Lafayette and Cornwallis E22
The Marquis de Lafayette and his outnumbered colonial troops abandoned Richmond on 27 May 1781 to avoid Gen. Charles Cornwallis’s approaching forces. Lafayette marched north from Richmond through Hanover County and likely crossed the nearby North Anna river by 31 May. Cornwallis pursued Lafayette to the North Anna River the next day. There Cornwallis sent the British troops west in a two-pronged attack to destroy storehouses and attempt to caputure the governor and the General Assembly in Charlottesville. Lafayette continued northward to the Rapidan River to await reinforcements.

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New Kent Road W26
By the 1720s, several taverns stood on New Kent Road (also called the Old Stage Road) between Williamsburg and New Kent Court House. During two wars, the road served opposing armies as well as travelers. In June 1781, near the end of the Revolution, British commander Gen. Charles Cornwallis marched his army from Richmond to Williamsburg on the road, with the Marquis de Lafayette and his army in cautious pursuit. During the Civil War, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederate army withdrew west on the road toward Richmond after the Battle of Williamsburg on 5 May 1862; Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac slowly followed.

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Trebell's Landing W49
At Trebell’s Landing on the James River, a mile southwest of here, the artillery and stores of the American and French armies were landed in September 1781. They were then conveyed overland some six miles to the siege lines at Yorktown. The troops disembarked at landings near Williamsburg. During the next few weeks, the allied armies under Gen. George Washington and the comte de Rochambeaubesieged the British army commanded by Gen. Charles Cornwallis until he surrendered on 19 Oct. 1781, effectively ending the Revolutionary War.

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