Meanwhile, on land, the dry autumn weather gave Washington’s army a gift: hard, dusty roads that allowed them to haul their heavy siege artillery all the way from New York in record time. A wet October would have turned the roads into mud pits, stranding the cannons. Instead, clear, crisp autumn days let Washington dig siege lines around Yorktown with terrifying speed.
The British fleet, under Admiral Thomas Graves, sailed from New York to rescue Cornwallis. At the same time, a French fleet under Admiral de Grasse arrived from the Caribbean. The two navies clashed at the Battle of the Chesapeake on September 5. weather seasons in america
Cornwallis waited for the Royal Navy. It never came. After three weeks of bombardment—and with his supplies gone and no rescue on the horizon—he surrendered on October 19, 1781. Meanwhile, on land, the dry autumn weather gave