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Life during colonial times -

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colonial williamsburg family vacation packages

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Colonial Williamsburg Education Resource Library

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Wapanoag Culture - Amity Team Black Early American Cultures Web

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This site was developed by Team Black Students as part of our Early American Cultures Unit at Amity Middle School in Bethany, Connecticut. Our school website can be found here: http://www.amityregion5.org/ajhsb/

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Kids learn about Paul Revere's famous ride of warning the patriots about the British; major event in the American Revolutionary War.

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Native American Indian Tribes

Site Index

Facts about the Wampanoag Native Indian Tribe
This article contains fast, fun facts and interesting information about the Wampanoag Native American Indian tribe. Find answers to questions like where did the Wampanoag tribe live, what clothes did they wear and what food did they eat? Discover what happened to the Wampanoag tribe with facts about their wars and history.

What language did the Wampanoag tribe speak?
The Wampanoag tribe spoke in spoke in several related dialects of the Algonquian language family. The meaning of the name 'Wampanoag' is ""People of the First Light" or "Eastern people", in respect of the location of their homelands. The Wampanoag were also known as the Wapenock, Massasoit and "Philip's Indians".

What was the lifestyle and culture of the Wampanoag tribe?
The Wampanoag were originally a great confederacy of tribes and groups including the Pokanoket and the Mashpee. In the 1500's there were many thousands of Wampanoag people but their numbers were literally decimated by epidemics of devastating diseases such as measles and smallpox brought by the newcomers - the explorers and traders. Some Wampanoag people were even taken a slaves by the traders. Despite the apprehension felt by the Wampanoag towards the newcomers the Pokanoket tribe of the Wampanoag people, led by Chief Massasoit, were responsible for saving the Mayflower Pilgrims from starvation and death during the terrible winter of 1620 - 1621. The Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony led by Myles Standish, William Brewster, William Bradford and William Bradford pledged peace with Pokanoket. One of the Indians, Tisquantum aka Squanto, was able to speak English. The Wampanoag people taught them farming techniques and helped them to survive in the colony. In November 1621 the Pokanoket tribe of the Wampanoag Nation celebrated the "First Thanksgiving" with the Pilgrims. The peace was short lived due to the death of two Wampanoag chiefs during an altercation with Captain Myles Standish and the Native Indians further contact with the colonists. Deteriorating relations resulted in the Metacom (King Philip) Pequot War (1634-1638). Praying towns were developed by the Puritans of New England from 1646 to 1675 in an effort to convert the local Native American tribes to Christianity. In 1675, King Philip's War erupted led by Chief due to the continuous encroachment of white settlers Wampanoag homelands. The Wampanoag were nearly exterminated, only 400 survived the war.

Where did the Wampanoag tribe live?
The Wampanoag are people of the Northeast Woodland Native American cultural group. The location of their tribal homelands are shown on the map. The geography of the region in which they lived dictated the lifestyle and culture of the Wampanoag tribe.

The Northeast Woodland region extended mainly across the New England States, lower Canada, west to Minnesota, and north of the Ohio River

Land: Lush woodlands, rivers, ocean

Climate: The climate varied according to the location of the tribe

Land Animals: The animals included squirrel, white-tailed deer, raccoon, bears, beavers, moose, and caribou

Fish and Sea Mammals: Whales, Seal, Fish and shell fish

Crops: The crops grown in the area were corn (maize), pumpkin, squash, beans and tobacco

Trees: Poplar, birch, elm, maple, oak, pine, fir trees and spruce

What did the Wampanoag tribe live in?
The Wampanoag tribe lived in temporary shelters during the summer known as Wigwams, aka wetus or wikkums, which are also known as birchbark houses. The word ' Longhouses Wetu' means "house" in the Wampanoag language. Some of the winter Wampanoag villages were fortified and consisted of long, multi-family residences, called .

Wampanoag Wigwam or Wetu Wigwam , or wetuash (plural of wetu) are temporary shelters. They are small cone-shaped houses with an arched roof made of wooden frames from saplings (young trees) that are covered with sheets of birchbark. Wide sheets of bark from large, older trees covered the frames of the wetus, which were held in place by ropes or strips of wood. These summer wigwams were covered with woven mats using cattails, tall, stiff plants, growing almost ten feet tall.

Wampanoag tribe - Longhouses
Many Wampanoag lived in oval-shaped longhouses during the winter. The main difference between the wetu and the longhouse was that the longhouse was a permanent structure, much larger elongated shape. Mats for these winter homes were woven from bulrushes. A longer process than using cattails, but with a hardy result. The mats were used for both the outside and interior of the Wampanoag longhouse and frequently painted black and red. The longhouse villages were surrounded by fencing (palisades) and reinforced with mud. Longhouses were built up to 200 feet long, 20 feet wide and 20 feet high. The longhouses had smoke holes in the roof to allow air and light in and smoke to escape. The smoke hole had a birchbark cover to keep out the rain. The position of the cover could be moved as the direction of the wind changed.

Longhouse Village

What clothes did the Wampanoag wear?
The majority of clothes worn by the Wampanoag were made from animal skins or birchbark before Europeans came. These included long breechclouts, leggings, long cloaks and shoulder to waist length mantles. These were made from the skins and fur of deer (buckskin) raccoon, beaver, otter and moose. Wampanoag Women wore wraparound skirts, tunics and cloaks. Moccasins were made of one piece of moose skin with a long tongue and a high collar that could be left up or folded down. The moccasins were greased on the outside for additional waterproofing. Belts were woven from dogbane and other plant fibers that were colored with vegetable dyes. The picture is of Metacom (King Philip) who wears clothes made from trade cloth. His headdress consists of a woven headband and topped with four feathers, a sign of his special status.

Wampanoag History Timeline

1500's: European explorers and traders make contact with the Wampanoag

1600's: Epidemics of smallpox, typhus and measles greatly diminish the numbers of Wampanoag

1606: The colonisation of New England began

1600's: Epidemics of smallpox, typhus and measles together with inter-tribal warfare diminish the numbers of Pennacook

1620: The Great Migration of English colonists begins

1620: The Mayflower ship and the Pilgrims landed in the New World in November 1620

1620: The Plymouth colonists locate present day Plymouth Bay on December 6, 1620

1621: March 16, 1621: The first formal contact with Pokanoket, Wampanoag Native American Indians led by Chief Massasoit, King Philip

1620: In July 1621 the Pokanoket tribe of the Wampanoag felt sympathy for the people in the Plymouth Colony and teach them farming techniques and help the colonists to survive

1621: In November 1621 the "First Thanksgiving" is celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Pokanoket tribe of the Wampanoag Nation

1634: Deteriorating relations between the colonists and Native Indians results in the Pequot War (1634-1638)

1646: 'Praying towns' were developed by the Puritans of New England (1646 - 1675) in an effort to convert Native Indian tribes to Christianity.

1675: King Philip's War erupts led by Chief Metacom (King Philip) due to the continuous encroachment of white settlers. The Wampanoag are nearly exterminated, only 400 survived the war

1676: Some survivors of King Philip's War are sent to Deer Island and others sold as slaves in the West Indies

1972: The "Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head, Inc." was formed

1987: The 1987 Settlement Act in which trust lands are located in the southwest portion of Martha's Vineyard Island in the town of Gay Head

Wampanoag History Timeline

Interesting Facts and information about the way the Wampanoag people lived

The clothes worn by men and women

Description of the homes and the type of food the Wampanoag would eat

Fast Facts and info about the Wampanoag

Names of famous chiefs and leaders

Interesting Homework resource for kids on the history of the Wampanoag Native American Indians

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Native American Indian Tribes Site Index Facts about the Wampanoag Native Indian Tribe This article contains fast, fun facts and interesting information about the Wampanoag Native American Indian tribe. Find answers to questions like where did the Wampanoag tribe live, what clothes did they wear and what food did they eat?

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The people we know as Pilgrims have become so surrounded by legend that we are tempted to forget that they were real people. Against great odds, they made the famous 1620 voyage aboard the ship Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony, but they were also ordinary English men and women. To understand them, it is important that we look beyond the legend. This story will help you get to know these people, now known as the Pilgrims, through their first years in New England.

England was a Roman Catholic nation until 1534, when King Henry VIII (reigned 1509-1547) declared himself head of a new national church called the Church of England. Although he and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558-1603), changed some things that made the Church of England different from the Roman Catholic Church, a few people felt that the new Church retained too many practices of the Roman Church. They called for a return to a simpler faith and less structured forms of worship. In short, they wanted to return to worshipping in the way the early Christians had. Because these people wanted to purify the church, they came to be known as "Puritans." Another group, considered very radical, went even further. They thought the new Church of England was beyond reform. Called "Separatists," they demanded the formation of new, separate church congregations. This opinion was very dangerous; in England in the 1600s, it was illegal to be part of any church other than the Church of England.

The Separatist church congregation that established Plymouth Colony in New England was originally centered around the town of Scrooby in Nottinghamshire, England. Members included the young William Bradford and William Brewster. Like others who refused to follow the Church of England's teachings, some of them were harassed, fined or even sent to jail. When they felt they could no longer suffer these difficulties in England, they chose to flee to the Dutch Netherlands. There, they could practice their own religion without fear of persecution from the English government or its church.

The Pilgrims in Holland (the Netherlands)

Although they had religious freedom, life in the Netherlands was not easy. The Separatists had to leave their homeland and friends to live in a foreign country without a clear idea of how they would support themselves. The congregation stayed briefly in Amsterdam and then moved to the city of Leiden. There they remained for the next 11 or 12 years. Most found work in the cloth trades, while others were carpenters, tailors and printers. Their lives required hard work. Even young children had to work. Some older children were tempted by the Dutch culture and left their families to become soldiers and sailors. Their parents feared that they would lose their identity as English people. To make matters worse, the congregation worried that another war might break out between the Dutch and Spanish. They decided to move again.

The Move to America

After careful thought, the congregation decided to leave Holland to establish a farming village in the northern part of the Virginia Colony. At that time, Virginia extended from Jamestown in the south to the mouth of the Hudson River in the north, so the Pilgrims planned to settle near present-day New York City. There they hoped to live under the English government, but they would worship in their own, separate church. Because their own money wasn't enough to establish their village, they entered into an agreement with financial investors. The company of investors would provide passage for the colonists and supply them with tools, clothing and other supplies. The colonists in turn would work for the company, sending natural resources such as fish, timber and furs back to England. All assets, including the land and the Pilgrims' houses, would belong to the company until the end of seven years when all of it would be divided among each of the investors and colonists. The colonists and investors had many disagreements, but eventually the Pilgrims were able to leave Europe for America.

The entire congregation could not come to America together. Those who could settle their affairs in Leiden went first while the greater number, including their pastor John Robinson, remained behind. The congregation purchased a small ship, Speedwell, to transport them across the sea and to use for fishing and trading in America. At Southampton, a port in England, they were joined by a group of English colonists who had been gathered by the investors. Speedwell and Mayflower - a ship rented by the investors - departed for America together. After twice turning back to England because Speedwell leaked, they were forced to leave the ship. As a result, many families were divided when some passengers had to be turned back for lack of space. A month after first leaving England, on September 6, 1620, Mayflower set out alone with 102 passengers.

Arrival at Plymouth

Mayflower arrived in New England on November 11, 1620 after a voyage of 66 days. Although the Pilgrims had originally intended to settle near the Hudson River in New York, dangerous shoals and poor winds forced the ship to seek shelter at Cape Cod. Because it was so late in the year and travel around Cape Cod was proving difficult, the passengers decided not to sail further and to remain in New England. It was here, in Cape Cod Bay, that most of the adult men on the ship signed the document that we know as the Mayflower Compact. It laid the foundation for the community's government.

A party of the most able men began exploring the area to find a suitable place to settle. After several weeks, the exploring party arrived at what appeared to be an abandoned Wampanoag community. The plentiful water supply, good harbor, cleared fields, and location on a hill made the area a favorable place for settlement.

Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Harbor on December 16, 1620 and the colonists began building their town. While houses were being built, the group continued to live on the ship. Many of the colonists fell ill. They were probably suffering from scurvy and pneumonia caused by a lack of shelter in the cold, wet weather. Although the Pilgrims were not starving, their sea-diet was very high in salt, which weakened their bodies on the long journey and during that first winter. As many as two or three people died each day during their first two months on land. Only 52 people survived the first year in Plymouth. When Mayflower left Plymouth on April 5, 1621, she was sailed back to England by only half of her crew.

Building a Town & Relationships with Native People

Although they occasionally caught glimpses of Native People, it wasn't until four months after their arrival that the colonists met and communicated with them. In March 1621, they made a treaty of mutual protection with the Pokanoket Wampanoag leader, Ousamequin (also known as Massasoit to the Pilgrims). The treaty had six points. Neither party would harm the other. If anything was stolen, it would be returned and the offending person returned to his own people for punishment. Both sides agreed to leave their weapons behind when meeting, and the two groups would serve as allies in times of war. Squanto, a Wampanoag man who had been taken captive by English sailors and lived for a time in London, came to live with the colonists and instructed them in growing Indian corn.

In the fall of 1621, the colonists marked their first harvest with a three-day celebration. Massasoit and 90 of his men joined the English for feasting and entertainment. In the 1800s this famous celebration became the basis for the story of the First Thanksgiving.

Over the next six years, more English colonists arrived and many of the people who had to stay behind in England or Holland when Mayflower left England were able to join their families. By 1627, Plymouth Colony was stable and comfortable. Harvests were good and families were growing. In 1627, about 160 people lived in Plymouth Colony.

Why "Pilgrims"?

A pilgrim is a person who goes on a long journey often with a religious or moral purpose, and especially to a foreign land. After the Mayflower arrived, the first baby born was a boy. His parents (William and Susannah White) named him Peregrine - a word which means travelling from far away and also means pilgrim. The writer of Mourt's Relation in 1622 refers to the Plymouth Colonists as pilgrims. Governor William Bradford calls the Plymouth settlers pilgrims when he writes about their departure from Leiden, Holland to come to America: "They knew they were pilgrims, and looked not much on those things, but lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country; and quieted their spirits." Governor Bradford also wrote a poem in which he refers to himself as a pilgrim.

'Pilgrim' became (by the early 1800s at least) the popular term applied to all the Mayflower passengers - and even to other people arriving in Plymouth in those early years - so that the English people who settled Plymouth in the 1620s are generally called the Pilgrims.

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The people we know as Pilgrims have become so surrounded by legend that we are tempted to forget that they were real people. Against great odds, they made the famous 1620 voyage aboard the ship Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony, but they were also ordinary English men and women.

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Kids learn about the history of the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony of Colonial America including the Mayflower voyage, establishing a Puritan settlement, their leaders, Squanto, the Native Americans, and Thanksgiving.

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https://www.landofthebrave.info/colonial-rhode-island.htm

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Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 - September 22, 1776) was a graduate from Yale College and a schoolteacher from Connecticut that served in the Continental Army as a spy. He is remembered for saying, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country" which is more legend than it is fact. Hale was hanged in 1776, but his death did aid George Washington in creating a proper spy ring throughout New York City.

Early Life

Hale was born on June 6, 1755 in Coventry, Connecticut. All reports point to him being a handsome and respectable man who was studious in his early education. His mother died when he was young and his father supported he and his brothers. His mother's family aided in his education and began to prepare him for entry into Yale where he would study to become a minister. Nathan did not share those ambitions and upon his graduation became a schoolteacher.

