John Talcott (December 18, 1630 – July 23, 1688) was a politician and military leader in early colonial

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Early life and Career

John Talcott was born

Braintree, Essex Braintree is a town and former civil parish in Essex, England. The principal settlement of Braintree District, it is located northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester. According to the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 41,634, ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1630 to John Talcott and Dorothy Mott. In 1632 the family immigrated to

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

in 1632 and then moved to Hartford, Connecticut in 1636. In Connecticut Talcott was elected as assistant magistrate in 1654 and then a deputy (representative, serving from 1660 to 1661. He then served as treasurer of the colony from 1660 to 1676.

Military Career and Service during King Philip's War

Talcott began service in the Connecticut militia as an ensign in 1650 and then was eventually promoted to captain in 1660, major in 1673, and then lieutenant-colonel. During

King Philip’s War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

, he commanded a joint militia force containing Pequots, Niantics, Mohegans, and colonists. From June 1676 through the fall that year Talcott pursued various Native Americans, including Narragansett women and children, throughout southern New England. He led his troops during several massacres and battles, including at Second Battle of Nipsachuck Battlefield where Queen Quaiapen and Stonewall John were killed in one of the few cavalry charges of the War. To reward his service, the General Court gave Talcott along with John Allyn 700 acres of land at Hammonasset.Eric B. Schultz and Michael J. Tougias, King Philip’s War: The History and Legacy of America’s Forgotten Conflict (Woodstock, Vt.: Countryman Press, 1999), 63-64, 232-33.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talcott, John 1630 births 1688 deaths American militia officers People of colonial Connecticut King Philip's War Burials in Connecticut