USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Fairfield > This is Fairfield, 1639-1940 > Part 10
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May 20, 1776 sloop
Life Guard
June 20, 1776 ship
Lord Howe
June 20, 1776 ship
George
June 20, 1776 brig
Annabelle
July 1, 1776 brig
John
March 12, 1777 bark Lydia
March 16, 1777
schooner Anna
March 20, 1777
brig Grog
April 20, 1777 snow Swift
April 20, 1778 ship
Cyrus
June 21, 1778
sloop
Tonyns Revenge
June 21, 1778 sloop
Ranger
It was said that the "Defense" had more to its credit than any other vessel of like tonnage in service during the Revolutionary War.
On March 10, 1779 in returning from a cruise on the Sound, the vessel struck Goshen Reef near New London Harbor and bilged. The guns and stores were saved but some of the men lost their lives as the ship turned over. The ship "Guil- ford" took her place.
After this Captain Smedley declined the offer of the command of another state war vessel and came back to his farming in Fairfield. Brigadier General Silliman was given an order of 3000 flints and 500 pounds of lead and necessary ma- terials for repairing the battery at Black Rock at about the same time.
On May 2nd General Silliman was taken prisoner by the enemy and carried to Long Island. This account from Mrs. Silliman' Jour- nal:
In the year 1779 he (General Silliman) was by the Capt. Gen. or Governor stationed to guard the coast in the vicinity of Fairfield-having the care of all the out-posts in that county-& his own home was allowed to be his headquarters. In this situation he continued until the 1st of May, when Gen. Clin- ton, the commanding officer at New York, sent a whaleboat of Tories to surprise & take him. At a midnight hour, when we were all asleep, the house was attacked. I was first awakened by his calling out, 'Who's there!' At that instant there was a bang- ing at both doors, they intending to break them down, or burst them open, & this was done with great stones as big almost as they could lift. They left them at the door. My dear companion then
sprang up, caught his gun, & ran to the front of the house, &, as the moon shone, saw them through the window, & attempted to fire, but his gun only flashed & missed fire. At that instant the enemy burst in a window sash & all jumped in, seized him & said he was their prisoner & he must go with them. He asked if he might dress himself. They said yes, if he would be quick. All this time I lay quaking. They followed him into the bed-room where I & my dear little boy lay, with their guns & bayonets fixed. Their appearance was dreadful, & I feared the con- sequences to myself as well as to him, as it was but three months before the birth of my last child. It was then their prisoner addressed them in mild terms & begged them to leave the room, & told them their being there would frighten his wife. They then withdrew for a minute or two & then returned, when he asked them out again; they hurrying him he went out & shut the door. After that I heard them breaking the windows, which they wantonly did with the breeches of their guns. They then asked him for his money; he told them he had none but continental & that would do them no good. Then they wished his papers; he said his public papers were all sent abroad, & his private ones would do them no good. Then some wanted one thing & some another; he told them mildly he hoped he was in the hands of gentlemen & that it was beneath them to plunder. With these arguments he quieted them so that they plundered but little. They then told him he must go. He asked if he might go & take leave of his wife. They said yes, if he would make haste. He then came in & dropped a bundle of his most valu- able private papers under something on the table, took leave of me with great seeming fortitude & composure, & went away with them. As soon as I heard the door shut I arose & went to the bed-room of our son, Wm. Silliman, & found he was gone, al- though I did not hear anything of their taking him. I then went to the door & saw them bearing away their prisoners. I then sent to inform those at the next house, when they fired a gun which frightened the enemy very much, as they had not got above a quarter of a mile from our house. They took them down about two miles to their whaleboat, where they left one man, & proceeded on their voyage to Long Island. This event took place May 1st, 1779, & I heard nothing from them in three weeks. After three weeks of great anxiety I received a letter from your father informing me where he was. I think they were then at Flatbush, on Long Island. In that he told me where to send my letters to him for inspec- tion, as no letters were suffered to pass without. After this we corresponded, but wrote under such restraint that it did not seem to be the thing, but it was better than not to have done it at all. My next step was to look for an asylum in case of an inva- sion of the town, as we expected. Your brother William coming home on parole, I had the benefit of his assistance. He went with me to North Strat- ford, & there engaged part of a good house, in case we were obliged to quit our own. But to return & be a little more particular about matters that relate to the capture of your father & brother. There were nine that come over in the whaleboat; one stayed