While at Yale he met Benjamin Tallmadge who became one of his closest friends. Tallmadge was not a good influence on Hale and his studies. He was well-educated and found the early years of studying somewhat boring which led to him getting into trouble. He accumulated many fines and was sent a letter from his father that urged him to put away his vices and focus on his schoolwork. This did not mean that Hale was always indisposed. He participated in debating societies and gained popularity among the women present when he and Tallmadge debated in favor of women's rights.

Nathan Hale seemed to be fond of a young woman named, Alice Adams. The two had met before and Nathan grew fond of her, but she was betrothed to Elijah Ripley. Ripley was an older man with a large fortune, but as providence would have it would die before the two would be married. Nathan waited the proper amount of time before speaking to her. His first correspondence came to her in the form of a poem.

Alicia, born with every striking charm,
The eye to ravish or the heart to warm
Fair in they form, still fairer in they mind,
With beauty wisdom, sense with sweetness joined
Great without pride, and lovely without art...

He and Alice would enjoy each other's company quite often and it seemed as if Nathan was ready to make Alice his wife, but he was an American patriot and his country needed him. After the battles of Lexington and Concord and the battle of Bunker Hill had been fought Nathan signed up for the Continental Army. He had shared his passions with Alice and his friend Benjamin.

American Revolutionary War

Nathan Hale was commissioned as a first lieutenant of the third company in the Seventh Regiment of Connecticut. He arrived on at Boston after the fighting had taken place and General Washington was laying siege to Boston. There was little action to be had and shortly after General William Howe abandoned Boston. Hale spent most of his time doing nothing but writing his lovely Alice, betting on fights, played checkers, and indulged in a bottle of wine at Brown's Tavern. Life as a soldier was easy for Hale, but he was bored and sought to get into the action. The men of the seventh soon moved out towards Long Island.

He wrote to his brother Enoch on May 30 about the Tories present in New York saying, "it would grieve every good man to consider what unnatural monsters we have as it were in our bowels." Hale's opinions were never secret and it was known quite well where he stood on the issue of American independence from Britain. He was an ardent patriot from a well-known family in Connecticut.

While in Long Island, General Washington faced the impossible task of defending the important city with its valuable harbor without a Navy. Early in the campaign many of Washington's subordinates lobbied the general to burn New York. Nathanael Greene laid out an argument as to the reasons why they should burn it and in every aspect was right, but his opinion was ignored for sentimental reasons and not military ones. The British arrived shortly and launched a series of effective attacks on the Continental Army that resulted in them fleeing the battlefield. Washington was able to retreat and save his army, but was left without knowledge of the full power of the British forces.

Hale Volunteers As a Spy

After Washington's Retreat from New York he was left without a "channel of information" and sought to create that channel through Generals William Heath and George Clinton. There had been previous attempts to infiltrate New York, but all had not delivered much valuable information. The most valuable information was given to the Continentals by Lawrence Mascoll who gave approximations Howe's strength, problems with army supply, and an attack on New Jersey. Mascoll's information was correct with exception to the attack on New Jersey, but it still left Washington blind to Howe's movements. The channel in which Heath and Clinton were supposed to open also gave faulty information or nothing of relevance. Washington had to search for another option.

Nathan Hale had grown bored by the lack of action and asked for a transfer to a different unit that was under lieutenant colonel Thomas Knowlton. George Washington came to Knowlton and began making plans for another mission of espionage. Learning of this plan Hale visited his long time friend, William Hull, and inquired about becoming a spy. He asked Hull to speak candidly which Hull did. He said that being a spy was a "murky" affair and required much stealth. Hull said that he did not believe Hale had the character qualities necessary to be a spy due to his strong opinions and inability to keep them to himself. Still Hale insisted that he had not served his country in any worthwhile capacity since joining the army ranks a year earlier and longed to give something to his country. Hull did his best to discourage him, but it became clear that Washington would soon have a volunteer.

Nathan Hale met with George Washington twice before the fateful mission. The two established a cover story, mission objective, route, and other things necessary for his success. While these meetings were not public knowledge it is clear that the two did not go to great measures to make them secret. Hale's mission was to scout Long Island and return to Washington and give him the details. After a bit of planning Hale set off to Connecticut. It was the last time that his long-time friend William Hull would see him alive.

Nathan Hale's Mission Timeline

Nathan Hale has been romanticized in American History for his sacrifice. He has been made to be a hero who bravely faced the gallows and was caught just before he was able to cross into safety. While he deserves credit for his bravery the mission was a fiasco and Hale was under supervision shortly after his feet landed on British occupied soil. His mission lasted only seven days and he was watched from afar for six of them. He conversed and was tricked by the very man who was watching him and the evidence was so overwhelmingly against him that a trial was unnecessary which meant his hanging occurred the next day. While glorified in the history books it was an embarrassment to General Washington who never spoke of it again.

September 11 - 14: It is unclear to the exact date that Hale left the Continental Army camp, but it definitely happened during this timeframe.

September 15: Nathan Hale and Sergeant Stephen Hemptstead arrived in Norwalk, Connecticut. Hemptstead recalled later that Hale was dressed as a Dutch schoolteacher and only carried with him his degree from Yale and orders from General Washington that permitted him access to any resource to use for carrying out the mission. Hale searched out Captain Charles Pond who captained the Schuyler.

September 16: Pond ferried Hale across the Sound and dropped him off in Long Island. The British Captain William Quarme learned of the movements of the Schuyler and set out to find intercept it. He arrived too late, but still suspected that the Schuyler had dropped off something or someone. He informed Robert Rogers, the commander of Rogers' Rangers, who suspected a spy and had a large pool of information in that area to draw from. He was unable to arrive in Long Island to track Hale until September 18.

September 18 - 21: Rogers began to research his information channels and learned of a suspicious character that arrived as a schoolteacher. Rogers' quickly finds Nathan Hale and puts him under surveillance. He kept a close eye on him and noticed that he took notes after every time he saw a British detachment. He believed that he needed more evidence to convict Hale so he continued to track him. That night Hale stayed at a roadside tavern. Rogers arrived and sat a table away and began to make small-talk. He was soon able to convince Hale that he was a friend who supported the cause of liberty. Hale and he toasted to American Independence and Rogers asked if they could dine together in the morning.

The next morning Hale met Rogers and four other men dressed in civilian clothes and explained to Hale that they were friends of the cause. Once Hale spoke of his mission to Rogers and his men, Rogers signaled for his capture and accused him of being a spy which Hale unconvincingly denied. The evidence was incredible. They had found maps and notes and Hale had spoken of his mission to Rogers and four others. Hale was marched to Flushing where Rogers guarded him and then was given to Howe that evening. Howe quickly signed Hale's death warrant.

September 22: Nathan Hale was taken to an artillery park which is now Third Avenue and Sixty-sixth Street. He was marched up the gallows where he spoke his last words. His words were not the famous, "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." These lines came from William Hull who was not present at Hale's execution. What Hale really said was written by Captain Frederick MacKenzie who spoke well of Hale's conduct, "He behaved with great composure and resolution, saying he thought it the duty of every good officer, to obey any orders given him by his commander-in-chief; and desired the spectators to be at all times prepared to meet death in whatever shape it might appear." Later that night during a prisoner exchange General Washington learned of Hale's death.

September 30: Hale's brother Enoch learned of Nathan's death.

The entire thing was a debacle from the start, but Hale's death was not in vain. Unfortunately for him General Washington made many mistakes, but he did not repeat them. He again began to pursue intelligence which led to the most successful spy ring in the American Revolutionary War that helped expose Benedict Arnold. The spies would become known as the Culper Spies.

Bibliography:

1. Rose, Alexander. Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring. New York, New York: Bantom Dell, 2006

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The Most Complete Guide to Nathan Hale Facts and Death

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Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 - September 22, 1776) was a graduate from Yale College and a schoolteacher from Connecticut that served in the Continental Army as a spy. He is remembered for saying, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country" which is more legend than it is fact.

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Nathan Hale (1755-1776)

Nathan Hale was a Connecticut patriot and spy during the Revolutionary War. Born in Coventry in 1755, Hale attended Yale College before becoming a schoolteacher in East Haddam and New London. After the outbreak of hostilities at Lexington and Concord, Hale joined the Connecticut militia and then the Continental army's Seventh Connecticut Regiment. On September 8, 1776, with the British on Long Island, Hale volunteered to go behind enemy lines and report on British troop movements. The British captured Hale and sentenced him to hang for spying. A British engineer in attendance at Hale's execution said he heard Hale proclaim, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country," but this account of Hale's final moments remains in doubt. Regardless, in 1985, by an act of the General Assembly, Hale officially became Connecticut's state hero.

Featured

A school teacher hanged as a spy during the American Revolution, Nathan Hale became Connecticut's official state hero in 1985. ...[more]

Learn More

Websites

"Captain Nathan Hale (1755-1776)." The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revoultion, 2001. Link.

"Nathan Hale Revisited: A Tory's Account of the Arrest of the First American Spy." Library of Congress, 2003. Link.

"Nathan Hale: Yale 1773 - Exhibition." Yale University, 2009. Link.

Places

"Nathan Hale Homestead." Connecticut Landmarks, 2016. Link.

"Nathan Hale Schoolhouse - East Haddam." The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revoultion, 2016. Link.

"Nathan Hale Schoolhouse - New London." The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revoultion, 2016. Link.

Documents

"Catalog Record of the Nathan Hale Collection, 1772-1955." Connecticut Historical Society Library Catalog, 2013. Link.

"Catalog Record of the Nathan Hale Diary, 1775-1776." Connecticut Historical Society Library Catalog, 2013. Link.

"Nathan Hale Correspondence - Digital Collections." Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 2013. Link.

Books

Seymour, George Dudley. Documentary Life of Nathan Hale, Comprising All Available Official and Private Documents Bearing on the Life of the Patriot, Together with an Appendix, Showing the Background of His Life. New Haven, CT: Privately Printed for the Author, 1941.

Stuart, Isaac William. Life of Captain Nathan Hale, the Martyr Spy of the American Revolution, Etc. Hartford, CT: F. A. Brown, 1856. Link.

Root, Jean Christie. Nathan Hale. New York, NY: The Macmillan Company, 1915. Link.

Johnston, Henry Phelps. Nathan Hale, 1776; Biography and Memorials. New Haven, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1914. Link.

Lossing, Benson John. The Two Spies: Nathan Hale and John André. New York, NY: D. Appleton and Company, 1886. Link.

Rose, Alexander. Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 2006.

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Nathan Hale (1755-1776) Nathan Hale was a Connecticut patriot and spy during the Revolutionary War. Born in Coventry in 1755, Hale attended Yale College before becoming a schoolteacher in East Haddam and New London. After the outbreak of hostilities at Lexington and Concord, Hale joined the Connecticut militia and then the Continental army's Seventh Connecticut Regiment.

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Nathan Hale - a list of interesting facts about this famous American Revolutionary War spy who was executed by the British.

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American Revolutionary War

Left, Continental infantry at Redoubt 10, Yorktown; Washington rallying the broken center at Monmouth; USS Bonhomme Richard capturing HMS Serapis

Date

April 19, 1775 - September 3, 1783
(8 years, 4 months and 15 days)

Location

Result

Territorial
changes

Great Britain cedes control of all territories east of the Mississippi R.; south of the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence R. to Spanish Florida

Belligerents

Spain

Combatants
Combatants

Commanders and leaders

Strength

Casualties and losses

The American Revolutionary War was a war fought between Great Britain and the original 13 British colonies in North America. The war took place from 1775 to 1783 with fighting in North America and other places. The Continental Army ( army of the colonies), led by George Washington and helped by France and other powers, defeated the armies of the British Empire.

After the war ended, the Thirteen Colonies became independent, which meant that the British Empire was no longer in charge of them. They together became the first 13 states of a new country called the United States of America.

Background and causes

The war started after years of problems between the British Empire and the colonists of North America after the French and Indian War (The seven years war). People in the Thirteen Colonies disliked many of the actions of the British Government, such as the Intolerable Acts. For many years the British government decided which countries could trade with the colonies, instead of the colonies deciding it themselves. Many colonists wanted free trade.

In 1765, the British Parliament needed money to pay back the debt for the French and Indian War. They passed a Law called the Stamp Act. This law said that colonists had to buy stamps for legal papers, newspapers, and even playing cards, as other British people did. The money from the stamps went to the King. The colonies did not follow this law. The colonies kept refusing to do what the King wanted. The Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre caused people to become more angry about the situation. The British sent more soldiers (who were called Red Coats by the colonists to insult them) to keep control of the colonies and they sometimes had to fight. In 1774, the British passed the Intolerable Acts to punish the colonists in Boston for the Boston Tea Party.

Not all colonists wanted to leave the British Empire. The , or Tories, stayed loyal to Great Britain. They were not going to change their views. The , or Whigs, wanted independence. Before the Revolutionary War, most people in America were Loyalists; but after it, most people were Patriots.

Many colonists wrote letters showing how they felt. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, a famous pamphlet about independence from Britain. Other colonial leaders, such as Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson wanted independence.

Northern battles

The first battles of the American Revolutionary War were Lexington and Concord. One of the first major battles was the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. After that, the British controlled Boston. Around that time, the Second Continental Congress sent an Olive Branch Petition to King George III (which he rejected) and named George Washington head of the army. Early in 1776, Washington's army drove the British out of Boston.

A few months later the Continental Army and British troops under William Howe fought the New York and New Jersey Campaign. During the New York battles, the British started using Hessian troops, who were from Germany. Though the colonists lost New York (the British would hold it for the rest of the war), Washington was able to hold onto most of his army. Over Christmas, 1776-77, Washington crossed the Delaware River and defeated the Hessians at Trenton and the British at Princeton.

In 1777, the British attacked the city of Philadelphia, then the American capital. Two battles were fought over Philadelphia: Brandywine and Germantown. Again, the Americans lost a major city, but Washington was able to keep most of his army. Around this time, the Frenchman Lafayette joined the American Army. In 1778, the British left Philadelphia. Between 1778 and 1781, most battles between Washington and the British were inconclusive (they did not have any major effect militarily).

One of the most important battles was the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. American soldiers under Horatio Gates forced a British surrender under John Burgoyne. This led to France and Spain joining the war on the side of Americans. These powerful countries fought the British around the world. From 1778 to 1780, there was fighting in the West.

The Scottish (fighting on the side of the Americans) commerce raider John Paul Jones also won several naval battles over the British, but the French navy did most of the fighting at sea. The Americans tried to capture Canada several times.

Southern battles

In 1779 major fighting shifted to Georgia and South Carolina. As fighting spread northward, General Nathanael Greene led the Rebel campaign. He caused many people in the South to be Patriots instead of Loyalists, and won several battles against the British.

In 1781, Washington and French general Jean Rochambeau led an offensive against British troops in Yorktown, Virginia. This was called the Battle of Yorktown. When their soldiers lost this battle, the British surrendered.

The British continued to fight the French and Spanish for two years, winning in India, Gibraltar and elsewhere.

End of the war

The American Revolution came to an end in 1783 when a peace treaty was signed in Paris, France. In the Treaty of Paris, the British King, George III accepted the independence of the colonies and recognized the newly created nation as the United States of America.

The treaty also gave all the land Britain said it owned which was west of the Appalachians as far as the Mississippi River to the new country. This land would eventually become part of the US, and lead to the creation of 35 new states (some of which later rebelled as part of the Confederate States of America) that now make up the contiguous United States. Many Loyalists fled to Canada.

Casualties

As usual for 18th-century wars, casualty figures (killed/wounded/missing/captured) for the American Revolution are poorly known. Unlike American Civil War casualties which were published in newspapers, Revolutionary War casualty reports are found in local town histories; total casualties of the Revolution are rough estimates. Estimates are around 25,000 Americans and 27,294 British and German seaman.

