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Ewingjr98 Says: On 19 October 1781, five years after the American Revolution began, Lord Cornwallis surrendered his command of over 8,500 soldiers and sailors to the combined French and American forces at Yorktown. There are two main driving tours of the battlefield areas. The first is the...
Williamsburg (Colonial and otherwise)
Ewingjr98 Says: I have visited Williamsburg two or three times in my life, but I've never been as impressed with the town as so many others seem to be. Maybe it's the partially restored, partially recreated area of town called Colonial Williamsburg or its neighbor Busch Gardens that throw...
doug48 Says: the completion of the american and french second siege line was blocked by a portion of the british outer works called redoubts 9 and 10. on october 14 th general george washington ordered his army to take this position. the redoubts were bombarded during the day and at 8:00...
doug48 Says: the yorktown national cemetery was established in 1866 for the internment of civil war dead during the 1862 peninsular campaign. there are 1,596 marked graves in the cemetery. of the total 2,204 burials only 10 confederate soldiers are interned here.
doug48 Says: on october 19 th 1781 the soldiers of lord conrwallis' army marched down this road and filed off into a field to the left. this place is designated as the formal capitulation of cornwallis' british garrison. the siege of yorktown and the defeat of lord cornwallis was the...
doug48 Says: pictured is part of the american and french second siege line. after the capture of british redoubts 9 and 10 the second siege line was completed. by this time in the battle lord cornwallis knew that defeat was emanate.
doug48 Says: this plantation house was built by lawrence smith in the 1730's. in 1768 the smith family sold temple farm plantation to augustine moore. in the fall of 1781 the moore family fled to richmond to avoid the battle of yorktown. on october 17 th lord cornwallis contacted general...
doug48 Says: pictured is the first american and french siege line. on october 6 th 1781 french and american soldiers began constructing these fortifications. from this position american and french forces on the 9 th of october began the siege of yorktown.
doug48 Says: in 1781 a congressional resolution mandated the construction of a monument to commemorate the surrender of lord cornwallis to general george washington at yorktown. however the monument was not built until 1881 a hundred years after the resolution. this 98 ft monument is...
doug48 Says: mungo somerwell established a ferry across the york river in 1702. somerwell was also a merchant and town constable. somerwell died around 1707. little is known about his early life or the date of construction of his house.
doug48 Says: swan tavern was established in 1722 by thomas nelson and joseph walker. swan tavern remained in operation just prior to the civil war. in 1862 the union occupied yorktown and used the building to store munitions. in december 1863 a fire set off stored munitions and an...
doug48 Says: cole digges built this house around 1720. digges was a member of the royal governor's council and was a wealthy tabacco merchant. on his death in 1744 digges owned this house, two plantations, a warehouse, wharf, and other properties in yorktown.
doug48 Says: dudley digges was the son of royal council member cole digges. dudley digges built this classic virginia tidewater style house around 1760. digges was a member of the virginia assembly and was captured by the british in charlottesville in june 1781. the digges house was...
doug48 Says: thomas nelson built this brick colonial home around 1730. thomas nelson jr. was a virginia governor and general of the virginia militia. thomas nelson jr. was a signer of the declaration of independence in 1776. as general of the virginia militia nelson participated in the...
Courtyard By Marriott Newport News Yorktown
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Stinky's: FUN dining experience at Stinky's
bigeater12011 Says: I stopped by on my way home to grab a bite, and was amazed at what the new owners had done with it. It was Kelsey's Deli up until about a month ago. They have totally revamped the place! It is clean as a whistle now too. Anyway, the staff was prompt and friendly and I felt...
Waterstreet Landing: Waterstreet Landing
leafmcgowan Says: A quaint "diner-like" restaurant right on the beach with full view of the York river, sunbathers, and beach-goers. Of course, no shirt no service, no uncovered beachware at this establishment. Beer and soda, sandwiches, and family dining with a view of the York River from...
bugalugs Says: The Trolley bus can be caught at the Visitor Centre. You can park your car there in a large car park.The bus is free and leaves every 20 minutes to do a circuit of Yorktown. If you take a tour round first you can get a layout of the place.The lady driver gave a really good...
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Since Bob's grandmother was a Diggs (with no E), I was always interested in finding information about the family. I was told that the Digg's were two brothers descended from Sir Dudley Diggs (England) and that one settled in Matthews CO VA and spelled the name Diggs and were Catholic and the other family went to MD and spelled the name Digges and was Protestant. That seems backward to me since MD was settled by Roman Catholics, and also since my husband's family was Episopal and were in MD. I found out later that Bob's grandmother's family had originally settled in Virginia.
In any case, these were Digges (with the E) and they were in Virginia and probably Church of England (aka Episcopal)
Yorktown lawyer Dudley Digges built this classic Virginia style Colonial home in 1760. Like his father Gov. Edward Digges and relatives, Dudley was active in Colonial politics and served as Virginia's Lieutenant Governor and a member of the Virginia Assembly. On June 4, 1781, British forces under Tarleton raided Charlottesville, and captured several legislators, including Yorktown's Dudley Digges and Daniel Boone. Governor Jefferson escaped by hiding in the woods near Monticello.
The Dudley Digges house is the only wood-frame building to survive the Siege of Yorktown and the Great Fire. It is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Yorktown. After the siege of Yorktown, the house was used as the headquarters of General George McClellan. After moving through Yorktown, the Union forces used the house as a post headquarters for Fort Yorktown in Yorktown Village.
The house was restored in 1960. The house is privately owned and not open to the public. However, it can be seen from Main Street in Yorktown. (Map photo 3)
605 Main St., Yorktown, VA
Updated Apr 9, 2011
Phone: 757-898-2410
Website: http://www.nps.gov/york/historyculture/historic-yorktown.htm
grandmaR Says: When we got to the Waterman's Museum on the day after Thanksgiving, it was closed. The website says that it was founded in 1981 for the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown to interpret the heritage of the Chesapeake Bay’s watermen and women who...
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Favorite thing: My grandfather sent this postcard to my grandmother from where they lived in Philadelphia in1907. My grandmother had apparently gone home to her parents for a visit because the postcard is addressed to her in NC and he had gone to Norfolk. In 1907, the Jamestoen Exposition was held - and many of the buildings were constructed in Norfolk.
Fondest memory: The card says:
No 22. MAIN STREET, YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA.
This dreamy old town of York was immortalized and made a living actor in history by the siege and surrender of Lord Cornwallis in 1781, the victory by which the independence of the United States of America was achieved. The town has changed but little since then, and is picturesque and quaint to a degree. The old custom house, the first in the United States, can be seen on the left in this view, and is one of the links connecting the present with that glorious day.
Updated Sep 21, 2010
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It was here in Yorktown on 19th October 1781 after battle between American along with their French allies against the British Army that American Independance was won, when the British commanded by...
yorktown was founded on the york river in 1691 by thomas ballard and joseph ring. up to the start of the revolutionary war yorktown was a prosperious port town for shipping tabacco. around 1750 during...
When we lived in Norfolk in the early 60s, we visited many of the colonial history sites, including Yorktown. Our next visit was up the York River on our sailboat in the early 2000s. In 2004, we...
Yorktown was named after England's York and was established as a port for shipping tobacco to Europe. It is the 3rd part of Virginia's infamous "Historic Triangle" that connects it with Jamestown and...
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