Friday, September 28, 2007

Battle of Yorktown Begins

On this day in 1781, General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 7,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War.

The French fleet commanded by Francois, Count de Grasse, departed St. Domingue (the then-French colony that is now Haiti) for the Chesapeake Bay, just as Cornwallis chose Yorktown, at the mouth of the Chesapeake, as his base. Washington realized that it was time to act. He ordered Marquis de Lafayette and an American army of 5,000 troops to block Cornwallis' escape from Yorktown by land while the French naval fleet blocked the British escape by sea. By September 28, Washington had completely encircled Cornwallis and Yorktown with the combined forces of Continental and French troops. After three weeks of non-stop bombardment, both day and night, from cannon and artillery, Cornwallis surrendered to Washington in the field at Yorktown on October 17, 1781, effectively ending the War for Independence. Piture above is of Washington at Yorktown.

Pleading illness, Cornwallis did not attend the formal surrender ceremony, held on October 19. Instead, his second in command, General Charles O'Hara, carried Cornwallis' sword to the American and French commanders. Cornwallis' deputy at first attempted to surrender to the French General Rochambeau, but Rochambeau's aide-de-camp, Mathieu Dumas, is reputed to have said, "Vous vous trompez, le général en chef de notre armée est à la droite." ("You are mistaken, the commander-in-chief of our army is to the right.") and then took him to Washington. The lieutenant then attempted to surrender to Washington, who refused because it was not Cornwallis himself, and indicated that the subordinate should surrender to General Benjamin Lincoln, field commander of the American forces.

It was not clear at the time that Yorktown was the climax of the war, since the British still occupied key ports such as New York City and Charleston, South Carolina. Sporadic fighting continued after the Yorktown surrender, and Washington believed the war might drag on for another year.

However, British Prime Minister Lord North resigned after receiving news of the surrender at Yorktown. His successors decided that it was no longer in Britain's best interest to continue the war, and negotiations were undertaken. The British signed the Treaty of Paris in September 1783 recognizing the United States and promising to remove all British troops from the country.

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The telephone hardly rang at all yesterday which was nice as it allowed me to get more work done. We have a new segment of the Global Minority Report recorded and sent to the radio station. We have been hearing some good reports about the broadcast. People seem to be enjoying it.

Those who can come I hope to see you at our Winter Fellowship Conference on December 1 & 2. Sunday morning (December 2nd) I will be speaking a sermon titled, "Please Be Strong."
I think it will also be broadcast live on Stormfront Radio. So if you cannot come, perhaps you can tune in to Stormfront on Sunday morning. Stormfront Radio is located at, stormfront.org, and then click the icon at the top left. Stormfront is an important medium for white nationalism and I encourage everyone to support Stormfront Radio.

I pray that God will bless you all. I appreciate so very much all of you who have taken on this responsibility of proclaiming the message of White Christian Revival.

Always strive to be a good example to your family and friends. The Christian lives we live will speak louder than any words we speak!
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Don’t forget White Christian Heritage Festival - October 20.
Winter Fellowship Conference - December 1-2.
Thank you for your support and keep spreading the GOOD NEWS of White Christian Revival!

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