Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

military tactics Military tactics encompasses the art of organizing and employing fighting forces on or near the battlefield. They involve the application of four battlefield functions which are closely related – kinetic or firepower, Mobility (military), mobil ...

unconventional warfare Unconventional warfare (UW) is broadly defined as "military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare" and may use covert forces or actions such as subversion, diversion, sabotage, espionage, biowarfare, sanctions, propaga ...

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...

Josiah Winslow Josiah Winslow ( in Plymouth Colony – 1680 in Marshfield, Plymouth Colony) was the 13th Governor of Plymouth Colony. In records of the time, historians also name him Josias Winslow, and modern writers have carried that name forward. He was b ...

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

New England Colonies The New England Colonies of British America included Connecticut Colony, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire, as well as a few smaller short-lived c ...

Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...

Metacomet Metacomet (c. 1638 in Massachusetts – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,John Grenier. ''The First Way of War: American War Making on the Frontier.'' Cambridge University Press. 2005. p. 35 During the

French and Indian Wars The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...

, Church participated in

asymmetric warfare Asymmetric warfare (or asymmetric engagement) is a type of war between belligerents whose relative military power, strategy or tactics differ significantly. This type of warfare often, but not necessarily, involves insurgents, terrorist grou ...

against the French and their indigenous allies. He led troops to raid the French colony of

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

during

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Allian ...

and

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) or the Third Indian War was one in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Gr ...

. Starting his military career at the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, he was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and subsequently to the rank of colonel. Church paid special care to outfitting, supplying and instructing his troops in ways inspired by indigenous methods of warfare and ways of living. He emphasized the adoption of indigenous techniques, which prioritized small, mobile and flexible units which used the countryside for cover, in lieu of massed frontal assaults by large formations. Church also pioneered the use of indigenous warriors as auxiliaries to bolster and educate his soldiers. In 1716, his memoirs, entitled ''Entertaining Passages relating to Philip's War'', was published and is considered by some to constitute the first American military manual.

Early life

Benjamin Church was born in the

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...

, the son of Richard Church and Elizabeth Warren. The maternal grandson of

Richard Warren Richard Warren () was one of the passengers on the Pilgrim ship ''Mayflower'' and a signer of the Mayflower Compact. Early life Richard Warren married Elizabeth Walker, at Great Amwell, Hertfordshire, on 14 April 1610. Elizabeth Walker was ...

, one of the passengers on the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

'', he was brought up according to colonial practices on the

American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the Geography of the United States, geography, History of the United States, history, Folklore of the United States, folklore, and Cultur ...

. Church married Alice Southworth on December 26, 1667 in Duxbury, Massachusetts. He resided for a period of time in Duxbury before moving to

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, as well as the county seat. The population of Bristol was 22,493 at the 2020 census. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. Major industries include boat buil ...

. Church later moved to

Little Compton, Rhode Island Little Compton is a coastal town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, bounded on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by the Sakonnet River, on the north by the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island, Tiverton, and on the east by the t ...

, where he and his wife were eventually buried. Her gravesite is marked by a historically significant gravestone known as a table grave.

King Philip's War

During

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

, Church was the principal military aide to Governor

Josiah Winslow Josiah Winslow ( in Plymouth Colony – 1680 in Marshfield, Plymouth Colony) was the 13th Governor of Plymouth Colony. In records of the time, historians also name him Josias Winslow, and modern writers have carried that name forward. He was b ...

of Plymouth Colony. Commissioned by Winslow as a captain on July 24, 1675, he fought during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

(1675–1678) on the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

frontier against the

Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...

, Nipmuck and

Podunk The terms ''podunk'' and ''Podunk Hollow'' in American English denote or describe an insignificant, out-of-the-way, or even completely fictitious town.Nick Bacon. "Podunk After Pratt: Place and Placelessness in East Hartford, CT." In ''Confront ...

tribes of Indians. He is best known during this time for commanding a company of Englishmen and Native Americans independently of the governor's direction. Church's men were the first colonial force to be successful in raiding the hostile Indians' camps in forests and swamps. During previous decades, colonists had been on the defense against the Natives, who knew their territory intimately. Relations were generally peaceful until 1675, but tensions had been growing as the colonists and their views of property encroached on Indian territory and hunting grounds. Church was allowed to recruit Native Americans after he and other leaders realized that traditional European military tactics were ineffective in frontier warfare. He also persuaded many neutral or formerly hostile Indians to surrender and join his unit, where they operated skillfully as irregular troops. Some of these men had converted to Christianity in settlements before the war. They were known as

Praying Indian Praying Indian is a 17th-century term referring to Native Americans of New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Ver ...

s. After being organized by Church, these troops tracked hostile Indians into the forests and swamps, and conducted effective raids and ambushes on their camps.

Great Swamp Fight

Philip King of Mount Hope by Paul Revere

During the Great Swamp Fight on December 19, 1675, Church was wounded while serving as an aide to Governor Winslow, the commander of the colonial forces in the battle. Forces of the colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth and Connecticut killed an estimated 300 Narragansett warriors and an unknown number of women and children of the Narragansett Tribe. The surviving Narragansetts fled and remained in hiding for the remainder of the war.Grenier (2005). ''The First Way of War'', p. 32 After the Great Swamp Fight, Church and the colonial army were 15 miles from their base in North Kingstown and had to endure a long march encumbered by dragging their dead and wounded and severe cold. The war ended eight months later following an operation by Church's company on August 12, 1676. John Alderman, one of Church's Indian allies, killed King Philip (also known as Metacomet), leader of the

Wampanoag tribe The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and formerly parts of eastern Rhode Island.Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Isl ...

. Upon inspection of Philip's body, Church is quoted as saying "a doleful, great, naked, dirty beast." Metacomet's body, was in accordance with the standard punishment for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

,

hung, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered was a method of torture, torturous capital punishment used principally to execute men convicted of High treason in the United Kingdom, high treason in medieval and early modern Britain and Ireland. The convi ...

.

King William's War

During

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Allian ...

(1688–97), Church led four New England raiding parties into

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

(which included most of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

) against the ethnic French

Acadians The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...

and hostile Native Americans, including the Abenaki. On the first expedition into Acadia, on September 21, 1689, Major Church (who was promoted to major and given command of the expedition by the Council of War of Plymouth Colony on September 6) and 250 troops defended a group of English settlers in the Deering Oaks at the Battle of Brackett's Wood. The British were trying to get established at

Falmouth, Maine Falmouth ( ) is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 12,444 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. A northern suburb of Portland, Falmouth borders Casco Bay a ...

(present-day

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

). Although 21 of his men were killed, Church was successful and the hostile natives retreated. Church returned to Boston, leaving the small group of English settlers unprotected. (The following spring, May 1690, over 400 French and native troops under the leadership of Castin returned to Falmouth and massacred all the English settlers in the Battle of Fort Loyal. When Church returned to the village later that summer, he buried the dead.) Col Benjamin Church by Paul Revere

In Church's second expedition a year later, on September 11, 1690, he commanded 300 men at Casco Bay. His mission was to relieve the English Fort Pejpescot (present day

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. Brunswick is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part o ...

), which had been taken by natives. He went up the

Androscoggin River The Androscoggin River (Abenaki: ''Ammoscongon'') is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data''The National Map'', a ...

to Fort Pejepscot. From there he traveled 40 miles up river to Livermore Falls, Maine, where he attacked an Androscoggin native village. Church's men shot three or four native men as they were retreating. Church discovered five English captives in the wigwams. Church killed and butchered six or seven prisoners, and took nine prisoners. A few days later, in retaliation, the Androscoggin attacked Church at Cape Elizabeth on Purpooduc Point, killing seven of his men and wounding 24 others. On September 26, Church returned to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Church's third expedition during the war was in 1692, when he raided the Penobscot territory of (present-day Indian Island, Maine) with 450 men. Church and his men went on to raid ''Taconock'' (superseded by

Winslow, Maine Winslow is a town and census-designated place in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, along the Kennebec River across from Waterville. The population was 7,948 at the 2020 census. History Winslow was originally an Indian settlement named ...

). Four years later, Major Church conducted a fourth expedition. He carried out the Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696) (present-day

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

), which was then the capital of Acadia, and the Raid on Chignecto (1696) in

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

. He was described as weighing approximately 250 pounds, but personally led his troops. They killed the inhabitants of Chignecto, looting their household goods, burning their houses, and slaughtering the livestock.

Queen Anne's War

During

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) or the Third Indian War was one in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Gr ...

, Church went on his fifth and final expedition into Acadia. The Deerfield Massacre had taken place in western Massachusetts on February 29, 1704, believed conducted by Indians provoked by the French. In addition to killing many settlers, the Abenaki and allies took more than 100 captives overland to Montreal and the Mohawk village south of the river. The captives were often held for ransom by families and communities; some of the younger ones were adopted by Mohawk families. On March 18, 1704 Church was commissioned as a colonel by Massachusetts Governor

Joseph Dudley Joseph Dudley (September 23, 1647 – April 2, 1720) was a colonial administrator, a native of Roxbury in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the son of one of its founders. He had a leading role in the administration of the Dominion of New England ...

and placed in command of a force to raid French settlements in

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

in retaliation for Deerfield. This expedition included the following actions: the Raid on

Castine, Maine Castine ( ) is a town in Hancock County in eastern Maine, United States.; John Faragher. ''Great and Nobel Scheme''. 2005. p. 68. The population was 1,320 at the 2020 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institut ...

, Raid on St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Raid on Grand Pre, Raid on Pisiguit (present day Falmouth and Windsor), and the Raid on Chignecto. Church meticulously planned the expedition. He specified the design of whaleboats to be used in the raids and what kind of hatchets his soldiers were to carry. Church took

John Gyles John Gyles (1680 at Pemaquid, Maine1755 at Roxbury, Boston) was an interpreter and soldier, most known for captivity narrative, his account of his experiences with the Maliseet tribes at their headquarters at Meductic Indian Village / Fort Medu ...

, formerly held as a captive by the

Maliseet The Wolastoqiyik, (, also known as the Maliseet or Malecite () are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the Indigenous people of the Wolastoq ( Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their terri ...

, as his translator. Church took prisoners and claimed to have left only five houses standing in Acadia. In the Raid of Pisiguit (1704), he took the leader Noel Doiron as prisoner.

Tactics and war doctrine

While Church left no formal writings on military doctrine, his memoirs provided considerable detail about his practices. Through the study of his military experiences, scholars have summarized his practices according to the following principles: # Planning each operation in advance, not leaving anything to chance. # Ensuring that soldiers under his command were properly trained, fed, and equipped. # Building alliances with potential allies (i.e. Native Americans), who may have been overlooked or mistrusted by other commanders. # Using stealth and surprise to tactical advantage. # Understanding how a tactical operation fits in with strategic objectives. # Leading by example and from the front. # Maintaining communications with higher and lower echelons.

Later life

Church was elected to public office as the first representative of Bristol to the Plymouth Colony legislature, serving between 1682 and 1684. Church died at Little Compton in 1718 and was buried in the Little Compton Common cemetery.

Legacy

Benjamin Church grave in Little Compton RI

Benjamin Church grave in Little Compton Rhode Island

Church kept notes on his tactics and operations in 1675-1676. His work was eventually published in 1716 as ''Entertaining Passages relating to Philip's War''. Church was the great-grandfather of Dr. Benjamin Church, the first "Surgeon General" (though that title came later) of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. Dr. Church, thought to have been a staunch Whig, was later arrested by General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

as a suspected spy for British General

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator best known for his many years of service in North America, including serving as Commander-in-Chief, North America during the early days ...

