Major General Lafayette to George Washington, 18 May 1781
From Major General Lafayette
Wilton North side of Ja[me]s River [Va.]
May 18th 1781.
Dear General
Having been directed by Genl Greene to take Command of the Troops in Virginia, I have also received Orders from him, that every Account from this Quarter be immediately transmitted to Congress and to your Excellency;1 in obedience to which I shall have the honour to relate our Movements, and those of the combined Armies of the Enemy.
When Genl Phillips retreated from Richmond, his project was to stop at Williamsburg, there to collect Contributions which he had imposed; This induced me to take a position between Pamunky & Chickahomany Rivers, which equally covered Richmond & some other interesting parts of the State, and from where I detached Genl Nelson with some Militia towards Wmsburg.
Having gott as low down as that place, General Phillips seemed to discover an intention to make a Landing, but upon advices received by a Vessell from Portsmo. the Enemy weighed Anchor, and with all the Sail they cou’d croud hastened up the River; this intelligence made me apprehensive that the Enemy intended to manœuvre me out of Richmond, where I returned immediately & again collected our small force[.] Intelligence was the same day received that Lord Cornwallis (who I had been assured to have embarked at Wilmington) was marching thro’ N: Carolina. This was confirmed by the landg of Genl Phillips at Brandon South Side of James River—apprehending that both Armies would move to meet at a central point, I marchd towards Petersburg and intended to have established a Communication over Appamatox & Jas River, but on the 9th Genl Phillips took possession of Petersburg, a place where his right flank being covered by Jas River, his front by Appamatox, on which the Bridges had been destroyed in the first of the Invasion, and his left not being attackable but by a long Circuit through Fords that at this Season are very uncertain I cou’d not (even with an equal Force) have gott any chance of fighting him, unless I had given up this side of Jas River, and the Country from which reinforcements are expected.2
It being at the Enemy’s choice to force us to an Action, while their own position insured them against our Enterprises; I thought it proper to shift this situation, and marched the greater part of our Troops to this place, about ten miles below Richmond—Letters from Govr Nash, Genl Sumner & Genl Jones are possitive as to the arrival of Colo. Tarleton, and announce that of Ld Cornwallis at Hallifax3 Having received a request from N: Carolina for Amunition I made a detachment of 500 Men under Genl Muhlenberg to escort 20,000 Cartridges over Appamatox, and to divert the Enemy’s attention Colo. Gimat with his Batn & 4 Field pieces Cannonaded their position from this side the River—I hope our Ammunition will arrive safe, as before Genl Muhlenberg returned. he putt it in a safe road with proper Directions4—On the 13th Genl Phillips died and the Command devolved on General Arnold—General Wayne’s Detachment has not yett been heard of,5 before He arrives it becomes very dangerous to risk any Engagement where (either of the British Armies being vastly superior to us) We shall certainly be beaten, and by the loss of Arms, the dispersion of Militia, and the difficulty of a junction with Genl Wayne We may loose a less dangerous Chance of resistance.
These Considerations have induced me to think, that with our so very great inferiority, and with the advantage the Enemy have by their Cavalry & naval Superiority, there woud be much rashness in fighting them on any but our Grounds, and this side of the River, and that an Engagement which I fear will be soon necessary, ought if possible be deferred ’till the Pensylvanians arrive, whom I have by several letters requested to hasten to our assistance.6
no report has lately come from near Halifax tho’ a very active Officer has been sent for that purpose—but every Intelligence confirms that Ld Cornwallis is hourly expected at petersburg, it is true there never was such difficulty in getting tollerable intelligence as there is in this Country, and the immense superiority of the Enemy’s Horse renders it very pracarious to hazard our small parties.
