Battle of Norwalk

Monument commemorating the Battle of West Rocks in Norwalk, Connecticut

Date	July 12, 1779
Location	Norwalk, Connecticut
Result	Destruction of all properties in Norwalk except six houses

Belligerents

Thirteen Colonies

Great Britain

Commanders and leaders

Brig. General Samuel Parsons, Colonel Samuel Whiting

William Tryon, Thomas Garth

Strength

800

2,500

Casualties and losses

20 killed, 96 wounded, 23 missing

The Battle of Norwalk (also known as the Battle of West Rocks or Battle of the Rocks) was a series of skirmishes between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. The attack was one part of a series of raids on coastal Connecticut towns collectively known as Tryon's raid. The battle was fought in Norwalk, Connecticut on July 12, 1779. 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot of Great Britain commanded by Major General William Tryon arrived on July 10, 1779. They marched in a two pronged attack on both sides of the Norwalk River. They followed a path along what is today East and West Avenues burning everything along the way. Only six houses within the business district at Head of River were spared.

On July 9, 1799 Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons, of the Continental Army, was in Redding, Connecticut where he had been sent by Commander-in Chief George Washington to assess the situation and take charge of the militia in case of further raids, as Washington and General Oliver Wolcott felt that Norwalk would be the next target of the British. Parsons also urgently appealed to Brigadier General John Glover of the Continental Army to bring his brigade to Norwalk from where he was camped in New London, Connecticut.

On Saturday July 10 at 2:00pm the British fleet, including the flagship HMS Camilla (1776) and the HMS Hussar (1763), left Huntington Bay, New York and crossed Long Island Sound to Norwalk. Around 5 that afternoon the fleet anchored outside the Norwalk Islands and troops began rowing ashore. At about the same time, the "Hussar" entered the Norwalk River to cover the landing of troops and destroy whatever shipping was to be found.

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Wikipedia