Great Swamp Fight

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Great Swamp Massacre
Part of King Philip's War
Great Swamp Fight painting.jpg
A painting of the Great Swamp Massacre
DateDecember 19, 1675
Location
South Kingstown, Rhode Island
41°28′07″N71°35′44″W / 41.46861°N 71.59556°W / 41.46861; -71.59556
Result New England victory
Belligerents
New England Confederation
Pequots
Mohegans
Narragansetts
Commanders and leaders
Governor Josiah Winslow (Commander-in-chief) [1]
Major Samuel Appleton (Massachusetts Bay Colony commander) [1]
Governor Robert Treat (Connecticut Colony commander) [1]
Major William Bradford (Plymouth Colony commander) [1]
Uncas (Mohegan Sachem)
Captain William Raymond [2]
Canonchet (Narragansett Sachem)
Strength
1,000 militia
150 warriors
1,000 warriors
1 fort
Casualties and losses
~70 killed
~150 wounded
~ 97 warriors killed
~300–1,000 non-combatants killed [3]
~300 captured
1 fort destroyed [4]
USA Rhode Island relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Rhode Island

The Great Swamp Massacre or the Great Swamp Fight was a crucial battle fought during King Philip's War between the colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett people in December 1675. It was fought near the villages of Kingston and West Kingston in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The combined force of the New England militia included 150 Pequots, and they inflicted a huge number of Narragansett casualties, including many hundreds of women and children. The battle has been described by historians as "one of the most brutal and lopsided military encounters in all of New England's history." [3]

Contents

Since the 1930s, Narragansett and Wampanoag people commemorate the battle annually in a ceremony initiated by Narragansett-Wampanoag scholar Princess Red Wing.

Historical context

The Pokanoket Indians had helped the original pilgrim settlers to survive, [5] under the leadership of Massasoit. His sons Wamsutta and Metacom took on the English names of Alexander and Philip, respectively. Alexander became sachem of the Pokanokets on the death of his father, but he died within a year and Philip succeeded him in 1662.[ citation needed ]

Philip began laying plans to attack the colonists in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and he slowly built a confederation of neighboring Indian tribes. He also gathered muskets and gunpowder for the eventual attack, but only in small numbers in order that the colonists would not be alarmed. [6]

Several Wampanoag men attacked and killed colonists in Swansea, Massachusetts, on June 20, 1675, and that began King Philip's War. The Indians laid siege to the town, then destroyed it five days later and killed several more people. A full eclipse of the moon occurred in the New England area on June 27, 1675 (O.S.) (July 7, 1675 N.S.; See Old Style and New Style dates), [7] and various tribes looked at it as a good omen for attacking the colonists. [8] Officials from the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies responded quickly to the attacks on Swansea; on June 28, they sent a punitive military expedition which destroyed the Wampanoag town at Mount Hope in Bristol, Rhode Island.[ citation needed ]

The Indians waged attacks on settlements in Massachusetts and Connecticut, but Rhode Island was spared at the beginning. In October, the Indians struck again with raids on the towns of Hatfield, Northampton, and Springfield, where almost the entire settlement was burned to the ground. As winter set in, the attacks diminished.[ citation needed ]

The Narragansetts remained officially neutral in the war due in part to the urging of Roger Williams, signing a neutrality treaty with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in October of 1675. [9] Although not involved in the war, they had sheltered many of King Philip's men, women, and children, and several of their warriors had participated in Indian raiding parties. [10] The colonists distrusted the Narragansetts and feared that the tribe would join King Philip's cause in the spring, which caused great concern due to the tribe's location. The militia burned several abandoned Narragansett villages as they marched around Narragansett Bay, as the tribe had retreated to a large fort in the center of the Great Swamp near Kingston, Rhode Island. On November 2, 1675, Josiah Winslow led a combined force of over 1,000 colonial militia, including about 150 Pequot and Mohegan Indians, against the Narragansetts living around Narragansett Bay.[ citation needed ]

Philip. King of Mount Hope, caricature by Paul Revere, illustration from the 1772 edition of Benjamin Church's The Entertaining History of King Philip's War King Philip C by Revere.jpg
Philip. King of Mount Hope, caricature by Paul Revere, illustration from the 1772 edition of Benjamin Church's The Entertaining History of King Philip's War

