The Battle of Blandford (or Blanford), also called the Battle of Petersburg, took place near Petersburg, Virginia on 25 April 1781, late in the American War of Independence. Roughly 2,300 British regulars under the command of Brigadier General William Phillips defeated about 1,000 militia under Major General Baron von Steuben. On April 24, Major General William Phillips landed his force of 2,500 British Regulars on the shore of City Point, Virginia, at the confluence of the James and the Appomattox Rivers. The only opposition to British invasion was the Virginia State Militia commanded by von Steuben. Von Steuben was well aware of a British expedition moving up James River and was convinced that Petersburg was to be one of Phillips' targets. On the south side of the James, Steuben had the corps of Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg following abreast of the British movement. When intelligence proved that Petersburg was indeed the next target, Steuben ordered Muhlenberg's Corps to move immediately into the city. Shortly before sunset on 24 April, Phillips landed a force of 2,500 British and Hessian soldiers at City Point (now Hopewell), 12 miles east of Petersburg. As morning dawned the next day, four regiments of Muhlenberg's Virginia militia infantry formed two lines of defense and awaited the British force.

The British set out around 10 that morning, marching along the River Road toward Petersburg. Phillips' command consisted of the 78th and 80th Regiments of Foot, John Graves Simcoe's corps of Loyalist Queen's Rangers, Arnold's American Legion, a force of Hessian jägers, and two battalions of light infantry. The battle was preceded by an exchange of fire between the British gunboats and the American advance reconnaissance. As the British forces advanced on the American line, Phillips and Abercrombie noticed that one enterprising company of Virginia militia had established a position on a hill that provided them with an excellent opportunity to enfilade the British line. Abercrombie sent the jägers to flush them out. Pausing on the heights near Violet Bank (in present-day Colonial Heights), the Americans engaged in an artillery duel with the British forces on the opposite bank, with further losses on both sides. After being replenished with a supply of rum, the weary militia then continued its northward retreat. After about 30 minutes of fighting, Phillips ordered his artillery placed on a plateau in the British center. The American withdrawal was so well timed it prevented the 76th and 80th from their assault that might have turned Muhlenberg's right.