On July 11, 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, British forces burned the town of Norwalk, Connecticut. Led by General William Tryon, the attack was part of a series of coastal raids aimed at punishing Patriot strongholds and disrupting support for the war. The British and Loyalist troops destroyed homes, churches, and warehouses, leaving most of Norwalk in ruins. Like the earlier burning of Fairfield and New Haven, the destruction of Norwalk outraged American colonists and strengthened their determination to resist British rule.