Battle of Setauket | |||||||
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Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
The current Setauket Presbyterian Church (built 1812), sits on the site of the Loyalist fortifications | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Great Britain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Samuel Holden Parsons | Richard Hewlett | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
500 Continental Army infantry | 260 Loyalist militia | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 wounded | None |
The Battle of Setauket (August 22, 1777) was a failed attack during the American Revolutionary War on a fortified Loyalist outpost in Setauket, Long Island, New York, by a force of Continental Army troops from Connecticut under the command of Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons.
In an attempt to repeat the success of the earlier Meigs Raid against Sag Harbor, Parsons' force crossed Long Island Sound to attack the Loyalist position. Alerted by spies to the planned assault, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hewlett strongly fortified the local Presbyterian church, surrounding it with a stockade and earthworks. After Hewlett rejected Parsons' demand to surrender, a brief firefight ensued that did no significant damage. Parsons withdrew and returned to Connecticut.
In 1776 the British had qualified success in the American Revolutionary War. 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. [1]
In the spring of 1777 Lieutenant General William Howe launched raiding expeditions against Continental Army and local militia storage depots near the city. A successful raid against Peekskill, New York in March prompted him to organize a more ambitious expedition to raid a depot in Danbury, Connecticut. [2] [3] This expedition, led by William Tryon, the former royal governor of New York, successfully reached Danbury from a landing point in Westport, Connecticut, on April 26, and destroyed provisions and supplies. The Connecticut militia had mobilized, and over the next two days skirmished with the British as they marched back to their ships, most notably on April 27 at Ridgefield. General Samuel Holden Parsons, leading Connecticut's defenses, decided to organize an act of reprisal. [4]
The raid executed with great success by Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs against Sag Harbor on eastern Long Island prompted Parsons to consider further such actions against other Loyalist positions on the island. On August 16, Parsons, whose brigade was stationed at Peekskill, New York, received orders from Major General Israel Putnam authorizing an expedition against Loyalist targets on Long Island. [5] Parsons immediately ordered Colonel Samuel Blachley Webb to muster his regiment, numbering about 500 men, and march to Fairfield, Connecticut. Parsons followed, reaching Fairfield on August 21. [6]
Loyalists recruited from Queens County, New York by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hewlett for the 3rd battalion DeLancey's Brigade had established a fortified position in early August on the central north shore of Long Island at Setauket, just across Long Island Sound from Fairfield. [7] [8] Hewlett's force took over the town's Presbyterian meeting house, which they fortified. When spies informed Hewlett that Parsons was mustering troops at Fairfield, he set his force to improving the defenses, building a breastwork six feet (about 2 meters) high at a distance of 30 feet (9.1 m) all around the meeting house. Upon these works he mounted four small swivel guns. [9]
On the night of August 21, Parsons and Webb set out across Long Island Sound in whaleboats, taking with them a few small brass cannons. Early the next morning they landed at Crane's Neck (in present-day Old Field, just west of Setauket), and marched to Setauket. Finding the Loyalists strongly entrenched, Parsons first sent a truce flag to demand their surrender. Hewlett refused the demand, and the two forces began a three-hour exchange of gunfire. Neither side incurred significant casualties (Colonel Webb reported one man wounded), and the small American cannons failed to make an impression on the fortifications. [9] [10] Concerned that armed British ships in the Sound would hear the battle and come to investigate, Parsons called off the assault and retreated, taking with him a dozen captured horses and some blankets. [11]
The attackers successfully recrossed the Sound, and Parsons assigned Webb's regiment to patrol the Connecticut shore. In December 1777 Parsons, Webb, and Meigs were involved in a more elaborate attempt at taking British military stores at Setauket. This one failed, because rough seas prevented Meigs from crossing, and Webb's boat was captured by a British ship. [12]
Lieutenant Colonel Hewlett was favorably mentioned in general orders for his defense of the post, although it was abandoned several months later. [8] [13] Although Setauket was never again the target of a major expedition, it was frequently the target of small-scale raids. [14] It was also a significant waypoint for intelligence that made its way from American spies in New York to Washington's spy chief, Benjamin Tallmadge. A Setauket native, Tallmadge operated what has since been called the Culper Ring, in which a number of Setauket residents figured prominently. [15]
A Patriot refugee from Long Island, Zachariah Greene, was a member of Parsons' expedition, and later served as minister to the Setauket Presbyterian congregation. A new building was erected on the site in 1812. [16]
A fictionalized portrayal of the battle appears in the season 1 finale of the series Turn: Washington's Spies . In this portrayal, Major Benjamin Tallmadge led the Continental forces against the British garrison led by a Major Edmund Hewlett.[ citation needed ]
Setauket is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population, which at the time included East Setauket as well, was 15,477.
Return Jonathan Meigs was a colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and an early settler of the Northwest Territory. He also served as an Indian agent working with the Cherokee in East Tennessee.
