Washington was in supreme
command. America had never before seen such an army. The Americans had
done their utmost. That part of the French army that had come down
from Connecticut with Rochambeau had astonished the people of
Philadelphia as they marched through the city by the brilliancy of
their rose-and-violet-faced uniforms, and by the display of their
graceful and accurate military movements. Now they were to have an
opportunity to show whether their warlike spirit was expressed chiefly
in ruffles and tinsel trimmings, or whether they could win fame by
more solid qualities.

On the 29th of September the combined American and French armies moved
southward to a point about four miles from the town. There they
divided into two columns and the Americans defiled to the right, the
French to the left. They then proceeded to arrange themselves around
the town in an irregular semicircle that extended from the river bank
at the west to the shore on the southeast, a distance of about two
miles. Toward the southern side were ranged the various American
regiments under Baron Steuben and General Wayne; and next to these
stood what was called the Light Infantry corps under Lafayette. He had
ventured to suggest to General Washington that he wished his division
might be composed of the troops that had been with him through the
fatigues and dangers of the Virginia campaign; this, he said, would be
the greatest reward he could have for the services he might have
rendered, as he had now the strongest attachment for those troops.
Still another division stood at the extreme right. This was under the
command of General Lincoln, who had been forced, through no fault of
his own, to surrender to the British at Charleston.

The approaches to Yorktown were easy; there were means of shelter
everywhere, and the American army at once began preparations for the
siege.

At last the men finished the construction of two parallels. They were
now within three hundred yards of the British defenses. General
Washington then placed his siege guns in position. It was the first
week in October, 1781. On the sixth the siege began.

Every point in this dramatic history has been made the subject of
story or poem, and naturally some legendary quality would after a time
irradiate the incidents. Thus some writers affirm that General
Washington gave the order for the first shot, and some say that it was
Lafayette. The story is this. Before signing the order,