Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
Even before war erupted, Connecticut passed anti-Tory laws. In time, these—and harassment from liberty-minded neighbors—forced many loyal to Britain to flee their homes or suffer imprisonment. When fighting started in 1775, Connecticut patriots earned acclaim, from Benedict Arnold (before he turned traitor) at the seizure of Fort Ticonderoga to Israel Putnam at Bunker Hill. Largely free from British occupation and major battles (except for raids on Danbury, New London, and other coastal towns), Connecticut provided food, cannon, and other goods to the Continental Army and became known as the Provision State. Other Revolutionary War notables include State hero Nathan Hale and Hannah Bunce Watson, publisher of the Connecticut Courant.
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- Document: Broadside soliciting recruits for George Washington’s Continental Army, 1775 – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Picture: Ralph Earl, The Battle of Lexington, April 19th, 1775 etched by Amos Doolittle, 1775, Printer’s ink and watercolor – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Document: Stamp-act repealed, the 8th of February, 1766 – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Document: Broadside An Act and Law…To compel the furnishing necessary supplies and assistance to the Quarter-Master-General of the Continental Army, October 2, 1776 – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Document: Form, to be completed, for British loyalty oath, administered during the American Revolution, 1779 – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Object: American Revolutionary War military officer’s uniform coat from a Loyalist (Tory) regiment. The original owner was Munson Hoyt, a native of Norwalk, Connecticut. Man’s uniform coat ca. 1777-1783 – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Map: Fort-Griswold, ca. 1781 – Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division
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- Map: 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 – Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division
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- Document: Certification by Beriah Bill of Norwich, Connecticut, that he purchased and then enlisted the slave Backus Fox in the Continental Army to fulfill his share of the town’s quota, 1781 – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Print: The Site of the Revolutionary Foundry, Salisbury, Connecticut from Gleason’s Pictorial, 1854, wood engraving – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
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- Photograph: View of Fort Griswold and the Groton Monument, ca. 1912 – 1950. The Groton Monument memorializes Lt. Col. William Ledyard and his men, massacred by the British in 1781 – Mystic Seaport
This TeachITCT.org activity is sponsored in part by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Eastern Region Program, coordinated by Waynesburg University.
