The World Turned Upside Down
Legend has it that they marched out of their positions while the band played The World Turned Upside Down. 7,000 British and Hessian troops under General Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia on October 19, 1781 to a combined American and French force. The allies had besieged the British army for more than three weeks, pouring relentless artillery fire into the British positions. In the end, Cornwallis, too embarrassed to surrender in person, claimed illness and sent his deputy to perform the formalities. The deputy first tried to hand his sword to French General Rochambeau who refused it and directed him to George Washington. There the deputy's sword was again refused, Washington not being willing to accept Cornwallis' proxy. Instead, American General Benjamin Lincoln, field commander of the American army, finally accepted the formal surrender.
Historians can find no real evidence that the British band really played The World Turned Upside Down, but there is no doubt that it actually did for the British that day. Fighting sputtered on sporadically for a while longer, but the American Revolutionary War was effectively over on that autumn day in Virginia. America's world turned right side up that day.
The formal articles of surrender can be read here.
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226 Years Ago Today — Friday, 19 October , 2007 @ 12:12 pm
By feeblemind, Friday, 19 October , 2007 @ 12:17 pm
Gaius, if you are interested, there is an article in the UK Independent titled: Victims of the Ethanol Rush:Loss of the Native Prairie. Farmers are starting to plow up grass to raise more crops.
By Gaius, Friday, 19 October , 2007 @ 12:21 pm
Thanks, feeblemind