Capt. Nathanial Shaw was successfully engaged in transAtlantic trade in the mid-18^th century and employed French refugees from Nova Scotia to build his granite mansion on the banks of the Thames River, which stands today and is home to the New London County Historical Society.

Shaw and his eldest son, Nathaniel Shaw Jr., aligned with the Patriot cause and used their fleet of vessels as privateers to menace the British fleet and capture military and merchant cargo as they sailed along the coast during the American Revolution. Nathaniel Shaw, Jr., became one of the most prominent citizens of New London as a successful merchant.

In April 1776, Capt. Shaw and his family were hosts to Gen. George Washington, who was moving his army from Cambridge to New York via New London. Shortly after that, Nathaniel Shaw, Jr., was named as Naval Agent for Connecticut, and the house became naval headquarters for Connecticut’s state navy as well as close to 50 privateers working out of New London.

It was the success of those privateers that led Benedict Arnold to sail into the harbor with a force of 1,600 British, German and loyalist soldiers in 1781 to burn the town and its wharves. The Shaw Mansion was one of the few structures near the harbor to survive the attack. Arnold’s forces also attacked and overtook militiamen across the river in Groton at Fort Griswold.

William Coit earned distinction during the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston as a leader of a company of “independent marines.” He was commissioned as captain in the 6^th Connecticut Regiment and trained a company of sailors in New London. Later in 1775, Gen. George Washington gave him command of the schooner Harrison and on Nov. 6, 1775, he sailed into Boston Harbor with two captured British vessels. He subsequently claimed to have been “the first man in the United States to turn his Majesty’s bunting upside down.”

Coit’s 1763 home in New London still stands today, on the corner of Washington and Coit streets. It is of interest based on Coit’s history, but also because it serves as an example of New London’s Colonial geography. Coit Street was first called Cove Street because it followed the shoreline of Bream Cove off New London Harbor. The Cove later shrank in the nineteenth century from silting and filling in to create additional land.

Nathan Hale, a spy for Gen. George Washington’s Army early in the Revolution, had a brief stop in New London where he taught for a short time. He was born in Coventry CT and graduated from Yale in 1773. The following year he became a teacher at a private academy in New London as hostilities between the colonies and Britain intensified. Hale enlisted in the Connecticut militia in July 1775, and he became a spy for Washington. He was discovered by the British and hanged. While accounts of his hanging indicate he met his death with courage and composure, there is apparently no proof that he actually said the words that made him famous in death: “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

Abigail Hinman took up arms to successfully defend her home during the burning of New London. As the story goes, Abigail’s husband, a sea captain, was away on a voyage on this fateful day in the City’s history. She heard a commotion and witnessed the City being destroyed by red-coated soldiers. Surprisingly, she saw Benedict Arnold, a family friend from the nearby town of Norwich and leader of the attack following his betrayal of the Patriot cause. Abigail prevailed upon the traitor Arnold to spare her home and he complied. Abigail, however, was not blind to his blatant act of treason. A painting of this recounted scene is on display at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London.

The first Connecticut newspapers were published along the Connecticut shoreline during the 1750s. Members of the Green family, especially Thomas Green (1735-1812) either worked on or helped found each of Connecticut’s first three newspapers, the Connecticut Gazette in 1755 at New Haven, the New London Summary in 1758, and the Connecticut Courant of Hartford, the first inland newspaper, in 1764.

Timothy Green was known as New London’s Revolutionary Printer and the site of his newspaper, the New London Summary, still stands at 158 State Street. The building, one of the rare survivors of Benedict Arnold’s burning of the City, dates to 1771. In 2006 is was dedicated as part of the Historic Landmark Trail by the New London Historical Society. Timothy Green began The New-London Summary, or The Weekly Advertiser, in August of 1758. This was the second newspaper published in Connecticut and was chiefly a war journal. Timothy Green died early in October 1763, and the newspaper was discontinued. However, it was immediately followed by the New London Gazette, published by the nephew of Timothy Green, also named Timothy Green.