Recording of Lecture: Whaleboat Wars on Long Island Sound During the American Revolution

If you missed this exciting presentation with Ed Hynes or if you would like to revisit his lecture, you now can view it on the Weston Historical Society's You Tube Channel.

Watch Whaleboat Wars Lecture Here

This lecture discusses the dramatic, but little known naval activities on Long Island Sound during the American Revolution. Connecticut licensed Privateers to intercept British ships while other enterprising men from both sides engaged in smuggling banded goods. As 1777 progressed Loyalists continued to be pushed out of Connecticut and Patriots out of Long Island and the action across the Sound grew more and more heated. For most of the colonies the Revolutionary War effectively ended in 1781. But for the adversaries on both sides of Long Island Sound, the fear and bitterness of war intensified throughout 1782 and into 1783. Whaleboats were often used to carry out raids designed to steal goods and kidnap and sometimes kill opponents.

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