Samuel Holden Parsons was an American lawyer, jurist, general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country. Parsons was described as "Soldier, scholar, judge, one of the strongest arms on which Washington leaned, who first suggested the Continental Congress, from the story of whose life could almost be written the history of the Northern War" by Senator George F. Hoar of Massachusetts
Benjamin Tallmadge was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as leader of the Culper Ring during the war, a celebrated network of spies in New York where major British forces were based. He also led a successful raid across Long Island that culminated in the Battle of Fort St. George. After the war, Tallmadge was elected to the US House of Representatives as a member of the Federalist Party.
The Culper Ring was a network of spies active during the American Revolutionary War, organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General George Washington in 1778 during the British occupation of New York City. The name "Culper" was suggested by George Washington and taken from Culpeper County, Virginia. The leaders of the spy ring were Abraham Woodhull and Robert Townsend, using the aliases of "Samuel Culper Sr." and "Samuel Culper Jr.", respectively; Tallmadge was referred to as "John Bolton".
The 6th Connecticut Regiment was raised on May 1, 1775, at New Haven, Connecticut, as a provincial regiment for the Continental Army. It then became a regiment of the Continental Line on January 1, 1776, designated the 10th Continental Regiment, and a regiment of the Connecticut Line on January 1, 1777, again designated the 6th Connecticut. The regiment saw action at the siege of Boston, the Battle of Long Island, the New York Campaign, and its colonel and company of light infantry served in the Corps of Light Infantry at the Battle of Stony Point. The regiment was merged into the 1st Connecticut Regiment on January 1, 1783, at West Point, New York, and disbanded on November 16, 1783.
The 9th Connecticut Regiment was a regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was first called Webb's Additional Continental Regiment before being added to the Connecticut Line in 1780. It saw action at Setauket in 1777, Rhode Island in 1778, and Springfield, New Jersey, in 1780, and was generally active in the defense of Connecticut, southern New York, and northern New Jersey. It was merged into the reorganized 2nd Connecticut Regiment in January 1781.
The 2nd Continental Light Dragoons, also known as Sheldon's Horse after Colonel Elisha Sheldon, was commissioned by the Continental Congress on 12 December 1776, and was first mustered at Wethersfield, Connecticut, in March 1777 for service with the Continental Army. The regiment consisted of four troops from Connecticut, one troop each largely from Massachusetts and New Jersey, and two companies of light infantry.
The Connecticut Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Connecticut Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Connecticut at various times by the Continental Congress, the size of its allocation determined by the size of its population relative to that of other states. These, together with similarly apportioned contingents from the other twelve states, formed the Continental Line. The concept was particularly important in relation to the promotion of commissioned officers. Officers of the Continental Army below the rank of brigadier general were ordinarily ineligible for promotion except in the line of their own state.
The Meigs Raid 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.
Abraham Woodhull was a leading member of the Culper Spy Ring in New York City and Setauket, New York, during the American Revolutionary War. He used the alias "Samuel Culper", which was a play on Culpeper County, Virginia, and was suggested by George Washington.
The Battle of Ridgefield was a series of American Revolutionary War skirmishes in Danbury, Connecticut and Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Setauket Presbyterian Church and Burial Ground, also known as First Presbyterian Church of Brookhaven, is a historic Presbyterian church and cemetery at 5 Caroline Avenue in the hamlet of Setauket, Suffolk County, New York.
The Battle of Fort St. George was the culmination of a Continental Army raiding expedition led by Benjamin Tallmadge against a fortified Loyalist outpost and storage depot at the Manor St. George on the south coast of Long Island on November 23, 1780, during the American Revolutionary War. Tallmadge's raid was successful; the garrison was surprised, and many provisions and prisoners were taken.
Caleb Brewster was a member of the Culper spy ring during the American Revolutionary War, reporting to General George Washington through Major Benjamin Tallmadge. He carried messages across Long Island Sound between Major Tallmadge and the ring's main spies on Long Island, New York, and in New York City. He also made direct reports to Washington concerning naval activities in the New York City area.
Anna Smith Strong of Setauket, New York was an American Patriot,Anna was one of the few female members of the Culper Spy Ring during the American Revolution. Her perceived main contribution in the ring was to relay signals to a courier who ran smuggling and military missions for General George Washington. No information has been found concerning Anna's activities after the war other than that she and her husband, Selah Strong, lived quietly in Setauket for the rest of their lives. She died on August 12, 1812.
Jonas Hawkins was an American Patriot and a member of the Culper Spy Ring during the American Revolution.
Austin Roe was a member of the Culper Ring, a successful spy network during the American War of Independence that was organized in 1778 by George Washington.
Bethel–Christian Avenue–Laurel Hill Historical District is a Setauket, Long Island, New York neighborhood that was nominated for preservation as an endangered historic site in 2017.
Samuel Blachley Webb (1753–1807) was the commanding officer of the 9th Connecticut Regiment in the American Revolutionary War.