A retaliatory American raid on British-held Sag Harbor destroyed supplies and captured 90 Loyalists with zero American casualties during the Revolutionary War.
Key Facts
- Date
- May 24, 1777
- Loyalists captured
- 90 persons
- Loyalists killed
- 6 persons
- American casualties
- 0 persons
- Departure point
- Guilford, Connecticut, across Long Island Sound
- Organized by
- Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons, New Haven
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In late April 1777, a British raid on Danbury, Connecticut destroyed American supplies and was only partly checked at the Battle of Ridgefield. American commanders sought a retaliatory strike to disrupt British foraging operations on Long Island and restore offensive momentum.
Organized in New Haven by Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons, the expedition under Connecticut Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs crossed Long Island Sound from Guilford on May 23, dragged whaleboats across the North Fork of Long Island, and struck Sag Harbor before dawn on May 24, 1777, destroying boats and military stores held by a British Loyalist foraging party.
The raid resulted in six Loyalists killed and 90 captured, with no American losses. The destruction of British boats and supplies at Sag Harbor demonstrated that Continental forces could mount effective offensive operations behind British lines on Long Island, boosting American morale after the Danbury setback.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Return Jonathan Meigs, Samuel Holden Parsons.
Side B
1 belligerent