Battle of Spencer's Ordinary 1781
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 26 June 1781 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1781 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Kingdom of Great Britain, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 37.3195, -76.7981 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Spencer's Ordinary was an inconclusive skirmish that took place on 26 June 1781, late in the American Revolutionary War. British forces under Lieutenant Colonel John Graves Simcoe and American forces under Colonel Richard Butler, light detachments from the armies of General Lord Cornwallis and the Marquis de Lafayette respectively, clashed near a tavern (the "ordinary") at a road intersection not far from Williamsburg, Virginia.
Lafayette had been shadowing Cornwallis as he moved his army toward Williamsburg from central Virginia. Aware that Simcoe had become separated from Cornwallis, he sent Butler out in an attempt to cut Simcoe off. Both sides, concerned that the other might be reinforced by its main army, eventually broke off the battle.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Spencer's Ordinary (revision 1370589768), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
- Battle of Tearcoat Swamp 1780
- Battle of Wahab's Plantation 1780
- Battle of Waxhaws 1780
- Battle of Young's House 1780
- Siege of Charleston 1780
- Action of 21 July 1781 1781
- Battle of Blandford 1781
- Battle of Cape Henry 1781
- Battle of Cowan's Ford 1781
- Battle of Cowpens 1781
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
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