 One of Standish 's last military actions on behalf of Plymouth Colony was the botched Penobscot expedition in 1635 . By the 1640s , Standish relinquished his role as an active soldier and settled into a quieter life on his Duxbury farm . He was still nominally the commander of the Pilgrim military forces in the growing Plymouth Colony , although he seems to have preferred to act in an advisory capacity . He died in his home in Duxbury in 1656 at age 72 . He supported and defended the Pilgrims ' colony for much of his life , though there is no evidence to suggest that Standish ever joined their church . 
