Black Rock Harbor’s Role as a major Trading Center for the Patriotic Cause During the American Revolutionary War

In 1702, British royal officials designated Fairfield as one of the eight lawful ports in the Connecticut Colony and in 1730 Ichabod Wheeler was granted permission to develop the first wharf at the head of Black Rock Harbor (known as Ship Harbor at that time).  The wharf was further expanded to include a warehouse and in 1740 a ship yard was built on adjoining property.  The combination of Fairfield’s expanding agricultural exports and the completion of a bridge over Ash Creek and road that connected Peter Penfield’s grist mill and Fairfield center to the harbor in 1753 encouraged local entrepreneurs to build two additional wharves.  Squires Wharf, though initially approved in the 1750’s was completed in 1765 and located near Parson’s Meadow, the Black Rock Yacht Club’s current location.  The third wharf, known as the Middle Wharf, was completed shortly thereafter.  It was located to the South of the shipyard near the current corner of Seabright Avenue and Beacon Street.

By the 1770’s all three wharves were operating and shipping activity had increased significantly from the level in the 1760’s.  While no records exist, it is estimated that during the early 1770’s annual ship arrivals ranged between 200 to 350.  By the mid to late 1770’s this range increased to possibly up to 450.  On a busy day in the late 1770’s it would have been possible to see up to 40 vessels in the harbor, of which 5 to 10 would have been larger merchant vessels, such as sloops, schooners or possibly a brig and the balance of the traffic being smaller whale boats, fishing boats, lighters and ferries.  Unfortunately, this activity significantly decreased after the British raided Fairfield center in 1779.

As the Revolutionary War progressed and the British occupied larger ports, shipping from New York, New Port and Boston fell off and there was a greater focus on nearby Connecticut ports, such as New Haven, New London, Middletown, Norwalk and Stamford.  Moreover, there was more maritime activity related to supplying Continental forces, conducting intelligence activities and raids on Long Island.  The shipyard also became more active in servicing privateers and captured prizes.

Sources:

Fairfield the Biography of A Community 1639-1989, Farnam, Thomas J. Fairfield Historical Society, 1988

Black Rock Seaport of Old Fairfield Connecticut 1644-1870, Including the Journal of William Wheeler, resident of Black Rock 1762-1845, Pages of History gathered by Cornelius Penfield Lathrop, Tuttle, Morehouse& Taylor Company, New Haven, CT 1930

CHAT GPT

Just as the American colonists were divided in their loyalties to the Crown, the British people were divided in their support of the war. After all, they had recently concluded a seven-year war against the French (1754-63), American privateers were raiding British merchant ships and disrupting trade, and the British military, while well trained, was spread thin across the empire. The British knew they would be fighting a long and costly conflict over 3000 miles away, and they were still paying for the last one.

The American colonies only supplied 1% of British GDP; the real value lay in the Caribbean colonies, which were far more profitable.  

“At the most moderate of computations, this war will cost Great Britain 10 millins of treasure and 20,000 lives. What then, in the name of wonder is the object of war? Are we to throw away so much treasure and so many lives to gain a point which, when gained, is not worth 1% on our money?” – The Public Advertiser

Voices in Parliament argued for more autonomy for the colonies, igniting debate. Many British naval and army officers refused to fight against their fellow Englishmen, either resigning their commissions or requesting a transfer to another post. The Lord Mayor of London asked King George to reconsider his position. Unfortunately, the stronger voice came from Lord George Germain, the British secretary of state for the American colonies, who was determined to squash the “rebellion,” fearing that Britain’s Catholic enemies France and Spain would step in to support the rebels. And, he argued, if the American colonies fell, Canada and India might soon follow.

https://allthingsliberty.com/2017/01/those-who-could-not-serve/

Ken Burns, The American Revolution

General Washington issued a general order appointing Aaron Burr Aide-du-Camp (confidential personal assistant) to General Israel Putnam.

Burr remained at Putnam’s side until January 1777 when he was named lieutenant colonel of Col. William Malcolm’s Additional Continental Regiment.

Source:
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-05-02-0044

Prominent New York City Loyalist and the last colonial Mayor of New York City, David Mathews, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the “Hickey Plot,” a conspiracy to assassinate General George Washington. The devious plot was conceived in Corbie’s Tavern, near Washington’s residence. All those involved were sworn to secrecy.After being taken into custody in Brooklyn, he was transported to Connecticut, where he was first imprisoned in Hartford before later being placed under house arrest in Litchfield.

Mathews ultimately escaped from his confinement in Litchfield in December 1776 and successfully made his way back to British-occupied New York City, where he resumed service as the British-appointed mayor until 1783.

The Matthews Muliner Playground in the Bronx bears David Mathews’s name in part. The official New York City Department of Parks & Recreation website description characterizes Mathews as “a thief, an embezzler, and a spendthrift.”

