The Road to Yorktown: Jefferson, Lafayette and the British Invasion of Virginia PDF Download

Author: John R. Maass
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625849214
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
In 1781, Virginia was invaded by formidable British forces that sought to subdue the Old Dominion. Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis, led thousands of enemy troops from Norfolk to Charlottesville, burning and pillaging. Many of Virginia's famed Patriots--including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Nathanael Greene'struggled to defend the commonwealth. Only by concentrating a small band of troops under energetic French general the Marquis de Lafayette were American forces able to resist British operations. With strained support from Governor Jefferson's administration, Lafayette fought a campaign against the veteran soldiers of Lord Cornwallis that eventually led to the famed showdown at Yorktown. Historian John R. Maass traces this often overlooked Revolutionary struggle for Virginia and details each step on the road to Yorktown.

Author: John Ferling
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1635572770
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 753

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Book Description
Co-Winner of the 2022 Harry M. Ward Book Prize From celebrated historian John Ferling, the underexplored history of the second half of the Revolutionary War, when, after years of fighting, American independence often seemed beyond reach. It was 1778, and the recent American victory at Saratoga had netted the U.S a powerful ally in France. Many, including General George Washington, presumed France's entrance into the war meant independence was just around the corner. Meanwhile, having lost an entire army at Saratoga, Great Britain pivoted to a “southern strategy.” The army would henceforth seek to regain its southern colonies, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, a highly profitable segment of its pre-war American empire. Deep into 1780 Britain's new approach seemed headed for success as the U.S. economy collapsed and morale on the home front waned. By early 1781, Washington, and others, feared that France would drop out of the war if the Allies failed to score a decisive victory that year. Sir Henry Clinton, commander of Britain's army, thought “the rebellion is near its end.” Washington, who had been so optimistic in 1778, despaired: “I have almost ceased to hope.” Winning Independence is the dramatic story of how and why Great Britain-so close to regaining several southern colonies and rendering the postwar United States a fatally weak nation ultimately failed to win the war. The book explores the choices and decisions made by Clinton and Washington, and others, that ultimately led the French and American allies to clinch the pivotal victory at Yorktown that at long last secured American independence.

Author: Richard M. Ketchum
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780805073966
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
The scene was set for Washington's and Rochambeau's rapid move south, setting up the daring siege of Yorktown." "Drawing on primary research, including diaries and personal letters, acclaimed historian of the American Revolution Richard Ketchum offers an account of the strategies and personalities behind the victory that surprised the world. Yorktown was that rarest of military and naval operations in which everything fell into place at exactly the right moment. It was a race against time and distance, by land and at sea. After almost seven harrowing years and against all odds, Washington - with French help - defeated the world's finest army. The war was won."--BOOK JACKET.

Author: Jerome A. Greene
Publisher: Savas Beatie
ISBN: 1611210054
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 762

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Book Description
A modern, scholarly account of the most decisive campaign during the American Revolution examining the artillery, tactics and leadership involved. The siege of Yorktown in the fall of 1781 was the single most decisive engagement of the American Revolution. The campaign has all the drama any historian or student could want: the war’s top generals and admirals pitted against one another; decisive naval engagements; cavalry fighting; siege warfare; night bayonet attacks; and much more. Until now, however, no modern scholarly treatment of the entire campaign has been produced. By the summer of 1781, America had been at war with England for six years. No one believed in 1775 that the colonists would put up such a long and credible struggle. France sided with the colonies as early as 1778, but it was the dispatch of 5,500 infantry under Comte de Rochambeau in the summer of 1780 that shifted the tide of war against the British. In early 1781, after his victories in the Southern Colonies, Lord Cornwallis marched his army north into Virginia. Cornwallis believed the Americans could be decisively defeated in Virginia and the war brought to an end. George Washington believed Cornwallis’s move was a strategic blunder, and he moved vigorously to exploit it. Feinting against General Clinton and the British stronghold of New York, Washington marched his army quickly south. With the assistance of Rochambeau's infantry and a key French naval victory at the Battle off the Capes in September, Washington trapped Cornwallis on the tip of a narrow Virginia peninsula at a place called Yorktown. And so it began. Operating on the belief that Clinton was about to arrive with reinforcements, Cornwallis confidently remained within Yorktown’s inadequate defenses. Determined that nothing short of outright surrender would suffice, his opponent labored day and night to achieve that end. Washington’s brilliance was on display as he skillfully constricted Cornwallis’s position by digging entrenchments, erecting redoubts and artillery batteries, and launching well-timed attacks to capture key enemy positions. The nearly flawless Allied campaign sealed Cornwallis’s fate. Trapped inside crumbling defenses, he surrendered on October 19, 1781, effectively ending the war in North America. Penned by historian Jerome A. Greene, The Guns of Independence: The Siege of Yorktown, 1781 offers a complete and balanced examination of the siege and the participants involved. Greene’s study is based upon extensive archival research and firsthand archaeological investigation of the battlefield. This fresh and invigorating study will satisfy everyone interested in American Revolutionary history, artillery, siege tactics, and brilliant leadership.

