Battle of Gwynn's Island

Battle of Gwynn's Island
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Date July 8–10, 1776 Location Gwynn, Virginia 37°30′15″N 76°17′19″W / 37.50417°N 76.28861°W / 37.50417; -76.28861 Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain Loyalists
Commanders and leaders
Andrew Lewis	Lord Dunmore
Strength
Infantry brigade 2 × 18-pound cannons 4 × 9-pound cannons	Naval squadron 500 soldiers
Casualties and losses
1 killed	"Sizable" from combat hundreds died of disease

The Battle of Gwynn's Island (July 8–10, 1776) saw Andrew Lewis lead patriot soldiers from Virginia against John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore's small naval squadron and British loyalist troops. In this American Revolutionary War action, accurate cannon fire from the nearby Virginia mainland persuaded Dunmore to abandon his base at Gwynn's Island. While camping on the island, the loyalists suffered heavy mortality from smallpox and an unknown fever, particularly among the escaped slaves that Dunmore recruited to fight against the American rebels. Gwynn's Island is located on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay in Mathews County, Virginia.

In late 1775, Dunmore and his loyalist forces were defeated and withdrew aboard their ships off Norfolk. Blocked by American troops from securing food near Norfolk, Dunmore sailed north to base his force at Gwynn's Island for six weeks. The ill-fed loyalists were cooped up aboard Dunmore's ships too long and smallpox broke out. After being driven away from Gwynn's Island, Dunmore's ships lingered in Chesapeake Bay before his vessels departed for New York and other locations. Dunmore's absence allowed Virginia's troops to join General George Washington's main army.