True Independence

There are a lot of important dates in the founding of this country, but in some ways, nothing tops October 19th, 1781.  That was the day the British surrendered at Yorktown.  Sure, we'd declared independence five years earlier, but nothing counted until the war was won.

 

It was at Yorktown, Virginia where a siege by the Continental Army, with help from naval forces and French troops, eventually made the British Army give up.  The siege started in late September and by the 17th of October, their commanding officer, General Cornwallis, capitulated.

According to a legend--which may not be true--the British military band played "The World Turn'd Upside Down," a fitting tune.  It took two days to negotiate a surrender.  Cornwallis refused to appear at the ceremony.

This was the final straw for Great Britain.  They started negotiations with this upstart nation which resulted in the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, acknowledging the United States of America as a sovereign state.  So time to celebrate.