| The official list of those killed and
wounded in the battle, including three of Capt. Gardiner's men killed previous
to the battle, is dated January 6, 1675, and entitled:
|
A list of Major Saml Apleton souldjers yt were slayne & wounded the 19th Decemb. '75, at the Indians fort at Narraganset
Killed., Wounded |
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Major Appleton, 4, 18 |
Capt. Mosely, 6, 9 |
|
Capt. Oliver, 5, 8 |
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In the Company of, Capt. Davenport, 4, 11 |
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Capt. Johnson, 4, 8 |
Capt. Gardiner, 7, 10 |
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Capt. Prentice, 1, 3 |
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Mass. Archives, vol. 68, p. 104 |
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Of the officers, Capts. Davenport, Johnson and Gardiner were killed,
and Lieutenants Upham, Savage, Swain, and Ting were wounded.
Of the Connecticut troops, seventy-one were killed and wounded
according to Hubbard; and according to the eminent historian of
Connecticut, Dr. Benjamin Trumbull, seventy.
Capt. Gallop, 10 Mr. Hubbard's Account.
Capt. Marshall, 14 Of New Haven Company, 20
Capt. Seely, 20 Of Capt. Siely his Company, 20
Capt. Mason, 9 Of Capt. Watt his Company, 17
Capt. Watts, 17--70 Of Capt. Marshall his Company, 14--71
Major Treat, by tradition, is said to have been the last man to have
left the fort, commanding the rear guard of the army; and of his captains,
Gallop, Marshall and Seely were killed, and Capt. Mason mortally wounded.
Of the Plymouth forces, Major Bradford, commander, and Benjamin Church
of the General's staff were severely wounded, and of the soldiers the
killed and wounded in both companies were twenty, by best accounts.
The grave of the forty buried at Wickford was marked by a tree called
the "grave appletree," which was blown down in the gale of
September, 1815. The wounded were sent in vessels to Rhode Island, and
well cared for.
Of the losses of the enemy there can be no reliable account. Capt.
Oliver says, "By the best intelligence we killed 300 fighting men,
and took say 350 and above 300 women and children." Mr. Dudley, two
days after the fight, reckons about two hundred; Capt. Mosely counted
sixty-four in one corner of the fort; and Capt. Gorham made an estimate of
at least one hundred and fifty. The desperate strait of the Indians is
shown by their leaving the dead in their flight. Indian prisoners
afterward reported seven hundred killed.
The conduct of the Mohegan and Pequod allies is represented by Capt.
Oliver as false, they firing in the air, but securing much plunder. I have
found no other notice of their part in the battle.
CORRESPONDENCE
The following letters, written by Joseph Dudley, who was with Gen.
Winslow as one of his staff or "Guard," and also served as
chaplain to the army, are perhaps the most reliable official reports of
the campaign that remain. The letter of the fifteenth is still preserved,
as noted below. That of the twenty-first was published by Governor
Hutchinson in his "History of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay,"
London edition (1765), page 302. I have not been able to find the original
of this last. The letter of the Council to Gen. Winslow, in answer to
Dudley's first, is preserved,
as below noted, and in two copies -- the
first a rough draft, the second a carefully written copy in Secretary
Rawson's own hand.
Letter of Joseph Dudley.
May it please your Honnr Mr Smiths 15, 10, 75
I am commanded by the Generall to give your Honnr account of our
proceeding since our last frm Pautuxet in the Sabath evening we advanced
the whole body from Mr Carpenters with Intent to surprise Pomham & his
Party at about 10 or 12 Miles Distance having information by our Warwick
Scouts of his seat but the darkness of ye Night Difficulty of our passage
& unskilfulness of Pilots we passed the whole Night & found
ourselves at such Distance yet from ym yt we Diverted & Marched to Mr.
Smiths, found our Sloops from Seaconk arrived since which by ye help of
Indian Peter by whom your Honnor had the Information formerly of ye Number
& resolution of ye Naragansets, we have burned two of their Towns viz:
Ahmus who is this summer come down amongst them & ye old Queens
quarters consisting of about 150 Many of them large wigwams & seized
& slayn 50 Persons in all our prisoners being about 40 Concerning whom
the generall prayes your advice concerning their transportation or
Disposall all which was performed without any loss save a slight wound by
an Arrow in Lieut. Wayman's face, the whole body of them we find removed
into their great swamp at Canonicus his quarters where we hope with the
addition of Connecticut, when arrived we hope to Coop them up, this day we
Intend the removall or spoyle of yr Corn & hope to Morrow a March
toward them, our soldiers being very chearful are forward notwithstanding
great Difficulty by weather & otherwise, abovsd Peter whom we have
found very faithfull will Make us believe yt yr are 3000 fighting Men
though Many unarmed Many well fitted with lances we hope by cutting off
their forage to force them to a fayr battle In ye Mean time I have only to
present the Generalls humble service to your [sic] & to beg your
Intense prayers for this so great Concern and remayn your
Honnors Humble Servant Jos: DUDLEY.
Goodale nor Moor arrived we fear want of shot.
My humble service to Madam Leveret Brother and Sister Hubbard &
Dudley.
Amongst our Prisonrs & Slayn we find 10 or 12 Wampanoags.
[Mass. Archives, vol. 68, p. 101.]
