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The history of Rhode Island is truly remarkable. The Story of Rhode Island is my humble attempt to tell you some of the stories about the people, places, and events that have made Rhode Island the state it is today.
To learn more about the show visit the Story of Rhode Island Podcast website at https://www.storyofrhodeisland.com/
Hello and welcome to the story of Rhode Island. The Podcast that tells you the story of Rhode Island’s fascinating history. In episode 8 we watched King Philip’s War break out in June of 1675 when tensions between the New England tribes and the English colonists finally reached a boiling point. As colonial towns throughout New England were being destroyed, the English military decided to launch an unprovoked attack on the Narragansetts in southern Rhode Island, hoping to destroy their tribe before they had the chance to join in on the raids as well. Unfortunately for the colonists, the mission failed and now hundreds of Narragansett warriors have been released into the Rhode Island countryside. As we jump into episode 9, we revisit the conversation between the elderly Benjamin Church, a veteran of King Philip’s War, and his son, Thomas. It’s 50 years after the war and Thomas is listening to his father tell him tales about this deadly conflict. Church’s son is sitting there with a shocked look on his face. He cant believe what his father just told him. “Father, over two thousand indian warriors?” Thomas asks. “Yes son, over two thousand Pokanoket, Narragansett, and Nipmuc warriors met in central Massachusetts” Benjamin Church replies. Church is telling his son about the beginning of 1676, when warriors from the most powerful tribes in southern New England met to plan the next phase of their military campaign. Shortly after that meeting they put their plan in motion and the additional might of the Narragansetts is put on display. The towns of Lancaster, Medfield, Weymouth, Groton, Northampton, and Longmeadow, Massachusetts are successfully raided and several colonists are killed as well. As the war continues to drag on, some of the colonists begin losing hope that the warriors will ever be defeated. As Thomas continues hearing about the tribes’ dominance during the early months of 1676 he becomes confused because he knows that the English eventually win the war. Thomas interrupts his father and asks “Wait, so then how do we end up beating the indians”. “Be patient son, we’ll get to that”, Church responds. “But first, let me tell you about how the Narragansetts annihilated the Rhode Island countryside and then I’ll tell you about how I helped the English win the war”. Thomas leans forward, anxious to hear his father tell him his final tale of King Philip’s War, a story that we’ll cover right now in the season finale of the Story of Rhode Island Podcast.
INTRO MUSIC
It’s March of 1676, and the tiny town of Wickford is completely deserted. With the Narragansetts now in the war most of the Rhode Islanders to the west of Narragansett Bay decided to flee their homes and take up refuge on Aquidneck Island. Approaching the quiet town, is a band of native warriors, led by Canonchet, Sachem of the Narragansett Nation. Canonchet’s broad shoulders, sturdy frame, and hard face resemble a man built for war. The warriors behind him are made up of mostly Narragansett men but joining them are a handful of warriors from the Pokanoket Nation. These two groups of people who were once bitter rivals but have since joined forced in a desperate attempt to prevent their sovereignty from being destroyed. Canonchet signals his warriors forward and they unleash a violent war cry as they destroy the town of Wickford. Once Wickford is burnt to the ground, they head to Richard Smith’s trading post about a mile outside of town, the place where the English troops met before attacking the Narragansetts in present day South Kingstown. As soon as the warriors arrive they burn the trading post to the ground while celebrating their destruction. A few days later, the men head north towards Warwick, the town that Samuel Gorton founded back in 1642. In just a matter of hours, all of the buildings but one on Warwick Neck are burned to the ground. For the next few days, the warriors continue making their way further north towards Providence, passing the small village of PawtuxET that they destroyed back in January. However, before they make it to Providence, one of Canonchet scouts tells him how they spotted an English militia unit in northeastern Rhode Island, right around present day Pawtucket. Canonchet, knowing that the enemy stands no chance against him and his men, decides he will take them out before destroying Providence. He starts by telling some of his warriors to launch a half-hearted attack on the soldiers so that they can find out how many men are in the militia unit. The warriors make their way to the soldiers and complete their mission with ease. When they return they tell Canonchet that there are about 63 Englishmen in total and it appears as though they are led by a man named Captain Pierce. The warriors begin to chuckle when they tell Canonchet how the English actually think they repelled their attack. Canonchet grins, and decides it’s time to lure the men into a trap. He does so by having those same warriors pass by the English troops while acting as though they are injured from the earlier skirmish. The English, thinking they now have the upper hand, pursue the warriors to present day Central Falls. But when they arrive they find themselves surrounded by hundreds of Narragansett warriors on the hilltops all around them. As the Narragansett warriors come rushing down the hills, Pierce and his men try to escape by crossing the Blackstone River but their attempts are futile. By the end of the ambush most of Pierce’s men are killed. While a majority of them die a quick death some are not so lucky. 9 of the English soldiers are brought to present day Cumberland where their bodies are mutilated and their heads scalped. Today, a plaque marks the location where they were tortured and the site is accurately labeled as “9 men’s misery”. With their opposition now destroyed, the native warriors swing by the town of old Rehoboth, or what is known as East Providence today, and burn it to the ground. With the flames from the burning town at his back, Canonchet looks west towards Providence, the town founded by Roger Williams back in 1636. He knows that Williams was good friends with his father, Miantonomi, and that the two men deeply trusted each other. But Canonchet doesn’t have the luxury of such friendships and has already decided that none of the English can be trusted. So with the rage of the Great Swamp Massacre still burning in his heart, the Sachem leads his men towards the tiny town of Providence. When he arrives he’ll see that Roger Williams has refused to abandon the town he risked so much to create and Williams will come face to face with the most feared Sachem in all of New England.
