Summer of 1781British General

Charles Cornwallis Set up headquarters

in Yorktown, VAChoose this site

because it was on the Chesapeake BayEasy to supply troops

BUT it was not easy to defend

Yorktown , VirginiaOn the Chesapeake

BayBoth the French and

the Americans encircled Yorktown

The French navy took control of the bay

The Cornwallis and his men were trappedBy mid-October they were running out of food and

ammunitionConsidered the last major battle of the war

On October 19, 1781 Cornwallis surrendered

It was a siege that lasted 3 weeks

This is the house in which Cornwallis surrendered

Cornwallis’s second in command tries to give Cornwallis’s sword to the French general

BUT the French tell him to give it to Washington

Washington tells the British officer to give it to Washington’s second in command

What do you think about this?

After the war, Washington stops by a meeting of Congress He retires as the leader of the army Congress thanks him for his service

April 1782

Both the British and the Americans meet to negotiate a peace treaty

John Jay, Ben Franklin and John Adams represent America

What the Americans wantedBritain to accept

America as an independent country

Wanted ALL British troops to leave American lands

The British agreed

The treaty was signed on September 2, 1783The treaty named the United States of

America as a new country

From Georgia to the Great Lakes From the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River

Slide 1 The surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004670530/

Slice 4 Surrender of Cornwallis at York-Town http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b50926/

Slide 5 House of Cornwallis’s surrender http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008679623/

Slide 10 map g3300 ar004000 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3300.ar004000

Slide 6 George Washington http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002698184/