USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Rehoboth > Early Rehoboth, documented historical studies of families and events in this Plymouth colony township, Volume III > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
"Captain [Lieut.] Church (for so may he well be stiled after this time) marched further into the Neck, imagining, that if they were Indians in the Neck, they should find them about a Peas-field not far off; as soon as ever they came near the said Field, he espied two Indians in the Pease, who also had at the same time espied him, and presently making some kind of shout, a great number of Indians came about the Field, pursuing the said Capt. Church and his men in great numbers to the sea-side: there being not above fifteen with Church, yet seven or eight score of the Indians pursuing after them. Now was a fit time for this young Captain and his small company to handsel their valour upon this great rout of Indians, just ready to devour them: But Victory stands no more in the number of Soldiers, than Verity in the plurality of voices: And although some of these fifteen had scarce cour- age enough for themselves, yet their captain had enough for himself, and some to spare for his Friends, which he there had an opportunity of improving to the full.
"When he saw the hearts of any of his followers to fail, he would bid them be of good courage and fight stoutly, and (possibly by some divine impression upon his heart) assured them that not a bullet of the Enemy should hurt any one of them; which one of the Company, more dismayed than the rest, could hardly believe, till he saw the proof of it in his own person; for the Captain perceiving the man was not able to fight, made him gather Rocks together for a kind of shelter and Barricado for the rest, that must either of necessity fight or fall by the Enemies.
"It chanced as this faint hearted Soldier had 'a flat stone in his arms, and was carrying it to the shelter that he was making [25] upon the Bank, a bullet of the Enemy was thus warded from his Body, by which he must else have perished, which experience put new life into him, so as he followed his business very manfully afterward; insomuch that they defended themselves under a small shelf hastily made up all that afternoon, not one being either slain or wounded, yet it was certainly known that they killed at least fifteen of their Enemies: and at the last, when they had spent all their Ammunition, and made their Guns unserviceable by often firing, they were fetched all off by Capt. Goldings * Sloop, and carried safe to Road-Island in despight of all their Ene-
* Roger Goulding, died before 1702; married at Newport, R. I., 1 Jan. 1675, Penelope, born 10 Feb. 1653, died after 1702, daughter of Governor Benedict and Damaris (Wescott) Arnold. On 12 Jan. 1702, widow Goulding, then wife of - Cutler, was appointed guardian of her son George Goulding, 17 years of age.
On 11 Aug. 1676, Capt. Roger Goulding and Maj. Peleg Sanford reported the discovery of Philip's hiding place to Captain Church who offered the honor of beating up Philip's headquarters to Captain Goulding who accepted, with the result that the next day Philip was shot and killed in Mount Hope swamp by Alderman, Captain Church's Indian.
At a court held at Plymouth 1 Nov. 1676 "Capt. Roger Goulden of Rhode Island who hath approued himselfe to be our constant, reall friend in the late warr, and very officious and healpfull as occation hath bine, when as our armies and souldiers haue bin in those ptes, and haue had nes-
70
Early Rehoboth
mies; yea, such was the bold and undaunted courage of this champion, Capt. Church, that he was not willing to leave any token behind of their flying for want of courage, that in the face of his Enemies he went back to fetch his Hat, which he had left at a Spring, whither the extream heat of the weather, and his labour in fighting had caused him to repair for the quenching of his thirst an hour or two before.
"It seems in the former part of the same day, five men coming from Road Island, to look up their Cattel upon Pocasset Neck, were assaulted by the same Indians, and one of the five was Capt. Churches Servant, who had his Leg broke in the Skirmish, the rest hardly escaping with their lives: this was the first time that ever any mischief was done by the Indians upon Pocasset Neck. Those of Road-Island were hereby alarmed to look to themselves, as well as the rest of the English of Plimouth, or the Massachusets-Colony.
"This assault rather heightened and increased, than daunted the courage of Capt. Church; for not making a cowardly flight, but a fair retreat, which providence offered him by the Sloop aforesaid, after his Ammunition was spent, he did not stay long at Road-Island, but hasted over to the Massa- chusetts Forces, and borrowing three files of Men of Capt. Henchman with his Lieutenant, Mr. Church and he returned again to Pocasset, where they had another skirmish with the Enemy,* wherein some few of them, fourteen or
sesite of transportation of our men to the said island, and otherwise very reddy to doe vs good, this court doth graunt vnto Capt. Roger Goulden one hundred acres of land vpon the northsyde of Sea- connet means linne" [Plymouth Colony Records, vol. V, p. 214].
