ON OCTOBER 19 1781 the Battle of Yorktown ended with an American victory over British forces Thanks to the help of French troops including General Lafayette the colonists were now poised to win the war they’d been fighting against the British since 1775 With the war’s end America would be a free country
One of the last things British general Cornwallis did before returning to England was to visit Lafayette’s camp Cornwallis wondered how his army of redcoats had been beaten by the young French general The two generals had at least a couple of things in common Both came from impressive families and both had impressive names Cornwallis’s full name was Charles Cornwallis 1st Marquess and 2nd Earl Cornwallis Viscount Brome Baron Cornwallis of Eye
The Frenchman’s full name was Marie-Joseph Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette In France his friends called him Gilbert But in America he was simply Lafayette
