[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-429753-105":59,"doc-detail-429753-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","jonathan-rathbun-the-burning-of-new-london","Jonathan Rathbun - The Burning of New London","","Jonathan Rathbun: The Burning of New London recounts the destruction of New London, Connecticut, during the American Revolution, placing British raids—under Benedict Arnold—within the broader context of Yorktown’s aftermath. It highlights Rathbun’s four-page narrative as both a commentary on total war strategy and a moral critique of wartime ethics. Produced in 1840, the account emphasizes suffering, civilian losses, and the perceived shift in Arnold’s military philosophy, using memory of the dead to argue for patriotism and condemnation of betrayal.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":45,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/religion-spirituality/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/jonathan-rathbun-the-burning-of-new-london/429753/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/jonathan-rathbun-the-burning-of-new-london/429753.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Liam","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-17","2026-09-29",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What event is central to Jonathan Rathbun: The Burning of New London?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The narrative centers on the British burning and devastation of New London, Connecticut, in September 1781, including raids linked to the broader campaign after the Battle of Yorktown.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the text characterize Benedict Arnold’s role?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Benedict Arnold is portrayed as responsible for atrocities beyond the laws of war, depicted as cold-blooded and immoral rather than worthy of praise.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Why was Rathbun’s account written and circulated in 1840?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The text explains that Rathbun produced the narrative to solicit charity and to cultivate patriotism, encouraging readers—especially children—to love freedom and detest a traitor like Arnold.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},429753,1791527417,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":44,"category_name":45,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":52,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},8796095461564,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Jonathan Rathbun: The Burning of New London  \nPeter Sterkel XU ’26  \nCleveland State University  \nThe Battle of Yorktown is considered the most significant battle of the American Revolution, as Washington’s victory over Cornwallis in October 1781 led to the British decision to abandon the war.1 However, residents of New London, Connecticut, were still mourning the death of loved ones and the destruction of their homes by the British.2 A month before Washington’s victory, British forces under the command of none other than Brigadier General Benedict Arnold raided the city and burned it to the ground. The Battle of Groton Heights was part of a series of strategic raids on Patriot-controlled port cities and forts in southern Connecticut. Hoping to capture Patriot strongholds and potentially divert Washington’s attention away from Cornwallis, the British massacred Patriot forces at Fort Griswold in Groton, Connecticut, and destroyed 140 New London buildings,“including private homes, warehouses, commercial facilities, and docks.”3 Overshadowed by Washington’s success at Yorktown, the Battle of Groton Heights is regarded as one of the last major British victories in the northern colonies, with the city of New London suffering “the highest percentage of destruction of any American city,” during the war.4  \nOne account regarding the events of New London comes from a veteran of the American Revolution, a militiaman named Jonathan Rathbun. While only four pages long, Rathbun’s account, titled The Narrative ofJonathan Rathbun: Of the Capture ofFort Griswold, the Massacre thatfollowed, and the Burning of New London, Conn., September 6, 1781, provides insight into not only the effects of total war strategy, but also questions military wartime ethics, and foregrounding discourse on Benedict Arnold, casting him as a cold-blooded, revenge-seeking man unworthy of praise.  \n©2026 All rights reserved by the author.“Jonathan Rathbun: The Burning of New London” is available under the Fair Use terms of copyright law.  \nRevolutionary Lives Project Jonathan Rathbun  \nProduced in 1840, Rathbun’s narrative was a means for the seventy-year-old veteran to“solicit the charities of the beneficent” and curb “one of the last soldiers of the American  \nRevolution from the pain of begging his daily bread.”5 A narrative that will “nurture the spirit of patriotism.” Rathbun’s account, according to its editor, would impress “a love for Freedom” upon the minds of children and “teach them to detest a traitor like Arnold, and to scorn the inhuman and dishonorable conduct of the frenzied villain who murdered our brave Ledyard with his own sword after surrendering!”6 Setting a moral precedent and detailing the perceived savage violence of British military strategy carried out by Arnold, the editor maintains that Rathbun’s narrative will inspire in all who read it “a new ardor and zeal for their rights as freemen, and boldness in defending their country from foreign invasion.”7 Despite being only four pages in length, the narrative provides a cautionary tale of warfare during the American Revolution. Most importantly, Rathbun’s account also depicts a shift in Benedict Arnold’s military philosophy, a man known to subscribe to conciliatory military restraint. Rathbun regards Arnold’s actions in New London as outside the laws of war and immoral.  \nBorn in Colchester, Connecticut, in 1765, Rathbun supported the Patriot cause at sixteen by joining the Colchester volunteer militia, where his first taste of the revolution was not the gallantry of battle but “a sense of suffering and horror which surpasses description.”8 Upon learning of the attack on New London by British forces, a young Rathbun and one hundred fellow volunteer Colchester militiamen marched nearly twenty miles to offer their support. Arriving in the early hours of September 7,“the day after the battle,” Rathbun and the militiamen found the city ransacked and destroyed by an already dispersed British force.9 As part ","cbCaicnvD4T4IMDK","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaicnvD4T4IMDK","pdf",249519,"English","# Jonathan Rathbun’s Narrative\n## New London and the British Raids\n## Fort Griswold and Groton Heights\n## Purpose of the 1840 Account\n## Rathbun’s Early Life and March to New London\n## Eyewitness Descriptions of Aftermath","[{\"question\":\"What event is central to Jonathan Rathbun: The Burning of New London?\",\"answer\":\"The narrative centers on the British burning and devastation of New London, Connecticut, in September 1781, including raids linked to the broader campaign after the Battle of Yorktown.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the text characterize Benedict Arnold’s role?\",\"answer\":\"Benedict Arnold is portrayed as responsible for atrocities beyond the laws of war, depicted as cold-blooded and immoral rather than worthy of praise.\"},{\"question\":\"Why was Rathbun’s account written and circulated in 1840?\",\"answer\":\"The text explains that Rathbun produced the narrative to solicit charity and to cultivate patriotism, encouraging readers—especially children—to love freedom and detest a traitor like Arnold.\"}]","Jonathan Rathbun - The Burning of New London | PDF",1790651055,25]