On This Day In History: The World Turned Up Side Down

PBS ^

[Valin]

Battle: YORKTOWN

War: American Revolutionary War

Date: 28th September to 19th October 1781
Place: Virginia, United States of America
Combatants: Americans and French against the British
Generals: General Washington commanded the Americans,
Lieutenant General de Rochambeau commanded the French
Major General Lord Cornwallis commanded the British.
Size of the armies: 8,800 Americans, 7,800 French and 6,000 British

Uniforms, arms and equipment: The British wore red coats and headgear of bearskin caps, leather caps or tricorne hats depending on whether the troops were grenadiers, light infantry or battalion company men. The German infantry wore blue coats and retained the Prussian style grenadier mitre with brass front plate.

The Americans dressed as best they could. Increasingly as the war progressed regular infantry regiments of the Continental Army wore blue uniform coats but the militia continued in rough clothing.

The French royal regiments of foot wore white coats.

Both sides were armed with muskets and guns. The back country riflemen carried long, small calibre rifles, weapons of considerably greater accuracy than the ordinary musket and which their owners used with proficiency.

Winner: The Americans and French

British Regiments:
1 troop of 17th Light Dragoons (in Tarleton’s Legion)
Royal Artillery
A composite brigade of Foot Guards (comprising 1st, 2nd and 3rd Foot Guards)
17th Foot later the Royal Leicestershire Regiment and now the Royal Anglian Regiment
23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers
33rd Foot now the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment
43rd later the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and now the Royal Green Jackets
71st Fraser’s Highlanders (disbanded at the end of the war)
76th Foot (disbanded at the end of the war)
80th Foot (disbanded at the end of the war)
Regiment of de Voit (Anspach)
Regiment of de Seybothen (Anspach)
Regiment of Prince Hereditary (Hesse)
Regiment of von Bose (Hesse)
Tarleton’s Legion
Simcoe’s Legion
North Carolina Loyalists

French Regiments:
Artillery
Lauzun’s Legion
Bourbonnois Regiment of Foot
Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment of Foot
Soissonois Regiment of Foot
Agenois Regiment of Foot

Americans Regiments:
4th Dragoons (Moylan)
Armand’s Horse
Lafayette’s Light Infantry
Muhlenburg’s Brigade
Hazen’s Canadian Regiment
1st New York Regiment
2nd New York Regiment
1st New Jersey Regiment
2nd New Jersey Regiment
Rhode Island Regiment
1st Pennsylvania Regiment
2nd Pennsylvania Regiment
Virginia Regiment
3rd Maryland Regiment
4th Maryland Regiment
3 brigades of Virginia Militia
Sappers and Miners

Account:
Losing his grip on the Carolinas, Cornwallis marched his army into Virginia and seized Yorktown and Gloucester, towns on each side of the York River.
With the arrival of the French fleet of Admiral De Grasse, General Washington was able to march south from New York with the joint American and French army to attack Cornwallis.

The Americans and French marched out of Williamsburg and arrived before Yorktown on 28th September 1781, forming a semi-circle around the entrenchments and putting the British under siege. Cornwallis expecting Major General Clinton to sail from New York with a relieving force had decided to remain in Yorktown rather than march south to the Carolinas or attempt to reach New York.
His first move was the inexplicable one of abandoning a line of four redoubts that dominated the British positions. The Americans immediately occupied the empty redoubts.

The Americans began formal siege operations on the eastern side of Yorktown on 30th September and on 9th October were sufficiently close to began an artillery bombardment.

On 14th October the Americans and French stormed two redoubts in front of their trenches and the position of the British in Yorktown became untenable.
The British carried out a sortie on the 16th in which several guns in the two redoubts were spiked. On the same day Cornwallis attempted to pass the Guards, the 23rd and the Light Infantry across the York River to Gloucester but was thwarted by a storm.

With no sign of Clinton’s relief and with inadequate supplies of artillery ammunition and food, on 19th October 1781 Cornwallis’ army marched out of Yorktown and surrendered.

