Jeremiah Holmes (1782-1872) was born in what is now North Stonington and spent several years with relatives in Norwich, New York, after his father died. He went to sea in 1800, was imprisoned when the ship he was in traded illegally on the coast of Brazil, returning home by way of Lisbon. After a West Indies voyage he sailed on a whaling voyage to the west coast of South America, then joined a British whaler. A French privateer captured the whaler, and in July 1804 Holmes ended up on the island of St. Helena and was impressed aboard HMS Trident. After three years on HMS Saturn and several other British warships, where he learned to handle cannons, Holmes escaped and returned to America in 1807. He settled in Mystic and married Ann Denison (1784-1873) in 1809. He then engaged in transatlantic trade and coasting trade on the Southern coast, sometimes as mate under Captain Simeon Haley. In June 1813, Holmes helped arm the grounded sloop Victory in the Mystic River and drive off attacking British barges. In March 1814 Holmes commanded the private armed boat Young Hornet, which made unsuccessful attempts to attack HMS Endymion and La Hogue with torpedoes (floating mines) off New London, and later in Vineyard Sound. With the support of his wife, he also managed the guns of the defensive battery on Pistol Point in Mystic. During the Battle of Stonington, he arrived on the second day and assumed command of the two 18-pound cannons defending the village, driving off British barges and severely damaging HMS Dispatch. When Mystic celebrated peace in February 1815, Ann Denison Holmes loaded and fired a cannon to remind the men of the women's contributions. After the war, Jeremiah Holmes owned and commanded many vessels out of Mystic.
Jeremiah Holmes (1782-1872) was born in what is now North Stonington and spent several years with relatives in Norwich, New York, after his father died. He went to sea in 1800, was imprisoned when the ship he was in traded illegally on the coast of Brazil, returning home by way of Lisbon. After a West Indies voyage he sailed on a whaling voyage to the west coast of South America, then joined a British whaler. A French privateer captured the whaler, and in July 1804 Holmes ended up on the island of St. Helena and was impressed aboard HMS Trident. After three years on HMS Saturn and several other British warships, where he learned to handle cannons, Holmes escaped and returned to America in 1807. He settled in Mystic and married Ann Denison (1784-1873) in 1809. He then engaged in transatlantic trade and coasting trade on the Southern coast, sometimes as mate under Captain Simeon Haley. In June 1813, Holmes helped arm the grounded sloop Victory in the Mystic River and drive off attacking British barges. In March 1814 Holmes commanded the private armed boat Young Hornet, which made unsuccessful attempts to attack HMS Endymion and La Hogue with torpedoes (floating mines) off New London, and later in Vineyard Sound. With the support of his wife, he also managed the guns of the defensive battery on Pistol Point in Mystic. During the Battle of Stonington, he arrived on the second day and assumed command of the two 18-pound cannons defending the village, driving off British barges and severely damaging HMS Dispatch. When Mystic celebrated peace in February 1815, Ann Denison Holmes loaded and fired a cannon to remind the men of the women's contributions. After the war, Jeremiah Holmes owned and commanded many vessels out of Mystic.
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