The last known survivor of the raid was Williams' daughter, Eunice Kanenstenhawi Williams, also known as Marguerite Kanenstenhawi Arosen. She was born on September 17, 1696, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and died on November 26, 1785, in Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada.

What is the Legacy of the Deerfield Raid?

Deerfield holds a "special place in American history." Like Mary Rowlandson's popular captivity story, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, the dramatic tale of Deerfield emphasized trusting in God's mercy. It helped keep the spirit of the Puritan mission alive in New England during the 1700s. Williams' account increased tensions between English settlers and Native Americans and their French allies. It also led to more war preparations in settler communities.

The events at Deerfield were not commonly called a "massacre" until the 1800s. Reverend John Taylor's 1804 memorial sermon was the first to use the term "massacre" for the Deerfield events. Earlier accounts from the 1700s focused on the physical destruction. They described the raid as "the assault on," "the destruction of," or "mischief at" Deerfield.

By calling it a "massacre," New Englanders in the 1800s began to remember the attack as part of a larger story celebrating the American frontier spirit. This view continued into the 1900s with the creation of Historic Deerfield. The raid was seen as a unique Native American attack against a community of independent frontiersmen. This view has sometimes been used to justify the removal of Native Americans. It has also hidden the larger patterns of border conflicts and the family-based structure of Deerfield and similar settlements. Although often remembered as a story of brave Protestant men, the raid is better understood as an example of strong community life and cultural interaction in border areas.

An 1875 legend tells that the French attacked to get back a bell. This bell was supposedly meant for Quebec but was taken by pirates and sold to Deerfield. The legend claims this was a "historical fact known to almost all school children." However, this story, which is a common Kahnawake tale, was disproven as early as 1882. It does not seem to have significantly changed how Americans viewed the raid.

Canadians and Native Americans, who are less influenced by Williams' story, have a different view of the raid. Canadians see the raid not as a massacre and mass kidnapping, but as a successful local use of guerrilla tactics in a larger international war. They emphasize how hundreds of captives from similar conflicts during Queen Anne's War successfully joined new communities. Similarly, most Native American records explain the action within a larger military and cultural context. They are generally not focused on this specific event.

A part of the original village of Deerfield has been preserved as a living history museum, Historic Deerfield. Among its artifacts is a door with tomahawk marks from the 1704 raid. The raid is remembered there on the weekend closest to February 29. Historic Deerfield is now trying to be more inclusive. Its yearly reenactments and educational programs avoid using "massacre." Instead, they focus on Deerfield as a place to study how different cultures interacted at the borders of society.

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