Nine Men's Misery - Cumberland RI - Veteran Cemeteries on Waymarking.com

Nine Men's Misery is a site in current day Cumberland, Rhode Island where nine colonists were tortured by the Narragansett Indian tribe during King Philip's War. A stone memorial was constructed in 1676 which is believed to be the oldest veterans memorial in the United States.

Marker reads:

Nine Mine's Misery on this spot where they were slain by the Indians were buried the nine soldiers captured in Pierce's fight

March 26, 1676
Erected by the State of Rhode Island, 1928

On March 26, 1676, during King Philip's War, Captain Michael Pierce led approximately sixty Plymouth Colony colonial troops and twenty Wampanoag Christian Indians in pursuit of Narragansett Indians who had burned several Rhode Island towns and attacked Plymouth, Mass., as part of King Philip's War. Pierce's troops caught up with the Narragansett Indians, Wampanoag, Nashaway, Nipmuck, Podunk but were ambushed in what is now Central Falls, Rhode Island. Pierce's troops fought the Narragansetts for several hours, but were surrounded by a larger force of Narragansetts. The battle was one of the biggest defeats of colonial troops during King Philip's War with nearly all killed in the battle, including Captain Pierce and the Christian Indians ("Praying Indians") (exact numbers vary by account somewhat). The Narragansetts lost only a handful of warriors.

Nine of the colonists who were among the dead were first taken prisoner (along with a tenth man who survived). These men were purportedly tortured to death by the Narragansetts at a site in Cumberland, Rhode Island, currently on the Cumberland Monastery and Library property. The nine dead colonists were buried by English soldiers who found the corpses and buried them in 1676. The soldiers created a pile of stones to memorialize the colonists. This pile is believed to be the oldest veterans' memorial in the United States, and a cairn of stones has continuously marked the site since 1676.

Source: (visit link)

Date cemetery was established: 1676 Visiting hours: Daylight hours Website pertaining to the cemetery: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit.

We would also like to hear about any of your deceased family members who may be laid to rest in the cemetery.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   09/03/2016 Roscoe45 visited it 06/28/2014 NorStar visited it

View all visits/logs