Abigail Merwin (1759–1786) was a young lady in colonial era Connecticut who, in an action similar to the celebrated call to arms by Paul Revere, alerted American forces of the approach of British forces. She was a descendant of Miles Merwin (1623-1697) one of the early residents of Milford and for whom Merwins Point and Merwins Pond in Milford, Connecticut are named.
On August 25, 1777, Merwin was hanging the wash outside of her home in Milford, Connecticut, when she saw rowboats bearing British troops from the warship HMS Swan, which was docked in Milford Harbor. Merwin gathered her 18-month-old child into a horse-drawn wagon and sped into Milford, where she banged a wooden spoon against a metal pot to alert the townspeople of the coming invaders. Her actions enabled the local militia to gather their weapons and successfully repel the invaders, while the local farmers were able to herd their cattle to a safe meadow.
The Captain's log of the “Swan” reads: “At 4 AM came too (sic) Sm. Br. in 7 fs. water, Milford Church NWBW 2 Miles, off shore 1 Mile. Sent boats on Shore Mand & Armd to bring of some cattle. At 7 the boats Returned got no Cattle.” (punctuation added).
source: Milford Hall of Fame induction of Abigail Merwin, 2011. Joseph B. Barnes, Esq., Chairman of the Hall of Fame writer's committee.
References
- Meg Barone (April 25, 2009). "Female Paul Revere rides again in Milford". Connecticut Post On. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
- Herbert F. Geller (1976). A Fight for Liberty: Southwestern Connecticut's Role in the American Revolution. Post Publishing Co. p. 31.