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Posted on 09/18/2003 12:00:44 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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May-June 1781 In May 1781, Admiral Comte de Barras arrived in Newport, Rhode Island to take command of the blockaded fleet there, but more importantly, he brought word that Admiral Comte de Grasse was on his way to the West Indies with the long awaited french fleet. On May 22, 1781, General George Washington met with Lt. General Comte de Rochambeau at Wethersfield, Connecticut where they made plans for combined operations. Because de Barras refused to bring his fleet anywhere near New York, Washington and Rochambeau decided to operate against New York City, while de Barras would move his fleet to the safety of Boston.  General George Washington The situation in May 1781 was that Lt. General Henry Clinton controlled New York City with about 10,000 troops, while General Washington had about 3,500 men in the Hudson Highlands. The french flee under Admiral de Barras was trapped in Newport with roughly 4,000 french troops. The Marquis de Lafayette was in Virginia opposing British raiding parties, some of which were commanded by Benedict Arnold. Maj. General Nathanael Greene was doing what he could to contain Lt. General Charles Cornwallis in the Carolinas. However, the threat remained that Cornwallis would be able to move into Virginia. In fact, General Cornwallis had decided to move north into Virginia, but not because General Greene could not contain him. On the contrary, Greene had done so well that Cornwallis simply wanted out of the region because of the frustrations that it brought him. Following the capture of Charleston, South Carolina on May 12, 1780, General Clinton had returned north leaving Cornwallis behind with only one directive: Cornwallis was free to carry out whatever backcountry operations that he saw fit as long as he maintained control of the important ports in Charleston and Savannah, Georgia.  General Cornwallis At first, General Cornwallis had no problems with that order, his troops had swept through the South Carolina backcountry and virtually controlled the Southern colonies following his victory over the 'Hero of Saratoga', Maj. General Horatio Gates at the Battle of Camden, South Carolina on August 16, 1780. However, his northward momentum stalled in fall 1780 with the defeat of his screening force at the Battle of King's Mountain, South Carolina on October 7, 1780 and with the constant harassment of his supply lines and garrisons by militia leaders such as Elijah Clarke, Francis Marion, Andrew Pickens and Thomas Sumter. The situation in the Carolinas got worse for Cornwallis following the arrival of the new Southern Department Commander General Greene on December 3, 1780. Cornwallis' cavalry and mounted troops were decimated by Brig. General Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina on January 17, 1781. In the ensuing chase, Cornwallis had burned his baggage trains in a vain attempt to catch Greene during the 'Race to the Dan River' on the North Carolina-Virgina border. On March 15, 1781, he had held the field at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina against Greene, but suffered huge losses in doing so.  Lt. General Comte de Rochambeau After nursing his struggling forces for two months, General Cornwallis decided to abandon the Carolinas, move up through Virginia, join up with General Clinton at New York and crush the Continental main army under General Washington. Washington and Rochambeau had only been conducting their operations around New York City for two weeks when they learned that Cornwallis was in Virginia. Cornwallis arrived in Petersburg, Virginia, on May 20, 1781. The last orders that Lt General Charles Cornwallis received from Lt. General Henry Clinton on July 20, 1781, were to establish defenses at Old Point Comfort and also occupy Yorktown if necessary. Cornwallis found Old Point Comfort indefensible and chose to make Yorktown his main position. He also set up a supporting position across the York River at Gloucester, Vriginia. By August 22, 1781, Cornwallis had moved his entire force to these two positions.  Lafayette at Yorktown Meanwhile, on August 14, 1781, General George Washington finally received word that the long awaited french fleet under Admiral Comte de Grasse was sailing for the Chesapeake Bay area. The admiral had twenty-nine ships and over 3,000 troops, was expected to arrive in mid-September and would remain until October 15 for combined operations before returning to the West Indies before winter arrived. Washington and Rochambeau now had to quickly move forces from Rhode Island and the New York area to Virginia without alerting either the British fleet or General Clinton. They were also successful in convincing Admiral de Barras to cooperate with de Grasse's operations.  