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Fun fact: Charles O'Hara, the british officer that surrendered Cornwallis's sword to Washington, had to surrender his own sword a few years later to a young french artillery officer named Napoleon Bonaparte during the siege of Toulon in 1793. That guy sure met a lot of game changing leaders in his time...

My ancestors lived on a farm 3 miles from Guilford Courthouse. The son , Fredrich, had recently returned from serving under Washington in the north at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. When his father heard the news of Cornwallis in the area threatening to burn all farms in the area to the ground, he grabbed his musket. Father and son fought side by side at Guilford Courthouse in the North Carolina Militia for Guilford county and survived. My family proudly flies the Guilford battle flag next to the United States flags at our homes. Thank you for your coverage of this war. You nailed it as always 🔥🔥

The Writer Here: The battlefields mentioned in this video are all preserved as part of the National Park System and I'd recommend the trip. Yorktown National Battlefield has many buildings from the battle still standing, complete with cannonballs still embedded in their walls. Some additional stories and clarifications: 1) The Great Hurricane killed at least 22,000 people across the Caribbean. The next deadliest Atlantic hurricane was Mitch in 1995 with over 11,000. The 1780 hurricane season killed at least 28,000 in total and hit the British colonies particularly hard. 2) Pensacola fell to the Spanish on May 10, 1781. 3) It is difficult to describe the blow Arnold's defection dealt to American morale. Washington tasked the Culper Ring with killing him in New York, and they barely missed. The American sentiment, attributed to many different people, was that if they ever caught Arnold, they'd cut off his left leg, where he'd been wounded three times, and give it a military burial with full honors. The rest of him would be hanged and thrown in a ditch. The only monument about Arnold in the Americas is actually dedicated to that leg, the Boot Monument at Saratoga. 4) *Venting* There are many theories about how the town of Ninety Six got its name. The fact that it is so named frustrated me to no end because it makes you mentally pump the brakes when reading the name. Ninety Six...what's? Why is there 96 nothings...OH WAIT, that's the town's name. Ruins the research flow. */venting* 5) The Virginia militia present at Cowpens were all former Continental regulars who'd completed their enlistments. 6) Morgan retired after Cowpens for his health. According to several accounts, he was in such severe pain from old injuries and ailments that he could barely ride his horse or walk. 7) Sources say that Cornwallis was very dramatic about burning his tent. He was making a statement to the soldiers, which lessened the sting they felt when he burned their rum ration. 8) Pyle's Loyalists were the architects of their own massacre. They'd been told to move to meet Tarleton on the 23rd but had delayed their march for more time with their families. When they weren't at the designated rendezvous point, Tarleton returned to Cornwallis per his orders. Thus, Lee was mistaken by the Loyalists for Tarleton and was allowed into their camp before he turned on them. 9) Greene's counterattack relied more on British supply problems than any strategic or tactical brilliance. The British had to withdraw from every position Greene attacked, even if they repelled him because they wouldn't be able to keep it supplied or replace their losses. 10) Clinton's inaction during the campaign is largely due to him having a fragmented at best understanding of what was happening, and Germain is directly responsible for this communication breakdown. He was deliberately keeping Clinton in the dark about Cornwallis' campaign, and there's evidence that it was for petty political reasons. That Clinton and Cornwallis' formerly excellent working relationship had broken down during 1780 didn't help. Culper Ring deceptions made it worse. 11) The French had landed at Newport to resupply for an attack on Newfoundland that never happened due to a British blockade. 12) *A complaint:* It is very hard to meaningfully convey the length of 18th century naval battles. It was routine for fleets to form into lines and pound away at each other for hours without doing real damage, only for some random thing to happen which decisively wins the battle like the wind shifting or a magazine exploding. At the Chesapeake, it took 6 hours for the two fleets to move close enough to engage each other before 4 hours of cannon fire produced a total of 500 casualties and 7 ships out of 43 with meaningful damage. 13) Alexander Hamilton led the American forces storming Redoubt #10. This is the only mention I'm making of him in this series. 14) As was customary, following the British surrender the French and American officers invited the British officers to dinner. Except for Tarleton. He _pointedly_ wasn't invited.

