Who’s Who of the Pequot War
The Pequot War (1636-1637) was a conflict that was as much Native vs. Native as it was English vs. Native.
The Battlefields of the Pequot War project identifies both Native and English veterans involved in the conflict, as well as Native tribes and individuals who allied with the English and the Pequot during the war.
Below is an abbreviated list of identified individuals.
English Veterans
Recent research shows that English soldiers who fought in the Pequot War had prior combat experience or skill sets especially beneficial to an army – surgeons, gunsmiths, and blacksmiths. Servants were also expended, perhaps due to their physicality and age.
Englishmen including John Winthrop (and family), Thomas Hooker, Roger Williams, Thomas Stanton, and Captain John Mason are English Pequot War veterans, as well as political and military leaders of Colonial New England.
English Veterans (listed below alphabetically, with short bios)
Native Veterans
Native individuals, such as Pequot sachems Sassacus and Robin Cassacinamon, the Narragansett sachem Canonicus, Pequot guide Wequash, and additional Native men (who later gave testimony about the war’s events) influenced events and major turning points during the Pequot War.
Our term “Native allies” used in technical reports refers to Natives allied with the English forces.
Jump to Native Veterans (listed alphabetically, with short bios)
English Veterans (alphabetically)
Sergeant Benedict [Benedictus] Alvord
(d. after 1674) One of the 30 who went from Windsor to serve in the Pequot War. In 1673, he was granted 50 acres of land for his service in the Pequot War.
Sergeant Thomas Barber
(b. 1612-d. September 11, 1662, Windsor, Connecticut Colony) Captain John Mason mentioned Barber in the Mistick Fort campaign as having served with Edward Pattison.
Thomas Buckland
(b. 1613-d. May 28, 1662) Bore arms at Mistick Fort. On October 12, 1671, his heirs were granted 50 acres for his service in the Pequot War.
Lieutenant Thomas Bull
(b. ca. 1605-d. 1684) Lieutenant, rescued Arthur Smith from Mistick Fort after being severely wounded.
Robert Chapman
(b. 1616-d. 1687) Garrison soldier stationed at Saybrook Fort and served in the Pequot War.
George Chappell
(b. 1614-d. June 8, 1682) Served under Captain John Mason in the Mistick Fort campaign.
Josiah Churchill
(d. 1686) Pequot War soldier enlisted from Wethersfield.
John Clarke
(d. February 5, 1674, Milford, Connecticut Colony) Soldier stationed at Saybrook Fort.
William Comstock
(b. 1595) Of Wethersfield, at the age of 42 served under the command of Mason, and likely with Lieutenant Seeley at the battle of Mistick Fort.
Sergeant William Cornwell
(d. February 21, 1678, Middletown, Connecticut Colony) Of Roxbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Served in the Pequot War under Captain John Underhill.
Edward Culver
Served in the Pequot War, and from that time on was noted according to family tradition as an “Indian Scout.”
Barnadas Davis
(b. ca. 1599-d. November 28, 1685) Perhaps of Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Drafted in Boston to serve with the Massachusetts forces.
Sergeant Philip Davis
(d. 1689, Hartford, Connecticut Colony) From Hartford prior to his commission as sergeant to the Hartford troops. Historians William Hubbard and Benjamin Trumbull mentioned Davis saving the life of Captain John Mason by cutting the bowstring of an enemy Pequot with his sword at Mistick Fort.
Nicholas Denslow
(b. 1577-d. 1667) Served at the ripe age of 60.
John Dyer [Dier]
(b. 1606-d. 1680) Windsor soldier present at both Mistick Fort and Fairfield Swamp Fight battles. During the Swamp Fight, Thomas Stiles and John Dyer were both struck by arrows in the knots of their handkerchiefs.
James Eggleston
(b. ca. 1617-d. December 1, 1679) James was enlisted or drafted from Windsor for the Mistick Fort campaign.
Zachariah Field
(b. 1596-d. June 30, 1666, Hatfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony) In 1636, he removed with Rev. Thomas Hooker to Hartford where he enlisted.
John Gallop Jr.
(b. January 25, 1620-d. December 19, 1675) In 1636, John Gallop Jr. with his brother and father, witnessed the murder of Mr. Oldham. Gallop enlisted at Saybrook Fort and was an Indian interpreter.
Nathan Gillet
(b. 1613, d. September 15, 1689, Windsor, Connecticut Colony) Fought in the Battle of Mistick Fort. Granted 50 acres of land for his service in the Pequot War on October 12, 1671.
