Northern Theater of The American Revolutionary War After Saratoga - Coastal Actions

Coastal Actions

The northern coast did not see a great deal of military action after 1777, although the British executed a series of raids against the coastal communities of Connecticut and Massachusetts, and there was occasional skirmishing.

The arrival off New York of a French fleet in July 1778 caused a flurry of activity. Major General John Sullivan had earlier been sent to Rhode Island to organize an attack on British-occupied Newport. The British raided his supply caches, as well as destroying military defenses and significantly damaging several communities on Mount Hope Bay. Sullivan's efforts became part of the first major attempt at Franco-American cooperation after the idea of an attack on New York was rejected. Marred by bad weather and poor communication, French troops arrived but were not used, and the Americans, while in retreat after a brief failed siege effort at Newport, fought an inconclusive battle with British forces in the Battle of Rhode Island. General Clinton marshalled troops from New York intending to support the New York garrison, but he arrived off Newport after the Americans had been driven off. Clinton instead ordered these troops on a raid (also led by General Grey) against New Bedford, Massachusetts and Martha's Vineyard in September 1778. He also ordered a series of raids on the Connecticut coast led by William Tryon in 1779. The most devastating raid was against New London in 1781, led by turncoat British General Benedict Arnold.

In the summer of 1778 British military planners in London began to develop plans for a new Loyalist settlement in Penobscot Bay. An expedition was organized in early 1779, and on May 30, a fleet carrying troops and supplies left Halifax, Nova Scotia. Arriving about two weeks later, the British established a series of fortifications on the east side of the bay. The State of Massachusetts organized an expedition to drive the British out with minimal support from the Continental Congress. This expedition ended in disaster, with the entire fleet destroyed and nearly half the expedition's men killed, captured, or wounded. It was the worst defeat of an American naval force until the 20th century. Failure of the expedition was attributed to a lack of well-defined command between the land and naval components, and Commodore Dudley Saltonstall's unwillingness to engage the British fleet that arrived in relief.