King Phillip's War

Margaret Shrull

Portrait of Metacomet, leader of the Pokanokets group ["King Phillip" to the English] from an engraving by Paul Revere.

The 8th Great Grandfather of Margaret Shrull, Henry Axtell, was born June 14th, 1665 in Marlborough, Mass. He married a Hannah Merriman at the age of 24 and settled on 15 acres of land in the central part of the town.

In the spring of 1676, the indians, led by an indian known as "King Phillip" of Mount Hope, Rhode Island, made a general war on the white settlement. They attacked several of the smaller settlements in the interior of Massachusetts and killed many of the settlers. Among these, from Marlborough, was Henry Axtell. The inventory of his property is dated April 1st, 1676.

The famous Sudbury Fight, when the Captain and his men were caught in ambush by the indians and many were slain, took place just three weeks after the death of Henry Axtell.

King Phillip's War was named for "Metacomet" known as "King Phillip" to the colonists, leader of the Pokanokets, a member tribe of the Wampanoag Indians. It began either when the English executed three Native Americans for murder or when a farmer killed an indian in retaliation for killing cattle. No matter the start, this conflict was the one of the bloodiest and most brutal of the period, involving huge battles, sneak attacks - massacres - by the colonists against indians who were not (yet) involved in the war, colonist's towns raided and burned, and worse.

All of the US colonies and a number of additional indian tribes including the Nipmuck, Agawam, and the Narragansett were involved in this conflict.

Would you like to contribute to extending this information? We welcome your submissions. Click Here to learn more!