The Revolution comes to Old Brick House

In 1780, the Revolutionary War saw a shift to the southern colonies.  On May 12, 1780, the city of Charleston, South Carolina fell to the British under the command of General Henry Clinton.  The American army, around 5,000 strong, under the command of General Benjamin Lincoln became prisoners of war.  Early on in the southern campaign, the British continually hammered away at American Continental and militia forces under the command of the inept American General, Horatio Gates.  The American armies faced other losses such as that at Camden.  Things began to shift when George Washington sent one of his most able generals south to carry on the patriot struggle, Nathanael Greene.  Under the overall command of Greene, the American army began to exact revenge for their earlier losses, scoring victories at battles such as Cowpens and King’s Mountain and fought toe to toe with the British at Guilford Courthouse, an American loss, but a hard fought one at that.

Meanwhile, in Virginia, activity began to rise as generals such Major General William Phillips and the traitor, Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, brought the war to the people of Virginia.  A number of skirmishes and small engagements broke out between the British under the command of first, Arnold and then the overall command of General William Phillips, and American Continental and militia forces commanded by General Baron Von Steuben and General Lafayette.

Old Brick House would fall under the crosshairs of the British when General Phillips ordered an attack on Petersburg in April of 1781.  Embarking from City Point (modern day Hopewell), Phillips moved his infantry forces along the River Road on the south bank of the Appomattox (at Old Brick House, the River Road is actually on the east side of the Appomattox) and ordered eleven flat-bottom gunboats to sail upriver in the direction of Petersburg, carrying supplies and guarding his right flank.

The American forces in the region were under the command of Baron Von Steuben who sent a detachment of cavalry to Point of Rocks to observe the movements of the British.  American Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg ordered a force of 100 men, commanded by Captain Fisher Rice, to move south to “Brick House” to act as an outlook and report any movement of the British.  Rice and his troops sighted the British from their position at Old Brick House on the opposite shore of the Appomattox but were out of musket range to fire on the British infantry.  Coming down the river though were the 11 flat-bottom gunboats of the British.  The gunboats were fired upon by Rice’s men after they had passed the tip of the “neck”.  Turning their swivel guns on Rice’s troops, the British drove the small force at Old Brick House away and back down to Petersburg.  Luckily, Old Brick House was not harmed during this small engagement. 

The Battle of Petersburg ultimately was a British victory, but the American forces garnered much praise from Generals Muhlenberg and Von Steuben.  Muhlenberg himself stated that “every inch of ground to the bridge was warmly disputed…The militia behaved with a spirit and resolution which would have done honour to veterans.”  Von Steuben went on to remark that “General Muhlenberg merits my particular acknowledgements for the good disposition he made & the great Gallantry with which he executed it.”

In 2002, Old Brick House Foundation Board Member, JoAn Jones had correspondence with Robert P. Davis, an author and historian of the Battle of Petersburg, on the role that Old Brick House played in the Battle of Petersburg.  One of the best little-known gems from the correspondence between Jones and Davis in regards to the engagement at Old Brick House comes from a pension extract of Revolutionary War soldier, Private Moses Fleshman, who was a participant in the Battle of Petersburg.  In his first pension statement in 1833, Fleshman states the following:

…drafted in March 1781.  Having been allowed a few days thereafter for preparation, he with others constituting a full company, were placed under Capt. Mark Finx.  Several other companies were called upon at the same time in Culpeper County and all were marched under Col. [Major] Henry Hill to Fredericksburg, Va.  On their arrival at Fredericksburg they received orders to proceed to Norfolk and proceeded through Bowling Green to Sandy Point, then to Southampton, where it was understood the enemy having left Norfolk and gone to Petersburg their destination was changed.  The next day after the arrival of the army (now under Muhlenberg) at Petersburg they had an engagement with the enemy in which they were defeated.  He was not in that action, having been detailed with 99 others under Capt. Rice to go to a brick house two miles below the town to give an alarm in the event of the enemy’s approaching.  While stationed at the house the enemy passed them, on whom they fired two rounds and their fire being returned by the ordnance of the enemy, the notice was communicated to Petersburg.  From the brick house they were ordered to retreat to Chesterfield Court House where an arrangement was made by which a company was formed consisting of 100 men made up of details of ten men each from each company of the Regiment [which consisted of ten companies], of which he was one.  The company was placed under state officers.  It was associated with a company of light horse, all under Col. Dick.  He continued in this company until discharged, having been in service three months.

Two years later, Fleshman made another statement as to his service and another account of the undertakings at Old Brick House:

In March 1781 he was drafted for a two month tour and marched from the same county under Capt. Mark Finch [Finks] through Fredericksburg, Bolen Green and Sandy Point with a regiment of militia commanded by Col. Hill [Slaughter], crossed the river at Sandy Point, joined Gen. Muhlenberg and went to Southampton and retreated from there to Petersburg.  They stood under arms all night.  The next day 100 men including him were detached and marched by Capt. Rice three miles down the river and stationed at a large brick house on the river shore.  The light horse was stationed at the same place.  They were commanded by Col. Dick.  The army retreated from Petersburg to Chesterfield, where they joined it.  Before his time expired he, with many others, was taken from their own companies and placed under state officers and kept in service at least two weeks after their time expired.

With the celebration of the 250^th anniversary of the American Revolution going on for the next several years, many stories such as this will be coming to light, providing little known events from our revolutionary struggle and shining a new light on historic sites that were witness to the events surrounding our fight for independence.  In the words of Robert Davis, who sent the above-mentioned letter to JoAn Jones, he states “not only is the preservation and overall historical significance of Brick House imperative, but the singular recognition of its being a particular Revolutionary War site, in conjunction with the Battle of Petersburg, must be given the specific recognition it richly deserves.”

References

Barham, Christopher A.  The Power and The Glory: A Sketch of the Appomattox River and Lower Reaches of Swift Creek. 

Cecere, Michael.  The Invasion of Virginia 1781.  Yardley, PA:  Westholme Publishing LLC, 2017.

Davis, Robert.  Robert Davis to JoAn Jones, September 12, 2002.