Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 October 1881 — YORKTOWN'S CENTENNIAL. [ARTICLE]

YORKTOWN'S CENTENNIAL.

botolls of Washington's Mafftofty r ttnjj.lii fk. r. | f New Terk BrapOicicfl y«h» MapAed Ainoe pendenoo. It was bn October 2StS ITgi that the rrsnlntlim ~w**" • - + bledfihg the new lfstfoa to this act. The news of Cornwall’s surrender ifid reached Philadelphia the oigfat before, •toast.« wank after the mfiwmmM? the courier arrived, not many m inn tee elapeed before the entire city kne* the

glad tidings. * • from General WashiDgtou, anu then the members decided to march in a body to the nearest church-nod return ler til * t ten The approach of the^Dtenary of the important victory led to the appropriation of fkfIMXW. wWTlrith to redeem the pledge made so long ago. On the lUth of October next, the monument will be unveiled on tbs Yorktown battlefield. This is the oen- i tenuial anniversary of Hie surrender of «JQOO British troops to the allfad French atfd AttWkJan foroes» and ■VrUngements have heed made oh a scale

worthy of the occaaioh by the join t commission appointed by boUTbraneft',rv*.v,. oils Stales of the Union. It will not oply be a national affkff; for another nation shares with us la-the glory of the achievement, and France will be fitly represented both .by delegates from its government and By tnotfpands es her citizens who will cross the Atlantic to do hdqpr to .the great event which it commemorates. The celebration is to begin several days earlier,' and the feetivitiee are to be prolonged for a full week. Military delegations from various parts of thp oountry will participate, and the display wilh.undbnbtedly He tbs most magnificent seen in the South for than? a aayi The siege of Yorktown and Its result has been »puy iwcmmw !i? e arr ** t -•® r * prise of the American revolullon. JUurgoyoe’s surrender at Saratoga waa not unexpected. IBs march from Canada through Hew Yerk to the Hudson tNU a wild enterprise at beet, and it* utter failure did hot mutfh Ostahftb either friends or fees.; Quite different W«! Ooruwai:L's grand, overthrow iq tbit horlheaeteru corhef of VirgiiiiiL He bad gained the reputation of Hkiqg the ablest British commander the war baa produced. His. the Cara-. U“m bad shown pim to be Doth daring and cautious. 1 Lafayette h<sd given him the name of “the terrible Britisher who madeuo mistakes,” aud both General's Greene and Gates, who had commanded-the American forces opr pbsetl to hitb, hod rCknowledge«4 his | skill as a leader. How, then, aid it come to pass’ that be allowed himself to bfe caught like a rat in a trap? 1 ' The answer to this question has puz» zied histoi lans not a little;' and the acrimonious years passed between Corn walli* and iSir Henry Clinton, bis then chief, rather obsUures than ; illnniiiiatee ihe subject. Three years and a half alii r tub beginning of actual armed rvfl-tance to the British domiuition, the tffbrt to overcome th-it resisUuce at the North was confessed a failure. Although the efforts of the combined American and French forces to drive Ibe English from Rhode Ihlatidi n llie previous August bad proved unsuccessful, the close of 1778 saw the American cause far stronger than at any time since the outbreak of actual hostiJi'ies. It was therefore decided to try another plan than that hithsrto pursued by the Bii hh. Tne war was to be transferred to the Booth in the hope that after Georgia, the Carolinas snd Virginlj, had been subdued, the Middle aud New England States could be more easily handled All army and fleet were dispaldhed to Bavannahj&nd ki'terWards another to Charleston, and iu botli plices silooe&s cfownea the movement. Cornwallis’s operationsin North ftnd Solith Caroliha followed, and Tarleton’s troopers Ravaged both States. Sucfe.-ssive gynerals who had betqi sent pyCougretS to oppose Cornwallis were defeated, and filthongh ICing’f Mouutaiu and Cowpens gave the A merlcans hope,the ontiook at the South tsj eclally was dark in the spring of 17tfl, Tne battle of, Guilford-Court-house was fought in March, and was almost a necessary . antecedent to Yoiktc,wii.. It was a British victory, but it was bought dearly, and it led Cornwallis to decide that before the more southerly States could be thor« oughly sub'ugated Virgiula would have tohe conquered. Hence* his march northward in May—a msrch whioh his superior at New York, Sir Henry Clinton, did not approve of, boVfever. Before Cornwallis arrive I in Virgini i, Sir Henry Clinton had sent two expeditions to ravage the const. To oppose them Washington had dispatched Lafayette with 1,200 men. On May .20 1791, Cornwallis at rived at Petersburg from Wilmington, aud there the expeditionary forces were Jolucd to Ids own, thus giving him > body of 5,000 veteran troops wherewith to ot>erate in the State. Lafayette ret seated before him without fighting an engagement, to North Amua,where Cornwallis turned southwest and made for the Upper James river, there to cover a cavalry raid upon some stores at the Point of Fork, which Stuben was guarding with some 500 militia. In the meantime Lafayette bad received reinforcements in the shape of I.QOO Penusylvanian infantry under Wayne’s -“command. He followed Cornwallis,and prevented any further destruction of stone. Steuben Vlroope were joined to his own and Cornwallis went to Richmond. He did not remain. tbertLloog,.though, but moved to Williamsburg, closely watched all the time by Lafayette. Exactly why Cornwallis went to the extreme corner of the peninsula it is difficult to underataud. It was not beoause he oould not hold bis awn elsewhere, for bis troops greatly outnumbered those of Lafayette. Pnsumabiy he intended to await further development*, arm to mature his plan for cornover his intentions were, he was given no opportunity to carry them out. At pletely subjugating Virginia. What Williamsburg be found orders from Str Henrv Clinton to send 3.000 of his men North, and to establish a defensive poet on the’ coast. - Before the troops had actually been embarked

