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00:14January 27th, 1781, New Jersey.
00:18The War for Independence drags into its sixth year.
00:23Money, spirit, and patience are flagging throughout the Army.
00:29Time is running out.
00:33Only three weeks into the new year, the situation reaches a crisis point.
00:40The Continental Army, exhausted and neglected, is on the verge of revolt.
00:46In no time, Washington has mutiny on his hands.
00:58His response will be determined and drastic.
01:08Unless effectual measures are taken to place the Army upon a more satisfactory footing,
01:14its dissolution and the utter ruin of our cause will be the inevitable consequences.
01:19George Washington
01:36The story of the mutiny began on January 1st in Morristown, New Jersey.
01:45There is little to celebrate this new year.
01:49The war has become an unrelenting misery.
01:55Soldiers from the Pennsylvania line reach their limit.
02:06By 1781, the Continental Army has become, in many ways, the professional organization that Washington wanted and needed it to
02:16be.
02:18But it's an Army that is unhappy.
02:22They haven't been paid in a long time.
02:25And when money has been forthcoming, it has been paper money that is depreciating moment by moment.
02:32It's worth less every day.
02:34The soldiers are quite clear about the fact that they are loyal to the cause, but they want the terms
02:40of their contract to be honored.
02:44Enraged, they voice their grievances to their superiors.
02:47But there is nothing to be done.
02:52Congress, without the right to tax, is out of money to pay its soldiers.
02:59The soldiers are not swayed.
03:02They see this as a series of broken promises.
03:07They pledged their lives.
03:09They are spilling their blood.
03:11They thought they were making a contract to serve their country.
03:18But the country isn't honoring the contract.
03:23The officers watch from the comfort of their quarters.
03:29Some are sympathetic, but others brush the soldiers' concerns aside.
03:36Suddenly, the ideas of the revolution, the talk of liberty and equality for all men, seem no longer to apply.
03:45I don't think the fact that the officers had better clothing, better food, better equipment,
03:54endeared them to the regular troops, who were so cold and so hungry and so behind in their pay.
04:04Within the revolution, a rebellion grows.
04:15On January 2nd, camps empty as 1,300 soldiers, one quarter of the Northern Army, up and leave.
04:26They march out, taking cannon and weapons, with one destination in mind, Continental Congress, a two-day march away in
04:35Philadelphia.
04:36Their plan? Make Congress listen.
04:39They get as far as Princeton.
04:41They seize the town of Princeton.
04:43Washington sends an army to surround them there.
04:45And they negotiate a peaceful settlement.
04:48The troops who want to go home get their money.
04:51The troops who want to stay get the clothing they need.
04:54About half of them go home.
04:55And that's the end of it.
05:01Washington begs Congress for money and provisions as the only way to pacify his army.
05:07It is too little, too late.
05:12As I have used every endeavor in my power to avert the evil that has come upon us,
05:18so will I continue to exert every means to prevent an extension of the mischief.
05:23But I can neither foretell or be answerable for the issue.
05:26George Washington
05:35Fresh unrest spreads among other camps.
05:39They, too, want what they believe they are owed.
05:45January 20, 1781.
05:49Humpton, New Jersey.
05:51Now, 200 soldiers from the New Jersey line rebel.
05:56They, too, begin their march to Congress.
06:00But this time, Washington will strike them down.
06:03For the sake of the revolution, these mutinies must end.
06:08He couldn't have an army where mutinies took place and hundreds of men left and went home.
06:16The army would implode.
06:18And the war would be lost.
06:21Worse, any mutiny leads the British to believe that the army is collapsing.
06:27And to renew their fervor to win the war.
06:31Washington's view is, that's it.
06:34Enough's enough.
06:39The mutineers don't get far.
06:42All are quickly captured.
06:45Among them, three men, the ringleaders, are sentenced to death by firing squad.
06:52But they are not the only ones who will pay a heavy price for their insubordination.
06:59In a cruel move, Washington then gets their 12 closest friends.
07:0712 men who were with them in the mutiny, but not quite the ringleaders.
07:10And orders them to shoot them.
07:15The men in the Jersey line are aghast at this.
