Battle of Ridgefield Etching

The British army invaded Connecticut in April 1777 – landing in today’s Westport and advancing north to destroy Continental military stores in Danbury. Six hundred Patriot militiamen and Continental Army troops, led by General Benedict Arnold, pursued the roughly 2,000 British troops and met them in Ridgefield on April 27. In the ensuing fight, roughly 50 American and 60 British soldiers were killed, though no reliable count was made of casualties.

Three years later, in April 1780, an unnamed London artist produced this etching, entitled “A Skirmish in America between the King’s Troops and Genl. Arnold.” The image focuses on the military engagement on Ridgefield’s Main Street. In the foreground, his horse wounded beneath him, Arnold faces off with a British counterpart. At the time this etching was made, Arnold was an important American military leader; in September 1780, he defected to the British.

The original copy of the etching is held in the collection of Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center in Ridgefield.