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with the boat, & eight came to our house; the eight went down to the boat with their captives, & em- barked aboard their boat between the hours of 1 & 2 o'clock in the morning of the Sabbath. They had a boisterous time over, but that did not prevent some of them from casting their eyes on some mat- ters they had plundered from the house, especially a beautiful fusee, a pair of elegant pistols inlaid with silver all over, & an elegant sword, which one of them, who had worked at our house, took much pleasure in flourishing about, & he it was supposed who piloted them to our house. When they arrived at Long Island shore, they were hailed by a Col. Symes, who commanded there. 'Have you got him?' 'Yes.' 'Have you lost any men?' 'No.' 'That's well!' said Symes. 'Your Sillimans nor your Washingtons are not worth a man!' He then ordered his men to the guard-house with the prisoners. Says your father, 'Am I going to the guard-house?' 'Yes.' When they came there, says your father to the adjutant, 'Is it thus you treat prisoners of my rank?' He said, 'We don't look on you as we should on a continental General, but a militia General.' 'But how will you view me when my exchange is talked of?' 'I under- stand you, sir' & walked out & suppose reported to his commanding officer. Soon after that your father & brother had an invitation to breakfast at a neigh- boring house, where they went & refreshed them- selves. Soon after a horse & carriage was sent for them to ride to New York, escorted by a guard of dragoons. When they arrived there, there was a great flocking to see the rebel General; but by & by a gentleman came & whispered to him to go with him, for fear he would be insulted by the rabble. He conducted them to good lodgings, where he was kept until ordered to Flatbush, on Long Island, where he remained until he was exchanged for Judge Jones, the circumstances of whose capture were somewhat singular, & very interesting to us. By all my investigation & that of my friends we could not find any in the possession of the Ameri- cans the British would accept for your father. I wrote to the Governor for direction & assistance in the matter; he, too, felt himself much interested, not only for his personal friendship for the prisoner, but for the people, as he said he had not a more faithful officer than he; but he knew of none the enemy would accept for him. At length it was thought best to attempt a capture for that purpose, & Judge Jones on Long Island was thought a proper person, as he was a great Tory; once, I believe, Judge of their Supreme Court. Capt. David Hawley of Newfield kindly offered, I think, to undertake the enterprise. He soon manned a whaleboat, of which he was commander, & set off for Long Island. When they reached the shore of that place they had about fifty miles to go by land before they reached the seat of the Judge, which, I think, was in Southamp- ton. They were now in the enemy's land & must not be seen travelling, so they drew their boat up & hid it in the weeds, & they lay concealed in the day & traveled in the night. When they came to the house they were struck with the appearance, for the Captain said it looked like a castle. I forgot how long they were going, but it was about 9 o'clock
Saturday night when they came to the house, when they heard music and dancing. Capt. Hawley rapped at the door, but none heard; he then burst a panel out & jumped in & laid hold on the Judge, whom he found in the entry, & told him he was his prisoner. And, as Providence ordered it, there was there a young gentleman on a visit whose name was Hulet; him they took, too, & he served very well to ex- change for your brother. They soon hurried them out of the house, & had to pass nigh a guard. When they came here the Judge hemmed very loud. Capt. Hawley, who held him by the hand, told him he must not do so, but he repeated his hem. Hawley told him if he hemmed again he would run him through. He afterwards desisted, & they went on through the night, & when the morning came they conducted the Judge to such lodgings as they had, which was among the bushes, until the next night, when they went on & reached the whaleboat, I think, the third night, & glad were they to find it, for had it been taken off in their absence they would have been in a woeful case. They then went aboard & proceeded unmolested until they arrived at New- field. News came to me in the morning that Capt. Hawley had arrived with Judge Jones. Although I was glad the event had taken place, my heart was full of sympathy for him & his family, whom I well knew how to pity, as I had so recently gone through the same trial. And wishing to make his captivity as easy as possible, I sent your brother to invite him to our house to breakfast. He came under a guard. I was introduced to him & he to me. I observed to him that the fortunes of war had brought him here under disagreeable circumstances, & as I could so well sympathize with him & his family, I wished to do everything in my power for his accommodation until the purpose of his capture was effected, when I hoped Mrs. Jones, myself & our partners would be happy