Pequot War battlefields not only took place throughout towns in Connecticut, there are also associated sites in Block Island, Rhode Island and Dover Plains, New York. Read more about these sites below.

The 1st action of the Pequot war was on Block Island (August 1636). In retaliation for the murders of traders Oldham and Stone, English forces launched an expedition against the Manisses of Block Island and the Pequots. The first recorded amphibious assault in the New World, the English spent two days searching Block Island, but only a few warriors skirmished. The English only succeeded in burning partial villages on Block Island and in Pequot territory on the Connecticut coastline.

In response, the Pequot besieged Fort Saybrook under command of Lieutenant Lion Gardiner in Old Saybrook, Connecticut (September 1636- April 1637). The Pequot attacked English  soldiers who ventured too far from Saybrook Fort, destroyed English goods, and burned warehouses. Pequot warriors attempted to cut off all river traffic to and from the upriver Connecticut colonies of Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor.

A large force of Pequot warriors attacked English settlers at Wethersfield (April 1637) in the Great Meadow along the Connecticut River. The Pequot killed 9 men and women and captured 2 girls. As a result of the Wethersfield attack, Connecticut declared war on the Pequot on May 1, 1637 and raised a force of 90 soldiers.

In Mystic, Connecticut, the Pequot War’s most famous battle occured, referred to here as the Battle of Mistick Fort (late May 1637). During this battle, a force of English and their Native Allies attacked a Pequot fortified village. This battlefield includes the site of the Mistick Fort,  several major skirmishes and rear-guard actions, and routes of march and retreat by English forces and their Native allies. Learn more about the battle, as our team completed research and archaeology at the Battle of Mistick Fort in 2009-2011.

The Fairfield Swamp Fight (ca. July 15, 1637) in Fairfield, Connecticut, was the last major action of the war. Members of the tribe scatterned after the Battle of Mistick Fort, and English and their Native Allies pursued some Pequots to modern day Fairfield. Many hid under cover with members of the Sasqua Tribe in a nearby swamp, which the English with their Native Allies surrounded. What followed was a 24-hour battle, one of the only battles where Pequot warriors used firearms. Hand-to-hand fighting took place as the English tried to gain entry into the swamp.  Thomas Stanton, known Indian interpreter, parleyed with members of the tribe. While some Pequots escaped, some surrendered to capture.

The Dover Stone Church site in  Dover Plains New York, purported to be the site where the chief Pequot sachem Sassacus was intercepted, along with other Pequot sachems and warriors, and executed by the Mohawk.