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The Battle of Yorktown

    In May 1781, British Lt. General Charles Earl Cornwallis decided to move north into Virginia. The first few months of the year had been trying times for the general. In January, he had burned his baggage trains in a vain attempt to catch Maj. General Nathanael Greene during the 'Race to the Dan'. On March 15, 1781, he had held the field at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina against Greene, but suffered huge losses.
    General Cornwallis had been trying to subdue the Southern colonies by working his way north from Charleston, South Carolina. He found re-supplying his army difficult, because militia bands under Thomas Sumter, Andrew Pickens and Francis Marion had attacked his outposts and supply lines, making control of the region nearly impossible. He nursed his depleted army for two months before deciding to go north and meet Lt. General Henry Clinton.
    General Cornwallis arrived in Petersburg, Virginia, on May 20, 1781. He soon received reinforcements from General Clinton, increasing his army from 1,500 to about 7,000. He spent the next couple of months maneuvering against the Marquis de Lafayette, engaging his army on July 6. Cornwallis next crossed the James River and moved to establish a fort at Old Point Comfort on the James River Peninsula. However, he ended up establishing himself at Yorktown, when he found Old Point Comfort indefensible. His fortifications were ready by August 22, 1781.
    On August 14, 1781, General George Washington finally received word from French Admiral de Grasse that the long awaited French fleet would arrive in mid-September. He and French General de Rochambeau began marching from Rhode Island to Virginia, managing to slip out of New York City without General Clinton's knowledge. They reached Philadelphia on September 1, 1781. Admiral de Grasse arrived in Chesapeake Bay during the first week of September, while French Admiral de Barras sailed from Newport, Rhode Island to join him.
On September 5, the long awaited French fleet led by Admiral de Grasse battled the British navy. After both fleets withdrew, French Admiral de Barras, who had arrived from Newport, Rhode Island, slipped into the Bay and occupied it. This now meant that General Cornwallis was cut off from support and escape by sea. Continental forces under General George Washington and French forces under General Rochambeau arrived at Yorktown on September 28. They began building trenches and redoubts on October 6, 1781. The bombardment of the fort at Yorktown began on October 9, 1781.
    Lt. General Charles Cornwallis attempted to hold out for reinforcements from Lt. General Henry Clinton, but by October 19, the British could not withstand anymore. They were blocked by the French from the sea and had run low on food and supplies. Cornwallis sent word of surrender. After some negotiations, the surrender papers were signed on October 20. That afternoon the British marched out of the fort.
    The surrender ceremony has become a legend unto itself. First, General Cornwallis was not present, supposedly being ill. As a result, his second-in-command, Brig. General Charles O'Hara, was the British representative. He first attempted to surrender to French General Comte de Rochambeau, but Rochambeau refused and pointed him to General Washington. Washington's only reaction was to ask him to surrender to his deputy, Maj. General Benjamin Lincoln.

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