The Courtship of Miles Standish, 1859

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published The Courtship of Miles Standish in 1858. The narrative poem tells the story of the early days of the Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth Colony and the love triangle between Priscilla Mullins and rivals John Alden and Miles Standish (Mullins married Alden.) Unbothered with historical accuracy, Longfellow loosely based the poem on Mullins and Alden, his ancestors.