When the Massachusetts Bay soldiers came to Shawomet in October 1643 they brought about a series of events that altered the history of the young colony. As they laid siege to the colonists there, John Greene, Surgeon had left the area to aid his second wife, Alice Daniel. When the invasion occurred, the women and children had fled to the woods or to the safety of the nearby islands. Alice was one of those who left by boat. She was extremely ill and frightened and had to be put ashore at Canonicut (Jamestown) Island. Her husband received the news and left Conimicut to go to her aid. By the time he reached the island it was too late. She had already died. Historians feel that the invasion of Shawomet contributed to the cause of her death.

While Greene was trying to save his wife, the soldiers took Samuel Gorton and his followers as prisoners to Boston and put them on trial. They were found guilty of a number of charges. Fortunately, they were not put to death but were placed in chains and sentenced to hard labor. Greene was never apprehended and continued to foster a good relationship with the Narragansett Indians.

Roger Williams, who had felt the only legal ownership of the land in the Providence Plantations was his treaty with the Indians, now felt that if Massachusetts could invade Shawomet they might also claim all of Rhode Island. With this in mind in 1644, he went to England to get legal status from Parliament. This may very well have been the key to keeping Rhode Island free from encroachment by Massachusetts, Connecticut or Plymouth Plantations.

After being released from the imprisonment in Massachusetts, the Gortonists found refuge on Aquidneck Island. The results of the unjust seizure and sentencing of the Gortonists not only changed the attitude of the colonists on Aquidneck Island, it also had an effect upon the Indians. They were amazed that Gorton was set free and believed that the “Gortonoges,” as they called them, had more powerful friends in England than did the English of Massachusetts.

Thanks in part to John Greene, the Narragansett tribe placed itself under “the government and protection of that honorable State of Old England” and made Gorton, Greene and Randall Holden their agents to report their submission to the King. During the winter of 1644-45, Gorton, accompanied by Holden and Greene, set sail for England.

Before any Massachusetts or Plymouth colonists made claims to the land, Gorton was able to present his case before Parliament. There, thanks to the influence of Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick and Governor-in-chief of Foreign Plantations, the Shawomet lands were restored to Gorton and his followers. Holden returned to Boston on Sept. 13, 1646 with an order requiring Massachusetts to reinstate the Shawomet purchasers and forbidding any attempt by Massachusetts to exercise jurisdiction over them. In honor of the earl and in gratitude, Gorton changed the name of the colony from Shawomet to Warwick.

According to the George Sears Greene manuscript, The Greenes of Warwick, we learn that while in England, John Greene met and married his third wife. The G.S. genealogy says that her name was Phillippa (always written as Phillip) and that she returned with him to Warwick in 1646. We also are informed that “her family name is not known.” Apparently, she made a great impression on Gorton, for in a letter to Edward Calverly written in 1649 he says of Phillippa, “She takes well with the country and cheerfully performs her part, hath the love of all, none can open their mouth against her, which is a rare thing in these parts.”

The story of John Greene, Surgeon, his wife and children will be continued.