While we were staying in the Hampton Roads area, we visited
a few of the historical sites which make the area so notable. On Sunday, November 17, we went to one of the
“historic triangle” sites (Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown). Our choice was Yorktown.
Our day consisted of meeting my mother and going to the
Yorktown Battlefield together with the kids.
We started at the visitor center and toured the museum and watched an
orientation film which depicted the dramatic end of the Revolutionary War.
In May of 1781, British General Charles, Lord Cornwallis,
moved his army into Virginia after a costly North Carolina campaign. He was under orders from his superior in New
York (Sir Henry Clinton) to establish a naval base somewhere in the lower
Chesapeake Bay area. He chose the port
of Yorktown as the location. In early
August he transferred his army there, even though they had been pursued by the
French Marquis de Lafayette throughout the months. (Remember, the French were aiding the rebel
Americans in their fight for independence – not so much out of love for
Americans, but rather out of spite for Britain.)
However, the Allied army, numbering 17,000 men, gathered at
nearby Williamsburg to prepare to engage Lord Cornwallis. On September 28, 1781, they marched to
Yorktown to face Cornwallis’ 8300-man garrison.
Lord Cornwallis thought he’d be able to escape the port city
of Yorktown by sea, if needed. However,
he didn’t anticipate that the French naval fleet, under command of Admiral
Francois Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, would have established a blockade which
would prevent him from escaping.
This proved to be the magic bullet. On October 17, once Lord Cornwallis realized
that he was cornered, he sent word to General Washington requesting a meeting
to discuss terms for the surrender of the British army. Two days later, on October 19, 1781, the
surrender was official.
An interesting side note: we learned that Lord Cornwallis
wanted to surrender “with honors”, as was the gentlemen’s tradition at the time. However, the main reason that the terms of
surrender took two days to negotiate was that General Washington would not
allow it regardless of Lord Cornwallis’ insistence. Why not?
The reason he declined the request for surrender with honors was because
months earlier, in Trenton, New Jersey, British Lord Tarleton would not allow
the rebel American army to surrender with honors after the Battle of
Trenton. It was a demoralizing
embarrassment for the American forces.
So General Washington was returning the favor, so to speak. (And if you have ever watched the movie
“Amazing Grace” about the abolition of slavery in Britain - excellent movie, by
the way - Lord Tarleton was the person in the movie who opposed abolition. Yes, Lord Tarleton went on to be a
representative in Parliament following the Revolutionary War. Interesting how these things tie together,
isn’t it?)
Back to the battle –
General Washington maintained a standing army for two more
years, as it was suspected that more fighting would take place in the quest for
independence. The American army didn’t
stand down until the Treaty of Paris, which put an official end to the
hostilities, was signed in 1783. (Incidentally, we saw the actual Treaty of
Paris on traveling display when we visited Boston.)
While touring the Yorktown battlefield, we took the audio
driving tour. We saw the earthworks on
the battlefield for both the British and the Allied forces, merely 400 or so
feet apart. We saw the Grand French
Battery, which opened fire on the British on October 9th, marking
the start of the battle. We also saw
Redoubts 9 and 10 which the French and American forces captured in less than 30
minutes. Most impressively, we saw and
went inside the Moore House, which is the location where the terms of surrender
were negotiated. We were the only ones
there, so we received a private tour and saw the actual room where General
Washington and Lord Cornwallis hashed it out.
And the last place that we saw was Surrender Field, which is the field
onto which Cornwallis’ army marched and laid down arms. On display at this field are the cannons
which were surrendered, each one engraved with the date on which it was
surrendered.
After earning the Junior Ranger badge and shopping in the
gift shop, we said our goodbyes to Grandma and headed back home. It was an enjoyable day.
