Blood Under Ice: A King Philip's War Game IC

[baboushreturns]

The Murder of John Sassamon and the Trial of Tobias, Wampapaquan, and Mattashunnamo
​

King Philip's War started because of the actions of a man who lived between two worlds. John Sassamon was born a Massachusett, but he was raised in the home of an English fur trapper (who may have held him as an indentured servant). Educated by Puritans, he learned English and adopted Christianity, eventually coming to serve as a translator for them. During the Pequot War, he accompanied the colonial militia, and after the war, he aided John Eliot in translating the King James Bible and proselytizing among the Native Americans. As he came into adulthood, Eliot established Sassamon in the Praying Indian town of Natick as a schoolmaster, and starting in 1653, he took a year of lessons at Harvard's "Indian College".

This upbringing made Sassamon a true believer in Eliot's message and the gospel. Eventually, he quit teaching in Natick to proselytize among unconverted tribes like the Wampanoag. Most Indians strongly rejected Sassamon's message, but Metacom saw a potential edge in his knowledge of the English and took him on as an advisor. For a while, the two were quite close as Metacom learned all he could from the man, but Sassamon's continued attempts to convert the Sachem soured the relationship. In January 1675, Sassamon fled the Wampanoag Confederacy and headed straight to Plymouth. There, he warned Governor Josiah Winslow that Metacom was planning a war. Winslow had little reason to like Metacom, but he dismissed Sassamon's warning. Winslow rarely trusted an Indian at their word.

A few days passed and then Sassamon went missing. He was found at the end of January, his neck snapped, trapped under the ice of Assawompset Pond just east of Swansea. Conspiracies swirled at first, but eventually, a Praying Indian named Patuckson came forward as an eyewitness. He testified that three Wampanoag men committed the murder. The men he pointed to were important to Metacom. The most important was an advisor named Tobias, who had served as Metacom's right hand for many years. The Plymouth militia arrested him alongside his son, Wampapaquan, and another man named Mattashunnamo.

The English convened a jury of twelve colonists and six friendly Indian elders to judge the men. In June, a trial was held and all three were found guilty and executed by firing squad. Indian trust in the English court system was already low. Throughout the 1650s and 60s, the courts regularly inflicted punitive punishment on Native Americans, effectively creating a two-tier justice system in true American fashion. Common punishments for Native Americans included whippings, indentured servitude, and enslavement in Barbados. This contributed to the hatred of the English and the executions of Tobias, Wampapaquan, and Mattashunnamo have proven themselves the spark to light a powder keg. The warriors of the Wampanoag demand retribution. It is now Metacom's decision to decide not if but how this will be done.

@Dadarian, @Theaxofwar, @Greater Ale Perm

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Welcome all! This post marks the start of the game. To start the first turn, I request orders from Metacom and Weetamoo about how they intend to get their revenge for Tobias, Wampapaquan, and Mattashunnamo. Once I have that, I'll write up another mini-update and likely release an order deadline for all of you. Thanks for your patience, I'm excited to get this thing underway.

 

[baboushreturns]

The Raid on Plymouth​

Towards the middle of June, Metacom was beset by a difficult series of strategic calculations. The settlers of Plymouth Colony outnumbered his Wampanoag several times over. Yet, they were unprepared and arrogant. Despite Sassamon's murder and the trial, there were still only a few prominent Englishmen who believed that King Philip would launch a war. In the early morning hours of June 19, this assumption was violently upturned.

Metacom realized perhaps from the outset that this conflict would be one of survival. Throwing any chance at reconciliation to the wind he moved to send a strong message to Plymouth Colony and to every Englishmen in the Dawnlands. Meeting secretly in the swamps of the Wampanoag heartlands he rallied an army and marched them north. Cutting through the forests and wetlands south of Plymouth he made directly for the provincial capital hoping to avenge himself upon Governor Josiah Winslow personally for the execution of his subjects and the murder of his brother.

The march took three days before Philip's army arrived just south of Plymouth on the night of the 18th. His scouts found the town quiet and its residents going peacefully about their routines. The army continued to watch as midnight came and passed. Then about an hour before dawn Metacom dispatched a small force of raiders forward into the eastern part of Plymouth in an attempt to distract the local militia and draw them out of the heart of the town.

The men advanced and quickly found themselves assaulting the Harlow homestead where they killed old man Harlow himself and captured several of his kin before setting fire to his house. The fire attracted attention as did the war-whoops of the Wampanoag warriors and soon Governor Winslow and his militia were appraised of the situation.

Knowing only of the small raiding party, Winslow led the entire militia out to face them abandoning the center of Plymouth including its main defenses on Fortress Hill in the southwest corner of town. Metacom's scouts quickly reported the situation to him and without a second thought, he sent the Wampanoag army hurtling into the town that now lay nearly defenseless before them. When they arrived in Plymouth fire and blood filled the streets. Some old men and women attempted to resist as best they could but facing an overwhelming number of well armed Wampanoag warriors there was little to be done. Dozens were captured and scores more killed. Even Governor Winslow's family and estate did not escape the sack with his beloved wife Penelope Pelham Winslow captured by one of the Wampanoag warriors before they set his house on fire.

Meanwhile, Governor Winslow succeeded in driving Metacom's raiders off the Harlow family farm. Yet, he did this only to realize the disaster unfolding behind him. The Plymouth militia rushed back up the coast to protect their family and property however Metacom once again foresaw this move and rallied about a hundred of his warriors to ambush the militia as they came back to town. Given the distances involved however, the two forces made contact before the Wampanoag could properly lay their ambush and an active firefight erupted along the Town Brook just southeast of central Plymouth. The Wampanoag initially held the advantage in this fight, yet the Plymouth militia were determined to save their families and did not give ground.