One colonist was accused of fighting on the Indian side of the battle. Joshua Tefft reportedly wounded Captain Nathaniel Seely of Connecticut (son of Captain Robert Seeley), who subsequently died. An Indian spy reported that Tefft "did them good service & killed & wounded 5 or 6 English in that fight & before they would trust him he had killed a miller an English man at Narragansett and brought his scalpe to them." [11]

Battle

On December 15, 1675, after peace negotiations failed between Stonewall John and the militia, Narragansett warriors attacked the Jireh Bull Blockhouse and killed at least 15 people. [12] 15-year-old James Eldred escaped from the blockhouse and was pursued a considerable distance; he survived having a tomahawk thrown at him at close range and a hand-to-hand encounter with a Narraganset warrior. This occurred along Indian Run Brook in Wakefield-Peacedale, Rhode Island. [13] The Narragansetts saw swamps as ideal defensive locations in wartime, leading them to take up residence in the Great Swamp during the conflict. [14]

Four days later, the Great Swamp Battle took place on the bitterly cold and stormy day of December 19, 1675. The colonial militia from Plymouth Colony, Connecticut Colony, and Massachusetts Bay Colony were led to the main Narragansett settlement in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, by an Indian guide named Indian Peter. [15] The low temperatures froze the natural moat that surrounded the Narragansett encampment, allowing the colonial troops to pass easily. [14] The massive fort occupied about 5 acres (20,000 m2) of land and was initially occupied by over a thousand people, but it was eventually overrun after a fierce fight. The settlement was burned, its inhabitants (including women and children) killed or evicted, and most of the tribe's winter stores destroyed. It is believed that at least 97 Narragansett warriors and 300 to 1,000 non-combatants were killed, though exact figures are unknown. [3] The forces destroyed the blacksmith forge of Stonewall John, although he escaped and was killed several months later. [16]

Engraving depicting the colonial assault on the Narragansetts' fort in the Great Swamp Massacre in December 1675 Capture of the Indian Fortress.png
Engraving depicting the colonial assault on the Narragansetts' fort in the Great Swamp Massacre in December 1675

Many of the warriors and their families escaped into the frozen swamp; hundreds more died there from wounds combined with the harsh conditions. The colonists lost many of their officers in this assault, and about 70 of their men were killed and nearly 150 more wounded. The dead and wounded militiamen were evacuated to the settlements on Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay where they were buried or cared for by many of the Rhode Island colonists. [17]

Benjamin Church, the first American ranger Colonel Benjamin Church.jpg
Benjamin Church, the first American ranger

Aftermath

The Great Swamp Massacre was a critical blow to the Narragansett tribe from which they never fully recovered. [18] The spring of 1676 brought a counter-offensive by Canonchet after he organized a confederation of 2000 braves. Providence was burned, including Roger William's house. [9] The Narragansetts were nearly completely defeated when Canonchet was captured and executed in April 1676. Female sachem Queen Quaiapen was ambushed on July 2 attempting to cross a river at the Second Battle of Nipsachuck Battlefield and Stonewall John, a notable Indian mason, was also killed. Finally, Philip was shot and killed on August 12 by John Alderman, an Indian soldier in the company of Benjamin Church. Many of the Narragansett survivors were sold into slavery, sentenced to death, or fled to join other nearby tribes, like the Niantics. [14]

Legacy and monument

The Great Swamp Fight Monument located in the Great Swamp State Management Area, West Kingston, Rhode Island Great Swamp Fight Monument 2013.jpg
The Great Swamp Fight Monument located in the Great Swamp State Management Area, West Kingston, Rhode Island

A memorial marker was placed at the presumed site of the battle in 1906 on five acres of land donated by Rowland Hazard III and the Hazard family. The rough granite shaft with only the date of the conflict engraved on it, stands about 20 feet high on a mound. It was erected by the Rhode Island Society of Colonial Wars to commemorate the battle and to serve as a cemetery memorial. Four roughly squared granite markers stand around the mound at the four cardinal compass points engraved with the names of the colonies which took part in the encounter; two tablets on opposite sides of the shaft give additional data. The markers are near West Kingston, Rhode Island. [19]

