Yorktown, Virginia, twentieth and twenty-seconth of October in the year 2006

Surrender at Yorktown

A truly memorable event. Memorable for its fun, its frustrations, its sheer size. But above all its emotional impact.

Zweybrucken Street
The historic city of Yorktown, with its brick & wooden colonial houses, was filled with the tents of the Crown Forces. In every public space, and even in front- & back-yards, there were rows and rows of wedge tents. The cooking area was 3-4 blocks from our tents so we nixed setting up a cookfire & messed on dry food & ate out in the evenings. Our tents however were right next to the Parade area, the sutlers and close to the river and Redoubts 9 & 10 which proved very convenient.

The American & French camp was away across a vast nomansland & was staggeringly huge. Crown Forces mustered 6-700 fighting men & our enemies looked to outnumber us 2:1. With camp followers there must have been 2-3000 reenactors.

The 4th was brigaded with a very diverse group of detachments to form a Composite light Company under Lieut.Enys (aka Jim Bezio, 29th) & Serjt Chris Woolf (yours truly of the 4^th). The detachments came from the 4th, 17th, 29th, 33rd, 76th, & New York Volunteers. We varied in strength from 10-20. Few had worked together before but the team proved amazingly tough & cohesive. We repeatedly drilled in any spare time & had our spirits lifted by 17th Regt Cpl Sean O’Bryen’s endless songs & banter. Most were grizzled veterans, including Steve Taylor of the 29th – back at Yorktown for the second time!!!! I take my cap off to these guys, some of whom had never done Light drill before & yet all performed exceeding well.

Endview Plantation
The event was remarkable for its twin locations at Yorktown National Park and Endview, 4 miles away. Drew powder from the central "magazine" Then "hurry up & wait", so we trained some more. In the woods we got in the mood by having an impromptu prayer service (as we did before each action), & taking cover.

The Allied Line was formed in impressive array about 100 yards from a well-built, square earthen redoubt, with a ditch, defended by a few Fusiliers & Grenadiers & Gunners. The allied artillery was massed at an oblique angle about 40 yards from the redoubt. We were assigned (along with the 40th Light Co) to the quick-reaction force concealed in a wood about 30 yards behind the redoubt.

From our vantage point, the position was clearly hopeless. However, it was not to be. The artillery blazed away uselessly as the Composite company deployed to the left of the redoubt, while the 40th deployed to the right to screen the formation of the Army. Even prone and extended as it was, our skirmish line should have been annihilated –being just a few yards from the enemy guns. But we blazed away gloriously for maybe 40 minutes, ending up at close order as more troops came up. We were not allowed to run round the open flank of the enemy gunline and seize the 2nd redoubt – it would have been oh so easy and made the day much more fun. Finally we were declared the winners.

The Redoubt
I was very pleased with the performance of the composite company, which was very rapidly developing a very strong esprit de corps. Being away from camp, we had a haversack lunch and nap in the woods which was pretty cool. Once the company re-assembled, we went out to play with the redoubt by ourselves & practiced parapet firing and escalading. Great fun. A shilling to the first man in.

The afternoon battle was much better. This time the French rushed in & stormed the redoubt as the rest of our troops came up. The French carried scaling equipment to speed their crossing of the ditch & ramparts. It was a fine sight to see that line of bayonets advancing with such élan & chanting "vive le roi, vive le roi" over & over again.

We were ordered to counter attack. The Composite company immediately closed up & charged as discipline veterans should. But in the teeth of a withering cross-fire we suffered horrendous casualties, including their gallant serjeant! Cpl O’Bryan took over & performed magnificently. The crown forces launched repeated attacks to recapture the redoubt after our initial tragic attempt. But without success. The rebel hordes pressed forward & drove back the remaining gallant British defenders. The French even pursued into the woods but did not hold there.

Abercrombie's Sortie
Next began a parade, colour ceremony and inspection by an actual British general. This was fine & touching, and then the army immediately marches straight into battle.

The Composite Company was honoured to be included in the force representing Abercrombie’s Sortie of Oct 16th 1781, while the rest of the army took post on the parapets of the original fortifications.

