Late in January 1675, two men walking by Assawompset Pond, in the woods south of Plymouth, saw a hat and a gun lying on the ice; under it was the body of John Sassamon. This film tells the story of the war that followed: Massasoit’s peace with the Pilgrims, Wamsutta’s death and Metacom, the man the English called King Philip, the guns at Taunton, the hanging at Plymouth, Swansea, the flower of Essex at Bloody Brook, the Great Swamp Fight, Mary Rowlandson‘s captivity, the raids to within twenty miles of Boston, the hungry spring, Benjamin Church and Mount Hope, what was left of the Native nations, and the same years in Virginia, where Nathaniel Bacon burned Jamestown. Click here for a 34-minute AI-generated video of the wars in New England and Virginia in the late 17th century posted on October 20, 2026 by Yitz History.

(Above) Praying Indian John Sassamon was found dead under the ice of Assawompset Pond, touching off a war that brought troops from Bridgewater, Plymouth and Taunton to Swansea where farms were raided. Soon after, Metacom (known as King Philip to the English) traveled across central and western Massachusetts raiding villages with the help of Nipmuc warriors.

(Above) In December, a thousand troops were sent to a Narragansett village in the Great Swamp where hundreds of Native men, women, children and elders were burned alive. In Lancaster, Mary Rowlandson was taken captive by Metacom for twenty days and released upon a ransom payment.

(Above) In April of 1676, Narragansett Chief Canonchet was captured and executed. In August, Metacom was tracked down to his home at Mt. Hope and killed. Around the same time in Virginia, Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion in Virginia that led to the burning of Jamestown.