The Great Swamp Fight roadside marker formerly located on Rhode Island Route 2 in West Kingston, Rhode Island Great Swamp Fight Roadside Marker.jpg
The Great Swamp Fight roadside marker formerly located on Rhode Island Route 2 in West Kingston, Rhode Island

The dedication of the monument was attended by descendants of both sides of the battle. [20] The dedication speaker, Rowland G. Hazard II, said of the monument, "We dedicate this rugged granite shaft, frost-riven from the native hills, untouched by the tool of man, as a fitting emblem of the rugged and unadorned Pilgrim and Puritan of 16 hundred and 75." Three members of the modern Narragansett tribe pulled the veil from the stone. [19] The inscription states: [21]

Attacked within their fort upon this island the Narragansett Indians made their last stand in King Philip's War and were crushed by the united forces of the Massachusetts Connecticut and Plymouth Colonies in the "Great Swamp Fight" Sunday 19 December 1675. This record was placed by the Rhode Island Society of Colonial Wars 1906.

A second marker was placed there in 1916 which has since gone missing. The inscription was: [22]

In memory of Major Samuel Appleton of Ipswich, Massachusetts who commanded the Massachusetts forces and led the victorious storming column at the Great Swamp Fight Dec. 19, 1675. This Tablet placed by the Rhode Island Historical Society 1916.

In the 1930s, Narragansett-Wampanoag scholar Princess Red Wing initiated an annual commemorative ceremony at the site of the battle. [23] From the time of the 1906 monument dedication until 2021, the land on which the monument sits was owned by the Rhode Island Historical Society. On 23 October 2021, the title to the five acre of land constituting the monument site was transferred to the Narragansett Tribe to be held in perpetual trust. [24]

Order of battle of the army of the United Colonies

The army of the United Colonies which fought at the Great Swamp Fight consisted of three regiments of unequal strength, each regiment containing companies raised from one of the three colonies. [25]

Headquarters

Commander – General Josiah Winslow, Governor of Plymouth Colony (wounded in action)

Massachusetts Bay Colony Regiment

Commander – Major Samuel Appleton

Plymouth Colony Regiment

Commander – Major William Bradford, Jr. (wounded in action)

Connecticut Colony Regiment

Commander – Major Robert Treat

Notable officers and Indian chiefs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1676</span> Calendar year

1676 (MDCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar and a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 1676th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 676th year of the 2nd millennium, the 76th year of the 17th century, and the 7th year of the 1670s decade. As of the start of 1676, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1675</span> Calendar year

1675 (MDCLXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 1675th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 675th year of the 2nd millennium, the 75th year of the 17th century, and the 6th year of the 1670s decade. As of the start of 1675, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metacomet</span> Elected chief of the Wampanoag Indians

Metacomet, also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip, was sachem to the Wampanoag people and the second son of the sachem Massasoit. His older brother Wamsutta briefly became sachem after their father's death in 1661. However, Wamsutta also died shortly thereafter and Metacom became sachem in 1662.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Philip's War</span> 1675–78 war in New England

King Philip's War was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands against the English New England Colonies and their indigenous allies. The war is named for Metacom, the Pokanoket chief and sachem of the Wampanoag who adopted the English name Philip because of the friendly relations between his father Massasoit and the Plymouth Colony. The war continued in the most northern reaches of New England until the signing of the Treaty of Casco Bay on April 12, 1678.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wampanoag</span> Native American tribes in Massachusetts

The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and formerly parts of eastern Rhode Island. Their historical territory includes the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pequot War</span> 1630s conflict in New England

The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place in 1636 and ended in 1638 in New England, between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes. The war concluded with the decisive defeat of the Pequot. At the end, about 700 Pequots had been killed or taken into captivity. Hundreds of prisoners were sold into slavery to colonists in Bermuda or the West Indies; other survivors were dispersed as captives to the victorious tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narragansett people</span> Native American tribe from Rhode Island, US

The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Church (ranger)</span> New England military officer and politician (1639–1718)

