The attack on Deerfield, Massachusetts, on February 29, 1704, was one of a series of battles in the international struggle known in Europe as the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713). As part of that war, known in the Northeast as Queen Anne’s War, the colonial leaders of New England and New France fought for control of North America.

French soldiers and their Native American allies sought to halt the gradual expansion of English settlement and political domination by attacking Deerfield, which was then the western-most settlement in the New England colonies. Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville led a force of roughly 50 French regulars and more than 200 Indigenous fighters from Kanien’kehaka (Mohawk), Wendat (Huron), and Wôbanaki (Abenaki, Pennacook, Sokoki, Pocumtuck, etc.) communities.

The attack devastated Deerfield and resulted in the killing or capture of more than half the town’s residents. Forty-one English soldiers and six members of de Rouville’s force were killed. One hundred twelve English men, women, and children were captured and taken on a 300-mile forced march to New France in harsh winter conditions. Twenty-one of the Deerfield captives died along the way.

Of the Deerfield captives who survived, 62 eventually returned to New England, while 26 built new lives in their adopted Indigenous or French communities. The fate of three captives remains unknown.

Among the captives taken were the Reverend John Williams and several members of his family. Eunice Williams, who was adopted by the Kanien’kehaka, lived out the rest of her life in New France. Upon his return to New England, Reverend Williams wrote an account of his captivity, The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion, which is still in print today.