240 Years Ago: The Royalton Raid of 1780

In 1780, much of Vermont was a frontier. Those that left Massachusetts and Connecticut in search of more affordable land often found their first years in their new home to be marked by physical isolation, food insecurity, and other forms of acute privation. In addition to these hardships, there was the ever-present fear of Native American attacks.

In Woodstock, Dr. Stephen Powers and his family arrived in Woodstock in 1774. They lived in a small cabin in the vicinity of what is now the Green. Mrs. Powers was so concerned about the possibility of Native American attacks, that when her husband was going to be away for a couple nights to attend to his patients, she would secret her most coveted possessions in the forest and then she and her children would go stay with a neighbor.

Her fears were not unfounded. There were a number of “Native American” attacks throughout the colonies, often orchestrated by the British, who at this time were embattled with the United States in the Revolutionary War.

In the summer and fall of 1780, there were three British-led Native American attacks on the Connecticut River Valley. The first of the three attacks came in August, with a raid on Barnard. The following month, in September, there was a raid on Bethel. Then in October came the third attack, which was against Royalton. This was to be the most devastating of the three raids, which left homes and barns burned, livestock slaughtered, two men dead, and twenty-six others taken captive.

While Royalton was attacked with the greatest vengeance, evidence suggests that it wasn’t even the raiders’ original target. Some historians have theorized that the raiders had intended to destroy the town of Newbury. However, the raiders learned that the settlement of Newbury had been warned of the impending attack. Having lost the element of surprise, the raiders turned their sights onto a different and unsuspecting target – Royalton.

The raiders arrived in the Royalton area on October 15; however, they waited until the following morning to begin the assault. 

Around 8 am, the Indians fanned out and descended on the homesteads. Upon spotting the raiders, a few of the settlers fled and tried to warn their neighbors and summon help from the nearby forts. One of those who sought help was a boy named Phineas Parkhurst. Phineas was shot in the back as he tried to flee on horseback. After being shot, he rode ten miles to the town of Hartford to summon the alarm. He then forded the Connecticut River and rode another four miles to Lebanon, where Dr. Gates was able to remove the ½” musket ball from his abdomen. Two others who tried to flee, Thomas Pember and Peter Button, were less fortunate. They were both slain and scalped.

Most of the men and boys who did not resist or try to run were captured. Women and girls were not taken into captivity. Some women fled into the woods as they raiders descended; others stood by, amidst the Indians, and watched as their homes were pillaged and set on fire.

Ironically, accounts suggest that Lieutenant Houghton, the British leader of the raid, showed concern for the well being of the women. When raiding the Havens’ house, he noticed that Mrs. Havens was ill, and he ordered that she carried outside and given a blanket and clothing to keep her warm. Similarly, when approached by Mrs. Havens’ daughter, who was still in her nightgown, he got her a blanket (red on one side, green on the other) in which to wrap herself. He then told her to wrap the blanket around herself in such a way that the green, not the red, side showed, as the Native Americans favored red and he thought the blanket might be taken from her.  

Perhaps most famously, Houghton interceded on behalf of a young mother in securing the release of some captive boys. The young woman’s name was Hannah Handy. Upon learning of the raid, she and her two children, Michael and Lucretia, were fleeing to a neighbor’s house for safety. Along the way, they were overtaken by members of the raiding party, who took Michael from Hannah. Not willing to give up her son without a fight, she and Lucretia traveled until they found the raiders’ encampment. As Hannah prepared to cross, an elderly Native American (who, according to the Handy family’s later recollections, was known to the family) offered to carry them across. Upon reaching the other side, she sought out Lieutenant Houghton and argued for her son’s release until the Lieutenant finally acquiesced. She then argued for the release of the other boys who had been captured. She was able to get the youngest boys released, although Houghton ultimately refused to release the older boys, Garner Rix and David Waller, who were ages 13 and 14 respectively. Years later, when retelling the story, Lucretia noted that the elderly Native American who had helped them across the stream had also interceded on Hannah’s behalf in obtaining the release of the children. After releasing the children to Hannah’s custody, Lieutenant Houghton told her to stay with the boys in the area of the enemy encampment until after the raiding party had left, to ensure that the boys were not recaptured. 

