Yorktown Battlegrounds

The Yorktown Battleground is just a few miles from us. We live in the next city over, about a 10 minute drive away. These are photos of the The American and French Siege Lines and the Bulwarks, respectfully. I did not take the photos, but I have been thinking about Yorktown a lot lately, knowing we STILL need to take the guided tour through the battlegrounds, and also because the 4th of July is upon us in a few days. If we go see fireworks this year, we will go to Yorktown to do so - a perfect and most fitting place to celebrate our United States of America! I love living here in the heart of all of this rich American History. A description of the events leading up to the battle are below the images here. A trip to Mount Vernon is wished for before the summer is over, but only if Matt actually gets a job. That's another story!

Yorktown Battleground

"On August 14, 1781, Generals Washington and Rochambeau received news that a large French fleet under the command of Admiral de Grasse was headed for the Chesapeake Bay carrying 3,000 French soldiers. There the British general, Lord Cornwallis, was encamped with his army at Yorktown, Virginia. The two allied leaders promptly decided to lead their armies southward for 450 miles to engage Cornwallis at the siege which proved to be the pinnacle engagement of the Revolutionary War.

Their route started at White Plains, New York, and included a crossing of the Hudson River at Stony Point, New York. Stops were made at both Princeton and Philadelphia. At Chester, Pennsylvania, on September 5, Washington learned that de Grasse had reached Virginia and had landed the troops at Jamestown under the command of General Saint-Simon.

American watercraft managed to transport some of the allied foot soldiers down the Chesapeake from Head-of-Elk (now Elkton, Maryland) to Annapolis. The rest of the troops continued overland to Annapolis, where the infantry units halted to await boat lift further south. The allied field artillery, supply trains, and French cavalry (hussars) traveled southward by road to Virginia. The artillery and wagons eventually went to Williamsburg, 12 miles from Yorktown. Meanwhile, the French cavalry was diverted to Gloucester, directly across the river from Yorktown.

Washington and Rochambeau, accompanied by a few of their staff officers, took a different route from the main army. From Baltimore, they crossed the Potomac River at Georgetown (now part of Washington, D.C.), passed through Alexandria, Virginia, and then stopped briefly at Mount Vernon, Washington’s plantation home, which he had not visited for more than six years. To prepare for his French guests, Washington rode ahead of the party and covered a remarkable 60 miles in one day. Rochambeau and the staff officers arrived the next day. The allied commanders rested at Mount Vernon on September 10 and 11. On September 12, they rode on toward Fredericksburg.

When the allied commanders were passing near the village of Dumfries, a rider brought dispatches reporting that the British fleet of Admiral Graves had been sighted off the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, and that Admiral de Grasse had sailed off to fight a crucial sea battle off the Virginia capes. Though the battle was inconclusive, de Grasse recognized that the strategic objective was best served by discontinuing further maneuvering against the British squadron and returned to cover the entrance of the Bay. Admiral Graves was forced to sail back to New York for repairs and replenishment. This enabled the French fleet to deny Cornwallis’s hope for escape from the Chesapeake. In the meantime, Admiral De Barras’s small French fleet, which had been based at Newport, Rhode Island, slipped into the Chesapeake Bay with the main allied siege train and more troops.

News of the naval battle led Generals Washington and Rochambeau to hasten to Williamsburg. After spending the night of September 12 in Fredericksburg, they rode through Hanover Court House and New Kent Court House, and arrived at Williamsburg on the fourteenth. There they met General Lafayette, who commanded the American forces in Virginia during the summer. The allied armies assembled supplies and equipment and, with the arrival of wagon trains and troops from the long march, moved forward on September 28 to start the siege of Cornwallis’s 8300 man army at Yorktown. For three weeks the Allies tightened their control around Yorktown and heavily bombarded Cornwallis for eight days. With no hope of escape or reinforcements, Cornwallis was forced to surrender his army on October 19. It was the greatest and most decisive victory of the war, leading the way inevitably to American Independence.

Sarah had her 4th birthday last week, June 17th. My 4 lb baby is 4 years old and I'm in denial that she is growing up so fast! Sarah had a good day, despite her parents being unwell with some sort of virus with fever. (Thank heavens, Sarah came out of this with just some sniffles and runny nose.) It was a very low key day, as a result, but she had a few new things to keep her occupied. We had intended to go to Busch Gardens for a few hours, as we have passes and it is only a 15 minute drive away, and to have a couple of families over just for cake and socializing after. We had also purchased Toy Story 3 movie tickets earlier in the week for the first day/Friday show, the day after her birthday, so I had every intention to get Sarah to this movie she had been asking about for some time. I wanted her to have this as part of her birthday festivities. Yhe poor girl didn't have much birthday excitement. It was her first movie theater experience and she loved it! Matt gave up his ticket, as he was too sick to go, and I felt well enough to go sit in a theater for a couple of hours. I even had a girlfriend of mine show up to use Matt's ticket for him.

This is my attempt at a flower power cake! Looks like a grade school kid did it! When Sarah saw it, however, she said "Mommy, it is beautiful!" That's all that matters, right?


Grandpa and Grandma Turnbaugh have a dog named Heidi. Sarah loves Heidi, talks about Heidi often, wants to see Heidi, and wants her own dog, so they sent her a plush toy that looks like Heidi. She loves stuffed animals (She really loves them more than other toys!), so this was a hit. Sarah has named it/him Buster. I believe this name comes from the dog in Toy Story 3 - Andy's real dog, not the slinky dog.


Sarah loves the stamps Grandpa and Grandma Wright sent. She actually was very happy and excited about all of these gifts and it being "her" day, but she refused to smile for the camera. Everything posted here is forced, except for the silly face she is giving with Mommy!

Sarah got a sand/water table from Mommy and Daddy this year. The umbrella really comes in handy with all the summer sun and heat we are having.

Matt had his U.S. Air Force retirement ceremony on May 21, 2010. Here are a few photos from the event, which took place in Langley's static display hangar. My parents flew in to support Matt's day. They went out of their way to make a stop in Virginia for 2 days before flying on to Iowa, where they had another important event to go to. We are so grateful for their love and support! It really meant a lot to Matt and I to have them here. We also had some old friends, who lived in Enlgand while we lived there, come into town from New Jersey to be with Matt on his day. They drove 6 hours with 3 young children to be here.

Matt's retirement luncheon gift

Matt had his Air Force retirement luncheon a week before his actual retirement ceremony on May 21, 2010. A luncheon at a local restaurant, of Matt's choosing, was the gathering place to honor Matt in a more intimate setting with his work colleagues. He received a tail flash as a gift from his organization. They had asked him what he would like as a gift and he mentioned this specifically, with RAF Lakenheath's tail letters. The F-15 is/was his baby, so the memories of her were created during Matt's 9 years stationed at the base in England. Since it is traditional to be given a military themed gift, he had just a few options in putting his request in for the gift he most desired. They told him the tail flash would be a bit too expensive, but they like Matt so much that they knew they had to get it for him. They said a few honorary words, Matt said a few words, and we all ate a big barbeque lunch. Sarah and I were invited to attend. We decided to get a photo with the tail flash just minutes after walking in the door. We love the timer on the camera! Please take note of Sarah with her beloved mouse, Chuck E. Cheese.