On December 19, 1776, a British naval captain stationed in Newport, Rhode Island made a matter-of-fact entry into his logbook stating that he had passed along an order to Captain Macartney of the Royal Navy’s HMS Abuscade from General Henry Clinton to proceed with 10 transports “to Shelter Island, near the East-End of Long Island, to get wood.” That single line, preserved in a captain’s log, marks the first documented moment in which Shelter Island’s forests became a critical wartime resource for an occupying army. From that day forward, the British repeatedly crossed Long Island Sound to cut and carry away the island’s timber, transforming Shelter Island, and what is now known as Sylvester Manor, into an unintentional supply depot during the American Revolution.
Below we will explore the stories behind these entries, following the threads across diaries, naval records, committee minutes, and local correspondence to understand how our small island became entangled in a global conflict, shaping the landscape, the local community, and the fate of families like the Derings who once called Sylvester Manor home.
Though separated from the mainland by water, Shelter Island was not remote enough to escape the war. British commanders immediately recognized that the island’s dense forests, proximity to Newport, and deep-water anchorages made it an ideal source of firewood—a resource in constant short supply among British and Hessian troops quartered in Rhode Island and eastern Long Island.
But by early 1777, the Continental side had taken notice. On January 11, Connecticut’s patriot Governor Jonathan Trumbull wrote urgently to naval officers on the privateer Brig Defence that “the Enemy are cutting and loading wood on Shelter Island,” urging them to consult with armed vessels in New London to disrupt the raids, however the foraging continued through multiple winters.
British officer Captain Frederick Mackenzie, stationed in Newport, recorded entry after entry describing wood shortages and the dangerous missions undertaken to supply the garrison. On March 28, 1778, he noted:
“The wood party consisting of 100 men… embarked on board the fleet going to Shelter Island for wood for the garrison.”
Other entries make clear that these expeditions were routine, and not without peril. Mackenzie recorded another incident in November 1777, when three vessels of the “Wood Fleet” including the frigate HMS Syren, with 28 guns and a crew of about 140, ran aground at Point Judith, Rhode Island en route to Shelter Island. The British fruitless efforts to save the Syren from capture by the Rhode Island militia, however the ship’s entire crew was ultimately captured, underscoring both the importance of the mission and the risks involved.
The pressure on coastal communities began even earlier. In the summer of 1775, as tensions escalated, East End committees urgently petitioned for military support. A July letter from Southampton warned that livestock on Montauk, Gardiner’s Island, Plumb Island, Shelter Island, and Oyster Ponds were extremely vulnerable to British raids:
“Gardiner’s island lies adjacent, and is much exposed, also Shelter Island, Plumb Island and Oysterpond point…”
Only a month later, Colonel Phineas Fanning of Southold reported that a fleet of thirteen British vessels had anchored off Gardiner’s Island and immediately began seizing stock, noting the likelihood of a descent upon “Shelter Island or upon all of them.”
Connecticut and Rhode Island quickly followed with their own letters urging the removal of livestock from the Sound’s outer islands and recommending the deployment of whale boats and militia forces. In late September 1775, the New York Committee of Safety warned that ships seen off Cape Cod were likely destined for eastern Suffolk County “for the purpose of getting more stock,” and asked that copies be sent to Southold and Shelter Island, signaling the entire region’s rising alarm.
These early documents paint a picture of an island community under pressure even before the wood shortages of 1776–1778 created a new and more destructive set of challenges.
Among the Shelter Island families most deeply affected were Thomas and Mary Dering and their sons, Henry and Sylvester, daughter Elizabeth and the enslaved people they held in bondage. Living at what is today Sylvester Manor, the Derings found themselves squarely in the path of a war they could not control.
Fearing British occupation and unable to defend their property, the Derings fled to Connecticut, becoming wartime refugees. In their absence, British forces used the Manor lands—and much of Shelter Island—as a wood lot, cutting several thousands cords of timber to heat barracks and ovens in Newport where their troops were garrisoned.
