The Deerfield Massacre : a surprise attack, a forced march, and the fight for survival in early America
(Book)
Author
Published
New York : Scribner, 2024.
Format
Book
Physical Desc
xiv, 316 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24cm
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Copies
Location | Call Number | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|
Benson Memorial Library | 974.422 SWA | Checked Out | May 15, 2024 |
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Published
New York : Scribner, 2024.
Language
English
Notes
Description
Once it was one of the most famous events in early American history. Today, it has been nearly forgotten. In an obscure, two-hundred-year-old museum in a little village in western Massachusetts, there lies what once was the most revered but now totally forgotten relic from the history of early New England-the massive, tomahawk-scarred door that came to symbolize the notorious Deerfield Massacre. This impregnable barricade-known to early Americans as "The Old Indian Door"-constructed from double-thick planks of Massachusetts oak and studded with hand-wrought iron nails to repel the flailing tomahawk blades of several attacking native tribes, is the sole surviving artifact from the most dramatic moment in colonial American history: Leap Year, February 29, 1704, a cold, snowy night when hundreds of native Americans and their French allies swept down upon an isolated frontier outpost and ruthlessly slaughtered its inhabitants. The sacking of Deerfield led to one of the greatest sagas of adventure, survival, sacrifice, family, honor, and faith ever told in North America. 112 survivors, including their fearless minister, the Reverand John Williams, were captured and led on a 300-mile forced march north, into enemy territory in Canada. Any captive who faltered or became too weak to continue the journey-including Williams's own wife and one of his children-fell under the knife or tomahawk. Survivors of the march willed themselves to live and endured captivity. Ransomed by the King of England's royal governor of Massachusetts, the captives later returned home to Deerfield, rebuilt their town and, for the rest of their lives, told the incredible tale. The memoir of Rev. Williams, The Redeemed Captive, became the first bestselling book in American history and published a few years after his liberation, it remains a literary classic. The old Indian door is a touchstone that conjures up one of the most dramatic and inspiring stories of colonial America-and now, finally, this legendary event is brought to vivid life by popular historian James Swanson.
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Citations
APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)
Swanson, J. L. (2024). The Deerfield Massacre: a surprise attack, a forced march, and the fight for survival in early America . Scribner.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Swanson, James L. 2024. The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America. Scribner.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Swanson, James L. The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America Scribner, 2024.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Swanson, James L. The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America Scribner, 2024.
Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.
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