07:21For the commander to order, not only to order the three men shot, but shot by their friends.
07:26But at the same time, terrified.
07:30It could have been me.
07:34This was a most painful task.
07:38When ordered to load, some of them shed tears.
07:43James Thatcher, Continental Doctor.
07:51The first six men fire.
07:58But they have deliberately aimed high.
08:01Sending a volley over the heads of the condemned men.
08:09The second six are immediately assembled.
08:14And under penalty of death themselves, ordered to shoot.
08:26This time, the shots find their target.
08:39The punishment sends a clear message.
08:44Sedition will no longer be tolerated in the Continental Army.
08:53After the execution of those men, in that terrible winter of 1781, there were no more muties.
09:04But the unrest in his army has shaken Washington.
09:08His authority and the revolution are slipping away.
09:14He must find a way to end this war.
09:17Now.
09:28In the south, the war continues without pause.
09:31An ongoing showdown between two determined armies.
09:35Having surprisingly beaten the British at the Battle of Cowpets, the Continentals steady themselves for revenge.
09:44The British will seek to make an all or nothing push to annihilate the rebel force.
09:53General Charles Cornwallis
09:55the British commander in the south
09:57has become singular in his obsession
10:01He will not stop until he can make
10:03the Continental Army stand and fight
10:07Instead, the rebels keep pulling
10:10Cornwallis deeper into the backcountry
10:14On a cat and mouse chase
10:16led by his arch-rival
10:17General Nathaniel Green
10:21Cornwallis himself believes
10:23that if he can draw Nathaniel Green
10:26into one decisive fight
10:28if he can bring this war
10:31to one pitched battle
10:32somewhere in the south
10:35L's going to be over
10:38Green won't give him that satisfaction
10:42General Nathaniel Green knows better
10:46He learned early on in battles like New York and Brandywine
10:50that keeping the army away from direct confrontation
10:53is paramount
11:00Like a boxer who realizes his opponent hits harder
11:03Green's plan is to keep moving
11:06to wear down and exhaust his enemy
11:10If he can buy time
11:12he can get reinforcements
11:16Green draws Cornwallis step by step
11:19farther from his lines of supply
11:24Farther from the possibility of reinforcements
11:28Farther from the point of no return
11:33Green has been leading a chase for months
11:35that zigzags across the south
11:39Through swamp and forest
11:41Cornwallis manages to stay close
11:43Often trailing by a few hundred yards
11:48But the Continentals are like a mirage
11:51that disappears as he draws near
11:59The two sides regularly skirmish amongst scouting parties
12:05But the main armies never meet
12:09Green's Continental force is smaller
12:11lighter and faster
12:17The British by contrast are encumbered
12:21They will need to take extreme measures to keep up
12:30To lighten his load
12:31Cornwallis orders an enormous bonfire built
12:35Onto which all the unnecessary trappings
12:38of a distinguished British army are thrown
12:40Wagons, tents, clothing, fine china, silver
12:45And cask upon cask of rum
12:49Cornwallis is very earnest
12:50He does not want to allow Green to escape
12:53He is going to do anything within his power
12:56To catch up to Green
12:57In this situation, without baggage, necessaries
13:00With zeal and bayonets only
13:02It was resolved to follow Green's army
13:04To the end of the world
13:06Brigadier General Charles O'Hara
13:10It is a fateful decision
13:12That he will pay for later
13:17The race picks up speed
13:20The two armies begin to travel
13:22At an almost inhuman pace
13:24Moving as much as 40 miles
13:26In a single day
13:29Green now sees only one chance
13:31For survival
13:34As Cornwallis chases him
13:36Toward the Virginia border
13:38Green makes a daring move
13:42He splits his army
13:44Sending one branch
13:45Toward the Upper Dan River
