| Virginia (York County), Williamsburg — A Union Advance |
| | On May 5, 1862 Lt. George A Custer (who in 1876 made his “Last Stand” on the Little Bighorn River in Montana) led a detachment along the roadway here over “Cub Dam Creek” to occupy the Confederate work on the bluff immediately beyond. This maneuver in the Battle of Williamsburg came as the Union Army advanced toward Richmond in the Peninsular Campaign. — Map (db m25794) |
| Virginia (York County), Williamsburg — W 45 — Whitaker's House |
| | A mile north of the road is Whitaker's House, headquarters of General W. F. Smith, Battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862. — Map (db m9504) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Agenois Encampment |
| | The tents of the Regiment Agenois stretched to your right in 1781 with two other French regiments Gatinois and Touraine, beyond. These men, coming from the West Indies, wore linen uniforms, light for the “cold nights” of October in Virginia. — Map (db m11150) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — American Encampment — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “The American troops encamped in a wood within a mile of the Enemy’s left line – and the French troops encamped on their right.” Lieutenant William Feltman, Pennsylvania Battalion, September 28, 1781 On September 28, 1781, as General Washington’s army marched within a mile of Yorktown, the various brigades were assigned locations for their camps, hospitals, and artillery parks. Some of those camps filled these woods as soldiers carried out essential activities . . . — Map (db m10862) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — American Field Hospital — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | I attended at the hospital, amputated a man’s arm, and assisted in dressing a number of wounds. Dr. James Thacher, October 1781 I hastened with all speed to the hospital … to procure another supply from Dr. Craik; and he desired that if the Marquis de la Fayette should be wounded, I would devote to him my first attention. Dr. James Thacher, October 7, 1781 Dr. James Craik, chief physician and surgeon, supervised the American Field Hospital located in this area. Assisted by . . . — Map (db m11068) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Baron De Viomenil |
| | This able French officer, who headquartered here, had heavy responsibilities. He directed the French army’s march to Virginia. He planned the assault on Redoubt 9. A decade after serving the cause of Revolution here, he met his death opposing it in France. — Map (db m11146) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Baron Von Steuben |
| | This general was experienced in siege warfare such as characterized the Yorktown battle and so he was invaluable to Washington. Von Steuben maintained headquarters here with his division of American troops. — Map (db m11121) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Bellfield Plantation |
| | The Bellfield house site and graveyard are located some 300 yards to the east. This was the home of two early Virginia governors, Captain John West in 1632 and Edward Digges who bought the property from West in 1650. Here Digges produced superior tobacco and let attempts to develop silk culture in the colony. — Map (db m25802) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — British Inner Defense Line — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “The town was … surrounded by a ditch and thick parapet, having a horn work in the centre, in … which were batteries lined with facines. The parapet ran to the river on the left … The parapet was formed of trees cut in the woods and placed inside; outside it was formed of fascines; and the earth from the ditch, which was sandy and gravelly, was thrown into the space between; it had also a fraize made of fence rails kept in line and projection by the earth thrown into the opening of . . . — Map (db m10658) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Brotherhood Preserved — Colonial National Historic Park |
| | A few weeks before his resignation as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, December 4, 1783, Washington said farewell to his officers: “With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take my leave of you.” But the bond of brotherhood that flourished on the battlefield would not end here. Before the Treaty of Paris was signed the Society of the Cincinnati was formed, May 1783. Washington was elected its first president, serving until his death in 1799. The . . . — Map (db m10910) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Capture of Redoubt No. 10 |
| | On this line at the Siege of Yorktown on October 14, 1781, at night the Battalions of Gimat, Hamilton and Laurens of the Light Infantry Division of Major-General Marquis de Lafayette, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Hamilton with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets, scaled the parapets and gallantly captured Redoubt No 10 which formed the extreme left outlying defense of the British and so hastened the surrender of Yorktown in the last fighting of the troops of Gen. George . . . — Map (db m10617) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Cheatham Annex |
| | The piers and structures across the water are an extension of the Naval Base at Norfolk. This takes advantage of the excellent York River deep water channel as did Cornwallis when, in 1781, he chose Yorktown as his base. — Map (db m25805) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Communicating Trench |
| | To your left is a rebuilt trench dug to protect advancing troops from shell fire --- heavy in this open area. The trench followed a zig-zag pattern so as to keep a bank of earth between the men in the trenches and British cannonading. — Map (db m11188) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Comte de Rochambeau — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | I hasten to impart to you the happiness I feel at the welcome news of your arrival; and as well in the name of the American army as my own name to present you with an assurance of our warmest sentiments for allies who have so generously come to our aid. As a citizen of the United States and as soldier in the cause of liberty, I thankfully acknowledge this new mark of friendship from His Most Christian Majesty … General George Washington to the Comte de Rochambeau, July 16, 1780 In . . . — Map (db m11071) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — D’Aboville’s Headquarters |
