E-book and Paperback

by me, Lisa Saunders

First Ranger Benjamin Church: Epic Poem About King Philip's War--Church Believed in Indians, God and Rum, here at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1792891008

In my book, I include a lot of background information and images on the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Mass., as Capt. Benjamin Church is the grandson of Richard Warren of the Mayflower.  

Below is a blurb about my book and an excerpt of my poem:

Considered the first American Army Ranger, Church believed it would take Indians, God and rum to win King Philip’s War in New England (1675-1676). As the grandson of Mayflower passenger, Richard Warren, and the first white main to build in Little Compton, Rhode Island, Benjamin Church understood the value of his Native American friends and neighbors. 

In my book, I retell Church’s account of his fighting days alongside allied Native Americans as an epic poem and include quotes from Benjamin Church such as: “I hope the reader will pass a favourable censure upon an old soldier, telling of the many rencounters [encounters] he has had, and yet is come off alive…”--Colonial Benjamin Church, 1716

Excerpt of poem:

American Army Rangers 
lead the way.
Skilled in stealth, 
they surprise the enemy in the fray.

Their bloodcurdling history 
began in 1675 with carpenter Benjamin Church.
In King Philip’s War, he fought alongside 
Native Americans to knock enemies off their perch.

Surprise raids and other Indian fighting tactics 
were key to Church’s victories in war.
He preferred tracking enemies over building forts,
a task he considered a bore.

When Church was too old and fat 
to mount a horse without aid,
he took off his armor and wrote a military memoir, 
telling of days when the colonists were afraid. 

As a warrior, he recalled: “Through the grace of God I was spirited for that work, and direction in it was renewed to me day by day.”
In the tale that follows, you decide if Church received divine insight on when to chase, flee or stay...

The book also contains more than 40 contemporary photographs including those of Benjamin Church’s sword, grave, and his haunts and homes. See the locations of the Great Swamp Fight, mass grave at Smith’s Garrison, Peas Field Fight, Church's capture of Anawan at "Anawan's Rock", where King Philip’s head was mounted for 20 years in Plymouth, and where King Philip’s War began at Myles Garrison in Swansea, Massachusetts. 

See excerpts of First Ranger Benjamin Church: Epic Poem About King Philip's War--Church Believed in Indians, God and Rum by clicking on "Look Inside": https://www.amazon.com/dp/1792891008

Interested in all things Benjamin Church?

 In researching all things Benjamin Church for her epic poem about him, Lisa Saunders was thrilled to visit his sword! Details about his sword: http://balthazaar.masshist.org/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&BBID=197267

Native Americans Spared Lives of Westport, MA's first settlers, Richard and Mary Sisson in King Philip's War (1675-76)

FREE E-book Tues-Weds, Nov 3-4, 2020

Click here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NBM6WGR/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

then click on e-book version, "Buy Now" for free. You can either put on your kindle or on any other ios (apple device) device.  You can download the kindle app on your phone.

Excerpt about Richard and Mary Sisson:

Some colonists were spared by Indians allied with King Philip—not

all wanted to see their English friends and neighbors fall.
Richard Sisson, a 1671 settler of Westport, Mass., was warned his
home was to be burned, wife, Mary, and children killed--one and all.

So the Sissons put their valuables in a copper kettle and buried them
under the water at the edge of a pond opposite their house.
In woods just east, the Indians held a war dance under a honey locust tree and set the Sisson home on fire—letting it rage, not to douse.

The Sissons found their house in flames and Indians on burial hill
throwing the feathers from a bed to the wind, laughing at the sport.
The Sissons used that moment of Indian distraction to flee through
woods to find protection in Newport.

Above poem excerpt taken from book, First Ranger Benjamin Church: Epic Poem About King Philip's War--Church Believed in Indians, God and Rum. Click here to read more then click on "Look Inside".

The account of Richard and Mary Sisson in King Philip's War was retrieved from: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~dasisson/richard/aqwg01.htm where it states: 

"The earliest Proprietor that I am able to learn of in this vicinity was a Mr. Richard Sisson who owned the South West corner of the 'Head of the River'....It was burned by the Indians during King Philip's war in 1676. A friendly Indian informed Mr. Sisson's family of the Indians' intentions to murder them and burn the house, and they immediately put their valuables into a copper kettle and buried them in the water at the edge of the pond opposite the house. The Indians meanwhile had been holding a war dance in the woods under a Honey Locust tree (East of the House).  When the family returned from the river, the house was on fire and some of the Indians had a feather bed up on the burial hill which they had opened and were throwing the contents to the wind, and laughing at the sport. Mr. Sisson's family escaped through the woods, and took shelter with their friends. Another statement is that they were taken to the blockhouse at Newport for protection--this was probably done." (From "The Growth of Westport," by Curtis Pierce, book in the collection of Westport Free Public Library, Unpublished manuscript, 1893, p. 3.)

