Minuteman Minute | The Virginia Militia at the Battle of Yorktown

At the culminating battle of the American Revolution, Virginia’s Governor Thomas Nelson, Jr. led 3,700 militia. With a combined American and French force, they defeated the British, a victory that eventually led to American independence.

To learn more about the Virginia Militia at Yorktown, visit Thomas Nelson Jr. and the Battle of Yorktown - NGEF.

Hi, I’m Will Roulett, director of the National Guard Memorial Museum here in D.C., and this is YOUR Minuteman Minute! In late September 1781, British commander Lord Charles Cornwallis was trapped on the peninsula between the York and James rivers. Allied American and French land forces converged near Yorktown, Virginia, and a French naval victory in the Chesapeake Bay prevented escape by water. For Virginia’s Governor Thomas Nelson Jr., a native of Yorktown, the culminating campaign of the American Revolution was personal. Not only did he take responsibility for supplying allied troops as the governor, but the siege was literally happening in his backyard. Cornwallis was using his home as the British Headquarters. Nelson called out and personally led 3,700 men of the Virginia Militia, which constituted about 40% of the allied force. Virginia militiamen distributed rations, herded cattle to the encampments, built fortifications, dug trenches, and manned them. After the successful allied attacks on redoubts 9 and 10 on October 14 forced Cornwallis to surrender, the Virginia Militia led the defeated British army to prison camps before they were demobilized. Although a treaty was not signed for another two years, this victory effectively secured American independence. Nelson served as Virginia’s governor for another month before he returned to the Virginia Assembly as a delegate. Come learn about this – and a whole lot more – at the National Guard Memorial Museum. I’m Will Roulett, and that’s been your Minuteman Minute, brought to you by the National Guard Educational Foundation.