William Ledyard was a lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 in the Connecticut militia who was killed in the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

.

Born in Groton, Connecticut

Groton, Connecticut

Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....

, Ledyard was in command of Fort Griswold

Fort Griswold

Fort Griswold is a former American military base in Groton, Connecticut. Named after then Deputy Governor Matthew Griswold, the fort played a key role in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War...

 on September 6, 1781, when the fort fell to the British under Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

 in the Battle of Groton Heights

Battle of Groton Heights

The Battle of Groton Heights was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 6, 1781 between a small Connecticut militia force led by Lieutenant Colonel William Ledyard and the more numerous British forces led by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold and Lieutenant...

. Ledyard had refused a British demand to surrender the fort.

According to American accounts of the battle, after the British stormed Fort Griswold, a British officer demanded to know who commanded the fort. Ledyard replied "I did, sir, but you do now," and offered his sword. The British officer took the sword and stabbed Ledyard to death, initiating a massacre of some eighty captive Americans.

The town of Ledyard, Connecticut

Ledyard, Connecticut

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,687 people, 5,286 households, and 4,101 families residing in the town. The population density was 385.1 people per square mile . There were 5,486 housing units at an average density of 143.8 per square mile...

, is named for William Ledyard.

William Ledyard's nephew was noted explorer John Ledyard

John Ledyard

John Ledyard was an American explorer and adventurer.-Early life:Ledyard was born in Groton, Connecticut, the oldest son of John and Abigail Ledyard and the nephew of Continental Army Colonel William Ledyard...

.

External links

• Ledyard's service record from Francis B. Heitman's Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army
• "The Coming of the Revolution 1773-1776", Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
  Sons of the American Revolution
  The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is a Louisville, Kentucky-based fraternal organization in the United States...
  
  
• Joseph Duffy, "Connecticut At War", Connecticut Humanities Council
• Ledyard genealogy page (source for birthdate)
• Columbia Encyclopedia entry