![1736 Memoirs byGyles Boston](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/1736_Memoirs_byGyles_Boston.jpg)
John Gyles (1680 at
Pemaquid, Maine1755 at
Roxbury, Boston) was an interpreter and soldier, most known for
his account of his experiences with the
Maliseet tribes at their headquarters at
Meductic
Meductic is a small village located along the Saint John River in southern New Brunswick, approximately 33 kilometres southeast of Woodstock. Meductic's mayor is Lance Royden Graham.
History
During the Expulsion of the Acadians, the village wa ...
, on the
Saint John River.
King William's War
During
King William's War
King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...
, in 1689, when he was nine years of age, he was living with his family at
Fort Charles. On 2 August, while labouring with his father Thomas near the new fort, he was taken prisoner by
Maliseets in the
Siege of Pemaquid (1689)
The siege of Pemaquid (August 2–3, 1689) was a successful attack by a large band of Abenaki Indians on the English fort at Pemaquid, Fort Charles, then the easternmost outpost of colonial Massachusetts (present-day Bristol, Maine). The French ...
. His father was killed, one brother James was taken by the Penobscot, and only one brother escaped. John was conveyed up the
Penobscot River, across
portages to the
Chiputneticook Lakes The Chiputneticook Lakes are a group of several lakes along the international boundary between Maine and New Brunswick.
They are East Grand Lake, North Lake, Mud Lake, Spednic Lake, and Palfrey Lake.
This lake system forms the head waters of t ...
, and on to the main Maliseet village
Meductic
Meductic is a small village located along the Saint John River in southern New Brunswick, approximately 33 kilometres southeast of Woodstock. Meductic's mayor is Lance Royden Graham.
History
During the Expulsion of the Acadians, the village wa ...
.
![CastineMainePlaqueJamesGiles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/CastineMainePlaqueJamesGiles.jpg)
, held in slavery by
Madockawando Madockawando (born in Maine c. 1630; died 1698) was a sachem of the Penobscot, an adopted son of ''Assaminasqua,'' whom he succeeded. He led the Penobscot on the side of the French against the English during King William's War.
Biography
The Penobs ...
for attempting to escape, were tortured by fire, compelled to eat their noses and ears and then burned to death at the stake" (Se
John Gyles' captivity narrative, p. 10-11.
For six years, Gyles was a
Slavery among the indigenous peoples of the Americas, slave to the Maliseets. He was forced to serve as
drudge to one of the many small hunting parties that moved as far north as
Gaspésie and endured harsh treatment.
His fortunes greatly improved in the summer of 1695 when he was sold to
Louis D'Amours de Chauffours, who had a
seigneury
''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...
at
Jemseg. John hunted and traded for D'Amours and worked in his store. In October 1696, the English came up the Saint John River to attack the capital of Acadia in the
Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696)
The siege of Fort Nashwaak occurred during King William's War when New England forces from Boston attacked the capital of Acadia, Fort Nashwaak, at present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick. The siege was in retaliation for the French and Indian Si ...
. D'Amours was in France at the time, but Gyles helped to save his master's house from destruction. He posted on the door a statement, written by D'Amours' wife, that English captives had been treated kindly there. After the
Treaty of Ryswick
The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Gran ...
, Gyles was delivered to the captain of an English vessel at the mouth of the Saint John and sailed for Boston, where he arrived on 19 June 1698.
Queen Anne's War
Gyles' knowledge of and fluency in the Indian dialects of Acadia made him invaluable to the governing authorities of New England when war broke out again in 1701. During
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...
, he was with March in the
Northeast Coast Campaign (1703). He served as an interpreter under many flags of truce, sailed with Major
Benjamin Church in 1704, and fought with Colonel
John March at the
Siege of Port Royal (1707)
The siege of Port Royal in 1707 included two separate attempts by English colonists from New England to conquer Acadia (roughly the present-day Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) by capturing its capital Port Royal (now Annapol ...
.
Father Rale's War
Most of his later life was given to military service and liaison with the Indians. In 1715 he helped construct
Fort George at
Brunswick; which was attacked in 1722.
He remained to command the fort throughout
Father Rale's War
Dummer's War (1722–1725) is also known as Father Rale's War, Lovewell's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the Wabanaki-New England War, or the Fourth Anglo-Abenaki War. It was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the ...
, until 1725. He finished his military career as commander of the New England garrison on
Fort St. George (Thomaston, Maine).
He married his first wife, Ruth True, in 1703 and his second, Hannah Heath in 1722.
Legacy
In 1736 Gyles published his memoirs of his adventures.
First printed in Boston in 1736, it was reprinted in 1853 and in 1875, and used as the basis for a modern adaptation of the memoirs by Stuart Trueman in 1966.
Gyles Cove, north of
Hillman in
York County, New Brunswick was named for him.
The memoirs are considered a precursor to the frontier romances of
James Fenimore Cooper,
William Gilmore Simms
William Gilmore Simms (April 17, 1806 – June 11, 1870) was an American writer and politician from the American South who was a "staunch defender" of slavery. A poet, novelist, and historian, his ''History of South Carolina'' served as the defin ...
, and
Robert Montgomery Bird
Robert Montgomery Bird (February 5, 1806 – January 23, 1854) was an American novelist, playwright, and physician.
Early life and education
Bird was born in New Castle, Delaware on February 5, 1806.Ehrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. ''The Oxfor ...
.
A play was produced about his life called ''John Gyles: an Indian Experience'' by
Theatre New Brunswick
Theatre New Brunswick is the only English language professional theatre company in New Brunswick, Canada. It began operation in 1968, and has been successfully operating since that time.
Artistic directors
* Walter Learning (1968-1978)
*Malcolm Bl ...
's Young Company in 1978.
Further reading
*
See also
*
Captivity Narratives - Nova Scotia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyles, John
1680s births
1755 deaths
People from Bristol, Maine
People of colonial Maine
Military history of Acadia
Military history of Nova Scotia
Military history of New England
Military history of Canada
Interpreters
American memoirists
Captives of Native Canadians
18th-century translators