The Battle of Yorktown was the final major battle of the American Revolution. But it almost didn’t happen.
In the years leading up to the battle, the British Army implemented a Southern Strategy, where they shifted the theater of war to the southern colonies (Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia). The British hoped to rack up victories in the South and build up enough momentum to force the Americans to surrender.
Initially, the Southern Strategy was successful. The British captured the capital of Georgia in the Battle of Savannah. Then they captured the capital of South Carolina in the Siege of Charleston. Then they moved into Virginia and burned down the entire capital city in the Raid on Richmond. Even though the British struggled to control these cities after the main army moved on, the Southern Strategy made it difficult for the Continental Army to see an end to the conflict. Stationed just outside of New York City, George Washington grew anxious.
Everything changed in August 1781 when British General Charles Cornwallis moved his men into Yorktown, Virginia, where he hoped to receive food, supplies, and reinforcements to crush the Americans. Cornwallis felt protected near the water because the British navy was the most dominant in the world.
But Cornwallis had a huge problem. His servant, James Armistead, was actually an American spy and he was providing Washington's army with details about Cornwallis's movements and plans. Using this knowledge, the Americans developed a plan to attack Cornwallis from land sea and force him to surrender.
Initially, George Washington wasn’t crazy about the plan. He wanted to send his warships to New York instead of Yorktown but a French Commander named Comte. de Rochambeau secretly ordered the ships to sail to Yorktown and helped set up the final battle of the war.
On September 5, 1781, the French navy defeated the British navy at the Battle of the Chesapeake and trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown. Then, the French and American - soldiers under the leadership of Washington, Rochambeau, and the Marquis de Lafayette - blasted Cornwallis with 1,700 cannons per day until he finally surrendered on October 17, 1781.
The content of this video is drawn from multiple sources, including the amazing book by Joseph Ellis titled His Excellency.
Most images are taken from the free website commons.wikime....
#GeorgeWashington
#CharlesCornwallis
#JamesArmistead
#JamesArmisteadLafayette
#MarquisdeLafayette
#BenedictArnold
#ComtedeRochambeau
#SouthernStrategy
#SouthernTheater
#BattleofSavannah
#SiegeofCharleston
#BattleofCamden
#RaidonRichmond
#BattleoftheChesapeake
#BattleofYorktown
#SurrenderatYorktown
#CAG
#PH
18 сен 2024