General Washington quickly abandoned his planned operations against General Clinton and New York City to form new operations following Admiral de Grasse's strategy. On August 20, 1781, Washington and 2,500 Continental troops began crossing the Hudson River to Stony Point, New York. The french forces commanded by Lt. General Comte de Rochambeau completed the crossing on August 25. General Clinton observed the movement, but was confident that Admiral de Grasse's fleet would easily be taken care of by the British fleet already commanding the Atlantic coast. Washington did leave Maj. General William Heath with a detachment of forces to first cover his departure and then to withdraw and protect the Hudson Highlands.  General Washington now used his light infantry to feint toward Staten Island, while the entire army stopped at Chatham and Springfield on August 28, 1781 to continue to show like preparing to attack. On August 29, they appeared to be marching to Sandy Hook to meet the french fleet. Finally on August 30, the deception was dropped and they made for Princeton, which the advanced troops reached that same day. They reached Philadelphia on September 1, 1781.  This french battle plan illustrates the siege of Yorktown and the naval blockade that defeated the British in 1781 On September 2, 1781, General Washington led his army through Philadelphia. On the same day General Clinton finally realized that Washington was marching to Virginia. Still he was not overly concerned and merely sent a letter to General Cornwallis that told of the movements and also of expected reinforcements. The french troops made and impressive display to the colonists as they made their way through Philadelphia on the 3rd and 4th. On September 5th, after arriving at Chester, Pennsylvania, Washington learned of Admiral de Grasse's arrival in Chesapeake Bay. On September 6, Washington reached Head of Elk, Maryland. Washington now rode ahead with General Rochambeau and their staffs for a visit to his home at Mount Vernon, which he had not seen in six years. They arrived on September 9th and remained there until the 12th. On September 12, 1781, Washington learned that Admiral de Grasse's fleet had disappeared to confront an approaching British fleet, while he still had no news as to Admiral de Barras' whereabouts. On September 14, 1781, the combined Continental and french force reached the peninsula. On September 15, news arrived that de Grasse had returned and de Barras had been able to get out of Newport and reach Chesapeake without encountering the British fleet. Washington and Rochambeau arrived at Yorktown on September 28, 1781. During the first days of September control of the waters of Chesapeake Bay itself was decided before General George Washington and french Lt. General Comte de Rochambeau arrived on the peninsula with their combined force. Having concealed his departure from the West Indies by sailing through the Bahama Channel, Admiral de Grasse arrived off the Virginia Capes on August 26, 1781 and soon after made contact with the Marquis de Lafayette. On September 2, french troops were landed.  The "Battle of the Virginia Capes" saw the Admiral de Grasse's 24 french ships of the line drive off the 19 British ships under Admiral Graves in early September 1781, thus isolating the British forces of Cornwallis at Yorktown. After having finally learned of Admiral de Grasse's departure, the British sent fourteen ships-of-the-line under the command of Admiral Samuel Hood. Taking a direct route, Hood actually arrived at Chesapeake Bay on August 25, before de Grasse. Finding the waters unoccupied, Hood continued on to New York. At New York, he met five more ships-of-the-line under Admiral Samuel Graves. By seniority, Graves took command of the entire force and sailed back to Chesapeake Bay on August 31 hoping to intercept Admiral de Barras before he could join de Grasse.  The nineteen ship British fleet under Admiral Graves arrived at Chesapeake on September 5, 1781, and found that Admiral de Grasse had occupied the bay. Troops from the West Indies were being landed, the James and York Rivers were being guarded to blockage Lt. General Charles Cornwallis and Admiral de Barras was expected, having left Newport on August 25, 1781. De Grasse immediately ordered the twenty-four available ships-of-the-line to make preparations. They sailed out of the bay one-by-one at noon. Even though outnumbers, Graves was undeterred. After maneuvering around at a distance from each other, winds actually forced Admiral Graves and the British fleet into an attack on Admiral de Grasse and the french fleet. After about two hours, darkness halted the action. The french lost no ships, while one British ship had to be destroyed, another had to have its mast replaced, while two frigates were eventually captured.  