Great Swamp Massacre: King Philip's War Turns Brutal
Hundreds of Narragansett people — mostly women, children, and elderly — were sheltering inside the Great Swamp Fort when the colonial forces arrived. Not warriors. Civilians. The English commanders ordered the wigwams burned anyway. Between 300 and 600 Narragansetts died that December Sunday in Rhode Island's frozen swamp. But the colonies didn't break the tribe — they united it. Survivors joined Philip's forces and kept fighting for another year. The Great Swamp Massacre didn't end King Philip's War. It extended it.
November 2, 1675
351 years ago
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