April 28 – July 21, 2002
The cannonball shot by Benedict Arnold into a yard near Westport’s Red Barn restaurant came to rest in a glass case at the exhibit, “The Bridge Not Taken: Benedict Arnold Outwitted,” at the Westport Historical Society. It’s not the only relic of the era displayed in the exhibit that opened on April 28, 2002, the 225th anniversary of the Battle of Compo Hill. Several collectors enriched the exhibit with original documents, weaponry and uniforms and an outstanding pewter collection. In addition, three artist painted their visions of the landing of the British at Cedar Point.
To commemorate the soldiers and all the inhabitants who endured the British Raid of April, 1777, the Historical Society hosted a series of events over a nine-day period culminating in the publication on April 28th of “The Bridge Not Taken: Benedict Arnold Outwitted,” by Damon Greenleaf Douglas. The exhibit featured a copy of the British chief engineer’s map of the raid on Danbury and explains the book’s premise that Arnold let the invaders slip through his fingers.
Oil on canvas by Robert Penn Lambdin (1886-1981)
courtesy of the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection.
The painting shows the British Landing at Cedar Point, April 25, 1777.
About the Book – The Bridge Not Taken: Benedict Arnold Outwitted
Benedict Arnold, the renowned tactician, was still on our side when he made the wrong tactical call in April, 1777, in what is now Westport. The evidence of his misjudgment came to light through painstaking research by Damon Douglas, a surveyor living in Wilton, who chanced upon an historic plaque at the fording place in the Saugatuck River.
The plaque marks where nearly 2000 British soldiers on full battle regalia waded across the river. They didn’t take the bridge just downstream and Douglas wanted to know why. He found and wrote the answer in a 102-page micro-history that goes beyond his first question to create the absorbing narrative that enriches our store of historical literature.
Foreword by Richard Buel Jr.
“Damon Douglas traces in meticulous detail the route taken by the 1800-man force under Tryon’s command between the afternoon of April 25, 1777, when it landed on Cedar Point in what is now Westport, to its re-embarkation there late in the afternoon of the 28th… There have been other histories of the raid, but none as geographically precise as this one… Douglas’s micro-history explains how the British avoided what could have turned into a major disaster for them in the final hours of their incursion and, in doing so, also tells an exciting tale.”
Damon Greenleaf Douglas
Damon Greenleaf Douglas graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree and a Master of Science in the History of Science. He is currently a Professional Land Surveyor with Redniss and Mead in Stamford, Connecticut. His professional interest in maps and mapping carries over to his avocation as an orienteer. He has won several United States age group championships in orienteering and served as coach of the United States and Spanish National Orienteering Teams.
Photos from “The British Are Coming!” Activities
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