Cannon Square - Stonington, CT - Municipal Parks and Plazas on Waymarking.com

Cannon Square is a small, primarily grassy area, surrounded on all four sides by streets. At the center of the square stands a monument to the Defenders of the Fort, during the Battle of Stonington, which occurred just south of here at Stonington Point. The columnar monument is flanked on each side with the two cannons used by the residents as they fought off British Naval ships and prevented them from invading the area.

"Stonington honors the successful defense of the town against British warships during the War of 1812 with a granite monument.

The 1830 obelisk, topped with a naval shell, stands in the borough of Stonington’s Cannon Square. An inscription on the monument’s north face reads, “These two guns of 18 pounds caliber were heroically used to repel the attack on Stonington of the English naval vessels Ramilies, 74 guns, Pactolus, 44, Dispatch, 20, Nimrod, 20 and the bomb ship Terror. August 10, 1814.”

The monument’s north face also contains the Latin inscription “In perpetuam rei memoriam” (In everlasting remembrance of the event).

The monument’s south face honors “the defenders of the fort,” and lists the names of 10 residents who presumably manned the cannons during the English attack.

The monument commemorates the defense of Stonington during a British naval bombardment that lasted between August 9-12, 1814. A group of five British warships anchored off Stonington and shelled the city. No lives were lost in the attack, but 40 local buildings were damaged.

The two cannons flanking the monument were returned to the monument site on Tuesday, August 3, after a two-year restoration at Texas A&M. The 18-pounder cannons, cast at West Point Foundry in the 1780s, will be rededicated in ceremonies Saturday." SOURCE

"Cannon Square located on Water Street in Stonington Borough is a memorial to "the defenders of the fort." In 1814 the residents of Stonington Borough fought and defeated the British Royal Navy in the Battle of Stonington. The small square honors that victory and includes two cannons from 1814 that the town used to defeat the British." SOURCE

"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