The play is over… The fifth act has just ended.”  Lafayette after Yorktown

With the oft forgotten battle of Springfield in June, 1780, the war in the northern states passed into a stalemate, with the British shifting their main efforts to the southern colonies. But the overall situation still remained critical. General Nathanael Greene wrote that, “There never was a darker hour in American prospects than this.” Even King George was confident that the war would end favorably for England in 1781. In the south, the loss of Charleston and the defeats at Waxhaws and Camden seemed to predict that he was correct. However, General Greene’s “victory from defeat” campaign of 1780 -1781 turned the tide in the south and forced British General Charles Cornwallis to move his forces to Virginia, where he now became more vulnerable thanks to the timely arrival of help from France.

 

Throughout the spring of 1781, where we’ll join them, American General Lafayette shadowed and occasionally clashed with Cornwallis in Virginia. Then in August, with the aid of French forces in Newport, Rhode Island and a nearby French fleet, Washington and French General Comte De Rochambeau decided to move south against Cornwallis, leading to the final campaign of the war.

 

We will begin on Saturday with a visit to the newly interpreted April, 1781 Battle of Petersburg between British General Phillips and the Baron von Steuben. We’ll follow the British approach route and view the sites of the action. Next we’ll make brief stops at Burnt Ordinary and Spencer’s Ordinary, sites of camps and skirmishes. We will spend the afternoon tracing the Battle of Green Spring, where Lafayette and Anthony Wayne nearly fell into Cornwallis’ well laid trap of July, 1781.

 

On Sunday, we will address the Battle of Yorktown, with visits to an American landing site at Trebell’s Landing on the James River and the works on Gloucester Point. We’ll walk the Yorktown siege lines, visit the redoubts (some hidden in the woods), and the surrender field where the British army ultimately laid down its arms. We’ll explore the Moore House, where the surrender was negotiated, the village of Yorktown and the National Park Visitors Center.

 

Our hotel is just a short walk from Colonial Williamsburg, so you will be ideally situated to visit that wonderful restoration before or after our tour. We hope you will join us in June to trace the end of the American Revolution!

 

About Our Tour Leader

William M. Welsch is an experienced tour guide of battlefields and other historic sites of the American Revolutionary War. He is the founding and current president of the American Revolution Round Table of Richmond, Virginia.

 

Saturday, June 5

8:30 AM                   Depart from the Clarion Hotel Historic District, Williamsburg, VA

5:00 PM                        Arrive Back at the Clarion Hotel Historic District

 

Sunday, June 6

8:00 AM                        Depart from the Clarion Hotel Historic District

4:00 PM                        Arrive Back the Clarion Hotel Historic District

 

REGISTRATION FEES (lodging not included):   Adult: $ 295  Under Age 23: $ 95

 

If You Must Cancel: Your registration fee will be 100% refunded.

 

What is Included in your Registration:

·        the services of an expert historian chosen for his knowledge and experience   

·        Saturday & Sunday lunches

·        refreshments during the seminar

·        map & information package

                 

 

Base Location & Lodging: We will be based at the Clarion Hotel Historic District, 351 York Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185 where we have reserved a block of sleeping rooms at the nightly rates of $89.00 – Single or Double. This room rate includes a full American Breakfast Buffet. To reserve a room under our block call 757-229-4100 and identify yourself as a registrant for the American History Forum tour to reserve a room under our block.