Casualties:
6,000 British surrendered to the Americans and French with 10 stands of German and British colours, 240 pieces of artillery, small arms, ammunition and equipment.
The casualties during the siege had been 500 British, 80 Americans and 200 French.

Follow-up:
The capitulation of the British to the Americans and French ended the fighting in the war and led to the Peace Treaty that acknowledged the independence of the American states. Clinton’s relieving force arrived in the Chesapeake on 24th October.

Anecdotes and traditions:
The British bands are reputed to have played “The world turned upside down” as the troops marched out to surrender.
After the surrender the American and French officers entertained the British officers to dinner, other than Tarleton with whom the Americans refused to eat, due to the atrocities committed by his troops in North and South Carolina.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Jimmah Cahtah recently said this was all unnecessary...we could've gotten along with the Brits and worked something out.

[lovecraft]

Brilliant Post....just brilliant.

[Rummyfan]

As Cornwallis' 8,000 man force became prisoners-of-war, the British band played the The World Turned Upside Down, a tune that underscored the strange turn of events which had brought defeat at the hands of the provincial forces of America, to the most powerful country in Europe.

Quite simply, a military victory of astounding proportions! Some might even call it a miracle.

[Triple]

I can't help but remember fondly:

Harpseal
Stay Well - Yorktown

[FormerACLUmember]

[FormerACLUmember]

[Rakkasan1]

yes, but where did Cornwallis hide the WMD's?

[thulldud]

The British bands are reputed to have played “The world turned upside down” as the troops marched out to surrender.

It's been years since I read Barbara Tuchman's book The First Salute but I remember her questioning whether the British could have marched out to this tune because it's written in 6/8 time, and 6/8 is not a marching meter.

Well, I've been in a marching band, and I would say, "Tell that to the Marines. Ever hear of 'Semper Fidelis'?"

If that assertion had come up earlier, say, in the discussion of the battle of Bunker Hill, I might not have bothered to finish the book. But no, it was Yorktown, practically the end.

Hmph.

[SlowBoat407]

Sadly, the American Revolution was doomed to failure since their constitution took two years to write and ratify, the ruling parties were all the same religion, and a civil war broke out four score and seven years after independence was declared.

/s

[snippy_about_it]

Great post Valin, thanks.

[Valin]

And lets not forget women didn't get the right to vote in federal elections until 1920.

We're doomed!

[Ciexyz]

So Tarleton had to eat dinner by himself? Damn, I like the Hollywood ending better, in "The Patriot", where Mel Gibson finishes Tarleton off in a face-to-face battle.

[Skooz]

bump

[Travis McGee]

Me too...

[1066AD]

I just finished McCullough's "1776" and I wish it had been "1776 and Later" or something so it covered it all.

[Valin]

The best I've read on the Revolutionary War is a two volume series "The Rise to Rebellion" & "The Glorious Cause" by Jeff Shaara.

[ichabod1]

I was reading about this one time and went out and found the song, sure it's in thirds, but it is an eminently marchable beat. Woman doesn't know what she's talking about.

I think there is some truth to the notion that some of the despotism that King George is accused of was exagerrated to manufacture a revolution. There is an argument to be made that the civil war probably would never have happened if we had stuck with Britain, certainly the War of 1812 wouldn't have. That the framers we're stuck in the mindset of the early 18th century while the world was moving on into the 19th. That Slavery would have been abolished much sooner and without all the attendant bickering and bloodshed.

I don't know the answer. Things worked out as they did. Can't go back and change it now.

[agere_contra]

I'm glad you guys managed to secede. You did ok :0)

[SlowBoat407]

Things worked out as they did. Can't go back and change it now.

I just did. In the original timeline, the revolution collapsed when crushing numbers of British troops overwhelmed the Americans. I told Gen. Washington (really nice guy, by the way), some of the Brit troop movements and he was able to foil them in some key engagements.

All relevant history and postings have been adjusted accordingly.