Battle of Edgar's Lane 1778
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 30 September 1778 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1778 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 40.9983, -73.8814 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Edgar's Lane was a skirmish in the American Revolutionary War on September 30, 1778, between a force of 80 Hessians and 120 Continental dragoons under Major Henry Lee. The skirmish was fought in the village of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. The skirmish would be a morale-boosting victory for the Continental Army and Major Henry Lee.
Previously the British army secured a victory during a sneak attack at the Baylor Massacre. This happened in Riverdale, New Jersey where a large British surprise attack occurred during one and three o'clock in the morning. The British snuck into a town filled with 116 men of the 3rd Regiment of Continental Light Dragoons. There were 15 continental casualties, and 54 wounded or captured. The British led by Maj. Gen. Sir Charles Grey, Major Turner Straubenzee and Major John Maitland only had one casualty.
Peter Post, a local tenant farmer, heard word of a Hessian marauding party that would be coming through the next day. He sent word to the Continental troops, who organized a force of 120 dragoons to ambush the Hessians. When the Hessians rode through as expected the next day, Post told them that there were no American soldiers in the area and directed them towards Edgar's Lane, where the dragoons were hidden in the surrounding trees.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Edgar's Lane (revision 1370109986), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of White Plains 1776 · 9 km
- Baylor Massacre 1778 · 11 km
- Battle of Mamaroneck 1776 · 14 km
- Battle of Pell's Point 1776 · 16 km
- Battle of Young's House 1780 · 16 km
- Battle of Fort Washington 1776 · 17 km
Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
- Meigs Raid 1777
- Siege of Fort Henry (1777) 1777
- Siege of Fort Mifflin 1777
- Siege of Fort Stanwix 1777
- Siege of Fort Ticonderoga (1777) 1777
- Affair at Little Egg Harbor 1778
- Battle of Alligator Creek Bridge 1778
- Battle of Barren Hill 1778
- Battle of Chestnut Neck 1778
- Battle of Cobleskill 1778
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
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