Oyster River Raid - Source Notes
1. Rev. John Pike, Journal of the Rev. John Pike, of Dover, N.H., ed. Rev. A.H. Quint (Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1876), 16.
2. The French adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582; England not until 1752. In 1694, a nine-day difference existed between the French and English calendars. I have used the English date throughout, in keeping with the date established by Pike.
3. "Curiously, the death and destruction visited upon Oyster River had been meant for Boston." Jan K. Herman, "Massacre at Oyster River," New Hampshire Profiles, October 1976, 50.
4. Francis Parkman, Count Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV, vol. 2 of France and England in North America (1877; reprint, New York: The Library of America, 1983), 263.
5. Jeremy Belknap, The History of New Hampshire, ed. John Farmer (Dover, N.H.: S.C. Stevens and Ela & Wadleigh, 1831), 1:138.
6. Thomas Hutchinson, The History of the Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay (originally published 17641828; reprint, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1936), 2:55.
7. Cotton Mather, Decennium Luctuosum (Boston, 1699); reprinted in Magnalia Christi Americana (London, 1702), 86.
8. Everett S. Stackpole, History of New Hampshire (New York: The American Historical Society, 1926), 1:182.
9. Samuel Adams Drake, The Border Wars of New England Commonly called King William's and Queen Anne's Wars (Williamstown, Mass: Corner House, 1973), 96.
10. Jan K. Herman, "Massacre on the Northern New England Frontier, 1689-1694" (master's thesis, University of New Hampshire, 1966), 43.
11. Kenneth M. Morrison, The Embattled Northeast (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984), 128.
12. Ibid.
13. W J. Eccles, The Canadian Frontier, 1534-1760 (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1969), 117.
14. New York State Museum, A History of the New York Iroquois, by William M. Beauchamp, Bulletin 78 (Albany, February 1905), 233.
15. Parkman, 121.
16. New York State Museum, 233.
17. Parkman, 135.
18. Jere R. Daniell, Colonial New Hampshire: A His tory (New York: Kto Press, 1981), 106.
19. Morrison, 113.
20. William D. Williamson, The History of the State of Maine (Freeport, Maine: Cumberland Press, 1966), 1:606.
21. Morrison, 113.
22. Williamson, 607.
23. Hutchinson, 1:309.
24. Williamson, 597.
25. Belknap, 1:124.
26. Hutchinson, 1:309.
27. Williamson, 587.
28. Stackpole, History of New Hampshire, 1:171.
29. Pike, 12.
30. Williamson, 612.
31. Everett S. Stackpole, Lucien Thompson, and Winthrop S. Meserve, History of the Town of Durham, New Hampshire (1913; reprint, 2 vols. in 1, Portsmouth, N.H.: Peter E. Randall Publisher, for the Durham Historic Assoc., 1994), 87.
32. W. J. Eccles, Canada under Louis XIV, 1663-1701 (London, New York: Oxford University Press, 1964), 7778.
33. The League of Augsburg consisted of Holland, Austria, Sweden, several German states, England, and Spain. England entered the league upon the ascension to the throne of William of Orange. King William's War is the name given to the North American portion of this conflict, known in Europe as the War of the League of Augsburg (16891697). King William's War was the first of the so-called French and Indian wars. Robert E. Lerner, Standish Meacham, and Edward McNull Burns, Western Civilizations, 12th ed. (New York: W W Norton, 1993), 2:590-91.
34. Several accounts have been written about Frontenac's three war-parties of 1690. See Parkman, 154-72; Belknap, 1:132-33.
35. Douglas E. Leach, The Northern Colonial Frontier, 1607-1763 (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1966), 112.
36. Edward E. Bourne, The History of Wells and Kennebunk (Portland, Maine: B. Thurston & Co., 1875), 212-16.
37. Joseph Robineau de Villebon, Journal of Vill ebon, 3 October 1692, in Acadia at the End of the Seventeenth Century: Letters, Journals and Memoirs of Joseph Robineau de Villebon, by John Clarence Webster (St. John, N.B.: The New Brunswick Museum, 1934), 42 (hereafter cited as Webster).
