“I have the mortification to inform your Excellency that I have been forced to give up the posts of York and Gloucester, and to surrender the troops under my command, by capitulation. on the 19^th instant, as prisoners of war to the combined forces of America and France.”

A letter from Lt. General Cornwallis to Sir Henry Clinton, Commander of the British forces in America about his defeat by the forces at Yorktown led by General George Washington.   

George Washington’s triumphant army stages a victory parade on the Yorktown battlefield.  (Reenactment).

This Yorktown victory is given depth and substance at the National Park Service Visitor Center at the Yorktown Battlefield.  This  museum with exhibits and a movie provides an ideal introduction to your battlefield tour.

It was the end of September 1781, the seventh year of the American Revolution, and Cornwallis had moved his British troops into Yorktown following his campaign through Virginia and the southern colonies.  Washington responded by moving his men from their New York camp down to Virginia, hoping to arrive before Cornwallis escaped by sea with his army.

For three weeks Washington's men dug siege lines around the British who were forced by a French blockade to hold their positions.  With his army surrounded and his escape cut off, Cornwallis had run out of options.  On October 14, two important British redoubts fell.  On October 17, a red-coated drummer appeared on the British inner defense line and beat a parley.  The guns were silent at last.  On October 18, surrender terms were drawn up at the home of Augustine Moore, and the next day the British army surrendered.  It would be another two years before the peace treaty was signed, but the war was, in fact, over.

A popular exhibit at the museum is the gun deck and captain's cabin from the Charon.  The Charon was a 44-gun frigate the British lost during the Battle of Yorktown.  You can walk through this deck and cabin with the sense that you are really at sea in the 17^th century.  Also on display are the British regimental colors surrendered to Washington on October 19, 1781.

Before starting your drive, take the time to view the battlefield from the visitor center observation deck.  The seven-mile tour marked by red arrows includes six main points of interest: British inner defense lines, grand French battery, second Allied siege line, redoubt 9 and 10, the Moore house and surrender field.

A second Allied encampment tour extends nine additional miles and is marked with yellow arrows.  Its significant stops include: the American artillery park, Washington's headquarters, the French cemetery, the French artillery park,  the French encampment loop and an untouched British redoubt.

Yorktown Battlefield at Colonial National Historical Park is open daily 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. with seasonally extended hours.  Admission: $5 adults 16 and over.

Directions:  Take the Colonial Parkway to Yorktown and follow the signs to the battlefield. 

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