Stonington is a town located on Long Island Sound in New London County, Connecticut, United States.
The town Selectmen replied with a note which stated, "We shall defend the place to the last extremity; should it be destroyed, we shall perish in its ruins.
"[7] Hardy's squadron then bombarded Stonington for three days using stinkpots, while American forces in the town responded by firing at the British warships with two 18-pounder cannons.
The only American casualty from the bombardment was an elderly woman who was already mortally ill, while Hardy's squadron suffered several killed and wounded before sailing away on August 12.
[8] American poet Philip Freneau wrote: The bombardiers with bomb and ball Soon made a farmer's barrack fall, And did a cow-house badly maul That stood a mile from Stonington.
But some assert, on certain grounds, (Beside the damage and the wounds), It cost the king ten thousand pounds To have a dash at Stonington.
[9] From the 1790s onward, Stonington experienced an economic upturn as its harbor became home to a fleet of American merchant ships engaged in seal hunting, targeting whales off the Patagonian coastline and selling their skins in China.
During the 19th century, Stonington supported a small fishing, whaling, and sealing fleet that carried out trade with the West Indies—with enough volume for it to be made a port of entry in 1842.
The town has undergone a widespread reconditioning of these homes since the mid-1990s, when an altercation over property rights attracted substantial news coverage about Stonington's revitalization.
Stonington has been used for several on-location movie shoots, including Steven Spielberg's Amistad and Julia Roberts' Mystic Pizza.
It was used extensively for Hope Springs, with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones filming scenes in Stonington Borough.