13:47While the main army moves east
13:49Where Green has commandeered
13:50All the boats along the crossings
13:54Cornwallis, fooled
13:56Dutifully follows the decoy
13:59It bought Green the time he needed
14:02To move down the river
14:03To the point where
14:05The Continentals had gathered
14:06All of the boats on that river
14:08And crossed at a point
14:10That Cornwallis could not hope to cross
14:14Green's plan works
14:16He moves his entire regiment
14:18All 2,000 men
14:20Across the Dan
14:21Reaching the other side
14:23Just in time
14:25The British, realizing the ploy
14:27Rush to the crossing
14:28Arriving just hours
14:30After the last of Green's boats leave
14:36Cornwallis, so close to the victory
14:38He sought
14:39Recognizes that the chase is over
14:46The cheers from the Continentals
14:48Are so loud
14:49They can be heard across the river
14:51A taunting sound to the British
14:53But it is genuine joy
14:55After marching more than 200 miles
14:58In just one month
14:59Green's army can finally rest
15:04Green will not stay in Virginia long
15:07He will get what he needs
15:09New supplies and new recruits
15:12And change his game
15:15The hunted will become the hunter
15:19Here in the south and beyond
15:21The tide is about to turn
15:29Far from the swamps of the southern colonies
15:32Another chase drags on
15:36France, 1781
15:37The court of Versailles
15:41The venerable diplomat Benjamin Franklin
15:43Is still in hot pursuit of France's money
15:47Lately, it has become elusive
15:51King Louis XVI
15:53America's ally against the British
15:55Has given more than $100 million
15:57In direct aid to the revolution
16:02In fact, he's going broke
16:04Funding the Americans
16:06Yet it never seems to be enough
16:07To satisfy Ben Franklin
16:11Franklin gets these truly amazing
16:13Shopping lists from Congress
16:14And they are requisition lists
16:16For everything from
16:17Thimbles and shovels
16:19And thread and drums
16:21And paintbrushes too
16:22Oh and by the way
16:2330,000 blankets and 50,000 uniforms
16:25And a ship of the line
16:26Would be nice too
16:27Fred is essentially constantly
16:29Approaching them with his tin cup
16:31And being told
16:33But we already gave it the office
16:34You know, being told
16:35We've already given you X
16:36How can we possibly cough up more?
16:39Franklin is caught between two masters
16:42On one hand
16:43He must convince the French
16:45That the American revolution
16:46Can still be won
16:49On the other
16:50He must assure Congress
16:51That French aid
16:52The key to the war
16:53Is on its way
16:57Some Americans
16:58Like General Washington
16:59Have reason to doubt it
17:02Washington was always confused
17:04And perplexed
17:06And until the end
17:07Disappointed in the French
17:09The soldiers that they did promise
17:11Didn't get here fast enough
17:13He didn't feel that there were
17:15Enough of them
17:16He's worried about
17:18The help that the French have given him
17:20If it's going to be in time
17:22Unbeknownst to Washington
17:23His concerns are being answered
17:27Quietly
17:27On its own schedule
17:28And with its own agenda
17:30The French Navy
17:31Finally makes a move
17:32That will change the war
17:36March 1781
17:39On the eastern coast of France
17:41A shipment is being prepared
17:45The mighty French warship
17:46The Ville de Paris
17:48Readies for a long voyage
17:49To the Americas
17:53At its helm
17:54The Admiral
17:55Francois-Joseph-Paul
17:57Compe de Grasse
17:58One of France's
17:59Most talented admirals
18:00And greatest glory seekers
18:04De Grasse's stated mission
18:06Is in the Caribbean
18:07Where France's critical
18:08Trading interests lie
18:10But if the timing is right
18:13De Grasse plans to visit
18:14North America
18:15After all
18:17This is a war against the British
18:18A cause beloved by all French
18:23It's important to remember
18:24That France is in this conflict
18:26Not to secure American independence
