Episode 9 - King Philip's War P2

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Anawan

One of King Philip's head military captains and a Pokanoket warrior who the English greatly feared. However, while the English colonists feared Anawan and the English soldiers despised him, Church respected his military expertise. After capturing Anawan, Church stayed up most of the night talking to him so that he could listen to the Pokanoket warriors war stories, once again proving how eager Church was to learn from his native opponents.

(Image credits: Photographed By Wikipedia's Xasartha, 10 April 2014)

Smith's Castle | North Kingstown, RI

In March of 1676, Canonchet and his warriors began destroying towns throughout the Rhode Island countryside. By the end of the month, Wickford, Warwick, Pawtuxet, Providence, and East Providence were all destroyed. One of the homes they burned to the ground was the trading post owned by Richard Smith Jr. which his father purchased from Roger Williams in 1651. The home was rebuilt in 1678 and because of its size it eventually became known as "Smith's Castle".

Nine Mens Misery | Cumberland, RI

In March of 1676, Captain Michael Pierce along with 60 English soldiers and about 20 friendly native warriors were searching for Canonchet in the woods of northern Rhode Island. The Narragansett Sachem used this as an opportunity to illustrate the superiority of his tribe's military tactics and quickly lured Pierce and his team into a trap. Then, his warriors ambushed them and killed pretty much all of them on the spot, both the English soldiers and the native warriors. However, not all died a quick death. 9 of Pierce's men were tortured and left in the woods. Today, the location where those men were found is known as Nine Mens Misery.

(Image credits: Photographed By Wikipedia's Swampyank, October 15, 2007)

Key Rhode Island Engagements of King Philip's War | 1675 - 1676

King Philip's War was extremely destructive to the Rhode Island Colony. From the summer of 1675 to Spring of 1676 hundreds of Native Americans & English were killed, hundreds of houses burnt to the ground, and many towns destroyed.

Timeline of Engagements:

July 1675 - Almy's Pease Field Fight
August 1675 - Nipsachuck Swamp Fight
December 1676 - Two Narragansett villages destroyed, Jireh Bull Garrison destroyed, and hundreds of innocent Narragansetts are killed at the Great Swamp Massacre
March 1676 - The towns of Wickford, Warwick, Pawtuxet, Providence, and Old Rehoboth (known as East Providence today) are destroyed. Then, over 50 English soldiers and several friendly natives are killed when Captain Pierce's men were ambushed in Central Falls, RI.
August 1676 - King Philip is killed

In 1992, Benjamin Church was inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame and is known as the "First Army Ranger"

While most English soldiers had no respect for their native opponents, the Little Compton native, Benjamin Church, knew that there was a lot he could learn from them. After capturing Anawan in August of 1676, Church stayed up most of the night talking with Anawan so that he could hear his war stories and the military tactics they used when fighting. His willingness to constantly advocate for the adoption of native military tactics played a pivotal role in popularizing their guerilla style warfare or as it was then known a "skulking way of war". Those tactics would eventually be used to help the Americans win key battles during the American Revolution. Overtime, those tactics evolved and would eventually be used by one of America's most elite military units, the United States Army Rangers. Church's contribution to this military unit were honored in 1992 when he was inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame as the "First Army Ranger".