I have always loved the quote from Nathaniel Greene. "We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again." That is the 18th century version of Captain America's "I can do this all day." One interesting local history story about the "Race to the Dan" between Greene and Cornwallis. When Greene reached Salisbury, NC he entered a tavern to plan out his armies next movements. He happened to see a portrait of King George III hanging on the wall. He went over and turned the portrait to face the wall and on the back he wrote "Oh George, hide thy face and mourn." This story is probably apocryphal because for those that don't know Salisbury, NC is located in Rowan County. During the Revolution, Rowan County was a hotbed of Patriot support. No one would willingly hang a portrait of the King in the open and expect to not be attacked, especially in a public place like a tavern.

The Battle of Cowpens was a brilliant achievement. Daniel Morgan’s plan was one of the best tactical victories of the War. I only wish I could have been a fly on the Walk when Tarleton explained the depth of his defeat to Cornwallis.

I spent a summer giving tours of the Moore House at the Yorktown Battlefield. When I had no tourists, I'd read a book from a rocking chair on the porch overlooking the York River. It was a wonderful summer. 😊

I probably know more about American history than at least 99% of people, but I still get a little tidbits here and there that I’ve never heard before from these videos and I really appreciate it.

This series has been fantastic. You should consider covering the campaign of Bernardo de Galvez in its own video. People underestimate the crucial role Spanish Louisiana played in breaking the British.

My direct ancestor was Colonel Andrew Hampton and was at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Apparently, he helped muster the "Over the Mountain Men" by journeying west from his home in Rutherfordton, NC. At the time, he was already a bit older, having achieved rank of Colonel and having fought the Cherokee as a younger man. Later he became Sheriff. Man, they don't make them as tough as they used to. History is so freakin' rad......

Battle of Yorktown. It looks like the American Revolution series is over. Thanks K&G. Soon I going to start making animations on after effects. Your maps are so inspiring.

There's nothing like a good sleep after a history binge.

I would really enjoy a series surrounding general Ulysses Grant’s Chattanooga campaign during the American civil war as there are almost no documentaries on this pivotal moment in that conflict

Fun Fact: During the Battle of the Chesapeake Bay the French Warships intentionally fired Chain Shot to destroy British Masts so that the British would take longer to return. Which really aided in the taking of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

2:10 Divine wind: Western edition?

I had just watched the last episode of the series only a few hours ago and waited for the next episode to release in a few days,But now that you uploaded it today,you made my day

Cool. Looking forward to this.

11:00 “In fairness to Tarleton…” Tarleton was less victorious than he claimed or perhaps believed (possibly in youth and inexperience lacking discernment in battle results). Blackstock’s Plantation, months before Cowpens, for example was not at all a clear victory for Tarleton, but he claimed it to distant and none the wiser Cornwallis as one. What that earlier battle did do was reveal to the Continentals Tarleton’s tactical monomania. Thus Morgan at Cowpens knew what to expect.

It makes me so happy as an American to hear Tarlton spending the first 1/3 of the video just getting roasted. That dude was the original fuck boi

Amazing! I’ve been to Fort Mill countless time and this is the first time I’ve heard of this event in such great detail! Thank you very much!

As a Brit, I really enjoy these videos. Great work

Growing up in Gloucester and Yorktown, it is REALLY cool seeing my backyard come to life while watching your videos.

Excellent presentation. Thank you

Your video is a breath of fresh air in a sea of content. Thank you for your originality!

Hurray, Tadeusz Kościuszko mentioned yet again! (12:40) Fun fact about an episode skiped in the video, due to more important things happening elsewhere: during the unsuccessful siege of Ninety Six by Nathaniel Greene (May - June, 1781) Kościuszko receved a bayonet wound. This shows that that the job of a military engineer was closer to the actual fighting, than one might think. Although, it sounds slightly less dramatic and heroic, once you learn that Tadeusz was bayoneted in his buttock. 😉

Crazy how a great part of modern history is just the direct consequence of the Franco-British rivalry…

" I may have no honor, but you is a slave to it" - Jin Sakai. Funny how this quote fit this situation more than it fit the game 😂

An excellent video on the battle of Yorktown. Thank you very much

I have really enjoyed your series on the American Revolution, very informative. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the video

God bless the USA!!!

Crazy to think there were more French soldiers ( not even countign the fleet) than americans at Yorktown. Also not many countries get to claim victory over the Royal Navy but France does.

love this channel

excellent as always

just a FYI: your map of virginia is wrong. you have williamsburg where gloucester is and yorktown is a little off as well. i suspect the others are a little off as well.