. Rogers Rangers and Gorham's Rangers were militia developed according to the tradition begun by Church. In 1992, in honor of his innovative tactical methods, Church was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame. A bronze Ranger Tab was affixed to his gravestone to mark this. The main character in the movie '' The Patriot'' (2000) is loosely based on Church (as well as other historical figures) and references the guerrilla tactics Church used in previous engagements. The movie features Mel Gibson starring as Benjamin Martin. Benjamin Church died 57 years before the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

started in 1775. The Rhode Island

Society of Colonial Wars The General Society of Colonial Wars is a patriotic society composed of men who trace their descents from forebears who, in military, naval, or civil positions of high trust and responsibility, by acts or counsel, assisted in the establishment, d ...

placed a plaque near Colonel Church's grave in honor of his leadership and bravery during King Philip's War.

References

Primary sources

* *Church, Benjamin, as told to Thomas Church, ''The History of Philip's War, Commonly Called The Great Indian War of 1675 and 1676'', edited by Samuel G. Drake,(Exeter, NH: J & B Williams, 1829); Facsimile Reprint by Heritage Books, Bowie, Maryland, 1989.
''The history of King Philip's War ; also of expeditions against the French and Indians in its Eastern parts of New England, in the years 1689, 1692, i696 AND 1704. With some account of the divine providence towards Col. Benjamin Church''
By Benjamin Church, Thomas Church, Samuel Gardner Drake *Church, Thomas.
''The History of the Great Indian War''

Secondary sources

* Beattie, Daniel J. (1986). “The Adaptation of the British Army to Wilderness Warfare, 1755-1763”, Adapting to Conditions: War and Society in the Eighteenth Century, ed. Maarten Ultee (University of Alabama Press), 56-83. * Chet, Guy. “The Literary and Military Career of Benjamin Church: Change or Continuity in Early American Warfare,” Historical Journal of Massachusetts 35:2 (Summer 2007): 105-112 * Chet, Guy (2003). Conquering the American Wilderness: The Triumph of European Warfare in the Colonial Northeast. University of Massachusetts Press. *Drake, Samuel. ''The Border Wars of New England, commonly called King William's and Queen Anne's Wars''. 1910
Drake's book
*Faragher, John Mack, ''A Great and Noble Scheme'' New York; W. W. Norton & Company, 2005. *Philip Gould. (1996). Reinventing Benjamin Church: Virtue, Citizenship and the History of King Philip's War in Early National America. ''Journal of the Early Republic'', Vol. 16, No. 4 (Winter, 1996), pp. 645–657 *Grenier, John. ''The First Way of War: American War Making on the Frontier''. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2005). * Pargellis, Stanley McCrory. “Braddock’s Defeat”, American Historical Review 41 (1936): 253-269. * Pargellis, Stanley McCrory (1933). Lord Loudoun in North America. Yale University Press. * Philbrick, Nathaniel, ''Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War.'' New York: Viking Penguin, 2006. *Zelner, Kyle F. ''A Rabble in Arms: Massachusetts Towns and Militiamen during King Philip's War'' (New York: New York University Press, 2009)

External links

Historical Biographies, Nova ScotiaLepore, Jill, "Plymouth Rocked", ''The New Yorker'', April 24, 2006
Lepore doubts the veracity of Church's memoirs. {{DEFAULTSORT:Church, Benjamin People of King William's War People of Queen Anne's War British America army officers British American Army Rangers People of the Plymouth Colony People from colonial Rhode Island 1630s births 1718 deaths People from Plymouth, Massachusetts People of King Philip's War

Early life

King Philip's War

Great Swamp Fight

King William's War

Queen Anne's War

Tactics and war doctrine

Later life

Legacy

See also

References

Primary sources

Secondary sources

External links