After the war when the family returned to Shelter Island in 1783, Thomas Dering estimated that the British had taken over 3,300 cords of wood from his land alone, a number determined by Dering by calculating the size of the vessels loaded and the number of estimated times that the British wood transports left the island. The scale of this loss is staggering: it represented years of labor, generations of tree growth, and a financial blow that reverberated through the family’s accounts long after peace returned. These wood losses also changed the ecological character of parts of the island, altering its forests and land use patterns in ways still visible today.
Shelter Island and Sylvester Manor were occupied at various points during the war, largely because of its timber supply. Though small, the island’s position made it strategically valuable not only to the British but also to the Patriots, who sought to prevent the enemy from using local provisions.
On April 9, 1778, British Naval Captain Walter Griffith, R.N. wrote from on board the Nonsuch off Newport to the Secretary of the Admiralty Philip Stephens
The Mermaid & Sphynx are Sail’d under my Orders to Convey & protect Seven Transports to Shelter Island (near Long-Island) for the purpose of Wooding for the use of the Troops here; A large Ship under French Colours (seeming to be an Old Indiaman) is arrived in the adjacent (Rebel) Port of New-London, (which may soon be fitted out) makes two Frigates Necessary on this Service, one to attend the Party, the other to be without to prevent any annoyance from the Sea, the Situation being such as to admit of it.
This and other records were compiled by the U.S. Department of the Navy over 40 years into 13 volumes titled Naval Documents of the American Revolution. These records illustrate the dynamic and often tense exchanges between the British Navy and local residents. They also show the rapid communication networks among Long Island, Connecticut, and Rhode Island committees—evidence of how seriously both sides regarded the island.
Throughout the conflict, Shelter Island functioned as:
Today, when visitors walk the grounds of Sylvester Manor or look across the quiet waters of Gardiner’s Bay, it is easy to imagine the island as far removed from the turbulence of the Revolutionary War. Yet the documentary record reminds us that Shelter Island was tightly woven into the conflict with its forests felled, livestock seized, families displaced, and harbor waters crossed constantly by both British and American forces.
The story of December 19, 1776 is not just about a single log entry in a naval journal. It is a window into how global events ripple outward into local places. It connects our community to a wider history of resilience, loss, adaptation, and survival.
Most importantly, it underscores a truth that those of us who love Shelter Island have long known: this small island has always been part of a much larger story.
Burnet Miller, Chairman. Letter from the Committee of East and Southampton to the New York Provincial Congress, July 5, 1775. In Naval Documents of the American Revolution, vol. 1, 70. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1964.
Fanning, Phineas. Letter to P. V. B. Livingston, Oyster Ponds, August 8, 1775. In Naval Documents of the American Revolution, vol. 1, 54–55. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1964.
Gurdon Saltonstall, Chairman. Letter to the Committees of Correspondence and Inspection of Kings County, Rhode Island, New London, August 15, 1775. In Naval Documents of the American Revolution, vol. 1, 267–268. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1964.
Mackenzie, Frederick. Diary of Frederick Mackenzie, Giving a Daily Narrative of His Military Service as an Officer of the Regiment of Royal Welch Fusiliers during the years 1775–1781 in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York. Edited by A. G. Bradley. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1930.
Minutes of the New York Committee of Safety, September 25, 1775. In Naval Documents of the American Revolution, vol. 2. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1966.
New York Provincial Congress. “Letter Regarding Movements of the Ministerial Fleet.” In Naval Documents of the American Revolution, vol. 1.
Trumbull, Jonathan. Letter to Naval Officers at New London, January 11, 1777. In Naval Documents of the American Revolution, series reference.
Sir Peter Parker, Newport Station. Ship’s Log entry noting order from General Clinton “to go to Shelter Island for wood,” December 19, 1776. National Archives UK
Thomas Dering to Levinius Clarkson, April 7, 1785 & Thomas Dering to Lane & Booth of London, May 8, 1785. Thomas Dering’s estimate of wartime timber loss (est. 3,300 cords), The Dering Letters, Volume 2, Patricia and Edward Shillingburg, 2014
