The Historical Significance of June 19 1675 in King Philip's War

Preface

Conflicting Roots, my new historical novel (Maine Authors Publishing, 2025) relies in part on characters, scenes and events from a war which marked the start of a troubled relationship between Native Americans who lived in New England and European colonials. King Philip’s War (1675-76), often treated with a footnote in histories of the colonial period, was the bloodiest war per capita of population in American history.

For those of you who have already read Conflicting Roots and are curious to learn more about the documented history of the war, Bristol Historical and Preservation Society of Rhode Island (bhpsri) have embarked on an ambitious series of “On This Day” posts commemorating the timeline from June 1675 to August 1676. You may be surprised to realize that my fictional narrative doesn’t stray too far from the truth.

Look for links to the BHPSRI posts here regularly. I encourage you to comment here if you have thoughts to share. If you wish to open a Substack account in order to read the entire series at once, here is the link: https://bhpsri.substack.com/p/welcome-to-kpw350

This is the second post from the series. Please take note that some posts may not be suitable for all readers.

About this Post

In Conflicting Roots, the Town of Swansea, closest colonial town to Metacom’s (King

Philip) Pokanoket village, appears after it has been rebuilt and fortified. Its sentries

nearly kill Sakonnet Sachem Awashonka while providing a safe stop-over for her white

guests. In this post of KPW350, the town’s attack by Wampanoag natives marks the first

hostile act of the war, June 19th 1675.

The First Hostile Acts of War

Located east of the Kickemuit River in Swansea, MA (today part of Warren, Rhode Island), the house of Job Winslow was the site of the first hostile act of King Philip’s War. During the night of June 19, 1675, members of the Pokanoket Wampanoag arrived in Swansea, vandalized the house, and set it ablaze. This attack would be the first of many times that Swansea was targeted. The nephew of Governor Josiah Winslow, Job was an active participant in the colonial militia both before his home was burned and after he abandoned it and moved to Freetown.

After the destruction of Job Winslow’s house by the Pokanoket, several days of military action followed. On June 20, the day after the first attack, members of the Pokanoket returned to Swansea and spent the day looting and setting fire to multiple households. Members of the village sought safety in the nearby Myles Garrison (located at the intersection of the Old Providence Road & Barneyville Road) and Bourne Garrison (Old Gardners Neck Road), dispatching messengers to inform Governor Winslow of the attack. One messenger arrived in Marshfield the following day, spurring immediate action by the Governor, who ordered troops to Swansea on June 21. As troops made their way to Swansea from Bridgewater, MA, Governor Winslow sought additional support from the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s leadership.

During this siege, the Bourne Garrison House was evacuated just before an attack which left it asunder. By the time the seventeen men from Bridgewater arrived, the town of Swansea was still under attack. It would remain under attack for a total of five days.