BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Yorktown Visitor Center (Colonial NHP)

VA -- Yorktown Visitor Center (Colonial NHP):

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. YORKVC_120923_005.JPG: A Colonial Port Becomes a Battleground: "You perceive a great Air of Opulence amongst the Inhabitants, who have some of them built themselves Houses, equal in Magnificence to many of our superb ones..." -- Edward Kimber, 1736 Yorktown, in the mid-1700s, was a busy, vital tobacco port, exporting crops from area plantations to England and receiving imports of manufactured goods. People of all types and classes lived in Yorktown -- merchants, planters, prosperous yeomen, shopkeepers, indentured servants and slaves. Some played prominent roles in the American Revolution, including Thomas Nelson, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Governor of Virginia in 1781 and commander of the Virginia Militia at the Siege of 1781; David Jameson who served as Nelson's lieutenant governor; Dudley Digges, who co-authored the first constitution for the Commonwealth of Virginia; and Jacqueline Ambler, who became the first treasurer for the commonwealth. Ninety years after the town's founding, its streets and homes became part of a battleground. The 1781 siege ruined much of the town, and the community never regained its former prosperity. Timeline: 1607 -- Jamestown established. 1630 -- First land grants issues along the York River. 1642 -- Church built for the York Parish. 1691 -- "Act for Ports" passed by the colonial legislature, establishing Yorktown. 1697 -- Yorktown becomes the county seat. York-Hampton Parish Church built (now known as Grace Episcopal Church). 1719 -- All town lots finally sold. 1738 -- Yorktown waterfront purchased and added to the town. 1740-44 -- 3,694 slaves pass through the port at Yorktown, almost 60% of all slaves arriving in Virginia. 279 merchant vessels at the port. 255 merchant vessels sail from Yorktown. 1750 -- Yorktown is at its peak with an estimated population of 1,800. 1774 -- Protesting British taxes, some of Yorktown's citizens stage a tea party, tossing two half chests of tea from a merchant ship into the York River. 1781 -- The British army occupies Yorktown in August, utilizing the port to establish a naval base. In the subsequent siege of the British position, approximately 80% of the town is destroyed or too heavily damaged to be repaired. "More than half of our much loved little town is entirely destroyed, and many of those elegant edifices that to our youthful minds appeared magnificently beautiful are leveled with the dust, others that remain are so mutilated..." -- Elizabeth Ambler, 1782
2. YORKVC_120923_006.JPG: A Military Land and Sea Campaign Converges on Yorktown: The military campaign that culminated with the Siege of Yorktown included armies from the United States, France and Great Britain. The campaign also encompassed troop movements through eight of the original 13 colonies and included French and British naval operations from the Caribbean, Rhode Island and New York to the Chesapeake Bay. Yet neither British General Charles Lord Cornwallis nor General George Washington planned to converge their armies on Yorktown. A series of events, however, led both leaders to the pivotal campaign that effectively ended the American Revolutionary War. The Generals: General George Washington: Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in July 1775. His leadership had kept the army together through six years of war. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau: Rochambeau's military career spanned over 40 years. Selected by King Louis XVI to command the French Expeditionary Army in America, Washington welcomed his military council. General Charles Lord Cornwallis: A career officer who had served in the army since the age of 18, he was considered by many to be the best British field general in America. In July 1780, Admiral De Barras transported the Comte de Rochambeau and his army of 5,000 troops from France to Rhode Island. In 1781, De Barras' fleet carried the Allies' siege artillery to Virginia. On September 5, the largest naval battle of the American Revolutionary War occurred when French and British fleets clashed off the capes of Virginia. Though the battle outcome was a draw, the French maintained control of the Chesapeake Bay, while the British fleet returned to New York. Timeline: April: 25 -- After an unsuccessful campaign in the Carolinas, Cornwallis deployed his army to Virginia. May: 20 -- At Petersburg, Virginia, Cornwallis assumed command of British forces in Virginia and began a campaign to gain control of the state. 22 -- Washington and Rochambeau discussed military options. Washington determined New York City was their primary objective. June: 4 -- British forces raided Charlottesville, capturing several state legislators. 