Battle Of Petersburg, 25 April 1781--First Line Of Defense

Petersburg County · dedicated 2005 · Corner of Bank and East Streets.

On 25 Apr. 1781, American Brig. Gen. Peter Muhlenberg formed his first line of 500 Virginia militia here to meet the British. The line extended along East Street from the Appomattox River to present-day Washington Street and consisted of two infantry regiments. Maj. Gen. William Phillips' 2,500-man army, including one Light Infantry battalion and the 76th and 80th Regiments of Foot, struck the Americans here. After several assaults and the deployment of four British cannon, the militia withdrew westward, through Blandford (then a separate town), across Lieutenant Run, and on to Madison Street in eastern Petersburg.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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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

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