KING PHILIPS WAR
BY L. PEXA, A. ROCKVAM, R. SCHUMER, M. SNELL, & T. WERMERSKIRCHEN
CHARACTERS:
NARRATOR- Jennifer Showalter
ISAAC JOHNSON- Jeffrey Thorson
SON- Katherine Borg
PHINEAS UPHAM- Amy Chatt
WARRIORS –Katherine Borg, Jeffrey Thorson
WAMPANOAG 1- Wendy DeCann
WAMPANOAG 2-Ciara Drexler
METACOM/ KING PHILLIP- MonequeGacke
CHURCH- NecoeHenneman
MOOSELY- Rena Jensen
MASSACHUSETTS- Joe Ludens
JAMES CUDSWORTH- Amy Malikowski
JOSIAH WINSLOW- Kristina Monson
MARY ROWLANDSON- Alys Mosher
MAJOR THOMAS SAVAGE- Mellissa Nelson
WAMSUTTA-Kristina Noel
COLONIST 1- Sara Nordenstrom
COLONIST 2- Siri Anderson
Scene 1: What Led up to King Philip’s War
NARRATOR: During the winter of 1656, William Bradford fell sick and died within months. In 1661, Wampanoag chief, Massasoit, who had been maintaining peace with the colonists, died also. He left his son, Wamsutta, as the new chief. The death of these two men created tension between the colonists and the Indians.
WAMPANOAG 1: (Angry) The white men keep sending their livestock to ruin our crops. Their herds come through our land and trample our fields; they do not respect the land or us!
WAMPANOAG 2: (Angry) This has been happening for months, it must stop! They are ruining our fields, spreading their disease and trying to take over the land! Soon there will be more of them than us and we will have nothing.
WAMSUTTA: I am sure that they mean no harm. I will go talk to Josiah Winslow; I will straighten this out.
METACOM/KING PHILIP: Be careful my brother; I do not trust the white men.
NARRATOR: On the way to Marshfield, colonists held Wamsutta at gunpoint.
COLONIST 1:(Stern) Listen, we are here to stay! We want more land.
COLONIST 2: Yeah, do you hear us? We aren’t leaving. We are in charge here.
WAMSUTTA:I just want to talk to the governor, Josiah Winslow. I am sure we can figure this all out and live peacefully.
NARRATOR: The colonist let Wamsutta go, but shortly after he returned home he suddenly died. This enraged the Wampanoag tribe; they blamed the colonists. Metacom then became the chief.
METACOM/KING PHILIP: Come with me brothers! We will avenge my brother’s death and preserve our way of life!
Scene Two: The Cause of King Philip’s War
NARRATOR: Two colonists are talking to one another on a Plymouth Farm.
ISSAC JOHNSON: I have a hunger for this land.
PHINEAS UPHAM: Yes, I demand more land for my family and myself.
NARRATOR: Phineas’ son arrives home and sees Issac and Phineas talking.
SON: Dad, when will I get my own land?
PHINEAS: (Angrily) When we convince those land-hog Indians to give us more.
SON: Awe, but I really need this land to start a family. The Johnson’s got some land for their son!
PHINEAS: I have told you this before son; you will inherit 100 acres someday.
SON: (Whiny) But I need at least 150!
NARRATOR: Meanwhile at the Wampanoag Tribe...
WAMPANOAG 1: John Sassamon, our liaison, has been killed.
METACOM/KING PHILIP: We shall avenge our brother, and stay on the land that is prosperous!
WAMPANOAG 2: I will gather the warriors (Wampanoag 2 runs away)
METACOM/KING PHILIP: (Turning to Wampanoag 1) The white man is strong. We must work together with other tribes to fight them. Send a few of our fastest men to send word that we need help.
WAMPANOAG 2: I will.
NARRATOR: King Philip addresses the Wampanoag’s that have gathered around after hearing about John’s death.
METACOM/KING PHILIP: Those colonists in Plymouth want to take more land and add flags to it, claiming it as theirs. They don’t respect the land. They mow it down and dig it up.
NARRATOR: The warriors arrive at King Philip’s request.
WARRIORS: We are ready to fight for our fallen brother and loved ones!
Scene 3: The Conflicts During King Philip’s War
NARRATOR: The Wampanoag tribe is at Mount Faith, seated around King Phillip.
METACOM/KING PHILIP: This will be challenging. We don’t have enough weapons, and too many tribes have not committed to help us. This open peninsula leaves us vulnerable for attacks.
WAMPANOAG 1: They call us savages but look at how they treat us! They’ve pillaged the land and taken it for only themselves! Look what happened to our friendTobias-there is no such thing as justice with the white man!
WAMPANOAG 2: (Trumpet sound) The white man is coming – let us take our canoes and prepare for battle!
