TheBurning of Kingston, New York, took place on October 16, 1777, a Thursday, during theAmerican Revolutionary War as part of theSaratoga Campaign.

In an attempt to relieve pressure on GeneralJohn Burgoyne's forces inSaratoga, New York, British units under the command ofHenry Clintonattacked and captured Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton in theHudson Highlands. Following this battle, Clinton sent forces under the command ofJohn Vaughan to raid theHudson Valley. Vaughan attacked and burnedKingston, New York, then the capital ofNew York State, destroying more than 300 buildings.

The state government fled toHurley, New York. Records ofUlster County, the county in which Kingston was located, were moved to a safe stone house inKerhonkson to the southwest when it became evident that the British were going to burn or lay siege to the city.^[1]

The burning of Kingston is central to the plot of the 1883 novelRachel Du Mont byMary Westbrook Van Deusen.

• Battles involving the United States
• Battles involving Great Britain
• Battles of the Saratoga campaign
• Conflicts in 1777
• Fires in New York (state)
• Battles of the American Revolutionary War in New York (state)
• 1777 in New York (state)
• Kingston, New York
• 18th-century fires
• Military raids