The Deadly Ambush of John Sassamon

When John Sassamon heard rumors of impending danger for Plymouth Colony, he had to warn them. Sassamon was pivotal in the complicated relationship between colonists and Native Americans. Born in the Massachusett tribe around 1620 when the Pilgrims arrived, Sassamon became a living symbol of the collision of European and ancient American cultures.

Sassamon was mentored in the English language and Christian religion, becoming an interpreter and intermediary between settlers and native people. As an intelligent and eager learner, he was sent to Harvard College. He worked closely with missionary John Eliot to establish communities for Native American Christians and helped translate the Bible into native languages. 

The aging Massasoit, the Wampanoag leader who first formed the alliance with Plymouth Colony, relied on Sassamon as an interpreter and advisor. When Massasoit died, his son Metacom (known as King Phillip) eventually became chief, and the bridge of peace between the two communities fractured even more, with Sassamon caught in the middle. 

In the cold of winter, Sassamon went to warn Plymouth leaders of an impending attack by Metacom, but his warning was dismissed and he was sent home unprotected. On January 29, 1675, John Sassamon was found dead in an icy pond, his neck twisted. A native American said he witnessed three of Metacom's men kill Sassamon. The men were put on trial, and a jury of six colonists and six Wampanoags found them guilty. Their execution ignited one of the bloodiest conflicts on American soil – King Philip's War. 

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“The wicked watched the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.”

(Psalms 37:32; 1599 Geneva Bible)

Compulsory Military Service Begins

Security was an issue for the Plymouth Pilgrims since the day they landed in 1620, but over time they strengthened their defenses for any unexpected dangers. 

A visitor from New Amsterdam colony visited Plymouth in 1627. Isaack de Rasieres noticed how their homes were arranged within a "stockade against sudden attack," and in the center of the village were four small swivel cannons. Their meetinghouse overlooking the village held six larger cannons on the upper floor, able to fire toward any inland attacks. According to de Rasieres, they were "constantly on their guard night and day." 

As the population grew, security became more challenging. Colonists spread deeper into Native American territory, making it difficult to retreat within the barricaded village. Tensions grew as native populations competed for trading rights with the colonies. Then war broke out between the Pequot nation and English colonists, ending with a fiery massacre of hundreds of Pequots, horrifying both colonists and Native Americans. The English colonies later created a defensive alliance in case of further clashes. 

While Plymouth had little trouble gathering volunteers for defense, on January 2, 1634 colony leaders demanded that every man be involved in the militia. Without exception for ministers or government officials, the law required “every person within the colony be subject to such military order for training and exercise of arms as shall be thought suitable, agreed on, and prescribed by the governor and assistants." The peace the Pilgrims enjoyed in those earliest years just could not last. 

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“And ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

(Matthew 24:6; 1599 Geneva Bible)

Governor Bradford Gets a Break

In the early days of Plymouth Colony, finding leaders was no easy task. It was so difficult that in 1633, Plymouth enacted a law that required anyone who was voted in as a governor or council member to accept the position or face fines or taxes. Just months after they first landed, Governor John Carver fell ill while working in the field, dying days later. It was then that William Bradford was thrust into leadership of the colony while still recovering from his own illness. 

Bradford guided the community for twelve years before he finally got a break from his tiring work as governor on January 1, 1633. Edward Winslow, a dependable leader and diplomat, was then chosen to replace him. 

Despite the challenges of finding leaders, the Plymouth Colony continued to grow but was outpaced by the newer Puritan colony to the north. John Winthrop's colony had more strict rules regarding who could vote or hold office, requiring individuals to be acknowledged members of the Puritan congregation to be considered full citizens.

Bradford's respite from the governorship was well-deserved, but short-lived. He was voted in several times again throughout his career. His legacy as a leader continued long after his time as governor. He served intermittently for about 30 years between 1621 and 1657 and even served as a commissioner of the United Colonies of New England on multiple occasions, and twice as president. The weary leader's work proved critical to the survival and success of the Plymouth Colony. 

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“I am not able to bear all this people alone, for it is too heavy for me.”

(Numbers 11:14; 1599 Geneva Bible)

Robinson’s Earnest Request for Sanctuary

John Robinson’s church in Nottinghamshire could no longer tolerate the continual government harassment. Authorities demanded church leaders either conform or lose their pastoral positions. Church members were constantly under surveillance, and considered as criminals. They faced arrests, fines, and even threats of execution for unauthorized church meetings. “They could no longer continue in that condition,” said William Bradford. 

After countless secret meetings, they planned to escape to Holland, where there “was freedom of religion for all,” and many Separatist families who were “persecuted for the same cause” in England were already living there. After some frightful failed attempts to leave, many church members finally reached the safety of Holland. 

On December 2, 1609, Pastor Robinson petitioned Leiden officials, asking permission to move his church there. About one hundred people  requested “to come to live in this city by the first of May,” Robinson said, “without being a burden in the least to anyone.” It was a difficult decision for Leiden’s officials. They were under pressure from King James, who said the religious fugitives were in violation of English law, should not be allowed sanctuary in Holland, and should be surrendered into English custody. 

