Tag «Fleet»

Battle of the Chesapeake Bay: Gateway to Yorktown

Line of Battle with British on the right and French on the left. Artwork by Auguste Jugelet.

Fought on September 5, 1781, the Battle of Chesapeake Bay (Battle of the Capes) was a French victory that set the stage for British General Lord Charles Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, October 19, 1781. On August 15th, a French fleet commanded by Rear Admiral Francois Joseph Paul, the Comte de Grasse, sailed from Hatti …