In the book the Deerfield massacre by James L Swanson I couldn’t wait to read this narrative as I am a big fan of history in first person narrative from the era but unfortunately this book was part story part quiz and the rest dry material. I did finish the book but found contradictions and holes in the plot. That’s not to say I don’t think Mr. Swanson is a good storyteller or writer of nonfiction I do think he could’ve used with a better editor and with a story this long it is easy to miss some things and this is why we usually get others to read it first and if he did that in the book still came out like this than Mrs. Swanson should definitely have a meeting with those he trusted to help him with this book. I love nonfiction and would be lying if I said I’m not reading any of his books again because I probably would I just think he needs a little work. I want to thank the publisher for my free ARC copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate most of my review.

One winter day in 1704, young colonist families who settled the isolated border between a Massachusetts English colony and France’s will pay a staggering price for a war in far away Europe. It was the practice at that time for both England and France, with the help of native tribes, to raid each other’s colonies. The raid on the Deerfield settlement is one example. The only artifact left of this horrific day is a single door, one that was too strong for tomahawks to breach. For those who were not so fortunate, the day was gruesome and terrifying. Babies and those unable to make the 300-mile trek on foot to Montreal were butchered in the presence of family members.

This book is written with the exactness of a historian but with evocative language when needed. The massacre and forced march to Canada are vividly described, but the hostages’ time in Canada and lengthy negotiations to free them are related in a more academic tone. On the hike to Canada, it is bitterly cold and the traumatized captives—men, women, and children— are injured and in ill-suited clothing. If one couldn’t keep up, native warriors crushed their skulls with tomahawks. It is unfortunate that Mr. Swanson comments at times that this is an act of mercy, since leaving them behind alive would be a worse death. Mercy would have been resisting the urge to kidnap them in the first place.

While the settlers are held as prisoners in Canada, there is a pervading sense of the tension and hostility in Europe. Delay further impacts the fate of the prisoners and their families. Some will forever lose their children who assimilate into native tribes, while those in America will need to make dangerous treks north in their effort to free the settlers.

Overall, a compelling read about a little-known slice of history.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

A highly overlooked important event in early American history, this book gives a lot of information in an accessible way. It really helps explain the mindset of the people who were out in what was then the wilderness and how the various groups reacted to raids conducted by all.

Great title for historical nonfiction readers. Swanson does a great job of reporting the facts, but making it readable.

I requested this [and went into reading it] thinking I knew *NOTHING* about The Deerfield Massacre and was looking forward to learning more about America's history [the good and the bad, because if it is a book about Colonial New England, Canadian Frenchmen, and Native American Indians, there is bound to be bad unfortunately]. I dove in and about 20 minutes in, I was flummoxed. This all seemed so familiar. Like I had read about it before. I even went and did a search of my books and I found nothing in regards to this massacre. So I read on, still confused, but also, enjoying the detail of the book I was currently consuming. And then, *BOOM* the narrator says something about the "redeemed captive" and I literally laughed out loud because that was all it took for me to remember that I *HAD* indeed read a book about the massacre [and not a very good book for that matter] just last summer and that was why it all seemed so familiar to me. DOH! ;-) Thankfully, this book was a thousand times better than what I read last summer and I learned so much and would recommend this one to anyone.

This is the story of a small Massachusetts town and the attack on them by the Canadian French [from Quebec] and Native American Indians and how that attack/massacre has defined them in the 300+ years since. It is the story of Reverend John Williams, who lost his wife and children [killed right in front of him] and then was forced to march with his remaining children and 108 other survivors over 300 miles into Canada, without knowing just what would happen to them there. They all decided to survive by sheer will and when the Governor of Massachusetts sends a ransom, they are released and return home. Well, most of them anyway.

This then becomes a story of even greater loss. Many of the children that were not killed, were taking into both Native American Indian and French Canadian homes and their names were changed [and in the case of the ones taken into the French Canadian homes were baptized into the Catholic faith and were taught to forget all they had previously known] and they were absorbed into the tribe. I don't think any of them ever returned to Deerfield and their families and their names and lives are lost to time. It is also the story of one of Reverend Williams' children, his daughter, Eunice [who was just seven years old], who was adopted by a Mohawk family, assimilated fully, married a Mohawk man and never wanted to return home, no matter how much her father and family pleaded. There is quite a bit about this in the book and this was what I really remembered from the book I read last summer [as that is what it was focusing on]. This book went into much more detail and I learned even more about Eunice and her decisions, as well as what happened with her father and her other siblings.

The rest of the book is about the history of the families that survived the attack and the history of the town and all that has happened and how the attacked shaped them, indeed it still is so many years later, and I cannot say that I am not intrigued about the museums they have there and I would love to see that door [which is on the cover - THAT story I am not going to share here - you need to just read that yourself]. The amount of research and detail that went into the book is really amazing. There were definite moments where I felt I was right there, as a weird observer, and I honestly couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I have read this author before and I knew that it would be brilliantly written and again, I was not let down. This was just amazing, from page one and anyone who loves American history and how we today are resolving some of the wrongs from the past, then this book is for you and you may find that you too want to take a trip to Massachusetts to gaze at a 300+ year door in awe.

