Uncas

who through his alliance with the English colonists against other Indian tribes made the Mohegans the leading regional Indian tribe.

Uncas was a Mohegan by birth. He was born near the Thames River in present day Connecticut the son of the Mohegan sachem Owaneco. [Oberg, p. 38] He was a descendant of the principal sachems of the Mohegans, Pequots, and Narragansetts. Owaneco presided over the site known as Montonesuck. Uncas knew at least some English and possibly some Dutch. Uncas was known as "Le Cerf Agile" ("The Bounding Elk")Fact|date=January 2008.

In 1626, Owaneco arranged for Uncas to marry the daughter of the principal Pequot sachem Tatobem to secure an alliance with the Pequots. When Owaneco died, shortly after this marriage, Uncas had to submit himself 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, but when he died Uncas began to contest Pequot authority over the Mohegan. In 1634, with Narragansett support Uncas rebelled against 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 resulting 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". [Oberg, p. 52] In 1637, during the Pequot War, Uncas was allied with the English and against the Pequots. He led his Mohegans in a joint attacks with the English against the Pequot near Saybrook and against their fort at Mystic River. The Pequots were totally defeated and the Mohegans incorporated much of the remaining Pequot people and their land. In the 1638 Treaty of Hartford, Uncas made the Mohegans 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 Mohegans become a regional power.

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

War with the Narragansetts

The Mohegans were in continuous conflict with the Narragansetts 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 Mohegans defeated an invasion force of around one thousand and captured their sachem Miantonomo. Uncas put to death several of Miantonomo's fellow warrior prisoners 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 and 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 on a signal from Uncas.

When the next Narragansett sachem proposed to go to war to avenge the death of Miantonomo the English pledged to support the Mohegans. The Narragansett attacks started in June, 1644. With each success the number of Narragansett allies grew. Uncas and the Mohegans were under siege at Shantok and on the verge of a complete defeat when the English relieved then with supplies lifting 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 Narragansetts signed a humiliating peace treaty.

In 1646, the tributary tribe at Nameag consisting of former Pequots allied themselves 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 Narragansetts to attack the Mohegans. 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

The 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 Mohegans with the English attacked the Narragansetts. The Mohegans ended their active support of the English in this war in July, 1676.

Uncas died sometime between June 1683 and June 1684.

Legacy

* President Jackson laid the foundation stone of a monument to him in Norwich, Connecticut.
* In 1907, William F. Cody laid a wreath on Uncas' monument as a commemoration to Uncas as the "Last of the Mohicans". [Oberg, p. 8]
*James Fenimore Cooper's book "The Last of the Mohicans" had Chingachgook's son named after Uncas.
*A two masted wooden schooner, Diosa del Mar (which sank off the coast of Catalina Island in 1990), was originally christened "Uncas" by the owning Vanderbilt family.
*Uncasville in Eastern Connecticut is named after Uncas.

Footnotes

References

* Oberg, Michael Leroy, "Uncas First of the Mohegans", 2003, ISBN 0801438772