By 2 pm, the raiding party reconvened and headed north. In their wake, were the smoldering ruins of homes and barns. One can only imagine the despair of the people of Royalton who had worked all summer and fall to put up enough hay, vegetables, grain, fruit, and nuts to last through a Vermont winter only to find themselves, in October, without homes, clothing, or food. Most of their livestock, including about 150 cattle, had been shot or died when the barns were set ablaze. To add to the angst and hardship, many of the men from the small community had been captured and their fate was unknown.

 As for the raiders, they travelled quickly making camp that night in the town of Randolph. The 26 captives were separated and each was assigned to a Native American who was responsible for overseeing them. Although the care varied from one overseer to another, most of the captives were stripped of their outer clothing and forced to lie down on the ground. Belts were placed over them, and several Indians then laid on top of the belt ends, on each side of the captives, so that the captives were effectively pinned to the ground and unable to move.   

 By 2:00 am, on the morning of October 17, 364 men from local militias had gathered and tracked down the raiders near Randolph. There was a brief skirmish between militia members and some Native American scouts who were positioned about a mile out from the raiders’ encampment to detect any troops that might be in pursuit.

Shortly thereafter, the militia received a message from Houghton, delivered by one of the captives, that if they should continue to pursue or attack, all of the remaining captives would be killed. During the ceasefire, Houghton and his forces, with their captives, retreated, and continued making their way northward to Canada. By the time the militia regrouped and entered what had been the raiders’ camp, they found it abandoned. The raiders had left behind about 30 horses and many of their provisions. The militia also discovered the bodies of two of the captives: Joseph Kneeland and Giles Gibbs. According to information gathered years later, Joseph Kneeland was killed when he refused to march as the raiders were preparing their retreat. Kneeland had also, apparently, been extremely vocal the night before in requesting that his younger brother, who had been captured barefoot and with little clothing on, should be given warmer clothes. An oral history with one of the surviving captives noted that the Native American who had killed Kneeland indicated that Kneeland was too strong, both physically and in temperament, to be easily managed, and therefore his captor decided to eliminate the potential problem. The other captive who was found dead, Giles Gibbs, may have been killed in response to one of the Indians having been gravely wounded in the skirmish with the militia.

The militia did not continue their pursuit, likely out of fear that other captives would be killed. This threat was real, as one of the captives relayed afterwards that he had heard that the Indians had been ordered to kill their captives if they were pursued.

As the group of raiders travelled northward, they continued to take five more prisoners in Randolph. One of these prisoners was a twenty-one-year-old named Zadock Steele, a young man who had come to Vermont in April of 1780 to establish a homestead for his family who were still living in Connecticut.

Ultimately, the captives did make it to Canada, where they were imprisoned. One died during his confinement, and most of the others were later released as part of a prisoner exchange for British officers. There were a few captives from the raid, including Zadock Steele, however, who remained imprisoned. They were removed to what was known as “Prison Island,” located about 45 miles from Montreal in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. Due to its location, in the midst of a rapidly flowing river, it was felt to be extremely secure. Risking death, Steele and a group of others decided to escape. They broke up into small groups, with each group constructing its own raft. While some were caught, Steele and those in his small travel group did make it safely back to the United States. Instead of returning to Vermont, Steele travelled to Ellington, Connecticut, to see his family. He arrived there, to the shock of his family, on October 17, 1782, exactly two years to the day from his capture.

Years later, Zadock Steele, who had heard many stories of the raid from fellow captives, wrote a narrative describing the details not only of his capture, but of the events that transpired in Royalton. Much of what we know of the Royalton raid, which is often referred to as “The Burning of Royalton,” is based on Steele’s detailed writings. 

The Woodstock History Center is fortunate to have one item in its collection from the period of the raid. It is a piece of wood from the corn barn that was on the farm of Deacon Daniel Rix, who lived in Royalton. This item will be on display as part of the History Center’s exhibit Hindsight 2020.

The History Center’s museum will be open as soon as it is safe to do so. Hope to see you then.