Waiting at the entrance to the York River was Admiral de Grasse having arrived from the French West Indies. The battle of the Capes at the mouth of the Chesapeake found the arriving British badly outgunned from an overwhelming number of French ships. Admiral Graves eventually decided to withdraw and returned to New York with what ships and men he had left. As he sailed north, as is often the case at sea, he had no knowledge of the French ships passing by over the horizon under the command of Admiral de Barras, who had set sail from Quebec with Washington's last big surprise. Washington, now encircling Yorktown, made no real effort to attack the fortifications made up of a series of readouts around the city. His men were busy digging firing pits for the French presence being unloaded just North of the city. Large siege guns from the Quebec fortifications capable of blasting through just about anything being built by man at that time. Cornwallis, now realizing that the water route was blocked and facing twice his complement in the field, withdrew from his outer parameter, abandoning it to the Colonialists. With time on his hand Washington took pains to prepare a proper siege of the town. Then with all preparations completed, on October 9th of 1781, Washington honored the French General Rochambeau, commander of the French detachment with firing the first shot of the last major battle of the Revolutionary War. After that it was a continuous bombardment of the city and its defenders. For nine days the round-the-clock shelling continued. At one point Cornwallis attempted to execute his last escape plan by ferrying his forces across the York River in hopes of slipping away. After about a 1000 men escaped, a storm wrecked the plans sending many of the small boats to the bottom. With only 70 of the 661 buildings in Yorktown still standing, Cornwallis accepted the inevitable. Surrender or die. On the morning of October 19th, above the sound of the continuous blast of cannon, could be heard the sharp rap of an advancing British drummer. As the sound approached the Colonial lines, gunners were greeted by the sight of a lone British Lieutenant, walking behind the drummer with sword held high flying the white flag of surrender. And so the battle would end, and with it all desire in England to continue pouring money into an obviously hopeless situation. The final arrangements would drag on for another two years until in 1783 the Treaty of Paris officially ended hostilities. The Victory Center covers more than the last battle of the Revolutionary War. There is a small 17th century town complete with many costumed presenters doing what 17th century people would be doing. We stopped for a while and talked with a lady who was drying tobacco as they did back then. The Victory Center is just one of the many things to do in this historic town. The military camp at the rear of the exhibition galleries was a beehive of activities, as soldiers came and went on their daily assignments. At the point where they fire the big 12 pound cannon, a call for a volunteer went out and Laura stepped forward. Her job was to call out the commands as relayed by the battery commander. With clear and forceful voice she commanded the firing order to load and aim. It would take several days to see it all. I would put it on the "must see" list should you find yourself in eastern Virginia.

For more information about this adventure, check out www.historyisfun.org

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