Great Swamp Fight of 1675

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

The Great Swamp Fight (AKA: Great Swamp Massacre or Battle of Narragansett Fort was a crucial battle fought during King Philip's War between colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett tribe 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 hundred women and children. The battle has been described as "one of the most brutal and lopsided military encounters in all of New England's history." Since the 1930s, Narragansett and Wampanoag people commemorate the battle annually in a ceremony initiated by Narragansett-Wampanoag scholar Princess Red Wing.

Background

King Philip's War

King Philip's War (1675-1678) was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day New England and English colonists and their Native American allies. The war continued in the most northern reaches of New England until the signing of the Treaty of Casco Bay in April 1678.

The Pokanoket Indians had helped the original pilgrim settlers to survive, under the leadership of Massasoit (c1581-1661). His sons Wamsutta (c1634-1662) and Metacomet (1636-1676) 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.

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.

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), and various tribes looked at it as a good omen for attacking the colonists. 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 Battle of Mount Hope in Bristol, Rhode Island.

The Indians waged attacks on settlements in Massachusetts and Connecticut, but Rhode Island was spared at the beginning, as the Narragansetts remained officially neutral. 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.

"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"

Winslow's Advance

On November 2, 1675, Josiah Winslow (1628-1680) ( 13th Governor of Plymouth Colony) led a combined force of over 1,000 colonial militia, including about 150 Pequot and Mohegan Indians, against the Narragansetts living around Narragansett Bay. The Narragansett tribe had not yet been directly involved in the war, but they had sheltered many of King Philip's men, women, and children, and several of their warriors had participated in Indian raiding parties. 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.

In November 1675, the commissioners of the United Colonies of New England had evidence that the neutral Narragansett tribe was assisting Metacomet. They chose to launch a preemptive strike on the Narragansett. On December 8, 527 members of the Massachusetts militia, led by Samuel Appleton (1624-1696), gathered in Dedham, Massachusetts. Plymouth Colony gathered 159 men under the command of William Bradford (1624-1704) and Connecticut moved 300 men under the command of Robert Treat, along with 150 Mohegan warriors. Governor Josiah Winslow (1628-1680) of Plymouth Colony was named Commander-in-Chief. On December 19, 1675, the Narragansett fort was captured in the Great Swamp Fight.[1] 110 of Appleton's men were either killed or wounded in the battle.[7] Afterwards, Appleton and his remaining men returned to Boston and he retired from active service.

Jireh Bull Blockhouse

Inscription on stone says: "A FEW RODS WEST OF THIS SPOT STOOD THE STONE HOVSE OF JIREH BVULL BURNED BY THE INDIANS DECEMBER 15, 1675." This marker is beside the approach to Middle Bridge over Narrow River. The site of the house is on private property. --From Gates family tree

The Jireh Bull Blockhouse (RI-926, also known as the Jireh Bull Garrison House or Jireh Bull Block House) is an historic archaeological site on Middlebridge Road in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. In 1657 a blockhouse was built on the site by Jireh Bull (1638-1684), son of Rhode Island Governor Henry Bull (1609-1693). The stone garrison house was burned by the Native Americans in King Philip's War on December 15, 1675, and fifteen of its defenders were massacred. The site was acquired by the Rhode Island Historical Society in 1925.

On December 15, 1675, Narraganset warriors attacked the Jireh Bull Blockhouse and killed at least 15 people. 15 year-old James Eldred (1651-1687) 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.

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. 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.

Engraving depicting the colonial assault on the Narragansetts' fort in the Great Swamp Fight 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.

Benjamin Church, the first American ranger.

Aftermath

The Great Swamp Fight was a critical blow to the Narragansett tribe from which they never fully recovered. The Narragansetts were completely defeated when their chief sachem Canonchet was captured and executed in April 1676, then female sachem Queen Quaiapen drowned on July 2 attempting to cross a river. Philip was shot and killed on August 12 by John Alderman, an Indian soldier in the company of Benjamin Church.

Legacy and monument

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. The rough granite shaft stands about 20 feet high on a mound, erected by the Rhode Island Society of Colonial Wars to commemorate this battle. Four roughly squared granite markers stand around the mound 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.

The dedication of the monument was attended by descendents of both sides of the battle. The dedication speaker 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. The inscription states:

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:

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, Narraganssett-Wampanoag scholar Princess Red Wing initiated an annual commemorative ceremony at the site of the battle.

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.

Headquarters

Commander - General Josiah Winslow (1628-1680), Governor of Plymouth Colony

• Aide to General Winslow - Captain Benjamin Church (1639-1717) - Famous for organizing America's first ranger company during this war.

Massachusetts Regiment

Commander - Major Samuel Appleton (1624-1696) (Leading 527 men)

• 1st Company - Major Samuel Appleton (1624-1696)
• 2nd Company - Captain Samuel Mosely
• 3rd Company - Captain James Oliver
• 4th Company - Captain Isaac Johnson
• 5th Company - Captain Nathaniel Davenport
• 6th Company - Captain Joseph Gardner
• Cavalry troop - Captain Thomas Prentice

Plymouth Regiment

Commander - Major William Bradford (1624-1704) - leading 159 men of Plymouth Colony. He was wounded in battle and carried the musket ball in his flesh the rest of his life.

• 1st Company - Captain Robert Barker
• 2nd Company - Captain John Gorham (1621-1675) - after whom Gorham, Maine is named, he was wounded during the Great Swamp Fight (19 Dec 1675) in Rhode Island, dying (05-Feb-1676) from fever caused by the wound.

Connecticut Regiment

Commander - Major Robert Treat - leading 300 men of Connecticut Colony

• 1st Company - Captain John Gallup
• 2nd Company - Captain Samuel Marshall
• 3rd Company - Captain Nathaniel Seely
• 4th Company - Captain Thomas Watts
• 5th Company - Captain John Mason

Mohegan Warriors

150 Men - allies of the colonists.

• Pequot Indian Company - Captain James Avery

Other Militia Leaders

• Captain George Denison
• Captain Joseph Gardner (Salem Company)
• Captain Isaac Johnson (killed in action)
• Captain Samuel Marshall, Windsor Horse Troop (killed in action)
• Captain Nathaniel Seeley (killed in action, age 48) oldest son of Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritan settler Robert Seeley.
• Governor Robert Treat

Notable Narrangasett Indian Chiefs

• Chief Canonchet
• Chief Metacomet (1636-1676)
• Chief Uncas
• Joshua Tefft - There was one colonist who fought on the Indian side of the battle. Records indicate that Joshua Tefft 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."

References

• Captain Pierce's Fight: An Investigation Into a King Philip's War Battle and its Remembrance and Memorialization - UMB Master Thesis submitted by Lawrence LaCroix 2011 - over 140 pages of research material on this event.
• Great Swamp Fight - Wikipedia
• Jireh Bull Blockhouse - Wikipedia