another order allowed him to keep the™. *nd told him definitely to fortify Old PolnfclfcocuforkJir* ha4t .fr future naval operatic®* He' found thad the point could not be > lernled, and pushed on to York town, where & began throwtngnp fortifications. This was in the first week of August, 1781. Sir Heqry GBnFon'a'orders were tldF result of the Junction of the American and Freneh acmies nbd the consequent threatening aspect of affairs around NevFYArk. The allied afrtny was at least r match ior the British stationed around ‘New York, the capture t>f which city was generally soppoeed to be its, object. When Washington, 4hat CornwdlUs was entrenchingAimseU on the Virginia peninsula, he began to dUfrisTn a scheme lor a movement southward This scheme was adopted Wfien it was learned that (lie Couatild Grh-we. commander of the French fleet, then in (he West Indiefci-would sail no further north than Chesapeake bay. If was latd 'id August..when, by a dexterous feint, Sir Henry Clinton was deceived about the real plan qf eam-

S?oit&<W?«U«t*U«r > »« to nMMakMtatfby as? and 3,oafFrefaih truuMufi Be Grasse joicing, which lasted until late at! of New yorkarflVed a few days later, fufotner told notuSbh 2^^

SSSjRSffIPi the riyht .by awp rdvine and on the •est by Wonpsiey erbei. on tlie mornlag}£f September 2&th that the allied French and American army gpagispH fc&. Tssr&tx. ray’s ppsitlon.aud the following mornlog they ad vanced stiff nearer, and had sevarOl steirmlkhag Cornwallis now evacuated his outfrorks, much to the surprise of the allies, but, as he claimed in oonsequenpe otioformation from Blr Henry CHbtod (hat reinforcements Mould be sent off October nformation whieh determined Lira to save all his strength until they arrived. ' ' The allied army now began a regular

