USA > Connecticut > New London County > Stonington > History of the town of Stonington, county of New London, Connecticut, from its first settlement in 1649 to 1900 with a genealogical register of stonington families > Part 9
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"Since peace, the officers of the "Dispatch" brig have been on shore here. They acknowledged they had twenty-one killed and fifty wounded, and fur- ther say, had we continued our fire any longer, they would have surrendered for they were in a sinking condition, for the wind then blew from the south- west directly into the harbor. Before the ammunition arrived it shifted around to the north, and blew out of the harbor. All of the shot suitable for the
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WAR OF 1812.
cannon we have reserved. We have now more eighteen-pound shot than was sent us by the government. We have put the two cannon in the arsenal and housed all the munitions of war.
"AMOS PALMER."
Major Gen. Williams of Stonington, living in New London at the time, isssued an order to Brig. Gen. Jirah Isham to call out his brigade for the defense of Stonington, which was immediately done.
The following is a copy of the order issued by him to Col. Randall, of the Thirtieth regiment, which did not reach him until long after he had issued his orders and nearly all of his regiment had reached the scene of trouble :
"New London, Aug. 9th, 1814, half past eight P. M. "Lieut. Col. Wm. Randall, Com. of the 30th Regt. 3rd Brigade Conn. Militia:
"Sir,-Pursuant to orders from the Major General of the 3rd Division, you will immediately call your Regt. into service in addition to the signals to be given at your signal pole (if not already done), you will use every exertion to get all your Regt. out as soon as possible and march them immediately to Stonington Point, that place being in imminent danger of invasion. Lose no time.
"Yours Respectfully,
"JIRAH ISHAM, Brig. Gen. 3rd Brigade."
The battle of Stonington was not a victory for the British fleet. They doubtless intended to burn the place, in fact they declared that, having ample means in their possession, they would destroy it and that they did not, was owing to the bravery of its defenders. From some unaccountable neglect on the part of the authorities of the State or Nation there were not a dozen rounds of ammunition for our cannon on hand at the time of the attack. It seems almost incredible that a place as much exposed as the Borough, with a succession of military detachments de- tailed for its protection, with three cannon and a battery erected for defense, should all have been provided without ammunition for an hour's fight. But so it was and but for the powder obtained from New London during the bombardment, and some gathered from Capt. George Fellows and others, our battery with its guns would have been well-nigh useless. Sergt. Maj. Nathan Smith, then residing in the Borough, communicated to Col. Randall the approach of the hostile fleet, who gave the alarm through his signals on Grant's Hill, and hastened to the Borough with all the men he could rally on his way, some five miles.
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HISTORY OF STONINGTON.
Capt. William Potter, then in command of the Eighth company of the Thirtieth regiment, immediately assembled all of his command in reach, consisting of twenty-one men, including officers, out of a roll of thirty-four men. He joined Lieut. Hough with his detachment, numbering forty-two men, which added to the militia under the command of Col. Randall, assisted by a number of volunteers, defended the place as best they could during the evening of August 9th until nearly midnight, when the enemy ceased firing; and but for the spirited resistance that the barges and launches received from the militia and vol- unteers under the command of Col. Randall, the enemy would have landed and burned the place. During the remainder of the night a large part of Col. Randall's regiment, observing the signals, hastened to the place, and before the break of day two hundred and twenty-seven men, including officers, had reached headquarters, and were assigned to their respective companies, which, added to Capt. Potter's and Lieut. Hough's men, aggre- gated a force of two hundred and ninety men, not including Col. Randall's staff. Thus marshalled they awaited the coming day, and at the early dawn of Aug. 10th another attempt was made by the enemy to land from their barges and launches, com- ing around on the east side of the Borough, firing shot and shell into the place. As soon as the approach of the enemy was dis- covered some of the volunteers drew the four-pounder across the Point to prevent the enemy from landing. Col. Randall, observ- ing the movement of the enemy, ordered his whole force down to the lower end of the Point to meet them, and when he reached the battery he ordered a detachment of his men and the volun- teers who were acting under military orders to draw one of the eighteen-pounders across the town, so as to repel the apprehend- ed landing. The gun was manned and directed by Ensign Daniel Frink, of Capt. Potter's company, and so well was it handled that the enemy was compelled to recede and seek safety in flight. The prompt assembling of Col. Randall's regiment and their presence at this moment prevented the enemy from attempting another landing during the bombardment of the place.
