Socyberty » Yorktown

1st President?

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:24:17 +0000

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress elected that Peyton Randolph be the first president of the new nation. Under the command of Randolph, their first notion was to create an army to stand up to the tyranny of England. When George Washington was superior at Yorktown, he received a letter from John Hancock.

When George Washington responded to Hancock’s letter, he addressed him as “Mr. President” As a matter of fact; George Washington was actually the 15th president! He was a war hero and he was the first popular president and all the others before him were simply forgotten.

La Fayette’s Black Companion

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:06:01 +0000

James Armistead was La Fayette’s companion at the Richmond siege in 1781. He had been collecting intelligence for the Insurgents since a long time. He ensured American victory during the Yorktown Campaign helping La Fayette with the information he had collected as a spy. The Hero of the Two Worlds, proponent of Liberty asked for James Armistead’s freedom in 1784. His companion obtained it only in 1787 and thanking his benefactor, he adopted his surname.

The French General had asked George Washington to think about emancipation in 1783. And when he bought a land in Cayenne in 1785 he emancipated 70 slaves.

La Fayette who returned to the United States in 1824 met his old friend in the crowd.

This painting (1783) by Jean-Baptiste Le Paon shows the Marquis de La Fayette with James Armistead at the Battle of Yorktown.

Battle at Yorktown

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:15:18 +0000

The battle was going bad for the Patriots. Then Cornwallis decided to move to Yorktown because the Continental Army in the Carolinas was harassing him. Washington saw that he could siege the army in Yorktown. The Patriots and the French were able to surround Cornwallis. Washington started to prepare an attack on the weakened British army and wipe them out. However, Cornwallis sent a message of surrender.

In 1781, the war was not going so well for the Patriots. Their morale was lowering, especially when Benedict Arnold betrayed them. Meanwhile, in North and South Carolinas, General Charles Cornwallis was being bothered by the continental army. So he moved his army to Yorktown in Virginia. General Washington decided to trap Cornwallis in Yorktown. He got Lafayette to block the escape routes by land. Then he and the French quickly marched over to Virginia and blocked the other escape routes. While the Patriots surrounded Cornwallis and his army, the French navel fleet prevented British ships from rescuing Cornwallis and his army. Then the siege began. The Americans beat down at the British. Finally, as Washington was going to unleash a major attack, the British surrendered.

I think that the battle of Yorktown was a smart move. However, the smart move couldn’t have been made if General Cornwallis had made a mistake. Then again, Cornwallis was pressured into moving to Yorktown because of the pestering army in the Carolinas. This shows that you will never know the outcome of your move in war.