# data[].attributes.body
Focus:

Origins of the Conflict

Key Players

Research Topics:

Starting and ending dates

Initial tensions between groups

Causes of conflict

Participating countries/groups

# data[].attributes.body
Focus:

Influences & Aftermath

Remembrance & Legacy

Research Topics:

Cultural Impact: art, music, literature, etc.

Tributes to victims

How people remember the conflict today

Long-term effects

# data[].attributes.body
Focus:

Human Impact

Research Topics:

Soldier's perspective

Role of women

Impact on civilians

Lifestyle changes

# data[].attributes.body
escalating tensions and military conflict between the American colonies and Great Britain, stemming from colonial resistance to British policies and taxation

# data[].attributes.body
the uk ,usa,france,spain,netherlands

# data[].attributes.body
70000 us soldiers died and 25000 british

# data[].attributes.body
Siege of Yorktown

Erupt date: September 28, 1781

Battles of Saratoga

Erupt date: September 19, 1777

Battle of Bunker Hill

Erupt date: June 17, 1775

Lexington and Concord

Erupt date: April 19, 1775

Battle of Brandywine

Erupt date: September 11, 1777

Battle of Cowpens

Erupt date: January 17, 1781

Battle of Princeton

Erupt date: January 3, 1777

Battle of Trenton

Erupt date: December 26, 1776

Battle of Monmouth

Battle of Camden

Erupt date: August 16, 1780

Battle of Long Island

Erupt date: August 27, 1776

Capture of Fort Ticonderoga

Erupt date: May 10, 1775

Quebec

Siege of Boston

Erupt date: April 19, 1775

Battle of Fort Washington

Erupt date: November 16, 1776

Battle of Germantown

Erupt date: October 4, 1777

Battle of Kings Mountain

Erupt date: October 7, 1780

Monmouth

Battle of Guilford Court House

Erupt date: March 15, 1781

Battle of Harlem Heights

Erupt date: September 16, 1776

Battle of White Plains

Erupt date: October 28, 1776

# data[].attributes.body
https://veteranmuseum.net/research-revolutionary-war/#:~:text=Between%2025%2C000%20and%2070%2C000%20American,ships%20in%20New%20York%20Harbor.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Three things you didn’t know about the American Revolution

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
America typically celebrates the 4th of July as a unifying victory for the country, but the road to independence was more divisive and violent than most people realize, according to historian Thomas Slaughter.

# data[].attributes.body
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War#:~:text=But%20Washington%20and%20the%20Continental,of%20the%20Thirteen%20Colonies%2C%20leading

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Before the Battle

In the fall of 1781, the British occupy Yorktown, where Cornwallis intends to refit and resupply his 9,000-man army. While he awaits supplies and much-needed reinforcements from the Royal Navy, the Continental Army seizes an opportunity. On receiving word that the French fleet will be available for a siege south of New Jersey, Washington and Rochambeau move their force of almost 8,000 men south to Virginia, planning to join and lead about 12,000 other militia, French troops, and Continental troops in a siege of Yorktown.

On September 5, while the Allied army is still on route, the French fleet guards the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. The Royal Navy, attempting to sail up the Bay to Cornwallis, is met by French warships at the mouth of the Chesapeake. In this encounter, called the Battle of the Capes, the British fleet is soundly defeated and forced to abandon Cornwallis's army at Yorktown.

During the Battle

September 28. After a grueling march, the American and French forces arrive near Yorktown and immediately begin the hard work of laying siege to Cornwallis and his men. Cornwallis has thrown up a series of redoubts on the outskirts of Yorktown while the majority of his men hunker down in the town.

With the help of French engineers, American and French troops begin to dig a series of parallel trenches, which bring troops and artillery close enough to inflict damage on the British. Feverishly working night and day, soldiers of the combined forces employ spades and axes to create a perimeter line of trenches that will trap the British. As the work on the parallels continues, the British attempt to disrupt Allied operations by using what little artillery they have left. Their attempts prove futile.

