TODAY IN HISTORY
Attack on Deerfield
On February 29, 1704, between 200 and 300 French soldiers and their Native American allies raided the tiny frontier settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts. The assault was a tiny skirmish in Queen Anne’s War — a broader conflict between France and England. As a precaution, the townsfolk had sheltered in the town’s palisade but they were surprised by the mid-winter attack and Deerfield quickly fell to the invaders. Some 50 English men, women, and children were killed and over 100 residents began a forced march through heavy snows to Canada (New France).
Deerfield’s minister,
Reverend John Williams, his wife, and five children, were among the captives. Although approximately 20 prisoners died along the way, including Mrs. Williams, the minister survived the trip. Held for more than two years in captivity — first by the Abenaki Indians, next in French Catholic communities near Montreal — he and nearly 60 other colonists were ransomed by Massachusetts Governor Joseph Dudley. They arrived by boat in Boston in November 1706. Williams memorialized his Canadian experience in The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion. First printed in 1707, the book was reprinted again and again.
Several young Deerfield captives never returned to their families. Instead, they joined either Native American or French society. Four Williams children were released; one child, Eunice Williams, remained in Canada. Eunice took the Mohawk name A’ongote, which means “She (was) taken and placed (as a member of their tribe).” Eunice married a Mohawk man when she was 16; they had three children.
Source: Library of Congress