THE BRITISH COME FOR
WILLIAMS SHIPYARD
The War of 1812 inflicted a major blow to Essex shipping. For most of the war, a British
blockade of Long Island Sound curtailed maritime commerce, bottling up harbors and
prevented large-scale free trade. Essex yards continued to build vessels, outfitting some as
privateers who preyed on British merchantmen. Many believed that the town’s upriver
location and the large sandbar at Saybrook protected them from British attack, but they
were mistaken.
On April 8th, 1814, 136 British sailors and marines rowed up the Connecticut River under
cover of darkness on a mission to destroy the fleet. After an initial exchange of fire, the
local militia was no match for the world’s strongest Navy. The British honored their
promise not to harm the townspeople as long as they did not interfere with the military
operation. Under the command of Captain Richard Coote, the British burned 25 vessels in
the coves and docks and attempted to take two vessels with them, but they ran aground as
the British returned down the river and were burned.
The Osage was still under construction at the Williams shipyard in Falls River Cove
when the British burned it during their raid, despite attempts by local men and boys to
extinguish the flames with buckets. A total loss, the Osage lay beneath the Cove’s waters
for nearly a century, before a shift in the current brought its ribs and keel to the surface.
Artisans crafted commemorative objects from its reclaimed wood; businesses such as the
Osage Inn or Essex’s Land Trust’s Osage Trails Preserve kept the ship’s name alive; and
for decades, graduates of Essex’s Pratt High School received their annual yearbook, “The
Osage.” More than any other ship destroyed during the raid, the Williams’ Osage came to
symbolize the loss of Essex’s shipbuilding heritage.
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