Customer Reviews

Flintlock and Tomahawk: New England in King Philip's War

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Of all the accounts of KPW, this is by far the best. Though not as detailed as others, I found this gave an excellent birds-eye view of the war.

I part with the other reviewers in the analysis of Leach's objectivity. Most of the KPW authors of the last forty years appear to hate the Puritans as much as the KPW authors of the 1920s and earlier hated the First Nations.

Leach's work, I think, holds a good balance. He clearly acknowledges English arrogance, stupidity, all-out barbarism, and total failure in the area of evangelism, without making ridiculous leaps about English psychology.

It's an outstanding work.

If there is solid criticism of Leach and Morison, let it be founded on fact, not based on bias. In these days of political correctness, anything that shows settlers as good and Native Americans as less than perfect is derided as inaccurate. In fact, there were wonderful cases of heroism and despicable acts of barbaric cruelty on both sides of this fight, and this book presents them better than any book I've ever seen. I'm puzzled by those who feel it's pro-English; some of the most disgusting portrayals are of English leaders. I believe King Philip's War set the tone for European-Indian relationships for centuries. This book does a superb job of documenting the cultural chasms that brought about this tragedy. The truth can be uncomfortable for supporters of either side, but we should seek the truth, even when it upsets us, and apply the lessons of history to our day.

Here's an interesting fact regarding a major conflict on American soil that probably few Americans have ever heard of, King Philips War (1675-76): in terms of proportion to population, more casualties were inflicted on the people during King Philip's War than any other war in US history. It was the first great contest pitting the Indians against the colonists in New England, one that would decide who would hold the reins of empire in America. In that regard it was a precursor to the great struggle between France and Britain for control of the continent, for already the French were supporting, if not exactly aiding outright, the natives in their uprising against the English, and when it was all over many of the Indians found their way to the French to the north.

By the 1660s the honeymoon enjoyed by the Native Americans and the English settlers was over. The colonists wanted the lands the Indians controlled and the Indians were suddenly cognizant of the fact that the English now far outnumbered them and were still coming. Disputes and misunderstandings were growing. Both sides were becoming distrustful of the other. Philip was a sachem of the Wampanoagas; his Indian name was Metacom (the English had given him the name Philip as a token of honor and friendship). Biding his time with the hope of uniting all the New England tribes against the English, in 1675 some of his supporters began attacking settlers. Soon the attacks increased dramatically and before long scores of settlements across much of today's eastern Connecticut and Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island were burned to the ground. Thousands of settlers were killed or displaced. Although the English were slow to mobilize at first and had little understanding of how to defend themselves from attack, they soon got the upper hand and inflicted similar casualties on the Indians. A major target, especially during the winter of 1676, was the Indian's food supply. After a number of successful campaigns and the final killing of Philip in the Great Swamp in Rhode Island in August, the war came to an end.

Douglas Leach relates the events leading up to the conflict and tells all the major incidents of the two-year war interestingly and in detail. Although more recent books on the war have been written, this was the first at the time in over a hundred years. Leach will not get high marks for political correctness in his views on the natives, but the history he lays out is clear and straightforward. His chapter on how this early war was financed and how militias were created is especially interesting. So, too, is his final chapter on the war's aftermath. Despite it being almost 50 years old, this book still holds a worthwhile spot on any shelf of early American history.

This is the best and most unbiased history of King Philip's war. Leach wrote the book; Morrison only wrote the two-page introduction. Leach tends to be a little "politically correct" but in generally he gives us an unbiased history. This is an interesting book and I've just finished rereading after a 10-year gap. It is still interesting.

This was an amazing war between Puritans, who were would poorly equipped in nearly every way, against Indians who would were born and raised in warfare. For many months the Whites lost virtually all the battles. King Philips' war was one of desperate sieges of tiny garrisons and ambushes of those Whites trying to rescue those besieged.

Just when you think the Whites are about to get the upper hand, the Indians attack new targets and the Whites are losing again. The most amazing thing is that the colonists had not one English soldier or ship to help them. They raised and equipped their own little militia companies. Unlike some other Indian wars that only had a few battles, this little war had dozens if not hundreds of little battles.

The Indian was as well armed with flintlocks, as was the White. In this war, the Indian was far superior in tactics and he was never beaten when he could fight his guerrilla style warfare. This was the Indians' last chance to push the White man into the sea. Providence (Rhode Island) was nearly destroyed and the Indian raided the towns adjacent to Boston. Town after town was destroyed.

I think this book is a little superior to Schultz's "King Philip's War," which is a little bit too PC. But both are well worth reading.

Be warned, this book was written in 1958 so if you are a "word watcher" who looks for words to be offended then avoid this book because the Indians are routinely referred to as savages.

If however you are interested in a pretty balanced account of a forgotten but importent event in early colonial history then find this book either in a used bookstore, a library or anywhere else.

Leach is before his time when he hits both those would turn their pilgrem ancestors into supermen and those who view the indian as "the noble savage" by going into detail as to what provoked this war, how it was fought and what the result of the actions were.

He give a fair amount of time to the action behind the battle instead of simply giving a blow by blow account. He examines both the misunderstands and the inevitability of the conflict. He credits the changes in tactics by the New England men and particularly their use of "Praying Indians" as the decisive turn in their fortunes.

Douglas makes no secret of which side he cheers for, and which sides victory better served the future, but this takes little or nothing from the book or the story which is itself such a tale that it is a wonder it is avoided and unremembered.

It does not deserve to be. Read this and remember.

Growing up in the area that the events in this book took place, I've always had an avid interest in King Philip's War. What I really loved about this book is that it was written at a time before political correctness came into vogue, and yet he gives an honest attempt at a balanced point of view. He talks about the atrocities committed on both sides, and avoids what he referred to as "ancestor worship" that some white authors have succumbed to. (I myself am a little guilty of that at times, having an ancestor that died in this war.) Similarly, he doesn't romanticize the Native peoples involved in this conflict. It's extremely informative and not dry in the least. I especially liked the care he took in recounting each engagement. He also takes care to explain the land disputes and court cases of the time that left me very dismayed and saddened for the Native Americans.
I think this book is great not only for people interested in Native American history, but for people interested in the American Revolution. Yes, this history pre-dates that war, however understanding the mind-frame of New England people based on their history is very important in understanding the causes of the American Revolution.

An informative book that was well written but with a 1950's view of Native Americans. The question that always arises with any conflict involving the Native American is why the Europeans do so poorly not what the Native Americans did well. However the book does give the reader a good glimpse into the time period and I believe the book is definitely worth reading.

A decent book, although it is from a 1950's perspective and wholeheartedly views King Phillip's War as a courageous struggle of the colonies against the "savages." But detailed and interesting, especially for a native of Southeastern Massachusetts like myself.

Written in the 1950s, the language in Flintlock and Tomahawk can seem a bit dated, especially when dealing with "race" and "primitive" people, but the book provides a very good military and social overview of King Philip's War. Leach clearly strives to offer a fair and balanced assessment of the war, and he is refreshingly candid about the ulterior motives of many colonial officials and soldiers, documenting how colonists profited financially from the on-going conflict by seizing Indian land and selling captive Indians as slaves to the West Indies. After reading this book, one has a much better understanding of how King Philip's War progressed chronologically, for Leach does a good job of situating particular events and battles (the Great Swamp Fight, the battle at Sudbury, etc.) within the context of the war as a whole. As historian Jill Lepore has recently noted, "The most comprehensive account of this conflict is still to be found in Douglas Leach, Flintlock and Tomahawk."

I found this book very interesting because of its unusal subject matter and colonial insight. I felt the maps could have been more detailed.