Washington and his Generals The next two days the two fleets held contact while drifting one hundred miles south. On September 8, the french fleet turn back north. They lost sight of the British fleet on the following day, then bore down on another fleet before losing contact. De Grasse then returned to Chesapeake to find that Admiral de Barras had arrived on September 10 and it was his fleet that they had sighted on the 9th. With the french fleet occupying Chesapeake Bay, General Cornwallis was now cut off from support and escape by sea.  french soldiers join Americans at the British base at Yorktown in October 1781 The combined Continental and french force under Generals Washington and Rochambeau arrived at Yorktown on September 28, 1781. There were three divisions with two brigades in the American force. Marquis de Lafayette's division included the brigades of Brig. General Peter Muhlenberg and Brig. General Moses Hazen. Maj. General Benjamin Lincoln's division included the brigades of Brig. General James Clinton's New York Regiments and Colonel Elias Dayton, who commanded New Jersey and Rhode Island regiments. Brig. General Baron von Steuben commanded the brigades of Brig. General Anthony Wayne, which included Pennsylvania and Virginia regiments, and Brig. General Modrecai Gist, which included Maryland regiments. 1,700 Virginia militia present. Brig. General Henry Knox commanded a 310-man artillery brigade. Cavalry was 100 men strong while there were 100 sappers and miners.
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Air Power |
The A-4 Skyhawk is a lightweight, single engine attack aircraft, with a design based on experience gained in the Korean War. The "Scooter" is probably one of the most famous attack aircraft ever designed. This short range attack and close support aircraft was originally intended for the US Navy and Marine forces. The design was a quick success, and Skyhawks continue to fly in air forces around the world. There are numerous models of the A-4 in use. All models have two internally mounted 20mm cannons, and are capable of delivering conventional and nuclear weapons under day and night visual meteorological conditions. The aircraft is a very compact design, with no wasted space. The structure is a conventional all metal semimonocoque type. Fitted with automatically operated wing slats and hydraulically operated split flaps. Folding wings were not provided.
Configuration of the aircraft is characterized by a cropped delta wing of 33° sweepback mounted in the low position on a short, stubby fuselage with a large vertical tail and dorsal surface. The horizontal tail is mounted part way up the vertical fin just above the wing chord plane extended and consists of an electrically actuated stabilizer and hydraulically powered elevator. The hydraulically actuated rudder is of a unique design, consisting of a single central skin with external riblike stiffeners. According to the interesting account of the development of the A-4 given in reference 164, this design feature was found to offer a solution to problems of rudder buffet or buzz.
Two inlets mounted high on the fuselage just ahead of the wing supply air to the single Pratt & Whitney turbojet engine of 8500 pounds thrust. The boundary-layer diverters located Just ahead of the inlets. The long landing-gear struts were dictated by clearance requirements for large stores carried beneath the wings on either side and between the main landing-gear legs. A braking chute was provided for use at shore-based landing facilities.
For simplicity, the wing of aspect ratio 2.91 was built as a single unit with continuous top and bottom skins. it was so small that no folding was necessary for storage and movement on the aircraft carrier, an unusual feature in a Navy aircraft. Automatic leading-edge slats and trailing-edge split flaps were provided for lift augmentation. Outwardly extending speed brakes were mounted on either side of the rear of the fuselage.
The Skyhawk is capable of carrying literally hundreds of combinations of external stores including fuel tanks, both conventional and nuclear bombs, rockets, and Sidewinder missiles. Armament consists of two 20-mm cannons, one of which is mounted in each wing root.
