Category: February

FRENCH-ABENAKI RAID ON DEERFIELD, MA

The 1704 Raid on Deerfield occurred during Queen Anne’s War.  French and Native American forces were under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville.  His force of 250 was composed of French Canadien militia and recruits and 200 Abenaki, Iroquois (likely Mohawk), Wyandot, and Pocumtuc, some of whom sought revenge for incidents that had taken place years earlier.  They were joined by another 30 to 40 Pennacook by the time the force reached the Deerfield.  The attack on the settlement began just before dawn, killing 47 villagers, taking 112 settlers to Montreal as captives, and burning parts of the town.  Some captives died along the way and 60 were later redeemed (ransomed by family and community).  Given the diversity of personnel, motivations, and material objectives, the raiders did not achieve full surprise when they entered the palisaded village. The raid was a clear victory for the French coalition that aimed to take captives and unsettle English colonial frontier society.  

Source:  John Hardy, “Raid on Deerfield, 1704,” Miner Descent, 5/4/2012.  Retrieved 6/9/2019, https://minerdescent.com/2012/05/04/raid-on-deerfield-1704/
Engraving:  Walter Henry Lippincott (1813-1903), 1900.  Public Domain in U.S.:  Pre 1/1/1924.  Public Domain elsewhere where copyright term is author’s life plus 100 years or less.