YorkTown essays

YorkTown essays The Battle of Yorktown was the climax of the Revolutionary War. The combined forces of George Washington, Admiral de Grasse, General Rochambeau, and General Lafayette were enough to converge on the largest concentration of British forces, overtake them and force a surrender. With planning, skill, and courage, the army was able to defeat the Generals Rochambeau and Washington met in 1781 to determine the next move. Washington was firmly for going to New York and attacking the British there, but due to the pleading and persuasiveness of Rochambeau it was decided that they would attack the South, where there was one of the largest concentrations of British troops in North America. A message from Lafayette arrived to General Washington stating that Cornwallis had taken up a defensive position at Yorktown, in Virginia. Cornwallis was stationed next to the York River, and it was decided that if they could trap Cornwallis by land and block his escapes by water, the Americans could inflict serious damage to the British forces in America. Planning began immediately to expand the scheme to Include Admiral de Grasse. French Admiral de Grasse, who was at the time stationed in the West Indies, would take his fleet to the Chesapeake Bay and secure the water so reinforcements and escapes could not arrive or occur. With a simple concept, but with the need for extreme military skill, the plan was risky. For the first part of the plan, Washington and Rochambeau would march men to New York and station around 2500 men there to fool the British into believing that Washington and Rochambeaus entire force was still there. The combined army of French and Americans raced towards Virginia. As they were marching South, Admiral de Grasse and his fleet arrived at the Chesapeake Bay. They blockaded the Bay and were able to repel the attack of the British Fleet. This now meant that they controlle ...