Cornwallis decided it was time to devise his own Southern strategy.  As he studied maps of a wider area, it seemed to him that the key to ending the rebellion was gaining control of Virginia.  He wrote to Sir Henry Clinton, commander-in-chief of the British Army in the colonies.  It took a long time for the letter to arrive in New York.  Cornwallis was already in Virginia when he received Clinton's reply dated May 29, 1781.

"In the disordered state of Carolina and Georgia, I shall dread what may be the consequences of your Lordship's move."

Sir Henry Clinton

Marquis de Lafayette

That summer letters crossed back and forth between Virginia and New York.  Clinton's instructions kept changing. Cornwallis wrote about the activities of the Marquis de Lafayette, the young Frenchman who commanded American troops from his headquarters in Williamsburg.  Lafayette was following General George Washington's instructions.  Follow and hinder British activities.   Avoid a major battle.