King Philip India Pale Ale bottle at Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology

Pictured above is an old bottle of King Philip India Pale Ale at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology in Manning Hall Gallery located on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.  The Ale was put out by the Enterprise Brewing Co. of Fall River, Mass., where Ranger Benjamin Church resided briefly after King Philip's War. (Photograph by Jim Saunders on Jan. 13, 2018).

Lisa and Jim Saunders visit the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology in Manning Hall Gallery at Brown University on Sat., Jan. 13, 2018. They came for the Brown v. Cornell hockey game but were delighted to see the old bottle of King Philip India Pale Ale first! (As Cornell alums, the Saunders were excited to watch Cornell win--sorry Brown!)

Learn more about the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology: https://www.brown.edu/research/facilities/haffenreffer-museum/about

As of now, this is all I know about 

 King Philip India Pale Ale. According to the following webpage:

http://www.taverntrove.com/brewery.php?BreweryId=418

"Enterprise Brewing Co. 1933-1963 Closed in 1963 The fate of the brewery buildings is unknown.

Products:

... King Phillip India Pale Ale  1933 - 1936 King Phillip Ale  1933 - 1939 King Phillip Beer  1933 - 1939 King Phillip Select Porter  1933 - 1939"

King Philip's War: Smith Garrison, Wickford, RI, the Great Swamp Fight and the Mohegan who hugged Benjamin Church for catching his prisoner

An account of King Philip's War: Smith Garrison, Wickford, RI, the Great Swamp Fight and the Mohegan who hugged Benjamin Church for catching his prisoner:

"Smith's garrison" or "Smith's Castle" in Wickford, RI, built close to a cove off the west side of Narragansett Bay.(Photo of house and cove, pictured with Jim Saunders and Doolittle in foreground, by Lisa Saunders August 2017).

Smith's garrison was the meeting place of Capt. Benjamin Church, who arrived by boat, Capt. George Denison and 1,000 colonial troops from Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and Plymouth colonies  before and after the Great Swamp Fight against the Narragansets in South Kingston, RI, in the deep snow of December 1675. (See  https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Swamp-Fight and https://archive.org/stream/greatswampfight100tomp/greatswampfight100tomp_djvu.txt)

From Church's memoir after their attack on the Narraganset fort/village in the swamp: "And burning up all the houses and provisions in the fort, the army returned the same night in the storm and cold. And I suppose that every one who is acquainted with that night's march, deeply laments the miseries that attended them; especially the wounded and dying men."

According to Philbrick in Mayflower, "Twenty-two of the army's wounded died during the march." The following day, 34 English dead were buried in a mass grave and six more were added when they died in the next few days.

Here is the marker for that mass grave at Smith's Castle:

Plaque reads:

HERE WERE BURIED IN ONE GRAVE FORTY MEN WHO DIED IN THE SWAMP FIGHT OR ON THE RETURN MARCH TO RICHARD SMITH'S BLOCK HOUSE 

DECEMBER 1675

ERECTED BY THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 1907

Another marker:

TO THE MEMORY OF CAPTAIN JOHN GALLUP KILLED IN THE SWAMP FIGHT 1675. ERECTED BY THE GALLUP FAMILY ASSOCIATION 1969

Church and the other wounded were soon shipped to Newport, RI, for treatment.  