Answer of the Council to Gen. Winslow.Sr yr Intelligences and Advices subjected by Mr. Dudley the 15 & 16
Inst wee received this Morning being the 18th at eight of the clock. Wee
desire to blesse God yt hee hath smiled upon you in yr first Attempts
& hath delivered some of or enemys into yor hands & also to
Acknowledge Gods favour in the supporting ye hearts of yor souldiers in
such a severe season & keeping up their spirits wth courage and that
you have received no more losse of men: But yet also according to God's
wonted manner of dealing hee hath mixed the Cup wth some bitternes; in the losse susteyned in yor soldiers especially Mr Bulls
house & ye people yre also yt the forces of Conecticut are not joyned
wth you nor the vessell wth supplys of Ammunition & provision then
arrived; Wee hope by this time both the vessell may be arrived & the
Conecticut men conjoined wth you but least that should faile wee have sent
a cart wth Ammunition; and an order from Gounr Winthrop for their forces
to March speedily; Concerning the disposall of ye Indian prisoners; Our
Advice is if any present to buy them, they may be sould there &
delivered by your Orders or if that cannot bee then to secure them at the
Island or els-where at yor best discretion; Wee have no more to add at
present but our hearty prayers unto the Lord of Hoasts to appear wth &
for you & all wth you, in all yor enterprises, for the Lord & his
people and cover all yor heads in the day of Battle, So wth our particular
respects & love to yrself & all ye Commandrs & Ministers; wee
remajne
Yor respective friends & servants
Boston 18: December 1675 EDWARD RAWSON Secrety in the name
at one of the clock. & by ye order of the Council.
[Mass. Archives, vol. 68, p. 102.]
Second Letter of Joseph Dudley.1
Mr Smith's, 21, 10, 1675 (Dec. 21, 1675).
May it please your honour,
The coming in of Connecticut force to Petaquamscot, and surprisal of six
and slaughter of 5 on Friday night, Saturday we marched towards
Petaquamscot, though in the snow, and in conjunction about midnight or
later, we advanced; Capt. Mosely led the van, after him Massachusets, and
Plimouth and Connecticut in the rear; a tedious march in the snow, without
intermission, brought us about two of the clock afternoon, to the entrance
of the swamp, by the help of Indian Peter, who dealt faithfully with us;
our men, with great courage, entered the swamp about twenty rods; within
the cedar swamp we found some hundreds of wigwams, forted in with a
breastwork and flankered, and many small blockhouses up and down, round
about; they entertained us with a fierce fight, and many thousand shot,
for about an hour, when our men valiantly scaled the fort, beat them
thence, and from the blockhouses. In which action we lost Capt. Johnson,
Capt Danforth, and Capt Gardiner, and their lieutenants disabled, Capt.
Marshall also slain; Capt. Seely, Capt. Mason, disabled, and many other of
our officers, insomuch that, by a fresh assault and recruit of powder from
their store, the Indians fell on again, recarried and beat us out of, the
fort, but by the great resolution and courage of the General and Major, we
reinforced, and very hardly entered the fort again, and fired the wigwams,
with many living and dead persons in them, great piles of meat and heaps
of corn, the ground not admitting burial of their store, were consumed;
the number of their dead, we generally suppose the enemy lost at least two
hundred men; Capt. Mosely counted in one corner of the fort sixty four
men; Capt. Goram reckoned 150 at least; But, O! Sir, mine heart bleeds to
give your honor an account of our lost men, but especially our resolute
Captains, as by account inclosed, and yet not so many,
1 This
letter is copied from the note in Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts,
vol. i. page 273.
but we admire there remained any to return, a
captive woman, well known to Mr Smith, informing that there were three
thousand five hundred men engaging us and about a mile distant a thousand
in reserve, to whom if God had so pleased, we had been but a morsel, after
so much disablement: she informeth, that one of their sagamores was slain
and their powder spent, causing their retreat, and that they are in a
distressed condition for food and houses, that one Joshua Tift, an
Englishman, is their encourager and conductor. Philip was seen by one,
credibly informing us, under a strong guard.
After our wounds were dressed, we drew up for a march, not able to
abide the field in the storm, and weary, about two of the clock, obtained
our quarters, with our dead and wounded, only the General, Ministers, and
some other persons of the guard, going to head a small swamp, lost our
way, and returned again to the evening's quarters, a wonder we were not a
prey to them, and, after at least thirty miles marching up and down, in
the morning recovered our quarters, and had it not been for the arrival of
Goodale next morning, the whole camp had perished; The whole army,
especially Connecticut, is much disabled and unwilling to march, with
tedious storms, and no lodgings, and frozen and swollen limbs, Major Treat
importunate to return at least to Stonington; Our dead and wounded are
about two hundred, disabled as many; the want of officers, the
consideration whereof the General commends to your honor, forbids any
action at present, and we fear whether Connecticut will comply, at last,
to any action. We are endeavoring, by good keeping and billetting our men
at several quarters, and, if possible removal of our wounded to
Rhode-Island, to recover the spirit of our soldiers, and shall be diligent
to find and understand the removals on other action of the enemy, if God
please to give us advantage against them.
As we compleat the account of our dead, now in doing, the Council is of
the mind, without recruit of men we shall not be able to engage the main
body.
I give your honour hearty thanks I am Sir, your honor's
for your kind lines, of which humble servant,
I am not worthy JOSEPH DUDLEY.
Since the writing of these lines, the General and Council have jointly
concluded to abide on the place, notwithstanding the desire of
Connecticut, only entreat that a supply of 200 may be sent us, with supply
of commanders; and, whereas we are forced to garrison our quarters with at
least one hundred, three hundred men, upon joint account of the colonies,
will serve, and no less, to effect the design. This is by order of the
council.
Blunderbusses, and hand grenadoes, and armour, if it may, and at least
two armourers to mend arms.
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