“Den of Serpents: New London and the Revolution”

Permanent exhibition opened June 10, 2003, curated by Christopher P. Bickford.

The 1756 Shaw Mansion, one of New London’s few pre-revolutionary structures to have survived Benedict Arnold’s raid in 1781, served as the naval war office for Connecticut during the Revolution, the nerve center of Connecticut’s war at sea. Nathaniel Shaw, Jr. was appointed naval war officer in 1776 and his brother Thomas was deputy commissioner of naval prisoners.

The phrase “den of serpents” is an expression used by Frances Manwaring Caulkins for the role of New London in sending out scores of vessels to harass the British.

The exhibition focuses on privateering, the conduct of the naval war effort, and on Arnold’s raid and its immediate consequences.

Materials include maps, documents, portraits, weapons, and prizes of war.

The Society has received a cash contribution of $10,000 for the conversion of a Victorian parlor into gallery space.