 In 1625 , another group of English settlers established an outpost not far from the site of Wessagusset , located in what is now Quincy , Massachusetts , about 27 miles ( 43 km ) north of Plymouth . The settlement was officially known as Mount Wollaston , but soon earned the nickname " Merrymount . " Thomas Morton , leader of the small group of Englishmen , encouraged behavior that the Pilgrims found objectionable and dangerous . The men of Merrymount built a maypole , drank liberally , refused to observe the Sabbath , and sold weapons to Native Americans . Bradford found the weapons sales particularly disturbing and ordered Standish to lead an expedition to arrest Morton in 1628 . 
