Battle of Spencer's Ordinary

Battle of Spencer's Ordinary
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Detail from a 1781 French map prepared for Lafayette depicting his and Cornwallis's movements. The clash at Spencer's is marked by "le 26 Juin".
Date 26 June 1781 Location James City County, near Williamsburg, Virginia Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain Hesse-Kassel
Commanders and leaders
Richard Butler	John Graves Simcoe
Strength
570[1]	400[2]
Casualties and losses
9 killed 14 wounded 32 captured[1]	11 killed 25 wounded[3]

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.