You might be looking at this title and saying, "Who is Metacomet and what war did he fight?" Well since the "victor" of the war gets to name the war, you might know the Wampanoag chief Metacomet as "King Philip" and the war as "King Philip's" War. First, their is no such title "king" in Indian/Native American culture. The highest position is sachem. Second, Philip is not an Indian name. Why did WASP's in this day always give their names to indigenous people who, I am 100% sure, had their own names?
Metacomet was the son of Massasoit. Massasoit and Squanto helped the first illegal English immigrants in Plymouth and surrounding Massachusetts Bay colonies because Indians are generally nice people. What do the Indians of that area get in return? Death by disease or warfare waged on them by the very same people they helped or they were relocated and scattered, as would be the tradition the WASP's would use against Native Americans (see the Trail of Tears and the fact that America has broken every treaty ever with the Native Americans).
So if you are an Indian tribe who doesn't want to face death or relocation, what do you do? Well, the Mohegan tribe and the Pequot tribe (both of whom have casinos today in Connecticut) cut deals with English. These two Connecticut Indian tribes were already rivals and enemies of the Wampanoag and Metacomet, so when the English came along and gave them an offer they couldn't refuse -basically, help us defeat any Indian tribe and by help they meant tell us everything you know so we can destroy other tribes - and of course the Mohegan and the Pequots did not refuse.
Metacomet's War only lasted a year but it was on the bloodiest Indian/Colonist wars. Battles were fought across MA, CT and RI. In 1675/1676, there were only about 100 towns in all of present day New England and remember that Maine was a part of Massachusetts until 1820. Many of these scattered New England towns were attacked by Metacomet and his army. Longmeadow and Springfield were two very important towns in Metacomet's War. The land in present day Longmeadow named " 'King Philip's' Stockade" could have been the site where Metacomet's army defeated the colonist and held them prisoner (see definition of 'stockade'). While the Spingfield militia was away fighting, Metacomet's army burned some of the small town. After that, all the towns along the Connecticut River were made in to fortified defense posts. The colonists finally realized that they were up against people who had superior knowledge of the land and the type of war the Indians wanted to fight was not the war colonists wanted to fight. Colonist "victories" at Turners Falls, MA (named after Capt. Williams Turner), Hadley and Marlborough, MA, tipped the scales of the war to the colonists.
Another very important part of Metacomet's War are the two "praying Indians" who started and ended the war. The term "praying Indian" means an Indian who, by some force whether it be nature or a WASP's musket to your temple, converted to Christianity. The first "praying Indian" was John Sassamon. He was an adviser to Metacomet but probably more of a translator. Sassamon told the WASP's of what seems to be an early plan of Metacomet's War. Sassamon was found dead in a pond and his alleged murderers were all hanged. By the end of the war, Metacomet took refuge in Rhode Island. He had no Indian allies and his supplies were almost non-existent. Metacomet was shot in the head by "praying Indian" John Alderman, who was under the control of Capt. Benjamin Church and Capt. Josiah Standish. Metacomet's corpse was decapitated and then hanged. Metacomet's head and one of his hands was given to John Alderman. He later sold the head for 30 shillings - the going rate for an Indian head at that time.
These two pictures are by colonist Paul Revere. Notice the short stature in both the pictures and how much of a resemblance to Revere or some colonist the second picture holds. Also notice the 5 point star in both of the pictures.
I think it's past the time that we should all be learning the REAL history that Western Mass. has to offer or we that live here will never be empowered.
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