The story begins with\u00a0Benjamin Burt\u00a0who was born on November 17, 1680, in Northampton, Massachusetts, the twelfth child of \u00a0David Burt<\/a> and Mary Holton<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t When Benjamin<\/strong> was a baby, King Philip’s War (1675 – 1678) was fought in southern New England. This was a major effort by the region’s Native American tribes to drive out English colonists. Led by King Philip, the rebellion destroyed twelve New England towns within a year and damaged many more. Colonists quickly banded together to mount a defense, but this came at a price, as one-tenth of all men available for military service were killed. Benjamin’s older brother David Burt<\/strong>, a soldier on duty at Schenectady, New York, was taken prisoner on February 29, 1690, when that town was destroyed by the French and Indians and was never seen or heard from again. Benjamin<\/strong> was only 10 years old.<\/p>\n\tBenjamin<\/strong>, grew up in the family trade being a farmer but added to his skills by learning the craft of blacksmithing. In 1701, Benjamin moved from Northampton to Deerfield, Massachusetts, an outpost settlement. On October 9, 1702,\u00a0Benjamin\u00a0<\/strong>married\u00a0Sarah Belden<\/strong>, daughter of\u00a0Daniel Belden<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Elizabeth Foote<\/strong>.\n\t Deerfield is beautifully situated near the confluence of the valleys of the Deerfield and Connecticut rivers and contains a large area of fertile soil which made the area attractive to early settlers. It is surrounded by a picturesque region of hills and valleys, but its location at the union of river valleys from the north, west, and east made it easily accessible to hostile approach. These conditions and the extreme frontier position had made it attractive as a strategic point to the savage enemy in the “King Philip” and the French wars. In 1703, its exposed site led to its fortification by an enclosure of tree trunks entirely surrounding it, and to its protection by a garrison.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t In January of 1704, an expedition was formed at Montreal, Canada under the command of Major Hertel de Roubille, for an attack upon Deerfield. \u00a0The party consisted of 200 Frenchmen and 142 Indians. The invaders made a forced march through the wilderness and suffered terribly from the intense cold. When they reached the vicinity of their destination there was four feet of snow on the ground and the crust on it was sufficiently strong to bear the weight of men, while the drifts made easy inclined paths to the top of the enclosure that encircled the town of Deerfield. The sole sentinel on duty, depending upon the mid-winter conditions as a sufficient defense, had left his post and sought shelter from the icy conditions. Just before daybreak on February 29, 1704, the assault was ordered upon the defenseless town. A general attack was simultaneously made by the invaders scattered throughout the settlement, The unfortunate inhabitants of Deerfield, wakened from their sleep by the frightful war whoops of the savages, were massacred or wounded as they ran frightened from their homes, to which torches were set.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Very few people escaped and made it to the nearby forest, and others that were not slaughtered on sight were gathered in the open space near the little church; among these were Benjamin Burt<\/strong> and his wife Sarah<\/strong>, who had escaped death only to have witnessed the death of their family and friends, and the destruction of their home.<\/p>\n\t Less than eight years earlier, in a sudden raid upon her father’s house,\u00a0Mrs. Sarah (Belden) Burt<\/strong>\u00a0had seen her mother, two brothers and infant sister killed by the Indians, and another brother dangerously wounded,\u00a0Sarah<\/strong>\u00a0only escaped by hiding in the attic. Her father, a brother and a sister were taken captive to Canada, and would not return for two years.<\/p>\n\t Benjamin<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Sarah<\/strong>, along with the other survivors clung together wearing only their night clothes. they mournfully took count of the slain by their absence. As they mourned over the loss of their loved ones, and saw all their treasures turning to ashes, a dreadful uncertainty obscured their own fate. In their midst their revered pastor, the Rev. John Williams, addressed prayers for divine assistance and support, which were interrupted by the orders to march, as the captives were driven from the village.<\/p>\n\tThere was 112 \u00a0prisoners total, and among them were Sarah’s<\/strong> step-mother, Mrs. Hepzibah Belden<\/strong>, and Benjamin’s<\/strong> cousin, Nathaniel Brooks<\/strong>, with his wife and two children. The prisoners were first taken to the “west mountain” north of the village, and on the same afternoon started on their terrible journey to Canada. Their route was up the valley of the Connecticut, and the deep snows and rugged character of the wilderness made their journey slow and painful. As of March 3, 1704, they had gone only thirty miles on their way.\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t “The condition and sufferings of these unfortunate creatures cannot be adequately\u00a0described;\u00a0in the few brief,\u00a0agonizing minutes of the attack they had neither forethought nor\u00a0time to make the least preparation for such a fearful\u00a0journey;\u00a0poorly clad and shod, the rocks, bushes and brambles soon rent their scanty garments and when sodden with the penetrating melted\u00a0snow their power to resist the icy blasts was almost exhausted. At\u00a0night when the exertion of motion no longer stimulated their blood\u00a0they could only save their vital warmth by lying close together in\u00a0the snow, a feebly palpitating mass of misery.” –\u00a0Rev. John Williams<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\t Making the journey even more difficult was the lack of sufficient food and provisions, the Indians always depending for subsistence on their attacks upon the wild game that they came upon along their journey. Of course the captives received the minimum share of such poor food. The women and children naturally suffered the most from fatigue and deficient food, and when they lagged or were unable to continue, they were immediately slain by the impatient and ruthless savages.