in seeing each other again. But to my disap- pointment I found him insensible & void of com- plaisance, & a sullen discontent sat on his brow. He made no reply, but asked this question, Did they plunder when they took your husband? I told him not much. He said, 'They have plundered my house. I don't believe they left my wife a second sheet.' This I was sorry to hear, & afterwards, inquiring of Capt. Hawley, he told me that he held up the idea to his men that there should be no plundering, but when they landed on the other side the men said: 'What are we to get if we take Judge Jones? We run a great risk; we don't know but we may be killed. Unless you give us leave to plunder we will go no farther.' Then he saw that the expedition would be fustrated, & he was obliged to tell them that they might plunder. But to return. I got as good a dinner for my captured guest as I could, & my family paid him every attention, but he was very unsociable all the time he stayed, which was only two or three days; whence he was ordered by the Capt .- General to Middletown, thinking our house an unsafe place. Mr. Hulet, who was taken with him, was paroled by Capt. Hawley, & did not come when the Judge did, but came on afterwards, & was exchanged for your brother & went home. After that I received a very genteel billet from Mrs. Jones expressing her great
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thankfulness for my politeness to her dear Mr. Jones, & begged me to accept a pound of green tea; but to return to my own situation. After your honored father was taken I had a large family, & the care & weight lay on me, but I was enabled to get along from day to day & lived in a constant alarm. The dreadful fright I had the night of his capture made me feel like the timorous roe, & I started at every noise, fearing the enemy, who were often infesting our coasts; but I endeavored to put my trust where I ought. My dear parents then were living, & your brother Joseph was with them when your father was captured, & your brothers John & James were at college; & it was happy that they were not here, or they would doubtless have shared the same fate with your father & brother.
Guards stationed at Fairfield were ordered to continue in service. The Town Meeting records show:
A Town Meeting Legally warned and held in Fair- field May 17th: A:D: 1779.
Voted yt Thads. Burr Esqr. be Moderator of this Meeting.
Voted that the Selectmen prefer a Memorial to the general assembly requesting that the Guards at Greens Farms under Lieut. Joseph Bennett may be Established on the same footing as those are under Capt. Elip't Thorp.
Voted & Agreed that the Authority and Selectmen enlist such a number of men as they shall think fit to serve as a Town guard for ye safety of ye Town that Twenty mount guard every night so long as sd Authority and Selectmen shall judge it necessary and sd guards to be under the direction of sd Au- thority and Selectmen.
Also voted that each man who serves on sd guards shall receive out of the Town Treasury for each night he serves as a reward for his Service five Continental dollars.
Heavy taxes were a reality to every Fairfield resident and yet they were able to send 1500 bushels of grain to the starving people of Rhode Island who had lost everything. Enemy ships continued to roam the shoreline.
This letter from Simon Couch shows the gen- eral distress which abounded.
JUNE 18th, 1779
Hon. Father,
I this moment let mysclf down to write a few lines to you to ease my troubled mind. Last Wednesday morning a little before sunrise the enemy waked me out of my sleep by firing 2 or 3 guns at the door and dashing in the windows but they never came in to the room where I was, but went through the other rooms and took William's gun and then into the kitchen and took my saddle and bridle and then went and took the cows out of the yard and then went to Morehouse's and got all they had and then drove them away to Frost Point and took of 2 cows for Wm. Godfrey and 3 for Gruman Morehouse and 1 for Widow Morehouse and 2 calves and 3 sheep for Doctor Jesup. Last week I was taken poorly. I
was taken of Sunday and it lasted till Saturday in which time I laboured under much pain and diffi- culty so that I am not able only to potter about but I am in hopes I shall get rugged again. In a few days business comes on here fast the grass needs cutting, corn hoeing and follow plowing but I shall get along as fast as I can if you want both the boys then we can make it due with Zadock a few days longer. The wide end of the great box 61/4 the side end of the little box 41/2. We suffer very much for want of a cart but I being and having nothing Therefore with all submission I beg you to deter- mine and dispose of me as you see convenient so no more at present but remain one amongst the num- ber of your children.
Your loving son, Simon Couch.
Records show that:
A Town Meeting Legally warned and held in Fair- field, July Ist. A :D: 1779.
Voted that Jonathan Sturges Esqr. be Moderator of this Meeting.
Voted that Mr. John Morehouse Jr. & Capt. Nath'll Seely be a Committee to provide clothing for the Soldiers belonging to this Town in the Con- tinental Service according to a Late Act or Resolve of the General Assembly.