Story of Great Swamp Fight by Benjamin Church in his memoir (written with his son Thomas with notes by Samuel Gardner Drake,1852): "And now strong suspicions began to arise of the Narraganset Indians, that they were ill affected and designed mischief. And so the event soon discovered. The next winter they began their hostilities upon the English. The united colonies then agreed to send an army to suppress them: Governour Winslow to command the army. He undertaking the expedition, invited Mr. Church to command a company [in the expedition], which he declined; craving excuse from taking [a] commission, [but] he promises to wait upon him as a Reformado [a volunteer] through the expedition. Having rode with the General to Boston, and from thence to Rehoboth, upon the General's request he went thence the nearest way over the ferries, with Major Smith [of Wickford, RI, now known as "Smith's Castle], to his garrison in the Narraganset country, to prepare and provide for the coming of General Winslow, who marched round through the country with his army proposing by night to surprise Pumham [sachem of present Warwick] a certain Narraganset sachem, and his town ; but being aware of the approach of our army, made their escape into the deserts. But Mr. Church meeting with fair winds, arrived safe at the Major's garrison in the evening [December 11], and soon began to inquire after the enemy's resorts, wigwams or sleeping places; and having gained some intelligence, he proposed to the Eldridges and some other brisk hands that he met with, to attempt the surprising of some of the enemy, to make a present of, to the General, when he should arrive, which might advantage his design. Being brisk blades they readily complied with the motion, and were soon upon their march. The night was very cold, but blessed with the moon. Before the day broke they effected their exploit; and, by the rising of the sun, arrived at the Major's garrison, where they met the general, and presented him with eighteen of the enemy, [which] they had captivated. The General, pleased with the exploit, gave them thanks particularly to Mr. Church, the mover and chief actor of the business. And sending two of them (likely boys) [as] a present to Boston; [and] smiling on Mr. Church, told him, that he made no doubt but his faculty would supply them with Indian boys enough before the war was ended. Their next move was to a swamp, [where they were guided by Peter an Indian] which the Indians had fortified with a fort. Mr. Church rode in the General's guard when the bloody engagement began. But being impatient of being out of the heat of the action, importunately begged leave of the General, that he might run down to the assistance of his friends. The General yielded to his request, provided he could rally some hands to go with him.Thirty men immediately drew out and followed him. They entered the swamp, and passed over the log, that was the passage into the fort, where they saw many men and several valiant Captains lie slain. [Captain Gallop of Connecticut was one.] Mr. Church spying Captain Gardner of Salem, amidst the wigwams in the east end of the fort, made towards him; but on a sudden, while they were looking each other in the face, Captain Gardner settled down. Mr. Church stepped to him, and seeing the blood run down his cheek lifted up his cap, and calling him by his name, he looked up in his face but spake not a word; being mortally shot through the head. And observing his wound, Mr. Church found the ball entered his head on the side that was next the upland, where the English entered the swamp. Upon which, having ordered some care to be taken of the Captain, he despatched information to the General, that the best and forwardest of his army, that hazarded their lives to enter the fort upon the muzzles of the enemy's guns, were shot in their backs, and killed by them that lay behind. Mr. Church with his small company, hastened out of the fort (that the English were now possessed of) to get a shot at the Indians that were in the swamp, and kept firing upon them. He soon met with a broad and bloody track where the enemy had fled with their wounded men. Following hard in the track, he soon spied one of the enemy, who clapped his gun across his breast, made towards Mr. Church, and beckoned to him with his hand. Mr. Church immediately commanded no man to hurt him, hoping by him to have gained some intelligence of the enemy, that might be of advantage. But it unhappily fell out, that a fellow that had lagged behind, coming up, shot down the Indian; to Mr. Church's great grief and disappointment. But immediately they heard a great shout of the enemy, which seemed to be behind them or between them and the fort ; and discovered them running from tree to tree to gain advantages of firing upon the English that were in the fort. Mr. Church's great difficulty now was how to discover himself to his friends in the fort; using several inventions, till at length he gained an opportunity to call to, and informed a Sergeant in the fort, that he was there and might be exposed to their shots, unless they observed it. By this time he discovered a number of the enemy, almost within shot of him, making towards the fort. Mr. Church and his company were favoured by a heap of brush that was between them, and the enemy, and prevented their being discovered to them. Mr. Church had given his men their particular orders for firing upon the enemy. And as they were rising up to make their shot, the aforementioned Sergeant in the fort, called out to them, for God's sake not to fire, for he believed they were some of their friend Indians. They clapped down again, but were soon sensible of the Sergeant's mistake. The enemy got to the top of the tree, the body whereof the Sergeant stood upon, and there clapped down out of sight of the fort; but all this while never discovered Mr. Church, who observed them to keep gathering unto that place until there seemed to be a formidable black heap of them. "Now brave boys," said Mr. Church to his men, "if we mind our hits we may have a brave shot, and let our sign for firing on them, be their rising to fire into the fort." It was not long before the Indians rising up as one body, designing to pour a volley into the fort, when our Church nimbly started up, and gave them such a round volley, and unexpected clap on their backs, that they, who escaped with their lives, were so surprised, that they scampered, they knew not whither themselves. About a dozen of them ran right over the log into the fort, and took into a sort of hovel that was built with poles, after the manner of a corn crib. Mr. Church's men having their cartridges fixed, were soon ready to obey his orders, which were immediately to charge and run [on] upon the hovel and overset it; calling as he ran on, to some that were in the fort, to assist him in oversetting it. They no sooner came to face the enemy's shelter, but Mr. Church discovered that one of them had found a hole to point his gun through right at him. But however [he] encouraged his company, and ran right on, till was struck with three bullets; one in his thigh, which was near half cut off as it glanced on the joint of his hip bone; another through the gatherings of his breeches and drawers with a small flesh wound; a third pierced his pocket, and wounded a pair of mittens that he had borrowed of Captain Prentice; being wrapped up together, had the misfortune of having many holes cut through them with one bullet. But however he made shift to keep on his legs, and nimbly discharged his gun at them that had wounded him. Being disabled now to go a step, his men would have carried him off, but he forbidtheir touching of him, until they had perfected their project of oversetting the enemy's shelter; bid them run, for now the Indians had no guns charged. While he was urging them to run on, the Indians be- gan to shoot arrows, and with one pierced through the arm of an Englishman that had hold of Mr. Church's arm to support him. The English, in short, were discouraged and drew back. And by this time the English people in the fort had begun to set fire to the wigwams and houses in the fort, which Mr. Church laboured hard to prevent. They told him they had orders from the General to burn them. He begged them to forbear until he had discoursed with the General. And hastening to him, he begged to spare the wigwams, &c., in the fort from fire. [And] told him the wigwams were musket proof; being all lined with baskets and tubs of grain and other provisions, sufficient to supply the whole army, until the spring of the year, and every wounded man might have a good warm house to lodge in, who otherwise would necessarily perish with the storms and cold; and moreover that the army had no other provisions to trust unto or depend upon; that he knew that the Plymouth forces had not so much as one [biscuit] left, for he had seen their last dealt out, &c. The General advising a few words with the gentlemen that were about him moved towards the fort, designing to ride in himself and bring in the whole army ; but just as he was entering the swamp one of his Captains met him, and asked him, whither he was going? He told him "Into the fort." The Captain laid hold of his horse and told him, his life was worth an hundred of theirs, and he should not expose himself. The General told him, that, he supposed the brunt was over, and that Mr. Church had informed him that the fort was taken, &c. ; and as the case was circumstanced, he was of the mind, that it was most practicable for him and his army to shelter themselves in the fort. The Captain in a great heat replied, that Church lied; and told the General, that, if he moved another step, towards the fort he would shoot his horse under him. Then [bristled] another gentleman, a certain Doctor, and opposed Mr. Church's advice, and said, if it were complied with, it would kill more men than the enemy had killed. "For (said he) by tomorrow the wounded men will be so stiff, that. there will be no moving of them." And looking upon Mr. Church, and seeing the blood flow apace from his wounds, told him, that if he gave such advice as that was, he should bleed to death like a dog, before they would endeavour to stanch his blood. Though after they had prevailed against his advice they were sufficiently kind to him. And burning up all the houses and provisions in the fort, the army returned the same night in the storm and cold. And I suppose that every one who is acquainted with that night's march, deeply laments the miseries that attended them; especially the wounded and dying men. But it mercifully came to pass that Captain Andrew Belcher arrived at Mr. Smith's that very night from Boston with a vessel laden with provisions for the army, which must otherwise have perished for want. Some of the enemy that were then in the fort have since informed us that, near a third of the Indians belonging to all the Narraganset country, were killed by the English, and by the cold of that night; that they fled out of their fort so hastily, that they carried nothing with them, that if the English had kept in the fort, the Indians would certainly have been necessitated, either to surrender themselves to them, or to have perished by hunger, and the severity of the season. Some time after this fort fight, a certain Sogkonate Indian, hearing Mr. Church relate the manner of his being wounded, told him, he did not know but he himself was the Indian that wounded him, for that he was one of that company of Indians that Mr. Church made a shot upon, when they were rising to make a shot into the fort. They were in number about sixty or seventy that just then came down from Pumham's town and never before then fired a gun against the English. That when Mr,.Church fired upon them he killed fourteen dead upon the spot, and wounded a greater number than he killed. Many of which died afterwards of their wounds, in the cold and storm [of] the following night.

