1. Ch. 6, Section 4: The War is Won pg. 183  Main Idea: The American colonies overcame many disadvantages to win independence.  Key Terms:  Ratify  Ambush

2. Victory at Yorktown  Washington planned a complex and secretive takeover at Yorktown, Virginia, in hopes of surprising Cornwallis.  Washington was originally going to attack New York City because he was expecting a French fleet to arrive there to help.  The French fleet never reached New York City because the British fleet trapped them in Newport.  Washington planned an attack on Yorktown instead.

4. Yorktown  Washington knew the British expected him at New York City,  change would surprise and confuse British  He learned that a second French fleet was to arrive near Chesapeake Bay, would meet at Yorktown.

5. Victory at Yorktown  The Yorktown plan was kept secret. Three groups were to meet there and surprise the British.  Most of the soldiers did not even know where they were marching or why.  1. In August 1781, Admiral Francois de Grasse’s fleet was to land along the Virginia coast near Yorktown.  2. In July the first French fleet that was trapped in Newport would meet Washington’s troops and march south to Yorktown. Their commander was General Rochambeau.  3. A third group from the west under Anthony Wayne was to march toward Yorktown, Virginia.

6. Victory at Yorktown  The plan worked. By the end of September, 14,000 American and French troops trapped Cornwallis’s 7,500 troops.  The British troops could not escape by sea because de Grasse’s troops blocked them.  The rest of the British Army was in New York under General Clinton waiting for Washington’s attack, unable to help Cornwallis in the South.

7. Yorktown is won!  On October 11th, American and French troops bombarded the British. On October 19th, Cornwallis surrendered. The Patriots had won the Battle of Yorktown.

8. Independence  Fighting continued after the Battle of Yorktown, but the British realized the war was too costly to continue.  Delegates from both sides met in Paris. After a preliminary treaty was ratified in April 1783, the final Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3 rd, 1783. It said that

9. Treaty of Paris  1. Britain recognized the United States as an independent nation  2. The United States territory extended from the Atlantic Ocean west to the Mississippi River and from Canada in the north to Spanish Florida in the south  3. The British promised to withdraw all troops and agreed to give Americans the right to fish off the coast of Canada.

10. Treaty of Paris  4. The United States agreed that British merchants could collect on debts owed by Americans  5. Property taken from Loyalists would be returned to them

11. George Washington Retires  George Washington gave up his command and on December 4 gave his farewell speech.  Two weeks later, he formally resigned and returned home to Mount Vernon.

12. Independence  American won the war against the world’s strongest power.  1. Americans fought on their own land.  2. Americans controlled the countryside, where they knew the local terrain, even though Britain captured their cities.  3. Help from other nations contributed to the victory.  4. Mostly, the people fought the battles with determination and belief in their ideals.