Amazing K&G

12:53 Bro 40 miles in 16 hours is crazy!

Was very interesting to watch this documentary. looking forward to the sequel.

K&G should do a video on the Spanish American War.

A great series I believe would be one on the Golden Age of Piracy. There was a series on STARZ called Black Sails and although it is historical fiction it introduces a great number of important historical figures throughout the show, much like Shogun did. I feel this would be a great addition to the K&G library and a very interesting topic to many viewers. Both from the military aspect of course but also economic history and political history due to the proto democratic nature of the organizational structure of pirate crews

I wish you did a separate video for both Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse. Those two battles are the reason that Yorktown even happened. Without the devastating loss of Cowpens and the Pyrrhic Victory at Guilford made Cornwallis realize that he had to deal with Virginia because it was the major supply for the Americans. Greene and Morgan were geniuses in using a defense in depth that just wore down the British.

Fantastic video.

Such good work i love revolutionary war history its one of my favorites.

How we are spoiled about american 18th century wars. First epic history published a stpry about 1790's wars and now Kings and Generals offers us Yorktown. History channels are a blessing.

When I think of the Battle of Yorktown I now think of the scene from “The Patriot”.

No way you posted this one while I’m at the coast guard training center that’s literally on the Yorktown battlefields. Gonna take a nice hike tomorrow thinking about all this

The War of American Independence encapsulates the dramatic and transformative struggle of the Thirteen Colonies against British rule. This historical journey, vividly chronicled in the series, unveils the pivotal moments that defined the conflict. From the initial skirmishes at Lexington and Concord to the strategic brilliance at Saratoga, each battle reveals the resilience and determination of the Continental Army. The entry of France and Spain into the war marked a critical turning point, underscoring the global dimensions of the conflict. The eventual British capitulation at Yorktown epitomizes the indomitable spirit of the revolutionaries, paving the way for a new nation built on the principles of liberty and self-governance. This rich history not only highlights the military aspects but also serves as a testament to the enduring human spirit in the pursuit of freedom.

Thank you for this. Not sure it's the right niche but I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's series on the early US army and 18th-19th century content in general. Keep up with the amazing work

Tarleton: “Attack!” His dragoons: “Fuck this shit, I’m out!” 🏃‍♂️ 💨

Great Video. Hearing you mention this locations of battles, I keep thinking of the US Civil war.

12:44 I just watched the polish partition video so when I heard that name I did the Leonardo DiCaprio point at screen thing

Yorktown would never have happened without Spain behind the scenes! Spain had a huge role in the military planning of Yorktown which is why the Spanish Ambassador was invited to the Yorktown victory celebration in October of last year 2023! So what if Spanish forces weren't there? Spain was still fully involved thanks to Francisco Saavedra! The Man of the Hour!

I love you Daniel Morgan. Cowpens is such a masterpiece.

Great video, you guys forgot to mention that the battle would not have been possible without the funds from the Spanish military after Galvez campaigned against the British.

Awesome

Great video

Incroyable!

A Fantastic vídeo.

Funny how I was cruising by Washington's headquarters on the way to Yorktown beach. It's a pretty ride.

As a proud American citizen and a huge K&G fan, nothing makes me happier than to hear about how we "ate the opp", for lack of my own better words Killer as always you guys. Not to expect any less 😎

I had two ancestors with Washington at Yorktown. They were lieutenants from Staunton Virginia and Philadelphia Pennsylvania.

@KingsandGenerals , great video as always. However, I must point out a major historically inaccurate geographical error. The large lake in central South Carolina, depicted here to the left of Camden, didn't exist during this time period. That Lake is called Lake Murray, and is one of the largest man made lakes in the world, which wasn't created until construction for the dam began in 1927, and only being completed until 1930. Love the video though!

hi man why you didn't uploaded wih english subtitles please upload next videos with subtitles thanks good videos best channel for historical videos

Incredible.

Good introduction of world events otherwise not part of the American history. Totally unaware of Barbados hurricane and South Asian skirmishes. Nice work K&G!

Given how the surrender at Yorktown is seen as such a large event, it seems odd that the war goes on for almost another 2 years. It is understandable given the lag time of diplomats deciding terms and travelling by tall ships. It will be interesting to see the transition from open warfare to negotiated peace.

