American Revolution: Arnold Strikes at New London!

September 6, 1781 - Brigadier General Benedict Arnold attacks New London, CT, and wins the Battle of Groton Heights. In an effort to distract American forces and destroy a den of privateering, General Sir Henry Clinton dispatched a raid to New London, CT in September 1781. Commanded by Connecticut native and American traitor Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, the British landed outside the town on the morning of September 6. Advancing up both sides of the Thames River, Arnold burned the town while his other column advanced Fort Griswold and Groton Heights. Undermanned, the fort's garrison consisted of 164 militia under Colonel William Ledyard. After refusing the British demand to surrender, his garrison was attacked by 800 men under Lt. Colonel Edmund Eyre. Though his troops inflicted heavy casualties on the British, the fort was overrun and Ledyard ordered his men to surrender. American accounts state that after surrendering, Ledyard was killed and that the British began massacring the prisoners. There is no record of this in British sources.