While sitting at his home located at the present day intersection of North Main and Howland Street, Roger Williams begins smelling smoke. At the age of 73, his elderly body doesn’t move as swiftly as it used to so it takes him a minute to get to the front door. When he finally opens it, he sees a party of Narragansett warriors burning down homes all around him. The smoke in the air and the sounds of their screams makes for a horrific scene. Admits all the chaos, Williams looks north and sees Canonchet standing at the present day intersection of Canal and Smith street. Williams makes his way over to the Sachem, a man who Miantonomi first introduced him to when he was just a young boy. But as Williams approaches Canonchet he no longer sees the hopeful eyes of an innocent child. Instead he sees a man hell-bent on revenge. Canonchet immediately begins bragging about the towns his warriors have destroyed throughout New England and how the English cower in fear as they approach their towns. The English will never be able to defeat his warriors and they will continue fighting until all of the colonists are gone. But Williams reminds Canonchet that it’s not just the colonists he’s fighting but the entire nation of England. He states how QUOTE “Massachusetts can raise thousands of men at this very moment and if you kill them the King of England will supply their place as fast as they fall” UNQUOTE. Canonchet, a man well aware of the international forces at play, is not bothered by Williams comment so he tells Williams to QUOTE “let them come. We are ready for them” UNQUOTE. Realizing that fear will not compel Canonchet to stop destroying Providence he reminds him about how the people of Providence have been good neighbors to the Narragansetts for decades now. He turns around and points to his house that is now up in flames and tells Canonchet how his own father visited that house many times throughout the years. These reminders of better times pain the Sachem’s heart but he knows there is no going back. He admits to Williams that his people are QUOTE “in a strange way” UNQUOTE but the English are at fault. It’s because of their mistreatment why this war has broken out. The Narragansetts have been forced to fight back and now must kill all of the English. Realizing that this threat has made Williams nervous, the Sachem reassures him of his safety by telling him QUOTE “But as for you, brother Williams, you are a good man; you have been kind to us many years; not a hair of your head shall be touched” UNQUOTE. While thankful for the fact that his life will be spared, Williams is still devastated as he watches Providence be burnt to the ground. All he can do is sit there and wait until it’s all over. By the morning, he will pack up what’s left of his things and take up refuge on Aquickneck with the other Rhode Islanders who are now without a home as well.
Shortly after the attack in Providence, Roger Williams arrives in Aquidneck and tells his fellow Rhode Islanders what he just witnessed. The people on Aquidneck are distraught when they find out that the towns they risked so much to create and then defend from the surrounding colonies have just been destroyed. They begin to wonder if it’ll ever be safe to leave Aquidneck and head back into the Rhode Island countryside. However, unbeknownst to the Rhode Islanders, the tribes are dealing with some challenges of their own. While on the surface may look as though the tribes are on their way to an easy victory they’ve actually been falling apart internally for the past couple of months. The success of the natives' military tactics have relied on their tribes constantly being on the move over the past 9 months and it's taken a toll on their people. Its prevented them from being able to hunt or grow crops and as the winter of 1676 creeps to an end, the natives are starving. As the weeks continue to drag on the warriors are beginning to realize that the thrill of their raids cannot fuel their bodies forever. Even when a group of warriors destroys the town of Sudbury and kill 24 Englishmen the warriors return with an exhausted and almost defeated attitude. Then, with the will of the warriors already rapidly declining, the tribes reach a new low in April when the Narragansetts are hit with a devastating blow. This event takes place deep in the woods of northern Rhode Island.
