King Philip's War (jun 20, 1675 – apr 12, 1678)
Description:
A war between the English colonists and the Wampanoag tribe, the latter led by Metacom (aka Philip). Tensions between the two groups raised in 1671 when Metacom refused the terms to a peace deal, and peaked in 1675 when three Wampanoags were charged with murder and subsequently hanged by the English. The Wampanoags allied themselves with the Nipmucks, Podunks, Narragansetts, and Nashaway, while the colonists allied with the Mohegans and Pequots.
In June 1675, Metacom's allies attacked the Swansea settlement in Plymouth, followed by several more raids in Massachusetts. The New England Confederation (Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven and Connecticut) declared war on September 9, followed shortly by the Battle of Bloody Brook, where Metacom's allies ambushed colonists, killing 57. The Confederation then launched an attack on a fort full of Narragansetts in the middle of a frozen swamp, known as the Great Swamp Fight. A force of about 1000 militiamen and Native American allies killed nearly 600 Narragansetts and burned the fort, losing 70 themselves. Metacom attempted to enlist the Mohawk tribe, but instead found himself attacked by the tribe and driven away.
Metacom's forces continued to raid many a New England settlement in the 1675-1676 winter, such as in Lancaster, MA, where a force of 1500 warriors attacked the village and killed over 30, as well as kidnapping the governor's wife, Mary Rowlandson. Metacom continued to Plymouth Plantation, killing militiamen and burning settlements as they went. In April 1676, Metacom attacked Sudbury, MA and killed over 30. Led by MA militia Captain William Turner, the colonists retaliated by killing several hundred Native Americans at Turner's Falls, followed by Hadley and Marlborough. On August 12, 1676, Metacom was killed by forces led by Captains Benjamin Church and Josiah Standish in Rhode Island. His head was then displayed on a pike for many decades. On August 28, Church captured Pocasset Chief Anawan, essentially ending the war in southern New England. In Maine, however, fighting continued until 1678, where the English saw much less success due to their low populations there and from the French backing the Wabanaki tribes there.
The war was the deadliest in English colonial history, both for the colonists and Native Americans. About 1000 Native Americans were sold into slavery as punishemnt. Fighting continued around Maine until the end of Dummer's War.
Casualties:
1000 settlers
3000 Native Americans
By percentages, the bloodiest war in American history (5% of colonists and 40% of Native Americans died).
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