thereby "enabled to shut up the enemy in a much narrower circle, giving
them the greatest advantages." Before the allies moved to the positions
which had been thus deserted, Colonel Alexander Scammell, the officer of
the day, approached them for the purpose of reconnoitring, when he was
attacked by a party of the enemy's horse, which was ambushed in the
neighborhood, and, after being mortally wounded, was taken prisoner. On
the same day the transports, having on board the battering-train, came
up to Trubell's, seven miles from York, whence they were transported to
the lines; and the lines were completely and effectively occupied. The
French extended from the river above the town, to a morass in the
centre, while the Americans continued the lines from the morass to the
river, below the town, the whole forming a semicircle, with the river
for a chord.
On the same day the Duc de Lauzun, with his legion of cavalry, and
General Weedon, with a body of Virginian militia, the whole under Sieur
de Choisy, invested Gloucester, in the course of which a party of the
Queen's Rangers, which had been sent out to observe the movements of the
allies, was driven in with considerable loss.
On the following day (October 1st) eight hundred marines were landed
from the fleet to strengthen the party which was investing Gloucester;
and from that time until the 6th both the allies and the enemy
vigorously prosecuted their several works of attack or defence, or
otherwise prepared for the great struggle which was then inevitable.
On the night of October 6th, under the command of General Lincoln, the
besiegers opened their trenches within six hundred yards of the enemy's
lines, yet with so much silence was it conducted that it appears to have
been undiscovered until daylight on the 7th, when the works were so far
completed that they afforded ample shelter for the men, and but one
officer and sixteen privates were injured. In this attack the enemy
appears to have bent his energies chiefly against the French, on the
left of the trenches; and the regiments of Bourbonnois, Soissonnois, and
Touraine, commanded by the Baron de Viomenil, were most conspicuous in
the defence of the lines.
The 7th, 8th, and 9th of October were employed in strengthening the
first parallel, and in constructing batteries somewhat in advance of it,
for the purpose of raking the enemy's works and of battering his
shipping. Communications were also made in the rear of the left of the
line, in order to secure the greater number of openings. On the night of
the 10th the trenches on the left were occupied by the regiments of
Agenois and Saintonge, under the Marquis de Chastellux; on that of the
8th by the regiments of Gatinois and Royal-Deux-Ponts, under the Marquis
de Saint-Simon.
At 5 P.M. of the 9th the American battery on the right of the line
opened its fire--General Washington in person firing the first gun--and
six eighteen and twenty-four pounders, two mortars, and two howitzers
were steadily engaged during the entire night. At an early hour on the
morning of the 10th the French battery on the left, with four
twelve-pounders and six mortars and howitzers, also opened fire; and on
the same day this fire was increased by the fire from two other French
and two American batteries--the former mounting ten eighteen and
twenty-four pounders, and six mortars and howitzers, and four
eighteen-pounders respectively; the latter mounting four
eighteen-pounders and two mortars. "The fire now became so excessively
heavy that the enemy withdrew their cannon from their embrasures, placed
them behind the merlins, and scarcely fired a shot during the whole
day." In the evening of the 10th the Charon, a frigate of forty-four
guns, and three transports were set on fire by the shells of hot shot
and entirely consumed; and the enemy's shipping was warped over the
river, as far as possible, to protect it from similar disaster.
On the night of the 11th the second parallel was opened within three
hundred yards of the enemy's lines; and, as in the former instance, it
was so far advanced before morning that the men employed in them were in
a great measure protected from injury when the enemy opened fire. The
three following days were spent in completing this parallel and the
redoubts and batteries belonging to it, during which time the enemy's
fire was well sustained and more than usually destructive. Two advanced
batteries, three hundred yards in front of the enemy's left, were
particularly annoying, inasmuch as they flanked the second parallel of
the besiegers; and as the engineers reported that they had been severely
injured by the fire of the allies it was resolved to attempt to carry
them by assault.
