Attack of the HMS Nimrod: Wareham and the War of 1812

On the morning of June 13, 1814, the British warship HMS Nimrod attacked the town of Wareham, Massachusetts. As a center for shipbuilding and iron, Wareham was a perfect target for the British fleet. When the lead barge deceptively appeared with a white flag at its bow, Wareham never suspected anything but a truce and was ill prepared for the attack. A raiding party with six barges and two hundred men burned the town’s cotton mill, destroyed its vessels and took its citizens as hostages. When Nimrod tried to flee the shores, it ran aground and had to throw its cannons and guns overboard in order to lighten its load and sail away. Wareham was left smoldering in its wake. Follow authors J. North Conway and Jesse Dubuc as they trace the attack from the initial spotting of the British fleet to the discovery of the lost Nimrod cannons.