The most lethal attack on New Hampshire's Seacoast Region during King William's War, killing 104 settlers in a single raid.
Key Facts
- Date
- July 18, 1694
- Settlers killed
- 104 people
- New Hampshire disaster rank
- Third worst disaster in New Hampshire history
- Prior attack on same village
- Second attack in five years
- Conflict
- King William's War
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During King William's War, French colonial authorities directed allied Abenaki and Maliseet warriors to conduct raids against English settlements along the New England frontier. Oyster River, a small English settlement in present-day Durham, New Hampshire, had already been attacked once within the previous five years, leaving it vulnerable to renewed assault.
On July 18, 1694, a combined force of Abenaki and Maliseet warriors, acting under French direction, attacked the English settlement at Oyster River. The assault proved exceptionally lethal, killing 104 settlers and making it the most devastating raid on the Seacoast Region throughout the entire war.
The raid stood as the deadliest single attack on New Hampshire's Seacoast Region during King William's War and remains the third worst disaster in New Hampshire's history. It contributed to broader patterns of violence along the frontier, alongside other notable raids at Dover, Salmon Falls, York, and Portsmouth Plains during the same conflict.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent