Explore the real-world places that appear in Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Fort at Number Four (Charlestown), Connecticut River Valley Trail Departure, Birth of Captive, Otter Creek and Lake Champlain Route, Crown Point and 7 more.
Charlestown, New Hampshire — Miriam's home and the site of the raid
In August 1754, Miriam Willard is at the Johnson household in the frontier settlement when an Indian raiding party attacks at dawn. Miriam, her sister Susanna Johnson, Susanna's husband James, their children, and Miriam's friend Peter Labaree are seized. Miriam is thinking of her sweetheart Phineas Whitney, who is about to leave for Harvard, when the raid shatters her happiness.
Charlestown, then called Number Four, was the northernmost English settlement on the Connecticut River in the early 1750s. It was attacked in August 1754, when the Johnson family was captured. This episode was recorded in Susanna Johnson's narrative, published in 1807.
Charlestown is a small town on the Connecticut River. The Fort at No. 4 living history museum reconstructs the 1740s-50s stockaded settlement and interprets frontier life and the French and Indian War.
Visit: Fort at No. 4 (historic site)
Near Charlestown — The captives are marched into the forest
The raiders force the captives away from the settlement, binding them and driving them north along forest paths. Miriam struggles to keep pace with her pregnant sister Susanna. Hunger, fear, and the loss of their home weigh on them as the Abenaki warriors set a brutal pace.
The Connecticut River valley was a major corridor for raiding parties between Canada and New England settlements. Abenaki war parties allied with the French used its waterways and trails.
The area is rural, with farmland, forest, and riverside roads along the New Hampshire and Vermont banks. There is no single marked trail location.
Along the Black River in Vermont — Susanna's baby is born on the trail
Susanna goes into labor during the march, and her daughter is born beside a stream. Miriam helps her sister, and the baby is named Captive. The Indians allow a brief rest and Miriam is awed that mother and child survive the ordeal.
Susanna Johnson's real narrative describes giving birth on the trail on August 30, 1754, near present-day Vermont. The baby was named Captive. The event became one of the best-known episodes of the captivity.
The Black River area near Ludlow and Springfield, Vermont, is wooded and rural, with scattered towns and recreation areas. The exact birthplace is not marked.
Vermont — The captives travel north by water and trail
The march turns toward Lake Champlain, where the captives cross icy streams and endure meager meals. Miriam forces herself to get through one small portion of food, one more stream, one more step. She clings to thoughts of Phineas and tries to protect little Captive.
Otter Creek and Lake Champlain were routes between New England and Canada. Raiders and captives frequently traveled this water highway.
Lake Champlain is a large recreational lake bordering Vermont, New York, and Quebec. Many parks, boat launches, and historic sites line its shores.
Visit: Lake Champlain (park)
Lake Champlain narrows — French fort on the captive route
Captives are taken past the French stronghold on the lake, a sign of how far from home they have traveled. The French outpost shows Miriam that she is deep in enemy territory, where the war's political fortunes will shape her fate.
The French built Fort St. Frédéric at Crown Point in the 1730s to control Lake Champlain. The British later built Fort Crown Point nearby after taking the area.
The Crown Point State Historic Site preserves the ruins of Fort St. Frédéric and Fort Crown Point, with a museum and lake views.
Visit: Crown Point State Historic Site (historic site)
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec — Gateway into Canada
As the captives near the settled parts of Canada, they pass French military posts on the Richelieu River. Miriam sees ordered French settlements and soldiers, a change from the wilderness. Their captors begin to dispose of the prisoners to different masters.
Fort Saint-Jean was founded by the French in the 1660s and was a key post on the Richelieu River route between Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence. It became a major military site for centuries.
The Fort Saint-Jean site is located on the grounds of the Royal Military College Saint-Jean, and a military museum nearby tells the fort's history.
Visit: Fort Saint-Jean National Historic Site (historic site)
Old Montreal — Arrival of the weary captives
Miriam and her companions finally reach Montreal, a city of shifting loyalties and wartime intrigue. The captives are paraded, sold, and parceled out among French and Indian owners. For Miriam, the busy streets are bewildering and dangerous, but also the beginning of an unexpected turn in her fortunes.
Montreal was the second city of New France, a center of the fur trade and military operations in the 1750s. It was surrendered to the British in 1760.
Old Montreal is a historic district with cobblestone streets, museums, restaurants, and markets near the St. Lawrence River.
Visit: Old Montreal (landmark)
Old Montreal — Where Miriam works for the prominent family
By a sudden twist of fortune, Miriam is taken into the home of the Du Quesne family, a prominent household in Montreal society. There she encounters a refined life of French manners, fashion, and cuisine that she never imagined. Her relationship with the family brings her new opportunities and also complicated loyalties as she longs to return home to Phineas.
Wealthy French colonial families in Montreal lived in stone townhouses in the old city near the port and Place d'Armes. Such households mixed social life, commerce, and military connections.
The area retains many 17th-19th century stone buildings, now used as hotels, offices, and shops. The Du Quesne house itself is fictional.
Place d'Armes — Center of French Catholic life
Miriam, a Protestant New Englander, sees the splendor of French Catholic worship in Montreal. The religious life of the city and the influence of priests shape the choices of the captives, some of whom are pressured toward conversion or adoption by French families.
A parish church stood on this site from the 1600s. The present Gothic Revival basilica was completed in 1829 and replaced an earlier church that stood during the 1750s.
Notre-Dame Basilica is one of Montreal's top attractions, known for its richly decorated interior and concerts.
Visit: Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal (landmark)
Old Montreal — Civic and military heart of the city
Soldiers, officers, and townspeople crowd the square, with talk of war, battles, and rumors of the British. Miriam hears news that affects her hopes of rescue and learns how the fortunes of the French and English shift. The city's political intrigue touches the lives of captives like her.
Place d'Armes was an important public square in Montreal from the 1600s and the site of military gatherings. The monument to Maisonneuve, the city's founder, was added in 1895.
The square is a popular public plaza surrounded by the basilica and historic buildings, and features the Maisonneuve monument.
Visit: Place d'Armes (park)
Old Port — Where Montreal's trade and captive exchanges took place
Boats from the St. Lawrence bring supplies and news, and the harbor is a place where captives hope for ransom or exchange. Miriam watches for any chance of word from New England and the prospect of going home.
Pointe-à-Callière is the site where Montreal was founded in 1642 and developed as a port and market. Archaeological excavations have revealed layers of the city's history.
The Pointe-à-Callière Archaeology and History Complex is a major museum built over archaeological remains in Old Montreal.
Visit: Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal Archaeology and History Complex (museum)
Cambridge, Massachusetts — Phineas Whitney's destination
Miriam's sweetheart Phineas Whitney is on his way to Harvard when she is captured. Thoughts of him, and of the life they might have had, give Miriam strength during the march and her years in Canada. His future at Harvard stands in contrast to her uncertain captivity.
Harvard College was founded in 1636 and trained many New England ministers and leaders. In the 1750s it was a small but prestigious college in Cambridge.
Harvard University is a world-renowned university, and Harvard Yard is open to visitors, with tours and museums nearby.
Visit: Harvard Yard (landmark)
More by Elizabeth George Speare: All Elizabeth George Speare books
Other nearby maps: The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind locations map · Céline by Georges-Hébert Germain locations map · Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler locations map · The Secret History by Donna Tartt locations map