Captain Samuel Hunting (July 22, 1640 – August 19, 1701) was a military officer from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

who served in

King Phillip'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 ...

Personal life

Hunting was born July 22, 1640, to John Hunting and his wife, Esther. He married Hannah on December 24, 1662. The couple had ten children, but only three survived childhood. The couple moved to

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It ...

and then Charlestown. Hunting served as a selectman in Charlestown in 1690. He accidentally shot and killed himself on August 19, 1701, in Charlestown.

King Phillips War

During

, Hunting raised a company of Christian Indians to fight alongside the English settlers. They mustered in Charlestown, but that town was never attacked and they marched to Chelmsford instead. When word came that Sudbury had been attacked on April 21, 1676, they responded, arriving at night and "performed efficient service." In that same month, following orders from Governor

John Leverett John Leverett (baptized 7 July 1616 – 16 March 1678/79In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on 25 March. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, dates between Ja ...

, Hunting and Lt. James Richardson erected a garrison at Pawtucket Falls to protect the residents there. Pomham, one of Phillip's chief advisors, was captured in Dedham on July 25, 1676. Several Christian Indians had seen his band in the woods, nearly starved to death. Hunting led 36 men from Dedham and Medfield and joined 90 Indians armed with guns from England on a hunt to find them. Hunting praised the native warriors, who came from

Natick Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

, saying "the said Indians behaved themselves courageously and faithfully to the English interest." A total of 15 of the enemy were killed and 35 were captured. Pomham, though he was so wounded he could not stand, grabbed hold of an English soldier and would have killed him had one of the settler's compatriots not come to his rescue. Hunting and his men played a large role in bringing the war to an end. In the summer of 1676, his men captured or killed 400 enemy soldiers.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunting, Samuel 1640 births 1701 deaths Military personnel from Dedham, Massachusetts People from Chelmsford, Massachusetts People from Charlestown, Boston Deaths by firearm in Massachusetts Firearm accident victims in the United States Accidental deaths in Massachusetts