Rev. Increase Mather, of Boston, who published a history of this Indian war at about the same time with Mr. Hubbard, writes — " April 20th, a day of humiliation was observed at Boston. The next day sad tidings came to us. For the enemy set upon Sudbury and burnt a great part of the town; and whereas Capt. Wadsworth and his Lieutenant Sharp, also Capt. Brocklebank (a godly and choice spirited man) was killed at the time."

Major Daniel Gookin, the commanding officer of Middlesex forces and superintendent of the " Praying Indians" in the colony, writes:

Upon April 21, about midday tidings came by many messengers that a great body of the enemy not less as was judged than fifteen hundred . . . had assaulted a town called Sudbury that morning. . . . Indeed (thro' God's favor) some small assistance had already been sent from Watertown by Capt. Hugh Mason, which was the next town to Sudbury. These with some of the inhabitants joined and with some others that came in to their help, there was vigorous resistance made and a check given to the enemy. ... But these particulars were not known when the tidings came to Charlestown.

Major Gookin gives a very full account in his history of the " Praying Indians," his object being to vindicate the Indians from the charges of treachery and inefficiency made against them by popular clamor. His account was necessarily accurate, and it agrees closely with the records. From him, and also from the Archives, we learn that a company of Indians was being organized at this time, and the letters of the Council show that the design of this company was to fortify the fishing places upon the Merrimac, in conjunction with a company of English, and under command of Capt. Samuel Hunting, of Charlestown. This Indian company, it seems, was at Charlestown when the news of the attack upon Sudbury came, and without waiting for particulars, Major Gookin immediately despatched " a ply of horse" from Capt. Prentice's troop under Corporal Phipps, and forty Indians under Capt. Hunting, which force arrived at Sudbury that evening, the troopers in time to rescue the remnants of Capt. Wadsworth's company from the mill, where they had taken refuge and had defended themselves against the enemy.

All the above accounts are of contemporaries, and all agree in the main particulars and confirm each other in the matter of the date. Rev. Mr. Hubbard, of Ipswich, whose history of this war is most complete, and, iu the main, the most reliable, agrees mostly with the others, but seems to have kuown less of this fight than usual, and less of the details than the others, and in the matter of the date was unquestionably wrong.

From all the above authorities, the true account in brief, seems to be, that the English had no suspicion of the great numbers of the Indians that were gathering about Marlborough and Sudbury, or of the vicinity of any until early iu the morning of the 21st, when several deserted houses were burnt with the evident purpose of drawing out the garrisons into an ambuscade. Then Deacon Haines's garrison-house was attacked with fury by large numbers, but was successfully defended from six o'clock in the morning until one o'clock, P.M., when the assault was abandoned. Twelve volunteers coming from Concord upon the alarm, to aid the garrison, were lured into the river meadow, and all slain save one. Mr. Edward Cowell, with a body of eighteen mounted men, coming from Brookfield by way of Marlborough, and by a different way from that taken by Capt. Wadsworth, became sharply engaged with an outlying party of the enemy, and lost four men killed, one wounded, and had five of his horses disabled.

While the attack upon Cowell's party was still going on, Captain Wadsworth and his company came upon the scene, and seeing a small party of Indians, rushed forward with the usual impetuous haste, and were caught in the usual ambuscade, for when within about a mile of Sudbury they were induced to pursue a body of not more than one hundred, and soon found themselves drawn away about one mile into the woods, where on a sudden they were encompassed by more than five hundred, and forced to a retreating fight towards a hill where they made a brave stand for a while (one authority says four hours), and did heavy execution upon the enemy, until (Mr. Hubbard says) the eight coming on and some of the company beginning to scatter from the rest, their fellows were forced to follow them, and thus being encompassed in the chase by numbers, the Captains and most of the company were slain. The anonymous writer above referred to, says the Indians set fire to the woods and thus forced the disastrous retreat. Thirteen only out of the company escaped to " Noyes's mill," and there held the enemy in check. In the meantime Cowell withdrew his party from their dangerous situation, went back and buried their dead comrades, and then rode around into the town by another way in time to rescue Capt. Prentice's troopers, and afterwards, with others in company, the men at the mill. It was probably about noon when Capt. Wadsworth became actively engaged with the Indians, and thus withdrew their attention from both Cowell and Haines's garrison. The Watertown company arrived at about the same time, followed the Indians over the river, and made a brave fight to get to the hill, where Capt. Wadsworth was engaged in his desperate struggle, but such fearful odds were against them that they were forced to fall back to Goodnow's garrison, " it being ner night." After dark they went to the " mill," probably with the troopers and Cowell's men, and brought off the soldiers there. The troopers sent from Charlestown, with the Indian company under Capt. Hunting, must have arrived quite late in the afternoon. These are the main facts, in brief, of the Sudbury fight. The next day the Watertown company, with Capt. Hunting's Indians, buried the dead. The site of the battle-field, where Capt. Wadsworth so long held the Indians at bay, is upon what is now called " Green Hill." Here, in 1730, fifty-four years after the battle, Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth, fifth son of Capt. Samuel, and at that time president of Harvard College, erected a monument to the memory of his father, and those that fell with him. It is to be regretted that President Wadsworth accepted the erroneous date given by Mr. Hubbard, which has been perpetuated upon the new monument erected in 1852.

