The Name of War

Our perception of war depends largely on how people describe it; words give meaning to the battles. Everyone who writes about war needs to express two things: the brutality and pain of it, and why their side is virtuous and the other side wicked. The winners get to write war histories in ways that glorify the victors and denigrate the vanquished.

In New England in June 1675, three Indians loyal to the Algonquin leader King Philip are hanged for the murder of another Indian, who had reported to English settlers that Philip was planning an attack their towns. Within days of the hangings, King Philip’s War has begun. Fourteen months later, Philip lies dead, but half the settlements have been destroyed and the colonists pushed back toward the sea. Indian losses are even greater, with thousands slain in battle, thousands more dead from disease or starvation, and most of the rest sold as slaves.

Dozens of books and hundreds of letters about the war survive; their words describe the colonists’ agonies and justify their behavior. It is the first major conflict between invading settlers and local Natives, and it sets an American pattern of westward colonization and conflict.