Timeline of King Philip's War

1675-King Philip's War During King Philip's war, the colonists of Connecticut did not suffer much from hostile Indians, excepting some remote settlers high up the Connecticut River. They furnished their full measure of men and supplies, and their soldiers bore a conspicuous part in that contest between the races for supremacy. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rhode Island found itself the victim of a war it had neither instigated nor declared and suffered as much as its Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth neighbors. Providence lost seventy-two homes and was deserted by most of its inhabitants. Warwick was burned to the ground except for one stone house, while places like Wickford and the ancient settlement of Pawtuxet were utterly destroyed. By March 1676, the area south of the Pawtuxet River had been largely deserted by the English, and by the war's end only the village of Portsmouth and the town of Newport had been spared the ravages of King Philip's War. Connecticut's military played a crucial role in the war, and the colony escaped assault with the exception of Simsbury, which was abandoned and burned to the ground. - - - - In all, more than half of New England's ninety towns were assaulted by native warriors. For a time in the spring of 1676, it appeared to the colonists that the entire English population of Massachusetts and Rhode Island might be driven back into a handful of fortified seacoast cities. Between six hundred and eight hundred English died in battle during King Philip's War. Measured against a European population in New England of perhaps fifty two thousand, this death rate was nearly twice that of the Civil War and more than seven times that of World War 11. The English Crown sent Edmund Randolph to assess damages shortly after the war and he reported that twelve hundred homes were burned, eight thousand head of cattle lost, and vast stores of foodstuffs destroyed. 1675-76, the most devastating war between the colonists and the Indians in New England. The war is named for King Philip, the son of Massasoit and chief of the Wampanoag. His Wampanoag name was Metacom, Metacomet, or Pometacom. Upon the death (1662) of his brother, Alexander (Wamsutta), whom the Indians suspected the English of murdering, Philip became sachem and maintained peace with the colonists for a number of years. Hostility eventually developed over the steady succession of land sales forced on the Indians by their growing dependence on English goods. Suspicious of Philip, the English colonists in 1671 questioned and fined him and demanded that the Wampanoag surrender their arms, which they did. In 1675 a Christian Indian who had been acting as an informer to the English was murdered, probably at Philip's instigation. Three Wampanoags were tried for the murder and executed. Incensed by this act, the Indians in June, 1675, made a sudden raid on the border settlement of Swansea. Other raids followed; towns were burned and many whites--men, women, and children--were slain. Unable to draw the Indians into a major battle, the colonists resorted to similar methods of warfare in retaliation and antagonized other tribes. The Wampanoag were joined by the Nipmuck and by the Narragansett (after the latter were attacked by the colonists), and soon all the New England colonies were involved in the war. Philip's cause began to decline after he made a long journey west in an unsuccessful attempt to secure aid from the Mohawk. In 1676 the Narragansett were completely defeated and their chief, Canonchet, was killed in April of that year; the Wampanoag and Nipmuck were gradually subdued. Philip's wife and son were captured, and he was killed (Aug., 1676) by an Indian in the service of Capt. Benjamin Church after his hiding place at Mt. Hope (Bristol, R.I.) was betrayed. His body was drawn and quartered and his head exposed on a pole in Plymouth. The war, which was extremely costly to the colonists in people and money, resulted in the virtual extermination of tribal Indian life in southern New England and the disappearance of the fur trade. The New England Confederation then had the way completely clear for white settlement. Brief Chronology of King Philip's War 1675 JANUARY 29 John Sassamon dies at Assawampsett Pond. JUNE 8 Sassamon's alleged murderers are executed at Plymouth. 11 Wampanoags are reported in arms near Swansea. 14-25 Rhode Island, Plymouth, and Massachusetts authorities attempt negotiation with Philip and seek guarantees of fidelity from Nipmucks and Narragansetts. 24 Wampanoags begin attacking Swansea. 26 Massachusetts troops march to Swansea to join Plymouth troops. 26-29 Wampanoags attack Rehoboth and Taunton, elude colonial troops, and leave Mount Hope for Pocasset. Mohegans travel to Boston and offer to fight on the English side. JULY 8-9 Wampanoags attack Middleborough and Dartmouth. 14 Nipmucks attack Mendon. 15 Narragansetts sign a peace treaty with Connecticut . I6-24 Massachusetts envoy attempts to negotiate with the Nipmucks. 19 Philip and his troops escape an English siege and flee Pocasset for Nipmuck territory. AUGUST 2-4 Nipmucks attack Massachusetts troops and besiege Brookfield. 13 Massachusetts Council orders Christian Indians confined to praying towns. 22 A group of unidentified Indians kill seven colonists at Lancaster. 30 Captain Samuel Moseley arrests fifteen Hassanemesit Indians near Marlborough for the Lancaster assault and marches them to Boston. SEPTEMBER 1-2 Wampanoags and Nipmucks attack Deerfield. Massachusetts forces led by Moseley attack the town of Pennacook. 12 Colonists abandon Deerfield, Squakeag, and Brookfield. 18 Narragansetts sign a treaty with the English in Boston. Massachusetts troops are ambushed near Northampton. OCTOBER 5 Pocumtucks attack and destroy Springfield. 13 Massachusetts Council orders Christian Indians removed to Deer Island. 