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