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The intended purpose of the Great Swamp Monument, erected in 1906 by the Society of Colonial Wars, was to commemorate those who had fought and died on both sides of the fighting during the Great Swamp Fight. The Great Swamp Fight was an event that took place on December 19th, 1675, during King Phillips War (1675-1676) and is referred to as the Great Swamp Massacre by the Narragansett people and other Native American Tribes. This exhibit will explore the events of King Philip’s War and The Great Swamp Fight, and try to answer the questions of why is the location of The Great Swamp Fight unknown, why was this event forgotten, and was The Great Swamp Fight a fight or a massacre?

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The monument is a large obelisk with the event and date, The Great Swamp Fight, December 19, 1675, inscribed on it. The obelisk is surrounded by four smaller stones each with the names of the four New England Colonies on them. There are also two stone slabs with inscriptions on them at the base of the mound upon which the monument rests. One has been smashed and is completely illegible. The other slab, also damaged but still legible, gives an inaccurate telling of the events of The Great Swamp Fight claiming that this was the Narragansett’s “last stand” in King Philip’s War.

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The Narraganset Tribe inhabited much of modern Rhode Island prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 17th century and were a part of the larger Algonquin people who inhabited most of the land that is now referred to as New England. Archeological Evidence indicates that the Narraganset Tribe had lived there for almost 30,000 years. Prior to and during the arrival of the Europeans the Narragansett were viewed as a powerful and influential tribe in the Region who would offer protection to less powerful tribes as apart of agreements and compete with more powerful tribes for land and resources. The Narragansett were one of only a few tribes that were not heavily impacted by the epidemics that severely weakened the other Algonquin tribes of the area.

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The English settlers of New England first Arrived with the Pilgrims in 1620 in Plymouth Colony, soon to be followed by the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Rhode Island Colony was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams when he established Providence Plantation with the aim of it being an entity that truly practiced religious freedom. The Connecticut River Colony was also established in 1636 by Puritans who had previously been a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony as an attempt to better corner the fur trade market from the Dutch. Most of the English settlers were motivated to go to the “New World” due to religious or commercial reasons.

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King Philip's War happened, despite the English establishing a good relationship initially with Sachem Massasoit of the Wampanoag tribe, including a treaty that stated that any Native Americans caught committing a crime against any Englishmen would be tried and punished by the English, in 1621. In June 1675, three Wampanoag men were put on trial and killed for the murder of “Praying Indian” John Sassamon. Enraged by this Wampanoag tribe members launched a raid on the disputed town of Swansea on June 20, 1675, formally starting the war.

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Sachem Metacom, son of Massasoit, was the leader of the Wampanoag in 1675. Metacom was familiar with the English and was weary of them and their expanding ambitions, often at the expense of the native peoples. “King Philip” as he was known by the English, began leading and encouraging raids against English settlements in Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies in retaliation for the killing of three of his people.

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The English, in a sham treaty, had an agreement with the Narraganset Tribe that the Narragansett would not support Sachem Metacom or his allies, but rather hand over any of Metacom’s men that tried to seek refuge in their territory. No Narragansett leader agreed to this, but rather four “councilors” of the Narragansett leaders that were likely coerced into agreeing to a very one-sided treaty. Anti-English and Pro-Algonquin sentiments were building in the Narragansett tribe and rumors that they were harboring Wampanoag members and individual Narragansett warriors were participating in raids began to worry the English of a potential attack from the Narragansett in the spring of 1676 after the winter.

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Out of fear, the English decided that they wanted to launch a preemptive attack on the Narragansett. Around 1,000 men from Connecticut, Plymouth, and Massachusetts colonies as well as 150 Native Americans allies set out to find and destroy a Narragansett settlement rumored to hidden deep in the marshes of modern-day South Kingston, Rhode Island. The colonial army found the large settlement of around 1,000 Narragansett men, women, and children and were initially taken aback by how “European” the fortifications looked. The English attacked the fortified settlement resulting in heavy losses on both sides of the fighting. Unfortunately, for the Narragansett, the English found a weak point in the defenses and stormed through on their second attempt and began to set the settlement on fire once inside.

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Once the English had entered the fortified settlement and began to set it on fire the “Great Swamp Massacre” began. Upon entering the fort, the English did not differentiate from fighter and non-combatant and killed and burned hundreds of Narragansett people and setting their homes on fire. With their only option for survival being to flee into the wilderness more Narragansett would meet an unfortunate end due to the pursuit of their English attackers, exposure, or frostbite. Additionally, up to 300 Narragansett people were taken captive and sold into slavery in the Caribbean. This by far the bloodiest day of fighting during the duration of the war.

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Aftermath of The Great Swamp Fight and Massacre

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Aftermath of The Great Swamp Fight and Massacre

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The English suffered heavy losses during the events of December 19, 1675, with about 80 soldiers dying and around 120 to 150 more being wounded, but this paled in comparison to the Narraganset. The Narraganset was thought of the as the largest and most powerful Algonquin tribe in Southern New England prior to the Great Swamp Fight. About 100 Narragansett Warriors were killed in the fighting, additionally 300 to 600 noncombatants were killed on December 19, 1675, due to the fighting, massacre or exposure from the wilderness. The Narraganset never truly recovered from this attack.

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Fighting between the Native American coalition and the English settlers continued into 1676 with the victor of the fighting was often determined by who had the element of surprise and could out smart their opponent. Despite the Native American coalition getting the better of the English in the majority of the battles, attrition played a massive factor as the English had around 50,000 settlers compared to the 20,000 Algonquins in the region. Over time the English could afford the loses they took, but the native coalition could not. The end of the war is often attributed to the death of Sachem Metacom, at Mount Hope on August 12, 1676.

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The author of God, War, and Providence James A. Warren response when asked if the Great Swamp struggle was a fight or Massacre was “in a sense, it was both.” With up to 230 English casualties, it would be hard to argue that fighting did not take place as that was over 20% of the entire English force being killed or wounded. But the killing of 300 to 600 noncombatants and more being sold into slavery cannot be called anything else but a massacre.

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Native American opposition to the English settlers in Rhode Island was virtually wiped out after King Philip’s War and the Narragansett Tribe faced many hardships in the following centuries. This included being illegally detribalized by the state of Rhode Island without federal approval from 1880 to 1884. In 1975 The Narraganset Tribe was able to reclaim 1,800 acres of land to create an official reservation space and in 1983 was federally recognized. Today there are roughly 2,400 members of the Narragansett Tribe.

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How the Monument and Event are Viewed Today

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How the Monument and Event are Viewed Today

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When the Monument was unveiled in 1906 it was met with two separate viewpoints. The Americans viewed the monument as a marker of a “Noble Fight” while the Narraganset tribe representatives viewed it as a monument to those who had died in the massacre. The Narragansett Tribe has an annual ceremony at the monument to reflect on the past, present, and future of the tribe and pay respects to the sacrifices of their ancestors.

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Today The Great Swamp Fight and King Philips War are largely forgotten. The monument is located a mile from the nearest road and travelers will have to walk almost three quarters of a mile through the thick woods to visit the monument. There are no road signs or markers letting anyone know where the monument is. The exact location of the fighting and massacre are unknown due to the destruction of the settlement and how thick the wilderness in the area is.