self up in Yorktown; and from this corner there seemed no means of his escaping. With the land forces on one side, and the ships on the other, the English were caught; and Washington set out at once in a small vessel to visit Comte de Grasse.

He found the brave sailor in his ship, named the Ville de Paris, in the bay, and was received with a salute of honor. In the midst of the thunder of cannon Washington went on board the ship, and Comte de Grasse came to meet him, making him a low and respectful bow. They then went into the cabin and had a long talk. De Grasse did not wish to stay and take part in the siege of Yorktown. He was burning to follow the English ships and attack them again; but Washington told him that the great thing now was to capture Cornwallis, and at last the bold sailor was convinced that this was best. He promised not to sail away, but remain where he was, and Washington then went back in his small vessel, which was named the Queen Charlotte, to Williamsburg.

Everything was now ready for the march upon Yorktown, and the soldiers set out through the beautiful autumn weather (September 28th, 1781) for the place. It was only twelve miles from Williamsburg, and the road led through cultivated fields, and woods of lofty pines, hollies, laurels, and other forest-trees, which cast refreshing shadows on the troops as they marched along. They were all in fine spirits, and the French soldiers who had come from the North with Washington were dressed in bright uniforms. But the Americans, or "Continentals," as they were called at that time, presented a much less imposing appearance. Their clothes were faded and worn, and some of them were almost in rags; for America was poor, and could not give them good uniforms. But they were just as well satisfied and in the highest spirits; and if

their clothes were worn and soiled, their muskets were bright.

It was not long before they came in sight of Yorktown. This old village is still standing, and looks pretty much the same as it did at that time. It was built on high ground on the south bank of York River, and had in it only about sixty houses. Just opposite, across the river,

which becomes much narrower at this place, was Gloucester Point, which the British also held. In the direction from which the Americans were coming toward the south and west, they had thrown up a number of redoubts or field- works, as they are called; that is, small banks of earth, behind which were placed cannon. Inside of these were heavier works still; and then, just in the edge of the town, were others, fifteen or twenty feet high, to retreat to, in case they were driven out of those in front of them.

You can now fancy how everything looked as the

Americans marched up. The bright autumn sunshine lit up the whole landscape. There on the left was York River, and in front were the houses of the town; and in front of all were the British redoubts, with their cannon waiting.

As Lord Cornwallis expected to have more soldiers sent him by Sir Henry Clinton, he ought to have fought in these redoubts, I think, in order to gain time. But he determined that he would give them up, and retreat to his stronger works behind them. The Americans at once rushed in and took possession of them; and then the next thing to be done was to make what are called parallels. These are trenches and banks of earth thrown up by the army which is attacking earthworks, behind which they fight, as those who are besieged fight behind their own. The parallels were begun, and the men worked at them day and night: at last one of them was finished and mounted with cannon, and the Americans then prepared for the attack. Their army lay around Yorktown in the shape of a new moon; the left, composed of French troops, resting on York River, and the right, of Americans under Lafayette, extending down beyond the town. In this way Yorktown was regularly invested from the land side; the French fleet watched on the water, ready to meet any British ships which attempted to approach; and on the 9th of October General Washington began the attack.

It was begun in the afternoon, and for eight hours the cannon thundered from the opposing works. Darkness soon came, but this did not stop the fire, and the spectacle is said to have been magnificent. The red glare of the artillery lit up the night, and all at once a still more splendid sight was presented, which I will now proceed to describe.

III.

Opposite the left of the American line, in York River, were some English ships, which they determined to make an effort to destroy. One of them was named the Charon and the other the Guadaloupe, and, as their

lights were visible, there was no difficulty in firing at them.

CORNWALLIS'S CAVE.

This was done with red-hot cannon-balls from the Amer

ican redoubts toward

York River, and both

the ships were

soon set on fire.

One who saw them

described it as a

wild and beautiful

spectacle, full of "terrible grandeur" and attraction. The flames speedily caught the sails and rigging of the ships and ran to the summits of the masts, and the shores were lit up by the conflagration. The ships had slipped their cables and attempted to get away, but the red-hot balls caught up with them, and they became the mark of all the batteries as they fled, like mountains of fire, toward the bay. The Guadaloupe managed to extinguish the fire on board, and escaped, but the Charon was completely destroyed and sunk. Another English ship was also set on fire by shells and destroyed; and the cannonade did not cease until next morning.

Day after day the fighting continued, and the prospect became darker and darker for Lord Cornwallis. There was a cave, it is said, in the river bluff, where he consulted with his officers, but his head-quarters, it seems, were in what was called the "Nelson House," a residence belong

ing to General Nelson. The Americans fired at it, although they at first did not wish to do so, from reluctance to injure the fine mansion. But of this General Nelson would not hear. When the artillery officers hesitated, he himself aimed the cannon and fired at his own house; and this, if nothing else were known of him, would prove his noble character and self-sacrificing patriotism.

Day after day and night after night the fighting went on, and the situation of Lord Cornwallis grew every hour more critical. A second parallel was constructed by the Americans in front of their right wing, very close to two of the strongest of the English works; and these redoubts Washington now resolved to assault.

NELSON HOUSE.

The attack took place on the evening of the 14th of October. The

column on the right consisted of the troops under Lafayette, and was led by Alexander Hamilton, afterward one of the greatest statesmen of America. On the left were the French chasseurs and grenadiers, as they were called; and when the word was given, the two columns rushed forward toward the British redoubts. They were received with a storm of bullets and cannon-shot, but did not return the fire. The only way to take the works was at the point of the bayonet, and the men rushed on over the felled trees and other obstacles, and mounted the earthworks, where they fought with clubbed muskets hand to hand with the English troops.