Battle of Turner's Falls

Battle of Turner's Falls Part of King Philip's War Marker commemorating the battle Date May 19, 1676 Location present-day Gill, Massachusetts Coordinates: 42°36′46″N 72°32′58″W / 42.612865°N 72.549434°W Result Colonial victory Belligerents Algonquian tribes, principally Nipmuc Massachusetts Bay Colony Commanders and leaders William Turner † Strength 60-70 warriors 150 Casualties and losses 100-200, mainly women, children, and elderly 39 killed or captured

The Battle of Turner's Falls, also known as the Peskeompscut massacre, was fought on May 19, 1676, during King Philip's War, in present-day Gill, Massachusetts, near a falls on the Connecticut River. The site is across the river from the village of Turners Falls. A band of English colonists under the command of Captain William Turner fell upon the poorly guarded Indian village of Peskeompscut near the falls at dawn, slaughtering many of its inhabitants. Many of the warriors in the camp escaped, and they regrouped with those from other nearby camps to harass the English retreat, during which Turner was killed.

There is an extensive account of the battle and the colonists' reasons for attacking contained in a book authored by George Madison Bodge and reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Company in 1967. The account includes a description of the battle, a listing of many of the soldiers who fought with the colonists, the soldiers who were slain in the battle, and soldiers or their descendants who were entitled to land due to their participation in the battle.

The site of the battle is in the Riverside Archeological District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

• Schultz, Eric; Tougias, Michael (1999). King Philip's War. Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press.

George Madison Bodge, Soldiers in King Philip's War, Being a Critical Account of that War,' Third Edition', Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1967.