King Phillip's War

Blue Gray Line

Brief History of King Philip's War by George M. Bodge (George Madison) 1841 to 1914
Printed Privately at Boston, 1891
King Phillips War, Soldiers, information on soldiers of King Phillip's War:
King Phillips War, Battles, information on Battles of War.
Also see Notes below for E-mail contributions.
p.1 - p.2
     The sole object of this series of papers was, at the beginning, the preservation in convenient form of the names of those soldiers who served in the Indian War of 1675/7, known as "King Philip's War"; so called from the name of the recognized leader of that war, whose Indian name was Metacom or Pometacom, or Metacomet; but whom the English called Philip.  He was the second son of Massassoit, who at the settlement of the English at Plymouth and Boston seems to have been chief sachem of all the various tribes and fragments of tribes living between the Charles River and Narraganset Bay, and including that part of Rhode Island east of the Bay, and also the Cape Cod tribes.  The rule of Massasoit was probably rather indefinite both as to limits of territory and extent of authority over the subordinate chiefs.
     While Massasoit seems to have been the acknowledged head of the tribes within the limits above named, the league
between the chiefs of the tribes was evidently very loose and held mostly for convenience in defence and perhaps for the settlement of difficulties between individual tribes.  The territory of this Sachem was bounded upon the west by the Nipmucks and Narragansets.  But a very great proportion of this had been sold by the Sachems before the opening of the war.  Massasoit had several children, three of whom are known to us by name: Wamsutta and Metacom, who came to Plymouth about 1656
and at their own request received English names from the Governor, who "christened" them: "Alexander" and "Philip."  A sister of these was the wife of Tuspaquin chief of the Namaskets; she was called by the English name, "Amie".  Mention is made of another son and also a daughter, but I have not proper authority for their names.
     Alexander married a Sachem's daughter, or widow, of the Pocasset tribe, and after his death, soon following Massasoit's, 1661 or 1662, she returned to her own people, and ruled there with influence and ability until the war; when her second husband, Petananuet, Petonowowett, or "Peter Nunnuit" (as he is sometimes called), took sides with the English, she, possibly reluctantly, joined the fortunes of Philip, who had married her sister Wootonekanuske, and had great influence on her.
     Massasoit had always maintained a cordial and firm friendship with the English; and it would seem that Alexander also was somewhat of his father's nature and disposition.  The moment, however, which saw Philip raised to the place of power, gave signal of a far different course of conduct on the part of the Wampanoag Sachem.  The limits of his father's olden territory had been greatly reduced before he came to power.
     The English had purchased and otherwise absorbed a large proportion of their lands.  Philip kept on selling and surrendering, till at last, as early as 1670/1 he began to feel the pressure of civilization upon their hunting and fishing grounds as well as cornfields.  The Court at Plymouth itself had interfered and forbidden the transfer of certain parts of the Wampanoag territories and thus doubtless saved the Indians in various tribes a home.  Pokanoket, the hereditary home, was thus saved to Philip's people; and here he lived at the time of the opening of the war.  This place was called by the English "Mount Hope" and it is now embraced in the town of Bristol, R.I.
     But now having given some account of the principal character in the war, we may state briefly the method of collecting the material in these papers, and the purpose of this present pamphlet.  The method adopted in arranging the soldier's names needs an explanation. The material which served as the basis of the work, and indeed first suggested the undertaking, was found in
three manuscript volumes, containing the accounts of John Hull who was the Treasurer of the colony at the time of the war, and consist of a Journal and two Ledgers. The Journal opened June 24th, 1675, and originally contained over five hundred pages, as the Ledger shows, but now has only four hundred and sixty-one complete.
     There was evidently a later Journal and also a Ledger, now missing, which belonged to the set.  The third book is later, and contains the closing accounts of the war. These old books were preserved in private hands for a century and a half, until discovered by one who appreciated their value for genealogy and history, and secured them for those purposes.  In searching these books for the name of one who served in the Indian War, the present writer discovered the importance of the accounts in the matter of the Indian war of 1675.  Every soldier who served in that war is credited with military service, and the name of the officer under whom he served is given in the credit.  The date at which payment is made is given in the "Cash" account, but the time and place of service is not designated; nor is the residence nor any further information about the soldier given.  Some of the soldiers served at different times and under different officers.

