At dawn on September 22, 1711, more than fivehundred Tuscarora, Core, Neuse, Pamlico, Weetock, Machapunga, and Bear RiverIndian warriors swept down on the unsuspecting European settlers living alongthe Neuse and Pamlico Rivers of North Carolina. During the following days, theydestroyed hundreds of farms, killed at least 140 men, women, and children, andtook about 40 captives. So began the Tuscarora War, North Carolina’sbloodiest colonial war and surely one of its most brutal. In his grippingaccount, David La Vere examines the war through the lens of key players in theconflict, reveals the events that led to it, and traces its far-reachingconsequences.

La Vere details the innovative fortifications produced by the Tuscaroras,chronicles the colony’s new practice of enslaving all captives and selling themout of country, and shows how both sides drew support from forces far outsidethe colony’s borders. La Vere concludes that this merciless war began a newdirection in the development of the future state of North Carolina.