ran 3.2 miles
On this day in 1781, General George Washington began the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown. Washington led a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops to Yorktown, Virginia to face off against General Lord Charles Cornwallis and 9,000 British troops for what would arguably be the most important battle of the Revolutionary War.
By mere luck or divine intervention, the French fleet, commanded by Count de Grasse, left St. Domingue (the French colony that is now Haiti) and headed toward Chesapeake Bay. At the same time, Cornwallis coincidentally had chosen Yorktown, at the mouth of the Chesapeake to station his base. Washington was dealt a good tactical hand and he reacted. He ordered Marquis de Lafayette and an American army 5,00 strong to block a British escape from Yorktown by land as the French naval fleet blocked the British by sea. By September 28, 1781, Washington had Cornwallis surrounded. Three weeks of day and night battle finally ended with Cornwallis’ surrender in Yorktown on October 17, 1781, officially ending the War for Independence.
Cornwallis, claiming to be ill, did not attend the formal surrender ceremony two days later. His second in command, General Charles O’Hara, carried Cornwallis’ sword to the American and French officers.
Though the war briefly continued to persist in certain areas of little historic consequence, the Patriot victory at Yorktown ended battle in the American colonies. Peace negotiations began in 1782, and on September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, officially acknowledging the United States as an independent nation after eight years of bloodshed and toil for freedom.
Reading about history like this is one of the many reasons I feel so passionate to run and write. Running is a real bummer some days and I have very little time to post anything with substance on other days. But I try as hard as I can with what I have to work with. If I don’t do at least these two things every day, it is insulting and ungracious to the amazing men and women who have made this great country what it is. Whether they were brilliant minds, brave soldiers, unknown names that history neglected to put in its books or normal people that simply felt compelled to preserve what this country is meant to be, their efforts deserve our efforts, as small or large as they may be.
2,004.4 miles to go.
On this day in 1781, General George Washington began the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown. Washington led a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops to Yorktown, Virginia to face off against General Lord Charles Cornwallis and 9,000 British troops for what would arguably be the most important battle of the Revolutionary War.
By mere luck or divine intervention, the French fleet, commanded by Count de Grasse, left St. Domingue (the French colony that is now Haiti) and headed toward Chesapeake Bay. At the same time, Cornwallis coincidentally had chosen Yorktown, at the mouth of the Chesapeake to station his base. Washington was dealt a good tactical hand and he reacted. He ordered Marquis de Lafayette and an American army 5,00 strong to block a British escape from Yorktown by land as the French naval fleet blocked the British by sea. By September 28, 1781, Washington had Cornwallis surrounded. Three weeks of day and night battle finally ended with Cornwallis’ surrender in Yorktown on October 17, 1781, officially ending the War for Independence.
Cornwallis, claiming to be ill, did not attend the formal surrender ceremony two days later. His second in command, General Charles O’Hara, carried Cornwallis’ sword to the American and French officers.
Though the war briefly continued to persist in certain areas of little historic consequence, the Patriot victory at Yorktown ended battle in the American colonies. Peace negotiations began in 1782, and on September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, officially acknowledging the United States as an independent nation after eight years of bloodshed and toil for freedom.
Reading about history like this is one of the many reasons I feel so passionate to run and write. Running is a real bummer some days and I have very little time to post anything with substance on other days. But I try as hard as I can with what I have to work with. If I don’t do at least these two things every day, it is insulting and ungracious to the amazing men and women who have made this great country what it is. Whether they were brilliant minds, brave soldiers, unknown names that history neglected to put in its books or normal people that simply felt compelled to preserve what this country is meant to be, their efforts deserve our efforts, as small or large as they may be.
2,004.4 miles to go.
