Attack at Hadley

On June 12, 1676, as the number of military engagements between the English and the Indigenous people of Southern New England increased and tensions continued to rise, several hundred Indigenous people attacked Hadley, Massachusetts, and were eventually repulsed. (1) While the Indigenous forces were engaged in battle, it is believed that an English war party found their camp. The Indigenous warriors returned to their encampment to find that the English had killed at least fifty women and children. According to Eric B. Schultz, “This assault on Hadley would prove to be the last coordinated native [Indigenous] military action in the Connecticut Valley. By June 16, the combined English force was moving along the Connecticut River and finding only empty native camps.” (2)

1. As with many of the statistics presented on the war, there is dispute over how many Indigenous people were present at the raid on Hadley. Conservative estimates state the number to be in the low 200s while others have estimated it to be upwards of 700.

2. Eric B. Schultz and Michael J. Tougias, King Philip’s War: The History and Legacy of America’s Forgotten Conflict. N89.