magistrates, under the direction of the commanding general, sent a flag on board the Ramilies with the foregoing representation. The commodore replied, that he should wait until twelve o'clock, and if the lady was not then sent on board, hostilities would recommence. At this period, three regiments of militia had arrived, and the town was well secured against a landing. At three o'clock, the bomb ship, having taken a station out of the reach of the guns of the battery, commenced throwing shells into the village, and continued until evening. At sunrise on the 12th, the bomb ship renewed her operations, while the Ramilies and Pactolus were warping in; at eight o'clock these ships opened their fire. This heavy bombardment continued until noon, when the ships ceased firing. At four in the afternoon they hauled off to their former anchorage, and the contest ended. The vice-consul was obliged to resort to other and more appropriate measures to obtain his wife and family, than that of desolating an unoffending village. The ships taking a station out of the reach of cannon shot from the battery, the citizens were obliged to witness the scene without the power of resistance. The troops withdrew from the point, excepting a guard of fifty men, who were kept to patrol the streets and extinguish fires. The cannon from the battery were ordered up to the north end of the point, to be in readiness in case of an attempt at landing: this hazardous service was performed by volunteers of the Norwich artillery, who instantly offered themselves, under the command of Lieutenant Lathrop. This party, though exposed the whole time to the enemy's fire, accomplished the enterprise without loss. During the whole scene no lives were lost, and but two or three wounded. The houses were several times set on fire by the rockets and shells, but were soon extinguished by the patrol. Many of the buildings were much damaged, and few remain without some marks of the bombardment. The judicious arrangements of General Cushing, and the spirit and alacrity with which the militia turned out to defend Stonington, and guard the other exposed points, prevented those ulterior operations of the British, which were apprehended by that general, and which no doubt were designed as the ultimate object of the expedition. The citizens of Connecticut, when called upon to defend their dwellings from conflagration, manifested a zeal and bravery worthy of freemen in defence of their soil. The reception which the British met with at Stonington, deterred them from any further attempts on the coast of Connecticut."

WATERFORD.

WATERFORD was formerly included within the limits of New London. It was incorporated as a distinct town in 1801. It is bounded N. by Montville, w. by Lyme, E. by New London and the Thames, and s. by Long Island sound. Its average length is 7 miles, and its average breadth about five miles. Its surface is uneven, and the soil a gravelly loam, better adapted to grazing than grain, of which there is little cultivated, excepting Indian corn. There are two woolen factories in the town. In the southwestern part of the town is a valuable granite quarry, owned by the Messrs. Gardiner, at which many workmen are employed.

There are three houses for public worship in this town, all of which are for the Baptist denomination; one of which is for the Seventh day Baptists, so called from their observing Saturday, the Jewish sabbath, instead of the first day.

The following is from Backus' history of the Baptists, vol. 1, published in Boston in 1777.

"A new sect came out from among the Baptists about this time, who have caused not a little trouble to themselves and others, of whom I have collected the following brief account, chiefly from the letters preserved by Mr. Samuel Hubbard. In the close of the year 1674, the family of Mr. James Rogers of New London, called Mr. Crandal over from Westerly,

who preached among them, and baptized his sons John and James, and an Indian named Japhet. This alarmed the other denomination, and Mr. Bradstreet, minister at New London, said he hoped the next court would take a course with them. They sent to Newport, and elder Hickox, Mr. Hubbard, and his son Clarke, were sent to visit them in March, 1675, when Jonathan Rogers was also baptized, and all four of them were received as members of their church by prayer and laying on of hands. Hereupon John Rogers' father-in-law, took his wife and children from him; and upon her complaints against him, he was carried before their deputy governor, and committed to Hartford gaol, from whence he wrote to Mr. Hubbard, April 6th, 1765. How long he continued there I do not find, only he visited the church at Newport the next September. On September 18th, 1676, those four members went with a boat and brought elder Hickox and Mr. Hubbard to New London again, when old Mr. Rogers, his wife, and daughter, were all baptized and received into that church; whereupon they were called before the magistrate, but were soon released; though from that time they began to imprison the Rogerses for working on the first day of the week. And when Mr. Hickox and Mr. Hubbard visited them again, and held worship with them two miles out of town, on their sabbath, Nov. 23, 1677, and Joseph Rogers' wife had next morning given them a satisfying account of her experiences, John must needs have them go up to town to baptize her there. Mr. Hubbard opposed it, but John carried the day; and while Mr. Hickox was preaching at town, the constable came and took him, and they all went before the magistrate; where also was the minister, Mr. Bradstreet, who had much to say about the good way their fathers had set up. Upon which Mr. Hubbard, obtaining leave to speak, said, 'you are a young man, but I am an old planter of about forty years, a beginner of Connecticut, and have been persecuted for my conscience from this colony, and I can assure you, that the old beginners were not for persecution, but we had liberty at first. After further discourse, the magistrate said could you not do it elsewhere? A good answer,' says Mr. Hubbard; and so they were released and went to Samuel Rogers' house, where his brother John put himself forward, prayed, and then went out to the water and baptized his sister: upon which Mr. Hickox was seized again, as supposing he had done it, but John came before the magistrate, and was forward to make known his act therein; so the others were released and returned home."

