John Lovewell

Who was John Lovewell?

John Lovewell was a famous Ranger in the 18th century who fought during Father Rale's War. He lived in present-day Nashua, New Hampshire. He fought in Father Rale's War as a militia captain, leading three expeditions against the Abenaki Indians. John Lovewell became the most famous Ranger of the eighteenth century.

Although the outcome was a draw, Lovewell's Fight marked the end of hostilities between the English and the Abenakis of Maine. This conflict was a turning point. So important was it to western Maine, New Hampshire and even Massachusetts colonists that the Fight was celebrated in song and story, and its importance was not eclipsed until the American Revolution. More than one hundred years later Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau all wrote about Lovewell's Fight.