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The Siege of Yorktown was the culminating act of the Yorktown campaign, a series of military operations occupying much of 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. The siege was a decisive Franco-American victory: after the surrender of British Lt. Gen. Charles, Earl Cornwallis on October 17, the government of Lord North fell, and its replacement entered into peace negotiations that resulted in British recognition of American independence with the 1783 Treaty of Paris. The siege involved land forces from the United States, including the Continental Army and state militias, as well as land forces under French and British command. The British forces included a large number of troops from various German principalities of the Holy Roman Empire that were collectively known as Hessians. Since Yorktown, Virginia was specifically selected by Cornwallis for its properties as a deep-water port, both sides had naval support as well: the British forces included some Royal Navy vessels, and the Franco-American allies were supported by a large French fleet, some of whose marines were landed to assist in siege operations. German historians have noted that approximately one third of all the land forces involved were either hired or recruited from German states, or were German immigrants to America; this has led the siege to be known in German historiography as "die Deutsche Schlacht" ("the German battle"). The following units and commanders of the British, American, and French forces fought in the Siege of Yorktown, or provided significant local support. ==British Army== The British Army forces present at Yorktown arrived in Virginia in four separate detachments. The first was sent from New York City in December 1780 under the command of the turncoat Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. The second was sent from New York in March 1781 under the command of Brigadier General William Phillips to reinforce Arnold after a Franco-American threat. The third detachment to arrive was that of General Cornwallis, who had been active in the Carolinas, and decided, against standing orders, to join with the forces of Arnold and Phillips after the April Battle of Guilford Court House. He arrived at Petersburg, Virginia in late May to take command of the army; Phillips had died of a fever just a week before, and Arnold returned to New York not long after Cornwallis arrived. While at Petersburg, Cornwallis was joined by a fourth detachment from New York that was under the command of the Hessian Colonel August von Voigt. With this force, numbering about 7,200, Cornwallis first chased after the army of the Marquis de Lafayette, a much smaller force of Continental Army and local militiamen that had provided some resistance to the movements of Phillips and Arnold. Cornwallis was eventually ordered by the British Commander-in-Chief of North America, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton, to establish a fortified deep-water port at either Yorktown or Portsmouth. Cornwallis chose Yorktown, and began constructing fortifications there and Gloucester Point, just across the York River from Yorktown, in August 1781. Commander Lt. Gen. Charles, Earl Cornwallis, commanding Headquarters :Staff :17th Light Dragoons :Marines Artillery :Royal Regiment of Artillery :(plus detachments of sailors manning guns from scuttled ships British Infantry ''Brigade of Foot Guards'' Brig. Gen. Charles O'Hara :Two battalions ''Light Infantry Brigade'' Lt. Col. Robert Abercromby, 38th Foot :1st Battalion ::(Light companies from the 4th, 7th, 15th, 17th, 23rd, 27th, 33rd, and 38th Foot) :2nd Battalion ::(Light companies from the 37th, 40th, 43rd, 45th, 49th, 55th, 63rd, and 71st Foot) :82nd Foot ''1st Brigade'' Lt. Col. John Yorke, 22nd Foot :17th Foot :23rd Foot :33rd Foot :71st Foot, 2nd Battalion ''2nd Brigade'' Lt. Col. Thomas Dundas, 80th Foot :43rd Foot :76th Foot :80th Foot 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Yorktown order of battle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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