Revolution beyond America

The American Revolution had a strong immediate impact in Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and France. Many British and Irish Whigs openly supported the Patriots in America, and the revolution was the first lesson in politics for many Europeans who later became active during the era of the French Revolution.

The American Revolution set an example to the rest the world. For the first time in the western world, a people had successfully overthrown the rule of a major country. The revolution encouraged the people in other countries to fight for their rights, and showed that they could be successful like the Americans.

Similarly, in the early 19th century, revolutions broke out in the colonies in South America against Portugal and Spain. Years later, similar revolutions occurred in Asia and other places.

The American Revolution established the United States with its numerous civil liberties and set an example to overthrow both monarchy and colonial governments. The United States has the world's oldest written constitution, and the constitutions of other free countries often bear a striking resemblance to the US Constitution, often word-for-word in places. It inspired the French, Haitian, Latin American Revolutions, and others into the modern era.

Although the Revolution eliminated many forms of inequality, it did little to change the status of women, despite the role they played in winning independence. Most significantly, it failed to end slavery which continued to be a serious social and political issue and caused divisions that would ultimately end in civil war. While many were uneasy over the contradiction of demanding liberty for some, yet denying it to others, the dependence of southern states on slave labor made abolition too great a challenge. Between 1774 and 1780, many of the states banned the importation of slaves, but the institution itself continued.

In 1782, Virginia passed a law permitting manumission and over the next eight years more than 10,000 slaves were given their freedom. With support from Benjamin Franklin, in 1790 the Quakers petitioned Congress to abolish slavery; the number of abolitionist movements greatly increased, and by 1804 all the northern states had outlawed it. However, even many like Adams who viewed slavery as a 'foul contagion' opposed the 1790 petition as a threat to the Union. In 1808, Jefferson passed legislation banning the importation of slaves, but allowed the domestic slave trade to continue, arguing the federal government had no right to regulate individual states.

Commemorations of the Revolutionary War

After the first U.S. postage stamp was issued in 1849, the U.S. Post Office frequently issued commemorative stamps celebrating the various people and events of the Revolutionary War. However, it would be more than 140 years after the Revolution before any stamp commemorating that war itself was ever issued. The first such stamp was the 'Liberty Bell' issue of 1926.

Related pages

Images for kids

British North America, 1777 post-1763 concessions to Britain from France (green) and Spain (yellow)

Iconic 1851 painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware

British siege of Charleston, worst US defeat of the war, May 1780

American Revolution principal campaigns. British movement (red) & American (blue) The timeline shows British won most battles in the first half; Americans won most in the second.

Military Governors and Staff Officers in British North America and West Indies 1778 and 1784

USS Ranger, Capt. Jones. France gives the US flag its first foreign salute

USS Alliance, Capt. Barry won the last engagement

The 1763 Royal Proclamation set the western boundary for the 13 Colonies

In Spanish: Guerra de Independencia de los Estados Unidos para niños

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American Revolutionary War Facts for Kids

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Learn American Revolutionary War facts for kids

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Wampanoag Government - Amity Team Black Early American Cultures Web

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This site was developed by Team Black Students as part of our Early American Cultures Unit at Amity Middle School in Bethany, Connecticut. Our school website can be found here: http://www.amityregion5.org/ajhsb/

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Check this out for MANY topics

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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History: American Revolutionary War Timeline

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Learn about the events of the American Revolutionary War Timeline in US history.

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The American Revolutionary War: A Timeline of Major Events

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A TIMELINE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR Events leading up to the War Patrick Henry 's "If This Be Treason" speech (5/29/1765) Battle of Bunker Hill (fought on Breed's Hill) (6/17) Montgomery captures Montreal for Americans (11/13) Patriot triumph at Moore's Creek, NC (2/27) Continental fleet captures New Providence Island in

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What was the French and Indian War?

Imagine splitting your favorite ice cream with your sister. There isn't much left, so you scoop it out into two bowls. However, she's mad because she thinks you got more so she takes a spoonful out of your bowl. You're mad because she now has more ice cream than you do, so you take two scoops out of her bowl. Pretty soon, you're arguing and grabbing each other's ice cream. That's when your mom takes the ice cream away from both of you.

Just like you both wanted more ice cream, France and Great Britain each wanted more land in North America. Eventually, fighting broke out between the two countries over this land, and it became known as the French and Indian War.

Why is it Called the French and Indian War?

Since the French and Indian War was between France and Great Britain, you might think it would be called the French and British War. But it got its name because the French were friends with Native-American Hurons, then referred to as Indians.

Because the French and Huron Indians fought against the British, it became known as the French and Indian War. However, the British also had Native Americans fighting on their side who were part of the Iroquois Confederacy.

This Land is My Land

Just as Great Britain had colonies in North America, France had colonies, too. Sometimes, they both claimed the same land, like playing musical chairs where two people battle for the same chair when the music stops.

The French claimed land in the upper part of the Ohio River Valley. However, the British moved in to claim it for themselves. This upset the French and they built military forts.

The lieutenant governor of the Virginia colony sent George Washington to tell the French to get out of their forts and leave in 1753.

The French didn't want to give up their forts like you wouldn't want to give up your favorite toy, so they said no.

The French and Indian War Begins

The lieutenant governor then decided to build a British fort on the Ohio River in 1754. However, the French found out about this fort, destroyed it, and built Fort Duquesne (pronounced due-KANE) in its place.

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how the french indian war started lesson for kids | study.com

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How the French Indian War Started Lesson for Kids | Study.com

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Imagine splitting your favorite ice cream with your sister. There isn't much left, so you scoop it out into two bowls. However, she's mad because she thinks you got more so she takes a spoonful out of your bowl. You're mad because she now has more ice cream than you do, so you take two scoops out of her bowl.

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BEFORE THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

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The French and Indian War was fought between 1754 and 1763 in British North America and French North America. They fought over land which is now in the United States and Canada. The French had some Native American allies and the British had other allies.

The conflict took place during Seven Years' War. France was already fighting Prussia. Because of this, they did not send many troops to Canada.

The French built a new fort in the territory they both wanted, and the British decided to try to get them to leave. After failing in a small battle in 1754 they tried again with the Battle of Monongahela in 1755. The British commander, General Edward Braddock, led 1,500 British soldiers in an attack on Fort Duquesne. He failed and died with many of his men. A militia officer, George Washington, led the defeated survivors home.

In 1756, the French captured the British Fort Oswego. They took more than 1,700 British soldiers captive.

The French were victorious again at Fort William Henry in 1757. After they captured the fort, the Indians did not follow the rules of British surrender. They killed about 150 British soldiers after they had surrendered.

In 1759, at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (also called the Battle of Quebec), the British defeated the French and took control of Quebec City.

In 1760, Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst led the British in the defeat of the French. The British took control of Montreal.

The fighting in North America stopped on September 8, 1760, with the French surrender of Montreal and the rest of Canada to the British.

The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763. France had to give its North American lands east of the Mississippi River to Britain except the small islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, near Newfoundland. Britain offered France the choice to give up its Canadian land or the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which British troops had taken during the war. France chose to keep the islands, which were valuable for their sugar plantations.

With the Royal Proclamation of 1763, colonists in British North America became unhappy over their share of the winnings. The war had been expensive and England began taxing the American colonists to pay for it. These were two of the causes of the American Revolution.

Interesting facts about the French and Indian War

Some Indian tribes helped the French fight because the French had been better at befriending them than the British had.

To encourage the colonies to unite in the battle against the French and Indians, Benjamin Franklin printed a drawing showing the colonies as parts of a chopped-up, writhing snake. It was the first political cartoon printed in America.

Roland-Michel Barrin de la Galissonière, the governor of New France, had signs made of lead that told settlers and travelers that they were traveling on French land.

While most Indian tribes sided with the French, there were a few that sided with the English.

Many present-day Cajuns are descendants of these French and Indian War refugees that settled in Louisiana.

The war inspired the song "Yankee Doodle."

Spain, which allied with France in 1762, was forced to give Florida to the British.

George Washington was a colonel in the British militia during the war.

Images for kids

In Spanish: Guerra franco-indígena para niños

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Learn French and Indian War facts for kids

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The French and the Indians

Have you ever wondered why the Founding Fathers chose George Washington to lead the fight against the British during the American Revolution? It wasn't just because of his cool wooden teeth. Washington had earned the rank of General thanks to his experience in the French and Indian War, which took place between 1754 and 1763. Back when the United States was made up of British colonies, they had to fight in British wars, and there was no country the British loved fighting more than France.

Back then, Canada belonged to both France and Britain, which caused a lot of trouble between the two nations. Both disagreed about how much of Canada belonged to which country. The French had many forts and towns around the Great Lakes. This is why some American cities and states have French names-- Detroit is French for 'river,' while Vermont is French for 'green mountain.'

Throughout both English and French territories, different Native American tribes created alliances, or friendly relationships. The English and French both depended on Native American allies for help with trade and exploration. One important English ally was the Iroquois Confederacy, a large group of tribes living around the Great Lakes.

Empires at War

The French and Indian War broke out in North America because the French and the British couldn't agree on what parts of the Midwest United States, like Ohio and Michigan, belonged to which country. Orders came to Washington at the start of the war to clear out the French from Fort Duquesne (pronounced Do-kane), located in what is now known as Pittsburgh.

The war quickly began to go badly for the English. British General Edward Braddock made both Native Americans and colonists angry. The French gained more support, while the British struggled to win. After the first two years of the war, the British decided to spend more money in their efforts to gain a victory. Winning a war is expensive, after all.

The Turning Point

The British collected more money and more soldiers from the colonists. By 1759, they began to take over more and more French forts in the Midwest, where they would soon claim victory in the French and Indian War.

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the french & indian war lesson for kids | study.com

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The French & Indian War Lesson for Kids | Study.com

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Have you ever wondered why the Founding Fathers chose George Washington to lead the fight against the British during the American Revolution? It wasn't just because of his cool wooden teeth. Washington had earned the rank of General thanks to his experience in the French and Indian War, which took place between 1754 and 1763.

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Colonial Williamsburg Foundation tradespeople make their wares by hand, hands that hold tools, eighteenth-century style tools. Gauges, tongs, punches, needles, ladles, hammers, ink balls, knives, stamps, saws, awls, bits, rules, hooks, compasses, chisels, spoke shaves, lasts, blockheads, gouges, shuttles, planes, clamps, squares, -examples of tools taken up each day by the cabinetmakers, blacksmiths, gunsmiths, silversmiths, cordwainers, wigmakers, printers, apothecaries, binders, coopers, weavers, cooks, carpenters, and others who pursue traditional crafts at Historic Area sites.

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Kids learn about the housing and homes of colonial America including early cabins, plantations, farms, city dwellings, architecture, and other fun facts.

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The Great Swamp Fight or the Great Swamp Massacre was a crucial battle fought during King Philip's War between the colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett people in December 1675. It was fought near the villages of Kingston and West Kingston in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The combined force of the New England militia included 150 Pequots, and they inflicted a huge number of Narragansett casualties, including many hundred women and children. The battle has been described as "one of the most brutal and lopsided military encounters in all of New England's history." Since the 1930s, Narragansett and Wampanoag people commemorate the battle annually in a ceremony initiated by Narragansett-Wampanoag scholar Princess Red Wing.

The Pokanoket Indians had helped the original pilgrim settlers to survive, under the leadership of Massasoit. His sons Wamsutta and Metacom took on the English names of Alexander and Philip, respectively. Alexander became sachem of the Pokanokets on the death of his father, but he died within a year and Philip succeeded him in 1662.[citation needed ]

Philip began laying plans to attack the colonists in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and he slowly built a confederation of neighboring Indian tribes. He also gathered muskets and gunpowder for the eventual attack, but only in small numbers in order that the colonists would not be alarmed.

Several Wampanoag men attacked and killed colonists in Swansea, Massachusetts, on June 20, 1675, and that began King Philip's War. The Indians laid siege to the town, then destroyed it five days later and killed several more people. A full eclipse of the moon occurred in the New England area on June 27, 1675 (O.S.) (July 7, 1675 N.S.; See Old Style and New Style dates), and various tribes looked at it as a good omen for attacking the colonists. Officials from the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies responded quickly to the attacks on Swansea; on June 28, they sent a punitive military expedition which destroyed the Wampanoag town at Mount Hope in Bristol, Rhode Island.[citation needed ]

The Indians waged attacks on settlements in Massachusetts and Connecticut, but Rhode Island was spared at the beginning. In October, the Indians struck again with raids on the towns of Hatfield, Northampton, and Springfield, where almost the entire settlement was burned to the ground. As winter set in, the attacks diminished.[citation needed ]

The Narragansetts remained officially neutral in the war due in part to the urging of Roger Williams, signing a neutrality treaty with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in October of 1675. Although not involved in the war, they had sheltered many of King Philip's men, women, and children, and several of their warriors had participated in Indian raiding parties. The colonists distrusted the Narragansetts and feared that the tribe would join King Philip's cause in the spring, which caused great concern due to the tribe's location. The militia burned several abandoned Narragansett villages as they marched around Narragansett Bay, as the tribe had retreated to a large fort in the center of the Great Swamp near Kingston, Rhode Island. On November 2, 1675, Josiah Winslow led a combined force of over 1,000 colonial militia, including about 150 Pequot and Mohegan Indians, against the Narragansetts living around Narragansett Bay.[citation needed ]

One colonist was accused of fighting on the Indian side of the battle. Joshua Tefft reportedly wounded Captain Nathaniel Seely of Connecticut (son of Captain Robert Seeley), who subsequently died. An Indian spy reported that Tefft "did them good service & killed & wounded 5 or 6 English in that fight & before they would trust him he had killed a miller an English man at Narragansett and brought his scalpe to them."

On December 15, 1675, after peace negotiations failed between Stonewall John and the militia, Narragansett warriors attacked the Jireh Bull Blockhouse and killed at least 15 people. 15-year-old James Eldred escaped from the blockhouse and was pursued a considerable distance; he survived having a tomahawk thrown at him at close range and a hand-to-hand encounter with a Narraganset warrior. This occurred along Indian Run Brook in Wakefield-Peacedale, Rhode Island. The Narragansetts saw swamps as ideal defensive locations in wartime, leading them to take up residence in the Great Swamp during the conflict.

Four days later, the Great Swamp Battle took place on the bitterly cold and stormy day of December 19, 1675. The colonial militia from Plymouth Colony, Connecticut Colony, and Massachusetts Bay Colony were led to the main Narragansett settlement in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, by an Indian guide named Indian Peter. The low temperatures froze the natural moat that surrounded the Narragansett encampment, allowing the colonial troops to pass easily. The massive fort occupied about 5 acres (20,000 m ²) of land and was initially occupied by over a thousand people, but it was eventually overrun after a fierce fight. The settlement was burned, its inhabitants (including women and children) killed or evicted, and most of the tribe's winter stores destroyed. It is believed that at least 97 Narragansett warriors and 300 to 1,000 non-combatants were killed, though exact figures are unknown. The forces destroyed the blacksmith forge of Stonewall John, although he escaped and was killed several months later.

Many of the warriors and their families escaped into the frozen swamp; hundreds more died there from wounds combined with the harsh conditions. The colonists lost many of their officers in this assault, and about 70 of their men were killed and nearly 150 more wounded. The dead and wounded militiamen were evacuated to the settlements on Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay where they were buried or cared for by many of the Rhode Island colonists.

