“To Obey Jesus Christ And General Washington”: Massachusetts, Catholicism and the Eastern Indians during the American Revolution

Abstract

Massachusetts government policy embodies a long history of anti-Catholic sentiment. During the Revolutionary War, the state faced a dilemma as the Indians of eastern Maine, whose loyalty was crucial to the defense of that region, appealed time and again for a Catholic priest to administer their sacraments. This study of the halting official policy regarding the religious needs of the Eastern Indians reveals both the ideological pragmatism of Massachusetts leaders under the pressures of war, and the perseverance of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Micmac Indians as they struggled to protect their religious way of life.