# Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis

> Trace the Franco-American campaign that surrounded Cornwallis at Yorktown. Connect French naval power, siege trenches, the attack on the redoubts, and the surrender to explain why this victory became decisive.

Canonical URL: https://aristotree.com/amina_reads/yorktown-1781-trapping-cornwallis
Language: en
Creator: amina_reads
Last modified: 2026-10-07T08:37:38.118Z
Concepts: 26
Relationships: 38

This is a public, user-curated knowledge graph. Follow the cited sources when verifying claims.

## Concepts

### Gloucester Point, Virginia

**Gloucester** **Point** is a census-designated place in Gloucester County, Virginia, United States.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloucester_Point
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloucester_Point?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Moore House (Yorktown, Virginia)

The **Moore House** is a historic building located within Colonial National Historical Park, in York County, **Virginia**.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore_House_(Yorktown,_Virginia)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore_House_(Yorktown,_Virginia)?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Tench Tilghman

**Tench Tilghman** was an officer in the **Continental Army** during the American Revolutionary War.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tench_Tilghman
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tench_Tilghman?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Louis Marie de Noailles

**Louis Marie de Noailles** was a **French** Army officer and politician who served in the American Revolutionary War and French Revolutionary Wars.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Marc_Antoine_de_Noailles
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Marc_Antoine_de_Noailles?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Armand Louis de Gontaut

**Armand Louis de Gontaut**, duc de Lauzun, later duc de Biron, and usually referred to by historians of the **French** Revolution simply as Biron, was a French soldier and politician, known for the part he played in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_Louis_de_Gontaut
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_Louis_de_Gontaut?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis-Philippe_de_Rigaud%2C_Marquis_de_Vaudreuil

### Banastre Tarleton

**General** Sir **Banastre Tarleton**, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British military officer and politician.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banastre_Tarleton
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banastre_Tarleton?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

**Friedrich** **Wilhelm** August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben, often referred to in English as Baron von Steuben, was a Prussian-born army officer who played a leading role in the American Revolutionary War by reforming the Continental Army into a disciplined and professional fighting force.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_von_Steuben
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_von_Steuben?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington

### Anthony Wayne

**Anthony Wayne** was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a **Founding Father of the United States**.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Wayne
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Wayne?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)

**General** Sir **Henry Clinton**, KB was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain between 1772 and 1795.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Clinton_(British_Army_officer,_born_1730)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Clinton_(British_Army_officer,_born_1730)?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Cornwallis%2C_1st_Marquess_Cornwallis
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown

### Charles O'Hara

General **Charles O'Hara** was a British Army officer who served in the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence and **French** Revolutionary Wars.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_O'Hara
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_O'Hara?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown

### Benjamin Lincoln

**Benjamin Lincoln** was an American army officer.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Lincoln
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Lincoln?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Cornwallis%2C_1st_Marquess_Cornwallis

### John Laurens

**John Laurens** was an American soldier and statesman from **South Carolina** during the American Revolutionary War, best known for his efforts to help recruit slaves to fight for their freedom as U.S. soldiers.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Laurens
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Laurens?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Marquis de Lafayette

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, **Marquis** de La Fayette, known in the United States as Lafayette, was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Continental Army, led by General **George Washington**, in the American Revolutionary War.

Topics: history, historical episode

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Lafayette
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Lafayette?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis

**General** **Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis** was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading British general officers in the American War of Independence.

Topics: history, historical episode

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Cornwallis%2C_1st_Marquess_Cornwallis
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Cornwallis%2C_1st_Marquess_Cornwallis?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau

**Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau** was a **French** Royal Army officer who played a critical role in the American victory at the siege of Yorktown in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War.

Topics: history, historical episode

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Donatien_de_Vimeur%2C_comte_de_Rochambeau
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Donatien_de_Vimeur%2C_comte_de_Rochambeau?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### George Washington

**George Washington** was a **Founding Father** and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War against the British Empire.

Topics: history, historical episode

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Treaty of Paris (1783)

The **Treaty of Paris**, signed by representatives of King **George** III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States on September 3, 1783, officially ended the War of American Independence and recognized the Thirteen Colonies, which had been part of colonial British America, to

Topics: history, historical episode

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1783)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1783)?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Yorktown, Virginia

**Yorktown** is a town in York County, **Virginia**, United States. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 221 as of the 2020 census, while York County's population was 70,045.

Topics: history, historical episode

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorktown%2C_Virginia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorktown%2C_Virginia?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington

### Alexander Hamilton

S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 under the **presidency** of **George Washington**. He also founded America's first political party, the Federalist Party, in 1789.

Topics: history, historical episode

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis

Trace the Franco-American campaign that surrounded **Cornwallis** at **Yorktown**. Connect French naval power, siege trenches, the attack on the redoubts, and the surrender to explain why this victory became decisive.

