King Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–78. The war is named after the main leader of the Native American side, Metacomet, known to the English as "King Philip". Major Benjamin Church emerged as the Puritan hero of the war; it was his company of Puritan rangers and Native American allies that finally hunted down and killed King Philip on August 12, 1676. The war continued in northern New England until a treaty was signed at Casco Bay in April 1678. More
The war was the single greatest calamity to occur in seventeenth-century Puritan New England. In the space of little more than a year, twelve of the region's towns were destroyed and many more damaged, the colony's economy was all but ruined, and much of its population was killed, including one-tenth of all men available for military service. More than half of New England's towns were attacked by Native American warriors.
Nearly all the English colonies in America were settled without any significant English government support, as they were used chiefly as a safety valve to minimize religious and other conflicts in England. King Philip's War was the beginning of the development of a greater American identity, for the colonists' trials, without significant English government support, gave them a group identity separate and distinct from subjects of the Parliament of England and the Crown in England.
King Philip's War timeline
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John Sassamon Tells Plymouth Colony Officials of King Philip's Arranging Attacks on Colonial Settlements
The spark that ignited King Phillip's War was a report from a Native American Christian convert ("Praying Indian")—an early Harvard graduate,... Read more
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Mary Rowlandson is Captured by Wampanoag Indians During Raid on Lancaster Village
At sunrise, on February 10, 1675, during King Philip's War, Lancaster came under attack by Narragansett, Wampanoag, and Nashaway/Nipmuc Indians.... Read more
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Mary Rowlandson is Freed from Wampanoag Indians
At sunrise, on February 10, 1675, during King Philip's War, Lancaster came under attack by Narragansett, Wampanoag, and Nashaway/Nipmuc Indians.... Read more
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Three Wampanoag Indians are Hanged for the Murder of John Sassamon
On the testimony of a Native American witness, Plymouth Colony arrested three Wampanoags, including one of Metacom's councilors. A jury among whom... Read more
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A Band of Pokanoket Indians Attacks Homesteads in Plymouth Colony Settlement of Swansea
Beginning in June 1675, the Wampanoag, outfitted with rifles and armor, attacked a series of settlements and took the lives of dozens of colonial... Read more
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Settlers Send Military Expedition to Destroy Wampanoag Town at Mount Hope in Retaliation for Swansea Attacks
On the testimony of a Native American witness, Plymouth Colony arrested three Wampanoags, including one of Metacom's councilors. A jury among whom... Read more
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Native Americans Attack Settlements of Middleborough and Dartmouth
The war quickly spread, and soon involved the Podunk and Nipmuck tribes. During the summer of 1675 the Native Americans attacked at Middleborough... Read more
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Native Americans Attack Mendon Settlement in Plymouth Colony
On July 14, 1675, early violence in King Philip's War took place in Mendon, with the deaths of multiple residents and the destruction of Albee's... Read more
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Native Americans Attack Brookfield Settlement in Plymouth Colony
The war quickly spread, and soon involved the Podunk and Nipmuck tribes. During the summer of 1675 the Native Americans attacked at Middleborough... Read more
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Native Americans Attack Lancaster in Plymouth Colony
The war quickly spread, and soon involved the Podunk and Nipmuck tribes. During the summer of 1675 the Native Americans attacked at Middleborough... Read more
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Wampanoag Attack the Town of Hadley, Giving Rise to Angel of Hadley Legend
In 1676, at the height of King Philip's War, the war leader of the Wampanoag used a ruse to lure away the bulk of the colonial troops to the north.... Read more
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New England Confederation Declares War on Native Americans Following Multiple Attacks on Settlements
The war quickly spread, and soon involved the Podunk and Nipmuck tribes. During the summer of 1675 the Native Americans attacked at Middleborough... Read more
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The Battle of Bloody Brook
At the time of the Europeans' arrival, Deerfield was inhabited by the Pocumtuck nation, with a village by the same name. First settled by European... Read more
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More than Half of the Town of Springfield is Destroyed by the Pocomtuc Tribe
Springfield remained a small working town when its security was threatened in 1675, during King Philip's War. The leader of the Wampanoag Indian... Read more
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Native American Attack Severely Damages Town of Hatfield
Hatfield was founded in 1660 on land granted to General Daniel Dennison and Governor William Bradford. It was formally incorporated as a town in... Read more
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Governor Josiah Winslow Leads Militia Against Narragansett Tribe
On November 2, Plymouth Colony governor Josiah Winslow led a combined force of colonial militia against the Narragansett tribe. The Narragansetts... Read more
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Great Swamp Fight
Led by an Indian guide, on December 16, 1675 on a bitterly cold storm-filled day, the main Narragansett fort near modern South Kingstown, Rhode... Read more
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Native American Forces Attack Plymouth Plantation
Spring of 1676 marked the high point for the combined tribes when, on March 12, they attacked Plymouth Plantation itself. Though the town withstood... Read more
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The 'Nine Men's Misery' Incident
On March 26, 1676 during King Philip's War, Captain Michael Pierce led approximately 60 Plymouth Colony colonial troops and 20 Wampanoag Christian... Read more
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Native Americans Completely Destroy Providence, RI
The new year of 1676 saw Philip weakened—somewhat. In January, he and his band traveled further west to Mohawk territory, seeking, but failing to... Read more
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Captain William Turner of the Massachusetts Militia Ambush Native Americans at Peskeopscut
In April 1676 the Narragansett were defeated and their chief, Canonchet, was killed. On May 18, 1676, Captain William Turner of the Massachusetts... Read more
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Force of 250 Native Americans Defeated Near Marlborough, as King Philip's Allies Begin to Desert War
With the help of their long-time allies the Mohegans, the colonists won at Hadley, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1676, and scattered most of the... Read more
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King Philip is Shot Dead by Native American Pilgrim Ally, John Alderman
Philip's allies began to desert him. By early July, over 400 had surrendered to the colonists, and Philip himself had taken refuge in the... Read more
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Sir Edmund Andros Negotiates Treaty with Northern Bands of Native Americans, Conclusively Ending King Philip's War
With Metacomet's death, the war in the south was largely ended. Over 600 colonists and 3,000 Indians had been killed. Several hundred more natives... Read more