Raid on Groton

Last updated
Raid on Groton
Part of King William's War
DateJuly 27, 1694
Location
Result French and Indian victory
Belligerents

Flag of England.svg England

Royal Standard of the King of France.svg France

Wabanaki Confederacy

Commanders and leaders
Claude-Sébastien de Villieu; Louis-Pierre Thury
Strength
Unknown 250 Abenaki Indians
Casualties and losses
killed 20 people and took 13 captive Unknown

The Raid on Groton happened during King William's War, on July 27, 1694, at Groton, Massachusetts. This was one of numerous attacks against the settlement in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The village had been raided during King Philip's War and temporarily abandoned by numerous families. It was also raided in June 1707 during Queen Anne's War.

Contents

During this extended period of repeated conflicts, both the French and English, and their respective First Nations allies, did a brisk trade in captives. They sometimes conducted high-level prisoner exchanges. Some captives were ransomed by families or communities; others were adopted by Mohawk families in the mission village of Kahnawake, or, similarly, by Huron (Wyandot) or Abenaki in other villages.

Historical context

In 1693 the English at Boston had entered into peace and trade negotiations with the Abenaki tribes in eastern Massachusetts. The French at Quebec under Governor Frontenac wished to disrupt the negotiations and sent Claude-Sébastien de Villieu in the fall of 1693 into present-day Maine, with orders to "place himself at the head of the Acadian Indians and lead them against the English." In this period, England and France were at war in King William's War in Europe. [1]

Villieu spent the winter at Fort Nashwaak. The Indian bands of the region were in general disagreement as to whether to attack the English or not. After discussions by Villieu and the support of Father Louis-Pierre Thury and Father Vincent Bigot (at Pentagouet), they went on the offensive.

Raid

Villieu attacked the English settlement of Oyster River (now Durham, New Hampshire) with about 250 Abenaki Indians, composed of two main groups of warriors from the Penobscot and Norridgewock, under command of their sagamore Bomazeen (or Bomoseen). A number of Maliseet from Medoctec, led by Assacumbuit, also took part in the attack. Fr. Simon-Gérard had dissuaded most of his followers from participating.

Following the raid on Oyster River, "the savages of Pentagoet under Taxous and Madockawando, piqued at the little booty, and the few captives taken," continued to other settlements. Some 40 warriors traveled to Groton, Massachusetts, which they raided on the morning of July 27, 1694. [2] They killed some 20 people (seven in the Longley family) and took captive some 13 others, including three Longley children. [3] Betty Longley died while being taken overland to Montreal, and John Longley was held by the Abenaki.

The oldest, 21-year-old Lydia Longley, was eventually taken to Montreal by the Pennacook, to whom she had been traded not long after the raid. In that city she was ransomed by a wealthy Frenchman who assisted captives, tutored and converted to Catholicism, and baptized as Lydia-Madeleine in 1696. That year she entered the non-cloistered Congregation of Notre Dame. Sister Lydia-Madeleine had most of her career in Montreal but later served as the superior at a mission at Sainte-Famille, Île d’Orléans, near the city of Quebec. In the mid-20th century, she became known as the First American Nun, after a popular children's book of that title published in 1958.

Consequences

After the successful raid on Oyster River and Groton, Claude-Sébastien de Villieu joined Acadian Governor de Villebon as the commander of Fort Nashwaak, capital of Acadia.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penobscot Indian Island Reservation</span> Indian reservation in United States, Penobscot

Penobscot Indian Island Reservation is an Indian reservation for the Penobscot Tribe of Maine, a federally recognized tribe of the Penobscot in Penobscot County, Maine, United States, near Old Town. The population was 758 at the 2020 census. The reservation extends for many miles alongside 15 towns and two unorganized territories in a thin string along the Penobscot River, from its base at Indian Island, near Old Town and Milford, northward to the vicinity of East Millinocket, almost entirely in Penobscot County. A small, uninhabited part of the reservation used as a game preserve and hunting and gathering ground is in South Aroostook, Aroostook County, by which it passes along its way northward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King William's War</span> North American theater of the Nine Years War

King William's War was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg. It was the first of six colonial wars fought between New France and New England along with their respective Native allies before France ceded its remaining mainland territories in North America east of the Mississippi River in 1763.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norridgewock</span> United States historic place

Norridgewock was the name of both an Indigenous village and a band of the Abenaki Native Americans/First Nations, an Eastern Algonquian tribe of the United States and Canada. The French of New France called the village Kennebec. The tribe occupied an area in the interior of Maine. During colonial times, this area was territory disputed between British and French colonists, and was set along the claimed western border of Acadia, the western bank of the Kennebec River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Church (ranger)</span> New England military officer and politician (1639–1718)

Colonel Benjamin Church was a New England military officer and politician who is best known for his role in innovative military tactics notably developing Unconventional warfare. He is also known for commanding the first ranger units in North America. Born in the Plymouth Colony, Church was commissioned by Governor Josiah Winslow to establish a company of Rangers called after the outbreak of King Philip's War. Church participated in numerous conflicts which involved the New England Colonies. A force of New Englanders led by him was responsible for tracking down and killing Wampanoag sachem Metacomet, which played a major role in ending the conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dummer's War</span> Conflict between the New England Colonies and the Wabanaki Confederacy (1722–25)

Dummer's War (1722–1725) was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the Wabanaki Confederacy, who were allied with New France. The eastern theater of the war was located primarily along the border between New England and Acadia in Maine, as well as in Nova Scotia; the western theater was located in northern Massachusetts and Vermont in the frontier areas between Canada and New England.

