effective artillery fire which tended to slow the work of the allies.
The journals of the siege are full of accounts, such as that written by
Lt. William Feltman on October 2: “A continual cannonading this whole
day at our fatigue parties. One Maryland soldier’s hand shot off and one
militia man killed.” Behind the British lines feverish activity
continued, and there was fear of a general “alarm.” Ships were sunk in
the river immediately in front of the town to block any allied landing
attempt from that quarter. Cornwallis’ positions were not complete, nor
were his magazines. Every available man was on the line to help in the
construction, particularly the large force of Negro labor which the
British general had acquired. To complicate the picture for Cornwallis,
smallpox was taking its toll.
[Illustration: _View of Gloucester Point, across the York River from
Yorktown, before construction of the Coleman Memorial Bridge._]
GLOUCESTER SIDE.
Even though Washington was directing his principal force against
Yorktown where the main British force was located, it was necessary that
he take measures to contain the enemy post at Gloucester Point on the
north side of the river. This would close a possible means of escape for
Cornwallis and halt the heavy foraging parties that were sweeping the
Gloucester countryside. The first allied force here was 1,500 militia
under Brig. Gen. George Weedon. By September 28, Weedon had been
reinforced by the Duke de Lauzun’s Legion of 600, half of them mounted.
Several days later, 800 marines were landed from the French fleet and
Brigadier General Choisy was assigned to command the whole. By early
October, the British garrison on the Gloucester side had grown and
included both Simcoe’s and Tarleton’s cavalry, as well as ground units.
On October 3, as Choisy moved down toward Gloucester Point to tighten
his lines and to force the enemy into their fixed positions on the
point, a brief but spirited encounter occurred at “the Hook,” near
present Hayes Store, in which the daring cavalry leaders, Lauzun and
Tarleton, had major roles. Casualties numbered about 16 for the allies
and perhaps 50 for the British. The allies succeeded in holding the
ground. The British withdrew behind their works where they remained
until the end of the siege.
FIRST ALLIED SIEGE LINE.
By the evening of October 6 all was in readiness for the opening of the
First Allied Siege Line—a series of positions which, together with
terrain advantages, completely encircled the British works and brought
men and artillery within firing range of the enemy. The first line was
based on the York River southeast of Yorktown and extended westward just
above the headwaters of Wormley Creek, across the York-Hampton Road, to
Yorktown Creek, which in a real sense functioned as a continuation of
the line. The first line was about 2,000 yards long and was supported by
four redoubts and five batteries. Its average distance from the main
British works was about 800 yards, although, on the right, this was
somewhat greater because of two detached British Redoubts, Nos. 9 and
10. About half of this line, the right or York River end, was assigned
to American units; the left was built and manned by the French.
At dusk on October 6, more than 4,000 allied troops paraded and marched
to their assigned stations. The entrenching party, 1,500 strong,
carrying knapsacks, guns, and bayonets, as well as shovels, found a line
of split pine strips already on the ground. They had been placed by the
engineers to mark the line where the digging was to begin. Twenty-eight
hundred soldiers lay under arms close at hand to repel attack should it
come. Evidently the British were caught unawares, for their guns were
not particularly active. The night was dark and cloudy, with a gentle
rain falling—a factor which may have aided the troops who were being
directed by General Lincoln and the Baron de Viomenil. By morning, the
work was well advanced, enough to give those in the trenches protection
from British gunners.
During the next few days, with precision and dispatch, unit followed
unit on fatigue duty as the trenches, redoubts, and batteries were
brought to perfection. Major General von Steuben, one of the few
veterans of siege warfare in the American wing, had a leading role in
planning and constructing the siege works. Brigadier General Knox, with
the American artillery, played a significant part, too, since effective
gunnery was a prime prerequisite to success in the operation.
While the main line was taking form south of Yorktown, the French
constructed a trench and battery between the York River and one of the
branches of Yorktown Creek west of town. This closed a possible point of
break-through for the enemy, partly encircled the Fusiliers Redoubt, and
permitted the installation of ordnance at a point where it could, and
did, sweep the British ships anchored in the river. This French battery
on the left, with its four 12-pounders and six mortars and howitzers,
was the first to go into action, firing about 3 o’clock on October 9.