Thank you to NetGalley, James L. Swanson, and Scribner for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The full title is “The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America”.

The title on the NetGalley site immediately grabbed my attention. I had done a little research about an ancestor whom I had yet to investigate. There is always the possibility in genealogy research that someone linked a person to an event simply because the surnames matched.

At first, I just started reading The Deerfield Massacre as I would any other book. From the beginning, I knew this was not a writer who thought this would be an interesting topic. James L. Swason is a researcher extraordinaire. If I lived in Boston or the surrounding areas, I would register for the American Ancestors event on March 11th where “following an illustrated presentation, the acclaimed historian will be in dialogue with genealogist-moderator David Allen Lambert and answer your questions.”

This book of history — do not mistake this for historical fiction or a novel based on a historical fact — is not an easy book to read because of the intensity of the raid. The brutality of it. And the forced march into Canada of those who did survive. I cannot describe what it is like to read a book like this when it was your ancestor who was one of the victims.

The Deerfield Massacre is not a dry history book. The writing pulls you into the events as they happened. The terror. Why had the Indians lived in “peace” with the people and then conducted this raid? The first houses were built on a trail that had been used by the Pocumtuck Indians. It was a crossroads on an east-west route used by the Indiana tribes, Mohawks and Mohicans. Did just putting a town on the route used by the Indians aggravate them in some way? Why wasn’t there more than one man on watch that fateful night when the town had been warned of possible/probable Indiana raids? Were all of the town residents Puritans? What were the houses like? Were there any books in the town?

[Image is shown of the monument to those killed in the Deerfield Ancestor. The image was taken from John Catlin's Findagrave page.]
You see I have a direct ancestor who was killed during the massacre. His name was John Catlin; Joseph Catlin is his son, one of ten (known) children. I am descended from his daughter Hannah who had married and left the Deerfield area before the massacre. A monument to the massacred victims is shown to the right from John Catlin’s Findagrave page.

You’ll find the surname Mather mentioned several times — Samuel (Deerfield’s first minister), Increase Mather, Cotton Mather (who performed the marriage ceremony for one of my ancestors). Of course, surnames that have a genealogical meaning to me pop off my Kindle as if they were highlighted.

When a horrific event such as The Deerfield Massacre, the interest includes “what happened next”. Mr Swanson provides details of the survivors being force-marched 300 miles into Canada, including who survived that march. Did any return to the colonies? Yes, some even to Deerfield. A key person is Rev. John Williams who eventually wrote a memoir, The Redeemed Captive. That book heavily influenced James L. Swanson's interest in the massacre. Rev. Williams was the minister of the Deerfield town at the time of the massacre. You’ll read with some interest what happened to his seven-year-old daughter, also forced to march.

The Deerfield Massacre is a MUST READ for genealogists and should be in every genealogy society library. It will be part of my genealogy library as I have much to re-read and reference on my genealogy website* (citations, of course). And those who love history should add this to your reading list.

I received a complimentary DRC (digital review copy) of The Deerfield Massacre via NetGalley from the publisher, Scribner. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Rating: 5 stars
Cover: Grabbing. It’s the real door that still remains in Deerfield.
Pages: 336
Publish Date: 27 Feb 2024
#TheDeerfieldMassacre #NetGalley #JamesLSwanson

* Link to ancestor on my genealogy website: https://idogenealogy.info/tng/getperson.php?personID=I262&tree=cl

As a new Massachusetts resident, I really enjoyed learning about a local historical event I had never heard of before. I love reading about colonial America/the American Revolution so this time period already captures my interest. The author does a good job of using primary sources in combination with storytelling to detail the events of the Deerfield Massacre. I also enjoy how it’s highlighted what’s not know and acknowledges prejudices of the day and not ignoring and erasing them from history.
The first half of the book discusses colonial Deerfield and the massacre/raid itself. I think it does a great job of capturing the time period and the events.
However, I was not expecting that nearly half the book was about the history of preserving the history of the event. Ultimately, I did enjoy it and found the information cool as it’s not something I know a lot about. However, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first half of the book or find it as immersive.
The book does have me wanting to take a trip to Deerfield and see some sites and exhibits firsthand.

A great book about a forgotten story in American history. Very violent, as much of American history is. I really enjoyed learning about the subject matter.

A wrenching and powerful story about a mostly forgotten period in early American History that still resonates to this day. Will be ordering for my library.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Scribner for an advance copy of this history book about a horrific event that took place in early American history, what led to it, and the lives of those who survived.

