Battlefields of the Pequot War

Iron axe, adze, hammer and trencher. These trade items were looted from Pequot villages attacked by the English.

Worn by an English officer or soldier of means. This button attests to the connection between English soldiers and the Netherlands where they fought in the Thirty Years War.

This Native made brass pipe manufactured from a brass trade kettle was carried into battle by a Native soldier.

Jaw harps were common items carried by both the English and Native soldiers. The harp is held in the mouth, while a flexible metal tongue is plucked with the finger to produce a note.

Brass Jesuit finger rings were a common trade item obtained by Natives from French missionaries or fur traders. IHS stands for Isus Hominis Salvator, which translates as Jesus Savior of Mankind.

One of the many gun parts recovered from the battlefield. The serpentine is the mechanism on a matchlock musket that holds a burning wick to ignite the powder in the flash pan.

A representative sample of lead musket balls recovered from the battlefield. Some were dropped on the ground, others were fired and misshapen as a result of impact. Their diameters range from .30 to .70 caliber.

Rolled conical arrow points manufactured from brass trade kettles. These arrow points were carried by the Wangunk from the middle Connecticut River valley, and were allies of the English.

Brass projectile point made from a trade kettle. This style is believed to have been used by the Narragansett allies of the English.

Native made brass hair comb manufactured from a trade kettle.

This club head would have been hafted onto a wooden handle. The color and rarity of the material suggests it may have been carried by a sachem. On loan from the American Indian Research Institute, Washington CT.

This steatite (soapstone) figurine depicts a Pequot man who was likely an important person such as a sachem. Such detailed visual representations of a Native person are extremely rare.
On loan from the National Museum of the American Indian.

Made from a single piece of greywacke, dense sandstone, from the Albany New York area. Likely carried by a sachem or an elite warrior, it is one of the most enigmatic objects associated with the Pequot War. On loan from the Connecticut Museum of Natural History.