Yorktown

In a dramatic turnaround of luck that may mark the end of fighting in the American colonies, Lord Charles Cornwallis today signed orders surrendering his British Army to a combined French and American force outside the Virginia tobacco harbor of Yorktown. Charles O'Hara, Cornwallis' second-in-command, attempted to give Cornwallis' sword to French general Comte de Rochambeau. But Rochambeau directed O'Hara to American General George Washington, who coolly guided the British officer to Washington's own second in command, Major General Benjamin Lincoln.

As a result, a three-week old siege that had begun with the unexpected union of French and American armies uniting on the Chesapeake Bay ended. With just a short window of opportunity to pin Cornwallis in Virginia, Washington and Rochambeau raced southward from New York to connect up with the French fleet under Admiral Comte de Grasse in Chesapeake Bay. They arrived just in time to ambush the British, who were expecting aid that never came from either General Henry Clinton or the British fleet.

Off shore, the French fleet successfully blocked help from Cornwallis. On shore, the nonstop gunfire of the French and American guns made life miserable for the British troops.

When a British officer finally appeared with a white flag on the walls surrounding Yorktown, the French and American guns became quiet. The Continental army released a meaningful cheer until Washington ordered it to end. "Let history huzzah for you," he shouted.

Cornwallis, who was injured, walked into Virginia yesterday followed by a force led by the Marquis de Lafayette, a supporter of American efforts both as a soldier in this country, and as an devoted general for the cause in France.

Cornwallis' surrender has ended a terrible southern campaign for the British army. Britain's strategy--bringing Loyalists from within the colonies to the British aid--had begun with high hopes and a victory in Charleston, South Carolina just a year and a half before thanks to the Loyalists. However, the plan backfired as Loyalist and Patriot armies in the south fought a series of savage fights that left both sides injured, but only the Patriots indifferent.

As Cornwallis' 8,000-man force became