Two hours later, an American battery southeast of Yorktown added its six
18- and 24-pounders, four mortars, and two howitzers to the bombardment.
Washington, seemingly, fired the first round from this battery with
telling accuracy. On October 10, other batteries, including the Grand
French athwart the York-Hampton Road, were completed and began firing.
For the next 2 days there was no let-up in the concentrated and
methodical bombardment of Yorktown, with Gen. Thomas Nelson, reportedly,
even directing fire against his own home.
The effect was terrible as charge after charge was sent pounding into
the British works or went ricocheting or skipping along the ground.
Enemy batteries were knocked out or were slowly silenced. Cornwallis’
headquarters were all but demolished and he himself narrowly escaped
with his life at one point. All the while, the tempo of the cannonade
mounted. Johann Conrad Doehla, a soldier in the British Army, wrote:
Tonight [October 9] about tattoo the enemy began to salute our left
wing and shortly afterward our entire line with bombs, cannons, and
howitzers.... Early this morning [October 10] we had to change our
camp and pitch our tents in the earthworks, on account of the heavy
fire of the enemy.... One could ... not avoid the horribly many cannon
balls either inside or outside the city ... many were badly injured
and mortally wounded by the fragments of bombs which exploded partly
in the air and partly on the ground, their arms and legs severed or
themselves struck dead.... [October 11] One saw men lying nearly
everywhere who were mortally wounded.... I saw bombs fall into the
water and lie there for 5, 6-8 and more minutes and then still explode
... fragments and pieces of these bombs flew back again and fell on
the houses and buildings of the city and in our camp, where they still
did much damage and robbed many a brave soldier of his life or struck
off his arm and leg.
Such was the bombardment of Yorktown as described by one participant and
testified to by others who witnessed it. The fire had been devastating.
Its effect was reported first-hand to the allied leaders by Secretary
Thomas Nelson, who, “under a flag of truce,” was permitted by the
British to leave Yorktown and seek the allied lines.
The bombardment was directed, too, against the British ships in the
harbor with equal effect. Here “red hot shot” were used to ignite the
heavily tarred rigging and ship timbers. On the night of October 10,
artillery “set fire to two transport vessels and to the ship of war
Charon ... [44 guns], which burned completely. The other ships anchored
under York set sail in the night and went over to anchor at Gloucester,
to put themselves under shelter and out of range of our fire.” Other
boats, large and small, including the _Guadaloupe_ (28 guns), were hit
and burned. On the night of the 11th, a British “fire ship,” designed
for setting fires to enemy vessels, was struck and burned with a
brilliant blaze. Against such heavy artillery fire, Cornwallis found it
difficult to keep his own batteries in operation, and even the sailors
and marines from the English vessels added little strength.
SECOND ALLIED SIEGE LINE.
The destruction caused by the superior French and American artillery,
firing at ranges from 800 to 1,200 yards, was so great and the enemy
batteries were so completely overpowered that Washington was soon ready
to open the Second Allied Siege Line, which would bring his troops
within storming distance of the enemy works. An “over the top” charge by
the infantry would be the final stage of the siege should Cornwallis
continue to hold out.
Work on the second line began on the night of October 11-12, about
midway between the first siege line and the left front of the British
works. By morning, the troops had wielded their shovels, spades, and
“grubbing hoes” so effectively that the work was well advanced and
casualties were few. For the next 3 days the construction continued and
artillery was moved from the first line into the new positions where it
could be even more deadly. The British gunners did all they could with
“musketry, cannon, cannister, grapeshot, and especially, a multitude of
large and small bombs and shells” to delay the work, but, although they
exacted some casualties, they were not particularly successful.
At this time, however, only half of the second siege line could be
undertaken. British Redoubt No. 10 near the river, a square position
manned by about 70 soldiers, and Redoubt No. 9, a 5-sided strong point
held by approximately 125 troops, near the road from Yorktown to the
Moore House, blocked the extension of the second line on the allied
right. Before work could proceed, these would have to be reduced.
CAPTURE OF REDOUBTS NO. 9 AND NO. 10.