18:28France is in this conflict
18:29To humiliate the British government
18:32To hopefully seize some territory
18:35From Britain
18:36And to slice off a major part
18:39Of the North American empire
18:41From the British empire
18:45America may be a pawn
18:47In this game between superpowers
18:49But the rebels
18:50Can still make their own luck
18:52Their next moves
18:54Will shape fresh opportunities
18:55For all sides
19:01February 22nd, 1781
19:05General Nathaniel Green pushes his players
19:07Into position
19:10He readies his army
19:11Now regrouped and resupplied
19:13To cross back into North Carolina
19:16Where he will now seek the confrontation
19:18With Cornwallis
19:20He once avoided
19:25Crossing again over the Dan River
19:27Green soon draws Cornwallis
19:29Back into the chase
19:30Only this time
19:32Green leads the desperate British commander
19:34Toward a spot favorable
19:35To the Continentals
19:37They will take the high ground
19:39At a small junction
19:41Called Guilford Courthouse
19:46March 15th
19:51Green sets his army first
19:56Fire
19:58Cornwallis
19:59Weakened from lack of provisions
20:00Nonetheless prepares to throw
20:02All he has left
20:03At winning
20:06Cornwallis' men
20:07Soon break through
20:08Green's militia lines
20:10They bear down
20:11On the rest of the army
20:12With bayonets
20:17The Continentals
20:19Face the charge
20:21The two sides
20:22Fall upon each other
20:23At close quarters
20:25A bloody melee
20:27Fought hand to hand
20:32Fearing loss
20:33Cornwallis makes a desperate
20:34And brutal decision
20:40Cornwallis turns
20:41To the lieutenant
20:43In charge of artillery
20:44And orders him to fire
20:46Great
20:46Right into the mass
20:48Of struggling men
20:48Both Americans and British
20:50In order to break it up
20:57The cannon cut down
20:59As many British as Americans
21:02But it is enough
21:03To stop the rebels
21:05Green orders his men
21:06To retreat
21:08He cannot
21:09And will not
21:10Risk his soldiers
21:16Cornwallis is victorious
21:17But only by sacrificing
21:19His own men
21:21Twice as many British
21:23Die in the victory
21:23As Continentals
21:24Perish in the loss
21:27It is the kind of win
21:29That feels
21:29Ultimately
21:30More like a defeat
21:38The months spent
21:39Chasing Green
21:40Have cost Cornwallis
21:42Greatly
21:42And gained him
21:43Nothing
21:47Defeat of the rebel army
21:49Is not one inch
21:50Closer to him
21:54He will leave the Carolinas
21:56An ambiguous victor
21:57In search of more
21:58Decisive battles
22:02But he leaves
22:03The British strategy
22:04In tatters
22:06Just at the moment
22:07The Continentals
22:08And their French allies
22:10Are about to move
22:11As one
22:20Losses in the south
22:21And stalemate
22:22In the north
22:23Have left the British command
22:24In America
22:25In disarray
22:27Worse
22:28Public confidence
22:29Back home
22:30Is weakening
22:32London, England
22:341781
22:36All of Britain
22:37Is tiring
22:38Of this increasingly
22:39Unpopular
22:40Conflagration
22:41Whose costs
22:42In money
22:43And human life
22:44Continue to escalate
22:48King George
22:49And his cabinet
22:50May try to spin it
22:51Differently
22:52But they cannot
22:53Change the facts
22:55The insurgent colonies
22:56Are showing
22:57No signs
22:58Of submission
23:00The British people
23:01Are saying
23:02Come on home
23:03What's in this
23:04For us
23:04They're wondering
23:05How is this
23:06Going to end
23:06How is this
23:07Going to play out
23:08Or is this
23:08Just going to go
23:09On forever
23:12The rift
23:13Between those
23:14Who wish
23:14To end the war
23:15Fast
23:15And those
23:16Who take
23:17The long view
23:18Travels
23:18Over the Atlantic
23:22In America
23:23The king's
23:24Commanders
23:24Will soon
23:25Find themselves
23:26With opposing
23:27Strategies of war
23:29In New York
23:30Sir Henry Clinton
23:31The overall
23:31British commander
23:32Takes a patient
23:33View of things
23:35It's easy
23:36For him
