Lafayette marched rapidly south and reached the Head of the Elk on March second, three days earlier than had been expected. Here he embarked his troops on small boats and descended to Annapolis. Seeing no signs of the French squadron, he concluded that they had been delayed by adverse winds, and, leaving his army at Annapolis, he went with a few officers to consult with Baron Steuben and seek his aid. He secured some companies of militia at Williamsburg, near the York River, and proceeded to the camp of General Muhlenberg, near Suffolk, to have a look at Benedict Arnold’s defenses at Portsmouth. Meantime a large fleet appeared in Chesapeake Bay. Lafayette, and Arnold also, thought that this must be the French squadron, but the American commander soon received word that the ships were English. It turned out that the first French squadron had found there was too little water in the bay for them, and had sailed back to Newport, while a second squadron had been driven off by the English. The result was that General Arnold’s forces were relieved from danger, and the enemy reinforced by two new regiments under General Phillips, who now took command of all the English armies in Virginia. Washington’s orders to Lafayette had been that he was to try to capture Arnold, and that if the French fleet should be defeated he should march his men back to headquarters without further risk. So he now sent his militia to Williamsburg and forwarded orders to Annapolis to have the troops prepared for immediate departure. When he reached Annapolis he found there were great difficulties in the way of transporting his men to Elk. There were very few horses or wagons or small boats for crossing the ferries, and the port was blocked by English ships. He had resort to a clever stratagem. He put two eighteen-pounders on a small sloop, which, with another ship under Commodore Nicholson, sailed out toward the enemy vessels, firing their guns as if about to attack. The two English ships on guard withdrew a considerable distance down the bay, and then Lafayette embarked his troops on his own boats and got them out of the harbor and up the bay to Elk. They reached there safely during the night, followed by Lafayette and Nicholson in the sloop. When Washington heard of General Phillips’ arrival in Virginia his anxiety was great. The situation in the south was extremely perilous. General Greene was having all he could do to oppose Lord Cornwallis in North Carolina. Unless strong opposition could be brought against Phillips the latter could quickly overrun Virginia and unite with Cornwallis. In this predicament the commander-in-chief determined to put the defense of Virginia in the hands of Lafayette.