Canonchet and 30 of his men are sitting on the side of a hill in the woods of northern Rhode Island. Beneath them lies the bones of the small game they’ve managed to kill and eat while on their raids. Aside from the few pieces of meat the men have just consumed, it’s been days since they’ve last eaten a substantial meal. Their stomachs growl as they sit there desperate for food. Then, Canonchet hears the snapping of a twig and some footsteps in the near distance. The Sachem and his men stand up and begin meticulously scanning the woods around them. Then, just as they’re about to sit back down they see a group of men running towards them. Half of them are Connecticut soldiers and the other half are Mohegan warriors who have teamed up with the English. The Narragansett warriors, realizing that they are severely outnumbered, begin making a run for it. Right off the bat, a handful of Canonchet’s men are captured but Canonchet is able to make it to a large river. The English are hot on his tail so he makes a desperate attempt at crossing the raging river. But just when he makes it halfway across the river he loses his footing amongst the rocks and falls into the water. By the time he pulls himself out of the freezing water and comes to his senses he notices that there’s a barrel of a gun pointed at his face. Standing in front of him is a young English soldier in his early 20s. The young man is shaking as he knows the man who he has his gun pointed at is one of the most feared natives in all of New England. But Canonchet knows that his war is over so he calmly tells the young man in broken english QUOTE “you much child. No understand matters of war. Let your brother or your chief come. He I will answer” UNQUOTE. Eventually, more senior soldiers are brought over and Canonchet is taken prisoner. After a day's march, Canonchet is brought to Stonington, Connecticut and given an ultimatum; He can either tell the Narragansett warriors to give up their fighting or he will be executed on the spot. Canonchet responds immediately telling the English that he would never dare tell his men to give up their fight. He continues by saying how he doesn’t fear death and how he QUOTE “liked it well that he should die before his heart was soft or had spoken anything unworthy of himself” UNQUOTE. The Englishman accepts the great sachem’s response and on an April afternoon in 1676, the Sachem is executed.
“Father, is this when the Indians begin losing the war?” Thomas asks. Church, somewhat annoyed that his son has interrupted his story, replies by simply nodding his head yes. He tells his son how over the next few months the tide quickly begins to turn in favor of the English. As the weather grows warmer, the tribe's raiding activities come to a halt and they begin focusing on growing food so that they don’t starve. During these months some of the tribes decide that they’ve had enough of the war and they begin to surrender. Any military action desired to be taken is delayed as a divide grows amongst the tribes’ military leaders; some saying they should push for peace while others want to continue raiding English towns. As the months pass and the tribe’s activities remain at standstill. Then, in the summer of 1676, Plymouth and Massachusetts finally come to their senses and realize that the native’s military tactics are better suited for the New England environment than their own, something Benjamin Church has been trying to convince them of since he first fought against the natives almost a year ago in Tiverton, Rhode Island. Massachusetts and Plymouth begin including adding more friendly natives to their military units and moving away from larger, more stationary armies to smaller, more agile teams. Instead of trying to engage the natives on an open battlefield, they begin sneaking up on the natives so that they can ambush them when they least expect it. This enables the English to win numerous battles against the Narragansetts, successfully killing or capturing many of their warriors. As more battles are won, more warriors begin to give up on the fighting. By the end of July, the fighting in Massachusetts has come to an end and the Nipmuc and Narragansett tribes are pretty much defeated. But the English know that this war won’t be over until they take out the Pokanoket’s military leaders and most importantly, the man who this great war has been named after, King Philip. This will not be easy as the Pokanoket’s war chiefs are some of the brightest military tacticians in New England. To accomplish this daring mission, they decide to lean on Benjamin Church. They allow him to raise a mixed military unit made up of mostly friendly native warriors and task them with killing or capturing the leaders of the Pokanoket tribe. It’s at this point when the legend of Benjamin Church begins to unfold. Just weeks after raising his men needed for the mission, Church’s military unit captures Totoson, one of Philip’s primary military leaders. By leveraging the native’s military tactics and their knowledge of the terrain he was able to take Totoson and his men by complete surprise, not only capturing the Pokanoket military chief but over 100 of his men as well. When Church returns to the English basecamp with the Pokanoket warriors, the soldiers celebrate his great achievement. Then, a couple of weeks later, Church is informed about King Philip’s location and his men are sent out on their most important mission of the war, to kill King Philip and end this devastating war.