With the sun rising and English reinforcements drawing ever closer Metacom decided to end the attack around 5:15 AM. Moving back to Plymouth he rallied his army and ordered them to withdraw. The men carried what loot they could and made sure to poison Plymouth's wells before withdrawing back south into the swamps and forests that shielded their advance. It was all over by 6.

In the end, the raid on Plymouth claimed the lives of 13 Wampanoag warriors, 19 Plymouth militiamen, and more than 100 Plymouth settlers. The Wampanoag also captured 47 captives and successfully destroyed or damaged several key civil and military installations in Plymouth. Yet, the shockwaves of the raid would be felt far beyond Plymouth. On the morning of the 19th as news of the attack spread across New England rage and fear spread with it. Plymouth was the first settlement of New England and if it could fall nowhere, not even Boston was safe. Retribution against Metacom and his supporters would have to be total. Like Hannibal with the Romans, no true Puritan Englishman can sleep until Metacom is destroyed.

OOC: With this, the game really begins. The first deadline for turn orders is Saturday April 6, at 5 PM Eastern Standard Time.

 

[baboushreturns]

Mosley's March on Ponkapoag​

In the days following the raid on Plymouth, refugees littered the roads heading north towards Boston. If the first town in New England could be attacked like that, then truly no settlement near the Wampanoag border was safe. Hundreds came from Plymouth itself and many others from nearby towns hoping to find safety among the masses of Boston. Yet, the city was not prepared for such an influx, and many of the refugees lived in tents or out in the open on Boston Commons during the first few weeks after the raid.

Many a good Puritan questioned how God could allow such a disaster to befall them. Answers to this question varied, but most Massachusetts and Plymouth Puritans agreed that Metacom's raid was a form of divine judgment. The Lord had allowed the heathens to ravage them because of their sins. Some men took this further, arguing that the presence of the Native Americans on the land was the sin that had inspired God's fury and that it was their job to seize all of it in his name. One of the main apostles espousing this outlook was a wealthy Bostonian named Samuel Mosley.

Mosley was a cooper by trade, but in 1665 he married Ann Addington, who came from one of the leading families of the colony. With her fortune, he became well-established in Boston, forming close ties with many members of the colonial elite. When news of the raid on Plymouth reached Boston, Mosley supported a motion by the city council to raise a force of two militia companies (~200 men) to defend the colony. Yet, feeling that this in itself was insufficient, Mosley raised another company of volunteers with his own funds and placed himself in command. Many of the men who joined Mosley's company were bitter refugees or sailors with experience fighting the Dutch and French. On the whole, they were a violent and unscrupulous lot and on June 23, Mosley led a mob of soldiers and civilians in attacking a group of Praying Indians (Massachusett) on the outskirts of Boston. Several of the men they attacked were badly injured and one was crippled from the waist down.

Governor Leverett was informed of these events and held little love for Mosley, yet he needed the soldiers and decided to allow the ruffian to raise his volunteer company. At the same time though, Leverett attempted to restrain Mosley's most xenophobic tendencies by writing him several letters urging restraint and reiterating the motto divide and conquer. Yet Mosley was not a man who saw divisions among the Native Americans. In his mind, Metacom's warriors were successful at Plymouth only because of the sloth and incompetence of the English governors and because of the cooperation of numerous praying Indians who were obviously a fifth column intent on the destruction of the colony.

On June 25, Mosley lashed out against the Praying Indians once again when he led a march of soldiers and civilians to the town of Ponkapoag, just about 10 miles south of Boston. Once there, he unleashed his mob upon the missionary town, looting and raising several parts of it. Most of the Praying Indians fled off into the hinterlands around the settlement, but Mosley captured about 12 of them, including 3 children, and led them back to Boston in chains. There, he accused them of conspiring to murder Englishmen and demanded a trial and their executions. The sight of the chained Praying Indians elicited cheers of joy from the refugees and many scared Bostonians who started viewing Mosley as a hero. Within the governor's mansion, Mosley was viewed as a problem more than anything else, but for now, the man's popularity seemed to insulate him.

 

[baboushreturns]

The Pirates of New Holland
​

Dutch merchants and trappers were among the first Europeans to make contact with the tribes of the northern woodlands and Atlantic coast. From their base on Manhattan, they built a trade network stretching far into the interior, eventually becoming the main rivals of the French as they backed the Haudenosaunee in their extensive wars for control over the fur trade. For decades, New Netherland served as a check against both the British and the French as it effectively maintained a third front for both powers. Yet in 1667, the Peace of Breda upended this balance, recognizing effective British control over the colony and establishing New York in its place. The Dutch were eager to regain their colony though and in 1673 they dispatched a flotilla of 21 ships (the largest ever seen in the region) to recapture its capital, New Amsterdam. They succeeded and for a brief period, Dutch power radiated outward once again.

In 1674, the governor of Dutch Curaçao dispatched Captain Jurriaen Aernoutsz north with the frigate Flying Horse. His orders were to reach New Amsterdam and use it as a base to prey upon French and British shipping. However, by the time Aernoutsz reached the waters off Hudson Bay, word of peace between Holland and Britain had reached New Amsterdam and the entire colony was returned to British hands. This was not good news for Aernoutsz, but he was undeterred. Taking advantage of the peace, he sailed into New York and met an English merchant there named John Rhoades. Rhoades was familiar with Maine and French Acadia and convinced the Dutch captain to try to conquer Acadia. Rhoades agreed to serve as the expedition's guide and took an oath to the Netherlands before the pair set off once again that July.

On August 10, they arrived at Fort Pentaguoet and took it in a battle lasting less than two hours. The French garrison of 30 was no match for 110 angry Dutchmen. Having taken the fort, which also served as the capital of French Acadia, they seized the governor of the colony and shipped him with the fort's artillery back to Boston. Governor Leverett paid a pretty price for both prizes and Captain Aernoutsz spent the rest of the month pillaging the coast of Acadia and seizing the French outpost at Jemseg. Yet, with winter fast approaching, the Dutchmen decided to return to Curaçao, leaving Rhoades and some of his officers and men to maintain this newborn colony of New Holland.