Lydia Longley (Sainte-Madeleine), an English colonist from Groton, Massachusetts, in the mid-20th century became known as "The First American Nun" from a popular 1958 children's novel about her decades in a Catholic congregation in Montreal, New France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Port Royal (1690)</span> Battle of King Williams War

The Battle of Port Royal occurred at Port Royal, the capital of Acadia, during King William's War. A large force of New England provincial militia arrived before Port Royal. The Governor of Acadia Louis-Alexandre des Friches de Menneval had only 70 soldiers; the unfinished enceinte remained open and its 18 cannon had not been brought into firing positions; 42 young men of Port-Royal were absent. Any resistance therefore appeared useless. Meneval surrendered without resistance not long after the New Englanders arrived. The New Englanders, led by Sir William Phips, after alleging Acadian violations of the terms of surrender, plundered the town and the fort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Portsmouth (1713)</span> 1713 treaty

The Treaty of Portsmouth, signed on July 13, 1713, ended hostilities between the Eastern Abenakis, a Native American tribe and First Nation and Algonquian-speaking people, with the British provinces of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire. The agreement renewed a treaty of 1693 the natives had made with Governor Sir William Phips, two in a series of attempts to establish peace between the Wabanaki Confederacy and colonists after Queen Anne's War.

Joseph Robineau de Villebon, a governor of Acadia, was born in New France and received much of his education and military experience in France.

Claude-Sébastien de Villieu was a French military officer best known for his service in New France. In addition to service during King William's War, he served for a time as military governor of Acadia.

Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste was a French privateer famous for the success he had against New England merchant shipping and fishing interests during King William's War and Queen Anne's War. Baptiste's crew members were primarily Acadians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort William Henry (Maine)</span> United States historic place

Fort William Henry is located in the village of New Harbor in the town of Bristol, Maine. The fort was, in its time, the largest in New England. The fort was originally built in 1692 but destroyed four years later by New France in the Siege of Pemaquid (1696). A reconstruction was built in 1908. The fort was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1969. Fort William Henry is now operated as a museum about the fort's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Chignecto (1696)</span> Raid during King Williams War on Chignecto, Acadia

The Raid on Chignecto occurred during King William's War when New England forces from Boston attacked the Isthmus of Chignecto, Acadia in present-day Nova Scotia. The raid was in retaliation for the French and Indian Siege of Pemaquid (1696) at present day Bristol, Maine. In the English Province of Massachusetts Bay. Colonel Benjamin Church was the leader of the New England force of 400 men. The raid lasted nine days, between September 20–29, 1696, and formed part of a larger expedition by Church against a number of other Acadian communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval battle off St. John (1696)</span> Battle of King Williams War

The Naval battle off St. John took place on July 14, 1696, between France and England toward the end of King William's War in the Bay of Fundy off present-day Saint John, New Brunswick. The English ships were sent from Boston to interrupt the supplies being taken by French officer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville from Quebec to the capital of Acadia, Fort Nashwaak on the Saint John River. The French ships of war Envieux and Profond captured the English frigate Newport, while the English frigate Sorlings and a provincial tender escaped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Oyster River</span> Action of King Williams War

The Raid on Oyster River, also known as the Oyster River Massacre, happened during King William's War, on July 18, 1694, when a group of Abenaki and some Maliseet, directed by the French, attacked an English settlement at present-day Durham, New Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Pemaquid (1689)</span> Action of King Williams War

The siege of Pemaquid was a successful attack by a large band of Abenaki Indians on the English fort at Pemaquid, Fort Charles, then the easternmost outpost of colonial Massachusetts. The French-Abenaki attack was led by Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin and Father Louis-Pierre Thury and Chief Moxus. The fall of Pemaquid was a significant setback to the English. It pushed the frontier back to Casco (Falmouth), Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Fort Nashwaak</span> Action of King Williams War

The siege of Fort Nashwaak occurred during King William's War when New England forces from Boston attacked the capital of Acadia, Fort Nashwaak, at present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick. The siege was in retaliation for the French and Indian Siege of Pemaquid (1696) at present day Bristol, Maine. In the English Province of Massachusetts Bay. Colonel John Hathorne and Major Benjamin Church were the leaders of the New England force of 400 men. The siege lasted two days, between October 18–20, 1696, and formed part of a larger expedition by Church against a number of other Acadian communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Nashwaak</span>

Fort Nashwaak was the capital of Acadia and is now a National Historic Site of Canada in present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It was located strategically up the Saint John River and close to the native village of Fort Meductic for military purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of the Maliseet</span>

The Maliseet militia was made up of warriors from the Maliseet of northeastern North America. Along with the Wabanaki Confederacy, the French and Acadian militia, the Maliseet fought the British through six wars over a period of 75 years. They also mobilized against the British in the American Revolution. After confederation, Maliseet warriors eventually joined Canada's war efforts in World War I and World War II.

Simon-Gérard de La Place was a 17th-century French priest and missionary who served in Acadia, the French province in what is modern north-eastern Canada. He participated in King William's War against English-led forces in Acadia.

References

Endnotes

  1. John Clarence Webster, Acadia at the End of the 17th Century: Letters, Journals and Memoirs of Joseph Robineau de Villebon, Commandant in Acadia, 1690–1700, and Other Contemporary Documents, Saint John, N.B.: New Brunswick Museum, 1934/1979, pp. 56-57, at Our Roots/Nos Racines, Canada's Local Histories Online
  2. "Address of C. Alice Baker", History and Proceedings of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Volume 4, p. 401
  3. Chamberlain, Groton During the Indian Wars

Sources:

42°37′45″N71°33′56″W / 42.6293°N 71.5656°W / 42.6293; -71.5656