Yorktown Battlefield!

What Is Yorktown Battlefield?

This site preserves the battlefield where the Continental Army under General Washington beat the British Army under General Lord Cornwallis, ending the Revolutionary War!

What Makes It Historical?

In August of 1781, the British army was scoping out winter quarters. They’d been trounced in the northern colonies, but they’d had some luck holding Georgia and South Carolina. If they could restock with the riches of the plantations, they reasoned, they could try again to defeat the colonies in the spring time! What Lord Cornwallis hadn’t counted on was the budding United States earning the support of the French military after the Battle of Saratoga four years earlier!

So after the 8,300 British troops settled into Yorktown to unwind for the winter, 26 French warships blockaded Chesapeake Bay, while a combined French-American artillery bombarded Yorktown! At last, after almost two months of bombardment, starvation, and smallpox, Lord Cornwallis sent a letter of surrender to General Washington on October 17! He didn’t show up to the surrender ceremony, claiming he was sick that day, but on October 19, 1781, the battles of the American Revolution wound down and negotiations that would culminate in the Treaty of Paris began!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
Volunteer at Yorktown Battlefield!
Donate to Yorktown Battlefield!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!