COLONIAL WARS IN AMERICA. A résumé of the colonial wars in America must of necessity omit many local disturbances which were of importance historically and which the student can find graphically de scribed in many of the volumes included in the bibliography at the close of this article. Soffie of the most important are here chrono logically presented.
1607. Jamestown, Although Capt. Gabrill Archer and a sailor were severely wounded by arrows tipped with deer's-horn and sharp stones, the night the English landed in Virginia, the first real conflict in American colonial history came two weeks after the Jamestown settlement, at the end of May 1607, 200 Indians being repulsed by the set tlers under Capt. Edward-Maria Wingfield; English casualties, one killed, 11 wounded. From this encounter to the battle of Lexington (q.v.), 19 April 1775, scarcely a generation in the several colonies reached manhood without knowing the horrors of war.
1620. Plymouth, The Pilgrims of New England had their first encounter with the dusky Nausite tribe, whose arrows were headed with hart's horn, eagle's-claws and brass, 8 Dec. 1620, and for over half a century the warfare continued with exacerbations of varying ferocity.
1622. Virginia.— Two years later their kins people of Jamestown escaped annihilation by the warning of a converted Indian. On 22 March at midday 347 men, women and chil dren were slain by supposedly friendly sav ages, among the scattered hamlets along both banks of the river.
1633-37. Pequot War.— The Pequot In dians, in 1633, killed several English traders who came to their Connecticut River territory; 1634 found the Pequots at war with the Narra gansett tribe, and hostile to the Dutch as well. fhen the New England colonists prepared for the inevitable encounter. Sassacus ruled as Pequot chief. About this time John Oldham and two young lads were slain by the savages at Block Island. Governor Endicott promptly sent a force which destroyed a major part of this band. The Pequots then tried to enlist the
co-operation of the Narragansetts, but this failed, owing to the influence exerted by Roger Williams over this tribe. The murder of 30 men and women followed. Connecticut, in May 1637, placed John Mason in command of troops contributed from Massachusetts and Plymouth under Capt. John Underhill, allies being Mohegans, Uncas their sachem, and 400 Narragansetts and Nyantics. The desperate battle of Pequot Hill, Groton, Conn., was fought 26 May 1637. Mason says: ((Most courageously these Pequeats behaved them selves)); but, °such a dreadful Terror did the Almighty let fall upon their Spirits that they would fly from us and run into the very Flames, where many of them perished.° Nearly 800 Indians were slain in an hour; only two English were killed and 20 wounded. Activities ceased in August and the next year a treaty was concluded between the colonies and the tribes.
1642-47. Ingle's Rebellion.— Indians began to molest Europeans in Maryland in 1642 and following these attacks came Ingle's Rebellion, July 1643, aided by Clayborne, and which caused internal discord in the colony until peace was declared between contending parties in 1647.
1643-47. Kieft's War.—Kieft was appointed governor of New Netherlands in 1638. In the winter of 1643 he made war on the Mohawks, causing an outburst of hostilities among the Algonquin tribes. Massacres and conflagra tions continued through the winter and follow ing summer. John Underhill of Connecticut commanded the troops and successfully routed the Long Island tribes. In March 1644, Under hill, with 150 Dutch soldiers, landed at Green wich, Conn., attacked an Indian village of 700, slew 180 in an hour, then set fire to the village, causing the death of 500 Indians by fire and sword. Kieft proclaimed a public thanksgiv ing for this victory. Nearly all Dutch farms and 1,600 Indians had been destroyed when Peter Stuyvesant succeeded ICieft in 1647 and peace was established.