Ensign William Goodrich
(d. 1676) Enlisted from Wethersfield.
Thomas Gridley
(b. 1586-d. 1655) Removed with Rev. Thomas Hooker’s company to Hartford. Enlisted to serve under Mason. His heirs were granted 50 acres in Hartford for his service in the war on October 12, 1671.
Stephen Hart
(b. 1599-d. March 16, 1682/3, Farmington, Connecticut Colony) One of the “90 white men and 70 Indians who sail forth to attack the mischievous and murderous Pequots.”
William Haydon
(b. 1609-d. October 31, 1678, Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony) Enlisted from Windsor and was present at the battle of Mistick Fort. He was said to have cut the bowstring of a Pequot warrior who was about to fire upon Captain John Mason.
Mr. Hedge [William Hedges]
(b. 1612-d. June 30, 1670, Yarmouth) Of Lynn, Massachusetts, served under Captain John Underhill. Mason refers to Mr. Hedge in his narrative as a “valiant, resolute Gentleman.”
Lieutenant Daniel Howe [Haugh]
(b. 1608-d. 1656, England) March 9, 1637, of Lynn, Massachusetts. Commissioned to serve as lieutenant for the Saugus troops under Captain Underhill, with Richard Davenport and Richard Walker.
Thomas Hurlbut
(b. 1610-d. September 1689, Wethersfield, Connecticut Colony) A Saybrook Garrison soldier, blacksmith by trade. Perhaps served with Connecticut Colony forces on the Mistick Fort campaign.
Jeremy Jagger [Jeremiah Gager, Jeremy Gager, Jeremiah Jagger]
For his service his sons John, Jeremiah, and Jonathan of Stamford were granted 20 acres of land each at Connecticut in 1671.
Captain John Mason
(b. 1600-d. January 30, 1672, Windsor, Saybrook and Norwich, Connecticut Colony) Led Connecticut Colony forces to the defeat the Pequot at Mistick Fort. Authored his account of the Pequot War, Brief History of the Pequot War, first published by Rev. Thomas Prince in 1736, Boston. Later Deputy Governor of Connecticut Colony.
Nathaniel Merriman
(b. June 2, 1613-d. February 23, 1693) Of Wethersfield, served with the Connecticut Colony troops. On October 1698, the General Court granted Sergeant John Merriman, Nathaniel’s son, five acres in New Haven for Pequot War service.
Sergeant Thomas Munson
(b. 1612-d. May 7, 1685) A carpenter, civic officer, and soldier. Served under Mason, and one of the first 42 levied from Hartford for the Mistick Fort campaign in May 1637.
Sergeant John Nott
(d. 1681) Of Wethersfield, served under Mason against the Pequot.
John Norton
(b. 1610-d. 1676) Arrived in New England in 1636. Became a soldier serving in the Pequot War.
Nicholas Olmstead
(b. 1612-d. August 31, 1684) Enlisted from Hartford and served under Mason during the Mistick Fort campaign.
Richard Olmstead
(b. ca. 1612-d. after 1686) Of Hartford, served under Mason, evidenced by testimony given with Sergeant Tibbals in 1683.
Richard Osborn
(b. 1612) Present at the Battle of Mistick Fort. In 1639, resident of New Haven, he later removed to Fairfield in 1650 where he was known as Captain Richard Osborn “the hero of the Pequot War.”
Thomas Parsons
(b. ca. 1608-d. 1661) Settled in Windsor as early as 1635. Present at Mistick Fort, May 26, 1637.
Edward Pattison
(b. 1602) Enlisted from Windsor, served with Mason during the Mistick Fort campaign, evidenced by a land grant of 60 acres on May 12, 1670.
Thomas Pell
(b. 1612/13-d. September 1669, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony) As surgeon, served at Saybrook Fort under Lieutenant Lion Gardiner. Later sent as surgeon to aid Mason and Underhill’s men.
John Plum [Plume]
(b. July 28, 1594-d. July 1648) Ship owner and trader, used his vessel to carry Mason’s forces to Narragansett Bay during the Mistick Fort campaign.
Lieutenant William Pratt
Of Saybrook, served under Mason during the Mistick Fort campaign and was granted 100 acres on the west bank of the Connecticut River (six miles from the mouth at Saybrook).
James Rogers
Of Saybrook Fort, fought in the Pequot War under Captain Underhill. James Rogers was known as a very successful businessman of Milford, Connecticut after the war.
