Captain Morris, after a successful cruise, had re cently arrived in the Penobscot with the American frigate Adams, and taken her to Hampden, thirty-five miles up the river, for repairs. The British commander sent up an expedition of about a thousand men to capture her, and Captain Morris made all possible preparations for defence. He erected several batteries on the shore, collected a small force of militia from the neighborhood, and, as they were unarmed, put the ship's muskets into their hands. But on the approach of the British regulars, the militia ran away; and Morris, seeing that he could not save his vessel, sent away his sailors and marines, who retreated across a bridge over a deep creek. He and a few men whom he had retained for the service then set a slow-match to the magazine, and, as their retreat by the bridge had been cut off, swam the stream and escaped. The frigate was blown to pieces, and the enemy returned to Castine with neither prisoners nor plunder. But they made thenceforth frequent incursions among the towns of the neighborhood, and freely robbed the inhabitants of what little property they had that was worth taking.
The next orders issued to the British Commodore, Sir Thomas Hardy, were to destroy the town of Stonington, Connecticut; which he found a very different task from the capture of Moose Island. With two frigates, a brig, and a bomb-vessel, he appeared before the town on the 9th of August, and sent in word that he should begin a bombardment in one hour. The women and children were hastily removed, and the men repaired to the defences of the place. These consisted of a small breastwork and three pieces of artillery—two eighteen-pounders, and a six-pounder. A rude, flag-staff was erected, and a small flag nailed to it. Those who had been trained as artillerists took their places at the guns, and the remainder, with muskets, were placed behind the breastwork. Word was sent to General Cushing, commanding at New London, and couriers on horseback rode through the surrounding country to rally the militia.
It was toward evening when Hardy opened his ports and fired upon the town every kind of missile in use at that day—round-shot, grape-shot, canister, bomb-shells, carcasses, rockets, and stink-pots. A carcass was a cylindrical cage or framework of iron, covered with canvas and filled with combustibles, intended to set the buildings on fire. About eight o'clock, while the bombardment was still going on, five barges and a launch filled with men and carrying several guns approached the shore. The Americans permitted them to come within close range, and then poured such a fire of grape-shot into them from the two eighteen-pounders that they were very soon compelled to retire. They then sailed around to the eastern side of the little peninsula, where they supposed it was defenceless. But the Americans dragged the six-pounder across, and were ready for them. With this gun alone, so rapidly was it served and so skilfully handled, they again drove off the fleet of barges.
The bombardment was kept up till midnight, and next day the fleet was increased by the arrival of another brig. The vessels now took a position nearer the shore, and the action was reopened. One brig was anchored within pistol-shot of the battery, at which it directed its guns. But the old eighteen-pounders sent several balls through her between wind and water, compelling her to haul off and repair damages. The barges made an attempt to land a force, as on the day before; but met a similar reception and once more retired. One of the barges was completely torn to pieces by the fire of the six-pounder. The fleet then drifted out of reach of the battery, but kept up the bombardment at long range during that and the following day. On the 12th, Sir Thomas, who had lost twenty-one men killed and more than fifty wounded, bore up and sailed away.
Of the Americans, six had been slightly wounded, and one mortally. Of the hundred houses in Stonington, forty had been more or less injured, ten of them badly, and two or three were entirely destroyed. The enemy had thrown in more than sixty tons of metal. Colonel Randall, the commanding officer, received high praise for the manner in which he had conducted the defence, as did also Lieutenants Lathrop and Hough.
There were smaller affairs of the same nature, at various points along the New England coast. At Wareham the enemy landed in safety by means of a flag of truce, and then burned a large cotton factory and the vessels at their moorings. At Scituate also they burned the shipping. But at Boothbay the militia rallied and drove them off with considerable loss. The attempt to land was repeated on several different days, but every time without success.