Prior to the attacks on these redoubts, Washington had ordered a feint
on the extreme left against the Fusiliers Redoubt and also a
demonstration at Gloucester Point to distract the enemy. For several
days before the assault, allied gunners directed fire to weaken the
positions, a fire that actually was not very harmful. The attacks were
made at 8 o’clock, after dark, on October 14, in one of the most
dramatic and heroic moves of the siege of Yorktown, and it proved to be
a definite turning point in the operations.
[Illustration: _Representative objects recovered at the site of
British Redoubt No. 9 during the archeological exploration that
preceded its reconstruction._]
Redoubt No. 10 was attacked by 400 Americans drawn from Lafayette’s
Light Infantry Division and commanded by Lt. Col. Alexander Hamilton,
who, being officer of the day, had claimed this honor, when the
assignment was first given to another. He was assisted by Lt. Col.
Jean-Joseph Sourbader de Gimat, Lt. Col. John Laurens, and Maj. Nicholas
Fish. The detachment moved out at the prearranged signal—the burst of
six shells. The American soldiers carried unloaded muskets, as they
advanced in darkness, since the assignment at hand was to be done with
bayonets. On reaching their objective, they charged without waiting for
the removal of the abatis (an entanglement of pointed tree tops and
branches which ringed the redoubt), and thereby saved a few minutes—an
interval that could have been costly. Within 10 minutes the position was
in American hands with a loss of 9 killed and 31 wounded, according to
Hamilton’s own report.
As the Americans were moving out for their attack from the right end of
the First Allied Siege Line, a party of 400 French soldiers led by Col.
William Deux Ponts, with the Baron de l’Estrade second in command,
launched an assault on Redoubt No. 9 from the temporary end of the
second siege line. French casualties mounted when the detachment halted
until the abatis was cleared. Then the cry was “on to the redoubt.” A
British charge was met by musket fire and a countercharge which took the
French over the top, and the redoubt was theirs. Losses, however,
totaled almost 25 percent, including 15 killed. The entire operation
lasted less than half an hour.
LAST DAYS OF THE SIEGE.
Immediately following the capture of the two key redoubts, troops moved
up to resume work on the second siege line. Before morning, this line
was extended all the way to the York River and incorporated the formerly
held British Redoubts No. 9 and No. 10. Communicating trenches were
opened to the First Allied Siege Line and, adjacent to Redoubt No. 9, a
large American Battery was begun. On October 15, Ebenezer Wild recorded:
“The works were carried on last night with such spirit that at daylight
we found the parallel [line] extended quite to the river on our right
and nearly completed. Batteries are erecting with great expedition.”
With this turn of events, Cornwallis knew that he must act and act
quickly or all would be lost. The web had tightened; and the destruction
of his positions, plus sickness and casualties among his troops, made
his situation critical, even perilous. Against the fully operating
allied second line, he would be unable to hold out for 24 hours.
On the night of October 15-16, Cornwallis ordered an attack against the
second line. This was launched, 350 strong, under Lt. Col. Robert
Abercrombie at a point near the center of the line. It was a gallant
sortie, yet it accomplished little, for, within a few hours, the guns
which had been spiked by the British were again firing upon Yorktown.
On the night of October 16-17, Cornwallis ordered all of his effectives
moved across the river to Gloucester Point. This, he thought, might
enable him to make a breakthrough, which could be followed by a quick
march north toward New York. The effort was futile. He was handicapped
by a shortage of small boats, and a storm about midnight further
interfered with the operation.
Early on the morning of the 17th he recalled those who had crossed the
river. Later that morning he held a council with his officers, and at 10
o’clock a drummer in red, accompanied by an officer, was sent to a point
on the parapet on the south side of Yorktown to beat a “parley.”
Cornwallis’ situation was hopeless. Casualties (killed, wounded, and
missing) during the siege, it seems, numbered about 552 for the British,
275 for the French, and 260 for the Americans. Of these totals, more
than one-fourth were killed in action. Yorktown was surrounded at close
range, relief had not yet come, and the enemy was superior in men and
firepower. In short, his position was untenable. Surrender was now the
only alternative. Cornwallis himself reported: “We at that time could
not fire a single gun.... I therefore proposed to capitulate.”