26 -- Cornwallis received orders to "take a defensive station." July: 6 -- Near Green Spring, the Marquis de Lafayette, commanding American forces, attacked Cornwallis' army near Jamestown. Lafayette was defeated, but his army retreated intact. August: 1 -- Cornwallis arrived at Yorktown to establish his defensive station. 14 -- Washington learned that Comte de Grasse was sailing his French battle fleet from the West Indies to the Chesapeake Bay. Without naval support to attack New York City, Washington changed his objective to Cornwallis. 18 -- French and American troops began moving south from New York. 25 -- De Barras' fleet left Newport, Rhode Island with siege cannon. 29 -- The French battle fleet arrived at the Chesapeake Bay. 31 -- The British battle fleet, commanded by Admiral Graves, sailed form New York City searching for the French navy. September: 5 -- The Battle of the Capes. 8 -- De Barras' fleet reached the Chesapeake Bay. 14 -- Washington and Rochambeau arrived in Williamsburg. 20 -- Allied troops, many of them shuttled down the Chesapeake Bay by the French navy, began arriving in Williamsburg. 28 -- The Allied army marched from Williamsburg to Yorktown to begin the siege. The Admirals: Francois Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse: De Grasse had entered French naval service at the age of 11. In 1781, the same day he sailed from France for the West Indies and subsequently the Chesapeake Bay, he was promoted to rear admiral. Admiral Thomas Graves: A 40 year naval veterans with limited battle experience, Graves was assigned a position in Britain's North American fleet in 1780. "No land force can act decisively unless it is accompanied by a Maritime superiority..." -- General George Washington
3. YORKVC_120923_057.JPG: "... in general our works go on slow, the heavy artillery hard to get up... indeed, I discover very plainly that we are young soldiers in a siege; however, we are determined to benefit ourselves by experience; one virtue we possess, that is perseverance." -- Colonel Richard Butler, 2nd Pennsylvania Battalion, 5th Pennsylvania Regiment, in his diary, October 2, 1781 From his headquarters, Washington ordered troops on fatigue duty to construct essential building components of fortifications, such as gabions and fascines; kept De Grasse appraised of the situation on land; and wrote general orders directing that "his own Baggage Waggons to be sent to assist in the Transportation of Ordnance and Stores" and "all Waggons of the General field and other Officers may be employed in the same service..." By October 6, the Allied army was ready to erect their fortifications and deploy siege cannon. Washington, in a letter to Edward Rutledge of South Carolina, detailed the previous week's activities: "We have been... constructing... advanced Works, in preparing fascines, Gabions & ca and bringing our heavy Artiller and Stores from the landing place on James River. This last has been carried on slowly till within a few days past, when our Waggons arrived from the Northward. The Engineers now think was have a sufficient stock to commence serious operations, and we open Trenches this Evening." By October 1, the Allied encampment had taken shape; located, according to Washington, beyond direct "range of Enemy's shot." The encampment spanned several miles, with Washington's headquarters placed between the American and French troops and adjacent to Rochambeau's headquarters.
4. YORKVC_120923_061.JPG: Hurry... with your Troops upon the wing of Speed ... you will undertake the collection of Spades, Axes, Hatchets, Shovels, & hilling Hoes & you are hereby empowered to take for the public Use all you can find in the Town or adjacent Country... You are also impowered [sic] to impress Negroes to bring the Tools to such... Places... to have them collected at ... -- Governor Thomas Nelson, Jr. to Mr. Charles Lewis, September 15, 1781 Along with provisions and equipment coming from the North, Governor Nelson of Virginia was also tasked with obtaining food, such as flour and herds of beef; oxen and horses for moving supplies and munitions from the ships on the James River to Yorktown; and scavenging the commonwealth for tools to build earthworks. By September 27, with enough men and supplies available, Washington ordered the army to march from Williamsburg to Yorktown at 5:00 the next morning. By nightfall on September 28, most Allied soldiers had arrived within a few miles of Yorktown. French soldiers briefly skirmished with British defenders blocking the only land route into Yorktown, while American artillery contested British cavalry observing their arrival. The next day, the Allied encampment began to take shape. Siege preparations including stockpiling tools needed for digging and constructing earthworks. No siege bombardment could begin until the Allied Army had constructed fortifications to protect their soldiers from British artillery fire.