The Great Swamp Fight was a critical blow to the Narragansett tribe from which they never fully recovered. The spring of 1676 brought a counter-offensive by Canonchet after he organized a confederation of 2000 braves. Providence was burned, including Roger William's house. The Narragansetts were nearly completely defeated when Canonchet was captured and executed in April 1676. Female sachem Queen Quaiapen was ambushed on July 2 attempting to cross a river at the Second Battle of Nipsachuck Battlefield and Stonewall John, a notable Indian mason, was also killed. Finally, Philip was shot and killed on August 12 by John Alderman, an Indian soldier in the company of Benjamin Church. Many of the Narragansett survivors were sold into slavery, sentenced to death, or fled to join other nearby tribes, like the Niantics.

A memorial marker was placed at the presumed site of the battle in 1906 on five acres of land donated by Rowland Hazard III and the Hazard family. The rough granite shaft with only the date of the conflict engraved on it, stands about 20 feet high on a mound. It was erected by the Rhode Island Society of Colonial Wars to commemorate the battle and to serve as a cemetery memorial. Four roughly squared granite markers stand around the mound at the four cardinal compass points engraved with the names of the colonies which took part in the encounter; two tablets on opposite sides of the shaft give additional data. The markers are near West Kingston, Rhode Island.

The dedication of the monument was attended by descendants of both sides of the battle. The dedication speaker, Rowland G. Hazard II, said of the monument, "We dedicate this rugged granite shaft, frost-riven from the native hills, untouched by the tool of man, as a fitting emblem of the rugged and unadorned Pilgrim and Puritan of 16 hundred and 75." Three members of the modern Narragansett tribe pulled the veil from the stone. The inscription states:

Attacked within their fort upon this island the Narragansett Indians made their last stand in King Philip's War and were crushed by the united forces of the Massachusetts Connecticut and Plymouth Colonies in the "Great Swamp Fight" Sunday 19 December 1675. This record was placed by the Rhode Island Society of Colonial Wars 1906.

A second marker was placed there in 1916 which has since gone missing. The inscription was:

In memory of Major Samuel Appleton of Ipswich, Massachusetts who commanded the Massachusetts forces and led the victorious storming column at the Great Swamp Fight Dec. 19, 1675. This Tablet placed by the Rhode Island Historical Society 1916.

In the 1930s, Narragansett-Wampanoag scholar Princess Red Wing initiated an annual commemorative ceremony at the site of the battle. From the time of the 1906 monument dedication until 2021, the land on which the monument sits was owned by the Rhode Island Historical Society. On 23 October 2021, the title to the five acre of land constituting the monument site was transferred to the Narragansett Tribe to be held in perpetual trust.

The army of the United Colonies which fought at the Great Swamp Fight consisted of three regiments of unequal strength, each regiment containing companies raised from one of the three colonies.

Commander - General Josiah Winslow, Governor of Plymouth Colony (wounded in action)

Surgeon - Daniel Weld

Chaplain - Joseph Dudley

Aide to General Winslow - Captain Benjamin Church (wounded in action)

Commander - Major Samuel Appleton

1st Company - Lieutenant Jeremiah Swain

2nd Company - Captain Samuel Mosely

3rd Company - Captain James Oliver

4th Company - Captain Isaac Johnson (killed in action)

5th Company - Captain Nathaniel Davenport (killed in action)

6th Company - Captain Joseph Gardner (killed in action)

Cavalry troop - Captain Thomas Prentice

Commander - Major William Bradford, Jr. (wounded in action)

1st Company - Lieutenant Robert Barker

2nd Company - Captain John Gorham (killed in action)

Commander - Major Robert Treat

1st Company - Captain John Gallup (killed in action)

2nd Company - Captain Samuel Marshall (killed in action)

3rd Company - Captain Nathaniel Seeley (killed in action)

4th Company - Captain Thomas Watts

5th Company - Captain John Mason, Jr. (mortally wounded)

Pequot Indian Company - Captain James Avery

Church, Benjamin, as told to Thomas Church, The History of Philip's War, Commonly Called The Great Indian War of 1675 and 1676, edited by Samuel G. Drake,(Exeter, NH: J & B Williams, 1829); Facsimile Reprint by Heritage Books, Bowie, Maryland, 1989.

Mather, Increase, A Brief History of the Warr with the Indians in New-England (Boston, 1676; London, 1676).

Mather, Increase. Relation of the Troubles Which Have Happened in New England by Reason of the Indians There, from the Year 1614 to the Year 1675 (Kessinger Publishing, [1677] 2003).

Mather, Increase. The History of King Philip's War by the Rev. Increase Mather, D.D.; also, a history of the same war, by the Rev. Cotton Mather, D.D.; to which are added an introduction and notes, by Samuel G. Drake (Boston: Samuel G. Drake, 1862).

Leach, Douglas Edward, Flintlock and Tomahawk: New England in King Philip's War; Parnassus Imprints, East Orleans, Massachusetts; 1954; ISBN 0-940160-55-2

Mandell, Daniel R. King Philip's War: Colonial Expansion, Native Resistance, and the End of Indian Sovereignty (Johns Hopkins University Press; 2010) 176 pages

Schultz, Eric B. and Michael J. Touglas, King Philip's War: The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2000.

Zelner, Kyle F. A Rabble in Arms: Massachusetts Towns and Militiamen during King Philip's War (New York: New York University Press, 2009) ISBN 978-0-8147-9734-1

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The Great Swamp Fight or the Great Swamp Massacre was a crucial battle fought during King Philip's War between the colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett people in December 1675. It was fought near the villages of Kingston and West Kingston in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

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Great Swamp Fight, (19 December 1675), critical battle of King Philip's War, in which Native Americans fought English settlers and their Indian allies in one of the bloodiest conflicts (per capita) in U.S. history. Sometimes called the "Great Swamp Massacre," it took place in the area of West Kingstown, Rhode Island.

Mutual animosity fueled by ongoing land disputes between English settlers and American Indians in the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies erupted into open war in 1675. Chief Metacom (a.k.a., King Philip) organized Indian resistance to colonial authority.

Metacom (King Philip)Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital file no. cph 3c00678)

The ill-trained militia of the Council of United Colonies made a poor showing as attacks continued through the summer and autumn of 1675. King Philip and his men eluded efforts to trap them in the coastal swamps and consistently defeated the militia companies. King Philip's success as a rebel leader brought other tribes to join him.

In September, the Council of United Colonies declared war against King Philip. Each council member was levied to provide militia for a 1,000-man army. Efforts to make a truce failed, and Indian attacks grew in severity with more towns destroyed. King Philip's base remained secret until December, when an Indian deserter guided Governor Josiah Winslow of Plymouth and his small army through a snow storm to a large Narragansett stronghold in the Great Swamp near West Kingston, Rhode Island.

On 20 December, Winslow's force arrived at the fortified camp. Two companies attacked the Indians before the rest of the army was in position. They were driven back with heavy losses. Captain Benjamin Church led another coordinated assault that broke through the log palisade. Despite fierce resistance, the fort was finally taken and burned; many elder Indians and women and children were burned alive, which is why this incident has also been termed a massacre. Philip and some Indians escaped through the swamp, but many of them died from exposure.

Losses: United Colonies, about 70 dead, 150 wounded; Indian, at least 150 (perhaps hundreds) dead, with an unknown number wounded and captured.

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Great Swamp Fight, (19 December 1675), critical battle of King Philip's War, in which Native Americans fought English settlers and their Indian allies in one of the bloodiest conflicts (per capita) in U.S. history. Sometimes called the "Great Swamp Massacre," it took place in the area of West Kingstown, Rhode Island.

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In studying the history of the United States, it is important to go back to primary source material. Here are some of the key documents and speeches that all well-informed citizens of the United States would want to be familiar with.

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Samuel Slater (17681835) was an English-born manufacturer who introduced the first water-powered cotton mill to the United States. This invention revolutionized the textile industry and paved the way for the Industrial Revolution.

Samuel Slater was born in Derbyshire, England, on June 9, 1768. His father was a prosperous yeoman farmer who owned a farm near the Derwent River. Along the same river, in the town of Cromford, the first spinning mill driven by waterpower was built in 1771. This mill was owned by Jedediah Strutt and Richard Arkwright, the inventor of a revolutionary water-frame spinner. In 1776 Strutt and Arkwright dissolved their partnership, and Strutt started his own mill in Belper, where Slater lived. At the age of 14 Slater began an apprenticeship at the Strutt mill. Three years later he was promoted to supervisor of machinery and mill construction. In this position Slater learned everything about textile production, including the construction of machines.

In 1789 Slater began looking for other opportunities for advancement in the textile industry. He decided that the industry had reached its peak in England, but remained undeveloped in the United States, which was still largely agricultural and where handicraft methods of production still prevailed. No U.S. inventor had yet been successful in building a spinning machine, and British law prohibited the export of such machines. In an effort to preserve their dominance in industry, Britain also prohibited the emigration of skilled mechanics. In order to leave the country unnoticed Slater had to disguise himself as a farm laborer. He left England without notifying family and friends and only took his indenture with him to prove his familiarity with Strutt's cotton mills.

Slater sailed for 66 days to reach the United States, and upon his arrival he began working for the New York Manufacturing Company. Slater became dissatisfied with the mill, however, because it was poorly equipped and lacked sufficient water supply. Around that same time the owners of a machine-spinning mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, were looking for a mechanic familiar with the English system of production. Moses Brown and William Almy were impressed by Slater's experience and quickly hired him into their company. His primary role was to build a duplicate model of the Arkwright machine, for which he was paid one dollar a day.

Although many Americans had attempted to copy the British machines prior to Slater's arrival, none had been successful. A cotton factory in Beverly, Massachusetts, built by John Cabot and Joshua Fisher, had the distinction of being the first textile mill in the United States. Due to imperfections in their machines, however, the mill produced products of poor quality, and it soon closed. On April 5, 1790, Slater signed an agreement with Almy and Brown to make equipment for the "spinning of cotton by water." Upon signing the agreement, Slater said, ". . . if I do not make as good yarn as they do in England, I will have nothing for my services, but will throw the whole of what I have attempted over the bridge." Despite the limited materials available in New England, Slater accomplished his mission in less than a year. On December 20, 1790, Slater's cotton mill began production with the Arkwright system.

Even though the new mill had Arkwright models it nonetheless experienced some initial problems. In particular there was difficulty securing good-quality raw cotton, and the equipment frequently broke down. Slater was especially disappointed in American cotton, which was poorly cleaned. Fortunately, just three years after Slater's first mill opened, Eli Whitney (17651825) invented the cotton gin, which properly cleaned the cotton in large enough quantities to satisfy Slater. Despite these initial setbacks the business quickly expanded. In 1793 Almy, Brown, and Slater constructed a new mill on the Blackstone River. It was called the Old Slater Mill and consisted of three carders and two spinning frames containing 72 spindles. In the same year Slater's wife, Hannah Wilkinson Slater, invented cotton-sewing thread. Prior to this time, linen thread was used for sewing. Hannah realized that twisting two strands of cotton yarn into one thread created a stronger and smoother thread than the linen. Slater was interested in this new invention, but did not develop machines for producing thread until much later.

Though Almy, Brown, and Slater became a successful company, Slater later disagreed with his partners over the management of the mill. Slater retained his interests in Almy, Brown, and Slater, and in 1798 organized a new firm called Samuel Slater and Company. In 1801 Slater built another mill based on the Arkwright system, this one in Massachusetts. He then helped build other cotton mills in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. By 1828 Slater was involved in 13 partnerships for processing cotton.

Not only did Slater mechanize the textile industry in the United States but he also introduced a new production system. Due to the fact that the family was such an important social institution in New England, Slater incorporated this into the production process. He introduced a family labor system where duties were divided according to age and gender. Men worked as laborers or skilled artisans, women cleaned raw cotton, and children worked in the mill. Slater's production system also featured a partnership or single-proprietorship form of ownership, personal management, small-scale production, and the use of waterpower. This production system is often referred to as the Slater system or Rhode Island system of manufactures.

Slater's system was facilitated by production villages. The families employed by Slater lived in company-owned housing near the mills; they shopped at company stores and went to company schools and churches. One of the first of these mill villages was called Slatersville and was located on the Branch River. By 1807 Slatersville consisted of the Slatersville Mill, two tenement houses for workers, the owner's house, and a company store.

Slater dedicated his entire life to building the textile industry and turned his company into a family business. By the 1830s Slater's health was declining. In 1833 while he was bedridden from rheumatism, President Andrew Jackson (18291937) visited New England to witness the growing textile industry. Upon meeting Slater, President Jackson named him the "Father of American Manufactures." Two years later, on April 20, 1835 Samuel Slater died in the mill village of Webster, Massachusetts.

See also: Cotton, Rhode Island System of Labor, Samuel Slater Builds First Factory, Textile Industry

FURTHER READING

Cameron, Edward Hugh. Samuel Slater, Father of American Manufactures. Freeport, ME: B. Wheel-wright Co., 1960.

Gordon, John Steele. "Technology Transfer." American Heritage, February 1990.

Karwatka, Dennis. Technology's Past: America's Industrial Revolution and the People Who Delivered the Goods. Ann Arbor, MI: Prakken Publications, Inc., 1996.

Simonds, Christopher. Samuel Slater's Mill and the Industrial Revolution. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Silver Burdett Press, 1990.

Tucker, Barbara M. Samuel Slater and the Origins of the American Textile Industry, 1790- 1860. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1984.

[i]f i do not make as good yarn as they do in england, i will have nothing for my services, but will throw the whole of what i have attempted over the bridge.

samuel slater, 1790

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Samuel Slater (17681835) was an English-born manufacturer who introduced the first water-powered cotton mill to the United States. This invention revolutionized the textile industry and paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. Samuel Slater was born in Derbyshire, England, on June 9, 1768.

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Daily Life in Colonial America - The 13 Colonies for Kids

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Colonial settlers came to America for many reasons. Some came for religious freedom. Some came to make money. They settled into 13 colonies, areas that are now the states known as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Georgia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware. There were other scattered colonies like St. Augustine in what is now known as Florida.

In the early days of the colonial period, the settlers did not know how to live in the wilderness, and they faced many hardships. In Massachusetts, for example, the Plymouth settlers, spent most of their first winter (1620-21) on board the Mayflower. The following winter, the Pilgrims lived on land but in wigwams and sailcloth tents. Many were sick and all were hungry. Nearly one-quarter of them died before a ship from England brought fresh supplies. You can learn more about life at Plymouth by visiting The First Thanksgiving.

In time, the colonists learned how to live in the wilderness - through trial and error and the help of some of the more friendly Native American tribes. By the 1700s, small cities and towns were well established. The colonists slowly developed their own customs and lifestyles. Eventually they began to feel that this new land was now their true home.

Life in colonial America centered around the family. Most people worked, played, learned, and worshiped at home. A large family was necessary in colonial days to get all the work done. The father was considered the head of the household. He made all of the decisions concerning their families and earned money through farming and jobs outside the home. Women worked in the home, raising the children, preparing the meals, sewing clothes, preserving food for the winter, scrubbing laundry, fetching water, and stoking fires.

Most children in early colonial times never saw the inside of a schoolhouse. Instead, colonial children usually learned about the adult world by doing things the way their parents did. But, just because they didn't go to school, their lives were not easy. Children were expected to help with a share of the family's work. Boys helped their fathers and girls did chores at home. By a time a girl was four she could knit stockings! Even with all the work they did, colonial children still found time to have fun. They cared for their pets, played with dolls, shot marbles, pitched pennies, and went fishing. They also played tag, stickball, and blindman's buff. By the time they had reached age 14, most children were already considered adults. Boys would soon take up their father's trade or leave home to become an apprentice. Girls learned to manage a house and were expected to marry young, probably by the time they were 16 and surely before they were 20.

