Leo T. reviewed on + 1775 more book reviews
An extraordinary history with exemplary research, and thoughtfully written: Queen Anne's War, when Indians raided far into the colonies, burned settlements, and carried captives away. A February-March 1704 expedition from Canada to Deerfield, Massachusetts, by French, Hurons, Abenakis and Mohawks came south to raid the town and seize the Reverend John Williams in hopes of exchanging him for a privateer captain seized off Maine in 1702 by the Royal Navy.
The author explains that he has had an increasing interest in writing narrative history and cast about for a subject. Demos is well informed about Early American History and deepened his knowledge for this book by visiting the Indians still resident in Kanawake, where the captives were taken 300 years ago. He found a surprising (to me) amount of written evidence as this was a famous case.
Eunice Williams, a daughter, was not redeemed and refused to return home after the war ended. He begins with the planning of the raid in 1703 and ends with a long epilogue about the 18th C. fates of some of the principals involved. A fellow captive, her brother Stephen Williams, has left a diary. In 1782 he wrote "I heard of ye death of Lt. Hall of Deerfield who was taken captive when I was & unless Capt. Carter of Norwalk is liveing, I am ye last Pson yt Survives of those captivated at yt time." Demos writes: "Captain Carter was, in fact, gone by then. Yet Stephen's claim to be the last person that survives from the original captivated cohort was wrong; his sister at Canada would outlive him by another three years. That the could simply have forgotten her seems unlikely--no, impossible--given all that had gone before. But perhaps he overlooked her for a different reason. Perhaps he had changed his long-standing view--and saw her, in the end as captive no more (235-236)."
Maps, index, endnotes.
The book is suitable for additional reading in a high school history course if very interested students care to read and discuss it. It reminds Americans not descended from Indian fighters what tough foes they were (and thus sports teams' names invoked their fierceness).
The author explains that he has had an increasing interest in writing narrative history and cast about for a subject. Demos is well informed about Early American History and deepened his knowledge for this book by visiting the Indians still resident in Kanawake, where the captives were taken 300 years ago. He found a surprising (to me) amount of written evidence as this was a famous case.
Eunice Williams, a daughter, was not redeemed and refused to return home after the war ended. He begins with the planning of the raid in 1703 and ends with a long epilogue about the 18th C. fates of some of the principals involved. A fellow captive, her brother Stephen Williams, has left a diary. In 1782 he wrote "I heard of ye death of Lt. Hall of Deerfield who was taken captive when I was & unless Capt. Carter of Norwalk is liveing, I am ye last Pson yt Survives of those captivated at yt time." Demos writes: "Captain Carter was, in fact, gone by then. Yet Stephen's claim to be the last person that survives from the original captivated cohort was wrong; his sister at Canada would outlive him by another three years. That the could simply have forgotten her seems unlikely--no, impossible--given all that had gone before. But perhaps he overlooked her for a different reason. Perhaps he had changed his long-standing view--and saw her, in the end as captive no more (235-236)."
Maps, index, endnotes.
The book is suitable for additional reading in a high school history course if very interested students care to read and discuss it. It reminds Americans not descended from Indian fighters what tough foes they were (and thus sports teams' names invoked their fierceness).
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