[megz]
Meigs, Return Jonathan (1740-1823) officer in the Continental army, born in Middletown, Connecticut. Meigs won a reputation as a daring and enterprising soldier for his raid at Sag Harbor (1777), when he took the enemy by surprise and burned twelve vessels, destroyed military stores, killed six of the enemy, and took ninety prisoners—without any loss to his 160-man force. He subsequently served in the Hudson highlands, commanding a light infantry regiment in the assault on Stony Point (1779). He retired from the army in 1781. In 1801 he was appointed agent for Indian affairs in the Cherokee Nation, a position he held until his death.
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