Northeast Cold Case

New London, Connecticut didn’t just witness the American Revolution—it absorbed it. In the fall of 1776, boats began crossing Long Island Sound, carrying families fleeing British occupation. Within months, this thriving port town was transformed by an influx of refugees seeking safety, work, and a future.

In Episode Three of Revolutionary Refugees, we step into New London at the moment it changed—through town records, church documents, and firsthand accounts. Who arrived? How were they received? And what happens to a community already strained by war when hundreds more suddenly need shelter?

This is the story of a harbor that became a lifeline—and a town that would never be the same.