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The colonising process in North America has witnessed the representative British colonisation types, during which the colonisers launched waves of wars against the natives. In 1581, the Separatist Robert Browne published“Treatise of Reformation without Tarrying for Any”, which will be the manifesto of the Puritans who found the Massachusetts Bay colony.As for these English Puritans, they created colonies at Jamestown in 1607, and Plymouth in 1620. Each of these colonies has its Indian myth. Jamestown (in Virginia) has Pocahontas.Plymouth has the Thanksgiving dinner with the Wampanoags. But in reality, there was quickly conflict with the Indian tribes in both places. There were numerous such Indian struggles in the early colonial times, for instance: King Philip's War (1675—1676), also called“Metacom's War”or“Metacom's Rebellion”, is named after King Philip, chief of the Wampanoag Indians;the war began when the English executed three Native Americans for murder; it involved several Native American peoples and all the New England colonies before the tribes were defeated.
There were also other numerous wars concerned both with European colonisers and American Indians: King William's War (1689—1697) was waged by William III of Great Britain and the League of Augsburg against France under Louis XIV, while the Canadian and New England colonists divided in support of their mother countries and, together with their respective Indian allies, assumed primary responsibility for their own defence. The war is also known as the first of the four French and Indian Wars because of the large-scale Indian participation. There was Queen Anne's War (1702—1713), the second in a series of wars fought between Great Britain and France in North America for control of the continent and at the same time as the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe. The English settlements were subject to repeated raids by French forces and their Indian allies; King William's War,Queen Anne's War, and King George's War (1744—1748) serve as the three earlier phases,followed by The American phase of Nine years' war (1754—1763) and The European phase of the Seven Years' War (1756—1763) between France and Great Britain, which determined the control of the vast colonial territory of North America. After years of warlike activity with France, England officially declared war on May 18 1756, beginning the Seven Year's War in Europe. Britain's victory relieved France of its North American empire, terminating the series of conflicts.
Colonial American war poems or songs were composed in such historical contexts. Almost no poetry was published in New York and Pennsylvania before 1776. Those known poets published their poems either in England or elsewhere, including Anne Bradstreet, Michael Wigglesworth, Edward Taylor, Nathaniel Ward, Edward Johnson, Sarah Kemble, Ebenezer Cook, Richard Lewis, Benjamin Tompson, and so on, most of whom wrote either religious poems or poems of nature, often religious in theme and traditional in form. Only Benjamin Tompson seemed to have presented the war—the King Philip's War—then being fought—as a crucial event in the history of Massachusetts Bay.
Benjamin Tompson is America's first native poet. He was most active in writing from 1666 until 1683 and again from 1695 until 1713. He is known for his only book New Englands Crisis. Or a Brief Narrative of New Englands Lamentable Estate at Present, Compar'd with the Former (but Few) Years of Prosperity (1676), which is the first book of verse initially published in America and later republished in England. The long poem describes many Indian surprise attacks on English settlements under the leadership of Metacomet, known to the settlers as King Philip. Some British military commentators employed the phrase“civilised warfare”to distinguish wars between recognised nation-states from the war outside Europe in the pursuit of colonial objectives. But the colonising wars are often represented as a romantic image of war or bravery to pioneer civilisations, or a combination of travelogue, big-game hunting, and exploration, with a little fighting to spice up the tale, but the reality was often much more brutal than its more fanciful depictions. The excerpt is from New Englands Crisis ,subtitled with“On the Women Fortifying Boston Neck”.
A GRAND attempt some Amazonian Dames
Contrive whereby to glorify their names,
A ruff for Boston Neck of mud and turfe,
Reaching from side to side, from surf to surf,
Their nimble hands spin up like Christmas pyes,
Their pastry by degrees on high doth rise.
The wheel at home counts in an holiday,
Since while the mistress worketh it may play.
A tribe of female hands, but manly hearts,
Forsake at home their pastry crust and tarts,
To kneed the dirt, the samplers down they hurl,
Their undulating silks they closely furl.
The pick-axe one as a commandress holds,
While t'other at her awk'ness gently scolds.
One puffs and sweats, the other mutters why
Cant you promove your work so fast as I?
Some dig, some delve, and others' hands do feel
The little wagon's weight with single wheel.
And least some fainting-fits the weak surprize,
They want no sack nor cakes, they are more wise.
These brave essays draw forth male, stronger hands,
More like to dawbers than to marshal bands;
These do the work, and sturdy bulwarks raise,
But the beginners well deserve the praise.
O F worthy Captain Lovewell, I purpose now to sing,
How valiantly he served his country and his king;
He and his valiant soldiers did range the woods full wide,
And hardships they endured to quell the Indian's pride.
