The Nine Men’s Misery is a place in Cumberland, a suburb in the northeast corner of Rhode Island, where nine colonists were tortured by Narragansett warriors during the King Philip’s War. The stone memorial was constructed in 1676 and is believed to be the oldest war monument in the United States.

The stone pillar’s metal plaque tells the short story of Nine Men’s Misery:

NINE MEN’S MISERY

ON THIS SPOT

WHERE THEY WERE SLAIN BY

THE INDIANS

WERE BURIED THE NINE SOLDIERS

CAPTURED IN PIERCE’S FIGHT

MARCH 26, 1676

The pillar is located at the Cumberland Monastery, which once was home of Cistercian Monks.  The grave markers of Nine Men’s Misery are not easy to find, but when you do, you would be amazed the great condition they are in, since this is considered the oldest veterans memorial in America, and these ancient marker is a squared off stockpile of rocks and cement that was built by the monks in 1928.

Strange happenings have been reported by people who have walked the trails near Nine Men’s Misery, include visions of a phantom horse galloping through the woods, odd screams or cries, and the voice of a young girl heard near the stone grave markers.  The 2014, Syfy’s “Ghost Hunters” TV show investigated these disturbances by using an Electro Magnetic Force detector (EMF Detector). The hunters on this show claimed that levels spiked as the names of the nine men were read.