Thanks Prophet2520.
Posted on 10/15/2014 8:15:28 AM PDT by Prophet2520
[the fighting raged on at Yorktown] "On the night of October 15-16, Cornwallis ordered an attack against the second line. This was launched, 350 strong, under Lt. Col. Robert Abercrombie at a point near the center of the line. It was a gallant sortie, yet it accomplished little, for, within a few hours, the guns which had been spiked by the British were again firing upon Yorktown." The articles of capitulation were signed four days later. Cornwallis' British men were declared prisoners of war,...Americans captured 8,000 troops, 214 artillery pieces, thousands of muskets, 24 transport ships, wagons and horses.
(Excerpt) Read more at archive.org ...
1783 - Report of Committee on Indian Affairs states among other things "Thirdly, That as the Indians, notwithstanding a solemn treaty of neutrality with Congress, at the commencement of the war.---Notwithstanding all the advice and admonition which could be given them during its prosecution, could not be restrained from acts of hostility and wanton devastation, but were determined to join their arms to those of Great-Britain and to share their fortunes, so consequently, with a less generous people than Americans, they would be made to share the same fate and be compelled to retire with them beyond the Lakes. But as we prefer clemency to rigor, as we persuade ourselves that their eyes are open to their error, and that they have found by fatal experience, that their true interest and safety must depend upon our friendship, as the country is large enough to contain and support us all, and as we are disposed to be kind to them, to supply their wants, and to partake of their trade; we from these considerations, and from motives of compassion, draw a veil over what is passed; and will establish a boundary line between them and us, beyond which we will endeavour to restrain our citizens from hunting and settling; and within which they shall not come but for the purposes of trading, treating or other business equally unexceptionable."
1623 The King of England is advised to assume control over the Colony of Virginia. King James requests the Colony surrender its charter. The Colony refuses.35
1673 Massachusetts Bay Colony Incorporated after 17 years of settlement
1778 - "Pulaski's Massacre" Little Egg Harbor, NJ. There was a surprise attack by about 200 Biritish. "At the Ridgway Farm, the lone sentry was easily overpowered and sleeping soldiers were awakened and killed, before they could mount a defense. Only 5 were left alive and taken prisoner."
1781 - North Carolina: The whigs defeat the torries at Raft Swamp.
1780 - British retreat from Middleburgh, NY. "A combined force of 1,000 British regulars, Hessians, Loyalists and Indians, led by Loyalist Sir John Johnson and Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant, attempts an unsuccessful attack upon Middleburgh (or Middle Fort), New York Only 200 Continental soldiers under Major Melanchthon Woolsey were defending the fort, and unknown to the British, the Continentals were low on ammunition. In their ignorance of the Patriots' weakness, the Loyalist forces retreated in the direction of the Schoharie Valley, contenting themselves with destroying everything in their path and continuing the civil war raging in upstate New York."
October 15, 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte arrived on the Island of St. Helena beginning a British-imposed exile following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
October 15, 1917 - World War I spy Mata Hari was executed by a French firing squad at Vincennes Barracks, outside Paris.
October 15, 1945 - Pierre Laval, the former premier of Vichy France, was executed for collaborating with Nazi Germany during World War II.
October 15, 1946 - Nazi leader Hermann Goering committed suicide by swallowing poison in his Nuremberg prison cell just hours before his scheduled hanging for war crimes.
October 15, 1964 - Soviet Russia's leader Nikita Khrushchev was deposed as First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.
October 15, 1991 - The U.S. Senate confirmed Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court by a 52-48 vote following several days of tumultuous hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning sexual harassment charges made by a former aide. Thomas became the second African American to sit on the Court, replacing retired Justice Thurgood Marshall, an African American.
One of the joys my wife and I have experienced as empty nesters is the opportunity to visit both sites. Very impressive, sobering and highly recommended.
But not as joyful as grandchildren.
October 15, 1967—a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning in Whittier, Calif. The brown Whittier Hills, covered with dry brush contrast sharply with the bright blue skies, the smog having been swept away by a Santa Ana wind.
That afternoon, we notice a gray cloud in the otherwise cloudless sky over our home in College Hills, next to Whittier College. We walk over to Worsham Canyon and sure enough, a massive brush fire is headed our way. Rather foolishly, we walk over to a housing tract where friends of ours live, at the bottom of the canyon, directly in the path of the fire. Residents are hosing down roofs and trying to knock down the dry brush. Overhead, we watch as World War II-era B-17’s and TBM Avenger torpedo bombers flying in to bomb the fire.
We retreat to the site of the old Whittier College observatory, overlooking the Hadley Field in Worsham Canyon, where the Whittier College Poets play football. With the help of the Avengers, the fire is halted just outside the housing tract where we were earlier.
No homes were lost, but the fire went on to burn 2,000 acres.
What has been driven in can be pulled (or drilled) out ...
Back in the 1990s, Guns & Ammo (I think) ran an article about a fellow who had purchased a “demilitarized” French 75mm field gun. They had driven a mild steel ring into the chamber, preventing a round from fully seating and the breech block closing on it. He was able to reach in there with a hacksaw blade and cut the ring out, return the gun to firing capability, and reload cartridges for it. Reloading press was a modified log-splitter.
Haven’t been to Saratoga but I’ve been to Yorktown a couple of times. The trenches and bulwarks are still there from the battles fought during the Revolution and the Civil War. It’s an impressive “history comes alive” kinda place.
It depends how well it was done. Given the situation they must have been in a hurry.
Thanks Prophet2520.
My favorite T shirt comes from the gift shop at Yorktown. I purchased it 17 years ago and still wear it on all occasions. It’s never faded, nor lost its shape. It has a large picture of a waving Betsy Ross flag in antique colors ona ground of dark and darker blue pin stripes. It doesn’t wrinke and can be worn right out of the wash.
The American victory at Yorktown would not have been possible except for the assistance of the French fleet commanded by Admiral de Grasse at the Battle of the Virginia Capes.
Comte de Grasse prevented a British fleet from reinforcing and rescuing Cornwallis and his army allowing Washington and Continental Army to besiege and capture them.
I had an ancestor at the siege of Yorktown, a militia colonel in the blocking force across the York at Gloucester Point. Cornwallis planned to attempt an escape through Gloucester but a violent storm arose and prevented him from moving his army. And so he surrendered.
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