Bradley, Hazen, and Stricker Family Trees - King Phillip's War

Bradley, Hazen and Stricker Trees - What was King Phillip's War? 

I confess, I had never heard of King Phillip's War before I moved to Massachusetts. So if you are like me, here's a quick introduction to the war that shows up in several places in the Bradley, Stricker, and Hazen family trees.  The November 26 blog about John Sharp and Martha Vose is just one example. So, a short history: 

                                                      An 18th Century Rendering of King Phillip

First, some background. When the pilgrims disembarked at what they called Plymouth in 1620, they made the acquaintance of the Sachem of the Wampanoag native Americans, Massasoit. While he lived, the Wampanoag tribe had a friendly, and at times helpful, relationship with the new colony. 

On June 20, 1675, all that changed. A small band of Pokanoket (part of the Wampanoag people) left their camp in what is now Warren, Rhode Island, and raided several farms in the English settlement of Swansea. A messenger was sent to Governor Josiah Winslow, who commanded the towns of Bridgewater and Taunton to raise a force of 200 men to protect Plymouth Colony. Before it was all over, many more troops were required. 

Three days after the raid, an English settler killed a Pokanoket marauder in Swansea. By the next day, the residents of Swansea were huddled in secure garrisons while the Pokanoket attacked the town. 

Next Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colony troops tried to stop the attacks by cornering the son of Massasoit, known as Metacom or King Philip. He evaded them and escaped to join his forces with other native tribes in the area.

Within a year of the attack on Swansea, settlements in Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies were destroyed, including Mendon, Brookfield, Lancaster, Deerfield, Northfield, Wrentham, Worcester, Groton, Rehoboth, Middleboro and Dartmouth, Only military garrisons remained in Marlboro. Other towns, like Hatfield, Springfield, Medfield, Weymouth, Scituate, Sudbury, and Chelmsford were also heavily damaged. 

Providence, Rhode Island was so heavily damaged that the town was deserted. Warwick, Wickford, and Pawtuxet were also destroyed. In Rhode Island, only Portsmouth and Newport were spared. In Connecticut, Simsbury was burned to the ground. In the part of the Massachusetts Bay colony now known as Maine, by the end of King Philip's War only the settlements at Kittery, York, and Wells survived. 

Between six hundred and eight hundred English colonists were killed out of a European population in New England of about 52,000. 

But the greatest damage was to the Native American peoples . Out of an estimated population of 20,000, about 3000 were killed in the fighting. Many of the survivors were sold into slavery in the West Indies. Many tribespeople moved to Canada or New York. Tribes which remained were stripped of their property rights and individual liberties. 

The war was over by 1678. 

By the way, after King Phillip's War, there would be another war called King William's War, part of the French and Indian Wars, but much of that was in northern New England. I'll write more about that when I blog about the people and towns involved.  

Much of this information came from the book "King Phillip's War : The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict" by Eric B. Schultz and Michael J. Tougas.