[Illustration: YORKTOWN BATTLEFIELD
COLONIAL NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
VIRGINIA
High-resolution Map]
1. VISITOR CENTER
2. REDOUBT NO. 9
3. AMERICAN BATTERY NO. 2 (SECOND ALLIED SIEGE LINE)
4. REDOUBT NO. 10
5. AMERICAN SECTOR (FIRST ALLIED SIEGE LINE)
6. AMERICAN APPROACH ROAD
7. MOORE HOUSE
8. MOORES MILL DAM
9. LINCOLN’S HEADQUARTERS SITE
10. LAFAYETTE’S HEADQUARTERS SITE
11. SURRENDER FIELD
12. SURRENDER ROAD
13. ENCAMPMENT DRIVE
A. VON STEUBEN’S HEADQUARTERS SITE
B. ROCHAMBEAU’S HEADQUARTERS SITE
C. WASHINGTON’S HEADQUARTERS SITE
D. FRENCH CEMETERY
E. FRENCH ARTILLERY PARK
F. FRENCH ARMY ENCAMPMENT
G. BRITISH OUTER WORKS
14. GRAND FRENCH BATTERY
15. NATIONAL CEMETERY
16. SECOND ALLIED SIEGE LINE
17. YORKTOWN
A. SITE OF SECRETARY NELSON’S HOUSE
B. VICTORY MONUMENT
C. CORNWALLIS CAVE
D. NELSON HOUSE
18. FUSILIERS REDOUBT
[Illustration: _The restored Moore House where the Articles of
Capitulation for the British Army were drafted._]
NEGOTIATION AND SURRENDER.
When the British flag of truce was seen by the allied officers on the
morning of the 17th, the incessant and devastating artillery fire
ceased. It had been continuous since October 9, except for short
intervals when batteries were being shifted or a flag of truce was
passing between the lines. Cornwallis’ letter, which was transmitted
immediately to Washington, read: “I propose a cessation of hostilities
for twenty four hours, and that two officers may be appointed by each
side, to meet at Mr. Moore’s house, to settle terms for the surrender of
the posts of York and Gloucester.”
Washington replied that he would grant the British general 2 hours in
which to submit definite terms. At about 4:30 p. m., Cornwallis replied.
Washington found his proposals satisfactory in part, and in his reply
stated that the British could expect that: “The same Honors will be
granted to the Surrendering Army as were granted [by the British] to the
[American] Garrison of Charles Town [in 1780].”
Arrangements were concluded for the differences of opinion to be ironed
out during a meeting of commissioners at the home of Augustine Moore in
the rear of the first siege line. The commissioners (Lt. Col. Thomas
Dundas and Maj. Alexander Ross, representing the British; the Viscount
de Noailles, the French; and Lt. Col. John Laurens, the Americans) met
there on October 18 and, after a heated and prolonged session, drafted
the Articles of Capitulation. On the morning of the 19th, Washington
reviewed the draft and, after some modification, had the articles
transcribed. The document was then sent to Cornwallis for his signature,
with a deadline of 11 a. m. Cornwallis duly signed, as did Capt. Thomas
Symonds, representing the British naval units in the York. The allied
commanders, Washington and Rochambeau, appear to have signed the
document in captured British Redoubt No. 10. The Count de Barras,
designated to act in place of the Count de Grasse for the French fleet,
also signed for the allies.
The articles provided that the troops, seamen, and marines should
surrender as prisoners of war. Officers were to retain their sidearms
and private papers and property. The soldiers were to be kept in prison
camps in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Cornwallis and certain of
the officers were to be allowed freedom on parole and the sloop
_Bonetta_ was to be made available for the British commander to carry
dispatches to Sir Henry Clinton, after which she was to be surrendered.
At noon on October 19, two redoubts southeast of Yorktown were occupied
by allied troops—one by an American unit and the other by a French
detachment. At 2 p. m., the British Army, clad in a new issue of
uniforms and led by Brigadier General O’Hara (Cornwallis was ill),
marched out from Yorktown along the York-Hampton Road to the tune of an
old British march titled “The World Turned Upside Down.”
