Surrender Field
YORKTOWN BATTLEFIELD TOUR
See the Yorktown Battlefield Tour home page for a tour map.
The last stop on the Yorktown Battlefield Tour is the field where 7,000 British soldiers surrendered to the American and French armies on October 19, 1781. Back in the day when people were honest and had honor, soldiers who surrendered would march to a designated location with weapons on their shoulders, and upon reaching the location, they would lay them down. There was no last minute ambushes or shootouts. If you said you were surrendering, you surrendered. People were so honest and dignified back then that if you were captured, particularly if you were an officer, you were often let go if you promised not to fight again. Called “parole,” this was a practice even during the Civil War. Can you imagine that happening today? A guy wouldn’t get around the corner before he’d be figuring out a way to get another gun and rejoin the fight.
Another thing that was important to soldiers back then was to surrender with dignity, “the full honors of war.” If allowed to do so, the surrendering army could march to the surrender site with its regimental flags on display and its band playing a military march of the victor. As it turns out, one of the sticking points when it came to surrender terms was that the Americans would not let Cornwallis surrender with dignity, which was a great insult. A year earlier when the British had captured Charleston, the American army was not allowed to surrender with dignity, so this was George Washington’s way of setting things right. After arguing all day and night about this point back at the Moore House, the British finally had to agree, either that or go on taking a pounding from the French and American artillery. Claiming illness, Cornwallis did not attend the surrender.
The field where the official surrender ceremony was held is still intact. From the parking area a paved path leads to an observation deck that allows you to look out over the field, for what that’s worth. There is an audio presentation about what took place—just push a button to start the narration.
Observation deck at Surrender Field
Exit the deck and proceed down to the field along a spiral walkway. Here you will find a display of surrendered artillery pieces that were engraved to mark the historic occasion. In all, 12,000 muskets and 244 artillery pieces were forfeited by the British upon surrender. Two-hundred-and-fifty artillery pieces were engraved and given to various dignitaries.
Display of artillery surrendered by the British
Engraved mortar
Once at ground level, there is a short loop trail that takes you back to the parking lot. Along the path are more information panels about the surrender. A smaller loop branches off this trail and leads to the main road, which is the actual road the British marched along from Yorktown (the road is aptly named Surrender Road). French and American troops lined either side while the British marched down the middle. At the time, nobody knew this was to be the last significant battle of the war. While Cornwallis and many of his officers were paroled and returned to England, the rest of the soldiers were forced to march to prison camps in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Surrender Field Trail Map (click to enlarge)
While this ends the Yorktown Battlefield Tour, this is the start of another tour, the Allied Encampment Tour. A one-way road leads from the far end of the paved loop parking area for Surrender Field. The Allied Encampment Tour takes visitors to the areas where the American and French armies camped and stored supplies during the siege of Yorktown. See the Allied Encampment Tour web page for more information.
Plan to spend about fifteen minutes at Surrender Field.
Previous Stop: Moore House
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Last updated on April 6, 2020
