Wowinchapuncke

V-52

Wowinchapuncke was the chief of the Paspahegh Indians when the English established Jamestown in the tribe's territory in 1607. He consistently resisted the English intrusion, earning both respect and hostility from Jamestown leaders. Captured and imprisoned at Jamestown, he escaped, and the English retaliated by killing several Paspahegh men. After the English destroyed a Paspahegh town in August 1610 and executed Wowinchapuncke's wife and children, he continued to harass the English until he was killed in a skirmish near Jamestown in February 1611. In 1991, the archaeological remains of a large Paspahegh community near here were excavated.

Department of Historic Resources, 2008

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Smith, John. 1608. “A True Relation.” Reprinted in Jamestown Narratives: Eyewitness Accounts of the Virginia Colony: The First Decade: 1607-1617, edited by Edward W. Haile, 143-182. Champlain, VA: RoundHouse, 1998. Smith, John. 1624. “Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles.” Reprinted in Jamestown Narratives: Eyewitness Accounts of the Virginia Colony: The First Decade: 1607-1617, edited by Edward W. Haile, 215-347 and 857-864. Champlain, VA: RoundHouse, 1998. Percy, George. 1621-1622. “A Trewe Relacyon”. Reprinted in Jamestown Narratives: Eyewitness Accounts of the Virginia Colony: The First Decade: 1607-1617, edited by Edward W. Haile, 499-519. Champlain, VA: RoundHouse, 1998. Strachey, William. 1612. “A True Reportory of the Wreck and Redemption of Sir Thomas Gates.” Reprinted in Jamestown Narratives: Eyewitness Accounts of the Virginia Colony: The First Decade: 1607-1617, edited by Edward W. Haile, 381-443. Champlain, VA: RoundHouse, 1998. Hodges, Mary Ellen N. and Charles T. Hodges. 1994. Paspahegh Archaeology: Data Recovery Investigations of Site 44JC308 at the Governor’s Land at Two Rivers, James City County, Virginia. Richmond: Virginia Department of Historic Resources.