The British Raid on Essex: The Forgotten Battle of the War of 1812 (The Driftless Connecticut Series & Garnet Books) - Hardcover

Roberts, Jerry

3.73

11 ratings by Goodreads

9780819574763: The British Raid on Essex: The Forgotten Battle of the War of 1812 (The Driftless Connecticut Series & Garnet Books)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0819574767 ISBN 13: 9780819574763

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press, 2014

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This is the dynamic account of one of the most destructive maritime actions to take place in Connecticut history: the 1814 British attack on the privateers of Pettipaug, known today as the British Raid on Essex. During the height of the War of 1812, 136 Royal marines and sailors made their way up the Connecticut River from warships anchored in Long Island Sound. Guided by a well-paid American traitor the British navigated the Saybrook shoals and advanced up the river under cover of darkness. By the time it was over, the British had burned twenty-seven American vessels, including six newly built privateers. It was the largest single maritime loss of the war. Yet this story has been virtually left out of the history books—the forgotten battle of the forgotten war. This new account from author and historian Jerry Roberts is the definitive overview of this event and includes a wealth of new information drawn from recent research and archaeological finds. Lavish illustrations and detailed maps bring the battle to life.

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About the Author:

JERRY ROBERTS is the battlefield historian for a National Parks Service grant project charged with researching the British raid on Essex shipping in 1814. From 2006 to 2013, he was executive director of the Connecticut River Museum. He lives in Essex, Connecticut.

Review:

“A short article about the Bicentennial of the 1814 raid mentions our book and quotes the author, Jerry Roberts.”

—Erick Hesselberg, The Hartford Courant

“Jerry Roberts’s account, The British Raid on Essex, built on new research on both sides of the Atlantic, reads like a fast-paced action chronicle, which sheds light on a significant but forgotten attack on Connecticut soil during the War of 1812.”—Dan McFadden, Mystic Seaport Magazine

“Jerry Roberts took a little-known, scarcely remembered raid from the end of the War of 1812 and painstakingly researched and unearthed a wonderful maritime Connecticut narrative.”—Steven H. Park, Connecticut History Review

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