received orders from Washington to stay in Virginia. The departure of Destouches' fleet from Newport had prompted General Clinton to send Arnold reinforcements. In the wake of Arbuthnot's sailing he sent transports carrying about 2,000 men under the command of General William Phillips to the Chesapeake. These joined Arnold at Portsmouth on March 27. Phillips, as senior commander, took over the force and resumed raiding, targeting Petersburg and Richmond. By this time, Baron von Steuben and Peter Muhlenberg, the militia commanders in Virginia, felt they had to make a stand to maintain morale despite the inferior strength of their troops. They established a defensive line in Blandford, near Petersburg (Blandford is now a part of the city of Petersburg), and fought a disciplined but losing action on April 25. Von Steuben and Muhlenberg retreated before the advance of Phillips, who hoped to again raid Richmond. However, Lafayette made a series of forced marches, and reached Richmond on April 29, just hours before Phillips. Cornwallis and Lafayette To counter the British threat in the Carolinas, Washington had sent Major General Nathanael Greene, one of his best strategists, to rebuild the American army in North Carolina after the defeat at Camden. General Cornwallis, leading the British troops in the south, wanted to deal with him and gain control over the state. Greene divided his inferior force, sending part of his army under Daniel Morgan to threaten the British post at Ninety Six, South Carolina. Cornwallis sent Banastre Tarleton after Morgan, who almost wiped out Tarleton's command in the January Battle of Cowpens, and almost captured Tarleton in the process. This action was followed by what has been called the "race to the Dan," in which Cornwallis gave chase to Morgan and Greene in an attempt to catch them before they reunited their forces. When Greene successfully crossed the Dan River and entered Virginia, Cornwallis, who had stripped his army of most of its baggage, gave up the pursuit. However, Greene received reinforcements and supplies, recrossed the Dan, and returned to Greensboro, North Carolina to do battle with Cornwallis. The earl won the battle, but Greene was able to withdraw with his army intact, and the British suffered enough casualties that Cornwallis was forced to retreat to Wilmington for reinforcement and resupply. Greene then went on to regain control over most of South Carolina and Georgia. Cornwallis, in violation of orders but also