Six days later Captain Thomas Lothrop and his company were acting as escort to some teams that were hauling wheat from Deerfield to the English headquarters at Hadley. Suddenly a band of Indians leaped out of ambush and set upon the train. Lothrop and more than sixty of his men were killed. The spot where this fight took place has since been known as “Bloody Brook.” It is in the village of South Deerfield. From this time until the end of the war Deerfield was abandoned.
In the spring of 1677 a few of the old settlers returned; but on September 19 some were killed, and the others were captured by a party of Indians from Canada. Again in 1682 settlement was resumed. Twelve years later, on September 15, a party of French and Indians attacked Deerfield, and almost succeeded in capturing the town. Then in 1704 came the Deerfield Massacre.
Among the captives was the Rev. John Williams, the first minister of Deerfield, who was redeemed in 1706 along with some others. The year following his return he published an account of his experiences as a prisoner, called “The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion.” In this same year a house was built for Williams by the town of Deerfield. The house has been somewhat changed since then; but the secret staircase is still to be seen, and also much fine old furniture.
Williams’ wife and one of his children were killed in the raid; but all his other children returned to Deerfield except Eunice, who married an Indian. Her great-grandson was the pretended “Lost Dauphin” of France, about whom there was formerly so much discussion.
Today Deerfield has a population of over two thousand. Its natural beauty and the historic interest connected with the town attract many visitors. Many houses in the village are very old. In Memorial Hall, a building erected in 1797-98 for the Deerfield Academy, the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association has gathered an interesting collection of colonial and Indian relics.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 35, SERIAL No. 35 COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
The capture of Quebec from the French by the English in 1759 is one of the epics of modern military history. Quebec was supposed to be absolutely impregnable, and was the stronghold of France in America. If the English had not been able to capture Quebec, Canada might have been French today. And this brilliant military feat was accomplished by a young major general only thirty-two years old. The leaders on both sides of the battle were killed; but the glory of their heroism has lived to this day.