Left without their frigate, the men who stayed behind outfitted three smaller ships for privateering. Rhoades commanded one of them, while Dutch officers named Peter Roderigo and Cornelius Andreson commanded the other two. Roderigo led the group. That winter, they patrolled the waters around Pentaguoet and Jemseg, looking for merchantmen to capture. Finding that British ships were far more numerous in the region than French ones, they began attacking the British. That February, Roderigo's ship Edward and Thomas captured the ship of an English fur trader named George Manning. Approving of his ship, Roderigo threatened to maroon Manning if he didn't swear an oath to Holland and join the privateer fleet. Left with little choice, Manning agreed and the group spent the early spring of 1675, attacking English merchant traffic in the Gulf of Maine.

Back in Boston, merchants were in an uproar about the raids and the affair did not escape the attention of Governor Leverett. In March, the General Court of Massachusetts Bay voted to form a small fleet to protect the colony's trade and a few weeks later, the fleet sailed north. On May 4, they were about 25 miles northeast of Fort Lyall when a massive storm descended on the fleet and scattered its ships. The following day, Roderigo and Rhoades came upon one of the battered ships and beat it into submission. Towing their prize back to port, they quickly left the scene. Meanwhile, it took the English several days to realize what had happened and when they did, the battered Massachusetts fleet sailed south to seek repair at Ipswich. Since then, an uneasy new status quo has prevailed.


OOC: Peter Roderigo is open for any player interested in leading New Holland to glory!

@Zorakov @Zincvit @VaneEerus

​

 

[baboushreturns]

Plymouth's Army and The Raid on Dartmouth​

The hours after Metacom left Plymouth were full of chaos, sorrow, and shock in the shattered town. Governor Winslow did not make a move to pursue the marauders despite the abduction of dozens, including his wife, instead focusing on picking up the pieces. Fires were put out, the wounded tended to, and the dead buried. As mid-day approached on the 20th, militia poured in from all the towns within 15 miles of Plymouth. By the end of the day, New England's first town was home to an army of more than 500.

Yet, their situation was not good. With Plymouth's grain stores burnt and its armory destroyed, Winslow's government lacked many of the means by which wars are waged. Without Plymouth's armory, the colony had at hand only enough matchlocks to arm some of the assembled militia and it lacked the powder to send them on a prolonged campaign. Meanwhile, with Plymouth's granary destroyed, all the food for the army and those civilians who remained would need to be hauled in from the towns of the Cape or sailed from Boston at high cost.

Meeting a day later in a small stable that survived the raid, the General Court of Plymouth voted to approve funds to raise an army of around 400 men. Winslow ordered the excess militia home afterward, and using food purchased from Boston merchants, he fed the army and put them to work rebuilding Plymouth, starting with a new palisade and garrison house on Fortress Hill. However, in Winslow's presence, debates raged between his lieutenants. Some argued for a counter-offensive against Metacom aimed at occupying his capital and immediately freeing the captives, while others argued that until the army's supply situation was more fully resolved, such an effort was futile. Benjamin Church fell into a middle camp and argued only for a reconnaissance in force to determine where King Philip had gone and what the intentions of the Wampanoag were. Leveraging his knowledge of the Wampanoag and specifically of the region around Buzzard's Bay, he convinced Governor Winslow to send him after Metacom with a company of 90 men.

Setting out on the 21st, Church probed ahead cautiously, wary of an ambush in the forest south of Plymouth. However, no ambush came and instead, he found Metacom's trail. Tracking it across the forest, his men eventually emerged from the woods, and on the morning of the 22nd, they encountered a family of Wampanoag from the village of Agawam. Unsure of their identities or intentions, Church sent his men to investigate, and the civilians fled except for an old man who decided to die trying to protect his family from the English.

Regretting the death, Church took his corpse and some possessions that had been dropped in the chase to the village and returned them with great humility. His men may not of liked it but this strategy succeeded and although most of the Wampanoag fled at Church's approach, those who remained told him that Metacom's next destination was likely Dartmouth. Satisfied and reluctant to expose his men by pushing further, Church returned north, bringing news to Winslow of this discovery. Yet, Winslow had no intention of acting to block Metacom or save Dartmouth, instead opting to wait for reinforcements from Massachusetts.

Tragically for the citizens of Dartmouth, by the time Winslow made that decision, it was already too late for them. On the 20th, Metacom's army passed through the forest south of Plymouth and into the tidal wetlands south of it. That night, they stopped at the village of Agawam to celebrate the victory, and several of the warriors who had joined Metacom left to return with their loot to their villages. Metacom also bid farewell to his trusted advisor, Annawan, who led a large party to an undisclosed location in the western reaches of the Wampanoag domains. These departures were somewhat offset by young men from Agawam who now were excited to join in on the next raid and the following morning Metacom's remaining force set off for Dartmouth.

Just a few leagues from the town, they met with Sachem Totoson of the Mattapoisett. His band of Wampanoag were eager to aid Metacom's cause, and he outlined Dartmouth's defenses to the warlord. The following morning, Metacom unleashed his army on the town. Striking as soon as the sun came up, the pilgrims were unprepared. Having not yet heard of the raid on Plymouth, some were caught in their beds. Yet, Dartmouth was a well-defended town boasting three garrison houses. These buildings always were built with logs big enough to stop a bullet and rose up two stories tall to offer the defender a good vantage point from which to face any attack. Metacom's men were able to capture one of them through stealth, but villagers fleeing the initial attack were able to raise the alarm, leading civilians and militiamen to rally inside the two others.

