Bicentennial Quilt - The Burning of the Ships - 1814

During the war of 1812, part of the British fleet was detailed to cruise Long Island Sound in order, among other things, to blockade New London Harbor. The commander of that fleet suspected the ship-owners of Essex of having a conspiracy to destroy his vessels, thereby raising the blockade. Thus, on the evening of April 7, 1814, he sent six ships, carrying approximately 200 men, up the river, providing them with cannon, torches, and other materials for burning Essex shipping.

The square depicts the burning of a brigantine at dawn on April 8, 1814, with the spring colors of the Lyme hills in the background.