General Phillips's Raid on Richmond Area

British General William Phillips led a second major raid up the James River in April 1781, attacking military targets in the Richmond area. Phillips's force destroyed tobacco warehouses, supplies, and infrastructure along the river. The raid demonstrated that Arnold's earlier attack had not been an isolated incident — Virginia's capital region remained vulnerable.

Phillips died of typhoid fever in Petersburg on May 13, 1781, before Cornwallis arrived to take command of British forces in Virginia. The repeated British raids on the Richmond area underscored the difficulty of defending a state with extensive navigable waterways against an enemy with naval superiority.