Yorktown: Victory at Last | 5-Minute Videos | PragerU
PragerU
After six long, bloody years, the American fight for freedom was at a crossroads. To end the Revolutionary War and bring King George to the negotiating table, the rebels needed a knockout punch. They got it at the Battle of Yorktown. Author Robert Orrison tells the story.
Listen to 5-Minute Videos on Spotify and Apple Podcasts 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday!
➡️ Spotify: https://l.prageru.com/3OSGlUL
➡️ Apple Podcasts: https://l.prageru.com/3Nfs9on
Show More
Watch our content ad-free on our app: https://prageru.onelink.me/3bas/vgyxvm79
Donate to PragerU: https://l.prageru.com/4jiAT85
Follow PragerU:
Instagram ➡️ (https://www.instagram.com/prageru/)
X ➡️ (https://twitter.com/prageru)
Facebook ➡️ (https://www.facebook.com/prageru/)
TikTok ➡️ (https://www.tiktok.com/@prageru)
Transcript:
Yorktown: Victory At Last
Presented by Robert Orrison
The Battle of Yorktown effectively ended the Revolutionary War, securing the independence Americans had sacrificed so much to win.
This time it was the rebels who had all the advantages: in soldiers, in cannon, and in naval power. Getting those pieces in place, was a combination of brilliant generalship, the deep pockets of a Philadelphia businessman, and mind-bending luck.
The brilliant generalship was displayed by two men: George Washington and his most trusted subordinate, Nathanael Greene. It was Greene’s daring strategy at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina in March of 1781 that set the stage for the decisive showdown at Yorktown seven months later.
Greene knew he would likely lose the North Carolina battle, but that was okay because he could sustain losses, whereas his opponent, British General Charles Cornwallis, isolated from his supply lines, could not.
Indeed, Cornwallis held the field, but at a price he couldn’t afford. Badly depleted, he moved his army to the port city of Yorktown, Virginia. There, he could rest his men and wait to be resupplied or evacuated by the British fleet.
This made perfect
