![]() ![]() ![]() The British eventually succeeded in overtaking the point. The British fell for the ploy, and believing they would be met by Americans, immediately returned to their boats. ![]() He mounted his horse and began shouting out orders to the stones and trees, as if they were Americans lying in wait. One night during the Revolutionary War, Morris heard the British approaching his property. The property had been in the Morris family since 1660 as part of an original grant by the Colony of New Haven. The first keeper was Amos Morris, the landowner from whom the government purchased the necessary tract of land for the lighthouse for $100. In 1835, a two-and-a-half story keeper’s dwelling was added to the station. Its light consisted of eight lamps, set in thirteen-inch parabolic reflectors and placed around a circular table, and was visible for nearly thirteen miles. The original lighthouse was a thirty-foot-tall, wooden, octagonal tower, with shingled sides and roof. Mariners knew to give the light a berth of at least two miles to avoid a dangerous ledge to its southwest. As he approached the shore, Watkins cried out from the lead boat, “Disperse ye rebels!” But they did not, and Watkins was killed in the subsequent battle.įive Mile Point, named for its distance from downtown New Haven, became the sight for a lighthouse in 1805 to mark the entrance to New Haven Harbor. The British, with their sights set on New Haven, attempted a landing at Five Mile Point during the Revolutionary War, but the Americans were waiting. Just south of Five Mile Point Lighthouse lies the grave of British Ensign and Assistant Adjutant Watkins, who met his end on July 5, 1779. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |