| Dudley Saltonstall | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | Navy |
| Rank | Commodore (Dismissed from Service) |
| Battles/wars | Penobscot Expedition |
Dudley Saltonstall (1738–1796) was commander of Naval Forces during the Penobscot Expedition in 1779 against a British army fort at Castine, Maine, during the Revolutionary War, which is generally acknowledged to have been the worst naval defeat in United States history, until Pearl Harbor.
Saltonstall's reported inaction and timidity were blamed for the defeat and loss of dozens of Continental Navy and Massachusetts ships, most of which were grounded and burned by soldiers in retreat. Soldiers under the separate command of Brigadier Generals Solomon Lovell (aboard ship) and Peleg Wadsworth, with Paul Revere commanding the artillery, launched an assault on the British fort at the mouth of the Penobscot River. This assault was repulsed by British reinforcements, which were landed unharassed by Saltonstall's warships. Saltonstall was court-martialed, found guilty, and dismissed from military service.
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