This attempt of the enemy to attack the village on the east side thereof was designed to effect a landing there and burn the place, the result of which was so well described by Mr. Amos Palmer in his letter to the then Secretary of War, that I will not
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WAR OF 1812.
attempt to repeat it. The battery was manned by volunteers, some of which belonged to the militia, some were sea-faring men and others residents of the town.
It is difficult to say at this distance of time from the battle, how many men actually entered the battery and handled the guns on the 9th and Ioth of August, 1814, or how many and who assisted in bringing ammunition to them in the battery, or making cartridges for their use. From the best attainable in- formation on hand the Stonington Borough men were: Capt. George Fellows, Capt. William Potter, Lieut. Horatio G. Lewis, Ensign Daniel Frink, Alexander G. Smith, Amos Denison, Jr., Elihu Chesebrough, Jr., Rev. Jabez S. Swan, Luke Palmer, George Palmer, Thomas Wilcox and Asa Lee.
The Mystic men were Silas E. Burrows, Capt. Jeremiah Holmes, Capt. Jeremiah Haley, Frederick Denison, Capt. Nathaniel Clift, Capt. Simeon Haley, Isaac Denison, Ebenezer Denison, and Frederick Haley. From the rural districts of Stonington were John Miner, Jesse Dean, John Dean Gallup, Charles T. Stanton, Charles P. Wheeler, and Jonathan Denison, who refused to enter the battery, but fought the enemy from the shore with his musket at long range.
The Groton men were Ebenezer Morgan, Stanton Gallup, Alfred White, Frank Daniels, Giles Moran; the New London men were Maj. Simeon Smith, Capt. Noah Lester, Maj. N. Frink and Lambert Williams; the Massachusetts men were Capt. Leonard, Wm. G. Bush, and Mr. Dunham, and no doubt others. The fire from the battery on the 9th was under the command of Capt. George Fellows, and under the command of Capt. Jere- miah Holmes on the 10th of August. Both were brave men and true. Capt. Holmes' three years' service on board of a British man-of-war, the greater part of which he served as captain of a gun, enabled him to direct the guns in the battery with great precision. He double-shotted the eighteen-pounders, and sent the shot plunging through the brig below her water lines. There were other volunteers who rendered important services in extingishing fires, and in other ways, which the government has recognized, and granted to the participants land warrants under a law of Congress enacted in 1856, viz .: Henry Smith, Benjamin T. Ash, Pitts D. Frink, William C. Moss, Charles R. Randall,, and Jesse Breed, and perhaps others.
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HISTORY OF STONINGTON.
Edward Stanton, a Revolutionary hero, who was fearfully and dangerously wounded at Fort Griswold, Sept. 6, 1781, living some five miles away from the scene of action, immediately on hearing the first gun, took his trusty musket and marched for the Borough, saying, with emphasis, that he had shed a part of his blood for his country in the Revolution, and if necessary was fully prepared to shed the last drop of it in defense of his country.
It was plainly evident that the enemy were determined to burn the village of Stonington, not only from the declared purpose of Capt. Hardy, but from the use of rockets and carcasses in the bombardment. In order to prevent the consummation of this purpose, Col. Randall, on the evening of the 9th, detached Charles H. Smith, then the second sergeant of Capt. Potter's company (and afterwards its captain), and twenty men of the regiment to follow up and extinguish all the fires that might be kindled by the missiles of the enemy. This service was bravely and efficiently done, and a large number of fires extinguished. This duty was as perilous as a place in the battery. It is to be regretted that a list of these brave men has not been preserved. They were daily relieved by detachments taking their places. Gen. Isham and staff arrived from New London about noon, August 10th, and took command, fixing his headquarters at the dwelling house of Capt. Nathaniel Palmer. Col. Randall's head- quarters were at the hotel of Oliver York, that stood on the southeast corner of the Wadawanuck Hotel grounds. The glory of the battle of Stonington cannot all be showered upon the men who worked the guns in the battery, though they immortalized themselves by their heroic conduct and Spartan bravery. Col. Randall, his staff, and the officers and men of his regiment for their prompt and energetic behavior in meeting and repelling the enemy's boats in their efforts to land and burn the place on the evening of the 9th and the morning of the 10th of August, en- titles them to the highest honors. Especially should that brave band of soldiers who watched the carcasses and rockets in their fiery circles, and extinguished them before they could kindle a flame be remembered with everlasting gratitude. To every one who participated in the defense of Stonington in August, 1814, Stonington cheerfully awards a full measure of praise, and will cherish their memory and gratefully appreciate their heroic services.
