The Battle of Yorktown

Battle of Yorktown Summer of 1781 British General Charles Cornwallis Set up headquarters in Yorktown, VA Choose this site because it was on the Chesapeake Bay Easy to supply troops BUT it was not easy to defend

When and Where Yorktown , Virginia On the Chesapeake Bay Both the French and the Americans encircled Yorktown The French navy took control of the bay

Victory at Yorktown The Cornwallis and his men were trapped By mid-October they were running out of food and ammunition Considered the last major battle of the war

Cornwallis Surrenders! American is free from England! On October 19, 1781 Cornwallis surrendered It was a siege that lasted 3 weeks This is the house in which Cornwallis surrendered

Just something interesting Cornwallis’s second in command tries to give Cornwallis’s sword to the French general BUT the French tell him to give it to Washington Washington tells the British officer to give it to Washington’s second in command What do you think about this?

Washington goes home After the war, Washington stops by a meeting of Congress He retires as the leader of the army Congress thanks him for his service

Treaty of Paris April 1782 Both the British and the Americans meet to negotiate a peace treaty John Jay, Ben Franklin and John Adams represent America

Treaty of Paris What the Americans wanted Britain to accept America as an independent country Wanted ALL British troops to leave American lands The British agreed

Treaty of Paris The treaty was signed on September 2, 1783 The treaty named the United States of America as a new country

The Nation’s Borders From Georgia to the Great Lakes From the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River

Bibliography Slide 1 The surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004670530/ Slice 4 Surrender of Cornwallis at York-Town http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b50926/ Slide 5 House of Cornwallis’s surrender http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008679623/ Slide 10 map g3300 ar004000 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3300.ar004000 Slide 6 George Washington http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002698184/