Wheeler's Surprise (Siege of Brookfield)

In August 1675, amid King Philip's War, Nipmuc warriors led by Muttawmp clashed with Massachusetts Bay colonists commanded by Thomas Wheeler and Captain Edward Hutchinson in what became known as Wheeler's Surprise, along with the siege of Brookfield that followed it. The engagement unfolded in stages: first the Nipmucs sprang an ambush on Wheeler's unwary company, then they turned their assault toward the town of Brookfield, Massachusetts, trapping what remained of the colonial force under siege. Historians have never disputed where the siege itself unfolded, since Ayers' Garrison in West Brookfield has always been recognized as that site. The exact spot of the earlier ambush, however, sparked considerable disagreement among scholars during the late nineteenth century.

Negotiations

On July 14, Curtis and his men sat down with Muttawmp, the Nipmuc sachem, though this happened on the very day a separate band of Nipmuc fighters struck Mendon. Because of that assault, Muttawmp already regarded himself as engaged in war against the colonists by the time the meeting took place. His warriors made no effort to hide their hostility toward the English envoys, yet Muttawmp himself judged it wiser to pretend goodwill, assuring Curtis he would present himself in Boston within a week's time.

Once Curtis had made his way back to Boston and relayed news of this promise to his commanders, those in charge chose not to sit idle awaiting Muttawmp's promised visit. Instead they dispatched Captain Hutchinson, accompanied by Captain Wheeler, thirty mounted militiamen, and a handful of "Natick" Praying Indian scouts, to seek out the sachem themselves. This group traveled to New Norwich, arriving on July 31 only to discover the settlement deserted. From this they gathered that the Nipmucs had relocated their encampment to a spot roughly ten miles from Brookfield, prompting them to send Curtis and the Natick guides back to parley with Muttawmp once more. The braves again showed the messengers scant courtesy, but Muttawmp kept up his ruse, pledging to meet Hutchinson at Brookfield the next day.

Ambush

When the colonial force finally reached the designated meeting place the following day, they found the location deserted. The Natick guides then urged the group to abandon the mission and head back toward Brookfield. Hutchinson and Wheeler chose otherwise, resolving to push forward to the Nipmuc encampment where contact had been made the day before.

Getting to Muttawmp's camp required crossing a swamp along a narrow trail that forced the men to travel one behind another. The native guides voiced further objections, yet Hutchinson and Wheeler pressed ahead anyway, knowing full well they could be heading straight into an ambush.

Roughly 400 yards (370 m) into this passage, Muttawmp's warriors sprang from the tall marsh grass, opening fire with both bows and guns. As the colonists spun around to escape back along the same narrow route, they discovered a second band of Nipmucs had already sealed off their path of retreat. Chaos overtook the colonial ranks so thoroughly that they could not initially even fire back. Hutchinson and Wheeler both suffered severe wounds, eight more men lost their lives in the opening assault, and several others sustained injuries.

Had it not been for the intervention of the Natick guides, the whole company would almost certainly have been wiped out on the spot. One of these guides took charge after the two captains fell wounded, steering the remaining colonists free of the ambush and up into the nearby hills. Once they had put themselves beyond immediate danger, the survivors pressed on toward Brookfield, knowing all the while that Muttawmp's forces were close behind.

Siege of Brookfield

Guided by his Natick scouts, Wheeler and his surviving men made their way to Quabaug, the colonial outpost that would later become West Brookfield. Because the settlement sat in a remote spot, no rescue could be expected quickly, even supposing word of the assault reached neighboring New England communities.

Inside Brookfield, survivors converged on the dwelling of Sgt. John Ayers, who had died during the earlier ambush. Roughly seventy townspeople, alerted to the approaching Nipmuc threat, joined them there, since Ayers' home happened to be the biggest structure in town. Once safely inside, Wheeler shook off his earlier daze and resumed command, directing his men to strengthen the building's defenses. He attempted to dispatch a pair of militiamen for assistance, but Muttawmp's warriors arrived before they could slip away. By then roughly eighty people had crowded into the Ayers residence.

Upon reaching the house, some Nipmuc fighters maintained relentless fire against it while others chased off the settlers' animals, plundered nearby dwellings, and set them ablaze. After encircling the garrison completely, Muttawmp mounted three separate assaults against it, none of which succeeded. The lone English losses that first day came when two colonists foolishly ventured outside and were swiftly slain. Faced with this failure, Muttawmp concluded he would need a fresh strategy.

At daybreak on the following day, Muttawmp's men loaded a village cart with flammable materials and steered it toward the fortified structure, intending to set the building alight and drive its occupants into the open. Torrential rain during the wagon's assembly ruined this scheme before it could be carried out. Amid the resulting chaos, Ephraim Curtis slipped free of the house and dashed toward the safety of the woods. He ultimately reached Marlborough, though by that point local militia forces had already learned of trouble from travelers who had caught the sound of gunfire near Brookfield. Consequently, a relief force headed by Major Simon Willard was already marching to break the siege.

Aftermath

After pulling back from Brookfield, Muttawmp brought his warriors to a fort at Hatfield, where Metacom joined him not long after with forty Wampanoag fighters. Word of the assault reached King Philip, who responded by presenting the Nipmuc sachems with unstrung wampum as a token of gratitude.

South Deerfield became the site of the Indians' next strike, coming in August of that same year. For the remainder of 1675, native forces racked up victory after victory. Much of this success stemmed from the cunning leadership of figures such as Metacomet, Muttawmp, and Matoonas, who turned their familiarity with the land into a weapon, springing ambushes on colonial units sent after them in a pattern echoing what had unfolded during Wheeler's Surprise. Yet the year did not close on a triumphant note for the natives: the Great Swamp Fight brought a crushing loss to the Narragansetts.

Philip and his allies held onto momentum for a stretch in 1675, but the colonists' scorched earth strategy gradually starved them of provisions. This dwindling supply situation, combined with a limited offer of amnesty, drove more and more chiefs away from Philip's coalition. Some, including Narragansett leader Canonchet, did not survive to make that choice, having been killed outright. By the spring of 1676, fortunes had shifted decisively toward the colonists. Muttawmp, who had triumphed at Brookfield, sought to negotiate peace with colonial officials, only to find the guarantees of his safety abandoned; he was put to death in September 1676. By then Metacomet, the man who had led the uprising, had already been cut off from support, cornered in the Assowamset Swamp, and slain by a Praying Indian on August 12 of that year.