"Jack Harpster and Ken Stalter's Captive! is a rich, thorough, and riveting retelling of David Ogden's harrowing capture by the feared and fascinating Iroquois chief, Joseph Brant, during the Revolutionary War. Ogden, a 16-year-old American woodsman and Patriot soldier, who was captured in three feet of snow next to a soldier who had been shot and scalped, was mocked by the British, stoned by the Iroquois and adopted by the Senecas. His ordeal and escape---an unmatched run for freedom---will keep you on the edge of your seat." Dean King Author of Skeletons on the Zahara and Unbound
"Spurred by curiosity and compassion, with extensive historical research and some imagination, Harpster and Stalter place a once-sensationalized captivity narrative on solid ground. They help us enter a world very far away from our own, and at least begin to understand." Ray Raphael Author of Founders: The People Who Brought You a Nation; A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence; and a number of other noteworthy books on American history
"Jack Harpster and Ken Stalter provide a vivid, fresh look at a familiar genre, the `Indian captivity narrative' through David Ogden's experiences with the Iroquois during the Revolutionary War, with historical context lacking in the original account, published in 1840. This book is a treat to read that also makes compelling history." Bruce E. Johansen Professor of Communication and Native American Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Captive! The Story of David Ogden and the Iroquois is a gripping, true adventure story of one young colonial soldier's bravery and determination during the Revolutionary War, and many years later during the War of 1812.
David Ogden was born into an unusually tumultuous time in America. The colonials were struggling to throw off the yoke of British rule while also battling the Iroquois tribes for control of their ancestral homelands. At age 14, as a homesteader with his family on the New York frontier, Ogden narrowly escaped the Iroquois' notorious Cherry Valley Massacre by crawling through a small firewood passageway and slipping away. At 16 he joined the Continental Army, and was captured while on a woodcutting detail by an Iroquois war party.
Following a grueling 10-day winter march across New York, Ogden was adopted by a Seneca Indian family and held in virtual captivity for more than two years. Finally, he chose a daunting 126-mile race to freedom, fraught with the risk of death over being assimilated into an alien society. Three decades later, Ogden survived the brutal battle of Queenston Heights in the War of 1812, in which 500 of his comrades died, and 925---including Ogden---were taken prisoner. But Ogden was more than just lucky---he was also extremely resourceful, tough, and determined.
The biography of anyone who survived two wars and the formation of a new nation would be compelling, but David Ogden's story stands alone, even within the historical context of his times. His story was originally told in an 1840 Indian captivity narrative, which is included in its entirety in the appendix. It is retold here with all the factual historical information and colorful detail that were missing from the original, along with many maps and illustrations. It also accurately retains the flavor of the period and the voice of the 18th-century protagonist
