Northern Quest
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Satisfied with the efficiency of the attack, and after the all night march, the decision was made to rest in the camp for a while before marching back to Hatfield. This was a costly error as other Indians close by were alerted by the sounds of the attack. When they realized what has happened, counterattacked. The men were very tired but fought back as best they could. A rumor spread through the troops that Phillip was at hand with a thousand warriors and the men panicked much the same as Indians had just hours before. Captain Turner became very ill and in his debilitated condition was not able to move very well. As he was entering a canoe to cross the river, he took a bullet and was dead. Captain Holyoke took complete command and tried to keep order during the retreat.
Experience had, unfortunately lead his group into the swamp where they were nearly all lost, most at the hand of the Indians, who were far more familiar with the movements and survival in such a threatening place.
The English fighters became entangled in the thicket which gave a revelation to as to their position. They became lost and started to go in circles, which is not impossible because when one is lost, things happen. The Indians know the area fairly well so were able to survive and move quickly. As they came to the settlers, their fate was sealed. It was a one-sided affair with the Indians, who had become enraged because of their friends being wiped out. They offered no mercy when they came upon the whites. They would kill them as quickly as possible and move on. There was no taking of prisoners. There was no question that as they were found, they were killed with no feeling at all, they were out of the way. The killing continued as the Indians had moved through the swamp area and on to the area on the other side,
The unit had been originally split between the two scouts and when the attack came the companies rallied around their respective guides to lead the way. The whites on the run ran through a gauntlet of Indians firing intermittently from the woods nearly all the way back to Deerfield. Ben led his group over some very rough terrain, but away from the main attacking body of savages. They spread out in the bush and Ben led them as stealthily as possible in a large semicircle. When they reformed west of Deerfield, almost everyone was accounted for.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
As second generation Englishmen in the New World who felt that the frontier was a much better choice than staying in the area where he had been born. He became a helper in the area of Hatfield, Massachusetts, married and was a soldier,. a salesman and a farmer. As the years passed there was a skirmish with the Indians and it was in this that Ben earned his name as "The Hero of the Connecticut Valley/". But his real bravery came in the tracing his wife and daughter to Canada in the midst of Winter.
About the Author
He first was interested in the Genealogy of his family and found that he was related to Benjamin Waite and he found that he was the "Hero of the Connecticut Valley" he wanted to learn more. Upon research he found that not only had he been given that designation but also had traveled all the way to Canada to retrieve his family from the Indians.