Arnold has received a small reinforcement from portsm[out]h. Dr General Your most Obedient Humble Servant
Lafayette
P.S. In justice to Major Mitchell and Capt. Muir who were taken at Petersburg, I have the honour to inform your Excellency that they had been sent to that place on public Service7—I have requested Genl Lawson to collect and take Comd of the Militia south of Appamatox8—local Impediments was thrown in the road from Hallifax to Petersbg and precautions taken to remove the Horses from the Enemy’s reach—Shou’d it be possible to gett arms some more Militia might be brought into the Field But Genl Greene & myself labour under the same disadvantage⟨.⟩ the few Militia We can with great pains collect arrive unarm⟨ed⟩ and We have not a sufficiency of Weapons to putt into their Hands.9
LS, DLC:GW; copy, MiU-C: Clinton Papers; copy, MiU-C: Greene Papers; copy, PEL; copy, P.R.O.: C.O. 5/102; copy, P.R.O.: 30/11/6, Cornwallis Papers; copy, UK-LoPHL: Parliamentary Archives. For Lafayette’s transmission of the LS, see GW to the Board of War, 30 May, n.1. The copy in MiU-C: Clinton Papers evidently was intercepted by the British (see Henry Clinton to George Germain, 9 June, in , 19:120–22).
1. See Nathanael Greene to Lafayette, 1 May, in , 8:182–83.
2. For the British move up the James River to Brandon, see Lafayette to GW, 8 May, n.3. Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold wrote Gen. Henry Clinton from Petersburg, Va., on 12 May to explain that on 9 May “the light infantry and part of the Queen’s Rangers in boats were ordered with the Formidable and Spitfire to proceed to City Point and land there. The rest of the army were put in motion for Petersburg where they arrived late in the night, having marched near 30 miles this day.
“On our leaving Bermuda Hundred and going down the river, the Marquis de la Fayette with his army moved towards Williamsburg and by forced marches had crossed the Chickahomany at Long Bridge when our fleet returned to Brandon, which retrograde motion of ours occasioned him to return as rapidly by forced marches to Osborns, where he arrived on the 8th and was preparing to cross the river to Petersburg when we arrived there, which was so unexpected that we surprised and took two majors (one of them aide-de-camp to Baron Stubens, the other to General Smallwood), one captain and three lieutenants of dragoons, two lieutenants of foot, a commissary and a surgeon. Some of these gentlemen arrived only two hours before us with an intention of collecting the boats for the marquis to cross his army.
“On the 10th the marquis made his appearance on the opposite side of the river with a strong escort, and having stayed some time to reconnoitre our army returned to his camp at Osborns” (, 20:142–45, quote on 144).
3. The letters from North Carolina governor Abner Nash and Brig. Gen. Allen Jones to Lafayette have not been identified. For notice of Brig. Gen. Jethro Sumner’s letter to Lafayette dated 7 May, see , 4:493. For the movements of Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis and his army, see Lafayette to GW, 8 May, n.2. For Lafayette’s fears of the damage that Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton’s cavalry could inflict on the army in Virginia, see Lafayette to Greene, 18 May, in , 4:110–14.
4. The request evidently came from Sumner (see Lafayette to Sumner, 7 May, in , 4:492).
5. For the efforts to ready a division of the Pennsylvania line to march to Virginia, see Anthony Wayne to GW, 7 May. The division marched on 26 May (see Wayne to GW, that date).
6. In his letter to Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne on 15 May, Lafayette requested that Wayne march his detachment south “with the Greatest Celerity” (, 4:102–3). Lafayette also wrote Wayne on 7 May (see , 4:492).
7. Maj. Nathaniel Mitchell and Capt. Francis Muir evidently were among the officers captured when British troops took Petersburg on 9 May (see n.2 above).
Francis Muir joined Col. Nathaniel Gist’s Additional Continental Regiment as a lieutenant in January 1777 and became a captain lieutenant in April 1779. He rose to captain in May 1780. Gist’s regiment was disbanded on 1 Jan. 1781, but GW had designated Muir as one of the officers slated to serve in the new short-term Continental regiments being raised in Virginia (see GW to Horatio Gates, 22 July 1780, and n.1 to that document).
8. See Lafayette to Robert Lawson, 16 May 1781, in , 4:493.