Accordingly, in the evening of the 14th, these redoubts were
assaulted--that on the extreme right by a detachment embracing the light
infantry of the American army, under General Lafayette; the latter by a
detachment of grenadiers and chasseurs from the French army, commanded
by Baron Viomenil. The attacks were made at 8 P.M., and in that of the
Americans the advance was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Hamilton,
with his own battalion and that of Colonel Gimat, the latter in the
van; while Lieutenant-Colonel John Laurens, at the head of eighty men,
took the garrison in reverse and cut off its retreat. Not a single
musket was loaded; and the troops rushed forward with the greatest
impetuosity--passing over the abatis and palisades--and carrying the
work with the bayonet, with the loss of nine killed, and six officers
and twenty-six rank and file wounded. The French performed their part of
the duty with equal gallantry, although from the greater strength of
their opponents it was not done so quickly as that of the Americans. The
German grenadier regiment of Deux-Ponts, led by Count William Forback de
Deux-Ponts, led the column; and Captain Henry de Kalb, of that regiment,
was the first officer who entered the work. The chasseur regiment of
Gatinois supported the attack; and, in like manner with that on the
right, the redoubt was carried at the point of the bayonet.
During the night these redoubts were connected with the second parallel;
and during the next day (October 15th) several howitzers were placed on
them and a fire opened on the town. These works, important as they had
been to the enemy, were no less so to the allies, from the fact that,
with them, the entire line of the enemy's works could be enfiladed, and
the line of communication between York and Gloucester commanded.
The situation of Lord Cornwallis had now become desperate. He "dared not
show a gun to the old batteries" of the allies, and their new ones, then
about to open fire, threatened to render his position untenable in a few
hours. "Experience has shown," he then wrote, "that our fresh earthen
works do not resist their powerful artillery, so that we shall soon be
exposed to an assault in ruined works, in a bad position, and with
weakened numbers." To retard as much as possible what now appeared to be
inevitable, at an early hour next morning (October 16th) the garrison
made a sortie; when three hundred fifty men, led by Lieutenant-Colonel
Abercrombie, attacked two batteries within the second parallel, carried
them with inconsiderable loss, and spiked the guns; but the guards and
pickets speedily assembled, and drove the assailants back into the town
before any other damage was done.
About 4 P.M. of the 16th the fire of several batteries in the second
parallel were opened on the town, while the entire line was rapidly
approaching completion. At this time the situation of the enemy was
peculiarly distressing; his defences being in ruins, his guns
dismounted, and his ammunition nearly exhausted while an irresistible
force was rapidly concentrating its powers to overwhelm and destroy him.
At this time Lord Cornwallis entertained the bold and novel design of
abandoning his sick and baggage, and by crossing the river to Gloucester
and overpowering the force under General de Choisy, which was then
guarding that position, to fly for his life, through Virginia,
Pennsylvania, and the Jerseys, to New York. As no time could be lost,
the attempt was made during the same night, but a violent storm, coming
on while the first detachment was still on the river, preventing the
landing of part of it, the movement was abandoned; and those troops who
had crossed the river returned to York during the next day.
[Illustration: The Siege of Yorktown
Painting by L. C. A. Couder.]
On the morning of the next day (October 17th) the several new batteries,
which supported the second parallel, opened fire; when Lord Cornwallis
considered it no longer incumbent on him to attempt to hold his position
at the cost of his troops, and at 10 A.M. he beat a parley and asked a
cessation of hostilities, that commissioners might meet to settle the
terms for the surrender of the posts of York and Gloucester.
A correspondence ensued between the commanders-in-chief; and on the 18th
the Viscount de Noailles and Lieutenant-Colonel John Laurens met Colonel
Dundas and Major Ross to arrange the terms of surrender. Without being
able to agree on all points, the commissioners separated; when General
Washington sent a rough copy of the articles, which had been prepared,
to Lord Cornwallis, with a note expressing his expectation that they
would be signed by 11 A.M. on the 19th, and that the garrison would be
ready to march out of the town within three hours afterward. Finding all
attempts to obtain more advantageous terms unavailing, Lord Cornwallis
yielded to the necessities of the case and surrendered, with his entire
force, military and naval, to the arms of the allies.
