Battle of Stonington was a Early Republic and War of 1812 engagement fought in Connecticut, 1814. It was an American victory.
For three days, townspeople and militiamen at Stonington held their ground against a British assault that came as part of the Chesapeake campaign during the War of 1812. Though the defenders faced daunting odds, they kept up steady return fire and ultimately drove off the attacking force. The British suffered numerous casualties in the effort, while those defending the small community emerged with only a handful of losses.
For three days, townspeople and militiamen at Stonington held their ground against a British assault that came as part of the Chesapeake campaign during the War of 1812. Though the defenders faced daunting odds, they kept up steady return fire and ultimately drove off the attacking force. The British suffered numerous casualties in the effort, while those defending the small community emerged with only a handful of losses.
In the middle of the afternoon on August 9, 1814, a squadron of four Royal Navy vessels commanded by Sir Thomas Hardy came into view off Stonington Point. By half past five, Hardy had dispatched a warning to the townspeople, stating that he had no wish to harm those who lived there and would grant them one hour from the message's arrival to clear out of Stonington. The town's selectmen sent back a defiant response, vowing to hold the place to the last extremity and to perish in its ruins should it be destroyed. As the women and children gathered their possessions and made their escape, the men who remained lit a tar barrel to send up a smoke signal, hoping to summon militia from the surrounding area.
By six that evening, four townsmen, William Lord, Asa Lee, George Fellows, and Amos Denison, had taken up positions at three cannons, a pair of which were eighteen-pounder long guns left over from the Revolutionary War. Sixteen militiamen from Mystic, Connecticut soon joined them, among them Captain Jeremiah Holmes, who took charge of the defense. Holmes brought with him a gunner's precision gained years before when he had been forced into service aboard a British warship. Meanwhile, riders went out from Stonington to neighboring towns in search of powder and additional men. At eight o'clock, the Terror began shelling the town, and the defenders answered with their eighteen-pounders. The exchange of fire continued into the midnight hour.
Under cover of darkness, the Dispatch closed to within half a mile of shore. Come daybreak, the British ships opened up again for another hour of bombardment. One witness described how the shelling knocked the American flag from its staff, tore apart the barricade, and churned the ground around the small fort, yet the men holding it refused to abandon their positions until their powder ran out. Only then did they recover the flag, spike one gun so it could not fall into enemy hands, and pull back. By eight in the morning, powder and fresh men had reached them from New London, Connecticut. The defenders went back to the barricade, fastened their flag to its pole with nails, cleared the spiked cannon, and turned their fire once more on the fleet. One shot struck the Dispatch beneath her waterline, inflicting serious damage and killing a number of her crew, forcing the ship to pull back out of range. For four more hours the guns roared, and by the end the flag bore seven bullet holes. During this exchange, nineteen-year-old Frederick Denison suffered a wound from flying debris, and John Miner was burned by powder; Denison would later succumb to his injuries, while Miner lost the sight in one eye for good. Though the fighting was far from finished, the townspeople began celebrating as though victory were already theirs.
A lull followed when two men, sent by Stonington's magistrates, rowed out to question Hardy about his reasons for attacking the town. Hardy answered that Stonington residents had supplied torpedoes used by the American navy against British shipping in Long Island Sound, and that the wife of the British vice-consul, James Stewart, was being held in New London. Historian Frances M. Caulkins wrote that the two envoys met these accusations "with surprise, contempt, and indignation," insisting that no torpedoes had been launched from their town and that Mrs. Stewart was not in their custody. Hardy warned them that unless she was produced by eight the next morning, he would level Stonington. The men rowed back to shore to brace for another assault.
When morning came, the town's magistrates, under a fresh truce, informed Hardy that they were powerless to secure Mrs. Stewart's release. Hardy pushed the deadline back to noon, repeating his threat to destroy the town if she was not freed. When noon arrived without her release, the ceasefire ended and the Terror renewed its bombardment, which stretched on into the evening.
The next morning at eight, the Pactolus and the Ramillies opened fire on the town, though most of their shots either fell short or sailed past their mark. By noon the British ships had withdrawn.
Approximate location. The nearest recorded settlement is shown; the exact site is unrecorded.
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