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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 2, 1992                   TAG: 9201020042
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: Southwest bureau
DATELINE: EMORY                                LENGTH: Short

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BOOK EXPLORES LITTLE-KNOWN WAR

Michael J. Puglisi, assistant professor of history at Emory & Henry College, is the author of a book exploring the history of the New England colonies in the 1600s following what was known as King Philip's War.

"Puritans Besieged," published recently by University Press of America, is based on research Puglisi carried out for his doctoral dissertation at the College of William and Mary.

The war was named for a chief of the Wampanoag tribe whose name was Metacom but who was dubbed "King Philip" by colonists in a mixture of admiration and fear. Metacom led an uprising that included many Indian tribes and a military response by the colonists.

The conflict was important in New England history because it established a longstanding pattern of interaction between colonists and Native Americans.

Before the war, New England had been relatively peaceful, although natives had worried about their continuing loss of land and their way of life as the colonists expanded their domains.

The colonists used tough military tactics, not only subduing but just about decimating the Wampanoags.

And the colonists were left with a heavy tax burden trying to pay the cost of the war. The book provides analysis of the impact the war had on the region.

Puglisi is a James Madison University graduate and has taught at Emory & Henry since 1988.

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