The army, with all its artillery, stores, military-chest, etc., was
surrendered to General Washington; the navy, with its appointments, to
Admiral de Grasse.
The terms were precisely similar to those which the enemy had granted
to the garrison of Charleston in the preceding year; and General
Lincoln, the commander of that garrison, on whom the illiberality of the
enemy then fell, was designated as the officer to whom the surrender
should be made.
"At about 12, noon," says an eye-witness, "the combined army was
arranged and drawn up in two lines extending more than a mile in length.
The Americans were drawn up in a line on the right side of the road, and
the French occupied the left. At the head of the former the great
American commander, mounted on his noble courser, took his station,
attended by his aides. At the head of the latter was posted the
excellent Count Rochambeau and his suite. The French troops, in complete
uniform, displayed a martial and noble appearance; their band of music,
of which the timbrel formed a part, was a delightful novelty, and
produced while marching to the ground a most enchanting effect. The
Americans, though not all in uniform nor their dress so neat, yet
exhibited an erect, soldierly air, and every countenance beamed with
satisfaction and joy. The concourse of spectators from the country was
prodigious, in point of numbers probably equal to the military, but
universal silence and order prevailed. It was about two o'clock when the
captive army advanced through the line formed for their reception. Every
eye was prepared to gaze on Cornwallis, the object of peculiar interest
and solicitation; but he disappointed our anxious expectations;
pretending indisposition, he made General O'Hara his substitute as the
leader of his army. This officer was followed by the conquered troops in
a slow and solemn step, with shouldered arms, colors cased, and drums
beating a British march."
"Having arrived at the head of the line, General O'Hara, elegantly
mounted, advanced to His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, taking off
his hat, and apologizing for the non-appearance of Earl Cornwallis. With
his usual dignity and politeness, His Excellency pointed to
Major-General Lincoln for directions, by whom the British army was
conducted into a spacious field, where it was intended they should
ground their arms. The royal troops, while marching through the line
formed by the allied army, exhibited a decent and neat appearance as
respects arms and clothing, for their commander opened his stores and
directed every soldier to be furnished with a new suit complete prior
to the capitulation. But in their line of march we remarked a
disorderly and unsoldierly conduct, their step was irregular and their
ranks frequently broken. But it was in the field, when they came to the
last act of the drama, that the spirit and pride of the British soldier
was put to the severest test; here their mortification could not be
concealed. Some of the platoon officers appeared to be exceedingly
chagrined when given the order 'ground arms'; and I am a witness that
they performed this duty in a very unofficer-like manner, and that many
of the soldiers manifested a sullen temper, throwing their arms on the
pile with violence, as if determined to render them useless. This
irregularity, however, was checked by the authority of General Lincoln.
After having grounded their arms and divested themselves of their
accoutrements, the captive troops were conducted back to Yorktown and
guarded by our troops till they could be removed to the place of their
destination.
"The British troops that were stationed at Gloucester surrendered at the
same time, and in the same manner, to the command of the French general,
De Choisy. This must be a very interesting and gratifying transaction to
General Lincoln, who, having himself been obliged to surrender an army
to a haughty foe the last year, has now assigned him the pleasing duty
of giving laws to a conquered army in return, and of reflecting that the
terms which were imposed on him are adopted as a basis of the surrender
in the present instance."
The General-in-Chief on October 20th issued a "general order"
congratulating the army "upon the glorious event of yesterday"; and
after thanking the officers and troops of his ally, several of his own
officers, and Governor Nelson of Virginia and the militia under his
command, he concludes with these words: "To spread the general joy in
all hearts, the General commands that those of the army who are now held
under arrest be pardoned, set at liberty, and that they join their
respective corps.
"Divine service shall be performed in the different brigades and
divisions. The Commander-in-Chief recommends that all the troops that
are not upon duty, to assist at it with a serious deportment, and that
sensibility of heart which the recollection of the surprising and
particular interposition of Providence in our favor claims."
