The Great Swamp Fight of 1637

Fairfield, Conn. (WTNH) - 374 years ago a violent battle took place in July in a swamp located within the borders of what would become Fairfield.

"It was one of the last battles of the war, and significant in that it was the final blow if you will to the Pequots," said Dr. Kevin McBride, director of research at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center .

The Great Swamp Fight of 1637 was a last stand in the Pequot War , ending the tribe's shoreline dominance.

"The impact of the Pequot War and native people was profound," McBride said. "The defeat of the Pequots sort of created a power vacuum if you will that other native tribes tended to fill over the next four decades."

So how did it get to this point? In May of the same year the powerful Pequots fled their home territory in Mystic after the English set their entire village ablaze, killing 400 men, women and children.

From arrow tips to musket balls, the artifacts retrieved from the Mystic site is intricately tied to the Fairfield battlefield. "These are precisely what we would expect to find at the Fairfield swamp fight," McBride said.

The Pequots sought refuge in a swampy area of Southport where I-95 now cuts through.

"The site is still there in spite of the development and the impacts on the site," McBride said. "It's important to know that it is still there."

And it is there that close 100 Pequots and 200 Sasquas Indians found themselves surrounded by the English and their allies the Mohegans.

Most of the tribe's warriors fought to the death. The Pequot women and children were enslaved. Their leader Sassacus did escape to New York, only to be killed by the Mohawks. It was a turning point for the Pequots who lost their political and cultural identity, but not forever.

"It decimated the tribe obviously," McBride said. "The fact that they are still here on this landscape today is a testament to their tenacity."

And the research continues with future plans to dig in Fairfield with the guidance and help of institutes like the Fairfield Museum and History Center .

"They have an amazing amount of resources down there for us," McBride said, "so we will coordinate with them and the community and maybe in a couple of years we'll do this."

History that will once again come alive.

"Until you see it, touch it, you know sometimes it doesn't really come alive, it really doesn't sort of grab you," said McBride, sitting in front of dozens of artifacts, "but when we see things like this, those kinds of things make you realize you can't step that far away from it. It's still pretty close."

For more information:

The Swamp War monument is located on the Post Road in Fairfield.

The Fairfield Museum and History Center is located at 370 Beach Road, and it's open every day. For more information on exhibits and research hours visit fairfieldhs.org

The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center is open Wednesday through Saturday in Mashantucket. Visit pequotmuseum.org for more information.