Roger Goulding was a freeman, Newport, 1 May 1677; taxed for £2:10:10 in 1680; Deputy, 1685; Major of the Island, 1685, 1686, 1687, 1690, and 1691. [Austin's Gen. Dict. of R. I., p. 84.]
* Church said: "The next day [9 July 1675] meeting with the rest of their little Company whom he had left at Pocasset, (that had also a small skirmish with the Indians, and had two Men Wounded) they return'd to the Mount-hope Garrison; which Mr. Church us'd to call the loofing Fort. Mr. Church then returning to the Island to seek Provision for the Army, meets with Alderman, a noted Indian [who shot and killed Philip on 12 Aug. 1676] that was just come over from the Squaw Sachem's Cape of Pocasset, having deserted from her, and had brought over his Family: Who gave him an account of the State of the Indians, and where each of the Sagamores head quarters were. Mr. Church then discours'd with some who knew the Spot well where the Indians said Weetamores head quarters were, and offered their Service to Pilot him. With this News he [12] hastned to the Mount-hope Garrison. The Army express'd their readiness to imbrace such an opportunity.
"All the ablest Souldiers were now immediately drawn off equip'd & dispatch'd upon this design, under the Command of a certain Officer: and having March'd about two Miles, viz. until they came to the Cove that lyes S. W. from the Mount, where orders was given for an halt. The Commander in Chief [the Lieutenant] told them he thought it proper to take advice before he went any further; called Mr. Church and the Pilot, and ask'd them, How they knew that Philip and all his Men were not by that time got to Weetamores Camp; or that all her own Men were not by that time return'd to her again? With many more frightful questions. Mr. Church told him, they had acquainted him with as much as they knew, and that for his part he could discover nothing that need to discourage them from Proceeding, that he thought it so practicable, that he with the Pilot would willingly lead the way to the Spot and hazard the brunt. But the Chief Commander insisted on this, That the Enemies number were so great, and he did not know what numbers more might be added unto them by that time; And his Company so small, that he could not think it practicable to attack them. Added moreover, That if he was sure of killing all the Enemy, and knew that he must lose the Life of one of his Men in the action, he would not attempt it. Pray Sir, then (Reply'd Mr. Church) Please to lead your Company to yonder Windmill on Rhode-Island, and there they will be out of danger of being kill'd by the Enemy, and we shall have less trouble to supply them with Provisions. But return he would, and did, unto the Garrison until more strength came to them: And a Sloop to transport them to the Fall [Quequechan] River, in order to visit Weetamores Camp" [Church's Entertaining History (Dexter Ed., 1865), vol. I, pp. 40-43].
Hubbard tells of Church, hastening from Rhode Island over "to the Massachusetts Forces and borring three files of Men of Capt. Henchman and his Lieutenent", and returning again to Pocasset where they had another skirmish with the enemy. Captain Church said that this lieutenent refused to fight and returned with his men to the garrison house. It appears that this lieutenent was Enoch Greenleaf, but additional research is necessary for absolute proof. The only officers credited with service in Captain Henchman's company at the time of the Mount Hope Expedition, that Bodge could find in his search of John Hull's Journal, were Lieut. Enoch Greenleaf, £4/10 on 3 Sept. 1675; Ensign Perez Savage, £2/8; and Ensign Thomas Wigfall, on 27 Aug. 1675 [Bodge, pp. 88-9].
In a roster, date unknown, but about the time of King Philip's War, Maj. Thomas Clarke was in command of the Suffolk Regiment. The officers for the 5th Boston company were: Capt. Daniel Henchman, Lieut. Hugh Drury, and Ensign Thomas Wing. The officers for the 7th Boston com- pany were: Capt. Thomas Clarke, Jr., Lieut. Enoch Greenleaf, and Ensign Peter Townsend [Bodge, p. 473].
Brayton Pt
B
Spar!
N
E
Cook MIN
R
Contour interval 10 feet
A half-size photographic reproduction of a section of the U. S. Geological Map, Massachusetts-Rhode Island, Fall River Quadrangle Survey, 1944 Edition, show- ing the Pocasset Cedar Swamp where one Plymouth Colony and five Massachu- setts companies fought King Philip on 19 July 1675. When Philip escaped from the swamp on 29 July 1675, Capt. Daniel Henchman and his company of some 125 men were engaged in building a fort located between the southeastern side of this swamp and the shore of Mount Hope Bay on the west.