The intelligence of the surrender, as it spread over the country, gave
general satisfaction and filled every American heart with joy. Congress
went in procession to the Dutch Lutheran Church to return thanks to
Almighty God for the victory, and a day was set apart for general
thanksgiving and prayer; the thanks of the same body were voted to the
forces, both of America and France; and in the plenitude of its
good-feeling it "resolved" to do that which it has not yet commenced to
perform--to erect a marble column at York, in commemoration of the
event.[29]
But a greater and more enduring monument than any which the Congress has
ever "resolved" to erect, commemorates the capture of Cornwallis: the
fall of British dominion in the thirteen colonies on the Atlantic
seaboard, the disinterested self-sacrifices of General Washington and
the very few who enjoyed his confidence and regard, and the triumph of
"the true principles of government." A country which, from small things,
has become prosperous, powerful, and happy; a people, whose intelligence
and enterprise and independence have astonished the old nations and
their rulers; and the homage of admiring millions, freely and
voluntarily offered, in every quarter of the globe--these form a
monument which will commemorate the fall of Cornwallis, and the
patriotism of Washington and Greene, of Wayne and Hamilton, of the
honest yeomanry and the devoted "regulars" of that day, long after the
resolutions of the Congress--if not the Congress itself--shall have sunk
into obscurity and been entirely forgotten.
LORD CORNWALLIS
I have the mortification to inform your Excellency that I have been
forced to give up the posts of York and Gloucester, and to surrender the
troops under my command, by capitulation, on the 19th instant, as
prisoners of war to the combined forces of America and France.
I never saw this post in a very favorable light, but when I found I was
to be attacked in it in so unprepared a state, by so powerful an army
and artillery, nothing but the hopes of relief would have induced me to
attempt its defence, for I would either have endeavored to escape to
New York by rapid marches from the Gloucester side, immediately on the
arrival of General Washington's troops at Williamsburg, or I would,
notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, have attacked them in the open
field, where it might have been just possible that fortune would have
favored the gallantry of the handful of troops under my command; but
being assured by your Excellency's letters that every possible means
would be tried by the navy and army to relieve us, I could not think
myself at liberty to venture upon either of these desperate attempts;
therefore, after remaining for two days in a strong position in front of
this place in hopes of being attacked, upon observing that the enemy
were taking measures which could not fail of turning my left flank in a
short time, and receiving on the second evening your letter of September
24th informing me that the relief would sail about October 5th, I
withdrew within the works on the night of September 29th, hoping by the
labor and firmness of the soldiers to protract the defence until you
could arrive. Everything was to be expected from the spirit of the
troops, but every disadvantage attended their labor, as the works were
to be continued under the enemy's fire, and our stock of intrenching
tools, which did not much exceed four hundred when we began to work in
the latter end of August, was now much diminished.
The enemy broke ground on the night of the 30th, and constructed on that
night, and the two following days and nights, two redoubts, which, with
some works that had belonged to our outward position, occupied a gorge
between two creeks or ravines which come from the river on each side of
the town. On the night of October 6th they made their first parallel,
extending from its right on the river to a deep ravine on the left,
nearly opposite to the centre of this place, and embracing our whole
left at a distance of six hundred yards. Having perfected this parallel,
their batteries opened on the evening of the 9th against our left, and
other batteries fired at the same time against a redoubt advanced over
the creek upon our right, and defended by about a hundred twenty men of
the Twenty-third regiment and marines, who maintained that post with
uncommon gallantry. The fire continued incessant from heavy cannon, and
from mortars and howitzers throwing shells from 8 to 16 inches, until
all our guns on the left were silenced, our work much damaged, and our
loss of men considerable. On the night of the 11th they began their
second parallel, about three hundred yards nearer to us. The troops
being much weakened by sickness, as well as by the fire of the
besiegers, and observing that the enemy had not only secured their
flanks, but proceeded in every respect with the utmost regularity and
caution, I could not venture so large sorties as to hope from them any
considerable effect, but otherwise I did everything in my power to
interrupt this work by opening new embrasures for guns and keeping up a
constant fire from all the howitzers and small mortars that we could
man.
