Susannah Willard Johnson
Encyclopedia
Susannah Willard Johnson (February 20, 1729/30 – November 27, 1810) was an Anglo-American woman who was captured with her family during an Abenaki Indian raid on Charlestown, New Hampshire
in August 1754, immediately prior to the breakout of the French and Indian War
. Johnson and her family were marched for weeks through the wilderness of New England
and Quebec
before arriving at the Abenaki village in Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec
. The Johnsons were held for ransom until being sold off into slavery
to the French.
After her release in 1758, Johnson returned to her home in Charlestown. Beginning in 1796, she recorded a full account of her ordeal. The first edition of her narrative was composed by John Curtis Chamberlain
(using information from Johnson's oral testimony and notes) and appeared in small circulation later that year; subsequent editions were revised and edited by Johnson and published in 1807, and posthumously in 1814. Her harrowing memoir, although not the first work in the captivity narrative
genre, was among the most widely read and studied accounts. It was republished numerous times in following years. Elizabeth George Speare
's 1957 historical fiction
children's novel, Calico Captive
, was inspired by Johnson's story.
to Lieutenant Moses Willard, Sr. (c. 1702 – June 18, 1756) and Susanna (née
Hastings) Willard (April 4, 1710 – May 5, 1797). Her father, who was killed in 1756 by Indians while repairing a fence, was a descendant of Major Simon Willard
, an early settler who had negotiated and purchased Concord, Massachusetts
from the local Native Americans. Susannah Johnson's mother was a descendant of Thomas Hastings
, an English puritan
who had immigrated to New England
in 1634 during the Great Migration.
Susannah had twelve siblings in all: Aaron, John, Miriam, Moses, r., James Nutting, Jemima, Mary, Elizabeth, Abigail, and Huldah Willard. In 1742, Moses Willard and his wife relocated to Fort at Number 4
, the northernmost British
settlement along the Connecticut River
, in what is now Charlestown. His children, including Susannah, joined him at No. 4 in June 1749. By then, only five other families had settled in the sparsely populated area.
Susannah was married to Captain James Johnson in Lunenburg on June 15, 1747. Following his death, she married a second time in 1762 to John Hastings, Jr. (d. November 21, 1804). At the time of the August 1754 raid, Johnson had three children, but mothered fourteen children in all, having seven children with James and seven with John. In order from oldest to youngest, they were: Sylvanus , Susanna, Mary "Polly", and Elizabeth Johnson; and Theodosia, Randilla, and Susanna Hastings, as well as seven other infants who died during birth or from disease.
After her release from captivity, Susannah Johnson lived in Lancaster, Massachusetts
until October 1759, moving to Charlestown later that month and settling on her late husband's estate. She opened a small store to support her family, which she tended to for two years before marrying her second husband. She died on November 27, 1810 in Langdon. and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Charlestown.
, who later served as president of Middlebury College
from 1840 until 1866. The monument stands near the graves of Susannah and James Johnson in the Briggs Hill Road area of the cemetery.
, had largely subsided. A year later surfacing rumors of war panicked the colonists, but the townsfolk were put at ease following the return of Captain James Johnson from a trading trip on August 24, 1754. While trading in Connecticut (having left his wife, Susannah, and three children behind at the No. 4), Johnson had been informed that war was not expected until at least the following spring. Feeling relieved and cheerful that they would have time to relocate to Northfield, New Hampshire
before then, the family invited their neighbors to dinner and held a party late into the night of August 29.
During the early hours of August 30, while the Johnsons were sound asleep, an armed Abenaki party raided the enclosed stockade
of Fort No. 4, abducting Susannah Johnson, her husband, their three children: 6-year-old Sylvanus, 4-year-old Susanna, and 2-year-old Polly, as well as Susannah Johnson’s 14-year-old sister, Miriam Willard. (There were numerous small-scale armed engagements between the settlers and Natives in the years prior, leaving dozens of settlers dead; the nearest British settlement was Fort Dummer
, more than 30 miles (48.3 km) away.) Also among the captives were the Johnsons' neighbors, Peter Labarree and his hired servant, Ebenezer Farnsworth. The Indians looted whatever food they could find before setting fire to the Johnsons' home.
