Washington's Last Shot: the Siege at Yorktown

By 1781, America had been at war for six years. General Washington was exhausted, and his unpaid troops were nearing the end of their service and bordering on mutiny.

When critical French military support finally arrived, Washington realized he desperately needed a decisive victory. Yorktown became his one last shot for success .

British General Lord Cornwallis had marched 9,000 troops into Virginia, hunkering down in Yorktown to await resupply and reinforcements from the Royal Navy .

Seeing Cornwallis's strategic blunder, Washington feinted an attack on New York before vigorously marching his 20,000-strong Franco-American army south to Virginia.

The British resupply fleet never arrived. On September 5, French warships heavily defeated the British Navy at the Battle of the Capes, forcing them to abandon Cornwallis .

Arriving on September 28, the French secured the left flank and the Americans the right. Cornwallis was completely trapped with his back to the York River.

Under the cover of darkness, American and French troops worked feverishly with spades and axes to dig a series of parallel siege trenches encircling the British .

On October 9, the Allied artillery barrage began. General Washington symbolically touched off the first American cannon to kick off a ceaseless, devastating assault

For nearly a week, fourteen Allied guns pounded the British defenses day and night. The deliberate night firing prevented the British from repairing their damages .

To move their siege lines closer, the Allies had to capture British Redoubts 9 and 10.  These were standalone defensive forts acting as an outer shield that blocked the path to the main British lines. Washington planned a daring surprise attack for a moonless night on October 14 .

For absolute silence, soldiers were ordered to rely solely on fixed bayonets with unloaded muskets. The password "Rochambeau" was translated by Americans to "Rush on boys!"

Alexander Hamilton led 400 light infantry against Redoubt 10. Sappers hacked away wooden obstacles as the Americans descended into the fort for brutal close-quarters combat.

The Americans overwhelmed the British, taking Redoubt 10 with only 34 casualties, while French forces simultaneously wrested control of Redoubt 9 after a fierce fight.