| | Colonel D’Aboville set up headquarters here near his artillery park. Plantation buildings then existed belonging to Secretary Nelson’s “Quarter.” As ranking artillery officer in Rochambeau’s command, D’Aboville played a major role in the Siege in which superior cannon fire counted heavily. — Map (db m11145) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — First Allied Siege Line — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “The next night, which was the sixth of October … We this night completed laying out the works. The troops of the line were there ready with entrenching tools and began to entrench, after General Washington had struck a few blows with a pickax, a mere ceremony, that it might be said “General Washington with his own hands first broke ground at the siege of Yorktown.” Joseph Plum Martin, Sappers and Miners This reconstructed line of earthworks replicates a French . . . — Map (db m10829) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — French Artillery Park |
| | Cannon were repaired and stored here. The time-worn earthworks visible on each side of the road were for protection, probably built by the French soldiers who operated the “Park.” — Map (db m11106) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — French Artillery Park |
| | This was an open field when the French wing established its ordinance depot. Here incoming cannon, howitzers, mortars, and their accouterments were made ready to move up to their siege line. Damaged pieces were brought back to the park for repairs. — Map (db m11104) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — French Cemetery |
| | This simple cross is thought to mark the burial place of about 50 unidentified French soldiers killed during the Siege of Yorktown. — Map (db m11144) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — French Soldiers and Sailors |
| | In commemoration of the French Soldiers and Sailors who gave their lives for American freedom -------------------- This memorial is erected near the site of Redoubt 9 second parallel of the trenches of Yorktown captured 14th October 1781 -------------------- American Legion Department of Virginia — Map (db m10624) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — French Trench — The 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | The extreme left of the American and French lines, commanded by the Marquis de Saint-Simon, was held by a French artillery battery. On October 9, it became the first battery of siege guns to fire on the British, aiming at the nearby Royal Welch Fusiliers Redoubt. The French also effectively used this position to help contain the British within their defensive lines and to harass British ships anchored between Yorktown and Gloucester Point. On October 10, using superheated cannon balls, called . . . — Map (db m10966) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — French Trench |
| | This earthwork was manned by the “Regiment Touraine” and formed the western portion of the French and American siege line surrounding Yorktown. From this line the French fired upon ships in the York River and the British fort behind you. — Map (db m11060) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Fusiliers Redoubt |
| | Here, just west of Yorktown, the British built an earthwork to control the road to Williamsburg. This fortification was manned by the Royal Welch Fusiliers throughout the siege. The path leads to the reconstructed redoubt. — Map (db m10967) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Grand American Battery — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “The Works which we carried are of vast importance to us. From them we shall enfilade the enemy’s whole line … ” General George Washington to the President of Congress, October 16, 1781. The capture of British Redoubts 9 and 10 enabled the Americans to quickly finish the Allied Second Siege Line, constructing the Grand American Battery within point blank artillery range of the British Inner Defensive Line. On October 17, Continental artillery crews began bombarding the . . . — Map (db m10667) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Grand French Battery |
| | These three batteries and redoubt were a continuation of the Grand French Battery complex across the road. Occupying a section 1,000 feet from east to west, this battery complex contained approximately thirty pieces of artillery which bombarded the main British Defense a half-mile away. So effective was its work that the digging of the Second Parallel could take place one day after the Grand French Battery opened fire. — Map (db m10934) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Ground Your Flintlocks! — October 19, 1781 — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | Under the British Flag (Left of Marker): The garrison marched out between the two lines of American troops reluctantly enough, and laid down their arms. A corporal next to me shed tears, and embracing his flintlock, threw it down, saying, “May you never get so good a master.” Captain Samuel Graham, 76th Regiment of Foot, October 19,1781 We marched in procession through the enemy and the drummers beat a march …. We observed all these troops with amazement and were . . . — Map (db m10646) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Headquarters Site of Henry Knox |
| | Knox’s able direction of the assembly and deployment of artillery in the Siege was a key element in the success of the Allied armies. He saw resulting victory, as he related in a note to his wife, as “A great moment for America.” — Map (db m11119) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Headquarters Site of the Quartermaster General |
