August, 1676 - The Death of Metacomet and the End of King Philips War Metacomet, or, King Philip, as the English colonists called him, was a war chief or sachem of the Wampanoag people, and their leader in what was often called the First Indian War, as it was the start of three major Anglo/Indian conflicts in 17th century New England. Metacomet was the second son of the sachem Massasoit, whom the English highly respected and admired. He became a chief in 1662 when his brother Wamsutta (or King Alexander) died shortly after his father. It is interesting to note that both Metacomet and his brother, King Alexander, had their names legally changed by the court of Plymouth. Many Christian converts or praying Indians saw this as not only a good religious move, but a political one as well, and it helped to establish better relations between colonists and Indians. As a sachem, Metacomet took the lead in much of his tribes trade with the colonies. After changing his name to Philip, he even began to buy his clothes in Boston, and, much like his father, this made him quite popular amongst the English. But it was a new generation, and the colonies continued to expand. To the west, the Iroquois Confederation also was fighting against neighboring tribes in the Beaver Wars, pushing them west and encroaching on his territory. Finally, in 1671 the colonial leaders of the Plymouth Colony forced major concessions from him. He surrendered much of his tribes armament and ammunition, and agreed that they were subject to English law. Hostilities broke out in 1675, and Metacomet led the opponents of the English, with the goal of stopping Puritan expansion. Metacomet used tribal alliances to coordinate efforts to push European colonists out of New England. Many of the native tribes in the region wanted to push out the colonists following conflicts over land use, diminished game as a consequence of expanding European settlement, and other tensions. As the colonists brought their growing numbers to bear, King Philip and some of his followers took refuge in the great Assowamset Swamp in southern Massachusetts. He held out for a time, with his family and remaining followers. Hunted by a group of rangers led by Captain Benjamin Church, he was fatally shot by a praying Indian named John Alderman, on August 12, 1676, in the Miery Swamp near Mount Hope in Bristol, Rhode Island. After his death, his wife and nine-year-old son were captured and sold as slaves in Bermuda. Philips head was mounted on a pike at the entrance to Fort Plymouth, where it remained for more than two decades. His body was cut into quarters and hung in trees. Alderman was given Metacomets right hand as a reward. For the next two years, the war continued, mostly in Maine. The war was the single greatest calamity to occur in seventeenth-century Puritan New England, and, though, this fact is largely forgotten, it is considered by many historians to be the deadliest war in American history. In the space of little more than a year, twelve of the regions towns were destroyed and many more damaged, the colonys economy was all but ruined, and its population was decimated, losing one-tenth of all men available for military service. More than half of New Englands towns were attacked by Indian warriors.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 17:00:06 +0000
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