On April 27, 1777, American forces under the command of Major General David Wooster attacked the retreating British troops under Major General William Tryon in Ridgefield.
On January 10, 1738, future hero of the Revolutionary War Ethan Allen was believed to have been born in the frontier village of Litchfield, Connecticut.
Samuel Huntington not only served as Connecticut's governor and a member of the Continental Congress, but, some would argue, the first President of the United States.
The Ebenezer Avery House on the grounds of Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park in Groton once served as a hospital and refuge for the wounded after the Revolutionary War's Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781.
Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, was a French nobleman and army general who contributed significantly to the Colonial army's victory in the war for American independence.
The use of privateers to supplement naval forces and wage war on an enemy was established European practice—and one the rebellious North American colonies readily adopted as they faced Britain, one of great military powers at sea, during the Revolutionary War.
During the Revolutionary War, American privateers utilized armed whaling boats to keep the British from the colonies' shores and prevent illicit trade in British goods.
The British government made it illegal for colonials to cut down white pine trees over 24 inches in diameter—preserving the trees for use as masts on British naval ships.
The Litchfield Law School, founded in 1784 by Tapping Reeve, became the first professional law school in Connecticut, the first proprietary (i.e., ownership) law school not affiliated with an educational institution in the United States, and the second oldest law school in the nation (after the William & Mary Law School in Virginia). After Reeve left in 1820, his partner, James Gould, ran the school until 1833 when it closed.
Hannah Bunce Watson was one of the first female publishers in America and helped the Hartford Courant survive one of the most challenging times in its history.
Oliver Wolcott served in military in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution, but was also a popular member of the Continental Congress and governor of Connecticut.
Connecticut played a vital role in the forging of our new nation politically, economically, and militarily. Through a period characterized by conflict, Connecticut provided arms, food, and other provisions to undersupplied armies, as well as leadership in government.
During the Revolutionary War, American privateers utilized armed whaling boats to keep the British from the colonies' shores and prevent illicit trade in British goods.