Sachem Uncas, Mohegan

Uncas (c. 1588 – c. 1683) was a sachem of the Mohegan who, through his alliance with the English colonists in New England against other Indian tribes, made the Mohegan the leading regional Native American nation in lower Connecticut. Uncas died sometime between June 1683 and June 1684.

Uncas referred to himself as Poquaiom or Pequiem, but he is almost invariably known as Uncas.

Visit the official Mohegan Tribal Nation website/exhibit about Sachem Uncas.

Early Life & Family

Uncas was born near the Thames River in present- day Connecticut, the son of the Mohegan sachem Owaneco. He was a descendant of the principal sachems of the Mohegan, Pequot, and Narragansett. Owaneco presided over the village known as Montonesuck. Uncas was bilingual, learning Mohegan and some English, and possibly some Dutch.

In 1626, Owaneco arranged for Uncas to marry the daughter of the principal Pequot sachem Tatobem to secure an alliance with them. When Owaneco died, shortly after this marriage, Uncas had to submit to Tatobem's authority. When in 1633, Tatobem was captured and killed by the Dutch, Sassacus became his successor.

Owaneco's alliance with Tatobem was based upon a balance of power between the Mohegan and Pequot. After the death of Owaneco, the balance changed in favour of the Pequot. Uncas was unwilling to challenge the power of Tatobem.

After he died, however, Uncas began to contest Pequot authority over the Mohegan. In 1634 with Narragansett support, Uncas rebelled against Saccaucus and Pequot authority. He was defeated and Uncas became an exile among the Narragansett. He soon returned from exile after ritually humiliating himself before Saccacus. His failed challenge resulted in Uncas 'having little land and few followers.

Pequot War

About 1635, Uncas developed relationships with important Englishmen in Connecticut. He was a friend of Captain John Mason, a partnership which was to last three and a half decades. Uncas sent word to Jonathan Brewster that Saccacus was planning to attack the English on the Connecticut river. Brewster described Uncas as being "faithful to the English".

In 1637, during the Pequot War, Uncas was allied with the English and against the Pequots. He led his Mohegan in a joint attack with the English against the Pequot near Saybrook and against their fort at Mystic River. The Pequot were defeated and the Mohegan incorporated much of the remaining Pequot people and their land. In the 1638 Treaty of Hartford, Uncas made the Mohegan a tributary of the Connecticut River Colony. The treaty dictated that Uncas could pursue his interests in the Pequot country only with the explicit approval of the Connecticut English. The Mohegan become a regional power.

In 1640, Uncas added Sebequanash of the Hammonasset to his several wives. This marriage gave Uncas some type of control over their land which he promptly sold to the English. The Hammonasset moved and became Mohegan.

War with the Narragansett

The Mohegan were in continuous conflict with the Narragansett over control over the former Pequot land. In the summer of 1643, this conflict turned into war. The English colonies formed an alliance, the New England Confederation, for their defence.

The Mohegan defeated an invasion force of around 1,000 men and captured their sachem Miantonomo. Uncas executed several of Miantonomo's fellow warriors in front of him trying to solicit a response from Miantonomo. Consistent with the 1638 treaty, he turned Miantonomo over to the English.

The English put him on trial where he was found guilty. Uncas was given authority to put Miantonomo to death, provided that the killing was done in Mohegan territory. Uncas' brother Wawequa killed Miantonomo with a tomahawk under orders from Uncas.

When the next Narragansett sachem proposed to go to war to avenge the death of Miantonomo, the English pledged to support the Mohegan. The Narragansett attacks started in June 1644. With each success, the number of Narragansett allies grew. Uncas and the Mohegan were under siege at Shantok and on the verge of a complete defeat when the English relieved them with supplies and lifted the siege. The New England Confederation pledged any offensive action required to preserve Uncas in "his liberty and estate". The English sent troops to defend the Mohegan fort at Shantok. When the English threatened to invade Narragansett territory, the Narragansett signed a peace treaty.

In 1646, the tributary tribe at Nameag, consisting of former Pequot, allied with the English and tried to become more independent. In response, Uncas attacked and plundered their village. The Bay Colony governor responded by threatening to allow the Narragansett to attack the Mohegan. For the next several years, the English both asserted the Nameag's tributary status while supporting the Nameag in their independence. In 1655, the English removed the tribe from Uncas' authority. The English had less and less use for Uncas, and his influence in English councils declined.

