Campaign of 1781
Lafayette's Encampment
On 13 August 1781, the Marquis de Lafayette encamped his army in King William County. He placed his militia four miles east between the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Rivers and stationed his light infantry - commanded by Gen. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenburg and Lt. Col. Christian Febiger - a mile south of here. From these positions Lafayette spied on the British army under Gen. Charles Cornwallis entrenching downriver at Yorktown, and prepared to block its escape routes. Early in September, Gen. George Washington and his army arrived from the north, accompanied by Rochambeau's French forces, to join Lafayette and begin the siege of Yorktown.
Marker is at the intersection of King William Road (Virginia Route 30) and Sweet Hall Road (Virginia Route 634), on the right when traveling west on King William Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
