The surrender at York town is one to be reckoned in American history as the beginning of independent life. It marked the end of a long American Revolutionary war under strong comradeship with France which is evident even today. The war employed numerous tactics like bombardment and assault on redoubts, with the greatest strength being the unity there was between France and American troops, the Americans led by George Washington and the French by General Jean Rochambeau. The war had lasted six years and surrender by Cornwallis, the then British commanding officer in New York, albeit reluctantly left the administration in the UK with no choice but to surrender too. This essay seeks to answer questions from the article with Dr. Thatcher’s observations of the day, the latter having been a witness to the surrender ceremony.
To start with, Thatcher tells of General Cornwallis’ refusal to attend the surrender proceedings as the latter was ‘not feeling well’. In his not feeling well, the British Band played ‘The world turned upside down’, perhaps a sarcastic expression of their stand and that of their leaders in the act of surrender. He talks of how disappointed the folks were for not meeting the ‘object of peculiar interest and solicitude’- reason given being that he was unwell. We can however conclude that he was not willing to swallow his pride and lead his troops in acknowledging their/his defeat. Again, his substitute General O’Hara could as well be blamed for the surrender- ‘turning the world upside down’ probably a show that he was not alone in the war, hence not alone in the surrender-too much humiliation for him it was (“The British Surrender at Yorktown” p. 1).
Secondly, it is evident that the British soldiers surrendered resentfully. First, Thatcher says that the soldiers exhibited disorder and not so soldierly act in their marching. Their ranks were broken a number of times while their steps seemed irregular to the spectators. Second, anger was clearly seen when proclaiming ‘ground arms’ by some officers while others piled the arms ruthlessly. They used violence in giving up their duties even at defeat, it seems they wanted to have those arms malfunctioned from the way they surrendered them. Third as mentioned earlier, their general commander failed to show up for the surrender ceremony, a clear show of his attitude however sick he was. If he was that ‘unwell’, it would have been courteous to pass the information earlier and not the material day of the ceremony. This is something that his subordinates must have borrowed hence the drama they had.
Thirdly, it is worth noting the high degree of integrity and maturity exemplified by the Americans and French. Thatcher says that the number of civilians watching the ceremony was more or less that of the military. You would expect them to shout in jubilation for a war successfully fought and apparent independence but they do not! “but universal silence and order prevailed’ are the words that Thatcher uses to describe the tranquility there was. The American army did not have as neat (and new) a uniform as the royal army, but they maintained their soldierly stature, maybe even elegant! Also, Washington acknowledged the allies-French participation and hence ensured that they were given an equal share of all steps in the surrender process (“The British Surrender at Yorktown” p. 1).
The surrender ceremony as exhibited by Thatcher is quite emotional yet a little humorous as he puts it. It is an event to honor and remember now that we were no witnesses.
Works Cited
“The British Surrender at Yorktown, 1781”. Eyewitness to history. 2002. Web.