Uncovering the 1637 Battle of Pequot Swamp
In partnership with the National Park Service, the Fairfield Museum has lead an exciting research project to discover details of the Battle of Pequot Swamp (also known as Munnacommock Swamp) which occurred in 1637 in present day Southport, Connecticut. The battle was the last engagement of the Pequot War and was an important catalyst for English settlement of Fairfield and Southport.
The Fairfield Museum was awarded a multi-year National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program grant to identify the probable locations of the battle site, conduct historical research and locate any archeological artifacts that might remain from the battle. The project is part of the state-wide Battlefields of the Pequot War project that is identifying and preserving similar battlefields associated with the Pequot War (1636-1637) across Connecticut.
The first phase of the Fairfield project, completed in 2017, was to review all historical references to the Battle of Pequot Swamp and identify the probable location of the battle. The final report of that research project is available here: Battle of Pequot Swamp Archaeological Report 2017.
In 2018-2019, the Fairfield Museum worked with a team of professional archaeologists to conduct low-impact field analysis of the Pequot Swamp battle site to locate possible artifacts. Click below to see a map of the battle site.
The final report for this phase of the study is available here: Technical Report: Battle of Pequot (Munnacommock) Swamp,
Support for the project was also supported by:
Sasquanaug Association
Southport Conservancy
For more on the fascinating history of the Pequot War and the Battle of Pequot Swamp in Southport, please visit the Battlefields of the Pequot War site and see our Overview of the Pequot War.
This project is supported by the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program, the Pequot Running Club and the Southport Area Association.