At the time of the attack, Susannah was nine months pregnant. The following day, as the party was marching through the wilderness of what is now northeast Reading, Vermont
, she gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Elizabeth Captive Johnson. Johnson was given a pair of moccasin
s and allowed to ride a stolen horse belonging to Captain Phineas Stevens
, a noted colonist who had served as commander of the Fort's militia until 1750. The horse, named Scoggin and captured the night before, was killed and eaten during the journey after the party had run out of food; the Indians made a soup from the bone marrow while the captives were allowed to eat the flesh.
After arriving at St. Francis on September 19, with a full three weeks of journey behind them, the captives, whose faces had been decorated in vermilion
paint, were forced to run the gauntlet
past a parade of Abenaki warriors armed with tomahawks
, war clubs
, and knives. While the prisoners expected a severe beating or death, Johnson wrote in her accounts that she was "agreeably disappointed" when she realized that "each Indian only gave us a tap on the shoulder"; the Indians especially treated the women "decently" and none among them was seriously harmed. The captives were held for approximately two and a half months, long enough for Johnson to develop an elementary vocabulary of Abenaki
words.
to be sold to the French, starting with James Johnson and followed by Peter Labarree, Ebenezer Farnsworth, Miriam Willard, and Johnsons's two oldest daughters, Susanna and Polly. By October 15, 1754, Susannah Johnson, along with her infant daughter, Elizabeth, and her son, Sylvanus, were the only prisoners still held at the Abenaki village. In mid-November, Susannah and Elizabeth were sold to a French household, and eventually arrived in Montreal, where they were able to rejoin their family. Sylvanus was left behind at the Abenaki village, having apparently been adopted by the Indians and prevented from leaving.
James was soon granted a two-month parole, an opportunity he used to travel to New York in an attempt to raise funds for his family's ransom. He was unable to return in time, violating his parole. Upon his return to Quebec City
in late July 1755, he and his wife, along with daughters Polly and Elizabeth, were detained and held in a jail, where "conditions were too shocking for description." (Johnson's eldest daughter, Susanna, was under the care of "three affluent old maids" and was never incarcerated.) The family remained imprisoned from July 1755 to July 1757—six months were spent in a criminal jail and the remainder in civil prison. During this time, all of the Johnsons had contracted smallpox
. In December 1756 Susannah gave birth to a son, although he "lived but a few hours, and was buried under the Cathedral Church."
In late June 1757, Susannah received a letter stating that her petitioning of the governor for their release had been successful. Her sister, Miriam, was allowed to rejoin her, and it was arranged for the women to be sent to England in exchange for French prisoners. (While Susannah, Miriam, Polly, and Elizabeth were all sent to England, James was not granted permission to leave and continued to fulfill his remaining prison sentence.)
on August 19. The family stayed at Plymouth a fortnight, later sailing to Portsmouth
, and from Portsmouth to Cork
, before finally boarding a packet ship
en route to New York. They arrived at Sandy Hook
on December 10, 1757—the first time in more than three years and three months the family had returned their native country. From there they traveled to Lancaster, where Susannah Johnson reunited with her husband on January 1, 1758. However, as James Johnson's legal troubles for violating his parole were still unresolved—complicated due to his rank of captain in the British militia—he soon traveled back to New York to "adjust his Canada accounts," and, while there, was "persuaded by Gov. Pownal
to take a Captain's commission, and join the forces bound for Ticonderoga." James Johnson was killed on July 8, 1758 at the Battle of Carillon
.
The eldest of Susannah Johnson's children, Sylvanus, who was 6 years old at the time of the raid, was adopted by the Abenaki. He did not see his mother again until he was ransomed in October 1758 for "the sum of five hundred livres
." He was subsequently brought to Northampton, Massachusetts
by then-Major Israel Putnam
, where he was finally reunited with his mother. Johnson wrote that Sylvanus, by then aged 11, was almost completely Indianized, having long forgotten the English language
. Fluent in Abenaki and conversational in French, he was fully accustomed to Abenaki life. While he was gradually reassimilated and his Indian habits "wore off by degrees", he maintained certain Abenaki customs until the end of his life.