America is a violent place with a very violent history. So much so that events that were pivotal at the time, written about, shared with friends, family and later generations are forgotten by the people not directly involved. Another massacre, lynching, family killing, or mass act of violence, will be talked about and forgotten again. Even in New England where I live where plaques are prominent pointing out famous houses, battles, even sleeping quarters for famous generals, there are still many acts that have been lost in the march of history. Deerfield, Massachusetts is a small town, not as well off as it once was, though many would question that. Eleven houses are designated as National Historic Landmarks, a few kept as museums, as tourism is a economic necessity. Inside one museum is a door, built to be very stout with marks from weapons, a totem of what happened that horrible day, and how that day became much worse for many involved. James L. Swanson, historian, and Edgar Award winning author, talks about a lost time in American history, and the survivors that made it in, The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America.

Deerfield, Massachusetts is located in the western part of the state in the Connecticut River Valley, now known as Pioneer Valley. Deerfield was an outpost colony in Colonial America, built in a very fertile area for crops, with many native tribes in the area. While the ground was fertile the colonists were not. Barter was an economic reality, and constant raids, added with bad harvests and winter weather made things tough for the people who lived there. Regional wars were also quick to start and end, with the people of the town not knowing they were at war, finding out when people were attacked, farms burned, crops destroyed. One of these wars was Queen Anne's War, which came to Deerfield in February of 1704. A combined force of French advisors, trappers, and looters, working with a few native tribes attacked the town, breached the walls, burned the village, and took over a 100 prisoners. And for these prisoners things would only get worse.

James L. Swanson has a real gift for writing and giving readers an almost 'you are there' sense as they follow the narrative. Swanson really captures the feeling of colonial times, the fear of starving, being killed while planting, or even being forgotten. Books like this remind us of how little we know our history, and the horrible price paid by natives and colonists with reverberations that still affect us to this day. Swanson educates readers with his writing, showing situations, explaining local history, and even throwing in a lot of facts and what seems like trivia, but again explain what is going on. The book is balanced, it's not much in the way of bad natives, doing bad things, but explains the exploitation by governments of their people, and those they had to deal with. One learns about the accepted use of ransoms, and how there was a whole literary style of writing called Indian Captive Narrative, which were almost the first memoirs, or probably true crime books of their day. A very interesting history.

Recommended for American history fans, and for those who enjoy a very well-written historical narratives. Swanson is very good at what he does, and creates word that can entertain as well as enlighten us about the things we have forgotten.

Loved learning about yet another unknown piece of American history. What were they teaching us in school.

I have recently become more interested in American history, for what reason I’m not entirely sure but I’m really enjoying a lot of historical reading, both fiction and non fiction. I was drawn to this as I’m from Massachusetts and honestly don’t know a lot about our pre-revolution history outside of the Salem area. I don’t think I’d heard of the Deerfield massacre at all, and had never considered how the Pioneer valley really was the frontier back at this time. This was a wonderfully researched account of the events and politics that led to the raid on Deerfield and gives a good picture of what life was like at the end of the 17th century. I will say the second half of the book got a little sluggish for me, but as I finished it I saw how the entire history of Deerfield was being wrapped into this story, including future efforts at preservation and bringing the Native narrative better into focus (instead just being the savage, inferior “red man” who was pushed to extinction). As a not-particularly-scholarly person, this was accessible, very informative, and enjoyable to read: it made me want to drive a couple hours out to Deerfield to explore, as I have been there before but never paid attention to the history!

Note - I hope someone goes back over the text with a fine toothed comb before final publication, I noticed at least half a dozen small editing/grammatical errors like missing punctuation, missing articles and some words pushed together. This was an electronic advance copy so hopefully that is not an issue in the final edition. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

Free ARC from Net Galley

"Dances with Wolves", it is fiction, The Deerfield Massacre is TRUTH that reads like fiction. Listen, the truth is better than fiction, it was a violent time where EVERYONE was violent!

The story or account by Swanson is written in such a way that is is an historical page turner. The vivid detail of the survivors (112) and the actions of the captured preacher, WE HAVE NONE of them around today. It makes you want to read William's book, "Redeemed Captive".

Anyway, this is history at its' finest. Great job Mr. Swanson!!!

This was a really interesting case in early American history. I was never bored when reading this and going on with this case. It was tragic and that it was well-researched and I’m glad that James L. Swanson wrote this perfectly.

Due to the the vast number of closures of the buildings in Historic Deerfield, my visit there was very disatisfying and disappointing. My recent find of James L. Swanson’s book was trully serendipitous!

The motives of the French, English, and Indians were clearly presented. The lives of the settlers were explored as to their beliefs and practices, with a larger portion devoted to those of John Williams and his daughter Eunice.

Swanson did not stop with the tale of the massacre, but went on to tell of what actually happened to the Old Indian Door and House. Recognition and acknowledgement was given to those who kept the true history alive. Verification of the past events were ascertained with the documents of George Sheldon, historian and those of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association. Re-creation of the old houses and the collection of the orginal antiques of that period was credited to Helem and Henry Flynt.

Swanson, himself, contributed to the keeping of the history alive by writing this book and bringing it up to the present time with updated data and statistics.

I found this book exceptional because of his depth of research and his uncanny ability for answering questions beforehand.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Scribner for this EArc for review.