19 English repel Indians from Hatfield. NOVEMBER c. 1 Nipmucks take captive Christian Indians at Magunkaquog, Chabanakongkomun, and Hassanemesit, including James Printer. 2-12 Commissioners of the United Colonies order a united army to attack the Narragansetts. DECEMBER 7 Massachusetts Council prints a broadside explaining the case against the Narragansetts. United colonial forces attack Narragansetts at the Great Swamp. 1676 JANUARY Philip travels westward to Mohawk territory, seeking, but failing to secure, an alliance. 14 Joshua Gift is captured by the English. 27 Narragansetts attack Pawtuxet. FEBRUARY 10 Nipmucks attack Lancaster; Mary Rowlandson is taken captive. 14 Philip and Wampanoags attack Northampton. Massachusetts Council debates erecting a wall around Boston. 21 Nipmucks attack Medfield. 23 Massachusetts General Court debates the fate of Christian Indians. Indians assault sites within ten miles of Boston. MARCH 13 Nipmucks attack Groton. 26 Longmeadow, Marlborough, and Simsbury are attacked. 27 Nipmucks attack English forces near Sudbury. 28 Indians attack Rehoboth. 29 Providence is destroyed. APRIL 21 Indians attack Sudbury. MAY 2-3 Mary Rowlandson is released and returns to Boston. 18 English forces attack sleeping Indians near Deerfield. 18 Indians attack Hatfield. c. 31 Christian Indians are moved from Deer Island to Cambridge. JUNE 12 Indians attack Hadley but are repelled by Connecticut soldiers. 19 Massachusetts issues a declaration of amnesty for Indians who surrender. 22 Captain Tom is executed in Boston. JULY 2 Major John Talcott and his troops begin sweeping Connecticut and Rhode Island, capturing large numbers of Algonquians who are transported out of the colonies as slaves throughout the Summer. James Printer surrenders in Cambridge. 4 Captain Benjamin Church and his soldiers begin sweeping Plymouth for Wampanoags. Indians attack Taunton but are repelled. 17 Nearly two hundred Nipmucks surrender in Boston. AUGUST 2 Benjamin Church captures Philip's wife and son. 12 Alderman, an Indian soldier under Church, kills Philip. The Indians were warrior societies. Despite the imbalance of arms since they lacked cannon, and depended upon the English or French for muskets and powder, they were effective against European military formations. Colonial militia, which quickly adopted the Indian's style of combat, what we call guerrilla or insurgency warfare, were better able to deal with Indian tactics. Indian warfare often involved surprise raids on isolated settlements as a way of evening the odds. In King Philip's war (1675-1676), the Indian attacks left: "In Narraganset not one House left standing. "At Warwick, but one. At Providence, not above three. "At Potuxit, none left. ... "Besides particular Farms and Plantations, a great Number not be reckoned up, wholly laid waste or very much damnified. "And as to Persons, it is generally thought that of the English there hath been lost, in all, ..., above Eight Hundred." This is followed by a claim that fearful atrocities were worked on the survivors, and the women raped. - - - - - - - - - - - - Captured, King Philip was "taken and destroyed, and there was he (like as Agag was hewed in pieced before the Lord) cut into four quarters, and is now hanged up as a monument of revenging Justice, his head being cut off and carried away to Plymouth, his Hands were brought to Boston." We should not be surprised that the colonists, often hard pressed to win these all-out assaults, developed not only a fear of Indians but a hatred as well. Treating with the Indians as equals, or even as psuedo-equals was quite beyond their comprehension or in most cases their abilities. This problem conflicted with the general imperial policy to improve relations, especially in peace time. - - - - -Increase Mather Indian Treatment of Captives The "bonds of attachment" between the adopted English and Indian adopters and their tribe, whether as children or adults, sometimes became very strong, even within months and were maintained on both sides for a lifetime if circumstances at all permitted. Redeemed captives repeatedly testified that despite being powerless in captivity, they were not subjected to sexual advances. The general Indian taboo against incest protected the captive who was the future relative and the tribe as well as the individual was bound by the custom. Using violence to forcibly rape a captive would add more and greater dishonor. Of course this varied by tribe and some tribes thought otherwise. Myths of Indian cruelty were likewise challenged by the captives. Indians were especially kind to children. The bonding between Indian parents and their adopted children was quick and deep. But first the captives had to be initiated into the tribe. Often the process involved three steps: "a purgative ceremony," a washing, and a clothing in Indian garb. The first, often a running of the gauntlet where tribe members beat them with sticks, appears to have served as "Revenge for their Relations who have been slain," and relieved their anger at the loss of family members in battle. The washing, often immersion, was a symbolic washing away of white blood. Clothing them as Indians marked their becoming Indian, members of the tribe and nation. They often replaced the dead relation in his or her place in their family, though sometimes genders or ages were mismatched, but that did not matter. The captives noted that the Indians treated them, enemies, as brothers. This further affected the younger captives, especially those whose own parents were dead. Not all captives wished to enter fully into Indian life, marrying and having children. Married captives were particularly unwilling to remarry. Their refusals were obviously disappointing to their Indian families, who urged them to change their minds, but force was not used. In this and most everything else, the captives, as full members of the tribe, had full choice.