One of these houses was on an island in the middle of the Acushnet River, so Metacom decided to ignore it. However, the other sat near the beach on the far west side of town and it came under sustained attack. Improvising on the spot, the Wampanoag warriors stacked dry grass high on a wooden cart and set it on fire before charging it towards the house. This tactic worked when most of the militiamen inside were pinned down, but it came at the cost of 3 of the 4 men who volunteered to push the contraption.

When the day ended, Dartmouth was in ashes. Of 30 homes, only one the garrison house in the Acushnet River still stood. And of a pre-raid population of 180, 80 were captured, 40 killed, and 60 were able to escape. The town's militia of 50 was effectively disbanded. With another violent act, Metacom had reclaimed ancestral Wampanoag land. The question is how long his grip will last.

@Thiccroy @Dadarian @Greater Ale Perm @Theaxofwar

 

[baboushreturns]

The Raids of July 2nd and Hutchinson's Surprise
​

In the hours after the raid on Dartmouth, grey clouds swept across the land and unleashed a deluge of rain and lightning. For two days, neither the Wampanoag nor the British dared stray far from their camps. However, once the storm passed, the war resumed with renewed fury. The first piece of news to reach Plymouth after the storm came from the town of Sandwich on the cape. The local militia captain reported repelling a small-scale Wampanoag raid on his town despite the loss of a few livestock. Several members of the General Court from Plymouth urged Governor Winslow to burn Wampanoag settlements in that area in reprisal, yet he ignored the entire affair.

Instead, all eyes turned to the strategic towns of Middleborough, Swansea, and Taunton. All built along the northwestern border of the Wampanoag Confederacy, together they served as a geographic block separating the Wampanoag and the Nipmuc. The towns also provided significant offensive potential for the English, ensuring them a base from which many of the most important Wampanoag settlements were only a few days march away or less. With these considerations in mind, Metacom led his army out into the field once again to bring destruction down on the English. Leaving their fortified camp on July 2, Metacom's army moved against Middleborough first.

A little town of 75 residents, it would've probably been an easy conquest for the Wampanoag had they attacked it in the first days of the conflict. However, news of the sack of Plymouth and the raid on Dartmouth had gradually made its way west, and the townspeople were frightened but prepared. Upon learning that a war had broken out, local militiamen evacuated themselves and their families to a small fortress on the outskirts of Middleborough. From there, they hoped to wait out to the storm while sending messengers west and east, begging the men of Plymouth and Boston for reinforcements.

By July 2nd, Governor Leverett had agreed to dispatch aid from Boston, yet none had arrived yet. That meant that when Metacom's army entered Middleborough, no one came out to resist them and they were able to burn every house in the small town without suffering a scratch. Yet, Metacom had little stomach for besieging or assaulting Middleborough's fortress and so he left the town's residents unharmed, instead opting to move west and to launch an assault on Taunton.

Arriving late in the day, his men found the bustling settlement nearly deserted. Like the inhabitants of Middleborough, the Pilgrims of Taunton hid within their garrison houses upon learning of the Wampanoag attacks. Unfortunately, these houses could not fit all 500 of the town's residents and some remained in their homes scattered about town. Metacom hoped his raids would provoke a reaction from the English and so, moving again to strike property but not necessarily take lives, his men moved into Taunton and began burning the parts of it they could reach without coming under fire from the garrison houses. These efforts culminated in the destruction of about a quarter of the settlement and the abduction of 35 settlers, along with the killing of 15 more.

Returning home with his loot, the Wampanoag arrived back at their camp late that night and spent much of the next day resting and recuperating from their exertions. Yet, Metacom's mind was anything but calm. He expected a colonial counterattack at any moment but was instead met with silence. Little did he know the silence was about to break in dramatic fashion as decisions made in Boston and Plymouth were about to culminate in the first true battle of the war.

Although Massachusetts Bay Colony had so far escaped the war untouched, Governor Leverett was concerned by the plea of the people of Swansea and Taunton and on July 1st, he ordered 400 recently raised Massachusetts militiamen to join Captain Mosley in Plymouth colony. 200 of them under Major Thomas Savage marched to reinforce Taunton while the rest marched to relieve Middleborough via Plymouth under the command of Captain Edward Hutchinson (son of famed Antinomian Anne Hutchinson who was killed by Native Americans during Kieft's War). Savage's column arrived safely in Taunton on July third, greatly bolstering the defenses of the town. However, Hutchinson was still on the road only reaching Plymouth that night.

While there, Governor Winslow met only briefly with the newcomer, thanking him for coming to the aid of Plymouth, yet declining to provide any assistance to his force. Instead, Hutchinson spent the night with Captain Mosley and, excited by the prospect of combat, Mosley decided to attach his command to Hutchinson's expedition. Setting out at 5:30 AM the following morning, the pair made slow progress. The problem was not the size of their force or the laziness of the men, but rather that Wampanoag axemen had been working since the start of the conflict to down trees on the road between Plymouth and Middleborough. This forced them to slow their march constantly to move the trees or to attempt to get around them so that by the time they were nearing Middleborough, it was getting close to 4 PM.

These long excursions provided ample time for Metacom's scouts to bring word of the miltia's approach to him and, relieved that the Puritans were finally acting as he expected them to, he led nearly his entire army out of camp to confront them. The march to the turnpike west of Middleborough was a short one for them and Metacom ended up positioning his army on a ridge overlooking a spot on the road, with a ridge on one side and a pond on the other. Metacom moved frantically to get his men into position, placing most on top of the ridge and a small flanking force in a ravine to the west of it.