Susannah Johnson's eldest daughter, Susanna, was eventually reunited with her family after the French surrendered Montreal
in September 1760. Peter Labaree made an escape from the French in the early spring of 1757, traveling several hundred miles from Montreal to Albany, New York
by foot, before finally arriving at his home in Charlestown in the winter. During his journey, Labaree traveled only at night in order to avoid detection and capture by the Natives, at one point apparently traversing a swamp over a period of three days. Ebenezer Farnsworth reached his home at No. 4 some time before the rest of the captives, although the exact circumstances of his release or escape are not known.
, who ghostwrote
the first edition (with the possible collaboration of Joseph Dennie
and Royall Tyler
). Titled A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson, it was printed by Isaiah Thomas
and David Carlisle in 1796 in Walpole, New Hampshire
. A second edition, expanded and revised by Johnson herself, was published in 1807 and printed by Alden Spooner in Windsor, Vermont
.
By the winter of 1810, Johnson was nearing the end of her life. She had finished a new chapter for her narrative as late as September 1810, and was "very anxious" to have the "considerably enlarged" third edition published before her death; her efforts, however, proved unfruitful. When it was finally printed four years later in Windsor by Thomas M. Pomeroy, literature on Indian captivity
was fairly common, and numerous collections were in mass circulation, such as 1808's A Selection of Some of the Most Interesting Narratives of Outrages Committed by the Indians by Archibald Loudon. Despite this, her authentic account, which was considered one of the most accurate and riveting, became widely read and studied.
Johnson's memoir was originally published in England in pamphlet
form under the title The Captive American (Newcastle: M. Angus, 1797, and Air: Printed by J. and P. Wilson, 1802), as well as in Scotland under the original title (Glasgow: Printed by R. Chapman for Stewart & Meikle, 1797). It has since been reproduced numerous times in the United States and Britain. The narrative has also been translated into French and published in Quebec under the title Récit d'une captive en Nouvelle-France, 1754–1760 (Sillery: Septentrion, 2003, trans. Louis Tardivel).
Public domain digitized copies of Johnson's narrative:
Other information
Charlestown, New Hampshire
Charlestown is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,114 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Hubbard State Forest and the headquarters of the Student Conservation Association....
in August 1754, immediately prior to the breakout of the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. Johnson and her family were marched for weeks through the wilderness of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
before arriving at the Abenaki village in Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec
Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec
Saint-François-du-Lac is a community in the Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 2,002...
. The Johnsons were held for ransom until being sold off into slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
to the French.
After her release in 1758, Johnson returned to her home in Charlestown. Beginning in 1796, she recorded a full account of her ordeal. The first edition of her narrative was composed by John Curtis Chamberlain
John Curtis Chamberlain
John Curtis Chamberlain was a United States Representative from New Hampshire. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, June 5, 1772. He was a member of the New Hampshire State House of Representatives, 1802–04, 1818; and a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district,...
(using information from Johnson's oral testimony and notes) and appeared in small circulation later that year; subsequent editions were revised and edited by Johnson and published in 1807, and posthumously in 1814. Her harrowing memoir, although not the first work in the captivity narrative
Captivity narrative
Captivity narratives are stories of people captured by "uncivilized" enemies. The narratives often include a theme of redemption by faith in the face of the threats and temptations of an alien way of life. Barbary captivity narratives, stories of Englishmen captured by Barbary pirates, were popular...
genre, was among the most widely read and studied accounts. It was republished numerous times in following years. Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare was an American children's author who won many awards for her historical fiction novels, including two Newbery Medals. She has been called one of America’s 100 most popular children’s authors and much of her work has become mandatory reading in many schools throughout the...
