The Parrott Abduction Raid of 1781
Some background: This account was written to be used in a presentation at the Bennington Battlefield in August of 2025, and is intended to be a historical account of the event which is as accurate as it is possible to make it at this time. It is an example of what is up on the Historian website at whitecreekhistorian.wordpress.com After Burgoyne’s surrender in 1777 the big battles in the north were over and the British resorted to guerrilla raids from Canada to tie up American resources and terrorize the populace. These took two forms – large raids by Loyalist units accompanied by Indians to wipe out farmsteads and small communities, and smaller “abduction raids” usually carried out by squads of 4 to 8 white men for the purpose of kidnapping prominent citizens, who were then questioned for information and either ransomed back or used in prisoner exchanges. The Mohawk Valley took the hardest hits, as Sir Guy Johnson’s Indian allies took part and were familiar with the area. However...
