Ancestral Valor: My Family’s 4th of July Legacy

Their vessels kept the British from claiming our coast — and history nearly forgot them.

Ancestral Valor: My Family’s 4th of July Legacy
Their vessels kept the British from claiming our coast — and history nearly forgot them.

Here are two of the Warships commanded by my family as Captains fighting against the British at the war of Independence. The first one (depicted at the end of this article), was Commanded by Capt William Nott was given license to attack the British, block and capture what they could, on July 2nd 1776.

The two Captains of these vessels were brothers (the Nott Brothers): Capt. John Nott and Capt. William Nott.

It's written in the Connecticut state history books "Captain John Nott was the first Master and was commander of a war vessel (the Brig of War America) on Long Island Sound (main coastal theatre they occupied) in 1777." The "Brig of War America" was a larger 3 masted ship with 16 canons, of the same type as the "Brig of War Defense".

While Capt. William commanded the smaller speedier vessel called the Broom Sloop (with 8 canons).

I will make a little video on their endeavors and background. Each point is critiqued with best records and not misquoting. As I would not want to overstate anything. However, the histories wrote us as an elite Connecticut Militia family. My line descends directly from their younger brother Thomas Nott who was a soldier/artilleryman at many key battles.

Their own father (John) was also a Captain, as was also their uncle (Gershom Nott). On Gershom's gravestone and other records is written as an "Eminent and Respectable Sea Captain".

Their grandfather John Nott was a victorious commander against the Pequot Indians in the great New England War. This line of the Nott family is specifically chronicled in the encyclopedias as a descendant of a Noble, formerly ruling, Saxon Royal Dynasty. This family had other rights against the current British family. The family were for generations as the representatives to the continental governments and representatives of the General Court. John Nott also gave the order for drawing the borders of (New) Glastonbury Connecticut and calling up it's first militia (shortly after the Pequot war).

While the rest of the states were split on whether or not to do any fighting against the British, Connecticut was united and was carrying the load. Connecticut was the first state to launch their own navy. It's not called "the Constitution state" for nothing. They drafted America's first constitution, and it didn't mention any earthly king but it's main text described our "Perpetual union" as with "one aim, the advancement of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and maintaining the purity of the Gospel".

Connecticut didn't wait around, and we used what industry we had to charge ahead (mostly private owned vessels). If it wasn't for our Captains (and the highly regarded Nott Brothers) getting out there into the theatre of "Long Island Sound", the British would have controlled the entire coastline. Critical supplies and troop movements would have been stopped, and Britain would have been able to penetrate the heart of the resistance.

(Genealogy is Certified by the strict team of genealogists at the Sons of American Revolution, as well as at the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the more strict Officer's order "Military Order of the Stars and Bars" with each generation with marriage licenses and other official proof beyond any doubts.)