8th Unit 3 – Notes: Chapter 4.4 I. Victory at Yorktown 1. Key events were taking place in the North while British carried out their southern campaign. 2. In July 1780, French warships appeared off Newport, . a. Carried French aid: thousands of soldiers. b. Commanded by Comte de Rochambeau 3. Rochambeau joined in New York to wait for the arrival of the 2nd fleet of French ships. a. Plan was to attacked British army, under General Clinton, based in New York. b. 2nd fleet of French ships never arrived, so the attack never happened in New York. 4. Washington & Rochambeau and the ships & troops attacked the British in the South at Yorktown, . A. Washington Leaves for Virginia 1. In 1781, Washington sent Lafayette and to Virginia to stop Cornwallis. a. The results were positive, they pinned Cornwallis down in Yorktown (a peninsula). 2. Washington received new that the French fleet were heading to instead of New York. a. They were joining the fight to defeat Cornwallis. b. Washington and Rochambeau advanced on the British at Yorktown. 3. Washington’s new strategy was kept secret. a. Wanted to let Clinton believe Patriots still planned to attack at New York. b. Wanted to keep Clinton from sending aid to Cornwallis. 4. Washington and Rochambeau rushed south with south with their armies. a. Secrecy was strict. b. Even the soldiers didn’t know where they were going. 5. The French and American troops marched 200 miles (322 km) in 15 days. a. Clinton found out, but it was too late to stop three forces—Lafayette’s troops, Washington’s and Rochambeau’s army and the French fleet—from meeting at Yorktown. B. A Trap at Yorktown 1. Washington’s plan worked perfectly. a. End of September, 14,000 American and French troops stood against Cornwallis’s 8,000 British and troops at Yorktown. 2. French fleet kept guard at Chesapeake Bay. a. British ships could not enter to help Cornwallis escape by sea. b. General Clinton and the rest of the British army sat helplessly in New York. c. British were trapped. 3. American and French forces began a siege. a. Blocked off the British supply and escape routes. b. Hope was to get British to surrender. C. Victory over Cornwallis 1. The siege began to take effect. a. British ran low on supplies, soldiers were wounded and sick. 8th Unit 3 – Notes: Chapter 4.4 b. October 14, Alexander led an attack that captured key British defenses. 2. On October 19, Cornwallis surrendered his troops. a. Patriots won the Battle at Yorktown. b. Patriots took 8,000 British prisoners and captured more than 200 guns. 3. The surrender ceremony, the British walked between rows of French and American troops. a. French band played “.” (A British song used to taunt the Americans) b. British band responded with a children’s tune, “The World Turned Upside Down.” i. Seemed like a fitting song for the situation of the British surrendering to the upstart Americans. II. Independence Achieved 1. The Patriot victory at Yorktown was a terrible blow to the British and their war effort. a. Fighting went on after Cornwallis surrendered. b. British still held Savannah, Charles Town, and New York; few clashes at sea too. c. Defeat at Yorktown convinced British that the war was too costly to pursue. 2. Americans and British sent delegates to Paris to work out a treaty. a. , , and represented the . b. American Congress ratified the first draft of the treaty in April 1783. c. The final was signed on September 3, 1783. d. Britain had also made peace with France and Spain by that time. 3. Under the Treaty of Paris, Great Britain recognized the United States as an independent Nation. a. British promised to withdraw all their troops from American territory. b. Gave Americans fishing rights to the waters off the coast of nearby Canada. 4. In turn, United States promised that Americans would pay to British merchants what they owed. 5. Treaty stated that the Congress would advise the new states a return property taken from Loyalists. A. A Conspiracy Against Congress 1. Washington was unwilling to dissolve the army. a. He camped his idle troops in Newburgh, New York. b. Soldiers believed they were owed pay from Congress. i. When pay didn’t come, they got angry. ii. Officers sent a letter around in March 1783, stating their demands and if not met they would use force against Congress. 2. Washington realized that his threat of revolt was dangerous. a. Washington used a dramatic speech and asked the soldiers to be patient. b. Washington urge Congress to meet their just demands. c. Congress agreed. d. Washington’s leadership ended the threat to the new nation. B. Washington Returns Home 1. In late November 1783, the war truly ended. a. The last British troops left . 8th Unit 3 – Notes: Chapter 4.4 2. Washington gave up his command and soldiers went back to their homes and lives. 3. On December 4, Washington gave his farewell to his troops. a. Three weeks later Washington formerly resigned his position. b. Washington returned home to , Virginia, where he planned to remain and live quietly with his family. C. Why the Americans Won 1. Americans had several advantages in the war. a. Fought on own land. b. British had to moved men and supplies across the ocean. c. Harder for British to get reinforcements at the . i. Ships were blocked, the British troops had no support. d. Americans knew the land. i. Knew where to lay ambush. ii. Expert at wilderness fighting. e. British had difficulty controlling the American countryside once they occupied the cities. i. , rural people did not like being told what to do. ii. They had wilderness fighting skills to defeat their enemies. f. Help from other countries contributed to American victory. i. Success at Yorktown could not have happened without the French soldiers and ships. ii. Spain gave aid when they attacked the British. iii. Individuals, like Lafayette and von Steuben. g. Most important was the people’s movement, the determination and spirit of all Patriots. i. Washington’s remark, “Here is an army they [the British] will never conquer.” 2. In 1776 the American colonists began a revolution. 3. The Declaration of Independence outlined the principles of freedom and the rights they felt all peoples and nations should have. a. These ideas inspired people in other parts of the world, like the French. i. In 1789, French rebels fought a revolution in defense of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.” ii. French upheld these principles: “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” 4. In 1791 there was a revolution in the French colony of Saint Dominque. a. Inspired by the ideals of the American and French revolutions, enslaved Africans took up arms. b. They were led by a former enslaved man name Toussaint L’Ouerture and soon shook off French rule. 5. In 1804, Saint Dominique—present day Haiti—became the second nation in the Americas to achieve independence from colonial rule. 6. “We swear never to yield them to any power on earth.