Battle Of Petersburg, 25 April 1781--Artillery Position

Petersburg County · dedicated 2005 · E. Washington and Little Church Streets, northwest corner

On 25 Apr. 1781, Maj. Gen. Friedrich von Steuben's 1,000 Virginia militiamen, driven from the eastern edge of Blandford, established a strong defensive line along the western summit (now Madison Street) above Lieutenant Run valley. Maj. Gen. William Phillips's British force occupied this ridge from here to the Appomattox River. After several unsuccessful infantry attacks, Phillips placed four artillery pieces here and fired on the American line. Facing this threat, and with American ammunition running low, von Steuben decided that any further defense of Petersburg would be futile and ordered a general retreat toward the Pocahontas Bridge to the north.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

More markers nearby

Battle Of Petersburg, 25 April 1781--Second Line Of Defenseunder 1 mi
Battle Of Petersburg, 25 April 1781--East Hillunder 1 mi
Battle Of Petersburg, 25 April 1781--First Line Of Defenseunder 1 mi
East Hillunder 1 mi