To be continued  Part 2  Page 3

Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth      Farns10th@aol.com
Notes:
Subject: King Philips War
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 11:51:36 -0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)
From: "Paul.Rox" <paul.rox@shaw.ca>
  Hi - I am presently researching my family tree, and know of my great grandfather (x9) fought in
 the war, yet looking thru all the names listed, I did not see his.
 He was Capt Andrew Edmunds..if you have any information re: him could you please let me know as
 I am unable to locate anything about him. I do know he was married to Mary Hearnden ( or
 Harrington ) and I have his family information ( his children ) but nothing on him...
 Thank you for your time
 Roxanne Wright



Subject: King Philips War
 Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2002 10:36:17 -0500
From: Carolyn Jordan <bassets3@localnet.com>
 
 I was perusing your site on King Philips War.  I became interested in
the war when reading the documentation on the town of Suffield, CT where
my ancestors had settled.  It was quite interesting  to read about
several towns being abandoned.
As a former curator and a huge living history buff ( former member of
the Fort Stanwix Garrison and the BAR) I am interested to know if there
are any local reenactment groups in our area for the early to late
1600s.  Have you come across any?
Carolyn Jordan  Lyons NY (back from NC)

Subject: KPW roster
Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 10:22:33 -0400
From:  ron prouty <   rprouty@sptimes.com   >

I'm looking for info re: my ancestor Richard Prouty who fought in the
King Phillips War from the town of Scituate, Plymouth Co., Mass. Do you
have any info?
Thanks, Ron Prouty
rprouty@sptimes.com



Subject: King Phillip's War
Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2001 19:41:51 -0700
From: "Paula Ratcliff" <  cwpi@coupeville.net  >
 Hello and thank you for your web site!  My husband's ancestor, Anthony Hoskins, was in King Phillip's War.  According to the book, History & Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, CT,  he served as a mounted Cavalryman, July 1667, and received pay from the State and a grant of land in the Commons.  Do you know if there are any of these old records available and where someone could get copies of them?  I didn't notice Anthony Hoskins on your list, so now I'm wondering if it's true.  Thank you for any information you can give.  Paula Ratcliff

Subject: Missing Member
Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 20:05:39 EDT
From:Thomas W. Corey    Thmscry@cs.com
 I was going through the King Philip War list and know my 10th generation Great Grandfather Thomas Corey/Cory of Chelmsford, Middlesex, MA, fought in the war but I do not see him listed.
Thanks,
Thomas W. Corey


Subject: King Philips War
Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 15:19:33 -0400
From: "Brian McKeon" <  bmmckeon@holycross.edu  >
 Mr. Bigelow,
I am writing to inquire about any information you may have regarding the Native Americans who were held captive on the islands of the Boston Harbor during the time of King Philips War.  I would appreciate any help you may be able to offer
regarding this subject.  Thanks:Brian McKeon
nothing new......................................................ROD


Subject: King Philip's War
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 10:12:45 -0600
From: Bob Winn <   bobwinn@iname.com  >
Rod: Thanks for taking the time to document the King Philip's War on the internet. This is very interesting for me, because Lt. Phineas Upham of Malden is my ancestor.Bob


Subject: Capt. Nathaniel Seeley
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 08:18:19 -0800
From: "Cort Sims" <  cortsims@email.msn.com  >
 I have obtained some genealogical information on the internet that states that Capt. Nathaniel Seeley died 19 Dec 1675 in the Great Swamp Fight of
King Philip's War, Narragansett.  His name is not listed http://www.bigelow.simplenet.com/rod/soldiers.htm and I am wondering if
there is some additional names or is the information I have mistaken.  I attempted to contact Mark Felone but his address no longer works.
Cort Sims
cortsims@msn.com
Web Sites: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~idahosim/ and
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=idahosims
answer
Subject: Capt. Nathaniel Seeley
Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 12:56:28 EST
From: Farns10th@aol.com
CONNECTICUT REGIMENT
Robert Treat of Milford, Major Regimental staff
Gershom Bulkely, surgeon
Rev. Nicholas Noyes, chaplain
Stephen Barrett, commissary

officers of the line
John Gallop of Stonington, Captain, First company
Samuel Marshall of Windsor, Captain, second company
Nathaniel Seely of Stratford, Captain, third company
Thomas Watts of Hartford, Captain, fourth company
John Mason of Norwich, Captain, fifth company
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mytree/King_Phillips_War.html



Subject: good afternoon
Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 14:26:54 -0500
From: "Allen Williams" <   awilliams@indikon.com   >
Mr. Bigelow,
Thank you for your very interesting web page.  I stumbled upon it this afternoon while I was doing some research on the King Phillip War.  As
a former resident of the north country I was intrigued by your page and as usual wandered far from the subject that led me there in the first
place.I was hoping to find some more names of the soldiers that served in the Plymouth contingent at the great pond battle in 1677, I suppose that I
am going to have to drive over to Plymouth and research it there.  I live only forty miles from there so it isn't a hardship.
I'm not looking for anything, just wanted to give some positive feedback on an interesting web site. best regards,
Allen Williams
Saranac Lake High School class of 60


Modified - 06/05/2003
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< rodbigelow@netzero.net >
Blue Gray Line
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