Mr. Church was moved with other wounded men, over to Rhodeisland, where in about three months' time, he was in some good measure recovered of his wounds, and the fever that attended them ; and then went over to the General [Winslow] to take his leave of him, with a design to return home. But the General's great importunity again persuaded him to accompany him in a long march into the Nipmuck country, though he had then tents in his wounds, and so lame as not [to be] able to mount his horse without two men's assistance. In this march, the first thing remarkable, was, they came to an Indian town, where there were many wigwams in sight, but an icy swamp, lying between them and the wigwams, prevented their running at once upon it as they intended. There was much firing upon each side before they passed the swamp. But at length the enemy all fled, and a certain Mohegan, that was a friend Indian, pursued and seized one of the enemy that had a small wound in his leg, and brought him before the General, where he was examined. Some were for torturing him to bring him to a more ample confession of what he knew concerning his countrymen. Mr. Church, verily believing he had been ingenuous in his confession, interceded and prevailed for his escaping torture. But the army being bound forward in their march, and the Indian's wound somewhat disenabling him for travelling, it was concluded he should be knocked on the head. Accordingly he was brought before a great fire, and the Mohegan that took him was allowed, as he desired to be, his executioner. Mr. Church taking no delight in the sport, framed an errand at some distance among the baggage horses, and when he had got ten rods, or thereabouts, from the fire, the executioner fetching a blow with a hatchet at the head of the prisoner, he being aware of the blov, dodged his head aside, and the executioner missing his stroke, the hatchet flew out of his hand, and had like to have done execution where it was not designed. The prisoner upon his narrow escape broke from them that held him, and notwithstanding his wound, made use of his legs, and happened to run right upon Mr. Church, who laid hold on him, and a close scuffle they had ; but the Indian having no clothes on slipped from him and ran again, and Mr. Church pursued [the Indian], although being lame there was no great odds in the race, until the Indian stumbled and fell, and they closed again scuffled and fought pretty smartly, until the Indian, by the advantage of his nakedness, slipped from his hold again, and set out on his third race, with Mr. Church close at his heels, endeavouring to lay hold on the hair of his head, which was all the hold could be taken of him. And running through a swamp that was covered with hollow ice, it made so loud a noise that Mr. Church expected (but in vain) that some of his English friends would follow the noise and come to his assistance. But the Indian happened to run athwart a large tree that lay fallen near breast high, where he stopped and cried out aloud for help. But Mr. Church being soon upon him again, the Indian seized him fast by the hair of his head, and endeavoured by twisting to break his neck. But though Mr. Church's wounds had somewhat weakened him, and the Indian a stout fellow, yet he held him in play and twisted the Indian's neck as well, and took the advantage of many opportunities, while they hung by each other's hair, gave him notorious bunts in the face with his head. But in the heat of the scuffle they heard the ice break, with somebody's coming apace to them, which when they heard, Church concluded there was help for one or other of them, but was doubtful which of them must now receive the fatal stroke anon somebody comes up to them, who proved to be the Indian that had first taken the prisoner ; without speaking a word, he felt them out, (for it was so dark he could not distinguish them by sight, the one being clothed and the other naked) he felt where Mr. Church's hands were fastened in the Netop's hair and with one blow settled his hatchet in between them, and ended the strife. He then spoke to Mr. Church and hugged him in his arms, and thanked him abundantly for catching his prisoner. [He then] cut off the head of his victim and carried it to the camp, and giving an account to the rest of the friend Indians in the camp how Mr. Church had seized his prisoner, &c., they all joined in a mighty shout.

