On October 19, 1781, the decisive military campaign of the American Revolution culminated with the British surrender to combined American and French forces under the command of George Washington. The Siege of Yorktown effectively ended the six-year struggle of the Revolutionary War and set the stage for a new government and nation.
In Yorktown, there are again 2 sites to visit. The first one we saw was the Yorktown Victory center.
It housed a museum with indoor exhibits as well as an outdoor re-creation of a Continental Army encampment again with volunteers dressed up in period clothing:
they also had a re-created 1780's farm, showing the house, the barn, the garden...
After touring the Victory Center we headed to the Yorktown Battlefield.
We took an audio tour which took us on a 7 mile drive covering the battlefield. We saw where the Allied troops were in point blank artillery range of the British.
These were called "redoubts", an emplacement made out of the earth for the British to fight from.
of course there were also artillary cannons used in the battle;
The Moore House was where on Oct. 18, 1781, officers from both sides met at the home of Augustine Moore to negotiate the surrender terms for Cornwallis's army;
More on the Yorktown Battlefield at this website: http://www.nps.gov/york/
In the town of Yorktown is a monument to the battle built around the time of the centennial of the surrender;
The town is very quaint and still has buildings dating back to Colonial times! It sits right along the York River and we ended our day eating outside along the riverfront.
Next stop: Cape Henry!!
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