Yorktown was to be the last major battle in the American War of Independence.
In the summer of 1781, British forces under General Lord Cornwallis fought scattered engagements in Virginia and North Carolina, so Cornwallis decided to concentrate his forces by joining with Benedict Arnold’s in Virginia. They were, however, unable to defeat American guerrilla resistance. Cornwallis therefore decided to build a base at Yorktown on the peninsula between the James and York rivers south-east of Richmond where his army could recuperate and prepare itself for future operations, linking by sea with the base already established at New York. The French and Americans, however, turned the peninsula into a trap. Washington made a feint attack on New York to ensure that Clinton did not try to
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Battle of Yorktown". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 February 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4204, accessed 19 March 2024.]