Victory at Yorktown

1. Victory at Yorktown Pgs. 314-316

2. The British Fear the Americans • When the British learned that the French had joined with the Americans, the British quickly moved their attacks from the northern colonies to the southern colonies. • The British hoped that the greater Loyalist support in the south would help to defeat the Patriots once and for all.

3. The British Gain Power • With the help of Loyalists, the British army captured Charleston, South Carolina, in 1780. • The British then marched through North Carolina and then into Virginia. • By late summer of 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis set up camp at Yorktown, Virginia. (See map p. 311)

4. Benedict Arnold – Traitor! • During 1781 the fighting centered in Virginia. • Benedict Arnold, a former Continental army officer, attacked colonial towns in Virginia. • He had given the plans of the American fort at West Point, New York to the British in exchange for money and a high rank in the British army.

5. The Move to Defeat the British • The British received supplies at Yorktown located on the Chesapeake Bay. • The French and Continentals moved quickly to defeat the British at Yorktown. • The French soldiers joined the Continentals near New York City, and together marched to Virginia and surrounded Yorktown.

6. The Move to Defeat the British • The French navy took control of the Chesapeake Bay cutting off supplies to the British. • The British were trapped from all sides. • The Battle at Yorktown continued for two weeks.

7. The British Surrender! • General Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. • The British marched out of Yorktown and laid down their weapons in a field. • Even though the war went on for two more years, the Battle at Yorktown was the last major battle of the American Revolution.

8. The British are Defeated! • With the victory at Yorktown, the Patriots proved to King George III and the world that the United States of America was a free and independent nation.