71
The Massachusetts Military Expedition to Mount Hope
fifteen were slain, which struck such a terror into Philip, that he betook him- self to the Swamps about Pocasset, where he lay hid till the return of the rest of the Forces from the Narhagansets, like a wild Boar kept at Bay by this small Party, till more hands came up.
"Thus were the Plimouth Forces busied, during the time of the Treaty with the Narhagansets, which being issued as it was.
"On Friday July 15, Our Forces marched for, and arrived at Rehoboth, where having no intelligence of the Enemy nearer than a great Swamp on Pocasset, eighteen miles from Taunton; they marched next day twelve miles to an House at Matapoiset (a small Neck of Land in the bottom [26] of Taun- ton Bay, in the mid-way between Mount-hope and Pocasset-Neck) from whence they marched for Taunton, July 17, whither after a tedious March of twenty miles they came in the evening, and found the People generally gathered into eight Garrison Houses:
"On Monday July 18, they marched eighteen miles before they could reach the Swamp where the Enemy was lodged: * as soon as ever they came to the place, Plimouth Forces being now joined with them, our soldiers resolutely entred in amongst the Enemies, who took the advantage of the thick under- wood, to make a shot at them that first entred, whereby five were killed outright, seven more wounded, some of whose wounds proved mortal: After the first shot, the Enemy presently retired deeper into the Swamp, deserting their Wigwams (about an hundred in all) newly made of green Barks, so as they would not burn: in one of them they found an old man, who confessed that Philip had been lately there: having spent some time in searching the Swamp, and tired themselves to no purpose (yet it was said, one half hour more would have at that time utterly subdued Philip and all his power), the Commander in Chief (night drawing on apace) not thinking it safe to tarry longer in so dangerous a place (where every one was in as much danger of his fellows as of his foes, being ready to fire upon every Bush they see move (supposing Indians were there) } ordered a retreat to be sounded, that they might have time to dispose of their dead and wounded men, which accordingly was attended: Plimouth Forces who had entred the rear, re- treating in the front.
"It was judged, that the enemy being by this means brought into a Pound, it would be no hard matter to deal with them, and that it would be needless charge to keep so many Companies of Soldiers together to wait upon such an inconsiderable Enemy, now almost as good as taken: whereupon most of the Companies belonging to the Massachusets were drawn off, only Capt. Henchman with an hundred Foot being left there, together with Plimouth Forces, to attend the Enemies motion, being judged sufficient for that End.#
Enoch 2 Greenleaf of Malden, a dyer, was probably born in England. He had an estate given him by his father in 1663 and removed to Boston. His father, Edmund 1 Greenleaf, came to New- bury about 1635 with wife Sarah and children Elizabeth, Judith, Enoch, and perhaps Daniel. He was a freeman, 13 Mar. 1639; head of militia under Gerrish, 1644; removed to Boston, about 1650; admitted an inhabitant, 27 Sept. 1654; and died in 1671 [Savage's Gen. Dict., vol. II, p. 308].
* Mather said: "July 19. Our Army pursued Philip, who fled unto a dismal Swamp for refuge: The English Souldiers followed him, and killed many of his men, also about fifteen of the English were then slain. The swamp was so Boggy [5] and thick of Bushes, as that it was judged to proceed further therein would be but to throw away Mens lives. It could not there be descerned who were English, and who the Indians. Our men when in that hideous place if they did but see a Bush stir would fire presently, whereby 'tis verily feared that they did sometimes unhappily shoot English men instead of Indians. Wherefore a Retreat was sounded, and night coming on, the Army with- drew from that place. This was because the desperate Distress which the Enemy was in was un- known to us: for the Indians have since said, that if the English had continued at the Swamp all night, nay, if they had but followed them but one half hour longer, Philip had come and yielded up himself. But God saw that we were not yet fit for Deliverance, nor could Health be restored unto us except a great deal more Blood be first taken from us: and other places as well as Plimouth stood in need of such a course to be taken with them. It might rationally be conjectured, that the unsuccessfulness of this Expedition against Philip would embolden the Heathen in other parts to do as he had done, and so it came to pass" [Mather's Brief History (Drake Ed., 1862), p. 62].
+ "It is said that the Indians encased themselves in green Boughs, and thus deceived their Pur- suers" [Ibid., p. 63].
¿ Samuel G. Drake in his edition of Hubbard's Narrative, points out that "the Army Transactions thus far are pretty sharply criticized by Captain Church and apparently with justice; and probably his frank and honest manner will explain why he was not sooner in important commands."
