Evening star., 1955-11-16
Maps Showing Yorktown Siege
Given Fort Belyoir BY French
By JOHN STEP

LOTTO DIG3Q anu 1UtsGt 1E1t14 2
has brought Fort Belvoir original
maps Of the Revolutionary Wars
climactic battle Of yorktown and
q contemporary account of the
siege.
The gifts came ss 8 token Of
appreciation froEd Nal Gen.
Robert Pinson. chief Of French
engineers.
Earlier this year. Gen. Rinson
was visiting In the United States
and was invited 10 Belv0ir's
Army Engineering Center BY
Mai. Gen. Louis w. Prentiss.
commanding officer. for Q three
day grand tour.
One OF the highlights was 3
special exhibit Of the museums
French military relics.
Expression Of Pleasure
SO pleased and impressed with
the whole visit was the French
engineer chief that back home
the following month he wrote
Gen. Prentiss:
In remembrance Of my stay
and Of the hearty welcome that
ynu yourself gave me. would you
please accept for the museum
the original manuscripts about
the siege OF Yorktown. Virginia.
LET this record of the siege
Be the token Of our old and un-
falling friendship. Z
The documents concern the
climactic battle os the revolution
the siege of yorktown. Septela-
Der so 10 October IN, 1871. when
washington, Rochambeau and
Lafayette pinned Lord Cornwall
lis III the port city and pounded
him into submission with heavy
artillery
& The papers. gifts Of the French
sngineer chief. include three maps
showing the disposition OF the
French and American troops and
their siege parallels. " the lines
Of entertainments and gun po-
sitions which throttled the British
Ia Yorktown.
The maps accurate and care
fully detailed were IN all prob
ability prepared under the super
vision Of the French general
Louis le Begue du Portal. Gen.
WaShington's chief engineer.
The fourth item Is the hand
written account Of the 1s-day
kiege prepared by the chief of the
French engineers on the scene, de-
Querenet de n Cornbe. Just after
the surrender.
I54 Years in France
Since all the documents were
The work of Frenchmen. they
have reposed these 174 years In
The French archives.
They are soon 10 Be placed on
display ID the Engineer Center
Museum at BeIVcir. There, ac-I
|lbording to Raleigh 3. Buzzaird.
cl1rator. they win rank with the
most important exhibits On hand.
Actually there Il i fifth docu-
sshent among the new acquigi-
lions. It Is an identical report
penned by de 0uerenet on the
yorktown Siege.
fauerene1 probably hAd I'll
write two copies for his govern
tnert, just As We have ID have
4 carbons 81 eyeryfhinR for
ds1rs. !" Mr.. HuzzaiTd said.
The papers. moreover, would
have been ready for exhibit
sooner had II not been FOR the
fact that tl1e old French en-
plOyed hy the clroniclers drove
The translators into ancient
French dictionaries.
CORVALLIS was set up for the
ihlldward kill at the battle III
Yorktown when the French iieetI
under Admiral de Grasse was
dispatched 10 America and drove
the BrItisll fleet away froraI
Yorktown. ~
The battle Itself was planned
and carried out along the classic
lines of the military siege at
that era II was mostly i Dig
sing and artillery fire operation.
With the pick and shovel corps
digging iirst ii Oaiterniost
parallel looping partly around
the town. then the closer line of
Entertainments and breatWurks
from which the cannon could
pumnael the British from closer
range.
British Fenced iii
The Yorktown parallels were
I'd the so1th and suuthwess of
the port Owing IA the presence
Df an impossible swamp to the
west and northwest If the town,
lighter elnplacerlents were sum.
Eient to contain the British,
whose backs were to the York
River on all other quarters.
Du Querenet made these.
among other, entries on the de-
pelcpment of the aIl-inaporsant
1 parallels.
on the nine tOcfober) We
started the construction Of q
mortar battery III front II the
left side Of the flrgt foutermost)
parallel. During the afternoon
the batteries negafl "a fire and
reduced those Of the enemy To
silence. On the ten, all the bat
teries could IRE.
During the night iO-ii. the
battery on the left atfsnk burnt
q Warship lying hroadslde to the
river bank. and some transport
ships The first parallel and its
redcubts having attained per-
fsction, We decided on the trace
Of the second one.
During the NIGHT t1-l2 we
started the second parailel and
we laid out the redonbts neces-
kaEy to its security ard b flae
completion 0g the batteries. we
also started the communication
ttenches ID the first parallel.
Then. with mild inderstate-
si1ent, du 0uesenet added This
work. TOO clos To the enemy Tor