| | Supplying the American Army was always critical. At Yorktown Colonel Timothy Pickering of Massachusetts, seconded by a man of his own choice, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Dearborn of New Hampshire, held the responsibility for Washington’s Quartermaster Department. — Map (db m11120) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Home of Thomas Nelson |
| | Foundations of the home of Thomas Nelson President of the Council and Secretary of State of the Colony of Virginia erected in 1725 --------------- First Headquarters of Lord Cornwallis it was destroyed during the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 --------- Preserved and marked by the Yorktown Branch Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities - 1930 — Map (db m11102) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — In Solemn Step — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | At about twelve o’clock, the combined army was arranged … in two lines extending more than a mile …. The French troops, in complete uniform, displayed a martial and noble appearance …. The Americans … exhibited an erect, soldierly air, every countenance beamed with satisfaction and joy. The concourse of spectators … in point of numbers was probably equal to the military, but universal silence and order prevailed. Surgeon James Thacher, M.D., Continental Army, October 19, 1781 On . . . — Map (db m10638) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Indian Field Creek |
| | The ground to the south along this creek was the home of the Chiskiack Indians, a small tribe whose leader was a "werowance," or petty chief, under Powhatan. As the English began to settle this area, about 1630, the Chiskiacks moved across the York River into the present Gloucester County. — Map (db m25806) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Major General Benjamin Lincoln and His Division — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “I am fully convinced that the Siege will not last more than twelve days more and that Cornwallis & his troops must in that time be ours.” Major General Benjamin Lincoln to his wife, October 12, 1781 On May 12, 1780, Major General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered Charleston, South Carolina, and his army of 5,000 soldiers to the British. That fall, he rejoined the Continental Army when he was exchanged for a British and a German general, who had been captured at the Battle . . . — Map (db m10979) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Marquis de Lafayette and His Division — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “Here we are at last … before Yorktown, and our operations will soon be noisy.” Marquis de Lafayette, Camp before Yorktown, September 30, 1781 In April 1781, with a developing British military campaign in Virginia, Washington sent the Marquis de Lafayette, with a detachment of troops, to protect the state. At age 23, Lafayette was the youngest of the major generals in the Continental Army. Always outnumbered by the British, Lafayette occasionally sparred with the . . . — Map (db m11064) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Monument to the Alliance and Victory |
| | Yorktown Monument Commissioners , 1881 R. M. Hunt, Architect, Chairman Henry Van Brunt, Architect, J. Q. A. Ward, Sculptor --------------- Oskar J. W. Hansen, Sculptor of Liberty, 1957 Front of Monument: At York on October 19 1781, after a siege of nineteen days by 5500 American and 7000 French troops of the line, 3500 Virginia Militia under command of General Thomas Nelson and 36 French ships of war, Earl Cornwallis, commander of the British forces at York and Gloucester, surrendered his . . . — Map (db m11192) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Moore House — 1781 Siege of Yorktown |
| | “I propose a cessation of hostilities for twenty four hours, and that two officers may be appointed by each side, to meet at Mr. Moore’s house, to settle terms for the surrender of the posts of York and Gloucester.” General Charles Lord Cornwallis to General George Washington, October 17, 1781 On October 18, 1781, after eight days of continual bombardment, the battlefield was finally tranquil. Washington and Cornwallis now focused on the surrender negotiations taking . . . — Map (db m10637) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Nathaniel Bacon |
| | Among the tombs in the burial ground of the Ringfield family is a marker to Colonel Nathaniel Bacon who was prominent in Virginia affairs in the last half of the seventeenth century. He was a kinsman but an opponent of Nathaniel Bacon, Jr.-"the Rebel"-who led his forces against Governor Sir William Berkeley in 1676. — Map (db m25799) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Naval Weapons Station |
| | The piers extending into the York River, just to the right, serve a major Navy installation. Since its establishment in 1918, then as a Mine Depot, it has served our country in two World Wars and the Korean conflict as well as in peace time. — Map (db m25810) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — News of Victory — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | News of the Allies’ victory at Yorktown spread rapidly. On October 20, 1781, Washington sent his aide, Lieutenant Tench Tilghman, to Philadelphia to notify the Continental Congress. Tilghman departed Yorktown by boat, landing near Annapolis on the 22nd. He rode day and night, reaching Philadelphia during the early morning hours of October 24, sick with chills and fever. The bell of the Pennsylvania State House rang loudly, sounding forth the joy of the news of Cornwallis’s defeat. On November . . . — Map (db m10841) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Powhatan's Village |
