Revolutionary War at Portsmouth VA1697
In October 1775, Virginia's last Royal Governor, the Earl of Dunmore, made his headquarters at Gosport, one mile south of here.  After his defeat at Great Bridge and the destruction of Norfolk, he entrenched at Hospital Point, one mile north, but was driven out in May 1778. Portsmouth was again invaded by the British Sir George Collier in 1770, General Leslie in 1780, the traitor Benedict Arnold and General Phillips in 1781. Here, on this Portsmouth waterfront in August 1781, Lord Cornwallis embarked his 7000 troops and sailed to Yorktown where he surrendered to the victorious American and French forces, 18 October 1781.

---

Gloucester County Z10
Area 223 square milesFormed in 1651 from York, and named for Gloucester County, England, Bacon, the rebel, died in this county, 1676. Gloucester point was the outpost of Cornwallis at Yorktown, 1781.

---

New Kent Courthouse WO16
Lord Cornwallis’s army was here, moving eastward, June 22, 1781; Lafayette, in pursuit, June 25; Washington, Rochambeau and Chastellux, on their way to Yorktown, September 14, 1781. A part of Joseph E. Johnston’s army, retiring to Richmond, passed through, May, 1862..

---

Hanover Court House HAN2
Erected in 1735 Here in 1781 were the headquarters of Lord Cornwallis and Lt. Col. Tarleton. Fierce battle fought here 27th May 1862. On 13th June 1862 General Stuart passed on his ride around Gen. McClellan’s army.

---

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 A major east-west route across central Virginia from the 1730s, it was superceded by Route 250 in the 1930s.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.

---

Campaign of 1781 S62
The British Cavalryman Tarleton, returning to Cornwallis from a raid to Bedford, passed near here, July, 1781.

---

Point of Fork GA32
Here was an important supply depot and arsenal of the Virginia government in 1781, and here Baron Von Steuben, commanding the American forces, trained recruits for Green’s Army in the south. Threatened by Cornwallis’s approach, Steuben moved stores across James River. On June 4, 1781, Colonel Simcoe, with his cavalry, made Steuben believe that the whole British army was at hand. Steuben retreated, leaving stores to be destroyed.

---

Point of Fork F50
Four miles southeast is Point of Fork, near which an Indian village stood in 1607. In the Revolution a state arsenal was there. In June, 1781, Simcoe, sent by Cornwallis with a small force to destroy the stores there, succeeded in making Baron Steuben, the American commander, believe the whole British Army to be near. Steuben retreated, leaving the stores to be destroyed.

---

Gloucester Point NA9
Known first as Tyndall's Point. The colonists built a fort here in 1667. In 1676 Bacon led his rebels across the river here. Tarleton and Dundas occupied the place in October, 1781, in the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis planned to break through the blockade here, but a storm kept him from crossing the river. The point was fortified by the Confederates in 1861 and occupied by Union troops in 1862.

---

Goochland County Z27
Area 287 Square Miles Formed in 1727 from Henrico, and named for William Gooch, governor of Virginia, 1727-1749. Cornwallis and Lafayette passed through this county in 1791.

---