The Raid on Richmond was a series of British military actions against the capital of Virginia, Richmond, and the surrounding area, during the American Revolutionary War. Led by American defector Benedict Arnold, the Richmond campaign is considered one of his greatest successes while serving under the British Army. It shocked patriot leaders and is considered one of his most notorious actions by modern Americans.
Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton hoped that sending an American-born commander to Richmond would convince more Loyalists in the area to join the British cause, which would subsequently give the British Army the upper hand in the Southern theater of the war.
Before the beginning of the raid, Thomas Jefferson, the governor of Virginia, had moved the capital of Virginia from Williamsburg to Richmond, because of its strategically central, defensible location. In the event of an attack, Jefferson moved all of the town's military supplies to a foundry five miles outside of Richmond.
From January 1 to January 3, Arnold's fleet sailed up the James River, laying waste to Patriot plantations and settlements along the way. On January 4, the British made camp at Westover Plantation, where they would ready themselves for the assault against Richmond. In the afternoon, Arnold and his men disembarked on foot towards the city.
The following day, Arnold's force of Loyalist "greencoats", consisting of infantry, dragoons, and artillery, arrived at Richmond, which was defended by approximately 200 militiamen. His timing was excellent; most of the defenders were nearing the end of their enlistment periods and were so confident that Richmond was safe from attack that they had not bothered to establish defenses or post sentries.
Upon seeing the disorganized state of the militia, Colonel John Graves Simcoe of the Queen's Rangers ordered his men to engage them right away. The militiamen fired off a single volley at the advancing British before retreating in panic towards the woods, with the Loyalist detachment chasing after them. Jefferson, seeing his militiamen dispersed and no other plausible way to defend Richmond, quickly ordered the mass evacuation of most military supplies from the city. He and his family fled by carriage as other top government officials scrambled to make their own escapes.
At noon, Arnold's forces marched triumphantly into the city, described by an eyewitness as "undisturbed by even a single shot." From his headquarters at Main Street's city tavern (he would only stay in Richmond for a day), Arnold wrote a letter to Jefferson stating that he would leave the city in peace if allowed to seize every parcel of tobacco he could find. Jefferson refused the terms, and the city suffered the consequences.
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) grew from colonial resistance to British taxation without parliamentary representation — a dispute that radicalized through the Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767), and the Boston Massacre (1770). Fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775; the Continental Congress declared independence on July 4, 1776. The Continental Army under George Washington faced severe shortages of supplies and troops, enduring the brutal winter at Valley Forge (1777–1778) before French alliance and French financing turned the military balance. Major engagements included Bunker Hill (1775), Trenton (1776), Saratoga (1777) — which secured French intervention — and Yorktown (1781), where British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. An estimated 25,000 American soldiers died in service, from combat, disease, and captivity. The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized American independence and ceded British territory east of the Mississippi, though it left unresolved questions about Indigenous land rights and the status of Loyalists.
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