THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN FITS AND STARTS over eight years beginning in 1990, and I owe thanks to many, many folks who spent time with me during the book’s research and preparation.
The late Nanepashemet of the Wampanoag Village at Plimoth Plantation was, from the beginning, enthusiastic in his support and helpful in sorting fact from fiction about King Philip and his people. Likewise, Russell Gardner, the Wampanoag tribal historian, helped enormously, especially in interpreting the period and events around Massasoit’s and Wamsutta’s deaths. I was honored to have Douglas Leach, whose 1958 Flintlock and Tomahawk is still the standard text on King Philip’s War, offer his wisdom and enthusiasm to my manuscript. Patrick Malone of Brown University also made time amid his own hectic schedule of teaching and writing to offer helpful ideas and overall encouragement. William Turnbaugh of the University of Rhode Island and Joseph Granger of the University of Louisville were both generous in sharing material on the Narragansett generally, and on the Great Swamp Fight specifically, that was otherwise inaccessible to me. Audrey Milne and Emerson Baker III of the Dyer Library and York Institute and Museum in Saco, Maine, provided invaluable information on the King Philip’s War sites in that state. Maggie Stier of the Fruitlands Museums assisted me with my work on King Philip’s War Club, Mark Choquet of the New England Historic Genealogical Society with Massasoit’s genealogy, Douglas Kelleher of the Massachusetts Historical Commission with Woodcock’s Garrison, and Nate Fuller with a personal tour of Smith’s Castle.
In Rehoboth, Lydia Carswell and Deborah Cahoon Didick, former directors of the Carpenter Museum, E. Otis Dyer Sr., E. Otis Dyer Jr., and Robert Sharples were most helpful in all respects, but especially on the topic of Anawan Rock. Helen Pierce of Swansea spent the better part of a day guiding me to the King Philip’s War sites in that town, as did Herbert Hosmer in Lancaster, Francis Rowland in Mattapoisett, Gary Brown in Marlboro, and Rosa Johnston in Northfield. Byron Canney of Whately spent an afternoon searching with me for the site of the Battle of South Deerfield, while Maryanne MacLeod took me to several locations in Sterling related to the Waussacum Pond ambush. Richard Colton of the Montague Historical Society helped me to reconstruct the Fight at Turner’s Falls and provided valuable insights on seventeenth-century warfare. Jeff Fiske’s excellent grasp of local history and knowledge of sites and landmarks in New Braintree enabled me to examine the locations related to Wheeler’s Surprise and the Nipmuc camps at Menameset. John Pretola of the Springfield Science Museum shared with me his work on the Fort Hill Agawam Indian site. Edward Nash of Leominster helped me to locate one possible site of the Quabaug Old Fort and challenged me on a number of issues surrounding the Great Swamp Fight (including, but not limited to, how to locate ticks in my socks after a day’s tramp through the swamp).
In several other towns people were generous with their time and information: Paul Hurd of the Medfield Historical Society; Jane Lopes of the Middleborough Antiquarian; Robert Beals of the Middleborough Historical Commission; Charles Crowley, a city Councillor and local historian in Taunton; Lila Parrish in Great Barrington; Becky Warren of the Chelmsford Historical Society; Mary Conley, the Ipswich town historian; Robert Hanson of the Dedham Historical Society; Pamela Toma and Terrie Korpita of Historic Northampton; Dorothy Russell of the Hadley Historical Society; Ruth Loring of the Ossipee Historical Society; Isabel Beal of the Groton Historical Society; Carl Congdon of the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society; Mary Lou Cutter of the Hatfield Historical Commission; Ruth Warfield of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society; C. Carlton Brownell of the Little Compton Historical Society; Christina Kelly, town historian in Schaghticoke, New York; Susanne L. Flynt of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in Deerfield; Mary Soulsby of the University of Connecticut; E. Pierre Morenon of Rhode Island College; Ann McMullen of Brown University; Jill Lepore of Yale University and now Boston University; Jane Beebe of the Berkshire Museum; and Gary Bremen of the Roger Williams National Memorial in Providence.
Finally, in my indoor pursuit of King Philip’s War, I had valuable assistance from Albert Klyberg and Linda Eppich of the Rhode Island Historical Society; Barbara Hail of the Haffenreffer Museum; Paul Robinson of the Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission; Norman Fiering of the John Carter Brown Library; and the staffs of the Rhode Island Historical Society Library in Providence, the Old Colony Historical Society in Taunton, and the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston.
Thank you to my sister, Elizabeth Schultz Dale, who read and improved several sections of the text; to Dan Mandell, for his thoughtful reading of the text and many insightful comments; to our editor, Helen Whybrow, who vastly improved everything long after I was sure it was as good as it could get; and to my wife, Susan, who was patient enough to put up with the travel, the clutter of maps and documents, and all those pictures of rocks, gravestones, and (seemingly) empty fields. And, of course, to Michael Tougias, whose writing enhanced the book considerably, and whose energy allowed it to see the light of day.
Eric Schultz
Boxford, Massachusetts
1999