Background
John Mason was born in about 1600 in England.
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book
A brief history of the Pequot war
(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
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John Mason
Edit ProfileEducation
Little is known about his life and where he was educated.
Career
Coming to Massachusetts before July 2, 1633, he was soon made captain of militia for Dorchester, and was one of the leaders in the migration thence in 1635 to found Windsor on the Connecticut. In the ensuing Indian troubles Mason won his chief claim to distinction. The powerful Pequots had been latently hostile to the colonists for some time when, in the autumn of 1636, open strife was precipitated by a fruitless expedition sent against them by Massachusetts. Their outrages then became so flagrant that in May 1637 the Connecticut authorities were obliged to take the offensive. Mason was dispatched with eighty white men and one hundred Indian auxiliaries led by Uncas to invade the heart of Sassacus' domain. At Saybrook Fort, Capt. John Underhill joined him with nineteen Massachusetts men, who relieved twenty of the original company for home defense. According to his commission Mason was to proceed by water to Pequot River (now the Thames) and begin operations directly. Disregarding these instructions, he boldly decided upon the more strategic course of going first to Narragansett Bay and then marching overland to strike where he would be less expected. This plan was followed with great success. After a brief delay among the Narragansetts, who provided a large addition to his native cohorts, he advanced toward the enemy's stronghold near the Mystic River. By a combination of good judgment and good fortune he took the Pequots completely by surprise.
Attacking their fort before dawn, his soldiers effected an entrance from two sides almost unopposed. The slaughter began with musket and sword; but Mason, to bring a more speedy termination to the battle, fired the wigwams and gave orders to encircle the place and cut down any who tried to escape. The number killed, including women and children, was probably six or seven hundred. The power of the Pequots was broken. All that remained was to accept the submission of those who yielded and to hunt down the few that fled. In this work Mason cooperated with the Massachusetts troops under Capt. Israel Stoughton. After the war Mason was promoted to the rank of major. On October 2, 1656, at a meeting of the General Court, he was requested to write a history of the Pequot War. It was printed without the preface in A Relation of the Troubles that Have Hapned in New England (1677), by Increase Mather, who was apparently unaware that Mason was the author, and was reprinted with an introductory sketch of Mason's life by Rev. Thomas Prince, under the title A Brief History of the Pequot War, in 1736.
Achievements
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For over thirty years after 1637 Mason took a prominent part in Connecticut affairs. He served as deputy, 1637-42; magistrate, 1642-60; deputy governor, 1660-69; and assistant, 1669-72. During most of the period he was chief military officer of the colony, and handled Indian relations both for it and for the New England Confederation. In 1660 he was one of the founders of Norwich, where he spent the last twelve years of his life. In honor of Norwich's bicentennial in 1859, The Mason Monument Association was formed and money was donated to erect a Founders Monument in the original burial grounds at Bean Hill. Major John Mason was their leader and this monument is also referred to as the Mason Monument but includes the names of all the 38 original settlers. There is a life-sized stone carving of Major John Mason on the Connecticut State Capitol building, as he was a preeminent founder of the Colony.
Works
book
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A brief history of the Pequot war
(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
-
A brief history of the Pequot war
Connections
His first wife died in Windsor, prior to March 16, 1638, leaving a daughter, and in July 1639 he married Anne Peck. He left seven children by his second wife.
- Wife:
- Ann Peck Mason
- Daughter:
- Rachel Mason Hill
- Daughter:
- Ann Mason Brown
- Daughter:
- Elizabeth Mason Fitch
- Daughter:
- Ann Mason
- Son:
- John Mason
- Son:
- Israel Mason Bissell
16 November 1619 - 30 June 1672
October 1648 - 4 April 1679
June 1650 - ____
August 1654 - 8 October 1684
1640 - 7 October 1640
August 1646 - 18 September 1676
1638 - ____
References
- A true relation of the late battell fought in New-England between the English and the Pequet salvages: in which were slaine and taken prisoners about ... heads cut off by the Mohocks : with the...
- History of Norwich, Connecticut, from its Settlement in 1660, to January 1845 - Scholar's Choice Edition
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Born
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Died
January 30, 1672 (aged 72) -
Nationality
American