Raid on Haverhill (1708)

Raid on Haverhill
Part of Queen Anne's War

Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville, French commander
Date29 August 1708
Location
Result French victory
Belligerents
"The Pine Tree flag of New England" New England  French colonists
 Algonquin
 Montagnais
Commanders and leaders
Simon Wainwright 
Major Turner
Samuel Ayer 
Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville
Chief Escumbuit
Strength
70+ militia 250 native warriors and French Canadian militia
Casualties and losses
16 killed, 14–24 militia and inhabitants captured 9 killed
18 wounded

The Raid on Haverhill was a military engagement that took place on August 29, 1708, during Queen Anne's War. French, Algonquin, and Abenaki warriors under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville descended on Haverhill, then a small frontier community in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. In the surprise attack, 16 people were killed and another 14 to 24 were taken captive. A rapid militia muster gave chase, and in a skirmish later in the day, nine of the French and Indian party were killed and some of their prisoners escaped.

Haverhill was not the original target of the raiders. Expecting a larger Indian contingent, French authorities planned to engage in a series of raids on the communities of the Piscataqua River. However, the unwillingness of some Indian tribes to participate in the expedition forced the French to reduce the scope of the operation and choose an easier target. The raid was more costly to the French than previous frontier raids like that in 1704 on Deerfield, Massachusetts because the province had been warned of the raiders' advance.