| | Across the York River is the site of Werowocomoco, an Indian Village that was Powhatan's "chiefest habitation" in the early period of the Jamestown settlement. Captain John Smith was a prisoner there late in 1607. — Map (db m25807) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Redoubt 10 — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “The column marched in silence, with guns unloaded, and in good order: Many, no doubt, thinking that less than one quarter of a mile would finish the journey of life … ” Captain Stephen Olney, 1st Rhode Island Regiment The Marquis de Lafayette selected the light infantry companies from his Continental Army division to carry out the American attack on Redoubt 10. Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Hamilton led the assaulting force of 400 Americans against the 70 British . . . — Map (db m10838) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Redoubt 9 — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “ … once we were inside the redoubt. People of four nations were thrown together: Frenchmen, English, Scots, and Germans ….” Private Georg Flohr, Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment “ … a trait which characterized the French grenadiers …. They … charged like lions, and lost one-third of their men.” Comte de Rochambeau On October 14, 1781, Baron Antoine de Vioménil had overall command of the French attack on Redoubt 9, which was defended by approximately 120 . . . — Map (db m10837) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Redoubts 9 and 10 — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “The … batteries were principally directed against … the enemys advanced redoubts on their extreme … left to prepare them for the intended assault …” General George Washington’s Diary, October 14, 1781. The completion of the Allied Second Siege Line was blocked by a portion of the British outer works – two detached earthen forts called Redoubts 9 and 10, located 400 yards in advance of the British Inner Defense Line. Though General Washington considered allied . . . — Map (db m10817) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Regiment Royal Deux-Ponts (Zweibrücken) — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “With troops so good, so brave, and so disciplined as those that I have the honor to lead against the enemy, one can undertake anything, and be sure of succeeding … ” Colonel en Second Guillaume des Deux-Ponts. The Zweibrücken Regiment was raised in the German Duchy of Zweibrücken and served in the French army under the designation “Regiment de Royal Deux-Ponts, un Regiment d’Infanterie Allemande.” The regiment earned distinction at the Siege of . . . — Map (db m11107) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Ringfield Plantation |
| | The land across this creek was first granted to Captain Robert Felgate in 1630. Sixty years later it was acquired by Joseph Ring, a prosperous planter and one of the trustees of the Town of York when it was founded in 1691. Ring's plantation house stood for over two centuries approximately one mile to the west. — Map (db m25801) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Second Allied Siege Line — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | At the present distance of our batteries … they might fire till Christmas without materially lessening the enemy’s force …. I am impatient to get nearer to the enemy, that our work may be more speedily accomplished, and our ammunition not thrown away. Colonel Timothy Pickering, Quartermaster General, Continental Army You are standing near the left side of the reconstructed Second Siege Line. A large portion of the line – to Cornwallis’s consternation – was constructed . . . — Map (db m10831) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — St. Simon’s Headquarters |
| | The Marquis de St. Simon commanded three regiments of French infantry (Agenois, Gatinois and Touraine) brought to Virginia from the West Indies by De Grasse. After the Siege they returned to the “Islands” leaving their sick and wounded in Rochambeau’s care. — Map (db m11152) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Steuben’s Division |
| | The 2,000 men of Major General Baron Von Steuben’s American Division bivouacked in the woods and fields to the right of the road. They were chiefly Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland units, and some others, such as sixty “Delaware Recruits” of Captain Wm. McKennan. — Map (db m11123) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Surrender at Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | Near this spot on the afternoon of October 19, 1781 – as silence prevailed among the Allied soldiers and onlookers – all eyes were trained on the approaching British troops. Cornwallis, sending word that he was ill, appointed his second in command, Brigadier General Charles O’Hara, to surrender his sword. O’Hara mistakenly approached French General Rochambeau to present the sword. He was quickly corrected and led to Washington, the supreme commander of the Allied forces. Washington . . . — Map (db m10661) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Surrender Road |
| | The course of the road here is about as it was in colonial times. On October 19, 1781, in the afternoon, the soldiers of Cornwallis’ Army marched this way and filed off into the field on your left. This was the place designated for the formal capitulation of the British Garrison. — Map (db m10918) |
| Virginia (York county), Yorktown — The “NECK” — Gateway to Yorktown |
| | This British redoubt is the sole original earthwork remaining from the siege of Yorktown – but it never came under fire. Cornwallis pulled back to Yorktown from this key defensive position on the night of September 30, 1781, and opened Yorktown’s only land approach to the besieging Allied armies. — Map (db m11003) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — The Adjutant General |
| | This important position on Washington’s staff was filled by Brigadier General Edward Hand of Pennsylvania. His headquarters here were easily accessible to his commanding officer. Quick and effective dispatch of orders and communications was essential. — Map (db m11139) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — The Deposit |
