The Raid on St. Francis

Historical:

The St. Francis Raid was an attack in the French and Indian War by Robert Rogers and a band of his Rangers on the primarily Abenaki village of St. Francis, near the southern shore of the Saint Lawrence River in what was then the French province of Canada, on October 4, 1759. Rogers and about 140 men entered the village, which was reportedly occupied primarily by women, children, and the elderly, early that morning, slaughtered many of the inhabitants where they lay, shot down many who attempted to flee, and then burned the village. Rogers reported killing as many as 300 people, while French reports placed the number closer to thirty, mainly women and children. One of Rogers' men was killed, and seven were wounded.

Rogers and his men endured significant hardships to reach the village from the British base at Fort Crown Point in present-dayNew York, and even more hardship afterwards. Chased by the French and vengeful Indians, and short on rations, Rogers and his men returned to Crown Point via the Connecticut River valley. Missteps in caching food stores for the expedition's use led to starvation, and some of Rogers' men were reportedly driven tocannibalism in order to survive. About one third of the raid's participants did not return.

British colonial reports of the raid were unapologetic, as St. Francis had long been a place from which the natives raided colonial settlements as far south as Massachusetts, and Rogers reported a large number of English scalps decorating the main village buildings.

***  This set is available in two seperate colour schemes - See RSF-23B for the alternate colour scheme.

Info: Mounted Indian Tracking (A), single mounted figure