The Battle of Yorktown

In 1781 general George Washington and his 17,000 troops of the continental army and the army of France entered the city of Yorktown, Virginia. With Lord General Cornwallis he only had 9,000 troops to try to defend the city of Yorktown. This is known as the most important battle in the revolutionary war.

During the American Revolution, the Americans and French (Franco-American coalition) fought the British at the Battle of Yorktown also known as “The Siege of Yorktown”. The Americans and the French fielded a combined force of roughly 16,000 soldiers to defeat the British force estimated at 7,000 soldiers. American General George Washington and French Lieutenant General de Rochambeau led the American and French soldiers. The British commanding officer was Major General Lord Cornwallis. The battle occurred from September 28 thru October 19, 1781. Cornwallis lost his dominance in the Carolinas and decided to march his army north to Virginia and seize Yorktown and Gloucester along the York River.

The battle at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781 is most famously known as the “ battle that ended the Revolutionary War.” While this is true, there is still much that can be learned from the principles applied, that still has relevance today. General George Washington, along with his allied French commanders, Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Ponton de Rochambeau and Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves, they exquisitely displayed how a execute siege operations. This battle also displayed a great example of how multinational operations can be successful.

For instance, The battle of Trenton on Christmas Eve in 1776 proved the colonist were dedicated and a capable force. The colonists were wary about fighting the very powerful Hessian, therefore on Christmas Eve, they planned a sneak attack to defeat them. The patriots marched and fought in icy and poor conditions before dawn, hoping to defeat the powerful Hessians. After the surprise attack the Colonists had totaled 2 dead and 5 wounded. The Hessians had 22 dead and 90 wounded and 918 captured. This victory would change the image of the colonist’s army and bring about great change. After the battle of Trenton, they were now viewed as a definite threat to the British. On the other hand, the battle of Saratoga gave the colonist hope for the upcoming battles. On October 17th,1777 the colonist surrounded General Burgoyne and his army continue to hold strong, the army fought until the British surrendered to the colonist. This was significant for the colonist because the British surrendered to the colonist. This showed the British that the colonist held up a good fight and that this war was going to be long and hard. In conclusion, this

The British were over confident and made poor decisions, whereas George Washington carefully thought out his tactics. The colonists used Guerilla Warfare, and militia were quick and often popped out from behind trees to attack. Using this type of warfare was very beneficial to the Colonists, as it did not give the British enough time to shoot the colonists before they were killed. Guerrilla Warfare was known to “weaken the enemy” (McDougal,210). By focusing on winning small battles, in their own land, the colonists were able to keep enough supplies, food and men to eventually win the war. In the battle of Yorktown, “British general Cornwallis set up his base, located on a peninsula” (McDougal, 209), which was a bad move on their part. Washington saw the opportunity and made the smart decision to block the one land entrance, so that the British could no longer get any supplies that they needed. Washington’s plans along with the Colonists motivation were the were the reason they won the

Washington and Rochambeau decided that a battle in New York would be too difficult to win. They agreed to attack Charles Cornwallis while he and his army were stationed in Yorktown, Virginia. Cornwallis was located on a peninsula on the Chesapeake Bay because, there, he could receive supplies via boat from New York. (Creating America) They were expecting more troops from New York, but they never arrived. The lack of reinforcements was lucky for General Washington and Rochambeau because Cornwallis had a comparatively better army; the battle might not have ended the same if the enemy had more troops. (The British Surrender at Yorktown)

This battle was a success in the American point of view. They were able to capture and siege Yorktown with minimal losses. In total only 88 allies were killed which was significantly very good. What I would do differently would be I would be fighting with my men instead of being

The battle of Yorktown was an accidental battle. George Washington was wanting to attack New York with the French fleet. But he found out that the French fleet was sailing for Chesapeake Bay. Washington set up some large brick bread ovens and a large camp to make the British think that Washington’s army was planning on staying. Then Washington let false plans fall into British hands to make them think that Washington was planning an attack. With French general Rochambeau sailing down the river, the French fleet sailing for Chesapeake Bay and Marquis De Lafayette keeping Cornwallis holed up in Yorktown General Washington planned to meet with Rochambeau and Lafayette hoping that the French fleet would be blockading Cornwallis from escape. Clinton

The battle of Saratoga is often called the turning point of the revolutionary war. It consists of two significant battles during September and October of 1777. It was the decisive triumph for the Patriots during the American revolution. The battle of the impetus for France to enter the war against the Britain, strengthening Washington’s Continental Amy and providing much needed supplies and support.

