GUNS OF INDEPENDENCE: The Siege of Yorktown, 1781 [Hardcover]

Jerome Greene (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2005

The siege of Yorktown in the fall of 1781 was the single most decisive engagement of the American Revolution. The campaign has all the drama any historian or student could want: the war's top generals and admirals pitted against one another; decisive naval engagements; cavalry fighting; siege warfare; night bayonet attacks; and much more. Until now, however, no modern scholarly treatment of the entire campaign has been produced.

By the summer of 1781, America had been at war with England for six years. No one believed in 1775 that the colonists would put up such a long and credible struggle. France sided with the colonies as early as 1778, but it was the dispatch of 5,500 infantry under Comte de Rochambeau in the summer of 1780 that shifted the tide of war against the British.

In early 1781, after his victories in the Southern Colonies, Lord Cornwallis marched his army north into Virginia. Cornwallis believed the Americans could be decisively defeated in Virginia and the war brought to an end. George Washington believed Cornwallis's move was a strategic blunder, and he moved vigorously to exploit it. Feinting against General Clinton and the British stronghold of New York, Washington marched his army quickly south. With the assistance of Rochambeau's infantry and a key French naval victory at the Battle off the Capes in September, Washington trapped Cornwallis on the tip of a narrow Virginia peninsula at a place called Yorktown. And so it began.

Operating on the belief that Clinton was about to arrive with reinforcements, Cornwallis confidently remained within Yorktown's inadequate defenses. Determined that nothing short of outright surrender would suffice, his opponent labored day and night to achieve that end. Washington's brilliance was on display as he skillfully constricted Cornwallis's position by digging entrenchments, erecting redoubts and artillery batteries, and launching well-timed attacks to capture key enemy positions. The nearly flawless Allied campaign sealed Cornwallis's fate. Trapped inside crumbling defenses, he surrendered on October 19, 1781, effectively ending the war in North America.

Penned by historian Jerome A. Greene, The Guns of Independence: The Siege of Yorktown, 1781 offers a complete and balanced examination of the siege and the participants involved. Greene's study is based upon extensive archival research and firsthand archaeological investigation of the battlefield. This fresh and invigorating study will satisfy everyone interested in American Revolutionary history, artillery, siege tactics, and brilliant leadership.

About the Author: Jerome A. Greene is a historian with the National Park Service. He is the author or editor of many books, including Morning Star Dawn: The Powder River Expedition and the Northern Cheyenne, 1876, and his most recent effort, Washita: The U.S. Army and the Southern Cheyennes, 1867-1869. He lives in Colorado.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Savas Beatie LLC; 1st edition (April 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932714057
• ISBN-13: 978-1932714050
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,637,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, May 25, 2005

By 

John Hamill (Roanoke, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GUNS OF INDEPENDENCE: The Siege of Yorktown, 1781 (Hardcover)

Based on a bicentennial era Park Service publication intended for park employees, this updated version gives us the most complete account yet of the decisive siege. In the first scholarly treatment of the siege in decades, the author uses numerous sources neglected in other studies, including archeological studies from the 1930s and 40s, and accounts by participants, foreign and domestic. Unmatched in detail and scholarship, and chocked full of insight and information not found anywhere else, this book is a valuable addition to any Revolutionary War enthusiast's library. After a brief overview of the events leading up to the campaign, Greene gives a detailed view of the thinking of the commanders and the decisions they faced, the methods of 18th century siegecraft, the progress of the siege, and little known events that had an important impact. The reader will see the campaign in a whole new light, and understand it like never before. Indeed, you cannot fully understand Yorktown until reading this book. The book's excellent maps and battlefields photos not only help explain the siege, they beg the reader to pack his bags and go for a visit. Only some minor flaws and lack of a map of the initial Allied approach keep the book from a five star rating.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book to read about the Siege of Yorktown, May 28, 2005

By 

Blake A. Magner (Haddon Township, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GUNS OF INDEPENDENCE: The Siege of Yorktown, 1781 (Hardcover)

The Guns of Independence is one of the finest campaign/siege studies this reviewer has read on the Revolutionary War. The volume covers the blunders committed by the British commander Lord Cornwallis and the, for once, amazing cooperation between the Allied forces under George Washington.

Of special interest is the attention given the physical operations conducted during the siege of Yorktown. The author details the types of artillery used and the construction of entrenchments, redoubts and battery positions. Photographs of the reconstructed fortifications help the reader visualize the action. In additon, references to archaeological excavations are not only fascinating, but give the reader a look at the detail involved in siege warfare.

The author has done a superb job of research and his writing, though a bit stiff at times, keeps the reader interested. The nuts and bolts of the volume are solid with crisp, clear, well-produced photographs and informative, nicely constructed maps. This volume provides a solid education in the actions at Yorktown in September/October 1781, and for those interested in the siege, this is the volume to read.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the typical look at the Siege of Yorktown, May 24, 2005

By 

Scott Cummings "PatriotResource" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GUNS OF INDEPENDENCE: The Siege of Yorktown, 1781 (Hardcover)

As stated in blurbs for the book, this is a scholarly work, which means it has not been written as a narrative. Most books on the Siege of Yorktown spend a great deal of time setting stage by recounting the events and politics in play during 1781, which came together at Yorktown. Because the pacing of the siege is rather slow, the narratives concentrate on the events leading up and following the Siege itself, perhaps giving a glimpse of the siege with a few personal episodes that are meant to signify the entire siege.

Jerome A. Greene's approach is instead been written as a factual presentation of the progression of the military actions of the seige. The basis of the book was a treatment that Mr. Greene actually put together almost thirty years ago to assist the Colonial National Historical Park at Yorktowk during the observance of the bicentennial in 1976. Mr. Greene has revisited the material and updated it for this publication. The structure of the book does mostly follow in chronological order, but there a few jumps within the chronology of the siege when talking about a particular element, such as artillery or certain fortifications.

The book spends little time on the background of the war and quickly brings the parties together at Yorktown. He then goes into detail about fortifications, and the distribution of forces on both sides. Mr. Greene assumes the reader has some basic knowledge of sieges, because he does not stop to define each term used to describe siege elements. It is recommended that the reader familiarize oneself with siege terminology and basic strategy before tackling this material, so that the reader can concentrate on how siege techniques were carried out at Yorktown.

Mr. Greene clearly spent a great deal of time researching the events of the battle from the varied number of American, French, German, Hessian and British sources that he cites. He also illustrates the confusion of war by citing several versions of events when a clear concensus could not be reached from the primary sources. He breaks up the recounting of facts and figures with some personal moments drawn from those varied sources, such as a sapper's surprise encounter with General George Washington and a recounting of how an argument between Henry Knox and Alexander Hamilton was settled by a British shell.

The book is full of additional details, such as the artillery numbers and amount of ammunition expended, a lengthy breakdown of the the chain of command for American, French and British forces and descriptions and maps concerning the fortifications. The supplemental information (170+ pages worth not including an index) following the 330 pages of text further enhance the reasons for adding the book to one's collection. The five appendices are the following: Modern Photographic Gallery (22 images), Washington and Cornwallis Correspondence (copies of five letters from October 17-18), The Articles of Capitulation (copy of the official surrender document), The Archaelology of the Grand French Battery Complex and The Artillery at Yorktown. The book includes bibliography and a vast number of endnotes (fully 90 pages in the galley), so a reader can continue their own research.

If one is looking for greater detail of the Siege of Yorktown, then this book is highly recommended to not only be read, but added to one's collection for repeated reference.