Battle of Stonington Monument - Stonington, CT
N 41° 19.640 W 071° 54.322
19T E 256853 N 4579167
This monument stands at Stonington Point, where four British Royal Navy ships were repulsed in a failed attempt to land an invasion force. The defenders held out for three days before the British sailed off.
Waymark Code: WMJFMN
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 11/12/2013
Views: 6
This historical marker stands at the southern tip of Stonington, Connecticut, at what is known as Stonington Point. It marks the location where
"During the War of 1812, between August 9 and 12, 1814, four British vessels, HMS Ramillies, HMS Pactolus, HMS Dispatch, and HMS Terror, under the command of Sir Thomas Hardy, appeared off Stonington harbor. The British demanded immediate surrender, but Stonington's citizens replied with a note that stated, "We shall defend the place to the last extremity; should it be destroyed, we shall perish in its ruins." The women and children fled inland, but the men stayed to defend their town.
For three days the Royal Navy pounded the town, but the only fatality was that of an elderly woman who was mortally ill. While many fires were started by shells and rockets, they were quickly put out and no buildings were destroyed. The townsmen located a supply of powder and shot, and using two cannons left from the Revolutionary War, fired back at the British ships. The British, after suffering significant damage with many dead and wounded, sailed off on 12 August." SOURCE
The memorial at Stonington Point reads:
THIS IS TO REMEMBER
HERE THE BRAVE MEN OF STONINGTON
DEFEATED A LANDING FORCE FROM
HIS MAJESTY'S SHIP "RAMILLIES"
BENT ON BURNING THE TOWN AND ITS SHIPPING
AUGUST 10, 1814
THE WARDEN AND BURGESSES OF THE
BOROUGH OF STONINGTON
DEEDED BY U.S. GOVT. 1932 ERECTED 1956
This was actually the second time that the British had attacked Stonington. "The first British attack on Stonington had occurred on Aug. 30,1775, by the frigate HMS Rose. Commanded by 44-year-old Sir James Wallace, the Rose was larger than any American naval ship and boasted 20 guns. It mainly patrolled Narragansett Bay early in the war, successfully suppressing the smuggling that had made Newport wealthy. So angered by the attacks by HMS Rose were the people of Rhode Island that they declared their state's independence from England on May 4, 1776, exactly two full months before the Declaration of Independence severed ties with the British!
The second bombardment of Stonington in the month of August occurred in 1814 and was a sustained attack. Four British warships under the command of Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy anchored offshore of Stonington and began a prolonged bombardment from Aug. 9-12. The damage to Stonington was heavy but only one citizen, an elderly woman who was already deathly sick, perished. Stonington, defended with only two guns, inflicted much more damage on the British; in fact, accurate shooting killed and wounded several British sailors and ultimately forced the English ships under "Kiss Me Hardy" to withdraw." SOURCE
The book, The Defence of Stonington (Connecticut) Against a British Squadron, August 9th to 12th, 1814 provides more detail on the battle at Stonington.