When Pilgrims stole Nauset corn: The clash that redirected Plymouth history

The Nauset Warriors’ Arrow Attack at First Encounter Beach

The Pilgrims who landed at Provincetown in 1620 were starving and scared. For weeks, they hunted for a home while taking what wasn’t theirs.

They stole corn from Nauset storage pits and even looted Native graves. Then came the showdown.

On December 8, Nauset warriors fired arrows at the Pilgrim camp at what’s now First Encounter Beach. Captain Standish shot back.

No one died, but both sides claimed they won. Later that day, a storm pushed the Pilgrims across the bay to Plymouth, where they chose to settle.

The beach where these worlds first clashed still sits peacefully on Cape Cod, waiting for you to walk where history changed course.

Mayflower Drops Anchor After Rough Sea Trip

The Mayflower stopped in Provincetown Harbor on November 11, 1620, after 66 days at sea. The ship carried 102 passengers and 30 crew members who wanted to walk on land again.

The men signed the Mayflower Compact that same day to create rules for their new community.

They meant to settle near the Hudson River in Virginia, but dangerous shallow waters around Cape Cod forced them to change plans.

Hungry Pilgrims Find Native Food Storage

On November 16, Captain Myles Standish led 16 men to check out the shore.

William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins, and Edward Tilley joined them as they walked through an empty Nauset village. The locals were at their winter hunting spots.

The group found hidden baskets of colorful flint corn buried in the ground at what they later called Corn Hill in Truro. They took four bushels, each so heavy that two men had trouble lifting them.

Pilgrims Take More Than Just Corn

The hungry explorers came back days later and grabbed ten more bushels, taking a total of fourteen bushels of seed corn from the Nausets. They also dug up other food supplies the Nausets had stored for winter.

The first two shore groups took items from empty Native homes they found. Some Pilgrims even stole from at least one Nauset grave during their trips.

They left a note in English saying they would pay the Nausets back for the corn.

Bad Weather Slows Down Second Search Group

A second group left on November 27 in their newly fixed small boat.

The Mayflower’s captain, Christopher Jones, sent 34 men this time, but bad weather got in their way.

The next day, about 30 men looked around the mouth of the Pamet River and found two recently empty Native homes called wetu. The Nausets had been watching them since they first showed up but stayed away for weeks.

Third Trip Starts With High Hopes

Captain Myles Standish led 18 men on a third trip on December 6, 1620. They planned to check out Cape Cod Bay by boat, sleeping on shore at night.

For safety, they built walls using tree branches around their camps. The group stopped at the mouth of what we now call the Herring River in Eastham.

By now, the Nausets had seen enough of these strangers taking their food, stuff, and messing with their sacred places.

Morning Shouts Break the Dawn Quiet

Someone yelled “Indians! Indians!” as the sun came up on December 8, 1620. Sixteen men were still in camp when arrows flew through their branch walls.

No one got hit. Some Pilgrims were taking care of their beached boat while others slept, leaving them spread out and open to attack.

The Nauset fighters shouted warnings before they attacked, giving the Pilgrims a few seconds to grab their guns and get ready.

Standish Stays Calm During Attack

Captain Standish fired several shots with his flintlock gun during the attack.

Edward Winslow and three others guarded the main camp as their friends rushed to get their matchlock guns from near the boat. Some men started to panic, but Standish kept them calm.

He told them not to waste shots from their slow-loading matchlock guns unless they could clearly see who they were shooting at.

Arrows and Bullets Fly Without Hitting Anyone

Both sides shot at each other in a short but intense fight. Strangely, no one on either side got hurt or died.

The Nausets used arrows with points made from brass, deer antlers, and eagle claws. The Pilgrims later picked up these arrows to send back to England as proof of what happened.

Some stories say the Nausets also threw rocks at the Pilgrims during the fight.

Warriors and Pilgrims Both Think They Won

The Nauset warriors called out to stop the fight and went back into the forest. Both sides felt they won.

The Nausets liked that the English left in their boat, while the Pilgrims felt proud the Nausets walked away. Some Pilgrims chased the Nausets about a quarter-mile into the woods before turning back.

The writers of Mourt’s Relation, a firsthand account, wrote that “It pleased God to vanquish our enemies and give us deliverance.

Storm Pushes Pilgrims to Their Future Home

Later that same day, as the group kept exploring by boat, a storm blew up across Cape Cod Bay. Their small shallop got blown off course and ended up at what we now call Plymouth Harbor.

There they found an abandoned Wampanoag village called Patuxet that had been hit hard by disease. On December 16, Standish joined the small group that first stepped ashore at the place they named Plymouth.

Plymouth Wins Out Over Cape Cod

The Pilgrims decided Plymouth offered a safer place to settle than Cape Cod. The Mayflower anchored in Plymouth Harbor on December 18, 1620.

They chose this spot because it had fresh water, good farming land, and safe access for ships. A few months later, the Pilgrims kept their promise and paid the Nausets back for the corn they took.

Despite their rough first meeting, the Nauset tribe eventually became the Pilgrims’ closest Native American allies.

Visiting Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts

First Encounter Beach in Eastham marks where Pilgrims and the Nauset tribe clashed on December 8, 1620, after weeks of English exploration and food theft.

You’ll find the beach at 1699 Samoset Road with a 2001 historical marker from the Society of Colonial Wars. The calm bay has wide tidal flats to explore, but no lifeguards.

You’ll pay $30 for daily parking from mid-June through Labor Day, though it’s free after 4:30 PM.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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