Battle of Blandford
Who Fought
United States: 1,000
2,500
History & Significance
The Battle of Blandford (or Blanford), also called the Battle of Petersburg, took place near Petersburg, Virginia on 25 April 1781, late in the American War of Independence. Roughly 2,300 British regulars under the command of Brigadier General William Phillips defeated about 1,000 American militia under Major General Baron von Steuben.
The introduction of a British troop presence led by turncoat general Benedict Arnold into Virginia in early 1781 prompted an increase in American militia activity to counter the British force. The militia were, however, poorly trained and equipped, and were unable to prevent Arnold from moving freely. Arnold was reinforced in March 1781 by additional troops led by General Phillips, who targeted Petersburg in a raiding expedition. Militia troops led by von Steuben and Peter Muhlenberg decided to make a stand at Blandford, then a separate community.
When the battle was joined, the outnumbered American militiamen provided remarkably stiff resistance to the British advance, and executed a disciplined retreat across the Appomattox River, avoiding a flanking attempt led by John Graves Simcoe. They eventually retreated to Richmond, where they joined forces with Continental Army troops led by the Marquis de Lafayette. Philips and Arnold continued to launch raids, and eventually joined forces with Charles Cornwallis's army from North Carolina.
By December 1780, the American Revolutionary War's North American main theaters had reached a critical point. The Continental Army had suffered major defeats earlier in the year, with its southern armies either captured or dispersed in the loss of Charleston and the Battle of Camden in the south, while the armies of George Washington and the British commander-in-chief for North America, Sir Henry Clinton watched each other around New York City in the north. The national currency was virtually worthless, public support for the war, about to enter its sixth year, was waning, and army troops were becoming mutinous over pay and conditions. In the Americans' favor, Loyalist recruiting had been checked with a severe blow at Kings Mountain in October.
To counter the British threat in the south, Washington sent Major General Nathanael Greene, one of his best strategists, to rebuild the American army in North Carolina after the defeat at Camden. Charles Cornwallis, leading the British troops in the south, wanted to deal with him and gain control over the state.
At Cornwallis's request for a diversion in Virginia to draw attention and resources from Greene, General Clinton in December 1780 dispatched Brigadier General Benedict Arnold (who had changed sides the previous September) with 1,600 men to Virginia. Arnold's instructions were to destroy Continental Army supplies and storage depots in that state, which had largely avoided military conflict before 1780, and then to establish a base for future operations at Portsmouth. On the afternoon of 4 January, Arnold sailed up the James River and landed his force at Westover, Virginia. Moving rapidly with an overnight forced march, he raided Richmond, the state capital, the next day. After another day of raiding, he returned to his boats and sailed to Portsmouth, which he then proceeded to fortify. The land approaches to this base were guarded by Virginia militia under the command of Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg, but these were inexperienced as well as relatively small in number, and could not prevent the movement of British troops by ship on the readily navigable rivers in the area.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Blandford lies on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.
- United States: Over 150
- 25–30
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