23:36Surrounded as he
23:37Is by all
23:38The luxuries
23:39The colonies
23:39Have to offer
23:41Clinton has
23:42Four houses
23:43That he lives
23:44In in New York
23:44He's living
23:45Pretty high
23:46On the hog
23:46Well supplied
23:47Certainly his
23:48Liquor bill
23:48Is remarkably high
23:51Found great
23:51Enjoyment in the
23:52Arms of Mrs. Badley
23:54Who was the
23:55Wife of a
23:55British officer
23:58I would guess
23:59It was hard
23:59For Clinton
24:00To leave New York
24:01It was comfortable
24:02It was loving
24:03At least Mrs. Badley
24:04Was
24:05The way
24:06Clinton conducts
24:07The war
24:08From New York
24:08It's almost like
24:09He's waiting
24:09For events
24:10To throw him
24:12In advantage
24:13That he can
24:14Then act upon
24:17Cornwallis'
24:18Instincts are
24:18To act
24:18Cornwallis'
24:20Instincts are
24:20To fight them
24:21To death
24:23Now
24:23My dear friend
24:25What is our plan
24:27Without one
24:28We cannot succeed
24:30If we meet
24:31An offensive war
24:32In America
24:32We must abandon
24:33New York
24:34And bring our
24:35Whole force
24:35Into Virginia
24:36General Charles
24:37Cornwallis
24:43Cornwallis pushes
24:44His contest
24:45Into Virginia
24:46But he is soon
24:47Cut short
24:49Clinton opting
24:50For defensive wars
24:51Orders him to set up
24:53A protective base
24:54Along the coast
24:56This adventure
24:57Through the south
24:58Inland
24:58Is not working
24:59We need to make sure
25:01That we secure
25:02The kinds of bases
25:04The footholds
25:05That will allow us
25:06To maintain our position
25:08In North America
25:09And fight another day
25:16Cornwallis has no choice
25:17But to obey
25:18His commander
25:21He turns his army
25:23Toward a small
25:23Coastal village
25:24To a place
25:26Called Yorktown
25:31Once Yorktown
25:33Was known
25:33Solely as a tobacco
25:34Trading port
25:36But it will soon
25:38Become a major
25:39Battlefield
25:39And for some
25:40A place of destiny
25:48July
25:49The Caribbean
25:51France's Admiral
25:52Degrasse
25:52Makes his long
25:53Awaited appearance
25:56The fall
25:57Is hurricane season
25:58In the Americas
25:59This is a time
26:00When for the most part
26:01Shipping comes to a
26:02Complete pause
26:03In the Caribbean
26:04And so it's the right
26:05Moment
26:06For Degrasse
26:07To leave the Caribbean
26:09And assist
26:10Their allies
26:11In North America
26:13I am sorry
26:15To see the distress
26:16In which the American
26:17Continent finds itself
26:18You can note
26:20The desire I have
26:21To provoke a change
26:22In your favor
26:23Of the situation
26:24Admiral Degrasse
26:27The French navy
26:28Thus far an absent
26:30Player in the revolution
26:31Now turns north
26:33With 28 ships
26:343,000 men
26:35And long-awaited money
26:37To pay continental soldiers
26:40But they also come
26:41With a catch
26:42It will be the French
26:44Not Washington
26:45Who decide
26:45Where they will land
26:47In their view
26:48The British
26:49Are weakest in Virginia
26:51Near the Chesapeake Bay
26:53At the small port
26:55Of Yorktown
27:01Washington had his heart set
27:03On retaking New York
27:05But when Degrasse says
27:06He's going to the Chesapeake
27:07He's going to be there
27:08Just for a certain time
27:11Washington then makes
27:12Really the greatest decision
27:14Of his career
27:15He knows
27:16He seems to sense
27:17That this is the time
27:19This is the time
27:20To strike
27:23It may be declared
27:24In a word
27:25That we are
27:26At the end
27:27Of our tether
27:28And that now or never
27:29Our deliverance
27:30Must come
27:31George Washington
27:35With all he has
27:37Every soldier
27:38Every cannon
27:39Every French reinforcement
27:40Washington moves south
27:45The general now returns
27:47To Virginia
27:48His beloved homeland
27:50In search of the battle
27:52He hopes will end the war
28:00Washington breaks his stride
28:02Just once
28:03As he rides ahead of his army
28:05On a mission
28:06Of a more personal nature