Voted yt the civil Authority & Selectmen of this Town be requested to order Ten men in addition to ye former guards to mount guard Each night at such place as sd Authority and Selectmen shall direct and that each man have five Dollars each night for said service.
Voted yt Thads. Burr, Jonth. Sturges and Samuel Squier Esqrs. be a Committee to represent the state of this Town to the Governour and Council of Safety and Request his excellency & sd Council to order some vessel or vessels of force to guard our sea Coast against the designs of the enemy during the Summer Season.
Voted by Thads. Burr, Jonth. Sturges, Sam'll Squier & George Burr Esqrs. be a Committee to call a County Convention & represent this Town at the same; in order to Consider of somc Method to pre- vent the depreciation of our paper Currency.
On the morning of July 7 the enemy having left New Haven in a state of plunder, fire and brigandage, appeared off Black Rock. Their presence was announced by the cannon on Grover's Hill. It was rejoicingly thought that they were on their way to New York. It was early morning and a thick fog enshrouded them. About 10 o'clock in the morning, the dense fog cleared and the enemy fleet was seen anchoring at the Pines-a little to the east of Mckenzie's Point in Southport. In the late afternoon, they started to land and proceeded immediately to the Village Green where General William Tryon and Commodore George Collier posted a proc- lamation demanding allegiance of the inhabitants to the King of Great Britain.
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From General Tryon's report, it appears that he, with the main portion of the troops, landed there and that the Hessians under General Garth made their disembarkation at the water front of Sasco Hill, over which they marched to take possession of the western section of town. The line of the conflagration extended from Mrs. Gould's house (the site of the old Gould Home- stead now the Food Fair Supermarket) to Mill River in the vicinity of Perry's Mill, including both the streets and their immediate neighbor- hoods, and extended westward through the lower road at Greens Farms.
General Tryon's Proclamation:
That owing to their delusion in hoping for inde- pendence they were deceiving themselves; that the existence of a single habitation on your defenseless coast ought to be a constant proof of your ingrati- tude. Therefore we offer you a refuge against the distress which you universally acknowledge broods with increasing & intolerable weight over all your country; & that whosoever shall be found, & remain in peace at his usual place of residence, shall be shielded from any insult either to his property, ex- cepting such as bear offices, either civil or military, under your present usurped government, of whom it will be further required that they shall give proof of their penitence & voluntary submission, when they shall partake of the like immunity. But those whose folly & obstinacy shall slight this favorable warning must take notice that they are not to expect a con- tinuance of that lenity which their inveteracy would not now render blameless.
Colonel Whiting, commander of the Fairfield Troops, replied that:
Connecticut has nobly dared to take up arms against the cruel despotism of Britain, and as the flames have now preceded your flag, they will per- sist to oppose the utmost that power exerted against injured innocence.
The men in the village and farm houses grasped their muskets and ammunition and ral- lied under the command of Colonel Whiting at the rendezvous on Round Hill. The company who had charge of a field piece wheeled it to a good position on Burr's Highway (Burr Street).
Young Samuel Rowland aged ten at the time, watched the approaching troops from the Epis- copal Church Steeple at the corner of Oldfield Road and Old Post Road. Many of the wives and children took refuge with relatives and friends in Greenfield Hill and Fairfield Woods, taking with them as many of their possessions and ani- mals as they possibly could. Mrs. Silliman, wife of General Silliman, removed herself from her temporary widowhood in Holland Hill to Trum- bull.
The army under Tryon was organized. The militia under Whiting combined forces as best they could but it was early evening and this was difficult. The Hessians with their General held the western part of town. Many of them broke up into small companies and went from house to house pillaging, plundering and burning as they went. On the morning of the 8th, most of the burning took place. Stone walls, fences and shrubbery were feared by the enemy as hiding places of the inhabitants, because of this, Perry's Mill remained. Some fires were started but were put out in some way by a person who fortunate- ly had remained in the house. The Nichols fam- ily applied large wet hanks of yarn which were at the time being soaked in preparation for being dyed, to the burning spots in their house. The Hobart House, too, was saved even after it had been ignited. A little colored servant had hidden in the attic. The British set the house on fire and then departed. The little boy came downstairs when they left and extinguished the fire. The charred floor boards can still be seen today.
