Malavika Vivek

12/14/15
US History 10-2
Epoch Essay Team G
George Washington leading from the front, Independence here we come

The British forces had been encircled and were laid siege by American forces and their French
allies in Yorktown. The British were holed out and the American forces were taking every
precaution to ensure that they did not escape. Martin was a sergeant in the American
revolutionary army under George Washington. In this particular siege he was part of the task
force who were working with the sappers and miners to open the trenches. He was part of the
group that was working based on the instruction from the engineers. The engineers instructed the
group to lay laths of pinewood row upon row along the line marked by the officers for the
trenches. These trenches were being laid in preparation for setting up the artillery gun batteries.
Martin and team were visited by George Washington himself to raise their morale and also to do
some good old publicity for the consumption of the American people similar to a photo op that is
common now. In this case from Martins account it did increase his standing with the troops that
he would personally put himself in harms way just like the troops he was commanding. Martin
and his group who were tasked with the laying of the trenches were not able to complete on the
first night they tried due to heavy rain. They came back then next night and were able to
complete the work.
From Martins accounts it seems that the British troops they were laying siege to in Yorktown
were very close. The trenches that they were laying for the gun batteries was just forty rods from
the British trenches. In other words they were approximately two hundred and twenty yards as a

Malavika Vivek
12/14/15
US History 10-2
Epoch Essay Team G
rod is equivalent to five and a half yards. This meant that Martin and other troops under the
command of George Washington had to employ extreme caution so as not to alert the British
troops they were laying siege to in Yorktown.
At the siege of Yorktown in which Martin was participating there were troops under the
command of George Washington that were drawn from the American colonies from the states of
New York and Connecticut. When the American forces started to open fire with their gun
batteries, they had allies in the French troops who had their own gun batteries that were trained
against the British. The French gun batteries were instructed to open up after the American gun
batteries. The signal to fire was the hoisting of the star spangled banner at the ten gun battery.
The French troops were commanded by General Rochambeau and General Lafayette. These
troops along with the American troops under General George Washington laid siege to the British
with their gun batteries and prevailed upon them to the pride and satisfaction of the troops like
Sergeant Martin.