We Must Burn Them

John Underhill. We Must Burn Them. 1638.

This engraving from a contemporary account of the Pequot war shows the dawn raid on the Pequot Indian fort at Mystic, Connecticut, on May 26, 1637. The text in the upper left hand corner of the engraving reads: "The figure of the Indians fort or Palizado in New England And the maner of the destroying It by Captayne Underhill And Captayne Mason." The account reads: "Many were burnt in the fort, both men, women, and children. Others forced out,...twenty and thirty at a time, which our soldiers received and entertained with the point of the sword. Down fell men, women, and children; those that scaped us fell into the hands of the Indians that were in the rear of us."
Description: Engraving.
Location: Rare Books and Manuscripts Division, The New York Public Library; Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations, New York City.
Source: John Underhill. Newes from America: or a New Discoverie of New England, 1638.