William Apess (1798-1839) was a member of the Pequot nation. Born in the Western Massachusetts town of Colrain, he was raised by White people from a young age. He became an ordained Methodist minister and writer. His “Eulogy on King Philip” delivered in Boston in 1836 defied the traditional White interpretation of the Wampanoag sachem Metacom and King Philip’s (Metacom’s) War (1675-1676). At a time when most Americans remembered Metacom as the cruel and treacherous leader of a Native American rebellion, Apess turned this history on its head, calling Philip “the greatest man that was ever in America.”
Apes, William. Eulogy on King Philip as Pronounced at the Odeon. 1837. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l00-005/. Accessed on April 30, 2025.
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