Battle of Turner's Falls 1676
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 19 May 1676 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1676 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | King Philip's War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 42.6129, -72.5494 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Turner's Falls or Battle of Grand Falls; also known as the Peskeompscut-Wissantinnewag Massacre, was a battle and massacre occurring on May 19, 1676, in the context of King Philip's War in what is present-day Gill and Greenfield, across from Turners Falls on the Connecticut River. The incident marked a turning point in the war, and in the colonization of Algonquian lands by New England settlers. The war led to the expulsion of most Native Americans from the Connecticut River Valley.
A largely untrained, inexperienced militia force of 150-160 engaged in an initial massacre early in the morning around dawn, taking advantage of the native practice of the warriors sleeping in a separate camp during wartime about half a mile away, and began looting of the Peskeompskut camp, killing between 100 and 200 people, mostly women and children. Conducting a fighting withdrawal after the counterattack through ambushes set by the Algonquian tribe's outnumbered warriors, resulting in the deaths of 38 militiamen (including the commander, William Turner) and the wounding of an unknown number. The massacre has been described as genocide.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Turner's Falls (revision 1370275897), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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All 4 battles of the King Philip's War →
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