Proceeding in this march they had the success of killing many of the enemy; until at length their provisions failing, they returned home.

The above account taken from: Church, Benjamin; Church, Thomas; Drake, Samuel Gardner. (1852, pages 54-67). The History of the Great Indian War of 1675 and 1676, Commonly Called Philip's War, Also, the Old French and Indian Wars, from 1689 to 1704. Hartford, Conn: SILAS ANDRUS & SON. Retrieved from https://ia600204.us.archive.org/35/items/historyofgreatin00churrich/historyofgreatin00churrich.pdf

After the Great Swamp Fight, Church was eventually given his own command as he was friendly to the Indians and knew how to make peace with enemy tribes (giving them rum seemed to help). Friendly tribes fought alongside him against hostile tribes and taught him how to fight by spreading out, wearing clothes and shoes that made less noise, and communicating with animal and bird sounds instead of speaking. The Indians were also masters at luring  soldiers into a trap (Church learned this the hard way as he had led his men into a trap).  Church knew mariners and followed some of their fighting techniques as well.

***

About Smith Castle from their webpage at: http://www.smithscastle.org/planning-a-visit-1/:

"...It is thought to have been a grand house that was, possibly, fortified: thus the name Smith's Castle...Smith continued to increase his holdings, and Cocumscussoc soon became a center of social, political, and religious activities. Smith died in 1666 leaving Cocumscussoc to his son, Richard Smith, Jr...In 1675, King Philip, sachem of the Wampanoags, led a coalition of Native Americans in a bloody conflict with the colonists over control of land. The Narragansetts, whose winter home was in the Great Swamp only 12 miles from Cocumscussoc, had pledged neutrality. Suspecting that the Narragansetts were harboring Wampanoag warriors, 1,000 colonial troops from Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and Plymouth colonies massed at the Castle and attacked the Great Swamp village in December 1675. Both sides suffered great losses. Forty colonial soldiers were interred in a mass grave near the Castle. In retaliation for the attack, the Castle was burned in 1676...By 1678, Smith, Jr. had built a new home ..."

