Myles Standish & the Mayflower

Not too many people today have heard of Myles Standish. This was not true in another age. Today, Myles Standish would be considered...well...how should I say it without offending anyone..ok...damn it!...Politically Incorrect. He was a pilgrim...well not really, only sorta. He came over with the pilgrims on the Mayflower. He was actually hired to be their military Captain. He had been a professional soldier in the army of King James I of England, but little is known of his career before embarking on the Mayflower in 1620. When I was a child I remember hearing stories about Standish along with the pilgrims first Thanksgiving with the Wampanoags. Since I am a native New Englander I was fascinated with these tales and legends which happened nearly in my backyard. Some of the tales were obviously fabrications passed down through the generations as fact. For instance, Myles Standish never fell in love with Priscilla Mullins (who married John Alden) This legend came about through the vivid imagination of Longfellow in his Courtship of Miles Standish in the 19th century.

                              Myles Standish Trading Card 1933

     Myles (Miles) Standish was born in England around 1584. The location of his birth is not known with any certainty, however, tradition holds that he was born either on the Isle of Man or in Lancashire in England. He was a man of short stature probably standing a little over 5 feet with reddish hair. His height was mocked by one of his contemporaries, Thomas Morton, who ran a trading post and traded guns with the natives. Morton referred to Standish as "Captain Shrimp." Standish arrived at Plymouth colony in November 1620, and was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact which essentially was a document that installed law and order to the fledgling colony at Plymouth which at the time only consisted of the ship in the harbor, and a few makeshift structures on the shore. His wife, Rose was among the colonists who died during the first winter when a sickness engulfed the colony. Standish was put in charge of some of the early expeditions that set out to explore the countryside. At first, the colonists got along well with the natives. This, however, changed as the colonists spread into the interior. In the spring of 1623 Governor William Bradford received some intelligence from Massasoit  that some natives were threatening to attack the English colonies at Plymouth and Wessagusset. Standish and a troop of men were sent to investigate. The leader of the troublemakers was a native named Pecksuot who was said to be a man of gigantic stature. Standish and his men met Pecksuot and his men at a small village. According to most accounts, Standish and Pecksuot went inside a small house to perhaps parley. Pecksuot then started to insult Standish, apparently making remarks about his small stature. It is said that Standish tired of these insults grabbed Pecksot's knife and plunged it into his chest killing him. After this there was a brief skirmish between the English and the natives in the woods around the village. Eventually the English were able to drive them off.

    
        I have always been fascinated with Standish and the trials and tribulations of the Mayflower. After all, if it were not for the good Captain I would not be here today writing this little post about him. You see, he eventually remarried and had a son Alexander and eventually after 12 more begats came me. So I guess I can call him Grandpa Standish. Maybe that's where my rather puny stature and red hair comes from?  Eventually Myles Standish moved to Duxbury where he died in 1656. Some good books on Standish and the pilgrims are Miles Standish by J.S.C. Abbott, Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, and The Mayflower And Her Passengers by Caleb H. Johnson which gives mini-biographies of all the passengers on the Mayflower and is an invaluable source. Also, for Standish buffs only there is the fictional Courtship of Miles Standish by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. A rather sentimental story, but good neverthless.
    

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