King Phillip's War
Brief History of King Philip's War by George M. Bodge (George Madison)
1841 to 1914
Printed Privately at Boston, 1891
King Phillips War, Soldiers, information
on soldiers of King Phillip's War:
King Phillips War, Battles, information on
Battles of War.
Also see Notes below for E-mail contributions.
p.1 - p.2
The sole object of this series of papers was,
at the beginning, the preservation in convenient form of the names of those
soldiers who served in the Indian War of 1675/7, known as "King Philip's
War"; so called from the name of the recognized leader of that war, whose
Indian name was Metacom or Pometacom, or Metacomet; but whom the English
called Philip. He was the second son of Massassoit, who at the settlement
of the English at Plymouth and Boston seems to have been chief sachem of
all the various tribes and fragments of tribes living between the Charles
River and Narraganset Bay, and including that part of Rhode Island east
of the Bay, and also the Cape Cod tribes. The rule of Massasoit was
probably rather indefinite both as to limits of territory and extent of
authority over the subordinate chiefs.
While Massasoit seems to have been the acknowledged
head of the tribes within the limits above named, the league
between the chiefs of the tribes was evidently very loose and held
mostly for convenience in defence and perhaps for the settlement of difficulties
between individual tribes. The territory of this Sachem was bounded
upon the west by the Nipmucks and Narragansets. But a very great
proportion of this had been sold by the Sachems before the opening of the
war. Massasoit had several children, three of whom are known to us
by name: Wamsutta and Metacom, who came to Plymouth about 1656
and at their own request received English names from the Governor,
who "christened" them: "Alexander" and "Philip." A sister of these
was the wife of Tuspaquin chief of the Namaskets; she was called by the
English name, "Amie". Mention is made of another son and also a daughter,
but I have not proper authority for their names.
Alexander married a Sachem's daughter, or
widow, of the Pocasset tribe, and after his death, soon following Massasoit's,
1661 or 1662, she returned to her own people, and ruled there with influence
and ability until the war; when her second husband, Petananuet, Petonowowett,
or "Peter Nunnuit" (as he is sometimes called), took sides with the English,
she, possibly reluctantly, joined the fortunes of Philip, who had married
her sister Wootonekanuske, and had great influence on her.
Massasoit had always maintained a cordial
and firm friendship with the English; and it would seem that Alexander
also was somewhat of his father's nature and disposition. The moment,
however, which saw Philip raised to the place of power, gave signal of
a far different course of conduct on the part of the Wampanoag Sachem.
The limits of his father's olden territory had been greatly reduced before
he came to power.
The English had purchased and otherwise absorbed
a large proportion of their lands. Philip kept on selling and surrendering,
till at last, as early as 1670/1 he began to feel the pressure of civilization
upon their hunting and fishing grounds as well as cornfields. The
Court at Plymouth itself had interfered and forbidden the transfer of certain
parts of the Wampanoag territories and thus doubtless saved the Indians
in various tribes a home. Pokanoket, the hereditary home, was thus
saved to Philip's people; and here he lived at the time of the opening
of the war. This place was called by the English "Mount Hope" and
it is now embraced in the town of Bristol, R.I.
But now having given some account of the principal
character in the war, we may state briefly the method of collecting the
material in these papers, and the purpose of this present pamphlet.
The method adopted in arranging the soldier's names needs an explanation.
The material which served as the basis of the work, and indeed first suggested
the undertaking, was found in
three manuscript volumes, containing the accounts of John Hull who
was the Treasurer of the colony at the time of the war, and consist of
a Journal and two Ledgers. The Journal opened June 24th, 1675, and originally
contained over five hundred pages, as the Ledger shows, but now has only
four hundred and sixty-one complete.
There was evidently a later Journal and also
a Ledger, now missing, which belonged to the set. The third book
is later, and contains the closing accounts of the war. These old books
were preserved in private hands for a century and a half, until discovered
by one who appreciated their value for genealogy and history, and secured
them for those purposes. In searching these books for the name of
one who served in the Indian War, the present writer discovered the importance
of the accounts in the matter of the Indian war of 1675. Every soldier
who served in that war is credited with military service, and the name
of the officer under whom he served is given in the credit. The date
at which payment is made is given in the "Cash" account, but the time and
place of service is not designated; nor is the residence nor any further
information about the soldier given. Some of the soldiers served
at different times and under different officers.
To be continued Part 2
Page 3
Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth Farns10th@aol.com
Notes:
Subject: King Philips War
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 11:51:36 -0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)
From: "Paul.Rox" <paul.rox@shaw.ca>
Hi - I am presently researching my family tree, and know of
my great grandfather (x9) fought in
the war, yet looking thru all the names listed, I did not see
his.
He was Capt Andrew Edmunds..if you have any information re: him
could you please let me know as
I am unable to locate anything about him. I do know he was married
to Mary Hearnden ( or
Harrington ) and I have his family information ( his children
) but nothing on him...
