My
teens had heard the story of Yorktown before, but a few days ago they saw it with
their own eyes and were amazed.
We
were driving south on the Colonial Parkway and could see the Coleman Bridge
ahead on the left connecting Yorktown (on the right) and Gloucester Point.
“Cornwallis
was waiting for the British navy to rescue him, but the French were waiting. The Battle of the Capes was the only battle
the British navy lost in over 350 years (1588-1941).”
“Wow,
so then what?” my daughter asked while scanning for restaurants.
“Cornwallis
decided to cross the river right about where the bridge is now.”
“That
shouldn’t have been hard,” my son said as he gazed across the York River.
“Looks
like it,” I agreed, “but a sudden gale turned back most of the boats, so
Corwallis was stuck. And, of course, he later
surrendered. If he had not surrendered,
the war would have continued on, and the Colonies were in poor shape to
continue fighting.”
We
turned left onto the bridge and my children just stared down at the river as we
crossed over to Gloucester Point.
“Washington
thanked Providence, but I guess it could have been coincidence,” I remarked.
After
a moment of silence, I added, “Of course, I could tell you the stories of Long
Island and Boston and—“