| | Eighteenth century siege warfare meant weeks of labor for the soldiers, not only on the trenches, but in the rear areas where special siege materials were made and stored. In constructing the siege lines, engineers and sappers used quantities of gabions (wickerwork-like baskets), fascines and saucissons (bundles of stout wooden sticks), and fraises (heavy pointed poles). These materials of war were temporarily stored in this ravine until American troops were ready for them on the line. — Map (db m10868) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — The First Siege Line — (reconstructed) |
| | Washington’s troops built works like these when they opened the Siege of Yorktown. These fortifications, together with those of the French, made a circling line that stretched a mile and a quarter, from the York River to Yorktown Creek. — Map (db m10963) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — The Grand French Battery — First Allied Siege Line |
| | The Grand French Battery formed part of the first Allied siege line around Yorktown. French and American soldiers worked through the night of October 6, 1781, to establish the line from a point about one hundred yards to your left (across the road) to the York River. Largest gun emplacement built during the siege, the Grand French Battery opened fire on October 10 and inflicted great damage on the British. A French officer noted that “ … the superiority of the fire of these different . . . — Map (db m10839) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — The Hornwork |
| | To your right the British extended their works outward along the York-Hampton Road a principal entrance into Yorktown which they blocked with this “Hornwork.” It was garrisoned by Colonel Abercrombie’s Light Infantry. — Map (db m10922) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — The Second Siege Line |
| | The low earthworks on either side are part of the French and American advance line. Construction was started when allied artillery fire had sufficiently weakened the British defenses. The line was completed after the capture of Redoubts No. 9 and 10. — Map (db m10935) |
| Virginia (York county), Yorktown — The Washington – Rochambeau Route to Victory — Yorktown Battlefield — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | On August 14, 1781, Generals Washington and Rochambeau received news that a large French fleet under the command of Admiral de Grasse was headed for the Chesapeake Bay carrying 3,000 French soldiers. There the British general, Lord Cornwallis, was encamped with his army at Yorktown, Virginia. The two allied leaders promptly decided to lead their armies southward for 450 miles to engage Cornwallis at the siege which proved to be the pinnacle engagement of the Revolutionary War. Their route . . . — Map (db m11016) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Time, Tide and Erosion |
| | On your left is British Redoubt No. 10 partly reconstructed where a fragment of its moat was found in 1956. The remainder of it, as well as parts of adjacent works, was washed to sea during the 175 years of crumbling river banks. — Map (db m11189) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Trophies of War — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | An army … consisting of more than seven thousand choice troops, were obliged to surrender their arms to an enemy as much despised as hated; twelve thousand muskets, more than two hundred pieces of iron and brass cannon, and a prodigious quantity of warlike stores …. Chaplain Abbe Robin, French Army These mounted trophies, engraved with the inscription: “SURRENDERED BY THE CAPITULATION OF YORKTOWN OCTr 19:1781” represent a fraction of the spoils of war captured by the . . . — Map (db m10866) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Victory Monument — Historic Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | “Resolved, That … Congress … will cause to be erected at York, in Virginia, a marble column, adorned with emblems of the alliance between the United States and his Most Christian Majesty; and inscribed with a succinct narrative of the surrender of Earl Cornwallis to his excellency General George Washington … to his excellency the Count de Rochambeau … and his excellency the Count de Grasse ….” Journals of Congress, October 29, 1781 Just 10 days after the victory at . . . — Map (db m10654) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Virginia Militia — 1781 Siege of Yorktown — Colonial National Historical Park |
| | The approaching Season obliges me to recommend to you … to use your utmost Efforts for furnishing the Virginia Troops with Cloathing. You will therefore … adopt … Measures to send them down immediately – As their Troops are to take the Right of the whole Army you will judge how necessary it is that they be enabled to make a decent if not a respectable Figure …. Governor Thomas Nelson, Jr. to Colonel William Davies, Commissioner of the War Office, September 27, 1781 Nearly 40 . . . — Map (db m11066) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Washington’s Headquarters |
| | General George Washington established his headquarters in this area at the junction of the American encampments to the east and the French encampments to the north. Here he set up two tents: a large one for meeting with his staff and for dining, and a smaller one for his private office and sleeping quarters. The house nearby may have served as additional shelter, while the spring over the brow of the hill to the right offered fresh water. Washington is represented with other members of his . . . — Map (db m10865) |
| Virginia (York county), Yorktown — York “Under The Hill” |
| | Initially Yorktown was laid out above the bluffs, but the thin strip of ground here between water and cliff was essential to the town’s commercial life. Port facilities crowded the area – wharves, warehouses and stores as pictured here. These same facilities, and the excellent harbor, prompted Cornwallis to establish his base at Yorktown in the summer of 1781. — Map (db m11007) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Z-265 — York County / Warwick County |
| | York County. Area 186 square miles. One of the eight original shires formed in 1634. First called Charles River, which was named for King Charles I. The name was changed in 1643 to York for Yorkshire, England. Cornwallis’s surrender, October 19, 1781, took place at Yorktown.
