|
The year 1781 was momentous for the American Revolution. The beginning
of the year, arguably, witnessed perhaps the low point of American morale during the
Revolution. "The people are discontented," George Washington wrote to John
Laurens in early 1781, "but it is with the feeble and oppressive mode of conducting
the war, not with the war itself." Indeed, Washington now believed that it was
critical for the United States and its French allies to achieve a significant military
victory in 1781 or all might be lost because of the state of American public opinion.
Even so, Washington could not have foreseen the events that eventually unfolded during
the year, nor could he appreciate their significance as they occurred. Indeed, most of the
year continued to be characterized by inactivity of the French and most of the Continental
Armies. Only when the brilliant strategic activities of General Nathaneal Greene in North
Carolina forced British General Cornwallis to march into Virginia did an opportunity open
for Washington to achieve the military victory he had hoped for at the start of the year.
In Virginia, on the Yorktown peninsula, Cornwallis found himself cornered by the combined
forces of Washington's Continental Army and the French army and French fleet. These forces
began seige operations against the British troops isolated at Yorktown. On October 17,
1781, Cornwallis sought terms of surrender.
It is important to understand that the significance of the British surrender at
Yorktown could not be fully appreciated by contemporaries. Washington called Yorktown
"an important victory" and "a glorious event," but he, like his
compatriots, could not know what the British response would be to Cornwallis' surrender.
Washington, the Continental Congress, and leaders in the states could only muddle along,
waiting for events to unfold. In fact, Washington worried that the victory at Yorktown
might diminish Americans' continued commitment to the war. For nearly the next two years,
Washington would continue his efforts to keep the Continental Army intact, ready to fight
if that became necessary.
Meanwhile, peace talks between British and American diplomats got underway in Paris in
May 1782 and continued into the fall. In September, the American negotiators (John Jay,
John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin) discovered that the French foreign minister had sent
his secretary on a secret trip to London. Now convinced of French duplicity, Jay, Adams,
and Franklin let the British know that they were willing to negotiate unilaterally--that
is, without French interference. After two months of difficult negotiations, the British
and American diplomats signed the Preliminary Articles of Peace on November 30, 1782.
Until a definitive peace treaty was signed, the United States was still technically at
war. British and French fleets contined to fight on the high seas and in the Caribbean,
but no land actions took place on the North American continent. The focus of the patriots
was on keeping the Continental Army intact, in case the peace talks broke down. At this
point, the greatest danger to the Revolution was the officers of the Continental Army.
Nearly fed up with Congress' inaction regarding their pay (among many other issues),
officers encamped at Newburgh, New York, sent a declaration to Congress concerning the pay
issue. This was a serious threat; Washington diffused the threat by his personal prestige
and by continuing to lobby Congress in behalf of his officers.
For additional documents related to these topics, search
American Memory using such key words as
Charles Cornwallis, Nathaneal Greene, Yorktown, Newburgh and
Preliminary Articles of Peace. Search Washington's Papers and the Journals of the
Continental Congress by date, and use the terms found in the documents to the right of the
page.
top of page |
|