5. YORKVC_120923_066.JPG: "Heavy Artillery and Every thing Relative to a Siege from the Cannon to the tool, is not to Be found this Side of Philadelphia. Cloathing and Particuarly Shoes -- Arms, Dragoons and Horse Equipements, Ammunition of Every kind are Articles which Your Excellency will be obliged to Send from the Northward." -- The Marquis de Lafayette to General George Washington, Mattapony River, August 24, 1781 On August 14, 1781, Washington decided to deploy the Allied Army in New York to Virginia. He faced a monumental task of quickly moving over 2,000 American and 5,000 French soldiers, food, artillery, and equipage over 450 miles to join the Marquis de Lafayette and his Virginia army. Speed was essential to catch Cornwallis and his army fortified at Yorktown. Within five days, Washington's army began moving south, along with wagons laden with commissary stores and military essentials for siege warfare. Washington dispatched his chief engineer, Brigadier General Louis de Begue de Presle Du Portail, ahead of his troops. Du Portail, a French officer serving in the Continental Army, reached Lafayette in early September and began preliminary planning for the siege. Most of Washington's New York forces marched to ports located near the head of the Chesapeake Bay. Though the troops brought some boats overland, many more were needed to convey the army down the bay to Virginia. Washington requested Governor Thomas Sim Lee of Maryland to obtain "all the Water Craft that can be procured suitable for the Carriage of an Army... at the Head of Elk..." When not enough boats were at Head of Elk, some troops continued to Baltimore and Annapolis. Major General Benjamin Lincoln: Lincoln, Washington's second-in-command, coordinated the transport of American supplies and troops. From the Head of Elk, on September 11, Lincoln sent Washington an invoice of items transported that day on 30 schooners and sloops. The cargo consisted of artillery supplies, including cannon barrels and carriages; kegs of powder; cannonballs, shells and grapeshot; and laboratory stores. Lincoln also reported that he still had to ship "a large quantity of Stores estimated at 80 to 90 Tons." On September 15, from his Williamsburg headquarters, Washington wrote Lincoln to "Hurry on then, my Dear Genl, with your Troops upon the wing of Speed, the want of our Men and Stores is now all that retards our immediate operations."
6. YORKVC_120923_077.JPG: "Lt. Col. Simcoe was informed by Gen. Phillips, that he had received an order from Lord Cornwallis to meet him near Petersburg." -- Simcoe's Military Journal, Lieutenant Colonel J. Graves Simcoe, May 1781. "I confess I am at some loss to guess how your Lordship came to be reduced ... to one thousand three hundred and sixty infantry.. The Chesapeake army... had already... three thousand five hundred men, and I shall send him [General Phillips] one thousand seven hundred more... these are rank and file fit for duty, and great part of them taken from the elite of my army..." -- Sir Henry Clinton to Lord Cornwallis, April 30, 1781 On May 20, 1781, General Charles Lord Cornwallis, with approximately 1500 troops, reached Petersburg, Virginia, where he took command of all British forces in Virginia. These forces consisted of several regiments that entered the commonwealth in December 1780 under the command of Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, and the army of Major General William Phillips. Phillips's men had arrived in Virginia in two waves, in April and May of 1781. Cornwallis began his military campaign in Virginia with over 8,000 soldiers. Career professional British soldiers and Loyalist colonial forces accounted for 75 percent of Cornwallis's army. At the siege, British troops held the critical left portion of Cornwallis's Yorktown defenses, while the Loyalists garrisoned Gloucester Point. Hired auxiliary troops from the Germanic states of Ansbach (Anspach), Bayreuth (Beyreuth), and Hesse-Kassel (Cassel) made up the remaining 25 percent of the British garrison. General Sir Henry Clinton assumed command of British forces in the American colonies in the spring of 1778. While he was Cornwallis's commanding officer, Cornwallis outranked him in civilian life, a situation that contributed to the difficult relationship between the two men. The 17th Regiment of Foot fought in several major battles in the north until its capture at Stoney Point, New York, in July 1779. The unit was exchanged and next fought at Yorktown, where it was captured again. The 17th Regiment of Foot was released from captivity after the war officially ended in 1783.
7. YORKVC_120923_082.JPG: ... the enemy got 18 beautiful standards ... The Ansbach-Bayreuth Regiment was among the last units to join Cornwallis's army in Virginia. Raised in 1777, their ruling prince, the Margrave of the German Principalities of Ansbach and Bayreuth, Christian Friedrich Carl Alexander, contracted with the British government to provide 1200 soldiers to the war effort in the American colonies. By the time the regiment reached Yorktown in 1781, it had amassed a respectable record in garrison duty and limited battle actions. At Yorktown, the regiment surrendered 948 men, along with military equipage and their regimental flags. "April 30th Early in the day we embarked to sail to Virginia. English troops also went with us and our fleet consisted of about 30 ships." -- Stephan Popp, Ansbach-Bayreuth Regiment, New York City, 1781 As part of the terms of the surrender, the British and German regiments gave up their regimental flags. These flags were important to soldiers as emotional and identifying symbols that served as rallying points for a regiment in the chaos of battle. The flags, sometimes affectionately called "the colors," were guarded and defended. To be forced to surrender a flag conveyed dishonor on the regiment. At Yorktown, this dishonor was compounded. The surrender terms dictated that during the surrender ceremony, the British and German regiments must keep their flags cased instead of proudly flying them, even in defeat.
