Captive Histories

by Haefeli, Evan; Sweeney, Kevin

• ISBN13: 9781558495432
• ISBN10: 1558495436
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-07-10
• Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Pr

Summary

This volume draws together an unusually rich body of original sources that tell the story of the 1704 French and Indian attack on Deerfield, Massachusetts, from different vantage points. Texts range from one of the most famous early American captivity narratives, John Williams's The Redeemed Captive, to the records of French soldiers and clerics, to little-known Abenaki and Mohawk stories of the raid that emerged out of their communities' oral traditions. Evan Haefeli and Kevin Sweeney provide a general introduction, extensive annotations, and headnotes to each text. Although the oft-reprinted Redeemed Captive stands at the core of this collection, it is juxtaposed to less familiar accounts of captivity composed by other Deerfield residents: Quentin Stockwell, Daniel Belding, Joseph Petty, Joseph Kellogg, and the teenaged Stephen Williams. Presented in their original form, before clerical editors revised and embellished their content to highlight religious themes, these stories challenge long-standing assumptions about classic Puritan captivity narratives. The inclusion of three Abenaki and Mohawk narratives of the Deerfield raid is equally noteworthy, offering a rare opportunity not only to compare captors' and captives' accounts of the same experiences, but to do so with reference to different Native oral traditions. Similarly, the memoirs of French military officers and an excerpt from the Jesuit Relations illuminate the motivations behind the attack and offer fresh insights into the complexities of French-Indian alliances. Taken together, the stories collected in this volume, framed by the editors' introduction and the assessments of two Native scholars, Taiaiake Alfred and MargeBruchac, allow readers to reconstruct the history of the Deerfield raid from multiple points of view and, in so doing, to explore the interplay of culture and memory that shapes our understanding of the past.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
List of Maps	xi
Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xvii
Editorial Procedures	xix
Introduction	1	(1676)
THE SETTING
Quentin Stockwell, Quentin Stockwell's Relation of his	1677
Captivity and Redemption, 1684	35	(14)
Committee of Militia at Northampton, The Capture and Death of Chepasson, 1690	49	(5)
Stephen Williams, Daniel Belding's 1696 Captivity, c. 1729	54	(9)
THE RAID
Samuel Partridge, An Account of the Destruction of Deerfield, 1704	63	(4)
Letter from William Whiting to Governor Fitz John Winthrop, 1704	67	(3)
Letter from Isaac Addington to Governor Fitz John Winthrop, 1704	70	(2)
Samuel Partridge, Partridge's Lament, 1704	72	(7)
Letter from Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil to the Minister of the Marine, 1704	79	(4)
Letter from Claude de Ramezay to the Minister of the Marine, 1704	83	(6)
ENGLISH NARRATIVES
John Williams, The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion, 1707	89	(70)
Stephen Williams, What Befell Stephen Williams in his Captivity, c. 1707	159	(12)
Letter from John Williams to Stephen Williams, 1729	171	(4)
Joseph Petty, Joseph Petty's 1705 Escape, c.1729	175	(6)
Joseph Kellogg, When I was Carried to Canada, c.1740	181	(10)
FRENCH NARRATIVES
Louis d'Avaugour, A Letter Concerning the Mission of Lorette in New France, 1710	191	(14)
Hertel Memoire, c. 1712	205	(8)
MOHAWK NARRATIVES
Mrs. E.A. Smith, The Story of the Bell, 1882	213	(8)
Charles B. de Saileville, The Fair Captive: The Life and Captivity of Miss Eunice Williams, 1842	221	(23)
Taiaiake Alfred, A Different View: A Descendant Recounts the 1704 Attack, 1995	244	(11)
ABENAKI NARRATIVES
Elizabeth M. Sadoques, The History and Traditions of Eunice Williams and Her Descendants, 1922	255	(7)
Marge Bruchac, Abenaki Connections to 1704: The Sadoques Family and Deerfield, 2004	262	(17)
Appendixes
A: Identities of Native Peoples	279	(1)
B: List of the 1704 Deerfield Captives	280	(3)
C: Fates of the 1704 Deerfield Captives	283	(1)
D: Fates of New England Captives Taken between 1703 and 1712	284	(1)
Suggested Readings	285	(4)
Index	289