'T was nigh unto Pigwacket, on the eighth day of May,
They spied a rebel Indian soon after break of day;
He on a bank was walking, upon a neck of land,
Which leads into a pond as we're made to understand.
Our men resolved to have him, and travelled two miles round,
Until they met the Indian, who boldly stood his ground;
Then up speaks Captain Lovewell:“Take you good heed,”says he,
“This rogue is to decoy us, I very plainly see.
“The Indians lie in ambush, in some place nigh at hand,
In order to surround us upon this neck of land;
Therefore we'll march in order, and each man leave his pack;
That we may briskly fight them, when they make their attack.”
They came unto this Indian, who did them thus defy,
As soon as they came nigh him, two guns he did let fly,
Which wounded Captain Lovewell, and likewise one man more,
But when this rogue was running, they laid him in his gore.
Then having scalped the Indian, they went back to the spot
Where they had laid their packs down, but there they found them not.
For the Indians having spied them, when they them down did lay,
Did seize them for their plunder, and carry them away.
These rebels lay in ambush, this very place hard by,
So that an English soldier did one of them espy,
And cried out,“Here's an Indian”! with that they started out,
As fiercely as old lions, and hideously did shout.
With that our valiant English all gave a loud huzza,
To show the rebel Indians they feared them not a straw:
So now the fight began, and as fiercely as could be,
The Indians ran up to them, but soon were forced to flee.
Then spake up Captain Lovewell, when first the fight began:
“Fight on, my valiant heroes! You see they fall like rain.”
For as we are informed, the Indians were so thick
A man could scarcely fire a gun and not some of them hit.
Then did the rebels try their best our soldiers to surround,
But they could not accomplish it, because there was a pond,
To which our men retreated, and covered all the rear,
The rogues were forced to face them, although they skulked for fear.
Two logs there were behind them that close together lay,
Without being discovered, they could not get away;
Therefore our valiant English they travelled in a row,
And at a handsome distance, as they were wont to go.
'T was ten o'clock in the morning when first the fight begun,
And fiercely did continue until the setting sun;
Excepting that the Indians some hours before 't was night
Drew off into the bushes and ceased awhile to fight.
But soon again returned, in fierce and furious mood.
Shouting as in the morning, but yet not half so loud;
For as we are informed, so thick and fast they fell,
Scarce twenty of their number at night did get home well.
And that our valiant English till midnight there did stay,
To see whether the rebels would have another fray;
But they no more returning, they made off towards their home,
And brought away their wounded as far as they could come.
Of all our valiant English there were but thirty-four,
And of the rebel Indians there were about fourscore,
And sixteen of our English did safely home return,
The rest were killed and wounded, for which we all must mourn.
Our worthy Captain Lovewell among them there did die,
They killed Lieutenant Robbins, and wounded good young Frye,
Who was our English chaplain; he many Indians slew,
And some of them he scalped when bullets round him flew.
Young Fullam, too, I'll mention, because he fought so well,
Endeavoring to save a man, a sacrifice he fell:
But yet our valiant Englishmen in fight were ne'er dismayed,
But still they kept their motion, and Wymans captain made.
Who shot the old chief Pagus, which did the foe defeat,
Then set his men in order, and brought off the retreat;
And braving many dangers and hardships in the way,
They safe arrived at Dunstable, the thirteenth day of May.
T O arms, to arms! my jolly grenadiers!
Hark how the drums do roll it along!
To horse, to horse, with valiant good cheer;
We'll meet our proud foe before it is long.
Let not your courage fail you;
Be valiant, stout, and bold;
And it will soon avail you,
My loyal hearts of gold.
Huzzah, my valiant countrymen!—again I say huzzah!
'T is nobly done,—the day's our own—huzzah, huzzah!
March on, march on, brave Braddock leads the foremost;
The battle is begun as you may fairly see.
Stand firm, be bold, and it will soon be over;
We'll soon gain the field from our proud enemy.
A squadron now appears, my boys;
If that they do but stand!
Boys, never fear, be sure you mind
The word of command!
Huzzah, my valiant countrymen!—again I say huzzah!
'T is nobly done,—the day's our own—huzzah, huzzah!
See how, see how, they break and fly before us!
See how they are scattered all over the plain!
Now, now—now, now, our country will adore us!
In peace and in triumph, boys, when we return again!
Then laurels shall our glory crown
For all our actions told:
The hills shall echo all around,
My loyal hearts of gold.
Huzzah, my valiant countrymen!—again I say huzzah!
'T is nobly done,—the day's our own—huzzah, huzzah!
[1] This ballad was said to be written soon after the battle of May 8 th , 1725, but its author had been lost. As the earliest American war ballads known, it was regarded as“the most beloved song in all New England”.