It is a regret that we are unable to know positively the numbers of English engaged. The number with Capt. Wadsworth upon the " Hill " was probably near fifty. The most definite statement is that of Major Gookin, who puts the number of those slain, besides the two Captains, as " about thirty-two private soldiers." Cowell had eighteen, and the Concord men were twelve. The Watertown company was not probably over forty, while the

1 The investigations of Mr. Drake first exposed the error which Mr. Hnbbard made in his history (see New Eno. Hist, And Genealogical Register, vol. vil. p. 221). Gov. George S. Boutwell, who delivered the historical discourse at the dedication of the new monument, Nov. 23, 1852, and at that time assigned the date April 18, replied in I860 (see Register, vol. xx. p. 135) to Mr. Drake's artiele, and contended that the date given in his discourse was the true one. The Historic Genealogical Society then took the matter in hand, and appointed a committee. Gen. A. B. Underwood and Frederic Kidder, who made a thorough and exhaustive report at the society's meeting, October, 1866, which was published in the Register, vol. xx. p. 341, proving beyond question that the date April 21st ls the true date of the fight. Contemporary Official Records, the highest evidence of all, testify in every case to this date, while the evidence for the 18th is only found in Mr. Hubbard's history and in several books of remarkable events, kept by some prominent men of the colony, who, it is evident, not unf requently made their entries some time after the occurrence of the events, and who, in this case, probably adopted the date from Hubbard. John Hull, for instance, whose letter-extract above, written within a few days, gives the date tbe 21st, in his diary of notable events puts it down as on the 18th. Major Daniel Gookin, Rev. Increase Mather, the writer of the "Present State of New England," and other authorities, agree with the Official Records in giving the 21st. Subsequent historians, until Mr. Drake, simply quote Hubbard's date.

It ls a great satisfaction to the present writer to add the sew testimony of the petition of the inhabitants of Sudbury.

garrisons of Sudbury amounted to but eighty. Thus about two undred men were actively engaged with, and holding in play, probably more than a thousand Indians one whole day, and finally defeated their intention of capturing the town, sending them away with fearful loss.

Unfortunately we are not as yet able to find any list of the names of those killed on that day, and Mr. Hull's accounts do not show any credits referable to that service; only here and there are we able to glean from probate and town and church records, a few names of those killed.

From the Roxbury Records we find that

Samuel Gardner, son of Peter
Thomas Baker
John Roberts
Nathaniel Sever
Thomas Hawley Sr

William Cleaves
Joseph Pepper
John Sharpe
Thomas Hopkins
Lieut Samuel Gardner

were all slain att Sudbury under command of Capt. Sam" Wadsworth upon 21 Aprill 1676.

Of the Concord men killed in the meadow near " Haynes's Garrison," but five bodies were recovered, and but seven names of the killed are preserved in the records :

James Hosmer Samuel Potter John Barnes

Daniel Corny Joseph Buttrick Josiah Wheeler

William Heywood

Three of Cowell's men, that were killed, are in the Roxbury list above. The fourth was Robert Wayles, of Dorchester. The Suffolk Probate Records give an additional name, Eliazer Hawes, of Dorchester. These, with Capts. Wadsworth and Brocklebank, make in all but twenty-one.