           Reprinted from The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut

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Who Was King Philip?

 

METACOM?

"I am determined not to live till I have no country"
- King Philip

 

When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620, it was in Massasoit's territory that they invaded. His principle residence was with the Pokanokets at Sowwams in Rhode Island, but he was Grand Sachem (originally pronounced saw-kum) of the whole Wampanoag Federation, and listed 31 subtribes under him, which extended probably to a third of Massachusetts, some of Rhode Island and part of Connecticut. Thousands of his people had already died from sicknesses brought by the foreign explorers and traders, so he welcomed the Pilgrims as allies to help protect his territory from the now stronger Narragansetts.

For 40 years he signed many treaties with the English and kept every promise he made. He asked only one thing in return, and that was that they do nothing to turn his people away from their pagan superstitions. Almost immediately the first Praying Town was created. By then two of his sons were training to take over Massasoit's kingdom, and to prove their friendship, they were given English names. Wamsutta was called Alexander, and Metacom was called Philip. That may have been a big mistake, as that gave the English the impression that these young men were now the subjects of their king.

Massasoit died and Wamsutta became Grand Sachem. Plymouth Colony demanded that he come in and treat with them, but he had pressing business elsewhere in his kingdom and didn't show up at the appointed time. The English found and arrested him, forcing him to meet with officials at Major Winslow's house. Wamsutta objected strongly, saying that he was a sovereign king and would treat only with their king in England, who was his equal. That night Wamsutta got violently ill and died on his way home. It is believed, but never proven, that he was poisoned. There is a record of an expense for rat poison "to kill a pest."

Philip then became Grand Sachem in 1662 at the young age of 22. It appears that his name was changed at this time to Wewasowanuett. The English expected trouble from him, so forced him to come in often and prove his loyalty and friendship. One thing he had to do each year was to bring in 5 wolf heads on sticks. He had to sign very humiliating treaties, stating that he had been naughty by planning actions against the British, and deserved to be punished. It is highly doubtful that he knew what he was signing. Sassamon, who later proved to be a traitor, was the interpreter, so there's no telling what he was telling King Philip was in these treaties. Every time he came in, he insisted that his people be allowed to worship in their own way, and that he would treat only with his equal, the King of England. Eventually he had to promise to turn in all his people's guns, and that was a promise he never kept.

Philip was a very patient man and spent about ten years training all his subtribes how to fight in the old ways, without guns and ammunition. The people had become dependant on many of the British things, so he had a hard time convincing them that when war broke out, those weapons would be the first things taken from them, and ammunition would become unavailable. When it became clear that war could not be avoided, he also met with the other New England tribes and tried to get them to unite and fight together to dispel the English. To these councils, he brought with him a bundle of sticks. Each of the sticks represented one tribe, which was weak. But tied together in unity, they could not be broken. I'm sure that his young age made it difficult for him to command the respect he needed, yet he got many of the tribes to commit to war, which was to begin in 1676.

