Senior Moments

Cannon surrendered by the British at Yorktown, October 19, 1781.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

In June, 2007, Betsy and I made an anniversary trip to Virginia.  We went to spend several days at Colonial National Historical Park and at Williamsburg.

The siege of Yorktown in 1781 was the last major battle of the American Revolution.  It came about after a French fleet defeated a British fleet at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, making it impossible for British Lord Cornwallis to get help or to escape by sea.  The American and French army marched to Yorktown on September 28, 1781, and after a week of preparation, constructed their first siege line on October 6.  They began bombarding British positions on October 9.

After a round-the-clock bombardment that lasted nine days, Cornwallis requested a cease fire to discuss surrender terms.  Two day later, on October 19, 1781, he formally surrendered his army.  As the British army marched to the field to lay down their arms, the British fife and drum corps play “The World Turned Upside Down”.  When Lord North, the British prime minister, learned of Cornwallis’s defeat, he is reported to have cried, “Oh God!  It is all over!”

To see more of the Yorktown Battlefield click HERE.