A child's life in colonial America would differ greatly, depending on the time and place in which the child lived. Learn about the range of experiences in colonial America from the diaries of Remember Patience Whipple (Plymouth, 1620) and Catharine Carey Logan (Pennsylvania, 1963).

Colonial Period Timeline

1565: St. Augustine is founded by the Spanish. 1607: Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in North America, is established in Virginia. 1620: Pilgrims reach Plymouth, Massachusetts, aboard the Mayflower; "Mayflower Compact" adopted. 1626: Manhattan Island sold by Indians to New Amsterdam colony. 1638: Swedish settlers establish colony of New Sweden in Delaware. 1681: William Penn receives charter for colony that becomes Pennsylvania. 1692: Salem, Massachusetts, trials sentence 20 "witches" to death. 1718: New Orleans founded by French. 1733: Georgia, last of original 13 colonies, founded by James Oglethorpe.

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Colonial settlers came to America for many reasons. Some came for religious freedom. Some came to make money. They settled into 13 colonies, areas that are now the states known as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Georgia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware.

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The Colonization of America and the fascinating events that led colonists and patriots down the Road to Revolution

which led to insurrection and rebellion in Colonial America culminating in the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. If you want to know what happened next, check out Colonial America
Learn about Colonial America with simple, clear and easy to read articles that all have interesting illustrations and pictures. Read about the relationship between the monarchy and government of Great Britain. The Triangular Trade that was established across the Atlantic and the laws that governed trade in Colonial America including the Navigation Acts, the Sugar Act, the Townshend Acts and the Stamp Act American Historama - United States History.

Early American History - The History of Colonial America

Interesting facts and information about the early American History and the Discovery of America and the history of Colonial America from 1600 - 1799 including the Mayflower, Pilgrim Fathers, 13 Colonies, Indentured Servants, Black American Slavery in Colonial America, Colonial taxes, Sons of Liberty & the Boston Tea Party. Facts and info about the British colonies in America for kids. Just click on a link for access to any of the following topics which all relate to early American History from 1607 - 1776 - the history of Colonial America followed by the Battles of the American Revolutionary War that ended in 1783.

The History of Colonial America
The History of Colonial America led directly, or indirectly, to many of the early Indian wars. European political rivalries and military conflicts spilled over the Atlantic and into Colonial America. English laws were introduced to Colonial America and the profits made from trade in the natural resources of America contributed to the wealth of England, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Tensions rose between Native American Indians due to the massive influx of English, Irish, German, and Scottish colonists. The early Indian Wars were fuelled by the newcomers to America sparking new conflicts with local Indian tribes and colonists for control of the land. Learn about the most important events in the history of Colonial America.

Colonial America - The Early Indian Wars
Colonial America - The early Indian Wars were fuelled by the newcomers to Colonial America sparking new conflicts and wars between local Indian tribes and colonists for control and the wealth of the land in Colonial America. Tensions rose between Native American Indians due to the influx of English, Irish, Scottish, French, Dutch and German colonists.

Colonial America

Colonial America - The Early Rebellions
Colonial America - The establishment and settlement of Colonial America led to many of the early Indian wars and some early rebellions. Political rivalries and military conflicts in Europe spilled across the Atlantic and into Colonial America.

European laws were introduced to Colonial America and the lucrative income from the natural resources of Colonial America contributed to the wealth of England.

The were early rebellions in Colonial America including the famous rebellion of Nathaniel Bacon (1675-l676), referred to as Bacon's Rebellion which resulted in the Declaration of the People .
Colonial America - Picture of George Washington during
the French Indian Wars
Colonial America - The Sons of Liberty
Colonial America - In 1765 the Sons of Liberty was formed. The Sons of Liberty was an an organization (a secret society) formed by American Patriots who opposed British measures against the colonists, and agitated for resistance. The Sons of Liberty was initially formed to protest against the Stamp Act but the patriots continued to speak, write and demonstrate against British measures in Colonial America until the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Colonial America - The Speech of Patrick Henry
Colonial America - On March 23, 1775 Patrick Henry delivered his famous speech in St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia. Those who heard the speech were motivated to take up the cry of "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!". The famous speech helps to convince the Virginia House of Burgesses to pass a resolution delivering the Virginia troops to the Revolutionary War.
Colonial America - The Declaration of Independence
Colonial America - The Declaration of Independence
Colonial America - The Declaration of Independence was made declaring the US to be independent of the British Crown. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, by the congressional representatives of the Thirteen Colonies, including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin who were instrumental in bring about major event in Colonial America.

Colonial America

The history of the Colonial America for kids

History timeline of Colonial America

Interesting Facts and information on the Colonial America for kids and schools

Summary, dates and history of the Colonial America for kids

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Check out this site for facts and information about Colonial America. Important events, history, people, dates and years of Colonial America. Facts and information about the 13 colonies the Colonial America

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Native American History for Kids - Fun Facts to Learn

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Native American History Native Americans lived in the United States for a very long time before Christopher Columbus discovered America. You can read about their amazing culture and learn about the things they love like music, Art and different types of homes. They have many different tribes and we give you a quick overview of ...

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Kids learn about the history of Native American Indians in the United States. Educational articles for teachers, students, and schools including Native American daily life, homes, art, food, clothing, people, social structure, religion, and tribes.

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Early history

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Historical Perspective of the Narragansett Indian Tribe
The Narragansett Indians are the descendants of the aboriginal people of the State of Rhode Island. Archaeological evidence and the oral history of the Narragansett People establish their existence in this region more than 30,000 years ago. This history transcends all written documentaries and is present upon the faces of rock formations and through oral history. The first documented contact with the Indians of Rhode Island took place in 1524 when Giovanni de Verrazano visited Narragansett Bay and described a large Indian population, living by agriculture and hunting, and organized under powerful "kings."

The Tribe and its members were considered warriors within the region. The Narragansett customarily offered protection to smaller tribes in the area. Certain Nipmuck bands, the Niantics, Wampanoag, and Manisseans all paid tribute to the Narragansett tribe. These tribes all resided in areas of Rhode Island at the time of the first European settlement around 1635. In 1636, Roger Williams acquired land use rights to Providence from the Narragansett Sachems. The colonists quickly came into contact with both the Narragansett and Niantic Sachems.

King Philip's War and the Great Swamp Massacre
In 1675, the Narragansett allied themselves with King Philip and the Wampanoag Sachem, to support the Wampanoag Tribe's efforts to reclaim land in Massachusetts. In the Great Swamp Massacre, a military force of Puritans from Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, and Connecticut massacred a group of Narragansett, mostly women, children, and elderly men living at an Indian winter camp in the Great Swamp located in present day South Kingstown.

Following the massacre, many of the remaining Narragansett retreated deep into the forest and swamp lands in the southern area of the State. (Much of this area now makes up today's Reservation).

Many who refused to be subjected to the authority of the United Colonies left the area or were hunted down and killed. Some were sold into slavery in the Caribbean, others migrated to upstate New York and many went to Brotherton, Wisconsin.

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Historical Perspective of the Narragansett Indian Tribe The Narragansett Indians are the descendants of the aboriginal people of the State of Rhode Island. Archaeological evidence and the oral history of the Narragansett People establish their existence in this region more than 30,000 years ago.

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When the first European settlers arrived in the region around Narragansett Bay (present-day Rhode Island) around 1635, they encountered a number of native peoples, including the Algonquian-speaking Narragansett. In 1636, the tribe's chiefs granted Roger Williams land-use rights to establish Providence; a year later, the Narragansett joined with the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Connecticut in a war against the Pequot, their longtime rivals for territorial control. Good relations between the colonists and the Narragansett continued until King Philip's War (1675-6), when the Narragansett-along with other Native American tribes-attempted to limit colonial expansion, an effort that ended in the tribe's defeat and abandonment of their homeland.

Origins of the Narragansett

Archaeological evidence places Narragansett peoples in the region that later became the colony and state of Rhode Island more than 30,000 years ago. They inhabited the area along Narragansett Bay from present-day Warwick to South Kingstown and were the largest of a number of native tribes living in the area. In 1524, the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano encountered a large Native American population living near Narragansett Bay, hunting and practicing agriculture and organized into systems under "kings."

Did you know? Though the total number of Narragansetts declined in the 18th and early 19th centuries, it later bounced back and by the early 21st century population estimates showed some 4,500 individuals of Narragansett descent living in the United States.

In fact, the Narragansett divided themselves into eight divisions, each ruled by a territorial chief; these chiefs were then subject to a head chief or sachem. For subsistence, the Narragansett depended on the cultivation of corn (maize), hunting, and fishing. Members of the tribe were also known for their prowess as warriors, offering protection to smaller tribes (such as the Niantic, Wampanoag and Manisseans) who in turn paid tribute to them.

Relations with European Settlers

The first European settlers arrived in the region around 1635, and the following year the Narragansett sachems Canonicus and his nephew Miantonomi granted Roger Williams land use rights to establish the settlement that would become the city of Providence.

Williams had been banished by the civil authorities of Massachusetts Bay Colony due to his non-conformist religious views, and he established a policy of political and religious freedom in the new colony of Rhode Island. (The colony, which would earn a charter from King Charles II in 1663, soon became a haven for Anabaptists, Quakers and other non-conformists drawn to its atmosphere of tolerance and relative independence.) For his part, Williams learned the Algonquian language and became renowned for his role as a peacemaker with the Narragansett and other tribes on behalf of Rhode Island and other colonies.

Also in 1636, a Boston trader was murdered on Block Island (off the shore of southern Rhode Island). The culprit was presumed to be a member of the Pequot tribe, who had earlier challenged the Narragansett for control over an area of land. Though the Pequots had been living peacefully alongside the colonists of Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut, tensions had been building, and this incident proved to be the breaking point. After Massachusetts authorities sent a punitive expedition against the Pequot, the tribe mounted a fierce defense of their homeland. The so-called Pequot War reached its peak when warriors from the Mohegan and Narragansett tribes joined English settlers under Captain John Mason in mounting a surprise attack on the main Pequot fort at Mystic, Connecticut. Some 500-600 inhabitants of the fort were burned alive or killed; the attack devastated the Pequot, who fled the fort in smaller groups, many of which were killed or captured and sold into slavery or placed under the control of other tribes, including the Narragansett.

King Philip's War

Good relations between the Narragansett and the European colonists lasted barely another decade before King Philip's War-the first major war between colonists and Native Americans-broke out in 1675. Philip was the English name given to Metacom, the chief of the Wampanoag tribe and the son of Massasoit, the Native American leader who famously helped the Plymouth settlers survive their first winter in the New World. The Wampanoag and other tribes made a stand against the Europeans' continuing territorial expansion, and in December 1675 the settlers launched an attack on the previously neutral Narragansetts. Some 700 Narragansett, including many women and children, were killed in the single battle known as the Great Swamp Massacre.

After this bloody battle, the Narragansett-led by their war chief Canonchet- joined in Philip's struggle against the Europeans. In March 1676, a party of Narragansett destroyed a company of English soldiers and their Native American allies along the Blackstone River, and after negotiations brokered by Williams failed, the Narragansett burned Providence. By April 1676, however, the settlers had defeated the Narragansett and killed Canonchet. The tribe soon abandoned its territorial homeland, with some joining the Mohegan or Abenaki tribes and more settling among the Niantic, with the combined group taking the Narragansett name.

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When the first European settlers arrived in the region around Narragansett Bay (present-day Rhode Island) around 1635, they encountered a number of native peoples, including the Algonquian-speaking Narragansett. In 1636, the tribe's chiefs granted Roger Williams land-use rights to establish Providence; a year later, the Narragansett joined with the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Connecticut in a war against the Pequot, their longtime rivals for territorial control.

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The Narragansett tribe are an Algonquan Native American tribe from Rhode Island. In 1983 descendants of tribal members identified in an 1880 treaty gained federal recognition as the Narragansett...

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Narragansett Tribe: Facts, Clothes, Food and History ***

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Check out this site for interesting facts about the Narragansett tribe. Food, clothing, homes, weapons and culture of the Narragansett people. Interesting facts about the Narragansett nation of the Northeast woodland group.

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Who are the Wampanoag?

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The Wampanoag are one of many Nations of people all over North America who were here long before any Europeans arrived, and have survived until today. Many people use the word "Indian" to describe us, but we prefer to be called Native People.

Our name, Wampanoag, means People of the First Light. In the 1600s, we had as many as 40,000 people in the 67 villages that made up the Wampanoag Nation. These villages covered the territory along the east coast as far as Wessagusset (today called Weymouth), all of what is now Cape Cod and the islands of Natocket and Noepe (now called Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard), and southeast as far as Pokanocket (now Bristol and Warren, Rhode Island). We have been living on this part of Turtle Island for over fifteen thousand years.

The Wampanoag, like many other Native People, often refer to the earth as Turtle Island.

Today, about 4,000-5,000 Wampanoag live in New England. There are multiple Wampanoag communities - Aquinnah, Mashpee, Herring Pond, Assonet, Chappaquiddick, Pocasset, and Seaconke - with smaller groups and communities across the United States and world. Recently, we also found some of our relations in the Caribbean islands. These people are descendants of Native Wampanoag People who were sent into slavery after a war between the Wampanoag and English. We, as the People, still continue our way of life through our oral traditions (the telling of our family and Nation's history), ceremonies, the Wampanoag language, song and dance, social gatherings, hunting and fishing.

The Wampanoag Homeland provided bountiful food for fulfillment of all our needs. It was up to the People to keep the balance and respect for all living beings and to receive all the gifts from The Creator. We were seasonal people living in the forest and valleys during winter. During the summer, spring, and fall, we moved to the rivers, ponds, and ocean to plant crops, fish and gather foods from the forests.

Because of many changes in North America, we as the Wampanoag cannot live as our ancestors did. We adapt but still continue to live in the way of the People of the First Light.

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The Wampanoag are one of many Nations of people all over North America who were here long before any Europeans arrived, and have survived until today. Many people use the word "Indian" to describe us, but we prefer to be called Native People. Our name, Wampanoag, means People of the First Light.

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by
November is Native American Heritage Month. I think it was picked to let us all think about how the Native Americans helped the Pilgrims survive. As a result I thought we should look at the Wopânâak or the Wampanoag - the Native Americans who befriended the Pilgrims. Here are ten fun facts about Wopânâak (Wampanoag) Nation as well as some projects to go along with them.

10 Fun Facts About Wopânâak (Wampanoag) Nation

1. Wampanoag population

In the early 1600's the Wampanoag nation had a population of about 40,000 and 67 villages. Each village had its own sachem, or leader. Today there are about 4000-5000 Wampanoag people living in New England. There are three main groups (officially recognized by the US Government) of Wampanoag: Mashpee, Aquinnah and Manomet.

2. Location of Wampanoag Nation

Wampanoag people traditionally live in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. At one time their nation stretched from Wessagusset (now Weymouth, MA), all of Cape Cod, and the islands of Natocket and Noepe (now Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard) and Pokanocket (now Bristol and Warren, RI). The Wampanoags' former land in southeastern Massachusetts was almost 200 square miles. Today the Wampanoag Reservation is on Martha's Vineyard. The Wampanoag were given around 33,000 acres by the English crown. It is said that Governor William Bradford (the second governor of Plymouth Bay Colony) set aside land that is now Mashpee for the Wampanoag since he realized there would be wars if they did not have land.

3. Wampanoag beliefs

The Wampanoag refer the earth as Turtle Island. They traditionally believe in a Great Spirit. They honor Mother Earth as the source of life and believe all creatures are connected to the cycle of life and respect each creature and its role in the cycle. The Wampanoag are known as the People of First Light or the People of the Dawn. I have read that Wampanoag means this but I also have read that it means people of the southeast.

