On the 28th of September, the joint forces, twelve thousand strong, took up their position before Yorktown. Batteries were opened upon the city, and the vessels in the harbor fired by red-hot shells. Two redoubts were carried; one by the Americans, the other by the French. The most hearty good-will prevailed. The patriots slept in the open air that their allies might use their tents. Breaches having been made in the walls, Cornwallis saw no hope of escape and capitulated (Oct. 19).
[Footnote: Governor Nelson commanded the battery that fired first upon the British. Cornwallis and his staff were at that time occupying the governor's fine stone mansion. The patriot pointed one of his heaviest guns directly toward his house, and ordered the gunner to fire upon it with vigor. The British could not make even the home of the noble Nelson a shield against his patriotic efforts. The house still bears the scars of the bombardment.]
THE SCENE OF THE SURRENDER was most imposing. The army was drawn up in two lines, extending over a mile—the Americans on one side with General Washington at the head, and the French on the other with Count Rochambeau (ro-shong-bo). The captive army, about seven thousand in number, with slow step, shouldered arms, and cased colors, marched between them. A prodigious crowd, anxious to see Cornwallis, had assembled, but the haughty general, vexed and mortified at his defeat, feigned illness, and sent his sword by General O'Hara.
[Footnote: With a fine delicacy of feeling, Washington directed the sword to be delivered to General Lincoln, who, eighteen months before, had surrendered at Charleston.]
[Illustration: THE SURRENDERED ARMY AT YORKTOWN]
The Effect.—Both parties felt that this surrender virtually ended the war. Joy pervaded every patriot heart. All the hardships of the past were forgotten in the thought that America was free. The news reached Philadelphia at two o'clock A.M. The people were awakened by the watchman's cry, "Past two o'clock and Cornwallis is taken." Lights flashed through the houses, and soon the streets were thronged with crowds eager to learn the glad news. Some were speechless with delight. Many wept, and the old door-keeper of Congress died of joy. Congress met at an early hour, and that afternoon marched in solemn procession to the Lutheran church to return thanks to Almighty God.
All hope of subduing America was now abandoned by the people of England, and they loudly demanded the removal of the ministers who still counselled war. The House of Commons voted that whoever advised the king to continue hostilities should be considered a public enemy.
[Footnote: On Sunday noon, November 25, 1781, the British Cabinet received intelligence of the defeat. When Lord North, the prime minister of Great Britain, heard the disastrous news, he was greatly excited. With looks and actions indicating the deepest distress, he again and again exclaimed, "O God! it is all over.">[
DIFFICULTIES OF THE COUNTRY AND ARMY.—The situation of the United States at this time was perilous. Commerce had been destroyed by the war. The currency was worthless. War had been the main business of the country for eight years, and trade, manufactures, and agriculture, had been neglected. Villages had been burned, ships destroyed, and crops laid waste. The British held Charleston over a year, and Savannah and New York about two years after the surrender at Yorktown. George III was obstinate, and war might be resumed. Yet the American army was in almost open rebellion. The soldiers, afraid they should be disbanded and sent home without pay, petitioned Congress, but received no satisfaction. The treasury was empty. At this crisis Washington was invited to become king. The noble patriot was shocked at the proposal, and indignantly spurned it. A paper having been circulated advising violent measures, Washington addressed a meeting of the officers, and besought them not to mar their fair record of patriotic service by any rash proceedings. His influence prevailed, both with the army and with Congress, and the difficulties were amicably settled.
[Footnote: As he rose he took off his spectacles to wipe them, saying, "My eyes have grown dim in the service of my country, but I have never doubted her justice.">[