T1+-+6.5C

T1 - 6.5C Alex Basch (Battle at Yorktown)

** THE BATTLE THAT ENDED THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR **  Charleston, Virginia December 22, 1781  The Battle of Yorktown is a battle no one will forget. The Americans and French allied against the British in Yorktown, Virginia, September 28th to October 20th. The reason this battle started was because British General Cornwallis wanted control of land in Virginia. Washington had heard about how the British had taken over Yorktown, and knew he needed to join up with the French to win land back. This began the Battle of Yorktown.  George Washington leading the Americans and Rochambeau leading the French began the battle against Cornwallis, leading the British. Washington realized they needed an ally in the French. This would make sure the battle against Cornwallis would finally be won. Together, the Americans and French greatly outnumbered the British troops led by Cornwallis. Combined these allies were 16,600 men strong against Cornwallis’ 6,000 men. When it was finally all over the French and the Americans were victorious causing the British to surrender.  October 20th 1781 ended with the American Victory over the Battle of Yorktown. This has been one of the last battles in the war although smaller fights have happened since then. Cornwallis was smart to go after Yorktown, known to be “an important transshipment hub for Virginia” (myrevolutionarywar.com, 2010). It’s a good city for trade because it’s located on the south side of the York River. Across the river is another city called Gloucester that Cornwallis and his troops had also taken over. This would have been an advantage for Cornwallis since his troops were running low on supplies, but the French Navy had trapped Cornwallis’ 12 ships in the York River.  The British had been losing their control over the Carolinas and had to get more land soon since Clinton had his forces in New York and Cornwallis led his troops to Charleston, Virginia. Cornwallis was ambushed and was losing men quickly and established a base in Yorktown. George Washington heard the news about the British in Yorktown and knew he had to do something to stop the British and that they would have to team up with the French. When the French got to New York they teamed up to come up with a battle strategy. The strategy they came up with was to make “a semi-circle around the entrenchments” (britishbattles.com, 2010). Cornwallis tried to escape with his troops across the York River but was caught in a storm. Cornwallis had no choice but to fight since his ships had been trapped. He had no chance of supplies arriving and was forced to surrender.  The Battle of Yorktown is one of the most important battles Virginia has seen. Cornwallis’ mistakes and low supplies and the combined forces of the Americans and the French helped create a victory over the British. Yorktown’s prime location would have been a great base for the British, but their forces were weakened by attacks and lack of supplies. On the date of October 20th, 1781 the British had to surrender which made the United States and the French the winners.  Reported by Alex Basch, Mrs. Tyrrell, 1st period