Henry Knox To Ebenezer Stevens About Army Movement Towards Yorktown 1 September 1781 PDF Download

Indicates that French ships are about to dispatch with official accounts of the Battle of Yorktown. Knox feels he should tell Jay what has occurred because an official account from Congress may not be immediately forthcoming. Although the British had less forces in America than in 1776 or 1777, the Continental Army was compelled to attack Yorktown or consider the southern states lost. The Comte de Grasse was of similar opinion, and plans to attack New York were abandoned in favor of a siege of Yorktown. A detailed, chronological explanation of the Allied forces' actions between 27 September 1781 and 19 October 1781 follows in the clerical copy, Knox's original indicates that the text should replicate that in a letter to John Adams (see GLC02437.01251 and GLC02437.01252). A postscript indicates that George Washington sent Jay authenticated copies of Lord Cornwallis' capitulation. This copy of this letter is the original and GLC02437.01254 is a handwritten clerical copy made by Judge William Jay on 25 August 1856. Concluding paragraph, beginning This important affair, the closing salutation, Knox's signature, and the postscript are in Shaw's hand.