Fantastic video! But I was hoping for more in depth on the Battle of Yorktown itself. I'm very curious why Cornwallis seemed to put almost ZERO effort into defending his redoubts. It would be crucial to delaying the siege guns being in range, and he only had one or two companies in each. And they were snuck up on in the night! What the heck was going on?

This is quality content. At least, it's not The Patriot.

The maps of Tidewater including Cape Henry, and Yorktown are not bad. Some emphasis might be made on the hilly nature of the terrain around Yorktown. Cornwallis' camp was up on a bluff high over the river. From the battlefield museum there is an old oyster road running down to the water. There is very little open or flat ground right around there which is a reason the American and French armies could camp so close to the fighting. That field was shielded by trees and became the surrender field I think. There is a memorial there with a button you can push for narration and it plays presumably The World Turned Upside Down. Which I have never heard referred to as apocryphal before, but I couldn't tell you the earliest source. As famous here is the tale of the frustrated British soldier who broke his musket in half upon surrendering it, and who knows about that one as well. A lot of muskets would break, we still find them metal detecting. Well the band had to play something and I doubt it was God Save The King.

Please do a Civil War series after this!

This series really drives home the fact that America would not of eventually won it's war of independence if it were not for a mixture of good luck and Britain being surrounded by enemies on all sides. With France and Spain looking to dismantle the Empire mixed with natural disasters and rebellions across the colonies it's actually amazing Britain held out as long as it did considering the sheer cost of man power needed and the logistics of maintaining so many battlefronts supplied. It also occurred to me how different history would of been if Britain and France were instead united in a east/west Rome like partnership that did not falter, this way both sides had leadership that would of been placated with their level of authority and the two sides would of taken equal measure of the various conquests. Whats more the removal of their rivalry would not of opened any opportunities for colonies to splinter away and in fact any notion of friction could of been a tool to lure out rebels to then be attacked by combined might. The end goal could of easily been a world dominated by the Britain/France alliance and then test would then occur once this was done as the leadership (leaders are mostly are petty selfish bunch) as the two sides would then be free to look to see which side takes the greater influence over the other side and it would then all fall apart and burn or by this point the ability to resolve the conflict via a vote of the world wide elite could of saw the two sides be formally united and a single leader rise up. But of course that was not how it played out and the reality is Britain got too big and found itself at odds with too many enemies to be able to hold out against every opportunistic rebellion.

Thank you.

Please cover lesser known American history such as: The Barbary Pirate Wars (1806, 1812-1815) Geromino's Insurrection (1858-1872) Nez Perce War (1877) George Custer's Black Hills Campaign (1876) America's Anti-Insurgency Campaigns in the Philippines (1898-1911) Mexican-American war (1848) Spanish-American war (1898) Andrew Jackson's Rogue War for the Conquest of Florida (1818)

Cornwallis's "indiscriminately plundering farms to feed his army" is mythology. The surviving British orderly books from the campaigns in NC illustrate that plundering and burning of any property was to be met with execution. He repeatedly reminded his troops that they were marching through the homes of British subjects and that if they acted like the Rebel Militia, they would turn the population against them. Rather than plundering, they paid for all of the cattle, hogs, wheat, and other supplies, either with hard currency, or with promissory notes guaranteeing repayment.

North Carolina mentioned!! We're important for stuff!

Hey you forgot to mention the airports being captured.

I’ve lived behind this battlefield for the past 3 years, it used to be old free slave family homes until 1930’s when the CCC began to take care of our nations history. Many of these family’s had to move due to this and the siege trenches were rebuilt. It’s a neat part of our history:)

Holy shit, your the first person I’ve seen call my city of mobile by the right name!

And the world turned upside down.

Fun fact, after the surrander at Yorktown it was a tradition back then to invite the enemy generals for dinner. Washington presumely did that, but just one British was not invited... yeah Tarleton 😂

I grew up around Yorktown, spent a lot of time there.

Missing important event was the capture of the British convoy in 1780 by Spanish admiral Cordova where he captured 55 British ships heading for the Carolinas. This would truly force Cornwallis to retreat to Yorktown expecting these reinforcements. Another, Francisco de Saavedra, Spanish minister in Cuba, was the true architect of Yorktown naval campaign. He created the treaty with France to allow De Grasse to move north and provided the funding for the Franco-American army to move to Yorktown. He never got the credit because he couldn’t arrive in Yorktown due to him being assigned to Central America by orders of the king. France stole that credit. Lastly, the meeting between Washington and Rochambeau to organize the siege took place in Wethersfield, Connecticut, not New York. The house is still preserved with all the information about that historic moment.

