Shot in 2003 by producer Frank Durant, who also did the Lady of the Dunes documentary, the short film “Nine Men’s Misery” refers to the oldest known monument to veterans in the United States, marking the site where nine men from Captain Michael Pierce’s company were killed during King Philip’s War. Click here for a 21-minute video taken from the film and posted on April 12, 2026 by Christopher Setterlund.

The film opens with Dr. Ella Sekatow, Narragansett Tribal Historian, telling the story of how, on March 26, 1676 during King Philip’s War, Captain Michael Pierce led approximately 60 Plymouth Colony militia and 20 Wampanoag warriors in pursuit of the Narragansett tribe, who earlier had massacred hundreds of Natives at theGreat Swamp in Rhode Island on December 19, 1675. Telling the rest of the story in the film were Cumberland Library Director Thomas Shannahan and local historian Lester Hilton.

(Above) Roger Williams National Memorial Ranger John McNiff, Blackstone Valley Historian Bob Billington, and Historian Norm Beauregard continued telling the story of what happened in Cumberland.

(Above) Cistercian Monk Rev. Laurence Bouget concluded the story of the incident which is now marked by a memorial on the grounds of the Cumberland Monastery.