King Philip's War

King Philip's War started in June 1675. In the summer, the Mohegan entered the war on the side of the English. Uncas led his forces in joint attacks with the English against the Wampanoag. In December, the Mohegan with the English attacked the Narragansett. The Mohegan ended their active support of the English in this war in July 1676.

Legacy

• President Jackson laid the foundation stone of a monument to Uncas in Norwich, Connecticut.
• James Fenimore Cooper's book The Last of the Mohicans had Chingachgook's son named Uncas.
• A two-masted wooden schooner, Diosa del Mar, was originally christened Uncas by the owning Vanderbilt family.
• Four United States Navy ships have been named USS Uncas.
• Uncasville in Eastern Connecticut is named after him.

See Also

• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=niyayo53d...
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=uncas&GSbyrel...

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UNCAS, MOHEGAN SACHEM

Uncas, son of Owaneco, was a Pequot chief. His wife was the daughter of Sassacus, Sachem of the Pequots. "Uncas was exceedingly restless and ambitious. Five times, the Indians said, he rebelled against his superior, and each time was expelled from his possessions, and his followers subjected to the sway of the conqueror."* Uncas then removed to the interior and placed himself at the head of the Mohegan clans who occupied lands east of the Connecticut river, and west of the great Pequot River now known as the Thames. While Sassacus traded with the Dutch, Uncas developed alliances with the English. War eventually broke out between the English and the Pequot after the murder of John Oldham in 1636 and the punitive expedition by John Endicott. In May of 1637, Uncas with seventy Mohegan warriors joined ninety Englishmen under the command of Capt. John Mason in the famous expedition against the Pequots, sailing down the Connecticut river to Saybrook, then to Narragansett Bay and attacking the Pequots from the eastward. In a series of bloody battles, Uncas and Mason brought the power of the great Pequot nation to an end. Sassacus and a party of thirty to forty men did manage to escape to the Mohawks, but their new hosts put them all to death, sending their scalps to the English.

After the distruction of the Pequot Nation, the Narragansetts became emboldened and thought to extend their borders into the previous domain of their neighbors. Led by their Sachem, Miantonomo, who had a strong dislike for Uncas, a force of five to six hundred warriors marched against the Mohegans. In the summer of 1643, the Mohegans and Narragansetts met on the "Great Plain". Uncas had perhaps half as many warriors as the Narragansetts. On the approach of the enemy, "Uncas sent forward a messenger, desiring a parley with Miantonomo, which was granted, and the two chiefs met on the plain, between their respective armies. Uncas then proposed that the fortunes of the day should be decided by themselves in single combat, and the lives of their warriors spared. His proposition was thus expressed: 'Let us two fight it out; If you kill me, my men shall be yours; but if I kill you, your men shall be mine.'

Miantonomo, who seems to have suspected some crafty manoeuvre, in this unusual proposition, replied disdainfully, 'My men came to fight, and they shall fight.' Uncas immediately gave a pre-concerted signal to his followers, by falling flat upon his face to the ground. They, being all prepared with bent bows, instantly discharged a shower of arrows upon the enemy, and raising the battle yell, rushed forward with their tomahawks, their chieftain starting up and leading the onset. The Narragansetts, who were carelessly awaiting the result of the conference, and not expecting that the Mohegans would venture to fight at all with such inferior force, were taken by surprise; and after a short and confused attempt at resistance, were put to flight."**

The battle lasted but a moment and Miantonomo, deserted by his people and over-weighted by an English corselet, was caught, after a long chase, by Uncas and one of his sachems. Uncas turned Miantonomo over to the English authorities for trial. The Connecticut counselors directed that Miantonomo be given up to Uncas for execution outside of the commonwealth's jurisdiction. The Narragansett chief was delivered to the custody of Uncas. When the Mohegans had reached the scene of the battle, Uncas gave a signal to his brother, Wawequa, whose place was just behind the captive. Wawaqua at once sank his hatchet into Miantonomo's brain, killing him instantly.

At the start of King Philip's war, Uncas was too old to take active part but his son, Owaneco, with several hundred Mohegans rendered valuable assistance to the colonists in their fight against the unfriendly Indians. Attawanhood (Joshua), another son, with a band of thirty Indians scoured the woods in the route of the retreating foe, and took active part in the conflict.

Major John Mason, one of the original founders of Norwich, refers to Uncas, "He was a great friend and did us much service".

Uncas died in 1682/3, having been sachem of the Mohegans since the overthrow of the Pequots in 1637.