The ambushers did not have to wait long, as after just a few minutes, the front of the militia column came into sight. The Wampanoag waited patiently as the front of the column came and passed the ridge. Then once the middle of the formation was in front of them, Metacom gave a signal and the entire ridgeline erupted with the sound and site of musket fire. The British were immediately disoriented by this blow and soon chaos reigned. In the front of the column, Captain Hutchinson attempted to rally the men and lead them in a counterattack up the ridge. This might've succeeded, however, the Wampanoag proved to be determined defenders and when a musket-ball hit Hutchinson and mortally wounded him; the attack stalled and then broke apart.

Sensing opportunity knocking, Metacom ordered his men to charge. War clubs and tomahawks in hand, they came screaming down the rocky ridge and set upon the militia like wolves. Disoriented, tired, demoralized, and now leaderless men in the front and middle of the column broke and ran, some throwing down their weapons to get away faster. Only in the rear of the formation was Captain Mosley able to keep order and the remaining militiamen rallied around him as he led a fighting retreat back to Plymouth. Arriving there that night, news of the defeat spread across New England like wildfire again setting off a set of political earthquakes that threatened to upend the British war effort and destroy the career of Plymouth's Governor, Josiah Winslow.

 

[VaneEerus]

Massachusetts' reaction to Hutchinson's demise.​

After Governor Leverett received word from the events in Plymouth concerning the militiamen he had sent to help the current situation of its neighbouring Colony, and of the disastrous events that led to Hutchison's early departure of this world, he knew he had to make an announcement as soon as possible. Lest he be made responsible of this disastrous situation by unfounded yet circulating rumors making him guilty of the fate of what where ultimately his men.
He chose to adress a speech to the population of his Colony the very next day, which was transcribed as follows:



"Citizens of Massachusetts, I have dire news for you.

As you acted bravely in the face of foreign agression, taking arms and rushing to aid your needing neighbours using your own resources in this order of business, your courage was not met with the proper enthusiasm.

I heard news that our brethren leaving for Plymouth have been ambushed in the very territory of our neighbouring Colony. How could this be, unless Plymouth's very heart lays still whilst savages plunder the lands of its decent colonists? For it was that and nothing more that cost us our men and powder: lazyness and poor to no surveilance of the woods and swamps that scour Plymouth's territory.

I am under profound grief for our fallen heroes, and utterly shocked that our swift aid provided to Governor Winslow encountered little to no response in terms of preparation to host our valiant forces. I only ask of my southern colleague that he aid me in the harduous task of keeping our men alive, the population in and the savages out.

What order of plea and supplication must I make to resonate in the hearts of the once valiant colonists of Plymouth, the very first envoys of our glorious kingdom to thus new and promissing world, so as for them to take up arms, scout their woods, regain control of their lands, and secure their homes and families?

Now of course I do not lay blame on the fine inhabitants of Plymouth, it is out of their control to correct their administration's mistakes and tardive action. Thus I speak not only to them but also to the refugees that sought help from the proud Massachusetts Bay Colony when I say to hold no fear in their hearts, we will not stop after a single obstacle. We will push on, and guarantee the safety of your kindred and ensure the future of your children.

We make a call to all men of Plymouth willing to aid, join your local militia, cooperate with the forces coming from Massachusetts Bay, scout the neighbouring woods and make the arrival of armaments, support and supplies a steady and safe one. Together, we will put an end to this miserable onslaught that hurls you away from your homes.

I make a solemn promise out of it: your suffering may be great, but to those that shed english blood with eager agression we promise worse ends in this profane world and worse judgment still from our Lord in Heaven. With your cooperation, and my steady administration, we will triumph.

May God keep us favored in the field of battle,

Governor John Leverett of Massachusetts Bay Colony"

 

[baboushreturns]

A Battle in the Bay and the Siege of Fort Pentagouët
​

French settlement at Fort Pentagouët started in 1613 with a small outpost manned by only a handful of merchants and fur trappers. Constructed near the junction of Penobscot Bay and the Bagaduce River, its location ensured access both to the interior and the coast. Over the years, it grew into a bustling frontier town of sorts. Trade with the Penobscot and other Abenaki nations provided a constant source of furs for export, and in return, the French offered up European-manufactured trade goods that began reshaping many aspects of Abenaki society. Like French outposts in the Great Lakes region, Fort Pentagouët did not exist in an area of true French control but rather a middle ground in which the outpost existed only with local Indigenous people's permission and active support.

As trade ties with the Penobscot broadened and the threat posed by Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay grew, Pentagouët became more well-populated and defended. In the 1630s, an energetic young French nobleman named Charles de Menou d'Aulnay de Charnisay established a European-style fortress at the site, complete with a church, barracks, gunpowder magazine, governor's mansion, and armorer's workshop. From that point on, the fort would come to define the settlement, and its workshop and gunpowder stores would come to be two of the most critical resources for Indigenous people living in the region.

Over just a few decades, Abenaki hunters came to rely on their firearms more than any other tool. This meant constant maintenance was required, along with constant access to powder and shot. In southern New England, many tribes like the Narragansett and Pocumtuc possessed blacksmiths capable of maintaining their weapons. Yet, in the north, the Penobscot lacked trained smiths of their own and, therefore, were forced to rely on the smiths and depots of Fort Pentagouët to keep their weapons maintained and procure new ones. Powder was also a major problem for all Indigenous nations. Unlike guns and their parts, all Indigenous nations lacked the knowledge and means to produce gunpowder, and even during the 1670s, no colony was able to produce it domestically either. Therefore, tons of it had to be shipped from Europe to North America every year to maintain the trade and diplomatic relations of the continent.

That is, in large part, why the Dutch attack on Fort Pentagouët came as an unwelcome surprise to the Penobscot. Not only did the Captain Aernoutsz abduct inhabitants of the Fort (only to sell them back to French authorities in Quebec) and degrade its defenses, but he also destroyed the armorer's workshop that maintained the Penobscot's weapons and significantly curtailed their access to new gunpowder. This created an untenable situation for the Penobscot that the 23-year-old Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin successfully exploited to his (and New France's) advantage in the early summer of 1675.