Sources:

https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/profligate-abandoned-and-dissipated-new-york-citys-last-colonial-mayor

https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2019/7/3/the-missing-common-council-records-of-the-revolutionary-war

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/matthews-muliner-playground

This week in 1776 (June 15–21), the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia was laying the final groundwork for American independence. Most notably on June 15, 1776, the Assembly of the Lower Counties of Pennsylvania declared itself independent of both British and Pennsylvanian authority, officially creating the state of Delaware.  -Adams Memorial Foundation

Congress appointed the committee that would draft the Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston.

Meanwhile, George Washington remained in New York, unaware that a massive British fleet had begun sailing south from Halifax toward New York City.  -Mount Vernon Group

The Committee of Five of the Second Continental Congress was a group of five members who drafted and presented to the full Congress in Pennsylvania State House what would become the United States Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776. This Declaration committee operated from June 11, 1776, until July 5, 1776, the day on which the Declaration was published.

Detail from John Trumbull’s 1818 painting of the Committee of Five presenting their draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. From left to right: John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin.

-Wikipedia

Black Rock Harbor Maritime Activity In the Late Spring

Shipping activity continued to thrive in the spring of 1776. The wharves on Black Rock harbor hosted smaller intercoastal shipping vessels. These would have included single-masted sloops, double-masted schooners and whaleboats which relied on oarsmen for propulsion.

Ultimately, the harbor became a base and depot for privateers; privately owned ships authorized to attack British shipping. Whaleboats were the primary vessels for transporting people and supplies across Long Island Sound. Caleb Brewster used these vessels extensively for his spying activities.

Shipping and trading were primarily with other seaports located on Long Island Sound as well as nearby Atlantic ports. Agricultural, seafood, livestock, and forestry related goods were the major exports while imports included rum, molasses, tea, sugar and textiles.

On June 3, 1776, General George Washington sent a letter to Major General Israel Putnam from Connecticut advising that the Continental Congress had approved sending 6,000 militiamen to Canada to reinforce Continental Army troops. Congress had initially authorized up to 9,000 militiamen but decreased the number after the disastrous defeat at the Battle of the Cedars, which severely weakened the American hold on Montreal and forced their ultimate retreat from Canada.

Washington also instructed Putnam to seek out the materials and carpenters needed to begin construction and deployment of congressionally approved “sundry Gundaloes [shallow-draft barges] and fire rafts [floating vessels packed with combustibles, tar, and gunpowder] to prevent the men of War and Enemies Ships from coming into the New York Bay or Narrows.”

Closer to home, Connecticut patriot Nathan Hale, a 21-year-old Continental Army captain, wrote a letter to his brother noting his local company’s growth and mentioning that General George Washington had been called to Congress to “advise on matters of Consequence”.

Sources:

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-04-02-0343

https://www.facebook.com/NathanHaleHomestead

According to the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, The Declaration of Independence was not written for King George III– after all, by 1776 he was well aware that the colonists wanted their independence. When the document was written it was quickly dispatched to King Carlos of Spain and King Louis XVI of France to gain their support.

Reflecting on the battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, Benjamin Franklin had written, “the Army had not 5 Rounds of Powder a Man. . . . The World wonder’d that we so seldom fir’d a Cannon. We could not afford it.” Even then, it was obvious that allies were going to be essential if the rebellious colonists had any hope of winning a war against Great Britain.

In the spring of 1776, the Continental Congress sent Silas Deane, a lawyer and one of the Connecticut delegates, on a secret mission to meet with Louis XVI, assess his willingness to help the colonists with materials, and secure an alliance.

Both Spain and France had an axe to grind with Britain – they had been badly beaten in the Seven Years’ War that ended in 1763, with Spain losing Florida and the Gulf area while France had ceded Canada to Britain. Both countries had quietly allowed trading in essential goods and arms to the colonists, but could they be convinced to join the fight wholeheartedly against their common enemy?

A formal treaty with France would not be signed until 1778, once the colonists won a few key battles. But Deane’s efforts in Paris, later joined by Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, convinced France to sell more gunpowder and munitions to
the colonists, and to allow American privateers to prey on British ships from French ports in the Caribbean.

While Spain never formally signed a treaty, King Charles III did declare that Spain would not “lay down its arms until the independence [of the United States] is recognized by the King of Great Britain.” Britain now had to spread its forces thin to protect its assets in the Caribbean while battling the New England colonies.

Support from Spain and France was not only essential in the success of the rebellion, it turned what had essentially been a civil war into a world war.

In mid-May 1776, Boston Harbor was the site of two notable skirmishes between colonial privateers and the departing British fleet. These actions occurred two months after the British evacuation of Boston but while the Royal Navy still maintained a presence in the harbor’s outer waters.

The Capture of the Hope (May 17, 1776)
On May 17, Captain James Mugford of the colonial armed schooner Franklin captured the British transport ship Hope without a fight. The Hope had sailed from Ireland and was unaware that the British had abandoned Boston. It carried a highly valuable cargo, including roughly 1,500 barrels of gunpowder and an assortment of military stores desperately needed by the Continental Army.