On the evening of the 14th they assaulted and carried two redoubts that
had been advanced about three hundred yards for the purpose of delaying
their approaches, and covering our left flank, and during the night
included them in their second parallel, on which they continued to work
with the utmost exertion. Being perfectly sensible that our works could
not stand many hours after the opening of the batteries of that
parallel, we not only continued a constant fire with all our mortars,
and every gun that could be brought to bear upon it, but a little before
daybreak on the morning of the 16th I ordered a sortie of about three
hundred fifty men, under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel
Abercrombie, to attack two batteries which appeared to be in the
greatest forwardness, and to spike the guns. A detachment of guards with
the Eightieth company of grenadiers, under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Lake, attacked the one, and one of light infantry,
under the command of Major Armstrong, attacked the other, and both
succeeded in forcing the redoubts that covered them, spiking eleven
guns, and killing or wounding about one hundred of the French troops,
who had the guard of that part of the trenches, and with little loss on
our side. This action, though extremely honorable to the officers and
soldiers who executed it, proved of little public advantage, for the
cannon, having been spiked in a hurry, were soon rendered fit for
service again, and before dark the whole parallel and batteries appeared
to be nearly complete. At this time we knew that there was no part of
the whole front attacked on which we could show a single gun, and our
shells were nearly expended. I therefore had only to choose between
preparing to surrender next day or endeavoring to get off with the
greatest part of the troops, and I determined to attempt the latter.
In this situation, with my little force divided, the enemy's batteries
opened at daybreak. The passage between this place and Gloucester was
much exposed, but the boats, having now returned, they were ordered to
bring back the troops that had passed during the night, and they joined
us in the forenoon without much loss. Our works, in the mean time, were
going to ruin, and not having been able to strengthen them by an abatis,
nor in any other manner but by a slight fraising, which the enemy's
artillery were demolishing wherever they fired, my opinion entirely
coincided with that of the engineer and principal officers of the army,
that they were in many places assailable in the forenoon, and that by
the continuance of the same fire for a few hours longer they would be in
such a state as to render it desperate, with our numbers, to attempt to
maintain them. We at that time could not fire a single gun; only one
8-inch and little more than one hundred Cohorn shells remained. A
diversion by the French ships-of-war that lay at the mouth of York River
was to be expected.
Our numbers had been diminished by the enemy's fire, but particularly by
sickness, and the strength and spirits of those in the works were much
exhausted by the fatigue of constant watching and unremitting duty.
Under all these circumstances I thought it would have been wanton and
inhuman to the last degree to sacrifice the lives of this small body of
gallant soldiers, who had ever behaved with so much fidelity and
courage, by exposing them to an assault which, from the numbers and
precautions of the enemy, could not fail to succeed. I therefore
proposed to capitulate; and I have the honor to enclose to your
excellency the copy of the correspondence between General Washington and
me on that subject, and the terms of capitulation agreed upon. I
sincerely lament that better could not be obtained, but I have neglected
nothing in my power to alleviate the misfortune and distress of both
officers and soldiers. The men are well clothed and provided with
necessaries, and I trust will be regularly supplied by the means of the
officers that are permitted to remain with them. The treatment, in
general, that we have received from the enemy since our surrender has
been perfectly good and proper, but the kindness and attention that
have been shown to us by the French officers in particular--their
delicate sensibility of our situation--their generous and pressing offer
of money, both public and private, to any amount--has really gone beyond
what I can possibly describe, and will, I hope, make an impression in
the breast of every British officer, whenever the fortune of war should
put any of them into our power.
YORKTOWN, Virginia, October 20, 1781.
FOOTNOTES:
[29] A commemorative column, surmounted by a statue of General
Rochambeau, heroic size, was unveiled at Washington May 24, 1902.--ED.
BRITISH DEFENCE OF GIBRALTAR
A.D. 1782
FREDERICK SAYER