George Washington at the Shaw Mansion

The Shaw family tradition concerning General Washington strongly insists that he did, in fact, stay overnight at the Shaw Mansion on at least one occasion. According to Ernest E. Rogers’ Connecticut’s Naval Office at New London During the War of the American Revolution, while General Washington was marching the Continental Army from Boston to New York, he stopped at New London, and stayed at the Shaw Mansion. Considering that Nathaniel Shaw, Jr. received the first of his commissions as naval agent for Connecticut later in the month of April, it is highly likely that the General spoke with Shaw about the need for someone to fill this role. Because this position was such a lucrative one, it is likely that Shaw jumped at the opportunity.

As naval agent, Shaw was authorized to issue Letters of Marque, which were essentially licenses for armed merchant vessels to prey upon enemy shipping. Contraband, a.k.a. prizes of war, in the form of muskets, gunpowder, lead, artillery pieces, blankets, uniforms, gold, silver and anything else of value, were seized by these licensed pirates, taken into port, and distributed according to need. Non-military valuables were distributed to the ship-owner, captain and crew. The prizes were considerable—so much so, that most men in the New London area were eager to sign onto privateers, ultimately leaving the area short of soldiers and vulnerable to the British army.

General Washington kept meticulous financial records of all of his expenses throughout the war. According to his records, he paid for overnight accommodations for the night of April 9, 1776, at the Douglass Tavern in New London, the night that he was supposed to have stayed at the Shaw Mansion. Does this mean that the Shaw family legend is false? Not necessarily. The General had a large staff—a staff that needed accommodations somewhere, and there are no records specifying where they stayed. In all probability, Nathaniel Shaw would very likely have insisted that the General stay overnight at the mansion, as an important point of protocol and hospitality. If that were the case, it was very likely that it was the General’s staff that stayed at the Douglass Tavern, rather than the General himself.