28:12For the first time
28:13Since the beginning
28:14Of the revolution
28:15Washington visits his home
28:18He goes home
28:20To Mount Vernon
28:21And I think
28:22The whole point
28:25Of the war
28:26Is brought home again
28:28To him on a very personal level
28:31He had seen Martha
28:33Only rarely
28:35And he had grown out of touch
28:37With Mount Vernon
28:39Now he delves into the details
28:41That a man of the house
28:43Not the general of an army
28:44Would attend to
28:50There is the ongoing renovation
28:52Of Mount Vernon
28:52And the particulars
28:54Of running a southern plantation
28:58Six years ago
28:59He left them behind
29:00To take charge of a rebellion
29:02That turned into a revolution
29:05And a revolution
29:06That turned into a world war
29:09Now he longs for it
29:11To be over
29:15This is what I'm fighting for
29:18On one hand
29:20And then on the other hand
29:21It's when can I get home
29:24I'm fighting for this
29:25But I want to be here so much
29:29George Washington
29:30Is not the only one
29:31Who came into his own
29:33In these many years
29:35Washington's only son
29:37Jackie
29:37Had come of age too
29:41Long kept out of the army
29:42By his overprotective parents
29:45Jackie now makes
29:46A final plea
29:47To follow his father
29:48Into battle
29:54This time
29:55Washington softens
29:58It is a testament
29:59To Washington's confidence
30:01With all good fortune
30:02The end of the war
30:04Is at hand
30:09A convergence
30:10Is taking shape
30:13As Admiral de Grasse
30:15Sails up toward
30:16Virginia
30:16From the Caribbean
30:18The Continental Army
30:20Now joined by
30:215,000 French troops
30:22Also heads toward
30:24The Chesapeake Bay
30:28There
30:28General Cornwallis
30:29Hastens to build
30:30His defenses
30:31At Yorktown
30:34But he is beginning
30:35To feel that he is
30:36Sitting at the center
30:36Of a dangerous trap
30:43Cornwallis
30:43Raises the alarm
30:44He writes to Clinton
30:46In New York
30:47Sir
30:48If I had no hopes
30:50Of relief
30:50I would rather risk
30:52An action
30:52Than defend
30:53My half-finished defenses
30:54But if you cannot
30:56Relieve me very soon
30:57You must be prepared
30:58To hear the worst
30:59General Charles Cornwallis
31:04Clinton's response
31:06Vague promises
31:08Your lordship may be assured
31:10I shall endeavor
31:11To reinforce the army
31:13Under your command
31:13By all the means
31:15Within my power
31:16Sir Henry Clinton
31:22Cornwallis will soon
31:23Find himself
31:23Hanging on those promises
31:26While Washington
31:27And the French
31:28Will get their chance
31:29To fulfill
31:29The promise
31:30Of alliance
31:32For each player
31:33The war's endgame
31:35Has arrived
31:42The Continental Army
31:44After a year
31:45Of deadlock
31:46And disloyalty
31:47Is now moving
31:48As one
31:48En route
31:49To Yorktown
31:50And the largest
31:51Offensive of the war
31:54America
31:54Fatigued
31:55After six years
31:56Of fighting
31:57Holds its breath
32:00Independence
32:01Their glorious cause
32:03Feels within its grasp
32:05Once more
32:12September 5th
32:16Admiral de Grasse
32:18And his French fleet
32:18Arrive first
32:19To the Chesapeake Bay
32:20And take on
32:21The inadequate
32:22British force
32:23Sent to chase him out
32:28The two navies
32:29Clash at sea
32:30For four days
32:34Both fleets
32:35Are badly hurt
32:36But it is the British
32:38Who must give up
32:39The bay
32:39They needed to drive
32:41De Grasse
32:41Out of the mouth
32:42Of the Chesapeake
32:43And that they failed
32:44To do
32:47De Grasse
32:48In one pivotal battle
32:49Captures control
32:50Of all that comes
32:51Into or out of
32:53Yorktown
32:55General Cornwallis
32:57Knows his situation
32:58Is worsening
33:00He needs more help
33:01He needs reinforcements
33:07His commander
33:08Henry Clinton
33:09Has not budged
33:10From New York
33:14Sir Henry Clinton
33:16To Earl Cornwallis
33:17New York
33:18Your lordship
33:20May be assured
33:20That I am doing
