By January, 1676, the then somewhat United Colonies had attacked the neutral Narragansett Confederation. Although claiming victory by taking and then immediately abandoning a major tribal fortification, they had aroused the largest First Nations confederation in New England. Click here for a 22-minute video recorded by Stan Svec of Fishing Historic Places on January 23, 2026 that tells what happened in January as King Philip’s effort to drive out the English takes a turn for the worse.

Svec (above) begins by stating “With hundreds of non-combatants dead in the Great Swamp Massacre (above, center), the Narragansett will surely be out for revenge if King Philip (above, right) can get them to regroup with the Nipmuc under the slopes of Mount Wachusett.”

With the leadership of Colonel Benjamin Church, General Josiah Winslow and a 1000-man hodge-podge force began the infamous “Mud March” into the woodland of central Massachusetts as Native attacks on the English continued.

Svec points to where Metacom/King Philip journeyed to Schgaghticoke to attempt to win the support of the Mohican and even the powerful Mohawk in his war against the English. Unfortunately, New York Governor Edmund Andros had convinced them to fight against Philip, and they killed about 50 of his warriors before he returned to his home at Mt. Hope.