MAY 8:

 May 8, 1725:  In one of the last battles of Lovewell's or Father Rasle's War, Pigwacket Indians defeat a British army under Captain John Lovewell at Fryeburg, Maine.

May 8, 1973:  New York Times news article of 1973 perspective of the surrender.

BACKGROUND:
 

Excerpts from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/1094/father.htm
 
 

FATHER RASLE'S WAR 1724-1726

Father Rasle's War occurred between the years 1721 and 1725. The conflict was also known as Dummer's War, Grey Lock's War, and Lovewell's War. While many think that the colonial wars of the 17th and 18th centuries were a battle between France and England over control of North America the interests and actions of the Indians complicated this rivalry.

The English were convinced that the French were the masterminds behind these frontier raids. They believed that the French provided the Indians with arms and ammunition in an attempt to drive them out of New England. The English settlers saw themselves as victims and viewed the Indians as savages and as pawns of the French, not as a people defending their land. The French used the Indians as a buffer zone between Quebec and the more populous English settlements. They did provide them with weapons and often accompanied them on their raids. When war did break out between France and England, the French did not hesitate to use the Indians against the English.

The Abenaki Indians were concerned with their own interests rather then those of the French. They were not mere pawns of the French, but allied themselves with the French because they viewed them as the lesser of two evils. They wanted to protect their way of life and prevent the English from encroaching on to their land. This desire for freedom was complicated by the fact that the Indians were now dependent on the white man's technology. They used guns, ammunition, iron knives, needles, kettles, clothes and many other items which they were unable to produce. While they wanted their lands back they were unable, or unwilling, to totally distance themselves from the white man and his technology. This ultimately doomed the Indians as they were unable to unite the different tribes.

Father Rasle was a Jesuit priest who dedicated his life to educating and converting the Indians to his faith. A " native of Pontarlier, France, he was baptized on 28 January 1652 and joined the Society of Jesus on 24 September 1675. He came to America on 13 October 1689 and, after spending some time with the native Americans in Illinois (1692-95) and at Becancour (1705-11) in Canada, he lived most of his life among the Abenakis of what is now the State of Maine. " The English felt that Father Rasle was the mastermind who planned many of the Indian raids on their homes. They mounted a raid on the Abenaki village at Norridgewock, which is located on the Kennebec River in Maine. The raid was designed to stop these raids and to punish the Indians. It failed in one of its primary objectives, to kill or capture Father Rasle. While Father Rasle managed to escape, the English did capture the Abenaki dictionary he had been working on.

For the next few years there were raids on both sides. Finally, in 1724 the English again raided Norridgewock. " An expedition of 200 men in seventeen whale boats, under Captains Harmon, Moulton, Brown, and Bean, moved on Norridgewock with such celerity as to surprise the Indians and prevent any vigorous defence. A great victory was the result. Eighty are supposed to have been killed, or drowned in their attempt at flight. Among the slain was Rasle. The mission chapel, cottages, and canoes were burned and destroyed. Four Indians were taken alive, and three captives rescued. " ....

.... One of the last battles of the war was Lovewell's defeat at the hands of the Pigwacket Indians at Fryeburg, Maine, on May 8, 1725. While this was a defeat for the English, they felt that the Indians had suffered severely in this battle and their ability for future raids curtailed.

.... The Indians of the Pigwacket valley were a vigorous and war-like people. These Indians were the Sokoki's of the Abenakis'. The valley is located on the upper reaches of the Saco River, which is in Maine. From the earliest days they were valuable allies of the French in their long struggle for control of the North American continent. The Indians had no means of knowing that they were pawns in a game played by two of the most powerful nations of the world. For them the motive of warfare was defense of the home against an invader. This motive was reinforced after the end of King Philip' s War. Some of the surviving Wampanoags joined the Pigwackets. They were bitter against the English because of their defeat and the destruction of their tribe. They undoubtedly shared their experiences with the Abenakis.