Prior to the historic Battle of Yorktown, General Washington had experienced a number of losses. These battles where along the upper east cost of the colonies in fairly strategically important places, such as New York and Boston. This is partly the reason why the British underestimated the strength and resiliency of the American forces. Additionally, they believed that the Americans would diplomatically end their rebellion, which unintentionally aided the American effort. Up until the Battle of Yorktown, the frustrations by the American forces were building up and a change in tactics was needed. Instead of the conventional combat tactics, General Washington began to use a guerrilla warfare methodology. Consequently, British forces were not expecting nor were accustomed to this type of attack and rapidly became exhausted.

Americans of the eighteenth century might question: What were the most pivotal battles of the revolution? Was it at Saratoga, where the British marched through the dense forests of Massachusetts, trying to isolate the northern colonies and then attack them? When the Americans in Massachusetts heard of this plan, they constructed a plan to attack this convoy? Wa s it at Trenton, when Washington took his men on December 25th across the frigid Delaware River to surprise the Hessians? Then captured around 1,500 Hessians, and marched through the city of Philadelphia. Was it at Yorktown, where the final battle was held against the British? And were assisted by the French in taking down British forts. The most pivotal battles of the

The Geography of the battle was important for the way the colonist won the war. The location that the British had chosen made it easy for the colonist to surround them. The battle took place in Virginia, Yorktown in the summer of 1781. The location made it easy to be surrounded because Yorktown, is located near the coast where the French ships could take over the boarding and drop off area. Yorktown was a peninsula located on the shores of Chesapeake Bay in the state of Virginia. The British could not manage to get help from naval ships because the french ships were blocking any ships from coming in or out. Surrounding the British was a huge advantage because they were almost powerless running low on food and water. This battle was the last

The Battle of Yorktown gave General Washington the advantage he needed to win. General Washington, with the help of the French saw the opportunity to end the war by cornering General Cornwallis at Yorktown. (The History Channel Website, n.d.) Prior to the surrender of General Cornwallis to General Washington at Yorktown, the British were winning several battles. General Washington needed to do something before he had no other options left. General Washington’s forces were low in numbers and strength but knew the land to give them an edge in being rooted out by the British. (Lanning, 2005) General Washington used time and heavy militia to replenish his losses but did not have the troops to capture British Garrisons. (Lanning, 2005) The British in turn, could not pass the militia aiding General Washington. (Lanning, 2005)The militia, fighting alongside continental troops, had the land and the support of the people who aided their cause during the battle. The stalemate continued with no sign of either side budging. Guerilla-style operations were used to win many fights and battles that General Washington’s own troops could not. (Lanning, 2005) General Cornwallis, saw Yorktown in Virginia as a viable location to gather resources for future encounters with the Americans. General Cornwallis moved northward from the Carolinas toward Virginia and occupied Yorktown with an estimated 6,000 to 9,000 British troops. (Lanning, 2005) (The History

The American Revolutionary War took place from 1775 to 1783. The war made the thirteen colonies of the United States of America independent from Great Britain. One of the first major battles of the American Revolution was The Battle of Long Island. The Battle of Long Island was the first battle that took place after the United States declared its independence on July 4, 1776. The battle took place in August 1776 and proved to both sides that the upcoming war would be long and arduous, not easily won by either side. The British Army was victorious in this battle and forced the Continental Army to retreat leaving the entire state of New York under British control. This paper will provide insight and valuable information into the reason behind the American Revolution, and The Battle of Long Island, specifically details concerning the Continental and British Armies, strategies employed during the battle, and an alternate outcome through addressing failures in the American strategy. An alternate outcome to the battle would have a significant impact on the American Revolutionary War.

Two hundred fifty years ago, the British surrendered at the Battle of Yorktown. Eighty Americans were killed. That was just one of the many battles fought during the Revolutionary War. Throughout those eight brutal years, many sacrifices were made.