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WAR OF 1812.
A HEROINE .- An elderly lady, by the name of Huldah Hall, lived at Stonington Borough during the last war with England. She was in feeble and rapidly declining health, when Capt. Hardy, on the 9th of August, 1814, gave one hour's notice for the unoffending inhabitants of the place to be removed. She was attended by an only daughter bearing her name, who had been her sole companion during her weary declining years. During the excitement and alarm caused by Capt. Hardy's order, and the hasty departure of the unoffending, there were no efforts made for the removal of Mrs. Hall. Nor is it certain that she was able to be removed at the time, if an effort for that purpose had been made. The house occupied by Mrs. Hall stood close in the rear of the battle, and was dangerously exposed to the shot and shell of the enemy. During the evening of the 9th of August it became apparent that Mrs. Hall was rapidly sinking, doubtless hastened by the bombardment of the place, and on the Ioth of August, amid the thunders of the bombardment and the deafening roar of the guns in the battery, she breathed her last. Beside her bed during all of the excitement and dangers of battle stood the brave-hearted daughter, tenderly watching with loving ministrations her dying mother, though shot and shell crushed through the house, and through the room where they were. No sooner was life extinct than the daughter, throwing a light shawl over her head, went down to the battery amid the flying shot and shell to get assistance to remove and bury her mother. When seen approaching by the men in the battery they were awe-struck, trembling for her safety, though reckless of their own. When informed of her errand, four men were detached and went with her to the house, carefully and tenderly inclosed her remains in the bed and bed-clothes where she lay and bore her to the old Robinson burial place, in the Borough, attended by the daughter. In a deep cut made by the explosion of a bomb-shell, without any form or ceremony, except the thunders of the bombardment, they buried her remains. While cheerfully awarding the highest honors to the men who so bravely defended Stonington, let us drop a tear to the memory of this heroic child, believing that the viewless artists of the skies have woven for her garlands of im- mortal glory.
In pursuance of the order of Maj. Gen. William Williams issued August 9, 1814, addressed to, and directing Brig. Gen.
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HISTORY OF STONINGTON.
Jirah Isham to call out his brigade, which consisted of four reg- iments, comprising all of the infantry militia of New London County, to march to Stonington Borough forthwith, for its de- fense, which order was immediately complied with by Gen. Isham, and all four regiments assembled at Stonington Borough as soon as possible. Col. Randall's Thirtieth regiment assembled before the break of day Aug. 10th. The Eighth regiment, com- manded by Lieut. Col. William Belcher, was the next on the ground. The Thirty-third regiment, commanded by Lieut. Col. Asa Comstock, and the Twentieth regiment, commanded by Lieut. Col. Charles Thomas, living remote from the Borough, was noti- fied by post riders, and came as soon as possible. No railroads or telegraphs were then in existence and much more time was then required to assemble two regiments at Stonington Borough from the northern and western towns of our County than now, but they came as soon as notified, by teams and on foot, ready and eager to meet and repulse the enemy. These four regiments re- mained on duty at the Borough until they were dismissed by order of Gen. Isham (except a few drafted men) as follows: The Twentieth regiment was dismissed on Tuesday, the 27th of August, 1814; the Eighth regiment was dismissed on Wednes- day, the 24th inst .; the Thirty-third regiment was dismissed on Thursday, the 26th inst .; the Thirtieth regiment was dismissed Friday, the 26th inst .; the brigade and regimental staff was dis- missed on Saturday the 27th inst.
