Revolutionary Wartime

On July 2, 1779, Pound Ridge became the site of a major Revolutionary War raid led by British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton. Local defenders included militia under Major Ebenezer Lockwood and Continental Light Dragoons led by Lt. Col. Elisha Shelton in the Hamlet area. Tarleton’s force held a strong numerical advantage, but delays in finding the route to Pound Ridge gave American forces time to prepare. Fighting was intense, and much of the town was plundered and burned before American reinforcements arrived. Tarleton eventually withdrew, leaving Pound Ridge marked by one of the war’s most dramatic local battles.