Massacre on the Merrimack

Hannah Duston's Captivity and Revenge in Colonial America

By: Jay Atkinson

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Early on March 15, 1697, a band of Abenaki warriors in service to the French raided the English frontier village of Haverhill, Massachusetts. Striking swiftly, the Abenaki killed 27 men, women, and children, and took 13 captives, including 39-year-old Hannah Duston and her week-old daughter, Martha. A short distance from the village, one of the warriors murdered the squalling infant. After a forced march of nearly 100 miles, Duston and two companions were transferred to a smaller band of Abenaki, who camped on a tiny island located at the junction of the Merrimack and Contoocook Rivers, several miles north of present-day Concord, New Hampshire.

After witnessing her infant's murder, Duston resolved to get even. Two weeks into their captivity, Duston and her companions, a 51-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy, moved among the sleeping Abenaki with tomahawks and knives, killing two men, two women, and six children. After returning to the bloody scene alone to scalp their victims, Duston and the others escaped down the Merrimack River in a stolen canoe. They braved treacherous waters and the constant threat of attack and recapture, returning to tell their story and collect a bounty for the scalps.

©2015 Jay Atkinson (P)2019 Tantor

Factual, entertaining, & captivating.

Like many, I'm an 8th great grandson of Hannah & Thomas Duston; this book is the best representation of what did take place and provides a likely narrative of what cannot be known. I thank the author for the superb research & story.

Fabulous!

Loved it
Fascinating and so well written and terrifically read. I appreciated the New England history.

Awesome Story Telling !

Great little History about early Indian /Colonial/French life & survival ! I was completely engaged with this book . Fairly evenly told , just the facts , with out to many of the Authors opinion or descriptive adjectives . ( whether left or right !)
Tough People !!

Could not stop listening

I know a little about the story being from the area. I enjoyed the story, Only thing I did not care for was the jumping around of time. I know it was important to tell the back stories, but I was getting a little lost with the time frame.

Fascinating book !!

A great historical story. Harsh times to live in. Hanna was one tough lady. Not sure how many of us would have fared in the hash times she faced.

a bit too biased but an interesting read

When writing about this time period in early America, balance is needed. Native people were awful to their white prisoners, but the white settlers were awful to native populations as well, and the author largely left that part out. I like learning about all of the New England tribes and their ways of life. This account paints a vivid picture of some of the native customs and of the rugged and pristine landscape.

Intriguing

Very interesting true story of strength, reality and a live not even imagined in this day and age. Very inspiring. The narration was exceptional and truly amazing in it’s ability to draw the listener into the time, place and emotions felt by the characters. Highly recommend.

Enthralling

I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of this book and the story. It jumps back-and-forth between the current story and history preceding the story but it was very riveting throughout the book.

Fascinating and well written

After listening to “Massacre on the Merrimack” I purchased “The French and English in North America “ by Francis Parkman. Also a well written book about the New England colonies.

Excellent book

I live 20 minutes from the Sugar Ball island Hannah Duston monument. Twice a day I drive by Sugat Ball island and see the monument standing tall on the grassy clearing. I loved the way the author told the story in such an interesting and informing way. In part for me it is local history. I have been to many of the places described in the book and as I read the book I tried to picture what these places were like so long ago. Thanks to the author and the excellent narrator I got a feel for just that. Love the book. Thank you for writing it.