Robert Rose Jr.
(b. 1619) Enlisted from Wethersfield to fight in the Pequot War and in May of 1668, he received a grant for his service of 50 acres.
Lieutenant Robert Seeley
(b. ca. July 4, 1602-d. 1668) Second in command to Captain Mason and was wounded at Mistick Fort with an arrow, of which Mason removed.
Arthur Smith
(d. 1655) Enlisted and served under Captain Mason. During Mistick Fort, he was wounded badly and saved by Lieutenant Thomas Bull.
Samuel Smith
(b. 1602-d. 1680) Joined the Wethersfield troops to serve in the Pequot War.
Thomas Standish
(b. 1613-d. December 5, 1693) Claimed he was the son of Myles Standish; the “first military officer of New England” out of Plymouth Plantation. In 1637, he was the “keeper of the Fort at Wethersfield” and served in the war.
John Stanley
(b. January 1624-d. December 19, 1706) He removed to Hartford in 1636 with Rev. Thomas Hooker and Rev. Samuel Stone. Served in 1637 at the age of only 13.
Thomas Stanton
(b. 1615-d. December 2, 1677) Served as Indian interpreter for John Winthrop, Jr. and provided his services in the Pequot War.
Sergeant Thomas Stares [Staires, Starr]
(b. 1604-d. September 4, 1640) Came to New England from London in 1634. Served at Mistick Fort and Fairfield Swamp Fight as sergeant and surgeon with the Massachusetts Bay Colony forces.
Aaron Stark
(b. 1608-d. 1685) Of Windsor, fought under Mason and was for his services later granted 50 acres in 1673.
Thomas Stiles
(b. 1614-d. after 1662) Of Wethersfield, served with John Dyer during the Mistick Fort campaign and at the Fairfield Swamp Fight, narrowly escaping with his life.
Reverend Samuel Stone
(b. 1602-d. October 8, 1683, Hartford, Connecticut Colony) Took up service in Hartford to serve as chaplain for the Connecticut Colony forces.
Sergeant John Strickland
Of Watertown, Massachusetts Bay, removed to Wethersfield in spring of 1635 by order to create a new religious establishment in Connecticut. He took up arms in the “Pequot Campaign of 1637.”
William Thrall
(b. 1605, England-d. August 3, 1679, Windsor, Connecticut Colony) Of Windsor, with Mason’s forces in May 1637, and was rewarded with 50 acres of land in Windsor.
Thomas Tibbals
(b. 1615-d. June, 1644) Served under Mason; during both Mistick Fort campaign and at the Fairfield Swamp Fight.
William Treat
Enlisted from Wethersfield, may have accompanied Lieutenant Robert Seeley.
Captain John Underhill
(b. 1597-d. September 21, 1672, Killingworth, Long Island). Arrived in Boston in 1630 and was one of the first paid military officers in New England. In 1638, his narrative of the Pequot War, Newes from America, was published by Mr. Cole in London.
Francis Wainwright
(d. 1692) Of Ipswich, served under Captain Underhill during the Pequot War. Underhill referred to Francis Wainwright as “a pretty study youth of new Ipswich, going forth, somwhat rashly, to persue the Salvages.”
Andrew Ward
(d. 1659, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony) Of Wethersfield, soldier and adventurer.
Jacob Waterhouse
(b. 1604-d. 1676) Of Wethersfield, served with Mason during the Mistick Fort campaign. In 1673, he filed a joint petition with Aaron Stark to Connecticut Colony and Secretary John Allyn.
Richard Westcot [alt. sp. Westcott, Wastecoate, or Wastcoat]
Of Wethersfield.
Josiah Willard
Resident of Connecticut Colony, granted 50 acres for his services in the war on October 12, 1671.
Native Veterans
Attayakitch
Wartime Pequot Sachem at Monahiganick or Pequot.
Audsah
An Eastern Niantic accused of John Oldham’s murder.
Robin Cassasinamon
Pequot child messenger sent by Uncas to Boston for the release of Pequot women at the close of war.
Cutshamequin [Kichomiquim]
A Narragansett sachem, Massachusetts Bay, allied with the English forces serving as an interpreter.
Kiswas
A Pequot caught by the Mohegans near Saybrook, tortured and executed by Captain John Underhill and English forces.
Kithansh
A wartime Pequot sachem at Monahiganick, allied to the Pequot.
Maunamoh
A Narragansett allied to the English forces during the Quinnipiac campaign and served as a guide alongside Wagonckwhut.