cans on the light, Ums foOmihg a sCmldroJe. The Aracrfoau-WfDiai oohalsted of three divisions of two brigades each of Continentals—about ff.OWriihn alfo-' gather—and oi 4,000 Viifciaia OtfilfUa. The division commanders were Ljn* coin J Lafayette iand Steuben. Lhfayettfe’s drvisibfi held (be extreme right of tin line. Gensral Muh Jenberg commanded the first brigade, General Hazen the seqond. Steuben’s brigadiers ware Wayue and Gist, and LinKln’s Jgmes Clinton and Payton. The vnch contingent c insisted of seven regiments, called by the names of Bourbonnals. Deuxponts, Soissonais, Saitogne, Agenois, Touraine and Gatenois, divided into three brigades, oamufaftfibff by Baron ViomeniT, Viscount Viomcnil and Marquis St. This, with (he artillery, con)prlsfaTtlM bralrarmpr 2™ail told about 10,OOff men—t,ooo krettw. and 0,000 American. The French fleci lying In the hafbor numbered thirtyVSwfig line,’ two anq a tyHf mflcl back from the entrenchments. The first of takpn iri) entirely with the making <fi tbs aee6"*ny appliances used in poige works. On the evening of the 6ih of the month the operations hegau in earnest, however. Digging was kept tsp all night, and by daylight a good-sized trench had been excavated. From this time on the life of tb* besieged was not • ple&Ant one, The fire, of the besiegers was so well directed that t# the,lßtb the British % gone were f all silenocd.'i Coruwraills had established bis headtiuartemiu the fine mansion, of Mr. Nelson, formerly- Beorrtarytof Virginia, but he left i,t ou 10th. aud the story goes that' he sought refuge in whkt is still called “Cornwallis's cave.” Laisyetts’s headquarters were on (he left of bis line and not far from the road to Hamptotl. » . ts The most heroic fighting of the siege was seen on the night of OctobeHM b. There were two outer redoubts held by the British near the river, aud these ft was decided to take bv storm. About 40© men were told off from L iCyeCe s dividon to take one of Iheee, Hud au equal uumber from the F.eucbr*gimeuts of Oatenois and Deuxponts to lako the other. It was bravely dune on both sides in less than half an hour, and now the British position was practically untenable. A sortie Wes made for destroying some unfinished batteries, but it failed of its object, and Cornwallis realized his extreme danger. He tried, oh the night of the 10. h. to gain the Cpposlteside of the liver, b it a storm Which bathe on at tniduighi fru«trated'his desigh. At last, fitlo o’clbck on the morhlng of the 17tb, a red-boated driithmer sounded a parley.and iu officer who accompanied him waved a white handkerchief. The qffleer was met and blindfolded, qpd .6onducted,to tile rear.of.the American lines. His message from Cornwallis was that boat illties be suspended for twenty-four hour}, and commissioners appointed to arrange,, the terms of surrender. Washington’s reply was tpat he would rather have the British proposals in writing first, and, to secure them agreed to Ocose firing for two' hours. Before the two hours had exflired Corawailis had offered to capituate on condition" that bis troops be sent bock to England under parole not to serve again during the War against France or unless they were regularly exchanged, Tnis was rej-*cted at once, and the messenger sent back with Washington’s ultimatum that tbs British army be surrendered as prisoners of way on the same terms as tbe Americans surrendered at Charleston In the previous year. Cornwallis acceded to this and tbe next day, the 18th. the commissioners met to formally ratify the terms. This meeting was held hi the Moore house, on tbe bank -of tbs York river, a short distauce behind the American lines. The articles

of surrender were fourteen in number, and were submitted to Cornwall's at daylight on the 19th, accompanied by a note from Washington, intimating that be expected them to be signed before eleven o’clock, and that the troops would match but and lay down their arms at two in till afternoon. * Washington's request was complied with/. At 2 o'clock sharp the army of Cornwallis marched out. The march caua drawn up in their buff blue uniforms rather the worse for wear, and on the left were the Fredch In the clean white affected by the armies of the Beurbon kings. The British had donned their best scarlet, and their band* played-an eld march called “The World Turned Upside Down.” The next step was the grounding of arms by The surrendered troops. They marched the,_ entire length of the Fraaoe-Anaorioan lines—about a mile —to ar field -on the right, where u snuadron of French Tioafckr* had formed a circle info which each regiment marched' and deposited -their gone and. accoutrements. £n silence they marched back to their own tents, anil American independence bad been ] achieved. ffOlT

gulpture. or fine tofpbqp, Brakes bondgfiswavasga tenoto 1 overdresses of light fipfnat, wfU bo too or • *m2KT P**-.

