Chapter 6 Section 4: The War is Won
I. Victory at Yorktown (Pages 183–185)
A. Delay of French Fleet
1. In July 1780, French warships arrived with 5,000 soldiers under the command of Comte de
Rochambeau.
a. Unfortunately the British Fleet arrived and trapped the French at Newport, RI.
2. Washington was originally going to attack New York City because he was expecting a
French fleet to arrive there to help.
3. The French fleet never reached New York City because the British fleet trapped them in
Newport.
4. Washington planned an attack on Yorktown instead.
a. He knew the British expected him at New York City, so this change would surprise and
confuse them.
b. He learned that a second French fleet was to arrive near Chesapeake Bay, and he hoped
that they would meet at Yorktown.
B. Change in Plans
1. The Yorktown plan was kept secret. Three groups were to meet there and surprise the
British.
a. In August 1781, Admiral François de Grasse’s fleet was to land along the Virginia
coast near Yorktown.
b. In July the first French fleet that was trapped in Newport would meet Washington’s
troops and march south to Yorktown.
i. Their commander was General Rochambeau.
c. A third group from the west under Anthony Wayne was to march toward Yorktown,
Virginia.
C. The Siege of Yorktown
1. The plan worked. By the end of September, 14,000 American and French troops trapped
Cornwallis’s 7,500 troops.
2. The British troops could not escape by sea because de Grasse’s troops blocked them. The
rest of the British Army was in New York under General Clinton, unable to help Cornwallis
in the South.
D. Cornwallis’ Defeat
1. On October 11, American and French troops bombarded the British. On October 19,
Cornwallis surrendered.
a. The Patriots had won the Battle of Yorktown.
Chapter 6 Section 4: The War is Won
II. Independence (Pages 185–187)
A. Treaty of Paris of 1783
1. Fighting continued after the Battle of Yorktown, but the British realized that the war was
too costly to continue.
2. Delegates from both sides met in Paris. After a preliminary treaty was ratified in April 1783,
the final Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783. It said that:
a. Britain recognized the United States as an independent nation
b. the United States territory extended from the Atlantic Ocean west to the Mississippi
River and from Canada in the north to Spanish Florida in the south
c. the British promised to withdraw all troops and agreed to give Americans the right to
fish off the coast of Canada
d. the United States agreed that British merchants could collect on debts owed by Americans
e. property taken from Loyalists would be returned to them
B. Washington’s Farewell
1. George Washington gave up his command and on December 4 gave his farewell speech.
a. Two weeks later, he formally resigned and returned home to Mount Vernon.
C. Why the Americans Won
1. America won the war against the world’s strongest power.
b. Americans fought on their own land.
c. Americans controlled the countryside, where they knew the local terrain, even though Britain
captured the cities.
d. Help from other nations contributed to the victory.
e. Mostly, the people fought the battles with determination and belief in their ideals.