Meeting in council with his father-in-law and other prominent tribal leaders at a seasonal camp deep in the interior, Castin successfully prevailed upon the Penobscot to launch an attack against the Dutch invaders in hopes of reclaiming the fort for New France. With the aid of Chief Sachem Modackawando, Castin assembled an army of hundreds in June and set off marching south down the Penobscot River until the force reached the former outskirts of the settlement at Fort Pentagouët in early July. There they found a small Dutch garrison working frantically to rebuild the walls of Pentagouët. Had it been this contingent alone Castin's army would've quickly overrun the outpost. Yet, in the harbor anchored right next to the fortress were two sloops. One was the damaged prize taken by Roderigo and Rhoades during their battle against Massachusetts Bay back in May, but the other was the fully armed and crewed Sea Saraph captained by Rhoades.

Castin resolved to make this his first target, hoping to capture the fortress by capturing the ships. To effect this plan, he deployed the Penobscot fleet, a mish-mash of war canoes and shallops which he hoped would prove capable against the Dutch. Unfortunately, the events that followed were an unmitigated disaster for the Penobscot. Setting out around 1 PM on July 12, Castin set sail with his small fleet into the bay near Fort Pentagouët. Passing the point on which the fort is built, Castin's fleet surprised Rhoades, and initially, he was on the back foot as his men scrambled to raise their anchor and get to battle stations. Yet, once Rhoades was able to bring the Sea Saraph's artillery to bear the battle went all downhill for the Penobscot. The first few shots from the Saraph skimmed and skipped by the Penobscot fleet. Encouraged by this, Castin attempted to send his canoes toward the sloop to draw the artillery fire away from the shallops so that the whole fleet could eventually approach the Sea Saraph and board her.

Instead of that happening the Anglo-Dutch gunners eventually found their mark and cratered one of the shallops with a single shot. Then, when the canoes started to get close to the Saraph, English marksmen onboard began pouring gunfire into the exposed craft, which caused many of their crews to panic and flee or accidentally capsize their boats. Watching this, the men onboard the shallops became demoralized, and when the Sea Saraph's artillery found its mark again, the entire force fled back up the bay toward the safety of the Penobscot River. In all, some 4 canoes and 2 shallops were lost along with their crews, totaling some 58 warriors.

This loss proved a significant setback for Castin's expedition, yet it was not crippling. Despite some protests from the men still under his command, Castin convinced the majority of his army to remain committed to the siege, and the next day, he sent out his best marksmen to begin sniping at the garrison of the fort. This tactic proved effective as it essentially halted all further work to reconstruct the walls and caused the garrison to spend most of their time hiding behind the walls of the barracks and church. As July progressed, more than half the garrison was successfully dispatched, causing significant concerns for Rhoades, who had assumed effective command at the fortress.

Peter Roderigo was not present at the scene because he was busy patrolling the waters off Penobscot Bay to enforce a Dutch (VOC) trade embargo on Acadia. These efforts were not successful, as English and French merchants had learned to stay away from the coast near Fort Pentagouë in recent months. Yet, he was alerted to the situation developing there on July 25 and dispatched his subordinate Cornelius Anderson and his ship, the Penobscot Shallop, to reinforce Rhoades.

When he arrived on July 31, the situation remained somewhat of a stalemate. The Penobscot continued their sniping, yet no efforts had been made to actually storm the fortress, and the Dutch still possessed undisputed control over the seas. Yet, the conditions inside the fortress were appalling for its garrison, which spent most of their time living in cramped, miserable conditions inside their buildings. Meanwhile, on the Penobscot side logistical problems were becoming a real concern. Their supply of gunpowder had certain finite constraints, which meant that this sniping campaign would eventually become unsustainable without further stocks being made available. As August approaches, the war in the north may be poised to enter a new stage.

​

 

[baboushreturns]

The Affairs of Connecticut Colony June-July 1675
​

Separated by Rhode Island and the Narragansett from the bloody war raging out east, Connecticut seemed an island of stability to many colonists amidst the storm battering New England during the summer of 1675. Yet, that image of serenity did not quite match the reality on the ground. In April, Governor John Winthrop the Younger received a letter from Governor Sir Edmund Andros asserting New York's claim to all the lands west of the Connecticut River up to and including Hartford. This border dispute led to a military build-up along Connecticut's western border, and as June came and went, the two British colonies seemed to be on the verge of war.

Attempting to walk his colony back from the brink, Governor Winthrop dispatched a series of letters to London, Plymouth, and Boston, painting Andros as an opportunist and a scoundrel intent on spilling British blood for his own personal gain. Across New England, this narrative was well-received, as many of the Puritans already resented Andros for his Anglicanism and monarchism, however, in London, the letters generally fell on eyes blinded by the love King Charles II felt for Sir Andros and the annoyance he felt towards the Puritan colonies.

Back in Connecticut, Governor Winthrop also sought to guarantee the safety of his colony by raising an army for its defense. Worried about Andros's ambitions and then surprised by the raid on Plymouth and subsequent battles, the General Court of Connecticut agreed to meet the governor's request and voted to raise an army of 500 men, including 75 dragoons. Winthrop ordered half of them stationed on the western frontier to protect against Andros, while the other half took up positions at New London to protect against any threat from the east. Winthrop also procured the use of a brigantine and four sloops (all lightly armed) from several New England merchants in order to provide transport and logistical services for the army. Sustaining this force would be quite expensive, and it would prove difficult, if not impossible, to raise more men for some time unless a great need arose.