<\/p>\n\t\n\t Some of these poor creatures, when they felt that their powers of endurance were nearly exhausted, calmly prepared for death by seeking the consolation of prayer with Pastor. Williams, who gives in his journal a pathetic account of the resignation and heroism of these brave souls about to part from their tortured, worn-out bodies.<\/p>\n\t On this dreadful march none endured more than\u00a0Mrs. Burt<\/strong>; when she started upon it she was in the\u00a0eighth month of her first pregnancy<\/em><\/strong>, and despite the aid of her husband she could hardly have endured the burdens, rigors, hardships, and horrors of the twenty-five day journey, if not for her youth and extraordinary powers of endurance.<\/p>\n\tOn this dreadful march none endured more than Mrs. Burt<\/strong>; when she started upon it she was in the eighth month of her first pregnancy<\/em><\/strong>, and despite the aid of her husband she could hardly have endured the burdens, rigors, hardships, and horrors of the twenty-five day journey, if not for her youth and extraordinary powers of endurance.\n “The writer has often in fancy depicted to himself this ancestress, subjected in her early wifehood to that direful ordeal ; the days of unmitigated misery in the deep snows of the bleak and trackless wilderness; the piercing cold ; the sore, aching, frost-bitten limbs ; the ever gnawing hunger; the slaughter of her step-mother and of the many women burdened like herself ; of the long nights haunted by the vague dread of the morrow with all its known and unknowable terrors. Was it with joy or dread that she felt within her the throbs of her unborn child ? ” \u00a0– Henry M. Burt of Springfield<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\t When the party reached Coos in Vermont it was entirely destitute of provisions and two of the captives died here of sheer starvation. The hunters having succeeded in getting some game, the dreary march was resumed, until on March 25, the party reached Chamble, about eighteen miles northeast of Montreal. Here, on April 14, 1704, Sarah Burt<\/strong> delivered her first child, a son named Christopher<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\t Subsequently, the captives were distributed among the Indians and French and put to various services, the larger portion of them being employed in the convent and Jesuit academy near Montreal,\u00a0Benjamin Burt<\/strong>\u00a0and his wife\u00a0Sarah<\/strong>\u00a0being among these. Strong efforts were made to convert them to the Roman Catholic faith.<\/p>\n\t On\u00a0Benjamin Burt’s<\/strong>\u00a0side were :<\/p>\n On\u00a0Sarah Burt’s<\/strong>\u00a0side were<\/p>\n In 1708, certain townsmen of Norwalk purchased from the Indians a tract fifteen miles north and settled it as Ridgefield. As every useful, or rather indispensable, craft had to be represented in such isolated settlements,\u00a0Benjamin Burt<\/strong>\u00a0became one of the co-equal proprietors as the blacksmith.<\/p>\n\t Although, I have known of this part of my family’s history for a while now, reading and researching it again brought back the significance of this historical event. The strength and perseverance of\u00a0Benjamin<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Sarah Burt<\/strong>\u00a0is an amazing testament to the colonial spirit of these early New England settlers. To further strengthen the connection I feel to my 7th great grandparents is the realization that if they had not survived this horrific experience and went on to live full lives,\u00a0I may not be here today.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0My 6th great grandfather,\u00a0Benjamin Burt (1707 – 1796)<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0was born only 6 months after his parents were rescued from their captures.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Benjamin Burt is my 7th great grandfather. He and his wife Sarah (Belden) Burt were forced to endure a terrifying and unthinkable ordeal during the winter of 1704. In this blog post, I will share their story. I will admit ahead of time, that a large part of the information…<\/p>\n![\"Move](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/box5666.temp.domains\/~geneals9\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/4648975.png?w=970\" "\\"4648975\\"")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tMove from Northampton, MA to Deerfield, MA\n\t![\"Depiction](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/box5666.temp.domains\/~geneals9\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/3395607_orig.gif?w=970\" "\\"3395607_orig\\"")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tDepiction of 1704 Deerfield Massacre\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t![\"Map](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/box5666.temp.domains\/~geneals9\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/7809487.png?w=970\" "\\"7809487\\"")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tMap of Raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts\n\t![\"5134448\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/box5666.temp.domains\/~geneals9\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/5134448.jpg?w=970\" "\\"5134448\\"")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t” I saw in the naked forest Our scattered remnant cast,
\nA screen of shivering branches Between them and the blast;
\nThe snow was falling ’round them,
\nThe dying fell as fast.”
\n–\u00a0Rev. John Williams<\/blockquote>\n\t\n
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![\"Blog](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/genealogistonajourney.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Blog-Signiture.png?resize=573%2C200&ssl=1\" "\\"Blog")
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