Uncas, << UHNG kuhs >> (1588?-1683?), was a chief of the Mohegan in Connecticut during colonial times. He became noted for his assistance to the English settlers, and his name has been perpetuated in the character Uncas in James Fenimore Cooper’s book, The Last of the Mohicans (see Mohegan ).
Uncas, serving his tribe’s interests, joined the English in a war against the Pequot in 1637. The English settlements along the Connecticut River probably owed their survival to the help of Uncas. Uncas defeated the Narragansett tribe in 1643, and five years later fought the Mohawk, Narragansett, and other tribes.
A monument to Uncas was erected by the citizens of Norwich, Conn., in 1847. Another monument to his name was erected on the site of the home of James Fenimore Cooper, at Cooperstown, N.Y.