Author: Henry Freeman
Publisher:
ISBN: 1520720769
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 42

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Book Description
What kind of impact does a battle and siege from more than 200 years ago have on the world today? Yorktown held the key to the end of the American Revolution and allowed America to become not only a sovereign nation, but also set the stage for it to become a world power, worth keeping an eye on. Inside you will read about... ✓ The Road to Yorktown ✓ Opening Moves ✓ The Troops in Motion ✓ The Battle at Sea ✓ The Calm Before the Storm ✓ The Siege Commences ✓ The Fall When Washington moved against Cornwallis, the entire world held its breath. And when surrender was offered – first to the French – things could have ended very differently. One city. One long siege in the fall of the year – would change everything.

Author: Tim Grove
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1647001021
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
A dramatic, gripping history of the Siege of Yorktown, the last major battle of the American Revolution, told through vastly different perspectives In October 1781, American, French, and British forces converged on a small village named Yorktown—a place that the British would try to forget and Americans would forever remember. In his riveting, balanced, and thoroughly researched account of the Revolutionary War’s last pivotal conflict, author–historian Tim Grove follows the true stories of American, French, and British players, whose lives intersected at Yorktown. Through very different viewpoints—from General George Washington to the notorious traitor Benedict Arnold, from young French hero Lafayette to British General Lord Cornwallis, and an enslaved man named James who became a spy, The World Turned Upside Down tells the story of bold decisions made by famous military leaders, as well as the everyday courage shown by civilians. For every side involved, the world forever turned upside down at Yorktown. Profusely illustrated with archival images, broadsides, and letters, the book includes a timeline, endnotes, bibliography and index.

Author: Newt Gingrich
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1466802502
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
New York Times bestselling authors Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen pen the triumphant conclusion to their George Washington series-a novel of leadership, brotherhood, loyalty, and the victory of the American Revolutionary cause. 1781. After three years in a bitter stalemate, General Washington decides to embark on one of the most audacious moves in American military history. He will take nearly his entire army out of New Jersey and New York and force march it more than three hundred miles in complete secrecy. He must pray that the French navy is successful in blockading Chesapeake Bay, so that he can fall upon British General Cornwallis at Yorktown. It is a campaign laden with "Ifs" but the deadlock must be broken, otherwise the American spirit, after six long years of war, will crumble. A tour de force narrative of one of America's most important heroes, Victory at Yorktown vividly portrays Washington's unparalleled courage, determination, and patriotism as he leads his professional army, once a "rabble in arms," to the heat of the Battle of Yorktown to execute the Revolution's most decisive contest.

Author: Charles Eldridge Hatch
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Colonial National Historical Park (Va.)
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Author: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Publisher: Colonial Williamsburg
ISBN: 0879352469
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
From 1607 to 1783, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown played an important role in our nation's development by serving as the stage for key ideas and events that shaped American history. Here the first permanent English settlement was established, ideas of independence took root, and the American Revolution was won. As our nation celebrates its 400th anniversary, what better time to visit America's birthplace? This lively and lavishly illustrated guide will help you make the most of your visit. More than 250 color illustrations and maps feature the area's must-see historic sites and attractions as well as hotels, restaurants, recreation, and more.

Author: Chelsea Curtis Fraser
Publisher: Legare Street Press
ISBN: 9781018685953
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.