“After Miantonomo was executed, Uncas thought it would be appropriate to bury him near the place where he was originally captured and that a small pile of rocks be placed as a marker on the gravesite. To that effect, the Mohegans buried their fallen foe near the western bank of the Shetucket River, north of the present village of Greenville , and marked the spot with a pile of stones. Over the years the pile of stones grew as it was visited by warriors from many tribes as they passed by on the heavily traveled route. Sometime in the 18th century, though, a farmer who had bought the land found a mound of rocks on his property and, not knowing what it was for, used the stones to build a foundation for his house and barn.

“On July 4th, 1841 a few citizens of Norwich erected a granite monument where the mound of stones once stood and dedicated it to Miantonomo in a solemn ceremony to honor the former warrior and chief.” from The Distracted Wanderer blog.

Stones left for his memory. Respect.

The sign words:

Miantonimo

Miantonimo, born circa 1600, became one of the greatest of the Narragansett warriors and one of the tribe’s most celebrated sachems.

The nephew of the great sachem Canonicus Miantonimo, bowed to his uncle’s wishes and attempted to befriend the colonists.

Following the Pequot massacre and defeat of 1637, Miantonimo saw the beginning of the end for his own people. He began visiting other tribes in hopes of forming an Indian Confederacy to deal with the colonists as one voice. Miantonimo’s secret visits to the other tribes were reported to the colonists by Mohegan sachem Uncas, kindling the flames of hatred that already smoldered between the Mohegans and the Narragansetts.

In 1643, Uncas claimed that Miantonimo had sent an assassin after him. Angry at this charge, Miantonimo led a force of 1,000 warriors to attach the Mohegans. Pretending to parlay, Uncas then signaled for the surprise attach which totally routed the Narrangasetts.

Miantonimo, encumbered by heavy armor that an English friend had lent him, was captured and later executed. For years, Narrangansetts visiting the spot of Miantonimo’s capture honored their sachem’s memory by placing a small stone at this memorial site.

Credit at bottom of the sign: Marker courtesy of a grant by the Gernon Trust.

Top of the sign: Norwich, Connecticut, Rose of New England seal.

The more read and learned, the greater the curiosity–why Miantonimo's proposed federation of tribes was not embraced. And just how red-hot was the hatred Uncas felt towards him?

(One man embraced the colonists as inevitable, the other wanted to resist the encroachments in every way.)

As our roving reporter commented: “That's why Uncas has a CT state park and Miantonimo's memorial stones became the foundation of a barn.”