's 1957 historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
children's novel, Calico Captive
Calico Captive
Calico Captive is Elizabeth George Speare's first historical fiction children's novel. It was inspired by the true story of Susanna Willard Johnson who, along with her family and younger sister, were kidnapped in an Abenakis Indian raid on Charlestown, New Hampshire in August 1754.The main events...
, was inspired by Johnson's story.
Biography
Susannah Willard was born in Turkey Hills, Lunenburg, MassachusettsLunenburg, Massachusetts
Lunenburg is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,086 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Lunenburg, please see the article Lunenburg , Massachusetts....
to Lieutenant Moses Willard, Sr. (c. 1702 – June 18, 1756) and Susanna (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Hastings) Willard (April 4, 1710 – May 5, 1797). Her father, who was killed in 1756 by Indians while repairing a fence, was a descendant of Major Simon Willard
Simon Willard (First generation)
Simon Willard was born at Horsmonden, County Kent, England, in 1605; he was baptized in this same town on April 7, 1605. He died at an age of 71 years on April 24, 1676, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He moved from England to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1634. At the time he was a Major in...
, an early settler who had negotiated and purchased Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
from the local Native Americans. Susannah Johnson's mother was a descendant of Thomas Hastings
Thomas Hastings (colonist)
Thomas Hastings was a prominent English immigrant to New England, one of the approximately 20,000 immigrants who came as part of the Great Migration. A Deacon of the church, among his many public offices he served on the Committee of Colony Assessments in 1640 and as Deputy for Watertown to the...
, an English puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
who had immigrated to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in 1634 during the Great Migration.
Susannah had twelve siblings in all: Aaron, John, Miriam, Moses, r., James Nutting, Jemima, Mary, Elizabeth, Abigail, and Huldah Willard. In 1742, Moses Willard and his wife relocated to Fort at Number 4
Fort at Number 4
The Fort at Number 4 was the northernmost British settlement along the Connecticut River in New Hampshire until after the French and Indian War. Now known as Charlestown, it was more than from the nearest other British settlement at Fort Dummer. Construction began in 1740 by brothers Stephen,...
, the northernmost British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
settlement along the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
, in what is now Charlestown. His children, including Susannah, joined him at No. 4 in June 1749. By then, only five other families had settled in the sparsely populated area.
Susannah was married to Captain James Johnson in Lunenburg on June 15, 1747. Following his death, she married a second time in 1762 to John Hastings, Jr. (d. November 21, 1804). At the time of the August 1754 raid, Johnson had three children, but mothered fourteen children in all, having seven children with James and seven with John. In order from oldest to youngest, they were: Sylvanus , Susanna, Mary "Polly", and Elizabeth Johnson; and Theodosia, Randilla, and Susanna Hastings, as well as seven other infants who died during birth or from disease.
After her release from captivity, Susannah Johnson lived in Lancaster, Massachusetts
Lancaster, Massachusetts
Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County...
until October 1759, moving to Charlestown later that month and settling on her late husband's estate. She opened a small store to support her family, which she tended to for two years before marrying her second husband. She died on November 27, 1810 in Langdon. and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Charlestown.
Honors
A monument was erected at the cemetery on August 30, 1870 by some of Johnson's relatives and descendants. During the monument's dedication, a historical address was given by Reverend Benjamin LabareeBenjamin Labaree
Benjamin Labaree was a minister, professor and the longest serving president of Middlebury College from 1840 until 1866. Labaree was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire. He was an 1828 graduate of Dartmouth College as well as a recipient of graduate degrees from the University of Vermont and...
, who later served as president of Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
from 1840 until 1866. The monument stands near the graves of Susannah and James Johnson in the Briggs Hill Road area of the cemetery.
Abenaki raid
In 1749, an uneasy peace had been declared between the French and British, and by 1753 attacks against the township of No. 4 by Abenaki and Mohawk, who were allied with the FrenchFranco-Indian alliance
The Franco-Indian alliance was an alliance between American Indians and the French, centered on the Great Lakes and the Illinois country during the French and Indian War . The alliance involved French settlers on the one side, and the Abenaki, Ottawa, Menominee, Winnebago, Mississauga, Illinois,...