The Skyhawk has a remarkably low gross weight of 18,311 pounds but can deliver a weapons load of 2,040 pounds at a mission radius of 680 miles with two 300-gallon external tanks; unrefueled ferry range is 2130 miles. Maximum speed of the aircraft is 673 miles per hour (Mach 0.88) at sea level, and cruising speed is 498 miles per hour. Ceiling is just over 40 000 feet. Certainly, the aircraft has an impressive performance for a lightweight attack aircraft.
Specifications:
Contractor: McDonnell Douglas
Primary Role: light attack and ground support
Power Plant: Single, Pratt & Whitney, J-52-P-408A non-afterburning, turbojet engine that develops 11,220 pounds of thrust
Crew: Pilot
Dimensions:
Wing span: 8.38m
Length overall: 12.29m
Height overall: 4.57m
Weight empty: 4,899kg
Take off weight: (normal) 11,113kg
Performance :
Maximum speed: 660.00 Mph (with a 4,000 pound bomb load)
Initial climb rate: 8,440 ft/min
Maximum ferry range: 2,000 nautical miles
"G" load: 6g maximum
Armaments:
Two 20 mm guns internal to the wing structure
Has one fuselage and four wing racks and carries a variety of external stores.
May be provisioned for Sidewinder, Shrike, and Walleye missiles and 1,000 pound bombs.
Countermeasures: Not applicable
I know that his wife sometimes visited Washington wherever he was but for him to not go home in six years shows real dedication to a cause!
Good story today, thanks SAM.
We visited Yorktown last year doing a history week at Williamsburg. I was afraid the kids would be bored, but they loved it. They ran all over the trenches, redoubts and artillery emplacements. The whole family was mustered into the Virgina militia and learned the rudiments of drill and musket fire.
There's a nice audiotape self-guided tour of Yorktown battlefield. I was amazed how compact the final British lines were. My recollection is that Hamilton advanced with unloaded weapons so no one could give away the attack by firing, and then stormed the redoubt in a bayonet charge. Gallant stuff.
Visiting the historic triangle in Virginia just makes you proud to be an American.
Of course, we couldn't have trapped Corwallis if the French hadn't kept the British fleet away. I guess they weren't always putzes.
Yeah, but the debt was paid in full in 1918 and 1944.
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ARGEX-03
 US Marines walk along the beachfront of the Philippine Marine base in Ternate town, south of Manila September 18, 2003, during the war games between U.S. and Philippine troops dubbed 'Amphibious Ready Group Exercise (ARGEX) '03'. The joint exercise involving 1,500 U.S. Marines and 600 Filipino soldiers is aimed at enhancing the combat readiness of both forces. REUTERS/Erik de Castro  U.S. and Philippine Marines disembark from an amphibious assault vehicle during the Amphibious Ready Group Exercise (ARGEX) 03 Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2003 at the Marine Base in Ternate, southwest of Manila.  Crew members prepare two US Marine Harrier jets for take off Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2003 aboard the USS Essex off Manila Bay. About 1,500 US Marines from the amphibious assault ship USS Essex is now participating in a week-long joint military exercise with their Philippine counterpart designed to bolster regional security. (AP Photo/Pat Roque-Pool)  US Marines in full battle gear walk inside the Philippine Marine base in Ternate Cavite September 18, 2003 during wargames with Philippine troops dubbed 'Amphibious Ready Group Exercise (ARGEX) '03' south of Manila September 18, 2003.  U.S. Marines in full battle gear walk towards a clearing during war games with Philippine troops dubbed 'Amphibious Ready Group Exercise (ARGEX) '03' at the Philippine Marines base in Ternate Cavite, south of Manila, September 18, 2003  US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Okinawa, Japan, practice 'engaging' an enemy during their joint military exercise with their Philippine counterpart at the Philippine Marines Training Base camp in Ternate, south of Manila Thursday Sept. 18, 2003. About 1,500 US troops and an equal number of Filipino soldiers are taking part in a week-long 'inter operability' exercise to test their skills in modern day warfare especially in combating terrorism.
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