Mortar shell fired in the Battle of Stonington

This mortar shell, fired by HMS Terror during the Battle of Stonington, is one of two now flanking the entrance to the grounds of the town’s library. It functioned as a bomb. Bombs contained gunpowder and were intended to explode and scatter iron shrapnel. A British officer from the Terror claimed they fired 170 mortar rounds while Stonington residents estimated about 300, with a total weight of 50 tons. (Courtesy of Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT; Photographer: Dennis Murphy)