Spain paid and funded the Yorktown campaign! Not France! Spain paid both the French and Continental soldiers who hadn't been paid for several months and years causing several mutinees and also paid and refurbished Degrasse's French fleet allowing Degrasse to travel to both the Chesapeake and later Yorktown which Spain also had a huge role in the military planning behind the scenes with Francisco Saavedra and Degrasse! Saavedra was the Man of the Hour! Yes, no Spanish troops fought at Yorktown but they didn't have to. Glory was already achieved in the Atlantic and Pensacola! Now it was the French and Continental army's turn to do their job! Cordova's victory in the Atlantic and Bernie's victory at Pensacola! Not to mention the Great Hurricane 🌀 of 1780 that destroyed several British ships and heavy loss of life! These three Spanish elements helped weaken and demoralize the British! The path was set! A mere 8,000 man force. Small army. An easy victory for the combined French and American army lol!

When Lord North heard of Yorktown he purportedly said, “It’s all over”…..meaning the Revolutionary War. It didn’t as small scale fighting continued but there were no large scale fighting.

Glad to finally see the French troops get to shine in this war between Britain and its rebellious colonial holdings. But still, the fact that they did most of the fighting and gain nothing from it, let alone being able to settle the national debt before the French Revolution could happened, baffled me because in real life, no nations or peoples are that generous. And I have this question to ask: Is it right for Britain to ask the Thirteen Colonies to help pay for the costs of the Seven Years' War in the first place? And if the British government in London resorted to saying that the war happened because of George Washington or someone under his command killed the leading French military officer first, what will be the colonists' response? I said that because we know that the European monarchs at the time will do their best to keep their hands clean by finding other excuses instead of admitting that their own rivalries were the ones responsible for this war in the first place.

Thanks!

The bulk of the money to pay DeGrasse to sail with Rochambeau's army was raised on the streets of Havana by Galvez and Savaadra in 6 hours. " The plan devised by French Rear Adm. François Joseph Paul, comte de Grasse, and Spaniard Don Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis, known as the de Grasse-Saavedra Convention after its ratification in Paris and Madrid, had far-reaching aims. Saavedra described the convention’s goals in his journal: “These were to aid the Anglo-Americans powerfully, in such a way that the English cabinet would in the end lose the hope of subduing them; to take possession of various points in the Windward Islands, where the English fleets lying in protected forts were threatening French and Spanish possessions; and to conquer Jamaica, the center of the wealth and power of Great Britain in that part of the world.”"

Continental Army officers: Give a confusing patch of orders during battle Conintental Army soldiers misinterpreting the order: *WITHDRAWL*

Fun Fact: Joseph Plum Martin (Whose War Diary has given all of us insight into the Continental Army) helped to lead the attack on the Redoubts that eventually forced Cornwallis into surrender. Without them the British were done.

*fucks up and starts withdrawing* morgan-“ah yes! Excellent feigned retreat! Well done sah”

Ever since I had my first child (1992), I've been very fit (water aerobics, pilates). But walking a stroller in the neighborhood (different muscles) just kicked my butt. Good job keeping up during your pregnancy. Looking forward to seeing the new munchkin.

Happy Independence day 2024🎉🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲

The wider map at 20:33 is incorrect because Pensacola had fallen on May 10, 1781 completing the conquest of West Florida and taking the last British base on the Gulf coast.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO MULTIPLE BATTLES IN ONE VIDEO ON STEPHEN THE GREAT!!!!!!11

Why don't you do a series in how the Spanish and Mexicans sent soldiers to fight in the American revolution and beat the British every time helping George Washington and bringing millions of dollars in silvers to pay the soldiers

The story of Lee walking into a loyalist camp is pretty good. Lee intended to just keep walking but a militiaman decided to hack a dude’s head in half and that set off a massacre.

THE BATTLE OF YORKTOWN 1781

Fun fact Light Horse Harry Lee is the father of future confederate general Robert E Lee

Truly legendary french victory

Nice nice!