Two months later, Pastor Robinson received an answer from Leiden officials. The letter said they “refuse no honest persons entry to come and have their residence” so long as they “behave themselves honestly, and submit to all the laws." So Pastor Robinson moved his desperate flock to Leiden, where they lived ten years before their famous Mayflower voyage. 

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“Our soul is escaped, even as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are delivered.”

(Psalm 124:7; 1599 Geneva Bible)

A Pilgrim Becomes a Shakespearean Star

In 1609, a fleet of English ships set out to rescue the dying colony of Jamestown, but a hurricane interrupted their journey. The Sea Venture, one of the ships, ran aground on Bermuda's jagged beach after three days of struggling to stay afloat. All the other ships made it to the shores of Virginia, except for one. A smaller ship disappeared into the ocean, carrying all its crew down with it. 

The ship's 150 passengers and crew survived and built two smaller boats to reach Jamestown, where Thomas Gates was to become the new governor. However, Stephen Hopkins, one of the passengers, challenged Gates' authority, triggering a power struggle that lasted for months, with Hopkins nearly executed for mutiny. Eventually, the survivors constructed two seaworthy vessels and made it to Jamestown, surviving over nine months on the isolated island paradise. 

Two years later, Shakespeare's play, “The Tempest”, premiered in London on November 1, 1611. The play's plot involves a shipwreck on an island and a power struggle between the leader and his subjects, including one crewmember named Stephano. The similarities between the play and the real-life story of Stephen Hopkins are not coincidental. After the Sea Venture passengers reached Jamestown, William Strachey wrote a letter detailing their ordeal, including the power struggle between Gates and Hopkins. Shakespeare likely read Strachey's account, leading many scholars to believe that Hopkins inadvertently inspired the character of Stephano in “The Tempest”, creating an unusual connection between Shakespeare and the Pilgrims of Plymouth.

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“Deliver me out of the mire, that I sink not: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.”

(Psalm 69:14; 1599 Geneva Bible)

The Final Salute for Captain Standish

In the autumn of 1656, Myles Standish's time was ending painfully. His legacy with the Pilgrims was both crucial and controversial. Standish had already lived in Leiden, Holland when the church of exiled English Separatists there hired him as a military leader for their new colony. As an experienced English lieutenant who valiantly fought against Spain, he seemed an ideal choice.

When they arrived in North America in 1620, Standish led the way to find a harbor for the Mayflower, identify the area’s resources, and locate possible building sites for their colony. Though he successfully kept Plymouth safe, colony leaders were worried that his fierce tactics could threaten their settlement. Standish’s New England exploits included the deadly incursions against regional tribes, fortifying Plymouth for potential threats, an armed takeover of the “lawless” and “pagan” Merrymount village, and a failed cannon attack on the northern French settlement in Penobscot Bay. However, Captain Standish proved a helpful negotiator, bringing an end to the vexing contract between Plymouth and their English investors. He also served as a longtime treasurer, road surveyor, and assistant governor. 

Standish suffered intensely in those last days from what may have been bladder cancer or kidney stones. His doctor friend, Matthew Fuller, couldn't be found in time to help. Quivering in pain, his loved ones thought it a blessing when seventy-two-year-old Myles Standish finally died on October 3, 1656, in his Duxbury home. The burial ground where he rests is now the oldest maintained cemetery in America. 

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“How are the mighty overthrown, and the weapons of war destroyed!”

(2 Samuel 1:26; 1599 Geneva Bible)

Samuel Gorton: A Religious Rebel Among Rebels

By late 1643, Samuel Gorton burned his bridges with the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies due to his radical religious and political beliefs. One year earlier he and his growing followers fled to Rhode Island, drawn by the religious tolerance of Roger Williams, but even Williams became alarmed at Gorton’s views. 

At his Shawomet settlement, Gorton wrote scathing letters denouncing the Massachusetts colony, and Governor John Winthrop and colony officials would take no more. They persuaded two native American leaders, caught in the crossfire of colonial disputes, to accuse Gorton of land fraud, providing Winthrop the legal grounds to dissolve Gorton’s Shawomet settlement and expand the influence of Massachusetts Bay. 

On October 3, 1643, Winthrop dispatched an ultimatum to Samuel Gorton. His people must either renounce their unorthodox beliefs, vacate the area, or face deadly consequences in order to stop the spread of their heresies. Sensing a looming attack, Gorton and his men told their families to flee while they loaded their weapons. 

When negotiations failed, Winthrop’s troops opened fire upon the building that held Gorton and his men. After days of gunfire, Gorton’s outnumbered men surrendered under the promise of safe passage to Boston and a fair trial. However, this pledge was a ruse. Upon surrendering, they were promptly imprisoned, their property confiscated, and they were swiftly condemned for their religious dissent, barely escaping execution. Samuel Gorton was yet another who discovered he was the wrong kind of religious rebel to dwell among the other rebels of New England. 

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“If ye bite and devour one another, take heed lest ye be consumed one of another.”

(Galatians 5:15; 1599 Geneva Bible)