Topics: history, historical episode

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
- https://www.nps.gov/york/learn/historyculture/history-of-the-siege.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Lafayette

### Jacques-Melchior Saint-Laurent, Comte de Barras

De **Barras** brought the French siege artillery convoy into the Chesapeake while de **Grasse** engaged the British fleet.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Melchior_Saint-Laurent%2C_Comte_de_Barras
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Melchior_Saint-Laurent%2C_Comte_de_Barras?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves

**Graves** commanded the British fleet that failed to dislodge the **French** at the Chesapeake.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Graves%2C_1st_Baron_Graves
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Graves%2C_1st_Baron_Graves?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### Battle of the Chesapeake

The **Battle of the Chesapeake**, also known as the Battle of the **Virginia** Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a fleet action which took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1781 during the American Revolutionary War.

Topics: history, historical episode

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Graves%2C_1st_Baron_Graves
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington

### Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil

**Vaudreuil** served as a senior commander in de **Grasse**’s French fleet at the Chesapeake.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis-Philippe_de_Rigaud%2C_Marquis_de_Vaudreuil
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis-Philippe_de_Rigaud%2C_Marquis_de_Vaudreuil?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### French ship Ville de Paris (1764)

De Grasse commanded his fleet from **Ville** de **Paris** during the Chesapeake campaign.

Topics: history

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Ville_de_Paris_(1764)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Ville_de_Paris_(1764)?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

### François Joseph Paul de Grasse

Lieutenant général des armées navales **François** Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, Marquis of Grasse-Tilly, KM was a French naval officer. He is best known for his crucial victory over the Royal Navy at the **Battle of the Chesapeake** in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War.

Topics: history, historical episode

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Joseph_Paul_de_Grasse
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Joseph_Paul_de_Grasse?action=history
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

## Relationships

- Gloucester Point, Virginia — related_to → Yorktown, Virginia: Gloucester Point, Virginia: Yorktown, Virginia
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Gloucester Point, Virginia: Gloucester Point, Virginia: Yorktown, 1781
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Moore House (Yorktown, Virginia): Moore House (Yorktown, Virginia): Yorktown, 1781
- Tench Tilghman — related_to → George Washington: Tench Tilghman: George Washington
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Tench Tilghman: Tench Tilghman: Yorktown, 1781
- Louis Marie de Noailles — related_to → Marquis de Lafayette: Louis Marie de Noailles: Marquis de Lafayette
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Louis Marie de Noailles: Louis Marie de Noailles: Yorktown, 1781
- Armand Louis de Gontaut — related_to → Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau: Armand Louis de Gontaut: Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
- Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil — related_to → Armand Louis de Gontaut: Armand Louis de Gontaut: Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil
- Banastre Tarleton — related_to → Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis: Banastre Tarleton: Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Banastre Tarleton: Banastre Tarleton: Yorktown, 1781
- Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben — related_to → George Washington: Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben: George Washington
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben: Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben: Yorktown, 1781
- Anthony Wayne — related_to → George Washington: Anthony Wayne: George Washington
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Anthony Wayne: Anthony Wayne: Yorktown, 1781
- Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730) — related_to → Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis: Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730): Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730): Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730): Yorktown, 1781
- Charles O'Hara — related_to → Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis: Charles O'Hara: Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Charles O'Hara: Charles O'Hara: Yorktown, 1781
- Benjamin Lincoln — related_to → George Washington: Benjamin Lincoln: George Washington
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Benjamin Lincoln: Benjamin Lincoln: Yorktown, 1781
- John Laurens — related_to → George Washington: John Laurens: George Washington
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → John Laurens: John Laurens: Yorktown, 1781
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Treaty of Paris (1783): Treaty of Paris (1783): people, places, and context for the episode.
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Yorktown, Virginia: Yorktown, Virginia: people, places, and context for the episode.
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Marquis de Lafayette: Marquis de Lafayette: people, places, and context for the episode.
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Alexander Hamilton: Alexander Hamilton: people, places, and context for the episode.
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Battle of the Chesapeake: Battle of the Chesapeake: people, places, and context for the episode.
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → François Joseph Paul de Grasse: François Joseph Paul de Grasse: people, places, and context for the episode.
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau: Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau: people, places, and context for the episode.
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis: Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis: people, places, and context for the episode.
- Yorktown, 1781: Trapping Cornwallis — related_to → George Washington: George Washington: people, places, and context for the episode.
- Battle of the Chesapeake — related_to → Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau: French command coordination and naval control enabled Rochambeau’s troops to participate in…
- Battle of the Chesapeake — related_to → Jacques-Melchior Saint-Laurent, Comte de Barras: De Barras brought the French siege artillery convoy into the Chesapeake while…
- Battle of the Chesapeake — related_to → Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves: Graves commanded the British fleet that failed to dislodge the French…
- François Joseph Paul de Grasse — related_to → Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis: De Grasse’s control of the bay prevented a British naval relief of…
- François Joseph Paul de Grasse — related_to → Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil: Vaudreuil served as a senior commander in de Grasse’s French fleet…
- François Joseph Paul de Grasse — related_to → French ship Ville de Paris (1764): De Grasse commanded his fleet from Ville de Paris during…