King Philip's War

Historical context

British colonization of New England began in the 17th century, with roughly 20,000 Puritans migrating from 1620 to 1640, primarily to Plymouth Colony and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Early Plymouth Colony claimed preemptive rights to Wampanoag country through alliances with Native leaders like Squanto and Massasoit, but English claims relied on misinterpretations of Native leadership, viewing Massasoit as a king despite other territorial claims under local leaders like Namumpum.

Colonists founded Salem, Boston, and other towns around Massachusetts Bay between 1628 and 1640, expanding into Algonquian territories. Tensions fluctuated before the war; the Narragansetts fought alongside the English in the Pequot War but were horrified by the Mystic massacre. Narragansett leader Miantonomoh gathered Algonquians in the 1640s to face the colonists, but he was captured and executed by Mohegan sachem Uncas, shattering the coalition.

The Rhode Island, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Haven colonies each developed separate relations with various tribes, whose territories had differing boundaries. By 1675, colonists had established small towns in the interior between Boston and the Connecticut River settlements.

Southern theater, 1675

A band of Pokanokets attacked isolated homesteads in Swansea on June 20, 1675, likely against Philip's approval, burning several homes. On June 23, a local boy killed a Pokanoket, and on June 24, Pokanokets launched a full-scale attack on Swansea, killing three. A full lunar eclipse occurred on June 27, which various tribes considered a good omen for attacking colonists. Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay officials responded on June 28 by sending a punitive expedition that destroyed the Wampanoag town at Mount Hope in Bristol, Rhode Island.

The war spread to involve the Podunk and Nipmuc tribes. During summer 1675, Natives attacked Middleborough and Dartmouth on July 8, Mendon on July 14, Brookfield on August 2, and Lancaster on August 9. In early September, they attacked Deerfield, Hadley, and Northfield. Wheeler's Surprise and the Siege of Brookfield occurred in August 1675, involving Nipmucs under Muttawmp and colonists under Thomas Wheeler and Edward Hutchinson.

Eight men from Wheeler's company died in an ambush on August 2. The Nipmucs besieged the colonial force at Ayers' Garrison for two days until driven off by Major Simon Willard's troops.

Southern theater, 1676

In February 1676, Philip led 1,500 Wampanoag, Nipmuc, and Narragansett men in a dawn attack on Lancaster, Massachusetts. They attacked five fortified houses, set fire to the house of Rev. Joseph Rowlandson, and killed more than 30 people. Mary Rowlandson was taken prisoner and later wrote a best-selling narrative. The spring of 1676 marked the high point for the combined tribes; they attacked Plymouth Plantation on March 12, which withstood the assault, then attacked Longmeadow, Marlborough, and Simsbury two weeks later.

They killed Captain Pierce and a company of Massachusetts soldiers between Pawtucket and Blackstone's settlement, and tortured several colonial men to death at Nine Men's Misery in Cumberland. They burned Providence to the ground on March 29, and a small band infiltrated and burned part of Springfield while the militia was away. Rhode Island settlements at Providence and Warwick were sacked and burned, driving residents to Newport and Portsmouth.

Connecticut River towns fortified themselves and held their ground, though attacked several times. Northfield, Deerfield, and others were abandoned. Connecticut colony towns were largely unharmed, though more than 100 Connecticut militia died supporting other colonies.

Aftermath

Metacom’s death marked the end of major fighting in southern New England. The conflict left over 1,000 colonists and 3,000 Native people dead. Native warriors attacked more than half of all New England towns, destroying many completely. Hundreds of Native captives were enslaved.

Some women and children ended up as indentured servants or slaves in English homes, but most adult men—including Metacom’s son—were shipped to slave markets in Bermuda, Barbados, Jamaica, Spain, Portugal, Madeira, and the Azores. Other survivors joined tribes to the west and north, while some refugees eventually returned to southern New England. The Narragansetts, Wampanoags, Podunks, and Nipmucks took heavy losses; several smaller bands were wiped out entirely.

About a thousand Christian Indians lived through the war. After being freed from Deer Island, they resettled in Natick and three other Praying Towns. They gained more autonomy, and provincial law required General Court approval before their land could be sold. Natick stayed the largest, with roughly thirty families in 1699.

But between 1720 and 1750, Anglo settlers moved in, and the town became white. The Native population fell from 160 in 1754 to just 37 in 1764, though most stayed in the area between Worcester and Boston, keeping close ties with relatives. Rhode Island was devastated—its main city, Providence, was burned. Yet six months later, its legislature formally blamed the United Colonies of New England for provoking the Narragansetts, sending a rebuke to Connecticut Governor John Winthrop (who had already died).

Did You Know?

• The war is sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion.
• During the war, men from Dedham went off to fight; Robert Hinsdale, his four sons, and Jonathan Plympton died at the Battle of Bloody Brook, and John Plympton was burned at the stake after being marched to Canada.
• Zachariah Smith was found shot dead in Dedham on April 13, 1671, and a son of Matoonas was hanged for the murder, his head impaled on a pike.