. 276 CORNWALLIS SURRENDERS. Upon be appointed to discuss terms of capitulation. While Washington in reply expressed his "ardent desire to spare the further effusion of blood," and his willingness to discuss such terms as were admissible, still he could not waste time in fruitless negotiations, and therefore desired that Cornwallis immediately transmit his proposition in writing, for which purpose hostilities would be pended for two hours only.* Upon receipt of Cornwallis's proposal, it was seen that there would be no difficulty in adjusting the terms of capitulation, and the suspension was con tinued throughout the night. In the meantime, Washington drew up such articles as he would be willing to grant and transmitted them to Cornwallis with the request that, if these articles were approved, commission. ers be appointed at once to draft a capitulation. Washington insisted, however, that the decision be prompt and the negotiations conducted rapidly. Cornwallis accepted Washing ton's terms, and on October 19 Yorktown and Gloucester were surrendered to the allied French and American troops.+ The chief stipulations were as follows: 66 The troops to be prisoners of war to Congress, and the naval force to France; the officers to retain their side-arms and private property of every kind, but everything obviously belonging to the inhabitants of the United States, to be subject to be reclaimed; the soldiers to be kept in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and to be supplied with the same rations as are allowed the soldiers in the service of Congress; a proportion of the officers to march into the country with the prisoners, the rest to be allowed to proceed on parole to Europe, to New York, or to any other American maritime post in possession of the British." Washington, however, refused to allow the British the honor of marching out with colors flying, treating Cornwallis as General Lincoln had been treated at Charleston. Lincoln was also appointed to receive the submission of the British troops in precisely the same manner as his own submission had been conducted about a year and a half previously.* Fiske states that the British band played a * Dr. Thacher, in his Military Journal, pp. 278281, gives a very interesting account of the circumstances connected with this eventful day. Lord Cornwallis, on the plea of indisposition, did not show himself on this occasion, General O'Hara acting as his representative. See also Irving, Life of Washington, vol. iv., p. 409 et seq. Thacher also states (p. 283), what should not be forgotten, that Cornwallis's army regularly and systematically plundered in every direction, and that his lordship's table was served with plate pillaged from private families. Probably more than £3,000,000 sterling worth of property was destroyed by the royal army during the six months previous to its surrender at Yorktown. THE SURRENDER OF LORD CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN. From the painting in the Capitol at Washington, painted by John Trumbull about 1820. CLINTON RETURNS TO NEW YORK. quaint old melody entitled "The World Turned Upside Down." * Exclusive of seamen, the total number of prisoners was about 7,000. The British loss during the siege was between 500 and 600; the American loss in killed and wounded was about 300. On the very day that Cornwallis capitulated, Clinton sailed from New York to relieve him, arriving at the Virginia Capes on October 24; but when he learned of the surrender he immediately returned to New York. In recognition of the conduct of the officers and soldiers during the siege, Congress bestowed thanks upon the commanderin-chief, the French officers, and the various minor generals and through them upon the rank and file. On the day following the surrender, the general orders closed as follows: "Divine service shall be performed tomorrow, in the different brigades and divisions. The commander-in-chief recommends, that all the troops that are not on duty, do assist at it with a serious deportment, and that sensibility of heart which the recollection of the surprising and particular interposition of Providence in our favor claims." Congress also issued * American Revolution, vol. ii., p. 283. See the statistics in Carrington, Battles of the Revolution, pp. 642-643. Bancroft, vol. v., p. 522. See also Tench Tilghman, Diary of the Siege of Yorktown; Gordon, American Revolution, vol. iv., pp. 191-197 (ed. 1788); Drake, Life of Knox, pp. 69-73; Tarletons' Campaigns, pp. 372-393, 418-458; Lee's Memoirs, vol. ii., pp. 329-375. Holmes' Annals, vol. ii., p. 333. 277 a proclamation appointing December 13 as a day of thanksgiving and prayer. After the the capitulation, as De Grasse could not be induced to further aid the operations against the British in the South,* Washington sent 2,000 troops to reinforce the army under Greene, and dispatched the balance of the army to winter cantonment in the vicinity of New York. On November 27 he himself went to Philadelphia. The French troops remained in Virginia, and De Grasse sailed for the West Indies. While the allied armies had been completely successful in Virginia, and great advantages had been gained in the Carolinas, yet Washington did not relax his vigilance, and urged upon Congress and the country in general that preparations for another campaign should be begun. Writing to General Greene, he says: "I shall endeavor to stimulate Congress to the best improvement of our late success, by taking the most vigorous and effective measures to be ready for an early and decisive campaign the next year. My greatest fear is, that, viewing this stroke in a point of light which may too much magnify its importance, they may think our work too nearly closed, and fall into a state of languor and relaxation. To prevent this error, I For details regarding his attempts to secure aid from de Grasse, see Tower, Marquis de LaFayette, vol. ii., p. 458 et seq. 278 LAFAYETTE RETURNS TO FRANCE; LOYALIST ACTIVITIES. shall employ every means in my power; and if, unhappily, we sink into this fatal mistake, no part of the blame shall be mine." Perceiving that there was no prospect of further active service until the next campaign, Lafayette obtained permission from Congress in November to return to France, and upon his departure took with him not only the resolves of Congress complimentary to his zeal and services,* but also the consciousness of possessing the esteem and regard of the entire country. While Washington was conducting the operations against Cornwallis, the Loyalists of North Carolina had been quite active. A body of them under McNeil and McDougall had captured Hillsborough and had taken a number of prisoners. McNeil and some of his followers were subsequently killed in a skirmish with American troops, but McDougall succeeded in escaping the pursuit, and with a number of his prisoners, reached Wilmington in safety. This was practically the last of the Tory operations. CHAPTER XXXII. 1782-1783. ACTIVE WARFARE ENDS. Mobile district conquered Pensacola captured Operations in the Gulf region While the British were suffering disaster after disaster in the East, events of vast importance were occurring in the Gulf region and the West. In 1777 Don Bernardo de Galvez had become governor of Louisiana, and as soon as he learned that open hostilities existed between *See Sparks, Correspondence of the Revolution, vol. iii., pp. 452-453, note; Tower, Marquis de LaFayette, vol. ii., pp. 461-463. England and Spain, he began active preparations to drive the English from the Gulf region. In 1779 he compelled the surrender of Fort Bute at Bayou Manshac (or Manchac); Baton Rouge was taken as was Fort Panmure on the site of old Fort Rosalie, or modern Natchez; and three other garrisons were also captured.* In 1780 Galvez organized *The South in the Building of the Nation, vol. ii., p. 352; Phelps, Louisiana, pp. 139–146. |