Exploring American Histories: Printed Page 54

Document 2.5

Captain John Underhill | Attack at Mystic, Connecticut, 1638

Determined to expand westward, the English went to war with the Pequot Indians. The Pequot War culminated when the English and their Narragansett allies brutally attacked a Pequot fort at Mystic, Connecticut, in 1637. John Underhill, an English captain who helped lead the raid, claimed that four hundred Pequots were killed during the short but bloody battle. By the end of the war, most Pequots had either died, been sold into slavery, or fled the region. The following image, an engraving created by Underhill himself, gives the English perspective on the attack.

Explore

image
Library of Congress

Interpret the Evidence

  • Question

    According to this image, how did the English defeat the Pequots, and what role did their Narragansett allies play?

  • Question

    How had the Pequots attempted to defend themselves and their community?

Put It in Context

Question

How might this image support the English view of the Pequots as a threat to English expansion that needed to be contained?