mouth one hundred and fifty-nine, and Connecticut three hundred : to all these were attached one hundred and fifty Mohegan Indians. Josiah Winslow, governor of Plymouth Colony, was elected their commander.

"The whole number of all our forces being now come, the want of provision with the sharpness of the cold, minded them of expedition, wherefore the very next day, the whole body of the Massachusetts and Plymouth forces marched away to Pettyquamscot intending to engage the enemy upon the first opportunity that next offered itself: To which resolution those of Connecticut presently consented, as soon as they met together, which was about 5 o'clock in the afternoon : Bull's house intended for their general rendezvous, being unhappily burnt down two or three days before, there was no shelter left either for officers or private soldiers, so as they were necessitated to march on toward the enemy through the snow, in a cold stormy evening, finding no other defence all that night, save the open air, nor any other covering than a cold and moist fleece of snow. Through all these difficulties they marched from the break of the next day, December 19th, till one of the clock in the afternoon, without even fire to warm them, or respite to take any food, save what they could chew in their march. Thus having waded fourteen or fifteen miles through the country of the old Queen, or Sunke Squaw of Narraganset, they came at 1 o'clock upon the edge of the swamp where their guide assured them they would find Indians enough before night.

Our forces chopping thus upon the seat of the enemy, upon the sudden, they had no time either to draw up in any order or form of battle, nor yet opportunity to consult where or how to assault. As they marched, Capt. Mosely and Capt. Davenport led the Van, Major Appleton and Capt. Oliver brought up the rear of Massachusetts forces: General Winslow with the Plymouth forces marched in the centre; those of Connecticut came up in the rear of the whole body : But the frontiers discerning Indians in the edge of the swamp, fired immediately upon them who answering our men in the same language, retired presently into the swamp, our men followed them in amain, without staying for the word of command, as if every one were ambitious who should go first, never making any stand till they came to the sides of the fort, into which the Indians that first fired upon them betook themselves.

It seems that there was but one entrance into the fort, though the enemy found many ways to come out, but neither the English or their guide well knew on which side the entrance lay: nor was it easy to have made another; wherefore the good providence of Almighty God is the more to be acknowledged, who as he led Israel sometimes by the pillar of fire, and the cloud of his presence, a right way through the wilderness, so did he now direct our forces upon that side of the fort, where they might not only enter through not without the utmost danger and hazard. The fort was raised upon a kind of an island of

five or six acres of rising land in the midst of a swamp; the sides of it were made of pallisadoes, set upright, which was compassed about with an hedge of almost a rod thickness, thro' which there was no passing unless they could have fired a way through, which then they had no time to do. The place where the Indians used ordinarily to enter themselves, was upon a long tree over a place of water, where but one man could enter at a time, and which was so way-laid that they would have been cut off that had ventured there: But at one corner there was a cap made up only with a long tree, about four o five foot from the ground, over which men might easily pass: But they had placed a kind of a Block-house right over against the said tree, from whence they sorely galled our men that first entered, some being shot dead upon the tree, as was Capt. Davenport; so as they that first entered were forced presently to retire, and fall upon their bellies, the fury of the enemy's shot was pretty well spent, which some companies that did not discern the danger, not observing, lost sundry of their men, but at the last two companies being brought up, besides the four that first marched up, they animated one another, to make another assault, one of the commanders crying out they run, they run, which did so encourage the soldiers that they presently entered amain. After a considerable number were well entered, they presently beat the enemy out of a flanker on the left hand, which did a little shelter our men from the enemy's shot, till more came up, and so by degrees made up higher, first into the middle, and then into the upper end of the fort, till at last they made the enemy all retire from their sconses, and fortified places, leaving multitudes of their dead bodies upon the place. Connecticut soldiers marching up in the rear, being not aware of the dangerous passage over the tree, in command of the enemy's block-house, were at their first entrance many of them shot down, although they came on with as gallant resolution as any of the rest, under the conduct of their wise and valiant leader, Major Treat.

The brunt of the battle, or danger that day lay most upon the commanders whose part it was to lead on their several companies in the very face of death, or else all had been lost; so as all of them with great valour and resolution of mind, as not at all afraid to die in so good a cause, bravely led on their men in that desperate assault; leaving their lives in the place as the best testimony of their valour, and of love to the cause of God and their country: No less than six brave Captains fell that day in the assault, viz. Capt. Davenport; Capt. Gardiner, Capt. Johnson, of Massachusetts, besides Lieutenant Upham, who died some months after of his wounds received at that time. Capt. Gallop also, and Capt. Sieley and Capt. Marshall were slain, of those belonging to Connecticut colony. It is usually seen that the valour of the soldiers is much wrapped up in the lives of their Commanders, yet it was found here, that the soldiers were rather engaged than discouraged by the loss of their Commanders, which made them redouble their courage, and not give back after they were entered a second time, till they had driven out their enemies: So after much

blood and many wounds dealt on both sides, the English seeing their advantage, began to fire the wigwams, where was supposed to be many of the enemies' women and children destroyed, by the firing of at least five or six hundred of their smoaky cells.

It is reported by them that first entered the Indian's fort, that our soldiers came upon them when they were ready to dress their dinner, but our sudden and unexpected assault put them beside that work, making their cook rooms too hot for them at that time, when they and their mitchin fried together: And probably some of them eat their suppers in a colder place that night: Most of their provisions as well as their huts being then consumed with fire, and those that were left alive forced to hide themselves in a cedar swamp, not far off, where they had nothing to defend them from the cold but boughs of spruce and pine trees: For after two or three hours fight, the English became masters of the place, but not judging it tenable, after they had burned all they could set fire upon, they were forced to retreat, after the day light was almost quite spent, and were necessitated to retire to their quarters, full fifteen or sixteen miles off, some say more, whither with their dead and wounded men they were forced to march, a difficulty scarce to be believed and not to be paralleled in any for

mer age.

Our victory was found afterwards to be much more considerable than at first was apprehended; for although our loss was very great not only because of the desperateness of the attempt itself (in such a season of the year, and at such a distance from our quarters, whereby many of our wounded men perished, which might otherwise have been preserved, if they had not been forced to march so many miles in a cold snowy night, before they could be dressed) yet the enemy lost so many of their principal fighting men, their provision also was by the burning of their wigwams, so much of it spoiled at the taking of their fort, and by surprizing so much of their corn about that time also; that it was the occasion of their total ruin afterwards: They being at that time driven away from their habitations, and put by from planting for the next year, as well as deprived of what they had in store for the present winter. What numbers of the enemy were slain is uncertain, it was confessed by one Postock, a great Counsellor amongst them, afterwards taken at Rhode Island, and put to death at Boston, that the Indians lost 700 fighting men that day, besides three hundred that died of their wounds, the most of them: The number of old men, women and children, that perished either by fire, or that were starved with hunger and cold, none of them could tell. There was above 80 of the English slain, and 150 wounded, that recovered afterwards.

There were several circumstances in this victory very remarkable. First, The meeting with one Peter a fugitive Indian, that upon some discontent, flying from the Narragansetts, offered himself to the service of the English, and did faithfully perform what he had promised, viz. to lead them to the swamp where the Indians had seated