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A strange Place to end a War
Why would a British general position himself to be surrounded and trapped on a peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia. Why indeed, with the superiority of the British army and navy who had their will since 1776, why would a premier British general place his army in such a vulnerable position? Most unusual circumstances led to the downfall of the mighty British military and laid the cornerstone for the birth of this new and prosperous nation.
First of all, Cornwallis got his butt kicked by an American general named Nathanael Greene at Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina. Greene withdrew from the battle, but the British army was bloodied like it had never been before in America. Smaller victorious had occured at Trenton, Princeton, Cowpens and at Kings Mountain earlier, but in March of 1781, Greene gave the redcoats all they could handle and left Cornwallis' army busted, bloodied and broken. When Greene withdrew from the field of battle, Cornwallis claimed victory and sneaked out in the opposite direction to replenish his troops at Wilmington, NC.
While there Cornwallis got an order from General Clinton in New York City to bring his army there to support him in warding off an attack from George Washington. Then, Clinton changed his orders and told Cornwallis to build a deep water port at in Virginia. He relocated his army to the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia during the summer of 1781 and started construction in Yorktown. General Lafayette had a small army in Richmond, whose job was to keep Washington aware of Cornwallis's movements. After learning of this new move by the British, Washington moved his army down to join Lafayette, and he was also joined by a new army recruited from Pennsylvania.
The British had enjoyed command of the seas, but the French had recently bested them off the coast of Virginia. Clinton intended to have Cornwallis's army available to board ships and come to New York if needed. Instead the French fleet under Admiral Compte DeGrasse sailed from the Caribbean, blocked the new harbor and landed a French army to join Washington's growing army. In the meantime, the French Navy continued to block any attempts to reinforce or extract the British army from Yorktown.
By September, General Greene had joined his forces with Washington and the trap was set. The allied armies now doubled the force of the British and Cornwallis was encircled. In late September the allied forces of the American army and the French under General Rochambeau began the siege with heavy artillery bombardments of the British lines. On October 14th, combined forces stormed two earthen forts (redoubts) and forced the British out of their final outer outposts This enabled Washington to bring his cannons even closer to the town and forced Cornwallis to capitulate. He surrendered his entire army to the Americans on October 19th, 1781. The war for independence was not ended until The Treaty of Paris in 1783 but this was the victory that enabled these United States of America to become a free nation.
Much is owed to the French and particularly their navy, who bested the British and bottled in the British army. I believe America has come to the aid of the French in modern wars and the debt is repaid over many times, but without a doubt, it would have been a much more difficult task without their help in 1781.
First of all, Cornwallis got his butt kicked by an American general named Nathanael Greene at Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina. Greene withdrew from the battle, but the British army was bloodied like it had never been before in America. Smaller victorious had occured at Trenton, Princeton, Cowpens and at Kings Mountain earlier, but in March of 1781, Greene gave the redcoats all they could handle and left Cornwallis' army busted, bloodied and broken. When Greene withdrew from the field of battle, Cornwallis claimed victory and sneaked out in the opposite direction to replenish his troops at Wilmington, NC.
While there Cornwallis got an order from General Clinton in New York City to bring his army there to support him in warding off an attack from George Washington. Then, Clinton changed his orders and told Cornwallis to build a deep water port at in Virginia. He relocated his army to the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia during the summer of 1781 and started construction in Yorktown. General Lafayette had a small army in Richmond, whose job was to keep Washington aware of Cornwallis's movements. After learning of this new move by the British, Washington moved his army down to join Lafayette, and he was also joined by a new army recruited from Pennsylvania.
The British had enjoyed command of the seas, but the French had recently bested them off the coast of Virginia. Clinton intended to have Cornwallis's army available to board ships and come to New York if needed. Instead the French fleet under Admiral Compte DeGrasse sailed from the Caribbean, blocked the new harbor and landed a French army to join Washington's growing army. In the meantime, the French Navy continued to block any attempts to reinforce or extract the British army from Yorktown.
By September, General Greene had joined his forces with Washington and the trap was set. The allied armies now doubled the force of the British and Cornwallis was encircled. In late September the allied forces of the American army and the French under General Rochambeau began the siege with heavy artillery bombardments of the British lines. On October 14th, combined forces stormed two earthen forts (redoubts) and forced the British out of their final outer outposts This enabled Washington to bring his cannons even closer to the town and forced Cornwallis to capitulate. He surrendered his entire army to the Americans on October 19th, 1781. The war for independence was not ended until The Treaty of Paris in 1783 but this was the victory that enabled these United States of America to become a free nation.
Much is owed to the French and particularly their navy, who bested the British and bottled in the British army. I believe America has come to the aid of the French in modern wars and the debt is repaid over many times, but without a doubt, it would have been a much more difficult task without their help in 1781.
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| British artillery defending Yorktown |
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| The Martin house where the British surrendered |
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