“Ambush at Lovewell’s Pond” by John Buxton.
The first in an ongoing podcast series, Tales of the Rangers, is up. You can access it here or on Spotify and most other podcasting platforms.
This is a milepost in the trail that Frontier Partisans will be on for some time. As I work on the Ranger Project — Spirited For that Work, the podcast will be devoted to Tales of the Rangers — incidents and personalities that may be part of the larger work, but deserve a telling all their own.
This first one recounts a savage firefight between a party of New England rangers led by Captain John Lovewell, and Abenaki warriors led by their renowned war captain, Paugus, in the Maine woods on May 8 or May 9, 1725 (accounts vary). It’s a story I’ve wanted to delve into for a long time, and the time is now.
Matthew says
Just curious but are you also going to do the Texas Rangers?
JimC says
Yep.
lane batot says
Depending on how soon yer gonna do the Texas Rangers, I have somthin’ I intend to send you on that subject that might help you out a bit there. But, if it doesn’t arrive on time, I’m SURE there will be other occasions this subject will arise!
JimC says
Cool!
Joe says
Fantastic episode. It seems like Lovewell took full advantage of the versatility of the fowling piece, which I find fascinating since it was later said to have been used by irregular forces in the Revolution (and probably the French and Indian War before that I am guessing).
On a side note, I climbed Lovewell Mountain in New Hamshire years ago, one of several great places to hike near my Aunt’s house in Newport. Pretty comfortable trail with a great view. I don’t recall seeing any markers related to Captain Lovewell, but I’m sure it’s related since it’s very close to Maine.
JimC says
The fowler was a damn good choice of weapon — as long as you didn’t need a bayonet. One of the reasons that militia often took to their heels in battle was that they didn’t have any way of defending themselves against the “Queen of Battles.”
I’d bet confidently that Lovewell Mountain is named for our Captain Lovewell.