, had largely subsided. A year later surfacing rumors of war panicked the colonists, but the townsfolk were put at ease following the return of Captain James Johnson from a trading trip on August 24, 1754. While trading in Connecticut (having left his wife, Susannah, and three children behind at the No. 4), Johnson had been informed that war was not expected until at least the following spring. Feeling relieved and cheerful that they would have time to relocate to Northfield, New Hampshire
Northfield, New Hampshire
Northfield is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,829 at the 2010 census.-History:The area was settled in 1760 as a part of Canterbury. In the late 1770s the residents of the "north fields" of Canterbury petitioned the State Legislature to become their...
before then, the family invited their neighbors to dinner and held a party late into the night of August 29.
During the early hours of August 30, while the Johnsons were sound asleep, an armed Abenaki party raided the enclosed stockade
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
of Fort No. 4, abducting Susannah Johnson, her husband, their three children: 6-year-old Sylvanus, 4-year-old Susanna, and 2-year-old Polly, as well as Susannah Johnson’s 14-year-old sister, Miriam Willard. (There were numerous small-scale armed engagements between the settlers and Natives in the years prior, leaving dozens of settlers dead; the nearest British settlement was Fort Dummer
Fort Dummer
Fort Dummer was a British fort built in 1724 by the colonial militia of the Province of Massachusetts Bay under the command of Lieutenant Timothy Dwight in what is now the Town of Brattleboro in southeastern Vermont. The fort was the first permanent European settlement in Vermont...
, more than 30 miles (48.3 km) away.) Also among the captives were the Johnsons' neighbors, Peter Labarree and his hired servant, Ebenezer Farnsworth. The Indians looted whatever food they could find before setting fire to the Johnsons' home.
At the time of the attack, Susannah was nine months pregnant. The following day, as the party was marching through the wilderness of what is now northeast Reading, Vermont
Reading, Vermont
Reading is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 707 at the 2000 census.-History:On August 30, 1654, after being captured by Abenakis at Fort at Number 4, Charlestown, New Hampshire and being forced marched to Montreal, Susannah Willard Johnson gave birth to a...
, she gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Elizabeth Captive Johnson. Johnson was given a pair of moccasin
Moccasin
A Moccasin is a form of shoe worn by Native Americans, as well as by hunters, traders, and settlers in the frontier regions of North America.Moccasin may also refer to:* Moccasin , an American Thoroughbred racehorse-Places:...
s and allowed to ride a stolen horse belonging to Captain Phineas Stevens
Phineas Stevens
Capt. Phineas Stevens was a distinguished officer noted for his defense of the Fort at Number 4 during a siege in April 1747, when a combined force of French and Indian soldiers failed to capture the fort and the 32 British soldiers defending it...
, a noted colonist who had served as commander of the Fort's militia until 1750. The horse, named Scoggin and captured the night before, was killed and eaten during the journey after the party had run out of food; the Indians made a soup from the bone marrow while the captives were allowed to eat the flesh.
After arriving at St. Francis on September 19, with a full three weeks of journey behind them, the captives, whose faces had been decorated in vermilion
Vermilion
Vermilion is an opaque orangish red pigment, similar to scarlet. As a naturally occurring mineral pigment, it is known as cinnabar, and was in use around the world before the Common Era began. Most naturally produced vermilion comes from cinnabar mined in China, and vermilion is nowadays commonly...
paint, were forced to run the gauntlet
Running the gauntlet
Running the gauntlet is a form of physical punishment wherein a captive is compelled to run between two rows—a gauntlet—of soldiers who strike him as he passes.-Etymology:...
past a parade of Abenaki warriors armed with tomahawks
Tomahawk (axe)
A tomahawk is a type of axe native to North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft. The name came into the English language in the 17th century as a transliteration of the Powhatan word.Tomahawks were general purpose tools used by Native Americans and European Colonials...
