An 1845 Lithograph of the Surrender of Cornwallis
James S. Baillie, Surrender of Cornwallis, 1845 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)
On October 19, 1781, at two o’clock in the afternoon, the surrender ceremony began at Yorktown, Virginia. This print, an 1845 lithograph, depicts the surrender of the British forces. It shows a defeated Lord Cornwallis surrendering his sword to General Washington. This is not what actually happened.
In reality, Cornwallis chose not to participate in the surrender, claiming that he was ill and leaving General Charles O’Hara to lead the British troops. Washington, refusing to accept the sword from anyone other than Cornwallis, appointed General Benjamin Lincoln to accept O’Hara’s sword. Though Cornwallis did not really present his sword to Washington at the surrender, this print captures, if not a true moment, a patriotic feeling created by the end of Revolutionary hostilities, and the birth of a new nation from the ashes of war.
Background
On October 19, 1781, at two o’clock in the afternoon, the surrender ceremony began at Yorktown, Virginia. This print, an 1845 lithograph, depicts the surrender of the British forces. It shows a defeated Lord Cornwallis surrendering his sword to General Washington. This is not what actually happened.
In reality, Cornwallis chose not to participate in the surrender, claiming that he was ill and leaving General Charles O’Hara to lead the British troops. Washington, refusing to accept the sword from anyone other than Cornwallis, appointed General Benjamin Lincoln to accept O’Hara’s sword. Though Cornwallis did not really present his sword to Washington at the surrender, this print captures, if not a true moment, a patriotic feeling created by the end of Revolutionary hostilities, and the birth of a new nation from the ashes of war.
Transcript
Excerpt
*Click the images below to view the full content
James S. Baillie, Surrender of Cornwallis, 1845 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)
