On December 19th, 1675, Native American and Colonial forces clashed in a battle that would go down in history as the "Great Swamp Fight." Today, this monument pays tribute to the brave soldiers on both sides of the battle.
During the winter of 1675, King Philip’s War was raging in New England. The war was named after Metacomet, the chief of the Pokanoket tribe, who was called "King Philip" by early Anglo settlers. Although he had initially befriended the settlers, by the Fall of 1675, he was fed up with their greedy, expansionist ways. He soon built a coalition of various Native tribes, who began attacking settlements in Connecticut and Massachusetts. However, the nearby Narragansett tribe attempted to remain neutral.
By December, a large group of the tenuously neutral Narragansett had retreated to a fort in the middle of a swamp near Kingston, Rhode Island. For reasons unknown, on December 15th, warriors from the tribe attacked a nearby Colonial garrison, killing at least 15 people. On the freezing, stormy day of December 19th, Colonial forces retaliated. Troops from all across New England attacked the over 1,000 Narragansetts at the fort. Over 300 Native Americans (including women and children) were massacred, and many more escaped into the bitterly cold swamp that surrounded them. Over 150 Colonial militia men were killed or wounded. Not surprisingly, after the battle, the Narragansetts fully joined King Philip's coalition.
The Great Swamp Battle was a crucial turning point in the war. The colonial forces continued to gain momentum and soon killed not only the chief of the Narragansetts but also King Philip himself. By August, 1676, it was clear the Colonists had won. The tribes of New England never recovered.
In 1906, ancestors of both the Narragansetts and the Colonists came together to dedicate this monument at the alleged battle site. The rain poured down as three Narragansett women unveiled the inscribed stone, which reads:
"Attacked within their fort upon this island, the Narragansett Indians made their last stand in King Philip’s War and were crushed by the united forces of the Massachusetts Connecticut and Plymouth Colonies in the “Great Swamp Fight,” Sunday, 19 December, 1675.This record was placed by the Rhode Island Society of Colonial Wars, 1906."
Today, the memorial is a quick mile-and-a-half hike for pedestrians, though the road leading to the site is closed to cars. The tree and swamp surrounded memorial features a rough stone shaft surrounded by low stone markers. Standing in this peaceful, lovely spot, the brutal battle that once raged here seems very far away.