72
Early Rehoboth
Major Savage, Capt. Paige, with Capt. Mosely and their Companies, returned to Boston: Capt. Prentice with his Troop were ordered toward Mendham,* where it seems, about the middle of July t some Indians wishing well to Philips design, had made an assault upon some of the inhabitants, as they were at their labour in the field, killing five or six of them: as soon as they had done, flying away into the Woods, so as they could not easily be pur- sued" [Hubbard's Narrative (Drake Ed., 1865), vol. I, pp. 67-86].
The foregoing is the complete history of the five-company Massa- chusetts Military Expedition to Mount Hope, Plymouth Colony, from 26 June to 19 July 1675 as written by the contemporary his- torians. At best the record is an inadequate outline of this twenty- four day campaign.
The day after the Pocasset Swamp fight, Capt. James Cudworth,
* The town of Mendon originally bordered the northeast corner of the Rehoboth North Purchase in the part that is now the City of Woonsocket, R. I. Ousamequin, King Philip's father, claimed Sachemship over the Nipmuck Indians in this territory. The inhabitants of the two towns were closely associated and an early Rehoboth town meeting voted to lay out a road to Mendon. In 1660 some of the inhabitants of Braintree petitioned the court for a plantation at Mendon. A settlement was soon made at Netmock or Nipmug, and at Dorchester on 22 July 1662 the names of thirteen persons from Braintree and ten from Weymouth were registered as settlers. At Ded- ham, 30 Dec. 1663, Jonathan Basse and the "young man of Seaconke" that came with him, were accepted as inhabitants.
At a meeting held at Roxbury 5 Apr. 1664, the "Committee of Nipmug" granted Benjamin Alby, "for the encourageing of erecting a Corne Mill at Netmocke" a twenty acre lot and a fifty acre lot, the latter "neere the place where the Mill shall be erected on the side of the River that is the farthest from the Towne".
At a General Court held at Boston 15 May 1667, in answer to a petition of the inhabitants of a new plantation called Squinsshepauke, the name was changed to "Mendon", to belong to the county of Middlesex. On 14 July 1667, Benjamin Albee and Thomas Barnes had shares of meadow allowed them. In 1668 Benjamin Alby and two others were Commissioners for Mendon. In 1669 he and two others laid out land [Mass. Bay Records, vol. IV, pt. II, p. 584]. In the same year, 50 acres of land was given to "Benjamin Alby about his labor concerning the Mill" together with a 20 acre house lot and the 20 acre house lot that "his son in law Thomas Barnes Dwells on is to have all priviledges in the town as other 20 acre house lots shall have is confirmed" [Metcalf's Annals of the Town of Mendon (1880)].
On 19 May 1670, Benjamin Alby and his son-in-law Thomas Barnes were listed as second rank inhabitants at Swansea.
t Mather said: "For July 14. the Nipnep (or Nipmuck) Indians began their mischief at a town called Mendam (had we mended our ways as we should have done, this Misery might have been prevented) where they committed Barbarous Murders. This Day deserves to have a Remark set upon it, considering that Blood was never shed in Massachusetts Colony in a way of Hostility [in this war] before this day. Moreover the Providence of God herein is the more awful and tremen- dous, in that this very day the Church in Dorchester was before the Lord, humbling themselves by Fasting and Prayer, on account of the Day of trouble now begun amongst us.
"The news of this Blood-shed came to us at Boston the next day in Lecture time, in the midst of the Sermon, the Scripture then improved being that Isai. 42. 24. Who gave Jacob to the spoil and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, He against whom we have sinned?
"In the [6] mean while endeavours were used to keep those Indians from engaging in this War, and that those persons who had committed the Murder at Mendam might be delivered up to Justice. Captain Hutchinson with a small party was sent to Quabaog, where there was a great Rendezvouze of Nipnet Indians. They appointed time and place of Treaty to be attended, August 2. accordingly Captain Hutchinson rode to the place fixed on to Treat in. But the Indians came not thither according to their Agreement, whereupon Captain Hutchinson resolved to go further to seek after them elsewhere, and as he was riding along, the Perfidious Indians lying in Ambuscado in a swamp, shot at him and wounded him, of which Wounds he after dyed [19th August] and eight men that were with him were struck down dead upon the place. Captain Wheeler who was in that Company was shot through the Arm, his dutiful Son alighting to relieve his Father, was himself shot and sorely wounded, willingly hazarding his own life to save the life of his Father.
