DEERFIELD MASSACRE

DEERFIELD MASSACRE. In the early morning of 29 February 1704, a force of 50 French soldiers and 200 Indian allies from Canada, under the command of Major Hertel de Rouville, climbed up high snow drifts over the unguarded stockade at Deerfield, Massachusetts, one of New England's most northwestern settlements. The invaders quickly overcame the sleeping inhabitants, encountering no effective resistance except at the Stebbins house, where seven men and four or five women with their children successfully held off attackers until militia from neighboring Hadley arrived. Of the 300 inhabitants, about 50 were killed, 137 escaped, and 111 were taken captive. During the harrowing journey to Canada, 17 of the captives died from exposure or at the hands of their captors. As one of the opening engagements of Queen Anne's War (known in Europe as the War of Spanish Succession)—the second in a series of wars between France and England between 1689 and 1763—the stunning victory left New Englanders in dread fear of the French and their Indian allies, who appeared capable of attacking from Canada in almost any weather. After prolonged negotiations lasting several years, 60 of the captives were allowed to return home; some, however, preferred to re-main in Canada.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Demos, John. The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America. New York: Knopf, 1994.

Melvoin, Richard I. New England Outpost: War and Society in Colonial Deerfield. New York: Norton, 1988.

Phillip M.Brown/j. h.

See alsoCaptivity Narratives ; Colonial Wars .