Indian Wars of the United States: From the Discovery Until 1862

The early settlement of North America is the stuff legends are made of—John Smith, Myles Standish, and Pocahontas, to name a few. Learning about them is required reading from kindergarten on up.

Everyone knows the Pilgrims wouldn't have survived their first year at Plymouth Colony without help from the Native Americans. Squanto, an English-speaking member of the Patuxent tribe, taught them to plant corn and other crops and trap beaver. But, even with Squanto's help, over half the colonists died from the hardships they suffered that first winter. Cooperation among the natives and colonists continued for nearly a decade.

And then, just as suddenly, war with the neighboring tribes appeared imminent. As the number of colonists and their demands for land increased, so did the troubles between them.

Many Native American chiefs, beginning with King Philip, devised plans to drive the white settlers back to Europe or the Atlantic coast at the very least. None of them succeeded. This is their story.