The Siege at Yorktown
In 1780, French soldiers landed in Rhode Island to help their American allies fight the British. French generals Marquis de Lafayette and Rochambeau provided skilled leadership and were helping to turn the tide of the war towards the Americans.
General George Washington sought a major victory that would force the British to finally surrender after a long and costly war.
In 1781, British General Lord Cornwallis was in Virginia waiting for supplies and reinforcements from Britain. General Washington saw this as an opportunity to deal his British counterpart a major defeat.
The French and American armies united near New York City in the summer of 1781 and began moving south toward Virginia. A French fleet sailing north from the Caribbean would meet them at Yorktown off the Chesapeake Bay.
In late September 1781, Washington and Rochambeau arrived at Yorktown and the combined American and French army and naval forces had Cornwallis surrounded.
They began a siege or bombardment of the British forces at Yorktown. The French and American guns tore into British defenses. With the French fleet providing a blockade, there was no hope for British reinforcements.
After several days of cannon bombardment, the Americans and French began an assault on October 14th. Alexander Hamilton led troops in taking one of the British earthen forts, with French and American assaults on others.
Cornwallis and his troops were surrounded and waved a white handkerchief in surrender on October 17th. After two days of negotiation, a surrender ceremony occurred and over 7,000 British soldiers were captured. Negotiations between America and Great Britain would soon begin to finally end the war.
Start Over: Lexington & Concord