Indian Stone: The Johnson Captivity of 1754
Reading, Windsor County, Vermont
Marker Inscription
INDIAN STONE Commemorate events in early history of Vermont. Captured by Abenaki for ransom at fort no.4, Johnson family, Miriam Willard, peter labaree and ebenezer Farnsworth camped here 30 August 1754 enroute to Montreal. The next day, a daughter was born to Mrs. Johnson in a shelter made by the Indian about on-half mile up Knapp brook
Erected by National Register of Historic Places
The Story
In the summer of 1754, as the French and Indian War flared along the northern frontier, an Abenaki raiding party captured the Johnson family and their companions at Fort No. 4 and marched them toward Montreal to be ransomed. On the night of August 30 they camped at this spot, and the next day Susanna Johnson gave birth to a daughter in a rough shelter the Abenaki built beside Knapp Brook. The child was fittingly named Captive.
Why it matters
The Johnson captivity is one of New England's most famous frontier ordeals, capturing how the imperial wars between Britain and France were fought through Native alliances and the taking of colonial captives.
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Related people
- · Susanna Johnson
- · Miriam Willard
- · Peter Labaree
- · Ebenezer Farnsworth
Related events
- · Abenaki capture at Fort No. 4, 1754
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Indian Stones
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The Indian Stones near Reading, Vermont, mark the spot where, on August 31, 1754, a daughter was born to the captive Johnson family as they were being marched north by a Native war party during the tensions that erupted into the French and Indian War. The Johnsons' captivity and long journey to Canada became one of New England's best-known captivity narratives. The frontier of the upper Connecticut River valley was a dangerous borderland in those years.
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