The Battle of Yorktown: How Cornwallis Was Trapped

Hey!!! We would love to hear from you about any questions or topics or locations that you want to hear about. You are the reason that we do what we do!!! The Battle of Yorktown was not won in a single dramatic charge. It was won by closing a trap—on land, at sea, and through three weeks of siege warfare. In this episode of Our Living History, we visit Yorktown Battlefield and follow the 1781 campaign that brought George Washington, the Comte de Rochambeau, and Admiral de Grasse together against Lord Cornwallis. We examine how Washington and Rochambeau concealed the Allied move from New York to Virginia, how the French fleet blocked British relief by sea, and how American and French artillery steadily crushed the British position. The story reaches its decisive point on the night of October 14, when approximately 400 French troops attacked Redoubt 9 while approximately 400 American light infantry under Alexander Hamilton assaulted Redoubt 10. Capturing those two positions allowed the Allies to complete their second siege line and move their artillery even closer to Cornwallis’s defenses. With his position collapsing, a river evacuation ruined by a storm, and British relief arriving too late, Cornwallis sought terms. His army formally surrendered on October 19, 1781. We also separate the verified history from two common Yorktown myths. The surrender did not legally end the American Revolutionary War, which continued until the Treaty of Paris in September 1783, and the identity of the tune played during the surrender remains unknown. Yorktown was the last major land battle of the war, and its outcome broke Britain’s effort to regain control of the colonies. Which part of the Yorktown campaign made the greatest difference—the deception, the French fleet, the Allied artillery, or the capture of Redoubts 9 and 10? Share your answer and follow Our Living History for more battlefield history, living history, military history, and stories from the American Revolution. I’d like to take a moment to thank Albert Meyer for supporting Our Living History as a channel sponsor.  Albert is an attorney serving clients throughout South Carolina in Criminal Defense, Immigration, and Personal Injury matters.  If you’d like to learn more or get in touch with him, his contact information is below:  Cell: (839) 292-6571 I appreciate his support of historical education, living history, museums, and the content we share here. Please join me in thanking him for helping make future projects possible. Sources used for this episode: American Battlefield Trust — Battle of Yorktown  https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/yorktown National Park Service — History of the Siege  https://www.nps.gov/york/learn/historyculture/history-of-the-siege.htm American Battlefield Trust — Yorktown, September 28–October 19, 1781  https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/yorktown-sep-28-oct-19-1781 American Battlefield Trust — Assaults on Redoubts 9 and 10  https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/yorktown-assaults-redoubts-9-and-10-oct-14-1781 Support the show