Why Was The Battle Of Yorktown A Turning Point

The Revolutionary War took place between April 17th, 1775 and October 19th, 1781. It was a time for America to prove its independence from Great Britain. The colonists had spent many years before this struggling against Britain’s strict orders and unfair laws. There were fourteen major battles that decided America’s freedom. The last battle that was fought before America’s independence was the Battle of Yorktown.
The Battle of Yorktown took place in Yorktown, Virginia. It started on September 28, 1781 and ended on October 19, 1781. American troops automatically had an advantage with their 8,800 troops plus the 7,800 French troops compared to the 7,000 – 9,000 British troops. France had been sending supplies to the American troops throughout

The French were already prepared with canons which delayed the British attack. The British tried to evacuate later that day but a huge windstorm threw them off course and forced them to stay in Yorktown. The next day on October 17th, Cornwallis sent an officer with a white flag and a note asking to cease fire. The day after, four officers, one American, one French, and two British, met at the Moore House to settle surrender terms. Cornwallis’ army marched out of Yorktown between two lines of American and French soldiers and laid down their weaponry in a field and walked back to Yorktown on October 19th. Eventually Clinton, Cornwallis, and their troops returned to England. The outcome of the Battle of Yorktown was America’s independence. After the Battle of Yorktown, the British tried to continue to fight but the loss at Yorktown turned the British public against the war. The March after the war, a pro-American parliament was elected. Once this was established, peace negotiations with Great Britain began. Two years later, the 1783 Treaty of Paris was signed. This made the British recognize America’s independence and Americans to stop persecuting British

In 1751 Clinton was an Army Lieutenant in the Cold Stream Guards and before that he served in the New York Militia. Sir Henry Clinton became Colonel of the 12th Regiment in 1763 which put him above Charles Cornwallis. Nine years later in the May of 1772 he became Major General and then was given a seat in British Parliament and retained that position for twelve years. Clinton helped fight at the Battle of Bunker Hill and screwed up his reputation when he was given a command to capture Charleston, South Carolina in 1776. When tension arose with General William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton thought about resigning. He decided not to resign and then in 1777 returned to England and was made Knight of the Bath. Clinton was put in command at New York in 1777 and for the next two years he concentrated his forces around New York. While he was in New York, he captured Charleston and 6,000 American soldiers. Cornwallis and Clinton had the same tension that Clinton and Howe had and the May after Cornwallis’ defeat he left his