Yorktown or Bust: Barker, Robert J. Becker, Joshua D. Behrens, Bryce E. Beier, Jared B. Noncommissioned Officer Academy On 17 Oct 1777, the colonist victory at Saratoga was a morale boost for the colonial army and a blow to the ego of the English. Early 1781 most of the war in northern colonies had grown stagnant. General George Washington and General Sir Henry Clinton were at a stale mate in New York. The war in the south became the strategic point of attack for the British. With Cornwallis having major victories in key southern towns such as Savannah and Charleston, British forces were on the rise and pushing north. Cornwallis continued to push north chasing the southern colonial army with Nathaniel Greene in command. Greene found success by never attacking Cornwallis’s full force, but by small units and gorilla style warfare. Always staying a step ahead by being a lighter moving and staying unpredictable with his movements, Greene finally lost Cornwallis on the Dan River in Virginia. The colonial army crossed the river by sending a scout …show more content…
The American troops occupied the right side of the battlefield and the French held the left command by Rochambeau. On September 28, Washington reconnoitered the enemy’s placement on the field and planned his attack. That night Cornwallis’s men deserted their outpost. Cornwallis sent word to Sir Henry Clinton for reinforcements from the British fleets and army. Cornwallis later learned that Clinton’s departure has been delayed, and he would not be receiving the reinforcements he desperately needed. The British had artillery, but it could not reach as far as the heavy artillery the French had, and the British suffered heavy bombardments day and night. On the night of September 29, Cornwallis tried to evacuate at night across the bay, but a violent windstorm caused them to abandon the