“To make scenes authentic and
special, writers attempt to include memorable small or unusual details…”
I have
decided to research into the Deerfield massacre as due to the large amounts of
information in history books I am able to find the small and unusual details to
include in my non-fiction story.
The
Deerfield massacre was one of many attacks during Queen Anne’s War (The second war
in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, Queen
Anne’s was between 1702 and 1713.)
The raid
was issued under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville, and had been
expected in Deerfield yet was not fully prepared for. On February 28th
1704, 48 French men and 200 Native Abenaki, Iroquois, Wyandot, and Pocumtuc
forces (later joined by another 30 to 40 Pennacook) left most of their
equipment and supplies 25 to 30 miles north of the town and a closer camp 2
miles from Deerfield where they were able to watch the villagers go inside for
the night.
Many of
the villagers believed they were safe thanks to the large wall surrounding much
of the village that had a night duty guard on standby. It is unsure what happened
to the guard, some accounts say he fell asleep allowing the Native’s to get
inside while others say he called for the alarm to be sounded yet was not
heard.
On the
29th, just before dawn, the raid began burning part of the town, killing 47
villagers, and taking 112 settlers captive to Canada, of whom 60 were later
redeemed. Reverend John Williams later recalled in his 1707 book The Redeemed Captive that "with
horrid shouting and yelling", the raiders launched their attack "like
a flood upon us."
This link shows a list of the villagers who were either killed or captured.
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| Map showing the walk captives were forced to make. |
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