This marker interprets part of the Battle of Petersburg on April 25, 1781, when approximately 1,000 Virginia militia under Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben attempted to delay a larger British force commanded by Major General William Phillips. The Americans established successive defensive positions south of the Appomattox River. Their purpose was not to defeat the British army outright but to slow its advance, protect military supplies, and withdraw without being destroyed.

Phillips’s expedition included British regulars, Loyalist units, and light troops supported by vessels on the James River. Benedict Arnold, now a British brigadier general, accompanied the operation. The force had already raided Virginia’s riverside towns and military facilities. Petersburg mattered because roads, warehouses, and tobacco commerce made it a logistical center.

Steuben deployed militia in depth and used terrain to force the British to fight for each position. The Virginians initially resisted effectively, firing volleys before falling back. As Phillips pressed forward, Lieutenant Colonel John Graves Simcoe’s Queen’s Rangers and other light troops maneuvered against the American right. This flanking pressure threatened to cut off the militia’s retreat. Steuben ordered a withdrawal across the Appomattox, and the Americans removed the bridge planks after crossing.

The battle lasted several hours. Though forced from the field, the Virginia militia maintained enough cohesion to avoid capture and inflicted casualties. Their performance challenged the common stereotype that militia always collapsed under pressure. They accomplished the limited mission of delaying a superior enemy while preserving their force.

British troops occupied Petersburg and destroyed military stores, tobacco, and other property. Phillips soon became ill and died in the city in May. Cornwallis then joined the Virginia forces and assumed overall command. The campaign continued through raids and maneuvers against the Marquis de Lafayette, eventually drawing the British army toward Yorktown.

The counterattack marker identifies one portion of a broader battlefield whose historic terrain has been changed by urban development. It should be read in relation to the sequence of American defensive lines and the British effort to turn them. No single sign represents the entire action.

Petersburg demonstrates the connection between tactical delay and strategic survival. Steuben could not hold the town, but he preserved trained manpower needed for Virginia’s defense. Simcoe’s maneuver helped open Petersburg to occupation, yet the British raid did not produce permanent control. Within six months, the same campaign ended with Cornwallis trapped at Yorktown. This site records an American retreat, but also the disciplined resistance that denied the British an easy destruction of Virginia’s remaining field forces.