 Cornwallis marched from Wilmington on April 25 , sending orders to Phillips to meet him at Petersburg , Virginia . On his arrival at Petersburg on May 20 , he learned that Phillips , an old friend of his , had died a week earlier of a fever . With his arrival and that of fresh troops from New York , the army that came under his command numbered about 7 @,@ 200 . It was opposed by a Continental Army contingent currently at Richmond under the command of the Marquis de Lafayette . Lafayette 's force numbered 3 @,@ 000 , of which about two thirds were militia . He was also expecting to be reinforced soon by additional Continental Army troops from Pennsylvania led by Brigadier General Anthony Wayne . 
