British surrender

On Oct. 19, 1781, a major event in American history occurred in Yorktown, Virginia involving British General Lord Cornwallis and his force of approximately 9,000 British and Hessian troops. Cornwallis saw Yorktown as an ideal site for winter quarters for his troops. One factor in his decision was Yorktown was situated on the banks of the York River and could provide a deep water port for the British fleet to allow ships to bring supplies and reinforcements from the nearby Atlantic.

The negative feature of the Yorktown location was if Washington's Continental Army could block the British from leaving Yorktown, the only way out would be by sea. The young United States did not have sufficient naval power to blockade Yorktown and to prevent the powerful British navy from reaching Cornwallis.

The actions that would decide whether the British or the Continental force would survive were taking place far at sea. A British relief force was sailing south to Virginia while France, the U.S. ally, had a naval force with reinforcements racing north from the West Indies. After a battle at sea, the French fleet blockaded the mouth of the York River and landed reinforcing French troops, who then joined the Continentals and were placed under George Washington's command.

Those who think the U.S. does not need allies should know the Continental Army and the new nation were saved, and the ability of the British force to defend itself was lost when the French blocked the escape by sea. On Oct. 17, 1781, Lord Cornwallis requested terms of surrender, and then agreed to surrender Oct. 19.

The surrender took place on the battlefield outside of Yorktown at 2 p.m., but Lord Cornwallis refused to attend the surrender. When, as tradition dictated, Cornwallis' sword was presented to General Washington by Brigadier General Charles O'Hara rather than the British commander Cornwallis, Washington refused to accept it, and it was accepted by his second in command.

The main British force was destroyed, the American Revolution would soon be over, and the new nation was established.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.