4. Wampanoag housing

The traditional house of the Wampanoag are wetus which are sometimes called wigwams. The wetu is a dome shaped house with a hole in the roof to allow the smoke to escape from the fire. The frames were created by men using 100 or so saplings. The walls were made of cattail mats and bulrushes as well as bark. I was told by a Wampanoag in the winter it was common for the boys to run out of the wetu and jump in the snowbank naked to cool off since the wetu was so hot on the inside.

5. Inheritance through mothers

The Wampanoag traditionally inherited land through the mother's family. Mothers left land to their daughters. Men could have more than one wife, and they sometimes did so they could gain power by having control over more land.

6. Clothing and hairstyles

The Wampanoag wore breechcloths and leggings. They did not wear shirts, but dressed in animal skins and furs in the winter. The women often wore dresses. They also wore moccasins. The chief would wear a headband with a few feathers sticking straight up. They did not wear long headdresses like other indigenous people. The women had long hair and the men had mowhawks or shaved their heads except for a scalplock (one long lock on the top of their head). The warriors would paint their faces and sometimes their bodies with tatoos.

7. Wampanoag men and women have separate activities

Wampanoag men hunted and fished and women gathered nuts and berries and farmed. They depended on the Three Sisters, maize, beans and squash. Boys around the age of two began to shoot a bow. Around age eleven they were picked to go into special warrior training. Girls farmed and learned to tend to the wetus.

8. How the Wampanoag make a canoe

Wampanoag people walked, ran, or used their mishoon canoes to get place. To make a mishoon the Wampanoag start with a perfect tree which frequently was white pine, chestnut, white oak or tulip poplar. The most common way to make one is to burn and scrape. The bark and branches are removed and then they burn the wood. Then the burnt part will be scraped with stone tools until non-burnt parts are hit. The Wampanoag demonstrate this method at Plimouth Plantation. They can make a 16-foot mishoon in about a month but they only let it burn from 9 to 5 unlike the 24 hours that would have happened traditionally.

9. First contact with Europeans

The Wampanoag first made contact with Europeans in 1524. Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano traded goods with local Wampanoag. They also kidnapped some of the Wampanoag and made them slaves. In 1616 the Europeans brought yellow fever to Wampanoag Nation. It is estimated that 45,000 Wampanoag died due to this outbreak. Since the Wampanoags lost so many of its numbers, many of the tribes joined together. This is also why Massasoit was so keen to befriend the Pilgrims. He was worried about the Narragansetts attacking and not having the numbers to fight them. The treaty he signed with the Pilgrims included helping each other in wars and not bringing weapons when meeting with one another. This treaty was made with the help of Squanto who had learned English in England when trying to return home after being sold into slavery.

10. Festivals and Thanksgiving

The Wampanoag have many different festivals throughout the year. They also say every day is a day of Thanksgiving. Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal elder Gladys Widdiss explains:

"Every day (is) a day of thanksgiving to the Wampanoag . . .(We) give thanks to the dawn of the new day, at the end of the day, to the sun, to the moon, for rain for helping crops grow. . . There (is) always something to be thankful for. .. Giving thanks comes naturally for the Wampanoag." Source

The spring planting time is considered the new year for Wampanoags. Summer is when there is Strawberry Thanksgiving as the wild strawberries ripen. Midsummer has the Green Corn Festival and Green Bean Festival. Then there is the Cranberry Festival when the last of the cranberries ripen. (I shared at Crafty Moms Share about the Cranberry Festival in the past.) They also celebrate events like marriages and other things. There are clambakes and powwows. The Mashpee Wampanoag have a large public powwow every July. We actually were able to go to the last day of it this year. Unfortunately we did not time our visit well and only saw the start of the ceremony. We honored their ways and did not take photographs of the opening ceremony and left shortly after it. We did however get pictures of the medicine men preparing the fire.

Activities to go with the Wampanoag Fun Facts:

A few years ago we enjoyed making two types of wetu models to go with some Native American stories we were reading.

Another easy craft is to make your own mishoon canoe out of a paper towel roll.

Then there is trying a Wampanoag recipe. Many Hoops has many to try!! (Be sure to check out some of the other great Wampanoag information there!) There is also Gladys Widdiss's great cranberry crumble recipe here. We tried it a couple of years ago.

Sources for this post:

Baird, Jessie Little Doe. (2008) Timeline. http://www.mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/timeline

Bidwell, Paula and Gerlach, Lea. (2013) Cranberries. http://www.manyhoops.com/cranberries.html

Cunningham, Kevin and Benoit, Peter. The Wampanoag. New York: Children's Press 2011

Eldredge, Nancy. Who Are the Wampanoag? https://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/who-are-wampanoag

Flanagan, Alice K. The Wampanoags. New York: Children's Press 1998

Lund, Bill. The Wampanoag Indians Mankato: Bridgestone Books 1998

Native Languages of the Americas. Wampanoag Indian Fact Sheet. http://www.bigorrin.org/wampanoag_kids.htm

Sampson, Kat. (2015, 7, July) Wampanoag Indians Continue Burn-and-Scrape Method to Build Mishoon Canoes. http://capeandislands.org/post/wampanoag-indians-continue-burn-and-scrape-method-build-mishoon-canoes#stream/0

Wamapanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Celebrations. http://www.wampanoagtribe.net/pages/wampanoag_education/celebrations

Weber, David. (2007, 12, March) Mashpee Wampanoag Recount Struggles to Gain Federal Acknowledgement. https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/mashpee-wampanoag-recount-struggles-to-gain-federal-acknowledgement/

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10 fun facts about Wopânâak (Wampanoag) Nation

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by November is Native American Heritage Month. I think it was picked to let us all think about how the Native Americans helped the Pilgrims survive. As a result I thought we should look at the Wopânâak or the Wampanoag - the Native Americans who befriended the Pilgrims. Here are ten fun facts about Wopânâak (Wampanoag) Nation as well as some projects to go along with them.

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Native American Indian Tribes

Site Index

Facts about the Wampanoag Native Indian Tribe
This article contains fast, fun facts and interesting information about the Wampanoag Native American Indian tribe. Find answers to questions like where did the Wampanoag tribe live, what clothes did they wear and what food did they eat? Discover what happened to the Wampanoag tribe with facts about their wars and history.

What language did the Wampanoag tribe speak?
The Wampanoag tribe spoke in spoke in several related dialects of the Algonquian language family. The meaning of the name 'Wampanoag' is ""People of the First Light" or "Eastern people", in respect of the location of their homelands. The Wampanoag were also known as the Wapenock, Massasoit and "Philip's Indians".

What was the lifestyle and culture of the Wampanoag tribe?
The Wampanoag were originally a great confederacy of tribes and groups including the Pokanoket and the Mashpee. In the 1500's there were many thousands of Wampanoag people but their numbers were literally decimated by epidemics of devastating diseases such as measles and smallpox brought by the newcomers - the explorers and traders. Some Wampanoag people were even taken a slaves by the traders. Despite the apprehension felt by the Wampanoag towards the newcomers the Pokanoket tribe of the Wampanoag people, led by Chief Massasoit, were responsible for saving the Mayflower Pilgrims from starvation and death during the terrible winter of 1620 - 1621. The Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony led by Myles Standish, William Brewster, William Bradford and William Bradford pledged peace with Pokanoket. One of the Indians, Tisquantum aka Squanto, was able to speak English. The Wampanoag people taught them farming techniques and helped them to survive in the colony. In November 1621 the Pokanoket tribe of the Wampanoag Nation celebrated the "First Thanksgiving" with the Pilgrims. The peace was short lived due to the death of two Wampanoag chiefs during an altercation with Captain Myles Standish and the Native Indians further contact with the colonists. Deteriorating relations resulted in the Metacom (King Philip) Pequot War (1634-1638). Praying towns were developed by the Puritans of New England from 1646 to 1675 in an effort to convert the local Native American tribes to Christianity. In 1675, King Philip's War erupted led by Chief due to the continuous encroachment of white settlers Wampanoag homelands. The Wampanoag were nearly exterminated, only 400 survived the war.

Where did the Wampanoag tribe live?
The Wampanoag are people of the Northeast Woodland Native American cultural group. The location of their tribal homelands are shown on the map. The geography of the region in which they lived dictated the lifestyle and culture of the Wampanoag tribe.

The Northeast Woodland region extended mainly across the New England States, lower Canada, west to Minnesota, and north of the Ohio River

Land: Lush woodlands, rivers, ocean

Climate: The climate varied according to the location of the tribe

Land Animals: The animals included squirrel, white-tailed deer, raccoon, bears, beavers, moose, and caribou

Fish and Sea Mammals: Whales, Seal, Fish and shell fish

Crops: The crops grown in the area were corn (maize), pumpkin, squash, beans and tobacco

Trees: Poplar, birch, elm, maple, oak, pine, fir trees and spruce

What did the Wampanoag tribe live in?
The Wampanoag tribe lived in temporary shelters during the summer known as Wigwams, aka wetus or wikkums, which are also known as birchbark houses. The word ' Longhouses Wetu' means "house" in the Wampanoag language. Some of the winter Wampanoag villages were fortified and consisted of long, multi-family residences, called .

Wampanoag Wigwam or Wetu Wigwam , or wetuash (plural of wetu) are temporary shelters. They are small cone-shaped houses with an arched roof made of wooden frames from saplings (young trees) that are covered with sheets of birchbark. Wide sheets of bark from large, older trees covered the frames of the wetus, which were held in place by ropes or strips of wood. These summer wigwams were covered with woven mats using cattails, tall, stiff plants, growing almost ten feet tall.

Wampanoag tribe - Longhouses
Many Wampanoag lived in oval-shaped longhouses during the winter. The main difference between the wetu and the longhouse was that the longhouse was a permanent structure, much larger elongated shape. Mats for these winter homes were woven from bulrushes. A longer process than using cattails, but with a hardy result. The mats were used for both the outside and interior of the Wampanoag longhouse and frequently painted black and red. The longhouse villages were surrounded by fencing (palisades) and reinforced with mud. Longhouses were built up to 200 feet long, 20 feet wide and 20 feet high. The longhouses had smoke holes in the roof to allow air and light in and smoke to escape. The smoke hole had a birchbark cover to keep out the rain. The position of the cover could be moved as the direction of the wind changed.

Longhouse Village

What clothes did the Wampanoag wear?
The majority of clothes worn by the Wampanoag were made from animal skins or birchbark before Europeans came. These included long breechclouts, leggings, long cloaks and shoulder to waist length mantles. These were made from the skins and fur of deer (buckskin) raccoon, beaver, otter and moose. Wampanoag Women wore wraparound skirts, tunics and cloaks. Moccasins were made of one piece of moose skin with a long tongue and a high collar that could be left up or folded down. The moccasins were greased on the outside for additional waterproofing. Belts were woven from dogbane and other plant fibers that were colored with vegetable dyes. The picture is of Metacom (King Philip) who wears clothes made from trade cloth. His headdress consists of a woven headband and topped with four feathers, a sign of his special status.

Wampanoag History Timeline

1500's: European explorers and traders make contact with the Wampanoag

1600's: Epidemics of smallpox, typhus and measles greatly diminish the numbers of Wampanoag

1606: The colonisation of New England began

1600's: Epidemics of smallpox, typhus and measles together with inter-tribal warfare diminish the numbers of Pennacook

1620: The Great Migration of English colonists begins

1620: The Mayflower ship and the Pilgrims landed in the New World in November 1620

1620: The Plymouth colonists locate present day Plymouth Bay on December 6, 1620

1621: March 16, 1621: The first formal contact with Pokanoket, Wampanoag Native American Indians led by Chief Massasoit, King Philip

1620: In July 1621 the Pokanoket tribe of the Wampanoag felt sympathy for the people in the Plymouth Colony and teach them farming techniques and help the colonists to survive

1621: In November 1621 the "First Thanksgiving" is celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Pokanoket tribe of the Wampanoag Nation

1634: Deteriorating relations between the colonists and Native Indians results in the Pequot War (1634-1638)

1646: 'Praying towns' were developed by the Puritans of New England (1646 - 1675) in an effort to convert Native Indian tribes to Christianity.

1675: King Philip's War erupts led by Chief Metacom (King Philip) due to the continuous encroachment of white settlers. The Wampanoag are nearly exterminated, only 400 survived the war

1676: Some survivors of King Philip's War are sent to Deer Island and others sold as slaves in the West Indies

1972: The "Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head, Inc." was formed

1987: The 1987 Settlement Act in which trust lands are located in the southwest portion of Martha's Vineyard Island in the town of Gay Head

Wampanoag History Timeline

Interesting Facts and information about the way the Wampanoag people lived

The clothes worn by men and women

Description of the homes and the type of food the Wampanoag would eat

Fast Facts and info about the Wampanoag

Names of famous chiefs and leaders

Interesting Homework resource for kids on the history of the Wampanoag Native American Indians

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Native American Indian Tribes Site Index Facts about the Wampanoag Native Indian Tribe This article contains fast, fun facts and interesting information about the Wampanoag Native American Indian tribe. Find answers to questions like where did the Wampanoag tribe live, what clothes did they wear and what food did they eat?

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Kids learn about the history of colonial America. Educational articles for teachers, students, and schools including the thirteen colonies, culture, daily life, clothing, housing, events, people, religion, Jamestown, Plymouth Colony, and fun facts.

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Native American language Native American culture Native American art
Native American Facts For Kids was written for young people learning about the Pequots for school or home-schooling reports. We encourage students and teachers to look through our mainPequot page for in-depth information about the tribe, but here are our answers to the questions we are most often asked by children, with Pequot pictures and links we believe are suitable for all ages.

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Pequot Nation

Pequot is pronounced "PEE-kwott." It is sometimes also spelled Pequod, Pequat, or Pequott. Most historians think it comes from the Narragansett wordpequttoog, which means "destroyers." The Narragansetts often fought with the Pequots, so they might have called them this name because they were fierce warriors. On the other hand, many Pequot people believe that the real origin of the name is a different word from their own language which has been lost to time. If so, perhaps the original name may have been similar to the Abnaki-Penobscot wordbôgwad, which means "shallow" (like shallow water.)

The Pequots and Mohegans are two different tribes. They were once the same tribe, but the Mohegans broke away from the Pequots and formed their own tribe. The two tribes still speak the same language and share many cultural traits, but they have different leadership, similar to American and British people today.

There are two Pequot Indian bands inConnecticut, which is the original homeland of the Pequot tribe. Here is amap showing the location of Pequot and other tribal territory in southern New England.

The Pequots fought against English colonists in a conflict called the Pequot War. The Pequot War didn't end well for the Pequots. In 1637, the English Puritans led an attack on the Pequot capital at Mystic River and massacred everyone living there. Many Pequot people in other villages fled from the Puritans and hid in the wilderness or took refuge with other tribes. Other Pequots surrendered to the Puritans and were sold into slavery.

Like all wars, there were complicated reasons. Tensions were high among Native American tribes in the 17th century, when many indigenous people were harmed by diseases and social changes caused by colonization. Also, there were significant cultural miscommunications on both sides. The Pequots blamed the English for a murder that was committed by the Dutch, while the English blamed the Pequots for murders that were committed by Niantic and Narragansett people. Overall, though, the cause of the Pequot War was simply that the Europeans wanted to take the Pequots' land and resources for themselves. Unlike some of their neighboring tribes, the Pequots fought back instead of trying to compromise, but they were defeated. You can read a more detailed account of the Pequot War atthis history site.