drawn lightly aWgy from the front Blue donim, the material oe#d, for.*v«rnlla ana workinwblousoe of IdhoiWf, h tha.tfiebekm *ui if last to be patronised bJsSH tffIWS "ttMid nent stripee of the skirt. Tbd skirts are mdde plain, tbs stripes running either Jrt>gtfi*Sie «M ft ***•£**£ 9 thfijfeatet is Ull dr short, and finished.

with a bktefe&e of bfVrffiSfof set beneath the hem. so ifaw the least possibfe llab ofcfaior. In arranfitng tfa? b*»r boto low aud high oolffiires a prefer-^ ence for the former, biltL the chofae or styles depends entirely upon the contour of the wearer’s face and. h4ad. With long faces the hair is dressefflhw behind and vtfy brirad, jfaacklng>from ear to ear, so that it may be seen from IS Bib ito£h*?S£ coiffure is made of two small switches, twisted together ip runrt of oei|, fravclose behind ea<m ear, fftves the effect of maffv soft puffs, and Is «omplsted by placifl?r * short, very thick cifrfon each side <fu!te ri«Ur the «ar. It is a favorite dress coiffure, and suits the front hair d feared Its the fluffy »n----hair abov4 rae forehea<Hd picked kpdrt

so- stahrf outWiSd. RoupSnfi it flufflaess is.oonfioea though tsMd, by kifc lutiriWe - W W toffS eflfecti Vel rap g* Ji oui is,, Ie ; 1 should be frequently waW*’d and water, sothat tLe natural oWfifi. of the hair will not lucllrfeJt lie fiat; K The bangs of children's hair are qo longer ctW from ear to ear. as they have been, but fail merely acres* ths .fore--52 f*- ‘SSWsaRjFSa ofit are hruslua r snt5 nt Yhe by a ribbon, which posses »T?' ma head. Tying the hair in a btmeu ST hind or oh top of the head has besff abandoned, asßfflakettbia and somebiwu spole bafck Ofthn eon nod ■ on the thfiiop of MW * iu .„ tidies who are bfcedwfth \JHM friafit hair are cautioned tne uoetorg to soajrauge it <f*,to billow tne air to pa<B around thQthroat leave too übek free. .It is of,the utmost Impmtauee, these learned people declare, that ventilatfa'll Should be epcourmged near the lungs, and the fooifah Wlofl O l crowding manes of hglr wtfittL ttie neck stope ths natural drought of air,, rfnd binders frtfi respiration. In tnifa way it causes trnneeessary persiiiratiQik and beat near the throifit, fsafrulb'. fuj caaae of .throat diseases. A low, long-comb isi placed rather low doifrn at the back of the bead, and a variety of Comr i>ins, in stiver filagree,' are verry {frettf. find popular. For foil dress the bandsouTfi Rbipe pebble brooches, wtti.'b take tbe sbapo/Of lizatds, beetled and llhtterflies, are very effective. Yet ornaments, botli in plus for the hrri» j»r combs, maintain their ‘popularity, i.'fotfit! tiny bands of cut J«.-t,‘ with th? soft wavy hair pulled lightly up between the hands,are tbe modem ad iptatlon of tbe Greek fillet. No pre tii r style of hsirdreeeing for. a abspily head is possible. Young tirls wiili well posed heads, wear a straight bang over the forehead. a«d gathering tile bock hair in a rather tight twist, cofl it simply at the top of the head—a style of simple elegence very becoming to young faces, to whom it givtii character and dignity.