Yorktown is where the American Revolution was won on the battlefield. The siege of October 1781 — a combined French and American operation that trapped General Cornwallis's army on the Virginia peninsula — produced the surrender that effectively ended British efforts to hold the colonies. What happened at Yorktown was not a single dramatic battle but a methodical, professional siege conducted by allied forces that had finally achieved the coordination and discipline necessary to defeat the British in the field.
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HISTORICAL VOICE
Ten Minutes with Bayonets
Alexander Hamilton had spent most of the war at Washington's side, writing letters, drafting orders, and managing the commander's correspondence. He was brilliant at it and miserable about it. He want...
MODERN VOICE
Walking the Siege Lines
The thing about Yorktown that surprises most visitors is how small and quiet the battlefield is. The British defensive perimeter was roughly a semicircle, maybe a mile and a half across, backed up aga...