ve hundred men to Washington's army, Sir Henry Clinton having received
a reinforcement of three thousand Germans, and intelligence having been
received that Count de Grasse, with a French fleet of twenty-eight ships
and seven thousand troops (besides seamen), had sailed for the
Chesapeake, Washington and Count de Rochambeau changed their plan of
operations and determined to proceed to Virginia, and, in combination
with the French fleet and soldiers, to capture the army under the
command of Earl Cornwallis in Virginia. The appearance of an intention
to attack New York was nevertheless kept up. While this deception was
played off, the allied army crossed the North River on August 24th, and
passed on by the way of Philadelphia through the intermediate country to
Yorktown, Virginia. An attempt to reduce the British force in Virginia
promised success with more expedition, and to secure an object of nearly
equal importance to the reduction of New York." (Ramsay's History of the
United States, Vol. II., Chap. xxv., pp. 448-451.)]

[Footnote 50: Dr. Ramsay's History of the United States, Vol. II., Chap.
xxv., pp. 450, 451.]

[Footnote 51: Lord Mahon's History of England, etc., Vol. VII., Chap.
lxiv., p. 172.

"On the other hand, Lord Cornwallis is admitted to have shown most
undaunted resolution. The officers under him, and the troops, German and
English, all did their duty well. For some weeks they had laboured hard,
and unremittingly, in raising their defences; and they were now prepared
with equal spirit to maintain their half-completed works. But besides
the enemy without, they had another within--an epidemic sickness, that
stretched many hundreds helpless in their pallet-beds. Nor could they
hinder Washington from completing his first parallel and opening his
fire upon them in the evening of the 9th of October. For two days the
fire was incessant from heavy cannon, and from mortars and howitzers,
throwing shells in showers on the town, until, says Cornwallis, all our
guns on the left were silenced, our works much damaged, and our loss of
men considerable. By these shells, also, the _Charon_, a ship of
forty-four guns, together with three British transports in the river,
were set in flames and consumed."--_Ib._, p. 173.]

[Footnote 52: Before the investment of Yorktown, Lord Cornwallis sent a
despatch to Sir Henry Clinton, informing him of the delicacy and danger
of his situation, and requesting reinforcements. On the ev