Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1881-11-02
YORKTOWN,

BRIEF HISTORICAL sKEfcH -GRS, ~ rEy-
nRHR OPINION or COHSwALLlh-DfH'
GRnTi0S Or fHg ViILAGH ANb huh'
BOuSIdNGs - PINE SPEECH or rBRaI
DFSF ARTHUR R-BRIufIruL AMY ASp
NAVY DISPLAYS,
God lad predetermined the working
ont Of tho great problem. the possibility
Of selfeoyernment In the New World
IN tho light oi Christianity, which II civ
ilization, which, again, " gia'anteeiam
at once Of tho rights Of tho individual
IN mbOrdinaiion to tho rights OF tho
community, without the immediate in
terventiOn Of oppressive authority
These romafkR are maryelously Ana'
tanned by the series Of events which cul'
minated In tho capture Of Yorktown.
10 initiate the experiment, "the good
aud gallant CORVALLIS had to bo crush
ed, whom even Col, Garden, while con-
dcmning his severity, inycsiS with "tho
lusier OF dnuntless intrepidity," andadds
the greater praise that ho was "patient
In supporting difficulties, indeiatigable
In surlnounting them" Even after tho
junction Of Wayne. says Gen. DePoy.
stor, the historian. CORVALLIS ropulsod
tho Americans with u severe loss in kill
cd and wounded and their cannon,
Night alone saved the Americans, This
was at Green Springs All tho credit
In this affair belongs TO Wayne, kapp,
In his life Of Steubcn, is terrific on La
Fayutte in treating OF this period, I'm
auestionably Clinton in New York was
completely dupcd and suffered himself
TO DO "bottlod' up, although no had
over $4,000 electives. which was cor
tainly more than one.third Washington
and Rochambeau could place in line
Of battle against him.
On tho 9th Of September Washing.
ton received intelligence OF tho arrival
of Do Grasse in the Chesapeake. On
tho very same day Graves appeared OIL
the entrance Of the bay with n British
ileot, and had ho been an entorprising
sailor ho might have antedated Nelson's
triumph at Aboukir by nineteen years.
Instead Of boldly standing in and acting
on Greenos idea Of "Victory or Ruin y
and attacking DeGmsse at anchor, while
there were 100 of his seamen absent
assisting the land forces, thus neutraliz.
ing the htter's advantage in vessels and
guns, he allowed him to slip or cut his
cables, put to sea, and bring his whole
superiority to bear. Graves got the
worst of il and had to draw off to New
York to reft, whereupon De Gmsse re-
turned to his former anchorage Mean
while taking advantage Of these circum-
stances the French admiral, De Barras,
had slipped in with the French seige
material, and as far as human combina-
tions wero concerned, il Corvallis
chose to remain and be shut mp, his fate
was sealed.
Lafayette could not have prevented
his escape now or at any time. Corn.
wallis was lost through his confidence
in being promptly relieved and rein
forced by Clinton when he would have
turned the tables on the allies with a
vengeance. CORVALLIS was not a bit
afraid of them. When they first pre-
sented themselves before his outer lines
he was very anxious that they should
attack him. Washington, cold and
cautious, imbued with common sense,
saw through the lure, could not be de-
luded by it, and restrained the more i'm
petuous French. He was we'll aware OF
the ability with which CORVALLIS could
handle a little army; he knew how
against great odds the gallant English
man had smashed up his right on the
Brandywine in 1777, and if it had been
he, instead OF the indolent Howe, would
have harvested the fruits of the victory
in Delaware.
On the night of the 18th CORVALLIS
undertook to transfer his army to the
the Gloucester side, with the design of
breaking through the line of the be-
siegers and escaping to New York, bat
q storm prevented the carrying out OF
the plan. On the 18th, the anniversary
of Burgoyne's surrender, the British
from their parapets beat the "parley."
Thereupon the cannonading ceased and
hostilities were suspended "a hours. A
commission of officers from both armies
met at the Moore house and agreed
upon terms of unconditional surrender.
On the 10Th the British troops marched
out "with colors cased" and drums beat
ing the British air. "The World Turned
Upside Down." and laid down their
arms, the surrender being made to
Lincoln, who had year after suffered a
like humiliation at Charleston. A day af-
ter, Clinton appeared with the reinforce
ments, only to learn of the surrender.
The event filled the hearts OF the patri'
OTIS with elation and these of the British
ministry with despair. The House OF
Commons prevented the further prose-
cution of the war and carly in 1882
ordered the ministry to make peace with
America. November 30, 1882, the pro-
visional articles were signed by commits
sioners of both countries, and Septem-
ber 3, 1888. the treaty was formally
ratified.
Sitting facts, s.nalyzing reports and
calculating closely, it is probable that
CORVALLIS with a force nominally OF
5000, of whom disease had left not more
than one.half $500 to 1910 effectives,
was surrounded by over 10000 to 3D.
600, comprising American continentals
or regulars 60OO or 1000, militia 5000,
French regulars under Rochambeau
5000, under the Marquis de Saint
Simon $500, marines 1000, besides de-
tachments from the "garrisons OF the
fleet" anil 1900 to 100 seamen mobiliz-
ed for the occasion, whose numbers
have never entered into any calculation
of the besieging forces.
Butler was right when he declared
negroes aud negro labor, slaves, contra
band of war. The 1900 to 100 sailors
that De Gnsse landed to assist the
allies were as important to the success
of the siege rs the soldiers. Thsy
lightened the labors of the troops Just
as the English "navvies' sent ont from
England to work in the trenches before
were indispensable auxil-
aries. The veterans of CORVALLIS,
afflicted with fever, had to construct
their own defenses, and after a siege,
proper, of scarcely two weeks. disease
and fatigue had invalided exactly one
half of his numerical strength.