33:21Everything in my power
33:23To relieve you
33:23If the winds permit
33:25And no unforeseen
33:26Accident happen
33:30This however
33:31Is subject to
33:33Disappointment
33:33Sir Henry Clinton
33:37Earl Cornwallis
33:39To Sir Henry Clinton
33:40Sir
33:42I shall have no doubt
33:43If relief arrives
33:45In any reasonable time
33:46York will be
33:48In the possession
33:49Of his majesty's troops
33:50General Charles Cornwallis
33:55Cornwallis
33:56Feeling magnanimous
33:57Takes faith
33:58In Clinton's
33:59Tepid promises
34:01Imprudently
34:02He stays put
34:06One by one
34:07His routes of escape
34:08Are cut off
34:11De Grasse's ships
34:13Inch up the York river
34:14George Washington
34:16Takes the south
34:17French ground troops
34:19Occupy the north
34:20And west
34:2117,000 French
34:23And continental soldiers
34:24Now surround
34:25Cornwallis
34:28Washington presents
34:29His plan
34:31Launch a massive
34:32Frontal assault
34:33On Cornwallis
34:35His European allies
34:37Disagree
34:39Yorktown has now
34:40Become heavily
34:41Fortified
34:42Washington
34:43Washington will lose
34:43A lot of men
34:45In the assault
34:46General Rochambeau
34:48The French commander
34:49Suggests a long range
34:51Siege of cannon
34:52And mortar
34:53Washington sees it
34:54As a better strategy
34:55One of his great
34:56Gifts as a commander
34:58Was to listen
34:59To other people
35:00And often do what
35:01Other people suggested
35:03Even if he was
35:04Against it at first
35:11On October 6th
35:13The siege begins
35:16Trenches are dug
35:18That will
35:18In time
35:19Envelop Yorktown
35:20Like the tightening
35:21Of a noose
35:24Earl Cornwallis
35:26To Sir Henry Clinton
35:27Sir
35:28The enemy made
35:29Their first parallel
35:30On the night
35:31Of the sixth
35:34On the evening
35:35Of the ninth
35:35Their batteries opened
35:39And have since
35:40Continued firing
35:41Without intermission
35:44Against so powerful
35:45An attack
35:46We cannot hope
35:47To make a very long
35:48Resistance
35:48General Charles Cornwallis
35:51A lot of a siege
35:53Is about the timing
35:54Can you force a city
35:56To surrender
35:57Before the city
35:58Gets reinforcements
35:59Can you get closer
36:01And closer
36:02In your parallel
36:03Trenches
36:04As you move
36:05Towards the city
36:06Line of defenses
36:10October 11th
36:12The second parallel
36:13Is dug
36:14Closing the circle
36:15Around Yorktown
36:18Still
36:19There is no sign
36:20Of Clinton's reinforcements
36:24October 11th
36:265pm
36:27Since my last letter
36:28Was written
36:29We have lost
36:3030 men
36:31I have only to repeat
36:32Nothing but a direct move
36:34Can save me
36:35General Charles Cornwallis
36:37Clinton promises support
36:40And Clinton promises support
36:42And Clinton promises support
36:43And Cornwallis
36:44Waits for the support
36:46And he waits for the support
36:47And it doesn't arrive
36:52The siege daily
36:53Is becoming more
36:54And more formidable
36:55His lordship
36:57Cornwallis
36:57Must view his situation
36:58As extremely critical
37:00If not desperate
37:01James Thatcher
37:02American officer
37:06October 14th
37:088pm
37:10Washington's troops close in
37:11And make a full scale attack
37:13On the outer redoubts
37:15Of the fort
37:22October 15th
37:23Earl Cornwallis
37:25To Sir Henry Clinton
37:27Sir
37:27My situation now becomes
37:29Very critical
37:30The safety of this place
37:32Is so precarious
37:33That I cannot recommend
37:35You run great risk
37:36In endeavouring to save us
37:38General Charles Cornwallis
37:41Cornwallis' letter
37:42Will not be read
37:45Clinton has already
37:46Set sail from New York
37:49But the belated relief effort
37:51Will not be in time
37:54His window has closed
38:09For six long years
38:11Washington fought a war
38:13Marked more by loss
38:14Than victory
38:17Now his day has come
38:21The general's finest hour
38:23Begins quietly
38:24With a lone British drummer
38:26Spotted coming through the smoke
