Captive Histories: English, French, And Native Narratives of the 1704 Deerfield Raid
by Evan Haefeli, Kevin Sweeney (Editor)
Native Americans of the Northeast (2006)
On This Page
Description
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 show more 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. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
This book builds on other histories of the 1704 raid on Deerfield. The captivity narrative of young Stephen Williams, the son of John Williams, is especially poignant.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
6+ Works 188 Members
Evan Haefeli is assistant professor of history at Tufts University.
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Captive Histories: English, French, And Native Narratives of the 1704 Deerfield Raid
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Art & Design
- DDC/MDS
- 974.4 — History & geography History of North America Northeastern United States (New England and Middle Atlantic states) Massachusetts
- LCC
- E99 .A13 .C364 — History of the United States America Indians of North America Indian tribes and cultures
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 36
- Popularity
- 798,207
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.50)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