Colonel Benjamin Church was a New England military officer and politician who is best known for his role in innovative military tactics notably developing Unconventional warfare. He is also known for commanding the first ranger units in North America. Born in the Plymouth Colony, Church was commissioned by Governor Josiah Winslow to establish a company of Rangers called after the outbreak of King Philip's War. Church participated in numerous conflicts which involved the New England Colonies. A force of New Englanders led by him was responsible for tracking down and killing Wampanoag sachem Metacomet, which played a major role in ending the conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weetamoo</span> Native American leader

Weetamoo, also referred to as Weethao, Weetamoe, Wattimore, Namumpum, and Tatapanunum, was a Pocasset Wampanoag Native American Chief. She was the sunksqua, or female sachem, of Pocasset tribe, which occupied contemporary Tiverton, Rhode Island in 1620. The Pocasset, which she led, was one of groups of the Wampanoag.

John Sassamon, also known as Wussausmon, was a Massachusett man who lived in New England during the colonial era. He converted to Christianity and became a praying Indian, helping to serve as an interpreter to New England colonists. In January 1675, Sassamon was ambushed and assassinated. A mixed jury of colonists and Indian elders convicted and executed three Wampanoag men for his murder. These events helped spark the conflict known as King Philip's War, in which the New England Colonies defeated the Wampanoag and ended armed resistance by the Native Americans of southeastern New England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nine Men's Misery</span>

Nine Men's Misery is a site in current day Cumberland, Rhode Island, where nine colonists were tortured by Narragansett warriors during King Philip's War. A stone memorial was constructed in 1676 and is believed to be the oldest war monument in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith's Castle</span> Historic house in Rhode Island, United States

Smith's Castle, built in 1678, is a house museum at 55 Richard Smith Drive, near Wickford, a village in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Smith's Castle is one of the oldest houses in the state. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993 as Cocumscussoc Archeological Site due to the artifacts and information that digs have yielded in the area. It is located just off U.S. Route 1 in Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Hope (Rhode Island)</span> Small hill in Bristol, Rhode Island, US

Mount Hope is a small hill in Bristol, Rhode Island overlooking the part of Narragansett Bay known as Mount Hope Bay. It is the highest point in Bristol County, RI. The 7000 acres that now make up the Town of Bristol in Rhode Island were called the Mt. Hope Lands. The elevation of Mt. Hope summit is 209 feet, and drops sharply to the bay on its eastern side. Mount Hope was the site of a Wampanoag (Pokanoket) village. It is remembered for its role in King Philip's War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheeler's Surprise</span> 1675 battle in King Philips War

Wheeler's Surprise, and the ensuing Siege of Brookfield, was a battle between Nipmuc Indians under Muttawmp, and the English colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony under the command of Thomas Wheeler and Captain Edward Hutchinson, in August 1675 during King Philip's War. The battle consisted of an initial ambush by the Nipmucs on Wheeler's unsuspecting party, followed by an attack on Brookfield, Massachusetts, and the consequent besieging of the remains of the colonial force. While the place where the siege part of the battle took place has always been known, the location of the initial ambush was a subject of extensive controversy among historians in the late nineteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bloody Brook</span> 1675 battle of King Philips War

The Battle of Bloody Brook was fought on September 28, 1675 between an indigenous war party primarily composed of Pocumtuc warriors and other local indigenous people from the central Connecticut River valley, and the English colonial militia of the New England Confederation and their Mohegan allies during King Philip's War.

The siege of Springfield was a siege of the colonial New England settlement of Springfield in 1675 by Native Americans during King Philip's War. Springfield was the second colonial settlement in New England to be burned to the ground during the war, following Providence Plantations. King Philip's War remains, per capita, the bloodiest war in American history.

Samuel Appleton was a military and government leader in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay. He was a commander of the Massachusetts militia during King Philip's War who led troops during the Attack on Hatfield, Massachusetts and the Great Swamp Fight. He also held numerous positions in government and was an opponent of Governor Sir Edmund Andros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Battle of Nipsachuck Battlefield</span> United States historic place

The Second Battle of Nipsachuck Battlefield is a historic military site in North Smithfield, Rhode Island. A largely swampy terrain, it is the site of one of the last battles of King Philip's War to be fought in southern New England, on July 2, 1676. The battle is of interest to military historians because it included a rare use in the war of a cavalry charge by the English colonists. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quaiapen</span>

Quaiapen was a Narragansett-Niantic female sachem (saunkskwa) who was the last sachem captured or killed during King Philip’s War.