There are two Pequot bands in Connecticut: the Mashantucket Pequots and the Eastern Pequots. Though both bands belong to the same cultural group, they live in different locations and each one has its own government. Like other Native Americans in the United States, Pequot Indian tribes have their ownreservations. A reservation is land that belongs to an Indian tribe and is under their control. But all the Pequots are also US citizens and must obey American law.

Pequot Indians all speak English today. In the past, the Pequots, Mohegans, Montauks, Niantics, and other tribes of Southern New England all spoke theMohegan-Pequot language. This language died out more than 100 years ago, but some young Pequot and Mohegan people are working to revive it. If you'd like to learn an easy word in Mohegan-Pequot, aquy (pronunciation similar to ah-quoy) is a friendly greeting. You can also read a Mohegan-Pequot picture glossaryhere.

Here is a link to theMashantucket Pequot Museum, which has information about the heritage and traditions of the Pequot people.

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They do the same things any children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house. In the past, Indian kids had more chores and less time to play, just like early colonial children. But they did havecorn-husk dolls, ball games, and toys such as kid-size bows and arrows. Pequot mothers, like many Native Americans, traditionally carried their babies incradleboards on their backs--a custom which many American parents haveadopted now.

What were men and women's roles in the Pequot tribe?

Pequot men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Pequot women were farmers and also did most of the child care and cooking. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. In the past, Pequot chiefs were always men, but today a Pequot Indian woman could be chief too.

The Pequots didn't live in tepees. They lived in small round houses calledwigwams. Here is some more information aboutthe wigwam. Pequot villages were usuallypalisaded, which means it was surrounded by a wall of upright logs to protect against attack. Besides wigwams, each village included a larger council hall, a central square for tribal gatherings, a granary pit to store corn, and several small farms.

Today, Native Americans only build a wigwam for fun or to connect with their heritage, not for shelter. Most Pequots live in modern houses and apartment buildings, just like you.

Pequot women wore knee-length skirts and the men wore breechcloths with leggings. Here is a website with pictures ofNative American breechcloths. Shirts were not necessary in the Pequot culture, but Pequot people did wear deerskin mantles in cool weather. Pequot men and women both wore earrings andmoccasins on their feet. Here is apicture of Pequot clothing and some photographs and links aboutNative apparel in general.

The Pequots didn't wear long headdresses like theSioux. Usually they wore anIndian headband with a feather or two in it. Sometimes a Pequot chief wore a headdress of turkey feathers pointing straight up from a headband, likethis. Pequot men, especially warriors, often wore aMohawk hairstyle or shaved their heads completely except for ascalplock (one long lock of hair on top of their heads.) Pequot women usually had long hair. Here is a website with pictures ofNative Americans' hair.
What was Pequot food like in the days before supermarkets?
The Pequots were farming people. Pequot women plant
Today, some Pequot people still have a traditional headband or moccasins, but they wear modern clothes like jeans instead of breechcloths... and they only wear feathers in their hair on special occasions like a dance.

Yes, the Pequots madedugout canoes by hollowing out large trees. They used them for transportation and for ocean fishing trips. Here is a website aboutwooden Indian boats. Over land, the Pequots used dogs as pack animals. (There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.) Pequot Indians used sleds and snowshoes to help them travel in the winter. (They learned to make those tools from northern neighbors like theCree Indians.) Today, of course, Pequot people also use cars... and non-native people also use canoes.

ed corn, squash and beans and also gathered nuts and fruit to eat. Pequot men did most of the hunting. They shot deer, turkeys, and small game, and went fishing on the coast. Pequot Indian recipes included soup, cornbread, and stews. Here is a website with more information aboutNative American food recipes.

Pequot hunters and warriors used bows and arrows, spears, and tomahawks. Here are pictures and information about theNative American tomahawk and other traditional weapons. Fishermen used pronged spears, nets, and bone hooks.

The Pequot tribe was known for theirbasket making andbeaded necklaces. Like other eastern American Indians, Pequots also craftedwampum out of white and purple shell beads. Wampum beads were traded as a kind of currency, but they were more culturally important as an art material. The images on awampum belt often told a story or represented a person's family.

What other Native Americans did the Pequot tribe interact with?
The Pequots liked to trade with other Algonquian tribes in the New England area, such as theMohegan andWampanoag Indians. But they were also powerful warriors. Some of the tribes they fought against most frequently were theNarragansett andMontauk tribes. Some Narragansett and Mohegan warriors ended up forming an alliance with the Puritans against the Pequots during the Pequot War. Others offered refuge to the surviving Pequot people.

I read that the Thanksgiving holiday is really celebrating the massacre of the Pequots. Is that true?
This is hard to say for sure, because early English colonists used the word "Thanksgiving" for many different celebrations. The Puritans really did hold a thanksgiving festival to celebrate the Pequot massacre. However, the event that is usually defined as the "First Thanksgiving" took place in 1621, which was sixteen years before the massacre, and was simply celebrating a good harvest. Hopefully most people who celebrate Thanksgiving today are thinking about the earlier harvest festival, not about innocent families being murdered.
Can you recommend a good book for me to read?
You may enjoy
There are many traditional Niantic legends and fairy tales. Storytelling is very important to the Niantic Indian culture. Here's onelegend about the Makiaweesug, who were mythical creatures like brownies or fairies. All the Mohegan-Pequot speaking tribes told stories about little people like these..

Spirituality and religion were important parts of Pequot life, and some people continue to practice traditional beliefs today. It is respectful to avoid imitating religious rituals for school projects since some Pequot people care about them deeply. You can read and learn about them, however. You can visit this site to learn more aboutNew England Algonquian traditions and symbols or this site aboutNative religions in general.

Where The Great Hawk Flies, which is a novel for young adults about a half-Pequot boy living in the 18th century. If you want to know more about Pequot history and culture,The Pequot Tribe is a good book for young readers, or there's a more comprehensive history of the Indian tribes of Connecticuthere. You can also browse through our recommendations ofNative American history books in general. Disclaimer: we are an Amazon affiliate and our website earns a commission if you buy a book for sale at one of these links. Most of them can also be found in a public library, though!

You will need to ask your teacher for the format he or she wants you to use. The authors' names are Laura Redish and Orrin Lewis and the title of our site is Native Languages of the Americas. We are a nonprofit educational organization working to preserve and prote ct Native American languages and culture. You can learn more about our organizationhere. Our website was first started in 1998 and last updated in 2020.

Thanks for your interest in the Pequot Indian people and their language!

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An overview of the Pequot tribe's language and history.

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Pequot Indian language samples, articles, and teaching tools.

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Related links about the Pequot Indian community past and present.

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Pequot Indian vocabulary lists.

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Facts for Kids: Pequot Indians (Pequots, Pequod)

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Native American language Native American culture Native American art Native American Facts For Kids was written for young people learning about the Pequots for school or home-schooling reports. We encourage students and teachers to look through our mainPequot page for in-depth information about the tribe, but here are our answers to the questions we are most often asked by children, with Pequot pictures and links we believe are suitable for all ages.

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Pretty much everybody knows that George Washington was our first President, but how much else do you know about this Founding Father?

The man that would go on to be known as the Father of our Country lived a pretty interesting life, so let's take the time to explore his life!

George Washington was born in Virginia in 1732. When George was born, Virginia was one of the 13 colonies that were ruled by England. America was not a country yet.

When George was young, he was a very good student. He was especially good at math and spelling.

When he was 16 years old, he left his house to find a job. He got a job as a surveyor. It was his job to measure land and make maps. This helped people know how big the property was and other important facts about it.

Before the War

When George was 20, he joined the Virginia army. He was very brave and soon was put in charge of the whole militia. He was a part of the militia during the start of the French and Indian war.

In one particular battle, he narrowly escaped death when his horse was shot out from under him.

George always dreamed of having a family. On January 6, 1759, George married a woman named Martha Curtis. George and Martha lived on a large farm named Mount Vernon. They never had any children.

George didn't get to stay with Martha for very long. Soon, he had to rejoin the army to fight the Revolutionary War.

The Revolutionary War

George and other wealthy landowners were unhappy with England because they made lots of rules that the Colonies thought were unfair.

When England refused to change the rules, the Colonies decided to declare their independence. The colonies formed, and George was picked to lead the army.

The Colonial Army had lots of problems. They didn't have enough supplies and weren't trained very well. Luckily, George was a great leader. He trained his soldiers and worked to get the supplies that they needed.

George planned to outlast the British Army. The war lasted eight long years, and eventually, England surrendered. This happened in Yorktown on October 17, 1781.

The war was over, and the Colonies had won their independence from England!

The Presidency

Once the war was over, the new country needed a leader. George was unanimously picked to be the country's first president on April 30, 1789.

He was a very good leader and led the country for two different terms, which lasted eight total years.

During his time as President, George put in place many roles and traditions that our Presidents still follow today.

For instance, it was his choice to only have Presidents serve for a certain amount of time. See our article on the 22nd amendment for more on that.

He said that this would prevent anyone from becoming too powerful, like the King of England was. He also helped form the government and defined what a President should do, as well as who should be his helpers.

George also founded (started) the offices of the Presidential Cabinet.

After the Presidency

When he was done being President, George returned to his home in Virginia, where he lived for several more years. Then in December of 1799, George got a bad cold. This turned into a terrible throat infection.

George Washington died on December 14, 1799.

George Washington is known as the "Father of our Country." He was a great leader both before, during, and after the Revolutionary War. He helped to make our country what it is today.

He is honored for his role in our nation's history with many different monuments, with none being more famous than the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C, which is also named for him.

Fun Facts About George Washington

George never served as President in Washington, D.C. The capital when he was President was New York City, and then Philadelphia.

Though George was very honest, the story of him and the cherry tree probably never happened.

George had many different sets of dentures throughout his life. They were not made from wood but were rather fashioned from various types of bone.

George owned slaves but gave them all freedom upon his death.
US Presidents

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George Washington Biography Pretty much everybody knows that George Washington was our first President, but how much else do you know about this Founding Father? The man that would go on to be known as the Father of our Country lived a pretty interesting life, so let's take the time to explore his life!

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George Washington was the 1st president of the United States. Learn about his biography and life story.

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George Washington and his Letter to the Jews of Newport

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George Washington and his Letter to the Jews of Newport

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Touro Synagogue is America's oldest synagogue and a national historic site. Find information on history, services, tours and accommodations.

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Quahog.org: Washington's Fourth Visit to Rhode Island

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George Washington in RI

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The following represents accounts of George Washington's visits and connections to Rhode Island, spanning from his military service during the French and Indian War through the presidency.

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Learn about the American Revolution including causes, battles fought, timeline, Boston Massacre, Stamp Act, Continental Congress, important people, daily life, and fun facts.

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https://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/roger_williams.php

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When the Puritans left England, they came to live in America near the Indians. As more Puritans moved to America, the need for land increased. This caused the Puritans to take over Indian land. Metacom, or "King Philip" as he was called in English was the leader of one of the larger Indian tribes.

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The Boston Tea Party

It was another cold December night in Boston. The three British ships the were sitting in Boston harbor, their holds full of tea that wasn't being unloaded because the angry residents of Boston were threatened not to buy or use the tea. Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver

The anger was directed at the government of Great Britain, which at that time had passed the Tea Act, a law that almost guaranteed that the American colonists would buy tea from the East India Company. Why? Because the law lowered the price on tea that the East India Company so much that it was the cheapest tea around. In fact, it was way below the price charged by other tea companies. Most American colonists, looking for ways to cut costs and save money, would choose a cheaper tea over a more expensive tea any day.

Why did this law come about? Well, the East India Company wasn't doing so well and the British government wanted to help the company get back on its feet.

Other tea companies weren't happy about the Tea Act, of course, but the American colonists viewed it as another example of "taxation without representation": In effect, the Tea Act was putting a tax on tea sold by companies other than the East India Company. As with the Stamp Act and other unpopular taxes, they were all voted in by Parliament, which was thousands of miles away, and the American colonists had no way to influence the law or speak out against it while it was being debated in government.

So the colonists were angry. They wanted to do something else to let the British know about the unhappiness that the Tea Act was causing. Some people wanted to keep things nonviolent; others wanted bloodshed. The result was somewhere in the middle.

group of colonists determined to make things change was the A Sons of Liberty. Led by such impassioned patriots as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, the Sons of Liberty had secret meetings at which they discussed how best to get their message across to Great Britain, that the American people wanted more of a role in governing themselves.

Christmas was approaching in the year 1773, and the colonists faced another year of unopposed and unrepresentative taxes. The Sons of Liberty decided to take action.

Donning disguises that made them look like they were Native Americans, a large group of the Sons of Liberty on December 16 stormed aboard those three unsuspecting British ships and dumped 342 crates full of tea overboard. By any standards, that's a lot of tea. These crates happened to be jammed full of tea, and so the companies that made that tea lost a lot of money that night.

Because the Sons of Liberty were disguised as Native Americans, they could claim that they were not guilty of dumping the tea. The British government knew better, of course, and grew angrier than ever at what it saw as Americans' ingratitude. The very next year saw the passage of what came to be called the Intolerable Acts, one of which closed the port of Boston entirely.

The Boston Tea Party was a symbolic act, an example of how far Americans were willing to speak out for their freedom. Two short years later, Americans were willing to give their lives for their freedom, as shots rang out on Lexington Green.

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The Boston Tea Party It was another cold December night in Boston. The three British ships the were sitting in Boston harbor, their holds full of tea that wasn't being unloaded because the angry residents of Boston were threatened not to buy or use the tea.

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Boston Tea Party

Part of the American Revolution

Date

December 16, 1773

Location

Caused by
Tea Act

Goals

To protest British Parliament's tax on tea. "No taxation without representation."

Methods

Throw the tea into Boston Harbor but do no damage to anything else.

Resulted in
Intolerable Acts

Parties to the civil conflict

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. They were upset by the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying taxes on it, while the colonists were charged tax when they purchased it by order of the Townshend Acts.

American Patriots were upset because the taxes in the Townshend Act were a violation of their rights. Demonstrators, some disguised as Native Americans, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company.

They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The British government responded harshly and the events grew into the American Revolution which began near Boston in 1775. The Tea Party became a famous event in American history, and since then other political protests such as the Tea Party movement have referred to themselves as historical successors to the Boston protest of 1773.

Background

The Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend Acts of 1767 angered colonists because they meant that the British could tax the colonies with no representation in the Westminster Parliament ("no taxation without representation"). One man who did not like the taxes was John Hancock. In 1768, his ship Liberty was forcefully taken by British customs officials and he was charged with smuggling. He was defended by John Adams and the charges were eventually dropped. However, Hancock later faced several hundred more accusations.

Hancock organized a boycott of tea from China sold by the British East India Company, whose sales in the colonies then fell from $383,458 (320,000 pounds) to $623 (520 pounds). By 1773, the company had large debts, huge stocks of tea in its warehouses, and no possibility of selling it because smugglers such as Hancock were importing tea without paying taxes (import tax). The British government passed the Tea Act, which allowed the East India Company to sell tea to the colonies directly, which allowed them to sell for lower prices than those offered by the colonial merchants and smugglers.

The British East India Company ships carrying tea were prevented from landing, as most American ports turned the tea away. Protesters had successfully prevented the unloading of tea in three other colonies, but in Boston, the British-appointed Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson refused to allow the tea to be returned to Britain. He convinced the tea brokers, two of whom were his sons, not to back down.

The East India Company with the help of Governor Hutchinson made plans to bring in - by force - the tea under the protection given by British armed ships. Governor Hutchinson had been urging London to deal harshly with the Sons of Liberty. If he had done what the other royal governors had done and let the ship owners and captains resolve the issue with the colonists, Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver would have left the harbor without unloading any tea.