, war clubs
Gunstock war club
The gunstock club or gun stock war club is an indigenous weapon used by Native Americans, named for its similar appearance to the wooden stocks of muskets and rifles of the time...
, and knives. While the prisoners expected a severe beating or death, Johnson wrote in her accounts that she was "agreeably disappointed" when she realized that "each Indian only gave us a tap on the shoulder"; the Indians especially treated the women "decently" and none among them was seriously harmed. The captives were held for approximately two and a half months, long enough for Johnson to develop an elementary vocabulary of Abenaki
Abenaki language
The Abenaki language is a dialect continuum within the Eastern Algonquian languages, originally spoken in what is now Vermont, New Hampshire, northern Massachusetts and Maine...
words.
Incarceration
One by one the captives were taken to MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to be sold to the French, starting with James Johnson and followed by Peter Labarree, Ebenezer Farnsworth, Miriam Willard, and Johnsons's two oldest daughters, Susanna and Polly. By October 15, 1754, Susannah Johnson, along with her infant daughter, Elizabeth, and her son, Sylvanus, were the only prisoners still held at the Abenaki village. In mid-November, Susannah and Elizabeth were sold to a French household, and eventually arrived in Montreal, where they were able to rejoin their family. Sylvanus was left behind at the Abenaki village, having apparently been adopted by the Indians and prevented from leaving.
James was soon granted a two-month parole, an opportunity he used to travel to New York in an attempt to raise funds for his family's ransom. He was unable to return in time, violating his parole. Upon his return to Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
in late July 1755, he and his wife, along with daughters Polly and Elizabeth, were detained and held in a jail, where "conditions were too shocking for description." (Johnson's eldest daughter, Susanna, was under the care of "three affluent old maids" and was never incarcerated.) The family remained imprisoned from July 1755 to July 1757—six months were spent in a criminal jail and the remainder in civil prison. During this time, all of the Johnsons had contracted smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. In December 1756 Susannah gave birth to a son, although he "lived but a few hours, and was buried under the Cathedral Church."
In late June 1757, Susannah received a letter stating that her petitioning of the governor for their release had been successful. Her sister, Miriam, was allowed to rejoin her, and it was arranged for the women to be sent to England in exchange for French prisoners. (While Susannah, Miriam, Polly, and Elizabeth were all sent to England, James was not granted permission to leave and continued to fulfill his remaining prison sentence.)
Release
On July 20, Susannah Johnson boarded an England-bound vessel in Quebec with her two daughters and sister. The next morning, the ship sailed down the St. Lawrence River and entered the Atlantic, finally arriving in PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
on August 19. The family stayed at Plymouth a fortnight, later sailing to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, and from Portsmouth to Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, before finally boarding a packet ship
Packet ship
A "packet ship" was originally a vessel employed to carry post office mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. In sea transport, a packet service is a regular, scheduled service, carrying freight and passengers...
en route to New York. They arrived at Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook is a barrier spit along the Atlantic coast of New JerseySandy Hook may also refer to:-Places:United States* Sandy Hook , a village in the town of Newtown, Connecticut* Sandy Hook, Kentucky, a city in Elliott County...
on December 10, 1757—the first time in more than three years and three months the family had returned their native country. From there they traveled to Lancaster, where Susannah Johnson reunited with her husband on January 1, 1758. However, as James Johnson's legal troubles for violating his parole were still unresolved—complicated due to his rank of captain in the British militia—he soon traveled back to New York to "adjust his Canada accounts," and, while there, was "persuaded by Gov. Pownal
Thomas Pownall
Thomas Pownall was a British politician and colonial official. He was governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1758 to 1760, and afterward served in the British Parliament. He traveled widely in the North American colonies prior to the American Revolutionary War, and opposed...
to take a Captain's commission, and join the forces bound for Ticonderoga." James Johnson was killed on July 8, 1758 at the Battle of Carillon
Battle of Carillon
The Battle of Carillon, also known as the 1758 Battle of Ticonderoga, was fought on July 8, 1758, during the French and Indian War...
