Well, gee, no, I don't find any history books that say the British
opposition at Yorktown was a large french army. It was a
"Franco-American" army, approximately 6,000 french under Rochambeau and
9,000 of the Continental Army (CA) under Washington and La Fayette. The
Brits, under Cornwallis, were outnumbered but not by a French army.
Actually, the Continental Army (CA) was made up, in great part, by
formerly conscript Hessian soldiers who had deserted their involuntary
service with the Austrians and Brits and enlisted in the CA on promise
of land grants, etc, when the war was over. Another part was several
rebel militias, which the Brits didn't think could fight. The rest were
re-enlisted rebels from the original cadres and other volunteers.
The rebel Virginia Militia was a force the Brits brought on
themselves, by pillaging a formally pacific countryside on the word of
a few Virginia Tories who were after feathering their own nests. The
commander of the Tory irregulars was a particularly bloodthirsty british
officer. He got himself killed eventually, by the Virginians.
If the french fleet, under De Grasse hadn't defeated the british
fleet in the Chesapeake Bay and blockaded the York river, preventing the
british troop and supply ships getting in, Cornwallis would have been
reinforced or evacuated to fight another day. Instead, he was stuck and
had to capitulate.
It is on record that Cornwallis tried to surrender to a french
general officer, attached to Washington's staff, because he didn't want
to surrender to a "ragtag militia officer." Poor old Cornwallis lost
twice to Washington; once at Trenton and Princeton up north and finally
at Yorktown in the south. Bad Karma.
In Cornwallis' defense, he didn't want to fortify Yorktown,
recognising that it wasn't good ground to defend. Governor-General
Clinton insisted, and Cornwallis obeyed. Clinton thought the British
navy could support Cornwallis if the nitty got gritty. However, the
french won the naval battle and Cornwallis' goose was cooked.
Interesting stuff, huh?
CR
Barrie Robinson wrote:
>
>
> As to history I do not suppose that many will remember that the
> relatively small British army at the battle of Yorktown had to face a
> large French army and navy imported through Ben Franklin's lobbying
> during many years residency in France.
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