Originally published in 1827, this historical account of Philip's War, also called the Great Indian War of 1675 and 1676, recounts the causes of the bloody battles which killed 600 colonists and 3,000 Native Americans. The conflict destroyed a number of tribes in the area and opened southern New England to unimpeded colonial expansion.

Metacomet, younger son of Massasoit, was also known as King Philip. In 1662, he succeeded his brother Wamsutta as sachem or chief of the Wampanoag tribe. Metacomet earnestly attempted to maintain his father's peaceful policies with the Colonists, but the English pushed ever farther into Wampanoag lands, imposing their laws on the native people. Eventually, a reluctant Metacomet united the disparate tribes of the region and led an uprising later known as King Philip's War. The war that is known as King Philip's War ranged from the Mt. Hope peninsula in Rhode Island to the outermost colonial settlement of Northfield, Massachusetts. King Philip's War began with a massacre of colonists at Swansee, Plymouth, by a band of Indians. The war was started by King Philip after three of his people were executed by the English for murdering an Indian in English employ. Brookfield was attacked and destroyed by Indians and they were later forced to retreat under an assault led by Major Simon Willard. Deerfield was set aflame by attacking Indians. Lancaster was attacked by Indians led by King Phillip. The settlement was destroyed by fire after all the men were killed and the women and children taken prisoners. Soon, the Narragansetts joined Metacomet to form an army of three to five thousand men. For a time, his armies' guerrilla-style tactics confounded the enemy, but the British eventually prevailed. Colonial militia surrounded and killed some of the army. With the number of men growing smaller and smaller, Metcomet continued attacking villages. King Philip's War was ended when the Wampanoag leader was surprised and shot by an Indian in the service of Capt. Benjamin Church on August 12, 1676.Metacomet's head was on display in Plymouth for twenty years.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

King Philip's War--one of America's first and costliest wars--began in 1675 as an Indian raid on several farms in Plymouth Colony, but quickly escalated into a full-scale war engulfing all of southern New England. At once an in-depth history of this pivotal war and a guide to the historical sites where the ambushes, raids, and battles took place, King Philip's War expands our understanding of American history and provides insight into the nature of colonial and ethnic wars in general. Through a careful reconstruction of events, first-person accounts, period illustrations, and maps, and by providing information on the exact locations of more than fifty battles, King Philip's War is useful as well as informative. Students of history, colonial war buffs, those interested in Native American history, and anyone who is curious about how this war affected a particular New England town, will find important insights into one of the most seminal events to shape the American mind and continent.