Spectral Battles and Shocking Warrants: March 23, 1692 in the Salem Witch Trials

We focus on Wednesday, March 23, 1692, a day of intense spiritual conflict and the issuing of startling arrest warrants. We describe how Ann Putnam Sr. claims the specters of Rebecca Nurse and Martha Cory torment her, as Reverend Deodat Lawson observes the Putnam household during and after frightening fits and a dramatic confrontation with Nurse’s supposed apparition, including the use of a verse from Revelation. We also note that other afflicted persons report Nurse’s specter, adding to mounting accusations. We follow Edward and Jonathan Putnam as they travel to Salem Town to file complaints with magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin, leading to warrants for both Rebecca Nurse and four-year-old Dorothy Good. We also touch on guarded voyages from Boston involving Captains John Alden and James Converse and a hostage exchange mission to St. John, Canada.00:00 March 23 Overview00:27 Putnam Fit Begins02:08 Scripture Versus Specter03:08 Other Girls Afflicted03:22 Warrants Issued04:08 Coastal Ransom MissionDeposition of Ann Putnam Sr. v. Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse, and testimony of Ann Putnam Jr. v. Rebecca Nurse, Martha Cory, and Sarah CloyceWarrant for the Apprehension of Rebecca NurseWarrant for the Apprehension of Dorothy GoodDeodat Lawson, A Brief and True NarrativeSign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victimsFind My Massachusetts LegislatorsThe Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub⁠The Thing About Salem⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts⁠Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt⁠Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience⁠Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under SiegePeabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection