The Guns of Independence: The Siege of Yorktown, 1781

The Guns of Independence examines the siege of Yorktown in fall 1781, the most decisive engagement of the American Revolution. The campaign involved the war's leading generals and admirals, naval battles, cavalry action, siege warfare, and night attacks. By summer 1781, America had been at war with England for six years. France had sided with the colonies since 1778, and the arrival of 5,500 infantry under Comte de Rochambeau in summer 1780 shifted momentum against the British. After victories in the Southern Colonies, Lord Cornwallis marched north into Virginia, believing he could decisively defeat the Americans there. George Washington recognized this as a strategic error and moved quickly south, feinting against General Clinton in New York. With Rochambeau's forces and a French naval victory at the Battle off the Capes in September, Washington trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown on a narrow Virginia peninsula. Confident that Clinton would send reinforcements, Cornwallis remained in inadequate defenses. Washington systematically constricted his position through entrenchments, redoubts, artillery batteries, and targeted attacks. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, effectively ending the war in North America. Based on extensive archival research and archaeological investigation of the battlefield, this study examines the siege, its participants, artillery, tactics, and leadership.