Battle of Setauket | |||||||
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Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
The current Setauket Presbyterian Church (built 1812), sits on the site of the Loyalist fortifications | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Great Britain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Samuel Holden Parsons | Richard Hewlett | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
500 Continental Army infantry | 260 Loyalist militia | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 wounded | None |
The Battle of Setauket (August 22, 1777) was a failed attack during the American Revolutionary War on a fortified Loyalist outpost in Setauket, Long Island, New York, by a force of Continental Army troops from Connecticut under the command of Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons.
In an attempt to repeat the success of the earlier Meigs Raid against Sag Harbor, Parsons' force crossed Long Island Sound to attack the Loyalist position. Alerted by spies to the planned assault, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hewlett strongly fortified the local Presbyterian church, surrounding it with a stockade and earthworks. After Hewlett rejected Parsons' demand to surrender, a brief firefight ensued that did no significant damage. Parsons withdrew and returned to Connecticut.