Gwynn's Island
RETURN TO INDEXVictory: American
Troops: United States Infantry brigade - Great Britain Naval squadron, 500 soldiers
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. On January 1, Lord Dunmore, Virginia's royal governor, set fire to Norfolk and established a base at Gwynn Island. Gwynn Island was located just south of the mouth of the Rappahannock River. The island of 2,000 acres was 500 yards from the mainland. With his small British fleet and about 500 Tory troops, including runaway slaves, Dunmore had hoped to maintain a foothold in his province and establish a base from which to raid the neighboring plantations. On January 1, Lord Dunmore, Virginia's royal governor, set fire to Norfolk and established a base at Gwynn Island. Gwynn Island was located just south of the mouth of the Rappahannock River. The island of 2,000 acres was 500 yards from the mainland. With his small British fleet and about 500 Tory troops, including runaway slaves,
Dunmore had hoped to maintain a foothold in his province and establish a base from which to raid the neighboring plantations. On January 8, Gen. Andrew Lewis arrived with a brigade of Virginia troops to eliminate this last vestige of royal authority. Dunmore sent several ships to the Potomac River to fill their water casks. While there, they burnt William Brent's plantation in Stafford County, Virginia. The raiding vessels reached as far north as Occoquan Falls before turning back. The patriots feared that the loyalists intended to kidnap Martha Washington at Mount Vernon, but the raiders were turned back by storms and resistance by the local militia. For an hour, the bombardment continued. Most of Dunmore's fleet tried to escape. Some were run aground and burned by their crew. A few ships fired back at the American position but they were quickly silenced. Lewis stopped his bombardment and gave Dunmore a chance to surrender. At noon, Dunmore never answered back so Lewis started the bombardment again. Dunmore and his remaining ships managed to escape from the bombardment. The victorious Americans found numerous graves and dead and dying victims of smallpox when they crossed to the island. With Dunmore's fleet no longer a threat to Virginia, the authorities were able to send troops north to join Washington's Continental army in the New York area. The Virginia troops materially helped the American cause in the coming battles.
Dunmore had hoped to maintain a foothold in his province and establish a base from which to raid the neighboring plantations. On January 8, Gen. Andrew Lewis arrived with a brigade of Virginia troops to eliminate this last vestige of royal authority. Dunmore sent several ships to the Potomac River to fill their water casks. While there, they burnt William Brent's plantation in Stafford County, Virginia. The raiding vessels reached as far north as Occoquan Falls before turning back. The patriots feared that the loyalists intended to kidnap Martha Washington at Mount Vernon, but the raiders were turned back by storms and resistance by the local militia. For an hour, the bombardment continued. Most of Dunmore's fleet tried to escape. Some were run aground and burned by their crew. A few ships fired back at the American position but they were quickly silenced. Lewis stopped his bombardment and gave Dunmore a chance to surrender. At noon, Dunmore never answered back so Lewis started the bombardment again. Dunmore and his remaining ships managed to escape from the bombardment. The victorious Americans found numerous graves and dead and dying victims of smallpox when they crossed to the island. With Dunmore's fleet no longer a threat to Virginia, the authorities were able to send troops north to join Washington's Continental army in the New York area. The Virginia troops materially helped the American cause in the coming battles.