It’s August of 1676 and it’s a beautiful summer night. The stars shining brightly in the clear sky illuminate a sense of calm that hasn’t existed in Rhode Island for a while now. It’s as if nature is trying to tell the Rhode Islanders that they can rest easy as the war is finally coming to an end. But while the night is calm, Benjamin Church is tense. He reminds his men that they must be absolutely silent, it’s imperative that they take the enemy by surprise. After a local subsachem by the name of John Alderman informed Church that King Philip has returned to his homeland in present day Bristol the men are now hoping to capture or kill the Pokanoket’s sachem, ending this war once and for all. They are loading themselves into small boats on the shores of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, right about where the Mount Hope bridge sits today. After cautiously paddling across Mount Hope Bay they beach their canoes and begin heading towards Philip’s location the next morning. Joining Benjamin Church is Captain Roger Goulding, the man who helped rescue Church about a year ago when he was being attacked in present day Tiverton. Just as the sun begins making its way above the horizon, the men spot Philip through the trees. The shirtless and exhausted Sachem is sitting on a rock with his rifle and powderhorn filled with gunpowder in front of him. Church signals his men to begin setting up a perimeter while Goulding begins preparing his troops to ambush Philip. But before the men can finish setting up Goulding notices one of the Pokanoket warriors walking his way. Goulding makes eye contact with the warrior and a sense of fear fills both of their faces. Goulding panics and fires his gun at the warrior. Knowing that their position has been given away the other men begin firing as well. Philip quickly rises from the rock he was sitting at, grabs his powderhorn and gun, and makes a run for it. As he swiftly navigates the dense woods that his people have inhabited for thousands of years his heart pounds as adrenaline rushes courses through his veins. But after making his way over a small river he finds himself standing in front of an English soldier and John Alderman, the subsachem who informed Church about Philip’s location. Philip freezes, he’s not sure if he should continue running or begin to fight. The Englishman aims his rifle at Philip and pulls his trigger. But his weapon misfires and Philip is once again on the run. The soldier turns to John Alderman and tells him to fire. Alderman does as he’s instructed and Philip immediately falls face first into the dirt. The Englishman nods his head towards the Pokanoket Sachem, telling Alderman to check if he’s alive. The two cautiously make their way towards Philip as they begin reloading their weapons just in case he tries to defend himself. Eventually, the two men find themselves within feet of the Sachem that thousands of English soldiers have been attempting to catch for over a year. Alderman steps closer and listens closely to see if he can hear Philip breathing. When he realizes that Philip is completely silent he nudges his body with his foot but the Sachem doesn’t respond. The Englishman once again nods his head at Philip so Alderman rolls the Sachem’s body onto his back. As Philip’s face emerges from the dirt the two men see Philip’s lifeless eyes and they realize that they’ve done it. They’ve killed King Philip. The war is finally over.
The elderly Benjamin Church and his son, Thomas, sit there quietly as they process the stories they’ve just discussed. Eventually, the silence makes Thomas uneasy so he turns to his father and asks “so is that when the war ended”? “For the most part” church replies. He wraps up the story by telling his son how after killing Philip he goes on to capture another great Pokanoket war chief named Anawan, once again proving the effectiveness of the natives' military tactics. He then goes on to help with additional clean up operations and eventually peace treaties are signed by the tribes who participated in the conflict. By the time the war comes to an end 800 English colonists have been killed, numerous towns destroyed, and over a thousand homes are burnt to the ground. Those statistics, while horrific in their own right, pale in comparison to the amount of damage thats been inflicted on the Natives as they’ve seen 3000 of their people die during the war a total that equates to 15% of the entire Native American population in New England. Thomas is bewildered by the butchery of the war. He can’t believe it was actually as devastating as everyones made it out to be. With his son ruminating over the information he’s just heard, Church decides to rest his eyes for a minute. Thomas realizes that his father is exhausted from reliving these painful memories so he tells him that they can call it a night. But he immediately notices that his father has already fallen asleep so he tiptoes out of the room while quietly closing the door behind him. For the next ten minutes, he stands in the hallway digesting the stories he’s just heard. While certainly horrifying and at times showing the worst of humanity he still believes it’s important for the world to hear them. He wants everyone to know about the war that plagued the New England countryside during 1675 and 1676. And in a couple of years, Thomas and his father will go on to tell the world those stories by publishing a book about his father's contribution to this devastating conflict. They call it The Entertaining History of King Philip’s War and to this day, it is still considered a key piece of literature for those looking to better understand the war. But what the book fails to mention is what happened to the people living in Rhode Island immediately following the war, a story that is equally as important for the world to hear.
