Guilford Courthouse, Yorktown and the "Little-Man"

Yorktown was our last stop of the trip. This was where Cornwallis finally surrendered to the American army on October 19, 1781. Following the “long, obstinate and bloody” battle at Guilford Courthouse the tide was turned in favor of the Americans and the path was set for the siege and surrender of Yorktown.

The day before we had the opportunity to tour the Guilford Courthouse battlefield with Lawrence Babits. Though Nathaniel Greene’s patriot force could not count this as a battle won, this battle was an incredibly important turning point in the war. Both the British and American forces suffered great losses in this battle. At this point the British were not well supplied and had lost their foothold in the Southern colonies, particularly the Carolinas. 

Babits’ tour around the battlefield proved to be very insightful and informative in picturing the stages of the battle he described in his book, Long, Obstinate and Bloody: The Battle of the Guilford Courthouse. Like in his other work, Babits focuses on telling the individual soldier’s story. Nathaniel Greene led the militia, the Continental army, and state troops in this battle. While we toured the battlefield, I could not help but think about the individual men and their motives for fighting. While some maybe were fighting for freedom, some were just fighting to end the war and return life to normal.  

As we toured Yorktown and looked out over the surrender field, I thought about the individual men that took part in the siege. In cooperation with the French, the Americans set siege to Yorktown beginning on October 6, 1781 and began bombarding the British positions until a cease-fire was requested on October 17 and Cornwallis asked to negotiate surrender terms. 

Surrender Fields

The men that took part in this siege again had an array of motives. While the regular French soldier had little personal interest in the war, Patriots had interest ranging from liberty and freedom to simply maintaining their way of life and ending the war. While thinking about the “little-man” and his experience and motives in all of the battles discussed on our trip, I truly gained a new appreciation for their sacrifice, courage and bravery.

Yorktown was a great place to end our American Revolution tour. Each of the places we visited and discussed led to the ultimate British surrender at Yorktown. Overall it was a great trip and I came away from it with a better understanding of the American Revolution, particularly in the South.