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Benjamin Church

Type Figure Region New England Time 1639–1718 Also known as Benjamin Church (colonial era)

Benjamin Church was a 17th-century New England colonial military officer, famed for organizing combined militia and Native allies to pursue King Phil…

Timeline

  1. 1639–1675Plymouth · Massachusetts Bay ColonyBorn in Plymouth Colony, he worked in carpentry and local office as an adult, gradually joining the militia, becoming familiar with the local terrain and Native languages, and accumulating experience for wartime military command.
  2. 1675–1676Rhode Island and the Massachusetts frontier · Rhode IslandAfter the outbreak of King Philip's War, he led mobile forces in cooperation with friendly Native allies, repeatedly penetrating behind enemy lines to pursue the Wampanoag alliance, and ultimately in 1676 took part in killing Metacom (King Philip), a key military action that turned the tide of the war.
  3. 1689–1718Little Compton · Rhode IslandDuring King William's War he continued to command frontier fighting against French and Native forces; his descendants later compiled and published his memoir, 'Entertaining Passages Relating to King Philip's War,' making Church an important narrator of early North American military history. He died in Little Compton in his later years.

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