"Jonathan Rogers had married Naomi Burdick, granddaughter to Mr. Hubbard, and on March 2, 1678, elder Hickox baptized her at Westerly, together with James Babcock, George Lamphere, and two others, and on the 5th of May following, Joseph Clarke wrote from thence to his father Hubbard, that John and James Rogers with their father were in prison; having previously excommunicated Jonathan, chiefly because he did not retain their judgment of the unlawfulness of using medicine, nor accuse himself before authority, for working on the first day of the week." Hereupon the church at Newport sent messengers to New London about this matter, who reported on their return that, "a practice was started up (out of conscience,) that because the world, yea, most professors, pray in their families mornings and nights, and before meats and after, in a customary way, therefore to forbear prayer in their families, or at meats publickly, except some are led forth upon some special occasion; saying they find no command in the word of God for it." "The church repeatedly sent and labored with them but to no effect." "From this beginning proceeded a sect which has continued to this day, whom from their chief leader have been called Rogerenes. In their dialect, and many other things, they have been like the first Quakers in this country (?) though they have retained the external use of baptism and the supper, and have bee singular in refusing the use of means and medicines for their bodies. Their greatest zeal h s been discovered going from meeting to meeting, and from town to town, as far as Norvich and Lebanon, (the one 14, the other 24 miles,) to testify against hireling teachers, and against keeping the first day of the week as a sabbath, which they call the idol sabbath. And when the authority have taken them up, and fined them therefor, and have sometimes whipt them for refusing to pay it, they have soon published accounts of all such persecutions, which has been the very means of keeping their sect alive. When the Small Pox was very terrible in Boston, in 1721, and great fear of it was discovered in the country, John Rogers their founder, was confident he could go in where it was and not catch it and to prove his faith, went 100 miles to Boston, but catched the distemper, came home and died with it, and scattered it in his family: yet his successors still kept on in their way. So late down as 1763, some of them repeatedly came and clapped shingles and pieces of boards around the meeting house in Norwich town, as well as delivered messages to the worshippers against their keeping of the Lord's day. .. Besides these there have been some sabbatarian Baptists in that place, from the beginning to the present time, though not a distinct church."

FAIRFIELD COUNTY.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY is bounded N. by Litchfield County, N. E. and E. by the Housatonic river, which separates it from the county of New Haven, on the s. E. and s. by Long Island Sound, and w. by the state of New York. The county is of a triangular form, and has an average length from east to west of about 30 miles, and a mean breadth from north to south of about 21 miles. It extends about 40 miles on Long Island sound, and abounds with bays, points, and harbors, affording many interesting and beautiful landscapes. Proceeding from the Sound into the interior, there is a very gradual rise to the most elevated sections of the county, which overlook the intervening tract. The face of the country is generally agreeably diversified with hills and valleys. The soil, which in general is a primitive gravelly loam, is, with few exceptions, strong and fertile, and this county may be considered as a rich farming district, containing abundant natural resources of agricultural wealth. Manufactures of various kinds receive considerable attention in some parts of the county, and the business is increasing. The following is a list of the several towns in the county, with their population in 1830.

3,801 Reading,

1,686 Westport,

Huntington, 1,371 Ridgefield, 2,305 Wilton,

Population of the county in 1820, 42,739; in 1830, 46,950.

2,097

FAIRFIELD was discovered by the pursuit of the Pequots, in 1637. Mr. Ludlow, who went with the troops to the Sasco, the great swamp in this town, was so well pleased with the fine tract of land in the vicinity, that he soon projected a settlement. In 1639, he, with a number of others, began a plantation at Unquowa, the Indian name of the place. At first there were but eight or ten families. These, it appears, removed from Windsor with Mr. Ludlow, the principal planter. They were shortly after joined by another company from Watertown. A third company removed into the plantation from Concord; so that the

* Mr. Ludlow came from the west of England, with Warham and his company. In 1634, he was chosen deputy governor of Massachusetts colony; the next year he came into Connecticut, and was twice elected deputy governor of the colony, and was compiler of the first Connecticut code, printed at Cambridge in 1692. He removed with his family to Virginia, in 1654. Being town clerk of Fairfield, he carried off their records and other public writings.

inhabitants soon became numerous, and formed themselves into a township under the jurisdiction of the colony of Connecticut. The first adventurers purchased a large tract of the natives, and soon after Connecticut obtained charter privileges, the General Assembly gave them a patent. The purchase comprised the parishes of Fairfield, Greenfield, Green's Farms, and that part of Stratfield lying within the town of Fairfield, all the town of Weston, and a considerable part of Reading. "Having obtained this patent, the proprietors soon after divided the territory purchased into lots, which run from near the shore of the Sound, back about ten miles, reserving suitable highways, running parallel to, and at right angles with these lots, the course of which was north, 28 degrees west. These highways were laid entirely straight for ten miles, but have since been altered in many places."

