The Siege of Yorktown began on #thisdayinhistory in 1781. Also known as the Battle of Yorktown, this event in Virginia marked the end of all major land operations in North America during the Revolutionary War and prompted the beginning of peace negotiations between Great Britain and the Thirteen United States.
Six years earlier, when George Washington was in Cambridge, Massachusetts first taking command of the newly formed Continental Army, he probably had few illusions about the conflict that would unfold over the next few years. The fight for independence would be arduous; there would be great losses, tests of loyalties, strained relationships, and only a chance of victory. By 1781, though, there must have been a feeling in both the physical camps and the hearts and minds of the Continental soldiers around Yorktown that the writing was on the wall for the British Army. The dream of independence that had begun many moons ago in Massachusetts was finally coming to fruition in Virginia.
The Siege of Yorktown lasted for several weeks and officially ended on October 19th. While it marked the end of the physical conflict, the Revolutionary War would not officially end until the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3rd, 1783 and the independent United States were created.
The American Revolutionary War lasted over eight years and tested the dedication, strength, and resolve of all people in the Thirteen Colonies, regardless if they were enslaved, free, men, women, Patriots, or Loyalists. In your life, when was a time you tackled a goal and how did your expectations differ, or stay true to the outcome?
[Photo: "Victory Monument/The 13 Colonies" courtesy of our friends at Colonial National Historical Park].
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