Warwick County. Area 69 square miles. One of the original shires formed in 1634, it was given the name of Warwick River. The river itself was named for the Earl of Warwick. — Map (db m2960) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — York River |
| | Known to the Indians as the Pamunkey, the colonists named it first Charles and then York, both in honor of the Duke of York. While only 26 miles in length, the tidal waters of the York River flow over the deepest natural channel of any Chesapeake Bay tributary. — Map (db m25811) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — York Under Siege 1781 |
| | Early in October French-American forces closed their grip on the besieged British army in Yorktown and bombarded the town with their combined artillery. Incessant shellfire drove townspeople to seek shelter under this bluff and forced the British commander, Lord Cornwallis, to move his headquarters to a nearby cave. The end came quickly with the British surrender on October 19. Yorktown returned to peace, but never to its former prosperity. — Map (db m10911) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Yorktown — The Frowning Fortress of York — 1862 Peninsula Campaign |
| | “It did not seem possible that both armies could gather inspiration from the historic memories that cluster around this memorable field. The traditions of the revolution lingered here awakening in all loyal breasts sincerest hopes for the future.” - Eugene Nash, 44th New York Volunteers
The trench line to your right is all that remains of a formidable line of Confederate earthworks that once blocked this historic road and the Union army’s advance westward past Yorktown in . . . — Map (db m10432) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Yorktown — Established 1691 — Historic Yorktown |
| | “York-Town, Capital of the County of that Name, is situated on a rising Ground, gently descending every Way into a Valley, and tho’ but stragglingly built, yet makes no inconsiderable Figure.” Edward Kimber, Observations in Several Voyages and Travels in America in the Year 1736 Before the American Revolutionary War, Yorktown was a prosperous, thriving tobacco port. Approximately 80% of the town was damaged or destroyed during the climactic military campaign of that . . . — Map (db m11035) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Yorktown |
| | The “old town” which you enter here is ringed by stout Civil War entrenchments built on top of the British works of 1781. Englishmen, Scotsmen, Welchmen, Hessians, and Loyalist Americans were quartered here while besieged by American-French forces under Washington. — Map (db m11062) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Yorktown Victory Monument |
| | This monument was authorized by Continental Congress, October 29, 1781, just after the news of surrender reached Philadelphia. Actual construction began 100 years later and was completed in 1884. The original figure of Liberty atop the Victory shaft was severely damaged by lightning. A new work replaced it in 1956. The shaft of Maine granite is 84 feet in height to which Liberty adds another 14 feet. — Map (db m10925) |
| Virginia (York County), Yorktown — Yorktown Waterfront — Union Port and Supply Depot — 1862 Peninsula Campaign |
| | In spring 1862, the Confederate heavy artillery batteries on the bluffs at Yorktown, as well as those positioned along the waterfront on both sides of the York River, effectively blocked the U.S. Navy’s attempts to bypass Magruder’s 2nd Peninsula Defensive Line. The waterfront fortifications were built by Maj. Gen. John Bankhead Magruder’s Army of the Peninsula and Confederate naval personnel. The earthworks on Yorktown’s inland perimeter were mostly constructed atop the British defenses from . . . — Map (db m10439) |
| Virginia (York county), Yorktown — Yorktown’s Waterfront — Ships, Tobacco & Trade |
| | 18th century commerce moved by water whenever possible. Yorktown’s waterfront reflected this. Tobacco warehouses, ship’s chandleries, grogshops and wharves lined the waterfront … Among them passed the diverse array of merchants and sailors, planters and inspectors, travelers, laborers, and slaves who kept business moving briskly. — Map (db m11009) |
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