Nottoway River Crossings UM16
Several important river crossings took place over the Nottoway River during two wars. Revolutionary War calvary commander Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe lead British forces across the river in this area on 11 May 1781, as he rode south to join Gen. Charles Cornwallis. In mid May, Cornwallis marched north from North Carolina, crossed the Nottoway River nearby, and reached Peters- burg on 20 May. During the Civil War, at the end of Gen. James H. Wilson’s and Brig. Gen. August V. Kautz’s railroad raids, a portion of Gen. Wilson’s forces crossed the river nearby on 28 June 1864, on their way back to Union lines near Petersburg.

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Three Notch'd Road Q21
Also called Three Chopt Road, this colonial route ran from Richmond to the Shenandoah Valley. It likely took its name from three notches cut into trees to blaze the trail. A major east-west route across central Virginia from the 1730s, it was superceded by Route 250 in the 1930s. Part of Jack Jouett’s famous ride and the Marquis de Lafayette’s efforts to prevent Gen. Charles Cornwallis from obtaining munitions took place along this road. Today West Main Street and part of University Avenue approximate the Three Notch’d Road’s original course through present-day Charlottesville.

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Campaign of 1781 V16
The roads through Henrico County were important routes for the Revolutionary War campaign of 1781. To avoid British Gen. Charles Cornwallis’s troops advancing from Petersburg, the Marquis de Lafayette left Richmond by 27 May and marched northward through Henrico. Cornwallis bivouacked at White Oak Swamp on the 27th, before continuing the pursuit of Lafayette. In mid June, Cornwallis joined Lt. Gen. Banastre Tarleton near Richmond, where they occupied the city by 16 June. The British troops left the city for Williamsburg on the 20th marching east through Henrico County. Lafayette advanced through Henrico County on 22 June in pursuit of Cornwallis.

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Revolutionary Campaign of 1781 Mechunk Creek W205
After reinforcements from Brig. Gen. Mad Anthony Wayne arrived on 10 June 1781, the Marquis de Lafayette moved south from his camp on the Rapidan River to prevent further raids by Gen. Charles Cornwallis’s British troops encamped at Elk Hill. By 13 June, Lafayette had occupied a position along the Mechunk Creek to challenge any British advance toward Charlottesville and Stuanton. Lafayette and his troops reached this position be secretly repairing an abandoned road and were able to travel undetected. Cornwallis and his army left Elk Hill on 15 June marching toward Richmond, and Lafayette followed on a parallel course north of the British.

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Battle of Green Spring V39
Nearby, late in the afternoon of 6 July 1781, Gen. Charles Cornwallis and cavalry commander Col. Banastre Tarleton with 5,000 British and Hessian troops clashed with 800 American troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Mad Anthony Wayne and the Marquis de Lafayette. Believing that the main British force was across the James River, and that he was attacking Cornwallis’s rear guard, Wayne soon realized that he was facing far superior numbers. He startled the advancing forces by charging them, exchanging volleys, and then withdrawing his troops from encirclement and certain defeat. Dusk prevented Cornwallis from pursuing the Americans.

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Westover V8
In 1619 the first settlement was made at Westover, about two miles southeast. Two settlers died in the Powhatan uprising of 1622. Theodorick Bland bought Westover in 1666; William Byrd I acquired it in 1688. About 1730, his son, Colonel William Byrd II, built the present house, which exemplifies the high level of architectural quality attained during the colonial era. In January 1781 the British army under General Charles Cornwallis crossed the James River at Westover in pursuit of the Marquis de Lafayette.

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Campaign of 1781 Lafayette's Encampment OC22
On 13 August 1781, the Marquis de Lafayette encamped his army in King William County. He place his militia four miles east between the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Rivers and stationed his light infantry - commanded by Gen. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg and Lt. Col. Christian Febiger - a mile south of here. From these positions Lafayette spied on the British army under Gen. Charles Cornwallis entrenching downriver at Yorktown, and prepared to block its escape routes. Early in September, Gen. George Washington and his army arrived from the north, accompanied by Rochambeau’s French forces, to join Lafayette and begin the siege of Yorktown.

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Tyree's Plantation W29
After a detachment of the Marquis de Lafayette’s army defeated Maj. John G. Simcoe’s cavalry at Spencer’s Ordinary near Williamsburg on 26 June 1781, Lafayette shadowed the British army encamped at the colonial capital. He made his headquarters just north of here at Tyree’s plantation, 28 June - 5 July 1781, while he waited for the British Commander, Gen. Charles Cornwallis, to tip his hand. Early in July, Maj. Gen. Henry Clinton, commander of the British forces, ordered Cornwallis to send 3,000 of his men to New York. On 4 july, Cornwallis began marching to Portsmouth to embark, and Lafayette pursued hime the next day.

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Cooper's Mill W25
Half a mile north on Diascund Creek stood Cooper’s Mill. On 23-24 June 1781, the British Army commanded by Gen. Charles Cornwallis seized supplies there while en route to its camp at Williamsburg and Maj. John G. Simcoe’s Rangers burned the bridge there. The small army under the Marquis de Lafayette pursued, but at a safe distance. In July, Cornwallis withdrew to Yorktown to await reinforcement or evacuation. The allied armies under Gen. George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau beseiged him there until he surrended on 18 Oct. 1781, effectively ending the Revolutionary War.

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Cornwallis's Route O13
Gen. Charles Cornwallis and his British forces left Petersburg on 24 May 1781 to attack the Marquis de Lafayette and his troops stationed in Richmond. Learning of Cornwallis’s movements, Lafayette abandoned the city on 27 May and moved north throuh Hanover County to the North Anna River. After bivouacking at White Oak Swap on 27 May, Cornwallis pursued Lafayette through Hanover County until 1 June, when the British troops reached the North Anna River. There Cornwallis sent his forces west in a two-pronged attack to destroy colonial storehouses and attempt to capture the governor and the General Assembly in Charlottesville.

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