"Captain Hutchinson and the rest that escaped with their lives, hastened to Quabaog, and the Indians speedily followed, violently set upon the Town, killed divers, burning all the Houses therein down to the ground, except only one unto which the inhabitants fled for succor, and now also (as since we have understood) did Philip with his broken Party come to Quabaog" [Mather's Brief History (Drake Ed., 1862), pp. 63-67].
In 1675 Captain Wheeler wrote a narrative on this Brookfield (Quabaog) fight. It is a small quarto pamphlet of 20 pages, first published in the N. H. Hist. Soc. Collections, vol. II (1827), and reprinted in Foot's Hist. of Brookfield.
73
The Massachusetts Military Expedition to Mount Hope
commander-in-chief of the Plymouth forces, wrote the following letter * to Governor Josiah Winslow. This letter is important, for it gives the viewpoint of the commander-in-chief of the Plymouth forces. We learn for the first time of Captain Cudworth's unre- corded skirmish of 16 July, in which he had two men killed and four wounded; also, of the death of the captain of the Forlorn, probably the Plymouth Colony supply vessel, and many other facts not men- tioned by the contemporary historians. Captain Cudworth's letter follows:
From the garrison on Mount-Hope neck, the 20th of July, 1675.
Much Honoured
Yours of the 18th instant came by the post to me about eight o'clock at night. Understanding that you are unacquainted with our present condition, and the state of things at present amongst us; the account of which, by a post on Saturday last, I gave you of things as they then were, and this day, by post, acquainted with what has fallen out since; but lest they might miss of coming to your hand. On Friday last [16 July] I marched out with about an hundred and twenty men, to search for Philip and squaw sachem [Weeta- moe]; and as we were marching, we saw two Indians, one was shot down, the other fled; and before we killed him, he declared by pointing, whereabout the squaw sachem was, and whereabout Philip was; so we marched to find out the squaw sachem; and in our travel were fired upon out of the bushes, and in and out of swamps were fired at, and we had a hot dispute, especially when we were to go near to a swamp; in which skirmish we came to the place of rendezvous [Indian camp], but squaw and children fled. We have lost two men, and four more wounded. On Monday [19 July] following we went to see if we could discover Philip, the Bay forces being now with us; and in our march, two miles before we came to the place of rendezvous, the captain of the Forlorn was shot down dead; three more were then killed or died that night, and five or six more dangerously wounded. The place we found was a hideous dismal swamp [Pocasset Cedar Swamp]; the house or shelter, they had to lodge in, contained, in space, the quantity of four acres of ground, standing thick together; but all women and children fled, only one old man, that we took there, who said, Wittoma was there that day, and that Philip had been there the day before, and that Philip's place of residence was about half a mile off; which we could make no discovery of, because the day was spent, and we having dead men and wounded men to draw off. Also the old man told me, that in the skirmish we had with him on Friday [16 July], that we killed seven men, and hurt and wounded divers others. Now so it is, that we judge it not our work to assault him at such disadvantages; for the issue of such a design will be to pick off our men, and we shall never be able to obtain our end in this way, for they fly before us, from one swamp to another. Now that which we consider to be best, is to maintain our garri- son [at Mount Hope], though but with twenty men, and that there be another garrison at Pocassett; and to have a flying army, to be in motion to keep the Indians from destroying our cattle, and fetching in supply of food; which being attended, will bring them to great straights; and therfore we judge it best not to give up our garrison until further order; and we see a necessity, that divers of our men should come home, being tired and worn out by labour and travel, by wants and straights; for indeed we have been sadly on it, upon account of provision; and unless some more effectual course may be taken for the future, there is no possibility for men to hold out; so that we judge an hundred men, at least, must be for the garrison and army; and we judge a flying army about the town, that may be helpful to get in men's harvests,
* This is another one of those edited letters which unfortunately has been changed by moderniz- ing the spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Much can be learned from these original letters when printed verbatim. When edited, however, they all appear to be the products of university men. His letter dated 16 Jan. 1673, which follows later, has also been edited.
74
Early Rehoboth
and so to fly from one town to another, whose constant motion. will keep the enemy in fear.
How these will come to be provided for, I cannot yet see. Pray let us hear from you, and be further ordered by you what to do; not intending to break up, or come away, until things be brought, by order from you, to better settlement. So craving pardon, ever resting yours to serve you, James Cudworth To Governor Josiah Winslow [1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. VI (1800), pp. 84-5.]
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.