not to discharge all their guns at once, lest the ene my should take the advantage of such an opportunity to run upon them with their hatchets. Their next motion was immediately into the peas field.* When they came to the fence, Mr. Church bid as many as had not discharged their guns to clap under the fence and lie close, while the others, at some distance in the field, stood to charge; hoping, that if the enemy should creep to the fence, (to gain a shot at those that were charging their guns,) they might be surprised by those that lie under the fence. But casting his eyes to the side of the hill above them, the hill seemed to move, being covered over with Indians, with their bright guns glittering in the sun, and running in a circumference with a design to surround them. Seeing such multitudes surrounding him and his little company, it put him upon thinking what was become of the boats that were ordered to attend him, and looking up, he spied them ashore at Sandypoint, on the island side of the river,‡ with a number of horse and foot by them, and wondered what should be the occasion; until he was afterwards informed that the boats had been over that morning from the island, and had landed a party of men at Fogland, that were designed in Punkatees neck to fetch off some cattle and horses, but were am (Tiverton shore about half a mile above Fogland ferry.) The situation of Punkatees is given in a preceding note. It contains nearly two square miles, and it is sufficient to know that it contained the ground on which this battle was fought. There are two Sandy points on the Rhodeisland shore, one above and the other below Fogland ferry; this was that above. Fogland ferry connects the island with Punkatees and is near the middle of it. The bay is meant. It being narrow, or from three fourths to a mile wide, is sometimes called a river, and in the old charters, Narraganset river. See Douglass, I, 398. buscaded, and many of them wounded by the enemy.* Now our gentleman's courage and conduct were both put to the test. He encouraged his men, and orders some to run and take a wall for shelter before the enemy gained it. It was time for them now to think of escaping if they knew which way. Mr. Church orders his men to strip to their white shirts, that the islanders might discover them to be Englishmen, and then orders three guns to be fired distinctly, hoping [that] it might be observed by their friends on the opposite shore. The men that were ordered to take the wall being very hungry, stopped a while among the peas to gather a few, being about four rods from the wall. The enemy from behind, hailed them with a shower of bullets. But soon all but one came tumbling over an old hedge down the bank, where Mr. Church and the rest were and told him, that his brother, B. Southworth,† who was the man that was missing, was killed; that they saw him fall. And so they did indeed see him fall, but it was without a shot, and lay no longer than till he had an opportunity to clap a bullet into one of the enemies' foreheads, and then came running to his company. The meanness of the English powder was now their greatest misfortune. When they were immediately upon this beset with multitudes of Indians, who possessed themselves of every rock, stump, tree or fence, that was in sight, firing upon them without * It is mentioned in a later part of this history, that Mr. Church's servant was wounded at Pocasset, while there after cattle. This is the time alluded to. Hubbard, 86, says that "five men coming from Rhodeisland, to look up their cattle upon Pocasset neck, were assaulted by the same Indians; one of the five was Captain Church's servant, who had his leg broken in the skirmish, the rest hardly escaping with their lives ;" and, that "this was the first time that ever any mischief was done by the Indians upon Pocasset neck. This was on the same day of the battle of Punkatees. † Brother in law to Mr. Church. ccasing; while they had no other shelter but a small bank, and bit of a water fence.* And yet, to add to the disadvantage of this little handful of distressed men, the Indians also possessed themselves of the ruins of a stone house, that overlooked them. So that, now, they had no way to prevent lying quite open to some or other of the enemy, but to heap up stones before them, as they did ; and still bravely and wonderfully defended themselves against all the numbers of the enemy. At length came over one of the boats from the isl and shore, but the enemy plied their shot so warmly to her, as made her keep at some distance. Mr. Church desired them to send their canoe ashore, to fetch them on board; but no persuasions nor arguments could prevail with them to bring their canoe to shore; which some of Mr. Church's men perceiving, began to cry out, for God's sake to take them off, for their ammunition was spent ! &c. Mr. Church being sensible of the danger of the enemy's hearing their complaints, and being made acquainted with the weakness and scantiness of their ammunition, fiercely called to the boat's master, and bid him either send his canoe ashore, or else be gone presently, or he would fire upon him. Away goes the boat, and leaves them still to shift for themselves. But then another difficulty arose; the enemy, seeing the boat leave them, were reanimated, and fired thicker and faster than ever. Upon which, some of the men, that were lightest of foot, began to talk of attempting an escape by flight, until Mr. Church solidly convinced them of the impracticableness of it, and encouraged them yet. [He] told them, that he had observed so much of the remarkable, and wonderful providence of God, [in] This ir.deed will compare with Lovewell's Fight. That hero, to prevent being quite encompassed, retreated to the shore of a pond The particulars of which will be found in the continuation of this history. See Appendix, XI, hitherto preserving them, that it encouraged him to believe, with much confidence, that God would yet preserve them; that not a hair of their heads should fall to the ground; bid them be patient, courageous, and prudently sparing of their ammunition, and he made no doubt but they should come well off yet, &c. [Thus] until his little army again resolved, one and all, to stay with, and stick by him. One of them, by Mr. Church's order, was pitching a flat stone up on end before him in the sand, when a bullet from the enemy with a full force, struck the stone while he was pitching it on end, which put the poor fellow to a miserable start, till Mr. Church called upon him to observe how God directed the bullets, that the enemy could not hit him when in the same place, [and] yet could hit the stone as it was erected. While they were thus making the best defence they could against their numerous enemies, that made the woods ring with their constant yelling and shouting. And night coming on, somebody told Mr. Church, [that] they spied a sloop up the river as far as Goldisland,* that seemed to be coming down towards them. He looked up and told them, that, succour was now coming, for he believed it was Captain Golding,† whom he knew to be a man for business, and would certainly fetch them off if he came. The wind being fair, the vessel was soon with them, and Captain Golding it was. Mr. Church (as soon as they came to speak with one another) desired him to come to anchor at such a distance from the shore, that he might veer out his cable, and ride afloat; and let slip his canoe, that it might A very small ledgy island a little to the south of the stone bridge, near the middle of the stream, and about 4 or 5 miles from where they were. + I find nothing relating to this gentleman excepting what is found in this history. We may infer that he was a man of worth and confidence, by Mr. Church's entrusting him with an important post at the fight when Philip was killed. drive a shore; which directions Captain Golding observed. But the enemy gave him such a warm salute, that his sails, colours and stern were full of bullet holes. The canoe came ashore, but was so small that she would not bear above two men at a time; and when two were got aboard they turned her loose to drive a shore for two more. And the sloop's company kept the Indians in play the while. But when at last it came to Mr. Church's turn to go aboard, he had left his hat and cutlass at the well, where he went to drink when he first came down; he told his company, [that] he would never go off and leave his hat and cutlass for the Indians, [that] they should never have that to reflect upon him. Though he was much dissuaded from it, yet he would go and fetch them. He put all the powder he had left into nis gun, (and a poor charge it was) and went presenting his gun at the enemy, until he took up what he went for. At his return he discharged his gun at the enemy, to bid them farewell for that time; but had not powder enough to carry the bullet half way to them. Two bullets from the enemy struck the canoe as he went on board, one grazed the hair of his head a little before, another stuck in a small stake that stood right against the middle of his breast.* Now this gentleman with his army, making in all twenty men, himself and his pilot being numbered with them, got all safe on board, after six hours engagement with three hundred Indians; [of] whose numbers we were told afterwards by some of them The lofty and elegant lines of Barlow, on the conduct of Gen. Putnam at the battle of Bunker's hill, will admirably apply to our hero. "There strides bold Putnam, and from all the plains Columbiad, B. V. 562, &c. |