Some men from Mystic lured a British barge to Groton Long Point on August 12, 1814, the day after the British attacked Stonington, gaining themselves 2,600 dollars in prize money. The men in Mystic captured a sloop, the cargo of which they later sold for 6,000 dollars. Seventeen Mystic men also tried out a new weapon called the spar torpedo to rid themselves of the British blockade. They brought the torpedo from New York; it was long, in diameter, and had a crossbar at one end. The men failed to sink . On their first attempt, the torpedo went into the water; on the second attempt, the explosive caught on "Ramillies" cable and exploded. All the men made it safely to the shore while being fired at by the British ship and the American sentries at Eastern Point.