As a continental soldier for the American camp under George Washington, I am writing this diary as a personal reflection so far and the amazing feat we are about to achieve in Yorktown this October of 1781. The six-year war with the British has been somewhat straining and cumbersome. It was a surprise to all us that our army had survived this long despite the harsh winters at Valley Forge, lack of funds, food, and clothing. Some despaired and returned home, but most of us kept pushing forward due to the deep faith we had in George Washington and the support we received from the French. Throughout the war, the French sent supplies to us, resulting in a war between France and Britain. The French king Louis XVI boosted our efforts by sending troops and naval assistance commanded by Comte de Rochambeau.
The French troops arrived at Newport to find the British operating in two fronts. General Clinton occupies the New York City region. That was after several failed attempts to control the northern and middle colonies. General Lord Cornwallis occupies the southern colonies, where his army has recently captured Savannah and Charleston. The French arrival prompted Washington to travel to Rhode Island to meet with Comte de Rochambeau to strategize Clinton's attack in New York City. However, this plan changed to attacking Cornwallis in the south but making Clinton think the attack would be against him. Executed strategies included leaking signed papers with discussed attacks on Clinton, building big army camps, and brick bread oven near New York visible to Clinton to insinuate preparation. Finally, Washington left a small army force in these camps. The French and we then set out to Yorktown in mid-August, settling 13 miles off in mid-September.
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Yorktown was ideal for the British because of the deepwater harbor on the York River. Cornwallis was sent there in the summer by Clinton to fortify the harbor and the area at large so that their fleets would not suffer the damages they encounter in the Chesapeake Bay and the New York harbors due to French established blockades. Moreover, the fact that the British had hired German auxiliary troops to aid them in the war was in our best interest to recapture Yorktown and curb British reinforcements. We were close to 18,000 soldiers, both American and French, in Williamsburg, ready to take the war to the 9,000 British and German soldiers in Yorktown. By the time Cornwallis realized our attack was looming, we had already marched from Williamsburg, digging an 800-yard trench to infiltrate the British defenses of redoubts. These were small enclosed forts, 10 in number. These redoubts cad batteries with artillery and connecting trenches for further defenses that our large trench easily overcame. We had finished our trench by October 9 th and firing at The British guns, putting them out of service by October 11 th . The victory was on the horizon for us, Cornwallis having to surrender due to failure to get reinforcements soon enough due to midnight windstorms and Clinton’s delayed departure from New York.
October 19 th was a remarkable day for us. It will be a day marked in history as British and German troops marched out of Yorktown as prisoners led by Cornwallis having surrendered to us, the allied soldiers from America and France. After several lettered exchanges between Washington and Cornwallis, they agreed on the terms of the surrender and ceasefire. We then marched into Yorktown, having taken it back, knowing the British and German forces had been heavily impaired, which meant the war was almost over and we had won. However, we did not rest knowing Clinton would soon arrive with troops to reclaim Yorktown as news of our victory quickly spread through the colonies. I am glad to be a part of this history, in 1781 October, where America would become a nation free from British influence. We were the pioneers of this remarkable feat, and that step of taking Yorktown back was an acknowledgment of American independence. Whether we reconcile with Britain or not is not our main agenda. Focus is on rebuilding this beautiful nation of ours and making it great again, and I am glad I got to take part in the process.