Thank you for your time
Roxanne Wright
Subject: King Philips War
Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2002 10:36:17 -0500
From: Carolyn Jordan <bassets3@localnet.com>
I was perusing your site on King Philips War. I became
interested in
the war when reading the documentation on the town of Suffield, CT
where
my ancestors had settled. It was quite interesting to read
about
several towns being abandoned.
As a former curator and a huge living history buff ( former member
of
the Fort Stanwix Garrison and the BAR) I am interested to know if there
are any local reenactment groups in our area for the early to late
1600s. Have you come across any?
Carolyn Jordan Lyons NY (back from NC)
Subject: KPW roster
Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 10:22:33 -0400
From: ron prouty < rprouty@sptimes.com
>
I'm looking for info re: my ancestor Richard Prouty who fought in the
King Phillips War from the town of Scituate, Plymouth Co., Mass. Do
you
have any info?
Thanks, Ron Prouty
rprouty@sptimes.com
Subject: King Phillip's War
Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2001 19:41:51 -0700
From: "Paula Ratcliff" < cwpi@coupeville.net
>
Hello and thank you for your web site! My husband's ancestor,
Anthony Hoskins, was in King Phillip's War. According to the book,
History & Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, CT, he served as a
mounted Cavalryman, July 1667, and received pay from the State and a grant
of land in the Commons. Do you know if there are any of these old
records available and where someone could get copies of them? I didn't
notice Anthony Hoskins on your list, so now I'm wondering if it's true.
Thank you for any information you can give. Paula Ratcliff
Subject: Missing Member
Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 20:05:39 EDT
From:Thomas W. Corey Thmscry@cs.com
I was going through the King Philip War list and know my 10th
generation Great Grandfather Thomas Corey/Cory of Chelmsford, Middlesex,
MA, fought in the war but I do not see him listed.
Thanks,
Thomas W. Corey
Subject: King Philips War
Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 15:19:33 -0400
From: "Brian McKeon" < bmmckeon@holycross.edu
>
Mr. Bigelow,
I am writing to inquire about any information you may have regarding
the Native Americans who were held captive on the islands of the Boston
Harbor during the time of King Philips War. I would appreciate any
help you may be able to offer
regarding this subject. Thanks:Brian McKeon
nothing new......................................................ROD
Subject: King Philip's War
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 10:12:45 -0600
From: Bob Winn < bobwinn@iname.com
>
Rod: Thanks for taking the time to document the King Philip's War on
the internet. This is very interesting for me, because Lt. Phineas Upham
of Malden is my ancestor.Bob
Subject: Capt. Nathaniel Seeley
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 08:18:19 -0800
From: "Cort Sims" < cortsims@email.msn.com
>
I have obtained some genealogical information on the internet
that states that Capt. Nathaniel Seeley died 19 Dec 1675 in the Great Swamp
Fight of
King Philip's War, Narragansett. His name is not listed http://www.bigelow.simplenet.com/rod/soldiers.htm
and I am wondering if
there is some additional names or is the information I have mistaken.
I attempted to contact Mark Felone but his address no longer works.
Cort Sims
cortsims@msn.com
Web Sites: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~idahosim/
and
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=idahosims
answer
Subject: Capt. Nathaniel Seeley
Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 12:56:28 EST
From: Farns10th@aol.com
CONNECTICUT REGIMENT
Robert Treat of Milford, Major Regimental staff
Gershom Bulkely, surgeon
Rev. Nicholas Noyes, chaplain
Stephen Barrett, commissary
officers of the line
John Gallop of Stonington, Captain, First company
Samuel Marshall of Windsor, Captain, second company
Nathaniel Seely of Stratford, Captain, third company
Thomas Watts of Hartford, Captain, fourth company
John Mason of Norwich, Captain, fifth company
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mytree/King_Phillips_War.html
Subject: good afternoon
Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 14:26:54 -0500
From: "Allen Williams" < awilliams@indikon.com
>
Mr. Bigelow,
Thank you for your very interesting web page. I stumbled upon
it this afternoon while I was doing some research on the King Phillip War.
As
a former resident of the north country I was intrigued by your page
and as usual wandered far from the subject that led me there in the first
place.I was hoping to find some more names of the soldiers that served
in the Plymouth contingent at the great pond battle in 1677, I suppose
that I
am going to have to drive over to Plymouth and research it there.
I live only forty miles from there so it isn't a hardship.
I'm not looking for anything, just wanted to give some positive feedback
on an interesting web site. best regards,
Allen Williams
Saranac Lake High School class of 60
Modified - 06/05/2003
(c) Copyright 2003 Bigelow Society, Inc. All rights reserved.
Rod Bigelow - Director
< rodbigelow@netzero.net >
Rod Bigelow (Roger Jon12 BIGELOW)
P.O. Box 13 Chazy Lake
Dannemora, N.Y. 12929
< rodbigelow@netzero.net
> 
BACK TO THE BIGELOW
SOCIETY PAGE
BACK TO BIGELOW HOME
PAGE
