Virginia - Yorktown

Yorktown Battlefield is the site of the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.  In the fall of 1781, General George Washington, with allied American and French forces, besieged General Charles Lord Conwallis' British army at Yorktown.  On October 19, 1781 Cornwallis surrendered.  The Americans had effectively won their independence, although fighting would not formally end until September 3, 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

More on the surrender later.

We viewed a 1/4 replica of the HMS Charon.  On the night of October 10, 1781, French artillerists along the York River, west of Yorktown, turned their attention towards British ships anchored in the river including the 44 gun Frigate, the HMS Charon.  Firing "red hot shot" that were super-heated cannonballs they set fire to the Charon.  Attempting to escape, the Charon collided with a transport ship spreading the intense fire.  The Charon drifted to the Gloucester side of the river where it burned to its water line and sank.

Bunk rooms inside the Charon.

The Lafyette Cannon.  According to tradition, General Lafyette identified this dented cannon while visiting the United States in 1824.  The distinctive dent on the British tube was inflicted by an allied cannonball during the siege of Yorktown.  When the General saw this piece again, it is said he became sentimental and embraced the barrel.

This silk regimental flag was made in 1770 and was carried during the Revolutionary War by Ansbach-Bayreuth troops.  The flag contains embroidered symbols relating to the government monarch of the troops’ principalities.  The front of the flag contains the entwined letters “SETCA” (Sincere Et Constanter) which translates to “Upright and Steadfast” – the motto of the Order of the Red Eagle.  The letter A stands for “Alexander” (Christian Friedrich Carl Alexander).  The letters below this monogram, “MZB” (Markgraf zu Brandenburg).  This flag was presented as a trophy to the Continental Congress after its capture at Yorktown.

It was time to leave the Visitor's Center and take the auto tour.

The Moore House then - it's hard to see because of the reflection.

The Moore house now.

This is the field where 7,000 British soldiers surrendered to the American and French armies on October 19, 1781.  Soldiers who surrendered would march to a designated location with weapons on their shoulders and upon reaching the location would lay them down.  There were no last minute ambushes or shootouts.  If you said you were surrendering, you surrendered.  People were so honest and dignified back then that if you were captured, particularly if you were an officer, you were often let go if you promised not to fight again.  Called "parole", this was a practice even during the Civil War.

We took a drive to the historic town of Yorktown and the Riverwalk Landing - what a treat!

Families were on the beach with their kids.

Mouth of the York River

We found a place to have lunch...

....and sat outside with a fantastic view!

View from our table

There was a lot going on out there.

If you look on the horizon, you can see what I call a Mayflower boat.

After lunch, we took a walk around the area.

Although these four great leaders never stood all together as represented here, each of them rendered critical and significant contributions to the decisive victory at Yorktown in October, 1781.

L-R - General Washington, Commander in Chief; Major General Lafyette, Continental Army;

Lieutenant General Rochambeau, French Army; Admiral de Grasse, French Navy

The area was so pretty.

What a nice day of a history lesson and exploring an historic town.