Existing comment:
Siege Warfare:
Allied army engineers designed an elaborate series of trenches and battlements to attack British fortifications at Yorktown.
Working under cover of darkness, allied troops dug approach trenches and emplacements for artillery. They hauled more than 100 siege guns, howitzers, and mortars into place, and readied iron balls, grapeshot, and projectiles that could be set aflame. Then they took aim at British fortifications surrounding Yorktown, houses in town, and ships at anchor. The bombardment was intense. At the height of the assault, French and American artillery crews fired 3,600 rounds in a single day. The cannonade was so noisy, recalled a witness, it seemed "as though the heavens should split." |