Stonington — A search by the Stonington Historical Society for artifacts from the 1814 Battle of Stonington has resulted in the discovery of munitions at Dodge Paddock on the east side of the borough.

On Tuesday night, Stonington High School history teacher and research team member Matthew Binkowski outlined what was and wasn't found during a presentation at the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House titled "Stonington Sunken Treasures: Anchors, Cannons, Gold and Other Items We Did Not Find."

During a four-day period in early August 1814, six British Royal Navy ships commanded by Commodore Thomas Masterman Hardy rained cannonballs, rockets and gunfire down on the village after residents refused to surrender. Using just three cannons, two of which are on display today in Cannon Square, the residents repelled the attack. The barrage damaged many homes, leaving cannonballs in their walls. The battle is a source of pride for residents, and the tattered flag that flew over the borough during the battle is part of the historical society's collection.

The society received a $52,000 National Historic Battlefield grant from the National Park Service to conduct the search in Stonington Harbor and the village.

Before the search, which involved using side scan sonar, a magnetometer to identify metal and diving over several days in 2019 and 2020 began, Binkowski, society member Bob Rieger and other search team members began by reading resident James Tertius de Kay's book about the battle, published in 1990.

Binkowski said that unlike when de Kay researched and wrote his account of the battle, the team now has the ability to use the internet to access digital records from museums and archives in Great Britain, such as the National Maritime Museum, the British National Archives and the Hull History Center, as well as U.S. sources such as the New York Public Library.    

As part of an exhaustive review, they scoured ships logs, charts, correspondence from sailors and commanders and other documents for clues in determining the location of the British ships and how best to use their limited funding to conduct the search. Their research also yielded new details about the battle, such as confirmation that 12 British soldiers were injured in the battle and one sailor and cabin boy were killed based on a newly found account from one of the British commanders. This contrasted with the account of the commander of the local forces, who estimated much greater British casualties. 

The society was assisted in the search by researchers from the University of Rhode Island and their radar-equipped ship, the R/V Shanna Rose, resident Charlie Buffum, who has located the 210-year-old wreck and cannons of the USS Revenge off Watch Hill, and other team members.   

One of the decisions the team had to make was whether to search for the anchor from one of the British ships, which had to be discarded when the ship got stuck on a shoal and needed to be refloated. Binkowski wanted to look for the anchor. But that was before the team discovered an article in the society's Woolworth Library written in 1892 by a 91-year-old local man who described the battle and how the anchor was later recovered, chopped up and sold. 

"So, thank goodness no one listened to me," Binkowski joked during Tuesday's presentation.

They then shifted their focus to the east side of the borough off Dodge Paddock, where the British are thought to have tried to land.

When they dove on the east side of the borough, Binkowski said they were hindered by thick eel grass as they tried to use metal detectors to search the bottom.

But on shore, Binkowski said University of Connecticut archeologist Kevin McBride found 25 battle-related artifacts, including a four-pound cannonball thought to have been fired from one of the three cannons used by residents, as well as grapeshot, cannister shot and a fragment of a rocket.

Binkowski said the artifacts indicate this was the location of a battle line where residents prevented the British from landing.

The magnetometer readings have located many other metallic objects in two main search areas along both sides of the borough. Binkowski said many so far have turned out to be lobster pots and other debris — not surprising in a more than 200-year-old commercial port.

Binkowski is also intrigued by a cylindrical image on the side scan sonar that resembles a cannon in about 25 feet of water. A dive has revealed that whatever is there is buried beneath the sand. Repair logs for the British ship, which the team found in the files from a now deceased professor from the University of Georgia, show that the ship had two of its five cannons "disabled" after its waterline was damaged by cannon fire from residents. The logs show three of the cannons were later repaired in Nova Scotia. The question remains if the other two were thrown overboard after they were disabled.

"That's why I have sleepless nights," he said. "I want to go find them."

Binkowski said he is optimistic there is more to find as he and the team continue to dive on promising sites. 

"I don't think there's nothing left, the ocean is too big and they fired too much ordnance," he said. "We've only done a few dives, so there's a lot more we could possibly find."

"The story continues," he added. "You have to be an optimist."

 j.wojtas@theday.com