Battle+of+Yorktown

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** The **** Battle **** of **** Yorktown ** The Battle of Yorktown began when General Washington decided to strike a blow to end the war; he intended to do this by capturing Virginia and eventually the capital city, Philadelphia. The battle of Yorktown lasted from September 28, 1781 to October 19, 1781. Cornwallis (a British General) and the remainder of his troops where holed out in the Chesapeake town until a British fleet could arrive with fresh supplies and reinforcements. However, the supplies would never arrive. A fleet of French Navy captured by Admiral de Grasse sailed to intercept Cornwallis’s supply ship lead by Captain Tomas Graves. The ships intercepted at the Mouth of the James River. De Grasse’s fleets Battled for several hours and both took heavy damage; however the British were forced to retreat. Leaving Cornwallis undersupplied and without backup. Meanwhile, General Washington marched his troops from New York to join forces with a French unit from Rode Islands. Once the allies had joined forces the Army marched south to Yorktown, along the way performing fake military maneuvers to throw off any British troops off the trail. Once Washington’s army reached Yorktown a unit lead by Admiral Lafayette joined the allies in preparation for the storm of Yorktown. Washington and Lafayette’s troops flanked (or surrounded) Yorktown’s 6,000 British soldiers. The 8,800 American troops approached from the East while the French army of 7,800 approached from the West. While de Grasse’s Navy kept British ships from approaching through Chesapeake Bay while Washington’s army stormed the town. The effects of the battle of Yorktown were to end the revolutionary war that had raged for 6 long years. As well as win the freedom our Founding Fathers had envisioned for us. Nawal Majid and Nathan Mahloch Works Cited //aol.com// //Battle of Yorktown//. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. //brittishbattles.com// //The Battle of York Town//. brittishbattles.com, 2007. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. Dale, Anderson. //The Battle of York Town//. Milwaukee WI 53212 USA: World Alminac Library, 2005. Print. //mccordfamilyassn.com// N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. //patriotfiles.com// N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. //pbs.org/latca/liberty// Twin Citys Public Telivision, 2004. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. //us.history.org// Independence Hall Association in Philiadephia, 2008. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. weber, michael. //Battle felds across America Yorktown//. New York: Henery Holt, 1866. Print. //womenhistory.blogspot.com// N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. //www.myrevolutionarywar.com // N.p., 2009. Web. 3 Dec. 2009.