The British fleet did not again attempt to destroy the village of Stonington Borough during the war, but an apprehension on the part of the people of the place that they might again do so, caused them to apply to Col. Randall for another detachment of militia to act as guard, and he complied with their request and detached Sergt. Peleg Hancox with fourteen men from Capt. Potter's company, who served from Sept. 27th to Nov. 15th, 1814. Peace with Great Britain came in February, 1815, and with it unusual prosperity. In celebrating the event, a young man by the name of Thomas Stanton, of Pawcatuck, was instantly killed at Stonington Borough by the premature discharge of a cannon, which was being fired in honor of peace.
WAR OF 1861-5.
Stonington was largely interested in commerce before the war of 1812, which revived after its close. Manufacturing was intro- duced and successfully pursued on a large scale in the State of Connecticut, this town having a full share. Nothing of im- portance beyond the yearly routine of town and State elections, with a Presidential election every four years, happened in our midst to attract particular attention, until the Mexican war. But that did not materially affect our interests, it only served to stimulate the politics of the day. Later on the acquisition of territory, resulting from the war, brought to the surface again the irrepressible conflict between slavery and freedom. The conflict of opinions between the North and South began to assume a more violent form and finally culminated in open re- bellion by the slave-holding states. After the election of Abra- ham Lincoln, as President of the United States in 1860, the slave-holding states began to secede. This town favored the restoration of the Union by coercive measures and sent to our armies many of our best and bravest sons. The following list shows the Stonington Roll of Honor :
INFANTRY.
First Regiment.
Company G .- James B. Anderson.
Second Regiment.
Rifle Company B .- Peter McEwen.
Rifle Company C .- James H. Latham, William W. Latham, Herbert E. Max- son, Theodore C. Smith, Robert P. Wilbur.
Third Regiment.
Rifle Company D .- Charles J. Edwards.
Fifth Regiment.
Company G .- Albert L. Gavitt (sergeant), George W. Wilcox, Albert C. Bur- dick, Albert C. Andrews, John C. Briggs, Charles C. Brightman, George Bed-
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HISTORY OF STONINGTON.
ford, William H. Noyes (pro. to 1st lieut.), Isaac E. Norman, Frank Vanauken, Francis Alrey.
Company K .- Joseph N. Banks, Edward L. Cordner, John H. Nye, Erastus O. Smith, Nathaniel P. Wolfe.
Eighth Regiment.
Company D .- Horace Burton.
Company E .- Thomas D. Sheffield (pro. to lieut. col.), Lafayette Starr.
Company G .- 1st. Lieut. Thomas D. Sheffield (pro. to captain), Henry E. Morgan, 2nd lieut. (pro. 1st lieut.); Sergeants Andrew M. Morgan (pro. capt.); Joseph C. Langworthy; Corporals Leonidas A. Barter, William H. Lamphere, Francis V. D. Sloan, Thos. C. Curtis, John H. Smith, Oscar W. Hewitt, John B. Averill, Franklin H. Crumb, James A. Peabody, Isaac Allen, George H. Barney, Charles Baird, Thomas Bedford, Henry Brannan, Thomas Brannan, Sanford P. Burdick, Horace Burton, David S. Bryant, Thomas Casey, Charles W. Clark, William P. Clark, Patrick Conlon, Ethan A. Collins, James P. Conlon, Charles H. Culver, Benjamin Crossley, Alpheus G. Davis, Alfred Dixon, Oliver A. Eccleston, Albert S. Edwards, Charles J. Edwards, John L. Edwards, George W. Foster, Marius E. French, Edward Gavin, Denis Geary, Wm. Geary, Charles W. Hall, Henry Hallam, Hazzard Holland, James E. Holdredge, Francis Jager, Henry G. Knowles, Charles D. Lamphear, Clark F. Lamphear, Wm. Lamphear, Michael Lombard, Thomas H. Lord, John Mc- Carthy, Franklin Mason, John M. Maynard, Erastus D. Miner, Joseph D. Nye, Stephen F. Nye, Jerome A. Palmer, Wm. R. Palmer, Wm. H. Potter, David W. Price, Jr., Wm. Reed, Ebenezer Rose, Patrick Shay, Horace Slocum, Henry Staplin, George H. Shepard, Charles Stebbins, Wm. Terwilliger, Nehemiah D. Tinker, George Usher, Charles B. Wilcox, John Walker, Wm. D. Wilcox, Edward Willis, John F. Cory, Courtland H. Durfee, Michael Farley, John C. Knowles, Benjamin A. Kempton, Ebenezer Rose, Ebenezer Rose, Jr., George Randall, Jr., Barney Sisson, Henry E. Wells, John Miner, Joseph Milners, Wm. C. Macomber.