38. Williamson, 636.
39. Ibid.
40. Journal of Villebon, 21 Sept. 1692, in Webster, 43; Hutchinson, 2:52.
41. Williamson, 688.
42. Morrison, 127.
43. Hutchinson, 2:55.
44. Morrison, 127.
45. Gov. Phips to Gov. Fletcher, 24 August 1693, Mas sachusetts Historical Society, file xxx. 342, Boston.
46. Ibid.
47. "The Submission and Agreement of the Eastern Indians," 11 August 1693, in Documents and Records Relating to the Province of New Hampshire, ed. Nathaniel Bouton (Manchester: John B. Clarke, 1868), 2:112 (hereafter cited as Bouton).
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid.
50. Ibid.
51. Morrison, 130.
52. Bouton, 111.
53. Ibid, 111-12.
54. Rev. R EX. de Charlevoix, History and General Description of New France, trans. John Gilmary Shea (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1900), 4:255.
55. The first attempt in 1690 had failed miserably. In 1694, Phips was set for another attempt, but failed when sickness decimated the fleet sent to take part in the attack.
56. Sebastien de Villieu, Account Of A Journey Made By M. de Villieu, 30 July 1694, in Webster, 65.
57. Fort Nashwaak was on the St. John's River in what is now New Brunswick, Canada. At that time, it was the principal base of operations for the Governor of Acadia, Joseph Robineau de Villebon. The location of the fort was also referred to as St. John's and Naxoat.
58. Journal of Villebon, 15 September 1693, in Webster, 53.
59. Journal of Villebon, 20 September 1693, in Webster, 53.
60. Journal of Villebon, 26 September 1693, in Webster, 53.
61. Webster, 200-202.
62. Journal of Villebon, 19 May 1694, in Webster, 55.
63. Ibid, 201.
64. Ibid, 202.
65. Ibid, 201.
66. Journal of Villebon, 25 November 1693, in Webster, 54.
67. Eccles, Canada under Louis XIV, 194.
68. Journal of Villebon, 24 November 1693, in Webster, 54.
69. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 25 May 1694, in Webster, 59.
70. Journal of Villebon, 25 April 1694, in Webster, 55.
71. Villieu Account, Nov. 1693, in Webster, 57.
72. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, Nov. 1693, in Webster, 57.
73. Journal of Villebon, 29 April-5 May 1694, in Webster, 55.
74. Villieu Account, Nov. 1693, in Webster, 57; Journal of Villebon, 29 April-5 May 1694, in Webster, 55.
75. Villieu Account, 3 May 1694, in Webster, 59.
76. Ibid.
77. Villieu Account, 4 May 1694, in Webster, 58.
78. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 3 May-4 May 1694, in Webster, 58.
79. Ibid.
80. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 11 May 1694, in Webster, 59.
81. Villieu Account, 5 May 1694, in Webster, 58.
82. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 5 May 1694, in Webster, 59.
83. Mather, 86.
84. Villieu Account, 11 May 1694, in Webster, 59.
85. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 16 May 1694, in Webster, 59.
86. Journal of Villebon, 26 May 1694, in Webster, 56.
87. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 16 May 1694, in Webster, 59.
88. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 22 May 1694, in Webster, 60.
89. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 11 May 1694, in Webster, 59.
90. Journal of Villebon, 22 May 1694, in Webster, 55.
91. Villieu Account, 25 May 1694, in Webster, 60.
92. ibid.
93. Ibid, 61.
94. Ibid.
95. Villieu Account, 8 June 1694, in Webster, 62.
96. ibid.
97. Villieu Account, 18 June 1694, in Webster, 63.
98. Villieu Account, 27 June 1694, in Webster, 63.
99. One of the standard stories used by the Jesuits, in teaching religion to the Indians, was that the Virgin Mary was a French lady. Her son, Jesus, was murdered by Englishmen. After his death, he ascended into heaven and all who wanted to earn his favor must avenge his murder. Howard H. Peckham, The Colonial Wars, 1689-1762 (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1964), 48.
