The First Abenaki War (also known as the northern theatre of

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 ...

) was fought along 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 ...

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 ...

border primarily in present-day

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 ...

. Richard Waldron and Charles Frost led the forces in the northern region, while

Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie, Baron de Saint-Castin (; 1652–1707) was a French military officer serving in Acadia and an Abenaki chief. He is the father of two prominent sons who were also military leaders in Acadia: Bernard-Anselme and Joseph. He ...

worked with the tribes that would make up the

Wabanaki Confederacy The Wabanaki Confederacy (''Wabenaki, Wobanaki'', translated to "People of the Dawn" or "Easterner"; also: Wabanakia, "Dawnland") is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of five principal Eastern Algonquian nations ...

. The natives engaged in annual campaigns against the English settlements in

1675 Events January–March * January 5 – Franco-Dutch War – Battle of Turckheim: The French defeat Austria and Brandenburg. * January 29 – John Sassamon, an English-educated Native American Christian, dies at Assaw ...

1676 Events January–March * January 29 – Feodor III of Russia, Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia. * January 31 – Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, is f ...

, and

1677 Events January–March * January 1 – Jean Racine's tragedy '' Phèdre'' is first performed, in Paris. * January 21 – The first medical publication in America (a pamphlet on smallpox) is produced in Boston. * February 15 ...

. Waldron sent forces so far north that he attacked the

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

in Acadia. Historian Georges Cerbelaud Salagnac writes that Castine and the Abenaki "displayed consummate skill at it, holding in check at every point, from the

Penobscot River The Penobscot River (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's W ...

to Salmon Falls, N.H., and even beyond, 700 regular troops, and even inflicting humiliating defeats upon them." The official records indicate natives killed or captured 260 English. The villages of Cape Neddick,

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, Casco, Arrowsick, Pemaquid and several others were destroyed. The war cost the colonial government £8,000.

Historical context

was sent from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

at the outset of the war with the governor's orders to organize all the natives "throughout the whole colony of Acadia to adopt the interests of the king of France." After Saint-Castin had settled among the

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

s, King Philip ( Pometacom) and his warriors ravaged New England in 1675. Historian Georges Salagnac writes that, "One may reasonably suppose that Saint-Castin began to exercise his talents as a military counsellor on the occasion of this war." The people of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

thought Saint-Castin was influencing the Wabanaki strategy and supplying them with superior equipment.

The war

In the Northeast Coast Campaign (1675) the Wabanaki Confederacy raided English settlements along the New England/Acadia border in present-day Maine. They killed eighty colonists and burned many farms, blunting the tide of English expansion. Settlers deserted community after community, leaving only the settlements south of the Saco River to maintain an Anglo presence in the region. In the Northeast Coast Campaign (1676) the Wabanaki Confederacy raided English settlements along the New England/Acadia border in present-day Maine. In the first month, they laid waste to 15 leagues of the coast east of Casco. They killed and captured colonists and burned many farms, blunting the tide of English expansion. The Campaign of 1676 led the English to abandon the region, retreating to Salem. The campaign is most notable for Richard Waldron entering the war, the death of Chief Mogg and the attack on the

that initiated their involvement in the war. Natives attacked a settlement at the Sheepscot River near Merrymeeting Bay in Maine in August 1676. Notably, Sir

William Phips Sir William Phips (or Phipps; February 2, 1651 – February 18, 1695) was the first royally appointed governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and the first native-born person from New England to be knighted. Phips was famous in his lifeti ...

rescued local settlers by bringing them on board his vessel, forgoing his cargo of lumber. Although he was financially ruined (the Indians destroyed the shipyard and his intended cargo), he was seen as a hero in Boston. In the Northeast Coast Campaign (1677) the Wabanaki Confederacy raided English settlements along the New England/Acadia border in present-day Maine. They killed and captured colonists and burned many farms, blunting the tide of English expansion.

Afterwards

In response to King Philip's War and

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 ...

(1689–97), many colonists from northeastern Maine and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

temporarily relocated to larger towns in Massachusetts and

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

to avoid Wabanaki Indian raids. The fighting ended in the northern theatre with the Treaty of Casco (1678). Natives assassinated both Charles Frost and Charles Waldon in King William's War. Phips would initiate an attack on the capital of Acadia,

Port Royal Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...

. Conflict continued for decades in Maine, New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts. In response to King Philip's War, which stemmed from New England expansion onto native land, the five Indian tribes in the region of

created the

to form a political and military alliance with

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

to stop the New England expansion. During the next 74 years, six colonial wars between New France and New England, along with their respective native allies, took place, starting with

in 1689. (See 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 ...

, Father Rale's War and

Father Le Loutre's War Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Kingdo ...

.) The conflict was over the border between New England and Acadia, which New France defined as the

Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 natural river within the U.S. state of Ma ...

in southern Maine.
•
•

References

;Texts * * * ;Links
First Abenaki War

Historical context

The war

Afterwards

References

Further reading