METACOM/KING PHILIP: Alas, war is upon us. (The Indians leave, Church, Moosely, Massachusetts, and Cudsworth enter)
NARRATOR: The colonists had assembled a group of men to attack the tribe.
BENJAMIN CHURCH: They are gone. We must follow immediately!
JAMES CUDSWORTH: I’m not going anywhere till I find those Savages. Scour the peninsula – leave no rock unturned!
MASSACHUSETTS & MOOSELY: We heard the Narragansett’s are teaming up with Philip and the Wampanoag’s. We should get them!
BENJAMIN CHURCH: Remember we need the neutral Indians on our side. Take Care!
MASSACHUSETTS & MOOSELY: We will. (They march off)
BENJAMIN CHURCH: (Church is disgusted and frustrated) Quickly, we need to follow Metacom – time is of the essence!
MASSACHUSETTS & MOOSELY: (Moosely and Mass chasingIndians)Get those savages!!
MOOSELY: The only good Indian is a dead Indian! Burn their wigwams; we can’t trust any of them, even the praying Indians!
NARRATOR: The Swamp Battle begins; this was when colonists attacked the Narragansett tribe. This tribe had not yet joined King Philip’s War, but had been helping them shelter their tribe members, and supply them food.
JOSIAH WINSLOW: Benjamin, I want you to be my next in charge. We’re going to get those Narragansett’s!
BENJAMIN CHURCH: But they have been neutral! (He is ignored)Well, okay I like to be in charge.
NARRATOR: Josiah Winslow, Benjamin Church, and their men come upon an Indian fort in the swamp.
BENJAMIN CHURCH: Wow! Amazing fort!
JOSIAH WINSLOW: Wait for my command before attacking men.
NARRATOR: Josiah Winslow is completely ignored – soldiers ran at the fort, and began shooting one another,as well as the Indians.
BENJAMIN CHURCH: (Wounded) We have taken their fort!
MOOSELY: Burn it down!!
BENJAMIN CHURCH: No, don’t. It can be our shelter, and it is filled with corn and supplies we need. Josiah, think of the wounded…
JOSIAH WINSLOW: (Nods and heads towards the fort)You are right, Benjamin.
NARRATOR: Mary Rowlandson, her children, and others are in a house being attacked by Nipmucks, a tribe who joined sides with the Wampanoag’s during King Philip’s War.
MARY ROWLANDSON: The bullets fall like hail. The roof is burning and the savages are ready to attack us if we leave!What shall we do? Here they come!
WARRIORS: (Takes Mary and her children)
NARRATOR: The Indians started a mass exodus, carrying old and wounded out of their homes. English soldiers looked from a distance, wondering what to do.
MAJOR THOMAS SAVAGE: The Indians are crossing the river! (Looks across at the river) It is not safe. We will abort and turn back. We can’t do anything until we have enough men.
NARRATOR: The Indians were winning the war until the English started using ‘neutral’ Indians to scout for them. Even Mary Rowlandson was given back with the help of the praying Indians, a term used for Indians who had been “Christianized”.
KING PHILIP: (Philip, and other Indianssitting) I am done with the war; I’m leaving this place. My people have suffered too much – we are ready for peace.
WAMPANOAG 1: There is almost no food left, soon we will starve!
WAMPANOAG 2: Now the English are using the Sakkonnets as scouts, so we have no more hiding places. Our own people know how to find us!
METACOM/KING PHILIP: All is lost.
NARRATOR: The English and scouts captured King Philip; he was killed as he tried to escape. This marked the end of the war, peace had not been found.
Scene 4: The Effects of King Philip’s War
NARRATOR: The same two colonists that we heard before the war are talking once again, this time in front of a Plymouth farm that has been destroyed.
ISSAC JOHNSON: (Upset) The war has left us with nothing! Our buildings and crops are burned. We have no military with which to defend our community.
PHINEAS UPHAM: It will take us decades to recover from this loss!
SON: But the land will always be ours, right father?
PHINEAS UPHAM: I hope so. We have proven to the Indians we are here to stay. They can’t do as they please anymore!
NARRATOR: Meanwhile, on a ship near Plymouth Rock, other colonists were arranging to sell captive Indians into slavery.
JAMES CUDSWORTH: (Spiteful) They got what they deserved, they were unmanageable and unwilling to cooperate!
BENJAMIN CHURCH: It will be nice to keep some of the savages here to rebuild our ruined farms and towns.
NARRATOR: Many Indians were sold into slavery, including King Philip’s wife and son.
WAMPANOAG 1 (On a boat tied up): We might never live the same life again. In order to survive we have no choice but to learn their rules for living.
WAMPANOAG 2: This is true, but we must never forget who we are and what we believe.
NARRATOR: Many tribes moved west after the war, and tried to maintain their tribal ties and sense of community. However, many had to adapt to the English culture to survive.