8. YORKVC_120923_087.JPG: "Lord Cornwallis did every thing in his power to procure for the Soldiers the Terms of being sent to Europe; Since those could not be obtained he has taken evry Means to secure them good treatment during Captivity & will pay the greatest Attention to their being constantly supplied with Necessaries until their Liberty can be procured." -- H. Quarter York, 19 Oct 1781, 43rd Regiment of Foot Orderly Book The surrender terms at Yorktown also directed that most of the British and German troops be interred as prisoners of war. Two days after the surrender, guarded by Virginia military troops, Cornwallis' forces began their long march to prison camps. Initially half were sent to Winchester, Virginia, and half to Fort Frederick in Maryland. Later, some were sent to prison camps in Pennsylvania. Under the surrender terms, the British were responsible for provisioning their own troops, even while in prison camps. The prisoners also received their military pay. In June 1782, a Congressional committee reported to General George Washington and Secretary of War Benjamin Lincoln that the British were not adequately reimbursing the government for the care of their imprisoned troops. The committee further stated that "a considerable proportion of the ... prisoners consists of Germany..., many of whom form a dislike to the Service into which they have been involuntarily hired" and wished to either join the American army or enter civilian life in the United States, "with a view of eventually becoming citizens & settlers with the said States." After the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the British regiments captured at Yorktown returned to Great Britain or continued their military service in Canada. As for the German troops -- some also returned home, but about one-third remained behind to become citizens of the United States.
9. YORKVC_120923_115.JPG: Duties and Tragedy After the Siege: For two weeks following the British surrender, Washington continued to direct military operations from his headquarters. Matters such as moving the British army to prison camps, re-deployment of American forces, court-martials and supply issues occupied his time. On November 5, Washington left his headquarters for Philadelphia to present details of the victory to the Continental Congress. His trip was delayed by the unexpected death of his 21 year-old stepson, Jackie Parke Custis, who had served as a volunteer aide-de-camp to Washington during the siege. Washington did not reach Philadelphia until the end of the month. "... I set out yesterday on my return to the Northern Army; but an event which I met with at this place (very distressing to Mrs. Washington) will retrd my arrival at Philadelphia..." -- General George Washington to the President of Congress, Colonel Bassetts near Ruffen's Ferry, November 6, 1781 Jackie Parke Custis died at Etham, near West Point, Virginia, from camp fever he contracted during the siege. He left a wife and four children. His two youngest children, Eleanor and George Washington Parke Custis were raised by General Washington and his wife, Martha.
10. YORKVC_120923_120.JPG: A Headquarters Under Canvas: "The headquarters were under canvass during the siege of and after the surrender of Yorktown." -- General Washington Parke Custis, 1843 As commander of the allied forces at Yorktown, Washington met the challenges of a complex military operation. At his headquarters, in counsel with the French commander, the Comte de Rochambeau, and other allied officers, Washington made crucial decisions that led to the victory. Washington conferred with staff, received visitors and dined with up to 40 people at a time in the dining marquee. "... there are only three major generals here, I have two days' duty going into or leaving the trenches, and even on the third day I scarcely get to headquarters (from which the expresses leave), while General Washington spends almost all of his time, supervising the progress of our works." -- Marquis de Lafayette to Chevalier de La Luzerne, Camp Before York, October 12, 1781
11. YORKVC_120923_124.JPG: A National Treasure: "A new table was spread under the tent of Washington... Lafayette was then conducted to the tent, where a plentiful repast was spread... Several toasts were given... By Mr. Deuthat, of Richmond Cavalry. This tent, the tend of Washington, which has formally covered the hero from the wind and storm." -- Yorktown, October 20, 1824. From An Account of General Lafayette's Visit to Virginia in the Years 1824-'25, by Richard D. Ward. Washington's tents are the only known, remaining 18th century American officer's tents. Because they were actively used throughout the 19th century, it is extraordinary that they survived. Between 1803 and 1855, George Washington Parke Custis pitched the tents for special occasions including the Marquis de Lafayette's visit to Yorktown in October 1824. Today, the known surviving tents and equipage are owned by several institutions including agencies within the Federal Government, the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, and the Valley Forge Historical Society. The pieces still surviving include: a sleeping marquee, a dining marquee, a marquee ceiling, a tent chamber, tent bags, poles and pegs, camp bed, camp stools, and shipping crates. "I have the highest veneration for everything that belonged to the General, particularly for this Tent, which will bring to my recollection so many former scenes." -- Marquis de Lafayette to George Washington Parke Custis, 1824
12. YORKVC_120923_128.JPG: A Family Heirloom: "I have during the time I have been here, endeavored to take the greatest care of this house... [T]his place is not a safe one for the preservation of anything that is known to have an historical interest small or great." -- General Irvin McDowell, May 1861, to the US Patent Office After the deaths of George and Martha Washington, George Washington Parke Custis purchased the tents from his grandmother Martha's estate. He kept them at his home, Arlington House. When Custis died, his only child, Mary, wife of Robert E. Lee, inherited the tents. At the start of the Civil War, the Lee family left Arlington House and entrusted the care to their home to Mrs. Lee's slave, Selina Gray. By late May 1861, Union troops occupied the premises. Concerned for the security of the Washington heirlooms, Gray alerted their commander, General Irvin McDowell, of their existence. Under his direction, the heirlooms were seized and safeguarded at the US Patent Office. In 1901, President William McKinley returned them to the Lee family.
