Meigs Raid

The "Old Burial Ground", which adjoins the Whaler's Church on Meeting House Hill, was a site of battle in the raid

Belligerents

Commanders and leaders

James Raymond (POW)

Strength

Expedition: 234
Assault: 130

Garrison: 70 men
1 armed schooner (personnel unknown)

12 small boats (about 40 men)

Casualties and losses

None

6 killed
90 captured
12 small boats sunk

Garrison: 70 men
1 armed schooner (personnel unknown)

The Meigs Raid (also known as the Battle of Sag Harbor) was a military raid by American Continental Army forces, under the command of Connecticut Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs, on a British Loyalist foraging party at Sag Harbor, New York on May 24, 1777 during the American Revolutionary War. Six Loyalists were killed and 90 captured while the Americans suffered no casualties. The raid was made in response to a successful British raid on Danbury, Connecticut in late April that was opposed by American forces in the Battle of Ridgefield.

Organized in New Haven, Connecticut by Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons, the expedition crossed Long Island Sound from Guilford on May 23, dragged whaleboats across the North Fork of Long Island, and raided Sag Harbor early the next morning, destroying boats and supplies. The battle marked the first American victory in the state of New York after New York City and Long Island had fallen in the British campaign for the city in 1776.

The American Revolutionary War was a qualified success for the British in 1776. After being forced to abandon Boston, they captured New York City, but were unable to hold New Jersey when General George Washington surprised them at Trenton and Princeton. The British consolidated their hold on New York City and Long Island during the winter months of early 1777, while the Continental Army established a land blockade around the city in New Jersey, southern New York, and southwestern Connecticut.