"As but a small part of this extensive tract of land had been occupied, previously to the time when Sir Edmund Andross made his appearance in Connecticut, the inhabitants of this town adopted this plan of dividing their purchase, to prevent their wild lands back from being taken from them; supposing, that as they were actually in the occupation of the front of their lots, they might be considered as possessing the whole, so far as to render it private property, and not subject to the disposal of the British government. The lots were of different widths; some being about ten rods wide, while others were fifty rods in width. Each proprietor had set to him a lot, the width of which was probably regulated by the amount of the money paid by such proprietor; and in the measuring of these lots, regard was had to inches, which shows a precise arithmetical calculation. Each of these lots has to this day been called by the name of the first proprietor, although a very considerable proportion of them are owned by persons of different names. Nearly in the centre of this town was reserved a tract, one mile in extent, which was not divided, and was called the mile of common. Greenfield Hill is within the limits of this tract."

Fairfield is bounded northerly by Weston, northeasterly by Bridgeport, westerly by Westport, and southerly by Long Island sound. It has a mean length of upwards of six miles from northeast to southwest, and a breadth of six miles. It is a rich agricultural township, and in general in a high state of cultivation. The original growth of timber was, at an early period, from a common but lamentable improvidence, entirely destroyed, so that the forests now existing are of recent growth, and comprise but little timber fit for building. Wood and timber, therefore, command a high price. The surface of the town is undulating, presenting an agreeable succession of moderate eminences and gentle declivities. Upon the Sound are some tracts of salt marsh; proceeding back, the surface has a gradual elevation; but no portion of the town is mountainous, and it is in general free from stone.

Black Rock harbor, about 14 miles from Fairfield court house, is, with the exception of New London, one of the best harbors in the Sound, being safe and commodious, and having 19 feet of water at summer tides, below what is called the middle ground. There is a lighthouse on Fairweather's Island, which forms the easterly chop of the

harbor. Vessels can enter and depart from this harbor at any time of the tide. During the last war with Great Britain, a small fort was erected on an eminence commanding the entrance of the harbor, in which the state of Connecticut maintained a small body of militia a short time as a garrison. This fort was useful, in protecting the coasting trade in the Sound from the cruisers of the enemy.

About two or three miles from Fairfield, in a northern direction, is a precipice about 70 feet in height, being the termination of a granitic ridge. This precipice is called Samp Mortar Rock, from the circumstance of there being on its summit an excavation in the form of a mortar, and of sufficient dimensions to contain upwards of half a bushel of corn or other grain. The tradition is, that it was used by the native Indians for the purpose of pounding their corn. In the valley south of the rock is believed to have been the site of a large Indian village and burying ground. The rock above mentioned, has sometimes been called Owen's Rock, from the circumstance of a man by the name of Owen, who had lost his way, walking off this precipice in a dark night. His body was found the next morning. Dr. Dwight, who was at that time the minister at Greenfield, preached his funeral sermon.

Fairfield is divided into three parishes, Fairfield, Green's Farms, and Greenfield. Fairfield, the ancient village, is situated upon the great stage road to New York, 4 miles from Bridgeport, 21 from New Haven, and 58 from New York. It is built principally upon one street, and round an interesting green or square. The village consists of about 100 dwelling houses, a court house and jail, a Congregational church, and an academy. It is the shire town of the county. Half of the courts, however, sit at Danbury, about twenty miles distant.

This place was laid in ashes by Gov. Tryon, in 1779, during the Revolutionary war. Eighty-five dwellings were consumed in Fairfield, two churches, an elegant court house, fifty-five barns, fifteen stores, fifteen shops, &c. The distress occasioned by this event was extreme. The following graphic description of the burning of Fairfield is from Dr. Dwight's Travels, volume 3d, page 512.

"On the 7th July, 1779, Gov. Tryon, with the army which I have already mentioned, sailed from New Haven to Fairfield; and the next morning disembarked upon the beach. A few militia assembled to oppose them; and in a desultory, scattered manner, fought with great intrepidity through most of the day. They killed some; took several prisoners; and wounded more. But the expedition was so sudden and unexpected, that the efforts, made in this manner, were necessarily fruitless. The town was plundered; a great part of the houses, together with the two churches, the court house, jail, and school houses, were burnt. The barns had been just filled with wheat, and other produce. The inhabitants, therefore, were turned out into the world, almost literally destitute.

"Mrs. Burr, the wife of Thaddeus Burr, Esq., high sheriff of the county, resolved to continue in the mansion house of the family, and make an attempt to save it from the conflagration. The house stood at a sufficient distance from other buildings. Mrs. Burr was adorned with all the qualities which give distinction to her sex; possessed of fine accomplishments, and a dignity of character, scarcely rivalled; and probably had never known what it was to be treated with disrespect, or even with inattention. She made a personal application to Gov. Tryon, in terms which, from a lady of her high respectability, could hardly have failed of a satisfactory answer from any person, who claimed the title of a gentleThe answer which she actually received, was, however, rude and brutal; and spoke the want, not only of politeness and humanity, but even of vulgar civility. The house was sentenced to the flames, and was speedily set on fire. An attempt was made, in the mean

man.