13. YORKVC_120923_145.JPG: Lord Cornwallis' Campaign Table: According to records connected with this campaign table, it is thought to have belonged to Lord Cornwallis during his time in Yorktown. The table has a top and a base and breaks down for transporting. The top is composed of legume panel with a rosewood border. The folding trestle legs are made of padauk. All these woods are tropical and generally used for furniture. Campaign furniture, designed to be folded up, packed, and carried on the march, has been used by traveling armies since the time of Julius Caesar, and even earlier. The table can be set at two different heights. Although not visible, each leg is marked with a brass upholstery nail numbering * through **** which corresponds with those on the table top corners.
14. YORKVC_120923_153.JPG: The Moore House -- Silent witness to the ... "At ten o'clock the enemy beat a parley, and Lord Cornwallis proposed a cessation of hostilities for 24 hours, that commissioners might meet at the house of Mr. Moore to settle terms, for the surrender of the posts of York and Gloucester." -- General George Washington, October 17, 1781 With the cease-fire, the focus of the armies turned to the home of Augustine Moore. Four commissioners representing the American, French and British armies met there to discuss the terms of surrender for General Cornwallis's army. The negotiations took place on October 18. Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens, aide-de-camp to General Washington, represented the American army, the French sent the Viscount de Noailles, brother-in-law to the Marquis de Lafayette. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Dundas, commander of the 80th Regiment of Foot, and Major Alexander Ross, aide-de-camp to Cornwallis, represented the British.
15. YORKVC_120923_156.JPG: ... end of the British Empire in America: The Moore House (circa mid-18th century) was part of a 500-acre estate owned by Augustine Moore. Moore was born in 1732 and at age 14 was apprenticed to merchant William Nelson of Yorktown. By 1773 he was a partner at the mercantile firm of "Thos. Nelson, Jr. and Co." In 1768, Augustine purchased Temple Farm, that included the Moore House. Upon his death in 1788, the house passed to his wife, Lucy. When she died without any heirs, Governor Thomas Nelson Jr., acquired the property. Ownership of the house then passed through approximately 40 families until 1931 when the National Park Service purchased it. Between 1931-1934, the National Park Service restored the house to its original colonial appearance. The restoration was a first for the National Park Service. The Moore House is located on the battlefield auto tour.
16. YORKVC_120923_176.JPG: By 1777, Rhode Island patriots were in difficult times. Few men remained to be recruited for military service. In February 1778, to solve the problem of troops enlistments, Rhode Island's government passed unique legislation, allowing slaves to join the Continental Army. The first three slaves enlisted into the 1st Rhode Island Regiment on February 25 and by October, 24 had enrolled. Commanded by white officers, and probably integrated with white troops, the 1st Rhode Island Regiment's first significant engagement was the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778. For the next three years, the unit was kept busy at support work, including garrison and fatigue duty.
