American Valor & Infamy:

Almost from the very first moment that Europeans arrived on the continent of America, conflicts arose: first, between the explorers and settlers and the native peoples of the continent. Later, disputes between different factions of settlers erupted as well. Finally, hostilities turned toward the mother country of England in the earliest struggles toward independence. Most Americans, not to mention non-Americans, have only a foggy notion, at best, that these wars and armed conflicts ever occurred at all. Yet some were among the bloodiest and costliest of all American conflicts, including the Civil and World Wars. This website aims to present an easy-to-understand synopsis of each of these conflicts, including:

- the CAUSES and events that lead to each conflict 

- the EVENTS during the course of the conflicts

- the AFTERMATH and effects on the Native Americans and American colonies

These wars and other military conflicts which occurred during the colonial period in America fall into one of three categories. The first were a series of armed conflicts between Native Americans and the European settlers. Second, there was a group of military struggles between the various ethnic European populations, such as the English vs. French or Spanish settlements, led by the corresponding mother countries. Finally, there developed a pattern of military actions between the English colonies and the mother country herself, England, which culminated in the American Revolution and the independence of the United States of America.

In addition, this website is a presentation of real people who took part in these historic events. For each event, the service of specific colonists in New England who found themselves swept up in the conflicts of their times and served with valor - or who were sometimes not so valorous - will be outlined. Native Americans fought bravely as well, and also resorted to less than humane responses to threats and attacks against them. As many Native American individuals whose names are known are also described, though these are, sadly, only those leaders and chiefs directly involved in the events. 

The stories are heartbreaking tales of horror and loss for the native peoples who lived in the "new world" and fought with dedicated tenacity for their home and their way of life. History, as it turned out, was not on their side. Eventually, the great tribes of the east coastal areas of America were decimated, disbanded or rendered unable to continue, for a period of many decades, as cohesive tribes. Though the struggles the colonists fought did not always uphold values that we would consider honorable today, their service would combine with a love of liberty and a spirit of rugged individualism that would come to define the American character and shape the destiny of a nation.

Below is a list of the wars and armed conflicts covered 

in this website (navigate at top).

The "Indian" Wars:

- Ominous Beginnings

- Pequot War

- King Philip's War

The French & Spanish Wars:

- King William's War

- Queen Anne's War

- French & Indian War

Seeds of Revolution:

- The Boston Massacre

- The Boston Tea Party

- Lexington & Concord

- The Battle of Bunker Hill

- The Declaration of Independence