Past A Turning Point
For years General Washington had a strategy of survival. His mantra was that even if you couldn’t win against the British in open battle, he could choose not to lose. What I mean by this is as long as the British armies could not openly defeat and decimate the Colonial Army, they could continue to fight on and on in a war of attrition. He knew the longer he could prolong the fighting, the greater the chance of victory as the British army would run low on energy, manpower, supplies and just a general will to win. In the end he was right. It did get to that point as he was able to recruit Allies to help the developing nation and overwhelm a weary British force. 
September marks that turning point in the paths of the Colonial American colonies and the British Empire. And it was culminated with a brilliant strategic move by General Washington and General Rochambeau of France to trap the British at Yorktown. Wedging them between the Continental Army on the land and the French Armada by sea forced them to surrender as they became overwhelmed by artillery. The battle alone is a huge strategic victory over well trained, well disciplined forces that would govern a huge number of countries in the world all through the 19th century.
But it was something much bigger than that. We had delivered a titanic blow to the British Empire as they began their rise to Colonial Expansion worldwide. They would come to dominate the 19th century, with interests in Africa Asia and even North America.
It would certainly be a blow that the British were not going to forget anytime soon. In fact another war would break out in 1812 as the British actually invaded young America. Naturally, we resisted and were victors in this conflict as well. Truly the saying that freedom isn’t free is accurate.
Years of struggle
Victory at Yorktown was not an easy one. The area stands as a monument to the eventual triumph of the colonies. But the years leading up to this outcome were marked by struggle and doubt. There was no guarantee that it would be an overwhelming victory like in Yorktown.
In fact when you see Colonial Williamsburg you see a beautiful microcosm of a gorgeous Colonial day. You don’t see the day in and day out struggle that many of these colonists faced in wartime.
Our tours are designed to give you real history. History is not neat and orderly. It is a mark of struggle, sacrifice and is often brutal. Our tours give you the real dimensions of history and history is not gentile. This is a contrast from “historical marketing” or the reshaping of history to fit what certain groups want which you may have experienced elsewhere.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR – SEPTEMBER 1781
Your Bibliography: Revolutionarywararchives.org. (2017). Revolutionary War – September 1781. [online] Available at: http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/49september1781.html[Accessed 21 Jul. 2017].