.
The eldest of Susannah Johnson's children, Sylvanus, who was 6 years old at the time of the raid, was adopted by the Abenaki. He did not see his mother again until he was ransomed in October 1758 for "the sum of five hundred livres
Livre tournois
The livre tournois |pound]]) was:#one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages; and#a unit of account used in France in the Middle Ages and the early modern period.-Circulating currency:...
." He was subsequently brought to Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
by then-Major Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam was an American army general and Freemason who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War...
, where he was finally reunited with his mother. Johnson wrote that Sylvanus, by then aged 11, was almost completely Indianized, having long forgotten the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Fluent in Abenaki and conversational in French, he was fully accustomed to Abenaki life. While he was gradually reassimilated and his Indian habits "wore off by degrees", he maintained certain Abenaki customs until the end of his life.
Susannah Johnson's eldest daughter, Susanna, was eventually reunited with her family after the French surrendered Montreal
Articles of Capitulation of Montreal
The Articles of Capitulation of Montreal were agreed upon between the Governor General of New France, Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal, and Major-General Jeffrey Amherst on behalf of the French and British crowns...
in September 1760. Peter Labaree made an escape from the French in the early spring of 1757, traveling several hundred miles from Montreal to Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
by foot, before finally arriving at his home in Charlestown in the winter. During his journey, Labaree traveled only at night in order to avoid detection and capture by the Natives, at one point apparently traversing a swamp over a period of three days. Ebenezer Farnsworth reached his home at No. 4 some time before the rest of the captives, although the exact circumstances of his release or escape are not known.
Captivity narrative
In 1796, a full forty-two years after her capture by Indians, Johnson decided to record an account of her ordeal. Using her surviving letters, notes and diary, as well the memories of her family and fellow captives Labarree and Farnsworth, she dictated her account to Charlestown lawyer John Curtis ChamberlainJohn Curtis Chamberlain
John Curtis Chamberlain was a United States Representative from New Hampshire. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, June 5, 1772. He was a member of the New Hampshire State House of Representatives, 1802–04, 1818; and a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district,...
, who ghostwrote
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
the first edition (with the possible collaboration of Joseph Dennie
Joseph Dennie
Joseph Dennie was an American author and journalist who was one of the foremost men of letters of the Federalist Era. A Federalist, Dennie is best remembered for his series of essays entitled The Lay Preacher and as the founding editor of Port Folio, a journal espousing classical republican values...
and Royall Tyler
Royall Tyler
Royall Tyler , American jurist and playwright who wrote The Contrast in 1787 and published The Algerine Captive in 1797. He wrote several legal tracts, six plays, a musical drama, two long poems, a semifictional travel narrative, The Yankey in London , and essays...
). Titled A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson, it was printed by Isaiah Thomas
Isaiah Thomas
Isaiah Thomas , was an American newspaper publisher and author. He performed the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Worcester, Massachusetts and reported the first account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord...
and David Carlisle in 1796 in Walpole, New Hampshire
Walpole, New Hampshire
Walpole is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,734 at the 2010 census.The town's central settlement, where 605 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Walpole census-designated place , and is east of New Hampshire Route 12...
. A second edition, expanded and revised by Johnson herself, was published in 1807 and printed by Alden Spooner in Windsor, Vermont
Windsor, Vermont
Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,756 at the 2000 census.-History:One of the New Hampshire grants, Windsor was chartered as a town on July 6, 1761 by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. It was first settled in August 1764 by Captain Steele Smith and...
.
By the winter of 1810, Johnson was nearing the end of her life. She had finished a new chapter for her narrative as late as September 1810, and was "very anxious" to have the "considerably enlarged" third edition published before her death; her efforts, however, proved unfruitful. When it was finally printed four years later in Windsor by Thomas M. Pomeroy, literature on Indian captivity
Captivity narrative
Captivity narratives are stories of people captured by "uncivilized" enemies. The narratives often include a theme of redemption by faith in the face of the threats and temptations of an alien way of life. Barbary captivity narratives, stories of Englishmen captured by Barbary pirates, were popular...
was fairly common, and numerous collections were in mass circulation, such as 1808's A Selection of Some of the Most Interesting Narratives of Outrages Committed by the Indians by Archibald Loudon. Despite this, her authentic account, which was considered one of the most accurate and riveting, became widely read and studied.
