It was also necessary to garrison the towns and settlements to protect the women and children from prowling Indians. Among those who did this perilous work were John Cary, James Carr, John Malone, John Larkin, Daniel Kennedy, Thomas Owen, Timothy Larkin, John Boyd, Thomas Welch, Joseph Griffin, Brian Murphy, James Harrington.
In Captain Davenport’s company were Nathaniel Henly, John Drury, Daniel Harrington, Jeremiah Toye, Patrick Moroney. Moroney is also mentioned as having served under Captain Oliver; and Cornelius Davis is reported in Mosley’s company.
In the Great Swamp Fight, which took place at South Kingstown on December 19, 1675, we find Captains Mosley, Prentice, Davenport, Appleton and Oliver, and as shown above, all these commands contained many Irish.
In that fight Philip had assembled an army of three thousand warriors, and had laid in his winter’s supplies, with the determination to hold his position. We find the colonists wading through fifteen miles of snow in the middle of winter and dislodging him; and if the history of the Irish race on the battlefield proves anything it is fair to assume that the Irish were not in the rear. The Swamp Fight was the beginning of the end to Philip’s hopes.
In March, 1676, one Captain Michael Peirce had an engagement with a band of Indians at Pawtucket. His force was wiped out and massacred. Two days later the Indians crossed the Seekonk River and fell upon the inhabitants of what is now Rumford. The old histories tell us that when the Indians approached “Ye Irishman, Robert Beers, was sitting at a window reading ye bible. He was warned of ye approach of ye Indians and told to fly. He refused to move, saying that ‘he who was engaged in ready Holy Writ would not be molested by ye enemy.’” The story goes on to say that “ye Indians, disregarding ye biblical injunction, incontinently scalped ye Irishman Robert.” Robert was a mason by trade, and is the first Irishman of whom we have any record in the present town of East Providence.
The war ended in 1676, on the murder of Philip at Mount Hope. The Indians had devastated the entire colony. Crops were destroyed, or had not been planted. There was neither food nor clothing. Nine hundred men had fallen. Homes had been razed and starvation stared the colonies in the face.
And here we see again of what the Irish are made. We see the people of Ireland collecting money, food and clothing and fitting out the ship “Katherine” and sending her to the relief of the colonies. History calls this the “Irish Donation.”
Freeman, the historian, in mentioning the fact, says:
“It is somewhat remarkable that from ‘divers Christians’ in England and Wales no word of cheer greeted the suffering colonists, and no contribution, save that of Ireland, is recorded in this dark and perilous period.” Continuing he says: “It is worthy of particular notice, to the honor of humanity, that in the time of the distress of the Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies, by reason of the wars, when few families remained that were not in mourning for the loss of some relative, and whose pecuniary embarrassments pressed upon them, the donation from Ireland to which we referred ‘for the relief of the impoverished, distressed and in necessity by the war’ was received. We record with pleasure this noble instance of benevolent sympathy.”
Bailies, in “History of New Plymouth,” says: