Times Yorktown
By Justin Iber
York Town Battle
In 1781, the British Army in America was being commanded by General Henry Clinton and was headquartered in New York.
Fighting
The French and American armies united north of New York City during the summer of 1781. When word of de Grasse's decision arrived the combined armies began moving south toward Virginia engaging in tactics of deception to lead the British to believe a siege of New York was planned. De Grasse sailed from the West Indies and arrived at the Chesapeake Bay at the end of August bringing additional troops and providing a naval blockade of Yorktown.
Leading up to the surrender
In the fall of 1781, a combined American force of Colonial and French troops laid seige to the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia. Led by George Washington and French General Comte de Rochambeau, they began their final attack on October 14th, capturing two British defenses and leading to the surrender, just days later, of British General Lord Corwallis and nearly 9,000 troops. Yorktown proved to be the final battle of the American Revolution, and the British began peace negotiations shortly after the American victory.
They Surrendered
The Patriots and the French outnumbered the British were surrounded and contained in a small area. There was lots of mutiny of unpaid soldiers. Cornwallis surrendered to spare a few lives after lots of his men died he figured he was going to lose anyways so he surrendered to the Patriots and the French.