C
After the exhausting battle in the Carolinas, Cornwallis chose to move the
fight to Virginia, where he met up with reinforcements. First he tried to capture
the divisions led by Lafayette and von Steuben. When that failed, Cornwallis
made a fateful mistake: he led his army of 7,500 onto the peninsula between the
James and York rivers and camped at Yorktown, a few miles from the original
English settlement of Jamestown (see map, page 119). Cornwallis planned to for-
tify Yorktown, take Virginia, and then move north to join Clinton’s forces.
The British Surrender
at Yorktown
A combination of good luck and well-timed decisions
now favored the American cause. In 1780, a French army of
6,000 had landed in Newport, Rhode Island, after the British
left the city to focus on the South. The French had stationed
one fleet there and were operating another in the West
Indies. When news of Cornwallis’s plans reached him, the
Marquis de Lafayette suggested that the American and
French armies join forces with the two French fleets and
attack the British forces at Yorktown.
VICTORY AT YORKTOWN
Following Lafayette’s plan, the
Americans and the French closed in on Cornwallis. A French
naval force defeated a British fleet and then blocked the
entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, thereby preventing a British
rescue by sea. Meanwhile, about 17,000 French and
American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown
peninsula and bombarded them day and night. The siege of
Yorktown lasted about three weeks. On October 17, 1781,
with his troops outnumbered by more than two to one and
exhausted from constant shelling, Cornwallis finally raised
the white flag of surrender.
On October 19, a triumphant Washington, the French
generals, and their troops assembled to accept the British
surrender. After General Charles O’Hara, representing
Cornwallis, handed over his sword, the British troops laid
down their arms. In his diary, Captain Johann Ewald,
a German officer, tried to explain this astonishing turn
of events.
A PERSONAL VOICE CAPTAIN JOHANN EWALD
“ With what soldiers in the world could one do what was done by these men, who
go about nearly naked and in the greatest privation? Deny the best-disciplined
soldiers of Europe what is due them and they will run away in droves, and the
general will soon be alone. But from this one can perceive what an enthusiasm—
which these poor fellows call ‘Liberty’—can do!
”
—Diary of the American War
SEEKING PEACE
Peace talks began in Paris in 1782. Representatives of four
nations—the United States, Great Britain, France, and Spain—joined the negotia-
tions, with each nation looking out for its own interests. Britain hoped to avoid
giving America full independence. France supported American independence but
feared America’s becoming a major power. Spain was interested in acquiring the
land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.
The War for Independence 121
BENEDICT ARNOLD
In the early years of the
Revolution, Benedict Arnold, a
popular Patriot soldier and leader,
helped defend New England and
then served as the American
commandant of Philadelphia. In
the later years of the war, howev-
er, Arnold and his wife, Peggy
Shippen Arnold, lived extravagant-
ly. In 1779, Arnold was cour t-
martialed and found guilty of using
government supplies for personal
use. Angry with Congress, Arnold,
with his wife’s support, shifted
his allegiance to Great Britain.
In 1780, Arnold decided to
hand West Point, a strategic fort
north of New York City, on the
Hudson River, over to the British.
To do so, he requested command
of the fort. Despite Arnold’s tar-
nished background, Washington
granted his request. Fortunately,
the Americans discovered the
plot, and Arnold escaped to
Britain. He died there, scorned by
both sides as a traitor.
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
C
Analyzing
Issues
How did the
French forces
contribute to the
American victory
at Yorktown?
C. Answer
French troops
joined the siege,
while French
ships blocked a
British rescue
by sea.
