The Raid on Dover (also known as the Cochecho Massacre) took place in

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous city in the New Hampshire Seacoast Region (New Hampshire), Seacoast region and ...

, on June 27–28, 1689. Led by Chief Kancamagus of the

Pennacook The Pennacook, also known by the names Penacook and Pennacock, were Algonquian Indigenous people who lived in what is now Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. They were not a united tribe but a network of politically and culturally ...

, it was part of

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Allian ...

, the North American theater of the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

(1688–1697), fought between England and France and their respective

Native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

allies.

Cause

At the end of

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

(1675–1678), a number of

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

fleeing the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

militia took refuge with the

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

tribe living in Dover. In response, the Dover area militia ordered Major

Richard Waldron Major Richard Waldron (or Richard Waldern, Richard Walderne; 6 January 1615 – 27 June 1689) was an English-born merchant, soldier, and government official who rose to prominence in early colonial Dover, New Hampshire. His presence spread to gr ...

to attack the fleeing natives and demanded the Abenaki turn over any refugee combatants. Waldron believed he could capture the fleeing natives without a pitched battle, and so on September 7, 1676, deceptively invited the natives—about 400 in total, half local and half refugees, to participate in a mock battle against the militia near Cochecho Falls. After the natives discharged their guns, Waldron and Major Charles Frost took them prisoner. He sent both refugee combatants and those locals who violently objected to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, where seven or eight were convicted of

insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

and executed. The rest were sold into

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, most in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. Local Indians were released, but never forgave Waldron for the deception, which violated both sides' rules of honor and

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...

. Waldron was appointed Chief Justice for New Hampshire in 1683.

Revenge

Thirteen years passed and colonial settlers believed the incident forgotten, when members of the newly formed

Wabanaki Confederacy The Wabanaki Confederacy (''Wabenaki, Wobanaki'', translated to "People of the Dawn" or "Easterner"; also: Wabanakia, "Dawnland") is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of five principal Eastern Algonquian nations ...

arrived at Dover. Citizens expressed concern to Waldron, but he told them to "go and plant your

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

s, and he would take care of the Indians." On June 27, 1689, two native women appeared at each of five garrison houses, asking permission to sleep by the fire, not uncommon in peaceful times. All but one house accepted. In the dark early hours of the next day, the women unfastened the doors, allowing braves who had concealed themselves to enter. The sword-wielding elderly Waldron was cut across his belly with knives, with each warrior saying "I cross out my account." Five or six dwelling houses were burned, along with the mills. Fifty-two colonists, a full quarter of the entire population, were captured or slain.

Aftermath

Captives included Waldron's seven-year-old grandchild Sarah Gerrish, daughter of Elizabeth and John Gerrish. These were the first recorded British captives that natives abducted and sold in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. In the following month

Pemaquid, Maine Bristol, known from 1632 to 1765 as Pemaquid (; today a village within the town), is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,834 at the 2020 census. A fishing and resort area, Bristol includes the villages of New ...

, met a similar fate.

John Gyles John Gyles (1680 at Pemaquid, Maine1755 at Roxbury, Boston) was an interpreter and soldier, most known for captivity narrative, his account of his experiences with the Maliseet tribes at their headquarters at Meductic Indian Village / Fort Medu ...

was taken prisoner at Pemaquid and brought back to Dover, where he reported being in the company of captives taken in the earlier Dover raid.

Legacy

The William Damm Garrison House, built in 1675, survived the raid, and was moved to the grounds of the

Woodman Institute Museum The Woodman Institute Museum is located at 182 Central Avenue in Dover, New Hampshire, United States. It is a museum dedicated to “To advance and develop passion for history, science, and the arts. To educate, excite, and inspire current and ...

. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Notes

Sources

Belknap. The History of New Hampshire. Vol. 1. 1792, p. 128
* ''The history of the great Indian war of 1675 and 1676, commonly called Philip ...'' By Benjamin Church, Thomas Church, Samuel Gardner Drake. p. 18
Church's bookCaptivity Narrative from the Raid on Dover, Samuel Drake, p. 68Cotton Mather. ''Magnalia Christi Americana, or, The ecclesiastical history of New-England: from its first planting in the year 1620, unto the year of Our Lord, 1698'', in seven books (1820)

Cause

Revenge

Aftermath

Legacy

See also

Notes

Sources

References

Further reading