Connecticut was the first of the original thirteen American colonies to formally create the groundwork for a democratic form of governance when it adopted a constitution establishing representative democracy for the colony in 1639. This was the first written constitution of its kind in the western hemisphere. Some twenty years later in 1662, John Winthrop employed his persuasive diplomatic skills to convince England’s King Charles II to increase the colony’s autonomy by granting a royal charter officially recognizing the right of the Connecticut colony to self-governance.
However, this self-governance was put in jeopardy by a series of punitive tariffs levied by the British Parliament on certain goods in the American colonies shortly after the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763. In 1764, Parliament initiated a tax on sugar and molasses intended to offset their recent war expenditures. These taxes coupled with the Stamp Act created an onerous economic situation for the colonists. Colonists claims of “taxation without representation” became commonplace. Tensions escalated further when British troops sent to Boston during 1767 by King George III to subdue the growing rebellion fired into a crowd killing five citizens and wounding six more.
The year 1774 proved to be a pivotal year with anti-British sentiment nearing the boiling point. The First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia with representatives from twelve of the thirteen American colonies attending. During their convention, they drafted a declaration of the “rights of Englishmen” for all colonial citizens as well as a petition of grievances to be presented to King George III. The following year the British government declared Massachusetts “in rebellion” and sent hundreds of troops to Boston and the surrounding areas. On April 19, 1775 the battles of Lexington and Concord, the colonial militia forced the British troops to retreat and surrender in defeat serving as a catalyst for the American Revolution.
These battles of Lexington & Concord against the British troops served to inspire many patriots who supported the ideal of independence from the British crown. However, there was a significant number of colonial citizens who remained loyal to England. “Loyalists” or “Tories” as they were known held fast to their allegiance to England for a variety of reasons ranging from personal economic interests to a religious commitment to the Anglican Church. One such Loyalist was Ebenezer Punderson, a merchant living in Norwich, CT. A graduate of Yale in 1755, he had worked as a school teacher in Preston for several years before becoming a merchant.
Punderson was not shy in expressing his loyalty to the English crown and his deep disdain for the Patriot cause. Norwich and the surrounding towns of eastern Connecticut were the stronghold of some of the most radical patriots in the colonies. His outspoken speech and behavior drew the attention of the local Norwich Committee of Safety who were tasked with suppressing loyalists. He was repeatedly detained and interrogated. In April of 1775 he attempted to flee to New York but was captured and returned to Norwich where he spent eight days in jail and only released after signing a confession admitting to his loyalist sympathies. Several weeks later he fled to Newport, Rhode Island and boarded a ship which took him to England where he remained for the entire Revolutionary War.
To view the historic letter Ebenezer Punderson wrote to his wife detailing his ordeal with the Norwich Committee of Safety, visit the Otis Library’s website to view our online collection of historic images.