The Battle of Ridgefield April 27, 1777

Two hundred and thirty one years ago today the Battle of Ridgefield was fought here in my home town. This reenactment, despite being about six hundred soldiers short of the original skirmish size, was pretty neat. The continental soldiers and redcoats wore authentic garb and they blew off their muskets, cannons and pistols. The blast of the cannon was so deep and strong, it rattled my teeth. I LOVED it. The kids LOVED it. I am happy to live in an area of the country where such history happened on the same stones and earth where I can now stand with my children.

At one point, I leaned down to change Liam's diaper and thought about how different mothering must have been in 1777. Here are some of my favorite shots from the day:









The Battle of Ridgefield was in fact a raid near modern-date Danbury, Connecticut carried out by Benedict Arnold, along with two other Patriot generals, James Wooster and Arthur Silliman who carried out a raid on a British camp near the village of Ridgefield then located about 90 miles west of modern-day New Haven. Around 700 American militia raided the camp shortly after sunset on April 27, 1777. Despite taking 100 casualties, the raid was more or less a success with the Americans inflicting about 154 casualties on the British and seizing some arms and ammunition, food, supplies, as well as 40 British prisoners.