SIMON WILLARD PART 2

In 1661 Massasoit,Sachem of the Pokanoket and the Wampanoag Confederacy died.
He'd had good relations for the most part with the settlers of Plymouth Colony and
a good case can be made that without his help, the settlement might not have survived.
But forty years of peace ended with his death. He was succeeded first by his son
Wamsutta, who felt his father had given the settlers too much land and was seeking
an alliance with the rival Connecticut colony when he died under questionable
circumstances in 1662. Massasoit's other son Metacom, now became the grand
sachem of the Wampanoags. He was better known to the English as "King Philip."

Tensions mounted between the colony and the Indians as Philip sought to make
alliances with other tribes against the colonists and finally came to a head in 1675.
John Sassamon, an Indian convert who'd gone to Harvard, warned the leaders
at Plymouth about Metacom's latest attempts to persuade the other tribes to
join in attacks on the settlers. A short while later Sassamon was murdered and
three Wampanoag Indians were arrested, tried, and convicted for the crime.
They were hung on 8 Jun 1675 . Two weeks later on 20 June, the town of Swansea
was attacked by Indians and destroyed five days later. The conflict that historians
call "King Philip's War" had begun.

Even though Simon Willard was now seventy years old, he was still in charge of
the defense of Middlesex County and despite his age went about it vigorously. He
led a small force of militiamen and friendly Indians and went from town to town
checking their fortifications and preparedness for attacks. At first these were limited
to the southern part of the colony but on 2 August a band of Nipmuc Indians attacked
the small town of Brookfield. The settlers took shelter in the strongest building in
town and held off the Indians for three days and made several attempts to send out
messengers to find help.

Around noon on 5 August one found Simon Willard who was leading a mounted
force of 47 men from Lancaster to Groton. He immediately started out for Brookfield
which was about thirty miles from where the message had found him and arrived at
the besieged town shortly after dark. The Indians retreated at the sudden arrival of
Willard and his men and the Brookfield settlers were saved.

Four days later, the Indians attacked Lancaster, Simon Willard's previous place of
residence. Could it have been because of his rescue of Brookfield and his prominence
in the defence of the colony? Whether coincidental or deliberate, the attack was one
of many more to come.

It would be a busy fall and winter for Simon Willard.