Battle of Freetown

Mount Hope Bay raids
Part of the American Revolutionary War
General Sir Robert Pigot (portrait by Francis Cotes), the organizer of the raids
Date May 25 and 31, 1778 Location Bristol and Warren, Rhode Island; present-day Fall River, Massachusetts (then part of Freetown) Result raids successful
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
William Barton (May 25) Joseph Durfee (May 31)	James Campbell (May 25) Edmund Eyre (May 31)
Strength
May 25: 500 regulars and volunteers May 31: 40 militia	May 25: 500 regulars 2 frigates May 31: 100–150 regulars
Casualties and losses
May 25: 69 civilian prisoners taken May 31: 1 captured	May 25: 11 wounded, 2 captured May 31, at Freetown: 2 killed, 5 wounded May 31, at Bristol Ferry: 2–3 killed, 1–2 wounded

The Mount Hope Bay raids were a series of military raids conducted by British troops during the American Revolutionary War against communities on the shores of Mount Hope Bay on May 25 and 31, 1778. The towns of Bristol and Warren, Rhode Island were significantly damaged, and Freetown, Massachusetts (present-day Fall River) was also attacked, although its militia resisted British activities. The British destroyed military defenses in the area, including supplies that had been cached by the Continental Army in anticipation of an assault on British-occupied Newport, Rhode Island. Homes as well as municipal and religious buildings were also destroyed in the raids.

On May 25, 500 British and Hessian soldiers, under orders from General Sir Robert Pigot, the commander of the British garrison at Newport, Rhode Island, landed between Bristol and Warren, destroyed boats and other supplies, and plundered Bristol. Local resistance was minimal and ineffective in stopping the British activities. Six days later, 100 soldiers descended on Freetown, where less damage was done because local defenders prevented the British from crossing a bridge.

In December 1776, after completing the conquest of New York City, British Lieutenant General William Howe detached a body of troops from his army which occupied Newport, Rhode Island without significant opposition. The Newport garrison came under the command of Brigadier General Sir Robert Pigot when the original commander, Brigadier General Richard Prescott, was captured in the summer of 1777 in a daring commando operation led by Continental Army Major and Warren, Rhode Island, native William Barton.

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