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With the British defense weakened, on October 14, 1781, Washington sent two columns to attack the last major remaining British outer defenses. A French column under Vicomte de Deux-Ponts took Redoubt No. 9 and an American column under Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton took Redoubt No. 10.
George Washington’s Daring Gamble at Yorktown American and French forces converged on the Virginia Peninsula to trap the British Army at Yorktown in 1781. Successful assaults on British redoubts forced Cornwallis to surrender.
At nightfall on October 14, 1781, American and French soldiers made a surprise attack on Redoubts 9 and 10 at Yorktown, Virginia. The small earthen fortifications were the key to Lord Cornwallis’s besieged defenses.
- Timeline Leading Up to the Battle. American Victory at Yorktown. In the summer of 1780, 5,500 French troops, with Comte de Rochambeau at the helm, landed in Newport, Rhode Island to aid the Americans.
- Washington arrives in Yorktown. Siege of Yorktown. By mid-September 1781, Washington and Rochambeau arrived in Williamsburg, Virginia, 13 miles from the tobacco port of Yorktown, where Cornwallis’s men had built a defense of 10 small forts (a.k.a.
- The Role of Alexander Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton. The attack on redoubt No. 9 would be undertaken by French troops, while the No. 10 siege would be led by Colonel Alexander Hamilton.
- General Cornwallis Surrenders. Of his 400 infantrymen, Hamilton lost just nine in the attack, with some 30 wounded, while the 400 French-led troops lost 27 men, with 109 wounded, according to Fleming.
Mar 26, 2024 · The Battle of Yorktown was the decisive battle of the American Revolution. General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army to General George Washington on October 19, 1781, following a lengthy siege. Detail from George Washington at Yorktown by N.C. Wyeth, 1940. Image Source: N.C. Wyeth by Kate F. Jennings, 1995.
- Randal Rust
Supported by the French army and navy, Washington's forces defeated Lord Charles Cornwallis' veteran army dug in at Yorktown, Virginia. Victory at Yorktown led directly to the peace negotiations that ended the war in 1783 and gave America its independence.
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Why did Washington take the redoubts on October 14?
With the British defense weakened, Washington, on October 14, 1781, sent two columns to attack the last major remaining British outer defenses; redoubts #9 and #10. A French column took #9 and an American column #10.
