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    Yorktown and the Siege of 1781
    Yorktown and the Siege of 1781
    Yorktown and the Siege of 1781
    Ebook127 pages1 hour

    Yorktown and the Siege of 1781

    By Charles E. Hatch

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    Battle of Green Spring
    The British Move to Yorktown
    SIEGE OF YORKTOWN
    Strategy of the Siege
    Battle of the Virginia Capes
    Assembly of the Allied Armies
    Investment of Yorktown
    British Position
    Opening of the Siege
    Gloucester Side
    First Allied Siege Line
    Second Allied Siege Line
    Capture of Redoubts No. 9 and No. 10
    Last Days of the Siege
    Negotiation and Surrender
    The Sequel
    THE "TOWN OF YORK"
    GUIDE TO THE AREA
    Battlefield Tour
    "Town of York"
    HOW TO REACH YORKTOWN
    COLONIAL PARKWAY
    ABOUT YOUR VISIT
    ADMINISTRATION
    CLOSELY RELATED AREAS
    SUGGESTED READINGS
    LanguageEnglish
    Publisheranboco
    Release dateJul 13, 2017
    ISBN9783736420922
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      Book preview

      Yorktown and the Siege of 1781 - Charles E. Hatch

      Table of Contents

      YORKTOWN and the Siege of 1781

      The Virginia Campaign

      BATTLE OF GREEN SPRING.

      THE BRITISH MOVE TO YORKTOWN.

      Siege of Yorktown

      STRATEGY OF THE SIEGE.

      BATTLE OF THE VIRGINIA CAPES.

      ASSEMBLY OF THE ALLIED ARMIES.

      INVESTMENT OF YORKTOWN.

      BRITISH POSITION.

      OPENING OF THE SIEGE.

      GLOUCESTER SIDE.

      FIRST ALLIED SIEGE LINE.

      SECOND ALLIED SIEGE LINE.

      CAPTURE OF REDOUBTS NO. 9 AND NO. 10.

      LAST DAYS OF THE SIEGE.

      NEGOTIATION AND SURRENDER.

      THE SEQUEL.

      The Town of York

      Guide to the Area

      1. VISITOR CENTER.

      2. REDOUBT NO. 9 (reconstructed).

      3. AMERICAN BATTERY NO. 2, SECOND ALLIED SIEGE LINE.

      4. REDOUBT NO. 10.

      5. AMERICAN SECTOR, FIRST ALLIED SIEGE LINE.

      6. AMERICAN APPROACH ROAD.

      7. MOORE HOUSE.

      8. MOORES MILL DAM.

      9. BENJAMIN LINCOLN’S HEADQUARTERS SITE and 10. LAFAYETTE’S HEADQUARTERS SITE.

      11. SURRENDER FIELD.

      12. SURRENDER ROAD.

      13. ENCAMPMENT DRIVE.

      14. GRAND FRENCH BATTERY.

      15. NATIONAL CEMETERY.

      16. SECOND ALLIED SIEGE LINE.

      17. YORKTOWN.

      18. FUSILIERS REDOUBT.

      TOWN OF YORK

      How to Reach Yorktown

      Colonial Parkway

      About Your Visit

      Administration

      Closely Related Areas

      Suggested Readings

      Appendix 1

      Appendix 2

      YORKTOWN

      and the Siege of 1781

      by Charles E. Hatch, Jr.

      NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES No. 14

      Washington, D. C., 1954 (Revised 1957)

      The National Park System, of which Colonial National Historical Park is a unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States for the benefit and inspiration of its people.

      The reconstructed Grand French Battery—a strong link in the First Allied Siege Line.

      On the level fields outside the small colonial village of Yorktown occurred one of the great decisive battles of world history and one of the most momentous events in American history. Here, on October 19, 1781, after a prolonged siege, Lord Cornwallis surrendered his British Army to an allied French and American Army force under George Washington, virtually ending the American Revolution and assuring American independence. While hostilities did not formally end until 2 years later—on September 3, 1783, when the treaty was signed—in reality the dramatic victory at Yorktown had ended forever the subservience of the American colonies to England. Because of this victory the United States became truly a free and independent nation.

      The Virginia Campaign

      At Yorktown, in the early autumn of 1781, Gen. George Washington, ably assisted by the Count de Rochambeau of the French Army and supported by the Count de Grasse of the French Navy, forced the capitulation of Lieutenant General Earl Cornwallis. On October 19, the allied French and American forces accepted the surrender of the British troops in what was the climax of the last major British field operation of the American Revolution—the Virginia Campaign.

      The early campaigns, except the decisive repulse of British arms in the Carolinas in 1776, were fought mostly in the New England and Middle Atlantic colonies. After 1778, most activity was to the south. In 1780 and early 1781, Lord Cornwallis led his victorious British Army out of Charleston and through the Carolinas; not, however, without feeling the effective use of American arms at Kings Mountain (October 7, 1780) and at Cowpens (January 17, 1781). On March 15, 1781, he was at Guilford Courthouse in north-central North Carolina and there Gen. Nathanael Greene accepted his challenge to battle.

      The battle of Guilford Courthouse was a British victory which left the victor weakened to the extent that he was unable to capitalize on his success. Cornwallis’ loss in officers and men was so heavy that his army was crippled beyond measure. In April, he decided to move to Wilmington, N. C., on the coast, for the avowed purpose of recruiting and refitting his exhausted force. Thus the stage was set for the final campaign of the war.

      Cornwallis’ next move changed the strategy of the Southern Campaign. He did not believe himself strong enough for field action out of Wilmington and declined to return to Charleston and South Carolina. According to his own statement, "I was most firmly persuaded, that, until Virginia was reduced, we could not hold the more southern provinces, and that after its reduction, they would fall without much difficulty." He made this decision alone, and Commanding General Sir Henry Clinton in New York never approved. On April 25, he marched from Wilmington, reaching Petersburg, Va., on May 20, where he formed a junction with Gen. William Phillips who commanded the British forces already in the State.

      By this time there was already a considerable concentration of troops in Virginia. Gen. Alexander Leslie had been sent there with a detachment of troops in October 1780, but he had gone on to join Cornwallis in South Carolina. Shortly thereafter, another British force under Benedict Arnold was sent to operate in the area. To contain Arnold’s force, or at least to watch it, Washington had dispatched the Marquis de Lafayette to Virginia to work in conjunction with the Baron von Steuben, and later with Greene. Clinton then countered by sending Phillips with a large detachment to join Arnold. As a result of these and other moves, but by no prearranged plan, the stage was set in May 1781, for Virginia to be the battleground. From the British point of view the subjugation of the province was the tempting prize. For the Americans, the goal was to prevent this, and prevent it they

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