Major William Bradford (a.k.a. William Bradford IV and William Bradford the Younger; 16 June 1624 – 20 February 1703) was a political and military leader in

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the British America, first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the pa ...

in the late 17th century.

Early life

Major Bradford was the son of Governor William Bradford and his second wife, Alice Carpenter Southworth. Born four years after the Pilgrims arrival in 1620, William was his father's second child, but the first born in the new world. His older half-brother John Bradford had been left behind in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, Netherlands.

Military service

Bradford was commissioned as the ensign (3rd in command) of the Plymouth militia company on 7 March 1648. He held this position until he was promoted to lieutenant on 2 October 1659. He was commissioned as the major-commandant of the Plymouth Colony militia regiment on 3 June 1673. He succeeded newly elected Governor

Josiah Winslow Josiah Winslow ( in Plymouth Colony – 1680 in Marshfield, Plymouth Colony) was the 13th Governor of Plymouth Colony. In records of the time, historians also name him Josias Winslow, and modern writers have carried that name forward. He was b ...

who held the position since it was established in 1658. He held the rank of major in the militia and was the commander of the military forces of Plymouth Colony during the

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 the Plymouth Regiment, consisting of two companies, at the

Great Swamp Fight The Great Swamp Fight or the Great Swamp Massacre was a crucial battle fought during King Philip's War between the colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett people in December 1675. It was fought near the villages of Kingston and W ...

, in

South Kingstown, Rhode Island South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...

, on 19 December 1675. During the battle, his eye was wounded and he was hit by a musket ball which he carried in his body to his grave.

Political service

He later served as the deputy governor of

under Governor

Thomas Hinckley Thomas Hinckley (bapt. March 19, 1618 – April 25, 1706) was the last governor of the Plymouth Colony. Born in England, he arrived in New England as a teenager, and was a leading settler of what is now Barnstable, Massachusetts. He served in ...

from 1682 to 1686 and from 1689 to 1692 when the colony was merged with the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

to form the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

. Bradford was suspended from office during the governorship of

Sir Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...

from 20 December 1686 to 18 April 1689.

Family

Major Bradford was married three times (1st: Alice Richards; 2nd: Sarah –, widow of Francis Griswold; 3rd: Mary Atwood, widow of John Holmes) and fathered fifteen children from the three marriages.

Burial

He is buried in the Burial Hill Cemetery in Plymouth, near the grave of his father.

References