Johnson's memoir was originally published in England in pamphlet
Pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound booklet . It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths , or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddle stapled at the crease to make a simple book...
form under the title The Captive American (Newcastle: M. Angus, 1797, and Air: Printed by J. and P. Wilson, 1802), as well as in Scotland under the original title (Glasgow: Printed by R. Chapman for Stewart & Meikle, 1797). It has since been reproduced numerous times in the United States and Britain. The narrative has also been translated into French and published in Quebec under the title Récit d'une captive en Nouvelle-France, 1754–1760 (Sillery: Septentrion, 2003, trans. Louis Tardivel).
Publication history
| A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson - |
Year | Location | Publisher | Printer | Size Book size The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"... | Pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1796 | Walpole, NH | Published according to Act of Congress | David Carlisle | 12 mo | 144 pp | 1st ed., manuscript composed by John C. Chamberlain John Curtis Chamberlain John Curtis Chamberlain was a United States Representative from New Hampshire. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, June 5, 1772. He was a member of the New Hampshire State House of Representatives, 1802–04, 1818; and a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district,... ; very rare |
| 1807 | Windsor, VT | Published according to Act of Congress | Alden Spooner | 18 mo | 144 pp | 2nd ed., manuscript "corrected and enlarged" by Johnson |
| 1814 | Windsor, VT | No indication of publisher | Thomas M. Pomroy | 12 mo | 178 pp | 3rd ed., "considerably enlarged" by Johnson; most commonly reprinted edition |
| 1834 | Lowell, MA | Daniel Bixby | John Emmes Dill | 18 mo | 150 pp | 4th ed. |
| 1841 | New York, NY | No indication of publisher | No indication of printer | 18 mo | 111 pp | 5th ed., does not include the notes or appendix from the 3rd and 4th editions |
See also
- Calico CaptiveCalico CaptiveCalico Captive is Elizabeth George Speare's first historical fiction children's novel. It was inspired by the true story of Susanna Willard Johnson who, along with her family and younger sister, were kidnapped in an Abenakis Indian raid on Charlestown, New Hampshire in August 1754.The main events...
- Captivity narrativeCaptivity narrativeCaptivity narratives are stories of people captured by "uncivilized" enemies. The narratives often include a theme of redemption by faith in the face of the threats and temptations of an alien way of life. Barbary captivity narratives, stories of Englishmen captured by Barbary pirates, were popular...
- Fort at Number 4Fort at Number 4The Fort at Number 4 was the northernmost British settlement along the Connecticut River in New Hampshire until after the French and Indian War. Now known as Charlestown, it was more than from the nearest other British settlement at Fort Dummer. Construction began in 1740 by brothers Stephen,...
- Franco-Indian allianceFranco-Indian allianceThe Franco-Indian alliance was an alliance between American Indians and the French, centered on the Great Lakes and the Illinois country during the French and Indian War . The alliance involved French settlers on the one side, and the Abenaki, Ottawa, Menominee, Winnebago, Mississauga, Illinois,...
External links
Online textsPublic domain digitized copies of Johnson's narrative:
- 1st edition at Canadiana.org — available for online reading in PDF
- 2nd edition at Canadiana.org — available for online reading in PDF
- 3rd edition at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
— available for reading in plain text, PDF, JPEG, Amazon Kindle, EPUB, DAISY audio, and DjVu - 4th edition at Google Books — available for reading in plain text, PDF, and EPUB
- 5th edition at Canadiana.org — available for online reading in PDF
Other information
- The Fort at Number 4 — Web site for the open-air museum; provides historical information on No. 4 and the families that lived there
- Descendants of Thomas Hastings website
- Descendants of Thomas Hastings on Facebook