Siege of Yorktown

The Siege of Yorktown (1781) was a victory by a combined American and French force led by General George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the French General Comte de Rochambeau over a British army commanded by General Lord Charles Cornwallis. The surrender of Cornwallis's army caused the British government to negotiate an end to the American Revolutionary War.

Background

When General Rochambeau met General Washington in Wethersfield, Connecticut on May 22, 1781 to determine their strategy against the British, they made plans to move against New York City, which was occupied by about 10,000 men under General Sir Henry Clinton, the overall British commander.

Meanwhile, word had come from General Lafayette in Virginia that Cornwallis had taken up a defensive position at Yorktown, Virginia, next to the York River. Cornwallis had been campaigning in the southern colonies and had cut a wide swath, but his 7,000 troops were now tired and in need of supplies. Under instructions from Clinton, Cornwallis moved the army to Yorktown in order to link up with the Royal Navy.

On July 19, 1781, while encamped at Dobbs Ferry, New York, Washington learned of the Virginia campaign of Cornwallis and wrote that "I am of Opinion, that under these Circumstances, we ought to throw a sufficient Garrison into W Point; leave some Continental Troops and Militia to cover the Country contiguous to New York, and transport the Remainder (both French and American) to Virginia, should the Enemy still keep a Force there."^*

On August 14, 1781, Washington received confirmation that the French Admiral de Grasse, stationed in the West Indies, was sailing with his fleet to the Chesapeake Bay. Abandoning the New York campaign, Washington now knew that the Americans and French might be able to trap Cornwallis' army at Yorktown.

Siege of Yorktown

Admiral de Grasse sailed his French battle fleet of twenty-eight ships north toward Virginia. Simultaneously, on August 21, 1781, Washington began moving his army south. As they marched south, Admiral de Grasse's fleet arrived at the Chesapeake Bay. De Grasse defeated Admiral Thomas Graves' fleet in the Battle of the Chesapeake and won control of the bay. Cornwallis was now stranded.

On September 28, Washington and Rochambeau, along with Lafayette's troops and 3,000 of de Grasse's men, arrived at Yorktown. In all, there were approximately 17,000 men converging on Cornwallis' camp. The city was soon surrounded and under heavy fire.

On October 14, the Franco-American forces captured two major British redoubts. After a useless counterattack, Cornwallis offered to surrender on October 17. On October 19, the papers were signed and he officially surrendered. About 7,000 British troops became prisoners to the American forces.

Conclusion

A formal surrender ceremony took place on the morning following the battle. Cornwallis refused to attend out of pure embarrassment, claiming illness. According to legend, the British forces marched to the fife tune of "The World Turned Upside Down," though no real evidence of this exists. Cornwallis' deputy at first attempted to surrender to the French General Rochambeau, who is reputed to have said, "Vous vous trompez le général en chef de notre armée est à la droite; puis il le conduisit" (you are mistaken, sir, the general of our army is to the right, pointing to George Washington). The lieutenant then attempted to surrender to Washington, who refused because it was not Cornwallis himself, and indicated that the subordinate should surrender to General Lincoln, Washington's least favorite general because he had botched the southern campaign. Cornwallis' lieutenant ceremonially offered his sword to Lincoln, which was ironically refused. All other British troops were required to surrender and trample their firearms in the custom of the time.

The British prisoners amounted to about a quarter of all British forces in the American colonies. It was not clear at the time that Yorktown was the climax of the war, since the British still occupied key ports such as New York City and Charleston, South Carolina. Sporadic fighting continued after the Yorktown surrender, and Washington believed the war might drag on for another year.

However, British Prime Minister Lord North resigned after receiving news of the surrender at Yorktown. His successors decided that it was no longer in Britain's best interest to continue the war, and negotiations were undertaken. The British signed the Treaty of Paris, recognizing the United States and promising to remove all her troops from the country.

References

External links

Battles of the American Revolutionary War

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Background

Siege of Yorktown

Conclusion

References

See also

External links