White Devil: A True Story of War, Savagery, and Vengeance in Colonial America [Hardcover]

Stephen Brumwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2005

In America's first war, known as the French and Indian War, France and England-both in unholy alliance with warring Native American tribes-battled each other in a series of bloody conflicts and terrifying attacks on colonial settlements. No more brutal raid was carried out than the massacre of the settlers at Fort William Henry-an atrocity memorably depicted in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans.Following the raid, Major Robert Rogers and his famous band of "Rangers" marched north into French territory to exact retribution, where they ruthlessly attacked a peaceful village of the Abenaki Indians, massacring its people with a frightening vengeance. After the raid, the attackers endured a horrifying journey back, as some of the men were captured and tortured, while others resorted to cannibalism rather than starve in the wilderness. When the remnants of Rogers' raiders, including the Major himself, returned, they were hailed as heroes and the legend of the brave Robert Rogers began. But was he hero, or was he the "white devil," as the Abenaki still call him? In vivid prose, Stephen Brumwell explores the truth behind the legend of this controversial and dramatic episode from America's violent past.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fast-moving tale of courage, cruelty, hardship and savagery." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 7/10/05

"A fine book that offers a rewarding read to scholars and laypeople alike. It deserves a wide audience." -- New York History, Fall 2005

"Brumwell gives a vivid account of the raid that gained Rogers fame." -- Boston Globe 3/20/05

"Brumwell has done an excellent job of setting up the history of this little understood war...gripping." -- Charleston Post and Courier 5/1/05

"Brumwell showcases history with a brilliantly exciting style." -- Rocky Mountain News6/1/05

"Brumwell shows how perilous life was on the American frontier in the 1750s." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch 3/6/05

"In the right hands truth...can be just as thrilling as fiction. Those hands here belong to Stephen Brumwell." -- Washington Times 3/6/05

The detail is remarkable...[an] engaging look at how people really lived back then." -- Roanoke Times 5/1/05

About the Author

Stephen Brumwell has scoured numerous archives to unearth eyewitness accounts that lay bare the remarkable facts behind the legend of this controversial episode from America's violent frontier past. In White Devil, he tells a powerful true story of hardship and courage, savagery and humanity, vengeance and survival.Stephen Brumwell is a well-known expert on the British army in eighteenth-century America, and the author of Redcoats. He lives in the Netherlands.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Export Ed edition (February 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306813890
• ISBN-13: 978-0306813894
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars War in the Woods, June 1, 2005

By 

Sherman Peabody "Sherm" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Devil: A True Story of War, Savagery, and Vengeance in Colonial America (Hardcover)

This book is a well-written overview of the contributions to warfare by Roger's Rangers and their attack on the Abenaki town of St. Francis in the fall of 1759. Brumwell explores the savage nature of the conflict between the English and the French and Indians, but underscores some of the ironic nature of this conflict: that due to kidnapping and tribal adoption, some St. Francis Indians were likely to have almost as many English ancestors as the frontiersmen they opposed. And that the English frontiersmen could be as "savage" as the Indians. Brumwell does very well dispelling the cliches and stereotypes that many have become accustomed to. He uses records of the St. Francis Indian oral tradition to give a voice to both sides. As an historian and former newspaperman, Dr. Brumwell writes very well and this is important because he creates both a well-researched historical work and a damn fine story. This is, after all, the story of Robert Rogers and is as good a biography of him as John Cuneo's older more traditional biography. As a result, this book can be read by both specialists and general readers alike and will carry the reader away 250 years where they can get lost in the woods.

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NICELY DONE - WELL WRITTEN, August 26, 2005

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Devil: A True Story of War, Savagery, and Vengeance in Colonial America (Hardcover)

I was impressed with this work from the first page. I admit to being one of those who, while aware of this period in our history, actually knew little of it and the impact it had on future events. What little I have read tended to be "soap box" history, that is, work that tried to make either the English or French or Native Americans into either saints or complete animals. This book gives us a rather different slant and pretty well makes the point that "times were hard then." I feel this work goes far in making an attempt to show all sides of the issue, both the good and bad of all the participants. If you are looking for a politically correct, "gosh what animals they were," then this one is probably not your cup of tea. Actually the author has not made any one side look all that nice and civilized. There has never been a war where atrocities were not committed. Further more, there has never been a war where the atrocities were not committed by all sides, to one extent or another. This war was no different. The work is well written and is apprently quite well researched. It is very readable. Recommned this one for any history buff and in particular for those interested in the early history of this country. Recommend you purchase and add this one to your collection.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We Are All Savages - By Bill Dixon, July 20, 2005

By 

William Dixon (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: White Devil: A True Story of War, Savagery, and Vengeance in Colonial America (Hardcover)

"Nous sommes tours Sauvages." So opens Stephen Brumwell's well-written adventure saga of the French & Indian War. I initially read it with some trepidation ,as many recently written books of the period tended to be of the politically correct, revisionist genre. Brumwell pleasantly surprised me with a very readable and balanced story. His inclusion of new and revealing Abenaki and French sources gave me a fresh perspective of Robert Rogers and the Rangers from the adversarial side of that conflict. He presented Roger's ,warts and all, without undue condemnation of his considerable leadership qualities. While not as broad in scope as John Cuneo's earlier biography of Rogers, Brumwell's scholarship and inclusion of new material and fair assessments make this a "keeper". Indeed, Brumwell's gripping and detailed description of the infamous St. Francis Raid and its aftermath was a vivid page-turner. Anyone with an interest in the colonial period in general and the French & Indian War in particular, will enjoy this book immensely.