Deceit of Captain Waldron (6-7 Sep 1676)

Date: 6 Sep 1676 to 7 Sep 1676
Location: Dover, New Hampshire
Surname/tag: Waldron Frost

Historical event. 6-7 Sep 1676 at Dover, New Hampshire.

Who was there: Category:Deceit of Captain Waldron (6-7 Sep 1676)

Known participants:

• Major Richard Waldron
• Captain Charles Frost​
• Captain Joseph Syll
• Captain William Hathorne
• Sagamore Wonolancet Penacook
• Muttaump and Sagamore Sam
• About 400 other natives

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In September 1676, Captain Joseph Syll and Captain William Hathorne, marching under orders from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, to round up 'strange Indians' who had recently fled from the southern theatre of King Philip's War, arrived at Cocheco on 6 September 1676. They enlisted the aid of the Dover magistrate, Major Richard Waldron, who had only recently signed a peace treaty with Wonolancet and Squando, with explicit provision "That none of said Indians shall entertain at any time any of our enemies..." Waldron, in turn, enlisted the aid of his compatriot, Captain Charles Frost of Kittery, to trick the Indians and then, together with the captains and their companies, to surround and capture them. This event had the effect of prolonging King Philip's War, in the north-eastern theatre of New Hampshire and Maine, until 1678.

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From "The History of New-Hampshire"

The war at the southward, though renewed in the spring, drew toward a close. Philip's affairs were desperate; many of his allies and dependents forsook him; and in the month of August he was slain by a party under Captain Church. Those western Indians who had been engaged in the war, now fearing a total extirpation, endeavoured to conceal themselves among their brethren of Penacook who had not joined in the war, and with those of Ossapy and Pigwacket who had made peace. But they could not so disguise themselves or their behaviour as to escape the discernment of those who had been conversant with Indians. Several of them were taken at different times and delivered up to public execution. Three of them, Simon, Andrew and Peter, who had been concerned in killing Thomas Kimbal of Bradford, and captivating his family, did, within six weeks voluntarily restore the woman and five children. It being doubted whether this act of submission was a sufficient atonement for the murder, they were committed to Dover prison till their case could be considered. Fearing that this confinement was a prelude to farther punishment, they broke out of prison, and going to the eastward, joined with the Indians of Kennebeck and Amoriscogin in those depredations which they renewed on the inhabitants of those parts, in August, and were afterward active in distressing the people at Pascataqua.

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From "The First Maine Indian War: Incident at Machias (1676).”"

After this treaty many of the Indians who had joined in Philip's war upon the English joined themselves to the Penacooks hoping that by means of Wonolancet's influence to escape punishment. By the invitation of Major Waldron this sagamore had come to Cochecho, and with him many of these Indians to the number of three or four hundred. These had the promise of good usage and had the advice of Major Waldron been followed, good faith would have been kept with them.

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From "The History of New-Hampshire"

This renewal of hostilities by other Indians, occasioned the sending of two companies of soldiers from Massachusetts, under Captain Joseph Syll and Captain William Hathorne. In the course of their march, they came to Cochecho, on the 6th of September, where the Indians were met at the house of Major Waldron. The two captains would have fallen upon them at once, having it in their orders to seize all Indians, who had been concerned in the war. The major dissuaded them from that purpose, and contrived the following stratagem. He proposed to the Indians to have a training the next day, and a sham fight after the English mode; and summoning his own men, with those under Captain Frost of Kittery, they, in conjunction with the two companies, formed one party, and the Indians another. Having diverted them a while in this manner, and caused the Indians to fire the first volley, by a peculiar dexterity the whole body of them (except two or three) were surrounded, before they could form a suspicion of what was intended. They were immediately seized and disarmed, without the loss of a man on either side. A separation was then made : Wonolancet, with the Penacook Indians, and others who had joined in making peace the winter before, were peaceably dismissed ; but the strange Indians (as they were called) who had fled from the southward and taken refuge among them, were made prisoners, to the number of two hundred; and being sent to Boston, seven or eight of them who were known to have killed any Englishmen were condemned and hanged; the rest were sold into slavery in foreign parts.

Deceit of Captain Waldron.

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From King Philip's War, p285-286

In July, Squando and Wannalancet had made a treaty of friendship with the English and in the following month, as the other eastern Indians continued aggressive, came to Major Walderne​ at Dover, to show the English that they had not re-engaged in hostilities.

Many of the Nipmucks, who considered it an admirable opportunity to accept, under the countenance of the other Indians, the terms of the proclamation made by the General Court in May, came with them, including Muttaump and Sagamore Sam, who hoped that in the company of those who were friends of the English, they might be overlooked or mercy extended. Vain hope, for the authorities knew of their presence, and Hathorne, Walderne and Captain Frost​ of Kittery, had mutually agreed to seize all that "were met about Major Walderne's dwelling."

The details of what followed are obscure; the contemporary historians tersely describe the plan followed as a "contrivement." At any rate it succeeded and all the Indians were disarmed and seized on the 6th of September. The Rev. Jeremy Belknap​ furnishes considerable detail as from eyewitnesses, to the effect that the Indians were induced to join in a sham fight, and, after considerable maneuvering, led to deliver the first fire, whereupon, their guns being empty, they were surrounded and disarmed.

The strategem adopted for the capture of these people was applauded by the colonists, but among the Indians, even by those friendly disposed, it was considered as a breach of faith and was not forgotten.

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From "The Assassination of Major Richard Waldron by Kancamagus, last Sachem of the Pennacook Indians" in the blog "Of a place" by Carl Benedict McCarthy.

In the native uprising of 1675 known as King Philip's War, Major Richard Waldron signed a peace treaty with the local sachem, Wonalancet.

As a gesture of peace after the treaty, in September 1676, Waldron invites his Pennacook trading partners into a playing a "game" with the company of men he commands. However, it's actually a trap. He proposes a mock "battle", in which the Indians are given a canon to use, with powder but no shot. While they are awed and distracted by this device, the 400 natives are surrounded by four companies of colonial men, and disarmed.

The Indians are then sorted, with the individuals known to be peaceable -- such as Christian converts living in the Praying Towns along the Merrimack -- allowed to go free. The remaining two hundred Indians are imprisoned and sent to Boston for trial. Seven are hanged for treason and the remainder are sold into slavery in Barbados.

Some accounts say Wonalencet himself was transported to Barbados, but managed to make his way back home. In any case, the authority of Wonalancet was shattered, and eventually his nephew Kancamagus took up the mantle of "sachem" of the Pennacooks.

Sources

• Jeremy Belknap. "The history of New-Hampshire. : Volume I. Comprehending the events of one complete century from the discovery of the River Pascataqua." Boston. Re-printed for the author, M,DCC.XCII. (Published according to act of Congress.), [1792]. To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/N18558.0001.001

• George Ellis and John Morris. "King Philip's War" Grafton Press, New York, 1906. Chapter XVII. The text is in the public domain. (Accessed 26 Nov 2022) https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/_Topics/history/_Texts/EAMKPW/17*.html

• Frank T. Siebert. “The First Maine Indian War: Incident at Machias (1676).” Actes Du Quatorzieme Congres des Algonquinistes, William Cowan, ed. Ottawa: Carleton University. pp. 81-82, citing Belknap.

See also:

• Treaty at Cochecho (3 July 1676)
• Incident at Machias (Jul 1676)
• Indian Slave Act (29 March 1677)