New Britain herald., 1930-04-26
Hessians Rendered Useless After Reaching Rum Supply-Americans Ral- lied and Nearly Drove Invaders Into Sea.


 during the Revolutionary war, an expedition which was destined to weaken the American cause in sev- eral vital respects but which came near to ending in a disastrous tiasco for the forces of King George III.
 Connecticut, lying close to the American forces which watched the English army of occupation in New York city throughout the Revolu- ton, became almost the backbone of those forces by supplying them with foodstuffs which enabled them to continue their campaign, and the state became known as the "Provi- sion State.' It also law open to the British, who controlled Long Island Sound, and they took advantage of this to mako frequent raids upon the various cities along the shore and in the southern portion of the state in order to achieve the double purpose of destroying food which was destined for the patriots and of frightening the residents into de- sertion of the American cause.
 Many Raids On Connecticut
 New Haven, Fairfield, New Lon- don, Norwalk, and other places knew the tramp of British feet and the flames of the Briton-applied torch, and in the spring of 1777 the at that time little village of about 2,600 inhabitants and was well sit uated to be d center of supply to the continental troops outside New York. But, of all the inland towns, it was the most accessible to a force landed from the Sound, and early in 1777 General Clinton decided to raid the place and destroy any sup plies stored there.
 A series of well conceived and ex- ecuted raids of this type would pos sibly have injured the colonists' cause considerably, as they would have reduced the supplies of the forces which later that summer were called upon to stop Burgoyne's invasion from Canada and the threatening juncture of his army with one from New York, cutting the colonies in two. But the Dan bury raid. like Burgoyne's later and better known one to Bennington, came a cropper due to the usual bungling which characterized Brit ish leadership during the Revolution and to the promptness with which the Americans rallied. And the us- ual inefficiency of the Hessian mer- cenaries was another contributing cause.
 Americans Rally Quickly
 On April "A, then, Governor Tryon set out from New York with six ships of war and 5000 soldiers, Brit lsh and Hessian. Two thousand of these were put ashore that night near the mouth of the Saugatuck river, east of Norwalk. But the Americans learned of this eXpedi- tion and guessed it's objective. Gen eral Benedict Arnold, who later turned traitoR and General Wooster hurried out of New Haven with what few men they could muster at moments notice and despite heavy rain, made hurried marches to Red ding, and joined another force there under General Silliman, but even with this reinforcement the defend CTS numbered only 700. This small body continued on to Bethel and encamped there on the 26th.
 On the afternoon of the same day the British appeared before Dan- bury, and the inhabitants fled be- fore their approach The advance of the British was barely retarded by some 50 soldiers and perhaps twice as many raw militamen, and the invaders swept on through the town to begin their work of destroy ing supplies and spreading terror.
 Demon Rum K. O.'s Hessians
 But the Hessians ran true to their storied form and, after finding the rum supply, proceeded to concen- trate their destructive operations upon the drinking of the entire quantity. They did such good job that they were soon unfit for any service, and Tryon had to call halt to activities for the night.
 By morning word of the approach ing American force had reached his ears, and the British commander en- deavored to prepare to meet it. But the German mcrccnaries were in ths throes of one grand collective "hang- over' and were totally unfit for fighting. So the houses of the Tories were marked to prevent their shar- ing in the destruction. 19 stores and houses were fired, and the invaders beat a befuddlcd but nasty retreat, taking care not to come within strik- ing distance of the Americans at Bethel.
 British Nearly Trapped
 But the Americans were ready for a bridge in the/path of the retreat, while Wooster took 200 of the Amer leans and set out in pursuit Arnold, with the balance of the defenders, headed for Ridgefield to deliver final attack. The British came up to the spot where the bridge had been and, unable to get across, sat down for mess. Whereupon Wooster caught up to them and attacked without warning, capturing 40 pris- oners.
 The British. now finding them selves in somewhat the position they had been after the battles of Lex ington and Concord, set out on struggling and badly disorganized flight to their fleet. Wooster over took them again near Ridgefiel1 just before noon and again attack ed, but this time he was fatally wounded as he led the advance.
 Arnold Kills Assailait
 Arnold's 500 men were now on hand to threaten the British from the flank, and Tryon turned his ar tillery upon chem in a vain effort to drive them off. The British then charged and killed a number Of esies: i.a IL, di i,as l,al6a.,6sl A is.ass