Some things had been hidden in unsuspected places for safe keeping. Isaac Burr, the jeweler, hid the watches left for repair at his shop within the stone fissures of his well and placed his Bible and some of his precious goods with them. Prudence Phillis, servant of Judge Sturges, took the wet linen from the wash tub and hid it among the currant bushes. Pewter dishes kept bright by constant scouring were thrown into the bottom of wells to be recovered when the danger was past. A mirror was hidden in a rye field. Mrs. Mary Thorne's parents hid their brass kettle in their asparagus bed, hoping the British wouldn't find it but they did and riddled its bottom with bullet holes.
Now where the homes are on Southport Har- bor grew rye at the time of the British arrival at Mckenzie's Point. The rye fields were ignited but as the rye was green, it was not completely destroyed. Some chickens secluded themselves in this field and were found to be safe after the enemy departed.
Many of the inhabitants of Southport secreted themselves in Pequot Swamp until the British had left ,having taken or hidden what valuables they could.
Anna Hull, age 17, daughter of Peter Hull, having fled with the others, hid the family silver under a large rock on Mill Hill (not Split Rock but a boulder further east) and witnessed the
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destruction of their dwellings and their valu- ables. Two tall poplar trees guarded the rock.
General Tryon1 had been guided into Fair- field by a Mr. George Hoyt, a brother of Mrs. Jonathan Bulkley whose husband owned the tav- ern in back of the court house. Governor Tryon had promised Mr. Hoyt that his sister's house would be saved and it was. Through Mrs. Bulk- ley's efforts, the 3 houses on the east side of the Green were also saved.
A Town Meeting followed the burning just 12 days later and the record shows:
A Town Meeting Legally warned and held in Fair- field July 20th : A :D: 1779.
Voted that Andrew Rowland Esqr. be Moderator of this Meeting.
Voted yt George Burr, Thads. Burr and Abraham Andrews, Esqr. and Mr. Sam'll Odell be a Com- mittee to wait upon Colo. Jonathan Dimon and de- sire him to appoint 50 men to keep guard in the prime Society and 25 men to keep guard at Greens Farms and 15 men to keep guard at Stratfield: also to request him to appoint such men as are friendly to the United States of America.
Voted yt Jonth. Lewis, Thads. Burr, George Burr, Sam'll Wakeman & Jonth. Sturges Esqr. and Messrs. Joseph Wakeman, Richard Hubbell, Jr., Dan'll Dun- can & David Silliman be a Committee to put about subscriptions to raise a sum of Money as a reward for any Person or Persons that shall Captivate and take Prisoner General William Tryon, who com- manded the British Troops when they burnt this Town on the seventh and eighth Days of this Instant July: And that said Committee Issue a Proclama- tion offering such reward as shall be subscribed for that purpose.
1 General Wililam Tryon, born at Surrey, England in 1729 was trained in the profession of arms. He became a Captain of the First Foot Guards and was a loyal servant of his sovereign, having been made a Baronet. While he was chief executive of North Carolina, a group of men hostile to the government open- ly defied His Majesty's twenty gun sloop of War "Diligence", with her cargo of stamped paper. They seized one of the ship's boats, and carried it to Wilmington in triumphal procession. He had levied heavy taxes upon his people to maintain his status and dignity. In 1771 he became Governor of New York. When Washington blockaded the Royal Army in New York and finally compelled evacuation, Tryon though a civil officer with military power and finding his governorship in a bit of a box, decided to serve His Majesty by furthering his career as a soldier. There was just one path open to him to accomplish this aim and that was to strike at the defenseless towns of Connecticut. Thus with the cooperation of Sir George Collier, he was sent five war vessels to close the final Long Island Sound entrance and to blockade the harbor at New London. He then gathered together what loyalists, Hessians and regular troops of the Brit- ish that he could and he set out from the post of Whitestone, 11 miles east of New York on July 3rd 1779. On July 5th he landed in New Haven. His first division was made up of the 54th Regiment of Foot, the "King's American", Fusileers and Hessians with 6 field pieces. Two frigates, a brig and a galley with transports took on the men and guns. His stay in Fairfield did not exceed 30 hours. Tryon acted under instruction from the English Ministry and Sir Henry Clinton, the Commander in Chief of the British forces in America. George Sackville was the backer of Tryon and Lord Germain was really responsible for the burning of Fairfield. He was practically the director from London of the war in America and a favorite of the King.
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