September-October 1781: Two Critical Months in Revolutionary War

Pinning down the most important times and events in the Revolutionary War is difficult because there were so many moments where the American rebellion could have been crushed.  Conditions for defeat loomed at every turn.  Conversely, the Americans could rarely find an opportunity to deliver a crushing blow against the British.  Circumstances in September and October of 1781 presented one of the few moments in six long years where conditions favored the Americans and because George Washington skillfully and decisively managed the opportunity, America won its freedom.

After five years of fighting, the Americans seemingly had no prospect of victory even after persuading the French to aid in their cause.  Late 1780 and the first half of 1781 were a particularly bad stretch for the Patriots.  To date, British strategy centered on controlling the northern population centers from Boston to Philadelphia.  Washington may not have possessed the strategic and tactical talents of other great generals of history but he was endowed with two great qualities: a strong character and unsurpassed charisma.  While he did not win many battles, Washington maintained an outgunned, under supplied, often unpaid army of farmers in the field.  Though Washington could not muster enough troops to take on the superior British Army, he also had not suffered a devastating loss.  The British strategy had not quelled the rebellion and the war was becoming increasingly unpopular in Britain. 

British commander Sir Henry Clinton settled on a new plan to try and break Washington by re-focusing on the southern colonies.  Largely untouched in five years of war, the southern colonies supplied men and materiél to the Continental Army and the British believed the South to be more loyalist in sentiment.  Accordingly, Clinton sent forces south to break the American rebellion.

First, on December 30, 1780, the notorious traitor Benedict Arnold arrived in Virginia, America’s largest colony.  Virginia had dispatched many of its available forces to Washington and was relatively undefended.  Arnold rampaged at will destroying shipbuilding facilities and capturing large quantities of tobacco needed for trade.  His forces burned the new capital, Richmond, capturing much needed supplies blowing up the Westham Foundry, one of the few factories capable manufacturing cannon. 

A British expedition under Lord Charles Cornwallis landed in South Carolina in February and captured Charleston on May 12^th resulting in the catastrophic loss of over 5,200 regulars and militia, 300 cannon, 5,900 muskets, ammunition and other essential supplies.  Cornwallis marched north routing Horatio Gates at Camden.  Washington replaced Gates with Nathaniel Greene who managed to turn the tide winning battles at King’s Mountain and Cowpens while inflicting heavy casualties on the British at Guilford Courthouse. 

Even though tattered and exhausted, Cornwallis arrived in Virginia in May of 1781, linking up with Arnold’s force.  Cornwallis promptly dispatched Banastre Tarleton and a 400 man cavalry force to capture Virginia’s government in Charlottesville.  Only the heroic 40 mile ride of Patriot Jack Jouett with a timely warning saved the General Assembly and Governor Thomas Jefferson who fled to the Blue Ridge Mountains only hours before Tarleton arrived. 

Washington now faced the prospect of Cornwallis and 8,000 redcoats occupying Virginia and splitting the colonies in two.  With the formal alliance with France in 1778 came tangible assistance in General Jean Baptiste Rochambeau who arrived in Newport, Rhode Island in the summer of 1780 with 7,000 French soldiers.   With the addition of French troops, Washington’s perseverance finally paid off.  Under the right conditions, the Americans could attack Cornwallis’ army in Virginia if it could be isolated.

Washington and Rochambeau learned in March of 1781 that a French fleet under Admiral Francois-Joseph Compte de Grasse patrolling the Caribbean might be able to re-route its voyage back to France to pass by the American coast in the fall but de Grasse could not stay in American waters long.  De Grasse also had 3,200 soldiers with him who could be put to use if the opportunity arose.  Washington promptly requested that de Grasse sail north.  Conferring with Rochambeau, 5,000 French soldiers marched south from Newport to New York.  The French and Americans watched the British and waited for news from de Grasse.

Finally, the right conditions for victory appeared, if only fleetingly.  In August, Cornwallis marched to Yorktown, Virginia on the York River in the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.  Cornwallis blundered in choosing a site that could be easily surrounded on land, but with immediate access to the Chesapeake Bay and the Royal Navy, he should have been safe. 

Unbeknownst to Cornwallis though, Admiral de Grasse informed Washington and Rochambeau in an August letter that he would sail to the Chesapeake Bay in September with his fleet and 3,200 French soldiers but could remain no more than six weeks.  Even though it was a narrow window, Washington and Rochambeau recognized the opportunity and decisively set their armies in motion south towards Virginia within days of learning of de Grasse’s movement leaving 2,000 men behind to distract Clinton. 

When Clinton learned of de Grasse’s move, he underestimated the size of the French fleet and did not dispatch a British fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves until too late.  When Graves arrived in the Chesapeake on September 5^th, he was surprised to find De Grasse already blockading the bay with a larger fleet.  With the advantage of the wind and better placement, the French savaged the British in the ensuing Battle of the Virginia Capes forcing Graves to turn back to New York. 

Cornwallis grew increasingly concerned with the defeat of Graves’ flotilla and upon learning of the 3,200 troops de Grasse landed.  On September 14^th, Cornwallis received a letter from Clinton that he would soon be reinforced and Cornwallis made the fateful decision to remain in Yorktown.  The die was cast.  Washington and Rochambeau arrived two weeks later boasting a combined force of almost 20,000. 

Washington and Rochambeau systematically laid siege over the next two weeks gradually tightening the noose around Cornwallis’ neck.  The 8,000 Redcoats in Yorktown were short on food and supplies and lacked the heavy artillery to counter Frano-American siege guns.  With the successful storming of Redoubts 9 and 10 on the evening of October 14^th, the British position became untenable as French and American cannon could hit any target within the British lines.  Cornwallis was compelled to take refuge in a cave on the coastal shore to escape bombardment.  On the morning of October 17^th, a British drummer appeared on a parapet accompanied by a British officer waving a white handkerchief.  On October 19^th, 8,000 British troops marched out of Yorktown and laid down their arms.

The news of victory electrified the colonies and conversely caused great despair in England.  Upon hearing of the surrender, British Prime Minister Lord North exclaimed: “Oh God, it’s all over.”  Lord North was correct though it would take two more years to negotiate the Treaty of Paris ending the war and establishing the United States as an independent nation. 

Through more than six years, the Americans persevered through losses on the battlefield and adversity in between.  They hung on long enough for the right conditions to arise in September-October of 1781: 1) sufficient forces in the form of French and American troops to challenge a major British army who were; 2) isolated in a position where; 3) the British Navy could offer no relief.