Ninth Regiment.
Company G .- Oswald Reed, Thomas McGregor.
Company H .- Corporal Dudley Lewis.
Tenth Regiment.
Company F .- Samuel Bentley.
Company H .- William Pond.
Twelfth Regiment.
Company K .- 1st Lieut. James D. Roach (pro. capt.); Sergeants William B. Lucas, George W. Stedman (pro. 1st lieut.); Stanton Allyn, Gurdon Green, Patrick Barnes, Charles W. Bicknell, Cornelius Burgoyne, William Butter- worth, Ori E. Chapman, Levi A. Clarke, Charles H. Comstock, Edmund Cong- don, James Crowley, Nathan Davis, George Fitzgerald, Richard Lever, John Lucy, Felix McArdle, Hugh McColligan, John Murphy, Henry B. Pinney, Michael Ryan, William H. Reynolds, William Scott.
Thirteenth Regiment.
Company K .- Clarence D. Payne, John E. Wheelock.
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WAR OF 1861-5.
Fourteenth Regiment.
Company A .- William Brown, Charles F. Chester, George H. Snyder.
Company B .- Thomas Holt, George Harris.
Company D .- Andrew Lovejoy, James Needham.
Company E .- Samuel Steele.
Company F .- Michael Henderson.
Company G .- Thomas Kain, George W. Starr.
Company H .- Charles Duncan, Charles E. Jones, John McDonald.
Company I .- 1st Lieut. William Thompson.
Company K .- Corporal Paul P. Noyes, Frank Coleman.
Eighteenth Regiment.
Company K .- John Loonnun, George Williams.
Twentieth Regiment.
Company A-Joseph Lombra.
Company G .- Maurice L. Nunan.
Twenty-first Regiment.
Company E .- Capt. Charles T. Stanton, Jr. (pro. maj.); 1st Lieut. Henry R. Jennings; 2nd Lieut. Franklin H. Davis; Sergeants James B. Vanderwater, James H. Carter, Howard E. Miner, John F. Trumbull (pro. 1st lieut.), Walter P. Long (pro. capt.); Corporals Seth Slack, John L. Hill, William R. Targee, Jr., Charles H. Crumb, Nelson Wilcox, John J. McMillen, Joseph H. New- berry, Erastus Holmes, Charles G. Avery, Jesse Bennett, William C. Burdick, Oliver A. Brown, Alfred L. Burdick, Joseph L. Burdick, Denison Brightman, Joseph W. Carpenter, William W. Crandall, William Conway, Charles L. Cord- ner, William Dunham, John C. Douglas, Samuel Denison, Elias N. Davis, George W. Eldridge, George Ecclestone, George W. Frazier, Jr., William H. Frazier, Arvin A. Frazier, Lewis H. Gerry, Lyman Green, William Gardner, John Hevy, Amos F. Heath, William F. Hancox, Amos S. Hancox, Albert F. Harris, Joseph E. Harrington, Palmer Hulet, Ranson Jackson (pro. 1st lieut.), Robert Kulbert, Leonard O. Lamphere, Richard Lever, Patrick H. Mulligan, Benedict W. Morgan, Charles L. Miner, Francis J. Musgrave, George R. Newberry, Nathan Noyes, Wait W. Ridabock, George Root, William H. Robin- son, Henry D. Smith, Gardner B. Smith, Charles Smith, Daniel D. Tift, John L. Tift, Frederick O. Tucker, Charles H. Taylor, Abram Vanauken, Leonard Wilcox, Harlan H. Wilcox, Rufus C. White, Charles H. Williams.
Company F .- Stafford Holland.
Company G .- Robert Sutcliff.
Company H .- Charles F. Brown.
Company K .- Alexander Buchanan.
Twenty-sixth Regiment.
Company H .- Capt. David Champlin; Ist Lieut. John F. Jencks; 2nd Lieut. Samuel K. Tillinghast (pro. 1st lieut.); Sergeants Henry H. Packard, John H. Morgan, Thomas W. Grace, William M. Sherman, Thomas W. Gardiner; Cor- porals George E. Brayton, Frank W. Gard, Jacob R. Lockwood, Charles H. Burdick, George D. Edwards, Charles Bennett (2), George H. Burgess, Andrew
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HISTORY OF STONINGTON.