17. YORKVC_120923_180.JPG: At the 1781 Siege of Yorktown, most of the regiment was assigned to General Benjamin Lincoln's division, with the light infantry company detailed to Marquis de Lafayette's division. While the unit's duties consisted mainly of constructing earthworks, the light infantry participated in the assault of a British output, Redoubt 10, on the night of October 14. The regiment served until it was disbanded on June 13, 1783. In his farewell address to the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Jeremiah Olney remarked on the soldiers "unexampled fortitutde and patience through all dangers and toils of a long and severe war" as well as "their valor and good conduct displayed on every occasion when called to face the enemy... and of their prompt obedience to orders and discipline through every stage of the service." Even after the 1781 seige [sic], African Americans continued to play an important role in the building of earthworks at Yorktown. During the Civil War, in 1861-62, Confederate Major General John Bankhead Magruder utilized up to 1,600 slaves at a time to refortify the old British line around the town and construct miles of new earthworks in an attempt to block a Union army's advance on Richmond in the spring of 1862. In the 1930s, after the 1781 battlefield was incorporated into Colonial National Historical Park, two African American Civilian Conservation Corps camps assisted the National Park Service in reconstructing portions of the American and French seige [sic] lines and the Royal Welch Fusiliers Redoubt.
18. YORKVC_120923_185.JPG: "... that every slave so enlisting shall... be immediately discharged from the service of his master ... and be absolutely FREE..." -- Rhode Island Legislature, 1778 The American Revolutionary War affected all aspects of American society. Patriotic men joined militia units or the Continental Army; others, loyal to Great Britain, entered into provincial service. Some women and children followed their husband and fathers, while others were left behind to manage the family farm or business. Enslaved African Americans also had opportunities to participate on either side of the war, and in some cases were offered freedom for their service. At war's end, several thousand African Americans had served as soldiers, spies, guides, sailors, ship pilots, and laborers. The first chance to serve for freedom was for the British. On November 7, 1775, Virginia's royal governor, John Murray, Earl of Dunmore, in an attempt to raise forces, proclaimed "all indented [sic] Servants, Negroes, or others (appertaining to Rebels) free, that are able and willing to bear Arms in the King's cause." By December, nearly 300 African Americans in uniform, with the words "Liberty to Slaves" inscribed across their breasts, were members of "Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment." A few days later, on December 9, at the Battle of Great Bridge, a British force of 600, nearly half of which was African American, was thrown back by the Patriots. By August 1776, Dunmore was forced to abandon Virginia.
19. YORKVC_120923_188.JPG: African Americans in the Yorktown Campaign: Dunmore's defeat did not alter British policy. In 1779, Sir Henry Clinton, commander-in-chief of the British forces, stated he would guarantee to any slave full freedom and choice of military assignment. In the final major campaign of the war, the British continued to use African Americans. Moving into Virginia in May 1781, General Charles Lord Cornwallis and other British commanders pressed African Americans into labor. An African American corps built fortifications at Portsmouth and approximately 2,000 were employed to construct earthen defenses at Yorktown and Gloucester Point. Trapped in Yorktown by General George Washington's army, Cornwallis' forces labored under bombardment, confinement and dwindling supplies. Smallpox broke out, and the African Americans were very susceptible to the disease. In what some perceived as an attempt to inflict the smallpox on the enemy, the African Americans were forced out of the British defenses towards the American lines.
20. YORKVC_120923_198.JPG: The Fiery End of the HMS Charon: "The ships were enwrapped in a torrent of fire, spreading with vivid brightness among the combustible rigging, and running with amazing rapidity to the tops of several masts..." -- Dr. James Thacher, October 10, 1781 On the night of October 10, French artillerists along the York River west of Yorktown turned their attention toward British ships anchored in the river, including the 44-gun Frigate the HMS Charon. Firing "red hot shot" that were super-heated cannon balls, they set fire to the Charon. Attempting to escape, the Charon collided with a transport, spreading the intense fire. The Charon drifted to the Gloucester side of the river where it burned to its waterline and sank. To your left is a one-fourth replica of the Charon. It includes some of hte ship's cannon that were recovered from the river in the 1930s.
21. YORKVC_120923_202.JPG: Cornwallis' Sunken Fleet: "Ten or twelve large merchant ships have been sunk before York, and piles have been driven in front of these vessels, to prevent our ships from approaching the town... to debark troops..." -- Author unknown, October 4, 1781 With French Naval forces in control of the Chesapeake Bay, General Cornwallis' position was weakening. He now faced the possibility of the French attacking Yorktown from the river. With Cornwallis were roughly 60 ships trapped at Yorktown, ranging in size from a 44-gun frigate to small transports. On September 16, Cornwallis began sinking some of these vessels, creating a barrier to prevent the allies from approaching or launching an assault onto the beach at Yorktown.