38:32The enemy beat a parley
38:34And Lord Cornwallis
38:36Proposed a cessation of hostilities
38:38To settle terms
38:39For the surrender of the posts
38:42To this he was answered
38:44That a desire to spare
38:46The further effusion of blood
38:47Would readily incline me
38:49To accept of the surrender
38:51But that I wished to have it in writing
38:53George Washington
38:58When he got Cornwallis' letter
39:00Proposing the cessation of hostilities
39:04His heart must have been ready to burst
39:07Because I think
39:08He must have known
39:10Just as Cornwallis knew
39:12That was it
39:14This was the end
39:20To Sir Henry Clinton
39:23Sir
39:23I have the mortification
39:26To inform your excellency
39:27That I have been forced
39:29To surrender the troops
39:30Under my command
39:33I never saw this post
39:35In a very favorable light
39:37General Charles Cornwallis
39:42General Henry Clinton
39:43Can barely contemplate
39:45The consequences
39:45Of his inaction
39:47He had set in motion
39:49The end game
39:49And then sat idly
39:51While it played out
39:54Now the southern British army
39:55Is lost
39:56And possibly
39:58The war itself
40:06October 19th
40:081781
40:147,000 redcoats
40:16Lay down their arms
40:17In front of
40:18General George Washington
40:23On this momentous occasion
40:25Only one person is missing
40:28General Charles Cornwallis
40:30Avoids the ceremony
40:31Claiming illness
40:34No doubt he felt worse
40:35On this day
40:36Than any other
40:37In his long military career
40:41How could this have happened?
40:45Cornwallis is so
40:47Humiliated
40:48And so stricken
40:50By the defeat
40:51That he cannot
40:54Surrender in person
40:55To George Washington
41:01October 27th
41:03Cornwallis and Washington
41:04Will meet
41:05A week later
41:06When Cornwallis
41:07In a show of respect
41:08Invites Washington
41:09To his headquarters
41:13What the two men discuss
41:15Is not recorded
41:18But surely
41:19They must have shared
41:20The same thought
41:22Now they come together
41:24As equals
41:24As the commanders
41:25From two nations
41:28One ancient
41:29And powerful
41:31The other
41:32On the verge
41:33Of being born
41:35For the Americans
41:37Certainly there are
41:38Euphoric feelings
41:39Of victory
41:39Now though
41:40The more difficult task
41:41Of building a nation
41:43Begins
41:47Washington the general
41:49Is about to exit
41:50The stage
41:51To make way
41:52For Washington
41:53The statesman
41:54And nation builder
41:56A challenge
41:57He cannot yet conceive
42:02But before he can look
42:03To the future
42:04Washington is pulled
42:05Back into the present
42:06Victory has come
42:08At a terrible price
42:09A personal tragedy
42:11That will forever
42:12Scar the general
42:16During the siege
42:17Washington's son
42:19Jackie
42:19Who finally came
42:20To fight
42:21Alongside his father
42:22Falls ill
42:23To a devastating
42:24Camp fever
42:32Washington and Martha
42:33Arrive in time
42:34To see their son alive
42:35But only briefly
42:37Jackie soon dies
42:39At the very last
42:41A victim of America's
42:42Crusade
42:43At Yorktown
42:46The same time
42:48The country
42:48Is celebrating
42:50In jubilation
42:51Through all the colonies
42:53At the victory
42:53Of Yorktown
42:54The commander in chief
42:56Who brought them
42:57That victory
42:57Is mourning
42:59Deep in grief
43:00Over the death
43:01Of his son
43:02And his final child
43:03George and Martha
43:05Have now lost
43:05All their children
43:09It is the final
43:11Ultimate sacrifice
43:12For the Virginia farmer
43:14Who stepped up
43:15To lead his fledgling country
43:17At last
43:18At last it seems
43:19The revolution
43:19Is coming to an end
43:20But Washington
43:22Like the thousands
43:24Of Americans
43:24Who fought
43:25And died
43:25Alongside him
43:26Must wonder
43:28At the extraordinary
43:29Cost
43:30Of independence
43:40To be continued
43:41To be continued
43:41To be continued
44:01You
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