John Sassamon - King Philip's War

King Philip's War

After the trial and executions, tensions between the Indians and the Puritans were high. In June 1675, some Pokanet attacked English houses, and four days later, war officially broke out between the Puritans and the Wampanoag Confederacy. As the war continued, it drew in numerous Puritan settlements as well as other members of the Confederacy. The early years of the war were difficult for the English; they suffered their worst defeat at the Battle of Bloody Brook in western present-day Massachusetts, in which more than 60 English men died.

In 1676 Philip’s forces came under attack by other rivals, such as the Mohegan led by their chief Uncas. After Philip’s death that same year, the Wampanoag confederacy became weakened from further losses, and the English emerged victorious. This war was widely destructive of Indian settlements in Southeastern New England and those of the English, with a high number of fatalities on both sides. Proportionate to population, more English per capita died in this war than any other war in United States history. The English victory secured their position in New England, where the remnants of tribes never again carried out such a widespread attack against the colonists. The English colonial society was nearly destroyed, and they lost much confidence as a result of the war.