100. Villieu Account, 27 June-30 June 1694, in Webster, 63.
101. Villieu Account, 9 July 1694, in Webster, 63.
102. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 9 July 1694, in Webster, 63.
103. Deposition of Hezekiah Miles, 31 May 1695, Mas sachusetts Historical Society, file VIII. 39, Boston.
104. Report of Caleb Ray, Keeper of his Majesty's Prison in Boston, 4 Aug. 1693-1 Mar. 1694/5, Massachusetts Historical Society, file XL. 313, Boston.
105. Villieu Account, 10 July 1694, in Webster, 63-64.
106. Ibid.
107. Villieu Account, 11 July 1694, in Webster, 64. This is in effect what happened. Oyster River, which is above Boston, was attacked July 18th. Groton, which is very near Boston, was attacked on July 27th.
108. Ibid.
109. Lake Winnepesaukee was a point along the main east-west trail into the area of what is now Portland, Maine. The trail led to the Merrimack River, the main north-south route into the Massachusetts interior. This route had long been used by war-parties raiding settlements in central Massachusetts. The war-party used this route to avoid the militia under Major Converse and to utilize the water route into Groton, Massachusetts via the Merrimack and Nashua Rivers. Ann Jenkins testified that the warparty left their canoes at Pennacook.
110. Villieu Account, 25 May 1694, in Webster, 60.
111. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 3 May 1694, in Webster, 58.
112. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 25 May 1694, in Webster, 60.
113. Villieu Account, 22 July 1694, in Webster, 64.
114. Deposition of Ann Jenkins, 11 June 1695, Massa chusetts Historical Society, file VIII. 40, Boston.
115. Thury to Villebon, 2 Aug. 1694, in Webster, 56-57.
116. Stackpole, History of New Hampshire, 1:183.
117. Villieu Account, 26 July 1694, in Webster, 64-65.
118. Belknap, 1:138.
119. Deposition of Ann Jenkins.
120. Stackpole, Thompson, and Meserve, Durham, 93 94.
121. Deposition of Damson (Tamsen) Drew, 23 May 1698, Massachusetts Historical Society, file VIII. 41, Boston.
122. Stackpole, Thompson, and Meserve, Durham, 94.
123. Mather, 86.
124. Mary P. Thompson, Landmarks in Ancient Dover, New Hampshire (Durham, N.H.: Durham Historic Assoc., 1965), 178.
125. Belknap, 1:140.
126. Stackpole, Thompson, and Meserve, Durham, 100.
127. Ibid.
128. "Captain Woodman's Return for Subsistence of Soldiers at Oyster River, 1694," in Miscellaneous Provincial Papers, from 1629 to 1725, ed. Isaac Hammond (Manchester: John B. Clarke, 1889), 7:645.
129. Belknap, 1:140.
130. Villieu Account, 26 July 1694, in Webster, 64-65.
131. Deposition of Ann Jenkins.
132. Villieu Account, 23 July 1694, in Webster, 64.
133. Villieu Account, 30 July 1694, in Webster, 65-66.
134. Villieu Account, Villebon Margin Note, 30 July 1694, in Webster, 66.
135. Ibid.
136. Journal of Villebon, 9 Aug. 1694, in Webster, 56.
137. Herman, master's thesis, 43.
138. Morrison, 131.
139. Morrison, 131-32.
140. Capt. Thomas Packer to Lt. Gov. John Usher, 18 July 1694, in Bouton, 128.
141. Usher to Phips, 18 July 1694, in Bouton, 128.
142. Ibid.
143. William Stoughton to Gov. Fletcher, 23 July 1694, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.
144. Villieu Account, 30 July 1694, in Webster, 65.
145. W Sears Nickerson, "How The Smiths Came to Cape Cod," Orleans, Massachusetts Cape Codder, October 1960.
146. Nickerson.
147. Neal Salisbury, The Indians of New England.- A Criti cal Bibliography (Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1982), 16.
148. Herman, master's thesis, 43.
