Statement

On October 19, 1781, the cause of liberty was immortalized on a riverside Virginia field when the Continental Army wrested victory from the arms of the most powerful empire on the face of the Earth—ending more than 6 years of crushing warfare and concluding the most epic fight for freedom in the history of the world. Today, we honor the sacrifice and invoke the courage of every American giant who secured our independence at the legendary Siege of Yorktown and throughout the Revolutionary War, and we renew our resolve that America will never bend, break, yield, or surrender in the face of tyranny.

After years of fierce fighting for independence, General George Washington and his Continental Army set forth on a grueling march from New York to Virginia, where British General Charles Cornwallis and his army were encamped. This stand would determine whether the Patriots—taxed without representation and denied the right to govern themselves—could finally break free and secure the blessings of liberty. Upon arriving in Yorktown on September 28, 1781, the Patriots—with the help of French forces—pinned the Redcoats within a perimeter of suffocating trenches. Low on artillery and waning in morale, Cornwallis’ men were stranded with little hope of slipping through the Patriots’ lines—and freedom was in America’s grasp.

Days later, on October 9, American and French soldiers began their first bombardment, shattering British barricades and kicking off a brutal stretch of relentless canon fire. By October 14, the siege lines had closed in almost entirely and the Patriots were inching closer to Cornwallis’s main defenses.