According to Ellis and Morris: "...some of the timbers of the original house being used in the construction of the new."--Ellis, George and Morris, John. (1906). King
Philip's War. Grafton Historical Series, The Grafton Press. Retrieved from
https://ia801409.us.archive.org/22/items/cu31924028671331/cu31924028671331.pdf

Stonington, CT, April 1676: Canonchet executed

"I like it well. I shall die before my heart is soft, or I have said anything unworthy of myself." --Chief Canonchet

Narragansett, RI: This statue represents Chief Canonchet, a key leader in King Philip's War (1675-76), also known as the "First Indian War" or "Metacom's Rebellion.")

"CHIEF CANONCHET" (Photographs by Lisa Saunders.

The Canonchet plaque reads: :

CANONCHET WAS THE SON OF MIANTONOMI AND THE GREAT NEWPHEW OF CANONICUS, THE CO-SACHEMS WHO WELCOMED ROGER WILLIAMS IN 1636.

CANONCHET WAS THE WAR LEADER OF THE NARRAGANSETTS WHEN THE UNITED COLONIES (PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS BAY, AND CONNECTICUT) ATTACKED THE NARRAGANSETT'S WINTER FORT IN THE GREAT SWAMP BATTLE OF DECEMBER 19, 1675.

HE LED THE GREAT SPRING OFFENSIVE OF 1676, BUT WAS CAPTURED NEAR PAWTUCKET [R.I.] IN APRIL. HE WAS EXECUTED SHORTLY AFTER, BUT WHEN SENTENCED TO DEATH, CANONCHET DECLARED: "I LIKE IT WELL. I SHALL DIE BEFORE MY HEART IS SOFT OR I HAVE SAID ANYTHING UNWORTHY OF MYSELF." 

"CANONCHET, FRIEND, BENEFACTOR, WARRIOR, HERO, MARTYR."

--THOMAS  BICKNELL, 1920.

MARKER DONATED BY: RICHARD VANGERMEERSCH

The 6,000 pound statue of Canonchet can be found on the Green at Exchange Place, Narragansett Pier. (Sculpted by Robert K. Carsten, 1977. Photographs by Lisa Saunders, 2016).

Canonchet Background

In October 1675, Canonchet signed a peace treaty with the English to remain neutral in King Philip's War. However, after a Narragansett village was attacked and burned because of fears they were aiding the enemy at the Great Swamp Fight (South Kingston, R.I.) in December 1675, Canonchet joined forces with Metacom. 

Captain Benjamin Church was seriously injured in the Great Swamp Fight. On February 29, 1676, at a council of war meeting, Benjamin Church refused a command of 60-70 men to defend outlying towns from Indian attacks. Church felt it was pointless to assume a position of defense with such a small group when he believed the enemy were gathering in great numbers. If he took command, he wanted no less than 300 soldiers, with 100 of them "friend-Indians." He wanted to "lie in the woods as the enemy did...make a business of war, as the enemy did..." (Church, 1975,, p. 126). Captain Michael Pierce of Scituate accepted the command that Church declined.  

At the time, Church was worrying about the safety of this pregnant wife Alice and little son, Tom. They were residing in Duxbury (their home was located near present-day Church Street). Saying goodbye to Alice's parents, the Southworths was not easy. (The Southworth home in Duxbury, MA, still stands at 1347 Tremont Street). The Southworths thought Church should take their daughter and grandson to Clark's garrison in Plymouth on the Eel River, however, Church thought they would be safer on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island. (Church was right-- a few days later on March 12,1676, the Indians attacked and burned Clark's garrison, killing 11--most of them children.)

On March 9, 1676, according to Nathaniel Philbrick in his book, "Mayflower," the Church family "set out for Taunton, from which they would proceed by boat down the Taunton River to Mount Hope Bay and Aquidneck Island." In Taunton, the Churches ran into Captain Michael Pierce and his command of 60 English and 20 friendly Cape Cod Indians. Pierce offered help in escorting Church's family to the home of Captain John Almy in Portsmouth (on Aquidneck Island, R.I.), but "Mr. Church thanked him for his respectful offer, but for some good reasons refused to accept it" (Church, 1975, p. 107). That was the last time Church saw Pierce alive. 

