The Battle of Yorktown

Sept. 28, 1781
On this day General George Washington was commanding a force of 17,000 Continental and French troops. On this day the most important battle of the Revolutionary War took place: The Battle of Yorktown. The enemy was the British General Charles Cornwallis with an army of 9,000 troops. This important battle took place in Yorktown, Virginia and the whole war lasted less than a month. In the spring of 1781, Washington traveled to Rhode Island where he met with Comte de Rochambeau in order to discuss and plan an attack on General Clinton. Clinton was the commander of British forces in America since Lord William Howe had resigned from his position. General Clinton was in New York City after failing to control the northern and middle colonies.

In New York, a French Fleet was expected to arrive later that summer and Washington wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and coordinate the attack with the fleet's arrival. However, Washington changed his plans and he decided to fool Clinton by making him believe he was going to attack him, while he secretly sneaked away to the south to trap Cornwallis. Washington made his men build big army camps and brick ovens to give the appearance of a long stay. He also prepared false documents under his signature discussing plans to attack Clinton and let the papers fall into British hands. Washington and Rochambeau set out for Yorktown in the middle of August. Cornwallis was in Yorktown because he had been ordered by General Clinton to provide a harbor for the British fleet in the lower Chesapeake Bay. He and his army chose Yorktown due to its deep-water harbor.


The French fleet that was commanded by Count de Grasse left Saint Domingue (nowadays Haiti) and headed for the Chesapeake Bay. The Patriots were filled with good luck because at the same time, Cornwallis chose Yorktown as his base and it is located at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Washington ordered Marquis de Lafayette and an American army of 5,000 troops to prevent Cornwallis from escaping by land while the French fleet covered the sea. Washington and his troops had surrounded Cornwallis completely by September 28, 1781. After three weeks of battle Cornwallis surrendered to Washington on Oct. 17, 1781, ending the American Revolutionary War. General Charles O'Hara was Cornwallis's second in command and he had to attend the surrender ceremony because Cornwallis said he was sick. After 8 years of war, finally the United States was a free and independent nation.