Battle of Norwalk The Battle of Norwalk ( also Battle of West Rocks or Battle of the Rocks ) was a series of skirmishes between American and British forces during the American Revolutionary War . The attack was one part of a series of raids on coastal Connecticut towns collectively known as Tryon ' s raid . The main battle was fought in Norwalk , Connecticut on July 12 , 1779 . British forces under General William Tryon arrived on July 10 , 1779 . They marched in a two pronged attack on either side of the Norwalk River . They followed a path along what is today East and West Avenues burning everything along the way . Only six houses within the business district at Head of River were spared . On July 9 General Samuel H . Parsons was in Redding where he had been sent by General Washington to asses the situation and take charge of the militia in case of further raids , as Washington and General Oliver Wolcott felt that Norwalk would be the next target of the British . Parsons also urgently appealed to General John Glover of the Continental Army to bring his brigade to Norwalk from where he was camped in New London . On Saturday July 10 at 2 : 00pm the British fleet , including the flagship " Camilla " and the " Hussar " , left Huntington Bay and crossed the Sound to Norwalk . Around 5 that afternoon the fleet anchored outside the Norwalk Islands and troops began rowing ashore . At about the same time , the " Hussar " entered the Norwalk River to cover the landing of troops and destroy whatever shipping was to be found . Most of Tryon ' s forces reached the beach at Calf Pasture Beach after the sun had set . These included the Fifty - fourth , the Landgraf Regiment , and the Jaegers , made up of Hessian mercenary volunteers . Fanning ' s Regiment of Loyalists landed at 3 : 00am . The soldiers rested on their arms and just before dawn began their march to the center of town . They met virtually no resistance from the local militia in this area until they reached Grumman Hill , where fifty Continental troops and a few militiamen , all under the command of Captain Stephen Betts , attempted to halt Tryon ' s advance . After a brief skirmish the British took the hill and sent the Americans fleeing . General Thomas Garth , who landed his troops , two flanks of Guards and two fusileer regiments , in Old Well around 7 AM , meantime began to march ashore to join with Tryon ' s forces . At Flax Hill they met with strong resistance from Nathaniel Raymond and fourteen other irregulars from the town of Old Well ( South Norwalk ) . General Garth lost a light cannon to the " rebels " before marching along the river by West Avenue , being constantly harassed by Norwalk militia , irregulars , and citizens above them on the bluffs , The British crossed the Norwalk River at the location of today ' s Wall Street while the Americans crossed about a quarter mile upstream at Cross Street , making their way over Sticky Plain to " the Rocks " where the rest of the militia and Betts ' Continentals were strongholded . The American forces included troops commanded by Capt . Betts , Captain Jeremiah Eells , Captain Phineas Sherman and Major David Porter . The two British columns converged at the Mill Hill area by the town green ( ) and proceeded north to the area then known as " the Rocks " where they met heavy resistance from the Norwalk militia and Continental troops . General Tryon began the burning in East Norwalk when he fired a few houses which rebel snipers were using for shields . General Garth burned along West Avenue for the same reason . A total of eighty houses , two churches , eighty - seven barns , seventeen shops , and four mills were burned by the enemy . Losses were later estimated to amount to over 26 thousand British pounds . General Tryon had commanded a series of raids on the Connecticut coast in the preceding days , attacking New Haven and Fairfield . Most of Fairfield and Norwalk were destroyed . Tryon ' s raids were intended to draw American forces away from the defence of the Hudson Valley . In spite of pressure from Governor Trumbull , George Washington did not move his troops . Out of all towns the British attacked , Norwalk was the most heavily damaged in the state , historians believe . General George Washington described Norwalk as having been “ destroyed ” in his report to the Continental Congress after the battle .