King Philip's War of 1675-76 ended the old way of Indian life in southern New England. It saw the virtual decimation and enslavement of a proud people who, finally, preferred to fight rather than give up their lands to English demands. It was also the brief, shining historical moment when one man, the Wampanoag chief Metacomet, rose up as an extraordinary leader and bound his people together by force of personality and justness of cause.

Called King Philip by the colonists, this son of chief Massasoit had managed to maintain his father's peace with the English for many years, in spite of increasing harassment and suspicion. By 1675, this intolerable situation erupted. Three Wampanoags were seized and executed for the murder of an Indian informer. Led by King Philip, the Wampanoags, and then the Nipmucks and Narragansetts swooped down on the white settlements, burning and killing at will. The cost was enormous in lives and property. Within a year the Indians were massacred and Philip himself was betrayed and killed. He had wept when the first shot was fired, and at the last, his head was paraded through the settlements on a pike.

This is the true history of Philip and the greed and misunderstanding of the war that had to happen. It is based on primary sources, but is told as a story to highlight the character of this bold leader and the tragedy of his situation.

From the dust jacket of the Linnet Edition