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Battle of Turner's Falls

1676 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony1676 in the Thirteen ColoniesBattles in MassachusettsBattles involving Native AmericansConflicts in 1676
Gill, MassachusettsHistory of Franklin County, MassachusettsKing Philip's War
IMG 3998 Turner Monument
IMG 3998 Turner Monument

The Battle of Turner's Falls or Battle of Grand Falls; also known as the Peskeompscut-Wissantinnewag Massacre, was a battle and massacre occurring on May 19, 1676, in the context of King Philip's War in what is present-day Gill and Greenfield, across from Turners Falls on the Connecticut River. The incident marked a turning point in the war, and in the colonization of Native lands by British settlers. The war led to the expulsion of most Native Americans in the Connecticut River Valley.A largely untrained, inexperienced militia force of 150-160 engaged in an initial massacre early in the morning around dawn, taking advantage of the native practice of the warriors sleeping in a separate camp during wartime about half a mile away, and began looting of the Peskeompskut camp, killing between 100 and 200 people, mostly women and children. Conducting a fighting withdrawal after the counterattack through ambushes set by the Algonquian tribe's outnumbered warriors, resulting in the deaths of 38 militiamen (including the commander, William Turner) and the wounding of an unknown number. The massacre has been described as genocide. The site of the incident has in recent years been memorialized by the NRHP's establishment as the Riverside Archeological District at the approximate site of the battle.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Battle of Turner's Falls (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Battle of Turner's Falls
Gill-Montague Bridge,

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Wikipedia: Battle of Turner's FallsContinue reading on Wikipedia

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Latitude Longitude
N 42.612865 ° E -72.549434 °
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Gill-Montague Bridge

Gill-Montague Bridge
01376
Massachusetts, United States
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IMG 3998 Turner Monument
IMG 3998 Turner Monument
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Turners Falls Canal
Turners Falls Canal

The Turners Falls Canal, also historically known as the Montague Canal, was a canal along the Connecticut River in Montague, Massachusetts. It was reconstructed in 1869. The canal was first completed in 1798 by the Proprietors of the Upper Locks and Canals on Connecticut River under a charter granted on February 23, 1792, by the Massachusetts legislature and Governor John Hancock. After completing the South Hadley Canal, many of the earlier Proprietors turned their attention to extending navigation to regions above Turners Falls. Construction work included a log-crib dam extending across the Connecticut River at a place called "Great Falls" (now Turners Falls), a canal 2.5 miles (4 kilometres) long and 20 feet (6 metres) wide from there to a point downstream near the Deerfield River, and a towpath on its east shore. The canal had ten locks as finally completed. Upstream a dam and single-lock canal near the mouth of the Millers River allowed barges to bypass the French King rapids. The canals were opened for business in 1798 and by 1802 supported regular freight traffic by boat from Long Island Sound to Bellows Falls, Vermont. The canal was profitable for 30 years, returning 4% dividend to its investors, and even in 1826 briefly considered as part of a larger system from Boston to the Hudson River, but within a few decades railroads had become the favored means of transport, and it eventually closed to navigation in 1856. However, in 1869 it was reconstructed, along with the Turner Falls Dam, to provide waterpower for both existing and newly planned mills. This reconstructed power canal followed a somewhat different route from its predecessor, and served as the origin of today's village of Turners Falls.