Mausampous
Pequot Sachem at Nayantaquit.
Miantinomo
Narragansett sachem. His men assisted Mason’s English allied forces.
Momoho
Chief sachem at Mistick, identified by the Narragansett on a Roger William’s map.
Momomattuck
Served with the Pequots as their captain.
Nanasquiowut
Wartime Pequot sachem at Monahiganick and brother to Puttaquappuonckquame
Nausipouck
Wartime Pequot sachem at Long Island. The father to Puttaquappuonckquame as identified by Uncas.
Nebott
Nebott, sachem or captain, was Western Niantic and allied with the Pequot. Involved in the attack on Lion Gardiner’s garrison at Saybrook Neck, February 22, 1637.
Nepanpuck [Massatunck]
On October 28, 1639, he was accused of murdering Englishmen, in which he cut off their hands to present them to the Pequot sachem Sassacus.
Netorah
From the Fairfield – Sasqua area. In 1683, he testified that the Pequot fled to them, away from the English.
Ninigret [Yanemo, Juanemo]
A Narragansett sachem at Niantic.
Odonquedimun
A Pequot warrior present at the attack on Wethersfield in April 1637.
Pametesick
A Pequot warrior, one of the six Pequots who went with Uncas and 34 Mohegans to Boston as envoys in 1638. Possibly involved in the attack of three Englishmen in a shallop on the Connecticut River.
Puppompogs
Brother of Sassacus. The Pequot sachem at Monahiganick.
Puttaquappuonckquame
A Pequot sachem and brother to Sassacus and Nanasquiouwut of Monahiganick. He was seized by an English ally named Yotaash.
Sacowauen
A Pequot sachem or captain and brother to Sassacus. Possibly led the Pequot forces attack at Nine Mile Island killing Mitchell’s men.
Sassacus [Sasacous]
Sassacus, the son of Tatobam, was the Grand Pequot Sachem who the English allied forces pursued significantly following Mistick Fort. He was eventually caught and killed by the Mohican and/or the Mohawk.
John Sassamon
A Christianized Punkapoag Indian of Dorchester. Allied with the English Massachusetts Bay Colony forces during the Pequot War.
Sassawwaw [Soso]
A Pequot captain, allied to the Narragansett and the English forces.
Sassious
Western Niantic Indian, Sachem or captain, allied with the Pequot. Involved in the attack on Lieutenant Lion Gardiner’s men at Saybrook Neck on February 22, 1637.
Sequasson [Saqueston]
Son of Wangunk Sachem Sequin, allied with the English forces for much of the war.
Sequin
Sachem of the Wangunk, in contention with the Pequot prior to the arrival of the English. Allied with the English.
Solomon the Indian
Served with the Massachusetts Bay Colony forces.
Souwonckquawsir
Wangunk, son of Sequin, allied to the English forces. His forces captured 20 Pequot women, children, and a sachem fleeing to the Mohawk.
Uncas [Onkos, Poquiam]
Uncas was the Great Sachem of the Mohegans. Uncas and his forces allied with the English.
Wagonckwhut
Narragansett, guide to the English forces during the Quinnipiac campaign.
Waiandance
A Montauk Indian allied to the English. Lion Gardiner refers to Wiandance as the brother to the old Sachem of Long Island.
Wattone
The son of Carroughhood, a Quinnipiac counselor. He testified against Nepaupuck, accused of murdering two men in a shallop on the Connecticut River, Abraham Finch and other Wethersfield Englishmen, as well as the kidnapping of a Swaine child from the Wethersfield attack.
Wauphanck
Pequot, known as the first murderer of the English.
Weeaugonhick
Pequot, one of six who went with Uncas and 34 Mohegans to Boston as envoys in 1638.
Wepitimock
The brother of Ninegret and the son of Sassious. Resided at the Eastern Niantic fort on the west bank of the Pawcatuck River. Wepitimock and his men were taken prisoner prior to July 1637.
Wequash
Pequot or Eastern Niantic, allied to the English forces. Served as a scout during the Mistick Fort campaign.
Wincumbone
The wife to Mononatto. Took care of the Swaine girls, surrendered at the Fairfield Swamp Fight. At the end of the battle she was enslaved in Boston, taken in by Governor John Winthrop.
Wuttackquiack
By tribal affiliation, Wuttackquiack was Pequot. Allied with the English soldiers in the Pequot War.
Yotaash
Yotaash, perhaps Narragansett, was the “bearer hereof Miantunnomues brother.”
