A white flag of truce held aloft. A simple symbol that meant so much on that 17th of October. It was 1781 and it had been six hard years of fighting since Lexington and Concord. With the flag of truce, the Continental Army had a decisive victory over Cornwallis' army pinned against the James River in Yorktown using a coalition of French troops and navy with the Continental Army. The 18th was a day of negotiations and deliberations. A thrill of victory elated the spirits of the victorious as they watched their British foes march away with arms reversed on October 19th when the terms of surrender were agreed upon; however, their feeling was temporary. The fighting was not over. Indeed, it would not be over until the peace brought by the treaty made it ashore and into the farthest frontier places of the British Empire and the new American nation. This happened nearly two years later because of difficulties in traveling around the world to inform everyone that the war was finally over. But at that time and place they had a significant victory, and to the British, it was a significant enough of a victory to realize that it was useless to continue. It was only later that Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown was viewed as the final battle of the Revolutionary War.
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| The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis is an oil painting by John Trumbull. The painting was completed in 1820, and hangs in the rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. - From Wikipedia |
Some might recognize July 4th, 1776, as the most significant date in the history of the United States, since that is the date most associated with our national independence. But July 4th would only be a vague date of a piece of trivia had not Lord Cornwallis given the order to surrender. Nor would it be remembered had the war ended badly for Washington. As October 17th and 19th come and go this year, it is easy to not remember their significance. They will probably pass without much media or social comment since 2015 is not a significant anniversary year (The 234th anniversary). Still, without that surrender, the war could have dragged on. The United States, for all it's worth, good or bad, would not have existed if the British held out. Because of that surrender, our national history began, our independence was validated, and the separation from Britain was complete.
Just some thoughts I have on this date.
