Lancaster raid facts for kids
The Lancaster Raid was a major attack on the English town of Lancaster in 1676. It was one of the first big attacks during King Philip's War. This war was led by Metacom, also known as King Philip, a powerful leader of the Wampanoag people. Metacom worked with warriors from the Nipmuc and Narragansett groups. Together, they successfully attacked Lancaster, taking supplies and capturing people. This helped them continue their fight through the winter.
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Growing Disagreements
Before the Lancaster Raid, there had been disagreements for many years between the English settlers in Lancaster and their Native American neighbors, especially the Nipmuc people in Nashaway. These problems grew because:
- There was less animal fur to trade because too many animals were hunted.
- Many Native American people got sick from diseases brought by Europeans.
- English farm animals, like cows and pigs, ate crops on Native American land.
In 1675, Metacom, the Wampanoag leader, listed his complaints. He said the English were cheating them, treating them unfairly, and pushing them to sell their land. He also said they were forced to follow the rules of the Plymouth colony and change their religion.
To try and calm things down, Daniel Gookin, a leader who worked with Christian Native Americans, visited Nipmuc villages. He wanted to create special towns called praying towns where Native Americans could live and learn about Christianity. However, the Nipmuc people in Nashaway didn't agree to this. They didn't trust the English or their missionaries.
Earlier Attack on Lancaster
The disagreements continued to get worse. In August 1675, Nipmuc warriors from Nashaway, led by their leader Monoco, attacked English settlers in Lancaster. Seven people in Lancaster died in this attack.
To protect themselves, the people of Lancaster built several strong houses. These were large buildings where many settlers could gather for safety during fights. Fourteen soldiers were also stationed there. After this, the war spread to other English towns, with many attacks happening.
Spies Sent to Gather Information
The Lancaster Raid is often remembered as a surprise attack, but it wasn't a complete surprise. In December 1675, Daniel Gookin and other leaders of the Massachusetts government asked two Christian Nipmuc men, James Quannapohit and Job Kattenanit, to be spies. Their job was to find out what other Native American groups were planning and if they were loyal to the English.
While traveling with the Nipmuc people, the spies found out that the Narragansett and Nipmuc groups planned to join Metacom's Wampanoag warriors. Their goal was to "burn and destroy" other English towns. Metacom eventually discovered the spies and warned them. So, Quannapohit and Kattenanit had to escape.
Quannapohit returned to Cambridge first, on January 24, 1676. He told Gookin that the Nipmuc people were planning an attack on Lancaster.
Warnings Before the Raid
Even though the Massachusetts leaders were warned by Quannapohit, they didn't take the threat seriously at first. They didn't do much to prepare Lancaster for an attack. Maybe they didn't fully trust Quannapohit, or they had other big problems to worry about.
Some men from Lancaster took the warning more seriously. They traveled to Boston to try and get more soldiers to bring back home, but they couldn't get any help.
On February 9, Job Kattenanit also returned. He gave the same warning to the leaders: an attack on Lancaster was planned for the very next day. Kattenanit reported that about four hundred Native American warriors were already on their way to Lancaster.
Finally, the Massachusetts leaders took the threat seriously. They ordered soldiers from other towns to go help Lancaster. However, it was too late. Only one town, Marlborough, got the message by the next morning. Even then, their soldiers couldn't reach Lancaster until after the Native American warriors had already arrived and set the town on fire.
The Lancaster Raid
The Lancaster Raid happened on February 10, 1676. About four hundred warriors from the Narragansett, Nipmuc, and Wampanoag groups joined forces. Like the attack in August 1675, this raid was led by Monoco, whom the English called "One-Eyed John."
The first thing the warriors did when they arrived was burn the bridge leading into town. This made it hard for English soldiers from outside to enter. Once in town, they used torches to set houses on fire. This included the strong house where the village minister lived. The minister, Joseph Rowlandson, was one of the men who had gone to Boston to get more soldiers, and he hadn't returned yet.
Most of the soldiers inside the strong house survived the fire and were taken captive. However, a few soldiers died in the fire. It's estimated that at least fourteen people from Lancaster died, and twenty-three were captured. Eventually, soldiers from Marlborough arrived, which forced the Native American warriors to leave with their captives.
After the raid, a medicine man named Tantamous (also known as Old Jethro) and ten other Native Americans were wrongly accused of the killings. They were said to have been "singing, dancing, and having much powder and many bullets and slugs hid in their baskets." But they were found innocent when the real leader of the attack, Monoco, was identified. Peter Jethro, Tantamous's son, actually helped communicate with the people who held Mary Rowlandson captive to get her released.
Mary Rowlandson's Story
Mary Rowlandson, the village minister's wife, survived the fire and was taken captive for three months.
In 1682, she wrote a very popular book about her time as a captive. In her book, she said she was a servant to Quinnapin, a Narragansett leader. But in reality, she was probably treated more like a temporary member of his family. Even though she had to sew and do other chores, Mary was treated fairly well by Quinnapin and Metacom. This was likely because she was important in English society and was valuable as a hostage. Her main complaint was about Quinnapin's wife, Weetamoo, who demanded Mary obey her.
One of Mary's children died soon after they were captured. Her two other children were held separately from her. Eventually, many of the captives, including Mary Rowlandson and Mrs. John Kettell, were released after money was paid for them.
Lancaster Left Empty
The town of Lancaster was badly damaged after the raid. Since the attackers took much of their food, the people of Lancaster were left without supplies and were worried about another attack. Many people left the town in carts sent by the General Court in March 1676. This left the town mostly empty.