22. YORKVC_120923_249.JPG: Here we labor, here we toil, shoveling Virginia's soil "Yorktown is a place where there is absolutely no one who is not in uniform. All of the townspeople have left; consequently, it is impossible to ind anything, even a store. This town is a camp." -- Father Louis-Hippolyte Gache, S.J., Chaplain, 10th Louisiana Infantry, September 11, 1861 By 1860, Yorktown was a remnant of its former self with a population of 62. An observer in early May 1861 described the town as "dozing away in a sort of Revolutionary sleep." But issues such as states' rights and slavery had brought the United States to the brink of civil war, and the town and fields where the country's independence was won would soon be a battlefield again. On the eve of the Civil War, the Virginia government began preparing for the area's defense. On May 21, 1861, General Robert E. Lee, commanding Virginia's forces, placed "Col. John B. Magruder, of the Provisional Army of Virginia in command of the troops and military operations on the line to Hampton" with his headquarters at Yorktown. Protecting Richmond was a concern. Ships could navigate the York River and bring enemy forces close to the city. The Peninsula, formed by the York and James Rivers, could be an invasion route. Yorktown, at a narrow gap in the York River, was the key towards blocking enemy access of the river and the Peninsula. Fortification of Yorktown began. By the spring of 1862, Magruder's forces encircled Yorktown with massive earthworks, and a defensive line extended from Yorktown to the James River. Fort D.H. Hill: On June 3, 1861, Colonel Magruder reported on the Yorktown defenses, noting that "We have a breastwork connecting the old English fort with the head of the ravine... The old fort protects our left." The Confederate "High Bastion" depicted in this 1862 photograph encapsulated some of the 1781 British defenses. Harrison B. Tomlin: Area slave owners were required to send one-third of their labor force to Yorktown to construct fortifications. Major Harrison B. Tomlin of the Virginia Volunteers oversaw the gathering of slaves. In the fall of 1861, Magruder ordered that the slaves be "returned to their owners as soon as free negroes can be procured..." Tomlin began rounding up free blacks. Virginia Indians faced a major problem, as only those who had previously proved their ethnicity to the government and there "enjoy the priviledge [sic] granted by law to Indians," were exempt from impressments. All others claiming to be Indians were by "law Free Negroes," and according to Tomlin, if he could "catch them," he would send them to Yorktown.
23. YORKVC_120923_253.JPG: "Many of our officers think and say that the war of the Revolution was decided at Yorktown, and that the war of the Rebellion will be decided at the same place; I think it will not be, yet I hope it may." -- Captain Edward A. Acton, 5th New Jersey Infantry, in a letter to his wife, April 18, 1862 The first shots of the Civil War came at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. In the Spring of 1862, Union General George B. McClellan launched an offensive to capture Richmond. Transporting his Army of the Potomac down the Chesapeake Bay to Union controlled Fort Monroe, McClellan began an advance up the Peninsula. On April 5, 1862, his leading forces came under fire from Magruder's troops. McClellan halted his advance to besiege Magruder's defenses. By May 3, 1862, all the Union heavy artillery was in place, and McClellan planned to open his batteries within a few short days. Some Confederates strategized that Yorktown could withstand a massive Union barrage for about two days; others expected the town to be destroyed in two hours. Anticipating such devastation, the Confederates evacuated the town and their Peninsula defenses over the night of May 3-4. The Union army occupied Yorktown as McClellan's campaign to take Richmond continued. In August, portions of his army came back through Yorktown, having failed to take the Confederate capital. Two divisions, commanded by Major General Erasmus D. Keyes, were left to garrison Yorktown. The town was important strategically for possible campaigns against Richmond and to "the whole Country through its historic associations." Yorktown: On the morning of May 4, Union forces discovered the town empty, except, according to Charles W. Smith of the 1st Connecticut Artillery "one white woman & two blackeses." While some Union soldiers appreciated taking Yorktown with little loss of life, William H. Morrow of the 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry was disappointed: "After thirty days of stupendous work and wonderful engineering, Yorktown was ours without striking a blow: but what a barren victory! ... the enemy... quietly walked off and left us some empty entrenchments in return for all we suffered."
