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1781: Ricmond Viginia is burned by British troops lead by Bendict Arnold. "Benedict Arnold was personally tasked by Commander-in-ChiefSir Henry Clinton in late December of 1780, to lead a force of 1,600 of his Loyalist troops to raid and capture Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and establish strong defenses at Portsmouth. Clinton hoped that sending an American-born commander to Richmond would convince more Loyalists in the area to join the British cause, which would subsequently give the British Army the upper hand in the Southern Theatre of the war. Arnold's fleet with force of 1600 sailed up the James River, laying waste to plantations and settlements along the way. Arnold's forces marched triumphantly into the city, described by an eyewitness as "undisturbed by even a single shot." From his headquarters at Main Street's City Tavern (he would only stay in Richmond for a day), Arnold wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson who had fled the city, saying that if he could move the city's tobacco stores and military arms to his ships, he would leave Richmond unharmed. Jefferson's response was livid, refusing that a turncoat do anything to Richmond's supplies. receiving the letter the next day on January 6, Arnold was enraged in turn, and ordered Richmond to be set to the torch. British troops then started a rampage across the city, burning government buildings as well as private homes, ransacking the city of its valuables and supplies. A strong wind spread the flames even more, adding to the destruction. After most of Richmond was burned and its valuables sacked, Arnold led his forces outside of Richmond and to the Westham cannon foundry, which held even more armaments, and preceded to burn it down. After its destruction, the British went down to the city of Chesterfield, and began another spree of violence, burning down homes and looting buildings. Arnold was praised by local Loyalists, as well as his superiors, to be a hero.
The destruction of Richmond, one of the most important cities in the United States, outraged the American populace. George Washington was so angered and humiliated by the destruction of Richmond, that he put a 5,000 guinea bounty on Arnold's head and ordered his aide, the Marquis de Lafayette, to hang Arnold if he encountered him in battle. Continental marksmen were issued targets painted in Benedict's appearance to practice on, if in the event they saw him.
The British, saw Arnold's victory at Richmond as a turning point, and gave them hopes that Loyalists could rise up with them, and quell the American presence in the South. Many slaves were liberated from the raided plantations, as well as Richmond itself, and many of them promptly joined the British Army afterwards, in exchange for their freedom." Considering his victory at Valcour Island in 1776, delaying the British campaign a year, and the amphibious operation on the James River culminating in the destruction of Richmond, Benedict Arnold, in addition to his brilliant generalship at crucial Saratoga, ranks as one of the better admirals of the American Revolution ...on both sidesthe unamed monument to his leg; wounded at Saratoga. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_of_Richmond