The Battle of Yorktown - Essay Example

The Battle of Yorktown The Battle of Yorktown was the penultimate engagement of the American Revolution or the American War of Independence. The decisive defeat of the British troops by the combined forces of America and France ensured the end of the war and the birth of the independent United States of America. The American Revolution, which had commenced on 19 April, 1775, at Lexington, stretched over the next six years. Both sides experienced victories and reverses, but neither achieved any consolidated gains up to the summer of 1780. At this juncture, the British were operating on two fronts. The main part of the British army, comprising 10,000 troops, under its’ commander, General Clinton, was stationed in New York. In the South, British General Lord Cornwallis, with 7,000 men, engaged in indecisive skirmishes with the Marquis de Lafayette. By August 22, 1781, General Cornwallis, following General Clinton’s directives, had established fortified camps at Yorktown on the James River Peninsula and across the river at Gloucester (Grover. Colonial National Historical Park Web site). After the declaration of war between France and Britain in 1776, France’s aid to America included troops and naval assistance, in addition to supplies. The Comte de Rochambeau, commanding a force of 5,500, landed at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1780. George Washington, commander of the Continental Army of about 3,500 troops, planned combined tactics with Rochambeau, resulting in a rendezvous of the two forces outside New York in the spring of 1781. The French Admiral de Barras, who took command of the French Fleet of 4,000 men which was blockaded at Rhode Island in May 1781, brought news that the French Admiral, de Grasse, was bringing the long awaited French Fleet to Chesapeake Bay. Consequently, after elaborate diversionary tactics to confuse Clinton, Washington abandoned his operations in New York, judging the opportunity ripe for an assault on British troops in the South, in conjunction with the French fleet. The combined Continental and French forces reached Yorktown on 28 September, 1781 (The Patriot Resource Web site). While the failure of the British at Yorktown has in large part been attributed to Lord Cornwallis, it can definitely be argued that General Clinton’s contradictory orders and his underestimation of the strength of the French Fleet were direct contributors to the British defeat. The Continental Army and the French allies surrounded Yorktown and set up their artillery and siege equipment. At Gloucester, the British garrison under Lt. Col. Thomas Dundas was reinforced by Lt. Col. Tarleton’s British legion, to number 1,000 men. On the American side, General Weedon, with his Virginia militia, reinforced by the French Lauzun’s legion of 600 men and 800 marines, were commanded by General de Choisy. On 3 October, de Choisy initiated action against the foraging British troops, who were forced to withdraw. De Choisy kept the British troops confined to the garrison at Gloucester for the duration of the battle of Yorktown. On 6 October, Washington’s forces commenced the siege of Yorktown with the digging of trenches and redoubts under cover of darkness. Yorktown was subjected to massive bombardment by forty-six guns and suffered heavy damage. On 14 October, British redoubts nine and ten were captured by the allies, who consolidated their positions against British counterattack. Cornwallis however, confined himself to subjecting these positions to massed artillery fire. A detachment of British troops undertook a sortie to spike the American guns on 16 October, but failed to inflict lasting damage. That evening, Cornwallis made a last-ditch attempt to salvage the situation by trying to ferry his troops across the river to Gloucester to break out from there. He was frustrated by a storm. After a particularly heavy allied artillery bombardment on 17 October, Cornwallis accepted defeat and called for a parley. Honorable terms of surrender were negotiated on 18 October and the British troops marched out of Yorktown at 2 p.m., supposedly to the tune of ‘The World Turned Upside!’ Cornwallis did not attend the surrender ceremony, but dispatched in his stead his deputy, Brigadier General Charles O’Hara, who Washington in turn directed to surrender to the American second- in-command, Major General Benjamin Lincoln (The Patriot Resource Web site). A major cause of the British defeat at Yorktown was General Clinton’s underestimation of French naval capabilities. Clinton was so confident of the British fleets’ control of the Atlantic coast that he was initially not perturbed by reports of the impending arrival of a French fleet under Rear Admiral Comte de Grasse. Ultimately, the Battle of the Capes proved to be the most decisive naval engagement of the American Revolution and directly responsible for the British capitulation at Yorktown. The Comte de Grasse sailed from France to the West Indies, en route to America on 22 March, 1781. He commanded an armada of over twenty war-ships, including the Ville de Paris with 110 guns: the largest war-ship of the period. He transported 3,200 infantry reinforcements. After raising funds in Havana, de Grasse stealthily sailed through the Old Bahamas Channel, reaching Chesapeake Bay on 30 August and landed his troops on 2 September, after making contact with Lafayette. Belatedly, General Clinton dispatched fourteen war-ships under Admiral Hood, who reached Chesapeake Bay on 25 August but, finding it empty, sailed on to New York to rendezvous with five more war-ships under Admiral Graves. The course of events could conceivably have been altered if Hood had occupied the Bay and awaited Graves there. When the British fleet returned to Chesapeake Bay on 5 September, the French fleet was in occupation and had effectively blockaded Cornwallis’ supply and escape route by the York River. The Naval battle raged for two days off the Virginia Capes. By 9 September, de Grasse was back in Chesapeake Bay, where he was joined by de Barras, and consolidated his position. The British navy retreated to New York, leaving Cornwallis to fend for himself (Our American History Web site). The contradictory orders issued by Clinton to Cornwallis also contributed to the British defeat. Initially, early in June 1781, fearing a siege of New York, Clinton ordered Cornwallis to immediately dispatch 2,000 troops from the South to New York’s relief, displaying a misjudgment of the relative strengths of the British and American forces in Virginia. A second communiqué asked Cornwallis to retain only a token force for defensive purposes and also suggested that Cornwallis undertake operations against Philadelphia. On 19 June, anticipating de Grasse’s arrival at the Chesapeake, Clinton advised Cornwallis to keep his troops. Again changing tack, Clinton reiterated his demand for reinforcements on 28 June. Cornwallis set in motion the embarkation of his troops to New York, only to be told by a letter of 17 July to halt embarkation and prepare to fortify Old Point Comfort and Hampton Road as a winter naval stations for the British fleet. Cornwallis’s decision to opt for Yorktown instead was based on the engineer’s estimate that the other ports were impractical as defensive positions (Landers. Senate document). The Battle of Yorktown was the defining engagement of the American War of Independence. While the British defeat is attributed to Lord Cornwallis, General Clinton can be held to be at least equally accountable. His misplaced confidence in the strength of the British fleet and his vacillating, contradictory orders to Cornwallis may have been the crucial factors which turned the tide of war against the British. Clinton finally arrived at Chesapeake on 27 October, 1781, after the battle was lost and the decisive blow had been struck for American independence. Works Cited. Grover, Sandy. Colonial National Historical Park Web site. History of the Siege of Yorktown. 19 July 2007 http://www.nps.gov/archive/colo/Ythanout/ytsiege.html Landers, H.L. The Virginia Campaign and the Blockade and Siege of Yorktown 1781. 71st Congress, 3D Session. Senate Document No. 273. Clinton-Cornwallis Controversy. 19 July, 2007. http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/RevWar/Yorktown/AWC-Ytn-fm.htm Our American History Web site. The Battle of Yorktown. 19 July 2007. http://www.ouramericanhistory.com/wst_page5.html The Patriot Resource Web site. History – American Revolutionary Era (1775-1781) Battle of Yorktown. 19 July 2007 http://www.patriotresource.com/battles/yorktown/page8.html Read More