Battle of Yorktown

Winter at Valley Forge

• General Washington and his Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-1778 camped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia.
• For the first months, the soldiers were living in tents which provided little help from the cold.
• The soldiers lacked proper clothing -- many without shoes or warm clothes. When soldiers had to go out in the cold, they would share clothing.

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Valley Forge

• It wasn't until February, 1778, that the men finished building huts to live in, with fireplaces to keep them warm.
• Valley Forge was where a new, confident, professional American army was born.
• At Valley Forge solders trained and transformed into a professional military organization capable of beating the Red Coats in the open field of battle.

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General Cornwallis

• General Cornwallis was a loyal soldier and commander of the British army
• He opposed nearly all of the British policies that led to the American Revolution.

George Washington

• This was our leader, GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON, he lead us through the fight�

Where was the Battle of Yorktown?

The battle was in Yorktown, Virginia, located on the Chesapeake Bay

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Prelude to Yorktown

• The Americans had several victories in the south
• 5,000 French soldier arrived in the Americas
• The British went North and establish a base at Yorktown in Virginia on the Chesapeake bay.

Why did Cornwallis choose Yorktown?

Cornwallis set up at Yorktown where it was easy for British ships to land supplies

Washington Changes Plan

• August 1781- George Washington was in New York fighting the British and their commander Henry Clinton and getting no where.
• He tricks Clinton into believing he is still in New York, but actually sneaks his troops and cannons south, towards Yorktown.
• The troops travel with great speed and walk approximately 400 miles in 5 weeks.

Battle Strategy

• Washington’s troops would surrounded the British on land and the French ships would block their escape in the Chesapeake Bay

Preparing for Battle

• October 14, 1781- George Washington and Rochambeau storm the two closest points to Yorktown and move cannons closer

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No Where to Go

Attack!!!

• A redoubt is a protective place of refuge or defense
• American troops storm the redoubt
• The French arrive and, Cornwallis is badly outnumbered
• The British must retreat inside the city of Yorktown

Cornwallis Hides

• A siege soon develops.
• Cornwallis is confident that the British Navy will be coming soon to save him…. They wont

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The French Navy Blockades Chesapeake Bay

• The French Navy arrives and manages to blockade Chesapeake Bay.
• They pound the British defenses at Yorktown and keep British ships from getting near the fight.
• There will be no escape for Cornwallis and his British Army.

The Surrender

• Cornwallis realizes that he has lost and surrenders 1/3 of all British forces in the Colonies to Washington and the Colonial Army.
• Cornwallis is embarrassed and does not attend the surrender ceremony.
• Cornwallis claimed he was too sick to attend the surrender ceremony

Importance of Yorktown

• Yorktown is considered the last major battle of the American Revolution.
• There was some small fighting after this but this defeat in Virginia caused the British government to begin negotiating for peace.
• The American Revolution was won at Yorktown!

Treaty of Paris - 1783

1. Britain recognized America’s independence
2. Set U.S.-Canada border – U.S. reached Mississippi River
3. American fishermen allowed to fish in Canadian waters
4. British to leave frontier forts (broken)
5. U.S. to return property to Loyalists (broken)
6. British to return escaped slaves in Canada (broken)

The Treaty of Paris, 1783

• THE WAR ENDS WITH THESE CONDITIONS
• “free, sovereign and independent states”
• British must remove all troops from forts
• Boundary for United States is the Mississippi
• Loyalist would have rights and property protected
• captured slaves must be returned to owners