The morning of March 26, 1676, after having spent the night at Rehoboth, Pierce sent a message to Providence asking for reinforcements as he ran into enemy Indians along the Blackstone River the previous day. The messenger reached the Providence residents while they were worshiping at the town's meeting house but he didn't want to interrupt the service. By the end of the service, it was too late. When Pierce’s troops marched along Blackstone River in the Central Falls, Rhode Island, area, they ran into Chief Canonchet and his 500 Narragansett warriors. All of Pierce's men, with the exception of a few who managed to escape, were killed in the ambush (including Lt. Samuel Fuller, my friend Connie Howard's ancestor) or tortured to death later. Pierce's friendly Indians fought bravely and loyaly until the end, proving to the Plymouth Colony government that Benjamin Church had been right--Native Americans were valuable comrades in arms.  Nine  of the 10 men taken prisoners at the ambush were tortured and dismembered in what is known as "Nine Men's Misery" in Cumberland, R.I. (To find the grave site, click on Historical Marker Database's "Nine Men's Misery.")

A few days later on March 29, Canonchet led 1,500 Indians on an attack at Rehoboth, burning 40 houses, plus barns and mills. One man remained in his home, believing the Indians couldn't kill him if he was reading his Bible. He was shot and left with his Bible in his hands.  The day after, Canonchet burned Providence. Chief Canonchet's days were numbered.  In the end, "a Pequot Indian named Monopoide caught up to the sachem [Canonchet], who surrendered without a fight," according Philbrick.

According to Richard Anson Wheeler in the History of the Town of Stongington, Canonchet "was attacked by the English, under Capt. George Denison, accompanied by some of the friendly Pequot and Mohegan Indians, when most of the Narragansett and Wampanaog Indians fled, leaving Canonchet almost entirely alone. As soon as he realized his situation, he too sought safety in flight. The Indian allies of the English and a few of the fleetest whites pursued him, and as he saw his pursuers were gaining on him he threw off his blanket, then his silver-laced coat and belt of peage, and ran with all possible speed, to escape from his enemies, and as he crossed the rivers ford he fell and wet his gun, which so embarrassed him in his flight that he was soon overtaken and surrendered to Robert Stanton, son of the Interpreter General Thomas Stanton, then not 22 years old. Being questioned by the young man, whom he personally knew, about treaty of peace, between the English and Indians, and not wishing to recognize the authority of his youthful inquisitor, he looked upon him with lofty and defiant contempt, and said you are child, you cannot understand matters of war; let your brother, Capt. John Stanton, or your chief, Capt. George Denison, come, then will answer. But when the officers whom he had requested to see came up, he refused to enter into any negotiations with them, so he was brought prisoner to Stonington, where council of war was held, which he declined to recognize, and after his absolute refusal to enter into and abide by a treaty of peace with the English, who, after considering their defenseless conditions and his ferocious temper, he was condemned and ordered to be shot, and when told of his fate he said that "he liked it well, and should die before his heart had grown soft or he had said anything unworthy of himself," and so he was shot near Anguilla in Stonington..." (Wheeler, R.A., History of the Town of Stongington, 1900, p.592). 

"He was executed after the Indian mode, being shot by Oneko and two Pequot sachems, the nearest to his own rank among his conquerors. This was done by his captors without consulting, or advice from any one superior to them in authority"  (Wheeler, R.A., History of the Town of Stonington, 1900, p.22). 

Grace Denison Wheeler wrote in "Homes of Our Ancestors" that "[Canonchet] was shot under the eye of Denison. and the friendly Indians were his executioners, and the following are a part of some lines written by Richard S. S. Andios. 

On his conquerors he gazed 

With a proud and haughty air, 

And his eye with a flame of hatred blazed, 

Which shook the boldest there : 

And a bitter smile of scorn 

Around his dark lip played, 

While his brow like a cloud by thunder torn, 

Wore a deep and fearful shade. 

" Go bid your chief attend !

 I have no words to spare, 

No breath in idle talk to spend 

With children, as ye are, 

Though captive and in chains. 

Though fettered every limb, 

While a drop of royal blood remains, 

I speak with none save him. 

Ye say my doom is death! 

Strike, not a moment spare, 

I ask ye not for another breath! 

1 have no need of prayer!

Death ! Death ! I like it well! 

Ere my heart be soft and tame 

Ere my breast with a thought or feeling swell, 

Unworthy of my name." (Wheeler, 1903, p. 267, 268)

"The Pequots shot him; the Mohegans cut off his head and quartered his body, and the Niantics built a fire, burned his quarters sent his head to the Council at Hartford as a token of love and fidelity ..." (George Ellis and John Morris, King Philip's War,1906).

