Battle+of+Yorktown

**Battle of Yorktown**

Siege of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was an American victory in 1781. [|Yorktown, Virginia] was a town next to the [|York River] where the battle took place. The French finally answered the Americans' request for help after three years which would win them the battle. While the British fleet was in the river, the French blocked the mouth of the river to prevent the British ships from entering or exiting the river. [|George Washington] led the American troops, along with French Marshal [|Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau] and his troops, against [|General Cornwallis]. There were 8,800 American troops with about 3,000 militia and about 8,400 French troops compared to the mere 9,000 British and [|Hessians].

General Cornwallis moved some of his troops up from the Carolinas into Virginia a few months prior to the battle without the permission of [|Sir Henry Clinton]. Clinton stopped them from continuing north and ordered them to set up forts in Virginia. They controlled Yorktown and Gloucester Point, both on the York River, by August, 1781. [|Marquis de Lafayette] and a few Americans followed behind Cornwallis' troops and reported their movement north to George Washington, who was in West point, NY. Washington led 7,000 troops down to Yorktown on August 21st. He had heard that French [|Admiral de Grasse] had a fleet of 29 ships coming to help the American forces and realized that an attack on the British would be easy with this help. The French Navy would provide a blockade for the Americans against the British and prevent British forces from receiving supplies and reinforcements.

The Americans and French troops surrounded Yorktown on September 28th, 1781. They bombarded and fought the British until they receded inward to Yorktown. The allied forces took two [|redoubts], or forts, which helped them gain an advantage in the battle. Redoubt #9 was taken by the French forces and the Americans took redoubt #10. These redoubts would prove useful to allied forces, making them able to attack the town with artillery from several directions. Cornwallis could not fight back any longer and called a truce on October, 17, 1781. Two days later Cornwallis surrendered and the battle was declared over.

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Virtual Battle Animation

General George Washington
The Battle of Yorktown could not have been won without General George Washington's decisive actions. He first was informed about the advancement of British troops by [|Marquis de Lafeyette] and made the decision to attack. Washington heard of his French naval reinforcements and seized the opportunity to have British forces surrender, which turned out to be a decisive victory for winning the [|American Revolution]. George Washington is perhaps most commonly referenced as the [|first president of The United States of America], but he was also an excellent [|general] and a brilliant war hero. Washington was the person America needed to defend our [|independence]. He was a wealthy plantation owner and a successful person yet lived a relatively short life, dying at age 67.

François Joseph Paul de Grasse
Admiral de Grasse helped General George Washington and [|Comte de Rochambeau] win the Battle of Yorktown. While they sent troops in from land, de Grasse blocked the Chesapeake Bay, preventing any British ships from entering or exiting. Without this fleet, allied forces would not have been able to cut off supplies to British forces. If the British could have gotten reinforcements or supplies, they could have had a better chance at defending Yorktown successfully than allied forces did attacking it. Without the victory at Yorktown, it is possible that America could have lost the war. Admiral de Grasse was a French [|admiral] who was most popular for his achievements in the [|Battle of the Chesapeake] and in the Battle of Yorktown. He was [|court martial-ed] a year after the Battle of Yorktown after being defeated in the [|Battle of Saintes].