Shortly after King Philip’s War is over Roger Williams returns to the town he founded back in 1636. As his elderly body slowly makes its way down Towne Street, or what we know as North Main Street today, he sees that Providence has been completely destroyed. As other Rhode Islanders begin trickling back into the town as well, they're distraught when they see that only two of their houses have survived the war. Around this time, similar scenes are unfolding further South in the towns of Warwick and Wickford as well and the Rhode Islanders find themselves resenting their native neighbors. They understand why the natives attacked Plymouth and Massachusetts as they had been mistreating the native for years but the Rhode Islanders relationship with the natives was different, it was far more amicable. Feeling as though they’ve been betrayed, the Rhode Islanders decide to adopt the same type of cruel actions used by the Plymouth and Massachusetts governments against their Narragansett neighbors. They begin executing the few Narragansett war chiefs and warriors who managed to survive the war while also having hundreds of Narragansett women and children sent to Plymouth so that they can be sold off into slavery. Even Roger Williams, a man who staunchly advocated for the rights of the natives while living in Massachusetts and who was good friends with many of their leaders, participates in these activities as well. To the east, the Pokanokets on Mount Hope are forced to deal with an even harsher reality. Not only are their people executed and sold off into slavery as well but the Plymouth Government then takes it a step further by attempting to eradicate the Pokanoket name completely. They do so by making it illegal for anyone to claim that they are part of the Pokanoket tribe, a crime that’s punishable by death. Over the next several months these inhumane punishments continue until the once powerful Narragansett and Pokanoket Nations are reduced to a group of people struggling just to keep their head above water. The fact that both of these tribes survived this inhumane treatment and still exist to this very day is a true testament of their ability to persevere. Needless to say, the years immediately following King Philip’s War, are a dark stain on Rhode Island’s rich history and prove just how easily war can destroy a once harmonious relationship. At the same time, it also illustrates just how dark of a place the Rhode Islanders are in after the war. Not only are they a group of religious outcasts that the rest of New England looks down upon but now the colony they worked so hard to create is in ruins To make it worse, the leaders who played such a pivotal role in the founding and development of their radical little society will not be there to guide them through these difficult times. By 1678, William Coddington, Samuel Gorton, and John Clarke all pass away. Then, in 1683, Roger Williams, the man who started it all, passes away as well. With these great men no longer with them, Rhode Island suddenly finds itself in a dark tunnel, unsure of how to proceed. Thankfully, new leaders are about to emerge and they’ll drive their colony towards the proverbial light at the end of that tunnel. It won’t be easy and at times it may even seem hopeless but luckily their predecessors left behind a powerful story for them to lean on. A story that teaches them that in order to build something truly remarkable significant sacrifices must be made. You must be willing to brave the harsh New England wilderness even when survival is not certain. Then, even if you make it out alive you must be prepared to protect what you’ve built from those who want to tear it down and the only way to do that is through unity and relentless perseverance. Rhode Island’s new set of leaders will in fact heed this advice and make their colony even stronger than it was before. The towns to the west of Narragansett Bay will be rebuilt and their countryside will flourish as they create a range of resources to be traded throughout the world. With these new resources, Newport will achieve the level of commercial success that William Coddington always dreamed of and smaller ports around Narragansett Bay will emerge as well. The next generation of Rhode Islanders will not only continue to defend their founders belief in religious freedom but also fight for a wider set of liberties that they believe to be self-evident. They’ll be so devoted to protecting these liberties that when they find them being threatened by their mother country they’ll team up with their sister colonies and go to war with England. The Rhode Islanders will lead the charge for independence and one of their very own will become one of the most important Generals in the American Revolution. Needless to say, the next tale of Rhode Island history will be just as exciting as the last. But that’s a story for next time, on season 2 of the story of Rhode Island Podcast.