The Battle of Yorktown is one of the most famous and decisive battles in history. The British were always unable to effectively coordinate the two teams of their own in their colonies—howe and Burgoyne, as were Clinton and Cornwallis. But the armies of two different countries and a fleet set an example of close cooperation. In an era when communications were slow and unreliable, this battle showed the precise timing of two armies 1,500 miles apart. Since the French joined the war, it is this kind of action that Washington has dreamed of.
The letter by which the battle was decided arrived at Washington Command on August 14. The main content of the letter is to tell him that on August 13th, De Grasse, with a force of more than 3,000 men, will set off from Cape Haiti on 29 ships and will go directly to the Chesapeake Bay—"there is the most likely place to get your suggestions. The benefits.” But he can only stay until mid-October, because his troops need to perform other tasks upon appointment.
Washington immediately seized the opportunity to adjust its plan. Because he had to leave a part of the army to defend West Point, he could only lead 2500 soldiers to Virginia, and Rochambeau would bring about 4000 soldiers. Within 4 days of receiving the letter from De Grasse, the French-American coalition forces in Washington had already set off. In order to prevent the British in New York from attacking its guard or any move to rescue Cornwallis. Washington took great pains to pretend to be ready to attack Staten Island.
Although this strategy was unexpectedly successful, the process of southward advancement made Washington extremely anxious. After arriving in Philadelphia on the last day of August, he received news that a British fleet—actually the Hood Fleet from the West Indies—has arrived at Sandy Hook. This seems to be very dangerous. It may intercept De Barras, who has just left Newport, or enter the Chesapeake Bay ahead of De Grasse, and De Grasse has no new news so far.
By September 5th, both the American and French troops had passed Philadelphia. After General Washington finished his affairs in the city, he and the staff members caught up with the same difficult pace as usual. On the way, Washington learned that De Grasse had reached the Chesapeake Bay and immediately returned to Chester to tell Rochambeau the news. At this time Rochambeau was inspecting the fortress positions on the Delaware River by boat. As the ship approached the shore, the French general was surprised to see Washington, who was usually unsmiling, waving his hat and handkerchief in ecstasy. As soon as he went ashore, he was hugged tightly by Washington.
On the evening of September 14, Washington and Rochambeau rushed to Williamsburg to meet Lafayette after a rapid march. Early the next morning. It is reported that De Grasse has returned to the Chesapeake Bay after trying his skills, and De Barras has safely arrived from Newport with artillery and supplies.
After seeing North America's request at Cap Haiti, De Grasse decided to lead the entire fleet northward. He set off on August 5 through the Old Bahamas Strait between the inaccessible north coast of Cuba and the Bahamas, and arrived at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on the 30th. The British army knew nothing about its arrival. After the incoming troops landed, he transported another group of American soldiers to the lower reaches of the James River to cut off Cornwallis’s escape route to Carolina. At around 10 am on September 5th, he was about to send a light ship to the head of the Chesapeake Bay to pick up French and American troops. The fast sailing vessel deployed outside the bay suddenly reported seeing a fleet. At first he hoped that this was De Barras's fleet from Rhode Island, but soon he saw that there were a large number of visitors, and it was obviously the enemy's fleet.
When De Grasse sailed from Fort-de-France to Cap Haiti in early July, Rodney got a report of his whereabouts. Rodney ordered Hood to drive to New York when needed. Then, because of poor health, Rodney sailed to England with four ships on August 1. The next day, Hood arrived on Antigua and received urgent letters from Clinton and Graves, saying that De Grasse would go to Rhode Island to attack New York with De Barras. So Hood left Antigua on August 10-five days after De Grasse left Cap-Haïtien, and he rendezvoused with four other ships outside the port, bringing the total number of ships to 14.
Hood hurried to the north and spied the Chesapeake Bay on the 25th. As he rushed to the front of De Grasse, he found no trace of the French. After spying on the Delaware Bay, he hurried to New York. There, he found that Clinton and Graves, who were dissatisfied with the situation, were calmly making plans to attack the French in Rhode Island. Hood’s statement and the news that De Ballas had left Newport prompted Graves to take 5 ships across the sandbank. Because of his high position, Graves served as the command of the combined fleet and commanded 19 ships towards the cut. Sapeake Bay. On the morning of September 5, Graves arrived at his destination. The weather was clear this day, and the northeast wind was blowing gently. At about 9:30, the British lookout spotted that the French fleet was mooring at the anchorage at Cape Henry. Graves ordered the formation of a battle formation.
De Grasse had just dispatched 4 ships to blockade the York and James Rivers, so he only had 24 ships available for attack. Since most of his crew are using small boats to help the troops land, the number of warships is seriously insufficient. In this case, he may be able to defend the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, but staying in the bay will surely cause De Barras to be captured as soon as he arrives, and will also lose all the French siege artillery and munitions. Weighing the gains and losses, De Grasse decided to fight outside the bay. But facing the northeast wind, against the trend, it is impossible to leave the Chesapeake Bay. So De Grasse ordered the ship to set sail at noon when the tide turned.