Winthrop also was quite active on the diplomatic front in June and July 1675. Working alongside his old friend and companion Robin Cassacinamon (Sachem of the Pequot), Winthrop sent envoys bearing gifts to the Niantic, Mohegan, Wagunk, Podunk, Tunxis, Quinnipiac, Paugusett, Wappinger, and Mauntaukett seeking to assure their support or at least neutrality in the war being waged between the New England Confederation and the Wampanoag. This venture proved quite successful, and in New Haven, more than 100 Native American allies quickly assembled to provide support for the army stationed there. Most of them were from the Pequot and Mohegan nations, but a small contingent arrived from the Tunxis as well. The rest of the nations proclaimed their neutrality in the matter.

Unfortunately for Connecticut, these actions would not prove sufficient to deter Sir Andros and his ambitions. On July 30, three well-armed brigantines loaded down with soldiers arrived off the coast of Saybrook bearing a message from the Governor of New York. He made it known that he would enforce a blockade on the Connecticut River until western Connecticut was given up. This action stunned and infuriated the men of Hartford, yet they lacked the means to dislodge the blockade for now, and so the crisis intensified.

 

[baboushreturns]

The Androscoggin Ultimatum
​

Of all the areas the British colonized in New England, none was so rugged or sparsely populated as the coast of Maine. Large-scale agriculture was entirely impossible there. Instead, most settlers relied on fishing to make ends meet. Coastal swamps provided space to raise fodder for cattle and potentially to support one's family but not much else, and the forests were still too hostile and foreboding for the settlers to exploit for lumber. Of the approximately 40,000-45,000 settlers living in New England in 1675, less than 4,000 lived in Maine. Its distance from Boston and the theocratic tendencies of the Puritans also inspired a unique culture in its people. The Puritans perceived them as highly anti-religious, and compared to their society, there's certainly some truth in that claim. From the 1630s onward, almost all the towns of Maine were repeatedly brought before the York County Court by the colony for not providing religious education for their young or hiring ministers for themselves. Furthermore, the settlers did not possess any interest in converting their Native American neighbors. Of the 14 Praying Indian towns in New England in 1675, 0 were in Maine.

However, this did not necessarily mean that relations with the local Abenaki nations were good. In fact, just as the first shots were fired in Plymouth, they had reached a nadir. In 1674, the General Court of Massachusetts put severe restrictions on the sale of powder and shot to non-allied Native communities on the Maine frontier in an effort to defang tribes they saw as French allies. This, combined with crop failures, resulted in a winter of hardship for many Abenaki communities and fostered much resentment. Furthermore, the British settlers often adopted a quite high-handed treatment of the Native Americans. British ship captains often took Abenaki as slaves and sold them off to plantations in the Caribbean. In early 1675, one incident stemming from that practice resulted in the deaths of the wife and infant child of Sagamore Squando, leader of the Pequawket. Reportedly, British sailors came across the woman and child as they were canoeing across an open body of water. The sailors wanted to test a rumor that Native Americans were born with the ability to swim and capsized the boat they were in. Before these murders, Squando was an ally of the British, but after it, his heart turned against them.

Therefore, tensions were already high when news of Metacom's raid on Plymouth reached York (Maine's district capital) on July 11. Once it did, the settlers convened a meeting to decide on a course of action. Earlier in 1675, the General Court had appointed a new committee to organize the militiamen of Maine and put it under the control of a Major named Richard Waldron. Waldron earned his rank because of his position as a well-off merchant and land speculator and possessed a well-earned reputation for lying and cheating in deals with the Native Americans. Under his leadership, the men of Maine sat and debated together, deciding that the best way to secure their safety was to disarm the Abenaki around them.

Although Squando was known for his newfound hostility, they did not go to the Pequawket first. Instead, a company of 100 men marched 70 miles north to the mouth of the Kennebec River and then followed the riverbank north from there until they encountered a band of the Androscoggin under the leadership of a Sagamore named Rawandagon who the British called Robinhood. The militiamen gave Robinhood an ultimatum, give up his guns or be wiped out. Seeing his people outnumbered and outgunned, Robinhood agreed to their demands, and the militiamen had him pass on word to the north that the English would have all the guns of the Androscoggin soon.

This triggered an entire chain of events as the Androscoggin were by no means amenable to such a proposal but their opinion was divided. Their leader a Sagamore named Mugg Hegone, was fluent in English and had long preferred cooperation with them to conflict. However, these demands and the actions of the settlers in recent years had become nearly unbearable. Instead of submitting, he stalled and sent out envoys to all the Abenaki tribes of the Dawnlands requesting aid and advice. In the south, these envoys found Sagamore Wonalancet of the Penacook. He attempted to mediate on behalf of the Androscoggin, reaching out to Governor Leverett and asking him personally to intercede in the affair. Yet, amidst the crises facing Plymouth in July 1675, he held little power over Massachusetts' furthest frontiers, and this effort resulted in little progress. Meanwhile, in the north, the Androscoggin envoys found Sachem Modackawando of the Penobscot. He also sent word to Mugg Hegone that he preferred peace to war but also took action by leading a party of Penobscot warriors south near the end of July. Modackawando did not want war with the British, but if it did come, he wanted to show solidarity with his fellow Abenaki.

This meant that as July came to an end storm clouds were gathering over Maine. The colonists were well-armed and paranoid, ready to punish any sign of Native resistance and even move preemptively to crush it. Meanwhile, the Abenaki were something of an ambiguous mess. The majority still seemed to prefer peace. Yet, given the enormity of the settler demands and the enormity of outrages they'd already committed against the Abenaki, a devoted minority was committed to using all means to clean them from the land. For now, peace clings on, but it will take very little to tilt the scale.

