But the
dark days passed, and once more the Americans began to win instead
of lose battles. South Carolina was re-conquered, and Cornwallis,
who was commander-in-chief of the British army in the south, retired
into Virginia, and occupied Yorktown.
Just at this time Washington learned that a French fleet was sailing
for Chesapeake Bay, and he determined to make a grand French-American
attack on the British in the south. He made his plans very secretly,
and leaving General Heath with four thousand men to guard the
Hudson, he marched southwards, moving with such quickness that he
had reached the Delaware before Clinton in New York knew what he
was about. His army now consisted of two thousand Americans, and
four thousand French, and this was the only time throughout the
war that French and Americans marched together.
On the 6th of October the siege of Yorktown began. It was soon seen
that its defenses were of no use against the seventy heavy siege
guns of the allied army, and the surrender of Cornwallis was only
a matter of time - for he was caught in a trap, just as Burgoyne
had been. He could not escape to the south, for Lafayette barred the
way to the Carolinas. He could not escape by sea, for the French
and British fleets had fought a battle at the entrance of Chesapeake
Bay, in which the British ships had been so badly damaged that they
were obliged to sail to New York to refit.
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