Pumham was one of Metacomet's chief advisors during King Phillip's War. He was sachem of Shawomet. He was described as "one of the stoutest and most valiant sachems that belonged to the Narragansett." He was friends with English settlers, but aligned himself with Metacomet when war broke out.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Eric B. Schultz; Michael J. Tougias (2000). King Philip's War. Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press. pp. 181–182. ISBN   978-0-88150-483-5.
  2. Maine place names and the peopling of its towns. Portland, Me., B. Wheelwright. 1955. ISBN   978-0-87027-112-0.
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  4. "Blood and Betrayal: King Philip's War". 30 October 2014.
  5. Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
  6. "The American Legion a U.S. Veterans Association".
  7. Moon Eclipse calculation Archived 2013-11-25 at the Wayback Machine Accessed December 22, 2011
  8. Leach, Douglas Edward; Flintlock and Tomahawk; p. 46; Parnassus Imprints, East Orleans, Massachusetts; 1954; ISBN   0-940160-55-2
  9. 1 2 "Roger Williams: King Philip's War – Roger Williams National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  10. David Lindsay, PhD., Mayflower Bastard: A Stranger amongst the Pilgrims (St. Martins Press, New York, 2002) pp. 205–206
  11. http://www.westernrihistory.org/uploads/6/5/0/9/6509445/western_ri_newsletter_8-11.pdf%5B%5D
  12. George Ellis and John Morris, King Philip's War (Grafton Press, New York, 1906) https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/_Topics/history/_Texts/EAMKPW/9*.html Archived 2022-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Jo Anne Butler (2 January 2012). "The Great Swamp Fight". The Rebel Puritan. Retrieved 15 Oct 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 Delucia, Christine M. (2018). "Habitations by Narragansett Bay Coastal Homelands, Encounters with Roger Williams, and Routes to Great Swamp". Memory lands: King Philip's War and the place of violence in the northeast. New Haven. ISBN   978-0-300-20117-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. "Letter of John Dudley, Narragansett Campaign and the Great Swamp Massacre". 15 Dec 1675. Retrieved 15 Oct 2017.
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  17. Axelrod, p. 104
  18. "Flintlock and Tomahawk: New England in King Philip's War" by Douglas Edward Leach, New York: MacMillan, 1958, pp. 130–132
  19. 1 2 Hazard, Rowland Gibson. (1906). A Record of the Ceremony and Oration On the Occasion of the Unveiling of the Monument Commemorating The Great Swamp Fight December 19, 1675 in the Narragansett Country: Erected by the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Societies of Colonial Wars. Rhode Island Society of Colonial Wars, Merrymount Press, Boston. 69pp. Archived 2020-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
  20. "Great Swamp Fight Monument, South Kingstown, Rhode Island". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 15 Oct 2017.
  21. "The Monument at the Great Swamp". EnCompass. Providence College . Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  22. Reilly-McGreen, M. E. (2011). Revolutionaries, Rebels and Rogues of Rhode Island. Arcadia Publishing. p. 45. ISBN   978-1-61423-843-0.
  23. Rubertone, Patricia. 2012. "Monuments and Sexual Politics in New England Indian Country", In The Archaeology of Colonialism Voss, Barbara L. & Conlin Casella, Eleanor. p. 245
  24. Alex Nunes (23 Oct 2021). "Site of 'Great Swamp Massacre' returned to Narragansett Indian Tribe". Rhode Island Public Radio. Retrieved 27 Oct 2021.
  25. "Great Swamp Fight Regiments". Miner Descent. 4 Dec 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  26. Josiah Pierce. A History of the town of Gorham, Maine. p. 169.
  27. Hugh Davis McLellan, History of Gorham, Maine; Smith & Sale, printers; Portland, Maine 1903.

Further reading