MAJOR JOHN MASON

 
Born in 1600 in England and Immigrated to New England in 1630. A founder of Windsor, Old Saybrook, and Norwich, CT. He was a magistrate and Chief Military officer, Deputy Governor and Acting Governor of Connecticut. He was also a patentee of the Colonial Charter. He died in 1672 in Norwich, CT.

He had a key role in the Pequot War.
Under the leadership of Captain John Mason from Connecticut and Captain John Underhill from Massachusetts Bay Colony, English Puritan troops, with the help of Mohegan and Narragansett allies, burned the village and killed the estimated 400-700 Pequot’s inside.
On May 26, 1637, a military force under John Mason and John Underhill, attacked the Pequot village located near New Haven, Conn. The village was destroyed and over 500 Indians killed. The Pequot leader, Sassacus, was captured on July 28. Many of Sassacus' tribesmen were captured during the war. The captives were sold in the West Indies as slaves.

This monument was erected in 1889 in Mystic, CT and moved to Windsor, CT in 1996 to respect a sacred site of the 1637 Pequot War.

Info: Plaque on monument and http://www.colonialwarsct.org/1637.htm