The Unexpected Start to Metacom’s War: Investigating the Archeological Remains of Swansea at “Nockum Hill”

One-inch iron cannon shot recovered during the first field survey of “Nockum Hill”

Town of Barrington

Recipient: Town of Barrington

Amount: $199,973.60

50-years after the arrival of English Colonists in Massachusetts Bay, tensions reached a breaking point. Despite promises of non-aggression, the complex relationships between Native tribes and European settlers were strained by colonial expansion and inter-tribal politics. Leading to rumors and preparations for war by both sides.

Following the Colonists hanging of 3 Wampanoag men, the English settlement of Swansea was attacked in an area referred to by some historians as “Nockum Hill.” Igniting the long-standing tensions between the Wampanoag and Colonists into an all-out war. Known as Metacom’s (sometimes spelled Metacomet) or King Philip’s War, the conflict was named for the Wampanoag’s Chief Sachem, and may have begun without his permission. The war would last from 1675-1676 and is considered one of the deadliest per capita in American history. By the time the fighting subsided, a vast area from modern day Rhode Island to Maine had been devastated. Dozens of English settlements and Native towns had been burned, and enormous numbers of Wampanoags and their allies the Narragansett had been killed.

Using the financial support of a Preservation Planning Grant, the Town of Barrington will conduct a second archeological field survey of the historic Swansea settlement and try to determine the total scale of the fighting that took place on and around “Nockum Hill” in June of 1675. The town will primarily focus on the remnants of the English meetinghouse and other nearby settlement buildings to assess their role during the confrontation, while also exploring for evidence of pre-war interactions between the colonial and Indigenous inhabitants of the area.

Preservation Planning Grants from the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program support a variety of projects that are focused on the preservation and interpretation of sites of armed conflict, including battlefields and associated sites on American soil. In addition to this grant opportunity, the program also provides financial assistance through Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants, Battlefield Interpretation Grants, and Battlefield Restoration Grants, to help generate community-driven stewardship of historic resources at the state, tribal and local levels.