H. Brown, Elias L. Maynard, Pardon L. Babcock, John R. Prentice, Erastus D. Appleman, Elias Babcock, Jr., Richard A. Brown, Horace F. Burdick, Amos D. Barnes, Thomas H. Brown, Orville M. Briggs, Henry L. Babcock, Amos A. Crandall, Joseph W. Coleman, Thomas Crowley, William F. Eccleston, Samuel R. Eccleston, Alexander B. Frazier, Charles H. Gladding, John E. Hol- berton, Shubael Holmes, Philip A. Irons, George A. Latham, Christopher A. Lyman, James A. Lord, David S. Merritt, John C. Moore, Stephen D. Merritt, Jr., Charles A. Miller, John M. Mosher, Samuel M. Macomber, John Nye, Avery E. Parks, Chauncey D. Rice, Elisha K. Rathbun, Edwin N. Shirley, Nathan S. Sheffield, James W. Targee, Warren P. Thompson, James O. Thomp- son, Charles W. Taylor, Thaddeus M. Weems.
Twenty-ninth Regiment.
Company D .- Isaac J. Hill.
Company H .- Isaac H. Antone.
Thirtieth Regiment.
Company A .- Corp. Courtland Thomas, Henry Demarist, James W. Darrell, George Fisher.
Company B .- Henry Hall.
Company C .- Augustus Jackson.
ARTILLERY ..
First Regiment.
Company C .- Ichabod B. Slates, Chas. E. Staplis.
Company D .- Courtland F. Hall, Joseph H. Pendleton, John P. Trant.
Company F .- John Merklee.
Company G .- Elias Babcock, Jr., Dennis S. Gillmore, James McCaffery, Hiram P. Shaw.
Company H .- George Walker.
Company I .- 2nd Lieut. William C. Faxon (pro. capt.).
Second Regiment.
David Bradford.
CAVALRY.
First Regiment.
Company C .- Capt. William S. Fish (pro. col.); 1st Lieut. Charles P. Wil- liams, Jr., died; Q. M. Sergt. William T. Cork (pro. 1st lieut.); Sergt. Edwin W. French (pro. capt.); Corporals George H. Lord, John G. Williams, William C. Harris (pro. Q. M.); John Bentley, George Braman, John H. Bliven, Isaac T. Bliven, Henry D. Bennett, Alfred V. Barnum (pro. Ist lieut.), James L. Eggleston, Charles W. Sheffield, James A. Edwards, John O'Rourke, Joshua Perkins, Thomas I. Price, Christian Pflaum, Zachariah Patterson.
Company D .- John McGovethy, Peter Maines.
Company I .- Peter Wright, Reuben G. Weeks.
Company K .- Lyman Doolittle, John N. Mitchell.
Company L .- Myron H. Crandall.
Company M .- John Smith, Michael Begg, John Burgan.
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WAR OF 1861-65.
Since the close of the Rebellion, our town has suffered its full measure from the inflation and contractions of the currency. Since specie payment has been restored, business has revived and confidence in business circles has been established. Thus the town of Stonington, where William Chesebrough first built his forest home in 1649, has grown to be a community of 7,353 inhabitants with a grand list of $5,390,130. The people for in- telligence and enterprise are the equal of any township in this State. The soil is strong, rugged and hard to cultivate, but when properly cared for yields remunerative crops.
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
April 21st, 1898, war was declared by the Congress of the United States against Spain, which continued until August IIth, 1898, when Spain accepted terms of peace, proposed by the American government. April 23rd, 1898, the President called for 125,000 volunteers, which was increased to 200,000 May 25th, 1898, and was nobly responded to by the patriotic young men of the United States. Two full companies of volunteers were re- cruited in Stonington, Conn., one by Captain Hadlai A. Hull, who was promoted to Major, Sept. 23rd, 1898, and after peace was concluded, resigned October 17th, 1898. The other was recruited at Pawcatuck, Conn., by Cornelius Bransfield, who re- tired after the close of the war. The heroism displayed by the American volunteers brought the war to a close in a very short time.
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