During the Raid on Richmond in 1781, Baron von Steuben Reports to Virginia Governor-in-Exile Thomas Jefferson on British Activities

“…the enemy have not removed from their former station off Westover. I have no certain accounts whether they embarked their troops or not”

Friedrich von Steuben came to the United States bearing European references in December 1777. Joining Washington at Valley Forge in February 1778, he quickly proved his value to the Continental Army as an instructor in discipline and tactics, his “blue book” – Orders and Discipline of the Troops of the United States – becoming the manual of instruction in the U.S. Army for many years. On May 5, 1778, he was appointed inspector general of the army with the rank of major general. In October 1780, when Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene replaced Horatio Gates as commander of the Southern Department, Steuben accompanied Greene in order to aid in the restoration of the army in the South.

Setting up headquarters at Chesterfield Court House, Va., about 12 miles south of Richmond, which had become the state capital in 1780, he attempted to organize Virginia’s defenses and arrange for men and supplies for Greene in the Carolinas. But a threat loomed. In December 1780, British General Sir Henry Clinton dispatched to Virginia from New York a fleet of 27 ships and over 1,500 British soldiers under the command of Benedict Arnold, now a brigadier general in the British army. The force landed at Hampton Roads on December 30, 1780, and moved up the James River on January 1, 1781. For three consecutive days, Arnold and his fleet laid waste to colonial plantations and settlements along the James River. On January 4th, Arnold and his mostly loyalist soldiers arrived at Richmond, defended by a thin force of 200 militiamen. Arnold sent out a small detachment of men, and when Arnold’s forces confronted the 200 militiamen, the militiamen fired an abysmal musket volley and fled into the woods. Jefferson saw the militiamen flee, and called for an immediate mass evacuation of military supplies, as well as government officials from the city. Governor Thomas Jefferson and government officials then fled the city. When Arnold marched into Richmond, he was met with no resistance, and he established a headquarters there as well as nearby Westover.

From his headquarters at Main Street’s City Tavern, Arnold wrote a letter to Jefferson, saying that if he could move the city’s tobacco stores and military arms to his ships, he would leave Richmond unharmed. Jefferson’s response was livid, refusing that a turncoat do anything to Richmond’s supplies

During this time, not only Steuben was trying to raise troops, but Jefferson also. The object was to defend the state and cooperate with Greene. Steuben was also on the ground and making reports to Jefferson. This is one of these reports, based on the widespread concern that more British ships were coming.

Letter signed, Petersburg, January 8, 1781, to Jefferson. “I arrived here this morning and by the latest intelligence I find that the enemy have not removed from their former station off Westover. I have no certain accounts whether they embarked their troops or not.” With the integral address leaf. This letter is unpublished.

Arnold’s success demonstrated Virginia’s vulnerability to attack and the possibility that the colonies could be divided and subdued piecemeal, a strategy Britain had attempted to deploy several times earlier in the war. British General Henry Clinton decided to reinforce Arnold in Virginia and expand Britain’s hold on the colony, while events in North Carolina, including the battle of Guilford Court House, led British General Charles Cornwallis to conclude that defeating the Patriots in Virginia was the key to ending the war. As a result, Cornwallis marched his army north in May 1781 to assume command of what was now a very powerful British force of over 7,000 troops. The end of this maneuvering was Yorktown, the siege of which won the war for the Americans.

Reports of Steuben to Jefferson seldom reach the market. We’ve never had one, no less an unpublished one.