War of 1812 Cannon
Clinton, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut
Marker Inscription
This Cannon Which Saw Service During The War 1812 – 1815 Is Dedicated To The Patriots Of This Town Who Defended Our Coast From British Invasion Placed Sept. 10, 1925 By The Women’s Relief Corps
The Story
During the War of 1812, the British blockaded Long Island Sound and raided the small shipbuilding and fishing towns strung along the Connecticut shore, forcing coastal communities like Clinton to organize their own defenses against landing parties and enemy warships. This weathered cannon stands as a relic of that anxious era, when local militia and volunteers kept watch over the water. More than a century later, in 1925, the Women's Relief Corps dedicated the piece to honor the townspeople who had answered the call to guard their coast.
Why it matters
It preserves the memory of a often-overlooked chapter of the early Republic, when ordinary coastal New Englanders bore the direct brunt of a war with Britain — and it reflects how later generations of women organized to keep that local sacrifice from being forgotten.
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Related events
- · War of 1812
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