Waban STwStr

Waban

A Nipmuc Indian, born about 1604 at Musketaquid, Mass., near the present town of Concord. Waban was one of the first Massachusetts Indians to piofess Christianity. He maintained close and friendly relations with the white settlers and, in April 1675, reported to an English magistrate that trouble 'was brewing amongst the Wampanoags. Within two months, Waban's predictions came to pass when a Wampanoag named King Philip led his braves in an initially successful war. Philip's subsequent death in August 1678 signalled the end of the brief war; and the rebellion soon collapse& due to a lack of leadership. Nevertheless, Waban, falsely accused of being a conspirator, was imprisoned in October 1675. After a brief period of captivity, Waban was released the following spring and returned to his settlement of Natick, Mass., where he became a, justice of the peace. While the exact date of his passing is not known, it is believed that Waban died either in late 1676 or early 1677.

(StwStr.: dp. 150; 1. 85'; b. 17'6%-; dr. 8'; s. 13 k.;
cpl. 13; a. 13" blr.)

Confidence-an iron-hulled, stern-wheel steamer completed in 1880 at Philadelphia by William Cramp and Sons-was acquired by the Navy on 25 June 1898 from M. Revel for use during the Spanish-American War. Renamed Waban, the ship was commissioned on 25 July and assigned to the 6th Naval District.

Waban served with the Auxiliary Naval Force and was based at the 6th district headquarters at Port Royal, S.C., during the brief Spanish-American War. She was subsequently stationed at the Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and remained in Cuban waters through 1901. She then shifted to Pensacola, Fla.

Transferred once more to Caribbean waters, Waban departed Pensacola on 17 October 1911, bound for Cuba, and arrived at Guantanamo Bay on 31 October. She remained there performing local tug and towing duties with- the Fleet through World War I. Subsequently decommissioned, Waban was struck from the Navy list on 17 July 1919 and sold to Whiteman Bros., of New Orleans, La. She retained the name Waban in mercantile service and operated, first at New Orleans and later at Port Arthur, Tex., until 1924.