Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (1782)

Raid on Lunenburg
Part of the American Revolution
Brigantine MA Hope (Herbert Woodbury) and Schooner MA Scammell (Noah Stoddard), Raid on Lunenburg (1782) by A.J. Wright
Date July 1, 1782 Location Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Result US privateer victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Great Britain	United States of America
Commanders and leaders
John Creighton (POW) Dettlieb Christopher Jessen Joseph Pernette Johann Gottlob Schmeisser[1][2]	Noah Stoddard George Wait Babcock Gregory Powers[3][4][5] Herbert Woodbury John Tibbets[6]
Strength
	5 vessels 170 crew members
Casualties and losses
1 killed; 3 prisoners	4 wounded[7][8]

The Raid on Lunenburg (also known as the Sack of Lunenburg) occurred during the American Revolution when the US privateer, Captain Noah Stoddard of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and four other privateer vessels attacked the British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on July 1, 1782.^[9][10][11] The raid was the last major privateer attack on a Nova Scotia community during the war.

Lunenburg was defended by militia leaders Colonel John Creighton and Major Dettlieb Christopher Jessen. In Nova Scotia, the assault on Lunenburg was the most spectacular raid of the war.^[12] On the morning of July 1, Stoddard led approximately 170 US privateers in four heavily armed vessels and overpowered Lunenburg’s defence, capturing the blockhouses, burning Creighton's home, and filling Jessen's house with bullet holes. The privateers then looted the settlement and kept the militia at bay with the threat of destroying the entire town. The American privateers plundered the town and took three prisoners, including Creighton, who were later released from Boston without a ransom having been paid.^[12][13][14]