Wooden Boat Wednesday: The British Attack - Again! (1813)

Welcome to another Wooden Boat Wednesday!

'Round these parts, the British attack of Toms River takes up a good deal of attention and ink, when considering the Revolutionary War.

So, to change things up a bit, how about a different attack by the British, in a different war?

Below we share a letter published in the April 6th, 1813 edition of The Evening Post (out of New York City) outlining one such event during the War of 1812, which was fought until 1815:

Extract of a letter from New Mills, to a gentlemen in Trenton, dated April 1st, 1813.

I have this moment, 5 o'clock, P. M. received a letter from Major Maril, our manager at Farrago Forge [later spelled by historians as Ferrago Forge] on Cedar-Creek, eight miles from Forked River, in the county of Monmouth [later, Ocean], stating that a large English ship came abreast of Barnegat Inlet yesterday, and immediately despatched four barges crowded with men into the bay, who sunk, burnt or destroyed, five coasting vessels, the most of them belonging to Forked-River; one of which had just arrived from N. York, loaded with iron ore, for Dover Forge on Cedar Creek. They then landed on Island Beach, shot and butchered all the cattle eatable on it [cattle often being brought to the barrier islands to graze], and carried them off; after which they stood on to the northward in a direction for Toms River, with a view it is conjectured of destroying the coasting craft there, and at the mouth of Cedar Creek—A number of persons with glasses [binoculars], had a full view of them, and their depredations, from the top of C. Parker's house at Forked River; the flames of the burning vessels were distinctly seen in the night along the Bay—There is nothing to hinder them from destroying every coasting vessel in this Bay, amounting to more than fifty sail, belonging to different ports or landings from Wire-Town [alternately and later known as Waretown] to Toms-River; 7c. which will be a most serious loss to that part of the state of New-Jersey, and cannot fail to bring down the just indignation of the sufferers upon the heads of the authors of this ruinous war.”

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