Candlemas Massacre - York, ME
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 43° 08.639 W 070° 39.159
19T E 365608 N 4778129
This granite marker commemmorates the Candlemas Massacre of Jan. 24, 1692, when a band of Abenakis and Father Louis-Pierre Thury beset the settlement of York killing or capturing 300 colonists, and burning the town.
Waymark Code: WME5D9
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 04/06/2012
Views: 8
NEAR THIS SPOT
ARE INTERRED THE REMAINS OF THE VICTIMS
OF ONE OF THE WORST MASSACRES OF COLONIAL DAYS.
ON CANDLEMAS DAY, 1691-2
IN THE DAWN OF A JANUARY MORNING, ABENAKI INDIANS
ATTACKED THE SETTLEMENT OF YORK
BURNING THE HOUSES AND KILLING OR CAPTURING
300 OF ITS INHABITANTS.
ABOUT 40 WERE KILLED. THE REST MARCHED
TO CANADA, MANY DYING ON THE WAY.
ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF THESE HARDY PIONEERS
BY THE SOCIETY
FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC LANDMARKS.
The number of inhabitants killed during this massacre range from 40, as on this marker, to 100 by other accounts. The difference may be in the inclusion of those who died during the forced march to Canada. The survivors were ransomed by John Alden for the British.
What is clear, is that this raid was particularly vicious. This was during the First French and Indian War, also known as the War of King William. They Abenaki were led by French commanders who were accompanied by the French priest/missionary Louis-Pierre Thury, who was deeply involved in the political aspect of the war and was present for many of the battles.
There is an annual commemoration of this horrific event in York with reenactments, lectures and exhibits.
Sources:
Wikipedia: Raid on York (1692)
Wikipedia: King William's War
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: THURY, LOUIS-PIERRE