How did the colonists' changing attitudes toward the Native Americans, particularly "Praying Indians," help turn the tide of war? How did Benjamin...

Captain Benjamin Church led the first Ranger force in colonial America; his force eventually became the Army Rangers. During King Philip's War (1675-1678) in colonial New England, Church used Native American tactics against Native Americans. He recruited Native Americans to join his forces, and they became teachers of his troops. These Native Americans were called "Praying Indians" because many had converted to Christianity, and they helped the colonists defeat other Native Americans by following their...

Captain Benjamin Church led the first Ranger force in colonial America; his force eventually became the Army Rangers. During King Philip's War (1675-1678) in colonial New England, Church used Native American tactics against Native Americans. He recruited Native Americans to join his forces, and they became teachers of his troops. These Native Americans were called "Praying Indians" because many had converted to Christianity, and they helped the colonists defeat other Native Americans by following their opponents into swamps and forests and ambushing them. In these places, conventional military tactics were ineffective. These tactics, and the colonists' willingness to fight alongside Native Americans, turned the tide of the war in the colonists' favor. King Philip's War ended when John Alderman, a "Praying Indian," killed King Philip, or Metacomet, a Wampanoag who was the son of Massasoit and who had commanded the opposing Native American forces.