The raiding party, of the Guards and Light Infantry, moved quickly in line across nomansland to surprise a French redoubt in the gathering twilight. Men tripped and equipment clattered but we achieved surprise and endeavoured to spike the guns; took an officer prisoner & retired rapidly under fire from the enemy army now fully alarmed.

The enemy lines erupted in fire along their whole length & our boys replied in kind as the sun went down on the British Empire in North America (poetic licence – sorry Canada). The smoke lay thick on the ground & in the ditches in front of the parapets. The setting sun cut crazy patterns through the smoke.

We tramped back to the lines as best we could, exhausted from the long siege and a hard day's fighting. We had plenty of real casualties from turned ankles & asthma, but we returned fire, by platoons, as we went. I think I fired the final shot of the Raiding Party before it returned to the Lines.

Whatever the case, it would prove to be the final shot from my beloved musket, an old Japanese # 2063 that was probably at Yorktown last time around, found in a basement in Lexington MA and lovingly restored in 1999.

The Composite Company reassembled inside the lines, having been much disordered in the Retreat, and took post on the Parapets. Guns blazed in all directions. The rebels put out some spectacular volleys, including one I distinctly recall that lit up fully half the distant woodline. I would guess this was a division of at least 400 men. Beautiful.

After a time a new sound broke out, a lone drummer beating parlay. Soon the firing ceased & a new deathly silence filled the lines at Yorktown. It was finally over. It was hard not to be moved. It's six-and-a-half years since I led the march out from Boston. I am the only survivor of that group now present at Yorktown.

We marched back to camp after some fussing with the powder, & set about marking the ceasefire as any unsuccessful army should, by destroying the rum stores to prevent them falling into enemy hands.

Our group scattered for dinner. Lieut.Enys (aka Jim Bezio) kindly took Kim & I to dinner at the Duke of York restaurant in company with some other kindred spirits to mark my good trull’s birthday, Trafalgar Day and some other anniversary. There we had the honour to meet Mr & Mrs Thomas Nelson, direct descendant of Virginia Governor Thomas Nelson who fired the first shot of the Siege of Yorktown, aimed at his own house (that still stands). Mr & Mrs Nelson in turn related their meetings this week with the current Lord & Lady Cornwallis. It was a chance encounter that really made the history come alive.

Surrender
Sunday dawned grey and dismal, appropriately enough for the occasion. My men marched out as though heading to an indefinite period of captivity, carrying anything of value to them in their parks. Canteens full. Even the trulls carried whatever they could.

What happened next demonstrated the best of what the British Brigade can bring to an event. The Sjt-Majors established order & moved the massed brigades effortlessly to the very small field in front of the victory monument. The Colours were paraded a final time then furled & cased. It was a devastatingly emotional moment. A little bit of lip biting, for sure.

We marched in stop/start fashion the 1.5 miles to the actual Surrender Field. Cpl O’Bryan did his best to keep spirits up with the odd verse and his water of life, but the tension was clearly mounting. One of his songs was very moving, about "the present company likely shall never be together again."

Finally we came eyeball to eyeball with our enemies of these long years as we marched through their ranks. I thought I recognized a few faces. All were solemn. The rain fell.

The Ensigns solemnly surrendered the Colours.

We marched out, Brigade by Brigade, to ground arms. I smashed my musket down in frustration and rage at the idea of surrender. I succeeded in shattering the stock in half and bending the lock. As we waited for the remaining units to yield their arms, we spontaneously struck up "God Save the King" & began the long march into captivity.

So overall, an unforgettable event. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I hope I live long enough to pass on my experiences to the next generation so that in 2031. I appreciate the efforts of the National Park Service to do the best they could within the limitations of the rules imposed on them. I greatly appreciate the efforts of the Quartermasters & other organizing officers who struggled manfully with such a huge task which came off with surprisingly little trouble overall.

Above all my thanks go to the men and women of the 4th who came and made it possible, and to all out friends who served with us, starting with Jim Bezio of the 29th & Sean O'Bryen of the 17th.

Your most awed and humbled servant,

Chris Woolf
Serjeant, King's Own