War on Long Island Sound: Revolution’s Whaleboat Men on Saturday at Ridgefield Library

Ed Hynes of Westport, whose historical research has focused on local events in the Revolutionary War, will reveal this Saturday, Nov. 23, how Long Island Sound became the scene of continuing conflict as the result of the war.

Loyalists were south of the Sound on Long Island and in New York and Patriots held Connecticut. While Tryon’s Raid from British ships, which led to the Battle of Ridgefield, is a well-known event, the less-known but also consequential raids back and forth by the “whaleboat men” will be the subject of Mr. Hynes’ talk on Saturday, November 16 at the Ridgefield Library. The 11 a.m. event is co-sponsored by the Ridgefield Historical Society (ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org).

The line between the two sides sides was not so clean-cut as the Sound; Patriots who lived on Long Island fled across the water to Connecticut and Loyalists forsook strong ties in Connecticut to join supporters of the Crown. Both groups often left behind family and friends, as well as property.

To protect Connecticut, Gov. Jonathan Trumbull issued commissions to privateers who were to patrol the Sound and were allowed to seize British sympathizers’ property in raids on Long Island and on the water. The privateers of the Long Island Sound employed whaleboats, which were open 30-foot boats, generally rowed, though some also employed sails. The raids and spying missions were frequent and sometimes brutal as the conflict went on.

Mr. Hynes will discuss these watermen and how they affected the outcome of the Revolutionary War during his talk on Saturday.

For reservations, visit ridgefieldlibrary.org.