October 9. The Allied lines are now within musket range of the British and American and French artillery are in place. In the afternoon, the Allied barrage begins, with the French opening the salvo. On the American side, George Washington touches off the first cannon to commence their assault. His artillery consists of three 24-pounders, three 18-pounders, two 8-inch (203 mm) howitzers, and 6 mortars, totaling 14 guns. For nearly a week the artillery barrage is ceaseless, shattering whatever nerve the British have remaining and punching holes in British defenses.

October 11. Washington orders troops to dig a second parallel 400 yards closer to the British lines. British redoubts #9 and #10 prevent the second parallel from extending to the river and the British are still able to reinforce the garrisons inside the redoubts. They have to be taken by force. The new line is in place by the morning of October 12.

October 14. On a moonless night, after firing incessant artillery to weaken British defenses, American and French forces prepare a surprise assault on redoubts #9 and #10. To maintain stealth, soldiers do not to load or prime their weapons. The password for the operation is "Rochambeau," which the Americans translate as "Rush on boys!" The assault commences with a diversionary attack on a redoubt further to the north of Yorktown at 6:30 p.m., giving the appearance that the town itself was to be stormed. Then, Lt. Col. Alexander Hamilton's force, consisting of a detachment of 400 of his light infantry, assaults redoubt #10 with bayonets fixed and muskets unloaded. To prevent the British defenders from escaping the coming onslaught, Lt. Col. John Laurens 's troops cover the rear of the redoubt.

As American troops hack at the abatis with axes, the British are alerted. A British sentry fires at the Americans and the Americans proceeded to assault the fortification, climbing over the parapet and descending into the redoubt. Serious fighting ensues in close quarters, but the British are overwhelmed. It is a stunning victory with the Americans sustaining only 34 casualties.

The French simultaneously assault redoubt #9 and, after an equally fierce firefight, wrest control from the British. Cornwallis's position is untenable as the Franco-American alliance has artillery on three of his sides, with additional new pieces positioned in redoubts #9 and #10 after their fall. In a last-ditch effort, Cornwallis orders a futile counterattack on October 15, which fails miserably.

October 17. That morning, a lone British drummer boy, beating "parley" and British officer waving a white handkerchief tied to the end of a sword are seen on a parapet at the forward position of the British lines. Blindfolded and brought inside American lines, the British officer secures terms of surrender for the British Army.

October 19. In a field outside of Yorktown, the capitulation takes place as British troops and their Hessian allies, with flags furled and cased, march sullenly between contingents of American and French forces. The British seek honorable terms of surrender, but Washington refuses as American forces were denied the that honor in Charleston, South Carolina, earlier in the war.

Aftermath

The Battle of Yorktown marks the collapse of the British war efforts. Later, it is said that the British band played the tune "The World's Turned Upside Down" during the surrender at Yorktown-an apocryphal story that has become part of American folklore. But the world truly changes that day as the military operations of the War for Independence cease.

When news of Cornwallis's surrender reaches London on November 25, the Prime Minister, Lord North, declares, "Oh God. It is all over. It is all over." On March 5, 1782, Parliament passes a bill authorizing the government to make peace with America. Lord North resigns 15 days later. Although it takes the Americans two more years of skillful diplomacy to formally secure their independence through the Treaty of Paris, the war is won with the British defeat at Yorktown.

Yorktown: Featured Resources

Virginia | Sep 28 - Oct 19, 1781

Virginia | Sep 29 - Oct 19, 1781

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Before the Battle In the fall of 1781, the British occupy Yorktown, where Cornwallis intends to refit and resupply his 9,000-man army. While he awaits supplies and much-needed reinforcements from the Royal Navy, the Continental Army seizes an opportunity.

# data[].attributes.body
Focus:

Key Players

Battles

Influence

Research Topics:

Leaders (prominent figures)

Major battles

Number of casualties

Role of religion, technology, & weaponry