APPROXIMATE SITE OF CANONCHET'S EXECUTION IN STONINGTON, CT

According to Town of Stonington Historian Frederick Burdick, Canonchet  "was executed by Anguilla Brook along side of Pequot Trail." He added that it was somewhere behind Bill's Tractor shop. "The exact spot I’m not aware of." 

In the article, "Execution site is part of town’s hidden history" by Steven Slosberg (September 29, 2016), David J. Naumec, senior historian and archaeologist at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, stated: "it was near the present-day Pequot Trail, which was a major road even then. Connecticut forces and Native allies were raiding Narragansett Country at this time. They would usually depart from the Denison House in Stonington or from Norwich and would often return on present-day Route 1 or Pequot Trail." Slosberg concludes his article, "It may well be only conjecture, or lost to the expansion of I-95 years ago, but somewhere out there is the site of Canonchet’s historic, honorable and grisly demise."

Pictured above is the approximate area of Canonchet's execution. Seen is the Anguilla Brook located on private property at the end of the town's South Anguilla Road,north of Pequot Trail.

To find the approximate location of Canonchet's execution, find Bill's Tractor Service, Inc. (1 Anguilla Brook Rd, Pawcatuck, CT 06379), located near the intersection of Pequot Trail and South Anguilla Road.

Drive past Bill's Tractor Service on your left heading north  on South Anguilla Road. At the end of the Town road, you will come to the Anguilla Brook, which is on private property.

LEARN ABOUT CAPTAIN DENISON AT THE DENISON HOMESTEAD

Denison Homestead. Located beside the home is the field where Captain George Denison trained 200 men for service in King Philip’s War in 1676. An archaeological dig unearthed musket balls. 

THE FOLLOWING TAKEN FROM: http://denisonhomestead.org/denison-homestead/about/

"{Captain Denison ]  built his first house, a rough log house, on a rocky knoll overlooking the meadows. Forever cognizant of the possibility of Indian attacks, he surrounded this rude home with a stout stockade, enclosing a spring and a couple of acres of land, surrounded by ravines. ..Reportedly over 300 men,including English and Indians, gathered at the stockade several times during King  Phillip’s War. "

ABOUT CAPTAIN GEORGE DENISON OF STONINGTON, CT, AND HIS BAND OF ENGLISH AND FRIENDLY INDIANS WHO CAPTURED CANONCHET:

According to Wheeler's "History of the Town of Stongington" (1900), Page 22: "Almost all of the able-bodied men of Stonington were engaged in the Indian wars of their time. Capt. George Denison raised and mustered into service from the colony large force of English and Indians. He was provost-marshal for New London County and Rhode Island. He had stockade fort just west of his dwelling-house in Stonington, where his soldiers encamped previous to their forays into the Indian territory. During the year 1676, Capt. Denison organized three expeditions, which pursued with unrelenting vengeance the shattered remnants of King Philip's forces. It was during the third of these expeditions, which began March 28, 1676, and ended April 10, 1676, that the brave Narragansett chieftain, Canonchet, was taken prisoner. He was brought to Stonington, where council of war was held at Anguilla, near the present residence of Gideon P. Chesebrough [a photo of house can be seen in “Old Homes in Stonington" by Grace Denison Wheeler 1903, page 197-198, or her 1930 book on page 145]. He refused to negotiate for peace, or for the cessation of hostilities on any terms, so the council decided that he must die, and when told of his fate, replied "That he liked it well, and should die before his heart had grown soft, or he had said anything unworthy of himself." He was executed after the Indian mode, being shot by Oneko and two Pequot sachems, the nearest to his own rank among his conquerors. This was done by his captors without consulting, or advice from any one superior to them in authority..." 

According to Wheeler's "History of the Town of Stongington" (1900), Page 338: "NOTE.— Capt. George Denison (No. 14) was captain of New London County forces in King Philip's war, with Capt. John Mason, Jr., under Maj. Robert Treat, in the great swamp fight Dec. 19, 1675. Also served the next year in command of the forces raised by him as Provo-Marshal, who pursued the remnant of the Narragansett and Wampanaug Indians, and succeeded in defeating them and capturing the Indian Chief Canonchet, who was brought to Stonington, and on his refusal to make peace with the English, was shot. He assisted as magistrate to enable the Pequot chiefs designated by the English to control the remnants of the Pequots. He was assistant and deputy from Stonington to the General Court for fifteen sessions..."

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