Battle of Bloody Brook
South Deerfield, MA
N 42° 28.986 W 072° 36.221
Short Description:
A 25' high monument marks the site of Battle of Bloody Brook. The monument features a 15' high obelisk. It is located on North Main Street in South Deerfield, MA
Long Description:
In the late 17th century Deerfield, MA was the frontier for British settlements in North America. Consequently, is was vulnerable to attack by Native American tribes. Between 1675–78 the King Philip's War raged throughout colonial New England. It was the deadliest war, per capita, in the history of European settlement in North America. The settlement at Deerfield was abandoned after the 1675 attack at Bloody Brook.
Capt. Thomas Lathrop along with militia and teamsters were dispatched by the leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to transport the abundant harvest of corn from Deerfield to Hadley, MA. On September 18, 1675, the wagons reached South Deerfield when the local Nipmuc warriors launched an attack. They killed Captain Thomas Lathrop and most of the men. Ever since, the brook that runs through the area is called Bloody Brook.
The the site of the Battle of Bloody Brook is marked by a monument. A 15' high marble obelisk sits on top of a 10' high, multi-tiered four post base. The south side of he obelisk is inscribed:
Erected August
1838
Between the posts on the south side of the base is the inscription:
On this Ground
Capt. THOMAS LATHROP
and eighty four men
under his command,
including eighteen
teamsters from Deer
field, conveying stores
from that town to
Hadley, were ambus
caded by about 700
Indians, and the Cap
tain and seventy six
men slain, September
18th 1675. (old style)
The soldiers who
fell, were described
by a contemporary
Historian, as “a choice
Company of young
men, the very flower
of the County of Essex
none of whom were
ashamed to speak with
the enemy in the gate.
"And Sanguinetto tells you
where the dead
Made the earth wet and turned
the unwilling waters red."
"The Same of the slain is
marked by a Stone slab,
21 rods southerly of this
monument.”
The two lines of poetry of the penultimate paragraph are from Lord Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.
Various researchers have compiled a list of the men killed at the Battle of Bloody Brook and buried in the mass grave. They are:
Soldiers:
Capt. Thomas Laythrop
Sergt. Thomas Smith
Samuel Stevens
John Hobs
Daniel Button
John Harriman
Caleb Kemball
Thomas Hobs
Robert Homes
Edward Traske
Richard Lambert
Josiah Dodge
George Ropes
Joseph Kinge
Thomas Alexander
Francis Friende
Abel Osyer
John Litleale
Thomas Bayley
Ezekiel Sawier
Jacob Kilborne
Thomas Manninge
Jacob Waynwritt
Benjamin Roper
John Bennett
Thomas Mentor
Peter Woodberry
Joseph Bolch
Samuel Whitteridge
William Duy
Sergt Samuel Stevens
Samuel Crumpton
John Plum
Thomas Buckley
Samuel Hudson
Adam Clarke
Ephraim Farah
Robert Wilson
Steven Welman
Benjamin Farnell
Solomon Alley
John Merrit
Teamsters:
Robert Hinsdall
Samuel Hinsdall
Barnabas Hinsdall
John Hinsdall
Joseph Gillett
John Allin
Joshua Carter
John Barnard
James Tufts
Jonathan Plimpton
Philip Barsha
Thomas Weller
William Smeade
Zebadiah Williams
Eliakim Marshall
James Mudge
George Cole
These poor souls. Forgotten among the many so called glorious wars of a nation founded on their undaunted determination and relentless perseverance. The irony is shamsefull
ReplyDeleteMy 11th great uncle was killed in this battle... Erie that they are buried in a mass grave....
ReplyDeleteZebediah Williams, teamster, and my 7th Great Grandfather was one that was captured and died on that fateful day. He had also served in the military.
ReplyDeleteI spent time as a docent in the historic dwelling: The Bloody Brook Tavern in Deerfield in 1974-75. Thank you for this information. I will stop by and see the monument.
ReplyDelete