But a year early, Philip was betrayed by a relative, John Sassamon, and his plans were revealed to the English. The betrayer was killed, which was well within the rights of a sovereign King, but because Sassamon was a Christian Indian, Plymouth called it murder and hung three men for the crime. It is believed by some that those three men were Philip's war captains, so he had to call upon Massasoit's war captains, who were quite elderly. Philip could not control the anger of his warriors, so war broke out before the other tribes were ready.

Philip was a master of guerilla warfare, which was a shock to the English who were used to fighting out in the open. Philip set up a lot of decoys and ambushes, which worked very effectively, and he became known as "The Sly Fox" or "Circling Fox" and they never knew where he was going to be lurking next. As tribes all over New England began to attack the newer settlements through ambush, Philip got the reputation of being in all places at once, which was impossible. He became the most hated man in America, and every history book called him the most savage, blood-thirsty monster that ever lived. The woodcuts and pictures I've seen of him all reflect those feelings, so I am using an engraving from the Library of Congress that I think best represents what he might have looked like.

There are many accounts coming to light in recent years that prove his great compassion and love for his people. He often would warn his English neighbors to leave town before an attack, as they had been friends with his father or done something nice for his people in the past. And all of his prisoners were treated kindly, and not one of the women captives was ever raped by an Indian. There are theories that the Narragansett Bay area was a spiritual temple for all Native Americans, and that pilgrimages to pray on the hillside were made about every 65 years by hundreds of thousand of inland Indians from great distances away. The last one had occurred a few years before the pilgrims came, and exposed them to devastating epidemics brought to this shore by the foreign fur traders. With the next pilgrimage due to arrive in a few years, Philip realized that there was not enough hunting or planting area left for his people to prepare to feed the multitudes. This could well be one of the causes of the King Philip War.

Philip was also a brilliant strategist. The Mohawks were the biggest threat to his people, but he attempted to get them to join in the battle. In order to convince them that it was their battle, too, he had 3 of their warriors killed and made it look like the English did it. That plan backfired, however, when one of them came back to life and told the Mohawks what really happened. Had the Mohawks joined the war, the British would have been history.

The Indians destroyed whole villages by fire all over New England, and the loss of property and life has never been equaled in this country, but just when it looked like they couldn't lose, the tide turned. The English got smart and brought in the Mohegans under Uncas and his son Oweneco to fight their battles, and brought in other friendly Indians to use as guides and scouts. Somehow they managed to convince other tribes to stop fighting and start helping them to destroy Philip. Even some of his own people began to defect and tell the British where he was hiding or where he was planning to attack next. Every time the British won a battle, more Indians would join their side, and some of them would even tell them where their own families were hiding!

In August of 1676, most of Philip's relatives were killed and his wife and son taken captive. The next day a large company of soldiers came upon him quite unexpectedly, sitting all alone on a log in the woods. They didn't recognize him at first, as he had chopped off his hair (probably as an expression of his grief). He hadn't heard them approach, yet still managed to escape. But clearly he was devastated by all the losses. A week later he lost all that he had left to lose, his own life.

On August 12, 1676, Capt. Benjamin Church led a small company into a swamp near Philip's hometown of Mount Hope, at the direction of the latest defector, named Alderman. They rudely awakened him, and Church's gun misfired, so it was Alderman who got the honor of killing his own king. Church took great pleasure in dragging Philip's body through the mud, until it was completely covered. Then he ordered the body chopped up into quarters. His head was placed on top of a pole and carried to the town common of Plymouth Colony, where it was displayed for 25 years. One of his hands was chopped off and given to Alderman. That hand had a big hole in it from a time when his gun had misfired, so Alderman made a pretty penny showing it off for many years to come.

The remnants of his tribe were gathered up and sold into slavery, along with the remnants of the Narragansetts and many of the other New England tribes. Those who escaped fled from tribe to tribe as each one in turn was destroyed. The war continued off and on for some time to come, but there never again was any real contest, and the tribes just kept moving west until they ran out of west.

Nobody knows how many children King Philip and Wootonekanuske had, or what happened to them. All the history books say that the captured wife and son were sold as slaves to the West Indies, but I've recently discovered that the West Indies wouldn't take any more slaves from New England at that time because they already had too many to control. Thus far I have not found a record of their boarding a ship or of the authorities keeping track of their whereabouts, which one would expect to find, given their great fear of this family. I have good reason to believe that they were hidden away by missionaries to one of the praying towns, and their identities kept secret for 322 years.

- Essay by Susan S. Martin, direct descendant
Copyright 2/2/99

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