The Boston Tea Party

On December 16, 1773, the evening before the tea was supposed to be landed, the Sons of Liberty, in three groups of 50 Boston residents each, organized by Samuel Adams, burst from the Old South Meeting House and headed toward Griffin's Wharf. Three ships - the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver - had hundreds of crates of tea on them. The men boarded the ships and began destroying the cargo. By 9 pm they had opened 342 crates of tea in all three ships and had thrown them into Boston Harbor.

They took off their shoes, swept the decks, and made sure that each ship's first mate knew that the Sons of Liberty had destroyed only the tea. The whole event was remarkably quiet and peaceful. The next day, they sent someone around to fix the one padlock they had broken.

John Adams and many other Americans considered tea drinking to be unpatriotic following the Boston Tea Party. Tea drinking declined during and after the Revolution, resulting in a shift to coffee as the preferred hot drink of Americans.

The Reaction

Whether or not Samuel Adams helped plan the Boston Tea Party is debated, but he immediately worked to advertise and defend it. He explained that the Tea Party was not the act of a lawless mob but was instead a peaceful, meaningful protest and the only remaining option the people had to defend their constitutional rights. The issue was never the tax itself but how the tax was passed without American input. United States Congress taxed tea from 1789 to 1872.

There were both colonial and British officials who disliked that the Boston Tea Party happened. For instance, Benjamin Franklin stated that the destroyed tea must be paid for. The British government punished the colonies by closing the port of Boston and put in place other laws that were known as the " Intolerable Acts," called the Coercive Acts in Britain.

The Boston Tea Party was one of the important events that led to the American Revolution. At the very least, the Boston Tea Party and the reaction that followed caused support to grow for revolutionaries in the thirteen colonies who were eventually successful in their fight for independence.

American activists with different political views have used the Tea Party as a symbol of protest. In 1973, on the 200th anniversary of the Tea Party, a mass meeting called for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon and protested oil companies in the ongoing oil crisis. Afterward, protesters boarded a replica ship (an exact copy of a ship) in Boston Harbor and dumped several empty oil drums into the harbor.

In 1998, two conservative U.S. Congressmen put the federal tax code into a chest marked "tea" and dumped it into the harbor.

The Boston Tea Party Museum is located on the Congress Street Bridge in Boston. It features reenactments, a documentary, and a number of interactive exhibits. The museum features two replica ships of the period, Eleanor and Beaver. Additionally, the museum possesses one of two known tea chests from the original event as part of its permanent collection.

Interesting facts about the Boston Tea Party

Boston was one of four cities that was to receive tea shipments from the British East India Company.

The Beaver, one of the ships that was boarded by the Sons of Liberty, had been quarantined in the outer harbor for two weeks because of a case of smallpox.

The tea that was destroyed was originally from China.

George Washington condemned the Boston Tea Party, which was not referred to as a "party" until about 50 years later.

The identities of the participants were hidden for decades after the event.

One of the members of the raiding party was Moby Dick author Herman Melville's grandfather, Thomas Melville.

Enough tea was dumped into the harbor to fill 18.5 million teabags.

The only person harmed in the Boston Tea Party was John Crane. He was knocked unconscious by a falling crate and thought to be dead. He was reportedly hidden under a pile of wood shavings in a nearby carpenter's shop but awoke hours later.

Images for kids

This iconic 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor; the phrase "Boston Tea Party" had not yet become standard. Contrary to Currier's depiction, few of the men dumping the tea were actually disguised as Native Americans.

This notice from the "Chairman of the Committee for Tarring and Feathering" in Boston denounced the people who bought tea as "traitors to their country."

Plaque affixed to side of the Independence Wharf building (2009)

The Boston Tea Party Museum in Fort Point Channel

Replica of the Beaver in Boston

In Spanish: Motín del té para niños

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Kids learn about the Boston Tea Party major event in the American Revolutionary War.

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https://www.dkfindout.com/us/history/american-revolution/boston-massacre/

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Engraving of the Boston Massacre by Paul Revere

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Engraving of the Boston Massacre by Paul Revere

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The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.

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1 print : engraving with watercolor, on laid paper ; 25.8 x 33.4 cm. (plate) | A sensationalized portrayal of the skirmish, later to become known as the "Boston Massacre," between British soldiers and citizens of Boston on March 5, 1770.

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http://www.ducksters.com/history/american_revolution/boston_massacre.php

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BEFORE the Revolutionary War

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Kids learn about the history of the French and Indian War of the American Colonies between 1754 and 1763 including major battles, events, ending, and results.

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1st Rhode Island Regiment | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

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After the repeal Rhode Island's treasurer recorded another 44 slaves who enlisted. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment eventually totaled around 225 men including 140 who were African Americans, by far the largest percentage of blacks in an integrated military unit during the American Revolution.

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Pictures of Primary Historical Documents about the Brown Browthers'  

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Pictures of Primary Historical Documents about the Brown Browthers'  

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Brown University Library, Center for Digital Scholarship

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Brown University Library Center for Digital Initiatives

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short history
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http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/colonial/jb_colonial_williams_1.html

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Who was Roger Williams? - Roger Williams Initiative

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Resources about Roger Williams and his teachings to establish a sense of place, awareness, and pride for all Rhode Islanders.

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http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/social-sciences-and-law/business-leaders/moses-brown

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http://historyofmassachusetts.org/anne-hutchinson/

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http://www.historyisfun.org/learn/learning-center/colonial-america-american-revolution-learning-resources/american-revolution-essays-timelines-images/african-americans-and-the-american-revolution/

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http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution

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https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/massasoit/

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http://wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Massasoit

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https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/big-history-project/acceleration/bhp-acceleration/a/the-industrial-revolution

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http://www.ducksters.com/geography/us_states/rhode_island_history.php

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http://www.gaspee.info/history/Brown_Brothers.htm

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http://www.history.com/topics/anne-hutchinson

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http://www.americanrevolution.org/blk.php

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3. Industrial Revolution Slater Mill-Child Labor

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3. Industrial Revolution Slater Mill-Child Labor

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http://www.woonsocket.org/slaterchildlabor.html

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http://www.ducksters.com/history/us_1800s/united_states_industrial_revolution.php

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http://www.american-historama.org/1790-1800-new-nation/samuel-slater.htm

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http://www.american-historama.org/1790-1800-new-nation/samuel-slater.htm

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https://www.britannica.com/biography/Massasoit

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https://www.thoughtco.com/anne-hutchinson-104360

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http://ancientlights.org/firstri.html

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http://sos.ri.gov/divisions/Civics-And-Education/kids-zone

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http://rhodetour.org/tours/show/7

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http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/north-american-indigenous-peoples-biographies/massasoit

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Massasoit facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Massasoit

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http://www.williamsburgtours.com/archives/973

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https://www.thoughtco.com/profile-chief-massasoit-2477989

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http://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/king_philips_war.php

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http://www.woonsocket.org/slaterhist.htm

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http://www.ducksters.com/history/american_revolution/african_americans_revolutionary_war.php

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The Battle of Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War

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The Battle of Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War

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https://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/battles/780829-rhode-island/

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http://www.gaspee.org/

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https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/native-american-perspective-fast-turtle-wampanoag-tribe-member/

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National Park Service

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The American victory at Saratoga was a pleasant surprise for Colonial forces and the turning point of the Revolutionary War.

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Ducksters

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History >> American Revolution

The Battles of Saratoga were a series of battles that culminated in the Battle of Saratoga and the surrender of British General John Burgoyne. This decisive victory by the Americans was a turning point of the Revolutionary War.

The Leaders

The main leader for the British was General John Burgoyne. He had the nickname "Gentleman Johnny".

The Americans were led by Major General Horatio Gates as well as Generals Benedict Arnold and Benjamin Lincoln. Other key commanders included Colonel Daniel Morgan and General Enoch Poor.

General Horatio Gates
by Gilbert Stuart

General General John Burgoyne
by Joshua Reynolds

Leading up to the Battles

British General Burgoyne had come up with a plan to defeat the American colonies. He would split the colonies in two along the Hudson River. With the colonies divided, he was sure they could not stand.

Burgoyne was to lead his army south from Lake Champlain to Albany, New York. At the same time General Howe was to advance north along the Hudson River. They would meet at Albany.

Burgoyne and his army successfully advanced south. They first recaptured Fort Ticonderoga from the Americans then proceeded to march south. General Howe, however, had other plans. Instead of heading north to Albany, he headed east to take Philadelphia. Burgoyne was on his own.

Bennington

As the British continued south, the Americans harassed them along the way. They cut down trees to block the roads and took shots at the soldiers from the forests. Burgoyne's progress was slow and the British began to run out of food. Burgoyne sent some of his soldiers to Bennington, Vermont to find food and horses. However, Bennington was guarded by American General John Stark. They surrounded the British troops and captured around 500 soldiers. It was a decisive victory for the Americans and weakened the British forces.

Map of the Battles of Saratoga
Click picture to see larger version

The Battle of Freeman's Farm

The first battle of Saratoga took place on September 19, 1777 on the farmland of British loyalist John Freeman. Daniel Morgan led 500 sharpshooters to the field where they saw the British advancing. They were able to take out a number of officers before the British began to attack. At the end of the battle the British gained control of the field, but they had suffered 600 casualties, twice as many as the Americans.

The Battle of Bemis Heights

After the Battle of Freeman's Farm the Americans set up their defenses at Bemis Heights. More militia men arrived and the American forces continued to grow. On October 7, 1777 the British attacked. Their attack failed miserably and they were defeated by the Americans. British casualties mounted to nearly 600 men and General Burgoyne was forced to retreat.

The Americans under General Gates pursued the British army. Within days, they had them surrounded. The British surrendered on October 17, 1777.

Surrender of General Burgoyne
Source: U.S. Federal Government

Results

The Battles of Saratoga and the surrender of the British army under General Burgoyne was one of the major turning points of the Revolutionary War. The Americans morale was boosted and the country now felt it could win the war. Just as important to the war, the French decided to support the Americans with military aid.

Interesting Facts About the Battles of Saratoga

Benedict Arnold did not get along with General Gates. At one point they had a heated argument and Gates relieved Arnold of his command.

George Washington declared a day of Thanksgiving on December 18, 1777 to celebrate the victory over the British at Saratoga.

Despite being relieved of his command, Benedict Arnold entered the battle at Saratoga. He was injured when his horse was shot and fell on his leg.

The American ranks swelled from 9,000 soldiers at the first battle to over 15,000 by the time the British surrendered. The British army, on the other hand, shrunk from 7,200 at the first battle to around 6,600 at the second battle.

Activities

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Works Cited

History >> American Revolution

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Learn about the Battles of Saratoga at Freeman's Farm and Bemis Heights. Major event in the American Revolutionary War.

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The First Blow for Freedom

Shortly before midnight on June 9, 1772, approximately sixty armed men from Providence, Rhode Island set out in eight longboats for Namquid Point where His Majesty's Ship Gaspee had run aground. The majority of these men, who comprised the social elite of Providence, were disguised with black-smeared faces or Indian headdresses. Led by John Brown, a wealthy merchant and member of one of Rhode Island's most prestigious families, their intentions were nothing less than the deliberate destruction of the government ship on duty in Narragansett Bay.

"Burning Of The Gaspee" by Karl Doerflinger Image may not be reproduced without prior authorization from Karl Doerflinger.
Visit www.karldoerflinger.com to learn more.

The roots of this action are found in 1763 when, as a result of the French and Indian War, England had gained control of Canada, Florida, and the lands west to the Mississippi River. In order to protect these new territories, the British needed an occupying army along the frontier. This force would be rather costly, so the British Crown turned to the thirteen colonies to offer financial support. The colonists were outraged for two reasons. First, they questioned the funding of any frontier army when British policy forbade the colonists to settle in the newly acquired lands. Secondly, the British were now attempting to take more control over colonial trade after taking a rather liberal stance for over 100 years. In 1764, a series of taxes were passed which led to stronger resentment throughout the colonies. Rhode Island became particularly infuriated because these new taxes greatly affected commerce -- the life-blood of the tiny colony which had very limited resources with the exception of Narragansett Bay.

Ports such as Newport and Providence had turned away from the required British system of mercantilism (to trade only with England) and brought a great deal of wealth and commerce from around the globe. Now, these illegal activities were to be stamped out. Couple this with the increased burden of taxes, and one can well imagine the anger and resentment felt by all Rhode Islanders.

In 1772, the two-masted schooner H.M.S. Gaspee, under the command of the stern Lieutenant William Dudingston, was transferred from Pennsylvania to New England in order to stem the tide of illegal trade. In fact, the Dudingston's efforts were so successful, the British government believed that riots might break out because he seized so many ships. Regardless, the smuggling activities continued and were particularly pronounced in Narragansett Bay, so the Crown ordered the Gaspee to patrol there permanently in early March. As the months progressed, Dudingston's aggressive tactics continued to incite the colonists. He pursued every ship from the large merchantmen to the small traders and fishermen. The Gaspee crew was even ordered to take supplies from area farmers without permission or compensation. When news of these actions reached Rhode Island governor Joseph Wanton, he called for a meeting with Lieutenant Dudingston to voice the residents concerns. Dudingston refused and continued his strategy of disrupting commerce throughout Narragansett Bay.

On June 9, the Gaspee attempted to stop and search the Hannah, a small trader from Newport bound for Providence. The captain of the Hannah, Benjamin Lindsey, refused to comply even after warning shots were fired from the Gaspee. Lindsey lured Dudingston into an area off Namquid point, an area which Lindsey knew to be very shallow at low tide. By two o'clock, the Gaspee had run aground and the Hannah raced away. Upon arrival in Providence, Lindsey informed John Brown of his experiences. Brown saw this as an opportunity for revenge and called upon his loyal sea captain, Abraham Whipple, to muster a crew. Within a few hours, the sixty men shoved off from Fenner's Warf to make the six mile journey to where the Gaspee was stranded.

The dark moonless evening kept the longboats out of sight until they were within 60 to 100 yards of the ship. This was important because each man knew that if they were detected, the eight large guns of the Gaspee would tear them to shreds. By the time the Gaspee's sentinel raised the alarm, the ship was surrounded. John Brown, describing himself as the Sheriff of Kent County, called for the surrender of the Gaspee and Lieutenant Dudingston. In response, Dudingston ordered the crew to fire upon anyone who attempted to board the ship. Shortly thereafter, the Rhode Islanders rushed the decks of the Gaspee and, in the melee, Dudingston was struck by a musket ball in the arm and fell to the deck. The remainder of the crew, most of whom were asleep below deck, were overcome by the raiding party and Dudingston was forced to surrender. The captured crew was bound, placed into the longboats, and placed on shore in the Pawtuxet area. The leaders then removed most of the documents aboard the Gaspee and ordered the ship to be burned. Little did they realize that the flames that reached into the night sky were, in reality, lighting the way to the forthcoming American Revolution.

The following day, the towns of Providence, Bristol, and Newport were abuzz with the events of the previous evening. Many people saw the flames and heard the explosions. Yet, when the investigation of the Gaspee affair was opened on June 10, 1772 until its closure a year later, not one individual claimed to know any detail surrounding those involved or the course of action. It was not until after the Americans had succeeded in obtaining their independence that the stories were told and written.

For more information, visit The Gaspee Affair Virtual Archives. Through this exceptional site, you can review an extensive collection of links, features, and images.

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The First Blow for Freedom Shortly before midnight on June 9, 1772, approximately sixty armed men from Providence, Rhode Island set out in eight longboats for Namquid Point where His Majesty's Ship Gaspee had run aground. The majority of these men, who comprised the social elite of Providence, were disguised with black-smeared faces or Indian headdresses.