Friday, October 19

     Welcome to the Wannaskan Almanac for Friday.

     On this day in 1781, General Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington at Yorktown, effectively giving the Thirteen Colonies their independence. Cornwallis had little choice but to surrender. For the past month American and French soldiers, with the help of French siege engineers, had been digging their way closer and closer to Cornwallis' fort which surrounded the port of Yorktown on the York River. Towards the end of the siege, General Hamilton, age 25, took Redoubt No. 10, one of the mini-forts protecting the main fort.
     Up to this point the war could have gone either way. The main British Army had been campaigning in the Carolinas without much success. Cornwallis decided to try Virginia where there were lots of Americans still loyal to the crown. New York City had been in British hands since the beginning of the war and was the British headquarters. The British Navy controlled the waters along the Atlantic coast.
     Washington had to decide whether to attack New York or go after Cornwallis' army at Yorktown. When Washington learned the French fleet in the Caribbean was headed for Yorktown with more French troops, he decided to take his army there too. He realized that if he could defeat Cornwallis, the war would likely be over.
     However there would be a race to see which navy, French or British could get to the mouth of the Chesapeake first. If the British got there first, they would be able to resupply or evacuate Cornwallis and Washington would miss his chance. If the French won the race, Cornwallis would be trapped.
     Part of the British fleet arrived first, but not seeing the French, headed to New York in case Washington attacked there. Once the British fleet learned the French fleet had left the Carribean, it sailed for the Chesapeake, but it was too late. The French were anchored in the mouth of the Chesapeake with more ships than had been expected.
     The British navy was always somewhat better than the French, but today luck was against them. For one thing, Britain's best commander, Admiral Rodney, was suffering from gout and had returned to England to recover. For another, the British had a strict rule that all their ships had to stay in a straight line while attacking the enemy. The French were all in a jumble coming out of the Chesepeake and the British would have done well to abandon their line to attack and destroy the French. But the British Admirals did not dare break the rules. They had seen their colleagues court marshalled and even executed for doing so.
     The French had time to get into position to meet the British.The battle turned out to be a draw. Sailors were killed and several ships were badly shot up, but no ships were sunk on either side. The British were forced to withraw to New York and Cornwallis was stuck in his trap. The interesting thing is that this naval battle took place on September 5, 1781. Washington did not even arrive at Yorktown till September 28 to begin operations against Cornwallis' fort.
     The Battle of Chesapeake Bay was all-important for Washington's victory. But it was fought between French and British ships without an American in sight, so most Americans don't know about it. Now you do.

Hamilton, off Broadway