An important date in history

Today marked the end of the siege of Yorktown and the surrender of Cornwallis to Washington.  It isn’t as if things just fell together and our country rose the next day, ready to enslave and slaughter as good Americans should.  The Treaty of Paris wouldn’t be signed for two more years.   But with the defeat of Cornwallis, the futility of England’s continued resistance against the Colonial bid for independence became clear.  The fighting ended and the Colonists could start sorting out this victory while their leaders begin living up to their lofty promises.  Given the fact that this came from a break with England, possibly the greatest power in the world in those days, that wasn’t bad.

It’s easy to look back in hindsight and say of course England lost, it was too far away, or it had bigger problems near at home, or whatever excuses we can muster to downplay the phenomenal odds that the Colonists overcame in order to achieve victory.   Even Washington wasn’t guaranteed his place in history yet.  Like most things in history, while it was happening, the outcome was still very much up for grabs.  Nonetheless, the victory on this day was hard won, and helped solidify the grab for independence that the Founding Fathers had promised.