Jonathan Rathbun: The Burning of New London
Portrait of Abigail Dolbeare Hinman, Daniel Huntington, Lyman Allyn Art Musuem
Peter Sterkel
While only four pages long, Jonathan Rathbun's account, titled The Narrative of Jonathan Rathbun: Of the Capture of Fort Griswold, the Massacre that followed, and the Burning of New London, Conn., September 6, 1781, provides insight into the effects of total war strategy, military ethics, and foregrounds the controversial actions of General Benedict Arnold.