General George Washington Issues Orders For the Siege of Yorktown, and Requests to Be Informed of All Key Developments

This is the first letter we have carried, or can recall seeing, in which Washington issues orders for the Siege of Yorktown, the final act of the Revolutionary War

The final chapter of the American Revolution commenced in August 1781 when George Washington and his French counterpart, the Comte de Rochambeau, determined to adopt a southern campaign strategy – to rendezvous with the recently-arrived French fleet and attack the British under Lord Cornwallis in Virginia. On August 18, American and French forces began moving south. The Duc de Lauzun’s Legion of cavalry acted as the French advance party, remaining ten to fifteen miles south of the main army to protect the flank against any British movement.

The combined American and French armies proceeded to Annapolis, Maryland, where the infantry units halted to await boat lifts further south. The allied field artillery, supply trains, and Lauzun’s French cavalry traveled southward by road to Virginia. The artillery and wagons eventually went to Williamsburg, Virginia, 12 miles from Yorktown. Lauzun then received orders to reenforce the Virginia militia under General George Weedon encamped near Gloucester Courthouse on the north side of the York, and he headed there. Both Weedon’s militia and Lauzun’s Legion would be assigned to Gloucester during the entire coming siege of Yorktown, and the reason was simple: Gloucester Point was just a mile across the narrows from Yorktown and was Lord Cornwallis’s best potential escape route, so sealing off that route was a top priority.

Weedon was one of Washington’s Continental Army generals from 1776 to the late winter at Valley Forge; but now he led the Virginia militia at this key junction near Yorktown. For much of the summer, Weedon and the militia had been skirmishing with British forces commanded first by Benedict Arnold and then by Lord Charles Cornwallis. By September 1781 Weedon’s Virginia militia forces were dismally short of supplies, even as Lauzun made his way in their direction. On September 18, 1781, Weedon wrote Washington, “I am sorry to inform your Excellency that the great part of the Men are badly Armed & worse equipt.” They were dangerously low on ammunition and rationing out cartridges two per man, and nearly two-thirds of his troops had no ammunition boxes. Moreover, Weedon lacked grain and other supplies, and the artillery had not yet arrived. To provision his troops, he took half of the foodstuffs that had been gathered as “part of the Tax of the County”, but could not stop the British from taking the remainder. Putting a stop to British supply raids was one of the tasks Washington would assign to Weedon.

Meanwhile, Washington and Rochambeau, accompanied by a few of their staff officers, took a different route from the main army. From Baltimore, they crossed the Potomac River at Georgetown, passed through Alexandria, Virginia, and then stopped briefly at Mount Vernon, Washington’s plantation home, which he had not visited for more than six years. The allied commanders rested at Mount Vernon on September 10 and 11. They arrived at Williamsburg on September 14, and on the 28th moved forward to start the siege of Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown. Washington wrote Weedon on September 20 specifically for the purpose of introducing him to Lauzun, who would be arriving at Gloucester. “The Duke de Lauzun Comandr. of the Legion of his own Name, will have the Honor to deliver you this. He is an Officer of Rank and long Standing in the Service of his Most Christian Majesty, a Brigadier General in the Army now under Command of the Count de Rochambeau…”

Then three days later, Washington responded to Weedon’s letter of September 18, and in that response issues Weedon’s orders for the siege of Yorktown. Washington opens by stating that Weedon’s letter had just come to hand, as he had been away visiting the long hoped-for French fleet. He makes it clear that he is aware of Weedon’s concerns and expects they will be addressed. Washington informs Weedon that Lauzun’s arrival is imminent, and he seeks to arrange a warm welcome for the French troops. And most importantly, he instructs Weedon to impede the enemy to the full extent possible and report any and all important information directly to him. Letter signed, September 23, 1781, to Weedon. “Your Letter of the 18th inst. came to Hand while I was absent on a Visit to the Count de Grasse at Cape Henry – from whence I am just returned. I am very sensible of your Attention – & am sorry for the Embarrassments you met with – I hope they will soon be removed.

“The Legion of the Duke Lauzun is ordered to join the Troops now under your Command – & you may soon Expect to see them. I wish you to be exceedingly watchful upon the Motions of the Enemy on your Side, & to prevent, as much as possible, without risquing too much, the Enemy’s gaining Provisions or Supplies from the Country. And you will be so good as to give me the earliest Information of any important Circumstance that may take place.

“The Duke de Lauzun is a Gentleman of Rank and long Service in the Army of France, a Brigadier at the present Time in the Army under Command of the Count de Rochambeau. You will please to shew him all the Respect and Attention that his Character demands.”

This is the first letter we have carried, or can recall seeing, in which Washington issues orders for the Siege of Yorktown, the final act of the Revolutionary War.

The action at Gloucester proved to be key. Cornwallis had fortified the town, a hamlet of four houses, with entrenchments, four strong redoubts and three batteries with 19 pieces altogether, mostly 18-pounders. Some 1100 British infantry and cavalry were also there. On October 3, 1781, at the Battle of the Hook, the American militia, together with the French cavalry, fought with the British cavalry. The British commander, Banastre Tarleton, was unhorsed, and Lauzun’s Legion drove the British back within their lines in the town; the Americans and French now controlled the area and the British were blocked. The escape route was rendered useless to Cornwallis. Fifty British were killed or wounded, including Tarleton, who was much hated by the Americans for his notorious cruelty. Washington was elated by this victory; his decision to send units to Gloucester had payed big dividends.

Cornwallis was now cut off from escape or reinforcement, either by land or sea, at Yorktown. Together, the American and French land forces laid siege to the town. The French fleet under the command of de Grasse blocked the Chesapeake Bay from British reinforcement, as well as from possible escape that way. On October 19, 1781, three week after the siege began, General Cornwallis surrendered to the allies. Weedon was given the honor of securing the surrendered British arms. As a result of this catastrophe to their arms, the British lost heart for the war and Britain sued for peace. The American Revolution was won.