24. YORKVC_120923_258.JPG: "I hope my next letter home will be dated from some less depressing place than Yorktown." -- Lieutenant John C. Gray, aid [sic] to Brigadier General George Henry Gordon, June 2, 1863 Yorktown became the headquarters for the Federal "District of Eastern Virginia," which included military outposts near Williamsburg and at Gloucester Point. Keyes' infantry modified the Confederate earthworks and trained on the garrison's heavy artillery, neither popular duty for veteran soldiers, but important to protecting the closest Union position to Richmond. In addition to military matters, Keyes' dealt with civilian issues, including distributing subsistence to destitute area residents and providing a haven for enslaved African Americans seeking freedom. In July 1863, Keyes was replaced by Brigadier General Isaac J. Wistar. Wistar wrote after the war of his first impressions of Yorktown, "the most disgusting" he had "ever seen in a military post." Within his first week of command, Wistar devised a plan to clean up the fort, improve defenses, house the contraband slaves and build additional barracks for his soldiers. By late spring of 1864, Yorktown's days as a garrison were numbered. Wistar's forces were consolidated into the newly formed Army of the James. On May 4, 1864, this army left Yorktown, landing the next day at City Point on the James River. City Point replaced Yorktown as a strategic Federal supply base as Union forces fought Confederate troops protecting Petersburg and Richmond. By summer. Yorktown's remaining artillery and soldiers were transferred to the evolving siege at Petersburg, except for a small Union force left to protect local residents from potential Confederate raids. General, USA, Isaac J. Wistar: From a prominent Pennsylvania family, Wistar was conflicted as to which side to choose at the beginning of the war. He had southern friends and was offered an officer's rank in the Confederate forces. But Wistar wrote that he could not "justify taking up arms against my native State, in whose allegiance, like my ancestors, I was born and reared." At Yorktown, he brought military order to the garrison, conducted raids into nearby Confederate territory, and solidified the Union hold over the Peninsula. A New Name: As an official military garrison, the town was designated "as Fort Yorktown." This lithograph shows Fort Yorktown in the fall of 1863. Civilian access to the town was restricted. General Wistar removed African American contraband from the fort to a "Slabtown" of cabins south of the town. A few sutlers remained in town to sell goods to the troops. Soldiers' wives also visited the garrison, until Wistar stopped it due "to the increasing evil resulting from a large number of female relatives of soldiers and officers." Healing: In the aftermath of the Civil War, the centennial of the 1781 Siege at Yorktown was an opportunity to help the nation reunite. In January 1881, Governor William E. Smith of Wisconsin reported: "...events of this character should be celebrated and... tend to heal the differences engendered by our civil war... for the descendants lineal and political of the victors of Yorktown to gather together.... and commemorate the deeds of valor and heroism which secured our independence..." The October 1881 celebration was the first national event held in the South since the Civil War. Confederate and Union veterans filled a time capsule with Civil War momentoes and placed it beneath the cornerstone at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Yorktown Monument ot the Alliance and Victory.
25. YORKVC_120923_296.JPG: The Lafayette Gun: The 12 pounder English gun facing this tablet was taken by General Lafayette in person at the storming of a redoubt at Yorktown in 1781. General Lafayette personally identified this gun by the conspicuous indentation made by a shot on its side when he visited this arsenal in 1825. At the General's death in 1834 this gun was used to fire the half hour salute in his honor.
26. YORKVC_120923_300.JPG: The Lafayette Cannon: According to tradition, General Lafayette identified this dented cannon while visiting the United States in 1824 [the marker, though, says 1825]. The distinctive dent on the British tube was inflicted by an allied cannon ball during the siege. When the general saw this piece again, it is said he became sentimental and embraced the barrel.
27. YORKVC_120923_310.JPG: Yorktown: "This Yorktown, or Little-York, is a small city of approximately 300 houses; it has, moreover, considerable circumference. It is located on the bank of the York River, somewhat high on a sandy but level ground. It had 3 churches, 2 reformed English and 1 German Lutheran... and 2 Quaker meeting houses, and a beautiful court or meeting house..." -- Johann Conrad Doehla, Anspach-Bayreuth Battalion, British army, July 31, 1781 Travel a short distance along this walkway to discover historic Yorktown. Established in 1691, by the 1750s the town was a thriving seaport supporting a prosperous waterfront business district with wharves, warehouses and pubs. Stately and moderate homes, outbuildings, stores, churches, taverns and government buildings filled the bluff overlooking the river. The town was extensively damaged during the 1781 siege and never recovered its colonial prominence. Explore Yorktown and discover among a still active community sights that reflect the town's past glory: earthworks encircling the town, the 1881 Monument to the Alliance and Victory, and 18th century buildings, including the home of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. "I have this day visited the town of York, to witness the destructive effects of the siege. It contains about sixty houses.. many of them are greatly damaged and some totally ruined, being shot through in a thousand places and honey-combed ready to crumble to pieces." -- Dr. James Thacher, Surgeon, Continental Army, October 22, 1781
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