Battle of Groton Heights

Battle of Groton Heights
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Fort Griswold on Groton Heights, across the Thames River from New London.
Date September 6, 1781 Location New London and Groton, Connecticut 41°21′13″N 72°04′46″W / 41.35361°N 72.07944°W / 41.35361; -72.07944 (Battle of Groton Heights) Result British victory
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain Hesse-Kassel
Commanders and leaders
William Ledyard † William Latham	Benedict Arnold Edmund Eyre John Bazely
Strength
New London: Unknown Fort Griswold: 150 regulars[1]	1,700 regulars (800 engaged at Fort Griswold)[2]
Casualties and losses
85 killed 60 wounded (many mortally)[3]	52 killed 145 wounded[3]

The Battle of Groton Heights (also known as the Battle of Fort Griswold, and occasionally called the Fort Griswold massacre) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 6, 1781 between a small Connecticut militia force led by Lieutenant Colonel William Ledyard and the more numerous British forces led by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold and Lieutenant Colonel Edmund Eyre.

Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton ordered Arnold to raid the port of New London, Connecticut, in an unsuccessful attempt to divert General George Washington from marching against Lord Cornwallis's army in Virginia. The raid was a success, but the Connecticut militia stubbornly resisted British attempts to capture Fort Griswold across the Thames River in Groton, Connecticut. New London was burned along with several ships, but many more ships escaped upriver.

Several leaders of the attacking British force were killed or seriously wounded, but the British eventually breached the fort. As the British entered the fort the Americans surrendered, but the British continued firing and killed many of the defenders. However, the high number of British casualties in the overall expedition against Groton and New London led to criticism of Arnold by some of his superiors. The battle was the last major military encounter of the war in the northern United States, preceding and being overshadowed by the decisive Franco-American Siege of Yorktown about six weeks later.