Jordan Freeman Kills Major Montgomery

**The Battle of Fort Griswold and the Courage of Jordan Freeman**

On September 6, 1781, the coastal town of Groton, Connecticut, became the site of one of the most brutal engagements of the Revolutionary War. The assault on Fort Griswold, led by British forces under the broader command of the infamous turncoat Benedict Arnold, resulted in a fierce and bloody confrontation that would claim the lives of dozens of American defenders. Among those who fought and died that day was Jordan Freeman, a free Black soldier whose act of defiance against a charging British officer became one of the most striking moments of the battle and a powerful symbol of the diverse coalition of Americans who took up arms in the fight for independence.

The attack on Groton and the neighboring town of New London was part of a British effort to destroy supplies and disrupt American operations along the Connecticut coast. Benedict Arnold, once one of the Continental Army's most talented generals before his betrayal of the American cause, led approximately 1,700 British troops in a raid targeting the ports and storehouses of the region. While Arnold personally directed the burning of New London on the west side of the Thames River, a detachment of British regulars crossed to the eastern bank to assault Fort Griswold, the primary defensive fortification protecting Groton Heights. The fort was garrisoned by a relatively small force of local militia, men drawn from the surrounding communities who had assembled hastily to defend their homes. Among them was Jordan Freeman, a free Black man who served alongside his white neighbors in the militia ranks.

The British force that attacked Fort Griswold was led in part by Major William Montgomery, an experienced officer who commanded one of the columns tasked with storming the fortification's walls. The defenders, though outnumbered, put up a determined resistance, pouring musket fire and cannon shot into the advancing British troops as they crossed the open ground surrounding the fort. The fighting was intense and came at great cost to the attackers. As Major Montgomery attempted to scale the walls of the fort during the assault, Jordan Freeman reportedly confronted him directly and killed him with a spear, striking down one of the most prominent British officers on the field. Montgomery's death in the act of breaching the defenses was a dramatic moment in a battle already marked by extraordinary violence.

The fall of Major Montgomery and the heavy casualties suffered by the British during the assault may have contributed to what happened next. After the garrison eventually surrendered, British soldiers carried out acts of retaliatory violence against the American defenders, killing many who had already laid down their arms. The massacre at Fort Griswold became one of the most notorious episodes of the war, fueling outrage throughout Connecticut and the broader American cause. Jordan Freeman himself did not survive the battle. He was killed during the fighting, giving his life in defense of the fort and the ideals of the Revolution.

Freeman's sacrifice, and his presence on the battlefield, speaks to a reality of the Revolutionary War that is sometimes overlooked. The forces that fought for American independence were not monolithic. Free Black men like Jordan Freeman served in militia units and Continental forces throughout the war, contributing to a cause whose promises of liberty and equality were not yet extended to all. Freeman's name is inscribed on the Groton Monument, a tall granite obelisk erected on the site of Fort Griswold to honor the defenders who fell there. His inclusion alongside the other names on the monument is a recognition that his service and sacrifice were equal to those of any other soldier who fought and died that day.

The Battle of Fort Griswold and Jordan Freeman's role in it matter not only as a chapter in the military history of the Revolution but as a reminder of the complex and often contradictory nature of the founding era. Freeman fought as a free man for a nation still grappling with the institution of slavery, and his courage in the face of a determined enemy deserves to be remembered as part of the full and honest story of American independence.