The World Turned Upside Down: Siege of Yorktown

In 1781, the American war for independence has largely come to a stalemate. The British, mainly under the leadership of General Clinton and General Cornwallis, occupy major coastal settlements throughout the colonies, while the Americans, under Greene, Washington, and Lafayette, occupy the majority of the American frontiers.

In 1781, in an attempt to break the stalemate, General Cornwallis would lead his men to Virginia, in an attempt to capitalize on the success of Benedict Arnold. However, before long he found his supply lines over stretched and his force relentlessly harrassed by American militia. He soon received orders from Clinton to move his men to Yorktown and construct a naval port.

Once in Yorktown, Cornwallis had essentially doomed himself. A French fleet under the command of Admiral De Grasse was entering the American coast from the West Indies, while at the same time, the French and American forces were unifying at Westpoint in order to launch some sort of counter offensive. When word of Cornwallis' vulnerable position reached Westpoint, the Franco-American forces launched into action.

The armies marched with all haste towards Yorktown. The French Fleet would engage the British fleet, led by Admiral Graves, in the Battle of Chesapeake Bay. Though the battle ended in a draw, Admiral Graves unexpectedly retreated his fleet back to New York. This decision allowed the French to enact a naval blockade on Cornwallis' position.

Soon Cornwallis would find himself surrounded on all sides. Though he patiently waited for reinforcements from New York, which Clinton had promised were in-route, the reinforcements would never depart the city. Within 45 days the Franco-American bombardment would force the surrender of Cornwallis' entire army.

With the surrender of Cornwallis, and mounting pressure from the wars ever-expanding global scale, the British would ultimately be forced to surrender and sign the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Thus, the American nation was born, and independence, at last won.

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Видео The World Turned Upside Down: Siege of Yorktown канала Grim Battalia