 

[baboushreturns]

The Battle of Bloody Brook​

Hutchinson's death and the route of the Massachusetts Bay militia marked a new low point for the colonial war effort. In Plymouth and Boston, the reactions were revealing. Governor Winslow's initial reaction was inaction. In the immediate aftermath of the raid, he withdrew to his private tent, set near the ashes of his former house, and said nothing to the militia officers of Plymouth or Captain Mosley about how the army should react to the situation. In this void, frustrations within the command began to boil over. On the night of the 4th, as the tired men of Massachusetts attempted to recover from the day's trials Captain Mosley and Captain Church met by the light of a smoldering campfire. Together, they agreed to take matters into their own hands. If Winslow would not order the army to march, then they would do it themselves; come the morning, they would lead the militia loyal to them out of camp and back to the site of the ambush to look for survivors and perhaps even get revenge. Plans were made and orders went out to the troops to be ready for the morning.

Yet, when morning came, the plot unraveled. Sometime in the night, word got back to Governor Winslow about what was afoot. Faced with a moment of genuine crisis, he finally took action. Waking up well before dawn on the 5th, Winslow summoned his officers and told them all to prepare immediately for a march on Middleborough. He then gave a speech to the militia promising the same his message was well received. Men started packing away their tents, and carts were loaded with supplies of food and equipment, and oxen were prepared for the journey. Unfortunately for Winslow, bad news came from Boston that evening when word reached him that Governor Leverett had ordered Mosley and the Massachusetts Bay militia to remain in Plymouth for the time being (and that Leverett had made a speech castigating Plymouth's performance in the war). The next day heavy rains would delay the expedition for another 24 hours.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the line, the Wampanoag warriors were in a state of jubilation over their unbroken string of successes. In the wake of Hutchinson's Surprise, they'd looted the dead and taken many scalps. Metacom collected enough booty that he was able to hand out British weapons and armor like candy to his followers. Most importantly, however, the victory provided a significant short-term boost to his powder stocks. Yet, things were not all good for Metacom either. Having by now collected much loot in a short time, dozens of Wampanoag warriors left the army and returned home with their loot, hoping to give it over to their families for safekeeping before eventually rejoining Metacom's army in their own time. These losses were partially offset by the arrival of several Nipmuc and Narragansett warriors who were drawn into the Wampanoag Confederacy in the hope of retribution against the British settlers and, hopefully, some loot of their own.

Much to Metacom's chagrin, these reinforcements had not yet reached the army when he was informed mid-morning on July 7th that Governor Winslow had left Plymouth, leading an army of around 300-400. Due to poor scouting work by the colonists, these observers had gone unnoticed, and Metacom again had the time to prepare an ambush. Setting out at once with all the warriors he could muster, the Wampanoag set up another ambush at a site just a few minutes down the road west from where Hutchinson and his men were killed. The army of Plymouth made better time than Hutchinson's detachment did because the Massachusetts Bay militia had painstakingly cleared many of the fallen trees that the Wampanoag had carefully felled in the last few weeks. That said, the road was still quite muddy, and it took the militia until midday to reach the site of the July 4 ambush. There they found the corpses of the Massachusetts militia unburied, and several of them had been mutilated by the Wampanoag warriors. Winslow's men dug a few shallow graves and buried those they could before pressing on.

Only fifteen minutes after leaving the ambush site, they came to a part of the road intersected by a brook running north-south across the path. On drier weeks, the water ran deep enough that an adult could wade through it and only get their feet and shins wet. Yet, given the rain, the water level had come up and it now came up past the knee. Winslow and the vanguard of his force forded this water obstacle easily enough. However, it created a delay as men took their time taking off their shoes and rolling up their pants to wade across this brook. On either side of the brook, hills strewn with mossy rocks looked down onto this scene, and it was from here that the Wampanoag launched their attack.

Governor Winslow had neglected to send an advanced scouting party up the road in front of him or extend flankers into the woods on either side of his column, so it came as a complete surprise when Metacom's men started pouring fire onto the Puritans from the hills overlooking the brook. The Wampanoag's first volley was devastating, and it seemed to the militia as if they were surrounded for a moment. Metacom had ordered his musketeers to load their weapons with a double load of powder, and while the tactic ended up bursting the guns of a few warriors (maiming and killing a handful of men), it also helped obscure the Wampanoag firing positions and made them appear more numerous than they actually were. Reacting to this chaos, Benjamin Church (who'd been assigned to guard the baggage train as a punishment from Winslow) began organizing the wagons into a circular fortress. Winslow seized on this and ran back from the front of the column to the wagons and ordered the militia to make their stand there. Taking their time to light their matchlocks, the militia rallied and eventually were able to return fire from their fortress and recover from the initial shock. The Wampanoag focused on finishing off the militia still stuck on the west side of the brook while Winslow attempted to clear the hills on the east side.

This strategy worked in both cases as Winslow's men successfully pushed uphill against a small Wampanoag contingent and overcame them in a short but violent fight while Metacom's musketeers picked off dozens of panicked militiamen who were badly exposed after the initial ambush. Seeing his warriors retreat from the east bank, Metacom decided to call off the attack, and his force melted back into the forest around Middleborough. Governor Winslow took the reprieve to collect the wounded on the wagons and then pressed on toward his final goal. Metacom was not content to let him reach Middleborough unchallenged, however, and throughout the rest of the day, Wampanoag warriors fought a rolling skirmish with the Plymouth militia until they reached Middleborough proper. When they did Metacom called off the assault and now truly withdrew off into the woods. In Middleborough, the residents were jubilant. The people said they'd prayed to God many times every day for their salvation knowing that the Devil was at their door. The men of Plymouth finally scored their first victory. Yet, Winslow had gotten lucky. Had he been shot in the moment of first contact, the battle would've likely been another route. Meanwhile, Metacom had failed in his goal but his army survived to fight another day. In total, the losses from the battle were 56 Plymouth militia killed or grievously injured to 33 of the Wampanoag.