Skirmish at James's Plantation

Virginia Beach County · dedicated 2019 · Elson Green Avenue near Three Oaks Elementary School

British forces under Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold raided Richmond early in Jan. 1781 and established a base in Portsmouth later that month, seeking to control the Tidewater region. Groups of local militia, including 520 men led by Capt. Amos Weeks, disrupted British operations in the area. Arnold ordered Capt. Johann Ewald, commander of Hessian cavalry and riflemen, to pursue Weeks. On 15 Feb. at James’s Plantation near here, Ewald surprised Weeks and inflicted about 120 casualties. Joined by Lt. Col. John G. Simcoe of the Queen’s Rangers, Ewald followed the remaining militia south to Pungo Chapel before returning to Portsmouth. Weeks’s force regrouped and continued to harass the British.

Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

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Skirmish at James's Plantation

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