2. Yorktown, Virginia  Yorktown is a small town on the coast of Virginia  Cornwallis digs in here and waits for help from Sir Henry Clinton in New York City

3. General Sir Henry Clinton  While Cornwallis fights it out in Georgia and the Carolinas…  …He’s crashing in New York…  …Ignoring Cornwallis’ almost daily letters and pleas for help

4. The Trap is Set  Washington now has the support of the French Navy  He musters every soldier he can find and marches south to Virginia  Greene turns north from the Carolinas  Lafayette and von Steuben close in from the west

5. The Battle of the Chesapeake  Cornwallis begs Clinton to send ships to get him out of Yorktown while there is still time…  …Clinton promises help and help never comes  By the time the British navy arrives at the Chesapeake Bay, they are soundly defeated by the French  Cornwallis’s last avenue of escape is closed off

6. The Siege of Yorktown  September 28, 1781: American and French forces surround Yorktown  The American and French cannons begin to bomb Yorktown  The siege lines move closer and closer and finally take the outer British defenses on October 14  Cornwallis asks for terms on October 17

7. The Surrender of Cornwallis

8.  Cornwallis surrenders on October 17, 1781  Yorktown is the last major battle of the American Revolution…America has won the war  Upon hearing the news of Cornwallis’ surrender, Prime Minister Lord North screamed “Oh God, it’s all over!”  Everyone blames Sir Henry Clinton for the loss  King George wants to keep fighting but Prime Minister North gets kicked out of office in the next election

9. The Treaty of Paris, 1783  The Treaty of Paris formally ends the war in 1783  1. Great Britain must formally recognize American independence  2. Great Britain must withdraw all of its soldiers from the United States  3. The United States gets all the land east of the Mississippi River

10. The United States, 1783

11. Toward the Future  Almost all British soldiers withdraw from U.S. territories by the end of November, 1783  Washington resigns his commission and returns to Mount Vernon on December 23, 1783  Washington’s resignation stunned Europe: they anticipated Washington becoming a new Caesar  “General Washington, for his resignation, is the greatest character of his age,” – King George III

12. Toward the Future  Washington’s resignation is one of the finest moments of his career  By resigning he is stating his intention that America will not be ruled by a dictator or a military commander  But what form of government will rise in America?