QUEEN'S FORT, EXETER, WASHINGTON COUNTY, RI

Quaiapen (born July 2, 1676, and also known as Magnus, Matantuck, Old Queen, or Watowswokotaus) was a Narragansett- Niantic female sachem (saunkskwa) who was the last sachem captured or killed 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 ...

Early leadership and family

Quaiapen was the sister of Ninigret and

Wepitanock Wepitanock (also known as Momojosbuck or Wettamozo or Aquawoce) (died after 1651) was an Eastern Niantic chief sachem. Wepitanock was likely Canonicus' nephew and was the older brother of Ninigret with whom he shared power. His sister was Queen Qua ...

, and in 1630 she married the eldest son of her uncle Canonicus, Mriksah, known as Mixan (or Mexanno). After Mixan died in 1657, Quaiapen took control of his lands around

Cocumscussoc Cocumscussoc is a brook and surrounding region in what is now Wickford, Rhode Island. The Cocumscussoc Brook flows into Mill Cove off of Wickford Harbor. In the 1630s-1640s Roger Williams started a trading post with the Narragansetts likely northe ...

. Quaiapen and Mixan had at least three children, a daughter Quinimiquet, and sons, Quequakanewett and Scuttup. Quaiapen had another daughter, Mary Oskoosooduck, possibly with the Eastern Pequot leader Mamoho, and this daughter married Ninigret II, Ninigret's eldest son. In 1667, Quaiapen and Ninigret waged an effort opposing Metacom’s goal of forming an alliance between the Wampanoag and Nipmucks, and she sent warriors to fight the

Quinnatisset Quinnatisset (also spelled Quantisset, Quinnetusset, Quanatusset, Quantiske, Quantisset, Quatiske, or Quattissick) was a Nipmuc village in Connecticut which became a praying town through the influence of John Eliot and Daniel Gookin. The town was ...

Nipmuck. John Eliot attempted to mediate a dispute regarding a tribute between the

Quantisset Quinnatisset (also spelled Quantisset, Quinnetusset, Quanatusset, Quantiske, Quantisset, Quatiske, or Quattissick) was a Nipmuc village in Connecticut which became a praying town through the influence of John Eliot and Daniel Gookin. The town was ...

Nipmucs and Quaiapin.

King Philip's War and Death

In June of 1675 Quaiapen and several other Narragansetts, including Ninigret,

Quinnapin Quinnapin (also known as Quawnipund, Quanopen and Sowagonish) (died 1676) was a Narragansett leader during King Philip's War. Quinnapin was the son of Cojonoquond and nephew of Miantonomoh. Quanopen was married to three different women, Onux, Wee ...

, and Quaunochu, reached an agreement at

Worden Pond Worden Pond is a large lake in South Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island. It is the second-largest freshwater lake in the state of Rhode Island, behind Scituate Reservoir, and the largest natural freshwater lake in the state. History At the ...

with the colonial authorities not to ally with the Wampanoag King Philip and to deliver him to the English if Philip sought refuge with the Narragansetts. Despite the agreement, war broke out, and after the Great Swamp Fight in December of 1675, many Narragansetts including Quaiapen retreated to southern swamps and the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

valley. Quaiapen also likely spent time in

Queen's Fort Queen's Fort is a historic site in Exeter, Rhode Island. Little more than a round, rocky hillock, the site has long been described as the site of a Native American fortification constructed in 1676 by Queen Quaiapen and members of the Narraganset ...

on what is now the Exeter–North Kingstown line, which was a place where she had resided. In the summer of 1676, Quaiapen went with one hundred Narragansetts to northern Rhode Island to recover caches of planting corn. While there, the Connecticut militia with three hundred colonial troops and one hundred Mohegan and Pequot soldiers attacked Quaiapen's group in the

Second Battle of Nipsachuck The Second Battle of Nipsachuck Battlefield is a historic military site in North Smithfield, Rhode Island. A largely swampy terrain, it is the site of one of the last battles of King Philip's War to be fought in southern New England, on July 2, 1 ...

in what is now North Smithfield. Quaiapen, her advisor

Stonewall John Stonewall John (also known as Nawham or Nawwhun and John Wall-Maker and Stonelayer John)Roger Williams to obert Williams? April 1, 1676, LaFantasie, Glenn W., ed. ''The Correspondence of Roger Williams,'' University Press of New England, 1988, Vol ...

, and many others were killed by Major

John Talcott John Talcott (December 18, 1630 – July 23, 1688) was a politician and military leader in early colonial Connecticut. Early life and Career John Talcott was born Braintree, Essex, England in 1630 to John Talcott and Dorothy Mott. In 1632 the fami ...

's forces while seeking refuge in a swamp. A history of the War published in 1676 stated: "In June Major Talbot flew and took Captive Four and Twenty of the Enemies in one Weeks Time, and also killed the Old Queen of Narraganset." In his July 4, 1676 letter Major Talcott reported how his forces surrounded the great spruce swamp at "Nipachooke" where that "ould piece of venum, Sunck squaw Magnus was slaine.""Letter from Major Talcott: July 4, 1676, at Mr. Stanton's Farm house at Monacontauge," The public records of the colony of Connecticut from 1636-1776, Volume II (1850), pg. 459 accessible at https://archive.org/details/publicrecords02conn/page/458/mode/2up

References

{{reflist 1600s births 1676 deaths People of colonial Rhode Island 17th-century Native Americans Native American leaders Narragansett people Niantic people Female Native American leaders 17th-century Native American women