John Trumbull, The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17,1775

John Trumbull, The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker’s Hill, June 17,1775,1786, oil on canvas. Knowlton is shown in the white shirt holding a musket – Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)

Connecticut played a vital role in the forging of our new nation politically, economically, and militarily. Through a period characterized by conflict, Connecticut provided arms, food, and other provisions to undersupplied armies, as well as leadership in government. Governor Jonathan Trumbull led Connecticut through the American Revolution, while men such as Roger Sherman helped author the Connecticut Compromise, paving the way for the passing of the Constitution of the United States. When hostilities erupted with Great Britain again in 1812, the state survived blockades on New London and assaults on Essex and Stonington, while producing a new national hero, Isaac Hull, who captained the famed ship USS Constitution during the conflict.

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Caleb Brewster and the Culper Spy Ring

Caleb Brewster used his knowledge of Long Island Sound to serve as a member of the Culper Spy Ring during the Revolutionary War. …[more]

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Websites

New London County Historical Society. “Connecticut and the War of 1812,” 2016. Link.

Places

“Connecticut Historical Society,” 2016. Link.
“Connecticut River Museum,” 2016. Link.
New London Maritime Society. “Custom House Maritime Museum,” 2016. Link.
Derby Historical Society. “David Humphreys House,” 2016. Link.
Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. “Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park,” 2016. Link.
“General Israel Putnam Cottage (Knapp’s Tavern),” 2016. Link.
Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution. “Governor Jonathan Trumbull House,” 2016. Link.
“New Haven Museum,” 2017. Link.
“New London County Historical Society,” 2016. Link.
Department of Economic & Community Development. “Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine,” 2017. Link.
“Putnam Memorial State Park,” 2016. Link.
“The Litchfield Historical Society,” 2017. Link.
“The Stonington Historical Society,” 2016. Link.
Connecticut Freedom Trail. “Venture Smith Gravesite,” 2016. Link.
“Yale University Art Gallery,” n.d. Link.

Documents

Connecticut Historical Society. “A Guide to the French and Indian War Papers at the Connecticut Historical Society,” 2016. Link.
Lyman, Daniel. “A Sketch of New London & Groton with the Attacks Made on Forts Trumbull & Griswold by the British Troops Under the Command of Brigr. Genl. Arnold, Sept. 6th. 1781.” 1781. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. Link.
“Broadside: I Do Hereby Profess and Declare My Loyalty and Allegiance to His Majesty King George the Third...,” 1779. Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Illustrated. Link.
Brewster, Caleb. “Collection of Letters Including General Correspondence with George Washington, Samuel Culper, Benjamin Tallmadge, David Humphreys, and David Waterbury,” 1784 1778. Library of Congress, American Memory,  George Washington Papers, 1741-1799. Link.
National Archives. “Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin Patent Drawing,” 2016. Link.
Abbot, Henry L. “Engraving - Bushnell’s American Turtle,” 1881. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Link.
Washington, George. “George Washington to Israel Putnam, et al,  Circular Letter to Officers on Winter Cantonment,” October 14, 1778. Library of Congress, American Memory, George Washington Papers: Series 4. General Correspondence. 1697-1799.
“Guide to the Roger Sherman (1721-1793) Collection.” Yale University, 2016. Link.

Books

Smith, Venture. “A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident Above Sixty Years in the United States of America.” C. Holt, 1798. Link.
Morgan, Forrest, ed. Connecticut as a Colony and as a State; or, One of the Original Thirteen; Vol. 2. Hartford, CT: The Publishing Society of Connecticut, 1904. Link.
Purcell, Richard J. Connecticut in Transition: 1775-1818. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1963.
Anderson, Fred. Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.
Buel Jr., Richard. Dear Liberty: Connecticut’s Mobilization for the Revolutionary War. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1980.
Roth, David M, and Freeman Meyer. From Revolution to Constitution: Connecticut, 1763 to 1818. Chester, CT: The Pequot Press, 1975.
Middlebrook, Louis. History of Maritime Connecticut During the American Revolution, 1775-1783. Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1925.
Dwight, Theodore. History of the Hartford Convention: With a Review of the Policy of the United States Government Which Led to the War of 1812. New York; Boston: N. & J. White; Russell, Odiorne, & Company, 1833. Link.
Loucks, Rupert Charles. “Let the Oppressed Go Free”: Reformation and Revolution in English Connecticut, 1764-1775, 1998.
Phelps, Richard. Newgate of Connecticut: Its Origin and Early History. Being a Full Description of the Famous and Wonderful Simsbury Mines and Caverns, and the Prison Built Over Them. Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company, 1876. Link.
Rolls and Lists of Connecticut Men in the Revolution, 1775-1783. Hartford, CT: Connecticut Historical Society, 1901.
Roberts, Jerry. The British Raid on Essex the Forgotten Battle of the War of 1812. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2014.
Peck, Epaphroditus. The Loyalists of Connecticut. Tercentenary Commission of the State of Connecticut. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1934. Link.
Buel, Richard. The Peopling of New Connecticut: From the Land of Steady Habits to the Western Reserve. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2011.
Boylan, James, Meredith Mason Brown, Fred Calabretta, Frances Manwaring Caulkins, James T. De Kay, Andrew W. German, Glenn S. Gordinier, Jerry Roberts, Nancy Hathaway Steenburg, and Matthew Warshauer. The Rockets Red Glare: The War of 1812 and Connecticut. New London, CT: New London County Historical Society, 2012.

Articles

Marks, Arthur S. “The Statue of King George III in New York and the Iconology of Regicide.” American Art Journal 13, no. 3 (July 1, 1981): 61–82.