Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1921-06-08
YORKTOWN MAY
Be MADE SHRINE
Scene of Corvallis Surrender
to Be Preserved as One of
Nations Historic Spots.
secret BASE IN WORLD WAR
Harbor Sheltered Greater Part of At
lzntic Fleet, the Anchorage Being
Alluded to in Official Commune
cations as "Base 2"

WashingtOn.-The historic battle
/ field of Yorktown, Va, where the Brit
ish general, CORVALLIS, surrendered,
/ and where for all practical purposes
the American Revolution was brought
to Il victorious conclusion, may soon
] be made into a shrine TO share pOpu-
Iarity with Bunker Hill, Valley Forge
and Mt. Vernon.
The little village and its surround
ingS form tie subject of the following
bulletin issued from the Washington
headquarters of the National Geo
. graphic society:
Though Yorktown was not Il thrfv
ing community nor a place noted for
its accessibility during Revolutionary
days, it was relatively much more i'm
p0rtant and much less remote from
the daily life of the country than it
has been at any time since. Most 9th
or American towns were small in those
days, ports were few, and railroads
were unthOught of. AS cities have
sprung up where there were only ham
lets or patches of wilderness before,
and as railroads have brought even
the two oceans relatively closer to-
gether, Yorktown, at a point where
little commerce has been developed,
and without rail connections, has be-
come in effect more and more remote,
and its character rs sleepy village
Has become mere and more empha-
sized
Site OF Surrender Tiny Village.
THE Yorktown of today is a com
munity of less than go inhabitants
with a few fine old colonial homes
and number of less pretentious
dwellings. The nearest railroad lies
eight mites to the south In the town
is a monument erected in 1881 ON the
one hundredth anniversary of the sur
render of the British. AS Il reminder
of the early Importance of Yorktown
there still exists the first customs
house in the United States. Near the
village are remains of the forts and
redoubts whose capture by the HevO-
lutionary soldiers and their French
allies marked the real birth of the
United States. The scene of Corn
wallis STANDARDIZATION was by proxy
through his General O'Hara-is be-
lieyed to be in the open country just
south of the village.
yorktown is OH narrow peninsula
lying between the wide estuaries of
the james and York rivers, and is
where the latter meets Chesapeake
bay. CORVALLIS, after scOurglng Yir-
ginia, burning homes, killing and driv-
ing off stock, and capturing large
numbers of slaves, retired down the
peninsula to Yorktown. Lafayette,
with handful of American soldiers,
followed at a distance. 1t was when,
this situation was pointed out to
Washington that he was persuaded to
abandon his plan to attack New York
and instead to take his own forces
from West Point and Rochanibeau's
division from Providence, Il. l., to
stake all on battle in the south The
arrival of De Grasse with a French |
feet in the Chesapeake, blocking the !
entrance to that bay and preventing !
re-enforcements reaching CORVALLIS, |
made the defeat of $the latter ineyi-
table.
Harbor Used in World War.
at is not strange that CORVALLIS |
considered Yorktown good location |
for military headquarters in spite Of
the ease with which the peninsula |
might be blocked, II possesses a truly
remarkable water harbor, and Corn
wallis counted on the maintenance Of |
communication by water with the
heavy British forces in New York.
''Yorktown's harbor was put to good
use during the World war and so for
the second time played an important
part in the country's martial history
In the mouth of the York river oppo-
site the famous village the greater
part of the Atlantic fleet at times rode
at anchor. There, behind the defenses
at the entrance to the Chesapeake and
further protected by nets and patrols