Battle of Blandford (Petersburg) Part of the American Revolutionary War Date April 25, 1781 Location Petersburg, Virginia Result British victory Belligerents United States Kingdom of Great Britain Commanders Baron von Steuben Peter Muhlenberg Marquis de Lafayette Benedict Arnold William Phillips Strength 1,000 2,300 Casualties and losses 90 killed and wounded 70 killed and wounded

v • d • e Yorktown Campaign, 1781 Blandford – Spencer's Ordinary – Green Spring – Chesapeake – Yorktown

The Battle of Blandford, a battle of the American War of Independence, took place near Petersburg, Virginia on 25 April 1781. Roughly 2,300 British regulars under the command of Brigadier General William Phillips defeated about 1,000 militia under Major General Baron von Steuben in a late afternoon battle where British artillery contributed significantly to the outcome.

Contents 1 Background 2 The Battle 3 Aftermath 4 References 4.1 Bibliography

[edit] Background

At the request of Lord Cornwallis for a diversion in Virginia^[1], Benedict Arnold had landed his force at Portsmouth in early 1781, and that spring, Phillips relieved his command and advanced against a largely undefended countryside.^[2] A militia force under Major General Baron von Steuben tried to check their progress and protect Richmond.

Von Steuben could discern that, though the British might attack Richmond as before, they definitely considered Petersburg a prime objective, since it served as a military depot for both state and Continental forces.

On 24 April, as the afternoon progressed, about 1,000 American soldiers marched into Petersburg. They were Virginia militia under Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg. Other militia units were also gathering. A force under the Marquis de Lafayette was several days away, with another under General Anthony Wayne also on the way.^[3]

General von Steuben, after council of war with General Muhlenburg and other officers, determined they would establish a line in Blandford, then a separate town east of Petersburg (now a neighborhood within the city). When the time came, the colonists could retreat across the Appomattox River over the Pocahontas Bridge.

That evening General von Steuben ordered Muhlenburg's Corps to the north side of the Appomattox River on the peninsula known as Pocahontas Island and onto the elevated ground overlooking the river. Then, during the moonless night, von Steuben and Muhlenburg moved their forces south of the river a quarter mile east of Petersburg, to the village of Blandford.^[4]

Shortly before sunset, a force of 2,500 British soldiers under the command of Major General William Phillips disembarked at the James River landing in City Point (now Hopewell), 12 miles east of Petersburg.

[edit] The Battle

As morning dawned on 25 April, two regiments of inexperienced Virginia militia infantry formed a line facing the well-trained British and German forces. The 500 men extended along present-day East Street, from the Appomattox River to present-day Washington Street.^[5]

Also that morning, the British regulars marched along the River Road toward Petersburg. Phillips' command consisted of the 78th Regiment of Foot, the 80th Regiment of Foot, some Queen's Rangers, a force of Hessian jägers, and one light infantry battalion. It was almost noon when General Phillips and General Arnold formed their line.

The British attack began at one o'clock. A plan of battle published in 1784 shows that Phillips staged a three-pronged attack, with the jägers and four artillery pieces holding the center, while the light infantry flanked the American position, and the Queen's Rangers went even further behind American lines, menacing Petersburg.^[6] The Americans, after putting up a fierce resistance, were forced to retreat over the Pocahontas Bridge. They removed its flooring as they went, to delay pursuit (an act which later earned them the praise of contemporaries such as Thomas Jefferson, General Nathanael Greene, and others)^[7].

Pausing on the heights near Violet Bank (in present-day Colonial Heights), the Americans engaged in an artillery duel with the British forces on the opposite bank, with further losses on both sides. After being replenished with a supply of rum, the weary militia then continued its northward retreat, reaching Chesterfield Courthouse the following day — just as the British force was crossing the Appomattox, destroying three more bridges behind them.^[8]

[edit] Aftermath

Phillips and Arnold's pursuit of the retreating American militia continued to Manchester, (just across the river from Richmond), which they reached on the 29th. However, they were unable to enter Richmond, as Lafayette with 1,200 troops had already occupied the city. After destroying tobacco warehouses throughout Chesterfield County, the British sailed back down the James to Westover, while Lafayette advanced as far as Pocahontas. At Westover on May 7, Phillips received word to return to Petersburg and await Lord Cornwallis, who was moving up from the Southern theatre. Upon reaching Petersburg May 9, Phillips was greeted by Lafayette's artillery positioned north of the river in what is now Colonial Heights. General Phillips contracted typhoid fever and died on May 13, while his force was enduring Lafayette's bombardment.

Cornwallis reached Petersburg with 5,300 men on May 20, 1781, recalling Arnold as one of his first acts. Following a campaign in which he pursued Lafayette's force and was then pursued in turn by a combined Franco-American army, he eventually surrendered at Yorktown in October.^[9][10]

[edit] References

1. ^ Weintraub p.289
2. ^ Ellis p.132
3. ^ Lockhart p.251
4. ^ Lockhart p.255
5. ^ Historical Marker QA23, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2005
6. ^ Atlas of the American Revolution, Rand McNally 1974, p. 175.
7. ^ James H. Bailey, Old Petersburg, p. 17.
8. ^ Francis Earl Lutz, 1954, Chesterfield: An Old Virginia County, p. 119 ff.
9. ^ Weintraub p.288-89
10. ^ Bailey, p. 17.

[edit] Bibliography

• Bicheno, Hugh. Rebels and Redcoats: The American Revolutionary War. Harper Collins, 2003.
• Ellis, Joseph. His Excellency: George Washington. Faber and Faber, 2005.
• Lockhart, Paul Douglas. The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army. Harper Collins Publishers, 2008.
• Weintraub, Stanley. Iron Tears: Rebellion in America 1775-1783. Simon and Schuster, 2005

v • d • e Virginia during the American Revolutionary War 1774 Fairfax Resolves · Virginia Conventions 1775 Fincastle Resolutions · "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" · Gunpowder Incident · Formation of Culpeper Minutemen · Formation of Ethiopian Regiment · Battle of Kemp's Landing · Battle of Great Bridge 1776 Burning of Norfolk · Virginia Declaration of Rights · Formation of Lee's Legion 1781 Battle of Cape Henry · Battle of Blandford · Skirmish at Waters Creek · Battle of Spencer's Ordinary · Francisco's Fight · Battle of Green Spring · Battle of the Chesapeake · Siege of Yorktown