Arizona weekly citizen., 1881-10-23
THE sURRENDEE OF LORD ooaEwALLls.


 THE SURRENDER OF LORD coaEwALLls. 5 Last Wednesday was the centennial anniversary of the formal surren- der of Lord Cornwallis at York
 town to tho allied forces, the Americans and French, who con- bined to humble the arrogant British and establish the autonomy of the American colonies. As the event is be- ing commemorated to-day upon the , ground made historical by it, brief de-
 scription of the surrender as detailed in history may not be uninteresting: At the
 head of tine respective lines were the commanding generals nobly mounted
 Washington, Rochambeau, Lincoln. La
 fayette, Steuben, Knox and the rest.
 Leading the British came General
 OHara instead pf COrnwaIlis, who was
 absent, claiming to be sick He sent his
 sword by O'Hara, who offered it to
 Washington, apologizing for the absence
 of his chief Washington eoldly direc-
 ted mm to deliver it to General Lincoln.
 a bit of poetic retribution for the disre-
 spect shown Lincoln at Charlestown in
 compelling him to render his sword to
 another than the commander. Each
 company as 1t reached the line marked
 by French or American guide, halted
 and faced to the American staff and
 grounded arms. VOn Seybothen, Colo
 nel of the Bayreuthian regiment. led his
 men into the circle Of the gorgeous
 French cavalry. Present arms! Lay
 down armsl Put off swords and car
 fridge boxes" His cheeks were wet
 with tears A corporal in the Seventy
 sixth ieelingly clasped his musket to his
 breast and threw it down with the
 words. "May you never get so good a master" Seven thousand two hundred and forty-seven soldiers and officers and $40 seamen surrendered, with 24 regi-
 mental standards ard PA pieces of ar
 tillery. One hundred and fifty-six of the enemy were killed and 326 wounded during the siege. The American loss was 20 killed, 56 wounded: that of the French, j2 killed and 134 wounded. Ho- 1 sanua, with salutes and banquets, ora tions and bonfires, resounded from one boundary of the colonies to the other. l | Ie Deum was sung in Paris and house ! fronts illuminated, by order of Louis | XVI, for the victory. Even in Great | Britain the news was not received with | unmiGed chagIin. Fox heard of the ca | pitulation with unconcealed delight. It | was the last stroke of the conflict. Clin- | ton returned to New York, the Ameri- | can wing to the Hudson, the French re- maining about Yorktown till sprng. | George III. was unshaken in his fatuous | obstinacy, but opinion as to the policy of continuing the war changed rapidly in Parliament after this disaster. On the | 27th of February an anti-war address to the King was carried in the Commons | without division, followed March 4th by resolution that the House would consider as enemies to his Majesty and the country all those who should advise, or by any means attempt, the further prosecution of offensive war on the con then. of North America for the purpose Of reducing the revolted colonies to obe- dience by force" Peace was assured. The struggle from Lexington to York town was crowned with success, the ar .,.s, - hc-=e of Hanover humblei, CO., lonial independence achieved and ac- knowledged On the Both of November, l7S2. provisional articles of peace were signed by commissioners from both countries; the defnitive treaty was for mally ratified oD September 3, 17S3.
 After the lapse of a century the nation is redeeming pledge made immediate ly after this glorious occasion. On the 25th of October, 17Sl, the Continental Congress, then in session at Philadel- phia, adopted a resolution to erect a monument on the field at Yorktown, where the last and decisive blow was struck by the combined armies of the struggling Colonies and their allies. The news of COrnwallis' surrender, on Octo- Der 18th, 17S2, had been almost a week reaching Philadelphia, and it was nearly midnight on the night of October 24th that a courier arrived bringing the glad tidings. Within few minutes the whole city was informed of the welcome intel ligence, and great was tine rejoicing among all classes of citizens. When Congress met the next day, its President, Thomas Mckean, read the dispatches from General Washington, and then the members marched in a body to the near est church and returned thanks to the Almighty for this great victory. After that, on the same day, resolution was passed for the building of monument commemorative Of the event, and pledg- ing the credit of the new nation for it's performance. The subsequent financial difficulties of the new Republic led to the silent neglect of the project, and when the Republic prospered and money was more plentiful the resolution of the Continental Congress was entirely for gotten. The approaching centennial an- niversary of the surrender of Conwalis led to the appropriation by Congress Of ( the sum af Sl4l0O0 to construct the monument and redeem the pledge made so long ego. On Tuesday, the 18th of October, just one hundred years after the celebrated agreement to surrender, the cornerstone of the monument was laid on the Yorktown battlefield. The l 10th was the centennial anniversary of the surrender of S,000British troops to the allied forces of America and France. It is not only national affair, for another l nation shares with us in the glory of the and France Is fitly repre- sented by delegates from its Govern ment and by q number of distinguished French citizens who have crossed the ocean to dohonor on this great occasion. At the same time, the German Govern { ment has permitted the descendants of of Baron Steuben, distinguished Ger man officer, who served under Washing l ton for long time during the Colonial struggle and who commanded division at the siege of Yorktown, to come to this | country to take part in the centennial 
 DAVID DAVIS occupies the most lm- { portant and responsible position any