The Battle of Yorktown

The Battle of Yorktown (Sept 28–Oct 19, 1781) marked the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was here that the combined forces of Washington, Rochambeau, and Lafayette forced General Cornwallis to surrender, securing independence.

In 1780, France sent Rochambeau to America with 5,500 troops as part of their alliance with the Continental Congress. The stage was set after British General Cornwallis moved his troops to Yorktown, Virginia, hoping to resupply via the Chesapeake Bay. Washington saw an opportunity to trap Cornwallis, coordinating with French forces for a decisive attack. Lafayette, commanding a smaller force in Virginia, expertly maneuvered to corner Cornwallis at Yorktown, delaying his retreat and setting the stage for the siege.

Before heading to Yorktown, Washington masterfully deceived the British by feigning an attack on New York. He had camps and brick bread ovens built where New York could see them, and let false papers fall into British hands, to keep British forces distracted. Inside Cornwallis’s own camp, James Armistead, an enslaved man serving with Lafayette, posed as a runaway, let the British recruit him as their spy, and carried a forged order from Lafayette straight to Cornwallis.

Enter the French fleet, led by Admiral de Grasse. Sailing from the Caribbean, his 28 ships of the line anchored at the mouth of the Chesapeake at the end of August, preempting British relief efforts. British Admiral Thomas Graves arrived on September 5 with 19 ships to break the French blockade. The fleets clashed in an intense battle of more than two hours. Despite heavy cannon fire, no ships were sunk. Neither fleet won outright, and no ship went down, but the action settled the campaign: the French held the bay. Cornwallis was trapped.

On September 28, Washington and French General Rochambeau led a combined army of 17,000 troops, including American Continentals, French allies, and militias, to surround Yorktown. It was one of the largest sieges in the war. Cornwallis’ army of 8,000 British and Hessian troops was outmatched and outmaneuvered. Trenches were dug, cannons were fired relentlessly, and the noose tightened daily. American artillery under General Henry Knox was a standout feature of the siege. The continuous bombardment broke British defenses and morale. Sickness ran through the garrison: the terms of surrender had to provide hospitals for the sick and wounded of both garrisons, and passports to bring them supplies from New York.

The storming of Redoubts 9 & 10 at Yorktown on October 14, 1781, was a daring assault that sealed American victory in the Revolution. Under cover of darkness, French & American troops faced fierce resistance to capture these vital positions. These fortifications stood as the last significant barriers to the combined American and French forces’ victory over the British. Redoubt 9 was assigned to French forces under the command of the Baron de Viomenil, while Redoubt 10 would be stormed by American troops under the Marquis de Lafayette, led by Alexander Hamilton. The goal was clear: capture both fortifications and tighten the noose around the British.

The attacks were carefully coordinated. Both columns chose an unorthodox method: an all-out bayonet charge with muskets unloaded to maintain silence and speed. Hamilton, eager to prove himself in combat, had lobbied General Washington for this opportunity. Though he had served as Washington’s aide-de-camp, Hamilton sought the glory of battlefield command, and Redoubt 10 provided the perfect stage.

The assaults began. The French forces faced fierce resistance but eventually overcame the defenders of Redoubt 9. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s troops dashed across open ground, enduring musket fire and grapeshot from British cannons. In the American assault, Major John Laurens led a detachment to cut off the defenders’ retreat, while Hamilton’s men stormed the redoubt’s walls. Armed with axes, they hacked through abatis (barriers of sharpened stakes) to breach the defenses.

The attack on Redoubt 10 lasted mere minutes. Despite intense resistance, Hamilton’s forces overwhelmed the British defenders in brutal hand-to-hand combat. His men showed remarkable discipline, sparing every man who ceased to resist once the redoubt was secured. These victories allowed American and French forces to advance their siege lines closer to the British defenses, cutting off Cornwallis’s supply routes. Within days, General Cornwallis saw no path to escape or victory. For Hamilton, it cemented his reputation as a daring and capable leader, a legacy that would follow him into the founding of the new nation.

With the redoubts taken, the artillery bombardment intensified, leaving Cornwallis with no options. On October 19, he surrendered his army, marking the end of major hostilities.

The same day, Washington sent Congress the signed terms, “Copy of which is also herewith transmitted.” That copy is still in the National Archives. Read the Articles of Capitulation as Congress received them.

The surrender ceremony was symbolic. Cornwallis claimed to be too ill to attend and sent his second-in-command, who tried to surrender to Rochambeau. Rochambeau deferred to Washington, but Washington directed the British to surrender to his second-in-command, Benjamin Lincoln. Cornwallis’ absence at the surrender is often seen as an act of arrogance. His claim of illness contrasted with Washington’s dignified behavior, cementing the moment as one of humiliation for the British.

As part of the surrender ceremony, tradition holds that the British played “The World Turned Upside Down,” a song symbolizing their disbelief at losing to the colonists. The story first appears in print in 1828, in Alexander Garden’s Anecdotes of the American Revolution, told second hand, and historians doubt it.

Yorktown was the turning point that ended the war. The British public grew weary of the conflict, and peace negotiations began soon after. The Treaty of Paris (1783) officially recognized American independence. Rochambeau’s strategic partnership with Washington showed a rare level of international cooperation. His disciplined French forces were pivotal in both planning and execution. The victory at Yorktown wasn’t just a military triumph; it was the culmination of years of determination, sacrifice, and collaboration between the American and French forces.