Executive Director Jerry Roberts in front of rendering of British burning American ships in Essex in 1814

The Connecticut River Museum in Essex will observe the tragic destruction of 27 American ships in Essex during the War of 1812 at a number of events to be held at the Museum on Saturday, May 11.  The actual destruction of the ships took place during a British raid that caught the Americans totally by surprise on April 7, 1814.

Connecticut River Museum Executive Director Jerry Roberts has written a definitive article on this embarrassing chapter in American history, which follows:

The British Raid on Essex, 1814

By Jerry Roberts, Executive Director, Connecticut River Museum

During the War of 1812 the British blockade of Long Island Sound virtually shut down commerce along the Connecticut Coast. In port towns like Essex, then known as Pettipaug, ship owners and builders turned to outfitting privateers* to attack British merchant shipping on the high seas. The Royal Navy took action.

On April 7th, 1814, a British raiding force of 136 marines and sailors rowed up the Connecticut River in six heavily armed boats from warships anchored in Long Island Sound. They had come under the command of Captain Richard Coote to burn the privateers of Pettipaug. By the time it was over they had burned 27 ships, including six privateers. It was the largest single maritime loss of the war.

British Troops Arrive in Essex at 3:30 a.m.

On the way up the river, the marines landed to secure the old fort at Saybrook to prevent being trapped on the way out. They found it without guns or garrison. They continued up the river and arrived at Essex at 3:30 a.m. on the morning of the 8th.  At the landing site a handful of local militia fired out into the darkness with muskets and one four-pound cannon.  The British replied with a massive volley from the marine’s muskets and the guns mounted in the ship’s boats.

Realizing further resistance was futile, the small, disorganized militia fell back into the darkness.  The marines secured the village while the seamen set about burning all of the ships at the wharves and on the stocks being built, as well as those moored the harbor.

The British informed the villagers that they had come to destroy shipping, not their homes.  Reportedly the civilians were told that as long as they did not molest the British, the town would not be put to the torch.  There was no formal capitulation but it was the best deal that the people of Pettipaug were going to get that night.

There was resistance however.  Riders were sent to New London to seek assistance from the troops at Fort Trumbull as well Commodore Stephan Decatur whose squadron was blockaded in the Thames River.  Meanwhile several men and boys attempted to extinguish burning ships and even hide some of them up the coves.  These attempts were unsuccessful.

The British searched houses for arms and destroyed or commandeered ship rigging materials from waterfront warehouses and destroyed a large quantity of West Indies Rum.

British Burn 25 American Vessels in Essex

By 10 a.m. the British force had torched 25 vessels.  They began an orderly departure with their ship’s boats and two large American privateers, the brig Anaconda and the schooner, Eagle.  About a mile south of the village the brig went aground in the river where the British were subject to sporadic gunfire from shore.

They transferred everything from the grounded vessel and burned it.  Coote decided to anchor the schooner and wait until nightfall to head further down the river where militia from Killingworth and Lyme were gathering at the narrows now spanned by the I-95 Bridge.

At this point the Americans sent a boat out under a white flag to serve the British with a surrender ultimatum.  Captain Coote dismissed it stating, “We hold your power to detain us at defiance.”

By late afternoon soldiers, sailors, marines and additional militia and volunteers were arriving from New London.  There were now several hundred armed Americans and a number of artillery pieces on each side of the river.  These forces included two American generals and two US Navy captains.

 The trap was set, but when the Americans realized the British were not going to come down the river until it was dark, they understood there was a real chance of missing them in the blackness of the overcast night.  They raced to get at cannon into position on Ayres Point to hit them where they were anchored in the river.

American Troops Open Fire from the Shore

At dusk, as the British set fire to the remaining privateer and were transferring their men back into the boats, they were hit by an American six-pound cannon under command of Lieutenant Bull, which had arrived just as the sun began to set. The American crew fired off six rounds as fast they could reload.  Two Royal Marines were killed and a sailor was wounded, but the cloak of darkness now masked their movements.

Aided by the strong flow of the spring freshet they headed down river in their boats, running a gauntlet of small arms and cannon fire from both banks.  Despite the effort of upwards of 600 Americans to stop them, the British reached their ships at 10 p.m. reportedly letting out three cheers after they passed the fort in Saybrook from which ineffectual parting shots were fired.

Compounding the loss of the 27 ships and the failure to capture the British on the way out was the fact that an American had helped guide the British during the raid.  The traitor, nicknamed Torpedo Jack by the British, was paid $2,000 for his efforts, a staggering sum at that time.

Essex Recognized as War of 1812 Battle Site

Today, Essex is recognized as a War of 1812 Battle Site.  The Connecticut River Museum, located on the waterfront where the British came ashore, is the center of continuing research into the battle and features a permanent exhibit including artifacts, maps, paintings, dioramas and a 22 foot long mural of the British landing.

Each year the village commemorates Burning of the Ships Day with a fife and drum parade hosted by Essex’ own Sailing Masters of 1812 followed by events at the Museum.  The village remains remarkably intact with 24 pre-1814 houses still lining Main Street, which ends at the waterfront where the British once came to burn the privateers of Pettipaug.

* “Privateers” were privately owned ships supporting the American cause.