Siege of Yorktown Begins in Revolutionary War

Context

By the summer of 1781 the American Revolutionary War had entered its sixth year with no clear end in sight. British commanders had shifted emphasis to the southern colonies after 1778, achieving some successes but also facing stubborn resistance and supply difficulties. Lord Cornwallis, operating in the Carolinas, decided to carry the campaign into Virginia, where he established a base at the small port of Yorktown on the York River peninsula in hopes of receiving naval support and reinforcements from New York.

What Happened

Washington had long sought a decisive opportunity and now coordinated closely with his French allies. The Comte de Rochambeau’s expeditionary force joined Continental troops for a rapid march southward from the New York area, while Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse brought a powerful French fleet from the West Indies. De Grasse’s victory over a British squadron at the Battle of the Chesapeake in early September secured control of the bay and prevented any relief or evacuation of Cornwallis by sea. Lafayette’s smaller American force had already been maneuvering in Virginia to limit British movements on land.

Aftermath

On September 28 the combined allied army of roughly 17,000 men left Williamsburg and began to invest the British lines at Yorktown. French troops took the left of the allied position and Americans the right. Cornwallis, commanding about 9,000 soldiers, withdrew into a network of redoubts and earthworks. The allies spent the night in the open while engineers bridged marshes; British guns fired sporadically with little effect. Over the following days the besiegers prepared siege parallels and brought up heavy artillery transported by de Grasse.

Legacy

The investment of Yorktown on September 28 marked the opening of the final major campaign of the Revolutionary War. After three weeks of trench work and bombardment, Cornwallis surrendered on October 19. The victory convinced British political leaders that the cost of continued fighting outweighed any possible gain, prompting serious peace negotiations that culminated in the Treaty of Paris two years later.