13. What was done by General Rutherford upon his exchange?
14. What did he find upon his arrival at Wilmington?
15. State the number of men enlisted in North Carolina during the Revolution.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
PEACE AND INDEPENDENCE
A. D. 1781 TO 1784.
1. On the 19th of October, 1781, as has been previously stated, Lord Cornwallis surrendered himself and his army to General Washington, at Yorktown, in Virginia. The timely arrival of the friendly French fleet under Count Rochambeau enabled Washington to lay siege to Cornwallis and force him to surrender.
2. The English commander, who was a skillful soldier, complained that he had been forced, by the orders of his superior officer and against his own judgment, into a position from which he could not escape. General La Fayette, however, doubtless had at least an equal share in bringing about the result, for it was his skillful maneuvering of an inferior force that held Cornwallis checked so that Washington was enabled to bring his troops to their appointed places at the appointed times and cut off all hope of escape.
3. But a glorious day it was for the colonies, for it virtually put an end to the war, and everybody knew it. The only real questions henceforth were as to the terms of the peace. Independence and peace were now assured.
1782.