In the vicinity of the present national cemetery, O’Hara reached the
head of the allied column. It appears that he sought first the Count de
Rochambeau, but was referred to Washington. Washington, in turn, sent
him to Major General Lincoln, who accepted his sword—the token of defeat
and surrender—and then returned it. Following this, the British Army
marched down Surrender Road between columns of allied troops, Americans
on the British left (east) and French on the British right (west), to
Surrender Field where the formal surrender was effected. “... we came
directly onto a level field or large meadow, where ... we ... marched
one regiment after another, stacked muskets and lay down all arms ...”,
wrote one of the British soldiers. Thus, the siege of Yorktown ended,
the climax of the Revolution had passed, and America could look forward
toward a free and independent status. A new nation had been born!
THE SEQUEL.
After the surrender, the British units returned to Yorktown. After 2
days’ rest, the rank and file and junior officers were marched off to
prison camps in western Virginia and Maryland. Both Washington and
Rochambeau invited their distinguished prisoners to their tables, and
for several days camp dinners were the fashion, the English attending as
guests. The American units of the Allied armies took up the return march
to the Hudson about November 1. The French, for the most part, remained
on the peninsula until spring and then left for Rhode Island, having
wintered in Yorktown, Williamsburg, Hampton, and other nearby points. De
Grasse sailed for the West Indies shortly after the siege was over. The
British expedition, which was to relieve Cornwallis, reached Virginia
waters late in October, too late to be of any use.
_The “Town of York”_
Yorktown had its origin in the Virginia Port Act of 1691—one of the
legislative measures by which British colonial authorities and Virginia
leaders sought to force urban development in the colony. It specified
that 50 acres should be procured for a port to serve York County and
that it would be upon “Mr. Benjamin Reads land.” This was a part of the
Capt. Nicholas Martiau property (originally patented about 1635) which,
by 1691, had descended through Martiau’s daughter, Elizabeth, and George
Read to their son, Benjamin Read. The 50 acres were situated at the
point where the York River narrows to about half a mile. There had been
a ferry here for many years. Maj. Lawrence Smith was engaged to make the
survey, and a plat made by him is still preserved in the official
records of York County.
Although Yorktown (variously called Port of York, Borough of York, York,
Town of York, and Yorktown) was not established until 1691, the area
around Yorktown had been well known to the English for generations. The
river itself had been explored, and frequently visited, by Capt. John
Smith and his fellow settlers at Jamestown. They came most frequently by
water, but it was not until the 1630-32 period that early Virginians
began to push overland from the James River and to establish homes on
the banks of the York. Among the men who braved the Indians, the
forests, and natural enemies to establish homes on the creeks and
tidewaters above and below Yorktown were Capt. John West (who became
Governor in 1635), Capt. John Utie, Capt. Robert Felgate, and, a little
later, Henry Lee. The Indians before them had seen, and recognized, the
strategic value and beauty of this location. Chief Powhatan was residing
on the north side of the river, above Gloucester Point, when Smith first
saw him in 1607, and the Chiskiack Indians lived on the south side near
present-day Yorktown until pressure from the white man caused them to
move.
Nicolas Martiau, a French Huguenot, first received a grant of land in
the Yorktown area. It was a part of this tract, which originally lay
between the holdings of Gov. Sir John Harvey and the estate of Richard
Townsend, that in 1691 was acquired and laid out into the original 85
lots of Yorktown. Through the marriages of his descendants, Martiau
became the earliest-known American ancestor of George Washington. A
granite marker in his honor now stands on Ballard Street.
The earliest settlers on the York pointed the way for others who came in
increasing numbers in the years that followed. The population grew to
such an extent that in 1634 a county was laid out to embrace the
settlements which had been made on the York (those around later Yorktown
and those on the Back and Poquoson Rivers some miles to the southeast).
Designated Charles River Shire, it was one of Virginia’s eight original
shires (counties). At that time, the York River was known as the
Charles, this having replaced the Indian name of Pamunkey. About 1643,
the name of the river was changed to York, from which both town and
county take their name.