Soldiers in King Philip's war. Containing lists of the soldiers of ...

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his service ag* Phillip or other eneniyes of y e English with a l're from Mr
Fitch to whome wee have returned o r answer declaring to Uncas y' if he
will send hostages to y e English for the assurance of his faithfulness wee
shall accept his offer " &c. &c. " Signed Edward Rawson, Sec'y
By order of the Council."
In Mass. Archives, vol. 67, page 207, is the Court's instruction
to Thomas Savage as major of the Massachusetts forces in this expedi-
tion under Major Gen. Denison as commander-in-chief of the colony,
closing thus : " And in case the Lord should disenable y r General
so as to take him of the service you shall take charge and command
of all according to the commission given unto him," &c.
By reference to Article No. 1, page 3, it will be seen that Major
Savage had been commissioned for this expedition on or before June
24th, and the Court had then voted to raise one hundred horse and
fifty foot. These constituted the companies of Henchman and Prentice,
and together with Capt. Mosely's men, made up the number
to two hundred and sixty men, besides officers and teamsters, &c,
which force, estimated in round numbers at three hundred, marched
out of Boston on June 26th. As to the exact time of Major Savage's
marching, or the force with him, the accounts are somewhat
vague and conflicting. I give briefly the various references bearing
upon this point ; and first, it is certain that Capt. Paige's troop
numbered, according to the treasurer's credits, thirty-six men including
officers. The statement in the above letter claims over
three hundred and eighty men to have been sent, up to June 28th.
The writer of the " Present State of New England," published in
Mr. Drake's Old Indian Chronicle, page 129, says Capt. Thomas
Savage, the Major General in that expedition, "with sixty horse and
as many foot went out of Boston having prest horses for the footmen
and six carts to carry provisions." And on page 131 says, "About
the 25th of July the General returned with twelve men to guard his
person." The first statement is misleading and of little authority,
since the writer has not mentioned Henchman and Prentice's com-
panies at all, and seems to have known only of Mosely's men, to
whom he devotes considerable space.
In Mather's "Indian War," strangely enough, no mention is
made of Major Savage in relation to this first campaign. And Mr.
Hubbard, the most reliable of all, relates in reference to this partic-
ular, that Major Savage came up " with other supplies " on the evening
of June 29th. On the next day they moved forward into
Mount Hope neck, "with a troop of horse in each wing ;" encamping
that night (June 30th) "in the open field" in a heavy rain.
Next day (July 1st) they marched back to Swansey. That night
Capt. Prentice's troop rode to Seekonk, and Major Savage appears
to have remained at Swansey, July 2d, awaiting their return. On
July 3d Henchman and Prentice searched the swamps between
Swansey and Rehoboth, and Capt. Mosely " and Capt. Paige with