FINALLY, the war is over.

Washington's Plan

What a great summer was about to begin on 1781. George Washington moved most of his troops south; he had a great plan on mind. He planned to trap General Charles Cornwallis in Yorktown, but the timing was crucial being at the right place at the right moment, he needed some help from the French fleet to prevent and block the British from evacuating by sea through the Chesapeake Bay. George Washington knew the French were coming but he had no idea at what time. So that was the plan but how did it happen and went so well? The coordination was a stroke of luck. The French made a crucial difference, even the French soldiers and navy outnumbered George Washington’s army, so they definitely had a big army. The battle of Yorktown consisted of many small confrontations; in July 1781 the British marched to Yorktown they expected reinforcements to come from New York so meanwhile they settled near Chesapeake Bay. The French general Lafayette trapped the British on the Peninsula until the Continental Army and more French troops arrived in late August. The French and Americans created a semicircle around the British also blocking them from escaping by land, so there was no way out. Meanwhile General Charles Cornwallis was trying to escape; he even sent soldiers that had smallpox to from his camp into the lines of the colonial soldiers, hoping that the colonial soldiers would get infected and give him a chance. But he failed, leading him to surrender, so on October 19, 1781 it was over. He sent a drummer boy and a soldier with a white flag to Washington offering to surrender. On October 19, the official papers of surrender were signed. In the final act a colonial band played an old British tune called, “The World Turned Upside Down”. Indeed it turned upside down for the British, but a fresh start awaited the perseverant Americans.

What a Victory :)