The court at Connecticut ordered that forty men should be raised forthwith, for the further prosecution of the war, under the same commander. These troops formed a junction with the party under command of Stoughton at Pequod, and the conclusion was immediately to march in pursuit of Sassacus. They proceeded on their way as far as Quinnipiac (New Haven), where, after staying several days, they received intelligence that the enemy was at a considerable distance, in a great swamp to the westward. Here the Indians were met, and an engagement took place, under circumstances of great difficulty to the English, many of whom were nearly mired, but it was nevertheless attended with success. The fighting was of a most desperate character, the assailants finding it nearly impossible to master or dislodge the foe. Under the cover of a fog, after having been watched through the night, Sassacus and sixty or seventy of his bravest warriors broke through the English ranks, and escaped. About twenty Indians were killed, and one hundred and eighty were taken prisoners. The Pequods, who remained in the territory, amounting to some two hundred, besides women and children, were at length divided among the Narragansets and Mohegans, and the nation became extinct.
The character of this war, from the boldness and vigor with which it had been prosecuted, seemed to belong to the age of romance. It is replete with thrilling incident and daring adventure. Yet the sober, religious spirit and convictions of duty, which accompanied the pilgrims to battle, turn its chivalrous aspect into the features of stern reality and unavoidable necessity. It involved the fate of an infant republic and the interests of posterity. The conquest of the Pequods, while it was so fatal to one party, was productive of the most happy consequences to the other. It struck the Indians throughout New England with such a salutary terror, that they were contented to remain at peace nearly forty years.
[VII. PHILIP'S WAR.]
Causes of Philip's War—Character of Philip—General spirit of hostility among the Indians—Outbreak at Swansey—Expedition under General Savage—Expedition under Captain Church—Perilous situation of this latter party—Timely arrival of Captain Hutchinson—Second expedition of Captain Church—Critical situation of Philip—Effects his escape—Annoys the back settlements of Massachusetts—Treachery of the Nipmucks—Attack on Brookfield—Bloody affair at Muddy Brook—Attack on Springfield—Attack on Hatfield—Outrages at Northampton—Large force raised by Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut, against the Narragansets—Philip's fortress at Kingston, Rhode Island—Destruction of it—Lancaster destroyed—Other towns burned—Fatal affair at Pawtuxet river, Rhode Island—Stratagem of Cape Cod Indians—Attacks on Rehoboth, Chelmsford, Sudbury, &c.—Expedition of Connecticut troops—Conanchet captured—Long Meadow attacked—Hadley—Fortunes of Philip on the wane—Successful expedition against the Indians at Connecticut river falls—Attack on Hatfield—On Hadley—Remarkable interposition of a stranger at Hadley, supposed to be Goffe—Decline of Philip's power—Pursued by Captain Church—Death of Philip—Disastrous effects of the war—Philip's warriors—Annawon—Reflections.