The Battle of Shirley Gut (May 19, 1776)
Two days later, on May 19, the Franklin and another colonial vessel, the Lady Washington, became grounded in the tidal flats near Deer Island and Shirley Gut (between Winthrop and Point Shirley). British naval forces from a man-of-war ship anchored nearby launched an attack using 12 to 13 boats filled with armed men.

Despite being heavily outnumbered, the combined American crews repelled the British attack, sinking several of the enemy boats and killing a number of British sailors. However, Captain Mugford was mortally wounded during the hand-to-hand combat. His crew successfully defended the ships, and the Franklin floated free the next morning, carrying Mugford’s body back to Marblehead.

Source:nps.gov

On this date, the Fifth Virginia Revolutionary Convention met at the Capitol in Williamsburg and began debate on independence from the Crown. Although some delegates questioned whether the colonies should first secure foreign alliances before declaring independence, the growing demand for liberty and self-government will ultimately prevail. By formally directing its delegates to advocate for independence,

Meanwhile, with rumors of a growing loyalist plot taking hold in New York, Fairfield attorney, Connecticut House of Representatives member and patriot Jonathan Sturges sent a letter to George Washington warning that local militia had captured several men aboard a small sloop who confessed they were bound for Long Island to join British forces.

Sources:

https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/online-classroom/stc/entries/fifth-virginia-revolutionary-convention-called-for-independence-may-15-1776

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/4568168/on-this-day-the-american-defense-is-stretched-thin/

https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/fairfield-museum-exhibitions-commemorating-the-250th-anniversary-of-the-declaration-of-independence/

The American invasion of Quebec from August 1775 to July 1776 was driven by colonial fears of the province as a cultural and military threat and a simultaneous belief that it should join a unified American nation.

General Richard Montgomery advanced from Fort Ticonderoga, capturing key positions including Fort St. John’s and Montreal; meanwhile, The newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, George Washington ordered Colonel Benedict Arnold to lead an overland expedition through Maine to Quebec City, where his reduced force joined Montgomery’s troops. Together, they attempted an assault on December 31, 1775, but the attack failed disastrously due to harsh winter conditions and strong defenses, resulting in Montgomery’s death, Arnold’s wounding, and heavy American losses.

On May 6, 1776, the American siege of Quebec collapsed once British reinforcements arrived, marking the end of the failed invasion of Canada. Simultaneously, British reinforcements arrived in Quebec, forcing American troops to retreat.

Meanwhile, in Virginia, the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg met for the last time, ending 157 years of legislative history, as colonial governance shifted toward revolutionary, independent conventions.

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/american-revolution-faqs

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/arnolds-expedition-quebec-city-sep-11-dec-31-1775

https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/revolutionary-war/250-years-ago-day

https://archive.org/details/adiscoursedeliv00griggoog

Connecticut – The “Provisions State”

With the exception of the raids along the coast and some British incursions into the interior, Connecticut remained free of major battles and was never occupied by the British. That, along with its rich farmland, meant the colony became a major supplier of food for Washington’s army.

In 1775, Joseph Trumbull, son of the governor, was appointed commissary general and tasked with overseeing supplies to the troops. His effectiveness at carrying out his duties proved to be pivotal to the army’s success, as hunger was a constant problem. Encamped at Valley Forge during a notoriously brutal winter, Washington desperately appealed to Trumbull for cattle to feed his men. When that herd finally arrived, it was supposedly “devoured within five days.”

“For the war as a whole, Connecticut’s total contribution of supplies greatly surpassed what could be expected from a state of such small size and population and earned it the title of “the Provisions State.” – The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution

Between the growing rebellion in the American colonies and in his holdings in the Caribbean and elsewhere, King George grows worried that his army will be stretched too thin. He initially asks Catherine the Great of Russia to lend him a few thousand fighting men, but she turned him down with the excuse that she wouldn’t want anyone to think he couldn’t handle his own rebellions. Instead, George turns to the various states of Germany, and thus approximately 30,000 Hessians, from Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Hanau, join the British to fight the rebelling colonists.

Described as “barbarous strangers” by writer and activist Mercy Warren of Massachusetts, the Hessians were actually landless, impoverished peasants rented to Britain by their landgrave, Frederick II. These soldiers were paid well, with the British doling out more money for Hessians who were killed rather than those wounded or captured.

General George Washington issues a series of General Orders, one warning that British troops who had recently evacuated Boston could arrive in New York at any moment.

Washington urged engineers to speed up fortifications, with additional soldiers assigned to help complete defensive works as quickly as possible.

Also on this day, John Adams noted in his diary growing concern over reports of secret correspondence between the British government and Maryland’s royal governor, Robert Eden.

In response, the Continental Congress ordered officials to seize both the governor and his papers, fearing his actions could threaten American liberty. This underscores the mounting tensions and deepening mistrust as the colonies moved closer to independence.